THE GIFT OF ' 
 
 T. F. CRANE, 
 
 Professor of the Romance Languages and Literatures. 
 
 A.a^'3>.5i3..o.8 a.&\OT|&^ , 
 
gg X4 Cornell University 
 
 ^^' h) Library 
 
 The original of tliis 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/cu31924023513595 
 
Cornell University Library 
 GR 340.R31 1883 
 
 Tales of old Japan / 
 
 3 1924 023 513 595 
 
 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
& 
 
TALES OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 A. B. MITFORD, 
 
 aECOND SECRETARY TO lUE BRIII3H LEGATION IN JAPAN. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 DRAWN AND CVT ON WOOD BY JAPANESE ABTIST3. 
 
 NEW EDITION. 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO., 
 
 1883. 
 
 The Hight of Tranxtaiifm and Reproduetion i$ Reserved. 
 
WINDON : 
 
 R. Clay, Sons, and Taylor, 
 
 BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 In the Introduction to the story of the Forty-seven E6nins, I 
 have said almost as much as is needful by way of preface 
 to my stories. 
 
 Those of my readers who are most capable of pointing 
 out the many shortcomings and faults of my work, wUl 
 also be the most indulgent towards me; for any one who 
 has been in Japan, and studied Japanese, knows the 
 great difficulties by which the learner is beset. 
 
 For the^ illustrations, at least, I feel that I need make 
 no apology. Drawn, in the first instance, by one Odak^ 
 'an artist in my employ, they were cut on wood by a 
 famous wood-engraver at Tedo, and are therefore genu- 
 ine specimens of Japanese art. Messrs. Dalziel, on ex- 
 amining the wood blocks, pointed out to me, as an 
 interesting fact, that the lines are cut with the grain 
 of the wood, after the manner of Albert Diirer and some 
 of the old German masters, — a process which has been 
 abandoned by modem European wood-engravers. 
 
 It will be noticed that very little allusion is made m 
 these Tales to the Emperor and his Court. Although I 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 TiO* 
 
 IBB rORTT-SEVBlI k6nINS 1 
 
 the loves of gomfaohi and eomttaasaki 2s 
 
 kazuma's eevenge 49 
 
 a stobt of the otokodat^ of ybdo 68 
 
 the wonderful advbntubes of funakoshi jiutfimon .... 118 
 
 y the eta maiden and the hatamoto 146 
 
 pafry tales 171 
 
 the tongbe-ctjt spabbow 173 
 
 the accomplished and luckt tea-kettle 176 
 
 [ 
 
 THE CEAOKLING MOTTNTAIN 177 
 
 THE STOBY OF T£[E OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TBEES TO 
 
 BLOSSOM . . . . • 180 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB 188 
 
 THE ADTBNTUKES OF LITTLE PBACHLING 185 
 
 THE foxes' wedding 187 
 
 THE HISTOBT OF SAKATA KINTOKI 189 
 
 THE ELTBS AND THE ENVIOUS NEIOHB0T7B 191 
 
 THE GHOST OF SAKUBA 193 
 
 HOW TAJIMA SHUM^ WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN 
 
 OEE&TION 234 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PA OB 
 
 RONQEENING CERTAIN SUPBESTITIONS 243 
 
 THE VAMPIRE OAT OE NAB^HIMA ... 245 
 
 THE STORT OE THE FAIBHEUL OAT 253 
 
 HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY 
 
 THE POXES , 255 
 
 THE GEATEFtTL FOXES 261 
 
 THE badger's MONET 270 
 
 THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER 275 
 
 JAPANESE SBP.MONS 279 
 
 THE SERMONS OF KIir-6, VOL. I. SERMON I. 289 
 
 THE SERMONS OF KIU-6, VOL. I. SERMON 11 302 
 
 „ „ SERMON III ... . 315 
 
 APPENDICES : — 
 
 AN ACCOTTNT OF THE HARA-KIRI 329 
 
 THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY 364 
 
 THE BIRTH AND REARING OF CHILDREN 375 
 
 FUNERAL RITES 381 
 
LIST OF IIXUSTEATIONS. 
 
 To face 
 jtuge 
 THE e6nINS invite KdTSincfi NO SUk£ to I'EKFORM haka-kiri — 
 
 Front. 
 
 THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED . . 4 
 
 THE SATSDMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUKiS 10 
 
 THE TOMB OF THE e6nINS . . 19 
 
 THE TOMB OP THE SHITOKU . 33 
 
 GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS* DEN ... 34 
 
 FORGING THE SWORD 51 
 
 MATAG0R6 KILLS TUKIY^ ■ . 54 
 
 THE DEATH OF DANY^ON . 67 
 
 TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA 91 
 
 THE DEATH OF Oh6bEI OF BAHDZtllN 99 
 
 FUNAKOSHI JIUyAsION ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP 122 
 
 JIDT^MON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER 131 
 
 FUNAKOSHI JIUT&ION AND THE GOBLINS 133 
 
 "GOKUMON" 139 
 
 A WRESTLING MATCH 141 
 
 CHAMPION WRESTLER • 143 
 
 OENZABUR6's MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN . . 149 
 
 THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW 173 
 
 THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE . . 175 
 
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 To flux 
 
 page 
 
 THE HAKE AND TUB BADGER 178 
 
 THE OLD MAN WHO CATTSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER . . .181 
 
 THE APE AND THE CRAB 183 
 
 LITTLE PEACHLING . 185 
 
 THE poxes' wedding .... 187 
 
 THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIB LORD'S OATS 194 
 
 THE OHOST OF SAKDRA 197 
 
 SdOORd THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITrEIl . . . 203 
 
 THE OAT OF NAB^SHIMA 245 
 
 THE FEAST OF INARI RAMA 267 
 
 A JAPANESE SERMON 281 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 THE FOETY-SEVEN EONINS. 
 
 The books which have been written of late years about 
 Japan, have either been compiled from ofiicial records, or 
 have contained the sketchy impressions of passing travellers. 
 Of the inner life of the Japanese, the world at large knows 
 but little : their religion, their superstitions, their ways of 
 thought, the hidden springs by which they move — all these 
 are as yet mysteries. Nor is this to be wondered at. The 
 first Western men who came in contact with Japan — I am 
 speaking not of the old Dutch and Portuguese traders and 
 priests, iDut of the diplomatists and merchants of eleven 
 years ago— met with a cold reception. Above all things, 
 the native Government threw obstacles in the way of any 
 inquiry into their language, literature, and history. The 
 fact was that the Tycoon's Govemment — with whom alone, 
 so long as the Mikado remained in seclusion in his sacred 
 capital at Kioto, any relations were maintained — knew that 
 the Imperial purple with which they sought to invest their 
 chief must quickly fade before the strong sunlight which 
 would be brought upon it so soon as there should be 
 European lingidsts capable of examining their books and 
 records. No opportunity was lost of throwing dust in the 
 
 B 
 
TAim OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 eyes of the new-comers, whom, even in the most trifling 
 details, it was the official policy to lead astray. Now, 
 however, there is no cause for concealment ; the Eoi 
 Faineant has shaken off his sloth, and his Main du Palais, 
 together, and an intelligible Government, which need not 
 fear scrutiny from abroad, is the result : the records of the 
 country being but so many proofs of the Mikado's title to 
 power, there is no reason for keeping up any show of mys- 
 tery. The path of inquiry is open to all ; and although there 
 is yet much to be learnt, some knowledge has been attained, 
 in which it may interest those who stay at home to share. 
 
 The recent revolution in Japan has wrought changes social 
 as well as political; and it may be that when, in addition 
 to the advance which has already been made, railways and 
 telegraphs shall have connected the principal points of the 
 Land of Sunrise, the old Japanese, such as he was and had 
 been for centuries when we found him eleven short years 
 ago, will have become extract. It has appeared to me that 
 no better means could be chosen of preserving a record of a 
 curious and fast disappearing civilization, than the transla- 
 tion of some of the most interesting national legends and 
 histories, together with other specimens of literature bearing 
 upon the same subject. Thus the Japanese may tell their 
 own tale, their translator only adding here and there a few 
 words of heading or tag to a chapter, where an explanation 
 or amplification may seem necessary. I fear that the long 
 and hard names will often make my tales tedious reading, 
 but I believe that those who will bear with the difficulty will 
 learn more of the character of the Japanese people than by 
 skimming over descriptions of travel and adventure, however 
 brilliant. The lord and his retainer, the warrior and the 
 priest, the humble artisan and the despised Eta or pariah, 
 each in his turn will become a leading character in my 
 budget of stories; and it is out of the mouths of these 
 personages that I hope to show forth a tolerably com- 
 plete picture of Japanese society. 
 
 Having said so much by way of preface, I beg my reader: 
 
TEE FORTY-SEVEN R6NINS. 
 
 to fancy themselves wafted away to the shores of the Bay of 
 Yedo— a fair, smiling landscape : gentle slopes, crested by a 
 dark fringe of pines and firs, lead down to. the sea; the 
 quaint eaveS of many a temple and holy shrine peep out here 
 and there from the groves; the bay itself is studded with 
 picturesque fisher-craft, the torches of which shine by night 
 like glow-worms among the outlying forts; far away to the 
 west loom the goblin-haunted heights of Oyama, and beyond 
 the twin hills of the Hakon^ Pass — Fuji-Yama, the Peerless 
 Mountain, solitary and grand, stands in the centre of the 
 plain, from which it sprang, vomiting flames twenty-one cen- 
 turies ago.^ For a hundred and sixty years the huge moun- 
 tain has been at peace, but the frequent earthqiiakes stiU tell 
 of hidden fires, and none can say when the red-hot stones 
 and ashes may once more fall like rain over five provinces. 
 
 In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in, Takanawa, 
 a suburb of Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill 
 Temple, renowned throughout the length and breadth of 
 the land for its cemetery, which contains the graves of the 
 Forty-seven E6ning,^ famous in Japanese histoiy,, heroes 
 
 1 According to Japanese tradition, in the fifth year of the Emperor K6rei 
 (286 B.C.), the- earth opened in the province of Omi, near KiOto, and Lake 
 Biwa, .sixty miles long by about eighteen broad, was formed in, the shape of a 
 Biwa,, or four-stringed lute, f^om which it takes its name. At the same time, 
 to compensate for the depression of the earth, but at a distance of over three 
 hundred miles from the lake, rose Fuji-Yama, the last ernption of which was 
 in the year 1707. The last great eai'thquak© at Yedo took place about fifteen 
 years ago. Twenty thousand souls are said, to have perished in it, ajid the 
 dead were carried away and buried by cartloads ; many persons, trying to 
 escape from their falling and burning houses, were caught in great clefts, 
 which yawned suddenly in the earth, and as suddenly closed upon the victims, 
 crashing them to death. For several daj'S heavy shocks continued to be felt, 
 and the people camped out, not daring to return to such houses as had been 
 spared, hor to build up those which lay in ruins. 
 
 2 The word R6nin means, literally, a "wave-man ;" one who is tossed about 
 hither and thither, as a wave of the soa. It is used to designate persons of 
 gentle blood, entitled to bear arms, who, having become separated from their 
 feudal lords by their own act, or by dismissal, or by fate, wander about the 
 country in the capacity of somewhat disreputable knights-errant, without 
 ostensible means of living, in some cases offering themselves for hire to new 
 masters, in otJiers supporting themselves by pillage ; or who, falling a grade 
 in the social scale, go into trade, and become simple wardsmen. Sometimtis 
 
 B 2 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 of Japanese drama, the tale of whose deeds 1 am about 
 to transcribe. 
 
 On the left-hand side of the main court of the temple is a 
 chapel, in which, surmounted by a gilt figure of Kwanyin, 
 the goddess of mercy, are enshrined the images of the forty- 
 seven men, and of the master whom they loved so well. The 
 statues are carved in wood, the faces coloured, and the 
 dresses richly lacquered; as works of art they have great 
 merit — the action of the heroes, each armed with his 
 favourite weapon, being wonderfully life-like and spirited. 
 Some are venerable men, with thin, grey hair (one is 
 seventy-seven years old); others are mere boys of sixteen. 
 Close by the chapel, at the side of a path leading up the hill, 
 is a little well of pure water, fenced in and adorned with a 
 tiny fernery, over which is an inscription, setting forth that 
 " This is the well in which the head was washed ; you must 
 not wash your hands or your feet here." A little further on 
 is a stall, at which a poor old man earns a pittance by selling 
 books, pictures, and medals, commemorating the loyalty of the 
 Forty-seven ; and higher up yet, shaded by a grove of stately 
 trees, is a neat inclosure, kept up, as a signboard announces, 
 by voluntary contributions, round which are ranged forty- 
 eight little tombstones, each decked with evergreens, each 
 with its tribute of water and incense for the comfort of the 
 departed spirit. There were forty-seven E6nins; there are 
 forty-eight tombstones, and the story of the forty-eighth is 
 truly characteristic of Japanese ideas of honour. Almost 
 touching the rail of the graveyard is a more imposing 
 
 it happens that for political reasons a man will Ijecomo E6nin, in order that 
 his lord may not be implicated in some deed of blood in which he is about to 
 engage. Sometimes, also, men become E6nins, and leave their native place 
 for a wliile, until some scrape in which they have become entangled shall have 
 blown over ; after which they return to their former allegiance. Now-a-days 
 it is not unusual for men to become Eonins for a time, and engage themselves 
 ill the service of foreigners at the open ports, even in menial capacities, in the 
 hope that they may pick up something of the language and lore of Western 
 folks. I know instances of men of considerable position who h»ve adopted 
 this course in their zeal for education. 
 
THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED. 
 
THE FORTr-SEFEN RONINS. 
 
 monument under which lies buried the lord, whcse death 
 his followers piously avenged. 
 And now for the story. 
 
 At the beginning of the eighteenth century there lived a 
 daimio, called Asano Takumi no Kami, the Lord of the 
 castle of Ak6, in the province of Harima. Now it happened 
 that an Imperial ambassador from the Court of the Mikado, 
 having been sent to the Shogun^ at Yedo, Takumi no Kami 
 and another noble called Kamei Sama were appointed to 
 receive and feast the envoy ; and a high official, named Kira 
 Kotsuk^ no Suke, was named to teach them the proper 
 ceremonies to be observed upon the occasion. The two 
 nobles were accordingly forced to go daily to the castle to 
 listen to the instructions of Kotsukd no Sukd But this 
 K6tsuk^ no Suk6 was a man greedy of money; and as he 
 deemed that the presents which the two daimios, according 
 to time-honoured custom, had brought him in return for his 
 instruction, were mean and unworthy, he conceived a great 
 hatred against them, and took no pains in teaching them, but 
 on the contrary rather sought to . make laughing-stocks of 
 them. Takumi no Kami, restrained by a stern sense of duty, 
 bore his insults with patience; but Kamei Sama, who had 
 less control over his temper, was violently incensed, and 
 determined to kUl K6tsuk6 no Suk4 
 
 One night when his duties at the castle were ended, Kamei 
 Sama returned to his own palace, and having summoned his 
 councillors^ to a secret conference, said to ' them : "K6tsuk6 
 
 1 The full title of the Tycoon was Sii-i-tai-Shogun, " Bartarian-repressing 
 Commander-in-chief." The style Tai Kun, Great Prince, was borrowed, in 
 order to convey the idea of sovereignty to foreigners, at the time of the con- 
 clusion of the Treaties. The envoys sent by the Mikado from KiSto to com- 
 municate to the Shogun the will of his sovereign, were received with Imperial 
 honours, and the duty of entertaining them was confided to nobles of rank. 
 The title Sei-i-tai-Shoguu was first borne by Minamoto no Yoritomo, in the 
 seventh month of the year 11 92 A.D. 
 
 3 Councillor, lit. "elder." The councillors of daimios were of two classes ; 
 the Kar6, or "elder," an hereditary oflce, held by cadets of the Prince's 
 frimily, and the Ydnin', or " man of business," who was selected on account 
 of his merits. These " councillors " play no mean part in Japanese history. 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 no Suk^ has insulted Takumi no Kami and myself during 
 our service in attendance on the Imperial envoy. This is 
 against all decency, and I was minded to kill him on the 
 spot ; but I bethought me that if I did such a deed within 
 the precincts of the castle, not only would my own life be 
 forfeit, but my family and vassals would be ruined : so I 
 stayed my hand. Still the life of such a wretch is a sorrow 
 to the people, and to-morrow when I go to Court 1 will slay 
 him : my mind is made up, and I will listen to no remon- 
 strance." And as he spoke his face became livid with rage. 
 
 Now one of Kamei Sama's councillors was a man of great 
 judgment, and when he saw from his lord's manner that 
 remonstrance would be useless, he said : " Your lordship's 
 words are law; your servant will make all preparations 
 accordingly ; and to-morrow, when your lordship goes to 
 Court, if this Kotsukd no Sukd should again be insolent, let 
 him die the death." And his lord was pleased at this speech, 
 and waited with impatience for the day to break, that he 
 might return to Court and kill his enemy. 
 
 But the councillor went home, and was sorely troubled, and 
 thought anxiously about what his prince had said. And as he 
 reflected, it occurred to him that since Kotsukd no Suk6 had 
 the reputation of being a miser he would certainly be open to 
 a bribe, and that it was better to pay any sum, no matter how 
 great, than that his lord and his house should be ruined. So 
 he collected aU the money he could, and, giving it to his 
 servants to carry, rode off in the night to K6tsuk^ no Suk^'s 
 palace, and said to his retainers : "My master, who is now in 
 attendance upon the Imperial envoy, owes much thanks to 
 my Lord Kotsuk6 no Suk6, who has been at so great pains 
 to teach him the proper ceremonies to be observed during the 
 reception of the Imperial envoy. This is but a shabby present 
 which he has sent by me, but he hopes that his lordship wili 
 condescend to accept it, and commends himself to his lord- 
 ship's favour." And, with these words, he produced a 
 thousand ounces of silver IbrKotsukd no Sulc6, and a hundred 
 ounces to be distributed among his retainers. 
 
THE FOliTY-SEVEN RdNINS. 
 
 I When the latter saw the money, their eyes sparkled with 
 pleasure, and they were profuse in their thanks ; and begging 
 the councillor to wait a little, they went and told their master 
 of the lordly present which had arrived with a polite 
 message from Kamei Sama. K6tsuk6 no Suk^ in eager 
 delight sent for the councillor into an inner chamber, and, 
 after thanking him, promised on the morrow to instruct 
 his master carefully in all the different points of etiquette. 
 So the councillor, seeing the miser's glee, rejoiced at t>ie 
 success of his plan; and having taken his leave returned 
 home in high spirits. But Kamei Sama, little thinking how 
 his vassal had propitiated his enemy, lay brooding over his 
 vengeance, and on the following morning at daybreak went 
 to Court in solemn procession. 
 
 When K6tsuk4 no Suk^ met him, his manner had com- 
 pletely changed, and nothing could exceed his courtesy. 
 "You have come early to Court this morning, my Lord 
 Kamei," said he. " I cannot sufficiently admire your zeal. I 
 shall have the honour to, call your attention to several points 
 of etiquette to-day. I must beg your lordship to excuse my 
 previous conduct, which must have seemed very rude ; but 
 I am naturally of a cross-grained disposition, so I pray you 
 to forgive me." And as he kept on humbling himself and 
 making fair speeches, the heart of Kamei Sama was gradually 
 softened, and he renounced his intention of killing him. 
 Thus by the cleverness of his councillor, was Kamei Sama, 
 with ail his house, saved from ruin. 
 
 Shortly after this, Takumi no Kami, who had sent no 
 present, arrived at the castle, and Kotsuke no Suke turned 
 him into ridicule even more than before, provoking him with 
 sneers and covert insults ; but Takumi no Kami affected to 
 ignore all this, and submitted himself patiently to Kotsuke 
 no Suk^'s orders. 
 
 This conduct, so far from producing a good effect, only 
 made Kotsulcd no Sukd despise him the more, until at last he 
 jaid haughtily : " Here, my Lord of Takumi, the ribbon of my 
 sock has come untied ; be so good as to tie it up for me." 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Takumi no Kami, although burning with rage at the 
 affront, still thought that as he was on duty he was bound to 
 obey, and tied up the ribbon of the sock. Then K6tsuk6 no 
 Suk^, turning from him, petulantly exclaimed : " Why, how 
 clumsy you are ! You cannot so much as tie up the ribbon of 
 a sock properly ! Any one can see that you are a boor from 
 the country, and know nothing of the manners of Yedo." 
 And with a scornful laugh he moved towards an inner room. 
 
 But the patience of Takumi no Kami was exhausted ; this 
 last insult was more than he could bear. 
 
 " Stop a moment, my lord," cried he. 
 
 " Well, what is it ? " replied the other. And, as he turned 
 round, Takumi no Kami drew his dirk, and aimed a blow at 
 his head ; but K6tsuk4 no Suk^, being protected by the Court 
 cap which he wore, the wound was but a scratch, so he ran 
 away ; and Takumi no Kami, pursuing him, tried a second 
 time to cut him down, but, missing his aim, struck his dirk 
 into a pillar. At this moment an officer, named Kajikawa 
 Yosobei, seeing the affray, rushed up, and holding back the 
 infuriated noble, gave K6tsukd no Suk^ time to make good 
 his escape. 
 
 Then there arose a great uproar and confusion, and Takumi 
 no Kami was arrested and disarmed, and confined in one of 
 the apartments of the palace under the care of the censors. 
 A council was held, and the prisoner was given over to the 
 safeguard of a daimio, called Tamura Ukiyo no Daibu, who 
 kept him in close custody in his own house, to the great 
 grief of his wife and of his retainers ; and when the delibera- 
 tions of the council were completed, it was decided that, 
 as he had committed an outrage and attacked another man 
 within the precincts of the palace, he must perform hara kiri, 
 — that is, commit suicide by disembowelling ; his goods must 
 be confiscated, and his family ruined. Such was the law. 
 So Takumi no Kami performed hara kiri, his castle of Ako 
 was confiscated, and his retainers having become Eonins. 
 some of them took service with other daimios, and others 
 became merchants. 
 
THE FORTY-SEVEN RONINS. 
 
 Now amongst these retainers was his principal councillor; 
 a man called Oishi KuranosuM, who, with forty-six other 
 faithful dependants, formed a league to avenge their master's 
 death by killing Kotsuk^ no Suk^. This Oishi Kuranosuk^ 
 was absent at the castle of Ako at the time of the affray, 
 which, had he been with his prince, would never liave 
 occurred ; for, being a wise man, he would not have failed to 
 propitiate Kotsuk^ no Suk6 by sending him suitable pre- 
 sents ; while the councillor who was in attendance on the 
 prince at Yedo was a dullard, who neglected this precaution, 
 and so caused the death of his master and the ruin of his house. 
 
 So Oishi Kuranosuke and his forty-six companions began 
 to lay their plans of vengeance against K6tsuk4 no Suk^ ; 
 but the latter was so well guarded by a body of men lent to 
 him by a daimio called Uy^sugi Sama, whose daughter he 
 had married, that they saw that the only way of attaining 
 their end would be to throw their enemy off his guard. 
 With this object they separated and disguised themselves, 
 some as carpenters or craftsmen, others as merchants; and 
 their chief, Kuranosuk^, went to Ki6to, and buUt a house in 
 the quarter called Yamashina,. where he took to frequenting 
 houses of the worst repute, and gave himself up to drunken- 
 ness and debauchery, as if nothing were further from his 
 mind than revenge. K6tsukd no Suk^ in the meanwhile, 
 suspecting that Takumi no Kami's former retainers would be 
 scheming against his life, secretly sent spies to Ki6to, and 
 caused a faithful account to be kept of all that Kuranosuk^ 
 did. The latter, however, determined thoroughly to delude 
 the enemy into a false security, went on leading a dissolute 
 life with harlots and winebibbers. One day, as he was re- 
 turning home drunk from some low haunt, he fell down in 
 the street and went to sleep, and all the passers-by laughed 
 him to scorn. It happened that a Satsuma man saw this, 
 and said : " Is not this Oishi Kuranosuk^ who vms a coun- 
 cillor of Asano Takumi no Kami, and who, not having the 
 heart to avenge his lord, gives himself up to women and 
 wine ? See how he lies drunk in the public street ! Faith- 
 
10 TyiLES OF OLD JAPAN. . 
 
 less beast ! Fool aad craven ! Unworthy tlie name of a 
 Samurai ! " ' 
 
 And he trod on Kuranosuk^'s face as he slept, and spat upon 
 him ; but when Kotsuk^ no Suke's spies reported all this at 
 Yedo, he was greatly relieved at the news, and felt secure 
 from danger. 
 
 One day Kuranosuk^'s wife, who was bitterly grieved to 
 see her Inisband lead this abandoned life, went to him and 
 said : " My lord, you told me at first that your debauchery 
 was but a trick to make your enemy relax in watchfulness. 
 But indeed, indeed, this has gone too far. I pray and beseech 
 you to put some restraint upon yourself" 
 
 " Trouble me not," replied Kuranosuk6, " for I will not 
 listen to your whining. Since my way of life is displeasing 
 to you, I will divorce you, and you may go about your busi- 
 ness ; and I wiU buy some pretty young girl from one of the 
 public-houses, and marry her for my pleasure. I am sick of 
 the sight of an old woman like you about the house, so get 
 you gone — the sooner the better." 
 
 So saying, he flew into a violent rage, and his wife, terror- 
 stricken, pleaded piteously for mercy. 
 
 " Oh, my lord ! unsay those terrible words ! I have been 
 your faithful wife for twenty years, and have borne you three 
 children ; in sickness and in sorrow I have been with you ; 
 you cannot be so cruel as to turn me out of doors now. 
 Have pity ! have pity ! " 
 
 "Cease this useless waUing. My mind is made up, and 
 you must go ; and as the children are in my way also, you 
 are welcome to take them with you." 
 
 When she heard her husband speak thus, in her grief she 
 sought ier eldest son, Oishi Chikara, and begged him to 
 plead for her, and pray that she might be pardoned. But 
 nothing would turn Kuranosuk^ from his purpose, so his 
 wife was sent away, with the two younger children, and 
 
 ' Samurai, a man belonging to the BuM ov military class, entitled to 
 l«<ir arms. 
 
o 
 
 
 H 
 
 15 
 
 < 
 
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 S 
 
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 H 
 
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THE Fonrr-SErEN bonins. ii 
 
 went back to her native place. But Oishi Chikara remained 
 with his father. 
 
 The spies commnnicated all this without fail to K6tsuk^ 
 no Sukd, and he, when he heard how Kuranosukd, having 
 turned his wife and children out of doors and bought a 
 concubine, was grovelling in a life of drunkenness and 
 lust, began to think that he had no longer anything to 
 fear from the retainers of Takumi no Kami, who must be 
 cowards, without the courage to avenge their lord. So by 
 degrees he began to keep a less strict watch, and sent 
 back half of the guard which had been lent to him by 
 his father-in-law, Uydsugi Sama. Little did he think how 
 he was falling into the trap laid for him by Kuranosuk^, 
 who, in his zeal to slay his lord's enemy, thought nothing 
 of divorcing his wife and sending away his children ! Ad- 
 mirable and faithful man ! 
 
 In this way Kuranosuk^ continued to throw dust in the 
 eyes of his foe, by persisting in his apparently shameless 
 conduct; but his associates aH went to Yedo, and, having 
 in their several capacities as workmen and pedlars con- 
 trived to gain access to K6tsuk6 no Sukd's house, made 
 themselves familiar with the plan of the building and the 
 arrangement of the different rooms, and ascertained the 
 character of the inmates, who were brave and loyal men, 
 and who were cowards; upon all of which matters they 
 sent regular reports to Kuranosuk^. And when at last 
 it became evident from the letters which arrived from 
 Yedo that Kdtsukd no Suk6 was thoroughly off his guard, 
 Kuranosuk^ rejoiced that the day of vengeance was at 
 hand; and, having appointed a trysting-place at Yedo, 
 he fled secretly from Kioto, eluding the vigUance of his 
 enemy's spies. Then the forty-seven men, having laid all 
 their plans, bided their time patiently. 
 
 It was now mid-winter, the twelfth month of the year, 
 and the cold was bitter. One night, during a heavy fall 
 of snow, when the whole world was hushed, and peaceful 
 men were stretched in sleep upon the mats, the E6niy!9 
 
12 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 determined that no more favoiirable opportunity could 
 occur for canying out their purpose. So they took counsel 
 together, and, having divided their band into two parties, 
 assigned to each man his post. One band, led by Oishi 
 Kuranosukf^, was to attack the front gate, and the other, 
 under his son Oishi Chikara, was to attack the postern of 
 K6tsuk4 no Suk^'s house ; but as Chikara was only sixteen 
 years of age, Yoshida Chiuzay^mon was appointed to act 
 as his guardian. Further it was arranged that a drum, 
 beaten at the order of Kuranosuk^ should be the signal 
 for the simultaneous attack; and that if any one slew 
 KStsuk^ no Suk4 and cut off his head he should blow a 
 shrill whistle, as a signal to his comrades, who would hurry 
 to the spot, and, having identified the head, carry it off to 
 the temple called Sengakuji, and lay it as an offering be- 
 fore the tomb of their dead lord. Then they must report 
 their deed to the Government, and await the sentence of 
 death which would surely be passed upon them. To 
 this the Konins one and all pledged themselves. Mid- 
 night was fixed upon as the hour, and the forty-seven 
 comrailes, having made all ready for the attack, partook of 
 a last farewell feast together, for on the morrow they must 
 die. Then Oishi Kuranosuk^ addressed the band, and 
 said : — 
 
 " To-night we shall attack our enemy in his palace ; his 
 retainers will certainly resist us, and we shall be obliged to 
 kill them. But to slay old men and women and children 
 is a pitiful thing; therefore, I pray you each one to take 
 great heed lest you kill a single helpless person." His com- 
 rades all applauded this speech, and so they remained, wait- 
 ing for the hour of midnight to arrive. 
 
 When the appointed hour came, the Eonins set forth. 
 The wind howled furiously, and the driving snow beat in 
 their faces; but little cared they for wind or snow as they 
 hurried on their road, eager for revenge. At last they 
 reached Kotsuki no Sukd's house, and divided themselves 
 into two bands; and Chikara, with twenty-three men, went 
 
TRE FORTY-SEVEN b6nINS. 13 
 
 round to the back gate. Then four men, by means of a 
 ladder of ropes which they hung on to the roof of the porch, 
 effected an entry into the courtyard ; and, as they saw signs 
 that all the inmates of the house were asleep, they went into 
 the porter's lodge where the guard slept, and, before the 
 latter had time to recover from their astonishment, bound 
 them. The terrified guard prayed hard for mercy, that their 
 lives might be spared; and to this the E6uins agreed on 
 condition that the keys of the gate should be given up ; but 
 the others trembliDgly said that the keys were kept in the 
 house of one of their officers, and that they had no means oi 
 Qibtaiaiag them. Then the Eonins lost patience, and with 
 a hammer dashed in pieces the big wooden bolt which 
 secured the gate, and the doors flew open to the right and 
 to the left. At the same time Chikara and his party broke 
 in by the back gate. 
 
 Then Oishi Kuranosuke sent a messenger to the neinh- 
 bouriag houses, bearing the following message : — " We, the 
 E6nins who were formerly in the service of Asano Takumi 
 no Kami, are this night about to break into the palace of 
 K6tsuk^ no Suk^ to avenge our lord. As we are neither 
 night robbers nor ruffians, no hurt will be done to the neigh- 
 bouring houses. We pray you to set your minds at rest." 
 And as Kotsuk^ no Suke was hated by his neighbours for 
 his covetousness, they did not unite their forces to assist 
 him. Another precaution was yet taken. Lest any of the 
 people inside should run out to call the relations of the 
 family to the rescue, and these coming in force should in- 
 terfere with the plans of the E6nins, Kuranosuke stationed 
 ten of his men armed with bows on the roof of the four sides 
 of the courtyard, with orders to shoot any retainers who 
 might attempt to leave the place. Having thus laid aU his 
 plans and posted his men, Kuranosukd with his own hand 
 beat the drum and gave the signal for attack. 
 
 Ten of K6tsuke no Suk^'s retainers, hearing the noise, 
 woke up; and, drawing their swords, rushed into the front 
 room to defend their master. At this moment the Eonins, 
 
14 TALES OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 ■who had burst open the door of the front hall, entered the 
 same room. Then arose a furious fight between the two 
 parties, in the midst of which Chikara, leading his men 
 through the garden, broke into the back of the house ; and 
 Kotsuk^ no Suk^ in terror of his life, took refuge, with his 
 wife and female servants, in a closet in the verandah ; while 
 the rest of his retainers, who slept in the barrack outside the 
 house, made ready to go to the rescue. But the ESnins who 
 had come in by the front door, and were fighting with the 
 ten retainers, ended by overpowering and slaying the latter 
 without losing one of their own number ; after which, forcing 
 their way bravely towards the back rooms, they were joined by 
 Chikara and his men, and the two bands were united in one. 
 
 By this time the remainder of Kotsuke no Suk^'s men had 
 come in, and the fight became general; and Kuranosuke, 
 sitting on a camp-stool, gave his orders and directed the 
 E6nins. Soon the inmates of the house perceived that they 
 were no match for their enemy, so they tried to send out 
 intelligence of their plight to Uy^sugi Sama, their lord's 
 father-in-law, begging him to come to the rescue with all 
 the force at his command. But the messengers were shot 
 down by the archers whom Kuranosukd had posted on the 
 roof. So no help coming, they fought on in despair. Then 
 Kuranosnkd cried out with a loud voice : "KStsuke no Suk6 
 alone is our enemy; let some one go inside and bring him 
 forth dead or alive ! " 
 
 N"ow in front of Kotsuk^ no Suke's private room stood 
 three brave retainers with drawn swords. The first was 
 Kobayashi H(5hachi, the second was Waku Handaiyu, and 
 the third was Shimidzu Ikkaku, all good men and true, and 
 expert swordsmen. So stoutly did these men lay about them 
 that for a while they kept the whole of the Eonins at bay, 
 and at one moment even forced them back. When Oishi 
 Kuranosuk^ saw this, he ground his teeth with rage, and 
 shouted to his men : " What ! did not every man of you 
 swear to lay down his life in avenging his lord, and now 
 are you driven back by three men ? Cowards, not fit to be 
 
THE FORTY-SEVEN R6NINS. 15 
 
 spoken to! to die fighting in a master's cause should be 
 the noblest ambition -of a retainer!" Then turning to his 
 own sou Chikara, he said, " Here, boy ! engage those men, 
 and if they are too strong for you, die 1 " 
 
 Spurred by these words, Chikara seized a spear and gave 
 battle to Waku Handaiyu, but could not hold his ground, and 
 backing by degrees, was driven out into the garden, where he 
 missed his footing and slipped into a pond; but as Handaiyu, 
 thinking to kill him, looked down into the pond, Chikara cut 
 his enemy in the leg and caused him to fall, and then crawl- 
 ing out of the water despatched him, lu the meanwhile 
 Kobayashi Hehachi and Shimidzu Ikkaku had been killed 
 by the other Eonins, and of all Kotsuk^ no Suk^'s retainers 
 not one fighting man remained. Chikara, seeing this, went 
 with his bloody sword in his hand into a back room to search 
 for K6tsuk4 no Suk^, but he only found the son of the latter, 
 a young lord named Kira Sahioy4, who, carrying a halberd, 
 attacked him, but was soon wounded and fled. Thus the 
 whole of Kotsukd no Suke's men having been killed, there 
 was an end of the fighting ; but as yet there was no trace of 
 K6tsuk6 no Suk^ to be found. ■ 
 
 Then Kuranosuk6 divided his men into several parties and 
 searched the whole house, but all in vain; women and 
 children weeping were alone to be seen. At this the forty- 
 seven men began to lose heart in regret, that after all their 
 toil they had allowed their enemy to escape them, and there 
 was a moment when in their despair they agreed to commit 
 suicide together upon the spot ; but they determined to make 
 one more effort. So Kuranosuk^ went into Kotsuke no 
 Suke's sleeping-room, and touching the quilt with his hands, 
 exclaimed, " I have just felt the bed-clothes and they are yet 
 warm, and so methinks that our enemy is not far off. He 
 must certainly be hidden somewhere in the house." Greatly 
 excited by this, the E6nins renewed their search. Wow in 
 the raised part of the room, near the place of honour, there 
 was a picture hanging ; taking down this picture, they saw 
 that there was a large hole in the plastered wall, and on 
 
li TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 thrusting a spear in they could feel nothing beyond it. So one 
 of the E^nins, called Yazama Jiutaro, got into the hole, and 
 found that on the other side there was a little courtyard, in 
 which there stood an outhouse for holding charcoal and fire- 
 wood. Looking into the outhouse, he spied something white 
 at the further end, at which he struck with his spear, when 
 two armed men sprang out upon him and tried to cut him 
 down, but he kept them back until one of his comrades came 
 up and killed one of the two men and engaged the other, 
 while Jiutar6 entered the outhouse and felt about with his 
 spear. Again seeing something white, he sbruck it with his 
 lance, when a cry of pain betrayed that it was a man ; so he 
 rushed up, and the man in white clothes, who had been 
 wounded in the thigh, drew a dirk and aimed a blow at him. 
 But Jiutaro wrested the dirk from him, and clutching him by 
 the collar, dragged him out of the outhouse. Then the other 
 Eonin came up, and they examined the prisoner attentively, 
 and saw that he was a noble-looking man, some sixty years 
 of age, dressed in a white satin sleeping-robe, which was 
 stained by the blood from the thigh- wound which Jiutaro had 
 inflicted. The two men felt convinced that this was no other 
 than Kotsuke no Suke, and they asked him his name, but he 
 gave no answer, so they gave the signal whistle, and all their 
 comrades collected together at the call ; then Oishi Kurano- 
 suk^, bringing a lantern, scanned the old man's features, and 
 it was indeed Kotsuk^ no Sukd ; and if further proof were 
 wanting, he still bore a scar on his forehead where their 
 master, Asano Takumi no Kami, had wounded him dm'ing the 
 affray in the castle. There being no possibility of mistake, 
 therefore, Oishi Kuranosukd went down on his knees, and 
 addressing the old man very respectfully, said : 
 
 " My lord, we are the retainers of Asano Takumi no Kami. 
 Last year your lordship and our master quarrelled in the 
 palace, and our master was sentenced to Kara kiri, and his 
 family was ruined. We have come to-night to avenge him, 
 as is the duty of faithful and loyal men. I pray your lord- 
 ship to acknowledge the justice of our purpose. And now, 
 
THE FORTT-SErEN RONINS. 17 
 
 my lord, we beseech you to perform hara kiri. I myself 
 shall have the honour to act as your second, and when, with 
 aU humility, I shall have received your lordship's head, it 
 is my intention to lay it as an offering upon the grave of 
 Asano Takumi no Kami." 
 
 Thus, in consideration of the high rank of K6tsuk6 no 
 Suk4 the E6nins treated him with the greatest courtesy, and 
 over and over again entreated him to perform hara Tciri. 
 But he crouched speechless and trembling. At last Kura- 
 nosuk^, seeing that it was vain to urge him to die the death 
 of a nobleman, forced him down, and cut off his head with 
 the same dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kami had killed 
 himself. Then the forty-seven comrades, elated at having 
 accomplished their design, placed the head in a bucket, and 
 prepared to depart ; but before leaving the house they care- 
 fully extinguished aU the lights and fires in the place, lest 
 by any accident a fire should break out and the neighbours 
 suffer. 
 
 As they were on their way to Takanawa, the suburb in 
 which the temple called Sengakuji stands, the day broke ; 
 and the people flocked out to see the forty-seven men, who, 
 with their clothes and arms aU blood-stained, presented a 
 terrible appearance ; and every one praised them, wondering 
 at their valour and faithfulness. But they expected every 
 moment that K6tsuk6 no Suk6's father-in-law would attack 
 them and carry off the head, and made ready to die bravely 
 sword in hand. However, they reached Takanawa in safety, 
 for Matsudaira AM no Kami, one of the eighteen chief 
 daimios of Japan, of whose house Asano Takumi no Kami 
 had been a cadet, had been highly pleased when he heard of 
 the last night's work, and he had made ready to assist the 
 E&nins in case they were attacked. So Kotsuk^ no Siik^'s 
 father-in-law dared not pursue them. 
 
 At about seven in the morning they came opposite to the 
 palace of Matsudaira Mutsu no Kami, the Prince of Sendai, 
 and the Prince, hearing of it, sent for one of his councillors 
 and said: "The retainers of Takumi no Kami have slain their 
 
 c 
 
18 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 lord's enemy, and are passing this way ; I cannot sufficiently 
 admire their devotion, so, as they must be tired and hungry 
 after their night's work, do you go and invite them to come 
 in here, and set some gruel and a cup of wine before them." 
 
 So the councillor went out and said to Oishi Kuranosuk^ : 
 "Sir, I am a councillor of the Prince of Sendai, and my 
 master bids me beg you, as you must be worn out after all 
 you have undergone, to come in and partake of such poor 
 refreshment as, we can offer you. This is my message to you 
 from my lord." 
 
 " I thank yt)u, sir," replied Kuranosuk6. " It is very good 
 of his lordship to trouble himself to think of us. We shall 
 accept his kindness gratefully." 
 
 So the forty-seven E6nins went into the palace, and were 
 feasted with gruel and wine, and all the retainers of the 
 Prince of Sendai came and praised them. 
 
 Then Kuranosuk^ turned to the councillor and said, " Sir, 
 we are truly indebted to you for this kind hospitality ; but as 
 we have still to hurry to Sengakuji, we must needs humbly 
 take our leave." And, after returning many thanks to their 
 hosts, they left the palace of the Prince of Sendai and 
 hastened to Sengakuji, where they were met by the abbot 
 of the monastery, who went to the front gate to receive them, 
 and led them to the tomb of Takumi no Kami. 
 
 And when they came to their lord's grave, they took the 
 head of Kotsuk^ no Suk6, and having washed it clean in a 
 well hard by, laid it as an offering before the tomb. When 
 they had done this, they engaged the priests of the temple to 
 come and read prayers while they burnt incense : first Oishi 
 Kuranosukd burnt incense, and then his son Oishi Chikara, 
 and after them the other forty-five men performed the same 
 ceremony. Then Kuranosuk^, having given all the money 
 that he had by him to the abbot, said : — 
 
 "When we forty-seven men shall have performed hara 
 Mri, I beg you to bury us decently. I rely upon your kind- 
 ness. This is but a trifle that I have to offer ; such as it is, 
 let it be spent in masses for our souls !" 
 
THE TOMBS OF THE RONINS. 
 
TEE FORTY-SEriSN r6NINS. 19 
 
 And the abbot, marvelling at the faithful courage of the 
 men, with tears in his eyes pledged himself to fulfil their 
 wishes. So the forty-seven E6nins, with their minds at rest, 
 waited patiently until they should receive the orders of the 
 Government. 
 
 At last they were summoned to the Supreme Court, where 
 the governors of Yedo and the public censors had assem- 
 bled ; and the sentence passed upon them was as follows : 
 "Whereas, neither respecting the dignity of the city nor 
 fearing the Government, having leagued yourselves together 
 to slay your enemy, you violently broke into the house of 
 Kira K&tsuke no Suk6 by night and murdered him, the 
 sentence of the Coixrt is, that, for this audacious conduct, 
 you perform Kara kiri." When the sentence had been read, 
 the forty-seven Eonins were divided into four parties, and 
 handed over to the safe keeping of four different daimios ; 
 and sheriffs were sent to the palaces of those daimios in 
 whose presence the Eonins were made to perform Kara kiri. 
 But, as from the very beginning th^y had all made up their 
 minds that to this end they must come, they met their 
 death nobly; and their corpses were carried to Sengakuji, 
 and buried in front of the tomb of their master, Asano 
 Takumi no Kami. And when the fame of this became noised 
 abroad, the people flocked to pray at the graves of these 
 faithful men. 
 
 Among those who came to pray was a Satsuma man, 
 who, prostrating himself before the grave of Oishi Kura- 
 nosuk6, said: "When I saw you lying drunk by the road- 
 side at Yamashina, in Kioto, I knew not that you were 
 plotting to avenge your lord; and, thinking you to be a 
 faithless man, I trampled on you and spat in your face as 
 1 passed. And now I have come to ask pardon and offer 
 atonement for the insult of last year." With those words 
 he prostrated himself again before the grave, and, drawing 
 a dirk from his girdle, stabbed himself in the beUy and 
 died. And the chief priest of the temple, taking pity upon 
 him buried him by the side of the ESiiins ; and his tomb 
 
 c2 
 
20 TALES OF OLT) JAPAN. 
 
 still remains to be seen with those of the forty-seven 
 comrades. 
 
 This is the end of the story of the forty-seven E6nins.- 
 
 A terrible picture of fierce heroism which it is impossible 
 not to admire. In the Japanese mind this feeling of admira- 
 tion is unmixed, and hence it is that the forty-seven E6nins 
 receive almost divine honours. Pious hands still deck their 
 graves with green boughs and burn incense upon them ; the 
 clothes and arms which they wore are preserved carefully in 
 a fire-proof store-house attached to the temple, and exhibited 
 yearly to admiring crowds, who behold them probably with 
 little less veneration than is accorded to the relics of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle or Treves; and once in sixty years the monks of 
 Sengakuji reap quite a harvest for the good of their temple 
 by holding a commemorative fair or festival, to which the 
 people flock during nearly two months. 
 
 A silver key once admitted me to a private inspection 
 of the relies. We were ushered, my friend and myself, into 
 a back apartment of the spacious temple, overlooking one 
 of those marvellous miniature gardens, cunningly adorned 
 with rockeries and dwarf trees, in which the Japanese 
 delight. One by one, carefully labelled and indexed boxes 
 containing the precious articles were brought out and opened 
 by the chief priest. Such a curious medley of old rags and 
 scraps of metal and wood ! Home-made chain armour, com- 
 posed of wads of leather secured together by pieces of iron, 
 bear witness to the secrecy with which the Eonins made 
 ready for the fight. To have bought armour would have 
 attracted attention, so they made it with their own hands. 
 Old moth-eaten surcoats, bits nf helmets, three flutes, a writing- 
 box that must have been any age at the time of the tragedy, 
 and is now tumbling to pieces ; tattered trousers of what once 
 was rich silk brocade, now all unravelled and befringed; 
 s(;raps of leather, part of an old gauntlet, crests and badges, 
 bits of sword handles, spear-heads and dirks, the latter all 
 red with rust, but with certain patches more deeply stained 
 
THE FORTY-SEVEN HON INS. 21 
 
 as if the fatal clots of blood were never to be blotted out : all 
 these were reverently shown to us. Among the confusion and 
 litter were a number of documents, yellow with age and much 
 worn at the folds. One was a plan of K6tsuk4 no Suk^'s 
 house, which one of the Eonins obtained by marrying the 
 daughter of the builder who designed it. Three of the 
 manuscripts appeared to me so curious that I obtained 
 leave to have copies taken of them. 
 
 The first is the receipt given by the retainers of K&tsuke 
 no Suk^'s son in return for the head of their lord's father, 
 which the priests restored to the family, and runs as 
 follows : — 
 
 "MEMOEANDUM:— 
 
 "ITEM. ONE HEAD. 
 
 "ITEM. ONE PAPER PAECEL. 
 
 " The above articles are acknowledged to have been received. 
 
 " Signed i Sayaea Magobei. (Loc. dgill.) 
 ° ' ( Saito Kunai. (Loc. sigill.) 
 
 " To the priests deputed &om the Temple Sengakuji, 
 " His Eeverence Sekishi, 
 "His Keverence Ichidon." 
 
 The second paper is a document explanatory of their 
 conduct, a copy of which was found on the person of each of 
 the forty-seven men : — 
 
 "Last year, in the third month, Asano Takumi no Kami, upon the occa- 
 sion of the entertainment of the Imperial ambassador, was driven, by the 
 force of circumstances, to attack and wound my Lord K6tsuke no Suk6 in the 
 castle, in order to avenge an insult offered to him. Having done this without 
 considering the dignity of the place, and having thus disregarded all rules of 
 propriety, he was condemned to hara kiri, and his property and oastln of 
 Ak6 were forfeited to the State, and were delivered up by his retainers to the 
 .officers deputed by the Shogun to receive them. After this his followers were 
 all dispersed. At the time of the quan-el the high officials present prevented 
 Asano Takumi no Kami from can-ying out his intention of killing his enemy, 
 luy Lord KdtsuW no Suk6. So Asano Takumi no Kami died without having 
 avenged himself^ and this was more, .than his retainers could endure. It is 
 impossible to remain under the same heaven with the enemy of lord or father ; 
 for this reason we have dared to declare enmity against a personage of so 
 exalted rank. This day we shall attack Kira Kdtsuke no Suke, in order to 
 finish the deed of vengeance which was begun by our dead lord. If any 
 
?a TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 honourable person should find our bodies after death, he is respecti'uUj 
 requested to open and read this document. 
 " 15th year of Genroku. 12th month. 
 
 "Signed, OisHl KirKANOSUK:^, Eetainer of Asano 
 Takumi no Kami, and forty-six others." > 
 
 The third manuscript is a paper which the rorty-seveii 
 ESriins laid upon the tomb of their master, together with the 
 head of Kira Kotsuk^ no Suke : — 
 
 "The 15th year of Genroku, the 12th month, and 15th day. We hare 
 come this day to do homage here, forty-seven men in all, from Oishi Eura- 
 nosuke down to the foot-soldier, Terasaka Kichiyemon, all cheerfully about 
 to lay down our lives on your behalf. We reverently announce this to the 
 honoured spirit of our dead master. On the 14th day of the third month of 
 last year our honoured master was pleased to attack Blira K6tsuke no Suke, 
 for what reason we know not. Our honoured master put an end to his own 
 life, but Kira Kotsuke no Suk^ lived. Although we fear that after the 
 decree issued by the Government this plot of ours will be displeasing to our 
 honoured master, still we, who have eaten of your food, could not without 
 blushing repeat the verse, ' Thou shalt not live under the same heaven nor 
 tread the same earth with the enemy of thy father or lord,' nor could we have 
 dared to leave hell and present ourselves before you in paradise, unless we had 
 carried out the vengeance which you began. Every day that we waited 
 seemed as three autumns to us. Verily, we have trodden the snow for one day, 
 nay, for two days, and have tasted food but once. The old and decrepit, the 
 sick and ailing, have come forth gladly to lay down their lives. Men might 
 laugh at us, as at gi-asshoppers trusting in the strength of their arms, and thus 
 shame our honoured lord ; bat we could not halt in our deed of vengeance. 
 Having taken counsel together last night, we have escorted my Lord Kotsuke 
 no Suke hither to your tomb. This dirk,^ by which our honoured lord set 
 gi'eat store last year, and entrusted to our care, we now bring back. If your 
 noble spirit be now present before this tomb, we pray you, as a sign, to take 
 the dirk, and, striking the head of your enemy with it a second time, to dispel 
 your hatred for ever. This is the respectful statement of forty-seven men." 
 
 The text, " Thou shalt not live under the same heaven 
 with the enemy of thy father," is based upon the Confucian 
 books. Dr. Legge, in his " Life and Teachings of Confucius," 
 
 ' It is usual for a Japanese, when bent upon some deed of violence, the end 
 of which, in his belief, justifies the means, to cany about with liim a docu- 
 ment, such as that translated above, in which he sets forth his motives, that 
 his character may be cleared after death. 
 
 '^ The dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kumi disembowelled himself, and 
 with wliicli Oishi Kuranosuk^ cut off K6tsukc no Suke's head. 
 
TEM FORTT-SEVEN r6NINS. 23 
 
 p. 113, has an interesting paragraph summing up the doctrine 
 of the sage upon the subject of revenge. 
 
 "In the second book of the 'LeEe' there is the following passage :—'Witn 
 the slayer of his father a man may not live under the same heaven ; against 
 the slayer of his brother a man must never have to go home to fetch a weapon ; 
 with the slayer of his friend a man may not live in the same State.' The lex 
 talionis is here laid down in its fullest extent. The ' Chow Le ' tells us of a 
 provision made against the evU conseijuences of the principle by the appoint- 
 ment of a minister called ' The EeconcUer.' The provision is very inferior to 
 the cities of refuge which were set apart by Moses for the manslayer to flee to 
 from the fury of the avenger. Such as it was, however, it existed, and it is 
 remarkable that Confacius, when consulted on the subject, took no notice of 
 it, but affirmed the duty of blood-revenge in the strongest and most unre- 
 stricted terms. His disciple, Tsze Hea, asked him, ' What course is to be pur- 
 sued in the murder of a father or mother ? ' He replied, ' The son must sleep 
 upon a matting of grass with his shield for his pUlow ; he must decline to take 
 office ; he must not live under the same heaven with the slayer. When he 
 meets him in the market-place or the court, he must have his weapon ready- 
 to strike him. ' 'And what is the course in the murder of a brother ? ' ' The 
 surviving brother must not take office in the same State with the slayer ; yet, 
 if he go on his prince's service to the State where the slayer is, though he 
 meet him, he must not fight with him. ' ' And what is the course in the murder 
 of an uncle or cousin V 'In this case the nephew or cousin is not the prin- 
 cipal. If the pi-incipal, on whom the revenge devolves, can take it, he has 
 only to stand behind with his weapon in his hand, and support him.' " 
 
 I will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is 
 attached to the graves of the Forty-seven. In the month of 
 September 1868, a certain man came to pray before the grave 
 of Oishi Chikara. Having finished his prayers, he delibe- 
 rately performed hara Mri} and, the belly wound not being 
 mortal, despatched himself by cutting his throat. Upon his 
 person were found papers setting Iprth that, being a E&nin 
 and without means of earning a living, he had petitioned to 
 be allowed to enter the clan of the Prince of Ch&shiu, which 
 he looked upon as the noblest clan in the realm ; his petition 
 having been refused, nothing remained for him but to die, for 
 to be a E6nin was hateful to him, and he would serve no 
 
 ^ A purist in Japanese matters may object to the use of the words Aasra Tdri 
 instead of the more elegant expression Seppulcu. I retain the more vulgar 
 form as being better known, and therefore more convenient. 
 
24 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 other master than the Prince of Ghoshiu : what more litting 
 place could he find in which to put an end to his life than 
 the graveyard of these Braves ? This happened at about 
 two himdred yards' distance from my house, and when I 
 saw the spot an hour or two later, the ground was all 
 bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the death-struggles 
 of the man. 
 
THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMUEASAKI. 
 
 Within two miles or so from Yedo, and yet well away 
 from the toil and din of the great city, stands the village 
 of Meguro. Once past the outsldrts of the town, the road 
 leading thither is bounded on either side by woodlands rich 
 in an endless variety of foliage, broken at intervals by the 
 long, low line of villages and hamlets. As we draw near to 
 Meguro, the scenery, becoming more and more rustic, increases 
 in beauty. Deep shady lanes, bordered by hedgerows as 
 luxurious as any in England, lead down to a valley of rice 
 fields bright with the emerald green of the young crops. To 
 the right and to the left rise knolls of fantastic shape, 
 crowned with a profusion of Cryptomerias, Scotch firs and 
 other cone-bearing trees, and fringed with thickets of feathery 
 bamboos, bending their stems gracefully to the light summer 
 breeze. Wherever there is a spot shadier and pleasanter to 
 look upon than the rest, there may be seen the red portal of 
 a shrine which the simple piety of the country folk has raised 
 to Inari Sama, the patron god of farming, or to some other 
 tutelary deity of the place. At the eastern outlet of the 
 valley a strip of blue sea bounds the horizon ; westward are 
 the distant mountains. In the foreground, in front of a farm- 
 house, snug-looking, with its roof of velvety-brown thatch, 
 a troop of sturdy urchins, sun-tanned and stark naked, are 
 frisking in the wildest gambols, all heedless of the scolding 
 voice of the withered old grandam who sits spinniag and 
 minding the house, wlule her son and his wii'e are away 
 toiling at some outdoor labour. Close at our feet runs a 
 stream of pure water, in which a group bf countrymen are | 
 
26 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 washing the vegetables which they will presently shoulder 
 and carry off to sell by auction in the suburbs of Yedo. Not 
 Ihe least beauty of the scene consists in the wondrous 
 clearness of an atmosphere so transparent that the most dis- 
 tant outlines are scarcely dimmed, while the details of the 
 nearer ground stand out ia sharp, bold relief, now lit by the 
 rays of a vertical sun, now darkened under the flying 
 shadows thrown by the fleecy clouds which sail across the 
 sky. Under such a heaven, what painter could limn the lights 
 and shades which flit over the woods, the pride of Japan, 
 whether in late autumn, when the russets and yellows of our 
 own trees are mixed with the deep crimson glow of the 
 maples, or in spring-time, when plum and cherry trees and 
 wild camellias — giants, fifty feet high — are in fxill blossom ? 
 
 All that we see is enchanting, but there is a strange still- 
 ness in the groves; rarely does the song of a bird break 
 the silence ; indeed, I know but one warbler whose note has 
 any music in it, the uguisu, by some enthusiasts called the 
 Japanese nightingale— at best, a king in the kingdom of the 
 blind. The scarcity of animal life of all descriptions, man 
 and mosquitoes alone excepted, is a standing wonder to the 
 traveller ; the sportsman must toil many a weary mile to get 
 a shot at boar, or deer, or pheasant ; and the plough of the 
 farmer and the trap of the poacher, who works in and out of 
 season, threaten to exterminate all wild creatures ; unless, 
 indeed, the Government should, as they threatened in the 
 spring of 1869, put in force some adaptation of European 
 game-laws. But they are lukewarm in the matter; a little 
 hawking on a'duck-pond satisfies the cravings of the modern 
 Japanese sportsman, who knows that, game-laws or no game- 
 laws, the wild fowl will never fail in winter; and the days 
 are long past when my Lord the Shogun used to ride forth 
 with a mighty company to the wild places about Mount Fuji, 
 there camping out and hunting the boar, the deer, and the 
 wolf, believing that in so doing he was fostering a manly and 
 military spirit in the land. 
 
 There is one serious drawback to the enjoyment of the 
 
TUE LOVES OF GOMPACai AND KOMURASAKl. 27 
 
 beauties of the Japanese country, and that is the intolerable 
 affront which is continually offered to one's sense of smell ; 
 the whole of what should form the sewerage of the city is 
 carried out on the backs of men and horses, to be thrown 
 upon the fields; and, if you would avoid the overpowering 
 nuisance, you must walk handkerchief in hand, ready to shut 
 out the stench which assails you at every moment. 
 
 It would seem natural, while writing of the Japanese 
 country, to say a few words about the peasantry, their re- 
 lation to the lord of the soil, and their government. But 
 these I must reserve for another place. At present our* 
 dealings are with the pretty village of Meguro. 
 
 At the bottom of a little lane, close to the entrance of 
 the village, stands an old shrine of the Shint6 (the form 
 of hero-worship which existed in Japan before the introduc- 
 tion of Confucianism or of Buddhism), surrounded by lofty 
 Cryptomerias. The trees around a Shint6 shrine are 
 specially under the protection of the god to whom the altar 
 is dedicated ; and, in connection with them, there is a kind 
 of magic still respected by the superstitious, which recalls 
 the waxen dolls, through the medium of which sorcerers of 
 the middle ages in Europe, and indeed those of ancient 
 Greece, as Theocritus telb us, pretended to kill the enemies 
 of their clients. This is called UsTii no toki mairi, or 
 "going to worship at the hour of the ox,"i and is practised 
 
 1 The Chinese, and the Japanese following them, divide the day of twenty- 
 four hours into twelve periods, each of which has a sign something lilce the 
 signs of the Zodiac : — 
 
 Midnight until two in the morning is represented by the rat. 
 
 „ „ ox. 
 
 ,, „ tiger. 
 
 ,, ,, hare. 
 
 ,, ,, dragon. 
 
 , , , , snake. 
 
 „ ,, horse. 
 
 , , , ram. 
 
 ape. 
 ,, ,, cock, 
 
 hog. 
 ,, ,, fox. 
 
 2 a.m. u] 
 
 itil 4 a.m. 
 
 4 a.m. , 
 
 , 6 a.m. 
 
 6 a.m. , 
 
 , 8 a.m. 
 
 8 a.m. 
 
 10 a.m. 
 
 ]0 a.m. 
 
 , 12 noon 
 
 12 noon , 
 
 , 2 p.m. 
 
 2 p.m. , 
 
 , 4 p.m. 
 
 4 p.m. , 
 
 , 6 p.m. 
 
 6 p.m. , 
 
 , 8 p.m. 
 
 8 p. m. , 
 
 , 10 p.m. 
 
 10 p.m. , 
 
 , Midnight 
 
28 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 by jealous womeu who wish to be revenged upon their 
 faithless lovers. 
 
 When the world is at rest, at two in the morning, the 
 hour of which the ox is the symbol, the woman rises ; she 
 dons a white robe and high sandals or clogs; her coif is a 
 metal tripod, in which are thrust three lighted candles; 
 around her neck she hangs a mirror, which falls upon her 
 bosom ; in her left hand she carries a small straw figure, the 
 effigy of the lover who has abandoned her, and in her right 
 she grasps a hammer and naUs, with which she fastens the 
 figure to one of the sacrea trees that surround the shrine. 
 There she prays for the death of the traitor, vowing that, if 
 her petition be heard, she will herself pull out the nails 
 which now offend the god by wounding the mystic tree. 
 Night after night she comes to the shrine, and each night 
 she strikes in two or more nails, believing that every nail 
 wUl shorten her lover's life, for the god, to save his tree, 
 win surely strike him dead. 
 
 Meguro is one of the many places round Yedo to which 
 the good citizens flock for purposes convivial or religious, or 
 both; Jience it is that, cheek by jowl with the old shrines 
 and temples, you wUl find many a pretty tea-house, standing 
 at the rival doors of which MesdemoiseUes Sugar, Wave of 
 the Sea, Flower, Seashore, and Chrysanthemum are pressing 
 in their invitations to you to enter and rest. Not beautiful 
 these damsels, if judged by our standard, but the charm of 
 Japanese women lies in their manner and dainty little ways, 
 and the tea-house girl, being a professional decoy-duck, is 
 an adept in the art of flirting, — en tout Men tout honneur, be it 
 remembered ; for she is not to be confounded with the frail 
 beauties of the Yoshiwara, nor even with her sisterhood near 
 the ports open to foreigners, and to their corrupting influence. 
 For, strange as it seems, our contact all over the East has an 
 evil effect upon the natives. 
 
 In one of the tea-houses a thriving trade is carried on in 
 the sale of wooden tablets, some six inches square, adorned 
 with the picture of a pink cuttlefish on a bright blue 
 
THE LOTTES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMUJRASAKI. 29 
 
 ground. These are ex-votos, destined to be offered up at 
 the Temple of Yakushi Niurai, the Buddhist ^sculapius, 
 which stands opposite, and concerning the foundation of 
 which the following legend is told. 
 
 In the days of old there was a priest called Jikaku, who at 
 the age of forty years, it being the autumn of the tenth year 
 of the period called Tench6 (a.d. 833), was suffering from 
 disease of the eyes, which had attacked him three years 
 before. In order to be healed from this disease he carved a 
 figure of Yakushi Murai, to which he used to ofiFer up his 
 prayers. Five years later he went to China, taking with 
 him the figure as his guardian saint, and at a place called 
 Kairetsu it protected him from robbers and wild beasts and 
 from other calamities. There he passed his time in study- 
 ing the sacred laws both hidden and revealed, and after 
 nine years set sail to return to Japan. When he was on 
 the high seas a storm arose, and a great fish attacked and 
 tried to swamp the ship, so that the rudder and mast were 
 broken, and the nearest shore being that of a land inhabited 
 by devils, to retreat or to advance was equally dangerous. 
 Then the holy man prayed to the patron saint whose image 
 he carried, and as he prayed, behold the true Yakushi Niurai 
 appeared in the centre of the ship, and said to him : — 
 
 "Verily, thou hast travelled far that the sacred laws 
 might be revealed for the salvation of many men ; now, 
 therefore, take my image, which thou carriest in thy bosom, 
 and cast it into the sea, that the wind may abate, and that 
 thou mayest be delivered from this land of devils." 
 
 The commands of the saints must be obeyed, so with tears 
 in his eyes, the priest threw into the sea the sacred image 
 which he loved. Then did the wind abate, and the waves 
 were stilled, and the ship went on her course as though she 
 were being drawn by unseen hands until she reached a safe' 
 haven. In the tenth month of the same year the priest 
 again set sail, trusting to the power of his patron saint, and 
 reached the harbour of Tsukushi without mishap. For three 
 years he prayed that the image which he had cast away 
 
30 TALTSS OT' OLD JAPAN. 
 
 might be restored to him, until at last one night he was 
 warned in a dream that on the sea-shore at Matsura 
 Yakushi Murai would appear to him. In consequence of 
 this dream he went to the province of Hizeu, and landed 
 on the sea-shore" at Hirato, where, in the midst of a 
 blaze of light, the image which he had carved appeared 
 to him twice, riding on the back of a cuttlefish. Thus 
 was the image restored to the world by a miracle. In com- 
 memoration of his recovery from the disease of the eyes 
 and of his preservation from the dangers of the sea, that 
 these things might be known to all posterity, the priest 
 established the worship of Tako Yakushi Niurai (" Yakushi 
 Murai of the Cuttlefish "), and came to Meguro, where he 
 built the Temple of Fud& Sama,^ another Buddhist divinity. 
 At this time there was an epidemic of small-pox in the 
 village, so that men fell down and died in the street, and the 
 holy man prayed to Fudo Sama that the plague might be 
 stayed. Then the god appeared to him, and said : — 
 
 " The saint Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish, whose image 
 thou carriest, desires to have his place in this village, and he 
 will heal this plague. Thou shalt, therefore, raise a temple 
 to him here that not only this small-pox, but other diseases 
 for future generations, may be cured by his power." 
 
 Hearing this, the priest shed tears of gratitude, and having 
 chosen a piece of fine wood, carved a large figure of his 
 patron saint of the cuttlefish, and placed the smaller image 
 inside of the larger, and laid it up in this temple, to which 
 people still flock that they may be healed of their diseases. 
 
 Such is the story of the miracle, translated from a small 
 ill-printed pamphlet sold by the priests of the temple, aU the 
 decorations of which, even to a bronze lantern in the middle 
 of the yard, are in the form of a cuttlefish, the sacred em- 
 blem of the place. 
 
 What pleasanter lounge in which to while away a hot day 
 could a man wish for, than the shade of the trees borne by 
 the hill on which stands the Temple of Fud6 Sama? Two 
 
 ' Fudfl, literally "the motionless:" Buddha in the state called Nirvana. 
 
THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI. 31 
 
 jets of pure water springing from the rock are voided by- 
 spouts carved in the shape of dragons into a stone basin en- 
 closed by rails, within which it is written that " no woman 
 may enter." If you are in luck, you may cool yourself by 
 watching some devotee, naked save his loin-cloth, performing 
 the ceremony called Suigiyd ; that is to say, praying under 
 the waterfall that his soul may be purified through his body. 
 In winter it requires no small pluck to go through this 
 penance, yet I have seen a penitent submit to it for mora 
 than a quarter of an hour on a bitterly cold day in January. 
 In summer, on the other hand, the religious exercise called 
 Hiyakudo, or " the hundred times," which may also be seen 
 here to advantage, is no small trial of patience. It consists 
 in walking backwards and forwards a hundred times between 
 two points within the sacred precincts, repeating a prayer 
 each time. The count is kept either upon the fingers or by 
 depositing a length- of twisted straw each time that the goal 
 is reached ; at this temple the place allotted for the ceremony 
 is between a grotesque bronze figure of Tengu Sama (" the 
 Dog of Heaven"), the terror of children, a most hideous 
 monster with a gigantic nose, which it is beneficial to rub 
 with a finger afterwards to be applied to one's own nose, and 
 a large brown box inscribed with the characters Hiyaku Do 
 in high relief, which may generally be seen full of straw 
 , tallies. It is no sinecure to be a good Buddhist, for the gods 
 are not lightly to be propitiated. Prayer and fasting, morti- 
 fication of the flesh, abstinence from wine, from women, and 
 from favourite dishes, are the only passports to rising in office, 
 prosperity in trade, recovery from sickness, or a happy mar- 
 riage with a beloved maiden. Nor will mere faith without 
 ■ works be efficient. A votive tablet of proportionate value to 
 the favour prayed for, or a sum of money for the repairs of 
 the shrine or temple, is necessary to win the favour of the 
 gods. Poorer persons will cut off the queue of their hair and 
 offer that up ; and at Horinouchi, a temple in great renown 
 some eight or nine miles from Yedo, there is a rope about 
 two inches and a half in diameter, and about six fathoms 
 
32 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 long, entirely made of human hair so given to the gods ; it 
 lies coiled up, dirty, moth-eaten, and uncared for, at one end 
 of a long shed full of tablets and pictures, by the side of a 
 rude native fire-engine. The taking of life being displeasing 
 to Buddha, outside many of the temples old women and chil- 
 dren earn a livelihood by selling sparrows, small eels, carp, 
 and tortoises, which the worshipper sets free in honour of the 
 deity, within whose territory cocks and hens and doves, 
 tame and unharmed, perch on every jutty, frieze, buttress, 
 and coigne of vantage. 
 
 But of all the marvellous customs that I wot of in con- 
 nection with Japanese religious exercises, none appears to 
 me so strange as that of spitting at the images of the gods, 
 more especially at the statues of the M-6, the two huge red 
 or red and green statues which, like Gog and Magog, em- 
 blems of strength, stand as guardians of the chief Buddhist 
 temples. The figures are protected by a network of iron 
 iwire, through ■ which the votaries, praying the whUe, spit 
 pieces of paper, "which they had chewed up into a pulp. If 
 the pellet sticks to the statue, the omen is favourable ; if it 
 falls, the prayer is not accepted. The inside of the great bell 
 at the Tycoon's burial-ground, and almost every holy statue .. 
 throughout the country, are all covered with these out- 
 spittings from pious mouths.^ 
 
 Through aU this discourse about temples and tea-houses, 
 I am coming by degrees to the goal of our pilgrimage — two 
 old stones, mouldering away in a rank, overgrown graveyard 
 hard by, an old old burying-ground, forgotten by all save 
 those who love to dig out the tales of the past. The key is 
 kept by a ghoulish old dame, almost as time-worn and mil- 
 dewed as the tomb over which she watches. Obedient to 
 oxir call, and looking forward to a fee ten times greater than 
 any native would give her, she hobbles out, and, openino- the 
 
 ^ It will be readily understood that the customs and ceremonies to which I 
 have alluded belong only to the gross superstitions with which lo-noranco lias 
 overlaid that pure Buddhism of which Professor Max Miiller has" pointed out 
 the very real beauties. 
 
^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 O 
 
 n 
 o 
 
THE LOVES OF GOMPACm AND KOMURASAKT. 33 
 
 gate, points out tlie stone bearing the inscription, the " Tomb 
 of the Shiyoku " (fabulous birds, which, living one within the 
 other — a mysterious duality contained in one body — are the 
 emblem of connubial love and fidelity). By this stone stands 
 another, graven with a longer legend, which runs as follows : — 
 
 " In the old days of Genroku, she pined for the beauty of 
 her lover, who was as fair to look upon as the flowers ; and 
 now beneath the moss of this old tombstone all has perished 
 of her save her name. Amid the changes of a fitful world, 
 this tomb is decaying under the dew and rain; gra- 
 dually crumbling beneath its own dust, its outline alone 
 remains. Stranger ! bestow an alms to preserve this stone ■, 
 and we, sparing neither pain nor labour, will second you 
 with all our hearts. Erecting it again, let us preserve it 
 from decay for future generations, and let us write the 
 following verse upon it : — ' These two birds, beautiful as the 
 cherry-blossoms, perished before their time, like flowers 
 broken down by the wind before they have borne seed.' " 
 
 Under the first stone is the dust of Gompachi, robber and 
 murderer, mixed with that of his true love Komurasaki, who 
 lies buried with him. Her sorrows and constancy have hal- 
 lowed the place, and pious people still come to burn incense 
 and lay flowers before the grave. How she loved him even 
 in death may be seen from the following old-world story. 
 
 About two hundred and thirty years ago there lived in the 
 service of a daimio of the province of Inaba, a young man, 
 called Shirai Gompachi, who, when he was but sixteen years 
 of age, had already won a name for his personal beauty 
 and valour, and for his skill in the use of arms. ISTow it 
 happened that one day a dog belonging to him fought with 
 another dog belonging to a fellow-clansman, and the two 
 masters, being both passionate youths, disputing as to whose 
 dog had had the best of the fight, quarrelled and came to 
 blows, and Gompachi slew his adversary ; and in consequence 
 of this, he was obliged to flee from his country, and make his 
 ' escape to Teda 
 
 D 
 
34 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 And so Gompachi set out on his travels. 
 
 One night, weary and footsore, he entered what appeared 
 to him to be a roadside inn, ordered some refreshment, and 
 went to bed, little thinking of the danger that menaced him : 
 for as luck would have it, this inn turned out to be the 
 trysting-place of a gang of robbers, into whose clutches he had 
 thus unwittingly fallen. To be sure, Gompachi's purse was 
 but scantily furnished, but his sword and dirk were worth 
 some three hundred ounces of silver, and upon these the 
 robbers (of whom there were ten) had cast envious eyes, and 
 had determined to kUl the owner for their sake ; but he, all 
 unsuspicious, slept on in fancied security. 
 
 In the middle of the night he was startled from his deep 
 slumbers by some one stealthily opening the sliding door 
 which led into his room, and rousing himself with an effort, 
 he beheld a beautiful young girl, fifteen years of age, who, 
 making signs to him not to stir, came up to his bedside, and 
 said to him in a whisper : — 
 
 " Sir, the master of this house is the chief of a gang of 
 robbers, who have been plotting to murder you this night for 
 the sake of your clothes and your sword. As for me, I am 
 the daughter of a rich merchant in Mikawa: last year the 
 robbers came to our house, and carried off my father's trea- 
 sure and myself I pray you, sir, take me with you, and let 
 us fly from this dreadful place." 
 
 She wept as she spoke, and Gompachi was at first too 
 much startled to answer ; but being a youth of high courage 
 and a cunning fencer to boot, he soon recovered his presence 
 of mind, and determined to kill the robbers, and to deliver 
 the girl out of their hands. So he replied : — 
 
 " Since you say so, I wiU kill these thieves, and rescue you 
 this very night ; only do you, when I begin the fight, run 
 outside the house, that you may be out of harm's way, 
 and remain in hiding until I join you." 
 
 Upon this understanding the maiden left him, and went 
 her way. But he lay awake, holding his breath and watch- 
 ing; and when the thieves crept noiselessly into the rooia. 
 
g 
 % 
 
 is 
 
 2 
 
 S 
 o 
 
TEE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI. 35 
 
 where they supposed him to be fast asleep, he cut down the 
 first man that entered, and stretched him dead at his feet. 
 The other nine, seeing this, laid about them with their drawn 
 swords, but Gompachi, fighting with desperation, mastered 
 them at last, and slew them. After thus ridding himself of 
 his enemies, he went outside the house, and called to the 
 girl, who came running to his side, and joyfully travelled on 
 with him to Mikawa, where her father dwelt ; and when they 
 reached Mikawa, he took the maiden to the old man's h&use, 
 and told him how, when he had fallen among thieves, his 
 daughter had come to him in his hour of peril, and saved 
 him out of her great pity; and how he, in return, rescuing 
 her from her servitude, had brought her back to her home. 
 "When the old folks saw their daughter whom they had lost 
 restored to them, they were beside themselves with joy, 
 and shed tears for very happiness ; and, in their gratitude, 
 they pressed Gompachi to remain with them, and they pre- 
 pared feasts for him, and entertained him hospitably: but 
 their daughter, who had fallen in love with him for his 
 beauty and knightly valour, spent her days in thinking of 
 him, and of him alone. The young man, however, in spite of 
 the kindness of the old merchant, who wished to adopt him 
 as his son, and tried hard to persuade him to consent to this, 
 was fretting to go to Yedo and take service as an officer in 
 the household of some noble lord; so he resisted the en- 
 treaties of the father and the soft speeches of the daughter, 
 and made ready to start on his journey; and the old mer- 
 chant, seeing that he would not be tvixned from his purpose, 
 gave him a parting gift of two hundred ounces of silver, and 
 sorrowfully bade him farewell. 
 
 But alas for the grief of the maiden, who sat sobbing her 
 heart out and mourning over her lover's departure ! He, all 
 the while thinking more of ambition than of love, went to 
 her and comforted her, and said : "Dry your eyes, sweetheart, 
 and weep no more, for I shall soon come back to you. Do 
 you, in the meanwhile, be faithful and true to me, and tend 
 your parents with filial piety." 
 
36 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 So sine wiped away her tears and smiled again, wlien sie 
 heard him promise that he would soon return to her. And 
 Gompachi went his way, and in due time came near to Tedo. 
 
 But his dangers were not yet over; for late one night, 
 arriving at a place called Suzugamori, in the neighbourhood 
 of Yedo, he fell in with six highwaymen, who attacked him, 
 thinking to make short work of killing and robbing him. 
 Nothing daunted, he drew his sword, and despatched two out 
 of the six ; but, being weary and worn out with his long 
 journey, he was sorely pressed, and the struggle was going 
 hard with him, when a wardsman,^ who happened to pass 
 that way riding in a chair, seeiag the affray, jumped down 
 from his chair and drawing his dirk came to the rescue, and 
 between them they put the robbers to flight. 
 
 Now it turned out that this kind tradesman, who had so 
 happily come to the assistance of Gompachi, was no other 
 than ChSbei of Bandzuin, the chief of the OtohodaU, or 
 Friendly Society of the wardsmen of Yedo — a man famous 
 in the annals of the city, whose life, exploits, and adven- 
 tures are recited to this day, and form the subject of 
 another tale. 
 
 "When the highwaymen had disappeared, Gompachi, turn- 
 ing to his deliverer, said — 
 
 " I know not who you may be, sir, but I have to thank you 
 for rescuing me from a great danger." 
 
 And as he proceeded to express his gratitude, Chobei 
 replied — ■ 
 
 " I am but a poor wardsman, a humble man in my way, 
 sir ; and if the robbers ran away, it was more by good luck 
 than owing to any merit of mine. But I am fiUed with ad- 
 miration at the way you fought ; you displayed a courage 
 and a skill that were beyond your years, sir." 
 
 1 Japanese cities are divided into wards, and every tradesman and artisan 
 is under the authority of the chief of the ward in which he resides. The 
 word chdnin, or wardsman, is generally used in contradistinction to the word 
 samurai, which has already been explained as denoting a man belonging to 
 the military class. 
 
THE LOVES OF GOMPACBI AND KOMURASAKI. 37 
 
 " Indeed," said the young man, smiling with pleasure at 
 hearing himself praised; "I am still young and inex- 
 perienced, and am quite ashamed of my bungling style of 
 fencing." 
 
 "And now may I ask you, sir, whither you are bound ?" 
 
 "That is almost more than I know myself, for I am a 
 rdnin, and have no fixed purpose in view." 
 . " That is a bad job," said Chobei, who felt pity for the lad. 
 " However, if you will excuse my boldness in making such 
 an offer, being but a wardsman, untU you shall have taken 
 service I would fain place my poor house at your disposal." 
 
 Gompachi accepted the offer of his new but trusty friend 
 with thanks; so Ch6bei led him to his house, where he 
 lodged him and hospitably entertained him for some months. 
 And now Gompachi, being idle and having nothing to care 
 for, fell into bad ways, and began to lead a dissolute life, 
 thinking of nothing but gratifying his whims and passions ; 
 he took to frequenting the Yoshiwara, the quarter of the 
 town which is set aside for tea-houses and other haunts of 
 wild young men, where his handsome face and figure at- 
 tracted attention, and soon made him a great favourite with 
 all the beauties of the neighbourhood. 
 
 About this time men began to speak loud in praise of the 
 charms of Komurasaki, or " Little Purple," a young girl who 
 had recently come to the Yoshiwara, and who in beauty and 
 accomplishments outshone all her rivals. Gompachi, like the 
 rest of the world, heard so much of her fame that he deter- 
 mined to go to the house where she dwelt, at the sign of 
 " The Three Sea-coasts," and judge for himself whether she 
 deserved all that men said of her. Accordingly he set out 
 one day, and having arrived at " The Three Sea-coasts," asked 
 to see Komurasaki ; and being shown into the room where 
 she was sitting, advanced towards her ; but when their eyes 
 met, they both started back with a cry of astonishment, 
 for this Komurasaki, the famous beauty of the Yoshiwara, 
 proved to be the very girl whom several months before 
 Gompachi had rescued from the robbers' den, and restored 
 
38 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 to hei' parents in Mikawa. He had left her in prosperity and 
 affluence, the darling child of a rich father, when they had 
 exchanged vows of love and fidelity ; and now they met in 
 a common stew in Yedo. What a chanE-e ! what a contrast ! 
 How had the riches tairned to rust, the vows to lies ! 
 
 " What is this ? " cried Gompachi, when he had recovered 
 from his surprise. " How is it that I find you here pursuing 
 this vUe calling, in the Yoshiwara ? Pray explain this to 
 me, for there is some mystery beneath all this which I do 
 not understand." 
 
 But Komurasaki — who, having thus unexpectedly fallen 
 in with her lover that she had yearned for, was divided 
 between joy and shame — answered, weeping : 
 
 " Alas ! my tale is a sad one, and would be long to telL 
 After you left us last year, calamity and reverses fell upon 
 our house; and when my parents became poverty-stricken, 
 I was at my wits' end to know how to support them: so 
 I sold this wretched body of mine to the master of this 
 house, and sent the money to my father and mother ; but, 
 in spite of this, troubles and misfortunes multiplied upon 
 them, and now, at last, they have died of misery and grief. 
 And, oh ! lives there in this wide world so unhappy a 
 wretch as I ! But now that I have met you again — you 
 who are so strong — ^lielp me who am weak. You saved me 
 once — do not, I implore you, desert me now!" and as she 
 told her piteous tale the tears streamed from her eyes. 
 
 "This is, indeed, a sad story," replied Gompachi, much 
 affected by the recital. " There must have been a wonderful 
 run of bad luck to bring such misfortune upon your house, 
 which but a little while ago I recollect so prosperous. How- 
 ever, mourn no more, for I wiU. not forsake you. It is true 
 that I am too poor to redeem you from your servitude, but at 
 any rate I will contrive so that you shall be tormented no 
 more. Love me, therefore, and put your trust in ma" When 
 she heard him speak so kindly she was comforted, and wept 
 no more, but poured out her whole heart to him, and forgot 
 her past sorrows in the great joy of meeting him again. 
 
THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI. 39 
 
 "When it became time for them to separate, he embraced 
 her tenderly and returned to Ch6bei's house ; but he could 
 not banish Komurasaki from his mind, and all day long he 
 thought of her alone ; and so it came about that he went 
 daily to the Yoshiwara to see her, and if any accident de- 
 tained him, she, missing the accustomed visit, would become 
 anxious and write to him to inquire the cause of his absence. 
 At last, pursuing this course of life, his stock of money ran 
 short, and as, being a rdnin and without any fixed employ^ 
 ment, he had no means of renewing his supplies, he was 
 ashamed of showing himself penniless at "The Three 
 Sea-coasts." Then it was that a wicked spirit arose within 
 him, and he went out and murdered a man, and having 
 robbed him of his money carried it to the Yoshiwara. 
 
 From bad to worse is an easy step, and the tiger that has 
 once tasted blood is dangerous. Blinded and infatuated by 
 his excessive love, Gompachi kept on slaying and robbing, so 
 that, while his outer man was fair to look upon, the heart 
 within him was that of a hideous devil. At last his friend 
 Chobei could no longer endure the sight of him, and turned 
 him out of his house ; and as, sooner or later, virtue and vice 
 meet with their reward, it came to pass that Gompachi's 
 crimes became notorious, and the Government having set 
 spies upon his track, he was caught redhanded and arrested ; 
 and his evil deeds having been fully proved against him, 
 he was carried off to the execution ground at Suzugamori, 
 the " Bell Grove," and beheaded as a common malefactor. 
 
 Wow when Gompachi was dead, Ch6bei's old affection for 
 the young man returned, and, being a kind and pious man, 
 he went and claimed his body and head, and buried him at 
 Meguro, in the grounds of the Temple called Boronji. 
 
 When Komurasaki heard the people at Zoshiwara gossip 
 ing about her lover's end, her grief knew no bounds, so she 
 fled secretly from " The Three Sea-coasts," and came to 
 Meguto and threw herself upon the newly-made grave. 
 Long she prayed and bitterly she wept over the tomb of 
 him whom, with all his faults, she had loved so well, and 
 
40 TAL'ES OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 then, drawing a dagger from her girdle, she plunged it in 
 her breast and died. The priests of the temple, when they 
 saw what had happened, wondered greatly and were astonished 
 at the loving faithfulness of this beautiful girl, and taking 
 compassion on her, they laid her side by side with Gompachi 
 in one grave, and over the grave they placed a stone which 
 remains to this day, bearing the inscription "The Tomb of 
 the Shiyoku." And still the people of Yedo visit the place, 
 and still they praise the beauty of Gompachi and the filial 
 piety and fidelity of Komurasaki. 
 
 Let us linger for a moment longer in the old graveyard. 
 The word which I have translated a few lines above as 
 "loving faithfulness" means literally "chastity." When 
 Komurasaki sold herself to supply the wants of her ruined 
 parents, she was not, according to her lights, forfeiting her 
 claim to virtue. On the contrary, she could perform no 
 greater act of filial piety, and, so far from incurring reproach 
 among her people, her self-sacrifice would be worthy of all 
 praise in their eyes. This idea has led to grave misunder- 
 standing abroad, and indeed no phase of Japanese life has 
 been so misrepresented as this. I have heard it stated, 
 and seen it printed, that it is no disgrace for a respectable 
 Japanese to seU his daughter, that men of position and 
 family often choose their wives from such places as "The 
 Three Sea-coasts," and that up to the time of her marriage 
 the conduct of a young girl is a matter of no importance 
 whatever. ISTothing could be more unjust or more untrue. 
 It is only the neediest people that sell their children to be 
 waitresses, singers, or prostitutes. It does occasionally hap- 
 pen that the daughter of a Samurai, or gentleman, is found in 
 a house of ill-fame, but such a case could only occur at the 
 death or utter ruin of the parents, and an official investigation 
 of the matter has proved it to be so exceptional, that the 
 presence of a young lady in such a place is an enormous 
 attraction, her superior education and accomplishments 
 shedding a lustre over the house. As for gentlemen marry- 
 
THB LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMDRASAKI. 41 
 
 ing women of bad character, are not such things known in 
 Europe? Do ladies of the demi-moTide never make good 
 marriages ? M&alliances are far rarer in Japan than with us. 
 Certainly among the lowest class of the population such 
 marriages may occasionally occur, for it often happens that a 
 woman can lay by a tempting dowry out of her wretched 
 earnings; but amongst the gentry of the country they are 
 unknown. 
 
 And yet a girl is not disgraced if for her parents' sake she 
 sells herself to a life of misery so great, that, when a Japanese 
 enters a house of ill-fame, he is forced to leave his sword and 
 dirk at the door for two reasons — first, to prevent brawling ; 
 secondly, because it is known that some of the women inside 
 so loathe their existence that they would put an end to it, 
 could they get hold of a weapon. 
 
 It is a curious fact that in all the Daimio's castle-towns, 
 with the exception of some which are also seaports, open pros- 
 titution is strictly forbidden, although, if report speaks truly, 
 public morality rather suffers than gains by the prohibition. 
 
 The misapprehension which exists upon the subject of 
 prostitution ia Japan may be accounted for by the fact that 
 foreign writers, basing their judgment upon the vice of the 
 open ports, have not hesitated to pronounce the Japanese 
 women unchaste. As fairly might a Japanese, writing about 
 England, argue from the street-walkers of Portsmouth or 
 Plymouth to the wives, sisters, and daughters of these very 
 authors. In some respects the gulf fixed between virtue and 
 vice in Japan is even greater than in England. The Eastern 
 courtesan is confined to a certain quarter of the town, and 
 distinguished by a peculiarly gaudy costume, and by a head- 
 dress which consists of a forest of light tortoiseshell hair-pins, 
 stuck round her head like a saint's glory — a glory of shame 
 which a modest woman would sooner die than wear. Vice 
 jostling virtue in the public places; virtue imitating the 
 fashions set by vice, and buying trinkets or furniture at the 
 sale of vice's effects — these are social phenomena which the 
 East knows not. 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 The custom prevalent among the lower orders of bathing 
 in public bath-houses without distinction of the sexes, is 
 another circumstance which has tended to spread abroad very 
 false notions upon the subject of the chastity of the Japanese 
 women. Every traveller is shocked by it, and every writer 
 iinds in it matter for a page of pungent description. Yet it 
 is only those who are so poor (and they must be poor indeed) 
 that they cannot afford a bath at home, who, at the end of 
 their day's work, go to the public bath-house to refresh them- 
 selves before sitting down to their evening meal : having been 
 used to the scene from their childhood, they see no indelicacy 
 in it ; it is a matter of course, and honi soit qui mal y pense: 
 certainly there is far less indecency and immorality result- 
 ing from this public bathing, than from the promiscuous herd- 
 ing together of all sexes and ages which disgraces our own 
 lodging-houses in the great cities, and the hideous hovels in 
 which some of our labourers have to pass their lives ; nor can 
 it be said that there is more confusion of sexes amongst the 
 lowest orders in Japan than in Europe. Speaking upon the 
 subject once with a Japanese gentleman, I observed that we 
 considered it an act of indecency for men and women to wash 
 together. He shrugged his shoulders as he answered, " But 
 then Westerns have such prurient minds." Some time ago, at 
 the open port of Yokohama, the Government, out of deference 
 to the prejudices of foreigners, forbade the men and women to 
 bathe together, and no doubt this was the first step towards 
 putting down the practice altogether : as for women tubbing 
 in the open streets of Yedo, I have read of such things in 
 books written by foreigners ; but during a residence of three 
 years and a half, in which time I crossed and recrossed every 
 part of the great city at all hours of the day, I never once saw 
 such a sight. I believe myself that it can only be seen at 
 certain hot mineral springs in remote country districts. 
 
 The best answer to the general charge of immorality which 
 has been brought against the Japanese women during their 
 period of unmarried life, lies in the fact that every man who 
 can afford to do so keeps the maidens of his family closely 
 
THE LOVES OF OOMPACHI AND KOMUSASAKI. 43 
 
 guarded in the strictest seclusion. The daughter of poverty, 
 indeed, must work and go abroad, but not a man is allowed 
 to approach the daughter of a gentleman ; and she is taught 
 that if by accident any insult should be offered to her, the 
 knife which she carries at her girdle is meant for use, and not 
 I merely as a badge of her rank. Not long ago a tragedy took 
 place in the house of one of the chief nobles in Yedo. One 
 of My Lady's tire-women, herself a damsel of gentle blood, 
 and gifted with rare beauty, had attracted the attention of a 
 retainer in the palace, who fell desperately in love with her. 
 For a long time the strict rules of decorum by which she was 
 hedged in prevented him from declaring his passion ; but at 
 last he contrived to gain access to her presence, and so far 
 forgot himself, that she, drawing her poniard, stabbed him 
 in the eye, so that he was carried off fainting, and presently 
 died. The girl's declaration, that the dead man had at- 
 tempted to insult her, was held to be sufficient justification 
 of her deed, and, instead of being blamed, she was praised 
 and extolled for her valour and chastity. As the affair had 
 taken place within the four walls of a powerful noble, there 
 was no official investigation into the matter, with which the 
 authorities of the palace were competent to deal. The truth 
 of this story was vouched for by two or three persons whose 
 word I have no reason to doubt, and who had themselves 
 been mixed up in it ; I can bear witness that it is in com- 
 plete harmony with Japanese ideas ; and certainly it seems 
 more just that Lucretia should kill Tarquin than herself. 
 ! The better the Japanese people come to be known and 
 understood, the more, I am certain, will it be felt that a great 
 injustice has been done them in the sweeping attacks which 
 have been made upon their women. Writers are agreed, I 
 believe, that their matrons are, as a rule, without reproach. 
 If their maidens are chaste, as I contend that from very force 
 of circumstances they cannot help being, what becomes of all 
 these charges of vice and immodesty ? Do they not rather 
 recoil upon the accusers, who would appear to have studied 
 the Japanese woman only in the harlot of Yokohama ? 
 
44 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Having said so much, I -wlQ now try to give some account 
 of the famous Yoshiwarai of Yedo, to which frequent allusion 
 will have to be made iii the course of these tales. 
 
 At the end of the sixteenth century the coui-tesans of Yedo 
 lived in three special places : these were the street called 
 K6jimachi, in which dwelt the women who came from Ki6to; 
 the Kamakura Street, and a spot opposite the great bridge, in 
 which last two places lived women brought from Suruga. 
 Besides these there . afterwards came women from Fushimi 
 and from Nara, who lodged scattered here and there through- 
 out the town. This appears to have scandalised a certain 
 reformer, named Shoji Jinydmon, who, in the year 1612, 
 addressed a memorial to the Government, petitioning that 
 the women who lived in different parts of the town should be 
 collected in one " Flower Quarter." His petition was granted 
 in the year 1617, and he fixed upon a place called Fukiyacho, 
 which, on account of the quantities of rushes which grew 
 there, was named Yoshi-Wara, or the rush-moor, a name 
 which now-a-days, by a play upon the word ycsM, is written 
 with two Chinese characters, signifying the "good" or "lucky 
 moor." The place was divided into four streets, called the 
 Yedo Street, the Second Yedo Street, the Kioto Street, and 
 the Second Ki6to Street. 
 
 In the eighth month of the year 165.5, when Yedo was 
 beginning to increase in size and importance, the Yoshiwara, 
 preserving its name, was transplanted bodily to the spot 
 which it now occupies at the northern end of the town. And 
 the streets in it were named after the places from which the 
 greater number of their inhabitants originally came, as the 
 " Sakai Street," the " Fushimi Street," &c. 
 
 The official Guide to the Yoshiwara for 1869 gives a return 
 of 153 brothels, containing 3,289 courtesans of aU classes, 
 
 1 The name Yoshiwara, which is beooming generic for "Flower Districts," 
 — Anglici, q^uarters occupied by brothels, — ^is sometimes derived from the 
 town Yoshiwara, in Sunshine, because it was said that the women of that 
 place furnished a large proportion of the beauties of the Yedo Yoshiwara. 
 The correct derivation is probably that given below. 
 
THS LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI. 45 
 
 from the Oiran, or proud beauty, who, dressed up in gorgeous i 
 brocade of gold and silver, with painted face and gilded lips, 
 and with her teeth fashionably blacked, has aU the young 
 bloods of Yedo at her feet, down to the humble Shinzo, or 
 white-toothed woman, who rots away her life in the common 
 stews. These figures do not, however, represent the whole of 
 the prostitution of Yedo ; the Yoshiwara is the chief, but not 
 the only, abiding-place of the public women. At Fukagawa 
 there is another Flower District, built upon the same prin- 
 ciple as the Yoshiwara ; while at Shinagawa, Shinjiku, Ifca- 
 bashi, Senji, and Kadzukappara, the hotels contain women 
 who, nominally only waitresses, are in reality prostitutes. 
 There are also women called JigokvrOnna, or hell-women, 
 who, without being borne on the books of any brothel, live 
 in their own houses, and ply their trade in secret. On the 
 whole, I believe the amount of prostitution in Yedo to be 
 wonderfully small, considering the vast size of the city. 
 
 There are 394 tea-houses in the Yoshiwara, which are 
 largely used as places of assignation, and which on those 
 occasions are paid, not by the visitors frequenting them, but 
 by the keepers of the brothels. It is also the fashion to give 
 dinners and drinking-parties at these houses, for which the 
 services of Tailcomochi, or jesters, among whom there are 
 thirty-nine chief celebrities, and of singing and daucing girls, 
 are retained. The Guide to the Yoshiwara gives a Ust of 
 fifty-five famous singing-girls, besides a host of minor stars. 
 These women are not to be confounded with the courtesans. 
 Their conduct is very closely watched by their masters, and 
 they always go out to parties in couples or in bands, so 
 that they may be a 'check upon one another. Doubtless, 
 however, in spite of all precautions, the shower of gold does 
 from time to time find its way to Danae s lap ; and to be the 
 favoured lover of a fashionable singer or dancer is rather a 
 feather in the cap of a fast young Japanese gentleman. The 
 fee paid to singing-girla for performing during a space of two 
 hours is one shilling and fourpence each; for six hours the 
 fee is quadrupled, and it is customary to give the girls a 
 
46 TALES OF OLD .T^PJN. 
 
 hnna, or present, for themselves, besides their regular pay, 
 which goes to the master of the troupe to which they belong. 
 
 Courtesans, singing women, and dancers are bought by 
 contractors, either as children, when they are educated foi 
 their calling, or at a more advanced age, when their accom- 
 plishments and charms render them desirable investments. 
 The engagement is never made life long, for once past the 
 flower of their youth the poor creatures would be mere 
 burthens upon their masters ; a courtesan is usually bought 
 until she shall have reached the age of twenty-seven, after 
 which she becomes her own property. Singers remain longer 
 in harness, but even they rarely work after the age of thirty, 
 for Japanese women, like Italians, age quickly, and have none 
 of that intermediate stage between youth and old age, which 
 seems to be confined to countries where there is a twilight. 
 
 Children destined to be trained as singers are usually 
 bought when they are five or six years old, a likely child 
 fetching from about thirty-five to fifty shillings; the pur- 
 chaser undertakes the education of his charge, and brings 
 the little thing up as his own child. The parents sign a 
 paper absolving him from all responsibility in case of sick- 
 ness or accident; but they know that their child will be 
 well treated and cared for, the interests of the buyer being 
 their material guarantee. Girls of fifteen or upwards who 
 are sufficiently accomplished to join a company of singers 
 fetch ten times the price paid for children ; for in their 
 case there is no risk and no expense of education. 
 
 Little children who are bought for purposes of prostitution 
 at the age of five or six years fetch about the same price as 
 those that are bought to be singers. During their novitiate 
 they are employed to wait upon the Oiran, or fashionable 
 courtesans, in the capacity of little female pages (Kamuro). 
 They are mostly the children of distressed persons, or or- 
 phans, whom their relatives cruelly sell rather than be at 
 the expense and trouble of bringing them up. Of the girls 
 who enter the profession later in life, some are orphans, who 
 have no other means of earning a livelihood; others sell 
 
TUB LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND EOMURASAKI. 47 
 
 their bodies out of filial piety, that they may succour their 
 sick or needy parents ; others are married women, who .enter 
 the Yoshiwara to supply the wants of their husbands ; and a 
 very small proportion is recruited from girls who have been 
 seduced and abandoned, perhaps sold, by faithless lovers. 
 
 The time to see the Yoshiwara to the best advantage is 
 just after nightfall, when the lamps are lighted. Then it is 
 that the women — who for the last two hours have been 
 engaged in gilding their lips and painting their eyebrows 
 black, and their throats and bosoms a snowy white, carefully 
 leaving three brown Vandyke-collar points where the back 
 of the head joins the neck, in accordance with one of the 
 strictest rules of Japanese cosmetic science — leave the back 
 rooms, and take their places, side by side, in a kind of long 
 narrow cage, the wooden bars of which open on to the public 
 thoroughfare. Here they sit for hours, gorgeous ia dresses of 
 silk and gold and silver embroidery, speechless and motion- 
 less as wax figures, until they shall have attracted the 
 attention of some of the passers-by, who begin to throng 
 the place. At Yokohama indeed, and at the other open 
 ports, the women of the Yoshiwara are loud in their invita- 
 tions to visitors, frequently relieving the monotony of their 
 own language by some blasphemous term of endearment 
 picked up from British and American seamen; but in the 
 Flower District at Yedo, and wherever Japanese customs are 
 untainted, the utmost decorum prevails. Although the shape 
 which vice takes is ugly enough, still it has this merit, that 
 it is unobtrusive. Never need the pure be contaminated by 
 contact with the impure ; he who goes to the Yoshiwara, goes 
 there knowing full well what he will find, but the virtuous 
 man may live through his life without having this kind of 
 vice forced upon his sight. Here again do the open ports 
 contrast unfavourably with other places : Yokohama at night 
 is as leprous a place as the London Haymarket.^ 
 
 ^ Those who are interested in this branch of social science, will find much 
 curious information upon the subject of prostitution in Japan in a pamphlet 
 published at Yokohama, by Dr. Newton, E.lSr., a philanthropist who has 
 
48 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 A public woman or singer on entering her profession assumes 
 a Twm de guerre, by which she is known until her engagement 
 is at an end. Some of these names are so pretty and quaint 
 that I will take a few specimens from the Yoshiwara Saiken, 
 the guide-book upon which this notice is based. 'Little 
 Pine,' 'Little Butterfly,' 'Brightness of the Flowers,' 'The 
 Jewel Eiver,' 'Gold Mountain,' 'Pearl Harp,' 'The Stork 
 that lives a Thousand Years,' ' Village of Flowers,' ' Sea 
 Beach,' ' The Little Dragon,' ' Little Purple,' ' Silver,' ' Chry- 
 santhemum,' 'Waterfall,' 'White Brightness,' 'Forest of 
 Cherries,' — ^these and a host of other quaint conceits are 
 the one prettiness of a very foul place. 
 
 been engaged for tHe last two years in establishing a Lock Hospital at that 
 place. In spite of much opposition, from prejudice and ignorance, hia 
 labours have been crowned by great success. 
 
KAZUMA'S EEVENGE. 
 
 It is a law that he who lives by the sword shall die by the 
 sword. In Japan, where there exists a large armed class 
 over whom there is practically little or no control, party and 
 clan broils, and single quarrels ending in bloodshed and 
 death, are matters of daily occurrence; and it has been 
 observed that Edinburgh in the olden time, when the clans- 
 men, roistering through the streets at night, would pass from 
 high words to deadly blows, is perhaps the best European 
 parallel of modern Yedo or Kioto. 
 
 It follows that of all his possessions the Samurai sets most 
 store by his sword, his constant companion, his ally, defen- 
 sive and offensive. The price of a sword by a famous maker 
 reaches a high sum: a Japanese noble will sometimes be 
 found girding on a sword, the blade of which unmounted is 
 worth from six hundred to a thousand riyos, say from £200 
 to £300, and the mounting, rich in cunning metal work, will 
 be of proportionate value. These swords are handed dbwn as 
 heirlooms from father to son, and become almost a part 
 of the wearer's own self. lyeyasu, the founder of the last 
 dynasty of Shoguns, wrote in his Legacy,^ a code of rules 
 drawn up for the guidance of his successors and their 
 advisers in the government, "The girded sword is the 
 living soul of the Samurai. In the case of a Samurai 
 forgetting his sword, act as is appointed : it may not be 
 overlooked." 
 
 The occupation of a swordsmith is an honourable profes- 
 
 ^ The Lepfacy of lyeyasu, translated by F. Lowder. Yokoliaina, 1868. 
 (Printed for private oiroiilation.) 
 
 E 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 sion, the members of which are men of gentle blood. In a 
 country where trade is looked down upon as degrading, it is 
 strange to find this single exception to the general rule. 
 The traditions of the craft are many and curious. During 
 the most critical moment of the forging of the sword, when 
 the steel edge is being welded into the body of the iron 
 blade, it is a custom which stOl obtains among old-fashioned 
 armourers to put on the cap aud robes worn by the Kug4 or 
 nobles of the Mikado's court, and, closing the doors of the 
 workshop, to labour in secrecy and freedom from interruption, 
 the half gloom adding to the mystery of the operation. 
 Sometimes the occasion is even invested with a certain 
 sanctity, a tasselled cord of straw, such as is hung before the 
 shrines of the Kami, or native gods of Japan, being suspended 
 between two bamboo poles in the forge, which for the nonce 
 is converted into a holy altar. 
 
 At Osaka, I lived opposite to one Kusano Yoshiaki, a 
 swordsmith, a most intelligent and amiable gentleman, who 
 was famous throughout his neighbourhood for his good and 
 charitable deeds. His idea was that, having been bred up 
 to a calling which trades in life and death, he was bound, so 
 far as in him lay, to atone for this by seeking to alleviate the 
 suffering which is in the world; and he carried out his 
 principle to the extent of impoverishing himself. No 
 neighbour ever appealed to him in vain for help in tending 
 the sick or burying the dead. No beggar or lazar was 
 ever turned from his door without receiving some mark 
 of his bounty, whether in money or in kind. Nor was 
 his scrupulous honesty less remarkable than his charity. 
 While other smiths are in the habit of earning large sums of 
 money by counterfeiting the marks of the famous makers of 
 old, he was able to boast that he had never turned out a 
 weapon which bore any other mark than his own. From his 
 father and his forefathers he inherited his trade, which, in his 
 turn, he will, hand over to his son — a hard-working, honest, 
 and sturdy man, the clank of whose hammer and anvil may 
 be heard from daybreak to sundown. 
 
FORCING THE SWORD. 
 
KJZUMA'S RUrENGE. 51 
 
 The trencliant edge of the Japanese sword is notorious. 
 It is said that the best blades vdll in the hands of an expert 
 swordsman cut through the dead bodies of three men, laid one 
 upon the other, at a blow. The swords of the Shogun used to 
 be tried upon the corpses of executed criminals ; the public 
 headsman was entrusted with the duty, and for a "nose 
 medicine," or bribe of two bus (about three shillings), would 
 substitute the weapon of a private individual for that of 
 his Lord. Dogs and beggars, lying helpless by the roadside, 
 not unfrequeutly serve to test a ruffian's sword; but the 
 executioner earns many a fee from those who wish to see 
 how their blades will cut off a head. 
 
 The statesman who shall enact a law forbidding the carry- 
 ing of this deadly weapon will iadeed have deserved well of 
 his country ; but it will be a difficidt task to undertake, and 
 a dangerous one. I would not give much for that man's life. 
 The hand of every swashbuckler in the empire would be 
 against him. One day as we were talking over this and other 
 kindred subjects, a friend of mine, a man of advanced and 
 liberal views, wrote down his opinion, more Jwpowko, iu a 
 verse of poetry which ran as follows : — " I would that all the 
 swords and dirks in the country might be collected in one 
 place and molten down, and that, from the metal so produced, 
 one huge sword might be forged, which, being the only 
 blade left, should be the girded sword of Great Japan." 
 
 The following history is in more senses than one a " Tale 
 of a Sword." 
 
 About two hundred and fifty years ago Ik^da KunaisMyu 
 was Lord of the Province of Inaba. Among his retainers 
 were two gentlemen, named "Watanab^ Yukiy^ and Kawai 
 Matazaydmon, who were bound together by strong ties of 
 friendship, and were in the habit of frequently visiting at one 
 another's houses. One day Yukiy6 was sitting conversing 
 with Matazayemon in the house of the latter, when, on a 
 sudden, a sword that was lying in the raised part of the room 
 caught his eye. As he saw it, he started and said^ 
 
 " Pray tell me, how came you by that sword ? " 
 e2 
 
52 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Well, as you know, when my Lord Ik^da followed my 
 Lord Tokugawa ly^yasu to fight at Nagakud^, my father 
 went in his train ; and it was at the battle of Nagakud^ that 
 he picked up this sword." 
 
 " My father went too, and was killed in the fight, and this 
 sword, which was an heirloom in our family for many genera- 
 tions, was lost at that time. As it is of great value in my 
 eyes, I do wish that, if you set no special store by it, you 
 would have the great kindness to return it to me." 
 
 " That is a very easy matter, and no more than what one 
 friend should do by another. Pray take it." 
 
 Upon this Yukiy^ gratefully took the sword, and having 
 carried it home put it carefully away. 
 
 At the beginning of the ensuing year Matazayempn fell 
 sick and died, and Yukiy6, mourning bitterly for the loss of 
 his good friend, and anxious to requite the favour which ho 
 had received in the matter of his father's sword, did many 
 acts of kindness to the dead man's son — a young man twenty- 
 two years of age, named Matagoro. 
 
 Now this Matagor6 was a base-hearted cur, who had be- 
 grudged the sword that his father had given to Yukiy4, and 
 complained publicly and often that Yukiy6 had never made 
 any present in return ; and in this way Yukiy^ got a bad 
 name, in my Lord's palace as a stingy and illiberal man. 
 
 But Yukiy6 had a son, called Kazuma, a youth sixteen 
 years of age, who served as one of the Prince's pages of 
 honour. One evening, as he and one of his brother pages 
 were talking together, the latter said — 
 
 " Matagor6 is telling everybody that your father accepted 
 a handsome sword from him and never made him any present 
 in return, and people are beginning to gossip about it." 
 
 "Indeed," replied the other, "my father received that 
 sword from Matagord's father as a mark of friendship and 
 goodwill, and, considering that it would be an insult to send 
 a present of money in return, thought to return the favour 
 by acts of kindness towards Matagor6. I suppose it is 
 money he wants." 
 
KAZUMA'S REVENGE. 53 
 
 When Kazuma's service was over, he returned home, and 
 went to his father's room to tell him the report that was 
 being sprea(i in the palace, and hegged him to send an ample 
 present of money to Matagor6. Yukiy^ reflected for a while, 
 and said — 
 
 " You are too young to understand the right line of con- 
 duct in such matters. Matagor6's father and nlyself -were 
 very close friends ; so, seeing that he had ungrudgingly. givf»n 
 me back the sword of my ancestors, I, thinking to requite 
 his kindness, at his death, rendered important services to 
 Matagor6. It would be easy to finish the matter by sending 
 a present of money; but I had rather take the sword 
 and return it than be under an obligation to this mean churl, 
 who knows not the laws which regulate the intercourse and 
 dealings of men of gentle blood." 
 
 So Yukiye, in his anger, took the sword to Matagor6's 
 house, and said to him — 
 
 " I have come to your house this night for no other purpose 
 than to restore to you the sword which your father gave me; " 
 and with this he placed the sword before Matagor&. 
 
 " Indeed," replied the other, " I trust that you will not pain 
 me by returning a present which my father made you." 
 
 "Amongst men of gentle birth," said Yukiy^, laughing 
 scornfully, " it is the custom to requite presents, in the first 
 place by kindness, and afterwards by a suitable gift offered 
 with a free heart. But it is no use talking to such as you, 
 who are ignorant of the first principles of good breeding ; so 
 I have the honour to give you back the sword." 
 
 As Yukiy6 went on bitterly to reprove Matagor6, the latter 
 waxed very wroth, and, being a rufBan, would have killed 
 Yukiy^ on the spot; but he, old man as he was, was a 
 skilful swordsman, so MatagorS, craven-like, determined to 
 wait until he could attack him unawares. little suspecting 
 any treachery, Yukiy^ started to return home, and Matagor6, 
 under the pretence of attending him to the door, came behind 
 him with his sword drawn and cut him in the shoulder. 
 The older man, turning round, drew and defended himself; 
 
54 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 but having received a severe wound in the first instance, he 
 fainted away from loss of blood, and MatagorS slew him. 
 
 The mother of Matagor6, startled by the noise, came oiit ; 
 and when she saw what had been done, she was afraid, and 
 said — 
 
 " Passionate man ! what have you done 1 You are a 
 murderer ; and now your life will be forfeit. What terrible 
 deed is this ! " 
 
 " I have killed him now, and there's nothing to be done. 
 Come, mother, before the matter becomes known, let us fly 
 together from this house." 
 
 " I will follow you ; do you go and seek out my Lord Ab4 
 Shirogoro, a chief among the Hatamotos,^ who was my foster- 
 child. Tou had better fly to him for protection, and remain 
 in hiding." 
 
 So the old woman persuaded her son to make bis escape, 
 and sent him to the palace of Shirogor&. 
 
 Now it happened that at this time the Hatamotos 
 had formed themselves into a league against the powerful 
 Daimios; and Abe Shirogor&, with two other noblemen, 
 named Kond6 Noborinosuk6 and Midzuno Jiurozayemon, was 
 at the head of the league. It followed, as a matter of course, 
 tha.t his forces were frequently recruited by vicious men, who 
 had no means of gaining their living, and whom he received 
 and entreated kindly without asking any questions as to their 
 antecedents ; how much the more then, on being applied to 
 for an asylum by the son of his own foster-mother, did he 
 willingly extend his patronage to him, and guarantee him 
 against all danger. So he called a meeting of the principal 
 Hatamotos, and introduced Matagor6 to them, saying — 
 
 " This man is a retainer of Ik^da Kuuaish6yu, who, having 
 cause of hatred against a man named Watanabd Yukiy4 has 
 slain him, and has fled to me for protection; this man's 
 
 1 Hatanalos. The Hatalnotos were the feudatory nohles of the Shogun or 
 Tycoon. The office of Taikun having been abolished, the Hatamotos no 
 longer exist. For further information respecting them, see the note at the 
 and of this story. 
 
KAZUMA'S REVENGE. , 55 
 
 mother suckled me when I was an infant, and, right or wrong, 
 I will befriend him. If, therefore, Ik^da Kimaish6yu should 
 send to require me to deliver him up, I trust that you wiU 
 one and all put forth your strength and help me to defend 
 him." 
 
 " Ay ! that •wUl we, with pleasure ! " replied Kondo 
 Nohorinosuke. " We have for some time had cause to com- 
 plain of the scorn with which the Daimios have treated us. 
 Let Ik^da Kunaish6yu send to claim this man, and we will 
 show hira the power of the Hatamotos." 
 
 AH the other Hatamotos, with one accord, applauded this 
 determination, and made ready their force for an armed 
 resistance, should my Lord Kunaishdyu send to demand 
 the surrender of Matagor6. But the latter remained as a 
 welcome guest in the house of Ab^ Shirogoro. 
 
 Now when Watanab4 Kazuma saw that, as the night ad- 
 vanced, his father Yukiy^ did not return home, he became 
 anxious, and went to the house of Matagoro to seek for him, 
 and finding to his horror that he was murdered, fell upon the 
 corpse and embraced it, weeping. On a sudden, it flashed 
 across him that this must assuredly be the handiwork of 
 Matagoro ; so he rushed furiously into the house, determined 
 to kiU his father's murderer upon the spot. But Matagoro 
 had already fled, and he foimd only the mother, who was 
 making her preparations for following her son to the house of 
 Ab^ Shirogor6 : so he bound the old woman, and searched all 
 over the house for her son; but, seeing that his search was 
 fruitless, he carried off" the mother, and handed her over to 
 one of the elders of the clan, at the same time laying infor- 
 mation against Matagoro as his father's murderer. "When the 
 affair was reported to the Prince, he was very angry, and 
 ordered ;that the old woman should remain bound and be cast 
 into prison until the whereabouts of her son should be 
 discovered. Then Kazuma buried his father's corpse 
 with great pomp, and the widow and the orphan mourned 
 
 over their loss. ,.,■.. ai- 
 
 It soon became known amongst the people of Abe bliiro- 
 
56 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 goro that the mother of Matagor6 had been imprisoned for 
 her son's crime, and they immediately set about planning her 
 rescue ; so they sent to the palace of my Lord Kunaishoyu a 
 messenger, who, when he was introduced to the counciUor of 
 the Prince, said — 
 
 "We have heard that, in consequence of the murder of 
 T'ukiy^, my lord has been pleased to imprison the mother of 
 Matagor6. Our master Shirogor& has arrested the criminal, 
 and will deliver him up to you. But the mother has com- 
 mitted no crime, so we pray that she may be released from a 
 cruel imprisonment : she was the foster-mother of our master, 
 and he would fain intercede to save her life. Should you 
 consent to this, we, on our side, wiU give up the murderer, 
 and hand him over to you in front of our master's gate 
 to-morrow." 
 
 The councillor repeated this message to the Prince, who, 
 in his pleasure at being able to give Kazuma his revenge 
 on the morrow, immediately agreed to the proposal, and the 
 messenger returned triumphant at the success of the scheme. 
 On the following day, the Prince ordered the mother of 
 Matagor6 to be placed in a litter and carried to the Ha- 
 tamoto's dwelling, in charge of a retainer named Sasawo 
 Dany^mon, who, when he arrived at the door of Abd Shiro- 
 gor6's house, said — 
 
 "I am charged to hand over to you the mother of Mata- 
 gor8, and, in exchange, I am authorized to receive her son at 
 your hands." 
 
 " We wiU immediately give him up to you ; but, as the 
 mother and son are now about to bid an eternal farewell 
 to one another, we beg you to be so kind as to tarry a 
 little." 
 
 With this the retainers of Shirogoro led the old woman 
 inside their master's house, and Sasawo Danyemon remained 
 waiting outside, until at last he grew impatient, and ventured 
 to hurTy on the people within. 
 
 "We return you many thanks," replied they, "for your 
 kindness in bringing us the mother ; but, as the son cannot 
 
KAZUMA'S REVENGE. 57 
 
 go with you at present, you had better return home as 
 quickly as possible. We are afraid we have put you to much 
 trouble." And so they mocked him. 
 
 When Danyemon saw that he had not only been cheated 
 into giving up the old woman, but was being made a laugh- 
 ing-stock of into the bargain, he flew into a great rage, and 
 thought to break into the house and seize Matagor6 and his 
 mother by force ; but, peeping into the courtyard, he saw 
 that it was filled with Hatamotos, carrying guns and naked 
 swords. Not caring then to die fighting a hopeless battle, 
 and at the same time feeling that, after having been so 
 cheated, he would be put to shame before his lord, Sasawo 
 Danyemon went to the burial-place of his ancestors, and dis- 
 embowelled himself in front of their graves. 
 
 When the Prince heard how his messenger had been 
 treated, he was indignant, and summoning his councillors 
 resolved, although he was suffering from sickness, to collect 
 his retainers and attack Ab6 Shixogor6 ; and the other chief 
 Daimios, when the matter Became publicly known, took 
 up the cause, and determined that the Hatamotos must be 
 chastised for their insolence. On their side, the Hatamotos 
 put forth all their efforts to resist the Daimios. So Yedo 
 became disturbed, and the riotous state of the city caused 
 great anxiety to the Government, who took counsel together 
 how they might restore peace. As the Hatamotos were 
 directly under the orders of the Shogun, it was no difficult 
 matter to put them down : the hard question to solve was 
 how to put a restraint upon the great Daimios. However, 
 one of the Gor&jiu,i named Matsudaira Idzu no Kami, a 
 man of great intelligence, Mt upon a plan by which he might 
 secure this end. 
 
 There was at this time in the service of the Shogun a 
 physician, named Nakarai Tsusen, who was in the habit of 
 frequenting the palace of my Lord Kunaish6yu, and who for 
 some time past had been treating him for the disease from 
 
 1 The first Connofl of the Shogun's ministers; literally, "assembly of 
 imperial elders." 
 
58 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 which he was suffering. Idzu no Kami sent secretly for this 
 physician, and, summoning him to his private room, engaged 
 him in conversation, • in the midst of which he suddenly 
 dropped his voice and said to him in a whisper — 
 
 " Listen, Tsusen. You have received great favours at the 
 hands ,of the Shogun. The Government is now sorely strait- 
 ened : are you willing to carry your loyalty so far as to lay 
 down your life on its behalf?" 
 
 " Ay, my lord ; for generations my forefathers have held 
 their property by the grace of the Shogun. I am willing 
 this night to lay down my life for my Prince, as a faithful 
 vassal should." 
 
 " Well, then, I will tell you. The great Daimios and the 
 Hatamotos have fallen out about this affair of Matagorfi, and 
 lately it has seemed as if they meant to come to blows. The 
 country will be agitated, and the farmers and townsfolk 
 suffer great misery, if we cannot quell the tumult. The 
 Hatamotos will be easily kept under, but it will be no light 
 task to pacify the great Daimios. If you are willing to lay 
 down your life in carrying out a stratagem of mine, peace 
 will be restored to the country; but your loyalty wiU be 
 your death." 
 
 " I am ready to sacrifice my life in this service." 
 
 " This is my plan. You have been attending my Lord 
 Kunaish6yu in his sickness ; to-morrow you must go to see 
 him, and put poison in his physic. If we can kill him, 
 the agitation will cease. This is the service which I ask 
 of you." 
 
 Tsusen agreed to undertake the deed ; and on the fol- 
 lowing day, when he went to see Kunaishoyu, he carried 
 with him poisoned drugs. Half the draught he drank 
 himself,^ and thus put the Prince off his guard, so that 
 he swallowed the remainder fearlessly. Tsusen, seeing this, 
 hurried away, and as he was carried heme in his litter the 
 death-agony seized him, and he died, vomiting blood. 
 
 1 A physician attending a personage of exalted rank has always to drink 
 half the potion lie prescribes as a test of his good faith. 
 
KAZUMA'S BErENGE. 59 
 
 My Lord Kunaish6yii died in the same way in great 
 torture, and in the confusion attending upon Ma death and 
 funeral ceremonies the struggle which was impending with 
 the Hatamotos was delayed. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Gor6jiu Idzu no Kami summoned 
 the three leaders of the Hatamotos and addressed them as 
 follows : — 
 
 " The secret plottings and treasonable, turbulent conduct of 
 you three men, so unbecoming your position as Hatamotos, 
 have enraged my lord the Shogun to such a degree, that he 
 has been pleased to order that you be imprisoned in a 
 temple, and that your patrimony be given over to your 
 next heirs." 
 
 Accordingly the three Hatamotos, after having been se- 
 verely admonished, were confined in a temple called Kan- 
 yeiji ; and the remaining Hatamotos, scared by this example, 
 dispersed in peace. As for the great Daimios, inasmuch as 
 after the death of my Lord Kunaish6yu the Hatamotos were 
 all dispersed, there was no enemy left for them to fight with ; 
 so the tumult was quelled, and peace was restored. 
 
 Thus it happened that Matagord lost his patron ; so, taking 
 his mother with hira, he went and placed himself under the 
 protection of an old man named Sakurai Jiuzayemon. This 
 old man was a famous teacher of lance exercise, and enjoyed 
 both wealth and honour ; so he took in Matagor6> and having 
 engaged as a guard thirty E6nins, all resolute fellows and 
 well skilled in the arts of war, they all fled together to a 
 distant place called Sagara. 
 
 All this time Watanab^ Kazuma had been brooding over 
 his father's death, and thinking how he should be revenged 
 upon the murderer ; so when my Lord Kunaish6yu suddenly 
 died, he went to the young Prince who succeeded him and 
 obtained leave of absence to go and seek out his father's 
 enemy. Now Kazuma's elder sister was married to a man 
 named Araki Matayemon, who at that time was famous as 
 the first swordsman in Japan. As Kazuma was but sixteen 
 years of age, this Matayemon, taking into consideration his 
 
60 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 near relationsliip as son-in-law to the murdered man, deter- 
 mined to go forth with the lad, as his guardian, and help him 
 to seek out Matagor6; and two of Matay^mon's retainers, 
 named Ishidom6 Busuk^ and Ikezoyd Magohachi, made up 
 their minds, at aU hazards, to follow their master. The latter, 
 when he heard their intention, thanked them, but refused the 
 offer, saying that as he was now about to engage in a ven- 
 detta in which his life would be continually in jeopardy, and 
 as it would be a lasting grief to him should either of them 
 receive a wound in such a service, he must beg them to 
 renounce their intention ; but they answered — 
 
 " Master, this is a cruel speech of yours. All these years 
 have we received nought but kindness and favours at your 
 hands ; and now that you are engaged in the pursuit of this 
 murderer, we desire to follow you, and, if needs must, to lay 
 down our lives in your service. Furthermore, we have heard 
 that the friends of this MatagorS are no fewer than thirty- 
 six men ; so, however bravely you may fight, you will be in 
 peril from the superior numbers of your enemy. However, 
 if you are pleased to persist in your refusal to take us, we 
 have made up our minds that there is no resource for us 
 but to disembowel ourselves on the spot." 
 I When Matay^mon and Kazuma heard these words, they 
 wondered at these faithful and brave men, and were moved 
 to toars. Then Matay^mon said — 
 
 " The kindness of yoii two brave fellows is without prece- 
 dent. Well, then, I will accept your services gratefully." 
 
 Then the two men, having obtained their wish, cheerfully 
 followed their master; and the four set out together upon 
 their journey to seek out MatagorS, of whose whereabouts 
 they were completely ignorant. ; 
 
 Matagor& in the meanwhile had made his way, with the 
 old man Sakurai Jiuzay^mon and his thirty E6mns, to Osaka. 
 But, strong as they were in numbers, they travelled in great 
 secrecy. The reason for this was, that the old man's younger 
 brother, Sakurai Jinsuk^, a fencing-master by profession, had 
 once l^.ar" p fencing-match with Matay^mon, Kazuma's brother- 
 
KAZUMA'S REFENGE. 61 
 
 in-law, and had been shamefully beaten ; so that the party 
 were greatly afraid 'of Matay^mon, and felt that, since he was 
 taking up Kazuma's cause and acting as his guardian, they 
 might be worsted in spite of their numbers : so they went on 
 their way with great caution, and, having reached Osaka, put 
 up at an inn in a quarter called Ikutama, and hid from 
 Kazuma and Matay^mon. 
 
 The latter also in good time reached Osaka, and spared no 
 pains to seek out Matagoro. One evening towards dusk, as 
 Matay^mon was walking in the quarter where the enemy 
 were staying, he saw a man, dressed as a gentleman's ser- 
 vant, enter a cook-shop and order some buckwheat porridge 
 for thirty-six men, and, looking attentively at the man, he 
 recognized him as the servant of Sakurai Jiuzay^mon ; so 
 he hid himself in a dark place and watched, and heard 
 the fellow say — 
 
 "My master, Sakurai Jiuzayemon, is about to start for 
 Sagara to-morrow morning, to return thanks to the gods for 
 his recovery from a sickness from which he has been suffer- 
 ing ; so I am in a great hurry." 
 
 With these words the servant hastened away ; and Mataye- 
 mon, entering the shop, called for some porridge, and as he 
 ate it, made some inquiries as to the man who had just 
 given so large an order for buckwheat porridge. The master 
 of the shop answered that he was the attendant of a party 
 of thirty-six gentlemen who were staying at such and such an 
 inn. Then Matay^mon, having found out aU that he wanted 
 to know, went home and told Kazuma, who was delighted 
 at the prospect of carrying his revenge into execution on the 
 morrow. That same evening Matay^mon sent one of his two 
 faithful retainers as a spy to the inn, to find out at what 
 hour Matagoro was to set out on the following morning ; and 
 he ascertained from the servants of the inn, that the party 
 was to start at daybreak for Sagara, stopping at Isd to 
 worship at the shrine of Tersh6 Daijin.^ 
 
 Matayemon made his preparations accordingly, and, with 
 1 Goddess of the smi, and ancestress of the Mikados. 
 
52 TALBS Of OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Kazuma and his two retainers, started before dawn. Beyond 
 Uj'^no, in the province of Iga, the castle town of the Daimio 
 Todo Idzumi no Kami, there is a wide and lonely moor ; and 
 this was the place upon which they fixed for the attack upon 
 the enemy. When they had arrived at the spot, Matay^mon 
 went into a tea-house hy the roadside, and wrote a petition 
 to the governor of the Daimio's castle town for permission 
 to carry out the vendetta within its precincts;^ then he 
 addressed Kazuma, and said' — 
 
 "When ■wre fall in with Matagor& and begin the fight, do 
 you engage and slay your father's murderer ; attack him and 
 him only, and I will keep off his guard of Eonins ; " then 
 turning to his two retainers, "As for you, keep close to 
 Kazuma ; and should the Eonins attempt to rescue Matagor6, 
 it win be your duty to prevent them, and succour Kazuma." 
 And having further laid down each man's duties with great 
 minuteness, they lay in wait for the arrival of the enemy. 
 Whilst they were resting in the tea-house, the governor of 
 the castle town arrived, and, asking for Matay^mon, said — 
 
 " I have the honour to be the governor of the castle town 
 of T6d& Idzumi no Kami. My lord, having learnt your 
 intention of slaying your enemy within the precincts of his 
 citadel, gives his consent; and as a proof of his admira- 
 tion of your fidelity and valour, he has further sent you 
 a detachment of infantry, one hundred strong, to guard the 
 place; so that should any of the thirty-six men attempt 
 to escape, you may set your mind at ease, for flight will be 
 impossible." 
 
 When Matay^mon and Kazuma had expressed their thanks 
 
 ' " In respect to revenging injury done to master or father, it is granted 
 by the wise and virtuous (Confucius) that you and the injurer cannot live 
 together nnder the canopy of heaven. 
 
 " A person harbouring such vengeance shall notify the same in writing to 
 the Criminal Court ; and although no check or hindrance may be offered to 
 his carrying out his desire within the period allowed for that purpose, it is 
 forbidden that the chastisement of an enemy be attended with riot. 
 
 "Fellows who neglect to give notice of their intended revenge are Hke 
 wolves of pretext, and their punishment or pardon should depend upon the 
 circumstances of the case." — Legacy of lyiyaau, ut suprk. 
 
KAZUMA 'S REVENGE. 63 
 
 for his lordship's gracious kindness, the governor took his 
 leave _ and returned home. At last the enemy's train was 
 seen in the distance. First came Sakurai Jiuzay^mon and 
 his younger brother Jinsuk^; and next to them followed 
 Kawai Matagor6 and Takdnouchi Gentan. These four men, 
 who were the bravest and the foremost of the band of E6nins,' 
 were riding on pack-horses, and the remainder were marching 
 on foot, keeping close together. 
 
 As they drew near, Kazuma, who was impatient to avenge 
 his father, stepped boldly forward and shouted in a loud 
 voice — 
 
 " Here stand I, Kazuma, the son of Yukiye, whom you, 
 MatagorS, treacherously slew, determined to avenge my 
 father's death. Come forth, then, and do battle with me, 
 and let us see which of us twain is the better man." 
 
 And before the E6nins had recovered from their astonish- 
 ment, Matay^mon said — 
 
 "I, Arak^ Matay^mon, the son-in-law of .Yulciy^, have 
 come to second Kazuma in his deed of vengeance. Win or 
 lose, you must give us battle." 
 
 When the thirty-six men heard the name of Matay^mon, 
 they were greatly afraid ; but Sakurai Jiuzay^mon urged them 
 to be upon their guard, and leaped from his horse ; and 
 MataycSmon, springing forward with his drawn sword, cleft 
 him from the shoulder to the nipple of his breast, so that he 
 fell dead. Sakurai Jinsuk^, seeing his brother killed before 
 his eyes, grew furious, and shot an arrow at Matay^mon, who 
 deftly cut the shaft in two with his dirk as it flew; and 
 Jinsuk^, amazed at this feat, threw away his bow and attacked 
 Mataydmon, who, with his sword in his right hand and his 
 dirk in his left, fought with desperation. The other Eonins 
 attempted to rescue Jinsuk4 and, in the struggle, Kazuma, 
 who had engaged Matagor6, became separated from Matay4- 
 mon, whose two retainers, Busuk^ and Magohachi, bearing 
 in mind their master's orders, killed five Efinins who had 
 attacked Kazuma, but were themselves badly wounded. In 
 the meantime, Matay^mon, who had killed seven of the 
 
64 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Eonins, and who the harder he was pressed the more bravely 
 he fought, soon cut down three more, and the remainder 
 dared not approach him. At this moment there came up one 
 Kano Tozaylmon, a retainer of the lord of the castle town, 
 and an old friend of Matayemon, who, when he heard that 
 Matay^mon was this day about to avenge his father-in-law, 
 had seized his spear and set out, for the sake of the old 
 goodwill between them, to help him, and act as his second, 
 and said — 
 
 "Sir Matayemon, hearing of the perilous adventure in 
 which you have engaged, I have come out to offer myself 
 as your second." 
 
 Matayemon, hearing this, was rejoiced, and fought with 
 renewed vigour. Then one of the Eonins, named Tak^nouchi 
 Gentan, a very brave man, Jeaving his companions to do 
 battle with Matayemon, came to the rescue of Matagor6, who 
 was being hotly pressed by Kazuma, and, in attempting to 
 prevent this, Busuk^ fell covered with wounds. His com- 
 panion Magohachi, seeing him fall, was in great anxiety ; for 
 should any harm happen to Kazuma, what excuse could he 
 make to Matayemon ? So, wounded as he was, he too engaged 
 Tak^nouchi Gentan, and, being crippled by the gashes he had 
 received, was in deadly peril. Then the man who had 
 come up from the castle town to act as Matay^mon's second 
 cried out — 
 
 " See there. Sir Matayemon, your follower who is fight- 
 ing with Gentan is in great danger. Do you go to his 
 rescue, and second Sir Kazuma: I wUl give an account of 
 the others!" 
 
 " Great thanks to you, sir. I will go and second Kazuma." 
 
 So Matayemon went to help Kazuma, whilst , his second 
 and the infantry soldiers kept back the surviving Eonins, 
 who, already wearied by their fight with Matayemon, were 
 unfit for any further exertion. Kazuma meanwhile was 
 still fighting with Matagor6, and the issue of the conflict 
 was doubtful; and Takenouchi Gentan, in his attempt to 
 rescue Matagoro, was being kept at bay by Magohachi, who. 
 
KAZUMA'S RE^ENGM. 6J 
 
 weakened by his wounds, and blinded by the blood whiqh 
 was streaming into his eyes from a cut in the forehead, had 
 given himself up for lost when Matay^mon came and cried — 
 
 "Be of good cheer, Magohachi; it is I, Matay^moij, who 
 have come to the rescue. You are badly hurt ; get out of 
 harm's way, and rest yourself." 
 
 Then Magohachi, who until then had been kept up by 
 his anxiety for Kazuma's safety, gave in, and fell fainting 
 from loss of blood; and Matayemon worsted and slew 
 Gentan; and even then, although he had received two 
 wounds, he was not fsxhausted, but drew near to Kazuma 
 and said — 
 
 " Courage, Kazuma ! The E6nins are all killed, and there 
 now remains only Matagoro, your father's murderer. Kght 
 and win !" 
 
 The youth, thus encouraged, redoubled his efforts; but 
 Matagor6, losing heart, quailed and fell. So Kazuma's 
 vengeance was fulfilled, and the desire of his heart was 
 accomplished. 
 
 The two faithful retainers, who had died in their loyalty, 
 were buried with great ceremony, and Kazuma carried the 
 head of Matagor6 and. piously laid it upon his father's 
 tomb. 
 
 So ends the tale of Kazuma's revenge. 
 
 I fear that stories of which killing and bloodshed form 
 the principal features can hardly enlist much sympathy in 
 these peaceful days. Still, when such tales are based upon 
 history, they are interesting to students of social phenomena. 
 The stdry of Kazuma's revenge is mixed up with events 
 which' ,&t the present time are peculiarly significant : I 
 mean the feud between the great Daimios and the Hata- 
 motos. Those who have followed the modem history of 
 Japan will see that the recent struggle, which has ended 
 
 p 
 
66 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 in the ruin of the Tycoon's power and the abolition of his 
 office, was the outburst of a hidden fire which had been 
 smouldering for centuries. But the repressive might had 
 been gradually weakened, and contact with Western powers 
 had rendered stiU. more odious a feudality which men felt 
 to be out of date. The revolution which has ended in the 
 triumph of the Daimios over the Tycoon, is also the triumph 
 of the vassal over his feudal lord, and is the harbinger of 
 political life to the people at large. In the time of ly^yasu 
 the burden might be hateful, but it had to be borne ; and so 
 it would have been to this day, had not circumstances from 
 without broken the spell. The Japanese Daimio, in advo- 
 cating the isolation of his country, was hugging the very 
 yoke which he hated. Strange to say, however, there are 
 still men who, while they embrace the new political creed, 
 yet praise the past, and look back with regret upon the 
 day when Japan stood alone, without part or share in the 
 great family of nations. 
 
 Note. — Hatamoto. This word means " under the flag." The 
 Hatamotos were men who, as their name implied, rallied round 
 the standard of the Shogun, or Tycoon, in war-time. They were 
 eighty thousand in. number. When lydyasu left the Province 
 of Mikawa and became Shogun, the retainers whom he ennobled, 
 and who received from him grants of land yielding revenue to 
 the amount of ten thousand kokus of rice a year, and from that 
 down to one hundred kokus, were called Hatamoto. In return for 
 these grants of land, the Hatamotos had in war-time to furnish a 
 contingent of soldiers in proportion to their revenue. For every 
 thousand kokus of rice five men were required. Those Hatamotos 
 whose revenue fell short of a thousand kokus substituted a quota 
 of money. In time of peace most of the minor othces of the 
 Tycoon's government were filled by Hatamotos, the more im- 
 portant places being held by the Fudai, or vassal Daimios of the 
 Shogun. Seven years ago, in imitation of the customs of foreign 
 nations, a standing army was founded ; and then the Hatamotos 
 had to contribute their quota of men or of money, whether the 
 country were at peace or at war. When the. Shogun was reduced 
 
KJZVMA'S REVENGE. 67 
 
 in 1868 to the rank of a simple Daimio, Ids revenue of eigh.t 
 million kokus reverted to the Government, with the exception 
 of seven hundred thousand kokus. The title of Hatamoto exists 
 no more, and those who until a few months ago held the ranL 
 are for the most part ruined or dispersed. From having been 
 perhaps the proudest and most overbearing class in Japan, they 
 are driven to the utmost straits of poverty. Some have gone 
 into . trade, with the heirlooms of their families as their stock ; 
 others are wandering through the country as E6nins ; while a 
 small minority have been allowed to follow the Mien fortunes 
 of their master's family, the present chief of which is known as 
 the Prince of Tokugawa. Thus are the eighty thousand dispersed. 
 
 The koku of rice, in which all revenue is calculated, is of varying 
 value. At the cheapest it is worth rather more than a pound 
 sterling, and sometimes almost three times as much. The salaries 
 of officials being paid in rice, it follows that there is a large 
 and influential class throughout the country who are interested 
 in keeping up the price of the staple article of food. Hence the 
 opposition with which a free trade in rice has met, even in famine 
 times. Hence also the frequent so-called "Eice Eiots." 
 
 The amounts at which the lands formerly held by the chief 
 Daimios, but now patriotically given up by them to the Mikado, 
 were assessed, sound fabulous. The Prince of Kaga alone had an 
 income of more than one million two hundred thousand kokus. 
 Yet these great proprietors were, latterly at least, embarrassed men. 
 They had many thousand mouths to feed, and were mulcted of 
 their dues right and left ; while their mania for buying foreign 
 ships and munitions of war, often at exorbitant prices, had plunged 
 them heavUv in debt. 
 
 f2 
 
A STOEY OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEDO ; 
 
 BEING THE SUPPLEMENT OP 
 
 THE STOKY OF GOMPACHI AKD KOMURASAKI. 
 
 The word Otokodat^ occurs several times in tliese Tales ; and 
 as I cannot convey its full meaning by a simple translation, 
 I must preserve it in the text, explaining it by the following 
 note, taken from the Japanese of a native scholar. 
 
 The Otokodat^ were friendly associations of brave men 
 bound together by an obligation to stand by one another in 
 weal or in woe, regardless of their own lives, and without 
 inquiring into one another's antecedents. A bad man, how- 
 ever, having joined the Otokodat^ must forsake his evil ways ; 
 for their principle was to treat the oppressor as an enemy, 
 and to help the feeble as a father does Ms child. If they had 
 money, they gave it to those that had none, and their chari- 
 table deeds won for them the respect of all men. The head 
 of the society was called its " Father ; " if any of the others, 
 who were his apprentices, were homeless, they lived with the 
 Father and served him, paying him at the same time a small 
 fee, in consideration of which, if they fell sick or into mis- 
 fortune, he took charge of them and assisted them. 
 
 The Father of the Otokodat6 pursued the calling of farming 
 out coolies to the Daimios and great personages for their 
 journeys to and from Yedo, and in return for this received 
 from them rations in rice. He had more influence with the 
 lower classes even than the ofElcials ; and if the coolies had 
 struck work or refused to accompany a Daimio on his 
 journey, a word from the Father would produce as many 
 
A STORT OF THE OWE 03 ATE OF JEBO. 69 
 
 men as might be required. When Prince Tokngawa ly^mochi, 
 the last but one of the Shoguns, left Yedo for Kiy&to, one 
 Shimmon Tatsugor6, chief of the Otokodat^, undertook the 
 management of his journey, and some three or four years 
 ago was raised to the dignity of Hatamoto for many faithful 
 services. After the battle of Fushimi, and the abolition of 
 the Shogunate, he accompanied the last of the Shoguns in 
 his retirement. 
 
 In old days there were also Otokodat^ among the Hata- 
 motos ; this was after the civU wars of the time of ly^yasu, 
 when, though the country was at peace, the minds of men 
 were still in a state of high excitement, and could not be 
 reconciled to the dulness of a state of rest ; it followed that 
 broils and faction fights were continually taking place among 
 the young men of the Samurai class, and that those who 
 distinguished themselves by their personal strength and 
 valour were looked up to as captains. Leagues after the 
 manner of those existing among the German students were 
 formed in different quarters of the city, under various names, 
 and used to fight for the honour of victory. When the 
 country became more thoroughly tranquil, the custom of 
 forming these leagues amongst gentlemen fell into disuse. 
 
 The past tense is used in speaking even of the Otokodate 
 of the lower classes ; for although they nominally exist, they 
 have no longer the power and importance which they 
 enjoyed at the time to which these stories belong. They 
 then, like the 'prentices of Old London, played a considerable 
 part in the society of the great cities, and that man was 
 lucky, were he gentle Samurai or simple wardsman, who 
 could claim the Father of the Otokodat^ for his friend. 
 
 The word, taken by itself, means a manly or plucky fellow. 
 
 Ch6bei of Bandzuin was the chief of the Otokodate of 
 Yedo. He was originally called Itaro, and was the son of a 
 certain ESnin who lived in the country. One day, when he 
 was only ten years of age, he went out with a playfellow to 
 
70 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 bathe in the river ; and as the two were playing they quarrelled 
 over their game, and Itaro, seizing the other boy, threw him 
 into the river and drowned him. 
 
 Then he went home, and said to his father — 
 
 " I went to play by the river to-day, with a friend ; and as 
 he was rude to me, I threw him into the water and killed 
 him." 
 
 When his father heard him speak thus, quite calmly, 
 as if nothiQg had happened, he was thunderstruck, and 
 said — 
 
 " This is indeed a fearful thing. Child as you are, you will 
 have to pay the penalty of your deed ; so to-night you must 
 fly to Yedo in secret, and take service with some noble 
 Samurai, and perhaps in time you may become a soldier 
 yourself" 
 
 With these words he gave him twenty ounces of silver and 
 a fine sword, made by the famous swordsmith Eai Kunitoshi, 
 and sent him out of the province with all despatch. The 
 following morning the parents of the murdered child came 
 to claim that Itaro should be given up to their vengeance ; 
 but it was too late, and all they could do was to bury their 
 child and mourn for his loss. 
 
 Itaro made his way to Yedo in hot haste, and there found 
 employment as a shop-boy ; but soon tiring of that sort of 
 life, and burning to become a soldier, he found means at last 
 to enter the service of a certain Hatamoto called Sakurai 
 Sh6zay6mon, and changed his name to Tsundhei. Now this 
 Sakurai Sh6zay^mon had a son, called Shonosuk^, a young 
 man in his seventeenth year, who grew so fond of Tsun^hei 
 that he took him with him wherever he went, and treated 
 him in all ways as an equal. 
 
 When Shonosuke went to the fencing-school Tsunehei 
 would accompany him, and thus, as he was by nature strong 
 and active, soon became a good swordsman. 
 
 One day, when Sh&zay^mon had gone out, his son Shono- 
 suke said to Tsunehei — 
 
 " You know how fond my father is of playing at football : 
 
A STORY r)F THE OTOKODATB OF TEDO. 71 
 
 it must be great sport. As he has gone out to-day, stippose 
 you and I have a game ?" 
 
 " That will be rare sport," answered Tsun^hei. " Let us 
 make haste and play, before my. lord comes home." 
 
 So the two boys went out into the garden, and began 
 trying to kick the football ; but, lacking skill, do what they 
 would, they could not lift it from the ground. At last Sho- 
 nosuk4 with a vigorous kick, raised the football ; but, having 
 missed his aim, it went tumbling over the wall into the 
 next garden, which belonged to one Hikosaka Zempachi, 
 a teacher of lance exercise, who was known to be a surly, 
 ill-tempered fellow. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! what shall we do ? " said Shonosukd. " We 
 have lost my father's football in his absence j and if we go 
 and ask for it back from that churlish neighbour of ours, we 
 shall only be scolded and sworn at for our pains." 
 
 " Oh, never mind," answered Tsun^hei ; " I will go and 
 apologize for our carelessness, and get the football back." 
 
 "Well, but then you will be chidden, and I don't want 
 that." 
 
 " Fever mind me. Little care I for his cross words." So 
 Tsun^hei went to the next-door house to reclaim the ball. 
 
 ISTow it so happened that Zempachi, the surly neighbour, had 
 been walking in his garden wj^ilst the two youths were 
 playing ; and as he was admiring the beauty of his favourite 
 chrysanthemums, the football came flying over the wall 
 and struck him full in the face. Zempachi, not used to 
 anything but flattery and coaxing, flew into a violent rage 
 at this ; and while he was thinking how he would revenge 
 himself upon any one who might be sent to ask for the 
 lost ball, Tsun^hei came in, and said to one of Zempachi's 
 servants — 
 
 " I am soiTy to say that in my lord's absence I took his 
 football, and, in trying to play with it, clumsily kicked it 
 over your wall. I beg you to excuse ray carelessness, and to 
 be so good as to give me back the baU." 
 
 The servant went in and repeated this to Zempachi, who 
 
72 TALES OF OlD JAVAN. 
 
 •worked himself up into a great rage, and ordered Tstmehei 
 to be brought before him, and said — 
 
 " Here, fellow, is your name Tsun^hei ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, at your service. I am almost afraid to ask 
 pardon for my carelessness ; but please forgive me, and let me 
 have the ball." 
 
 " I thought your master, Sh6zay6mon, was to blame for 
 this ; but it seems that it was you who kicked the footlDall." 
 
 " Yes, sir. I am sure I am very sorry for what I have 
 done. Please, may I ask for the ball ? " said Tsunehei, bowing 
 humbly. 
 
 For a while Zempachi made no answer, but at length 
 he said — 
 
 " Do you know, villain, that your dirty football struck me 
 in the face ? I ought, by rights, to kill you on the spot for 
 this; but I will spare your life this time, so take your 
 football and be off." And with that he went up to Tsunehei 
 and beat him, and kicked him in the head, and spat in 
 his face. 
 
 Then Tsunehei, who up to that time had demeaned him- 
 self very humbly, in his eagerness to get back the football, 
 jumped up in a fury, and said — 
 
 " I made ample apologies to you for my carelessness, and 
 now you have insulted and struck me. Ill-mannered ruffian ! 
 take back the ball, — I'll none of it;" and he drew his dirk, 
 and cutting the football in two, threw it at Zempachi, and 
 returned home. 
 
 But Zempachi, growing more and more angry, called one 
 of his servants, and said to him — 
 
 " That fellow, Tsunehei, has been most insolent : go next 
 door and find out ShSzay^mon, and tell him that I have 
 ordered you to bring back Tsunehei, that I may kill him." 
 
 So the servant went to deliver the message. 
 
 In the meantime Tsunehei went back to his master's 
 house ; and when Sh6nosuk6 saw him, he said — 
 
 " Well, of course you have been ill treated ; but did you 
 get back the football \ " 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKOBATE OF YEDO. 73 
 
 "When I went in, I made many apologies; but I was 
 beaten, and kicked in the head, and treated with the greatest 
 indignity. I would have killed that wretch, Zempachi, at 
 once, but that I knew that, if I did so while I was yet a 
 member of your household, I should bring trouble upon your 
 family. For your sake I bore this ill-treatment patiently ; 
 but now I pray you let me take leave of you and become 
 a Eonin, that I may be revenged upon this man." 
 
 " Think weU what you are doing," answered Sh6nosuk^. 
 "After all, we have only lost a football ; and my father will 
 not care, nor upbraid us." 
 
 But Tsun^hei would not listen to him, and was bent upon 
 wiping out the affront that he had received. As they were 
 talking, the messenger arrived from Zempachi, demanding the 
 surrender of Tsun^hei, on the ground that he had insulted 
 him : to this ShSnosuk^ replied that his father was away 
 irom home, and that in his absence he could do nothing. 
 
 At last Sh&zay^mon came home ; and when he heard what 
 had happened he was much grieved, and at a loss what to do, 
 when a second messenger arrived from Zempachi, demanding 
 that Tsun(5hei should be given up withoxit delay. Then 
 Sh6zay^mon, seeing that the mattet was serious, called the 
 youth to him, and ssud — 
 
 " This Zempachi is heartless and cruel, and if you go to 
 his house wiU assuredly kill you ; take, therefore, these fifty 
 riyos, and fly to Osaka or KiySto, where you may safely set 
 up in business." 
 
 " Sir," answered Tsun^hei, with tears of gratitude for his 
 lord's kindness; "from my heart I thank you for your 
 great goodness ; but I have been insulted and trampled upon, 
 and, if I lay down my life in the attempt, I will repay 
 Zempachi for what he has this day done." 
 
 "Well, then, since you needs must be revenged, go and 
 fight, and may success attend you ! Still, as much depends 
 upon the blade you carry, and I fear yours is likely to be 
 but a sorry weapon, I wUl give you a sword ;" and with this 
 he offered Tsun^hei his own. 
 
74 TAIMS OF'OWJAI'AN: ^' "" 
 
 " Nay, my lord," replied Tsunehei ; '' I have a famotis 
 sword, by Rai Kunitoshj, wMcli my father gave me. I have 
 never shown it to your lordship, but I have it safely stowed 
 away in my room." 
 
 When Shozayemon saw and examined the sword, he ad- 
 mired it greatly, and said, " This is indeed a beautiful blade, 
 and one on which you may rely. Take it, then, and bear 
 yourself nobly in the fight ; only remember that Zempachi is 
 a cunning spearsman, and be sure to be very cautious." 
 
 So Tsunihei, after thanking his lord for his manifold 
 kindnesses, took an affectionate leave, and went to Zempachi's 
 house, and said to the servant — 
 
 " It seems that your master wants to speak to me. Be 
 so good as to take me to see him." 
 
 So the servant led him into the garden, where Zampachi, 
 spear in hand, was "waiting to kill him. When Zampachi 
 saw him, he cried out — 
 
 "Ha ! so you have come back; and now for your in- 
 solence, this day I mean to kill you with my own hand." 
 
 "Insolent yourself!" replied Tsunehei. "Beast, and no 
 Samiirai ! Come, let us see which of us is the better 
 man." 
 
 luxuriously incensed, Zempachi thrust with his spear at 
 Tsunehei; but he, trusting to his good sword, attacked 
 Zempachi, who, cunning warrior as he was, could, gain no 
 advantage. At last Zempachi, losing his temper, began 
 fighting less carefully, so that Tsunehei found an oppor- 
 tunity of cutting the shaft of his spear. Zempachi then 
 drew his sword, and two of his retainers came up to assist 
 him; but Tsundhei killed one of them, and wounded Zem- 
 pachi in the forehead. The second retainer fled affrighted 
 at the youth's valour, and Zempachi was blinded by the 
 blood which flowed from the wound on his forehead. Then 
 Tsunehei said — 
 
 " To kill one who is as a blind man were unworthy a 
 soldier. Wipe the blood from your eyes. Sir Zempachi, and 
 let us fight it out fairly." 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODITE OF FEI)0. 75 
 
 So ZempacM, wiping away his blood, 'bound a kerchief 
 round his head, and fought again desperately. But at last 
 the pain of his wound and the loss of blood overcame him, 
 and Tsun^hei cut him down with a wound in the shoulder 
 and easily despatched him. 
 
 Then Tsun^hei went and reported the whole matter to the 
 Governor of Yedo, and was put in prison until an inquiry 
 could be made. But the Chief Priest of Bandzuin, who had 
 heard of the affair, went and told the governor all the bad 
 deeds of Zempachi, and having procured Tsun^hei' s pardon, 
 took him home and employed him as porter in the temple. 
 So Tsun^hei changed his name to Ch6bei, and earned much 
 respect in the neighbourhood, both for his talents and for his 
 many good works. If any man were in distress, he would 
 help him, heedless of his own advantage or danger, until men 
 came to look up to him as to a father, and many youths 
 joined him and became his apprentices. So he built a house 
 at Hanakawado, in Asakusa, and lived there with his ap- 
 prentices, whom he farmed out as spearsmen and footmen to 
 the Daimios and Hatamotos, taking for himself the tithe of 
 their earnings. But if any of them were sick or in trouble, 
 Ch6bei would nurse and support them, and provide phy- 
 sicians and medicine. And the fame of his goodness went 
 abroad until his apprentices were more than two thousand 
 men, and were employed in every part of the city. But 
 as for Ch6bei, the more he prospered, the more he gave in 
 charity, and all men praised his good and generous heart. 
 
 This was the time when the Hatamotos had formed them- 
 selves into bands of Otokodate,^ of which Midzuno Jiuro- 
 zay^mon, Kond6 Noborinosuk^ and Ab^ ShirogorS were the 
 chiefs. And the leagues of the nobles despised the leagues 
 of the wardsmen, and treated them with scorn, and tried to 
 put to shame Chobei and his brave men ; but the nobles' 
 weapons recoiled upon themselves, and, whenever they tried 
 to bring contempt upon Ch6bei, they themselves were brought 
 to ridicule. So there was great hatred on both sides. 
 ' See the story of Kazuma's Revenge. 
 
TAIMS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 One day, that Chobei went to divert himself in a tea-house 
 in the Toshiwara, he saw a felt carpet spread in an upper 
 room, which had been adorned as for some special occasion ; 
 and he asked the master of the house what guest of dis- 
 tinction was expected. The landlord replied that my Lord 
 Jiurozayemon, the chief of the Otokodat^ of the Hatamotos, 
 was due there that afternoon. On hearing this, Ch&bei re- 
 plied that as he much wished to meet my Lord Jiurozayemon, 
 he would lie down and await his coming. The landlord was 
 put out at this, and knew not what to say ; but yet he dare 
 not thwart Ch6bei, the powerful chief of the Otokodat^. So 
 Ch6bei took off his clothes and laid himself down upon the 
 carpet. After a while my Lord Jiurozayemon arrived, and 
 going upstairs found a )nan of large stature lying naked upon 
 the carpet which had been spread for him. 
 
 " What low ruf&an is this ? " shouted he angrily to the 
 landlord. 
 
 "My lord, it is Ch6bei, the chief of the Otokodat^," 
 answered the man, trembling. 
 
 Jiurozayemon at once suspected that Ch6bei was doing 
 this to insult him; so he sat down by the side of the 
 sleeping man, and lighting his pipe began to smoke. "When 
 he had finished his pipe, he emptied the burning ashes into 
 Chobei's navel ; but Oh6bei, patiently bearing the pain, still 
 feigned sleep. Ten times did Jiurozayemon fill his pipe,^ 
 and ten times he shook out the burning ashes on to Ch6bei's 
 navel; but he neither stirred nor spoke. Then Jiuroza- 
 yemon, astonished at his fortitude, shook him, and roused 
 him, saying — 
 
 " Ch6bei ! Chobei ! wake up, man." 
 
 "What is the matter?" said Chobei, rubbing his eyes as 
 though he were awaking from a deep sleep ; then seeing 
 Jiurozayemon, he pretended to be startled, and said, " Oh, my 
 lord, I know not who you are ; but I have been very rude to 
 
 ^ The tiny Japanese pipe contains but two or three whiflfs ; and as the 
 tobacco is rolled up tightly in the fingers before it is inserted, the ash, when 
 shaken out, is a little fire-ball from which a second pipe is lighted. 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEDO. 77 
 
 your lordship. I was overcome with wine, and fell asleep : J 
 pray your lordship to foi^ve me." 
 
 " Is your name GhSbei ? " 
 
 "Yes, my lord, at your service. A poor wardsman, and 
 ignorant of good manners, I have been very rude; but I 
 pray your lordship to excuse my ill-breeding." 
 
 "Nay, nay; we have all heard the fame of Ch&bei, of 
 Bandzuia, and I hold myself lucky to have met you this 
 day. Let us be friends." 
 
 "It is a great honour for a humble wardsman to meet 
 a nobleman face to face." 
 
 As they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish 
 and wine, and Jiurozay^mon pressed Chobei to feast with 
 him; and thinking to annoy ChSbei, offered him a large 
 wine-cup,i which, however, he drank without shrinking, and 
 then returned to his entertainer, who was by no means so 
 weU able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiuro- 
 zay^mon hit upon another device for annoying ChSbei, and, 
 hoping to frighten him, said — 
 
 "Here, Ghobei, let me offer you some fish;" and with 
 those words he drew his sword, and, picking up a cake 
 of baked fish upon the point of it, thrust it towards 
 the wardsman's mouth. Any ordinary man would have 
 been afraid to accept the morsel so roughly offered ; but 
 Ch&bei simply, opened his mouth, and taking the cake off 
 the sword's point ate it without wincing. Whilst Jiuroza- 
 y^mon was wondering in his heart what manner of man 
 this was, that nothing could daunt, Ch8bei said to him — 
 
 " This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious 
 occasion to me, and I would fain ask leave to offer some 
 humble gift to your lordship in memory of it.^ Is there 
 anything which your lordship would specially fancy ? " 
 
 1 It is an act of rudeness to offer a large wine-cup. As, however, the same 
 cup is returned to the person who has offered it, the ill carries .with it its own 
 remedy. At a Japanese feast the same cup is passed from hand to hand, each 
 person rinsing it in a bowl of water after using it, and before offering it to 
 another. 
 
 * The giving of presents from inferiors to supendrs is a common custom. 
 
78 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 : " I am very fond of, cold maccaronL" 
 
 " Then I shall have the honour of ordering some for your 
 lordship;" and with this Chobei went downstairs, and 
 calling one of his apprentices, named Token Gombei,i -^j^y 
 was waiting for him, gave him a hundred riyos (about £28), 
 and bade him collect all the cold maccaroni to' be found 
 in the neighbouring cook-shops and pile it up in front of- the 
 tea-house. So Gombei went home, and, collecting Chobei's 
 apprentices, sent them out in all directions to buy the 
 maccaroni. Jiurozay^mon aU. this while was thinking of the 
 pleasure he would have in laughing at Ch6bei for offering 
 him a mean and paltry present ; but when, by degrees, the 
 maccaroni began to be piled mountain-high around the tea- 
 house, he saw that he could not make a fool of Chobei, and 
 went home discomfited. 
 
 It has already been told how Shirai Gompachi was be- 
 friended and helped by ChSbei.^ His name will occur again 
 in this story. 
 
 At this time there lived in the province of Yamato a 
 certain Daimio, called Honda Dainaiki, who one day, when 
 surrounded by several of his retainers, produced a sword, and 
 bade them look at it and say from what smith's workshop 
 the blade had come. 
 
 " I think this must be a Masamund blade," said one Fuwa 
 Banzayemon. 
 
 "No," said Nagoya Sanza, after examining the weapon 
 attentively, " this certainly is a Muramasa."^ 
 
 1 Tdken, a nickname given to Gomtei, after a savage dog that he killed. As 
 a Chflnin, or wai'dsmau, he had no surname. 
 
 2 See the story of Gompachi and Komurasaki. 
 
 •' The swords of Muramasa, although so finely tempered that they are said 
 to cut hard iron as though it were a melon, have the .reputation of being un- 
 lucky : they are supposed hy the superstitious to hunger after taking men's 
 . lives, and to be unable to repose in their scabbard. The principal duty of a 
 sword is to jjreserve tranquillity in the world, by punishing the wicked and 
 protecting the good. But the bloodthirsty swords of Muramasa rather have 
 the effect of maddening their owners, so that they either kill others indis- 
 criminately or commit suicide. At the end of the sixteenth century Prince 
 Tokugawa ly^yasu was in the habit of carrying a spear made by Muramasa 
 
A STORT OF TEE OTOKOBATE OF YEDO. 79 
 
 A third Samurai, named Takagi TJmaiioj6, pronounced it to 
 be the work of Shidzu Kauenji ; and as they could not agree, 
 but each maintained his opinion, their lord sent for a famous 
 connoisseur to decide the point; and the sword proved, as 
 Sauza had said, to be a genuine Muramasa. Sanza was 
 delighted at the verdict ; but the other two went home rather 
 crestfallen. Umanoj6, although he had been worsted in the 
 argument, bore no malice nor ill-will in his heart; but 
 Banzayemon, who was a vain-glorious personage, puffed up 
 with the idea of his own importance, conceived a spite 
 against Sanza, and watched for an opportunity to put him 
 to shame. At last, one day Banzayemon, eager to be revenged 
 upon Sanza, went to the Prince, and said, "Your lordship 
 ought to see Sanza fence ; his swordsmanship is beyond all 
 : praise. I know that I am no match for him ; still, if it will 
 please your lordship, I wUl try a bout with him ; " and the 
 Prince, who was a mere stripling, and thought it would be 
 rare sport, immediately sent for Sanza and desired he would 
 fence with Banzayemon. So the two went out into the garden, 
 and stood up facing each other, armed with wooden swords. 
 
 with which he often scratched or cut himself by mistake. Hence the Tokugawa 
 famUy avoid girding on Muramasa blades, which are supposed to be specially 
 unlucky to their race. The murders of Gompachi, who wore a sword by this 
 maker, also contributed to give his weapons a bad name. 
 
 The swords of one T6shir6 Yoshiniitsu, on the other hand, are specially 
 auspicious to the Tokugawa family, for the following reason. After ly^yasu 
 had been defeated by Taketa Katsuyori, at the battle of the river Tenrin, he 
 took refuge in the house of a village doctor, intending to put an end to his 
 existence by hara-kiri, and drawing his dirk, which was made by Yoshimitsu, 
 tried to plunge it into his belly, when, to his surprise, the blade turned. 
 Thinking that the dirk must be a bad one, he took up an iron mortar for 
 grinding medicines and tried it upon that, and the point entered and transfixed 
 the mortar. He was about to stab himself a second time, when his followers, 
 who had missed him, and had been searching for him everywhere, came up, 
 and seeing their master about to kill himself, stayed his hand, and took away 
 the dirk by force. Then they set^him upon his horse, and compelled him to 
 .fly to his own province of Mikawa, whilst they kept his pursuers at bay. 
 After this, when, by the favour of Heaven,; lyeyasu became Shogun, it was 
 considered that of a surety there must have been a good spirit in the blade that 
 refused to drink his blood ; and ever since that time the blades of Yoshimitsu 
 have been considered lucky in his family. 
 
80 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Now Banzay^mon was proud of his skill, and thought he had 
 no equal in fencing ; so he expected to gain an easy victory 
 over Sanza, and promised himself the luxury of giving his 
 adversary a beating that should fully make up for the mortifi- 
 cation which he had felt in the matter of the dispute ahout 
 the sword. It happened, however, that he had undervalued 
 the skill of Sanza, who, when he saw that his adversary was 
 attacking him savagely and in good earnest, hy a rapid blow 
 struck Banzayemon so sharply on the wrist that he dropped 
 the sword, and, before he could pick it up again, delivered a 
 second cut on the shoulder, which sent him rolling over in 
 the dust. All the of&cers present, seeing this, praised Sanza's 
 skill, and Banzayemon, utterly stricken with shame, ran away 
 home and hid himself. 
 
 After this affair Sanza rose high in the favour of his lord ; 
 and Banzayemon, who was more than ever jealous of him, 
 feigned sickness, and stayed at home devising schemes for 
 Sanza's ruin. 
 
 Now it happened that the Prince, wishing to have the 
 Muramasa blade mounted, sent for Sanza and entrusted it to 
 his care, ordering him to employ the most cunning work- 
 men in the manufacture of the scabbard-hilt and ornaments ; 
 and Sanza, having received the blade, took it home, and put 
 it carefully away.. When Banzayemon heard of this, he was 
 overjoyed ; for he saw that his opportunity for revenge had 
 come. He determined, if possible, to kill Sanza, but at any 
 rate to steal the sword which had been committed to his care 
 by the Prince, knowing full well that if Sanza lost the 
 sword he and his family would be ruined. Being a single 
 man, without wife or child, he sold his furniture, and, turning 
 all his available property into money, made ready to fly the 
 country. When his preparations were concluded, he went 
 in the middle of the night to Sanza's house and tried to get 
 in by stealth ; but the doors and shutters were all carefutly 
 bolted from the inside, and there was no hole by which he 
 could effect an entrance. All was still, however, and the 
 people of the house were evidently fast asleep ; so he climbed 
 
A STURT OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEDO. 81 
 
 up to the second story, and, having contrived to unfasten a 
 window, made his way in. With soft, cat-like footsteps he 
 crept downstairs, and, looking into one of the rooms, saw 
 Sanza and his wife sleeping on the mats, with their little 
 son Kosanza, a hoy of thirteen, curled up in his quUt 
 between them. The light in the night-lamp was at its last 
 flicker, but, peering through the gloom, he could just see the 
 Prince's famous Muramasa sword lying on a sword-rack in 
 the raised part of the room ; so he crawled stealthily along 
 imtil he could reach it, and stuck it in his girdle. Then, 
 drawing near to Sanza, he bestrode his sleeping body, and, 
 brandishing the sword, made a thrust at his throat ; but in 
 his excitement his hand shook, so that he missed his aim, 
 and only scratched Sanza, who, waking with a start and 
 trying to jump up, felt himself held down by a man standing 
 over him. Stretching out his hands, he would have wrestled 
 with his enemy ; when Banzay^mon, leaping back, kicked over 
 the night-lamp, and throwing open the shutters, dashed into 
 the garden. Snatching up his sword, Sanza rushed out after 
 him ; and his wife, having lit a lantern and armed herself with 
 a halberd,^ went out, with her son Kosanza, who earned a 
 drawn dirk, to help her husband. Then Banzay^mon, who was 
 hidiag in the shadow of a large pine-tree, seeing the lantern 
 and dreading detection, seized a stone and hxirled it at the 
 light, and, chancing to strike it, put it out, and then scram- 
 bling over the fence unseen, fled into the darkness. "When 
 Sanza had searched aU over the garden in vain, he returned 
 to his room and examined his wound, which proving very- 
 slight, he began to look about to see whether the thief had 
 carried off anything ; but when his eye feU upon the place 
 where the Muramasa sword had lain, he saw that it was gone. 
 He hunted everywhere, but it was not to be found. The 
 precious blade with which his Priace had entrusted him had 
 
 1 The halberd is the special ann of the Japanese woman of gentle blood. 
 That which Was used by Kasa Gozen, one of the ladies of Yoshitsune, the hero 
 of the twelfth century, is still preserved at Asakusa. In old-fashioned families 
 young ladies are regularly instructed in fencing with the halberds. 
 
 G 
 
82 TALES OF OLD JAPAN 
 
 been stolen, and the blame would fall heavily upon him. 
 Filled with grief and shame at the loss, Sanza and his wife 
 and child remained in great anxiety until the morning broke, 
 when he reported the matter to one of the Prince's council- 
 lors, and waited in seclusion until he shoidd receive his 
 lord's commands. 
 
 It soon became known that Banzayemon, who had fled the 
 province, was the thief ; and the councillors made their report 
 ' accordingly to the Prince, who, although he expressed his 
 detestation of the mean action of Banzayemon, could not 
 absolve Sanza from blame, in that he had not taken better 
 precautions to insure the safety of the sword that had been 
 committed to his trust. It was decided, therefore, that Sanza 
 should be dismissed from his service, and that his goods 
 should be confiscated; with the proviso that should he be 
 able to find Banzayemon, and recover the lost Muramasa blade, 
 he should be restored to his former position. Sanza, who 
 from the first had made up his mind that his punishment 
 would be severe, accepted the decree without a murmur ; 
 and, having committed his wife and son to the care of his 
 relations, prepared to leave the country as a E6nin and search 
 for Banzayemon. 
 
 Before starting, however, he thought that he would go to 
 his brother-officer, Takagi Umanoj&, and consult with him 
 as to what course he should pursue to gain his end. But this 
 Umanoj6, who was by nature a churlish feUow, answered him 
 unkindly, and said — 
 
 " It is true that Banzayemon is a mean thief; but still it was 
 through your carelessness that the sword was lost. It is of 
 no avail your coming to me for help : you must get it back 
 as best you may." 
 
 "Ah!" replied Sanza, "I see that you too bear me a 
 grudge because I defeated you in the matter of the judgment 
 of the sword. You are no better than Banzayemon yourself." 
 
 And his heart was bitter against his fellow-men, and he 
 left the house determined to kiU Umanoj6 first and afterwards 
 to track out Banzayemon ; so, pretending to start on his jour- 
 
A STORT OF THE OTOKODATH OF TEDO. 83 
 
 ney, he hid in an inn, and waited for an opportimity to attack 
 UtnanojS. 
 
 One day Umanoj8, who was very fond of fishing, had taken 
 his son Umanosnke, a lad of sixteen, down to the sea-shore 
 with him ; and as the two were enjoying themselves, all of a 
 sudden they perceived a Samurai running towards them, and 
 when he drew near they saw that it was Sanza. Umanoj6, 
 thinking that Sanza had come back in order to talk over 
 some important matter, left his anghng and went to meet 
 him. Then Sanza cried out — 
 
 "Now, Sir Umanoj6, draw and defend yourself. What! 
 were you in league with Banzay^mon to vent, your spite 
 upon me? Draw, sir, draw! You have spirited away 
 your accomplice; hut, at any rate, you are here yourself, 
 and shall answer for your deed. It is no use playing the 
 innocent; your astonished face shall not save you. Defend 
 yourself, coward and traitor!" and with these words Sanza 
 flourished his naked sword. 
 
 "Nay, Sir Sanza," replied the other, anxious by a soft 
 answer to turn away his wrath ; " I am innocent of this deed. 
 Waste not your valour on so poor a cause." 
 
 " Lying knave ! " said Sanza ; " think not that you can im- 
 pose upon me. I know your treacherous heart ;" and, rushing 
 upon Umanoj8, he cut him on the forehead so that he fell in 
 agony upon the sand. 
 
 TJmanosuk^ in the meanwhile, who had been fishing at some 
 distance from his father, rushed up when he saw him in this 
 perilous situation and threw a stone at Sanza, hoping to dis- 
 tract his attention ; but, before he could reach the spot, Sanza 
 had delivered the death-blow, and UmanojS lay a corpse 
 upon the beach. 
 
 "Stop, Sir Sanza — murderer of my father!" cried Umano- 
 suk4 drawing his sword, " stop and do battle with me, that I 
 may avenge his death." 
 
 "That you should wish to slay your father's enemy," re- 
 plied Sanza, " is but right and proper ; and although 1 had 
 just cause of quarrel with your father, and killed him, as a 
 
 g2 
 
84 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Samurai should, yet would I gladly forfeit my life to you 
 here ; but my life is precious to me for one purpose — that I 
 may punish Banzay^mon and get hack the stolen sword. 
 When I shall have restored that sword to my lord, then 
 will I give you your revenge, and you may kill me. A 
 soldier's word is truth ; hut, as a pledge that I wiU fulfil my 
 promise, I will give to you, as hostages, my wife and boy. 
 Stay your avenging hand, I pray you, until my desire shall 
 have been attained." 
 
 Umanosuk4 who was a brave and honest youth, as famous 
 in the clan for the goodness of his heart as for his skUl in the 
 use of arms, when he heard Sauza's humble petition, relented, 
 and said — 
 
 "I agree to wait, and will take your wife and boy as 
 hostages for your return." 
 
 " I humbly thank you," said Sanza. " When I shall have 
 chastised Banzaydmon, I wiU return, and you shall claim your 
 revenge." 
 
 So Sanza went his way to Tedo to seek for Banzaydmon, 
 and Umanosuk^ mourned over his father's grave. 
 
 Now Banzaydmdn, when he arrived in Yedo, found himself 
 friendless and without the means of earning his living, when 
 by accident he heard of the fame of ChSbei of Bandzuin, the 
 chief of the Otokodat^ to whom he applied for assistance ; and 
 having entered the fraternity, supported himself by giving 
 fencing-lessons. He had been plying this trade for some 
 time, and had earned some little reputation, when Sanza 
 reached the city and began his search for him. But the days 
 and months passed away, and, after a year's fruitless seeking, 
 Sanza, who had spent all his money without obtaioing a clue 
 to the whereabouts of his enemy, was sorely perplexed, and 
 was driven to live by his' wits as a fortune-teller. Work as 
 he would, it was a hard matter for him to gaia the price of 
 his daily food, and, in spite of aU his pains, his revenge 
 seemed as far off as ever, when he bethought him that the 
 Yoshiwara was one of the most bustling places in the city, 
 and that if he kept watch there, sooner or later he wotild 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATJE OF TEDO. 85 
 
 be sure to fall in with Banzay^mon. So lie bought a hat of 
 plaited bamboo, that completely covered his face, and lay 
 in wait at the Yoshiwara. 
 
 One day Banzay^mon and two of Ch6bei's apprentices 
 Token Gombei and Shirobei, who, from his wild and indocile 
 nature, was surnamed "the Colt," were amusing themselves 
 and drinking in an upper story of a tea-house ia the Yoshi- 
 wara, when T6ken Gombei, happening to look down upon the 
 street below, saw a Samurai pass by, poorly clad in worn-out 
 old clothes, but whose poverty-stricken appearance contrasted 
 with his proud and haughty bearing. 
 
 " Look there !" said Gombei, calling the attention of the 
 others ; " look at that Samurai. Dirty and ragged as his 
 coat is, how easy it is to see that he is of noble birth ! Let us 
 wardsmen dress ourselves up in never so fine clothes, we 
 could not look as he does." 
 
 "Ay," said Shirobei, "I wish we could make friends with 
 him, and ask him up here to drink a cup of wine with us. 
 However, it would not be seemly for us wardsmen to go 
 and iavite a person of his condition." 
 
 "We. can easily get over that difi&culty," said Banzay^mon. 
 "As I am a Samurai myself, there will be no impropriety in 
 my going and saying a few civil words to him, and bringing 
 him in." 
 
 The other two having joyfully accepted the offer, Ban- 
 zaydmon ran downstairs, and went up to the strange Samurai 
 and saluted him, saying — 
 
 " I pray you to wait a moment. Sir Samurai. My name is 
 Fuwa Banzayemon at your service. I am a E6nin, as I judge 
 from your appearance that you are yoursel£ I hope you will 
 not think me rude if I venture to ask you to honour me with 
 your friendship, and to come into this tea-house to drink a 
 cup of wine with me and two of my friends." 
 
 The strange Samurai, who was no other than ^ Sanza, 
 looking at the speaker through the interstices of his deep 
 bamboo hat, and recognizing his enemy Banzayemon, gave 
 a start of surprise, and, uncovering his head, said sternly— 
 
86 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Have you forgotten my face, Banzay^mon ? " 
 
 Per a moment Banzay^mon was taken aback, but quickly 
 recovering himseK, he replied, " Ah ! Sir Sanza, you may well 
 be angry with me; but since I stole the Muramasa sword 
 and fled to Yedo I have known no peace: I have been 
 haunted by remorse for my crime. I shall not resist your 
 vengeance : do with me as it shall seem best to you ; or rather 
 take my life, and let there be an end of this quarrel." 
 
 " Nay," answered Sanza, " to kill a man who repents him of 
 his sins is a base and ignoble action. When you stole from 
 me the Muramasa blade which had been confided to my care 
 •by my lord, I became a disgraced and ruined man. Give me 
 back that sword, that I may lay it before my lord, and I will 
 spare your life. I seek to slay no man neecQessly." 
 
 "Sir Sanza, I thank you for your mercy. At this moment I 
 have not the sword by me, but if you will go into yonder 
 tea-house and wait awhile, I wiU fetch it and deliver it into 
 your hands." 
 
 Sanza having consented to this, the two men entered the 
 tea-house, where Banzay^mon's two companions were waiting 
 for them. But Banzay^mon, ashamed of his own evil deed, 
 still pretended • that Sanza was a stranger, and introduced 
 him as such, saying — 
 
 "Come, Sir Samurai, since we have the honour of your 
 company, let me offer you a wine-cup." 
 
 Banzay^mon and the two men pressed the wine-cup upon 
 Sanza so often that the fumes gradually got into his head and 
 lie fell asleep ; the two wardsmen, seeing this, went out for a 
 walk, and Banzaydmon, left alone with the sleeping man, 
 began to revolve fresh plots against him in his mind. On 
 a sudd€n, a thought struck him. Noiselessly seizing Sauza's 
 sword, which he had laid aside on entering the room, he stole 
 softly downstairs with it, and, carrying it into the back yard, 
 pounded and blunted its edge with a stone, and having made 
 it useless as a weapon, he replaced it in its scabbard, and 
 running upstairs again laid it in its place without disturbing 
 Sanza, who, little suspecting treachery, lay sleeping off the 
 
A STORT OF THE OTOKODATE OF TEDO. 87 
 
 effects of the wine. At last, however, he awoke, and, ashamed 
 at having heen overcome by drink, he said to Banzay^mon — 
 
 " Come, Banzay^mon, we have dallied too long ; give me 
 the Muramasa sword, and let me go." 
 
 "Of ^course," replied the other, sneeringly, "1 am longing 
 to give it hack to you ; hut iinfortunately, in my poverty, I 
 have heen obliged to pawn it for fifty ounces of silver. If 
 you have so much money-about you, give it to me and I 
 will return the sword to you." 
 
 "Wretch!" cried Sanza, seeing that Banzayemon was trying 
 to fool him, " have I not had enough of your vile tricks ? At 
 any rate, if I cannot get back the sword, your head shall be 
 laid before my lord in its place. Come, " added he, stamping 
 his foot impatiently, " defend yourself" 
 
 " With all my heart. But not here in this tea-house. Let 
 us go to the Mound, and fight it out." 
 
 " Agreed ! There is no need for us to bring trouble on the 
 landlord. Come to the Mound of the Yoshiwara." 
 
 So they went to the Mound, and drawing their swords, 
 began to fight furiously. As the news soon spread abroad 
 through the Yoshiwara that a duel was being fought upon the 
 Mound, the people flocked out to see the sight j and among 
 them came TQken Gombei and Shirobei, Banzay^mon's com- 
 panions, who, when they saw that the combatants were their 
 own friend and the strange Samurai, tried to interfere and 
 stop the fight, but, being hindered by the thickness of the 
 crowd, remained as spectators, The two men fought des- 
 perately, each driven by fierce rage against the other; but 
 Sanza, who was by far the better fencer of the two, once, 
 twice, and again dealt blows which should have cut Ban- 
 zayemon down, and yet no blood came forth. Sanza, as- 
 tonished at this, put forth all his strength, and fought so 
 skilfully, that all the bystanders applauded him, and Ban- 
 zayemon, though he knew his adversary's sword to be blunted, 
 was so terrified that he stumbled and fell. Sanza, brave 
 soldier that he was, scorned to strike a fallen foe, and bade 
 him rise and fight again. So they engaged again, and Sanza, 
 
88 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 who from the beginning had had the advantage, slipped and 
 fell in his turn; Banzay^mon, forgetting the mercy which 
 had been shown to him, rushed up, with bloodthirsty joy 
 glaring in his eyes, and stabbed Sanza in the side as he lay 
 on the ground. Faint as he was, he could not lift his hand 
 to save himself ; and his craven foe was about to strike him 
 again, when the bystanders all cried shame upon his baseness. 
 Then Gomb'ei and Shirobei lifted up their voices and said — 
 
 " Hold, coward ! Have you forgotten how your own life 
 was spared but a moment since ? Beast of a Samurai, we 
 have been your friends hitherto, but now behold in us the 
 avengers of this brave man." 
 
 With these words the two men drew their dirks, and the 
 spectators fell back as they rushed in upon Banzay^mon, who, 
 terror-stricken by their fierce looks and words, fled without 
 having dealt the deathblow to Sanza. They tried to pursue 
 him, but he made good his escape, so the two men returned 
 to help the wounded man. When he came to himself by 
 dint of their kind treatment, they spoke to him and com- 
 forted him, and asked him what province he came from, that 
 they might write to his friends and tell them what had 
 befallen him. Sanza, in a voice faiut from pain and loss of 
 blood, told them his name and the story of the stolen 
 sword, and of his enmity against Banzay^mon. " But," said 
 he, "just now, when I was fighting, I struck Banzay^mon 
 more than once, and without effect. How could that have 
 been ? " Then they looked at his sword, which had fallen 
 by his side, and saw that the edge was aU broken away. 
 More than ever they felt indignant at the baseness of Banza- 
 y^mon's heart, and redoubled their kindness to Sanza ; but, 
 in spite of all their efforts, he grew weaker and weaker, 
 until at last his breathing ceased altogether. So they buried 
 the corpse honourably ia an adjoining temple, and wrote 
 to Sanza's wife and son, describing to them the manner 
 of his death. 
 
 Now when Sanza's wife, who had long been anxiously 
 expecting her husband's return, opened the letter and learned 
 
A STORT OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEBO. 89 
 
 the cruel circumstances of his death, she and her son 
 Kosanza mourned bitterly over his loss. Then Kosanza, who 
 was now fourteen years old, said to his mother — 
 
 " Take comfort, mother ; for I will go to Yedo and seek out 
 this Banzay^mon, my father's murderer, and I wiU surely 
 avenge his death, l^fow, therefore, make ready all that I 
 need for this journey." 
 
 And as they were consulting over the manner of their 
 revenge, Umanosuk^, the son of UmanojS, whom Sanza had 
 slain, having heard of the death of his father's enemy, came to 
 the house. But he came with no hostile intent. True, Sanza 
 had killed his father, but the widow and the orphan were 
 guiltless, and he bore them no Ol-will ; on the contrary, he felt 
 that Banzay^mon was their common enemy. It was he who 
 by his evil deeds had been the cause of all the mischief that 
 had arisen, and now again, by murdering Sanza, he had robbed 
 TJmanosuk^ of his revenge. In this spirit he said to Kosanza — 
 
 "Sir Kosanza, I hear that your father has been cruelly 
 murdered by Banzay^mon at Yedo. I know that you will 
 avenge the death of your father, as the son of a soldier 
 should : il, therefore, you will accept my poor services, I will 
 be your second, and wiU help you to the best of my ability. 
 Banzay^mon shall be my enemy, as he is yours." 
 
 " Nay, Sir UmanosukI, although I thank you from my heart, 
 I caimot accept this favour at your hands. My father Sanza 
 slew your noble father: that you should requite this mis- 
 fortune thus is more than kind, but I cannot think of 
 suffering you to risk your life on my behalf." 
 
 " Listen to me," replied Umanosuk^ smiling, " and you wiU 
 think it less strange that I should offer to help you. Last 
 year, when my father lay a bleeding corpse on the sea-shore, 
 your father made a covenant with me that he would return 
 to give me my revenge, so soon as he should have regained 
 the stolen sword. Banzay^mon, by murdering him on the 
 Mound of the Yoshiwara, has thwarted me in this ; and now 
 upon whom can I avenge my father's death but upon him 
 whose baseness was indeed its cause ? Now, therefore, I am 
 
90 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 determined to go with you to Yedo, and not before the 
 murders of our two fathers shall have been fully atoned for 
 will we return to our own country." 
 
 When Kosanza heard this generous speech, he could not 
 conceal his admiration ; and the widow, prostrating herself at 
 Umanosuk^'s feet, shed tears of gratitude. 
 
 The two youths, having agreed to stand by one another, made 
 all ready for their journey, and obtained leave from their 
 prince to go in search of the traitor Banzayemon. They 
 reached Yedo without meeting with any adventures, and, 
 taking up their abode at a cheap inn, began to make their 
 inquiries ; but, although they sought far and wide, they could 
 learn no tidiugs of their enemy. When three months had 
 passed thus, Kosanza began to grow faint-hearted at their 
 repeated failures ; but Umanosuk^ supported and comforted 
 him, urging him to fresh efforts. But soon a great misfor- 
 tune befell them: Kosanza fell sick with ophthalmia, and 
 neither the tender nursing of his friend, nor the drugs and 
 doctors upon whom Umanosuk6 spent all their mon£y, had 
 any effect on the sufferiug boy, who soon became stone blind. 
 Friendless and penniless, the one deprived of his eyesight and 
 only a clog upon the other, the two youths were thrown upon 
 their own resources. Then Umanosuk4, reduced to the last 
 extremity of distress, was forced to lead out Kosanza to Asa- 
 kusa to beg sitting by the roadside, whilst he himself, wander- 
 ing hither and thither, picked up what he could from the 
 charity of those who saw his wretched plight. But all this 
 while he never lost sight of his revenge, and almost thanked 
 the chance which had made him a beggar, for the opportunity 
 which it gave him of hunting out strange and hidden haunts 
 of vagabond life into which in his more prosperous condition 
 he could not have penetrated. So he walked to and fro 
 through the city, leaning on a stout staff, in which he had 
 hidden his sword, waiting patiently for fortune to bring \\\m 
 face to face with Banzayemon. 
 
 Now Banzayemon, after he had killed Sanza on the Mound 
 of the Yoshiwara, did not dare to show his face again iu the 
 
TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA. 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF TEBO. 91 
 
 house of Ch6bei, the Father of the Otokodat^ ; for he knew that 
 the two men, T6ken Gombei and Shirobei " the loose Colt," 
 would not only hear an evil report of him, hut would even 
 kill him if he fell into their hands, so great had been their 
 indignation at his cowardly conduct ; so he entered a company 
 of mountebanks, and earned his living by showing tricks of 
 swordsmanship, and seUing tooth-powder at the Okuyama, at 
 Asakusa.^ One day, as he was going towards Asakusa to ply 
 his trade, he caught sight of a blind beggar, in whom, in spite 
 of his poverty-stricken and altered appearance, he recognized 
 the son of his enemy. Eightly he judged that, in spite of 
 the boy's apparently helpless condition, the discovery boded 
 no weal for him ; so mounting to the upper story of a tea- 
 house hard by, he watched to see who should come to Ko- 
 sanza's assistance. Nor had he to wait long, for presently he 
 saw a second beggar come up and speak words of encourage- 
 ment and kindness to the blind youth ; and looking attentively, 
 he saw that the new-comer was Umanosuk^. Having thus 
 discovered who was on his track, he went home and sought 
 means of killing the two beggars ; so he lay in wait and 
 traced them to the poor hut where they dwelt, and one night, 
 when he knew Umanosuk^ to be absent, he crept m. Kosanza, 
 being blind, thought that the footsteps were those of Umano- 
 suk^, and jumped up to welcome him ; but he, in his heartless 
 cruelty, which not even the boy's piteous state could move, 
 slew Kosanza as he helplessly stretched out his hands to 
 feel for his friend. The deed was yet unfinished when Umano- 
 suke returned, and, hearing a scuffle inside the hut, drew the 
 sword which was hidden in his staff and rushed in ; but 
 Banzayemon, profiting by the darkness, eluded him and fled 
 from the hut. Umanosuk^ followed swiftly after him ; but just 
 as he was on the point of catching him, Banzayemon, making 
 a sweep backwards with his drawn sword, wounded Uma- 
 nosuk4 in the thigh, so that he stumbled and feU, and the 
 murderer, swift of foot, made good his escape. The wounded 
 youth tried to pursue him again, but being compelled by the 
 1 See Note at end of story. 
 
92 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 pain of his wound to desist, returned home and found his 
 blind companion lying dead, weltering in his own blood. 
 Cursing his unhappy fate, he called in the beggars of the 
 fraternity to which he belonged, and between them they 
 buried Kosanza, and he himself being too poor to procure a 
 surgeon's aid, or to buy healing medicaments for his wound, 
 became a cripple. 
 
 It was at this time that Shirai Gompachi, who was living 
 under the protection of ChSbei, the Father of the Otokodat^, 
 was in love with Komurasaki, the beautiful courtesan who 
 lived at the sign of the Three Sea-shores, in the Yoshiwara. 
 He had long exhausted the scanty supplies which he possessed, 
 and was now iu the habit of feeding his purse by murder 
 and robbery, that he might have meaas to pursue his wild 
 and extravagant life. One night, when he was out on his 
 cut-throat business, his fellows, who had long suspected that 
 he was after no good, sent one of their number, named Seibei, 
 to watch him. Gompachi, little dreaming that any one was 
 followiag him, swaggered along the street until he fell in with 
 a wardsmau, whom he cut down and robbed ; but the booty 
 proving small, he waited for a second chance, and, seeing a 
 light moving in the distance, hid himself in the shadow of a 
 Ifffge tub for catching rain-water till the bearer of the lantern 
 should come up. When the man drew near, Gompachi saw 
 that he was dressed as a traveller, and wore a long dirk ; so he 
 sprung out from his lurking-place and made to kill him ; but 
 the traveller nimbly jumped on one side, and proved no mean 
 adversary, for he drew his dirk and fought stoutly for his 
 life. However, he was no match for so skilful a swordsman 
 as Gompachi, who, after a sharp struggle, despatched him, and 
 carried off his purse, which contained two hundred riyos. 
 Overjoyed at having found so rich a prize, Gompachi was 
 making off for the Yoshiwara, when Seibei, who, horror- 
 stricken, had seen both murders, came up and began to 
 upbraid him for his wickedness. But Gompachi was so 
 smooth-spoken and so well liked by his comrades, that he 
 easily persuaded Seibei to hush the matter up, and accom- 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKOBATE OF YEDO. 93 
 
 pany him to the Yoshiwara for a little diversion. As they 
 were talking by the way, Seibei said to Gompachi — 
 
 "I bought a new dirk the other day, but I have not 
 had an opportunity to try it yet. You have had so much 
 experience in swords that you ought to be a good judge. 
 Pray look at this dirk, and teU me whether you think it 
 good for anything." 
 
 "We'll soon see what sort of metal it is made of," 
 answered Gompachi. " We'll just try it on the first beggar 
 we come across." 
 
 At first Seibei was horrified by this cruel proposal, but 
 by degrees he yielded to his companion's persuasions; and 
 so they went on their way until Seibei spied out a crippled 
 beggar lying asleep on the bank outside the Yoshiwara. 
 The sound of their footsteps aroused the beggar, who 
 seeing a Samurai and a wardsman pointing at him, and 
 evidently speaking about him, thought that their consul- 
 tation could bode him no good. So he pretended to be 
 still asleep, watching them carefully all the while; and 
 when Seibei went up to him, brandishing his dirk, the 
 beggar, avoiding the blow, seized Seibei's arm, and twisting 
 it round, flung him into the ditch below. Gompachi, seeing 
 his companion's discomfiture, attacked the beggar, who, 
 drawing a sword from his staff, made such lightning-swift 
 passes that, crippled though he was, and unable to move 
 his legs freely, Gompachi could not overpower him; and 
 although Seibei crawled out of the ditch and came to his 
 assistance, the beggar, nothing daunted, dealt his blows about 
 him to such good purpose that he wounded Seibei in the 
 temple and arm. Then Gompachi, reflecting that after all 
 he had no quarrel with the beggar, and that he had better 
 attend to Seibei's wounds than go on fighting to no purpose, 
 drew Seibei away, leaving the beggar, who was too lame 
 to follow them, in peace. When he examined Seibei's 
 wounds, he found that they were so severe that they must 
 give up their night's frolic and go home. So they went 
 back to the house of Ch6bei, the Father of the Otokodat^. 
 
94 TALES OF OLD JAPAN 
 
 and Seibei, afraid to show .himself with his sword-cuts, 
 feigned sickness, and went to bed. On the following morn- 
 ing Ch&bei, happening to need his apprentice iSeibei's 
 services, sent for him, and was told that he was sick; so 
 he went to the room, where he lay abed, and, to his astonish- 
 ment, saw the cut upon his temple. At first the wounded 
 man refused to answer any questions as to how he had been 
 hurt; but at last, on being pressed by Ch6bei, he told the 
 whole story of what had- taken place the night before. 
 When Ch6bei heard the tale, he guessed that the valiant 
 beggar must be some noble Samurai in disguise, who, 
 having a wrong to avenge, was biding his time to meet 
 with his enemy; and wishing to help so brave a man, he 
 went in the evening, with his two faithful apprentices, T6ken 
 Gombei and Shirobei "the loose Colt," to the bank outside 
 the Yoshiwara to seek out the beggar. The latter, not one 
 whit frightened by the adventure of the previous night, had 
 taken his place as usual, and was lying on the bank, when 
 Ch6bei came up to him, and said — 
 
 " Sir, I am Ch6bei, the chief of the Otokodat^, at your 
 service. I have learnt with deep regret that two of my 
 men insulted and attacked you last night. However, happily, 
 even Gompachi, famous swordsman though he be, was no 
 match for you, and had to beat a retreat before you. I know, 
 therefore, that you must be a noble Samurai, who by some 
 ill chance have become a cripple and a beggar. Now, there- 
 fore, I pray you tell me all your story ; for, humble wardsman 
 as I am, I may be able to assist you, if you will condescend 
 to allow me." 
 
 The cripple at first tried to shun Ch6bei's questions ; but 
 at last, touched by the honesty and kindness of his speech, 
 he replied — 
 
 "Sir, my name is Takagi Umanosuk^, and I am a native of 
 Tamato;" and then he went on to narrate aH the mis- 
 fortunes which the wickedness of Banzay^mon had brought 
 about. 
 
 " This is indeed a strange story," said Ch6bei, who had 
 
A STORI OF THB OTOKOBATE OF TEDO. 95 
 
 listened with indignation. " This Banzay^mon, before I knew 
 the blackness of his heart, was once under my protection. 
 But after he murdered Sanza, hard by here, he was pursued 
 by these two apprentices of mine, and since that day he has 
 been no more to my house." 
 
 When he had introduced the two apprentices to XJmano- 
 suk4 Ch6bei pulled forth a suit of silk clothes befitting a 
 gentleman, and having made the crippled youth lay aside his 
 beggar's raiment, led him to a bath, and had his hair dressed. 
 Then he bade T6ken Gombei lodge him and take charge of 
 him, and, having sent for a famous physician, caused Umano- 
 suk6 to undergo careful treatment for the wound in his thigh. 
 In the course of two months the pain had almost disap- 
 peared, so that he could stand easily; and when, after 
 another month, he could walk about a little, Chobei re- 
 moved him to his own house, pretending to his wife and 
 apprentices that he was one of his own relations who had 
 come on a visit to him. 
 
 After a while, when Umanosuk^ had become quite cured, he 
 went one day to worship at a famous temple, and on his way 
 home after dark he was overtaken by a shower of rain, and 
 took shelter under the eaves of a house, in a part of the city 
 called Yanagiwara, waiting for the sky to clear. Now it 
 » » happened that this same night Gompachi had gone out on 
 one of his bloody expeditions, to which his poverty and his 
 love for Komurasaki drove him in spite of himself, and, 
 seeing a Samurai standing in the gloom, he sprang upon him 
 before he had recognized Umanosuk^ whom he knew as a 
 friend of his patron Chobei. Umanosuk^ drew and defended 
 himself, and soon contrived to slash Gompachi on the fore- 
 head; so that the latter, seeing himself overmatched, fled 
 under the cover of the night. IJmanosuk^, fearing to hurt 
 his recently healed wound, did not give chase, and went 
 quietly back to ChSbei's house. When Gompachi returned 
 home, he hatched a story to deceive Ch6bei as to the cause of 
 the wound on his forehead. Gh6bei, however, having over- 
 heard Umanosuk^ reproving Gompachi for his wickedness, 
 
96 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 soon became aware of the truth ; and not caring to keep a 
 robber and murderer near him, gave Gompachi a present of 
 money, and bade him return to his house no more. 
 
 And now Ch6bei, seeing that Umanosuk^ had recovered 
 his strength, divided his apprentices into bands, to hunt out 
 Banzayemon, in order that the vendetta might be accom- 
 plished. It soon was reported to him that Banzayemon was 
 earning his living among the mountebanks of Asakusa; so 
 Ch6bei communicated this intelligence to Umanosuk^ who 
 made his preparations accordingly; and on the following 
 morning the two went to Asakusa, where Banzayemon was 
 astonishing a crowd of country boors by exhibiting tricks 
 with his sword. 
 
 Then TJmanosuk^ striding through the gaping rabble, 
 shouted out — 
 
 "False, murderous coward, your day has come! I, 
 Umanosuk^, the son of Umanoj6, have come to demand 
 vengeance for the death of three innocent men who have 
 perished by your treachery. If you are a man, defend 
 yourself. This day shall your soul see hell ! " 
 
 With these words he rushed furiously upon Banzayemon, 
 who, seeing escape to be impossible, stood upon his guard. 
 But his coward's heart quailed before the avenger, and he 
 soon lay bleeding at his enemy's feet. 
 
 But who shall say how Umanosuk6 thanked Chobei for 
 his assistance; or how, when he had returned to his own 
 country, he treasured up his gratitude iu his heart, looking 
 upon Ch6bei as more than a second father? 
 
 Thus did Ch6bei use his power to punish the wicked, 
 and to reward the good — ^giving of his abundance to the 
 poor, and succouring the unfortunate, so that his name 
 was honoured far and near. It remains only to record the 
 tragical manner of his death. 
 
 We have already told how my lord Midzuno Jiurozay^mon, 
 the chief of the associated nobles, had been foiled in his 
 attempts to bring shame upon Chobei, the Father of the 
 Otokodate ; and how, on the contrary, the latter, by his ready 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATM OF TEDO. 97 
 
 wit, never failed to make the proud noble's weapons recoil 
 upon him. The failure of these attempts rankled in the 
 breast of Jiurozay^mon, who hated Ch6bei with an intense 
 hatred, and' sought to be revenged upon him. One day he 
 sent a retainer to Ch6bei's house with a message to the effect 
 that on the following day my lord Jiurozay^mon would be 
 glad to see Chobei at his house, and to offer him a cup of 
 wine, in return for the cold maccaroni with which his 
 lordship had been feasted some time since. Ch6bei im- 
 mediately suspected that in sending this friendly summons 
 the cunning noble was hiding a dagger in a smile ; however, 
 he knew that if he stayed away out of fear he would be 
 branded as a coward, and made a laughing-stock for fools to 
 jeer at. ITot caring that Jiurozay^mon should succeed in 
 his desire to put him to shame, he sent for his favourite 
 apprentice, Token Gombei, and said to him — 
 
 "I have been invited to a drinking-bout by Midzuno 
 Jiurozayemon. I know full well that this is but a stratagem 
 to requite me for having fooled him, and maybe his hatred 
 will go the length of killing me. However, I shall go and 
 take my chance ; and if I detect any sign of foul play, I'll tiy 
 to serve the world by ridding it of a tyrant, who passes his 
 life in oppressing the helpless farmers and wardsmen. N'ow 
 as, even if I succeed in killing him in his own house, my life 
 must pay forfeit for the deed, do you come to-morrow night 
 with a burj'ing-tub,^ and fetch my corpse from this Jiuro- 
 zay^mon's house." 
 
 i T6ken Gombei, when he heard the " Father " speak thus, 
 was horrified, and tried to dissuade him from obeying the 
 
 ' ' The lowest classes in Japan are buried in a squatting position, in a sort of 
 barrel One would have expected a person of Chdbei's condition and means 
 to have ordered a square box. It is a mistake to suppose the burning of the 
 dead to be unirersal in Japan : only about thirty per cent, of the lower classes, 
 chiefly belonging to the Mont6 sect of Buddhism, are burnt. The rich and nobis 
 are buried in several square coffins, one inside the other, in a sitting position ; 
 and their bodies are partially preserved from decay by filling the nose, ears, 
 and mouth with vermilion. In the case of the very wealthy, the coffin is 
 completely filled in with vermilion. The family of the Princes of Mito, and 
 some other nobles, bury their dead in a recumbent position. 
 
 E 
 
98 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 mvitation. But Chobei's mind was fixed, and, without 
 heeding Gombei's remonstrances, he proceeded to give in- 
 structions as to the disposal of his property after his death, 
 and to settle all his earthly affairs. 
 
 On the following day, towards noon, he made ready to go 
 to Jiurozayemon's house, bidding one of his apprentices pre- 
 cede him with a complimentary present.'^ Jiurozay^mon, who 
 was waiting with impatience for Ch6bei to come, so soon as 
 he heard of his arrival ordered his retainers to usher him 
 into his presence ; and Chobei, having bade Ms apprentices 
 without fail to come and fetch him that night, went into the 
 house. 
 
 No sooner had he reached the room next to that in which 
 Jiurozay^mon was sitting than he saw that his suspicions of 
 treachery were well founded ; for two men with drawn swords 
 rushed upon him, and tried to cut him down. Deftly avoid- 
 ing their blows, however, he tripped up the one, and kicking 
 the other in the ribs, sent Hm reeling and breathless against 
 the wall ; then, as calmly as if nothing had happened, he 
 presented himself before Jiurozay^mon, who, peeping through 
 a chink in the sliding-doors, had watched his retainers' 
 failure. 
 
 " Welcome, welcome. Master Ch6bei," said he. " I always 
 had heard that you were a man of mettle, and I wanted to 
 see what stuff you were made of; so I bade my retainers pub 
 your courage to the test. That was a masterly throw of 
 yours. Well, you must excuse this churlish reception :- come 
 and. sit down by me." 
 
 "Pray do not mention it, my lord," said Chobei, smiling 
 rather scornfully. " I know that my poor skill is not to be 
 measured with that of a noble Samurai; and if these two 
 good gentlemen had the worst of it just now, it was mere 
 luck— that's aU." 
 
 , So, after the usual compliments had been exchanged, 
 Ch6bei sat down by Jiurozayemon, and the attendants 
 
 1 It is customary, on the occasion of a first visit to a house to carry a present 
 to the owner, who gives something of eq^ual value on returning the visrt. 
 
mMMM 
 
 .^y,— — ____ — 
 
 «-- 
 
 mi 
 
 mm-:- 
 
A STORT OF TSE OTOKODATE OF YEDO. 99 
 
 brought in wine and condiments. Before they began to 
 drink, however, Jiurozayemon said — 
 
 "You must be tired and exhausted with your walk this 
 hot day, Master ChSbei. I thought that perhaps a bath 
 might refresh you, so I ordered my men to get it ready for 
 you. Would you not like to bathe and make yourself com- 
 fortable ?" 
 
 Ch6bei suspected that this was a trick to strip him, and 
 take him unawares when he should have laid aside hi-s dirk. 
 However, he answered cheerfully — 
 
 "Your lordship is very good. I shall be glad to avail my- 
 self of your kind offer. Pray excuse me for a few moments." 
 
 So he went to the bath-room, and, leaving his clothes out- 
 aide, he got into the bath, with the full conviction that it 
 would be the place of his death. Yet he never trembled nor 
 quailed, determined that, if he needs must die, no man 
 should say he had been a coward. Then Jiurozayemon, call- 
 ing to his attendants, said — 
 
 " Quick ! lock the door of the bath-room ! We hold him 
 fast now. If he gets out, more than one life wOl pay the 
 price of his. He's a match for any six of you in fair fight. 
 Lock the door, I say, and light up the fire under the bath ;^ 
 and we'll boil him to death, and be rid of him. Quick, 
 men, quick!" 
 
 So they locked the door, and fed the fire untU. the water 
 hissed and bubbled within ; and Ch6bei, in bis agony, tried 
 to burst open the door, but Jiurozayemon ordered his men to 
 thrust their spears through the partition wall and despatch 
 him. Two of the spears Chobei clutched and broke short off; 
 but at last he was strack by a mortal blow under the ribs, 
 and died a brave man by the hands of cowards. 
 
 That evening T6ken Gombei, who, to the astonishment of 
 
 1 This sort of bath, in which the water is heated by the fire of a furnace, 
 which is lighted from outside, is called Goyemon-buro, or Ooyimon'iS bath, after 
 a notorious robber named Goy^mon, who attempted the life of Taiko >Sama, 
 the famous general and ruler of the sixteenth century, and suffered for his 
 crimes by being boiled to death in oil — a form of execution which is now 
 obsolete. ' 
 
 H 2 
 
100 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Chobei's wife, had bought a burying-tub, came, with seven 
 other apprentices, to fetch the Father of the Otokodatd from 
 Jiurozay^mon's house ; and when the retainers saw them, 
 they mocked at them, and said — 
 
 " What, have yoii come to fetch your drunken master home 
 in a litter ? " 
 
 " Nay," answered Gombei, " but we have brought a coffin 
 for his dead body, as he bade us." 
 
 When the retainers heard this, they marvelled at the 
 courage of Ch6bei, who had thus wittingly come to meet his 
 fate. So Chobei's corpse was placed in the burying-tub, and 
 handed over to his apprentices, who swore to avenge his 
 death. Par and wide, the poor and friendless mourned for 
 this good man. His son Chfimatsu inherited his property ; 
 and his wife remained a faithful widow until her dying day, 
 praying that she might sit with him in paradise upon the 
 cup of the same lotus-flower. 
 
 Many a time did the apprentices of Ch6bei meet together 
 to avenge him; but Jiurozayemon eluded all their efforts, 
 until, having been imprisoned by the Government in the 
 temple called Kanyeiji, at Uyeno, as is related in the story 
 of "Kazuma's Eevenge," he was placed beyond the reach 
 of their hatred. 
 
 So lived and so died Chobei of Bandzuin, the Father of the 
 Otokodat^ of Yedo. 
 
 NOTE ON ASAKUSA. 
 
 Translated from a native look called the " Yedo Sanj6bi,'' or Guide to 
 the prosperous City of Tedo, and other sources. 
 
 AsAKUSA is the most bustling place in all Yedo. It is famous 
 for the Temple SensSji, on the hill of Kinriu, or the Golden 
 Dragon, which from morniag till night is thronged with visitors," 
 rich and poor, old and young, flocking in sleeve to sleeve. The 
 origin of the temple was as follows : — In the days of the Emperor 
 Suiko, who reigned in the thirteenth century a.d., a certain noble, 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKOBATH: OF YEDO. 101 
 
 named Hashi no Nakatomo, fell into disgrace and left the Court ; 
 and having become a Efinin, or niasterless man, he took up his 
 abode on the Golden Dragon Hill, with two retainers, being 
 brothers, named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Tak6nari. 
 These three men being reduced to great straits, and without means 
 of earning their living, became fishermen. Now it happened that 
 on the 6th day of the 3rd month of the 36th year of the reign of 
 the Emperor Suiko (a.d. 1241), they went down in the morning to 
 the Asakusa River to ply their trade ; and having cast their nets 
 took no fish, but at every throw they puUed up a figure of the 
 Buddhist god Kwannon, which they threw into the river again. 
 They sculled their boat away to another spot, but the same luck 
 followed them, and nothing came to their nets save the figure of 
 Kwannon. Struck by the miracle, they carried home the image, 
 and, after fervent prayer, buUt a temple on the Golden Dragon HUl, 
 in which they enshrined it. .The temple thus founded was enriched 
 by the benefactions of wealthy and pious persons, whose care raised 
 its buildings to the dignity of the first temple in Yedo. Tradition 
 says that the figure of Kwannon which was fished up in the net was 
 one inch and eight-tenths in height. 
 
 The main hall of the temple is sixty feet square, and is adorned 
 with much curious workmanship of gilding and of silvering, so 
 that no place can be more' excellently beautiful. There are two, 
 gates in front of it. The first is called the Gate of the Spirits of 
 the Wind and of the Thunder, and is adorned with figures of those 
 two gods. The Wind-god, whose likeness is that of a devU, carries 
 the wind-bag ; and the Thunder-god, who is also shaped like a devil, 
 carries a drum and a drumstick.^ The second gate is called the 
 Gate of the gods TSit, or the Two Princes, whose colossal statues, 
 painted red, and hideous to look upon, stand on either side of it. 
 Between the gates is an approach four hundred yards in length, 
 which is occupied by the stalls of bucksters, who sell toys and 
 trifles for women and children, and by foul and loathsome beggars. 
 Passing through the gate of the gods Ni6, the main hall of the 
 temple strikes the eye. Countless niches and shrines of the gods 
 stand outside it, and an old woman earns her livelihood at a tank 
 filled with water, to which the votaries of the gods come and wash 
 thomselves that they may pray with clean hands. Inside are the 
 
 I This gate was destroyed by fire a few years since. 
 
102 TALES OF OLD' JAPAN. 
 
 images of the gods, lanterns, incense-burners, candlesticks, a huge 
 money-box, into which the oflferings of the pious are thrown, 
 and votive tablets ^ representing the famous gods and goddesses, 
 heroes and heroines, of old. Behind the chief building is a broad 
 space called the dkuyama, where young and pretty waitresses, well 
 dressed and painted, invite the weary pilgrims and holiday-makers 
 to refresh themselves with tea and sweetmeats. Here, too, are all 
 sorts of sights to be seen, such as wild beasts, performing monkeys, 
 automata, conjurers, wooden and paper figures, which take the place 
 of the waxworks of the West, acrobats, and jesters for the amuse- 
 ment of women and children. Altogether it is a lively and a 
 joyous scene ; there is not its equal in the city. 
 
 At Asakusa, as indeed all over Yedo, are to be found fortune- 
 tellers, who prey upon the foUy of the superstitious. "With a 
 treatise on physiognomy laid on a desk before them, they call out to 
 this man that he has an ill-omened forehead, and to that man that the 
 space between his nose and his lips is unlucky. Their tongues wag 
 like flowing water until the passers-by are attracted to their stalls. 
 If the seer finds a customer, he closes his eyes, and, lifting the 
 divining-sticks reverently to his forehead, mutters incantations 
 between his teeth. Then, suddenly parting the sticks in two 
 bundles, he prophesies good or evil, according to the number in 
 each. With a magnifying-glass he examines his dupe's face and the 
 palms of his hands. By the fashion of his clothes and his general 
 manner the prophet sees whether he is a countryman or from the 
 city. " I am afraid, sir," says he, " you have not been altogether 
 fortunate in Ufe, but I foresee that great luck awaits you in two or 
 three months ; " or, like a clumsy doctor who makes his diagnosis 
 according to his patient's fancies, if he sees his customer frowning 
 and anxious, he adds, " Alas ! in seven or eight months you must 
 beware of great misfortune. But I cannot tell you all about it for a 
 
 1 Sir Rutlierford Aloock, in his book'upon Japan, states that the portraits 
 of the most famous courtesans of Yedo are yearly hung up in the temple at 
 Asakusa. No such pictures are to be seen now, and no Japanese of whom 1 
 have made inquiries have heard of such a custom. The priests of the temple 
 deny that their fane was ever so polluted, and it is probable that the state- 
 ment is but one of the many strange mistakes into which an imperfect know- 
 ledge of the language led the earlier travellers in Japan. In spite of all that 
 has been said by persons who have had no opportunity of associating and 
 exchanging ideas with the educated men of Japan, I maintain that in no 
 country is the public harlot more abhorred and looked down upon. 
 
A STOSr OF THE OTOKODATB OF TEDO. 103 
 
 slight fee ; " with a long sigh he lays down the divining-sticks on 
 the desk, and the frightened hoor pays a further fee to hear the 
 sum of the misfortune which threatens him, until, with three feet 
 of bamboo slips and three inches of tongue, the cleyer rascal has 
 made the poor fool turn his purse inside out. 
 
 The class of diviners called Ichiko profess to give tidings of the 
 dead, or of those who have gone to distant countries. The Ichiko 
 exactly corresponds to the spirit medium of the West. The trade 
 is followed by women, of from fifteen or sixteen to some fifty years 
 of age, who walk about the streets, carrying on their backs a 
 divining-box about a foot square ; they have no shop or stall, but 
 wander about, and are invited into their customers' houses. The 
 ceremony of divination is very simple. A porcelain bowl filled 
 with water is placed upon a tray, and the customer, having written 
 the name of the person with whom he wishes to hold communion 
 on a long slip of paper, rolls it into a spill, which he dips into the 
 water, and thrice sprinkles the Ichiko, or medium. She, resting her 
 elbow upon her divining-box, and leaning her head upon her hand, 
 mutters prayers and incantations until she has summoned the soul 
 of the dead ox absent person, which takes possession of hor, and 
 answers questions through her mouth. The prophecies which the 
 Ichiko utters during her trance are held in high esteem by the 
 superstitious and vulgar. 
 
 Hard by Asakusa is the theatre street. The theatres are called 
 Shiba-i,^ " turf places," from the fact that the first theatrical per- 
 formances were held on a turf plot. The origin of the drama in 
 Japan, as elsewhere, was religious. In the reign of the Emperor 
 Heij6 (a.d. 805), there was a sudden volcanic depression of the 
 earth close by a pond called Sarusawa, or the Mpniey's Marsh, at 
 Nara, in the province of Yamato, and a poisonous smoke issuing 
 from the cavity struck down with sickness all those who came 
 within its baneful influence; so the people brought quantities of 
 firewood, which they burnt in order that the poisonous vapour might 
 be dispelled. The fire, being the male influence, would assimilate 
 with and act as an antidote upon the mephitic smoke, which was a 
 
 1 In Dr. Hepburn's Dictionary of the Japanese language, the Chinese 
 characters given for the word Shiba-i are cM chcmg (keih clumg, Morrison's 
 Dictionary), " theatrical arena." The characters which are usually written, 
 and which are etymologically correct, are chih chii {che keu, Morrison), " the 
 place of plants or turf-plot." 
 
101 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 female influence.^ Besides this, as a further charm to exorcise tha 
 portent, the dance called 8ambas6, ■which is still performed as 
 a prelude to theatrical exhibitions by an actor dressed up as a 
 venerable old man, emblematic of long life and felicity, was danced 
 on a plot of turf iu front of the Temple Kofukuji. By these means 
 the smoke *as dispelled, and the drama was originated. The story 
 is to bo found in the Zoku Nihon Ki, or supplementary history 
 of Japan. 
 
 Three centuries later, during the reign of the Emperor Toba 
 (a.d. 1108), there lived a woman called Iso no Zenji, who is looked 
 upon as the mother of the Japanese drama. Her performances, 
 however, seem only to have consisted in dancing or posturing 
 dressed up in the costume of the nobles of the Court, from which 
 fact her dance was called Otoko-mai, or the man's dance. Her name 
 is only worth mentioning on account of the respect in which her 
 memory is held by actors. 
 
 It was not until the year 1624 a.d. that a man named Saruwaka 
 KanzaburS, at the command of the Shogun, opened the first 
 theatre in Yedo in the Nakabashi, or Middle Bridge Street, where 
 it remained until eight years later, when it was removed to the 
 Ningiy&j or DoU Street. The company of this theatre was formed 
 by two families named Miako and Ichimura, who did not long 
 enjoy their monopoly, for in the year 1644 we find a third faraily, 
 that of Yamamura, setting up a rival theatre in the Kobiki, or 
 Sawyer Street. 
 
 In the year 1651, the Asiatic prejudice in favour of keeping 
 persons of one calling in one place exhibited itself by the removal 
 of the play-houses to their present site, and the street was called the 
 Saruwaka Street, after Saruwaka Kanzaburo, the founder of the 
 drama in Yedo. 
 
 Theatrical performances go on from six in the morndng until six 
 in the evening. Just as the day is about to dawn in the east, the 
 sound of the drum is heard, and the dance Sambasd is danced as a 
 prelude, and after this follow the dances of the famous actors of 
 old ; these are called the extra performances {wold Idydgen). 
 
 The dance of Ifakamura represents the demon Shudend6ji, an 
 ogre who was destroyed by the hero Yorimitsu according to the 
 
 ' This refers to the Chinese doctrine of the Yang and Yin, the male an-' 
 female influences pervading all creation. 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOEOBATM OF TEDO. 106 
 
 following legend : — At the beginning of the eleventh century, when 
 Ichij& the Second was Emperor, lived the hero Yorimitsu. Now it 
 came to pass that in those days the people of Kiy6to were sorely 
 troubled by an evil spirit, which took up its abode near the Easho 
 gate. One night, as Yorimitsu was making merry with his re- 
 tainers, he said, " "Who dares go and defy the demon of the Eash& 
 gate, and set up a token that he has been there ? " " That dare I," 
 answered Tsuna, who, having donned his coat of mail, mounted his 
 horse, and rode out through the dark bleak night to the Eash6 gate. 
 Having written his name upon the gate, he was about to turn home- 
 wards when his horse began to shiver with fear, and a huge hand 
 coming forth from the gate seized the back of the knight's helmet. 
 Tsuna, nothing daunted, struggled to get free, but in vain, so 
 drawing his sword he cut off the demon's arm, and the spirit with 
 a howl fled into the night. But Tsuna carried home the arm in' 
 triumph, and locked it up in a box. One night the demon, having 
 taken the shape of Tsuna's aunt, came to him and said, " I pray 
 thee show me the arm of the liend." Tsuna answered, "I have 
 shown it to no man, and yet to thee I will show it" So he brought 
 forth the box and opened it, when suddenly a black cloud shrouded 
 the figure of the supposed aunt, and the demon, having regained 
 its arm, disappeared. From that time forth the people were more 
 than ever troubled by the demon, who carried off to the hills all the 
 fairest virgins of Kiy6to, whom he ravished and ate, so that there 
 was scarce a beautiful damsel left in the city. Then was the 
 Emperor very sorrowful, and he commanded Yorimitsu to destroy 
 the monster ; and the hero, having made ready, went forth with 
 four trusty knights and another great captain to search among the 
 hidden places of the mountains. One day as they were journeying 
 far from the haunts of men, they fell in with an old man, who, 
 having bidden them to enter his dwelling, treated them kindly, and 
 set before them wine to drink ; and when they went away, and took 
 their leave of him, he gave them a present of more wine tp take 
 away with them. Now this old man was a mountain god. As they 
 went on their way they met a beautiful lady, who was washing 
 blood-stained clothes in the waters of the valley, weeping bitterly 
 the while. When they asked her why she shed tears, she answered, 
 " Sirs, I am a woman from Kiy6to, whom the demon has carried off ; 
 he makes me wash his clothes, and when he is weary of me, he will 
 kill and eat me. I pray your lordships to save me." Then the six 
 
106 TAMS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 heroes bade tlie •woman lead them to the ogre's cave, where a 
 hundred devils were mounting guard and waiting upon him. The 
 woman, having gone in first, told the fiend of their coming ; and 
 he, thinking to slay and eat them, called them to him ; so they 
 entered the cave, which reeked with the smell of the flesh and 
 blood of men, and they saw Shudend6ji, a huge monster with the 
 face of a little child. The six men offered him the wine which 
 they had received from the mountain god, and he, laughing in his 
 heart, drank and made merry, so that little by little the fumes of 
 the wine got into his head, and he fell asleep. The heroes, them- 
 selves feigning sleep, watched for a moment when the devils were 
 aU off their guard to put on their armour and steal one by one into 
 the demon's chamber. Then Yorimitsu, seeing that all was stiU, 
 drew his sword, and cut off Shudend6ji's head, which sprung up 
 and bit at his head ; luckily, however, Yorimitsu had put on two 
 helmets, the one over the other, so he was not hurt. When all the 
 devils had been slain, the heroes and the woman returned to Kiy6to 
 carrying with them the head of ShudendSji, which was laid before 
 the Emperor; and the fame of their action was spread abroad 
 under heaven. 
 
 This Shudend&ji is the ogre represented in the Nakamura dance. 
 The Ichimura dance represents the seven gods of wealth ; and 
 the Morita dance represents a large ape, and is emblematical of 
 drinking wine. 
 
 As soon as the sun begins to rise in the heaven, sign-boards 
 all glistening with paintings and gold are displayed, and the 
 play-goers flock in crowds to the theatre. The farmers and 
 country-folk hurry over their breakfast, and thp women and 
 children, who have got up in the middle of the night to paint 
 and adorn themselves, come from all the points of the compass 
 to throng the gallery, which is hung with curtains as bright as 
 the rainbow in the departing clouds. The place soon becomes 
 so crowded that the heads of the spectators are like the scales 
 on a dragon's back. "When the play begins, if the subject be 
 tragic the spectators are so affected that they weep till they 
 have to wring their sleeves dry. If the piece be comic they 
 laugh till their chins are out of joint. The tricks and strata- 
 gems of the drama baffle description, and the actors are as grace- 
 ful as the flight of the swallow. The triumph of persecuted virtue 
 and the punishment of wickedness invariably crown the story. 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF TEDO. 107 
 
 When a favourite actor makes Lis appearance, his entry is hailed 
 with cheers. Fun and diversion are the order of the day, and 
 rich and poor alike forget the cares which they have left he- 
 hind them at home ; and' yet it is not all idle amusement, for 
 there is a moral taught, and a practical sermon preached in everj' 
 
 The subjects of the pieces are chiefly historical, feigned names 
 being substituted for those of the real heroes. Indeed, it is in 
 the popular tragedies that we must seek for an account of many 
 of the events of the last two hundred and fifty years ; for only 
 one very bald history* of those times has been published, of which 
 but a limited number of copies were struck off from copper plates, 
 and its circulation was strictly forbidden by the Shogun's Govern- 
 ment. The stories are rendered with great minuteness and detail, 
 so much so, that it sometimes takes a series of representations to 
 act out one piece in its entirety. The Japanese are far in advance 
 of the Chinese in their scenery and properties, and their pieces 
 are sometimes capitally got up : a revolving stage enables thenl 
 to shift from one scene to another with great rapidity. First-rate 
 actors receive as much as a thousand riyos (about J300) as their 
 yearly salary. This, however, ,is a high rate of pay, and many 
 a man has to strut before the public for little more than his daily 
 rice; to a clever young actor it is almost enough reward to be 
 allowed to €nter a company in which there is a famous star. The 
 salary of the actor, however, may depend upon the success of 
 the theatre,^ for dramatic exhibitions are often undertaken as specu- 
 lations by wealthy persons, ~who pay their company in proportion 
 to their, own profit. Beside his regular pay, a popular Japanese 
 actor has a small mine of wealth in his patrons, who open their 
 purses freely for the privilege of frequenting the green-room. The 
 women's parts are aU taken by men, as they used to be with us in 
 ancient days. Touching the popularity of plays, it is related that 
 in the year 1833, when two actors called Band6 Shdka and Segawa 
 Eok6, both famous players of women's parts, died at the same 
 time, the people of Yedo mourned to heaven and to earth ; and if 
 a million riyos could have brought back their lives, the money 
 would have been forthcoming. Thousands flocked to their funeral, 
 
 1 I allude to the Tai Hei Nem-piyS, or Annals of the Great Peace, a very 
 rare work, only two or three copies of which have found their way into the 
 libraries of foreigners. 
 
108 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 and the ricliness of their coffins and of the clothes laid upon them 
 was admired by all. 
 
 " When I heard this,'' says Terakado Seiken, the author of the 
 Yedo Hanjdhi, " I lifted my eyes to heaven and heaved a great 
 sigh. When my friend Sait6 Shimei, a learned and good man, 
 died, there -was barely enough money to bury him ; his needy 
 pupils and friends subscribed to give him a humble coffin. Alas ! 
 alas ! here was a teacher who from his youth up had honoured his 
 parents, and whose heart knew no guile : if his Mends were in need, 
 he ministered to their wants ; he grudged no pains to teach his 
 feUow-men ; his goodwill and charity were beyond praise ; under 
 the blue sky and bright day he never did a shameful deed. His 
 merits were as those of the sages of old ; but because he lacked 
 the cunning of a fox or badger he received no patronage from the 
 wealthy, and, remaining poor to the day of his death, never had an 
 opportunity of making his worth known. Alas ! alas ! " 
 
 The drama is exclusively the amusement of the middle and lower 
 classes. Etiquette, sternest of tyrants, forbids the Japanese of high 
 rank to be seen at any public exhibition, wrestling-matches alone 
 excepted. Actors are, however, occasionally engaged to play in 
 private for the edification of my lord and his ladies ; and there is 
 a kind of classical opera, called IfS, which is performed on stages 
 specially built for the purpose in the palaces of the principal 
 nobles. These N6 represent the entertainments by which the 
 Sun Goddess was lured out of the cave in which she had hidden, 
 a fable said to be based upon an eclipse. In the reign of 
 the Emperor Y6mei (a.d. 586 — 593), Hada Kawakatsu, a man 
 bom in Japan, but of Chinese extraction, was commanded by the 
 Emperor to arrange an entertainment for the propitiation of the 
 gods and the prosperity of the country. Kawakatsu wrote thirty- 
 three plays, introducing fragments of Japanese poetry with accom- 
 paniments of musical instruments. Two performers, named Tak^ta 
 and Hattori, having especially distinguished themselves in these 
 entertainments, were ordered to prepare other similar plays, and 
 their productions remain to the present day. The pious intention 
 of the N6 being to pray for the prosperity of the country, they are 
 held in the highest esteem by the nobles of the Court, the Daihiios, 
 and the military class : in old days they alone performed in these 
 plays, but now ordinary actors take part in them. 
 
 The N6 are played in sets. The first of the set is specially dedi- 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEDO. 109 
 
 cated to the propitiation of the gods ; the second is performed in 
 full armour, and is designed to terrify evil spirits, and to insure 
 the punishment of malefactors ; the third is of a gentler intention 
 and its special object is the representation of all that is beautiful 
 and fragrant and delightful. The performers wear hideous wigs and 
 masks, not unlike those of ancient Greece, and gorgeous brocade 
 dresses. The masks, which belong to what was the private 
 company of the Shogun, are many centuries old, and have 
 been carefully preserved as heirlooms from generation to gene- 
 ration ; being made of very thin wood lacquered ' over, and kept 
 each in a silken bag, they have been uninjured by the lapse of 
 time. 
 
 During the Duke of Edinburgh's stay in Yedo, this company 
 was engaged to give a performance in the Yashiki of the Prince of 
 Kishiu, which has the reputation of being the handsomest palace 
 in all Yedo. So far as I know, such an exhibition had never before 
 been witnessed by foreigners, and it may be interesting to give an 
 account of it. Opposite the principal reception-room, where his 
 Eoyal Highness sat, and separated from it by a narrow courtyard, 
 was a covered stage, approached from the green-room by a long 
 gallery at an angle of forty-five degrees. Half a dozen musicians, 
 clothed in dresses of ceremony, marched slowly down the gallery, 
 and, having squatted down on the stage, bowed gravely. The per- 
 formances then began. There was no scenery, nor stage appliances ; 
 the descriptions of the chorus or of the actors took their place. 
 The dialogue and choruses are given in a nasal recitative, accom- 
 panied by the mouth-organ, flute, drum, and other classical instru- 
 ments, and are utterly unintelligible. The ancient poetry is full of 
 puns and plays upon words, ■and it was with no little difficulty that, 
 with the assistance of a man of letters, I prepared beforehand the 
 arguments of the different pieces. 
 
 The first play was entitled Hachiinan, of the Bow. Hachiman is 
 the name under which the Emperor Ojin (270 — 312 a.d.) was 
 deified as the God of War. He is. specially worshipped on account 
 of his miraculous birth ; his mother, the Empress Jingo, having, 
 by the virtue of a magic stone which she wore at her girdle, 
 borne him in her womb for three years, during which she 
 made war upon and conquered the Coreans. The time of the 
 plot is laid in the re%n of the Emperor Uda the Second 
 (1275 — 1289 A.D.). In the second month of the year pilgrims 
 
110 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 are flocking to the temple of Hachiman at Mount Otoko, between 
 Osaka and Kiy6to. All this is explained by the chorus. A wor- 
 shipper steps forth, sent by the Emperor, and delivers a con- 
 gratulatory oration upon the peace and prosperity of the land. 
 The chorus follows in the same strain : they sing the praises of 
 Hachiman and of the reigning EmperoK An old man enters, 
 bearing something which appears to be a bow in a brocade 
 bag. On being asked who he is^ the old man answers that he 
 is an aged servant of the shrine, and that he wishes to present his 
 mulberry-wood bow to the Emperor; being too humble to draw 
 near to his Majesty, ie has waited for this festival, hoping that 
 an opportunity might present itself He explains that with this 
 bow, and with certain arrows made of the Artemisia, the heavenly 
 gods pacified the world. On being asked to show his bow, he 
 refuses ; it is a mystic protector of the country, which in old days 
 was overshadowed by the mulberry-tree. The peace which prevails 
 in the land is likened to a calm at sea. The Emperor is the ship, 
 and his subjects the water. The old man dwells upon the ancient 
 worship of Hachiman, and relates how his mother, the Empress 
 Jingo, sacrificed to the gods before invading Oorea, and how the 
 present prosperity of the country is to be attributed to the accept- 
 ance of those sacrifices. After having revealed himself as the god 
 Hachiman in disguise, the old man disappears. The worshipper, 
 awe-struck, declares that he must return to Eiy6to and tell the 
 Emperor what he has seen. The chorus announces that sweet 
 music and fragrant perfumes issue from the mountain, and the 
 piece ends with felicitations upon the visible favour of the gods, 
 and especially of Hachiman. 
 
 The second piece was Tswmmasa. Tsun^masa was a hero of 
 the tweKth century, who died in the civil wars ; he was famous 
 for his skill in playing on the Uwa, a sort of four-stviaged lute. 
 
 A priest enters, and announces that his name is Giyokei, and that 
 before he retired from the world he held high rank at court He 
 relates how Tsundmasa, in his childhood the favourite of the 
 Emperor, died in the wars by the western seas. During his life- 
 time the Emperor gave him a lute, called Sei-zan, "the Azure 
 Mountain ;" this lute at his death was placed in a shiine erected 
 to his honour, and at his funeral music and plays were performed 
 during seven days within the palace, by the special grace of the 
 Emperor. The scene is laid at the shrine. The lonely and awe- 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF TEDO. Ill 
 
 some appearance of the spot is described. Although the sky is 
 clear, the wind rustles through the trees like the sound of falling 
 rain ; and although it is now summer-time, the moonlight on the 
 sand looks like hoar-frost. All nature is sad and downcast. The 
 ghost appears, and sings that it is the spirit of Tsun^masa, and has 
 come to thank those who have piously celebrated his obsequies. 
 No one answers him, and the spirit vanishes, its voice becoming 
 fainter and fainter, an unreal and Ulusory vision hauntiog the 
 scenes amid which its life was spent. The priest muses on the 
 portent. Is it a dream or a reality ? Marvellous ! The ghost, 
 returning, speaks of former days, when it lived as a child in the 
 palace, and received the Azure Mountain lute from the Emperor — 
 that lute with the four strings of which its hand was once so 
 familiar, and the attraction of which now draws it from the grave. 
 The chorus recites the virtues of Tsunemasa — his benevolence, 
 justice, humanity, talents, and truth; his love of poetry and 
 music; the trees, the flowers, the birds, the breezes, the moon — 
 all had a charm for him. The ghost begins to play upon the 
 Azure Mountain lute, and the sounds produced from the magical 
 instrument are so delicate, that all think it is a shower falling from 
 heaven. The priest declares that it is not rain, but the sound of 
 the enchanted lute. The sound of the first and second strings is 
 as the sound of gentle rain, or of the wind stirring the piae-trees ; 
 and the sound of the third and fourth strings is as the song of 
 birds and pheasants calling to theii young. A rhapsody in praise 
 of music follows. Would that such straius could last for ever! 
 The ghost bewails its fate that it cannot remain to play on, but 
 must return whence it came. The priest addresses the ghost, 
 and asks whether the vision is indeed the spirit of Tsunemasa. 
 Upon this the ghost calls out in an agony of sorrow and terror 
 at having been seen by mortal eyes, and bids that the lamps 
 be put out : on its return to the abode of the dead it wiU 
 suffer for having shown itself: it describes the fiery torments 
 which will be its lot. Poor fool! it has been lured to its de- 
 struction, like the insect of summer that flies into the flame. 
 Summoning the winds to its aid, it puts out the lights, and 
 disappears. 
 
 The Suit of Feathers is the title of a very pretty conceit which 
 followed. A fisherman enters, and in a long recitative describes 
 the scenery at the sea-shore of Miwo, in the province of Suruga. 
 
112 TALES OF OLD JAPAN 
 
 at the foot of Fujiyama, tie Peerless Mountain. The waves are 
 stni, and there is a great calm ; the fishermen are aU. out plying 
 their trade. The speaker's name is Hakuriyo, a fisherman living 
 in the pine-grove of Miwo. The rains are now over, and the sky 
 is serene; the sun rises bright and red over the pine-trees and 
 rippling sea; while last night's moon is yet seen faintly in the 
 heaven. Even he, humble fisher though he be, is softened by the 
 beauty of the nature which surrounds him. A breeze springs up, 
 the weather will change ; clouds and waves will succeed sunshine 
 and calm ; the fishermen must get them home again. No ; it is 
 but the gentle breath of spring, after aU ; it scarcely stirs the stout 
 fir-trees, and the waves are hardly heard to break upon the shore. 
 The men may go forth iu safety. The fisherman then relates how, 
 while he was wondering at the view, flowers began to rain from the 
 sky, and sweet music filled the air, which was p'erfumed by a mystic 
 fragrance. Looking up, he saw hanging on a pine-tree a fairy's suit 
 of feathers, which he took home, and showed to a friend, intending 
 to keep it as a relic in his house. A heavenly fairy makes her appear- 
 ance, and claims the suit of feathers ; but the fisherman holds to his 
 treasure trove. She urges the impiety of his act — a mortal has no 
 right to take that which belongs to t 'e fairies. He declares that 
 he will hand down the feather suit to posterity as one of the 
 treasures of the country. The fairy bewails her lot ; without her 
 wings how can she return to heaven ? She recalls the familiar 
 joys of heaven, now closed to her ; she sees the wild geese and the 
 gulls flying to the skies, and longs for their power of flight ; the 
 tide has its ebb and its flow, and the sea-breezes blow whither they 
 list ; for her alone there is no power of motion, she must remain 
 on earth. At last, touched by her plaint, the fisherman consents to 
 return the feather suit, on condition that the fairy shall dance and 
 play heavenly music for him. She consents, but must first obtain 
 the feather suit, without which she cannot dance. The fisherman 
 refuses to give it up, lest she should fly away to heaven without 
 redeeming her pledge. The fairy reproaches him for his want of 
 faith : how should a heavenly being be capable of falsehood ? He 
 is ashamed, and gives her the feather suit, which she dons, and 
 begins to dance, singing of the delights of heaven, where she is 
 one of the fifteen attendants who minister to the moon. The 
 fisherman is so transported with joy, that he fancies himself in 
 heaven, and wishes to detain the fairy to dwell with him for ever. 
 
A STORY OF THU OTOKODATe' OF YEDO. 113 
 
 A song follows in praise of the scenery and of the Peerless 
 Mountain capped with the snows of spring. When her dance is 
 concluded, the fairy, wafted away by the sea-breeze, floats past the 
 pine-groye to Ukishima and Mount Ashidaka, over Mount Fuji, 
 till she is seen dimly like a cloud in the distant sky, and vanishes 
 into thin air. 
 
 The last of the Isr6 was The Little Smith, the scene of which 
 is laid in the reign of the Emperor Ichij6 (987 — 1011 a.d.). A 
 noble of the court enters, and proclaims himself to be Taohibana 
 Michinari. He has been commanded by the Emperor, who has 
 seen a dream of good omen on the previous night, to order a 
 sword of the smith Munechika of Sanj6. He calls Mun&hika, 
 who comes out, and, after receiving the order, expresses the 
 diflBculty he is in, having at that time no fitting mate to help 
 him; he cannot forge a blade alone. The excuse is not ad- 
 mitted ; the smith pleads hard to be saved from the shame of 
 a failure. Driven to a compliance, there is nothing left for it 
 but to appeal to the gods for aid. He prays to the patron god 
 of his family, Inari Sama.^ A man suddenly appears, and calls 
 the smith ; this man is the god Inari Sama in disguise. The smith 
 asks who is his visitor, and how does he know him by name. The 
 stranger answers, " Thou hast been ordered to make a blade for the 
 Emperor." " This is passing strange," says the smith. " I received 
 the order but a moment since ; how comest thou to know of it ? " 
 " Heaven has a voice which is beard upon the earth. "Walls have 
 ears, and stones teU tales. ^ There are no secrets in the world. The 
 flash of the blade ordered by him who is above the clouds (the 
 Emperor) is quicHy seen. By the grace of the Emperor the sword 
 shall be quickly made." Here follows the praise of certain famous 
 blades, and an account of the part they played in history, with 
 special reference to the sword which forms one of the regalia. The 
 sword which the Emperor has sent for shall be inferior to none of 
 these ; the smith may set his heart at rest. The smith, awestruck, 
 expresses his wonder, and asks again who is addressing -him. He 
 is bidden to go and deck out his anvil, and a supernatural power 
 wiU help him. The visitor disappears in a cloud. The smith 
 prepares his anvil, at the four comers of which he places images of 
 
 ^ The note at the end of the Story of the Grateful Foxes contains an 
 account of Inari Sama, and explains how the foxes minister to him. 
 ^ This is a literal translation of a Japanese proverb. 
 
 I 
 
ii4 tji:es of old japan. 
 
 tte gods, while above it he stretches the straw rope and paper 
 pendants hung up in temples to shut out foul or ill-omened in- 
 fluences. He prays for strength to make the blade, not for his own 
 glory, but for the honour of the Emperor. A young man, a fox in 
 disguise, appears, and helps Mun^chika to forge the steel. The 
 noise of the anvil resounds to heaven and over the earth. The 
 ■ chorus announces that the blade is finished ; on one side is the 
 mark of Mun^chika, on the other is graven " The Little Fox " in 
 clear characters. 
 
 The subjects of the N6 are all taken from old legends of the 
 country; a shrine at Miwo, by the sea^shore, marks the spot where 
 the suit of feathers was found, and the miraculously forged sword 
 is supposed to be in the armoury of the Emperor to this day. The 
 beauty of the poetry — and it is very beautiful — is marred by the 
 want of scenery and by the grotesque dresses and make-up. In 
 the Suit of Feathers, for instance, the fairy wears a hideous mask 
 and a wig of scarlet elf locks : the suit of feathers itself is left 
 entirely to the imagination ; and the heavenly dance is a series of 
 whirls, stamps, and jumps, accompanied by unearthly yells and 
 shrieks ; while the vanishing into thin air is represented by 
 pirouettes something Hke the motion of a dancing dervish. The 
 intoning of the recitative is unnatural and unintelligible, so 
 much so that not even a highly educated Japanese could under- 
 stand what is going on unless he were previously acquainted 
 with the piece. This, however, is supposing that which is not, 
 for the N6 are as fanuliarly known as the jnaster-pieoes of our 
 own dramatists. 
 
 The classical severity of the N6 is relieved by the introduction 
 between the pieces of Ught farces called Kiy6gen. The whole 
 entertainment having a religious intention, the Kiydgen stand to 
 the N6 in the same relation as the small shrines to the main 
 temple ; they, too, are played for the propitiation of the gods, 
 and for the softening of men's hearts. The farces are acted 
 without wigs or masks ; the dialogue is in the common spoken 
 language, and there being no musical accompaniment it is quite 
 easy to follow. The plots of the two farces which were played 
 before the Duke of Edinburgh are as follows : — 
 
 In the Irik Smearing the hero is a man from a distant part of 
 the country, who, having a petition to prefer, comes to the capital, 
 where he is detained for a long while. His suit being at last 
 
d STORY OF TB?j OTOKODATB OF TEDO. ' 115' 
 
 successful, he communicates the joyful news to his servant, TarQ- 
 kaja (the conventional name of the Leporello of these farces), 
 The two congratulate one another. To while away his idle hours 
 during his sojourn at the capital the master has entered into a 
 flirtation with a certain young lady : master and servant now hold 
 a consultation as to whether the former should not go and take 
 leave of her. Tar6kaja is of opinion that as she is of a very jealous 
 nature, his master ought to go. Accordingly the two set out to 
 visit her, the servant leading the way. Arrived at her house, the 
 gentleman goes straight in without the knowledge of the lady, who, 
 coming out and meeting Tarfikaja, asks after his master. He 
 replies that his master is inside the house. She refuses to helieve 
 him, and complains that, for some time past, his visits have been 
 few and far between. Why should he come now ? Surely TarS- 
 kaja is hoaxing her. The servant protests that he is telling the 
 truth, and that his master really has entered the house. She, only 
 half persuaded, goes in, and finds that my lord is indeed there. 
 She welcomes him, and in the same breath upbraids him. Some 
 other lady has surely found favour in his eyes. What fair wind 
 has wafted him. back to her ? He replies that business alone has 
 kept him from her ; he hopes that aU is well with her. With her, 
 indeed, all is well, and there is no change ; but she fears that his 
 heart is changed. Surely, surely he has found mountains upon 
 mountains of joy elsewhere ; even now, perhaps, he is only calling 
 on his way homeward from some haunt of pleasure. What pleasure 
 can there be away from her ? answers he. Indeed, his time has 
 not been his own, else he would have come sooner. Why, then, 
 did he not send his servant to explain ? Tar6kaja here puts in his 
 oar, jind protests that, between running on errands and dancing 
 attendance upon his lord, he has not had a moment to himself. 
 "At any rate," says the master, "I must ask for your con- 
 gratulations ; for my suit, which was so important, has prospered." 
 The lady expresses her happiness, and the gentleman then bids his 
 servant tell her the object of their visit. Tar6kaja objects to this ; 
 his lord had better tell his own story. While the two are dis- 
 puting as to who shall speak, the lady's curiosity is aroused. 
 "What terrible tale is this that neither of you dare tell? Pray 
 let one or other of you speak." At last the master explains that 
 he has come to take leave of her, as he must forthwith return to 
 his own province. The girl begins to weep, and the gentleman 
 
 I 2 
 
116 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 following suit, the two shed tears ia concert. She uses all her art 
 to cajole him, and secretly produces from her sleeve a cup of water, 
 with which she smears her eyes to imitate tears. He, deceived hy 
 the trick, tries to console her, and swears that as soon as he reaches 
 his own country he will send a messenger to fetch her ; but she 
 pretends to weep all the more, and goes on ruhhing her face with 
 water. Tar6kaja, in the meanwhile, detects the trick, and, caUing 
 his master on one side, tells him what she is doing. The gentle- 
 man, however, refuses to believe him, and scolds him right roundly 
 for telling Ues. The lady calls my lord to her, and weeping more 
 bitterly than ever, tries to coax him to remain. Tar&kaja slily fiUs 
 another cup with ink and water, and substitutes it for the cup of 
 clear water. She, all unconcerned, goes on smearing her face. At last 
 she lifts her face, and her lover, seeing it all blaek and sooty, gives 
 a start. What can be the matter with the girl's face ? Tar6kaja, 
 in an aside, explains what he has done. They determine to put 
 her to shame. The lover, producing from his bosom a box con- 
 taining a mirror, gives it to the girl, who, thinking that it is a 
 parting gift, at first declines to receive it. It is pressed upon her ; 
 she opens the box and sees the reflection of her dirty face. Master 
 and man burst out laughing. Furious, she smears Tarfikaja's face 
 with the ink ; he protests that he is not the author of the trick, 
 and the girl flies at her lover and rubs his face too. Both master 
 and servant run off, pursued by the girl. 
 
 The second farce was shorter than the first, and was called The 
 Theft of the Sword, A certain gentleman calls his servant Tar8- 
 kaja, and tells him that he is going out for a little diversion. 
 Bidding Tarokaja follow him, he sets out. On their way they meet 
 another gentleman, carrying a handsome sword in his hand, and 
 going to worship at the Kitano shrine at Kiyoto. Tar&kaja points 
 out the beauty of the sword to his master, and says what a fine 
 thing it would be if they could manage to obtain possession of it. 
 Tar6kaja borrows his master's sword, and goes up to the stranger, 
 whose attention is taken up by looking at the wares set out for sale 
 in a shop. Tarokaja lays his hand on the guard of the stranger's 
 sword ; and the latter, drawing it, turns round, and tries to cut the 
 thief down. Tar6kaja takes to his heels, praying hard that his life 
 may be spared. The stranger takes away the sword which Tar6- 
 kaja has borrowed from his master, and goes on his way to the 
 shrine, carrying the two swords. Tar6kaja draws a long breath of 
 
A STORY OF THE OTOKODATH OF YEDO. 117 
 
 relief when he sees that his life is not forfeited ; hut what account 
 is he to give of his master's sword which he has lost. There is no 
 help for it, he must go back and make a clean breast of it. His 
 master is very angry ; and the two, after consulting together, await 
 the stranger's return from the shrine. The latter makes his ap- 
 pearance, and announces that he is going home. Tax6kaja's master 
 falls upon the stranger from behind, and pinions him, ordering 
 Tarfikaja to fetch a rope and bind him. The knave brings the 
 cord ; but, while he is getting it ready, the stranger knocks him 
 over with his sword. His master calls out to him to get up quickly 
 and bind the gentleman from behind, and not from before. Tar6- 
 kaja runs behind the struggling pair, but is so clumsy that he slips 
 the noose over his master's head by mistake, and drags him down. 
 The stranger, seeing this, runs away laughing with the two swords. 
 Tar6kaja, frightened at his blunder, runs off too, his master 
 pursuing him off the stage. A general run off, be it observed, 
 something like the "spill-and-pelt" scene in an English pantomime, 
 is the legitimate and invariable termination of the Kiy6gen. 
 
 NOTE ON THE GAME OF FOOTBALL. 
 
 The game of football is in great favour at the Japanese Court. 
 The days on which it takes place are carefully noted in the 
 "Daij6kwan Nishi," or Government Gazette. On the 25th of 
 February, 1869, for instance, we find two entries : " The Emperor 
 wrote characters of good omen," and " The game of football was 
 played at the palace." The game was first introduced from China 
 in the year of the Empress Kdkiyoku, ia the middle of the seventh 
 century. The Emperor Mommu, who reigned at the end of the 
 same century, was the first emperor who took part in the sport. 
 His Majesty Toba the Second became very expert at it, as also did 
 the noble Asukai Chiujo, and from that time a sort of football 
 club was formed at the palace. During the days of the extreme 
 poverty of the Mikado and his Court, the Asukai family, notwith- 
 standing their high rank, were wont to eke out their scanty income 
 by giving lessons in the art- of playing football. 
 
THE WONDERFUL ADVENTUEES OF 
 FUNAKOSHI JIUYE'MON 
 
 The doughty deeds and marvellous experiences of Funa- 
 koslii Jiuy^mon are perhaps, like those of Eobin Hood and 
 his Merry Men, rather traditional than historical ; but even 
 if all or part of the deeds which popular belief ascribes to 
 him be false, his story conveys a true picture of manners and 
 customs. Above all, the manner of the vengeance which he 
 wreaked upon the wife who had dishonoured him, and upon 
 her lover, shows the high importance which the Japanese 
 attach to the sanctity of the marriage tie. 
 
 The 50th and 51st chapters of the " Legacy of ly^yasu," 
 already quoted, say: "li a married woman of the agricul- 
 tural, artisan, or commercial class shall secretly have inter- 
 course with another man, it is not necessary for the husband 
 to enter a complaint against the persons thus confusing 
 the great relation of maikind, but he may put them both 
 to death. Nevertheless, should he slay one of them and 
 spare the other, his guilt is the same as that of the unright- 
 eous persons. 
 
 " In the event, however, of advice being sought, the parties 
 not having been slain, accede to the wishes of the complain- 
 ant with regard to putting them to death or not. 
 
 " Mankind, in whose bodies the male and female elements 
 induce a natural desire towards the same object, do not look 
 upon such practices with aversion ; and the adjudication of 
 such cases is a matter of special deliberation and consultation. 
 
 "Men and women of the military class are expected to 
 know better than to occasion disturbance by violating exist- 
 
TEE ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUTEMON. 119 
 
 ing regulations; and such an one breaking the regulations 
 by lewd, trifling, or illicit intercourse shall at once be 
 punished, without deliberation or consultation. It is not 
 the same in this case as in that of agriculturists, artisans, 
 and traders." 
 
 As a criminal offence, adultery was, according to the 
 ancient laws of Japan, punished by crucifixion. In more 
 modern times it has been punished by decapitation and the 
 disgraceful exposure of the head after death; but if the 
 murder of the injured husband accompany the crime of 
 adultery, then the guilty parties are crucified to this day. 
 At the present time the husband is no longer allowed to take 
 the law into his own hands : he must report the matter to 
 the Government, and trust to the State to avenge his honour. 
 
 Sacred as the marriage tie is so long as it lasts, the law 
 which cuts it is curiously facile, or rather there is no law : a 
 man may turn his wife out of doors, as it may suit his fancy. 
 An example of this practice was shown in the story of 
 " The Forty-seven E8nins." A husband has but to report the 
 matter to his lord, and the ceremony of divorce is com- 
 pleted. Thus, in the days of the Shogun's power, a Hata- 
 moto who had divorced his wife reported the matter to 
 the Shogun. A Daimio's retainer reports the matter to 
 his Prince. 
 
 The facility of divorce, however, seems to be but rarely 
 taken advantage of: this is probably owing to the practice 
 of keeping concubines. It has often been asked, Are the 
 Japanese polygamists ? The answer is, Yes and no. They 
 marry but one wife ; but a man may, according to his station 
 and means, have one or more concubines in addition. The 
 Emperor has twelve concubines, called Kisaki; and ly^yasu, 
 alluding forcibly to excess in this respect as teterrima belli 
 causa, laid down that the princes might have eight, high 
 officers five, and ordinary Samurai two handmaids. '' In the 
 olden times," he writes, "the downfall of castles and the 
 overthrow of kingdoms aU proceeded from this alone. Why 
 is not the indulgence of passions guarded against ? " 
 
120 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 * The difference between the position of the wife and that of 
 the concubine is marked. The legitimate wife is to the 
 handmaid as a lord is to his vassal. Concubinage being a 
 legitimate institution, the son of a handmaid is no bastard, 
 nor is he in any way the child of shame; and yet, as a 
 general rule, the son of the bondwoman is not heir with the 
 son of the free, for the son of the wife inherits before the son 
 of a concubine, even where the latter be the elder ; and it 
 frequently happens that a noble, having children by his con- 
 cubines but none by his wife, selects a younger brother of his 
 own, or even adopts the son of some relative, to succeed him 
 in the family honours. The family line is considered to be 
 thus more purely preserved. The law of succession is, how- 
 ever, extremely lax. Excellent personal merits wUl some- 
 times secure to the left-handed son the inheritance of his 
 ancestors; and it often occurs that the son of a concubine, 
 who is debarred from succeeding to his own father, is adopted 
 as the heir of a relation or friend of even higher rank. 
 When the wife of a noble has a daughter but no son, the 
 practice is to adopt a youth of suitable family and age, who 
 marries the girl and inherits as a son. 
 
 The principle of adoption is universal among aU classes, 
 from the Emperor down to his meanest subject ; nor is the 
 family line considered to have been broken because an 
 adopted son has succeeded to the estates. Indeed, should a 
 noble die without heir male, either begotten or adopted, his 
 lands are forfeited to the State. It is a matter of care 
 that the person adopted should be himself sprung from 
 a stock of rank suited to that of the family into which he 
 is to be received. 
 
 Sixteen and upwards being considered the marriageable 
 age for a man, it is not usual for persons below that age to 
 adopt an heir ; yet an infant at the point of death may adopt 
 a person older than himself, that the family line may not 
 become extinct. 
 
 An account of the marriage ceremony wiU be found in the 
 Appendix upon the subject. 
 
THE ADVENTURES OP FUNAKOSHI JIUYBMON. 121 
 
 In the olden time, in the island of Shikokui there lived 
 one Punakoshi Jiuy^mon, a brave Samurai and accomplished 
 man, who was in great favour with the prince, his master. 
 One day, at a drinking-bout, a quarrel sprung up between 
 him and a brother-ofacer, which resulted in a duel upon the 
 spot, in which Jiuy^mon kiUed his adversary. "When Jiuy^- 
 mon awoke to a sense of what he had done, he was struck 
 with remorse, and he thought to disembowel himself; but, 
 receiving a private summons from his lord, he went to the' 
 castle, and the prince said to him — 
 
 " So it seems that you have been getting drunk and quar- 
 relling, and that you have kiUed one of your friends; and 
 now I suppose you wiU have determined to perform hara 
 kiri. It is a great pity, and in the face of the laws I 
 can do nothing for you openly. StiU, if you wiU escape 
 and ily from this part of the country for a while, in two 
 years' time the affair will have blown over, and I will 
 allow you to return." 
 
 And with these words the prince presented him with a 
 fine sword, made by Suk^sada,^ and a hundred ounces of 
 silver, and, having bade him farewell, entered his private 
 apartments ; and Jiuy^mon, prostrating himself, wept tears of 
 gratitude ; then, taking the sword and the money, he went 
 home and prepared to fly from the province, and secretly 
 took leave of his relations, each of whom made him some 
 parting present. These gifts, together with his own money, 
 and what he had received from the prince, made up a sum of 
 two hundred and fifty ounces of silver, with which and his 
 Suk^sada sword he escaped under cover of darkness, and 
 went to a sea-port called Marugam^ in the province of 
 
 1 Shikdku, one of the southern islands separated from the chief island of 
 Japan by the heantiful "Inland Sea;" it is called SMkoTcu, or the "Four 
 Prorinoes," because it is divided into the four provinces, Awa, Saimki, lyo, 
 and Tosa. 
 
 ^ Sukisada, a, famous family of swordsmiths, belonging to the Bizen clan. 
 The Bizen men are notoriously good armourers, and their blades fetch high 
 prices. The sword of Jiuyemou is said to have been made by one of the 
 Sukisada who Kved about 290 years ago. 
 
122 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Sanuki, where he proposed to wait for an' opportunity of 
 setting sail for Osaka. As ill luck would have it, the wind 
 heing contrary, he had to remain three days idle ; but at last 
 the wind changed ; so he went down to the beach, thinking 
 that he should certainly find a junk about to saU ; and as he 
 was looking about him, a sailor came up, and said — 
 
 " If your honour is miaded to take a trip to Osaka, my 
 ship is bound thither, and I should be glad to take you with 
 me as passeuger." 
 
 "That's exactly what I wanted. I will gladly take a 
 passage," replied Jiuy^mon, who was delighted at the chance. 
 
 " Well then we must set sail at once, so please come on 
 board without delay." 
 
 So Jiuy^mon went with him and embarked ; and as they 
 left the harbour and struck into the open sea, the moon was 
 just rising above the eastern hOls, Ulumining the dark night 
 like a noonday sun ; and Jiuy^mon, taking his place in the 
 bows of the ship, stood wrapt in contemplation of the beauty 
 of the scene. 
 
 Now it happened that the captain of the ship, whose name 
 was Akag6shi Kuroydmon, was a fierce pirate, who, attracted 
 by Jitiy^mon's well-to-do appearance, had determined to decoy 
 him on board, that he might murder and rob him ; and while 
 Jiuyemon was looking at the moon, the pirate and his 
 companions were collected in the stem of the ship, taking 
 counsel together in whispers as to how they might slay him. 
 He, on the other hand, having for some time past fancied 
 their conduct somewhat strange, bethought him that it 
 was not prudent to lay aside his sword, so he went 
 towards the place where he had been sitting, and had 
 left his weapon lying, to fetch it, when he was stopped 
 by three of the pirates, who blocked up the gangway, 
 saying — 
 
 " Stop, Sir Samurai ! Unluckily for you, this ship in which 
 you have taken a passage belongs to the pirate Akag6shi 
 Kuroy^mon. Come, sir ! whatever money you may chance 
 to have about you is our prize." 
 
jiuy£mon on board the pirate ship. 
 
THE ADVENiVRES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON. 123 
 
 When Jiuyemon heard this he was greatly startled at first, 
 but soon recovered himself, and, being an expert wrestler, 
 kicked over two of the pirates, and made for his sword ; but 
 in the meanwhile Shichirohei, the younger brother of the 
 pirate captain, had drawn the sword, and brought it to 
 wards him, saying — 
 
 " If you want your sword, here it is ! " and with that he 
 cut at him ; but Jiuyemon avoided the blow, and closing with 
 the ruffian, got back his sword. Ten of the pirates then at- 
 tacked him with spear and sword ; but he, putting his back 
 against the bows of the ship, showed such good fight that he 
 Mlled three of his assailants, and the others stood off, not 
 daring to approach him. Then the pirate captain, Akag6shi 
 Kuroy^mon, who had been watching the fighting from the 
 stern, seeing that his men stood no chance against Jiuyemon's 
 dexterity, and that he was only losing them to no purpose, 
 thought to shoot him with a matchlock. Even Jiuyemon, 
 brave as he was, lost heart when he saw the captain's 
 gun pointed at him, and tried to jump into the sea; but 
 one of the pirates made a dash at him with a boat-hook, and 
 caught him by the sleeve ; then Jiuyemon, in despair, took 
 the fine Suk^sada sword which he had received from his 
 prince, and throwing it at his captor, pierced him through the 
 breast so that he feU dead, and himself plunging into the sea 
 swam for his life. The pirate captaiu shot at him and 
 missed him, and the rest of the crew made every endeavour to 
 seize him with their boat-hooks, that they might avenge the 
 death of their mates ; but it was aU in vain, and Jiuyemon, 
 having shaken off his clothes that he might swim the better, 
 made good his escape. So the pirates threw the bodies of 
 their dead comrades into the sea, and the captain was partly 
 consoled for their loss by the possession of the Suk^sada 
 sword with which one of them had been transfixed. 
 
 As soon as Jiuyemon jumped over the ship's side, being a 
 cTood swimmer, he took a long dive, which carried him well 
 out of danger, and struck out vigorously ; and although he 
 was tired and distressed by his exertions, he braced himself 
 
124 TALIES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 up to greater euergy, and faced the waves boldly. At last, 
 in the far distance, to his great joy, he spied a light, 
 for which he made, and found that it was a ship carry- 
 ing lanterns marked with the badge of the governor of 
 Osaka ; so he haded her, saying — 
 
 " I have fallen into great trouble among pirates : pray 
 rescue me." 
 
 " Who and what are you ? " shouted an officer, some forty 
 years of age. 
 
 " My name is Funakoshi Jiuy^mon, and I have unwittingly 
 fallen in with pirates this night. I have escaped so far : I 
 pray you save me, lest I die." 
 
 " Hold on to this, and come up," replied the other, holding 
 out the butt end of a spear to him, which he caught hold of 
 and clambered up the ship's side. When the officer saw 
 before him a handsome gentleman, naked all but his loin- 
 cloth, and with his hair all in disorder, he called to his ser- 
 vants to bring some of his own clothes, and, having dressed 
 him in them, said — 
 
 "What clan do you belong to, sir?" 
 
 " Sir, I am a Eonin, and was on my way to Osaka ; but 
 the sailors of the ship on which I had embarked were 
 pirates ; " and so he told the whole story of the fight 
 and of his escape. 
 
 "WeU. done, sir!" replied the other, astonished at his 
 prowess. " My name is Kajiki Tozay^mon, at your service. 
 1 am an officer attached to the governor of Osaka. Pray, 
 have you any friends in that city? " 
 
 " No, sir, I have no friends there ; but as in two years I 
 shall be able to return to my own country, and re-enter my 
 lord's service, I thought during that time to engage in trade 
 and live as a common wardsman." 
 
 " Indeed, that's a poor prospect ! However, if you will allow 
 me, I wdl do all that is in my power to assist you. Pray 
 excuse the liberty I am taking in making such a proposal." 
 
 Jii«^mon warmly thanked Kajiki Tozay^mon for his kind- 
 ness ; tod so they reached Osaka without further adventures. 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUTEMON. 125 
 
 Jiuy^mon, wlio had secreted in his girdle the two hundred 
 and fifty ounces which he had brought with him from home, 
 bought a small house, and started in trade as a vendor of 
 perfumes, tooth-powder, combs, and other toilet articles ; and 
 Kajiki Tozay^mon, who treated him with great kindness, 
 and rendered him many services, prompted him, as he was 
 a single man, to take to himself a wife. Acting upon this 
 advice, he married a singing-girl, called O Hiyaku.^ 
 
 Now this Hiyaku, although at first she seemed very 
 affectionately disposed towards Jiuyemon, had been, during 
 the time that she was a singer, a woman of bad and profli- 
 gate character ; and at this time there was in Osaka a certain 
 wrestler, named Takasegawa Kurobei, a very handsome man, 
 with whom Hiyaku fell desperately in love ; so that at last, 
 being by nature a passionate woman, she became unfaithful 
 to Jiuyemon. The latter, little suspecting that anything was 
 amiss, was in the babit of spending his evenings at the 
 house of his patron Kajiki Tozay^mon, whose son, a youth of 
 eighteen, named Tonoshin, conceived a great friendship for 
 Jiuyemon, and used constantly to iuvite him to play a game 
 at checkers ; and it was on these occasions that Hiyaku, 
 profiting by her husband's absence, used to arrange her meet- 
 ings with the wrestler Takasegawa. 
 
 One evening, when Jiuyemon, as was his wont, had gone 
 out to play at checkers with Kajiki T6noshin, Pliyaku 
 took advantage of the occasion to go and fetch the wrestler, 
 and invite him to a little feast ; and as they were enjoying 
 themselves over their wine, Hiyaku said to him — 
 
 " Ah ! Master Takasegawa, how wonderfully chance favours 
 us ! and how pleasant these stolen interviews are ! How 
 much nicer still it would be if we could only be married. 
 But, as long as Jiuyemon is in the way, it is impossible ; and 
 that is my one cause of distress." 
 
 " It's no use being in such a hurry. If you only have a 
 
 • The before women's names signifies "Imperial," and is simply an 
 honorific. 
 
126 TAIES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 patience, we shall be able to marry, sure enough. What 
 you have got to look out for now is, that Jiuy^mon does not 
 find out what we are about. I suppose there is no chance 
 of his coming home to-night, is there ? " 
 
 " Oh dear, no ! You need not be afraid. He is gone to 
 Kajiki's house to play checkers ; so he is sure to spend the 
 night there." 
 
 And so the guilty couple went on gossiping, with their 
 minds at ease, until at last they dropped off asleep. 
 
 In the meanwhile Jiuy^mon, in the middle of his game at 
 checkers, was seized with a sudden pain in his stomach, 
 and said to Kajiki Tfinoshin, "Young sir, I feel an imac- 
 countable paih in my stomach. I think I had better go 
 home, before it gets worse." 
 
 "That is a bad job. Wait a little, and I will give you 
 some physic; but, at any rate, you had better spend the 
 night here." 
 
 " Many thanks for your kindness, " replied Jiuyemon ; 
 "but I had rather go home." 
 
 So he took his leave, and went off to his own house, 
 bearing the pain as best he might. When he arrived in 
 front of his own door, he tried to open it ; but the lock 
 was fastened, and he could not get in, so he rapped vio- 
 lently at the shutters to try and awaken his wife. When 
 O Hiyaku heard the noise, she woke with a start, and roused 
 the wrestler, saying to him iu a whisper — 
 
 " Get up ! get up ! Jiuyemon has come back. You must 
 hide as fast as possible." 
 
 " Oh dear ! oh dear !" said the wrestler, in a great fright ; 
 "here's a pretty mess ! Where on earth shall I hide myself?" 
 and he stumbled about ia every direction looking for a hiding- 
 place, but found none. 
 
 Jiuyemon, seeing that his wife did not come to open the 
 door, got impatient at last, and forced it open by unfixing 
 •the sMing shutter, and, entering the house, found himsell 
 face to face with his wife and her lover, who were both in 
 such confusion that they did not know what to do. Jiuy^- 
 
THE ABVBNTURES OF FUNAKOSBI JIUTEMON. 127 
 
 mon, however, took no notice of them, hut lit his pipe and 
 sat smoking and watching them in silence. At last the 
 wrestler, Takasegawa, broke the sUence by saying — 
 
 " I thought, sir, that I should be sure to have the pleasure 
 of finding you at home this evening, so I came out to call 
 upon you. When I got here, the Lady Hiyaku was so 
 kind as to offer me some wine ; and I drank a little more 
 than was good for me, so that it got into my head, and I 
 fell asleep. I must really apologize for having taken such a 
 liberty in your absence ; but, indeed, although appearances 
 are agaiust us, there has been nothing wrong." 
 
 " Certainly," said Hiyaku, coming to her lover's support, 
 "Master Takasegawa is not at aU to blame. It was I who 
 invited him to drink wine ; so I hope you will excuse him." 
 
 Jiuy^mon sat pondering the matter over in his mind for a 
 moment, and then said to the wrestler, " You say that you 
 are innocent ; but, of course, that is a Ue. It's no use try- 
 ing to conceal your fault. However, next year I shaU, in 
 all probability, return to my own country, and then you 
 may take Hiyaku and do what you will with her: far 
 be it from me to care what becomes of a woman with such 
 a stinking heart." 
 
 When the wrestler and Hiyaku heard Jiuy^mon say 
 this quite quietly, they could not speak, but held their 
 j)eace for very shame. 
 
 "Here, you Takasegawa," pursued he; "you may stop 
 here to-night, if you like it, and go home to-morrow." 
 
 "Thank you, sir," replied the wrestler, "I am much 
 obliged to you; but the fact is, that I have some pressing 
 business iu another part of the town, so, with your per- 
 mission, I will take my leave ; " and so he went out, covered 
 with confusion. 
 
 As for the faithless wife, Hiyaku, she was in great 
 agitation, expecting to be severely reprimanded at least ; but 
 Jiuydmon took no notice of her, and showed no anger ; only 
 from that day forth, although she remained in his house 
 as his wife, he separated himself from her entirely. 
 
128 TAIES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Matters went on in this way for some time, until at last, 
 one fine day, Hiyaku, looking out of doors, saw the 
 wrestler Takas^gawa passing in the street, so she called 
 out to him — 
 
 " Dear me, Master Takasegawa, can that be you ! What a 
 long time it is since we have met ! Pray come in, and have 
 a chat." 
 
 " Thank you, I am much obliged to you ; but as I do not 
 like the sort of scene we had the other day, I think I had 
 rather not accept your invitation." 
 
 " Pray do not talk in such a cowardly manner. Next year, 
 when Jiuyemon goes back to his own country, he is sure to 
 give me this house, and then you and I can marry and live 
 as happily as possible." 
 
 " I don't like being in too great a hurry to accept fair 
 offers."! 
 
 " Nonsense ! There's no need for showing such delicacy 
 about accepting what is given you." 
 
 And as she spoke, she caught the wrestler by the hand and 
 led him into the house. After they had talked together for 
 some time, she said — 
 
 " Listen to me. Master Takasegawa. I have been thinking 
 over all this for some time, and I see no help for it but 
 to kill Jiuyemon and make an end of him." 
 
 " What do you want to do that for ?" 
 
 " As long as he is alive, we cannot be married. What I 
 propose is that you should buy some poison, and I will put 
 it secretly into his food. When he is dead, we can oe happy 
 to our hearts' content." 
 
 At first Takasegawa was startled and bewildered by the 
 audacity of their scheme ; but forgetting the gratitude which 
 he owed to Jiuyemon for sparing his life on the previous 
 occasion, he replied — 
 
 " Well, I think it can be managed. I have a friend who is 
 a physician, so I wiU get him to compound some poison for 
 
 1 The original is a proTerbial expression like " Timeo Danaos et dona 
 
 ferentes." 
 
THE ADFENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUTEMON. 129 
 
 me, and mil send it to you. You must look out for a moment 
 when your husband is not on his guard, and get him to 
 take it." 
 
 Having agreed upon this, Takas^gawa went away, and, 
 having employed a physician to make up the poison, sent 
 it to Hiyaku in a letter, suggesting that the poison 
 should be mixed up with a sort of macaroni, of which 
 Jiuy^mon was very fond. Having read the letter, she put 
 it carefully away in a drawer of her cupboard, and waited 
 until Jiuyimon should express a wish to eat some macaroni. 
 
 One day, towards the time of the New Tear, when Hiyaku 
 had gone out to a party with a few of her friends, it hap- 
 pened that Jiuydmon, being alone in the house, was in want of 
 some little thing, and, failing to find it anywhere, at last be- 
 thought himself to look for it in Hiyaku's cupboard ; and 
 as he was searching amongst the odds and ends which it con- 
 tained, he came upon the fatal letter. When he read the 
 scheme for putting poison in his macaroni, he was taken 
 aback, and said to himself, "When I caught those two 
 beasts in their wickedness I spared them, because their 
 blood would have defiled my sword ; and now they are not 
 even grateful for my mercy. Their crime is beyond all power 
 of language to express, and I wiU kiU them together." 
 
 So he put back the letter in its place, and waited for 
 his wife to come home. So soon as she made her appear- 
 ance he said — 
 
 " You have come home early, Hiyaku. I feel very dull 
 and lonely this evening ; let us have a little wine." 
 
 And as he spoke without any semblance of anger, it never 
 entered Hiyaku's mind that he had seen the letter; so 
 she went about her household duties with a quiet mind. 
 
 The following evening, as Jiuy6mon was sitting in his 
 shop casting up his accounts, with his counting-board^ in his 
 
 1 The cibaeus, or oounting-'board, is the means of calculation in use through- 
 oat the Continent from St. Petershurg to Peking, in Corea, Japan, and the 
 Liukiu Islands, 
 
 E 
 
130 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 hand, Takas^gawa passed by, and Jiuy^mon called out to 
 him, saying — 
 
 " Well met, Takas^gawa ! I was just thinking of drinking 
 a cup of wine to-night ; hut I have no one to keep me com- 
 pany, and it is dull work drinking alone. Pray come in, and 
 drink a hout with me." 
 
 " Thank you, sir, I shall have much pleasure," replied the 
 wrestler, who little expected what the other was aiming at ; 
 and so he went in, and they hegan to drink and feast. 
 
 "It's very cold to-night," said Jiuy^mon, after a while; 
 "suppose we warm up a little macaroni, and eat it nice 
 and hot. Perhaps, however, you do not like it ?" 
 
 " Indeed, I am very fond of it, on the contrary." 
 
 "That is well. Hiyaku, please go and huy a little for 
 us." 
 
 " Directly," replied his wife, who hurried off to buy the 
 paste, delighted at the opportunity for carrying, out her 
 murderous design upon her hushand. As soon she had pre- 
 pared it, she poured it into bowls and set it before the two 
 men ; but into her husband's bowl only she put poison. 
 Jiuy^mon, who well knew what she had done, did not eat 
 the mess at once, but remained talking about this, that, and 
 the other; and the wrestler, out of politeness, was obliged to 
 wait also. All of a sudden, Jiuyemon cried out — 
 
 " Deas me ! whilst we have been gossiping, the macaroni 
 has been getting cold. Let us put it all together and warm 
 it up again. As no one has put his lips to his bowl yet, 
 it wall all be clean; so none need be wasted." And with 
 these words he took the macaroni that was in the three 
 bowls, and, pouring it altogether into an iron pot, boiled it 
 up again, This time Jiuyfmon served out the food himself, 
 and, setting it before his wife and the wrestler, said — 
 
 " There ! make haste and eat it up before it gets cold." 
 
 Jiuyemon, of course, did not eat any of the mess ; and the 
 would-be murderers, knowing that sufficient poison had been 
 originally put into Jiuy^mon's bowl to kill them all three, and 
 that now the macaroni, having been well mixed up, would 
 
en 
 
 K 
 
 Q 
 Z 
 < 
 
^HE ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON. 131 
 
 all te poisoned, were quite taken aback, and did not know 
 what to do. 
 
 " Come ! make haste, or it will be quite cold. You said you 
 liked it, so I sent to buy it on purpose. Hiyaku ! come and 
 make a hearty meal I will eat some presently." 
 
 At this the pair looked very foolish, and knew not what 
 to answer ; at last the wrestler got up and said — 
 
 " I do not feel quite well. I must beg to take my leave ; 
 and, if you will allow me, I will come and accept your hospi- 
 tality to-morrow instead." 
 
 " Dear me ! I am sorry to hear you are not well. How- 
 ever, O Hiyaku, there will be all the more macaroni for you." 
 
 As for Hiyaku, she put a bold face upon the matter, and 
 replied that she had supped already, and had no appetite for 
 any more. 
 
 Then Jiuydmon, looking at them both with a scornful smile, 
 said — 
 
 " It seems that you, neither of you, care to eat this maca- 
 roni; however, as you, Takasegawa, are unwell, I will give you 
 some excellent medicine ;" and going to the cupboard, he drew 
 out . the letter, and laid it before the wrestler. When Hi- 
 yaku and the wrestler saw that their wicked schemes had 
 been brought to light, they were struck dumb with shame. 
 
 Takasegawa, seeing that denial was useless, drew his dirk 
 and cut at Jiuydmon ; but he, being nimble and quick, dived 
 under the wrestler's arm, and seizing his right hand from 
 behind, tightened his grasp upon it until it became numbed, 
 and the dirk fell to the ground ; for, powerful man as the 
 wrestler was, he was no match for Jiuy^mon, who held him 
 in so fast a grip that he could not move. Then Jiuy^mon 
 took the dirk which had fallen to the ground, and said — 
 
 "Oh! I thought that you, being a wrestler, would at least be 
 a strong man, and that there would be some pleasure in fight- 
 ing you ; but I see that you are but a poor feckless creature, 
 after all. It would have defiled my sword to have killed 
 such an ungrateful hound with it ; but luckily here is your 
 own dirk, and I will slay you with that." 
 
132 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Takas^gawa struggled to escape, but in vain; and Hiyaku, 
 seizing a large kitchen knife, attacked Jiuy^mon; but he, 
 furious, kicked her in the loins so violently that she fell 
 powerless, then brandishing the dirk, he cleft the wrestler 
 from the shoulder down to the nipple of his breast, and the 
 big man fell in his agony. Hiyaku, seeing this, tried to 
 fly ; but Jiuy^mon, seizing her by the hair of the head, stabbed 
 her in the bosom, and, placing her by her lover's side, gave 
 her the death-blow. 
 
 On the following day, he sent in a report of what he had 
 done to the governor of Osaka, and buried the corpses ; and 
 from that time forth he remained a single man, and pur- 
 sued his trade as a seller of perfumery and such-like wares ; 
 and his leisure hours he continued to spend as before, at 
 the house of his patron, Kajiki Tozay^mon. 
 
 One day, when Jiuy^mon went to call upon Kajiki Tozay^- 
 mon, he was told by the servant-maid, who met him at the 
 door, that her master was out, but that her young master, 
 T6noshui, was at home ; so, saying that he would go in 
 and pay his respects to the young gentleman, he entered 
 the house ; and as he suddenly pushed open the sliding-door 
 of the room in which T6noshin was sitting, the latter gave 
 a great start, and his face turned pale and ghastly. 
 
 " How now, young sir !" said Jiuyemon, laughing at him, 
 " surely you are not such a coward as to be afraid because the 
 sliding-doors are opened ? That is not the way in which a 
 brave Samurai should behave." 
 
 " Eeally I am quite ashamed of myself," replied the other, 
 blushing at the reproof ; " but the fact is that I had some reason 
 for being startled. Listen to me. Sir Jiuyemon, and I will tell 
 you all about it. To-day, when I went to the academy to 
 study, there were a great number of my fellow-students 
 gathered together, and one of them said that a ruinous old 
 shrine, about two miles and a haK to the east of this place, 
 was the nightly resort of all sorts of hobgoblins, who have 
 been playing pranks and bewitching the people for some time 
 past ; and he proposed that we should all draw lots, and that 
 
TEE ADVENTURES OF FVNAKOSffl JIVTEMON. 133 
 
 the one upon whom the lot fell should go to-night and exor- 
 cise those evil, beings ; and further that, as a proof of his 
 having gone, he should -write his name upon a pillar in the 
 shrine. AH the rest agreed that this would be very good 
 sport ; so I, not liking to appear a coward, consented to take 
 my chance with the rest ; and, as Ul luck would have it, the 
 lot fell upon me. I was thinking over this as you came in, 
 and so it was that, when you suddenly opened the door, I 
 could not help giving a start." 
 
 . " If you only thiTik for a moment," said Jiuyemon, " you 
 will see that there is nothing to fear.' How can beasts^ and 
 hobgoblins exercise any power over men ? However, do not 
 let the matter trouble you. I will go in your place to- 
 night, and see if I cannot get the better of these goblins, 
 if any there be, having done which, I will write your name 
 upon the pillar, so that everybody may think that you have 
 been there." 
 
 " Oh ! thank you : that will indeed be a service. You can 
 dress yourself up in my clothes, and nobody will be the 
 wiser. I shall be truly grateful to you." 
 
 So Jiuyemon having gladly undertaken the job, as soon as 
 the night set in made his preparations, and went to the place 
 indicated — an uncanny-looking, tumble-down, lonely old 
 shrine, all overgrown with moss and rank vegetation. How- 
 ever, Jiuyemon, who was afraid of nothing, cared little for the 
 appearance of the place, and having made himself as comfort- 
 able as he could in so dreary a spot, sat down on the floorjUt his 
 pipe, and kept a sharp look-out, for the goblins. He had not 
 been waiting long before he saw a movement among the bushes; 
 and presently he was surrounded by a host of elfish-looking 
 creatures, of all shapes and kinds, who came and made 
 hideous faces at him. Jiuydmon quietly knocked the ashes 
 out of his pipe, and then, jumping up, kicked over first one 
 and then another of the elves, until several of them lay sprawl- 
 ing in the grass ; and the rest made off, greatly astonished at 
 at this unexpected reception. "When Jiuydmon took his lan- 
 1 Foxes, badgers, and cats. See the stories respecting their tricks. 
 
.134 TAL^S OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 tem and examined the fallen goblins attentively, he saw that 
 they were all Tonoshin's fellow-students, who had painted 
 their faces, and made themselves hideous, to frighten their 
 companion, whom they knew to he a coward : all they got 
 for their pains, however, was a good kicking from Jiuy^mon, 
 who left them groaning over their sore hones, and went home 
 chuckling to himself at the result of the adventure. 
 
 The fame of this exploit soon became noised about Osaka, 
 so that all men praised Jiuy^mon's courage ; and shortly after 
 this he was elected chief of the Otokodat^,^ or friendly society 
 of the wardsmen, and busied himself no longer with his 
 trade, but lived on the contributions of his numerous ap- 
 prentices. 
 
 Now Kajiki T6noshin was in love with a singing-girl 
 named Kashiku, upon whom he was in the habit of spend- 
 ing a great deal of money. She, however, cared notMng 
 for him, for she had a sweetheart named Hichirobei, whom 
 she used to contrive to meet secretly, although, in order to 
 support her parents, she was forced to become the mistress 
 of T6noshin. One evening, when the latter was on guard 
 at the ofi&ce of his chief, the Governor of Osaka, Kashiku 
 sent word privately to Hichirobei, summoning h\m to go to 
 her house, as the coast woiild be clear. 
 
 WhUe the two were making merry ovef a little feast, T6no- 
 shin, who had persuaded a friend to take his duty for him 
 on the plea of urgent business, knocked at the door, and 
 Kashiku, in a great fright, hid her lover in a long clothes- 
 box, and went to let in T6noshin, who, on entering the 
 room and seeing the litter of the supper lying about, looked 
 more closely, and perceived a man's sandals, on which, by 
 the light of a candle, he saw the figure seven.^ T6noshin 
 had heard some ugly reports of Kashiku's proceedings with 
 this man Hichirobei, and when he saw this proof before his 
 eyes he grew very angry; but he sippressed his feelings, and, 
 pointing to the wine-cups and bowls, said — 
 
 I See the Introduction to the Story of Chobei of Baudzuin. 
 ' Hiehi, the first half of Hichirobei, signifies seven. 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF EUNAKOSEI JIUTEMON. 135 
 
 ""Wlom have you been feasting with to-night ?" 
 
 " Oh ! " replied Kashiku, who, notwithstanding her distress, 
 was ohliged to invent an answer, " I felt so diiU all alone 
 here, that I asked an old woman from next door to come 
 in and drink a cup of wine with me, and have a chat." 
 
 AH this while T6noshin was looldng for. the hidden lover ; 
 but, as he could not see him, he made up his mind that 
 KasMku must have let him out by the back door ; so he 
 secreted one of the sandals in his sleeve as evidence, and, 
 without seeming to suspect anything, said — 
 
 "Well, I shall be very busy this evening, so I must 
 go home." 
 
 " Oh ! won't you stay a little while ? It is very dull here, 
 when I am all alone without you. Pray stop and keep me 
 company." 
 
 But Tonoshin made no reply, and went home. Then 
 Kashiku saw that one of the sandals was missing, and felt 
 certain that he must have carried it off as proof; so she 
 went in great trouble to open the lid of the box, and let out 
 Hichirobei. When the two lovers talked over the matter, they 
 agreed that, as they both were really in love, let T6noshiii 
 kTll them if he would, they would gladly die together : they 
 would enjoy the present ; let the future take care of itself. 
 
 The following morning Kashiku sent a messenger to T6no- 
 shin to implore his pardon ; and he, being infatuated by the 
 girl's charms, forgave her, and sent a present of thirty ounces 
 of silver to her lover, Hichirobei, on the condition that he 
 was never to see her again ; but, ta spite of this, Kashiku and 
 Hichirobei stiU continued their secret meetings. 
 
 It happened that Hichirobei, who was a gambler by pro- 
 fession, had an elder brother called Ch6bei, who kept a wine- 
 shop in the Ajikawa-street, at Osaka ; so T6noshiii thought 
 that he. could not do better than depute Jiuy^mon to go and 
 seek out this man Ch6b^, and urge him to persuade his 
 younger brother to give up his relations with Kashiku; 
 acting upon this resolution, he went to call upon Jiuy^mon, 
 and said to him — 
 
136 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Sir Jiuy^mon, I have a favour to ask of ydu in connection 
 witli that girl Kashiku, whom you know all about. You 
 are aware that I paid thirty ounces of silver to her lover 
 Hichirobei to induce him to give up going to her house; 
 but, in spite of this, I cannot help suspecting that they still 
 meet one another. It seems that this Hichirobei has an 
 elder brother — one ChSbei ; now, if you would go to this man 
 and tell him to reprove his brother for his conduct, you 
 would be doing me a great service. You have so often 
 stood my friend, that I venture to pray you to oblige me in 
 this matter, although I feel that I am putting you to great 
 inconvenience." 
 
 Jiuy^mon, out of gratitude for the kindness which he had 
 received at the hands of Kajiki Tozay^mon, was always 
 vdUing to serve T6noshin ; so he went at once to iind out 
 Ch6bei, and said to him — 
 
 " My name, sir, is Jiuy^mon, at your service ; and I have 
 come to beg your assistance in a matter of some delicacy." 
 
 " What can I do to oblige you, sir ? " replied Ch6bei, who 
 felt bound to be more than usually civil, as his visitor was 
 the chief of the Otokodat^. 
 
 " It is a small matter, sir," said Jiuy^mon. " Your younger 
 brother Hichirobei is intimate with a woman named Kashiku, 
 whom he meets in secret. Now, this Kashiku is the mistress 
 of the son of a gentleman to whom I am under great obliga- 
 tion : he bought her of her parents for a large sum of money, 
 and, besides this, he paid your brother thirty ounces of silver 
 some time since, on condition of his separating himself from 
 the girl ; in spite of this, it appears that your brother con- 
 tinues to see her, and I have come to beg that you will re- 
 monstrate with your brother on 'his conduct, and make him 
 give her up." 
 
 " That I certainly will. Pray do not be uneasy ; I will 
 soon find means to put a stop to my brother's bad behaviour." 
 
 And so they went on talking of one thing and another, 
 until Jiuy^mon, whose eyes had been wandering about the 
 room, spied out a very long dirk lying on a cupboard, and all 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSEI JIUTEMON. 137 
 
 at once it occurred to hiin that this was the very sword which 
 had been a parting gift to him from his lord : the hilt, the 
 mountings, and the tip of the scabhard were all the same, 
 only the blade had been shortened and made into a long dirk. 
 Then he looked more attentively at Ch&bei's features, and saw 
 that he was no other than Akagfishi Kuroydmon, the pirate 
 chief Two years had passed by, but he could not forget 
 that face. 
 
 Jiuy^mon would have liked to have arrested him at once ; 
 but thinking that it would be a pity to give so vile a robber 
 a chance of escape, he constrained himself, and, taking his 
 leave, went straightway and reported the matter to the 
 Governor of Osaka. When the officers of justice heard of 
 the prey that awaited them, they made their prepai'ations 
 forthwith. Three men of the secret police went to ChSbei's 
 wine-shop, and, having called for wine, pretended to get up 
 a drunken brawl ; and as Ch6bei went up to them and tried 
 to pacify them, one of the policemen seized hold of him, and 
 another tried to pinion him. It at once flashed across 
 ChSbei's mind that his old misdeeds had come to light at 
 last, so with a desperate effort he shook off the two police- 
 men and knocked them down, and, rushing into the inner 
 room, seized the famous Suk^sada sword and sprang upstairs. 
 The three policemen, never thinking that he could escape, 
 mounted the stairs close after him ; but Ch6bei with a ter- 
 rible cut cleft the front man's head in sunder, and the other 
 two fell back appalled at their comrade's fate. Then Ch6bei 
 climbed on to the roof, and, looking out, perceived that the 
 house was surrounded on all sides by armed men. Seeing 
 this, he made up his mind that his last moment was come, 
 but, at any rate, he determined to seU his life dearly, and to 
 die fighting ; so he stood up bravely, when one of the officers, 
 coming up from the roof of a neighbouring house, attacked 
 him with a spear; and at the same time several other sol- 
 diers clambered up. Ch&bei, seeing that he was overmatched, 
 jumped down, and before the soldiers below had recovered 
 from thek surprise he had dashed through their ranks, laying 
 
138 TALISS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 about him right and left, and cutting down three men. At 
 top speed, he fled, with his pursuers close behind him ; and, 
 seeing the broad river ahead of him, jumped into a small boat 
 that lay moored there, of which the boatmen, frightened at the 
 sight of his bloody sword, left him in imdisputed possession. 
 Ch6bei pushed off, and sculled -vigorously into the middle of 
 the river ; and the officers — there being no other boat near — 
 were for a moment baffled. One of them, however, rushing 
 down the river bank, hid himself on a bridge, armed with a 
 spear, and lay in wait for Ch6bei to pass in his boat; but 
 when the little boat eame up, he missed his aim, and only 
 scratched Ch6bei's elbow ; and he, seizing the spear, dragged 
 down his adversary into the river, and kUled him as he was 
 struggling in the water ; then, sculling for his life, he 
 gradually drew near to the sea. The other officers in the 
 mean time had secured ten boats, and, having come up 
 with Ch6bei, surrounded him ; but he, having formerly been 
 a pirate, was fer better skilled in the management of a boat 
 than his pursuers, and had no great difficulty in eluding them ; 
 so at last he pushed out to sea, to the great annoyance of the 
 officers, who followed him closely. 
 
 Then Jiuy^mon, who had come up, said to one of the 
 officers on the shore — 
 
 " Have you caught him yet ? " 
 
 " No ; the fellow is so brave and so cunning that our men 
 can do nothing with him." 
 
 "He's a determined ruffian, certainly. However, as the 
 fellow has got my sword, I mean to get it back by fair 
 means or foul : wiU you allow me to undertake the job of 
 seizing him ? " 
 
 " Well, you may try ; and you wiU have officers to assist 
 you, if you are in peril." 
 
 Jiuy^mou, having received this permission, stripped off his 
 clothes and jumped into the sea, carrying with him a police- 
 man's mace, to the great astonishment of all the bystandei's. 
 When he got near Ch6bei's boat, he dived and came up 
 alongside, without the pirate perceiving him until he had 
 
"gokumox." 
 
' THE JDrENTURBS OF FUNAKOSHI JIUTMON. 139 
 
 clambered into the boat. Ch6bei had the good Suk^sada 
 sword, and Jiuy^mon was armed with nothing but a mace ; but 
 Ch&bei, on the other hand, was exhausted with his previous 
 exertions, and was taken by surprise at a moment when he 
 was thinking of nothing but how he should scull away from 
 the pursuing boats ; so it was not long before Jiuy^mon 
 mastered and secured him. 
 
 For this feat, besides recovering his Suk^sada > sword, 
 Jiuyemon received many rewards and great praise from the 
 Governor of Osaka. But the pirate Ch&bei was cast into 
 prison. 
 
 Hichirobei, when he heard of his brother's capture, was 
 away from home ; but seeing that he too would be sought for, 
 he determined to escape to Yedo at once, and travelled along 
 the T6kaid6, the great highroad, as far as Kuana. But the 
 secret police had got wind of his movements, and one of 
 them was at his heels disguised as a beggar, and waiting for 
 an opportunity to seize him. 
 
 Hichirobei in the meanwhile was congratulating himself on 
 his escape ; and, little suspecting that he would be in danger 
 so far away from Osaka, he went to a house of pleasure, in- 
 tending to divert himself at his ease. The policeman, seeing 
 this, went to the master of the house and said — 
 
 " The guest who has just come in is a notorious thief, and 
 I am on his track, waiting to arrest him. Do you watch for 
 the moment when he falls asleep, and let me know. Should 
 he escape, the blame will fall upon you." 
 
 The master of the house, who was greatly taken aback, 
 consented of course; s6 he told the woman of the house 
 to hide Hichirobei's dirk, and as soon as the latter, wearied 
 with his journey, had fallen asleep, he reported it to the 
 policeman, who went upstairs, and having bound Hichirobei 
 as he lay wrapped up in his quilt, led him back to Osaka 
 to be imprisoned with his brother. 
 
 When Kashiku became aware of her lover's arrest, she 
 felt certain that it was the handiwork of Jiuyemon ; so she 
 determined to kill him, were it only that she might die with 
 
140 TALES OF OLD JAPAN 
 
 HicliirolDei. So hiding a kitchen knife in the hosom of her 
 dress, she went at midnight to Jiuy^mon's house, and looked 
 all round to see if there were no hole or cranny by which 
 she might slip in unobserved ; but every door was carefully 
 closed, so she was obliged to knock at the door and feign 
 an excuse. 
 
 "Let me in! let me in! I am a servant-maid in the house 
 of Kajiki Tozayemon, and am charged with a letter on most 
 pressing business to Sir Jiuy^mon." 
 
 Hearing this, one of Jiuydmon's servants, thinking her tale 
 was true, rose and opened the door ; and Kashiku, stabbing 
 him in the face, ran past him into the house. Inside she met 
 another apprentice, who had got up, aroused by the noise ; 
 him too she stabbed in the belly, but as he fell he cried out 
 to Jiuy^mon, saying — 
 
 " Father, father !^ take care ! Some murderous villain has 
 broken into the house." 
 
 And Kashiku, desperate, stopped his further utterance by 
 cutting his throat. Jiuyemon, hearing his apprentice cry out, 
 jumped up, and, lighting his night-lamp, looked about him in 
 the half-gloom, and saw Kashiku with the bloody knife, 
 hunting for him that she might kill him. Springing upon 
 her before she saw him, he clutched her right hand, and, 
 having secured her, bound her with cords so that she could 
 not move. As soon as he had recovered from his surprise, 
 he looked about him, and searched the house, when, to his 
 horror, he found one of his apprentices dead, and the other 
 lying bleeding from a frightful gash across the face. With 
 the first dawn of day, he reported the affair to the proper 
 authorities, and gave Kashiku in custody. So, after due 
 examination, the two pirate brothers and the girl Kashiku 
 were executed, and their heads were exposed together.^ 
 
 Now the fame of aU the valiant deeds of Jiuyemon having 
 
 1 The apprentice addresses his patron as "father." 
 
 2 The exposure of the head, called Ookv/mon, is a disgraceful addition to 
 the punishment of beheading. A document, placed on the execution-ground, 
 sets forth the crime which has called forth the punishment. 
 
-:.^>- ><-,^ 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF FVNAKOSHI JIUYEMON. 141 
 
 readied Ms own country, his lord ordered that he should be 
 pardoned for his former offence, and return to Ms allegiance ; 
 so, after thanking Kajiki Tozay^mon for the manifold favours 
 which he had received at his hands, he went home, and 
 became a Samurai as before. 
 
 The fat wrestlers of Japan, whose heavy paunches and 
 unwieldy, puffy limbs, however much they may be admired 
 by their own cotmtry-people, form a striking contrast to our 
 Western notions of training, have attracted some attention 
 from travellers; and those who are interested in athletic 
 sports may care to learn something about them. 
 
 The first historical record of wrestling occurs in the sixth 
 year of the Emperor Suinin (B.C. 24), when one Taima no 
 K^haya, a noble of great stature and strength, boasting that 
 there was not his match under heaven, begged the Emperor 
 that his strength might be put to the test. The Emperor 
 accordingly caused the challenge to be proclaimed ; and one 
 Ifomi no Shikun^ answered it, and having wrestled with 
 K^haya, kicked him in the ribs and broke his bones, so that 
 he died. After this Shikun^ was promoted to Mgh office, 
 and became further famous in Japanese history as having 
 substituted earthen images for the living men who, before his 
 time, used to be buried with the coffin of the Mikado. 
 
 In the year 858 a.d. the throne of Japan was wrestled for. 
 The Emperor Buntoku had two sons, called Kor^shito and 
 Koretaka, both of whom aspired to the throne. Their claims 
 were decided in a wrestling-match, in wMch one Toshir& 
 was the champion of Kor^shito, and Natora the champion of 
 Koretaka. Natora having been defeated, KoresMto ascended 
 his father's throne under the style of Seiwa. 
 
 In the eighth century, when Nara was the capital of Japan, 
 the Emperor ShSmu instituted wrestling as part of the cere- 
 monies of the autumn festival of the Five Grains, or Harvest 
 Home ; and as the year proved a fruitful one, the custom was 
 continued as auspicious. The strong men of the various pro- 
 
142 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 vinces were collected, and one Kiyobayashi was proclaimed 
 the champion of Japan. Many a brave and stout man tried 
 a throw with him, but none could master him. Eules of the 
 ring were now drawn up ; and in order to prevent disputes, 
 Kiyobayashi was appointed by the Emperor to be the judge 
 of wrestling-matches, and was presented, as a badge of his 
 oflBice, with a fan, upon which were inscribed the words the 
 "Prince of Lions." The wrestlers were divided into wrestlers 
 of the eastern and of the western provinces, Omi being taken 
 as the centre province. The eastern wrestlers wore in their 
 hair the badge of the hollyhock ; the western wrestlers took 
 for their sign the gourd-flower. Hence the passage leading 
 up to the wrestling-stage was called the " Flower Path." 
 Forty-eight various falls were fixed upon as fair — twelve 
 throws, twelve Hfts, twelve twists, and twelve throws over 
 the back. All other throws not included in these were foul, 
 and it was the duty of the umpire to see that no unlawful 
 tricks were resorted to. It was decided that the covered 
 stage should be composed of sixteen rice-bales, in the shape 
 of one huge bale, supported by four pillars at the four points 
 of the compass, each pillar being painted a different colour, 
 thus, together with certain paper pendants, making up five 
 colours, to symbolize the Five Grains. 
 
 The civil wars by which the country was disturbed for a 
 while put a stop to the practice of wrestling ; but when peace 
 was restored it was proposed to re-establish the athletic, 
 games, and the umpire Kiyobayashi, the " Prince of Lions," 
 was sought for ; but he had died or disappeared, and could 
 not be found, and there was no umpire forthcoming. The 
 various provinces were searched for a man who might fill his 
 place, and one Yoshida ly^tsugu, a E6nin of the province of 
 Echizen, being reported to be well versed in the noble science, 
 was sent for to the capital, and proved to be a pupU of 
 Kiyobayashi. The Emperor, having approved him, ordered 
 that the fan of the " Prince of Lions " should be made over 
 to him, and gave him the title of Bungo no Kami, and com- 
 manded that his name in the ring should be Oi-Kaze, the 
 
CHAMPION WRESTLER. 
 
TBH ABVjSNTUBES OF FUNJKOSHI JIUTEMON. 143 
 
 " Driving Wind." Further, as a sign that there should not 
 be two styles of wrestling, a second fan was given to him 
 bearing the inscription, "A single flavour is a beautiful 
 custom." The right of acting as umpire in wrestling-matches 
 was vested in his fanuly, that the " Driving "Wind " might for 
 future generations preside over athletic sports. In ancient 
 days, the prizes for the three champion wrestlers were a 
 bow, a bowstring, and an arrow: these are stUl brought 
 into the ring, and, at the end of the bout, the successful 
 competitors go through a variety of antics with them. 
 
 To the champion wrestlers — to two or three men only in a 
 generation — the family of the " Driving Wind " awards the 
 privilege of wearing a rope-girdle. In the time of the Sho- 
 gunate these champions used to wrestle before the Shogun. 
 
 At the beginning of the 17th century (a.d. 1606) wrestling- 
 matches, as forming a regular part of a religious ceremony, 
 were discontinued. They are still held, however, at the shrines 
 of Kamo, at Kiy6to, and of Kasuga, in Yamato. They are 
 also held at Kamakura every year, and at the shrines of the 
 patron saints of the various provinces, in imitation of the 
 ancient customs. 
 
 In the year 1623 one Akashi Shiganosuk^ obtained leave 
 from the Government to hold public wrestling-matches in 
 the streets of Yedo. In the year 1644 was held the first 
 wrestling-match for the purpose of raising a collection for 
 building a temple. This was done by the priests of Kofu- 
 kuji, in Yamashiro. In the year 1660 the same expedient 
 was resorted to in Yedo, and the custom of getting up wrest- 
 ling-matches for the benefit of temple funds holds good' to 
 this day. 
 
 The following graphic description of a Japanese wrestling- 
 match is translated from the " Yedo Hanjoki " : — 
 
 " Erom daybreak till eight m the morning a drum is 
 beaten to announce that there will be wrestling. The spec- 
 tators rise early for the sight. The adversaries having been 
 settled, the wrestlers enter the ring from the east and from 
 the west. Tall stalwart men are they, with siuews and 
 
144 TALES OF OLB JAPAN. 
 
 bones of iron. Like the Gods M6,i they stand with theii 
 arms akimho, and, facing one another, they crouch in their 
 strength. The umpire watches until the two men draw their 
 breath at the same time, and with his fan gives the signal 
 They jump up and close with one another, like tigers 
 springing on their prey, or dragons playing with a bail. 
 Each is bent on throwing the other by twisting or by lifting 
 him. It is no mere trial of brute strength ; it is a tussle of 
 skiU against skill. Each of the forty-eight throws is tried in 
 turn. Erom left to right, and from right to left, the umpire 
 hovers about, watching for the victory to declare itself. 
 Some of the spectators back the east, others back the west 
 The patrons of the ring are so excited that they feel the 
 strength tingling within them; they clench their fists, and 
 watch their men, without so much as blinking their eyes. 
 At last one man, east or west, gains the advantage, and the 
 umpire lifts his fan in token of victory. The plaudits of 
 the bystanders shake the neighbourhood, and they throw 
 their clothes or valuables into the ring, to Ido redeemed after- 
 wards in money; nay, in his excitement, a man will even 
 tear off his neighbour's jacket and throw it in." 
 
 Before beginning their tussle, the wrestlers work up their 
 strength by stamping their feet and slapping their huge 
 thighs. This custom is derived from the following tale of 
 the heroic or mythological age : — 
 
 After the seven ages of the heavenly gods came the reign 
 of Tensho Daijin, the Sun Goddess, and first Empress of 
 Japan. Her younger brother, Sosano6 no Mikoto, was a 
 mighty and a brave hero, but turbulent, and delighted in 
 hunting the deer and the boar. After killing these beasts, he 
 would throw their dead bodies into the sacred hall of his 
 sister, and otherwise defile her dwelling. When he had done 
 this several times, his sister was angry, and hid in the cave 
 called the Eock Gate of Heaven ; and when her face was not 
 seen, there was no difference between the night and the day. 
 The heroes who served her, mourning over this, went to seek 
 ^ The Japanese Gog and Magog. 
 
THE ADVUNTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON. 145 
 
 her ; but she placed a huge stone in front of the cave, -and 
 would not come forth. The heroes, seeing this, consulted to- 
 gether, and danced and played antics before the cave to lure 
 her out. Tempted by curiosity to see the sight, she opened 
 the gate a little and peeped out. Then the hero Tajikara6, or 
 " Great Strength," clapping his hands and stamping his feet, 
 with a great effort grasped and threw down the stone door, 
 and. the heroes fetched back the Sun Goddess.^ As Taji- 
 karaS is the patron god of Strength, wrestlers, on entering 
 the ring, still commemorate his deed iDy clapping their hands 
 and stamping their feet as a preparation for putting forth 
 their strength; 
 
 The great Daimios are in the habit of attaching wrestlers 
 to their persons, and assigning to them a yearly portion of 
 rice. It is usual for these athletes to take part in funeral or 
 wedding processions, and to escort the princes on journeys. 
 The rich wardsmen or merchants give money to their 
 favourite wrestlers, and invite them to their houses to drink 
 wine and feast. Though low, vulgar fellows, they are 
 allowed something of the same familiarity which is accorded 
 to prize-fighters, jockeys, and the like, by their patrons in 
 our own country. 
 
 The Japanese wrestlers appear to have no regular system 
 of training; they harden their naturally powerful limbs by 
 much beating, and by butting at wooden posts with their 
 shoulders. Their diet is stronger than that of the ordinary 
 Japanese, who rarely touch meat. 
 
 1 The author of the history called "Koknshi Eiyaku" explains this fable 
 as being an account of the first eclipse. 
 
THE ]ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 
 
 It will be long before those who were present at the newly 
 opened port of Kobe on the 4th of February, 1868, will 
 forget that day. The civil war was raging, and the foreign 
 Legations, warned by the flames of burning villages, no less 
 than by the flight of the Shogun and his ministers, had left 
 Osaka, to take shelter at K6b^, where they were not, as 
 at the former place, separated from their ships by more than 
 twenty miles of road, occiipied by armed troops in a high 
 state of excitement, with the alternative of crossing in tem- 
 pestuous weather a dangerous bar, which had already taken 
 much valuable life. It was a fine winter's day, and the 
 place was full of bustle, and of the going and coming of men 
 busy with the care of housing themselves and their goods 
 and chattels. All of a sudden, a procession of armed men, 
 belonging to the Bizen clan, was seen to leave the town, and 
 to advance along the high road leading to Osaka; and 
 without apparent reason — it was said afterwards that two 
 Frenchmen had crossed the line of march — there was a halt, 
 a stir, and a word of command given. Then the little clouds 
 of white smoke puffed up, and the sharp " ping" of the rifle 
 bullets came whizzing over the open space, destined for a 
 foreign settlement, as fast as the repeating breech-loaders 
 could be discharged. Happily, the practice was very 
 bad; for had the men of Bizen been good shots, almost 
 all the principal foreign officials in the country, besides 
 many merchants and private gentlemen, must have been 
 killed : as it was, only two or three men were wounded. 
 If they were bad marksmen, however, they were mighty 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND TEE HATAMOTO. 147 
 
 runners; for they soon found that they had attacked a 
 hornets' nest. In an incredibly short space of time, the 
 guards of the different Legations and the sailors and ma- 
 rines from the ships of war were in hot chase after the 
 enemy, who were scampering away over the hUls as fast as 
 their legs could carry them, leaving their baggage ingloriously 
 scattered- over the road, as many a cheap lacquered hat and 
 flimsy paper cartridge-box, preserved by our Blue Jackets as 
 trophies, will testify. So good was the stampede, that the 
 enemy's loss amounted only to one aged coolie, who, being too 
 decrepit to run, was taken prisoner, after having had seven- 
 teen revolver shots fired at him without effect ; and the only 
 injury that our men inflicted was upon a solitary old woman, 
 who was accidently shot through the leg. 
 
 If it had not been for the serious nature of the offence 
 given, which was an attack upon the flags of all the treaty 
 Powers, and for the terrible retribution which was of necessity 
 exacted, the whole affair would have been recollected chiefly 
 for the ludicrous events which it gave rise to. The mounted 
 escort of" the British Legation executed a brilliant charge of 
 cavalry down an empty road; a very pretty line of skirmishers 
 along the fields fired away a great deal of ammunition with 
 no result; earthworks were raised, and E6b6 was held in 
 military occupation for three days, during which there were 
 alarms, cutting-out expeditions with armed boats, steamers 
 seized, and all kinds of martial effervescence. In fact, it 
 was like fox-hunting: it had "all the excitement of war, 
 with only ten per cent, of the danger." 
 
 The first thought of the kind-hearted doctor of the British 
 Legation was for the poor old woman who had been wounded, 
 and, was bemoaning herself piteously. When she was carried 
 in, a great difficulty arose, which, I need hardly say, was 
 overcome ; for the poor old creature belonged to the Etas, the 
 Pariah race, whose presence pollutes -the house even of the 
 poorest and humblest Japanese ; and the native servants 
 strongly objected to her being treated as a human being, 
 saying that the Legation would be for ever defiled if she 
 
 L 2 
 
148 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 were admitted within its sacred precincts. No account of 
 Ja,panese society would be complete without a notice of 
 the Etas ; and the following story shows well, I think, the 
 position which they hold. 
 
 Their occupation is to slay heasts, work leather, attend 
 upon criminals, and do other degrading work. Several 
 accounts are given of their origin ; the most prohable of 
 which is, that when Buddhism, the tenets of which forbid the 
 taking of life, was introduced, those who lived by the inflic- 
 tion of death became accursed in the land, their trade being 
 made hereditary, as was the office of executioner in some 
 European countries. Another story is, that they are the 
 descendants of the Tartar invaders left behind by Kublai 
 Khan. Some further facts connected with the Etas are given 
 in a note at the end of the tale. 
 
 Once upon a time, some two hundred years ago, there 
 lived at a place called Honj6, in Yedo, a Hatamoto named 
 Takoji Genzabur6; his age was about twenty-four or twenty- 
 five, and he was of extraordinary personal beauty. His 
 official duties made it incumbent on him to go to the Castle 
 by way of the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange 
 adventure befel him. There was a certain Eta, who used 
 to earn his living by going out every day to the Adzuma 
 Bridge, and mending the sandals of the passers-by. When- 
 ever Genzabur6 crossed the bridge, the Eta used always to 
 bow to him. This struck him as rather strange; but one 
 day when Genzabur& was out alone, without any retainers 
 following him, and was passing the Adzuma Bridge, the 
 thong of his sandal suddenly broke: this annoyed him 
 very much ; however, he recollected the Eta cobbler 
 who always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went 
 to the place where he usually sat, and ordered him to 
 mend his sandal, saying to him, "Tell me why it is that 
 
< 
 s 
 
 <; 
 
 X 
 H 
 
 K 
 
 
THE ETA MAIBEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 149 
 
 every time that I pass by this bridge, you salute me so 
 respectfully." 
 
 When the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, 
 and for a while he remained silent ; but at last taking cou- 
 rage, he said to GenzaburS, " Sir, having been honoured with 
 your commands, I am quite put to shame. I was origiually 
 a gardener, and used to go to your honour's house and lend 
 a hand in trimming up the garden. In those days your 
 honour was very young, and I myself little better than a 
 child ; and so I used to play with your honour, and re- 
 ceived many kindnesses at your hands. My name, sir, is 
 Chokichi. Since those days I have faUen by degrees into 
 dissolute habits, and little by little have sunk to be the vile 
 thing that you now see me." 
 
 When Genzabur6 heard this he was very much surprised, 
 and, recollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was 
 filled with pity, and said, " Surely, surely, you have fallen 
 very low. Ifow aU you have to do is to persevere and use 
 your utmost endeavours to find a means of escape from the 
 class into which you have fallen, and become a wardsman 
 again. Take this sum: smaU as it is, let it be a founda- 
 tion for more to you." And with these words he took ten 
 riyos out of his pouch and handed them to Chokichi, who 
 at first refused to accept the present, but, when it was 
 pressed upon kim, received it with thanks. Genzabur6 was 
 leaving him to go home, when two wandering singing-girls 
 came up and spoke to Chokichi; so Genzabur6 looked to 
 see what the two women were Hke. One was a woman of 
 some twenty years, of age, and the other was a peerlessly 
 beautiful girl of sixteen; she was neither too /at nor too 
 thin, neither too tall nor too short ; her face was oval, Uke 
 a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white ; her eyes 
 were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even ; her nose 
 was aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely 
 red Kps ; her eyebrows were long and fine ; she had a pro- 
 fusion of long black hair ; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet 
 voice ; and when she smiled, two lovely dimples appeared 
 
150 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 in her cheeks; ia all her movements she was gentle and 
 refined. Genzabui'6 fell in love with her at first sight ; and 
 she, seeing what a handsome man he was, equally fell in love 
 with him ; so that the woman that was with- her, perceiving 
 that they were struck with one another, led her away as 
 fast as possible. 
 
 GenzaburS remained as one stupefied, and, turning to Cho- 
 kiehi, said, "Are you acquainted with those two women who 
 came up just now?" 
 
 "Sir," replied Chokichi, "those are two women of our 
 people. The elder woman is called Kuma, and the girl, 
 who is only sixteen years old, is named Koyo. She is 
 the daughter of one Kihachi, a chief of the Etas. She is a 
 very gentle girl, besides being so exceedingly pretty ; and all 
 our people are loud in her praise." 
 
 When he heard this, Genzaburo remained lost in thought 
 for a while, and then said to Chokichi, "I want you to 
 do something for me. Are you prepared to serve me in 
 whatever respect I may require you ?" 
 
 Chokichi answered that he was prepared to do any- 
 thing in his power to oblige his honour. Upon this, Genza- 
 bur& smiled and said, " Well, then, I am willing to employ 
 you in a certain matter ; but as there are a great number 
 of passers-by here, I wUl go and wait for you in a tea-house 
 at Hanakawado ; and when you have finished your business 
 here, you can join me, and I will speak to you." With these 
 words Genzabur6 left him, and went off to the tea-house. 
 
 When Chokichi had finished his work, he changed his 
 clothes, and, hurrying to the tea-house, inquired for Genza- 
 burS, who was waiting for him upstairs. Chokichi went up 
 to him, and began to thank him for the money which he had 
 bestowed upon him. Genzabuj6 smiled, and handed biTn a 
 wine-cup, inviting him to drink, and said — 
 
 " I wDl tell you the service upon which I wish to employ 
 you. I have set my heart upon that girl Koyo, whom 
 I met to-day upon the Adzuma Bridge, and you must aiTange 
 a meeting between us." 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN ANB THE HATAMOTO. 151 
 
 When ChokicM heard these words, he was amazed and 
 frightened, and for awhile he made no answer. At last 
 he said — 
 
 " Sir, there is nothing that I would not do for you after the 
 favours that I have received from you. If this girl were the 
 daughter of any ordinary man, I would move heaven and 
 earth to comply with your wishes; but for your honour, a 
 handsome and noble Hatamoto, to take for his concubine the 
 daughter of an Eta is a great mistake. By giving a little 
 money you can get the handsomest woman in the town. 
 Pray, sir, abandon the idea." 
 
 Upon this Genzaburo was offended, and said — 
 
 " This is no matter for you to give advice in, I have told 
 you to get me the girl, and you must obey." 
 
 Chokichi, seeing that aU that he could say would be of no 
 avail, thought over in, his mind how to bring about a meeting, 
 between Genzabur6 and Koyo, and replied — 
 
 " Sir, I am afraid when I think of the liberty that I have 
 taken. I will go to Kihachi's house, and wiU use my best 
 endeavours with him that I may bring the. girl to you. But 
 for to-day, it is getting late, and night is coming on ; so I 
 will go and speak to her father to-morrow." 
 
 Genzabur6 was delighted to find Chokichi willing to 
 serve him. 
 
 " Well," said he, " the day after to-morrow I wUl' await you 
 at the tea-house at Oji, and you can bring Koyo there. 
 Take this present, small as it is, and do your best for me." 
 
 With this he pulled out three riyos from his pocket and 
 handed them to Chokichi, who declined the money with 
 thanks, saying that he had already received too much, and 
 could accept no more ; but Genzabur6 pressed him, adding, 
 that if the wish of his heart were accomplished he would do 
 still more for him. So Chokichi, in great glee at the good 
 luck which h^d befallen him, began to revolve all sorts of 
 schemes in his mind ; and the two parted. 
 
 But Koyo, who had fallen in love at first sight with 
 Genzaburo on the Adzuma Bridge, went home and could 
 
152 TALES OF OLD JAPAN 
 
 think of nothing but him. Sad and melancholy she sat, and 
 her friend Kiima tried to comfort her in various ways ; 
 but Koyo yearned, with all her heart, for Genzabxu'6 ; and 
 the more she thought over the matter, the better she per- 
 ceived that she, as the daughter of an Eta, was no match for 
 a noble Hatamoto. And yet, in spite of this, she pined for 
 him, and bewailed her own vile condition. 
 
 N^pw it happened that her friend Kuma was in love with 
 Chokichi, and only cared for thinking and speaking of him ; 
 one day, when Chokichi went to pay a visit at the house of 
 Kihachi the Eta chief, Kuma, seeing him come, was highly 
 delighted, and received him very politely; and Chokichi, 
 interrupting her, said — 
 
 " Kuma, I want you to answer me a question : where 
 has Koyo gone to amuse herself to-day ? " 
 
 " Oh, you know the gentleman who was talking with you 
 the other day, at the Adzuma Bridge ? WeU, Koyo has 
 fallen desperately in love with him, and she says that she is 
 too low-spirited and out of sorts to get up yet." 
 
 Chokichi was greatly pleased to hear this, and said to 
 Kuma — 
 
 " How delightful ! Why, Koyo has fallen in love with 
 the very gentleman who is burning with passion for her, 
 and who has employed me to help him in the matter. How- 
 ever, as he is a noble Hatamoto, and his whole family would 
 be ruined if the affair became known to the world, we must 
 endeavour to keep it as secret as possible." 
 
 " Dear me ! " replied Kuma ; " when Koyo hears this, 
 how happy she will be, to be sure ! I must go and tell her 
 at once." 
 
 "Stop!" said Chokichi, detaining her; "if her father, 
 Master Kihachi, is willing, we wilLtell Koyo directly. You 
 had better wait here a little until I have consulted him;" and 
 with this he went into an inner chamber to see Kihachi; 
 and, after talking over the news of the day, told him how 
 Genzabur6 had fallen passionately in love with Koyo, 
 and had employed him as a go-between. Then he described 
 
TEH ETA MAIDEN AND THE SATAMOTO. 153 
 
 how he had received kindness at the hands of Genzabur6 
 when he was in better circumstances, dwelt on the wonderful 
 personal beauty of his lordship, and upon the lucky chance 
 by which he and Koyo had come to meet each other. 
 
 When Kihachi heard this story, he was greatly flattered, 
 and said — 
 
 " I am sure I am very much obliged to you. For one 
 of our daughters, whom even the common people despise 
 and shun as a pollution, to be chosen as the concubine of 
 a noble Hatamoto — what could be a greater matter for 
 congratulation ! " 
 
 So he prepared a feast for Chokichi, and went off at once 
 to tell Koyo the news. As for the maiden, who had fallen 
 over head and ears in love, there was no difficulty in obtain- 
 ing her consent to all that was asked of her. 
 
 Accordingly Chokichi, having arranged to bring the lovers 
 together on the following day at Oji, was preparing to go and 
 report the glad tidings to Grenzabur6; but Koyo, who 
 knew that her friend Kuma was in love with Chokichi, 
 and thought that if she could throw them into one another's 
 arms, they, on their side, would tell no tales about herself and 
 Genzabur6, worked to such good purpose that she gained her 
 point. At last Chokichi, tearing himself from the embraces 
 of O Kuma, returned to Genzabur6, and told him how he had 
 laid his plans so as, without fail, to bring Koyo to him, the 
 following day, at Oji; and GenzaburS, beside himself with 
 impatience, waited for the morrow. 
 
 The next day Genzaburo, having made his prepara- 
 tions, and taking Chokichi with him, went to the tea- 
 house at Oji, and sat drinking wine, waiting for his 
 sweetheart to come. 
 
 As for Koyo, who was half in ecstasies, and half shy at 
 the idea of meeting on this day the man of her heart's desire, 
 she put on her holiday clothes, and went with Kuma to 
 Oji; and as they went out together, her natural beauty 
 being enhanced by her smart dress, all the people turned 
 round to look at her, and praise her pretty face. And so, 
 
154 TALM OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 after a while, they arrived at Oji, and went into the tea-house 
 that had been agreed upon ; and Chokichi, going out to meet 
 them, exclaimed — 
 
 "Dear me. Miss Koyo, his lordship has been all impa- 
 tience waiting for you : pray make haste and come in." 
 
 But, in spite of what he said, Koyo, on account of her 
 virgin modesty, would not go in. O Kuma, however, who 
 was not quite so particular, cried out — 
 
 "Why, what is the meaning of this? As you've come 
 here, Koyo, it's a little late for you to be making a 
 fuss about being shy. Don't be a little fool, but come in 
 with me at once." And with these words she caught fast 
 hold of Koyo's hand, and, pulling her by force into the 
 room, made her sit down by Genzabiir6. 
 
 When GenzaburS saw how modest she was, he reassured 
 her, saying — 
 
 "Come, what is there to be so shy about? Come a little 
 nearer to me, pray." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. How could I, who am such a vile thing, 
 pollute your nobility by sitting by your side?" And, as 
 she spoke, the blushes mantled over her face ; and the more 
 Genzabur6 looked at her, the more beautiful she appeared in 
 his eyes, and the more deeply he became enamoured of her 
 charms. In the meanwhile he called for wine and fish, and 
 all four together made a feast of it. When Chokichi and 
 
 Kuma saw how the land lay, they retired discreetly into 
 another chamber, and Genzabur6 and Koyo were left alone 
 together, looking at one another. 
 
 " Come," said Genzabur6, smiling, " hadn't you better sit a 
 little closer to me?" 
 
 " Thank you, sir ; really I'm afraid." 
 
 But Genzabur6, laughing at her for her idle fears, said — 
 
 " Don't behave as if you hated me." 
 
 " Oh, deaf ! I'm sure I don't hate you, sir. That would be 
 very rude ; and, indeed, it's not the case. I loved you when 
 
 1 first saw you at the Adzuma Bridge, and longed for you 
 with all my heart ; but I knew what a despised race I be- 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND TEE HATAMOTO. 155 
 
 longed to, and that I was no fitting match for you, and so I 
 tried to be resigned. But I am very young and inexperienced, 
 and so I could not help thinking of you, and you alone ; and 
 then Chokichi came, and when I heard what you had said 
 about me, I thought, in the joy of my heart, that it must be 
 a dream of happiness." 
 
 And as she spoke these words, blushing timidly, Genza- 
 bur6 was dazzled with her beauty, and said — 
 
 "Well, you're a clever child. I'm sure, now, you must 
 hkve some handsome young lover of your own, and that is 
 why you don't care to come and drink wiae and sit by me. 
 Am I not right, eh?" 
 
 " Ah, sir, a nobleman like you is sure to have a beautiful 
 wife at home ; and then you are so handsome that, of course, 
 all the pretty young ladies are in love with you." 
 
 " Nonsense ! Why, how clever you are at flattering and 
 paying compliments ! A pretty little creature like you was 
 just made to turn all the men's heads — a little witch." 
 
 "Ah ! those are hard things to say of a poor girl ! Who 
 could think of falling in love with such a wretch as I am ? 
 Now, pray tell me all about your own sweetheart : I do so 
 long to hear about her." 
 
 " Silly child ! I'm not the sort of man to put thoughts 
 into the heads of fair ladies. However, it is q^uite true that 
 there is some one whom I wa,nt to marry." 
 
 At this Koyo began to feel jealous. 
 
 " Ah ! " said she, " how happy that some one must be ! 
 Do, pray, teU me the whole story." And a feeling of jealous 
 spite came over her, and made her quite unhappy. 
 
 Genzaburo laughed as he answered — 
 
 "Well, that some one is yourself, and nobody else. 
 There!" and as he spoke, he gently tapped the dimple on her 
 cheek with his finger ; and O Koyo's heart beat so, for very 
 joy, that, for a little while, she remained speechless. At last 
 she turned her face towards Genzabur6, and said — 
 
 " Alas ! your lordship is only trifling with me, when you 
 know that what you have just been pleased to propose is the 
 
156 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 , ■ »A 
 
 darling wish of my heart. Would that I couid only go into 
 your house as a maid-servant, in any capacity, however mean, 
 that I might daily feast my eyes on your handsome face ! " 
 
 " Ah ! I see that you think yourself very clever at hoaxing 
 men, and so you must needs tease me a little ; " and, as he 
 spoke, he took her hand, and drew her close up to him, and 
 she, blushing again, cried — 
 
 " Oh ! pray wait a moment, while I shut the sliding-doors." 
 
 " Listen to me, Koyo ! I am not going to forget the 
 promise which I made you just now ; nor need you be 
 afraid of my harming you; but take care that you do not 
 deceive me." 
 
 " Indeed, sir, the fear is rather that you should set your 
 heart on others ; but, although I am no fashionable lady, 
 take pity on me, and love me well and long." 
 
 "Of course! I shall never care for another woman 
 but you." 
 
 "Pray, pray, never forget those words that you have 
 just spoken." 
 
 " And now," replied Genzabur6, " the night is advancing, 
 and, for to-day, we must part ; but we will arrange matters, 
 so as to meet again in this tea-house. But, as people would 
 make remarks if we left the tea-house together, I will go 
 out first."' 
 
 And so, much against their will, they tore themselves from 
 one another, GenzaburS returning to his house, and Koyo 
 going home, her heart filled with joy at having found the 
 man for whom she had pined ; and from that day forth they 
 iised constantly to meet in secret at the tea-house ; and Gen- 
 zabur&, in his infatuation, never thought that the matter must 
 surely become notorious after a while, and that he himself 
 would be ba,nished, and his family ruined : he only took care 
 for the pleasure of the moment. 
 
 Now Chokichi, who had brought about the meeting 
 between Genzabur6 and his love, used to go every day to the 
 tea-house at Oji, taking with him Koyo ; and Genzaburfi 
 neglected all his duties for the pleasure of these secret meet- 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 157 
 1 
 
 ings. Chokiclii saw this with great regret, and thought to 
 himself that if Geiizabur6 gave hunself up entirely to pleasure, 
 and laid aside his duties, the secret would certainly be made 
 public, and Genzabur6 would bring ruin on himself and his 
 family ; so he began to devise some plan by which he might 
 separate them, and plotted as eagerly to estrange them as he 
 had formerly done to introduce them to one another. 
 
 At last he hit upon a device which satisfied him.. Ac- 
 cordingly one day he went to Koyo's house, and, meeting 
 her father Kihachi, said to him — 
 
 " I've got a sad piece of news to teU you. The family of 
 my lord Genzaburo have been complaining bitterly of his 
 conduct in carrying on his relationship with your daughter, 
 and of the ruin which exposure would bring upon the whole 
 house ; so they have been using their influence to persuade 
 him to hear reason, and give up the connection. Now his 
 lordship feels deeply for the damsel, and yet he cannot 
 sacrifice his family for her sake. For the first time, he has 
 become alive to the folly of which he has been guilty, and, full 
 of remorse, he has commissioned me to devise some stratagem 
 to break off the affair. Of course, this has taken me by 
 surprise ; but as there is no gainsaying the right of the case, 
 I have had no option but to promise obedience : this promise 
 I have come to redeem ; and now, pray, advise your daugliter 
 to think no more of his lordship." 
 
 When Kihachi heard this he was surprised and distressed, 
 and told Koyo immediately; and she, grieving over the 
 sad news, took no thought either of eating oi drinking, but 
 remained gloomy and desolate. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Chokichi went off to Genzaburo's 
 house, and told him that Koyo had been taken suddenly 
 ill, and could not go to meet him, and begged him to wait 
 patiently, until she should send to tell him of her recovery. 
 Genzabur6, never suspecting the story to be false, waited 
 for thirty days, and still ChiOkichi brought him no tidings 
 of Koyo. At last he met Chokichi, and besought him to 
 arrange a meeting for him with Koyo, 
 
158 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Sir," replied Chokichi, " she is not yet recovered ; so it 
 would be difficult to briag her to see your honour. But I 
 have been thinking much about this affair, sir. If it 
 becomes public, your honour's family will be plunged in 
 ruin. I pray you, sir, to forget all about Koyo." 
 
 " It's aU very well for you to give me advice," answered 
 Genzabur6, surprised; "but, having once bound myself to 
 Koyo, it would be a pitiful thing to desert her; I 
 therefore implore you once more to arrange that I may 
 meet her." 
 
 However, he would not consent upon any account ; so 
 Genzaburo returned home, and, from that time forth, daily 
 entreated £!hokichi to bring Koyo to him, and, receiving 
 nothing but advice from him in return, was very sad 
 and lonely. 
 
 One day Genza,bur6, intent on ridding himself of the grief 
 he felt at his separation from O Koyo, went to the Yoshiwara, 
 and, going into a house of entertainment, ordered a feast to 
 be prepared ; but, in the midst of gaiety, his heart yearned all 
 the while for his lost love, and his merriment was but mourn- 
 ing in disguise. At last the night wore on ; and as he was 
 retiring along the corridor, he saw a man of about forty years 
 of age, with long hair, coming towards him, who, when he 
 saw Genzaburo, cried out, "Dear me ! why this must be my 
 young lord Genzabur6 who has come out to enjoy himself" 
 
 Genzabur6 thought this rather strange ; but, looking at the 
 man attentively, recognised him as a retainer whom he had 
 had in his employ the year before, and said — 
 
 " This is a curious meeting : pray what have you been 
 about since you left my service ? At any rate, I may 
 congratulate you on being well and strong. Where are you 
 living now ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, since I parted from you I have been earning a 
 living as a fortune-teller at Kanda, and have changed my 
 name to Kaji Sazen. I am living in a poor and humble 
 house ; but if your lordship, at your leisure, would honour 
 me with a visit " 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 150 
 
 " Well, it's a lucky chance that has brought us together, 
 and I certauily will go and see you ; besides, I want you to 
 do something for me. Shall you be at home the day after 
 to-morrow ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir, I shall make a point of being at home." 
 
 "Very well, then, the day after to-morrow I will go to 
 your house." 
 
 " I shall be at your service, sir. And now, as it is getting 
 late, I will take my leave for to-night." 
 
 " Good night, then. We shall meet the day after to-morrow." 
 And so the two parted, and went their several ways to rest. 
 
 On the appointed day GenzaburS made his preparations, 
 and went in disguise, without any retainers, to call upon 
 Sazen, who met him at the porch of his house, and said, 
 " This is a great honour ! My lord GenzaburS is indeed 
 welcome. My house is very mean, but let me invite your, 
 lordship to come into an inner chamber." 
 
 " Pray," replied Genzaburo, " don't make any ceremony for 
 me. Don't put yourself to any trouble on mj account." 
 
 And so he passed in, and Sazen called to his wife to prepare 
 wine and condiments; and they began to feast. At last 
 Genzaburo, looking Sazen in the face, said, " There is a service 
 which I want you to render me — a very secret service ; but 
 as, if you were to refuse me, I should be put to shame, before 
 I tell you what that service is, I must know whether you are 
 ' wOling to assist me in anything that I may require of you." 
 
 "Yes; if it is anything that is within my power, I am 
 at your disposal." 
 
 " Well, then," said Genzabur6, greatly pleased, and drawing 
 ten riyos from his bosom, "this is but a small present to 
 make to you on my first visit, but pray accept it." 
 
 " No, indeed ! I don't know what your lordship wishes of 
 me ; but, at any rate, I cannot receive this money. I reaUy 
 must beg you lordship to take it back again." 
 
 But Genzabur& pressed it upon him by force, and at last he 
 was obliged to accept the money. Then Genzabiu'6 told him 
 the whole story of his loves with Koyo — how he had first 
 
160 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 met her and fallen in love with her at the Adzuma Bridge ; 
 how Choldchi had introduced her to him at the tea-house at 
 Oji, and then when she fell ill, and he wanted to see her 
 again, instead of bringing her to him, had only given him 
 good advice ; and so Genzabur6 drew a lamentable picture of 
 his state of despair. 
 
 Sazen listened patiently to his story, and, after reflecting for 
 a while, replied, " Well, sir, it's not a difficult matter to set 
 right ; and yet it will require some little management. How- 
 ever, if your lordship will do me the honour of coming to 
 see me again the day after to-morrow, I will cast about me in 
 the meanwhile, and, will let you know then the result of my 
 deliberations." 
 
 When GenzaburS heard this he felt greatly relieved, and, 
 recommending Sazen to do his best in the matter, took his 
 leave and returned home. That very night Sazen, after 
 thinking over all that Genzabur6 had told him, laid his plans 
 accordingly, and went off to the house of Kihachi, the Eta 
 chief, and told him the commission with which he had been 
 entrusted. 
 
 Kihachi was of course greatly astonished, and said, " Some 
 time ago, sir, Chokichi came here and said that my lord 
 Genzaburo, having been rebuked by his family for his profli- 
 gate hehaviour, had determined to break off his connection 
 with my daughter. Of course I knew that the daughter of an 
 Eta was no fitting match for a nobleman ; so when Chokichi 
 came and told me the errand upon which he had been sent, I 
 had no alternative but to announce to my daughter that she 
 must give up all thought of his lordship. Since that time 
 she has been fretting and pining and starving for love. But 
 when I tell her what you have just said, how glad and happy 
 she will be ! Let me go and talk to her at once." And with 
 these words, he went to Koyo's room; and when he 
 looked upon her thin wasted face, and saw how sad she was, 
 he felt more and more pity for her, and said, " Well, Koyo' 
 are you in better spirits to-day? Would yon like some- 
 thing to eat ? " 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 161 
 
 " Thank you, I have no appetite." 
 
 " Well, at any rate, I have some news for you that will 
 make you happy. A messenger has come &om my lord 
 G-enzahurS, for whom your heart yearns." 
 
 At this Koyo, who had been crouching down like a 
 drooping flower, gave a great start, and cried out, " Is that 
 really true ? Pray tell me all about it as quickly as possible." 
 
 "The story which Chokichi came and told us, that hia 
 lordship wished to break off the connection, was all an 
 invention. He has all along been wishing to meet you, and 
 constantly urged Chokichi to bring you a message from him. 
 It is Chokichi who has been throwing obstacles in the way. 
 At last his lordship has secretly sent a man, called Kaji 
 Sazen, a fortune-teller, to arrange an interview between you. 
 So now, my child, you may cheer up, and go to meet your 
 lover as soon as you please." 
 
 When Koyo heard this, she was so happy that she thought 
 it must all be a dream, and doubted her own senses. 
 
 Kihachi in the meanwhile rejoined Sazen in the other 
 room, and, after telling him of the joy with which his daughter 
 had heard the news, put before him wine and other delicacies. 
 " I think," said Sazen, " that the best way would be for Koyo 
 to live secretly in my lord Genzabur6's house; but as it wUl 
 never do for aJI the world to know of it, it must be managed 
 very quietly ; and further, when I get home, I must think out 
 some plan to lull the suspicions of that fellow Chokichi, 
 and let you know my idea by letter. Meanwhile Koyo had 
 better come home with me to-night : although she is so terri- 
 bly out of spirits now, she shall meet Genzabur6 the day 
 after to-morrow." 
 
 Kihachi reported this to Koyo ; and as her pining for 
 G-enzaburS was the only cause of her sickness, she recovered 
 her spirits at once, and, saying that she would go with Sazen 
 immediately, joyfuUy made her preparations. Then Sazen, 
 having once more warned Kihachi to keep the matter secret 
 from Chokichi, and to act upon the letter which he shoiild 
 send him, returned home, taking with him Koyo ; and after 
 
 II 
 
162 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Koyo had bathed and dressed her hair, and painted herself 
 and put on beautiful clothes, she came out looking so lovely 
 that no princess in the land could vie with her ; and Sazen, 
 when he saw her, said to himself that it was no wonder that 
 Genzabur6 had fallen in love with her ; then, as it was 
 getting late, he advised her to go to rest, and, after showing 
 her to her apartments, went to his own room and wrote his 
 letter to Kihachi, containing the scheme which he had devised. 
 When Kihachi received his instructions, he was filled with 
 admiration at Sazen's ingenuity, and, putting on an appear- 
 ance of great alarm and agitation, went off immediately to 
 call on Chokichi, and said to him — 
 
 " Oh, Master Chokichi, such a terrible thing has happened ! 
 Pray, let me tell you all about it." 
 
 " Indeed ! what can it be ?" 
 
 " Oh ! sir," answered Kihachi, pretending to wipe away his 
 tears, " my daughter Koyo, mourning over her separation 
 from my lord Genzabur6, at first refused all sustenance, and 
 remained nursing her sorrows untU, last night, her woman's 
 heart faDing to bear up against her great grief, she drowned 
 herself in the river, leaving behind her a paper on which she 
 had written her intention." 
 
 "When Chokichi heard this, he was thunderstruck, and 
 exclaimed, "Can this really be true! And when I think 
 that it was I who first introduced her to my lord, I am 
 ashamed to look you in the face." 
 
 " Oh, say not so : misfortunes are the punishment due for 
 our misdeeds in a former state of existence. I bear you no 
 m-wiU. This money which I hold in my hand was my 
 daughter's ; and in her last instructions she wrote to beg that 
 it might be given, after her death, to you, through whose 
 intervention she became allied with a nobleman : so please 
 accept it as my daughter's legacy to you;" and as he spoke, he 
 offered him three riyos. 
 
 "You amaze me!" replied the other. "How could I, 
 above aU men, who have so much to reproach myself with 
 in my conduct towards you, accept this money ? " 
 
THE T.TA MAIDBN AND THE HATAMOTO. 163 
 
 "Nay; it was my dead daughter's wish. But since you 
 reproach yourself in the matter when you think of her, I will 
 beg you to put up a prayer and to cause masses to be said 
 for her." 
 
 At last, Chokichi, after much persuasion, and greatly 
 to his own distress, was obliged to accept the money ; 
 and when Kihachi had carried out all Sazen's instructions, 
 he returned home, laughing in his sleeve. 
 
 Chokichi was sorely grieved to hear of Koyo's death, and 
 remained thinking over the sad news ; when all of a sudden 
 looking about him, he saw something like a letter lying on the 
 spot where Kihachi had been sitting, so he picked it up and 
 read it; and, as luck would have it, it was the very letter 
 which contained Sazen's instructions to Kihachi, and in which 
 the whole story which had just affected him so much was 
 made up. When he perceived the trick that had been played 
 upon him, he was very' angry, and exclaimed, " To think that, 
 I should have been so hoaxed by that hateful old dotard, and 
 such a fellow as Sazen ! And Genzabur6, too ! — out of 
 gratitude for the favours which I had received from him in 
 old days, I faithfully gave him good advice, and all in vain. 
 Well, they've gulled me once ; but I'll be even with them 
 yet, and hinder their game before it is played out!" And 
 80 he worked himself up into a fury, and went off secretly to 
 prowl about Sazen's house to watch for Koyo, determined 
 to pay off Genzabur8 and Sazen for their conduct to him. 
 
 In the meanwhile Sazen, who did not for a moment 
 suspect what had happened, when the day which had been 
 fixed upon by him and GenzabuT6 arrived, made Koyo put 
 on her best clothes, smartened up his house, and got ready a 
 feast against GenzabuT6's arrival The latter came punc^ 
 tually to his time, and, going in at once, said to the fortune- 
 teller, "Well, have you succeeded in the commission with 
 which I entrusted you?" 
 
 At first Sazen pretended to be vexed at the question, and 
 said, " Well, sir, I've done my best ; but it's not a matter 
 which can be settled in a hurry. However, there's a young 
 
 m2 
 
164 TALBS Of OLD JAPAN. 
 
 lady of high birth and wonderful beauty upstairs, who has 
 come here secretly to have her fortune told; and if your 
 lordship would lite to come with me and see her, you can 
 do so." 
 
 But Genzabur&, when he heard that he was not to meet 
 
 Koyo, lost heart entirely, and made up his mind to go 
 home again. Sazen, however, pressed him so eagerly, that 
 at last he went upstairs to see this vaunted beauty; and 
 Sazen, drawing aside a screen, showed him Koyo, who 
 was sitting there. Genzaburo gave a great start, and, turning 
 to Sazen, said, " Well, you certainly are a first-rate hand at 
 keeping up a hoax. However, I cannot sufficiently praise the 
 way in which you have carried out my instructions." 
 
 " Pray, don't mention it, sir. But as it is a long time since 
 you have met the young lady, you must have a great deal to 
 say to one another ; so I will go downstairs, and, if you want 
 anything, pray call me.'' And so he went downstairs and 
 left them. 
 
 Then Genzabur&, addressing Koyo, said, " Ah ! it is 
 indeed a long time since we met. How happy it makes 
 me to see you again! Why, your face has grown quite 
 thin. Poor thing ! have you been unhappy ?" And Koyo, 
 with the tears starting from her eyes for joy, hid her face ; 
 and her heart was so full that she could not speak. But 
 Genzabur&) passing his hand gently over her head and back, 
 and comforting her, said, " Come, sweetheart, there is no 
 need to sob so. Talk to me a little, and let me hear 
 your voice." 
 
 At last Koyo raised her head and said, " Ah ! when I 
 was separated from you by the tricks of Chokichi, and 
 thought that I should never meet you again, how tenderly 
 
 1 thought of you ! I thought I should have died, and waited 
 for my hour to come, pining all the while for you. And 
 when at last, as I lay between life and death, Sazen came 
 with a message from you, I thought it was aU a dream." 
 And as she spoke, she bent her head and sobbed again ; and 
 in Genzabur6's eyes she seemed more beautiful than ever. 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 165 
 
 with her pale, delicate face; and he loved her better than 
 before. Then she said, " If I were to tell you all I have 
 suffered until to-day, I should never stop." 
 
 "Yes," replied Genzabur6, "I too have suffered much;" 
 and so they told one another their mutual griefs, and from 
 that day forth they, constantly met at Sazen's house. 
 
 One day, as they were feasting and enjoying themselves in 
 an upper story in Sazen's house, Chokichi came to the house and 
 said, " I beg pardon ; but does one Master Sazen live here ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir : I am Sazen, at your service. Pray where 
 are you from ? " 
 
 "Well, sir, I have a little business to transact with 
 you. May I make so bold as to go in?" And with these 
 words, he entered the house. 
 
 " But who and what are you ? " said Sazen. 
 
 " Sir, I am an Eta ; and my name is Chokichi. I beg to be- 
 speak your goodwill for myself : I hope we may be friends." 
 
 Sazen was not a little taken aback at this; however, he 
 put on an innocent face, as though he had never heard of 
 Chokichi before, and said, " I never heard of such a thing ! 
 Why, I thought you were some respectable person ; and you 
 have the impudence to teU me that your name is Chokichi, 
 and that you're one of those accursed Etas. To think of 
 such a shameless villain coming and asking to be friends 
 with me, forsooth ! Get you gone ! — the quicker, the better : 
 your presence pollutes the house." 
 
 Chokichi smiled contemptuously, as he answered, " So you 
 deem the presence of an Eta in your house a pollution — eh ? 
 Why, I thought you must be one of us." 
 
 " Insolent knave ! Begone as fast as possible." 
 
 "Well, since you say that I defile your house, you had 
 better get rid of Koyo as well. I suppose she must equally 
 be a pollution to it." 
 
 This put Sazen rather in a dilemma; however, he made 
 up his mind not to show any hesitation, and said, " What 
 are you talking about ? There is no Koyo here ; and I 
 never saw such a person in my Hfe." 
 
166 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 Chokichi quietly drew out of the bosom of his dress the 
 letter from Sazen to Kihachi, which he had picked up a few 
 days before, and, showing it to Sazen, replied, " If you wish 
 to dispute the genuineness of this paper, I wUl report the 
 whole matter to the Governor of Yedo; and Genzaburo's 
 family will be ruined, and the rest of you who are parties in 
 this affair will come in for your share of trouble. Just wait 
 a little." 
 
 And as he pretended to leave the house, Sazen, at his wits' 
 end, cried out, " Stop ! stop ! I want to speak to you. Pray, 
 stop and listen quietly. It is quite true, as you said, that 
 
 Koyo is in my house; and really your indignation is 
 perfectly just. Come ! let us talk over matters a little. N"ow 
 you yourself were origiaally a respectable man ; and although 
 you have fallen in life, there is no reason why your disgrace 
 should last for ever. All that you want in order to enable 
 you to escape out of this fraternity of Etas is a little money. 
 Why should you not get this from Genzaburo, who is very 
 anxious to keep his intrigue with Koyo secret ?" 
 
 Chokichi laughed disdainfully. " I am ready to talk with 
 you ; but I don't want any money. All I want is to report 
 the affair to the authorities, in order that I may be revenged 
 for the fraud that was put upon me." 
 
 1 " Wont you accept twenty-five riyos 1 " 
 
 ' " Twenty-five riyos ! No, indeed ! I wUl not take a 
 fraction less than a hundred; and if I cannot get them I 
 will report the whole matter at once." 
 
 Sazen, after a moment's consideration, hit upon a scheme, 
 and answered, smiling, " Well, Master Chokichi, you're a fine 
 feUow, and I admire your spirit. Tou shall have the hundred 
 riyos you ask for ; but, as I have not so much money by me 
 at present, I will go to Genzabur6's house and fetch it. It's 
 getting dark now, but it's not very late ; so I'U trouble you to 
 come with me, and then I can give you the money to-night." 
 
 Chokichi consenting to this, the pair left the house together. 
 
 Now Sazen, who as a E6nin wore a long dirk in his girdle, 
 kept looking out for a moment when Chokichi should be off 
 
THE UTA MAIDEN AND TEE HATAMOTO. 167 
 
 his guard, in order to kUl him ; hut Chokichi kept his eyes 
 open, and did not give Sazen a chaaee. At last Chokichi, as 
 ill-luck would have it, stumbled against a stone and fell ; and 
 Sazen, profiting by the chance, drew his dirk and stabbed him 
 in the side ; and as Chokichi, taken by surprise, tried to get 
 np, he cut him severely over the head, until at last he fell 
 dead. Sazen then looking around him, and seeing, to his 
 great delight, that there was no one near, returned home. 
 The following day, Chokichi's body was found by the police ; 
 and when they examined it, they found nothing upon it save 
 a paper, which they read, and which proved to be the very 
 letter which Sazen had sent to Kihachi, and which Chokichi 
 had picked up. The matter was immediately reported to the 
 governor, and, Sazen having been summoned, an investigation 
 was held. Sazen, cunning and bold murderer as he was, 
 lost his self-possession when he saw what a fool he had been 
 not to get back from Chokichi the letter which he had 
 written, and, when he was put to a rigid examination under 
 torture, confessed that he had hidden Koyo at Genzaburo's 
 instigation, and then killed Chokichi, who had found out the 
 secret. Upon this the governor, after consulting about 
 Genzabur6's case, decided that, as he had disgraced his 
 position as a Hatamoto by contracting an alliance with the 
 daughter of an Eta, his property should be confiscated, his 
 family blotted out, and himself banished. As for Kihachi, 
 the Eta chief, and his daughter Xoyo, they were handed 
 over for punishment to the chief of the Etas, and by him 
 they too were banished ; while Sazen, against whom the 
 murder of Chokichi had been fully proved, was executed 
 according to law. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 At Asakusa, in Tedo, there lives a man called Danzay^mon, the 
 chief of the Etas. This man traces his pedigree back to Minamoto 
 no Toritomo, who founded the Shogtmate in the year 1192 a.d. 
 The whole of the Etas in Japan are under his jurisdiction : his 
 
168 TALES OF OLD. JAPAN. 
 
 subordinates are called KoyagasMra, or " chiefs of the huts ; " and 
 he and they constitute the government of the Etas. In the " Legacy 
 of lyeyasu," already quoted, the 36th Law provides as follows : — 
 "All wandering mendicants, such as male sorcerers, female diviners, 
 hermits, blind people, beggars, and tanners (Etas), have had from of 
 old their respective rulers. Be not disiuclined, however, to piiuish 
 any such who give rise to disputes, or who overstep the boandaries 
 of their own classes and are disobedient to existing laws." 
 
 The occupation of the Etas is to kill and flay horses, oxen, and 
 other beasts, to stretch drums and make shoes ; and if they are 
 very poor, they wander from house to house, working as cobblers, 
 mending old shoes and leather, and so earn a scanty livelihood. 
 Besides this, their daughters and young married women gain a 
 trifle as wandering minstrels, called Torioi, playing on the sliami- 
 sen, a sort of banjo, and singing ballads. They never marry 
 out of their own fiatemity, but remain apart, a despised and 
 shunned race. 
 
 At executions by crucifixion it is the duty of the Etas to 
 transfix the victims with spears ; and, besides this, they have to 
 perform all sorts of degrading offtces about criminals, such as 
 carrying sick prisoners from their cells to the hall of justice, 
 and burying the bodies of those that have been executed. 
 Thus their race is polluted and accursed, and they are hated 
 accordingly. 
 
 Now this is how the Etas come to be under the jurisdiction of 
 Danzay^mon : — 
 
 When Minamoto no Yoritomo was yet a child, his father, Mina- 
 moto no Toshitomo, fought with Taira no Kiyomori, and was killed 
 by treachery : so his family was ruined ; and Yoshitomo's con- 
 cubine, whose name was Tokiwa, took her children and fled from 
 the house, to save her own and their lives. But Kiyomori, desiring 
 to destroy the family of Yoshitomo root and branch, ordered his 
 retainers to divide themselves into bands, and seek out the 
 children. At last they were found; but Tokiwa was so exceed- 
 ingly beautiful that Kiyomori was inflamed with love for her, 
 and desired her to become his own concubine. Then Tokiwa told 
 Kiyomori that if he would spare her little ones she would share 
 his couch ; but that if he killed her children she would destroy 
 herself rather than yield to his desire. When he heard this, 
 
THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO. 169 
 
 Kiyomori, bewildered by the beauty of Tokiwa, spared the lives of 
 ber cbildien, but banished them from the capitsil. 
 
 So Yoritomo was sent to Hirugakojima, in the province of Idzu ; 
 and when he grew up and became a man, he married the daughter 
 of a peasant. After a whUe Torftomo left the province, and went 
 to the wars, leaviug his wife pregnant ; and ia due time she was 
 delivered of a male child, to the delight of her parents, who 
 rejoiced that their daughter should bear seed to a nobleman; but 
 she soon fell sick and died, and the old people took charge of the 
 babe. And when they also died, the care of the child fell to his 
 mother's kinsmen, and he grew up to be a peasant. 
 
 Now Kiyomori, the enemy of Yoritomo, had been gathered to his 
 fathers; and Yoritomo had avenged the death of his father by 
 slayiag Mundmori, the son of Kiyomori; and there was peace 
 throughout the land. And Yoritomo became the chief of all the 
 noble houses iu Japan, and first established the government of the 
 country. When Yoritomo had thus raised himself to power, if the 
 son that his peasant wife had born to him had proclaimed himself 
 the son of the mighty prince, he would have been made lord over a 
 province ; but he took no thought of this, and remained a tiller of 
 the earth, forfeiting a glorious inheritance; and his descendants 
 after him lived as peasants in the same village, increasing in 
 prosperity and in good repute among their neighbours. 
 
 But the princely line of Yoritomo came to an end in three 
 generations, and the house of H6j& was all-powerful in the land. 
 
 Now it happened that the head of the house of H6j6 heard that 
 a descendant of Yoritomo was living as a peasant in the land, so he 
 summoned him and said — 
 
 "It is a hard thing to see the son of an illustrious house 
 live and die a peasant. I will promote you to the rank of 
 Samurai." 
 
 Then the peasant answered, " My lord, if I become a Samurai, 
 and the retainer of some noble, I shall not be so happy as when I 
 was my own master. If I may not remain a husbandman, let 
 me be a chief over men, however humble they may be." 
 
 But my lord H6j6 was angry at this, and, thinking to punish 
 the peasant for his insolence, said — 
 
 " Since you wish to become a chief over men, no matter how 
 humble, there is no means of gratifying your strange wish but by 
 
170 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 I 
 
 making you chief over the Etas of the whole country. So now see 
 that you rule them well." 
 
 I When he heard this, the peasant was afraid; but because he 
 had said that he wished to become a chief over men, however 
 humble, he could not choose but become chief of the Etas, he 
 and his children after him for ever ; and Danzay^mon, who rules 
 the Etas at the present time, and lives at Asakusa, is his lineal 
 descendant. 
 
PAIRY TALES. 
 
FAIEY TALES. 
 
 I THINK that their quaintness is a sufficient apology for the 
 following little children's stories. With the exception of that 
 of the " Elves and the Envious Neighbour," which comes out 
 of a curious book on etymology and proverbial lore, called 
 the Kotowazagusa, these stories are found printed in little 
 separate pamphlets, with illustrations, the stereotype blocks 
 of which have become so worn that the print is hardly legible. 
 These are the first tales which are put into a Japanese child's 
 hands; and it is with these, and such as these, that the 
 Japanese mother hushes her little ones to sleep. Knowing the 
 interest which many children of a larger growth take in. such 
 Baby Stories, I was anxious to have collected more of them. 
 I was disappointed, however, for those which I give here are 
 the only ones which I could find in print ; and if I asked the 
 Japanese to tell me others, they only thought I was laughing 
 at them, and changed the subject. The stories of the Tongue- 
 cut Sparrow, and the Old Couple and their Dog, have been 
 paraphrased in other works upon Japan ; but I am not aware 
 of their having been literally translated before. 
 
THE TONGUE-CUT SPAEKOW. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. 
 The old man, who had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, 
 which he tenderly nurtured. But the dame was a cross- 
 grained old thing ; and one day, when the sparrow had pecked 
 at some paste with wliich she was going to starch her linen, 
 she flew into a great rage, and cut the sparrow's tongue and 
 let it loose. When the old man came home from the hills 
 and found that the bird had flown, he asked what had become 
 of it ; so the old woman answered that she had cut its tongue 
 and let it go, because it had stolen her starching-paste. Now 
 the old man, hearing this cruel tale, was sorely grieved, and 
 thought to himself, "Alas! where can my bird be gone? 
 Poor thing J Poor little tongue-cut sparrow! where is 
 your home now ? " and he wandered far and wide, seeking iot 
 his pet, and crying, " Mr. Sparrow ! Mr. Sparrow ! where are 
 "you living?" 
 
 One day, at the foot of a certain mountain, the old man 
 fell in with the lost bird ; and when they had congratulated 
 one another on their mutual safety, the sparrow led the old 
 man to his home, and, having introduced him to his wife and 
 chicks, set before him all sorts of dainties, and entertained 
 him hospitably. 
 
 "Please partake of our humble fare," said the sparrow 
 " poor as it is, you are very welcome." 
 
 "What a polite sparrow!" answered the old man, who 
 remained for a long time as the sparrow's guest, and, was 
 daily feasted right royally. At last the old man said that he 
 must take his leave and return home ; and the bird, offering 
 
174 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 him two wicker baskets, begged him to carry them with him 
 as a parting present. One of the baskets was heavy, and the 
 other was Hght ; so the old man, saying that as he was feeble 
 and stricken in years he would only accept the light one, 
 shouldered it, and trudged off home, leaving the sparrow- 
 family disconsolate at parting from him. 
 
 When the old man got home, the dame grew very angry, 
 and began to scold him, saying, " WeU, and pray where have 
 yo'i been this many a day 1 A pretty thing, indeed, to be 
 gadding about at your time of life ! " 
 
 " Oh ! " replied he, " I have been on a visit to the sparrows ; 
 and when I came away, they gave me this wicker basket as a 
 parting gift." Then they opened the basket to see what was 
 inside, and, lo and behold ! it was full of gold and silver and 
 precious things. When the old woman, who was as greedy 
 as she was cross, saw all the riches displayed before her, 
 she changed her scolding strain, and could not contain her- 
 self for joy. 
 
 " I'll go and call upon the sparrows, too," said she, " and 
 get a pretty present." So she asked the old man the way 
 to the sparrows' house, and set forth on her journey. Follow- 
 ing his directions, she at last met the tongue-cut sparrow, and 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " Well met ! well met ! Mr. Sparrow. I have been looking 
 forward to the pleasure of seeing you." So she tried to flatter 
 and cajole the sparrow by soft speeches. 
 
 The bird could not but invite the dame to its home ; but it 
 took no pains to feast her, and said nothing about a parting 
 gift. She, however, was not to be put off; so she asked for 
 something to carry away with her in remembrance of her 
 visit. The sparrow accordingly produced two baskets, as 
 before, and the greedy old woman, choosing the heavier of 
 the two, carried it off with her. But when she opened the 
 basket to see what was inside, aU sorts of hobgoblins, and 
 elves sprang out of it, and began to torment her. 
 
 But the old man adopted a son, and his family grew rich 
 and prosperous. What a happy old man ! 
 

TRE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE. 
 
 A LONG time ago, at a temple called Morinji, in the province 
 of J6shiu, there was an old tea-kettle. One day, when the 
 priest of the temple was about to hang it over the hearth to 
 boil the water for his tea, to his amazement, the kettle all of a 
 sudden put forth the head and tail of a badger. "What a 
 wonderful kettle, to come out all over fur! The priest, 
 thunderstruck, called in the novices of. the temple to see the 
 sight; and whilst they were stupidly staring, one suggesting 
 one tiling and another another, the kettle, jumping up into 
 the air, began flying about the room. IVfore astonished than 
 ever, the priest and his pupils tried to pursue it ; but no thief 
 or cat was ever half so sharp as this wonderful badger- 
 kettle. At last, however, they managed to knock it down 
 and secure it; and, holding it in with their united efforts, 
 they forced it into a box, intending to carry it off and throw 
 it away in some distant place, so that they might be no more 
 plagued by the goblin. For this day their ti-oubles were 
 over ; but, as luck would have it, the tinker who was in the 
 habit of working for the temple called in, and the priest 
 suddenly bethought him that it was a pity to throw the 
 kettle away for nothiag, and that he might as well get a trifle 
 for it, no matter how small So he brought out the kettle, 
 which had resumed its former shape and had got rid of its 
 head and tail, and showed it to the tinker. When the tinker 
 saw the kettle, he offered twenty copper coins for it, and 
 the priest was only too glad to close the bargain and be 
 rid of his troublesome piece of furiiiture. But the tinker 
 trudged off home with his pack and his new purchase. That 
 
176 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 night, as he lay asleep, he heard a strange noise near his 
 pillow; so he peeped out from under the bedclothes, and 
 there he saw the kettle that he had bought in the temple 
 covered with fur, and walking about on four legs. The 
 tinker started up ia a fright to see what it could all mean, 
 when all of a sudden the kettle resumed its former shape. 
 This happened over and over again, until at last the tinker 
 showed the tea-kettle to a friend of his, who said, " This is 
 certainly an accomplished and lucky tea-kettle. Ton should 
 take it about as a show, with songs and accompaniments of 
 musical instruments, and make it dance and walk on the 
 tight rope." 
 
 The tinker, thinking this good advice, made arrangements 
 with a showman, and set up an exhibition. The noise of the 
 kettle's performances soon spread abroad, until even the princes 
 of the land sent to order the tinker to come to them ; and he 
 grew rich beyond all his expectations. Even the princesses, 
 too, and the great ladies of the court, took great delight in the 
 dancing kettle, so that no sooner had it shown its tricks in 
 one place than it was time for them to keep some other 
 engagement. At last the tinker grew so rich that he took the 
 kettle back to the temple, where it was laid up as a precious 
 treasure, and worshipped as a saint. 
 
THE CEAOKLING MOUNTAIN. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old 
 woman, who kept a pet white hare, by which they set great 
 store. One day, a badger, that lived bard by,, came and ate 
 up the food which had been put out for the hare ; so the old 
 man, flying into a great rage, seized the badger, and, tying 
 the beast up to a tree, went off to the mountain to cut 
 wood, while the old woman stopped at home and ground 
 the wheat for the evening porridge. Then the badger, with 
 tears in his eyes, said to the old woman — 
 
 " Please, dame, please untie this rope ! " 
 
 The dame, thinking that it was a cruel thing to see a jjoor 
 beast in pain, undid the rope ; but the ungrateful brute was 
 no sooner loose, than he cried out — 
 
 " I'll be revenged for this," and was oft" in a trice. 
 
 When the hare heard this, he went off to the mountain to 
 warn the old man ; and whilst the hare was away on this 
 errand, the badger came back, and killed the dame. Then the 
 beast, having assumed the old woman's form, made her dead 
 body into broth, and waited for the old man to- come home 
 from the mountain. When he returned, tired and hungry, 
 the pretended old woman said — 
 
 " Come, come ; I've made such a nice broth of the badger 
 you hung up. Sit down, and make a good supper of it." 
 
 With these words she set out the broth, and the old man 
 made a hearty meal, licking his Ups over it, and praising the 
 savour}' mess. But as soon as he had finished eating, the 
 badger, reassuming its natural shape, cried out — 
 
178 TALES OF OLD JAJ^AN. 
 
 " Nasty old man ! you've eaten your own wife. Look at 
 her bones, lying in the kitchen sink ! " and, laughing con- 
 temptuously, the badger ran away, and disappeared. 
 
 Then the old man, horrified at what he had done, set up a 
 great lamentation ; and whilst he was bewailing his fate, the 
 hare came home, and, seeing how matters stood, determined 
 to avenge the death of his mistress. So he went back to the 
 mountain, and, falling in with the badger, who was carrying a 
 faggot of sticks on his back, he struck a light and set fiire to 
 the sticks, without letting the badger see him. When the 
 badger heard the crackling noise of the faggot burning on 
 his back, he called out — 
 
 " Holloa ! what is that noise ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " answered the hare, " this is called the Crackling 
 Mountain. There's always this noise here." 
 
 And as the fire gathered strength, and went pop ! pop ! 
 pop ! the badger said again — 
 
 " Oh dear ! what can this noise be ? " 
 
 "This is called the 'Pop! Pop! Mountain,'" answered 
 the hare. 
 
 All at once the fire began to singe the badger's back, so 
 that he fled, howling with pain, and jumped into a river hard 
 by. But, although the water put Out the fire, his back was 
 burnt as black as a cinder. The hare, seeing an opportunity 
 for torturing the badger to his heart's content, made a poultice 
 of cayenne pepper, which he carried to the badger's house, 
 and, pretending to condole with him, and to have a sovereign 
 remedy for burns, he applied his hot plaister to his enemy's 
 sore back. Oh ! how it smarted and pained ! and how the 
 badger yelled and cried ! 
 
 When, at last, the badger got well again, he went to the 
 hare's house, thinking to reproach him for having caused him 
 so much pain. When he got there, he found that the hare 
 had built himself a boat. 
 
 "What have you buUt that boat for, Mr. Hare?" said 
 the badger. 
 
FAIRY TALES. 179 
 
 "I'm going to the capital of the moon,"^ answered the 
 hare ; " won't you come with me ? " 
 
 " I had enough of your company on the Crackling Moun- 
 tain, where you played me such tricks. I'd rather make a 
 boat for myself," replied the badger, who immediately began 
 building himself a; boat of clay. 
 
 The hare, seeing this, laughed in his sleeve ; and so the 
 two launched their boats upon the river. The waves came 
 plashing against the two boats ; but the hare's boat was built 
 of wood, while that of the badger was made of clay, and, as 
 they rowed down the river, the clay boat began to crumble 
 away ; then the hare, seizing his paddle, and brandishing it 
 in the air, struck savagely at the badger's boat, until he had 
 smashed it to pieces, and killed his enemy. 
 
 When the old man heard that his wife's death had been 
 avenged, he was glad in his heart, and more than ever petted 
 and loved the hare, whose brave deeds had caused him to 
 welcome the returning spring. 
 
 1 The mountains in' the moon are suppoaed to resemble a hare in shape. 
 Hence there is a fanciful connection between the hare and the moon. 
 
 V2 
 
THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE 
 WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM. 
 
 In the old, old days, there lived an honest man x^ith his wife, 
 who had a favourite dog, which they used to feed with fish 
 and titbits from their own kitchen. One day, as the old 
 folks went out to work in their garden, ihe dog went with 
 them, and began playing about. All of a sudden, the dog 
 stopped short, and began to bark, " Bow, wow, wow ! " wagging 
 his tail violently. The old people thought that there must be 
 something nice to eat under the ground, so they brought a 
 spade and began digging, when, lo and behold ! the place 
 was full of gold pieces and silver, and all sorts of precious 
 things, which had been buried there. So they gathered 
 the treasure together, and, after giving alms to the poor, 
 bought themselves rice-fields and corn-fields, and became 
 wealthy people. 
 
 Now, in the next house there dwelt a covetous and stingy 
 old man and woman, who, when they heard what had hap- 
 pened, came and borrowed the dog, and, having taken him 
 home, prepared a great feast for him, and said — 
 
 " If you please, Mr. Dog, we should be much obliged to you 
 if you would show us a place with plenty of money in it." 
 
 The dog, however, who up to that time had received 
 nothing but cuffs and kicks from his hosts, would not eat any 
 of the dainties which they set before him ; so the old people 
 began to get cross, and, putting a rope round the dog's neck, 
 led him out into the garden. But it was aU in vain ; let 
 them lead him where they might, not a sound would the dog 
 utter : he had no " bow-wow " for them. At last, however, the 
 dog stopped at a certain spot, and began to sniff ; so, thinking 
 
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 O 
 
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FAIRY TALES. 181 
 
 that this must surely be the lucky place, they dug, and found 
 nothing but a quantity of dirt and nasty offal, over which 
 they had to hold their noses. Furious at being disappointed, 
 the wicked old couple seized the dog, and killed him. 
 
 When the good old man saw that the dog, whom he had 
 lent, did not come home, he went next door to ask what had 
 become of him ; and the wicked old man answered that he had 
 killed the dog, and buried him at the root of a pine-tree ; so 
 the good old fellow, with a heavy heart, went to the spot, and, 
 having set out a tray with delicate food, burnt incense, and 
 adorned the grave with flowers, as he shed tears over his 
 lost pet. 
 
 But there was more good luck in store yet for the old 
 people — ^the reward of their honesty and virtue. How do 
 you think that happened, my children ? It is very wrong to 
 be cruel to dogs and cats. 
 
 That night, when the good old man was fast asleep in 
 bed, the dog appeared to him, and, after thanking him for all 
 his kindness, said — 
 
 " Cause the pine-tree, under which I am buried, to be cut 
 down and made into a mortar, and use it, thinking of it 
 as if it were myself" 
 
 The old man did as the dog had told him to do, and made 
 a mortar out of > the wood of the pine-tree ; but when he 
 "round his rice in it, each grain of rice was turned into 
 some rich treasure. When the wicked old couple saw this, 
 they came to borrow the mortar ; but no sooner did they tiy 
 to use it, than all their rice was turned into filth ; so, in a fit 
 of rage, they broke' up the mortar and burnt it. But the 
 CTood old man, little suspecting that his precious mortar had 
 been broken and burnt, wondered why his neighbours did not 
 bring it back to him. 
 
 One night the dog appeared to him again in a dream, and 
 told him what had happened, adding that if he would take 
 the ashes of the burnt mortar and sprinkle them on 
 withered trees, the trees would revive, and suddenly put out 
 flowers. After saying this the dream vanished, and the old 
 
182 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 man, who heard for the first time of the loss csf his mortar, 
 ran off weeping to the neighbours' house; and begged 
 them, at any rate, to give him back the ashes of his 
 treasure. Having obtained these, he returned home, and 
 made a trial of their virtues upon a withered cherry-tree, 
 which, upon being touched by the ashes, immediately began 
 to sprout and blossom. When he saw this wonderful effect, 
 he piit the ashes into a basket, and went about the country, 
 announcing himself as an old man who had the power of 
 bringing dead trees to life again. 
 
 A certain prince, hearing of this, and thinking it a 
 mighty strange thing, sent for the old fellow, who showed 
 his power by causing aU the withered plum and cherry- 
 trees to shoot out and put forth flowers. So the prince 
 gave him a rich reward of pieces of silk and cloth and 
 other presents, and sent him home rejoicing. 
 
 So soon as the neighbours heard of this they collected all 
 the ashes that remained, and, having put them in a basket, 
 the wicked old man went out into the castle town, and gave 
 out that he was the old man who had the power of reviving 
 dead trees, and causing them to flower. He had not to wait 
 long before he was called into the prince's palace, and ordered 
 to exhibit his power. But when he climbed up into a 
 withered tree, and began to scatter the ashes, not a bud nor a 
 flower appeared ; but the ashes all flew into the prince's eyes 
 and mouth, bUuding and choking him. When the prince's 
 retainers saw this, they seized the old man, and beat him 
 almost to death, so that he crawled off home in a very sorry 
 plight. When he and his wife found out what a trap they 
 had fallen into, they stormed and scolded, and put themselves 
 into a passion ; but that did no good at aU. 
 
 The good old man and woman, so soon as they heard of 
 their neighbours' distress, sent for them, and, after reproving 
 them for their greed and cruelty, gave them a share of their 
 own riches, which, by repeated strokes of luck, had now in- 
 creased to a goodly sum. So the wicked old people mended 
 their ways, apd led good and virtuous lives ever after. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CKAB. 
 
 If a man thinks only of his own profit, and tries to benefit 
 himself at the expense of others, he will incm: the hatred of 
 Heaven. Men should lay up in their hearts the story of the 
 Battle of the Ape and Crab, and teach it, as a profitable 
 lesson, to their children. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a crab who lived in a marsh 
 in a certain part of the country. It fell out one day that, the 
 crab having picked up a rice cake, an ape, who had got a 
 nasty hard persimmon-seed, came up, and begged the crab to 
 make an exchange with him. The crab, who was a simple- 
 minded creature, agreed to this proposal ; and they each went 
 their way, the ape chuckling to himself at the good bargain 
 which he had made. 
 
 When the crab got home, he planted the persimmon-seed 
 in his garden, and, as time slipped by, it sprouted, and by 
 degrees grew to be a big tree. The crab watched the growth of 
 his tree with great delight ; but when the fruit ripened, and 
 he was going to pluck it, the ape came in, and offered to 
 gather it for him. The crab consenting, the ape climbed up 
 into the tree, and began eating all the ripe fruit himself, while 
 he only threw down the sour persimmons to the crab, inviting 
 him, at the same time, to eat heartily. The crab, however, 
 was not pleased at this arrangement, and thought that it was 
 his turn to play a trick upon the ape; so he called out to 
 him to come down head foremost. The ape did as he was bid ; 
 and as he crawled down, head foremost, the ripe fruit all came 
 tumbling out of his pockets, and the crab, having picked up 
 the persimmons, ran off and hid himself in a hole. The ape, 
 
184 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 seeing tliis, lay in ambush, and as soon as the crab crept out 
 of his hiding-place gave him a sound drubbing, and went 
 home. Just at this time a friendly egg and a bee, who were 
 the apprentices of a certain rice-mortar, happened to pass 
 that way, and, seeing the crab's piteous condition, tied up his 
 wounds, and, having escorted binn home, began to lay plans to 
 be revenged upon the cruel ape. 
 
 Having agreed upon a scheme, they aU went to the ape's 
 house, in his absence ; and each one having undertaken to play 
 a certain part, they waited in secret for their enemy to come 
 home. The ape, little dreaming of the mischief that was 
 brewing, returned home, and, having a fancy to drink a cup of 
 tea, began lighting the fire in the hearth, when, all of a sudden, 
 the egg, which was hidden in the ashes, burst with the heat, 
 and bespattered the frightened ape's face, so that he fled, 
 howling with pain, and crying, " Oh ! what an unlucky beast 
 I am ! " Maddened with the heat of the burst egg, he tried to 
 go to the back of the house, when the bee darted out of a 
 cupboard, and a piece of seaweed, who had joined the party, 
 coming up at the same time, the ape was surrounded by 
 enemies. In despair, he seized the clothes-rack, and fought 
 valiantly for awhile ; but he was no match for so many, and 
 was obliged to run away, with the others in hot pursuit after 
 him. Just as he was making his escape by a back door, 
 however, the piece of seaweed tripped him up, and the rice- 
 mortar, closing with him from behind, made an end of him. 
 
 So the crab, having punished his enemy, went home in 
 triumph, and lived ever after on terms of brotherly love with 
 the seaweed and the mortar. Was there ever such a fine 
 piece of fun ! 
 
''^ixwm 
 
 
 
THE ADVENTUEES OF LITTLE PE^iCHLING. 
 
 Many hundred years ago there lived an honest old wood- 
 cutter and his wife. One fine morning the old man went ofi 
 to the hUls with his hUlhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, 
 while his wife went down to the river to wash the dirty 
 clothes. "When she came to the river, she saw a peach floating 
 down the stream ; so she picked it up, and carried it homo 
 with her, thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he 
 should come in. The old man soon came down from the hills, 
 and the good wife set the peach before him, when, just as she 
 was inviting him to eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little 
 puling baby was bom into the world. So the old couple 
 took the babe, and brought it up as their own ; and, be- 
 cause it had been born in a peach, they called it Momotard,^ or 
 Little Peachling. 
 
 By degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave, 
 and at last one day he said to his old foster-parents — 
 
 " I am going to the ogres' island to cany off the riches that 
 they have stored up there. Pray, then, make jne some millet 
 dumplings for my journey." 
 
 So the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings 
 for him; and Little Peachling, after taking an aflectionate 
 leave of them, cheerfully set out on his travels. 
 
 As he was journeyiag on, he feU in with an ape, who 
 gibbered at him, and said, " Kia ! kia ! kia ! where are you off 
 to, Little Peachling?" 
 
 ' Momo means a peach, and Tar6 is the termination of the names of eldest 
 sons, as Hikotari, Tokutard, &c. In modern times, however, the termination 
 has been applied indifferently to any male child. 
 
386 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " I'm going to tlie ogres' island, to carry off their treasure," 
 answered Little Peaehliag. 
 
 " What are you carrying at your girdle ? " 
 
 " I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all Japan. 
 
 " If you'll give me one, I will go with you," said the ape. 
 
 So Little Peachling gave one of his dumplings to the ape, 
 who received it and followed him. When he had gone a 
 little further, he heard a pheasant calling — 
 
 " Ken ! ken ! ken ! ' where are you off to, Master Peachling ? " 
 
 Little Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant, 
 having begged and obtained a millet dumpling, entered his 
 service, and followed him. A little while after this, they 
 met a dog, who cried — 
 
 " Bow ! wow ! wow ! whither away, Master Peachling ? " 
 
 "I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their 
 treasure." 
 
 " If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings 
 of yours, I will go with you," said the dog. 
 
 " With aU my heart," said Little Peachling. So he went 
 on his way, with the ape, the pheasant, and the dog following 
 after him. 
 
 When they got to the ogxes' island, the pheasant flew over 
 the castle gate, and the ape clambered over the castle wall, 
 while Little Peachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate, 
 and got iato the castle. Then they did battle with the ogres, 
 and put them to flight, and took their king prisoner. So all 
 the ogres did homage to Little Peachling, and brought out the 
 treasures which they had laid up. There were caps and 
 coats that made their wearers invisible, jewels which governed 
 the ebb and flow of the tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber, 
 and tortoisesheU, besides gold and silver. All these were 
 laid before Little Peachling by the conquered ogres. 
 
 So Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and 
 maintained his foster-parents in peace and plenty for the 
 remainder of their lives. 
 
 1 The country folk in Japan pretend that the pheasant's call is a sign of an 
 approaching earthquake. 
 

THE FOXES' WEDDING. 
 
 Once upon, a time there was a young white fox, whose 
 name was Fukuy^mon. When he had reached the fitting 
 age, he shaved off his forelock i and began to think of taking 
 to himself a beautiful bride. The old fox, his father, re- 
 solved to give up his inheritance to his son,^ and retired into 
 private life ; so the young fox, in gratitude for this, laboured 
 hard and earnestly to increase his patrimony. Now it hap- 
 pened that in a famous old family of foxes there was a 
 beautiful young lady-fox, with such lovely fur that the fame 
 of her jewel-like charms was spread far and wide. The 
 young white fox, who had heard of this, was bent on making 
 her his wife, and a meeting was arranged between them. 
 There was not a fault to be found on either side ; so the preli- 
 minaries were settled, and the wedding presents sent from the 
 brid^room to the bride's house, with congratulatory speeches 
 from the messenger, which were duly acknowledged by the 
 persoii deputed to receive the gifts ; the bearers, of course, 
 received the customary fee in copper cash. 
 
 When the ceremonies had been concluded, an auspicious 
 day was chosen for the bride to go to her husband's house, 
 and she was carried off in solemn procession during a 
 shower of rain, the sun shining all the while.* After the 
 ceremonies of drinking wine had been gone through, the 
 
 1 See the Appendix on " Ceremonies." 
 
 ^ See the note on the word Inkiyo, in the story of the " Prince and the 
 Badger." 
 
 3 A shower during sunshine, which we call "the devU beating his wife," is 
 called in Japan " the fox's bride going to her husband's house." 
 
188 TAim OF Oil) JAPAN. 
 
 bride changed her dress, and the wedding was concluded, 
 without let or hindrance, amid singing and dancing and 
 merry-making. 
 
 The bride and bridegroom lived lovingly together, and a 
 litter of little foxes were bom to them, to the great joy 
 of the old grandsire, who treated the little cubs as tenderly 
 as if they had been butterflies or flowers. "They're the 
 very image of their old grandfather," said he, as proud as 
 possible. " As for medicine, bless them, they're so healthy 
 that they'll never need a copper coin's worth !" 
 
 As soon as they were old enough, they were carried off 
 to the temple of Inari Sama, the patron saint of foxes, 
 and the old grandparents prayed that they might be de- 
 livered from dogs and all the other ills to which fox flesh 
 is heir. 
 
 In this way the white fox by degrees waxed old and pros- 
 perous, and his children, year by year, became more and more 
 numerous around him ; so that, happy in his family and his 
 business, every reciirring spring brought him fresh cause 
 for joy. 
 
THE HISTOEY OF SAKATA KINTOKI. 
 
 A LONG time ago there was an officer of the Emperor's body- 
 guard, called Sakata Kurando, a young man who,' although 
 he excelled in valour and in the arts of war, was of a gentle 
 and loving disposition. This young officer was deeply ena- 
 moured of a fair young lady, called Ya^giri, who lived at 
 Goj6zaka, at Kiy6to. Now it came to pass that, having in- 
 curred the jealousy of certain other persons, Kurando fell 
 into disgrace with the Court, and became a E6nin, so he was 
 no longer able to keep up any communication with his love 
 Ya^giri ; indeed, he became so poor that it was a hard matter 
 for him to live. So he left the place and fled, no one knew 
 whither. As for Ya^giri, lovesick and lorn, and pining for 
 her lost darling, she escaped from the house where she 
 lived, and wandered hither and thither through the country, 
 seeking everywhere for Kurando. 
 
 Now Kurando, when he left the palace, turned tobacco 
 merchant, and, as he was travelling about hawking his goods, 
 it chanced that he fell in with Ya^giri ; so, having communi- 
 cated to her his last wishes, he took leave of her and put an 
 end to his life. 
 
 Poor Ya^giri, having buried her lover, went to the Ashigara 
 Mountain, a distant and lonely spot, where she gave birth 
 to a little boy, who, as soon as he was born, was of such 
 wonderful strength that he walked about and ran playing 
 all over the mountain. A woodcutter, who chanced to see 
 the marvel, was greatly frightened at first, and thought the 
 thing altogether uncanny ; but after a while he got used to 
 the child, and became quite fond of him, and called him 
 
190 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Little Wonder," and gave his mother the name of the " Old 
 Woman of the Mountain." 
 
 One day, as " Little Wonder '' was playing about, he saw that 
 on the top of a high cedar-tree there was a tengu's nest ; ^ so 
 he began shaking the tree with all his might, untU at last the 
 tengu's nest came tumbHng down. 
 
 As luck would have it, the famous hero, Minamoto no 
 Yorimitsu, with his retainers, Watanab^ Isuna, Usui Sada- 
 mitsu, and several others, had come to the mountain to hunt, 
 and seeing the feat -which " Little Wonder " had performed, 
 came to the conclusion that he coidd be no ordinary child. 
 Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Watanab6 Isuna to find out 
 the child's name and parentage. The Old Woman of the 
 Mountain, on being asked about him, answered that she was 
 the wife of Kurando, and that "Little Wonder" was the 
 child of their marriage. And she proceeded to jelate all 
 the adventures which had befallen her. 
 
 When Yorimitsu heard her story, he said, " Certainly 
 this child does not belie his lineage. Give the brat to me, 
 and I will make him my retainer." The Old Woman of 
 the Mountain gladly consented, and gave " Little Wonder " 
 to Yorimitsu ; but she herself remained in her moun- 
 tain home. So " Little Wonder " went off with the hero 
 Yorimitsu, who named him Sakata Kintoki ; and in after- 
 times he became famous and Olustrious as a warrior, and his 
 deeds ai'e recited to this day. He is the favourite hero of 
 little children, who carry his portrait in their bosom, and wish 
 that they could emulate his. bravery and strength. 
 
 ' Tengu, or the Heavenly Dog, a hobgoblin who infests desert places, and 
 is invoked to frighten naughty little children. 
 
THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR 
 
 Once upon a time there was a certain man, who, being over- 
 taken hy darkness among the mountains, was driven to seek 
 shelter in the trunk of a hollow tree. In the middle of the 
 night, a large company of elves assembled at the place ; and 
 the man, peeping out from his hiding-place,. was frightened 
 out of his wits. After a while, however, the elves began to 
 feast and drink wine, and to amuse themselves by singing and 
 dancing, until at last the man, caught by the infection of the 
 fun, forgot all about his fright, and crept out of his hollow 
 tree to join in the revels. When the day was about to dawn, 
 the elves said to the man, "You're a very joUy companion, and 
 must come out and have a dance with us again. You must 
 make us a promise, and keep it." So the elves, thinking to 
 bind the man over to return, took a large wen that grew 
 on his forehead and kept it in pawn ; upon this they all left 
 the place, and went home. The man walked off to his own 
 house in high glee at having passed a jovial night, and got 
 r'd of his wen into the bargain. So he told the story to all 
 his friends, who congratulated him warmly on being cured 
 of his wen. But there was a neighbour of his who was also 
 troubled with a wen of long standing, and, when he heard 
 of his friend's luck, he was smitten with envy, and went off 
 to hunt for the hollow tree, in which, when he had found it, 
 he passed the night. 
 
 Towards midnight the elves came, as he had expected, and 
 began feasting and drinking, with songs and dances as before. 
 As soon as he saw this, he came out of his hollow tree, and 
 liegan dancing and singiug as his neighbour had done. The 
 
192 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 elves, mistaking him for their former boon-companion, were 
 delighted to see him, and said — 
 
 " You're a good feUow to recollect your promise, and we'll 
 give you back your pledge ; " so one of the elves, puDing the 
 pawned wen out of his pocket, stuck it on to the man's fore- 
 head, on the top of the other wen which he already had. So 
 the envious neighbour went home weeping, with two wens 
 instead of one. This is a good lesson to people who cannot 
 see the. good luck of others, without coveting it for them- 
 selves. 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKUEA. 
 
 The misfortunes and death of the farmer S6gor6, which, 
 although the preternatural appearances by which they are 
 said to have heen followed may raise a snule, are matters of 
 historic notoriety with which every Japanese is famUiar, 
 furnish a forcible illustration of the relations which exist 
 between the tenant and the lord of the soil, and of the 
 boundless power for good or for evil exercised by the latter. 
 It is rather remarkable that in a country where the peasant — 
 placed as he is next to the soldier, and before the artisan and 
 merchant, in the four classes into which the people are 
 divided — enjoys no small consideration, and where agriculture 
 is protected by law from the inroads of wild vegetation, even 
 to the lopping of overshadowiag branches and the cutting 
 down of hedgerow timber, the lord of the manor should be 
 left practicaUy without control in his deaHngs with his 
 people. 
 
 The land-tax, or rather the yearly rent paid by the tenant, 
 is usually assessed at forty per cent, of the produce ; but there 
 is no principle clearly defining it, and frequently the land- 
 owner and the cultivator divide the proceeds of the harvest 
 in equal shares. Eice land is divided into three classes; 
 and, according to these classes, it is computed that one tan 
 (1,800 square feet) of the best land should yield to the 
 owner a revenue of five bags of rice per annum ; each of 
 these bags holds four t6 (a t6 is rather less than half an im- 
 perial bushel), and is worth at present (1868) three riyos, or 
 about sixteen shiUings; land of the middle class should 
 yield a revenue of three or four bags. The rent is paid 
 
 
 
194 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 either in rice or in money, according to the actual price of 
 the graia, which varies considerably. It is due in the 
 eleventh month of the year, when the crops have all 
 been gathered, and their market value fixed. 
 
 The rent of land bearing crops other than rice, such as 
 cotton, beans, roots, and so forth, is payable in money during 
 the twelfth month. The choice of the nature of the crops 
 to be grown appears to be left to the tenant. 
 
 The Japanese landlord, when pressed by poverty, does not 
 confine himself to the raising of his legitimate rents : he can 
 always enforce from his needy tenantry the advancement of 
 a year's rent, or the loan of so much money as may be required 
 to meet his immediate necessities. Should the lord be just, 
 the peasant is repaid by instalments, with interest, extending 
 over ten or twenty years. But it too often happens that 
 unjust and merciless lords do not repay such loans, but, on 
 the contrary, press for further advances. Then it is that the 
 farmers, dressed in their grass rain-coats, and carrying sickles 
 and bamboo poles in their hands, assemble before the gate of 
 their lord's palace at the capital, and represent their griev- 
 ances, imploring the intercession of the retainers, and even of 
 the womankind who may chance to go forth. Sometimes they 
 pay for their temerity by their lives ; but, at any rate, they 
 have the satisfaction of bringing shame upon their persecutor, 
 in the eyes of his neighbours and of the populace. 
 
 The official reports of recent travels in the interior of 
 Japan have fully proved the hard lot with which the pea- 
 santry had to put up during the government of the Tycoons, 
 and especially under the Hatamotos, the created nobility of 
 the dynasty. In one province, where the village mayors 
 appear to have seconded the extortions of their lord, they 
 have had to flee before an exasperated population, who, 
 taking advantage of the revolution, laid waste and pillaged 
 their houses, loudly praying for a new and just assessment of 
 the land; while, throughout the country, the farmers have 
 haUed with acclamations the resumption of the sovereign 
 power by the Mikado, and the abolition of the petty nobility 
 
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 Bi 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 S 
 H 
 
 •>! 
 
 m 
 
 \- 
 
 z 
 o 
 
 Q 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKURA. 195 
 
 who exalted themselves upon the misery of their dependants. 
 "Warming themselves in the sunshiae of the court at Yedo, 
 the Hatamotos waxed fat and held high revel, and little cared 
 they who groaned or who starved. Money must be found, 
 and it was found. 
 
 It is necessary here to add a word respecting the position of 
 the village mayors, who play so important a part in the tale. 
 
 The peasants of Japan are ruled by three classes of 
 ofi&cials : the Nanushi, or mayor ; the Kumigashira, or chiefs 
 of companies ; and the Hiyakush6dai, or farmers' representa- 
 tives. The village, which is governed by the Nanushi, or 
 mayor, is divided into companies, which, consisting of five 
 families each, are directed by a Kumigashira; these com- 
 panies, again, are subdivided into groups of five men each, 
 who choose one of their number to represent them in case 
 of their having any petition to present, or any affairs to settle 
 with their superiors. This functionary is the Hiyakush6dai. 
 The mayor, the chief of the company, and the representative 
 keep registers of the families and people under their control, 
 and are responsible for their good and orderly behaviour. 
 They pay taxes like the other farmers, but receive a salary, 
 the amount of which depends upon the size and wealth of 
 the village. Five per cent, of the yearly land tax forms the 
 salary of the mayor, and the other officials each receive five 
 per cent, of the tax paid by the little bodies over which they 
 respectively rule. 
 
 The average amount of land for one family to cultivate is 
 about one ch6, or 9,000 square yards ; but there are farmers 
 who have inherited as much as five or even six ch& from 
 their ancestors. There is also a class of farmers called, from 
 their poverty, " water-drinking farmers," who have no land of 
 their own, but hire that of those who have more than they 
 can keep in their own hands. The rent so paid varies ; but 
 good rice land will bring in as high a rent as from £1 18s. 
 to £2 6s. per tan (1,800 square feet). 
 
 Farm labourers are paid from six or seven riyos a year to 
 as much as thirty riyos (the riyo being worth about 5s. 4(?.) ; 
 
 o2 
 
196 TALES OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 besides this, they are clothed and fed, not daintily indeed, 
 but amply. The rice which they cultivate is to them an 
 almost unknown luxury : millet is their staple food, and on 
 high days and holidays they receive messes of harley or buck- 
 wheat. Where the mulberry-tree is grown, and the silkworm 
 is " educated," there the labourer receives the highest wage. 
 
 The rice crop on good land should yield twelve and 
 a half fold, and on ordinary land from six to seven fold only. 
 Ordinary arable land is only half as valuable as rice land, 
 which cannot be purchased for less than forty riyos per tan 
 of 1,800 square feet. Common hill or wood land is cheaper, 
 again, than arable land ; but orchards and groves of the 
 Pawlonia are worth from fifty to sixty riyos per tan. 
 
 With regard to the punishment of crucifixion, by which 
 S&gor6 was put to death, it is inflicted for the following 
 offences : — parricide (iucludiag the murder or striking of 
 parents, uncles, aunts, elder brothers, masters, or teachers) 
 coining counterfeit money, and passing the barriers of the 
 Tycoon's territory without a permit.' The criminal is at- 
 tached to an upright post with two cross bars, to which his 
 arms and feet are fastened by ropes. He is then transfixed 
 with spears by men belonging to the Eta or Pariah class. 
 I once passed the execution-ground near Yedo, when a body 
 was attached to the cross. The dead man had murdered his 
 employer, and, having been condemned to death by cruci- 
 fixion, had died in prison before the sentence could be carried 
 out. He was accordingly packed, in a squatting position, in 
 a huge red earthenware jar, which, having been tightly filled 
 up with salt, was hermetically sealed. On the anniversary of 
 the commission of the crime, the jar was carried down to the 
 execution-ground and broken, and the body was taken out 
 and tied to the cross, the joints of the knees and arms having 
 been cut, to allow of the extension of the stiffened and 
 shrunken limbs; it was then transfixed with spears, and 
 allowed to remain exposed for three days. An open grave, 
 the upturned soil of which seemed almost entirely composed 
 ^ This last erime is, of course, now obsolete. 
 
THTl GHOST OF SAKURA. 197 
 
 of dead men's remains, waited to receive the dishonoured 
 corpse, over which three or four Etas, squalid and degraded 
 beings, were mounting guard, smoking their pipes by a scanty 
 charcoal fire, and bandying obscene jests. It was a hideous 
 and ghastly warning, had any cared to read the lesson ; but 
 the passers-by on the high road took little or no notice of 
 the sight, and a group of chubby and happy children were 
 playing not ten yards from the dead body, as if no strange or 
 uncanny thing were near them. 
 
 THE GHOST OF SAKUK'A.l 
 
 How true is the principle laid down by Confucius, that the 
 benevolence of princes is reflected in their country, while 
 their wickedness causes sedition and confusion ! " 
 
 In the province of Shim6sa, and the district of Soma, 
 Hotta Kaga no Kami was lord of the castle of Sakura, and 
 chief of a family wHch had for generations produced famous 
 warriors. When Kaga no Kami, who had served in the 
 Gorojiu, the cabinet of the Shogun, died at the castle of 
 Sakura, his eldest son K6tsuk^ no Suk6 Masanobu inherited 
 his estates and honours, and was appointed to a seat in the 
 Gorojiu ; but he was a different man from the lords who 
 had preceded him. He treated the farmers and peasants 
 unjustly, imposing additional and grievous taxes, so that 
 the tenants on his estates were driven to the last extremity 
 of poverty; and although year after year, and month after 
 month, they prayed for mercy, and remonstrated against 
 this injustice, no heed was paid to them, and the people 
 throughout the villages were reduced to the utmost dis- 
 tress. Accordingly, the chiefs of the one hundred and thirty- 
 six villages, producing a total revenue of 40,000 kokus 
 of rice, assembled together in council and determined 
 
 I The story, which also forms the subject of a play, is published, but with 
 (iltereJ name's, va. order that offence may not be given to the Hotta family. 
 The real names are preserved here. The events related took place during the 
 rnle of the Shogun ly^mitsn, in the first half of the seventeenth century. 
 
198 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 unammoTisly to present a petition toi the Government, 
 sealed with, their seals, statiug that their repeated remon- 
 strances had been taken no notice of hy their local 
 authorities. Then they assembled in numbers before the 
 house of one of the councillors of their lord, named 
 Ik^ura Kazuye, in order to show the petition to him first, 
 but even then no notice was taken of them; so they 
 returned home, and resolved, after consulting together, to 
 proceed to their lord's yashiki, or palace, at Tedo, on the 
 seventh day of the tenth month. It was determined, with 
 one accord, that one hundred and forty-three village chiefs 
 should go to Yedo ; and the chief of the village of Iwahashi, 
 one S&gor6, a man forty-eight years of age, distinguished for 
 his ability and judgment, ruling a district which produced a 
 thousand kokus, stepped forward, and said — 
 
 "This is by no means an easy matter, my masters. It 
 certainly is of great importance that we should forward our 
 complaint to our lord's palace at Yedo; but what are your 
 plans ? Have you any fixed intentions ?" 
 
 " It is, indeed, a most important matter," rejoined the 
 others; but they had nothing further to say. Then S6gor6 
 went on to say — 
 
 " We have appealed to the public office of our province, but 
 without avail; we have petitioned the Prince's councillors, 
 also in vain. I know that aU that remains for us is to lay 
 our case before our lord's palace at Yedo ; axid if we go there, 
 it is equally certain that we shall not be listened to — on the 
 contrary, we shall be cast into prison. If we are not attended 
 to here, in our own province, how much less will the officials 
 at Yedo care for us. We might hand our petition into the 
 litter of one of the GorSjiu, in the public streets ; but, even 
 in that case, as our lord is a member of the Gor6jiu, none of 
 his peers would care to examine into the rights and wrongs 
 of our complaint, for fear of offending him, and the man who 
 presented the petition in so desperate a manner would lose 
 his life on a bootless errand. If you have made up your 
 minds to this, and are determined, at all hazards, to start, 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKUBA. 199 
 
 then go to Yedo by all means, and bid a long fare-ys^ell 
 to parents, children, wives, and relations. TMs is my 
 opinion." 
 
 The others all agreeing with what S6gor8 said, they deter- 
 mined that, come what might, they would go to Yedo ; and 
 they settled to assemble at the village of Funabashi on the 
 thirteenth day of the eleventh month. 
 
 On the appointed day all the viUage of&cers met at the 
 place agreed upon, — SSgorS, the chief of the village of 
 Iwahashi, alone being missing ; and as on the following day 
 S6gor6 had not yet arrived, they deputed one of their number, 
 named Eokurobei, to inquire the reason. Eokurobei arrived 
 at S6gor6's house towards four in the afternoon, and found 
 him warming himself quietly over his charcoal brazier, as 
 if nothing were the matter. The messenger, seeing this, said 
 rather testily — 
 
 "The chiefs of the villages are aU assembled at Funa- 
 bashi according to covenant, and as you, Master S6gor8, have 
 not arrived, I have come to inquire whether it is sickness or 
 some other cause that prevents you." 
 
 "Indeed," replied S8gor6, "I am sorry that you should 
 have had so much trouble. My intention was to have set out 
 yesterday ; but I was taken with a cholic, with which I am 
 often troubled, and, as you may see, I am taking care of 
 myself; so for a day or two I shall not be able to start. Pray 
 be so good as to let the others know this." 
 
 Eokurobei, seeing that there was no help for it, went 
 back to the village of Funabashi and communicated to the 
 others what had occurred. They were aU indignant at what 
 they looked upon as the cowardly defection of a man who 
 had spoken so fairly, but resolved that the conduct of one 
 man should not influence the rest, and talked themselves 
 into the belief that the affair which they had in hand would 
 be easily put through ; so they agreed with one accord to 
 start and present the petition, and, having arrived at Yedo,' 
 put up in the street called Bakuroch6. But although they] 
 tried to forward their complaint to the various officers ofi 
 
200 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 their lord, no one would listen to them ; the doors were 
 aU shut in their faces, and they Bad to go back to their 
 inn, crestfallen and without success. 
 
 On the following day, being the 18th of the month, they 
 all met together at a tea-house in an avenue, i»> front of 
 a shrine of Kwannon Sama ; ^ and having held a consulta- 
 tion, they determined that, as they could hit upon no good 
 expedient, they would again send for S6gor6 to see whether 
 he could devise no plan. Accordingly, on the 19th, Eokurobei 
 and one Jiuy^mon started for the village of Iwahashi at 
 noon, and arrived the same evening. 
 
 Now the village chief S6gor6, who had made up his mind 
 that the presentation of this memorial was not a matter to 
 be lightly treated, summoned, his wife and children and his 
 relations, and said to them — 
 
 " I am about to undertake a journey to Yedo, for the fol- 
 lowing reasons : — Gur present lord of the soil has increased 
 the land-tax, in rice and the other imposts, more than 
 tenfold, so that pen and paper would fail to convey an idea 
 of the poverty to which the people are reduced, and the 
 peasants are undergoing the tortures of hell upon earth. 
 Seeing this, the chiefs of the various villages have presented 
 petitions, but with what result is doubtful My earnest desire, 
 therefore, is to devise some means of escape from this cruel 
 persecution. If my ambitious scheme does not succeed, then 
 shall I return home no more ; and even should I gain my 
 end, it is hard to say how I may be treated by those in power. 
 Let us drink a cup of wine together, for it may be that you 
 shall see my face no more. I give my life to allay the 
 misery of the people of this estate. If I die, mourn not over 
 my fate ; weep not for me." 
 
 Having spoken thus, he addressed his wife and his four 
 children, instructing them carefully as to what he desired to 
 be done after his death, and minutely stating every wish of 
 his heart. Then, having drunk a parting cup with them, he 
 cheerfully took leave of all present, and went to a tea-house 
 ' A Buddhist deity. 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKVRA. 201 
 
 in the neighbouring villagg of Funabashi, where the two mes- 
 sengers, Eokurobei and Jiuy^mon, were anxiously awaiting 
 his arrival, in order that they might recount to him all that 
 had taken place at Yedo. 
 
 " In sb^t," said they, " it appears to us that we have failed 
 completely ; and we have come to meet you in order to hear 
 what you propose. If you have any plan to suggest, we 
 would fain be made acquainted with it." 
 
 "We have tried the officers of the district," replied S6- 
 gor6, " and we have tried my lord's palace at Yedo. How- 
 ever often we might assemble before my lord's gate, no heed 
 would be given to us. There is nothing left for us but to 
 appeal to the Shogun." 
 
 So they sat talking over their plans until the night was far 
 advanced, and then they went to rest. The winter night was 
 long ; but when the cawing of the crows was about to an- 
 nounce the morning, the three friends started on their journey 
 for the tea-house at Asakusa, at which, upon their arrival, 
 they foimd the other village elders already assembled. 
 
 " Welcome, Master S6gor6," said they. " How is it that you 
 have come so late ? We have petitioned all the officers to no 
 purpose, and we have broken our bones in vain. We are at 
 our wits' end, and can think of no other scheme. If there 
 is any plan which seems good to you, we pray you to act 
 upon it." 
 
 " Sirs," replied S8gor6, speaking very quietly, " although we 
 have met with no better success here than in our own place, 
 there is no use in grieving. In a day or two the Gor6jiu will 
 be going to the castle ; we must wait for this opportunity, and 
 following one of the litters, thrust in our memorial. This 
 is my opinion : what think you of it, my masters ? " 
 
 One and all, the assembled elders were agreed as to the 
 excellence of this advice ; and having decided to act upon it, 
 they returned to their inn. 
 
 Then S6gor6 held a secret consultation with Jiuy^mon, 
 HanzS, Eokurobei, Chinz8, and Kiushir6, five of the elders, 
 and, with their assistance, drew up the memorial ; and having 
 
202 TALi:S OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 heard that on the 26th of the month, when the GorSjiu 
 should go to the castle, Ktiz6 Yamato no Kami would proceed 
 to a palace under the western enclosure of the castle, they 
 kept watch in a place hard by. As soon as they saw the 
 litter of the Gor6jiu approach, they drew near to it, and, 
 having humbly stated their grievances, handed in the peti- 
 tion ; and as it was accepted, the six elders were greatly 
 ■elated, and doubted not that their hearts' desire would be 
 attained ; so they went off to a tea-house at Eiyogoku, and 
 Jiuy^mon said — 
 
 " We may congratulate ourselves on our success. We have 
 handed in our petition to the Gor6jiu, and now we may set 
 our minds at rest ; before many days have passed, we shall 
 hear good news from the rulers. To Master S6gor6 is due 
 great praise for his exertions." 
 
 S6gor6, stepping forward, answered, "Although we have 
 presented our memorial to the Gor6jiu, the matter will not be 
 so quickly decided ; it is therefore useless that so many of us 
 should remain here : let eleven men stay with me, and let the 
 rest return home to their several villages. If we who remain 
 are accused of conspiracy and beheaded, let the others agree 
 to reclaim and bury our corpses. As for the expenses which 
 we shall incur until our suit is concluded, let that be accord- 
 ing to our original covenant. For the sake of the hundred 
 and thirty-six villages we will lay down our lives, if needs 
 must, and submit to the disgrace of having our heads exposed 
 as those of common malefactors." 
 
 Then they had a parting feast together, and, after a sad 
 leave-taking, the main body of the elders went home to their 
 own country ; while the others, wending their way to their 
 quarters, waited patiently to be summoned to the Supreme 
 €ourt. On the 2d day of the 12th month, S6gor6, having 
 received a summons from the residence of the GorSjiu 
 Kuz4 Yamato no Kami, proceeded to obey it, and was 
 ushered to the porch of the house, where two councillors, 
 named Aijima Gidaiyu and Yamaji Y6ri, met him, and said — 
 
 " Some days since you had the audacity to thnist a 
 
SOGORO THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTEK. 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKURA. 203 
 
 memorial into the litter of oiir lord Yamato no Kami. By an 
 extraordinary exercise of clemency, he is willing to pardon 
 this heinous offence ; but should you ever again endeavour 
 to force your petitions upon him, you will he held guilty of 
 riotous conduct;" and with this they gave back the memorial. 
 " I humbly admit the justice of his lordship's censure. 
 But oh 1 my lords, this is no hasty nor ill-considered action. 
 Year after year, affliction upon affliction has been heaped 
 upon us, until at last the people are without even the neces- 
 saries of life; and we, seeing no end to the evil, have humbly 
 presented this petition. I pray your lordships of your 
 great mercy to consider our case, and deign to receive our 
 memorial. Vouchsafe to take some measures that the people 
 may live, and our gratitude for your great kindness will 
 know no bounds." 
 
 " Your rec[uest is a just one," replied the two councillors, 
 after hearing what he said ; " but your memorial cannot be 
 received : so you must even take it back." 
 
 With this they gave back the document, and wrote down 
 the names of S6gor6 and six of the elders who had accom- 
 panied him. There was no help for it : they must take back 
 their petition, and return to their inn. The seven men, 
 dispirited and sorrowful, sat with folded arms considering 
 what was best to be done, what plan should be devised, 
 until at last, when they were at their wits' end, S6gor6 said, 
 i;i a whisper — 
 
 "So our petition, which we gave in after so much pains, 
 has been returned after all ! With what face can we return to 
 our villages after such a disgrace? I, for one, do not propose 
 to waste my labour for nothing ; accordingly, I shall bide my 
 time until some day, when the Shogun shall go forth from 
 the castle, and, lying in wait by the roadside, I shall make 
 
 known our grievances to him, who is lord over our lord. This 
 
 is our last chance." 
 
 The others aU applauded this speech, and, having with one 
 
 accord hardened their hearts, waited for their opportunity. 
 Now it so happened that, on the 20th day of the 12th 
 
204 TALES OF OLD JAPJN. 
 
 month, the then Shogun, Prince ly^mitsu, was pleased to 
 worship at the tombs of his ancestors at Uy^no ; '■ and S6gor6 
 and the other elders, hearing this, looked upon it as a special 
 favour from the gods, and felt certain that this time they 
 would not fail. So they drew up a fresh memorial, and at 
 the appointed time S6gor6 hid himself under the Sam- 
 may^ Bridge, in front of the black gate at Uy^no. "When 
 Prince ly^mitsu passed in his litter, S6gor6 clambered up 
 from under the bridge, to the great surprise of the Shogun's 
 attendants, who called out, "Push the fellow on one side;" 
 but, profiting by the confusion, S6gor6, raising his voice and 
 crying, " I wish to humbly present a petition to his Highness 
 in person," thrust forward his memorial, which he had tied 
 on to the end of a bamboo stick six feet long, and tried to 
 put it into the litter ; and although there were cries to 
 arrest him, and he was buffeted by the escort, he crawled 
 up to the side of the litter, and the Shogun accepted the 
 document. But S6gor& was arrested by the escort, and 
 thrown into prison. As for the memorial, his Highness 
 ordered that it should be handed in to the Gor6jiu Hotta 
 K6tsuk6 no Suk^ the lord of the petitioners. 
 
 When Hotta K6tsuk6 no Suk^ had returned home and read 
 the memorial, he summoned his councillor, Kojima Shikibu, 
 and said — 
 
 "The officials of my estate are mere bunglers. When 
 the peasants assembled and presented a petition, they re- 
 fused to receive it, and have thus brought this trouble upon 
 me. Their folly has been beyond belief ; however, it cannot 
 be helped. We must remit all the new taxes, and you 
 must inquire how much was paid to the former lord of the 
 castle. As for this S6gor6, he is not the only one who 
 is at the bottom of the conspiracy ; however, as this heinous 
 offence of his in going out to lie in wait for the Shogun's 
 procession is unpardonable, we must manage to get him 
 given up to us by the Government, and, as an example for 
 
 ' Destroyed during the revolution, in the summer of 1868, by the troops of 
 the Mikado. See note on the tombs of the Shoguns, at the end of the story. 
 
THU GHOST OF SAKUBA. 205 
 
 the rest of my people, he shaR be crucified — he and his 
 wife and his children; and, after his death, all that he 
 possesses shall be confiscated. The other six men shall 
 be banished; and that will suffice." 
 
 "My lord," replied Shikibu, prostrating himself, "your 
 lordship's intentions are just. S6gor6, indeed, deserves any 
 punishment for his outrageous crime. But I humbly venture 
 to submit that his wife and children cannot be said to be 
 guilty in the same degree : I implore your lordship mercifully 
 to be pleased to absolve them from so severe a punishment." 
 
 " Where the sin of the father is great, the wife and 
 children cannot be spared," replied K6tsuk6 no Suke ; and 
 his councillor, seeing that his heart was hardened, was forced 
 to obey his orders without further remonstrance. 
 
 So KotsuM no Suk4 having obtained that S6gor6 should 
 be given up to him by the Government, caused him to 
 be brought to his estate of Sakura as a criminal, in a 
 litter covered with nets, and confined him in prison. When 
 his case had been inquired into, a decree was issued by 
 the Lord K6tsuk^ no Suk6 that he should be punished for 
 a heinous crime ; and on the 9th day of the 2nd month 
 of the second year of the period styled Sh6h6 (1644 a.d.) he 
 was condemned to be crucified. Accordingly S6gor6, his 
 wife and children, and the elders of the hundred and thirty- 
 six villages were brought before the Court-house of Sakura, 
 in which were assembled forty-five chief officers. The elders 
 were then told that, yielding to their petition, their lord was 
 graciously pleased to order that the oppressive taxes should 
 be remitted, and that the dues levied should not exceed those 
 of the olden time. As for S6gor6 and his wifg, the following 
 sentence was passed upon them : — 
 
 "Whereas you have. set yourself up as the head of the 
 villagers ; whereas, secondly, you have dared to make light 
 of the Government by petitioning his Highness the Shogun 
 directly, thereby offering an insult to your lord ; and whereas, 
 thirdly, you have presented a memorial to the Gor6jiu ; and, 
 whereas, fourthly, you were privy to a conspiracy : for these 
 
206 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 four heinous crimes you are sentenced to death by crucifixion. 
 Your wife is sentenced to die in like manner; and your 
 children ■will be decapitated. 
 
 " This sentence is passed upon the following persons : — 
 
 " S6gor&, chief of the village of Iwahashi, aged 48. 
 
 " His wife, Man, aged 38. 
 
 " His son, Gennosuk^, aged 13. 
 
 " His son, Sohei, aged 10. 
 
 " His son, Kihachi, aged 7." 
 
 The eldest daughter of Sogoro, named Hatsu, nineteen 
 years of age, was married to a man named Jiuy^mon, in the 
 village of Hakamura, in Shitaehi, beyond the river, in the 
 territory of Matsudaira Mutsu no Kami [the Prince of 
 Sendai]. His second daughter, whose name was Saki, six- 
 teen years of age, was married to one T6jiiir6, chief of a 
 village on the property of my lord NaitS G-eki. No punish- 
 ment was decreed against these two women. 
 
 The six elders who had accompanied S6gor6 were told 
 that although by good rights they had merited death, yet 
 by the special clemency of their lord their lives would be 
 spared, but that they were condemned to banishment. Their 
 wives and children would not be attainted, and their pro- 
 perty would be spared. The six men were banished to 
 Oshima, iu the province of Idzu. 
 
 S6gor6 heard his sentence with pure courage. 
 
 The six men were banished ; but three of them lived to 
 be pardoned on the occasion of the death of the Shogun, 
 Prince Genyuin,^ and returned to their country. 
 
 According to the above decision, the taxes were remitted ; 
 and men and women, young and old, rejoiced over the ad- 
 vantage that been gained for them by SSgoro and by the six 
 elders, and there was not one that did not mourn for their fate. 
 
 When the officers of the several villages left the Court- 
 house, one Zembei, the chief of the village of Sakato, told 
 the others that he had some important subjects to speak to 
 
 ' The name assigned after death to ly^tsnna, the fourth of the dynasty of 
 Tokugawa, who died on the 8th day of the 5th month of the year 1680 a.d. 
 
THE OEOST OF SAKUBA. 207 
 
 them upon, and begged them to meet him in the temple called 
 Pnkush6in. Every man having consented, and the hundred 
 and thirty-six men having assembled at the temple, Zembei 
 addressed them as follows — 
 
 "The success of our petition, in obtaining the reduction 
 of our taxes to the same amount as was levied by our former 
 lord, is owing to Master S6gor6, who has thus thrown away 
 his life for us. He and his wife and children are now to 
 suffer as criminals for the sake of the one hundred and 
 thirty-six villages. That such a thing should take place 
 before our very eyes seems to me not to be borne. What 
 say you, my masters ? " 
 
 " Ay ! ay ! what you say is just from top to bottom," 
 replied the others. Then Hanzay^mon, the elder of the 
 village of Katsuta, stepped forward and said — 
 
 " As Master Zembei has just said, S6gor6 is condemned to 
 die for a matter in which all the village elders are concerned 
 to a man. We cannot look on unconcerned. Full well I 
 know that it is useless our pleading for S6gor6 ; but we may, 
 at least, petition that the lives of his wife and children 
 may be spared." 
 
 The assembled elders having aU applauded this speech, they 
 determined to draw up a memorial ; and they resolved, should 
 their petition not be accepted by the local authorities, to 
 present it at their lord's palace in Yedo, and, should that 
 fail, to appeal to the Government. Accordingly, before noon 
 on the following day, they aU affixed their seals to the 
 memorial, which four of them, including Zembei and Han- 
 zayemon, composed, as follows : — 
 
 "With deep fear we humbly venture to present the follow- 
 ing petition, which the elders of the one hundred and thirty- 
 six villages of this estate have sealed with their seals. In 
 consequence of the humble petitipn which we lately offered 
 up, the taxes have graciously been reduced to the rates levied, 
 by the former lord of the estate, and new laws have been 
 vouchsafed to us. With reverence and joy the peasants, great 
 and small, have gratefully acknowledged these favours. With. 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 regard to S6gor6, the elder of the village of Iwahashi, who 
 ventured to petition his Highness the Shogun in person, 
 thus being guilty of a heinous crime, he has been sentenced 
 to death in the castle town. With fear and trembling we 
 recognize the justice of his sentence. But in the matter 
 of his wife and children, she is but a woman, and they are 
 so young and innocent that they cannot distinguish the 
 east from the west: we pray that in your great clemency 
 you will remit their sin, and give them up to the repre- 
 sentatives of the one hundred and thirty-six villages, for 
 which we shall be ever gTateful. We, the elders of the vil- 
 lages, know not to what extent we may be transgressing in 
 presenting this memorial. We were all guilty of af&xing oui- 
 seals to the former petition ; but S6gor6, who was chief of a 
 large district, producing a thousand kokus of revenue, and 
 was therefore a man of experience, acted for the others; 
 and we grieve that he alone should suffer for all. Yet in 
 his case we reverently admit that there can be no reprieve. 
 For his wife and children, however, we humbly implore your 
 gracious mercy and consideration. 
 
 " Signed by the elders of the villages of the estate, the 
 2d year of Sh6h6, and the 2d month." 
 
 Having drawn up this memorial, the hundred and thirty- 
 six elders, with Zembei at their head, proceeded to the 
 Court-house to present the petition, and found the various 
 officers seated in solemn conclave. Then the clerk took the 
 petition, and, having opened it, read it aloud ; and the coun- 
 cillor, Ik^ura Kazuy4 said — 
 
 " The petition which you have addressed to us is worthy 
 of all praise. But you must know that this is a matter 
 which is no longer within our control. The affair has 
 been reported to the Government ; and although the priests 
 of my lord's ancestral temple have interceded for S6gor6, 
 my lord is so angry that he will not listen even to them, say- 
 ing that, had he not been one of the Gor6jiu, he would have 
 been in danger of being ruined by this man : his high station 
 alone saved him. My lord spoke so severely that the priests 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKURA. 209 
 
 themselves dare not recur to the subject. You see, therefore, 
 that it will be no use your attempting to take any steps in 
 the matter, for most certainly your petition will not be 
 received. You had better, then, think no more about it." 
 And with these words he gave back the memorial. ' 
 
 Zembei and the elders, seeing, to their infinite sorrow, that 
 their mission was fruitless, left the Court-house, and most 
 sorrowftdly took counsel together, grinding their teeth in 
 their disappointment when they thought over what the coun- 
 cillor had said as to the futility of their attempt. Out of 
 grief for this,-Zembei, with Hanzay^mon and B[eijiur6, on the 
 11th day of the 2d month (the day on which S6gor6 and his 
 wife and children suffered), left Ewaradai, the place of execu- 
 tion, and went to the temple Zenk6ji, in the province of 
 Shinshiu, and from thence they ascended Mount K6ya in 
 Kishiu, and, on the 1st day of the 8th month, shaved their 
 heads and became priests ; Zembei changed his name to 
 Kakushin, and Hanzay^mon changed his to Zensh6: as 
 for HeijiurS, he fell sick at the end of the 7th month, 
 and on the 11th day of the 8th month died, being forty- 
 seven years old that year. These three men, who had 
 loved S6gor8 as the fishes love water, were true to him 
 to the last. Heijiur6 was buried on Mount K6ya. Kaku- 
 shin wandered through the country as a priest, praying for 
 the entry of S6gor6 and his children into the perfection of 
 paradise; and, after visiting all the shrines and temples, 
 came back at last to his own province of Shim8sa, and took 
 up his abode at the temple Eiukakuji, in the village of Kano, 
 and in the district of Imban, praying and making offerings 
 on behalf of the souls of S6gor6, his wife and children. 
 Hanzay^mon, now known as the priest Zensh6, remained at 
 Shinagawa, a suburb of Yedo, and, by the charity of good 
 people, collected enough money to erect six bronze Buddhas, 
 which remain standing to this day. He fell sick and died, 
 at the age of seventy, on the 10th day of the 2d month of 
 the 13th year of the period styled Kambun. Zembei, who, 
 as a priest, had changed his name to Kakushin, died, at 
 
 p 
 
210 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 tlie age of seTenty-six, on the 17th day of the 10th month 
 of the 2d year of the period styled Emp6. Thus did these 
 men, for the sake of S6gor6 and his family, give themselves 
 up to works of devotion; and the other villagers also brought 
 food to soothe the spirits of the dead, and prayed for thair 
 entry into paradise; and as litanies were repeated without 
 intermission, there can he no doubt that S6gor6 attained 
 salvation. 
 
 " In paradise, where the blessings of God are distributed 
 without favour, the soul learns its faults by the measure of 
 the rewards given. The lusts of the flesh are abandoned; 
 and the soul, purified, attains to the glory of Buddha."^ 
 
 On the 11th day of the 2d month of the 2d year 
 of Sh6h6, S6gor6 having been convicted of a heinous crime, 
 a scaffold was erected at Ewaradai, and the coiinciLLor who 
 resided at Yedo and the councillor who resided on the 
 estate, with the other officers, proceeded to the place in all 
 solemnity. Then the priests of T&koji, in the village of 
 Sak^naga, followed by coffin-bearers, took their places in front 
 of the councillors, and said — 
 , " We humbly beg leave to present a petition." 
 
 "What have your reverences to say?" 
 
 "We are men who have forsaken the world and entered 
 the priesthood," answered the monks, respectfully ; " and we 
 would fain, if it be possible, receive the bodies of those who 
 are to die, that we may bury them decently. It will be a 
 great joy to us if our humble petition be graciously heard 
 and granted." 
 
 " Your request shall be granted ; but as the crime of S6gor6 
 was great, his body must be exposed for three days and three 
 nights, after which the corpse shall be given to you." 
 
 At the hour of the snake (10 a.m.), the hour appointed for 
 the execution, the people from the neighbouring villages and 
 the castle town, old and young, men and women, flocked to 
 see the sight : numbers there were, too, who came to bid a 
 last farewell to S6gor6, his wife and children, and to put up a 
 ^ Buddhist text. 
 
THE 9H0ST OF SAKUBA. 211 
 
 prayer for them. When the hour had arrived, the condemned 
 vere dragged foith bound, and made to sit upon coarse mats. 
 S6gor6 and his wife closed their eyes, for the sight was more 
 than they could bear ; and the spectators, with heaving breasts 
 and streaming eyes, cried " Cruel !" and " Pitiless !" and taking 
 sweetmeats and cakes from the bosoms of their dresses threw 
 them to the children. At noon precisely S6gor6 and his wife 
 were bound to the crosses, which were then set upright and 
 fixed in the ground. When this had been done, their eldest 
 son Gennosuls:^ was led forward to the scaffold, in front of 
 the two parents. Then S6gor6 cried out— 
 
 " Oh ! cruel, cruel ! what crime has this poor child com- 
 mitted that he is treated thus? As for me, it matters not 
 what becomes of me." And the tears trickled down his 
 face. 
 
 The spectators prayed aloud, and shut their eyes ; and the 
 executioner himself, standing behind the boy, and saying 
 that it was a pitiless thing that the child should suffer for 
 the father's fault, prayed silently. Then Gennosuk^ who 
 had remained with his eyes closed, said to his pacents — 
 
 " Oh ! my father and mother, I am going before you to 
 paradise, that happy country, to wait for you. My little 
 brothers and I will be on the banks of the river Sandzu,^ 
 and stretch out our hands and help you across. Farewell, 
 aU you who have come to see us die ; and now please cut off 
 my head at once." 
 
 With this he stretched out his neck, murmuring a last 
 prayer ; and not only S6gor6 and his wife, but even the exe- 
 cutioner and the spectators could not repress- their tears ; but 
 the headsman, unnerved as he was, and touched to the very 
 heart, was forced, on account . of his office, to cut off the 
 child's head, and a piteous wail arose from the parents and 
 the spectators. 
 
 Then the younger child S6hei said to the headsman, "Sir, 
 
 1 The Buddhist Styx, which separates paradise from hell, across which the 
 dead are ferried hy an old woman, for whom a small piece of money is buried 
 with them. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 I have a sore on my right shoulder : please, cut my head 
 off &om the left shoulder, lest you should hurt me. Alas ! I 
 know not how to die, nor what I should do." 
 
 When the headsman and the officers present heard the 
 child's artless speech, they wept again for very pity ; but there 
 was uo help for it, and the head feU off more swiftly than 
 water is drunk up by sand. Then little Kihachi, the third 
 son, who, on account of his tender years, should have been 
 spared, was butchered as he was in his simplicity eating the 
 sweetmeats which had been thrown to him by the spectators. 
 
 When the execution of the children was over, the priests 
 of T6k6ji took their corpses, and, having placed them in 
 their cofl&ns, carried them away, amidst the lamentations of 
 the bystanders, and buried them with great solemnity. 
 
 Then Shigay^mon, one of the servants of Danzay^mon, the 
 chief of the Etas, who had been engaged for the purpose, 
 was just about to thrust his spear, when O Man, S6gor6's wife, 
 raising her voice, said — 
 
 " Eemember, my husband, that from the first you had made 
 up your mind to this fate. What though our bodies be dis- 
 gracefully exposed on these crosses ? — ^we have the promises 
 of the gods before us ; therefore, mourn not. Let us fix our 
 minds upon death: we are drawing near to paradise, and 
 shall soon be with the saints. Be calm, my husband. Let 
 us cheerfully lay down our single lives for the good of 
 many. Man lives but for one generation; his name, for 
 many. A good name is more to be prized than Ufa." 
 
 So she spoke ; ajid S6gor6 on the cross, laughing gaily, 
 answered — 
 
 " Well said, wife ! What though we are punished for the 
 many ? Our petition was successful, and there is nothmg left 
 to wish for. Now I am happy, for I have attained my 
 heart's desire. The changes and chances of life are manifold. 
 But if I had five hundred lives, and could five hundred times 
 assume this shape of mine, I would die five hundred times 
 to avenge this iniquity. For myseK I care not ; but that my 
 wife and children should be punished also is too much. 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKURA. 213 
 
 Pitiless and cruel ! Let my lord fence himself in with iron 
 ■walls, yet shall my spirit burst through them and crush his 
 bones, as a return for this deed." 
 
 And as he spoke, his eyes became vermilion red, and 
 flashed like the sun or the moon, and he looked like the 
 demon Eazetsu.^ 
 
 " Come," shouted he, " make haste and pierce me with 
 the spear." 
 
 " Your wishes shall be obeyed," said the Eta, Shigay^mon, 
 and thrust in a spear at his right side until it came out at his 
 left shoulder, and the blood streamed out like a fountain. 
 Then he pierced the wife from the left side ; and she, opening 
 her eyes, said in a dying voice — 
 
 " Farewell, all you who are present. May harm keep far 
 from you. Farewell ! farew^ !" and as her voice waxed faint, 
 the second spear was thrust in from her right side, and she 
 breathed out her spirit. S6gor6, the colour of his face not 
 even changing, showed no sign of fear, but opening his eyes 
 wide, said — 
 
 " Listen, my masters ! all you who have come to see this 
 sight. KecoUect that I shall pay my thanks to my lord 
 K6tsuk4 no Suke for this day's work. You shall see it for 
 yourselves, so that it shall be talked of for generations to 
 come. As a sign, when I am dead, my head shall turn and 
 face towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not 
 that my words shall come true." 
 
 When he had spoken thus, the officer directing the execu- 
 tion gave a sign to the Eta, Shigaydmon, and ordered him to 
 finish the execution, so that S6gor6 should speak no more. So 
 Shigay^mon pierced him twelve or thirteen times, until he 
 died. And when he was dead, his head turned and faced the 
 castle. When the two councillors beheld this miracle, they 
 came down from their raised platform, and knelt down before 
 S8gor6's dead body and said — 
 
 "Although you were but a peasant on this estate, you 
 conceived a noble plan to succour the other farmers in their 
 
 I A Buddhist fiend. 
 
214 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 distress. You bruised your bones, and crushed your heart, 
 for their sakes. StUl, in that you appealed to the Shogun in 
 person, you committed a grievous crime, and made light of 
 your superiors ; and for this it was impossible not to punish 
 you. Still we admit that to include your wife and children in 
 your crime, and kill them before your eyes, was a cruel deed 
 What is done, is done, and regret is of no avail. However, 
 honours shall be paid to your spirit : you shall be canonized 
 as the Saint Daimiy6, and you shall be placed among the 
 tutelar deities of my lord's family." 
 
 With these words the two councDlors made repeated re- 
 verences before the corpse ; and in this they showed their 
 faithfulness to their lord. But he, when the matter was 
 reported to him, only laughed scornfully at the idea that the 
 hatred of a peasant coxdd affect his feudal lord ; and said that 
 a vassal who had dared to hatch a plot which, had it not 
 been for his high ofBce, would have been sufficient to ruin 
 him, had only met with his deserts. As for causing him to 
 be canonized, let him be as he was. Seeing their lord's anger, 
 his councillors could only obey. But it was not long before 
 he had cause to know that, though S6gor6 was dead, ''his 
 vengeance was yet alive. 
 
 The relations of S6gor6 and the elders of the villages 
 having been summoned to the Court-house, the following 
 document was issued : — 
 
 " Although the property of S6gor&, the elder of the village 
 of Iwahashi, is confiscated, his household furniture shall be 
 made over to his two married daughters; and the village 
 of&cials will look to it that these few poor things be not 
 stolen by lawless and unprincipled men. 
 
 " His rice-fields and corn-fields, his mountain land and forest 
 land, will be sold by auction. His house and grounds will be 
 given over to the elder of the village. The price fetched by 
 his property will be paid over to the lord of the estate. 
 
 " The above decree will be published, in full, to the pea- 
 sants of the village ; and it is strictly forbidden to find 
 fault with this decision. 
 
TEE GHOST OF SAKURA. 215 
 
 "The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the 
 period Sh&h&." 
 
 The peasants, having heard this degree with all humility, 
 left the Court-hotise. Then the following punishments were 
 awarded to the officers of the castle, who, by rejecting the 
 petition of the peasants in the first instance, had brought 
 trouble upon their lord \- — 
 
 " Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at 
 Yedo and at the castle town. 
 
 " Banished from the proviace, four district governors, and 
 three bailiffs, and nineteen petty officers. 
 
 " Dismissed from office, three - metsuk^s, or censors, and 
 seven magistrates. 
 
 " Condemned to hara-kiri, one district governor and one 
 Yedo baUiff. 
 
 " The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice 
 of th6 officials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, 
 and bringing affliction upon the people, and ia refusing to 
 receive the petitions of the peasants, without consulting their 
 lord, thus driving them to appeal to the Shogun in person. 
 In their avarice they looked not to the future, but laid too 
 heavy a burden on the peasants, so that they made an appeal 
 to a higher power, endangering the honour of their lord's 
 house. For this bad government the various officials are to 
 be punished as above." 
 
 In this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo 
 and at the Court-house at home. But in the history of the 
 world, from the dark ages down to the present time, there are 
 few instances of one man laying down his life for the many, 
 as S6gor6 did : noble and peasant praise him alike. 
 
 As month after month passed awaiy, towards the fourth 
 year of the period Sh&h6, the wife of my lord K6tsuk6 
 no Suk6, being with chUd, was seized with violent pains ; and 
 retainers were sent to all the different temples and shrines to 
 pray by proxy, but aU to no purpose : she continued to suflfer 
 as before. Towards the end of the seventh month' of the 
 year, there appeared, every night, a preternatural light above 
 
216 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 the lady's chamber; this was accompanied by hideous sounds 
 as of many people laughing fiendishly, and sometimes by 
 piteous wailings, a-s though myriads of persons were lament- 
 ing. The profound distress caused by this added to her 
 sufferings; so her own privy councillor, an old man, took 
 his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept watch. All 
 of a sudden, he heard a noise as if a number of people 
 were walking on the boards of the roof of my lady's room ; 
 then there was a sound of men and women weeping ; and 
 when, thunderstruck, the councillor was wondering what it 
 could all be, there came a wild burst of laughter, and all 
 was silent. Early the following morning, the old women who 
 had charge of my lady's household presented themselves 
 before my lord Kotsuk^ no Suk6, and said — 
 
 "Since the middle of last month, the waiting-women, have 
 been complaining to us of the ghostly noises by which my 
 lady is nightly disturbed, and they say that they cannot con- 
 tinue to serve her. We have tried to soothe them, by saying 
 that the devils should be exorcised at once, and that there 
 was nothing to be afraid of StiU we feel that their fears are 
 not without reason, and that they really cannot do their 
 work; so we beg that your lordship will take the matter 
 into your consideration." 
 
 " Tins is a passing strange story of yours ; however, I wiU 
 go myself to-night to my lady's apartments and keep watch. 
 You can come with me." 
 
 Accordingly, that night my lord K&tsuk^ no Suk6 sat up 
 in person. At the hour of the rat (midnight) a fearful noise 
 of voices was heard, and S&gor6 and his wife, bound to the 
 fatal crosses, suddenly appeared ; and the ghosts, seizing the 
 lady by the hand, said — 
 
 " We have come to meet you. The pains you are suffering 
 are terrible, but they are nothing in comparison with those 
 of the heU to which we are about to lead you." 
 
 At these words, K6tsuk^ no Suk4 seizing his sword, tried 
 to sweep the ghosts away with a terrific cut ; but a loud 
 peal of laughter was heard, and the visions faded away. 
 
THE OHOST OF SAKURA. 217 
 
 K6tsuk^ no Suk^, terrified, sent his retainers to the temples 
 and shrines to pray that the demons might be cast out ; but 
 tiie noises were heard nightly, as before. When the eleventh 
 month' of the year came round, the apparitions of human 
 forms' in my lady's apartments became more and more 
 frequent and terrible, aU the spirits railing at her, and howling 
 out that they had come to fetch her. The women would ail 
 scream and faint ; and then the ghosts would disappear amid 
 yells of laughter. Night after night this happened, and even 
 in the daytime the visions would manifest themselves ; and 
 my lady's sickness grew worse daily, until in the last month 
 of the year she died, of grief and terror. Then the ghost of 
 S6gor6 and his wife crucified would appear day and night in 
 the chamber of K6tsuk6 no Suk4 floating round the room, 
 and glaring at him with red and flaming eyes. The hair of 
 the attendants would stand on end with terror; and if they 
 tried to cut at the spirits, their limbs would be cramped, and 
 their feet and hands would not obey their bidding. K6tsuk^ 
 no Suk^ would draw the sword that lay by his bedside ; but, 
 as often as he did so, the ghosts faded away, only to appear 
 again in a more hideous shape than before, until at last, 
 having exhausted his strength and spirits, even he became 
 terror-stricken. The whole household was thrown into con- 
 fusion, and day after day mystic rites and incantations were 
 performed by the priests over braziers of charcoal, while 
 prayers were recited without ceasing; but the visions only 
 became more frequent, and there was no sign of their ceasing. 
 After the 5th year of Sh6h6, the style of the years was 
 changed to Keian; and during the 1st year of Keian the 
 spirits continued to haunt the palace ; and now they appeared 
 in the chamber of K&tsuk4 no Suk^'s eldest son, surround- 
 ing themselves with even more terrors than before ; and when 
 K6tsuk4 no Suk^ was about to go to the Shogun's castle, they 
 were seen howling out their cries of vengeance in the porch 
 of the house. At last the relations of the family and the 
 members of the household took counsel together, and told 
 K&tsuk^ no Suk4 that without doubt no ordinary means 
 
218 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 world suffice to lay the ghosts; a shrine must he erected 
 to S6gor6, and divine honours paid to him, after -which the 
 apparitions would assuredly cease. K6tsuke no.Suk6 hav- 
 ing carefully considered the matter and given his con- 
 sent, S6gor6 was canonized under the name of S6go 
 Daimiy6, and a shrine was erected in his honour. After 
 divine honours had been paid to him, the awful visions 
 were no more seen, and the ghost of S6gor6 was laid for 
 ever. 
 
 In the 2d year of the period Keian, on the 11th day of 
 the 10th month, on the occasion of the festival of first 
 lighting the fire on the hearth, the various Daimios and 
 Hatamotos of distinction went to the castle of the Shogun, at 
 Yedo, to offer their congratulations on this occasion. During 
 the ceremonies, my lord Hotta K6tsuk6 no Suk6 and Sakai 
 Iwami no Kami, lord of the castle of Matsumoto, in the 
 province of Shinshiu, had a quarrel, the origin of which was 
 not made public ; and Sakai Iwami no Kami, although he 
 came of a brave and noble family, received so severe a 
 wound that he died on the following day, at the age of 
 forty-three; and in consequence of this, his family was 
 ruined and disgraced.^ My lord Kotsuke no Suk6, by great 
 good fortune, contrived to escape from the castle, and took 
 refuge in his own house, whence, naounting a famous horse 
 called Hira-Abumi,^ he fled to his castle of Sakura, in 
 Shim&sa, accomplishing the distance, which is about sixty 
 miles, in six hours. When he arrived in front of the 
 castle, he called out in a loud voice to the guard within to 
 open the gate, answering, in reply to their challenge, that he 
 was K6tsuk6 no Suk6, the lord of the castle. The guard, not 
 believing their ears, sent word to the councillor in charge of 
 the castle, who rushed out to see if the person demanding 
 
 ^ In the old days, if a noble was murdered, and died outside his own house, 
 he was disgraced, and Hs estates were forfeited. When the Regent of the 
 Shogun was murdared, some years sinee, outside the castle of Yedo, by a legal 
 fiction it was given out that he had died in Ms own palace, in order that his 
 son might succeed to his estates. " Leyel stirrups. 
 
THE 6H0ST OF SAKURA. 21» 
 
 admittance were really their lord. When he saw K6tstLk^ 
 no Sukd, he caused the gates to be opened, and, thinking it 
 more than strange, said — 
 
 " Is this indeed yon, my lord ? What strange chance brings 
 your lordship hither thus late at night, on horseback and 
 alone, without a single follower ? " 
 
 With these words he ushered in K6tsuk6 no Suk^ who, in 
 reply to the anxious inquiries of his people as to the cause of 
 his sudden appearance, said — 
 
 " You may well be astonished. I had a quarrel to-day in 
 the castle at Yedo, with Sakai Iwami no Kami, the lord of 
 the castle of Matsumoto, and I cut him down. I shall soon 
 be pursued ; so we must strengthen the fortress, and prepare 
 for an attack." 
 
 The household, heariag this, were greatly alarmed, and the 
 whole castle was thrown into confusion. In the meanwhile 
 the people of K6tsuk^ no Suke's palace at Yedo, not know- 
 ing whither their lord had fled, were in the greatest anxiety 
 until a messenger came from Sakura, and reported lu& 
 arrival there. 
 
 When the quarrel inside the castle of Yedo and K6tsuk6 no 
 Suke's flight had been taken cognizance of, he was attaiated 
 of treason, and soldiers were sent to seize him, dead or aUve. 
 Midzimo Setsu no Kami and Goto Yamato no Kami were 
 charged with the execution of the order, and sallied forth, on 
 the 13th day of the 10th month, to carry it out. When 
 they arrived at the town of Sasai, they sent a herald with 
 the following message : — 
 
 "Whereas K&tsuk6 no Suk^ killed Sakai Iwami no Kami 
 inside the castle of Yedo, and has fled to his own castle 
 without leave, he is attainted of treason ; and we, being 
 connected with him by ties of blood and of friendship, have 
 been charged to seize him." 
 
 The herald delivered this message to the councillor of 
 K3tsuk6 no Sukd, who, pleading as an excuse that his lord 
 was mad, begged the two nobles to intercede for him. Got6 
 Yamato no Kami upon this called the councillor to him, and 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 spoke privately to him, after which the latter took his leave 
 and returned to the castle of Sakura. 
 
 In the meanwhile, after consultation at Yedo, it was decided 
 that, as Got6 Yamato no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami 
 were related to K&tsuke no Suk4, and might meet with diffi- 
 culties for that very reason, two other nobles, Ogasawara Iki 
 no Kami and Nagai Hida no Kami, should be sent to assist 
 them, with orders that should any trouble arise they should 
 send a report immediately to Yedo. In consequence of this 
 order, the two nobles, with five thousand men, were about to 
 march for Sakura, on the 15th of the month, when a messenger 
 arrived from that place bearing the following despatch for 
 the Gor&jiu, from the two nobles who had preceded them : — 
 
 •' In obedience to the orders of His Highness the Shogun, 
 we proceeded, on the 13th day of this month, to the castle 
 of Sakura, and conducted a thorough investigation of the 
 afifair. It is true that K6tsuk6 no Suk6 has been guilty of 
 treason, but he is out of his mind ; his retainers have called 
 in physicians, and he is undergoing treatment by which his 
 senses are being gradually restored, and his mind is being 
 awakened from its sleep. At the time when he slew Sakai 
 Iwami no Kami he was not accountable for his actions, and 
 will be sincerely penitent when he is aware of his crime. 
 We have taken him prisoner, and have the honour to await 
 your instructions ; in the meanwhile, we beg by these present 
 to let you know what we have done. 
 
 (Signed) Got6 Yamato no Kami. 
 „ Midzuno Setsu no Kami. 
 
 " To the Gordjiu, 2d year of Keian, 2d month, 14:th day." 
 
 This despatch reached Yedo on the 16th of the month, 
 and was read by the Gor6jiu after they had left the castle; 
 and in consequence of the report of K6tsuk4 no Suk^'s 
 madness, the second expedition was put a stop to, and the 
 following instructions were sent to Got6 Yamato no Kami 
 and Midzuno Setsu no Kami : — 
 
 " With reference to the affair of Hotta KStsukd no Suke, 
 
THE OHOST OF SAKURA. 221 
 
 lord of the castle of Sakura, in Shim6sa, whose quarrel with 
 Sakai Iwami no Kami within the castle of Yedo ended in 
 bloodshed. For this heinous crime and disregard of the 
 sanctity of the castle, it is ordered that K6tsukd no Suk6 
 be brought as a prisoner to Yedo, in a litter covered with 
 nets, that his case may be judged. 
 " 2d year of Kei-an, 2d month. 
 (Signed by the Gorojiu) Inaba Mino no Kami. 
 
 Inoute Kawachi no Kami. 
 
 Kat6 Egohiu no Kami." 
 
 Upon the receipt of this despatch, Hotta K6tsuk4 no Suk^ 
 was immediately placed in a litter covered with a net of 
 green silk, and conveyed to Yedo, strictly guarded by the re- 
 tainers of the two nobles ; and, having arrived at the capital, 
 was handed over to the charge of Akimoto Tajima no Kami. 
 All his retainers were quietly dispersed; and his empty 
 castle was ordered to be thrown open, and given in charge to 
 Midzuno Iki no Kami. 
 
 At last K6tsuk6 no Suke began to feel that the death of 
 his wife and his own present misfortunes were a just retri- 
 bution for the death of S6gor6 and his wife and children, 
 and he was as one awakened from a dream. Then night 
 and morniQg, in his repentance, he offered up prayers to the 
 sainted spirit of the dead farmer, and acknowledged and 
 bewaUed his crime, vowing that, if his family were spared 
 from ruin and re-established, intercession should be made at 
 the court of the Mikado,^ at Kiy&to, on behalf of the spirit 
 of S&gor6, so that, being worshipped with even greater 
 honours than before, his name should be handed down to 
 aU generations. 
 
 In consequence of this it happened that the spirit of 
 S6gor6 haviag relaxed in its vindictiveness, and having- 
 
 1 In the days of Shogun's power, the Mikado remained the Fountain of 
 Honour, and, as chief of the national religion and the direct descendant of 
 the gods, dispensed divine honours. So recently as last year, a decree of the 
 Mikado appeared in the Government Gazette conferring posthumous divine 
 honours upon an ancestor of the Prince of Choshin. 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 ceased to persecute the house of Hotta, in the 1st month of 
 the 4th year of Keian, K6tsuk6 no Suk^ received a summons 
 from the Shogun, and, having been forgiven, was made lord 
 ■of the castle of Matsuyama, in the province of D6wa, with 
 a revenue of twenty thousand kokus. In the same year, 
 on the 20th day of the 4th month, the Shogun, Prince 
 ly^mitsu, was pleased to depart this Hfe, at the age of forty- 
 eight ; and whether by the forgiving spirit of the prince, or 
 by the divine interposition of the sainted Sogoro, K6tsuk6 
 no Sukd was promoted to the castle of Utsu no Miya, in 
 the province of Shimotsuk^, with a revenue of eighty 
 thousand kokus; and his name was changed to Hotta 
 Hida no Kami. He also received again his original castle 
 of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty thousand kokus : so 
 that there can be no doubt that the saint was befriending 
 him. In return for these favours, the shrine of S6gor6 was 
 made as beautiful as a gem. It is needless to say how many 
 ■of the peasants of the estate flocked to the shrine : any good 
 luck that might befall the people was ascribed to it, and night 
 and day the devout worshipped at it. 
 
 Here follows a copy of the petition which SSgoro presented 
 to the Shogun : — 
 
 " We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of 
 the district of Chiba, in the province of Shim6sa, and of the 
 district of Buji, in the province of Kadzusa, most reverently 
 offer up this our humble petition. 
 
 " When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to 
 another castle, in the 9th year of the period Kany6, Hotta 
 Kaga no Kami became lord of the castle of Sakura ; and 
 in the 17th year of the same period, my lord K6tsuk6 
 no Suk6 succeeded him. Since that time the taxes laid 
 upon us have been raised in the proportion of one t6 and two 
 sho to each koku.^ 
 
 " Item. — At the present time, taxes are raised on nineteen of 
 
 " 10 Sho = 1 T8. 
 10 T6 =1 Eoku. 
 
THE GHOST OF S4KUBA. 223 
 
 our articles of produce ; whereas our former lord only required 
 that we should furnish him with pulse and sesamum, for 
 which he paid in rice. 
 
 " Item. — Not only are we not paid now for our produce, hut, 
 if it is not given in to the day, we are driven and goaded hy 
 the officials; and if there he any further delay, we are 
 manacled and severely reprimanded ; so that if our own crops 
 fail, we have to buy produce from other districts, and are 
 pushed to the utmost extremity of affliction. 
 
 "Item. — We have over and over again prayed to he relieved 
 from these burthens, but our petitions are not received. The 
 people are reduced to poverty, so that it is hard for them to 
 live under such grievous taxation. Often they have tried 
 to sell the land which they till, but none can be found 
 to buy ; so they have sometimes given over their land to 
 the village authorities, and fled with their wives to other pro- 
 vinces, and seven hundred and thirty men or more have been 
 reduced to begging, one hundred and eighty-five houses 
 have fallen into ruins ; land producing seven thousand kokus 
 has been given up, and remains untiJled, and eleven temples 
 have fallen into decay in consequence of the ruin of those 
 upon whom they depended. 
 
 "Besides this, the poverty-stricken farmers and women, 
 having been obliged to take refuge in other provinces, and 
 having no abiding-place, have been driven to evil courses 
 and bring men to speak iU. of theii lord; and the village 
 officials, being unable to keep order, are blamed and re- 
 proved. No attention has been paid to our repeated 'repre- 
 sentations upon this point; so we were driven to petition 
 the Gor&jiu Kuzd Yamato no Kami as he was on his way 
 to the castle, but our petition was returned to us. And 
 now, as a last resource, we tremblingly venture to approach 
 his Highness the Shogun in person, 
 
 " The 1st year of the period Sh6h6, 12th month, 20th day. 
 Q The seals of the elders of the 136 villages." 
 
 The Shogun at that time was Prince ly^mitsu, the grand- 
 
224 TALMS -OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 son of ly^yasu. He received the name of Dai-yu-In after 
 his death. 
 
 The Gor6jiu at that time were Hotta K6tsui:6 no Suk4, 
 Sakai Iwami no Kami, Inaba Miao no Kami, Kat6 Ecehiu 
 no Kami, Inouy^ Kawachi no Kami. 
 
 The WakadoshiySri (or 2d council) were Torii Wakasa no 
 Kami, Tsuchiya Dewa no Kami, and Itakura Naizen no Sho. 
 
 The belief in ghosts appears to be as universal as that 
 in the immortality of the soul, upon which it depends. 
 Both in China and Japan the departed spirit is invested 
 with the power of revisiting the earth, and, in a visible 
 form, tormenting its enemies and haunting those places where 
 the perishable part of it mourned and suffered. Haunted 
 houses are slow to find tenants, for ghosts almost always come 
 with revengeful intent ; indeed, the owners of such houses 
 win almost pay men to live in them, such is the dread which 
 they iaspire, and the anxiety to blot out the stigma. 
 
 One cold winter's night at Yedo, as I was sitting, with a 
 few Japanese Mends, huddled round the imperfect heat of 
 a brazier of charcoal, the conversation turned upon the story 
 of S6gor6 and upon ghostly apparitions in general. Many a 
 weird tale was told that evening, and I noted down the 
 three or four which follow, for the truth of which the nar- 
 rators vouched with the utmost confidence. 
 
 About ten years ago there lived a fishmonger, named 
 Zenroku, in the Mikawa-street, at Kanda, in Yedo. He was 
 a poor man, living with his wife and one little boy. His 
 wife flell sick and died, so he engaged an old woman to 
 look after his boy while he himself went out to sell his fish. 
 It happened, one day, that he and the other hucksters of 
 his guild were gambling; and this coming to the ears of 
 the authorities, they were aU thrown into prison. Although 
 their offence was in itself a light one, still they were kept 
 for some time in durance while the matter was being investi- 
 
THE GHOST OF SAEURA. 225 
 
 gated ; and Zenroku, owing to the damp and foul air of the 
 prison, fell sick with fever. His little child, in the mean- 
 time, had been handed over by the authorities to the charge 
 of the petty officers of the ward to which his father be- 
 longed, and was being well cared for ; for Zenroku was 
 known to be an honest fellow, and his fate excited much 
 compassion. One night Zenroku, pale and emaciated, entered 
 the house in which his boy was living ; and all the people 
 joyfully congratulated him on his escape from jail. " Why, 
 we heard that you were sick in prison. This is, indeed, a 
 joyful return." Then Zenroku thanked those who had taken 
 care of the chUd, saytog that he had returned secretly by 
 the favour of his jailers that night ; but that on the fol- 
 lowing day his offence would be remitted, and he should 
 be able to take possession of his house again publicly. Por 
 that night, he must return to the prison. With this he 
 begged those present to continue their good offices to his 
 babe; and, with a sad and reluctant expression of counte- 
 nance, he left the house. On the following day, the .officers 
 of that ward were sent for by the prison authorities. They 
 thought that they were summoned that Zenroku might be 
 handed back to them a free man, as he himself had said 
 to them ; but to their surprise, they were told that he had 
 died the night before in prison, and were ordered to carry 
 away his dead body for burial. Then they knew that they 
 had seen Zenroku's ghost; a,nd that when he said that he 
 should be returned to them on the morrow, he had alluded 
 to his corpse. So they buried him decently, and brought up 
 his son, who is aUve to this day. 
 
 The next story was told by a professor in the college at 
 Yedo, and, although it is not of so modern a date as the last, 
 he stated it to be well authenticated, and one of general 
 notoriety. 
 
 About two hundred years ago there was a chief of the 
 police, named Aoyama Shuzen, who lived in the street called 
 Bancho, at Yedo. His duty was to detect thieves and in- 
 cendiaries. He was a cruel and violent man, without heart 
 
226 Tales of old japaN. 
 
 or compassion, and thought nothing of killing or torturing a 
 man to gratify spite or revenge. This man Shuzen had in 
 his house a servant-maid, called Kiku (the Chrysan- 
 themum), who had lived in the family since her childhood, 
 and was weU acquainted with her master's temper. One 
 day Kiku accidentally broke one of a set of ten porcelain 
 plates, upon which he set a high value. She knew that she 
 would suffer for her carelessness; hut she thought that 
 if she concealed the matter her punishment would be still 
 more severe; so she went at once to her master's wife, 
 and, in fear and trembling, confessed what she had done. 
 When Shuzen came home, and heard that one of his 
 favourite plates was broken, he flew into a violent rage, and 
 t ook the girl to a cupboard, where he left her bound with 
 cords, and every day cut off one of her fingers. Kiku, 
 tightly bound and in agony, could not move ; but at last 
 she contrived to bite or cut the ropes asunder, and, escaping 
 into the garden, threw herself into a well, and was drowned. 
 From that time forth, every night a voice was heard' 
 coming from the well, counting one, two, three, and so on 
 up to nine — the number of the plates that remained unbroken 
 — and then, when the tenth plate should have been counted, 
 would come a burst of lamentation. The servants of the 
 house, terrified at this, aU left their master's service, until 
 Shuzen, not having a single retainer left, was unable to 
 perform his public duties; and when the officers of the 
 government heard of this, he was dismissed from his office. 
 At this time there was a famous priest, called Mikadzuki 
 .Sh6nin, of the temple Denzuin, who, having been told of the 
 affair, came one night to the house, and, when the ghost 
 began to count the plates, reproved the spirit, and by his 
 prayers and admonitions caused it to cease from troubling 
 the Hving. 
 
 The laying of disturbed spirits appears to form one of the 
 regular functions of the Buddhist priests ; at least, we find 
 them playing a conspicuous part in almost every ghost- story. 
 
 About, thirty years ago there stood a house at Mitsumi, 
 
THE GHOST OF SJKUMJ. 227 
 
 in the Honj6 of Yedo, which was said to be nightly visited 
 by ghosts, so that no man dared to live in it, and it remained 
 untenanted on that account. However, a man called Miura 
 Takeshi, a native of the province of Oshiu, who came to 
 Tedo to set up in business as a fencing-master, but was 
 too poor to hire a house, hearing that there was a haunted 
 house, for which no tenant could be found, and that the owner 
 would let any man live in it rent free, said that he feared 
 neither man nor devil, and obtained leave to occupy the 
 house. So he hired a fencing-room, in which he gave his 
 lessons by day, and after midnight returned to the haunted 
 house. One night, his wife, who took charge of the house in 
 his absence, was frightened by a fearful noise proceeding 
 from a pond in the garden, and, thinking that this certainly 
 must be the ghost that she had heard so much about, 
 she covered her head with the bed-clothes and remained 
 breathless with terror. When her husband came home, 
 she told him what had happened; and on the following 
 night he returned earlier than usual, and waited for the 
 ghostly noise. At the same time as before, a little after 
 midnight, the same sound was heard — as though a gun 
 had been fired inside the pond. Opening the shutters, he 
 looked out, and saw something like a black cloud floating 
 on the water, and in the cloud was the form of a bald 
 man. Thinking that there must be some cause for this, 
 he instituted careful inquiries, and learned that the former 
 tenant, some ten years previously, had borrowed money from 
 a blind shampooer,^ and, being unable to pay the debt, had 
 murdered his creditor, who began to press him for his money, 
 and had thrown his head into the pond. The fencing- 
 master accordingly collected his pupils and emptied the 
 pond, and found a skull at the bottom of it ; so he called 
 in a priest, and buried the skull in a temple, causing prayers 
 
 1 The apparently poor shaven-pated and blind shampooers of Japan drive 
 a thriving trade as money-lenders. They give out small sums at an interest 
 of 20 per cent, per month — 240 per cent, per annum — and woe betide the 
 luckless wight who falls into their dutches. 
 
 q2 
 
228 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 to be offered up for the repose of the murdered man's soul 
 Thus the ghost was laid, and appeared no more. 
 
 The belief in curses hanging over families for generations 
 is as common as that in ghosts and supernatural apparitions. 
 There is a strange story of this nature in the house of Asai, 
 belonging to the Hatamoto class. The ancestor of the pre- 
 sent representative, six generations ago, had a certain con- 
 cubine, who was in love with a man who frequented the 
 house, and wished in her heart to marry him; but, being 
 a virtuous woman, she never thought of doing any evil deed. 
 But the wife of my lord Asai was jealous of the girl, and 
 persuaded her husband that her rival in his affections had 
 gone astray ; when he heard this he was very angry, and beat 
 her with a candlestick so that he put out her left eye. The 
 girl, who had indignantly protested her innocence, finding 
 herself so cruelly handled, pronounced a curse against the 
 house ; upon which, her master, seizing the candlestick again, 
 dashed out her brains and killed her. Shortly afterwards, 
 my lord Asai lost his left eye, and fell sick and died; 
 and from that time forth to this day, it is said that the 
 representatives of the house have all lost their left eyes 
 after the age of forty, and shortly afterwards they have 
 fallen sick and died at the same age as the cruel lord who 
 tilled his concubine. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 Of the many fair scenes of Yedo, none is better worth visiting 
 than the temple of Z6j6ji, one of the two great burial-places 
 of the Shoguns ; indeed, if you wish to see the most beautiful 
 spots of any Oriental city, ast for the cemeteries.: the homes 
 of the dead are ever the loveliest places. Standing in a park of 
 glorious firs and pines beautifully kept, which contains quite a 
 little town of neat, clean-looking houses, together with thirty-four 
 temples for the use of the priests and attendants of the shrines, the 
 main temple, with its huge red pillars supporting a heavy Chinese 
 roof of grey tiles, is approached through a colossd open hall which 
 
THE GHOST OF 8AKURA. 229 
 
 leads into a stone courtyard. At one end of tliis couityard is a 
 broad flight of steps — the three or four lower ones of stone, and the 
 upper ones of red wood. At these the visitor is warned by a 
 notice to take off his boots, a request which Englishmen, with 
 characteristic disregard of the feelings of others, usually neglect to 
 comply with. The main hall of the temple is of large proportions, 
 and the high altar is decorated with fine bronze candelabra, 
 incense-burners, and other ornaments, and on two days of the year 
 a very curious collection of pictures representing the five hundred 
 gods, whose images are known to all persons who have visited Can- 
 ton, is hung along the walls. The big beU outside the main hall is 
 rather remarkable on account of the great beauty of the deep bass 
 waves of sound which it rolls through the city than on account of 
 its size, which is as nothing when compared with that of the big 
 bells. of Moscow and Peking ; still it is not to be despised even in 
 that respect, for it is ten feet high and five feet eight inches in 
 diameter, while its metal is a foot thick : it was hung up in the 
 year 1673. But the chief objects of interest in these beautiful 
 grounds are the chapels attached to the tombs of the Shoguns. 
 
 It is said that as Prince ly^yasu was riding into Yedo to take 
 possession of his new castle, the Abbot of Z6j6ji, an ancient temple 
 which then stood at Hibiya, near the castle, went forth and waited 
 before the gate to do homage to the Prince. ly^yasu, seeing that 
 the Abbot was no ordinary man, stopped and asked his name, and 
 entered the temple to rest himself. The smooth-spoken monk soon 
 found such favour with ly^yasu, that he chose Z6j6ji to be his 
 family temple ; and seeing that its grounds were narrow and incon- 
 veniently near the castle, he caused it to be removed to its present 
 site. In the year 1610 the temple was raised, by the iutercession 
 of ly^yasu, to the dignity of the Imperial Temples, which, until the 
 last revolution, were presided over by princes of the blood ; and to 
 tbe Abbot was granted the right, on going to the castle, of sitting 
 in his litter as far as the entrance-hall, instead of dismounting at 
 the usual place and proceeding on foot through several gates and 
 courtyards. K'or were the privileges of the temple confined to 
 barren honours, for it was endowed with lands of the value of five 
 thousand kokus of rice yearly. 
 
 When ly^yasu died, the shrine called Antoku In was erected in 
 his honour to the south of the main temple. Here,, on the seven- 
 teenth day of the fourth month, the anniversary of his death, cere- 
 
230 TAim OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 monies are held in honour of his spirit, deified as Gongen Sama, 
 and the place is thrown open to aU who may wish to come and 
 pray. But lyeyasu is not hurled here; his remains lie in a 
 pforgeous shrine among the mountains some eighty miles north of 
 Yedo, at NikkS, a place so beautiful that the Japanese have a 
 rhyming proverb which says, that he who has not seen Mkk6 
 should never pronounce the word Kekk6 (charming, delicious, 
 grand, beautiful). 
 
 Hid^tada, the son and successor of ly^yasu, together with lydnobu, 
 lydtsugu, ly^shig^, ly^yoshi, and ly^mochi, the sixth, seventh, 
 ninth, twelfth, and fourteenth Shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty, 
 are buried in three shrines attached to the temple ; the remainder, 
 with the exception of ly^mitsu, the third Shogun, who lies with his 
 grandfather at JNikkd, are buried at TJyen'o. 
 
 The shrines are of exceeding beauty, lying on one side of a 
 splendid avenue of Scotch fits, which border a broad, well-kept 
 gravel walk. Passing through a small gateway of rare design, we 
 come into a large stone courtyard, lined with a long array of colossal 
 stone lanterns, the gift of the vassals of the departed Prince. A 
 second gateway, supported by gilt pUlars carved all round with 
 figures of dragons, leads into another court, in which are a bell 
 tower, a great cistern cut out of a single block of stone like a sar- 
 cophagus, and a smaller number of lanterns of bronze ; these are 
 given by the Go San K4 the three princely families in which the 
 succession to the office of Shogun was vested. Inside this is a third 
 court, partly covered like a cloister, the approach to which is a 
 doorway of even greater beauty and richness than the last; the 
 ceiling is gUt, and painted with arabesques and with heavenly angels 
 playing on musical instruments, and the panels of the walls are 
 sculptured in high relief with admirable representations of birds 
 and flowers, life-size, life-like, all being coloured to imitate nature. 
 Inside this enclosure stands a shrine, before the closed door of which 
 a priest on one side, and a retainer of the house of Tokugawa on the 
 other, sit mounting guard, mute and immoveable as though they 
 themselves were part of the carved ornaments. Passing on one 
 side of the shrine, we come to another court, plainer than the last, 
 and at the back of the little temple inside it is a flight of stone 
 steps, at the top of which, protected by a bronze door, stands a 
 simple monumental urn of bronze on a stone pedestal. Under this 
 is the grave itself; and it has always struck me that there is nQ 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKURA. 231 
 
 small amount of poetical feeling in this simple ending to so much, 
 magnificence ; the sermon may have been preached by design, or it 
 may have been by accident, but the lesson is there. 
 
 There is little difference between the three shrines, all of which 
 are decorated in the same manner. It is very difficult to do justice 
 to their beauty in words. Writing many thousand miles away from 
 them, I have the memory before me of a place green in winter, 
 pleasant and cool in the hottest summer ; of peaceful cloisters, of 
 the fragrance of incense, of the subdued chant of richly rolsed 
 priests, and the music of bells; of exquisite designs, harmonious 
 colouring, rich gilding. The hum of the vast city outside is un- 
 heard here : ly^yasu himself, in the mountains of Nikk6, has no 
 quieter resting-place than his descendants in the heart of the city 
 over, which they ruled. 
 
 Besides the graves of the Shoguns, Z6j8ji contains other lesser 
 shrines, in which are buried the wives of the second, sixth, and 
 eleventh Shoguns, and the father of lyenobu, the sixth Shogun, 
 who succeeded to the office by adoption. There is also a holy place 
 called the Satsuma Temple, which has a special interest ; in it is a 
 tablet in honour of Tadayoshi, the fifth son of Iy4yasu, whose title 
 was Matsudaira Satsuma no Kami, and who died young. At his 
 death, fi.ve of his retainers, with one Ogasasawara Kemmotsu at 
 their head, disembowelled themselves, that they might follow their 
 young master into the next world. They were buried in this 
 place ; and I believe that this is the last instance on record of 
 the ancient Japanese custom of Junshi, that is to say, " dying with 
 the master." 
 
 There are, during the year, several great festivals which are spe- 
 cially celebrated at Z6j6ji ; the chief of these are the Kaisanki, or 
 founder's day, which is on the eighteenth day of the seventh month; 
 the twenty-fifth day of the first month, the anniversary of the death 
 of the monk H6nen, the founder of the J6do sect of Buddhism 
 (that to which the temple belongs) ; the anniversary of the death of 
 Buddha, on the fifteenth of the second month; the birthday of 
 Buddha, on the eighth day of the fourth month; and from the 
 sixth to the fifteenth of the tenth month. 
 
 At TJy6no is the second of the burial-grounds of the Shoguns. 
 The Temple T6-yei-zan, which stood in the grounds of Uy^no, was 
 built by lydmitsu, the third of the Shoguns of the house of Toku- 
 gawa, in the year 1625, in honour of Yakushi Ni6rai, the Buddhlsti 
 
232 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 -iSlseiilapius. It faces the Ki-mon, or Devil's Gate, of the castle, 
 and was erected upon the model of the temple of Hi-yei-zan, one 
 of the most famous of the holy places of Ki6to. Having founded 
 the temple, the next care of ly^mitsu was to pray that Morizumi, 
 the second son of the retired emperor, should come and reside 
 there; and from that time until 1868, the temple was always pre- 
 sided over by a Miya, or member of the Mikado's family, who was 
 specially charged with the care of the tomb of lyeyasu at Nikk6, 
 and whose position was that of an ecclesiastical chief or primate 
 over the east of Japan. 
 
 The temples in Yedo are not to be compared in poiut of beauty 
 with those in and about Peking ; what is marble there is wood 
 here. StiU they Me very handsome, and in the days of its magni- 
 ficence the Temple of IJy^uo was one of the finest. Alas ! the 
 main temple, the hall in honour of the sect to which it belongs, 
 the hall of services, the bell-tower, the entrance-hall, and the 
 residence of the prince of the blood, were all burnt down in 
 the battle of TJy^no, in the summer of 1868, when the Shogun's 
 men made their last stand in Yedo against the troops of the Mi- 
 kado. The fate of the day was decided by two field-pieces, which 
 the latter contrived to mount on the roof of a neighbouring tear 
 house ; and the Shogun's men, driven out of the place, carried off 
 the Miya ia the vain hope of raising his standatd in the north as 
 that of a rival Mikado. A few of the lesser temples and tombs, 
 and the beautiful park-Kke grounds, are but the remnants of the 
 former glory of TJy^no. Among these is a temple in the form of 
 a roofless stage, in honour of the thousand-handed Kwannon. In 
 the middle ages, during the civil wars between the houses of Gen 
 and Hei, one Morihisa, a captain of the house of Hei, after the 
 destruction of his clan, went and prayed for a thousand days at the 
 temple of the thousand-handed Kwannon at Kiyomidzu, in Kiy&to. 
 His retreat having, been discovered, he was seized and brought 
 bound to Kamakura, the chief town of the house of Gen. Here he 
 was condemned to die at a place called Yui, by the sea-shore ; but 
 every time that the executioner lifted his sword to strike, the blade 
 was broken by the god Kwannon, and at the same time the wife 
 of Yoritomo, the chief of the house of Gen, was warned in a 
 dream to spare Morihisa's life. So Morihisa was reprieved, and 
 rose to power in the state; and all this was by the miraculous 
 intervention of the god Kwannon, who takes such good care of 
 
THE GHOST OF SAKTJRA. 233 
 
 his faithful votaries. To him this temple is dedicated. A colossal 
 bronze Buddha, twenty-two feet high, set up some two hundred 
 years ago, and a stone lantern, twenty feet high, and twelve feet 
 round at the top, are greatly admired by the Japanese. There are 
 only three such lanterns in the empire ; the other two being at 
 Nanzenji — a temple in Kiy6to, and Atsura, a shrine in the pro- 
 vince, of Owari. All three were erected by the piety of one man, 
 Sakuma Daiaen no Suk^ in the year 1631 a.d. 
 
 lydmitsu, the founder of the temple, was buried with his grand- 
 father, ly^yasu, at Nikk6 ; but both of these princes are honoured 
 with shrines here. The Shoguns who are interred at Uy6no are 
 lydtsuna, Tsunayoshi, Yoshimun^, Iy6haru, Iy4nori, and Iy4sada, 
 the fourth, fifth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, and thirteenth Princes of 
 the Line. Besides them, are buried five wives of the Shoguns, and 
 the father of the eleventh Shogun. 
 
HOW TAJIMA SHUME WAS TORMENTED BY A 
 DEVIL OF HIS OWN CEEATION- 
 
 Once upon a time, a certain ESnia, Tajima Shume by 
 name, an able and well-read man, being on his travels to see 
 the world, went up to KiySto by the TokaidS.^ One day, in 
 the neighbourhood of Nagoya, in the province of Owari, he 
 fell in with a wanderiug priest, with whom he entered into 
 conversation. Finding that they were bound for the same 
 place, they agreed to travel together, beguiling their weary 
 way by pleasant talk on divers matters ; and so by degrees, 
 as they became more intimate, they began to speak without 
 restraint about their private affairs ; and the priest, trusting 
 thoroughly in the honour of his companion, told him the 
 object of his journey. 
 
 "For some time past," said he, "I have nourished a wish 
 that has engrossed all my thoughts ; for I am bent on setting 
 up a molten image in honour of Buddha ; with this object I 
 have wandered through various provinces collecting alms 
 and (who knows by what weary toil ?) we have succeeded in 
 amassing two hundred ounces of silver — enough, I trust, to 
 erect a handsome bronze figure." 
 
 What says the proverb ? " He who bear? a jewel in his 
 bosom bears poison." Hardly had the Eonin heard these 
 words of the priest than an evil Jieart arose within him, and 
 
 1 The road of the Eastern Sea, the famous high-road leading from Kiy6to 
 to Yedo. Th« name is also used to indicate the provinces through which it 
 runs. 
 
fAJIMA SHUME. 235 
 
 he thought to himself, " Man's life, from the womb to the 
 grave, is made up of good and of iU luck. Here am I, nearly 
 forty years old, a wanderer, without a calling, or even a 
 hope of advancement in the world. To he sure, it seems a 
 shame ; yet if I could steal the money this priest is boasting 
 about, I could live at ease for the rest of my days ;" and 
 so he began casting about how best he might compass his 
 purpose. But the priest, far from guessing the drift of his 
 comrade's thoughts, journeyed cheerfully on, till they reached 
 the town of Kuana. Here there is an arm of the sea, which 
 is crossed in ferry-boats, that start as soon as some twenty or 
 thirty passengers are gathered together ; and in one of these 
 boats the two travellers embarked. About half-way across, 
 the priest was taken with a sudden necessity to go to the 
 side of the boat; and the E6nin, following him, tripped him 
 up whilst no one was looking, and flung him into the sea. 
 When the boatmen and passengers heard the splash, and 
 saw the priest struggling in the water, they were afraid, 
 and made every effort to save him ; but the wind was fair, 
 and the boat running swiftly under the bellying sails, so they 
 were soon a few hundred yards off from the drowning man, 
 who sank before the boat could be turned to rescue him. 
 
 When he saw this, the Eonin feigned the utmost grief and 
 dismay, and said to his fellow-passengers, " This priest, whom 
 we have just lost, was my cousin : he was going to Kiyoto, 
 to visit the shrine of his patron; and as I happened to 
 have business there as weU, we settled to travel together. 
 Now, alas ! by this misfortune, my cousin is dead, and I am 
 left alone." 
 
 He spoke so feelingly, and wept so freely, that the passen- 
 gers believed lijs story, and pitied and tried to comfort him. 
 Then the E6nin said to the boatmen — 
 
 " We ought, by rights, to report this matter to the autho- 
 rities ; but as I am pressed for time, and the business might 
 bring trouble on yourselves as well, perhaps we had better 
 hush it up for the present ; and I will at once go on to Kiy6to 
 and tell my cousin's patron, Tjesides writing home about it 
 
236 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 What think you, gentlemen ? " added he, turning to the other 
 travellers. 
 
 They, of course, were only too glad to avoid any hin- 
 drance to their onward journey, and all with one voice 
 agreed to what the Eonin had proposed ; and so the matter 
 was settled. When, at length, they reached the shore, they left 
 the boat, and every man went his way ; but the ESnin, over- 
 joyed in his heart, took the wandering priest's luggage, and, 
 patting it -with his own, pursued his journey to Kiy6to. 
 
 On reaching the capital, the E6nin changed his name from 
 Shum6 to Tokubei, and, giving up his position as a Samurai, 
 turned merchant, and traded with the dead man's money. 
 Fortune favouring his speculations, he began to amass great 
 wealth, and lived at his ease, denying himself nothing ; and 
 in course of time he married a wife, who bore him a child. 
 
 Thus the days and months wore on, tUl one fine summer's 
 night, some three years after the priest's death, Tokubei 
 stepped out on to the verandah of his house to enjoy the 
 cool air and the beauty of the moonlight. Feeling dull and 
 lonely, he began musing over all kinds of things, when on 
 a sudden the deed of murder and theft, done so long ago, 
 vividly recurred to his memory, and he thought to himself, 
 " Here am I, grown rich and fat on the money I wantonly 
 stole. Since then, all has gone well with me ; yet, had I 
 not been poor, I had never turned assassin nor thief. Woe 
 betide me ! what a pity it was ! " and as he was revolving 
 the matter in his mind, a feeling of remorse came over him, 
 in spite of all he could do. While his conscience thus 
 smote him, he suddenly, to his utter amazement, beheld the 
 faint outline of a man standing near a fir-tree in the garden : 
 on looking more attentively, he perceived that the man's 
 whole body was thin and worn and the eyes sunken and 
 dim ; and in the poor ghost that was before him he recognized 
 the very priest whom he had thrown into the sea at Kuana. 
 Chilled with horror, he looked again, and saw that the priest 
 was smiling in scorn. He would have fled into the house, but 
 'he ghost stretched forth its withered arm, and, clutching the 
 
TJJIMA 8HUME. 237 
 
 back of his neck, scowled at Mm witli a vindictive glare, and 
 a hideous ghastliness of mien, so imspeakably awful that any 
 ordinary man would have swooned with fear. But Tokubei, 
 tradesman though he was, had once been a soldier, and was not 
 easily matched for daring ; so he shook off the ghost, and, 
 leaping into the room for his dirk, laid about him boldly 
 enough ; but, strike as he would, the spirit, fading iato the air, 
 eluded his blows, and suddenly reappeared only to vanish 
 again : and from that time forth Tokubei knew no rest, and 
 was haunted night and day. 
 
 At length, undone by such ceaseless vexation, Tokubei feU 
 ill, and kept muttering, " Oh, misery ! misery ! — the wan- 
 dering priest is coming to torture me !" Hearing his 
 moans and the disturbance he made, the people in the 
 house fancied he was mad, and called in a physician, who 
 prescribed for him. But neither pill nor potion could cure 
 Tokubei, whose strange frenzy soon became the talk of the 
 whole neighbourhood. 
 
 Now it chanced that the story reached the ears of a certain 
 wandering priest who lodged in the next street. When he 
 heard the particulars, this priest gravely shook his head, as 
 though he knew all about it, and sent a friend toTokubei's house 
 to say that a wandering priest, dwelling hard by, had heard 
 of his illness, and, were it never so grievous, would under- 
 take to heal it by means of his prayers ; and Tokubei's wife, 
 driven half wild by her husband's sickness, lost not a moment 
 in sending for the priest, and taking him into the sick 
 man's room. 
 
 But no sooner did Tokubei see the priest than he yelled 
 out, " Help ! help ! Here is the wandering priest come to 
 torment me again. Forgive! forgive!" and hiding his head 
 under the coverlet, he lay quivering all over. Then the priest 
 turned all present out of the room, put his mouth to the 
 affrighted man's ear, and whispered — 
 
 " Three years ago, at the Kuana ferry, you flung me into 
 the water ; and weU you remember it." 
 
 But Tokubei was speechless, and could only quake with fear. 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Happily," continued the priest, " I had learned to swim and 
 to dive as a boy ; so I reached the shore, and, after wandering 
 through many provinces, succeeded in setting up a bronze 
 figure to Buddha, thus fulfilling the wish of my heart. On 
 my journey homewards, I took a lodging in the next street, 
 and there heard of your marvellous aOment. ThinMng I 
 could divine its cause, I came to see you, and am glad to find 
 I was not mistaken. You have done a hateful deed ; but am 
 I not a priest ; and have I not forsaken the things of this 
 world? and would it not ill become me to bear malice? 
 Eepent, therefore, and abandon your evil ways. To see 
 you do so I should esteem the height of happiness. Be of 
 good cheer, now, and look me in the face, and you will see 
 that I am really a living man, and no vengeful goblin come 
 to torment you." 
 
 Seeing he had no ghost to deal with, and overwhelmed by 
 the priest's kindness, Tokubei burst into tears, and answered, 
 " Indeed, indeed, I don't know what to say. In a fit of 
 madness I was tempted to kill and rob you. Fortune be- 
 friended me ever after ; but the richer I grew, the more keenly 
 I felt how wicked I had been, and the more I foresaw that my 
 victim's vengeance would some day overtake me.. Haunted 
 by this thought, I lost my nerve, tQl one night I beheld your 
 spirit, and from that time forth fell Ul. But how you managed 
 to escape, and are still alive, is more than I can understand." 
 
 " A guilty man," said the priest, with a smile, " shudders at 
 the rustling of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak : a 
 murderer's conscience preys upon his mind till he sees what 
 is not. Poverty drives a man to crimes which he repents of 
 in his wealth. How true is the doctrine of M6shi,i that the 
 heart of man, pure by nature, is corrupted by circumstances." 
 
 Thus he held forth; and Tokubei, who had long"«inee 
 repented of his crime, implored forgiveness, and gave him a 
 large sum of money, saying, " Half of this is the amount I 
 stole from you three years since ; the other half I entreat you 
 to accept as interest, or as a gift." 
 
 ^ Menoius. 
 
TAJIMA SHUME. 239 
 
 The priest at first refused the mouey ; but Tokubei insisted 
 on his accepting it, and did all he could to detain him, but in 
 vain ; for the priest went his way, and bestowed the money 
 on the poor and needy. As for Tokubei himself, he soon 
 shook off his disorder, and thenceforward lived at peace with 
 all men, revered both at home and abroad, and ever intent 
 on good and charitable deeds. 
 
CONCEKNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
CONCEENING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 Cats, foxes, and badgers are regarded with superstitious 
 awe by the Japanese, who attribute to them the power of 
 assuming the human shape in order to bewitch mankind. 
 Like the fairies of our Western tales, however, they work 
 for good as well as for evil ends: To do them a good turn 
 is to secure powerful allies; but woe betide him who in- 
 jures them ! — he and his will assuredly suffer for it. Cats 
 and foxes seem to have been looked upon as uncanny 
 beasts aU the world over ; but it is new to me that 
 badgers should have a place in fairy-land. The island of 
 Shikoku, the southernmost of the great Japanese islands, 
 appears to be the part of the country in which the badger 
 is regarded with the greatest veneration. Among the many 
 tricks which he plays upon the human race is one, of which 
 I have a clever representation carved in ivory. Lying in 
 wait in lonely places after dusk, the badger watches for 
 benighted wayfarers : should one appear, the beast, drawing 
 a long breath, distends his belly and drums delicately upon 
 it with his clenched fist, producing such entrancing tones, 
 that the traveller cannot resist turning aside to follow the 
 sound, which, WiU-o'-the-wisp-Kke, recedes as he advances, 
 until it lures him on to his destruction. Love is, however, the 
 most powerful engine which the cat, the fox, and the badger 
 alike put forth for the ruin of man. No G-ermAn poet ever 
 imagined a more captivating water-nymph than the fair 
 virgins by whom the knight of Japanese romance is assailed : 
 the true hero recognizes and slays the beast ; the weaker 
 mortal yields and perishes. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 TALBS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 The Japanese story-books abound with tales about the 
 pranks of these creatures, which, like ghosts, even play 
 a part in the histories of ancient and noble families. I 
 have collected a few of these, and now beg a hearing for a 
 distinguished and two-tailed^ connection of Puss in Boots 
 and the Chatte Blanche. 
 
 1 Cats are found in Japan, as in the Isle of Man, with stumps, where they 
 should have tails. Sometimes this is the result of art, sometimes of a natural 
 shortcoming. The cats of Yedo are of bad repute as mousers, their energies 
 being relaxed by much petting at the hands of ladies. The Cat of Nabe- 
 shima, so says tradition, w«s a monster with two tails. 
 
1'' 
 
 m 
 
 %) 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 --^IkV 
 
 ■->■, 
 
 ''"! U, 
 
 / 
 
 1 vfe 
 
 1 
 
THE VAMPIKE GAT OF NABESHIMA. 
 
 There is a tradition in the Kab^shima^ family that, many 
 years ago, the Priace of Hizen was bewitched and cursed 
 by a cat that had been kept by one of his retainers. 
 This prince had in his house a lady of rare beauty, called 
 Toyo : amongst alt his ladies she was the favourite, and 
 there was none who could rival her charms and accomplish- 
 ments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with 
 Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers 
 until sunset, when they returned to the palace, never noticing 
 that they were being followed by a large cat. Having parted 
 with her lord, Toyo retired to her own room and went to 
 bed. At midnight she awoke with a start, and became aware 
 of a huge cat that crouched watching her ; and when she cried 
 out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in her 
 delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for 
 so fair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly, 
 bitten to death by a cat ! Then the cat, having scratched out 
 a grave under the verandah, buried the corpse of Toyo, and 
 assuming her form, began to bevs^itch the Prince. 
 
 But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little 
 thought that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled 
 him was an impish and foul beast that had slain his mistress 
 and assumed her shape in order to drain out his life's blood. 
 Day by day, as time went on, the Prince's strength dwindled 
 away ; the colour of his face was changed, and became pale 
 and Ijvid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly 
 
 1 The family of the Prince of Hizen, one of the eighteen chief Daimios of 
 Japan. 
 
246 TALES OF OLD JaPAK. 
 
 sickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became 
 greatly alarmed ; so they summoned the physicians, who 
 prescribed various remedies for him ; but the more medicine 
 he took, the more serious did his illness appear, and no treat- 
 ment was of any avail. But most of all did he suffer in the 
 night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and disturbed 
 by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors 
 nightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and 
 watch over him; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock 
 on the very first night that the watch was set, the guard 
 were seized with a sudden and unaccountable drowsiness, 
 which they could not resist, until one by one every man 
 had fallen asleep. Then the false Q Toyo came in and 
 harassed the Prince until morning. The following night the 
 same thing occurred, and the Prince was subjected to the 
 imp's tyranny, while his guards slept helplessly around 
 him. Night after night this was repeated, until at last three 
 of the Prince's councillors determined themselves to sit up 
 on guard, and see whether they could overcome this mysterious 
 drowsiness ; but they fared no better than the others, and by 
 ten o'clock were fast asslep. The next day the three coun- 
 cillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya 
 Buzen, said — 
 
 " This is a marvellous thing,, that a guard of a hundred men 
 should thus be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that 
 is upon my lord and upon his guard must be the work of 
 witchcraft. Now, as aU our efforts are of no avail, let us 
 seek out Euiten, the chief priest of the temple called Miy6 
 In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the recovery of 
 my lord." 
 
 And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen 
 had said, they went to the priest Euiten and engaged him to 
 recite litanies that the Prince might be restored to healtL 
 
 So it came to pass that Euiten, the chief priest of Miy6 
 In, offered up prayers nightly for the Prihce. One night, at 
 the ninth hour (midnight), when he had finished his religious 
 exercises and was preparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied 
 
THE CJ'r OF NABESHIMA. 317 
 
 that he heard a noise outside in thft garden, as if some one 
 were washing himself at the well. Deeming this passing 
 strange, he looked down from the window ; and there in the 
 moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some twenty- 
 four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished 
 cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood hefore the 
 figure of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my' 
 lord the Prince. Euiten looked on with admiration ; and the 
 young man, when he had made an end of his prayer, was going 
 away; but the priest stopped him, calling out to him — 
 
 " Sir, I pray you to tarry a little : I have something to say 
 to you." 
 
 "At your reverence's service. What may you please 
 to want?" 
 
 " Pray he so good as to step up here, and have a little talk." 
 
 "By your reverence's leave;" and with this he went 
 upstairs. 
 
 Then Euiten said — 
 
 "Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so 
 young a man, should have so loyal a spirit. I am Euiten, the 
 chief priest of this temple, who am engaged in praying for 
 the recovery of my lord. Pray what is your name?" 
 
 "My name, sir, is It6 S6da, and I am serving in the 
 infantry of Nab^shima. Since my lord has been sick, 
 my one desire has been to assist in nursing him; but, being 
 only a simple soldier, I am not of sufficient rank to come 
 into his presence, so I have no resource but to pray to 
 the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may 
 regain his health." 
 
 When Euiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of 
 the fidelity of It6 S6da, and said — 
 
 " Your purpose is, indeed, a good one ; but what a strange 
 sickness this is that my lord is afflicted with ! Every night 
 he suffers from horrible dreams ; and the retainers who sit up 
 with him are all seized with a mysterious sleep, so that not 
 one can keep awake. It is very wonderful." 
 
 "Yes," replied Soda, after a moment's reflection, "this 
 
248 TALES OF OLD JAPJN. 
 
 certainly must be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to 
 sit up one night with the Prince, I would fain see whether 
 I could not resist this drowsiness and detect the goblin." 
 
 At last the priest said, " I am in relations of friendship 
 with Isahaya Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I 
 will speak to him of you and of your loyalty, and will inter- 
 cede with him that you may attain your wish." 
 
 " Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by 
 any vain thought of self-advancement, should I succeed : all 
 I wish for is the recovery of my lord. I commend myself to 
 your kind favour." 
 
 " Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to 
 the councillor's house." 
 
 " Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted. 
 
 On the following evening It6 Soda returned to the temple 
 Miyo In, and having found Euiten, accompanied him to the 
 house of Isahaya Buzen : then the priest, leaving Soda out- 
 side, went in to converse with the councillor, and inquire 
 after the Prince's health. 
 
 " And pray, sir, how is my lord ? Is he in any better 
 condition since I have been offering up prayers for him ? " 
 
 " Indeed, no ; his illness is very severe. We are certain 
 that he must be the victim of some foul sorcery ; but as 
 there are no means of keeping a guard awake after ten 
 o'clock, we cannot catch a s%ht of the goblin, so we are 
 in the greatest trouble." 
 
 " I feel deeply for you : it must be most distressing. How- 
 ever, I have something to tell you. I thiuk that I have found 
 a man who will detect the goblin ; and I have brought him 
 with me." 
 
 " Indeed ! who is the man ? " 
 
 "Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named It6 
 Soda, a faithful feUow, and I trust that you will grant his 
 request to be permitted to sit up with my lord." 
 
 " Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and 
 zeal in a common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a 
 moment's reflection ; "still it is impossible to allow a man 
 
THE CAT OF NABESHIMA. 249 
 
 of such low rank to perform tlie ofi&ce of watching over 
 my lord." 
 
 " It is true that he is hut a common soldier," urged the 
 priest ; " hut why not raise his rank in consideration of his 
 fidelity, and then let him mount guard 1 " 
 
 " It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's 
 recovery. But come, let me see this It6 S6da, that I may 
 know what manner of man he is : if he pleases me, I will 
 consult with the other councillors, and perhaps we may grant 
 his request." 
 
 " I will bring him in forthwith," replied Euiten, who there- 
 upon went out to fetch the young man. 
 
 When he returned, the priest presented It& S6da to the 
 councillor, who looked at him attentively, and, being pleased 
 with his comely and gentle appearance, said — 
 
 " So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount 
 guard in my lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with 
 the other councillors, and we will see wha' can be done 
 for you." 
 
 When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, 
 . and took his leave, after warmly thanking Euiten, who had 
 helped him to gain his object. The next day the councillors 
 held a meeting, and sent for It6 'S6da, and told him that he 
 might keep watch with the other retainers that very night. 
 So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall, having 
 made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred 
 gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room. 
 
 Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the 
 hundred guards around him sat keeping themselves awake 
 with entertaining conversation and pleasant conceits. But, as 
 ten o'clock approached, they began to doze off as they sat ; and 
 in spite of all their endeavours to keep one another awake, 
 by degrees they all fell asleep. It6 Soda all this while felt an 
 irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and, though he 
 tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that there 
 was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, 
 for which he had already made his preparations. , Drawing 
 
250 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 out a piece of oil paper which he had brought with him, and 
 spreading it over the mats, he sat down upon it ; then he took 
 the small knife which he carried in the sheath of his dirk, 
 and stuck it into his own thigh. Tor awhile the pain of the 
 wound kept him awake ; but as the slumber by which he was 
 assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became 
 drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round 
 in his thigh, so that the pain becoming very violent, he was 
 proof against the feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful 
 watch. ISTow the oil paper which he had spread under his 
 legs was in order to prevent the blood, which might spurt 
 from his wound, from defiling the mats. 
 
 So Ito S6da remained awake, but the rest of the guard 
 slept ; and as he watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the 
 Prince's room were drawn open, and he saw a figure coming 
 in stealthily, and, as it drew nearer, the form was that of a 
 marvellously beautiful woman some twenty-three years of 
 age. Cautiously she looked around her ; and when she saw 
 that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile, 
 and was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived 
 that in one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. 
 This seemed to startle her, but she went up to S6da and said — 
 
 " I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you ? " 
 
 " My name is It6 Soda, and this is the first night that I 
 have been on guard." 
 
 " A troublesome office, truly ! Why, here are aU the rest of 
 the guard asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You 
 are a trusty watchman." 
 
 "There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast 
 and sound." 
 
 " What is that wound on your knee ? It is all red 
 with blood." 
 
 " Oh ! I felt very sleepy ; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, 
 and the pain of it has kept me awake." 
 
 " What wondrous loyalty ! " said the lady. 
 
 " Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his 
 master ? Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about ? " 
 
THE CAT OF NABESHIMA. 251 
 
 Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, 
 " How fares it with my lord to-night ? " But the Prince, 
 worn out with sickness, made no reply. But Soda was 
 watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was Toyo, and 
 made up his mind that if she attempted to hairass the Prince 
 he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in 
 the form of Toyo had, been tormenting the Prince every 
 night, and had come again that night for no other purpose, 
 was defeated by the watchfulness of Ito S6da ; for when- 
 ever she drew near to the sick man, thinking to put her spells 
 upon him, she would turn and look behind her, and there she 
 saw It6 S6da glaring at her ; so she had no help for it but to 
 go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed. 
 
 At last the day broke, and the other ofi&cers, when they 
 awoke and opened their eyes, saw that Ito S6da had kept 
 awake by stabbing himself in the thigh ; and they were 
 greatly ashamed, and went home crestfallen. 
 
 That morning It6 S6da went to the house of Isahaya 
 Buzen, and told him all that had occurred the previous night. 
 The councillors were all loud in their praise of It6 Soda's 
 behaviour, and ordered him to keep watch again that night. At 
 the same hour, the false Toyo came and looked all round 
 the room, aiid aU the guard were asleep, excepting It6 S6da, 
 who was wide awake ; and so, being again frustrated, she 
 returned to her own apartments. 
 
 Now as since S6da had been on guard the Prince had 
 passed quiet nights, his sickness began to get better, and 
 there was great joy in the palace, and S6da was promoted 
 and rewarded with an estate. In the meanwhile Toyo, 
 seeing that her nightly visits bore no firaits, kept away ; and 
 from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject 
 to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck S6da as very- 
 strange, so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a 
 certainty this Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya 
 Buzen reflected for a while, and said — 
 " Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing 1" 
 " I wiU go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the 
 
252 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 matter, and try to kill her; but in case she should try to 
 escape, I will beg you to order eight men to stop outside 
 and lie in wait for her." 
 
 Having agreed upon this plan, S6da went at nightfall 
 to Toyo's apartment, pretending to have been sent with 
 a message from the Prince. When she saw him arrive, 
 she said — 
 
 " What message have you brought me from my lord ?" 
 
 "Oh! nothing in particular. Be so good as to look at 
 this letter ;" and as he spoke, he drew near to her, and sud- 
 denly drawing his dirk cut at her ; out the goblin, spriuging 
 back, seized a halberd, and glaring fiercely at S6da, said — 
 
 " How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's 
 ladies ? I will have you dismissed ;" and she tried to strike 
 S6da with the halberd. But S6da fought desperately with 
 his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that she was no match for 
 him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful woman 
 became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up 
 the sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen 
 and his eight men who were watching outside shot at the 
 cat, but missed it, and the beast made good its escape. 
 
 So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief 
 among the surrounding people, until at last the Prince of 
 Hizen ordered a great hunt, and the beast was killed. 
 
 But the Prince recovered from his sickness ; and Tt6 S6da 
 was richly rewarded. 
 
THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL GAT. 
 
 About sixty years ago, in the summer-time, a man went to 
 pay a visit at a certain house at Osaka, and, in the course 
 of conversation, said — 
 
 "I have eaten some very extraordinary cakes to-day," 
 and on being asked what he meant, he told the following 
 story : — 
 
 " I received the cakes from the relatives of a family who 
 were celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the death , 
 of a cat that had belonged to their ancestors. When I 
 asked the history of the affair, I was told that, in former 
 days, a young girl of the family, when she was about sixteen 
 years old, used always to be followed about by a tom-cat, who 
 was reared in the house, so much so that the two were 
 never separated for an instant. When her father perceived 
 this, he was very angry, thinking that the tom-cat, forgetting 
 the kindness with which he had been treated for years in the 
 house, had fallen in love with his daughter, and intended to 
 cast a spell upon her ; so he determined that he. must kill the 
 beast. As he was planning this in secret, the cat overheard 
 him, and that night went to his pillow, and, assuming a 
 human voice, said to him — 
 
 " ' You suspect me of being in love with your daughter ; and 
 although you might well be justified in so thinking, your 
 suspicions are groundless. The fact is this : — There is a very 
 large old rat who has been living for many years in your 
 granary. Now it is this old rat who is in love with ri:y 
 young mistress, and this is why I dare not leave her sida for 
 a moment, for fear the old rat should carry her off. There- 
 
254 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 fore I pray you to dispel your suspicions. But as I, by 
 myself, am no match for the rat, there is a famous cat, named 
 Buchi, at the house of Mr. So-and-so, at Ajikawa : if you 
 win borrow that cat, we wiU soon make an end of the old rat.' 
 
 "When the father awoke from his dream, he thought it 
 so wonderful, that he told the household of it; and the fol- 
 lowing day he got up very early and went off to Ajikawa, to 
 inquire for the house which the cat had indicated, and had 
 no difficulty in finding it ; so he called upon the master of 
 the house, and told him what his own cat had said, and how 
 he wished to borrow the cat Buchi for a little while. 
 
 " • That's a very easy matter to settle,' said the other : ' pray 
 take him with you at once ; ' and accordingly the father went 
 home with the cat Buchi in charge. That night he put the 
 two cats into the granary ; and after a little while, a frightful 
 clatter was heard, and then all was stiU again ; so the people 
 of the house opened the door, and crowded out to see what 
 had happened; and there they beheld the two cats and the rat 
 all locked together, and panting for breath ; so they cut the 
 throat of the rat, which was as big as either of the cats : then 
 they attended to the two cats ; but, although they gave them 
 ginseng 1 and other restoratives, they both got weaker and 
 weaker, until at last they died. So the rat was thrown into 
 the river ; but the two cats were buried with all honours in 
 a neighbouring temple." 
 
 ' A restorative in high repute. The best sorta are brought from Corea. 
 
HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS 
 HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES. 
 
 In the village of Iwahara, in the province of ShinsMu, 
 there dwelt a famHy which had acquired considerable wealth 
 in the wine trade. On some auspicious occasion it happened 
 that a number of guests were gathered together at their house, 
 feasting on wine and fish ; and as the wine-cup went round, 
 the conversation turned upon foxes. Among the guests was 
 a certain carpenter, Tokutar6 by name, a man about thirty 
 years of age, of a stubborn and obstinate turn, who said — 
 
 "Well, sirs, you've been talking for some time of men 
 being bewitched by foxes ; surely you must be under theii 
 influence yourselves, to say such things. How on earth can 
 foxes have such power over men ? At any rate, men must 
 be great fools to be so deluded. Let's have no more of 
 this nonsense.". 
 
 Upon this a man who was sitting by him answered — 
 
 " TokutarS little knows what goes on in the world, or he 
 would not speak so. How many myriads of men are there 
 who have been bewitched by foxes ? Why, there have been 
 at least twenty or thirty men tricked by the brutes on the 
 Maki Moor alone. It's hard to disprove facts that have 
 happened before our eyes." 
 
 " You're no better than a pack of bom idiots ! " said 
 TokutarS. "I will engage to go out to the Maki Moor this 
 very night and prove it. There is not a fox in all Japan 
 that can make a fool of Tokutarfi." 
 
 Thus he spoke in his pride ; but the others were all angry 
 with him for boasting, and said — 
 
 " If you return without anything having happened, we will 
 
256 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 pay for five measures of wine and a thousand copper cash 
 worth of fish; and if you are bewitched, you shall do as 
 much for us." , 
 
 Tokutar6 took the bet, and at nightfall set forth for the 
 Maki 'Moor by himself As he neared the moor, he saw 
 before him a small bamboo grove, into which a fox ran ; and 
 it instantly occurred to him that the foxes of the moor would 
 try to bewitch him. As he was yet looking, he suddenly saw 
 the daughter of the headman of the vUlage of Upper 
 Horikan^ who was married to the headman of the village 
 of Maki. 
 
 "Pray, where are you going to. Master Tokutaro?" 
 said she. 
 
 "I am going to the vOlage hard by." 
 
 " Then, as you will have to pass iny native place, if you 
 wUl aUow me, I will accompany you so far." 
 
 Tokutar& thought this very odd, and made up his mind 
 that it was a fox trying to make a fool of him; he ac- 
 cordingly determined to turn the tables on the fox, and 
 answered — 
 
 " It is a long time since I have had the pleasure of 
 seeing you; and as it seems that your house is on my 
 road, 1 shall be glad to escort you so far.'' 
 
 With this he walked behind her, thinking he should 
 certainly see the end of a fox's tail peeping out ; but, look 
 as he might, there was nothing to be seen. At last they 
 came to the vUlage of Upper Horikane ; and when they 
 reached the cottage of the girl's father, the family all 
 came out, surprised to see her. 
 
 " Oh dear ! oh dear ! here is our daughter come : I hope 
 there is nothing the matter." 
 
 And so they went on, for some time, asking a string of 
 questions. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Tokutar6 went round to the kitchen 
 door, at the back of the house, and, beckoning out the 
 master of the house, said — 
 
 "The girl who has come with me is not really your 
 
THE BARBER FOXES. 257 
 
 daughter. As I was going to the Maki Moor, when I 
 arrived at the bamboo grove, a fox jumped up in front of me, 
 and when it had dashed into the grove it immediately took 
 the shape of your daughter, and offered to accompany me to 
 the village ; so 1 pretended to be taken in by the brute, and 
 came with it so far." 
 
 On hearing this, the master of the house put his head on 
 one side, and mused a while; then, calling his wife, he re- 
 peated the story to her, in a whisper. 
 
 But she flew into a great rage with TokutarS, and said — 
 
 " This is a pretty way of insulting people's daughters. The 
 girl is our daughter, and there's no mistake about it. How 
 dare you invent such lies ? " 
 
 " Well," said Tokutar6, " you are quite right to say so ; but 
 still there is no doubt that this is a case of witchcraft." 
 
 Seeing how obstinately he held to his opinion, the old folks 
 were sorely perplexed, and said — 
 
 " What do you think of doing 1 " 
 
 "^Pray leave the matter to me: I'll soon strip the false 
 skin off, and show the beast to you in its true colours. Do 
 you two go into the store-closet, and wait there." 
 
 With this he went into the kitchen, and, seizing the girl by 
 the back of the neck, forced her down by the hearth. 
 
 " Oh ! Master Tokutaro, what means this brutal violence 1 
 Mother ! father ! help ! " 
 
 So the girl cried and screamed; butTokutar& only laughed, 
 and said — 
 
 " So you thought to bewitch me, did you ? Prom the 
 moment you jumped into the wood, I was on the look-out for 
 you to play me some trick. I'll soon make you show •^hat 
 you really are ; " and as he said this, he twisted her two 
 hands behind her back, and trod upon her, and tortured 
 her; but she only wept, and cried — 
 
 " Oh ! it hurts, it hurts ! " 
 
 " If this is not enough to make you show your true form, 
 I'll roast you to death;" .and he piled firewood on the hearth, 
 and, tucking up h t dress, scorched her severely. 
 
258 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! this is more than I can bear ; " and with this 
 she expired. 
 
 The two old people then came running in from the 
 rear of the house, and, pushing aside Tokutar6, folded 
 their daughter in their arms, and put their hands to her 
 mouth to feel whether she stiH breathed ; but life was ex- 
 tinct, and not the sign of a fox's tail was to be seen about her. 
 Then they seized TokutarS by the collar, and cried — 
 
 "On pretence that our true daughter was a fox, you 
 have roasted her to death. Murderer ! Here, you there, 
 bring ropes and cords, and secure this Tokutar6 ! " 
 
 So the servants obeyed, and several of them seized 
 Tokutar6 and bound him to a pillar. Then the master of the 
 house, turning to TokutarS, said — 
 
 " You have murdered our daughter before our very eyes. I 
 shaU report the matter to the lord of the manor, and you 
 will assuredly pay for this with your head. Be prepared for 
 the worst." 
 
 And as he said this, glaring fiercely at TokutarS, they 
 carried the corpse of his daughter into the store-closet. As 
 they were sending to make the matter known in the village 
 of Maki, and taking other measures, who should come up but 
 the priest of the temple called Anrakuji, in the village of 
 Iwahara, with an acolyte and a servant, who called out in a 
 loud voice from the front door — 
 
 " Is aU well with the honourable master of this house ? I 
 have been to say prayers to-day in a neighbouring village, and 
 on my way back I could not pass the door without at least 
 inquiring after your welfare. If you are at home, I would 
 fain pay my respects to you." 
 
 As he spoke thus in a loud voice, he was heard from the 
 back of the house ; and the master got up and went out, 
 and, after the usual compliments on meeting had been 
 exchanged, said — 
 
 " I ought to have the honour of inviting you to step inside 
 this evening ; but really we are all in the greatest trouble, 
 and I must beg you to excuse my impolitei ss." 
 
TEE BARBER FOXES. 259 
 
 "Indeed! Pray, what may be the matter?" replied the 
 priest. And when the master of the house had told the whole 
 "story, from beginning to end, he was thunderstruck, and said — 
 
 " Truly, this must be a terrible distress to you." Then the 
 priest looked on one side, and saw Tokutar6 bound, and ex- 
 claimed, " Is not that Tokutard that I see there ? " 
 
 " Oh, your reverence," replied Tokutar6, piteously, " it was 
 this, that, and the other ; and I took it into my head that the 
 young lady was a fox, and so I killed her. But I pray 
 your reverence to intercede for me, and save my life ; " and 
 as he spoke, the tears started from his eyes. 
 
 " To be sure," said the priest, " you may well bewail 
 yourself ; however, if I save your life, will you consent to 
 become my disciple, and enter the priesthood ? " 
 
 " Only save my life, and I'll become your disciple with 
 all my heart" 
 
 When the priest heard this, he called out the parents, and 
 said to them — 
 
 "It would seem that, though I am but a foolish old 
 priest, my coming here to-day has baen unusually well 
 timed. I have a request to make of you. Your putting 
 Tokutaro to death won't bring your daughter to life again. 
 I have heard his story, and there certainly was no malice 
 prepense on his part to kill your daughter. What he did, 
 he did thinking to do a service to your family; and it 
 would surely be better to hush the matter up. He wishes, 
 moreover, to give himself over to me, and to become my 
 disciple." 
 
 " It is as you say," replied the father and mother, speaking 
 together. "Eevenge wOl not recall our daughter. Please 
 dispel our grief, by shaving his head and making a priest 
 of him on the spot." 
 
 " I'll shave him at once, before your eyes," answered the 
 I)riest, who immediately caused the cords which bound 
 'J'okutar6 to be untied, and, putting on his priest's scarf, made 
 him join his hands together in a posture of prayer. Then 
 the reverend man stood up behind him, razor in hand, and, 
 
 s 2 
 
260 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 intoning a hymn, gave two or three strokes of the razor, which 
 he then handed to his acolyte, who made a clean sliave of 
 Tokutar6's hair. When the latter had iinished his obeisance 
 to the priest, and the ceremony was over, there was a loud 
 burst, of laughter ; and at the same moment the day broke, 
 and Tokutar6 found himself alone, in the middle of a large 
 moor. At first, in his surprise, he thought that it was all a 
 dream, and was much annoyed at having been tricked by the 
 foxes, He then passed his hand over his head, and found 
 that he was shaved quite bald. There was nothing for it but 
 to get up, wrap a handkerchief round his head, and go back 
 to the place where his friends were assembled. 
 
 " Hallo, Tokutaro ! so you've come back. Well, how 
 about the foxes 1 " 
 
 "EeaUy, gentlemen," replied he, bowing, "I am quite 
 ashamed to appear before you." 
 
 Then he told them the whole story, and, when he had 
 finished, pulled off the kerchief, and showed his bald pate. 
 
 " What a capital joke ! " shouted his listeners, and 
 amid' roars of laughter, claimed the bet of fish and wine. 
 It was duly paid; but Tokutar6 never allowed his hair to 
 grow again, and renounced the world, and became a priest 
 under the name of Sainen. 
 
 There are a great many stories told of men being shaved 
 by the foxes ; but this story came under the personal obser- 
 vation of Mr. Sh6minsai, a teacher of the city of Yedo, during 
 a holiday trip which he took to the country where the event 
 occurred ; and I ^ have recorded it in the very selfsame words 
 in which he told it to me. 
 
 ' The author of the " Kanzen-Yawa," the book from which the story is 
 taken. 
 
THE GEATEFUL EOXES. 
 
 One fine spring day, two friends went out to a moor to gather 
 fern, attended by a boy with a bottle of wine and a box of 
 provisions. As they were straying about, they saw at the 
 foot of a hill a fox that had brought out its cub to play ; and 
 whilst they looked on, struck by the strangeness of the sight, 
 three children came up from a neighbouring village with bas- 
 kets iu their hands, on the same errand as themselves. As 
 soon as the children saw the foxes, they picked up a bamboo 
 stick and took the creatures stealthily in the rear ; and when 
 the old foxes took to flight, they surx'otoded them and beat 
 them with the stick, so that they ran away as fast as their 
 legs could carry them ; but two of the boys held down the 
 cub, and, seizing it by the scruff of the neck, went off in 
 high glee. 
 
 The two friends were looking on all the while, and one of 
 them, raising his voice, shouted out, " Hallo ! you boys ! what 
 are you doing with that fox 1 " 
 
 The eldest of the boys replied, " We're going to take him 
 home and seU him to a young man in our village. He'll buy 
 him, and then he'll boil him in a pot and eat him." 
 
 "Well," replied the other, after considering the matter 
 attentively, " I suppose it's all the same to you whom you sell 
 him to. You'd better let me have him." 
 
 " Oh, but the young man from our village promised us a 
 good round sum if we could find a fox, and got us to come 
 out to th& hills and catch one ; and so we can't sell him to 
 you at any price." 
 
 " Well, I suppose it cannot be helped, then ; but how much 
 would the young man give you for the cub ?" 
 
262 TALTSS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 " Oh, he'll give us three hundred cash at least." 
 
 "Then I'll give you half a bu;i and so you'll gain iive 
 hundred cash by the transaction." 
 
 " Oh, we'll sell him for that, sir. How shall we hand him 
 over to you?" 
 
 " Just tie him up here," said the other ; and so he made 
 fast the cub round the neck with the string of the napkin in 
 which the luncheon-box was wrapped, and gave half a bu to 
 the three boys, who ran away delighted. 
 
 The man's friend, upon this, said to him, " Well, certainly 
 you have got queer tastes. What on earth are you going to 
 keep the fox for ? " 
 
 " How very unkind of you to speak of my tastes like that. 
 If we had not interfered just now, the fox's cub would have 
 lost its life. If we had not seen the affair, there would have 
 been no help for it. How could I stand by and see life taken? 
 It was but a little I spent — only half a bu — ^to save the cub, 
 but had it cost a fortune I should not have grudged it. I 
 thought you were intimate enough with me to know my 
 heart ; but to-day you have accused me of being eccentric, 
 and I see how mistaken I have been in you. However, our 
 friendship shall cease from this day forth." 
 
 And when he had said this with a great deal of firmness, 
 the other, retiring backwards and bowing with his hands on 
 his knees, replied — 
 
 " Indeed, indeed, I am fiUed with admiration at the goodness 
 of your heart. When I hear you speak thus, I feel more than 
 ever how great is the love I bear you. I thought that you 
 might wish to use the cub as a sort of decoy to lead the old 
 ones to you, that you might pray them to bring prosperity 
 and virtue to your house. When I called you eccentric just 
 now, I was but trying your heart, because I had some suspi- 
 cions of you ; and now I am truly ashamed of myself." 
 
 1 Bii. This coin is generally called by foreigners "ichibii," which means 
 " one hu." To talk of " a Jiundred iehihiis " is as though a Japanese were to 
 say "a htmdred one shillings." Four bus make a riyo, or ounce ; and any 
 sum above three bus is spoken of as so many liyos and bus — as lOlriyos and 
 three bus equal 407 bus. The bu is worth about Is. id. 
 
THt! QRATEiVL fOXES. 263 
 
 And as lie spoke, still bowing, the other replied, " Eeally! 
 was that indeed your thought ? Then I pray you to forgive 
 me for my violent language." 
 
 When the two friends had thus become reconciled, they 
 examined the cub, and saw that it had a slight wound in its 
 foot, and could not walk ; and while they were thinking what 
 they should do, they spied out the herb called "Doctor's 
 Nakase," whicb was just sprouting ; so they rolled up a little 
 of it in their fingers and applied it to the part. Then they 
 pulled out some boHed. rice from their luncheon-box and 
 offered it to the cub, but it showed no sign of wanting to eat ; 
 so they stroked it gently on the back, and petted it ; and as the 
 pain of the wound seemed to have subsided, they were ad- 
 miring the properties of the herb, when, opposite to them, 
 they 'saw the old foxes sitting watching them by the side 
 of some stacks of rice straw. 
 
 " Look there ! the old foxes have come back, out of fear for 
 their cub's safety. Come, we wiU set it free ! " And with 
 these words they untied the string round the cub's neck, and 
 turned its head towards the spot where the old foxes sat; and 
 as the wounded foot was no longer painful, with one bound it 
 dashed to its parents' side and licked them all over for joy, 
 while they seemed to bow their thanks, looMng towards the 
 two friends. So, with peace in their hearts, the latter went 
 off to another place, and, choosiag a pretty spot, produced 
 the wine bottle and ate their noon-day meal; and after 
 a pleasant day, they returned to their homes, and became 
 firmer friends than ever. 
 
 Now the man who had rescued the fox's cub was a trades- 
 man in good circumstances : he had three or four agents and 
 two maid-servants, besides men-servants ; and altogether he 
 lived in a liberal manner. He was married, and this union 
 had brought him otie son, who had reached his tenth year, but 
 had been attacked by a strange disease which defied all the 
 physician's skill and drugs. At last a famous physician 
 prescribed the liver taken from a live fox, which, as he said, 
 would certainly effect a cure, If that were not forthcoming, 
 
264 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 the most expensive medicine in the world would not restore 
 the boy to health. When the parents heard this, they were 
 at their wits' end. However, they told the state of the case 
 to a man who lived on the mountains. " Even though our 
 child should die for it," they said, " we will not ourselves 
 deprive other creatures of their lives ; but you, who live 
 among the hiUs, are sure to hear when your neighbours go 
 out fox-hunting. We don't care what price we might have 
 to pay for a fox's liver ; pray, buy one for us at any expense." 
 So they pressed him to exert himself on their behalf; and he, 
 having promised faithfully to execute the commission, went 
 his way. 
 
 In the night of the following day there came a messenger, 
 who announced himseK as coming from the person who had 
 undertaken to procure the fox's liver ; so the master of the 
 house went out to see him. 
 
 " I have come from Mr. So-and-so. Last night the fox's 
 liver that you required feU. into his hands ; so he sent me to 
 bring it to you." With these words the messenger produced 
 a small jar, adding, " In a few days he will let you know 
 the price," 
 
 Wlien he had delivered his message, the master of the 
 house was greatly pleased, and said, " Indeed, I am deeply 
 grateful for this kindness, which wUl save my son's life." 
 
 Then the good wife came out, and received the jar with 
 every mark of politeness. 
 
 "We must make a present to the messenger." 
 "Indeed, sir, I've already been paid for my trouble." 
 " Well, at any rate, you must stop the night here." 
 "Thank you, sir: I've a relation in the next village 
 whom I have not seen for a long while, and I will pass 
 the night with him;" and so he took his leave, and 
 went away. 
 
 The parents lost no time in sending to let the physician 
 know that they had procured the fox's Uver. The next day 
 the doctor came and compounded a medicine for the patient, 
 which at once produced a good effect, and there was no little 
 
THE GRATEFUL FOXES. 265 
 
 joy in the household. As luck would have it, three days 
 after this the man whom they had commissioned to buy the 
 fox's liver came to the house ; so the goodwife hurried out to 
 meet him and welcome him. 
 
 " How quickly you fulfilled our wishes, and how kind of 
 you to send at once ! The doctor prepared the medicine, and 
 now our hoy can get up and walk about the room ; and it's all 
 owing to your goodness." 
 
 " Wait a bit ! " cried the guest, who did not know what to 
 make of the joy of the two parents. " The commission with 
 which you entrusted me about the fox's liver turned out to 
 be a matter of impossibility, so I came to-day to make my 
 excuses ; and now I really can't understand what you are so 
 grateful to me for." 
 
 "We are thanking you, sir," replied the master of the 
 house, bowing with his hands on the ground, " for the fox's 
 liver which we asked you to procure for us." 
 
 " I really am perfectly unaware of having sent you a fox's 
 liver : there must be some mistake here. Pray inquire care- 
 fully into the matter." 
 
 "Well, this is very strange. Four nights ago, a man of 
 some five or six and thirty years of age came with a verbal 
 message from you, to the effect that you had sent him with a 
 fox's liver, which you had just procured, and said that he 
 would come and tell us the price another day. When 
 we asked him to spend the night here, he answered that 
 he woiild lodge with a relation in the next village, and went 
 away." 
 
 The visitor was more and more lost in amazement, and, 
 leaning his head on one side in deep thought, confessed that 
 he could make nothing of it. As for the husband and wife, 
 they felt quite out of countenance at having thanked a man 
 so warmly for favours of which he denied all knowledge ; and 
 so the visitor took his leave, and went home. 
 
 That night there appeared at the pillow of the master of 
 the house a woman of about one or two and thirty years of 
 age, who said, " I am the fox that lives at such-and-such a 
 
266 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 mountain. Last spring, when I was taking out my cub to 
 play, it was carried off by some boys, and only saved by 
 your goodness. The desire to requite this kindness pierced 
 me to the quick. At last, when calamity attacked your 
 house, I thought that I might be of use to you. Your son's 
 illness could not be cured without a liver taken from a live 
 fox, so to repay your kindness I killed my cub and took out 
 its liver; then its sire, disguising himself as a messenger, 
 brought it to your house." 
 
 And as she spoke, the fox shed tears ; and the master of 
 the house, wishing to thank her, moved ia bed, upon which 
 his wife awoke and asked him what was the matter ; but he 
 too, to her great astonishment, was biting the pillow and 
 weeping bitterly. 
 
 " Why are you weeping thus ? " asked she. 
 
 At last he sat up in bed, and said, "Last spring, when I was 
 out on a pleasure excursion, I was the means of saving the 
 life of a fox's Cub, as I told you at the time. The other day 
 I told Mr. So-and-so that, although my son were to die before 
 my eyes, I would not be the means of killing a fox on purpose ; 
 but asked him, in case he heard of any hunter killing a fox, 
 to buy it for me. How the foxes came to hear of this I don't 
 know ; but the foxes to whom I had shown kindness killed 
 their own cub and took out the liver ; and the old dog-fox, 
 disguising himself as a messenger from the person to whom 
 we had confided the commission, came here with it. His 
 mate has just been at my pOow-side and told me all 
 about it; hence it was that, in spite of myself, I was 
 moved to tears." 
 
 When she heard this, the goodwife likewise was blinded 
 by her tears, and for a while they lay lost ia thought ; but at 
 last, coming to themselves, they lighted the lamp on the 
 shelf on which the family idol stood, and spent the night 
 in reciting prayers and praises, and the next day they pub- 
 lished the matter to the household and to their relations and 
 friends. Now, although there are instances of men killing 
 their own children to reqiiite a favour, there is no other 
 
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TEB GRATEFUL FOXES. %1 
 
 . ^ 
 
 example of foxes having done such a thuag; so the story 
 became the talk of the whole country. 
 
 Now, the boy who had recovered through the ef&cacy of 
 this medicine selected the prettiest spot on the premises to 
 erect a shriue to Inari Sama,"^ the Fox God, and offered 
 sacrifice to the two old foxes, for whom he purchased the 
 highest rank at the court of the Mikado. 
 
 The passage in the tale which speaks of rank being pur- 
 chased for the foxes at the court of the Mikado is, of course, a 
 piece of nonsense. " The saints who are worshipped in Japan," 
 writes a native authority, " are men who, in the remote ages, 
 when the country was developing itself, were sages, and by 
 their great and virtuous deeds having earned the gratitude of 
 future generations, received divine honours after their death. 
 How can the Son of Heaven, who is the father and mother of 
 his people, turn dealer in ranks and honours ? If rank were 
 a matter of barter, it would cease to be a reward to the 
 virtuous." 
 
 All matters connected with the shrines of the Shinto, or 
 indigenous religion, are confided to the superintendence of 
 the famUies of Yoshida and Fushimi, Kug^s or nobles of the 
 Mikado's court at Kiy6to. The affairs of the Buddhist or 
 imported religion are under the care of the family of Kanjuji. 
 As it is necessary that those who as priests perform the honour- 
 
 1 Inari Sama is the title under which was deified a, certain mythical per- 
 sonage, called Uga, to whom tradition attributes the honour of having first 
 discovered and cultivated the rice-plant. He is represented carrying a few 
 ears of rice, and is symbolized by a snake guarding a bale of rice grain. 
 The fcxes wait upon him, and do his bidding. Inasmuch as rice is the 
 most important and necessary product of Japan, the honours which Inari Sama 
 receives are extraordinary. Almost every house in the country contains some- 
 where about the grounds a pretty little shrine in his honour ; and on a certain 
 day of the second month of the year his feast is celebrated with much beating 
 of drums and other noises, in whidi tlie children take a spetial delight. ''On 
 this day," says the 6-Satsuy6, a Japanese cyclopsedia, "at Yedo, where there 
 are myriads upon myriads of shrines to Inari Sama, there are all sorts of cere- 
 monies. Long banners with inscriptions are erected, lamps and lanterns are 
 hung up, and the houses are decked with various dolls and figures ; the sound 
 of flutes and drams is heard, and people dance and make holiday according to 
 their fancy. In short, it is the most bustling festival of the Yedo year. 
 
268 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 aUe office of serving the gods should be persons of some stand- 
 ing, a certain small rank is procured for them through the in- 
 tervention of the representatives of the above noble families, 
 who, on the issuing of the required patent, receive as their 
 perquisite a fee, which, although insignificant in itself, is yet 
 of importance to the poor Kuges, whose penniless condition 
 forms a great contrast to the wealth of their inferiors in rank, 
 the Daimios. I believe that this is the only case in which 
 rank can be bought or sold in Japan. In China, on the 
 contrary, in spite of what has been written by Meadows 
 and other admirers of the examination system, a man can be 
 what he pleases by paying for it ; and the coveted button, 
 which is nominally the reward of learning and ability, is 
 more often the prize of wealthy ignorance. 
 
 The saints who are alluded to above are the saints of the 
 whole country, as distinct from those who for special deeds 
 are locally worshipped. To this innumerable class frequent 
 allusion is made in these Tales. 
 
 Touching the remedy of the fox's liver, prescribed in the 
 tale, I may add that there would be nothing strange in this 
 to a person acquainted with the Chinese pharmacopoeia, which 
 the Japanese long exclusively followed, although they are 
 now successfully studying the art of healing as practised in 
 the West. When I was at Peking, I saw a Chinese physician 
 prescribe a decoction of three scorpions for a child struck 
 down with fever ; and on another occasion a groom of mine, 
 suffering from dysentery, was treated with acupuncture of 
 the tongue. The art of medicine would appear to be at the 
 present time in China much in the state in which it existed 
 in Europe in the sixteenth century, when the excretions and 
 secretions of all manner of animals, saurians, and venomous 
 snakes and insects, and even live bugs, were administered 
 to patients. " Some physicians," says Matthiolus, " use the 
 ashes of scorpions, burnt alive, for retention caused by either 
 renal or vesical calculi. But I have myself thoroughly 
 experienced the utility of an oU I make myself, whereof 
 scorpions form a very large portion of the ingredients. If 
 
THE GRATEFUL FOXES. 269 
 
 only the region of the heart and all the pulses of the body 
 be anointed with it, it will free the patients from the effects 
 of all kinds of poisons taken by the mouth, corrosive ones 
 excepted." Decoctions of Egyptian mummies were much 
 commended, and often prescribed with due academical 
 solemnity ; and the bones of the human skull, pulverized 
 and administered with oil, were used as a specific in 
 cases of renal calculus. (See Petri Andrese Matthioli 
 Opera, 1574.) 
 
 . These remarks were made to me by a medical gentleman 
 to whom I mentioned the Chinese doctor's prescription of 
 scorpion tea, and they seem to me so curious that I inoeit 
 them for comparison's sake. 
 
THE BADGEE'S MONEY. 
 
 It is a common saying among men, that to forget favours 
 received is the part of a bird or a beast : an ungrateful man 
 ■wUl be ill spoken of by all the world. And yet even birds 
 and beasts mil show gratitude ; so that a man who does not 
 requite a favour is worse even than dumb brutes. Is not this 
 a disgrace? 
 
 Once upon a time, in a hut at a place called Namekata, in 
 Hitachi, there lived an old priest famous neither for learning 
 nor wisdom, but bent only on passing his days in prayer and 
 meditation. He had not even a child to wait upon him, but 
 prepared his food with his own hands. Mght and morning 
 he recited the prayer " Namu Amida Butsu,"^ intent upon 
 that alone. Although the fame of his virtue did not reach 
 far, yet his neighbours respected and revered him, and often 
 brought him food and raiment; and when his roof or his 
 walls fell out of repair, they would mend them for him ; so 
 for the things of this world he took no thought. 
 
 One very cold night, when he little thought any one was 
 outside, he heard a voice calling "Your reverence ! your reve- 
 rence ! " So he rose and went out to see who it was, and 
 there he beheld an old badger standing. Any ordinary man 
 would have been greatly alarmed at the apparition ; but the 
 priest, being such as he has been described above, showed no 
 sign of fear, but asked the creature its business. Upon this 
 the badger respectfully bent its knees, and said — 
 
 1 A Buddhist prayer, in which something approaching to the sounds of the 
 original Sanscrit has been preserved. The meaning of the prayer is explained 
 as, "Save us, eternal Buddha!" Many even Of the priests who repeat it 
 Jcnnw it only as a formula, without understanding it. 
 
TBE BADGER'S MONET. 271 
 
 " Hitherto, sir, my lair has b^en in the mountains, and of 
 snow or frost I have taken no heed ; but now I am growing 
 old, and this severe cold is more than I can bear. I pray 
 you to let me enter and warm myself at the fire of your 
 cottage, that I may live through this bitter night." 
 
 When the priest heard what a helpless state the beast was 
 reduced to, he was filled with pity, and said — 
 
 " That's a very slight matter : make haste 'and come in and 
 warm yourself" 
 
 • The badger, delighted with so good a reception, went into 
 the hut, and squatting down by the fire began to warm itself ; 
 and the priest, with renewed fervour, recited his prayers and 
 struck his beU before the image of Buddha, looking straight 
 before him. 
 
 After two hours the badger took its leave, with profuse ex- 
 pressions of thanks, and went out ; and from that time forth 
 it came every night to the hut. As the badger would collect 
 and bring with it dried branches and dead leaves from the 
 hiUs for firewood, the priest at last became very friendly with 
 it, and got used to its company ; so that if ever, as the night 
 wore on, the badger did not arrive, he used to miss it, and 
 wonder why it did not come. When the winter was over, 
 and the spring-time came at the end of the second month, 
 the badger gave up its visits, and was no more seen ; but, on 
 the return of the winter, the beast resumed its old habit of 
 coming to the hut. When this practice had gone on for ten 
 years, one day the badger said to the priest, " Through your 
 reverence's kindness for aU these years, I have been able to 
 pass the winter nights in comfort. Your favours are such, 
 that during all my life, and even after my death, I must 
 remember them. What can I do to requite them ? If there 
 is anything that you wish for, pray tell me." 
 
 The priest, smiling at this speech, answered, " Being such 
 as I am, I have no desire and no wishes. Glad as I am to 
 hear your kind intentions, there is nothing that I can ask 
 you to do for me. You need feel no anxiety on my account. 
 As long as I live, when the winter comes, you shall be 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 ■welcome here." The badger, on hearing this, could not con- 
 ceal its admiration of the depth of the old man's benevolence ; 
 but having so much to be grateful for, it felt hurt at not being 
 able to requite it. As this subject was often renewed between 
 them, the priest at last, touched by the goodness of the badger's 
 heart, said, "Since I have shaven my head, renounced the 
 world, and forsaken the pleasures of this life, I have no desire 
 to gratify, yet I own I should like to possess three riyos in 
 gold. Food and raiment I receive by the favour of the 
 villagers, so I take no heed for those things. Were I to die 
 to-morrow, and attain my wish of being born again into the 
 next world, the same kind folk have promised to meet and 
 bury my body. Thus, although I have no other reason to wish 
 for money, still if I had three riyos I would offer them up at 
 some holy shrine, that masses and prayers might be said for 
 me, whereby I might enter into salvation. Yet I would not 
 get this money by violent or unlawful means ; I only think 
 of what might be if I had it. So you see, since you have 
 expressed such kind feelings towards me, I have told you 
 what is on my mind." When the priest had done speaking, 
 the badger leant its head on one side with a puzzled and 
 anxious look, so much so that the old man was sorry he had 
 expressed a wish which seemed to give the beast trouble, and 
 tried to retract what he had said. "Posthumous honours, 
 after all, are the wish of ordinary men. I, who am a priest, 
 ought not to entertain such thoughts, or to want money ; so 
 pray pay no attention to what I have said ;" and the badger, 
 feigning assent to what the priest had impressed upon it, 
 returned to the hills as usual. 
 
 From that time forth the badger came no more to the hut. 
 The priest thought this very strange, but imagined either that 
 the badger stayed away because it did not like to come 
 without the money, or that it had been killed in an attempt 
 to steal it; and he blamed himself for having added to his 
 sins for no purpose, repenting when it was too late: per- 
 suaded, however, that the badger must have been killed, he 
 passed his time in putting up prayers upon prayers foi it. 
 
TBH: BADGER'S MONEY. 273 
 
 After three years had gone by, one night the old man 
 heard a voice near his door calling out, " Your reverence ! 
 your reverence ! " 
 
 As the voice was like that of the badger, he jumped 
 up as soon as he heard it, and ran out to open the door; 
 and there, sure enough, was the badger. The priest, in great 
 delight, cried out, "And so you are safe and soimd, after 
 all ! Why have you been so long without coming here ? I 
 have been expecting you anxiously this long while." 
 
 So the badger came into the hut, and said, " If the money 
 which you required had been for unlawful purposes, I could 
 easily have procured as much as ever you might have 
 wanted ; but when I heard that it was to be offered to a 
 temple for masses for your soul, I thought that, if I were to 
 steal the hidden treasure of some other man, you could not 
 apply to a sacred purpose money which had been obtained at 
 the expense of his sorrow. So I went to the island of Sado,^ 
 and gathering the sand and earth which had been cast away 
 as worthless by the miners, fused it afresh in the fire ; and at 
 this work I spent months and days." As the badger finished 
 speaking, the priest looked at the money which it had pro- 
 duced, and sure enough he saw that it was bright and new 
 and clean; so he took the money, and received it respect- 
 fully, raising it to his head. 
 
 " And so you have had all this toil and labour on account 
 of a foolish speech of mine? 1 have obtained my heart's 
 desire, and am truly thankful." 
 
 As he was thanking the badger with great politeness and 
 ceremony, the beast said, " In doing this I have but fulfilled 
 my own wish ; still I hope that you will tell this thing to 
 no man." 
 
 " Indeed," replied the priest, " I cannot choose but tell this 
 story. For if I keep this money in my poor hut, it will be 
 stolen by thieves : I must either give it to some one to keep 
 for me, or else at dnce offer it up at the temple. And when 
 I do this, when people see a poor old priest with a sum of 
 i An island on the west coast of Japan, famous for its gold mines. 
 T 
 
274 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 money quite unsuited to his station, they wUl think it very- 
 suspicious, and I shall have to tell the tale as it occurred ; 
 hut as I shall say that the badger that gave me the money 
 has ceased conaing to my hut, you need not fear being 
 waylaid, but can come, as of old, and shelter yourself from 
 the cold." To this the badger nodded assent ; and as long as 
 the old priest Mved, it came and spent the winter nights 
 with him. 
 
 From this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense 
 of gratitude : in this quality dogs- excel aU other beasts. Is 
 not the story of the dog of Totorib^ Torodzu written in the 
 Annals of Japan ? I ^ have heard that many anecdotes of 
 this nature have been collected and printed in a book, which 
 I have not yet seen ; but as the facts which I have recorded 
 relate to a badger, they appear to me to be passing strange. 
 
 ' The author of the tale. 
 
THE PEINCE AND THE BADGER 
 
 In days of yore there lived a forefather of the Prince of Tosa 
 who went by the name of Yamanouchi Kadzutoyo. At the 
 age of fourteen this prince was amazingly fond of fishing, 
 and would often go down to the river for sport. And it 
 came to pass one day that he had gone thither with but one 
 retainer, and had made a great haul, that a violent shower 
 suddenly came on. Now, the priace had no rain-coat with 
 him, and was in so sorry a plight that he took shelter under 
 a willow-tree and waited for the weather to clear; but the 
 storm showed no sign of abating, and there was no help for it, 
 so he turned to the retainer and said — 
 
 " This rain is not likely to stop for some time, so we had 
 better hurry home." 
 
 As they trudged homeward, night fell, and it grew very 
 dark; and their road lay over a long bank, by the side of 
 which they foujad a girl, about sixteen years old, weeping 
 bitterly. Struck with wonder, they looked stedfastly at heir, 
 and perceived that she was exceedingly comely. While 
 Kadzutoyo stood doubting what so strange a sight could 
 portend, his retainer, smitten with the girl's charms, stepped 
 up to her and said — 
 
 " Little sister, tell us whose daughter you are, and how it 
 comes that you are out by yourself at night in such a storm 
 of rain. Surely it is passing strange." 
 
 " Sir," replied she, lookiiig up through her tears, " I avi the 
 daughter of a poor man in the castle town. My mothler 
 died when I was seven years old, and my father has now 
 wedded a shrew, who loathes and iU-uses me; and in the 
 
 t2 
 
276 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 midst of my grief he is gone far away on his business, so I 
 was left alone with my stepmother ; and this very night she 
 spited and heat me till I could bear it no longer, and was 
 on my way to my aunt's, who dwells in yonder village, when 
 the shower came on ; but as I lay waiting for the rain to 
 stop, I was seized with a spasm, to which I am subject, and 
 was in great pain, when I had the good luck to fall in with 
 your worships." 
 
 As she spoke, the retainer feU deeply in love with her 
 matchless beauty, whilst his lord Kadzutoyo, who from the 
 butset had not uttered a word, but stood brooding over the 
 matter, straightway drew his sword and cut off her head. 
 But the retainer stood aghast, and cried out — 
 
 "Oh ! my young lord, what wicked deed is this that you've 
 done ? The murder of a man's daughter will bring trouble 
 upon us, for you may rely on the business not ending 
 here." 
 
 "You don't know what you're talking about," answered 
 Kadzutoyo : " only don't tell any one about it, that is all I 
 ask ; " and so they went home in silence. 
 
 As Kadzutoyo was very tired, he went to bed, and slept 
 undisturbed by any sense of guilt; for he was brave and 
 fearless. But the retainer grew very uneasy, and went to 
 his young lord's parents and said — 
 
 " I had the honour of attending my young lord out fishing 
 to-day, and we were driven home by the rain. And as we 
 came back by the bank, we descried a girl with a spasm in 
 her stomach, and her my young lord straightway slew ; and 
 although he has bidden me tell it to no one, I cannot con- 
 ceal it from my lord and my lady." 
 
 Kadzutoyo's parents were sore amazed, bewailing their 
 son's wickedness, and went at once to hife room and woke 
 him; his father shed tears and said — 
 
 " Oh ! dastardly cut-throat that you are ! how dare you 
 kill another man's daughter without provocation ? Such un- 
 speakable villany is unworthy a 'Samurai's son. Know, that 
 the duty of every Samurai is to keep watch over theicauntry, 
 
THB PRINCE AND THE BABOEB. 277 
 
 and to protect the people ; and such is his daily task. Pbr 
 sword and dirk are given to men that they may slay rebels, 
 and faithftdly serve their prince, and not that they may go 
 about committing sin and kUling the daughters of innocent 
 men. Whoever is fool enough not to understand this will 
 repeat his misdeed, and wiU assuredly bring shame on his 
 kindred. Grieved as I am that I should take away the life 
 which I gave you, I cannot suffer you to bring dishonour on 
 our house ; so prepare to meet your fate !" 
 
 With these words he drew his sword ; but Kadzutoyo, 
 without a sign of fear, said to his father — 
 
 " Your anger, sir, is most just ; but remember that I have 
 studied the classics and understand the laws of right and 
 wrong, and be sure I would never kill another man without 
 good cause. The girl whom I slew was certainly no human 
 being, but some foul goblin : feeling certain of this, I cut 
 her down. To-morrow I beg you will send your retainers 
 to look for the corpse ; and if it really be that of a human 
 being, I shall give you no further trouble, but shall disem- 
 bowel myself." 
 
 Upon this the father sheathed his sword, and awaited 
 daybreak. When the morning came, the old prince, in sad 
 distress, bade his retainers lead him to" the bank; and 
 there he saw a huge badger, with his head cut off, lying 
 dead by the roadside; and the prince was lost in wonder 
 at his son's shrewdness. But the retainer did not know 
 what to make of it, and still had his doubts. The prince, 
 however, returned home, and sending for his son, said 
 
 to him — 
 
 "It's very strange that the creature which appeared to 
 your retainer to be a girl, should have seemed to you to 
 be a badger." 
 
 " My lord's wonder is just," replied Kadzutoyo, smiling : 
 " she appeared as a girl to me as well. But here was a young 
 girl, at night, far from any inhabited place. Stranger still was 
 her 'wondrous beauty ; and strangest of aU, that, though it was 
 pouring with rain, there was not a sign of wet on her clothes ; 
 
278 TALMS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 and when my retainer asked how long she had been there, 
 she said she had been on the bank in pain for some time ; 
 so I had no further doubt but that she was a goblin, and I 
 killed her." 
 
 " But what made you think she must be a goblin because 
 her clothes were dry ? " 
 
 " The beast evidently thought that, if she could bewitch us 
 with her beauty, she might get at the fish my retainer was 
 carrying; but she forgot that, as it was raining, it would 
 not do for her clothes not to be wet ; so I detected and 
 kiHed her." 
 
 When the old prince heard his son speak thus, he was 
 filled with admiration for the youth's sagacity; so, con- 
 ceiving that Kadzutoyo had given reliable proof of wisdom 
 and prudence, he resolved to abdicate;^ and Kadzutoyo 
 was proclaimed Prince of Tosa in his stead. 
 
 abdication. The custom of abdication is common among all 
 classes, from the Emperor down to his meanest subject. The Emperor abdi- 
 cates after consultation with his ministers : the Shogun has to obtain the per- 
 mission of the Emperor ; the Daimios, that of the Shogun. The abdication 
 of the Emperor was called SerUd; that of the Shogun, Ogosh6/. in all other 
 ranks it is called InkiyS. It must be remembered uiat the princes of Japan, 
 in becoming Inkiyd, resign the semblance and the name, but not the reality 
 of power. Both in their own provinces and in the countiy at largo they play 
 a most important part. The ex-Princes of Tosa, TTwajima and Owari, are far 
 more notable men in Japan than the actual holders of the titles. 
 
JAPANESE SEEMONS. 
 
JAPANESE SEKMONS. 
 
 " Sermons preached here on the 8th, 18th, and 28th days of 
 every month."' Such was the purport of a placard, which 
 used to tempt me daily, as I passed the temple Ch6-6-ji. 
 Having ascertained that neither the preacher nor his con- 
 gregation would have any ohjection to my hearing one of 
 these sermons, I made arrangements to attend the service, 
 accompanied hy two friends, my artist, and a scribe to take 
 notes. 
 
 We were shown into an apartment adjoining a small 
 chapel — a room opening on to a tastily arranged garden, 
 wealthy in stone lanterns and dwarfed trees. In the portion 
 of the room reserved for the priest stood a high table, covered 
 with a cloth of white and scarlet sUk, richly embroidered 
 with flowers and arabesques ; upon this stood a bell, a tray 
 containing the rolls of the sacred books, and a small incense- 
 burner of ancient Chinese porcelain. Before the table was 
 a hanging drum, and behind it was one of those high, back- 
 breaking arm-chairs which adorn every Buddhist temple. 
 In one comer of the space destined for the accommodation 
 of the faithful was a low writing-desk, at which sat, or 
 rather squatted, a lay clerk, armed with a huge pair of horn 
 spectacles, through which he glared, goblin-fike, at the 
 people, as they came to have their names and the amount of 
 their offerings to the temple registered. These latter must 
 have been small things, for the congregation seemed poor 
 enough. It was principally composed of old women, nuns 
 with bald shiny pates and grotesque faces, a few petty 
 tradesmen, and half-a-dozen chubby children, perfect little 
 
282 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 models of decorum and devoutness. One lady there was, 
 indeed, who seemed a little better to do in the world than the 
 rest; she was nicely dressed, and attended by a female servant; 
 she came in with a certain little consequential rustle, and 
 displayed some coquetry, and a very pretty bare foot, as she 
 took her place, and, pulling out a dandy little pipe and 
 tobacco-pouch, began to smoke. Kre-boxes and spittoons, 
 I should mention, were freely handed about ; so that half an 
 hour which passed before the sermon began was agreeably 
 spent. In the meanwhile, mass was being celebrated in the 
 main hall of the temple, and the monotonous nasal drone of 
 the plain chant was faintly heard in the distance. So soon 
 as this was over, the lay clerk sat himself down by the 
 hanging drum, and, to its accompaniment, began intoning the 
 prayer, " Na Mu Miyo Ho Ren Go Kiyo," the congregation 
 fervently joining in unison with him. These words, repeated 
 over and over again, are the distinctive prayer of the 
 Buddhist sect of Mchiren, to which the temple Ch6-6-ji 
 is dedicated. They are approximations to Sanscrit sounds, 
 and have no meaning in Japanese, nor do the worshippers in 
 using them know their precise value. 
 
 Soon the preacher, gorgeous in red and white robes, made 
 his appearance, following an acolyte, who carried the sacred 
 book called SokM (upon which the sect of Mchiren is founded) 
 on a tray covered with scarlet and gold brocade. Having 
 bowed to the sacred picture which hung over the tokonoma — 
 that portion of the Japanese room which is raised a few 
 inches above the rest of the floor, and which is regarded as 
 the place of honour — ^his reverence took his seat at the table, 
 and adjusted his robes ; then, tying up the muscles of his 
 face into a knot, expressive of utter abstraction, he struck 
 the bell upon the table thrice, burnt a little incense, and read 
 a passage from the sacred book, which he reverently lifted 
 to his head. The congregation joined in chorus, devout but 
 unintelligent ; for the Word, written in ancient Chinese, is as 
 obscure to the ordinary Japanese worshipper as are the 
 Latin liturgies to a high-capped Norman peasant-woman. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 283 
 
 While his flock wrapped up copper cash in paper, and threw 
 them before the table as offerings, the priest next recited a 
 passage alone, and the lay clerk irreverently entered into a 
 loud dispute with one of the congregation, touching some 
 payment or other. The preliminary ceremonies ended, a 
 small shaven-pated boy brought in a cup of tea, thrice after- 
 wards to be replenished, for his reverence's refreshment ; and 
 he, having untied his face, gave a broad grin, cleared his 
 throat, swallowed his tea, and beamed down upon us, as 
 jolly, rosy a priest as ever donned stole or scarf His dis- 
 course, which was delivered in the most familiar and easy 
 manner, was an extempore dissertation on certain passages 
 from the sacred books. "Whenever he paused or made a 
 point, the congregation broke in with a cry of " Nammiy6 ! " 
 a corruption of the first three words of the prayer cited 
 above, to which they always contrived to give an expression 
 or intonation in harmony with the preacher's meaning. 
 
 " It is a matter of profound satisfaction to me," began his 
 reverence Mchirin, smiling blandly at his audience, " to see 
 so many gentlemen and ladies gathered together here this 
 day, in the fidelity of their hearts, to do honour to the- feast 
 of Kishimojin." ^ 
 
 " Nammiyo ! nammiyo ! " self-depreciatory, from the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 " I feel certain that your piety cannot fail to find favour 
 with Kishimojin. Kishimojin ever mourns over the tortures 
 of mankind, who are dwelling in a house of fire, and she ever 
 earnestly strives to find some means of delivering them. 
 
 " N'ammiy6 ! nammiy6 ! " grateful' and reverential. 
 
 " ITotwithstanding this, it is useless your worshipping 
 Kishimojin, and professing to believe in her, unless you 
 have truth in your hearts; for she will not receive your 
 offerings. Man, from his very birth, is a creature of require- 
 ments ; he is for ever seeking and praying. Both you who 
 Msten, and I who preach, have all of us our wants and 
 wishes. If there be any person here who flatters himself 
 1 Kishimojin, a female deity of the Buddhists. 
 
284 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 that he has no wishes and no wants, let him reflect. Does 
 not every one wish and pray that heaven and earth may 
 stand for ever, that his country and family may prosper, 
 that 'there may he plenty in the land, and that the people 
 may he healthy and happy ? The wishes of men, however, 
 are various and many ; and these wishes, numberless as they 
 are, are all known to the gods from the beginning. It is no 
 use praying, unless you have truth in your heart. For 
 instance, the prayer Na Mu is a prayer committing your bodies 
 to the care of the gods; if, when you utter it, your hearts 
 are true and single, of a stirety your request will be granted. 
 Now, this is not a mere statement made by Nichiren, the holy 
 founder of this sect ; it is the sacred teaching of Buddha 
 himself, and may not be doubted." 
 
 " N'ammiy6 ! nammiy6 ! " with profound conviction. 
 
 " The heart of man is, by nature, upright and true ; but 
 there are seven passions * by which it is corrupted. Buddha 
 is alarmed when he sees the fires by which the world is 
 being consumed. These fires are the five lusts of this sinful 
 world ; and the five lusts are, the desire for fair sights, sweet 
 sounds, fragrant smells, dainty meats, and rich trappings. 
 Man is no sooner endowed with a body than he is possessed 
 by these lusts, which become his very heart ; and, it being a 
 law that every man foUows the dictates of his heart, in this 
 way the body, the lusts of the flesh, the heart, and the 
 dictates of the heart, blaze up in the consuming fire. ' Alas ! 
 for this miserable world ! ' said the divine Buddha." 
 
 " NammiyS ! nammiy6 ! " mournful, and with much head- 
 shaking. 
 
 " There is not so foul thing imder heaven as the hiiman 
 body. The body exudes grease, the eyes distil gums, the 
 nose is fuH of mucus, the mouth of slobbering spittle ; nor 
 are these the most impure secretions of the body. What 
 a mistake it is to look upon this impure body as clean and 
 perfect ! Unless we listen to the teachings of Buddha, how 
 shall we be washed and purified ? " 
 ' The seven passions are joy, anger, sadness, fear, lore, hatred, and desire. 
 
JAfAjNMSJS SMEMONS. 285 
 
 " NammiyS, nammiy6 ! " from an impure and very miser- 
 able sinner, under ten years «f age. 
 
 " The lot of man is uncertain, and for ever running out of 
 the beaten track. Why go to look at the flowers, and take 
 delight in their beauty ? When you return home, you will 
 see the vanity of your pleasure. Wliy purchase fleeting joys 
 of loose women ? How long do you retain the delicious taste 
 of the dainties you feast upon? For ever wishing to do this, 
 wishing to see that, wishing to eat rare dishes, wishing to 
 wear fine clothes, you pass a lifetime in fanhing the flames 
 which consume you. What terrible matter for thought is 
 this ! In the poems of the priest Saigiyo it is written, 
 ' Verily I have been familiar with the flowers ; yet are they 
 withered and scattered, and we are parted. How sad!' 
 The beauty of the convolvulus, how bright it is ! — and yet 
 in one short morning it closes its petals and fades. In the 
 book called Bin Jo Be Satsu i we are told how a certain king 
 once went to take his pleasure in his garden, and gladden his 
 eyes with the beauty of his flowers. After a while he fell 
 asleep ; and as he slumbered, the women of his train began 
 pulling the flowers to pieces. When the king awoke, of all 
 the glory of his flowers there remained but a few torn and 
 faded petals. Seeing this, the king said, ' The flowers pass 
 away and die ; so is it with mankind : we are born, we grow 
 old, we sicken and die ; we are as fleeting as the lightning's 
 flash, as evanescent as the morning dew.' I know not 
 whether any of you here present ever fix your thoiights upon 
 death ; yet it is a rare thing for a man to live for a hundred 
 years. How piteous a thing it is that in this short and 
 transient life men should consume themselves in a fire of 
 lust ! and if we think to escape from this fire, how shall we 
 succeed save only by the teaching of the divine Buddha ? " 
 
 " ]Srammiy& ! nammiy6 ! " ' meekly and entreatingly. 
 
 " Since Buddha himself escaped from the burning flames of 
 the lusts of the flesh, his only thought has been for the 
 salvation of mankind. Once upon a time there was a certain 
 ' One of the Buddhist claaEios. 
 
TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 heretic, called Eokutsuponji, a reader of auguries, cunning in 
 astrology and in the healing art* It happened, one day, that 
 this heretic, being in company with Buddha, entered a forest, 
 which was full of dead men's skulls. Buddha, taking up one 
 of the skulls and tapping it thus " (here the preacher tapped 
 the reading-desk with his fan), " said, ' What manner of man 
 was this bone when aUve ? — and, now that he is dead, in what 
 part of the world has he been born again?' The heretic 
 auguring from the sound which the skull, when struck, gave 
 forth, began to tell its past history, and to prophesy the 
 future. Then Buddha, tapping another skull, again asked 
 the same questions. The heretic answered — 
 
 " ' Verily, as to this skull,, whether it belonged to a man 
 or a woman, whence its owner came or whither he has gone, 
 I know not. What think you of it ? ' 
 
 " ' Ask me not,' answered Buddha. But the heretic pressed 
 him,'and entreated him to answer ; then Buddha said, ' Verily 
 this is the skull of one of my disciples, who forsook the lusts 
 of the flesh.' 
 
 "Then the heretic wondered, and said — 
 
 " ' Of a truth, this is a thing the like of which no man has 
 yet seen. Here am I, who know the manner of the life and of 
 the death even of the ants that creep. Verily, I thought 
 that no thing could escape my ken ; yet here lies one of your 
 disciples, than whom there lives no nobler thing, and I am at 
 fatilt. From this day forth I will enter your sect, praying 
 only that I may receive your teaching.' 
 
 " Thus did tMs learned heretic become a disciple of Buddha. 
 If such an one as he was converted, how much the more 
 should after-ages of ordinary men feel that it is through 
 Buddha alone that they can hope to overcome the sinful lusts 
 of the flesh ! These lusts are the desiies which a^tate our 
 hearts : if we are free from these desires, our hearts will be 
 bright and pure ; and there is nothing, save the teaching of 
 Buddha, which can ensure us this freedom. Following the 
 command^ of Buddha, and delivered by him from our desires, 
 we may pass ouj lives in peace and happiness." 
 
JAPANESE SBBMONS. 287 
 
 " Nammiyd ! nammiy6 ! " with triumpliant exultation. 
 
 " In the sacred books we read of conversion from a state 
 of sin to a state of salvation. Now this salvation is not a 
 mULion miles removed from us ; nor need we die and be born 
 again into another world in order to reach it. He who lays 
 aside his carnal lusts and affections, at once and of a certainty 
 becomes equal to Buddha. When we recite the prayer Na 
 Mu Miyd H6 Ben Go Kiy6, we are praying to enter this state 
 of peace and happiness. By what instruction, other than that 
 of Nichiren, the holy founder of this sect, can we expect to 
 attain this end ? If we do attain it, there will be no difference 
 between our state and that of Buddha and of Nichiren. 
 With this view we have learnt from the pious founder of our 
 sect that we must contiauaUy and thankfully repeat the 
 prayer Na Mu Miyd H6 Ben Go Kiyo, turning our hearts away 
 from lies, and embracing the truth." 
 
 Such were the heads of the sermon as they were taken 
 down by my scribe. At its conclusion, the priest, looking 
 about him smiling, as if the solemn truths he had been incul- 
 cating were notlung but a very good joke, was greeted by 
 long and loud cries of " Nammiyo ! nammiy6 ! " by all the 
 congregation. Then the lay clerk sat himself down again by 
 the hanging drum ; and the service ended as it had begun, by 
 prayer in chorus, during which the priest retired, the sacred 
 book being carried out before him by his acolytp. 
 
 Although occasionally, as in the above instance, sermons 
 are delivered as part of a service on special days of the 
 month, they are more frequently preached in courses, the 
 delivery occupyiag about a fortnight, during which two 
 sermons are given each day. Frequently the preachers are 
 itinerant priests, who go about the towns and villages lectur- 
 ing in the main hall of some temple or in the guest-room of 
 the resident priest. 
 
 There are many books of sermons published in Japan, all 
 of which have some merit and much quaintness : none that 
 I have seen are, however, to my taste, to be compared to the 
 "Kiu-6 D6-wa," of which the foUowing three sermons compose 
 
288 TALMS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 the first volume. They are written by a priest helonging to 
 the Shingaku sect — a sect professing to combine all that is 
 excellent in the Buddhist, Confucian, and Shin To teaching. 
 It maintains the original goodness of the human heart ; and 
 teaches that we have only to follow the dictates of the 
 conscience implanted in us at our birth, in order to steer in 
 the right path. The texts are taken fropi the Chinese 
 classical books, in the same way as our preachers take theirs 
 from the Bible. Jokes, stories which are sometimes untrans- 
 latable into our more fastidious tongue, and pointed applica- 
 tions to members of the congregation, enliven the discourses ; 
 it being a principle with the Japanese preacher that it is not 
 necessary to bore his audience into virtue. 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 (The Sermons of Kitr-d, vol. i.) 
 
 M6sHi ^ says, " Benevolence is the heart of man ; righteous- 
 ness is the path of man. How lamentable a thing is it to 
 leave the path and go astray, to cast away the heart and not 
 know where to seek for it ! " 
 
 The text is taken from the first chapter of KSshi (the 
 commentator), on M6shi. 
 
 Now this quality, which we call benevolence, has been the 
 subject of commentaries by many teachers; but as these 
 commentaries have been difficult of comprehension, they are 
 too hard to enter the ears of women and children. It is 
 of this benevolence that, using examples and illustrations, 
 I propose to treat. 
 
 A long time ago, there lived at Kiyoto a great physician, 
 called ImaSji — I forget his other name : he was a very famous 
 man. Once upon a time, a man from a place called Kurama- 
 guchi advertised for sale a medicine which he had com- 
 pounded against the cholera, and got Ima6ji to write a puff 
 for him. Ima6ji, instead of calling the medicine in the puff 
 a specific against the cholera, misspelt the word cholera so as 
 to make it simpler. When the man who had employed him 
 went and taxed him with this, and asked him why he had 
 done so, he answered, with a smile — 
 
 "As Kiu-amaguchi is an approach to the capital from the 
 
 1 M6shi, the Japanese prommciation of the name of the Chinese philosopher 
 Meng Tse, whom Europeans call Mencius. 
 
 U 
 
290 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 country, tlie passers-by are but poor peasants and woodmen 
 from the hills : if I had written ' cholera ' at length, they 
 would have been puzzled by it; so I wrote it in a simple way-, 
 that should pass current with every one. Truth itself Iosas 
 its value if people don't understand it. What does it signify 
 how I spelt the word cholera, so long as the efficacy of tiie 
 medicine is unimpaired ?" 
 
 Now, was not that delightful ? In the same way the doc- 
 trines of the sages are mere gibberish to women and children 
 who cannot understand them. Now, my sermons are not 
 written for the learned : I address myself to farmers and 
 tradesmen, who, hard pressed by their daily business, have no 
 time for study, with the wish to make known to them the 
 teachings of the sages ; and, carrying out the ideas of my 
 teacher, I will make my meaning pretty plain, by bringing 
 forward examples and quaint stories. Thus, by blending 
 together the doctrines of the Shint6, Buddhist, and other 
 schools, we shall arrive at something near the true principle 
 of things. Now, positively, you must not laugh if I introduce 
 a light story now and then. Levity is not my object : I only 
 want to put things in a plain and easy manner. 
 
 Well, then, the quality which we call benevolence is, in" 
 fact, a perfection ; and it is this perfection which Moshi spoke 
 of as the heart of man. With this perfect heart, men, by 
 serving their parents, attain to iilial piety ; by serving, their 
 masters they attain to fidelity ; and if they treat their wives, 
 their brethren, and their friends in the same spirit, then ttie 
 principles of the five relations of life will harmonize without 
 difficulty. As for putting perfection into practice, parents 
 have the special duties of parents ; children have the special 
 duties of children ; husbands have the special duties of 
 husbands; wives have the special duties of wives. It is 
 when all these special duties are performed without a fault 
 that true benevolence is reached ; and that again is the true 
 heart of man. 
 
 For example, take this fan : any one who sees it knows it 
 toTae a fan; and, knowing it to be a fan, no one would think 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 291 
 
 of using it to blow his nose in. The special use of a fan is 
 for visits of ceremony ; or else it is opened in order to. raise a 
 cooling hreeze : it serves no other purpose. In the same way, 
 this reading-desk will not do as a substitute for a shelf; 
 again, it will not do instead of a pillow : so you see that a 
 reading-desk also has its special functions, for which you must 
 use it. So, if you look at your parents in the light of your 
 parents, and treat them with filial piety, that is the special 
 duty of children ; that is true benevolence ; that is the heart 
 of man. 'Now although you may think that, when I speak in 
 this way, I am speaking of others, and mot of yourselves, 
 believe me that the heart of every one of you is by nature 
 pure benevolence. I am just taking down your hearts as a 
 shopman does goods from his shelves, and pointing out the 
 good and bad qualities of each ; but if you will not lay what 
 I say to your own accounts, but persist in thinking that it 
 is all anybody's business but yours, all my labour will be lost. 
 
 Listen ! You who answer your parents rudely, and cause 
 them to weep ; you who bring grief and trouble on your 
 masters ; you who cause your husbands to fly into passions ; 
 you who cause your wives to mourn ; you who hate your 
 younger brothers, and treat your elder brothers with con- 
 tempt; you who sow sorrow broadcast over the world; — 
 what are you doing but blowing your noses in fans, and 
 using reading-desks as pillows ? I. don't mean to say that 
 there are any such persons here ; still there are plenty of them 
 to be found — ^say in the back streets in India, for instance. 
 Be so good as to mind what I have said. 
 
 Consider, carefully, if a man is born with a naturally bad 
 disposition, what a dreadful thing that is ! Happily, you and 
 I were born with perfect hearts, which we would not change 
 for a thousand — no, not for ten thousand pieces of gold ; is 
 not this something to be thankful for 1 
 
 This perfect heart is called in my discourses, " the original 
 heart of man." It is true that benevolence is also called the 
 original heart of man ; stiU there is a slight difference between 
 the two. However, as the inquiry into this difference would be 
 
 V 2 
 
292 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 tedious, it is sufficient for you to look upon this original heart 
 of man as a perfect thing, and you will fall into no error. 
 It is true that 1 have not the honour of the personal acquaint- 
 ance of every one of you who are present : still I know that 
 your hearts are perfect. The proof of this, that if you say 
 that which you ought not to say, or do that which you ought 
 not tO' do, your hearts within you are, in some mysterious 
 way, immediately conscious of wrong. When the man that 
 has a perfect heart does that which is imperfect, it is because 
 his heart has become warped and turned to evU. This law 
 holds good for all mankind. What says the old song? — 
 " When the roaring waterfall is shivered by the night-storm, 
 the moonlight is reflected in each scattered drop." ^ Although 
 there is but one moon, she sufi&ces to illuminate each little 
 scattered drop. Wonderful are the laws of Heaven ! So the 
 principle of benevolence, which is but one, illumines all the 
 particles that make up mankind. Well, then, the perfection 
 of the human heart can be calculated to a nicety. So, if we 
 follow the impulses of our perfect heart in whatever we under- 
 take, we shall perform our special duties, and filial piety and 
 fidelity will come to us spontaneously. You see the doctrines 
 of this school of philosophy are quickly learnt. If you once 
 thoroughly understand this, there will be no difiference between 
 your conduct and that of a man who has studied a hundred 
 years. Therefore I pray you to follow the impulses of your 
 natural heart ; place it before you as a teacher, and study its 
 precepts. Your heart is a convenient teacher to employ too : 
 for there is no question of paying fees ; and no need to go 
 out in the heat of summer, or the cold of winter, to pay 
 visits of ceremony to your master to inquire after his health. 
 What admirable teaching this is, by mea,ns of which you can 
 learn filial piety and fidelity so easily ! Still suspicions are 
 -apt to arise in men's minds about things that are seen to be 
 acquired too cheaply ; but here you can buy a good thing 
 cheap, and spare yourselves the vexation of having paid an 
 
 ' " The moon looks on many trooks ; 
 
 The brooks see but one moon." — T. Mooee. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 293 
 
 extravagant price for it. I repeat, follow the impulses of 
 your hearts with all your might. In the Chin-yo,. the second 
 of the books of Confucius, it is certified beyond a doubt that 
 the impulses of nature are the true path to follow ; therefore 
 you may set to work in this direction with your minds at ease. 
 
 Kighteousness, then, is the true path, and righteousness is 
 the avoidance of all that is imperfect. If a man avoids that 
 which is imperfect, there is no need to point out how 
 dearly he will be beloved by all his fellows. Hence it is 
 that the ancients have defined righteousness as that which 
 ought to be — that which is fitting. If a man be a retainer, it 
 is good that he should perform his service to his lord with 
 all his might. If a woman be married, it is good that she 
 should treat her parents-in-law with filial piety, and hei 
 husband with reverence. For the rest, whatever is good that 
 is righteousness and the true path of man. 
 
 The duty of man has been compared by the wise men of 
 old to a high road. If you want to go to Yedo or to Naga- 
 saki, if you want to go out to the front of the house or to 
 the back of the house, if you wish to go into the next rooa- 
 or into some closet or other, there is a right road to each ol 
 these places : if you do not follow the right road, scrambling 
 over the roofs of houses and throi^gh ditches, crossing moun- 
 tains and desert places, you will be utterly lost and bewildered. 
 In the same way, if a man does that which is not good, he is 
 going astray from the high road. Filial piety in children, 
 virtue in wives, truth among friends — but why enumerate all 
 these things, which are patent ? — all these are the right road, 
 and good ; but to grieve parents, to anger husbands, to hate 
 and to breed hatred in others, these are aU. bad things, these 
 are all the wrong road. To follow these is to plunge into 
 rivers, to run on to thorns, to jump into ditches, and brings 
 thousands upon ten thousands of disasters. It is true that, if 
 we do not pay great attention, we shall not be able to follow 
 the right road. Fortunately, we have heard by tradition the 
 words of the learned Nakazawa Doni : I will tell you about 
 that, all in good time. 
 
 b 
 
294 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 It happened that, once, the learned Nakazawa went to 
 preach at Ikeda, in the province of Sesshiu, and lodged with 
 a rich family of the lower class. The master of the house, who 
 was particularly fond of sermons, entertained the preacher 
 hospitably, and summoned his daughter, a girl some fourteen 
 or fifteen years old, to wait upon him at dinner. This 
 young lady was not only extremely pretty, but also had 
 charming manners ; so she arranged bouquets of flowers, and 
 made tea, and played upon the harp, and laid herself out to 
 please the learned man by singing songs. The preacher 
 thanked her parents for all this, and said — 
 
 "Eeally it must be a very dif&cult thing to educate a 
 yoTing lady up to such a pitch as this." 
 
 The parents, carried away by their feelings, replied — 
 
 " Yes ; when she is married, she wOl hardly bring shame 
 upon her husband's family. Besides what she did just now, 
 she can weave garlands of flowers round torches, and we had 
 her taught to paint a little ; " and as they began to show a 
 little conceit, the preacher said — 
 
 "I am sure this is something quite out of the common run. 
 Of course she knows how to rub the shoulders and loins, and 
 has learnt the art of shampooing ? " 
 
 The master of the house bristled up at this and answered— 
 
 " I may be very poor, but I've not fallen so low as to let 
 toy daughter learn shampooing." 
 
 The learned man, smiling, replied, " I think you are making 
 a mistake when you put yourself in a rage. No matter 
 whether her family be rich or poor, when a woman is perform- 
 ing her duties in her husband's house, she must look upon 
 her husband's parents as her own. If her honoured father- 
 in-law or mother-in-law fall ill, her being able to plait flowers 
 and paint pictures and make tea will be of no use in the 
 sick-room. To shampoo her parents-in-law, and nurse them 
 affectionately, without employing either shampooer or servant- 
 maid, is the right path of a daughter-in-law. Do you mean 
 to say that your daughter has not yet learnt shampooing, an 
 art which is essential to her following the right path of a 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 295- 
 
 wife? That is what I meant to ask just now. So useful a 
 study is very important." 
 
 At this the master of the house was ashamed, and Mushing 
 made many apologies, as I have heard. Certainly, the harp 
 and guitar are very good things in their way ; but to attend to 
 imrsing their parents is the right road of children. Lay this 
 story to heart, and consider attentively where the right road 
 lies. People who live near haunts of pleasure become at 
 last so fond of pleasure, that they teach their daughters 
 nothing but how to play on the harp and guitar, and train 
 them up in the manners and ways of singing-girls, but 
 teach them next to nothing of their duties as daughters ; and 
 then very often they escape from their parents' watchfulness, 
 and elope. Nor is this the fault of the girls themselves, but 
 the faiilt of the education which they have received from 
 their parents. I do not mean to say that the harp and guitar, 
 and songs and dramas, are useless things. If you consider 
 them attentively, all our songs incite to virtue and condemn 
 vice. In the song called " The Four Sleeves," for instance, 
 there is the passage, "If people knew beforehand all the 
 misery that it brings, there would be less going out with 
 young ladies, to look at the flowers at night." Please give 
 your attention to this piece of poetry. This is the meaning 
 of it: — When a young man and a young lady set up 
 a flirtation without the consent of their parents, they 
 think that it will all be very delightful, and find themselves 
 very much deceived. If they knew what a sad and cruel 
 world this is, they would not act as they do. The quota- 
 tion is from a song of remorse. This sort of thing but too 
 often happens in the world. 
 
 When a man marries a wife, he thinks how happy he 
 will be, and how pleasant it wUl be keeping house on his 
 own account ; but, before the bottom of the family kettle has 
 been scorched black, he will be like a man learning to swim 
 in a field, with his ideas all turned topsy-turvy, and, con- 
 trary to all his expectations, he wUl find the pleasures of 
 housekeeping to be all a delusion. Look at that woman 
 
2^6 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 there. Haunted by her cares, she takes no heed of her 
 hair, nor of her personal appearance. With her head all 
 untidy, her apron tied round her as a girdle, with a baby 
 twisted into the bosom of her dress, she carries some wretched 
 bean sauce which she has been out to buy. What sort of 
 creature is this ? This all comes of not listening to the 
 warnings of parents, and of not waiting for the proper time, 
 but rushing suddenly into housekeeping. And who is to 
 blame in the matter ? Passion, which does not pause to reflect. 
 A child of five or six years wiU never think of learning to 
 play the guitar for its own pleasure. What a ten-million 
 times miserable thing it is, when parents, making their little 
 girls hug a great guitar, listen with pleasure to the poor little 
 things playing on instruments big enough for them to climb 
 upon, and squeaking out songs in their shrill treble voices ! 
 Now 1 must beg you to listen to me carefully. If you get 
 confused and don't keep a sharp look-out, your children, 
 brought up upon harp and guitar playing, will be abandoning 
 their parents, and running away secretly. Depend upon it, 
 from all that is licentious and meretricious something mon- 
 ■.stroUs will come forth. The poet who wrote the " Four 
 Sleeves" regarded it as the right path of instruction to 
 convey a warning against vice. But the theatre and dramas 
 and fashionable songs, if the moral that they convey is 
 missed, are a very great mistake. Although you may think 
 it very right and proper that a young lady should practise 
 nothing but the harp and guitar until her marriage, I tell 
 you that it is not so ; for if she misses the moral of her 
 songs and music, there is the danger of her falling in 
 love with some man and eloping. While on this subject, 
 I have an amusing story to tell you. 
 
 Once upon a time,. a frog, who lived at Kiyoto, had long 
 been desirous of going to see Osaka. One spring, having 
 made up his mind, he started off to see Osaka and all its 
 famous places. By a series of hops on all-fours he reached 
 a temple opposite illTishi-no-oka, and thence by the western 
 road he arrived at Yamazaki, and began to ascend the 
 
JAPANESE SWRMONS. 297 
 
 mountain called Tenozan. Now it so happened that a fro^| 
 from Osaka had deteimined to visit Kiy6to, and had also- 
 ascended Ten6zan ; and on the summit the two frogs met, 
 made acquaintance, and told one another their intentions. So 
 they hegan to complain about all the trouble they had gone 
 through, and had only arrived half-way after all : if they went 
 on to Osaka and Kiyoto, their legs and loins would certainly 
 not hold out. Here was the famous m ountain of Ten6zan, from 
 the top of which the whole of Kiy6to ard Osaka could be seen : 
 if they stood on tiptoe and stretched their backs, and looked at 
 the view, they would save themselves from stiff legs. Having 
 come to this conclusion, they both stood up on tiptoe, and 
 looked about them ; when the Kiyoto frog said — 
 
 " Eeally, looking at the famous places of Osaka, which 
 I Lave heard so much about, they don't seem to me to differ a 
 bit from Kiyoto. Instead of giving myself any further trouble 
 to go on, I shall just return home." 
 
 The Osaka frog, blinldng with his eyes, said, with a con- 
 temptuous smile, "Well, I have heard a great deal of talk 
 about this Kiy6to being as beautiful as the flowers, but it is 
 just Osaka over again. We had better go home." 
 
 And so the two frogs, politely bowing to one another, 
 hopped off home with an important swagger. 
 
 Now, although this is a very funny little story, you will 
 not understand the drift of it at once. The frogs thought 
 that they were looking in front of them ; but as, when they 
 stood up, their eyes were in the back of their heads, each 
 was looking at his native place, all the while that he be- 
 lieved himself to be looking at the place he wished to go 
 to. The frogs stared to any amount, it is true; but then 
 they did not' take care that the object looked at was the 
 right object, and so it was that they fell into error. Please, 
 listen attentively. A certain poet says — 
 
 " Wonderful are the frogs ! Though they go on all-fours 
 in an attitude of humility, their eyes are always turned 
 ambitiously upwards." 
 
 A delightful poem ! Men, although they say with their 
 
298 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 mouths, " Yes, yes, your wishes shall be obeyed, — certainly, 
 certainly, you are perfectly right," are like frogs, with their 
 eyes turned upwards. Vain fools ! meddlers ready to under- 
 take any job, however much above their powers ! This is- 
 what is called in the text, " casting away your heart, and 
 not knowing where to seek for it." Although these men 
 profess to undertake any earthly thing, when it comes to 
 the point, leave them to themselves, and they are unequal 
 to the task ; and if you tell them this, they answer — 
 
 "By the labour of our own bodies, we earn our money; 
 and the food of our mouths is of our own getting. We are 
 under obligation to no man. If we did not depend upon 
 ourselves, how could we live in the world ? " 
 
 There are plenty of people who use these words, myself 
 and my own, thoughtlessly and at random. How false is this 
 belief that they profess ! If there were no system of 
 government by superiors, but an anarchy, these people, who 
 vaunt themselves and their own powers, would not stand for 
 a day. In the old days, at the time of the war at Ichi-no- 
 tani, Minamoto no Yoshitsund ^ left Mikusa, in the province 
 of Tamba, and attacked Settsu. Overtaken by the night 
 among the mountains, he knew not what road to follow ; so 
 he sent for his retainer, Benkei, of the Temple called Mu- 
 sashi, and told him to light the big torches which they had 
 agreed upon. Benkei received his orders and transmitted 
 them to the troops, who immediately dispersed through all the 
 valleys, and set fire to the houses of the inhabitants, so that 
 one and all blazed up, and, thanks to the light of this fire, 
 they reached Ichi-no-tani, as the story goes. If you think 
 attentively, you wiU see the allusion. Those who boast about 
 my warehouse, my house, my farm, my daughter, my wife, 
 hawking about this " my '' of theirs like pedlers, let there 
 once come trouble and war in the world, and, for all their vain- 
 gloriousness, they will be as helpless as turtles. Let them be 
 
 ■■ The younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who first established the 
 government of tlie Shoguns. The battle of Ichi-no-tani took place in the 
 year 1184 a.d. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS 299. 
 
 thankful that peace is established throughout the world. The 
 Lumane Goveriiiiient reaches to every frontier: the officials 
 of every department keep watch night and day. When a 
 iflan sleeps under his roof at night, how can he say that it is 
 toanks to himself that he stretches his limbs in slumlier ? 
 You go your rounds to see whether the shutters are closed 
 and the front door fast, and, having taken every precaution, 
 you lay yourself down to rest in peace : and what a precaution 
 after all ! A board, four-tenths of an inch thick, planed down 
 front and rear until it is only two-tenths of an inch thick. 
 A fine precaution, in very truth ! — a precaution which may be 
 blown down with a breath. Do you suppose such a thing 
 as that would frighten a thief from breaking in ? This 
 is the state of the case. Here are men who, by the bene- 
 volence and virtue of their rulers, live in a delightful 
 world, and yet, forgetting the mysterious providence that 
 watches over them, keep on singing their own praises. 
 Selfish egotists ! 
 
 " My property amounts to five thousand ounces of silver. 
 I may sleep with my eyes turned up, and eat and take my 
 pleasure, if I live for five hundred or for seven hundred 
 years. I have five warehouses and twenty-five houses. I 
 hold other people's bills for fifteen hundred ounces of silver." 
 So he dances a fling ^ for joy, and has no fear lest poverty 
 should come upon him for fifty or a hundred years. Minds 
 like frogs, with eyes in the middle of their backs ! Fool- 
 hardy thoughts ! A trusty castle of defence indeed ! How 
 little can it be depended upon ! And when such men are 
 sleeping quietly, how can they tell that they may not be 
 turned into those big torches we were talking about just 
 now, or that a great earthquake will not be upheaved 1 
 These are the chances of this fitful world. With regard to 
 the danger of too great reliance, I have a little tale to tell 
 you. Be so good as to wake up from your drowsiness, and 
 listen attentively. 
 
 There is a certaiu powerful shell-fish, called the Sazayd, 
 ^ Literally, " a dance of the Proyinoe of Toaa." 
 
300 TdLES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 with a very strong operculum. Now this creature, if it 
 hears that there is any danger astir, shuts up its shell from 
 within, with a loud noise, and thinks itself perfectly safe. 
 One day a Tai and another fish, lost in envy at this, said — 
 
 " What a strong castle this is of yours, Mr. Sazay6 ! When 
 you shut up your lid from within, nobody can so much as 
 point a finger at you. A capital figure you make, sir." 
 
 When he heard this, the Sazay^ stroking his beard, 
 rephed — 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, although you are so good as to say so, 
 it's nothing to boast of in the way of safety ; yet I must 
 admit that, when I shut myself up thus, I do not feel 
 much anxiety." 
 
 And as he was speaking thus, with the pride that apes 
 humility, there came the noise of a great splash ; and the 
 shell-fish, shutting up his lid as quickly as possible, kept quite 
 stUl, and thought to himself, what in the world the noise 
 could be. Could it be a net ? Could it be a fish-hook ? What 
 a bore it was, always having to keep such a sharp look-out ! 
 Were the Tai and the other fish caught, he wondered ; and he 
 felt quite anxious about them : however, at any rate, he was 
 safe. And so the time passed ; and when he thought all was 
 safe, he stealthily opened his shell, and slipped out his head 
 and looked all round him, and there seemed to be something 
 wrong — something with which he was not familiar. As he 
 looked a little more carefully, lo and behold ! there he was in 
 a fishmonger's shop, and with a card marked " sixteen cash " 
 on his back. 
 
 Isn't that a funny story ? And so, at one fell swoop, all 
 your boasted wealth of houses and warehouses, and clevernesi? 
 and talent, and rank and power, are taken away. Poor shell- 
 fish ! I think there are some people not unlike them to be 
 found in China and India. How Uttle self is to be depended 
 upon ! There is a moral poem which says, " It is easier to 
 ascend to the cloudy heaven without a ladder than to depend 
 entirely on oneself." This is what is meant by the text, 
 " If a man casts his heart from him, he knows not where 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 301 
 
 to seek for it." Think twice upon everything that you 
 do. To take no care for the examination of that which 
 relates to yourself, but to look only at that which concerns 
 others, is to cast your heart from you. Casting your heart 
 from you, does not mean that your heart actually leaves 
 you : what is meant is, that you do not examine your own 
 conscience. Nor must you think that what I have said 
 upon this point of self-confidence applies only to wealth and 
 riches. To rely on your talents, to rely on the services 
 you have rendered, to rely on your cleverness, to rely on 
 your judgment, to rely on your strength, to rely on your 
 rank, and to think yourself secure in the possession of these, 
 is to place yourselves in the same category with the shell-fish 
 in the story. In all things examine your own consciences : 
 the examination of your own hearts is above all things 
 essential. 
 
 (The preacher leaves his place.) 
 
SEEMON II. 
 (Tub Sermons of Kiu-6, vol. i.) 
 
 " If a man loses a fowl or a dog, he knows how to reclaim it. 
 If he loses his soul, he knows not how to reclaim it. The 
 true path of learning has no other function than to teach us 
 how to reclaim lost souls." This parable has been declared 
 to us by M6shi. If a dog, or a chicken, or a pet cat does 
 not come home at the proper time, its master makes a great 
 fuss about hunting for it, and wonders can it have been kOled 
 by a dog or by a snake, or can some man have stolen it ; ami 
 ransacking the three houses opposite, and his two next-door 
 neighbours' houses, as if he were seeking for a lost child, 
 cries, " Pray, sir, has my tortoise-shell cat been with you ? 
 Has my pet chicken been here V That is the way in which 
 men run about under such circumstances. It's a matter of 
 the utmost importance. 
 
 And yet to lose a dog or a tame chicken is no such terrible 
 loss after all. But the soul, which is called the lord of th<» 
 body, is the master of our whole selves. If men part witn 
 this soul for the sake of other things, then they become deaf 
 to the admonitions of their parents, and the instructions of 
 their superiors are to them as the winds of heaven. Teaching 
 is to them like pouring water over a frog's face ; they bUnk 
 their eyes, and that is all ; they say, " Yes, yes !" with their 
 mouths, but their hearts are gone, and, seeing, they are blind, 
 hearing, they are deaf. Born whole and sound, by their own 
 doing they enter the fraternity of cripples. Such are all 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 303 
 
 those who lose their souls. Nor do they think of inquiring 
 or looking for their lost soul. " It is my parents' fault ; it is 
 my master's fault ; it is my husband's fault ; it is my elder 
 brother's fault ; it is Hachibei who is a rogue ; it is 
 Matsu who is a bad woman." They content themselves with 
 looking at the faults of others, and do not examine their own 
 consciences, nor search their own hearts. Is not this a cruel 
 state of things ? They set up a hue and cry for a lost dog oi 
 a pet dhicken, but for this all-important soul of theirs they 
 make no search. What mistaken people ! For this reason 
 the sages, mourning over such a state of things, have taught 
 us what is the right path of man ; and it is the receiving oi 
 this teaching that is called learning. The main object ol' 
 learning is the examination and searching of our own hearts ; 
 therefore the text says, "The true path of learning has no 
 other function than to teach us how to reclaim lost souls." 
 This is an exhaustive exposition of the functions of learning. 
 That learning has no other object, we have this gracious 
 pledge and guarantee from the sage. As for the mere study 
 of the antiquities and annals of China and Japan, and in- 
 vestigation into literature, these cannot be called learning, 
 which is above all things an affair of the soul. All the 
 commentaries and aU the books of all the teachers in the 
 world are but so many directories by which to find out the 
 whereabouts of our own souls. This search after our own 
 souls is that which I alluded to just now as the examination 
 of our consciences. To disregard the examination of our 
 consciences is a terrible thing, of which it is impossible to 
 foresee the end ; on the other hand, to practise it is most 
 admirable, for by this means we can on the spot attain filia] 
 piety and fidelity to our masters. Virtue and vice are the 
 goals to which the examination and non-examination of our 
 consciences lead. As it has been rightly said, benevolence 
 and malice are the two roads which man follows. Upon this 
 subject I have a terrible and yet a very admirable story to 
 tell you. Although I dare say you are very drowsy, I must 
 beg you to listen to me. 
 
304 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 In a certain part of the country there was a well-to-do 
 farmer, whose marriage had brought him one son, whom he 
 petted beyond all measure, as a cow licks her calf. So by 
 degi'ees the child became very sly: he used to pull the 
 horses' tails, and blow smoke into the buUs nostrUs, and 
 bully the neighboiirs' children in petty ways and make 
 them cry. From a peevish child he grew to be a man, 
 and unbearably undutiful to his parents. Priding himself 
 on a little superior strength, he became a drunkard and a 
 gambler, and learned to wrestle at fairs. He would fight and 
 quarrel for a trifle, and spent his time in debauchery and 
 riotous living. If his parents remonstrated with him, he 
 would raise his voice and abuse them, using scurrilous lan- 
 guage. " It's all very well your abusing me for being dissolute 
 and disobedient. But, pray, who asked you to bring me into 
 the world ? You brought me into the world, and I have to 
 thank you for its miseries ; so now, if you hate dissolute 
 people, you had better put me back where I came from, and I 
 shall be all right again." This was the sort of insolent answer 
 he would give his parents, who, at their wits' end, began to 
 grow old in years. And as he by degrees grew more and more 
 of a bully, unhappy as he made them, still he was their dar- 
 ling, and they could not find it in their hearts to turn him out 
 of the house and disinherit him. So they let him pursue his 
 selfish course ; and he went on from worse to worse, knocking 
 people down, breaking their arms, and getting up great dis- 
 turbances, it is unnecessary to speak of his parents' feelings. 
 Even his relations and friends felt as if nails were being ham- 
 mered into their breasts. He was a thoroughly wicked man. 
 
 Now no one is from his mother's womb so wicked as 
 this ; but those who persist in selfishness lose their senses, 
 and gradually reach this pitch of wickedness. What a 
 terrible thiug is this throwing away of our hearts ! 
 
 Well, this man's relations and friends very properly urged his 
 parents to disown him ; but he was an only child, and so his 
 parents, although they said, " To-day we really will disinherit 
 him," or " To-morrow we really will break off all relations 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 306 
 
 with him," still it was all empty talk; and the years and 
 months passed by, nntil the scapegrace reached his twenty- 
 sixth year, having heaped wickedness upon wickedness ; and 
 who can tell how much troiible he brought upon his family, 
 who were always afraid of hearing of some new enormity? 
 At last they held a family council, and told the parents that 
 matters had come to such a pass that if they did not disown 
 their son the rest of the family must needs break off all 
 communication with them : if he were allowed to go on in his 
 evil courses, the whole village, not • to speak of his relations, 
 would be disgraced; so either the parents, against whom, 
 however, there was no ill-will felt, must be cut by the family, 
 or they, must disinherit their son : to this appeal they begged 
 to have a distinct answer. The parents, reflecting that to 
 separate themselves from their relations, even for the sake 
 of their own son, would be an act of disrespect to their an- 
 cestors, determined to invite their relations to assemble and 
 draw up a petition to the Government for leave to disinherit 
 their son, to which petition the family would all affix their 
 seals according to form ; so they begged them to come in the 
 evening, and bring their seals with them. This was their 
 answer. 
 
 There is an old saw which says, " The old cow licks her 
 calf, and the tigress carries her cub in her mouth." If the 
 • instinct of beasts and birds prompt them tolove their young, 
 how much the more must it be a bitter thing for a man to have 
 to disown his own son ! AU this trouble was the consequence 
 of this youth casting his heart from him. Had he examined 
 his own conscience, the storm of waves and of wind would 
 not have arisen, and all would have been calm. But as he 
 refused to listen to his conscience, his parents, much against 
 their will, were forced to visit him with the punishment of 
 disinheritance, which he had brought upon himself. A sad 
 thing indeed! In the poems of his Eeverence Tokuhon, a 
 modern poet, there is the following passage : " Since Buddha 
 thus winds himself round o|ir hearts, let the man who 
 dares to disregard him fear for his life." The allusion is to 
 
 X 
 
306 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 the great mercy and love of the gods. The gods wish to 
 make men examine their consciences, and, day and night, 
 help men to discern that which is evilj but, although they 
 point out our desires and pleasures, our lusts and passions, as 
 things to be avoided, men turn their backs upon their own 
 consciences. The love of the gods is like the love of parents 
 for their children, and men treat the gods as undutiful 
 children treat their parents. "Men who dare to disregard 
 the gods, let them fear for their lives." I pray you who 
 hear me, one and all, to examine your own consciences and 
 be saved. 
 
 To return to the story of the vagabond son. As it hap- 
 pened, that day he was gambling in a neighbouring village, 
 when a friend from his own place came up and told him that 
 his relations had met together to disinherit him ; and that, 
 fine fellow as he was, he would find it a terrible thing to 
 be disowned. Before he had heard him half out, the other 
 replied in a loud voice — 
 
 " What, do you mean to say that they are holding a family 
 council to-night to disinherit me ? What a good joke ! 
 I'm sure I don't want to be always seeing my father's 
 and mother's blubbering faces; it makes me quite sick to 
 think of them : it's quite unbearable. I'm able to take care of 
 myself; and if I choose to go over to China, or to live in India, 
 I should like to know who is to prevent me ? This is the 
 very thing above all others for me. I'll go off to the room 
 where they are all assembled, and ask them why they want 
 to disinherit me. I'U just swagger Uke Danjur6 ^ the actor, 
 and frighten them into giving me fifty or seventy ounces of 
 silver to get rid of me, and put the money in my purse, and 
 be off to Kiy6to or Osaka, where I'll set up a tea-house on 
 my own account ; and enjoy myself to my heart's content ! 
 I hope this will be a great night for me, so I'll just drink 
 a cup of wine for luck beforehand." 
 
 And so, with a lot of young devils of his own sort, he fell 
 
 1 A famous actor of Yedoi who lived 195 years ago. He was bom at 
 SajEura, iu ShimSsa. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 307 
 
 to drinking wine in teacups,^ so that before nightfall they 
 were all as drunk as mud, WeU, then, on the strength of 
 this wine, as he was setting out for his father's house, he 
 said, " Now, then, to try my luck," and stuck a long dirk in 
 his girdle. He reached his own village just before nightfall, 
 thinking to burst into the place where he imagined his rela- 
 tions to be gathered together, turniag their wisdom-pockets 
 inside out, to shake out their small provision of intelligence 
 in consultation ; and he fancied that, if he blustered and bul- 
 lied, he would certainly get a hundred ounces of silver out of 
 them. Just as he was about to enter the house, he reflected — 
 
 " If I show my face in the room where my relations are 
 gathered together, they will all look down on the ground and 
 remain silent ; so if I go in shouting and raging, it will be 
 quite out of harmony ; but if they abuse me, then I shall be 
 in the right if I jump in on them and frighten them well. 
 The best plan will be for me to step out of the bamboo grove 
 which is behind the house, and to creep round the verandah, 
 and I can listen to these fellows holding their consultation : 
 they will certainly be raking up aU sorts of scandal about 
 me. It will be aU in harmony, then, if I kick down the shut- 
 ters and sliding-doors with a noise like thunder. And what 
 fun it will be!" 
 
 As he thought thus to himself, he pulled off his iron-heeled 
 sandals, and stuck them in his girdle, and, girdiag up his 
 dress round his waist, left the bamboo grove at the back of 
 the house, and, jumping over the garden wicket, went round 
 the verandah and looked in. Peeping through a chink in 
 the shutters, he could see his relations gathered together in 
 council, speaking ia whispers. The family were sitting in a 
 circle, and one and all were affixing their seals to the petition 
 of disinheritance. At last, having passed from hand to hand, 
 the document came round to where the two parents were 
 sitting. Their son, seeing this, said — 
 
 " Come, now, it's win or lose ! My parents' signing the 
 
 1 The ordinary wine-cup holding only a thimtleful, to drink wine out of 
 teacups is a great piece of debauchery— like drinking brandy in tumblers. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 TAIES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 paper shall be the sign far me to kick open the door and 
 jump into the middle of them." 
 
 So, getting ready for a good kick, he held his hruath 
 and looked on. 
 
 What terrible perversion man can allow his heart to 
 come to ! M&shi has said that man by nature is good ; 
 but although not a particle of fault can be found with what 
 he has said, when the evil we have learned becomes a 
 second nature, men reach this fearful degree of wickedness. 
 When men come to this pass, K6shi ^ and M6shi themselves 
 might preach to them for a thousand days, and they would 
 not have strength to reform. Such hardened sinners deserve 
 to be roasted in iron pots in the nethermost hell. Now, I 
 am going to tell you how it came about that the vagabond 
 son turned over a new leaf and became dutiful, and finally 
 entered pa,radise. The poet says, "Although the hearts of 
 parents are not surrounded by dark night, how often they 
 stray from the right road in their affection for their children ! " 
 
 When the petition of disinheritance came round to the 
 place where the two parents were sitting, the mother lifted 
 up her voice and wept aloud ; and the father, clenching his 
 toothless gums to conceal his emotion, remained with his 
 head bent down : presently, in a husky voice, he said, " Wife, 
 give me the seal ! " 
 
 But she returned no answer, and with tears in her eyes 
 took a leather purse, containing the seal, out of a drawer of 
 the cupboard and placed it before her husband. All this 
 time the vagabond son, holding his breath, was peeping in 
 from outside the "shutters. In the meanwhile, the old man 
 slowly untied the strings of the purse, and took out the seal, 
 and smeared on the colouring matter. Just as he was abou^. 
 to seal the document, his wife clutched at his hand and said, 
 " Oh, pray wait a little." 
 
 The father replied, " Now that all oiir relations are look- 
 ing on, you must not speak in this weak manner." 
 
 1 KSshi is the Japanese proimnciation of the name of tile Chinese philo- 
 sopher Kung Tail, or Kung Tu Tsii, whom we call Confucius. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 309 
 
 But she would not listen to what he said, but wi.'ut on — 
 
 '' Pray listen to what I have to say. It is true that if we 
 were to give over our house to our undutiful son, in less than 
 three years the grass would be growing in its place, for he 
 would be ruined. Still, if we disinherit our child — the only 
 child that we have, either in heaven or upon earth — we shall 
 have to adopt another in his place. Although, if the adopted 
 son turned out honest and dutiful, and inherited our pro- 
 perty, aU would be well ; stiU, what certainty is there of his 
 doing so ? If, on the other hand, the adopted son turned out 
 to be a prodigal, and laid waste our house, what unlucky 
 parents we should be ! And who can say that this would not 
 be the case ? If we are to be ruined for the sake of an 
 equally wicked adopted son, I had rather lose our home 
 for the sake of our own son, and, leaving our old familiar 
 village as beggars, seek for our lost boy on foot. This is my 
 fervent wish. During fifty years that we have lived together, 
 this has been the only favour that I have ever asked of you. 
 Pray listen to my prayer, and put a stop to this act of disin- 
 heritance. Even though I should become a beggar for my 
 son's sake, I could feel no resentment against him." 
 
 So she spoke, sobbing aloud. The relations, who heard 
 this, looked round at one another, and watched the father 
 to see what he would do; and he (who knows with what 
 thoughts in his head?) put back the seal into the leather 
 purse, and quickly drew the strings together, and pushed 
 back the petition to the relations. 
 
 " Certainly," said he, " I have lost countenance, and am 
 disgraced before aU my family ; however, I think that what 
 the good wife has just said is right and proper, and from 
 henceforth I renounce all thoughts of disinheriting my son. 
 Of course you will all see a weakness of purpose in what I 
 say, and laugh at me as the cause of my son's undutiful con- 
 duct. But laugh away : it won't hurt me. Certainly, if I 
 don't disinherit this son of mine, my house will be ruined 
 before three years are over our heads. To lay waste the 
 house of generations upon generations of my ancestors is a 
 
310 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 sin against those ancestors ; of this I am well aware. Puither, 
 if I don't disinherit my son, you gentlemen wUl all shun 
 me. I know that I am cutting myself off from my rela- 
 tions. Of course you think that when I leave this place 
 I shall be dunning you to hestow your charity upon me; 
 and that is why you want to break off relations with me. 
 Pray don't make yourselves uneasy. I care no more for 
 my duties t6 the world, for my impiety to my ancestors, or 
 for my separation from my family. Our son is our only 
 darling, and we mean to go after him, following him as 
 beggars on foot. This is our desire. We shall trouble you 
 for no alms and for no charity. However we may die, we 
 have but one life to lose. For our darling son's sake, we will 
 lay ourselves down and die by the roadside. There our bodies 
 shall be manure for the trees of the avenue. And aU this we 
 wOl endure cheerfully, and not utter a complaint. Make 
 haste and return home, therefore, all of you. From to-morrow 
 we are no longer on speaking terms. As for what you may 
 say to me on my son's account, I do not care." 
 
 And as his wife had done, he lifted up his voice and wept, 
 shedding manly tears. As for her, when she heard that the 
 act of disinheritance was not to be drawn up, her tears were 
 changed to tears of joy. The rest of the family remained in 
 mute astonishment at so unheard-of a thing, and could only 
 stare at the faces of the two old people. 
 
 You see how bewildered parents must be by their love for 
 their children, to be so merciful towards them. As a cat 
 carrying her young in her mouth screens it from the sun at 
 one time and brings it under the light at another, so parents 
 act by their children, screening their bad points and bringing 
 out in relief their good qualities. They care neither for the 
 abuse of others, nor for their duties to their ancestors, nor for 
 the wretched future in store for themselves. Carried away by 
 their infatuation for their children, and intoxicated upon 
 intoxication, the hearts of parents are to be pitied for their 
 pitifulness. It is not only the two parents in my story who 
 are in this plight ; the hearts of all parents of children all 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 311 
 
 over the world are the same. In the poems of the late learned 
 Ishida it is written^ "When I look round me and see the 
 hearts of parents bewildered by their love for their children, 
 I reflect that my own father and mother must be like them." 
 This is certainly a true saying. 
 
 To return to the story : the halo of his parents' great kind- 
 ness and pity penetrated the very bowels of the prodigal son. 
 What an admirable thing ! When he heard it, terrible and 
 sly devil as he had been, he felt as if his whole body had 
 been squeezed in a press ; and somehow or other, although 
 the tears rose in his breast, he could not for shame lift up his 
 voice and weep. Biting the sleeve of his dress, he lay down 
 on the ground and shed tears in silence. What says the 
 verse of the reverend priest Eni? " To shed tears of gratitude 
 one knows not why." A very pretty poem indeed ! So then 
 the vagabond son, in his gratitude to his parents, could neither 
 stand nor sit. You see the original heart of man is by nature 
 bright virtue, but by our selfish piursuit of our own inclina- 
 tions the brilliancy of our original virtue is hidden. 
 
 To continue : the prodigal was pierced to the core by 
 the great mercy shown by his parents, and the brilliancy 
 of his own original good heart was enticed back to him. 
 The sunlight came forth, and what became of all the clouds 
 of self-will and selfishness ? The clouds were aU dispelled, 
 and from the bottom of his soul there sprang the desire 
 to thank his parents for their goodness. We all know the 
 story of the rush-cutter who saw the moon rising between the 
 trees on a moorland hill so brightly, that he fancied it must 
 have been scoured with the scouring-rush which grew near 
 the spot. When a man, who has been especially wicked, repents 
 and returns to his original heart, he becomes all the more 
 excellent, and his brightness is as that of the rising moon 
 scoured. What an admirable thing this is ! So the son 
 thought to enter the room at once and beg his parents' for- 
 giveness ; but he thought to himself, " Wait a bit. If I burst 
 suddenly into the room like this, the relations wiU all be 
 frightened and not know what to make of it, and this will be 
 
312 TAL'ES OF OLD JAPATT. 
 
 a trouble to my parents. 1 wiii put on an innocent face, as if 
 I did not know wba,t has been going on, and I'll go in by tbe 
 front door, and, beg the relations to intercede for me with my 
 parents." With stealthy step he left the back of the house, 
 and went round to the front. When he arrived there, be 
 purposely made a great noise with his iron-heeled sandals, and 
 gave a loud cough to clear his throat, and entered the room; 
 The relations were all greatly alarmed; and his parents, when 
 they saw the face of their wicked son, both shed tears. As 
 for the son, he said not a word, but remained weeping, with 
 his head bent down. After a while, he addressed the relations 
 and said, " Although I have frequently been threatened with 
 disinheritance, and although in those days I made light of it, 
 to-night, when I heard that this family council had assembled, 
 I somehow or other felt my heart beset by anxiety and grief. 
 However I may have heaped wickedness upon wickedness 
 up to the present moment, as I shall certainly now mend my 
 ways, I pray you to delay for a while to-night's act of disin- 
 heritance. I do not venture to ask for along delay, — I ask 
 but for thirty days ; and if within that time I shall not have 
 given proofs of repentance, disinherit me : I shall not have 
 a word to say. I pray you, gentlemen, to intercede with my 
 parents that they may grant this delay of thirty days, and to 
 present them my humble apologies." With this he rubbed 
 his head on the mat, as a humble suppliant, in a manner 
 most foreign to his nature. 
 
 The relations, after hearing the firm and , resolute answer 
 of the parents, had shifted about in their places; but, 
 although they were on the point of leaving the house, 
 had remained behind, sadly out of harmony ; when the 
 son came in, and happily with a word set all in tune 
 again. So the relations addressed the parents, and said, 
 "Pray defer to-night's affair;" and laid the son's apologies 
 at their feet. As for the parents, who would not have 
 disinherited their son even had he not repented, how 
 much the more when they heaid what he said did they 
 weep for joy; and the relations, delighted at the happy event, 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 313 
 
 exhorted the son to become really dutiful; and so that 
 night's council broke up. So this son in the turn of a 
 hand became a pious son, and the way in which he served 
 his parents was that of a tender and loving child. His 
 former evil ways he extinguished utterly. 
 
 The fame of this story rose high in the world ; and, before 
 half a year had passed, it reached the ears of the lord of the 
 manor, who, when he had put on his- noble spectacles and 
 investigated the case, appointed the son to be the head man of 
 his village. You may judge by this what this son's iilial piety 
 effected. Three years after these events, his mother, who was 
 on her death-bed, very sick, called for him and said, " When 
 some time since the consultation was being held about disin- 
 heriting you, by some means or other your heart was turned, 
 and since then you have been a dutiful son above all others. 
 If at that time you had not repented, and I had died in the 
 meanwhile, my soul would have gone to hell without fail, 
 because of my foolish conduct towards you. But, now that 
 you have repented, there is nothing that weighs upon me, 
 and there can be no mistake about my going to paradise. 
 So the fact of my becoming one of the saints will all be 
 the work of your filial piety.'' And the story goes, that with 
 these words the mother, lifting up her hands in prayer, died. 
 
 To be sure, by the deeds of the present life we may obtain 
 a glimpse into the future. If a man's heart is troubled by 
 his misdeeds in this life, it will again be tortured in the 
 next. The troubled heart is hell. The heart at rest is 
 paradise. The trouble or peace of parents depends upon 
 their children. If their children are virtuous, parents are 
 as the saints: if their children are wicked, parents suffer 
 the tortures of the damned. If once your youthful spirits, 
 in a fit of heedlessness, have led you to bring trouble upon 
 your parents and cause them to weep, just consider the 
 line of argument which I have been following. Prom this 
 time forth repent and examine your own hearts. If you will 
 become dutiful, your parents from this day will live happy 
 as the saints. But if you will not repent, but persist in 
 
314 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 your evil ways, your parents will suffer the pains of hell. 
 Heaven and hell are matters of repentance or non- 
 repentance. Eepentance is the finding of the lost heart, 
 and is also the object of learning. I shall speak to you 
 further upon this point to-morrow evening. 
 
SEEMOU III. 
 
 (The Sermons of Kiu-6, vol. i.) 
 
 M6sHi has said, " There is the third finger. If a man's third 
 or nameless finger be hent, so that he cannot straighten it, 
 although his bent finger may cause him no pain, stiU if he 
 hears of some one who can cure it, he will think nothing of 
 undertaking a long journey from Shin to So^ to consult him 
 upon this deformed finger ; for he knows it is to be hateful 
 to have a finger unlike those of other men. But he cares not 
 a jot if his, heart be different to that of other men ; and this 
 is how men disregard the true order of things." 
 
 Now this is the next chapter to the one about benevolence 
 being the true heart of man, which I expounded to you the 
 other night. True learning has no other aim than that of 
 reclaiming lost soids ; and, in connection with this, Moshi 
 has thus again declared in a parable the all-importance of 
 the human heart. 
 
 The nameless finger is that which is next to the little 
 finger. The thumb is called the parent-finger; the first 
 finger is called the index ; the long is called the middle 
 finger ; but the third finger has no name. It is true that it 
 is sometimes called the finger for applying rouge ; but that is 
 only a name given it by ladies, and is not in general use. So, 
 having no name, it is called the nameless finger. And how 
 comes it to have no name? Why, because it is of all the 
 fingers the least' useful. "Wlen we clutch at or grasp thing.", 
 we do so by the strength of the thumb and little finger. If 
 ^ Ancient divisions of China. 
 
316 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 a man scratches his head, he does it with the forefinger; if 
 he wishes to test the heat of the wine^ in the kettle, he 
 uses the little finger. Thus, although each finger has its 
 uses and duties, the nameless finger alone is of no use : it 
 is not in our way if we have it, and we do not miss it if 
 we lose it. Of the whole body it is the meanest member : 
 if it be crooked so that we cannot straighten it, it neither 
 hurts nor itches ; as M6shi says in the text, it causes no pain ; 
 even if we were without it, we should be none the worse off. 
 Hence, what though it should be bent, it would be better, 
 since it causes jio pain, to leave it as it is. Yet if a person, 
 having such a crooked finger, hears of a clever doctor who 
 can set it straight, no matter at how great a distance he may 
 bej he will be off to consult this doctor. And pray why ? 
 Because he feels ashamed of having a finger a little dif- 
 ferent from the rest of the world, and so he wants to be 
 cured, and wOl think nothing of travelling from Shin to So 
 — a distance of a thousand miles — for the purpose. To be 
 sure, men are very susceptible and keenly alive to a sense 
 of shame ; and in this they are quite right.- The feeling of 
 shame at what is wrong is the commencement of virtue. 
 The perception of shame is inborn in men; but there are 
 two ways of perceiving shame. There are some men who 
 are sensible of shame for what regards their bodies, but who 
 are ignorant of shame for what concerns their hearts ; and a 
 terrible mistake -they make. There is nothing which can 
 be compared in importance to the heart. The heart is said 
 to be the lord of the body, which it rules as a master rules 
 his house. Shall the lord, who is the heart, be ailing and 
 his sickness be neglected, while his servants, who are the 
 members only, are cared for? If the knee be lacerated,- 
 apply tinder to stop the bleeding ; if the moxa should sup- 
 purate, spread a plaster ; if a cold be caught, prepare medicine 
 and garlic and gruel, and ginger wine ! For a trifle, you will 
 doctor and care for your bodies, and yet for your hearts you 
 win take no care. Although you are born of mankind, if your 
 
 ' Wino is almost always drunt hot. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. .317 
 
 hearts resemble those of devils, of foxes, of snakes, or of crows, 
 rather than the hearts of men, you take no heed, caring for 
 your bodies alone. "Whence can you have fallen into such a 
 mistake ? It is a foUy of old standing too, for it was to that 
 that Moshi pointed when he said that to be cognizant of a 
 deformed finger and ignore the deformities of the soul was to 
 disregard the true order of things. This is what it is, not to 
 distinguish between that which is important and that which 
 is unimportant — to pick up a trifle and pass by something of 
 value. The instinct of man prompts him to prefer the great 
 to the small, the important to the unimportant. 
 
 If a man is invited out to a feast by his relations or 
 acquaintances, when the guests are assembled and the 
 principal part of the feast has disappeared, he looks all 
 round him, with the eyeballs starting out of his head, and 
 glares at his neighbours, and, comparing the little titbits of 
 roast fowl or fish put before them, sees that they are about 
 lialf an inch bigger than those ;set before him; then, blowing 
 out his belly with rage, he thinks, " What on earth can the 
 host be about ? Master Tarubei is a guest, but so am I : what 
 does the fellow mean by helping me so meanly? There 
 must be some malice or ill-will here." And so his mind is 
 prejudiced against the host. Just be so good as to reflect 
 upon this. Does a man show his spite hy grudging a bit 
 of roast fowl or meat ? And yet even in such trifles as these 
 do men show how they try to obtain what is great, and show 
 their dislike of what is small. How can men be conscious of 
 shame for a deformed finger, and count it as no misfortune 
 that their hearts are croaked ? That is how they abandon 
 the substance for the shadow. 
 
 M6shi severely censures the disregard of the true order of 
 things. What mistaken and bewildered creatures men are ! 
 What says the old song ? " Hidden far among the mountains, 
 the tree which seems to be rotten, if its core be yet aUve, may 
 be made to bear flowers." What signifies it if the hand or 
 the foot be deformed ? The heart is the important thing. If 
 the heart be awry, what though your skia be fair, your nose 
 
318 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 aquiline, your hair beautiful ? All these strike the eye alone, 
 and are utterly useless. It is as if you were to put horse- 
 dung into a gold-Jacquer luncheon-box. This is what is 
 called a fair outside, deceptive in appearance. 
 
 There's the scullery-maid been washing out the pots at the 
 kitchen sink, and the scullion Chokichi comes up and says to 
 her, " You've got a lot of charcoal smut sticking to your nose," 
 and points out to her the ugly spot. The scullery-maid is 
 delighted to be told of this, and answers, "Eeally! where- 
 abouts is it 1 " Then she twists a towel round her finger, and, 
 bending her head till mouth and forehead are almost on a 
 level, she squints at her nose, and twiddles away with her 
 fingers as if she were the famous Goto ^ at work, carving the 
 ornaments of a sword-handle. " I say. Master Chokichi, is it 
 off yet ?" " Not a bit of it. You've smeared it all over your 
 cheeks now." " Oh dear! oh dear! where can it be ?" And 
 so she uses the water-basin as a looking-glass, and washes her 
 face clean; then she says to herself, "What a dear boy 
 Chokichi is !" and thinks it necessary, out of gratitude, to give 
 him relishes with his supper by the ladleful, and thanks him 
 over and over again. But if this same Chokichi were to 
 come up to her and say, " Now, really, how lazy you are ! I 
 wish you could manage to be rather less of a shrew," what 
 do you think the scuUery-maid would answer then ? Eeflect 
 for a moment. " Drat the boy's impudence ! If I were of a 
 bad heart or an angular disposition, should I be here helping 
 him ? You go and be hung ! You see if I take the trouble 
 to wash your dirty bedclothes for you any more." And she 
 gets to be a perfect devil, less only the horns. 
 
 There are other people besides the poor scullery-maid who 
 are in the same way. " Excuse me, Mr. Gundabei, but the 
 embroidered crest on your dress of ceremony seems to be a 
 little on one side." Mr. Gundabei proceeds to adjust his 
 dress with great precision. •' Thank you, sir. I am ten million 
 
 ' A famous gold and silver smith of the olden time. A Benvenuto Cellini 
 among the Japanese, His mark on a piece of metal work enhances its vaJuB 
 tenfold. 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 319 
 
 times obliged to you for your care. If ever there should be 
 any matter in which I can be of service to you, I beg that 
 you wili do me the favour of letting me know ;" and, with a 
 beaming face, he expresses his gratitude. Now for the other 
 side of the picture. "EeaUy, Mr. Gundabei, you are very 
 fooUsh ; you don't seem to understand at all. I beg you to 
 be of a frank and honest heart : it really makes me quite sad 
 to see a man's heart warped in this way." What is his 
 answer ? He turns his sword in his girdle ready to draw, 
 and plays the devil's tattoo upon the Mlt : it looks as if it 
 must end in a fight soon. 
 
 In fact, if you help a man in anything which has to do 
 with a fault of the body, he takes it very kindly, and sets 
 about mending matters. If any one helps another to rectify 
 a fault of the heart, he has to deal with a man in the dark, 
 who flies in a rage, and does not care to amend. How out 
 of tune all this is! And yet there are men who are 
 bewildered up to this point. Nor is this a special and 
 extraordinary failing. This mistaken perception of the 
 great and the small, of colour and of substance, is common 
 to us all — to you and to me. 
 
 Please give me your attention. The form strikes the eye ; 
 but the heart strikes not the eye. Therefore, that the heart 
 should be distorted and turned awry causes no pain. This 
 all results from the want of sound judgment ; and that is why 
 we cannot afford to be careless. 
 
 The master of a certain house calls his servant Chokichi, 
 who sits dozing in the kitchen. "Here, Chokichi,! The 
 guests are all gone ; come, and clear away the wine and fish 
 in the back room." 
 
 Chokichi rubs his eyes, and with a sulky answer goes into 
 the back room, and, looldng about him, sees all the nice 
 things paraded on the trays and in the bowls. It's wonderful 
 how his drowsiness passes away : no need for any one to 
 hurry him now. His eyes glare with greed, as he says, 
 "Hullo! here's a lot of tempting things! There's only 
 just one help of that omelette left in the tray. Wbat a 
 
320 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 hungry lot of guests ! What's this ? It looks like fish 
 rissoles ;" and with this he picks out one, and crams his 
 mouth full ; when, on one side, a mess of young cuttlefish, in 
 a Chinese^ porcelain bowl, catches his eyes'. There the little 
 heauties sit in a circle, like Buddhist priests in religious 
 meditation ! " Oh, goodness ! how nice ! " and just as 
 he is dipping his finger and thumb in, he hears his 
 master's footstep ; and knowing that he is doing wrong, 
 he crams his prize into the pocket of his sleeve, and 
 stoops down to take away the wine-kettle and cups; and 
 as he does this, out tumble the cuttlefish from his sleeve. 
 The master sees it. 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 Chokichi, pretending not to know what has happened, beats 
 the mats, and keeps on saying, •" Come again the day before 
 yesterday; come again the day before yesterday."'^ 
 
 But it's no use his trying to persuade his master that the 
 little cuttlefish are spiders, for they are not the least like 
 them. It's no use hiding things,^they are sure to come tf 
 light ; and so it is with the heart, — its purposes will out. If 
 the heart is enraged, the dark veins stand out on the fore- 
 head ; if the heart is grieved, tears rise to the eyes ; if the 
 heart is joyous, dimples appear in the cheeks ; if the heart 
 is merry, the face smiles : thus it is that the face reflects the 
 emotions of the heart. It is not because the eyes are filled 
 with tears that the heart is sad ; nor because the veins stand 
 out on the forehead that the heart is enraged. It is the 
 heart which leads the way in everything. All the important 
 sensations of the heart are apparent in the outward appear- 
 ance. In the " Great Learning " of Koshi it is written, " The 
 truth of what is within appears upon the surface." How 
 then is the heart a thing which can be hidden ? To answer 
 when reproved, to hum tunes when scolded, show a diseased 
 
 1 Curiosities, such as' porcelain or enamel or carved jade from China, are 
 highly esteemed by the Japanese. A great quantity of the porcelain of Japan 
 is stamped with counterfeit Chinese marks of the Ming dynasty. 
 
 ^ An incantation used to invite spiders, which are considered unlucky hy 
 the superstitious, to come again at the Greek Kalends. 
 
JAPANUSE SERMONS. 321 
 
 heart ; and if this disease is not quickly taken in hand, it 
 will become chronic, and the remedy become difficult : per- 
 haps the disease may be so virulent that even Giba and 
 Henjaku ^ in consultation could not effect a cure. So, before 
 the disease has gained strength, I invite you to the study of 
 the moral essays entitled Shm-gahw (the Learning of the 
 Heart). If you once arrive at the possession of your heart 
 as it was originally by nature, what an admirable thing that 
 will be ! In that case your conscience will point out to you 
 even the slightest wrong bias or selfishness. 
 
 While upon this subject, I may teU you a story which was 
 related to me by a friend of mine. It is a story which the 
 master of a certain money-changer's shop used to be very 
 fond of teUing. An important part of a money-changer's 
 business is to distinguish between good and bad gold and 
 silver. In the different establishments, the ways of teaching 
 the apprentices this art vary ; however, the plan adopted by 
 the money-changer was as follows : — At first he would show 
 them no bad silvei?, but would daily put before them good 
 money only; when they had become thoroughly familiar 
 with the sight of good money, if he stealthily put a little 
 base coin among the good, he found that they would detect it 
 immediately, — they saw it as plainly as you see things when 
 you throw Mght on a mirror. This faculty of detecting base 
 money at a glance was the result of having learned thoroughly 
 to understand good money. Having once been taught in this 
 way, the apprentices would not make a mistake about a piece 
 of base coin during their whole lives, as I have heard. I 
 can't vouch for the truth of this; but it is very certain that 
 the principle, applied to moral instruction, is an excel- 
 lent one,-^it is a most safe mode of study. However, I 
 was further told that if, after having thus learned to dis- 
 tinguish good money, a man followed some other trade for 
 six months or a year, and gave up handling money, he would 
 become just like any other inexperienced person, unable to 
 distinguish the good from the base. 
 
 ' Two famous Indian and Chinese physicians. 
 T 
 
322 TALES OF OLD JAPAK. 
 
 Please reflect upon this attentively. If you once rendei; 
 yourself familiar with the nature of the uncorrupted heart, 
 from that time forth you will be immediately conscious ot 
 the slightest inclination towards bias or selfishness. And 
 why ? Because the natural heart is illumined. When a man, 
 has once learned that which is perfect, he will never consent 
 to accept that which is imperfect; but if, after having 
 acquired this knowledge, he again keeps his natural heart 
 at a distance, and gradually forgets to recognize that which is 
 perfect, he finds himself in the dark again, and that he can 
 no longer distinguish base money from good. I beg you to 
 take care. If a man falls into bad habits, he is no longer 
 able to perceive the difference between the good impulses 
 of his natural heart and the evil impulses of his corrupt 
 heart. With this benighted heart as a starting-point, he can 
 carry out none of his intentions, and he has to lift his 
 shoulders sighing and sighing again. A creature much to 
 be pitied indeed! Then he loses all self-reliance, so that, 
 although it would be better for him to hold his tongue and 
 say nothing about it, if he is in the slightest trouble or dis- 
 tress, he goes and confesses the crookedness of his heart to 
 every man he meets. What a wretched state for a man to be 
 in ! Por this reason, I beg you to learn thoroughly the true 
 silver of the heart, in order that you may make no mistake 
 about the base coin. I pray that you and I, during our whole 
 lives, may never leave the path of true principles. 
 
 I have an amusing story to tell you in connection with this, 
 if you will be so good as to listen. 
 
 Once upon a time, when the autumn nights were beginning 
 to grow chilly, five or six tradesmen in easy circumstances 
 had assembled together to have a chat ; and, having got ready 
 their' picnic box and wine-flask, went off to a temple on the 
 hills, where a friendly priest lived, that they might listen to 
 the stags roaring. With this intention they went to call 
 upon the priest, and borrowed the guests' apartments ^ of the 
 
 ^ All the templet in China and Japan have guests' apartments, which may 
 be secured for a trifle, either for a long or short period. It is false to suppose 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. • 323 
 
 I . . 
 
 monastery ; and as they were waiting to hear the deer roar, 
 some of the party began to compose poetry. One would write 
 a verse of Chinese poetry, and another would write a verse of 
 iseventeen syllables ; and as they were passing the wine-cup 
 the hour of sunset came, but not a deer had uttered a call ; 
 eight o'clock came, and ten o'clock came; stUl not a sound 
 from the deer. 
 
 " What can this mean ?" said one. " The deer surely ought 
 to be roaring." 
 
 But, in spite of their waiting, the deer would not roar. At 
 last the friends got sleepy, and, bored with writing songs and 
 verses, began to yawn, and gave up twaddling about the woes 
 and troubles of life ; and as they were all silent, one of them, 
 a man fifty years of age, stopping the circulation of the wine- 
 cup, said — 
 
 " Well, certainly, gentlemen, thanks to you, we have spent 
 the evening in very pleasant conversation. However, although 
 I am enjoying myself mightily in this way, my people at 
 home must be getting anxious, and so I begin to think that 
 we ought to leave off drinking." 
 " Why so ?" said the others. 
 
 "Well, ril teU you. You know that my only son is 
 twenty-two years of age this year, and a troublesome fellow 
 he is, too. When I'm at home, he lends a hand sulkily 
 j enough in the shop ; but as soon as he no longer sees the 
 shadow of me, he hoists sail and is off to some bad haunt. 
 Although our relations and connections are always preaching 
 to, him, not a word has any more effect than wind blowing 
 into a horse's ear. When I think that I shall have to leave 
 my property to such a fellow &s that, it makes my heart 
 grow small indeed. Although, thanks to those to whom I 
 have succeeded, I want for nothing, still, when I think of 
 my son, I shed tears of blood night and day." 
 
 And as he said this with a sigh, a man of some forty-five 
 or forty-six years said — 
 
 that there is any desecration of a sacred shrine in the act of using it as a 
 hostelry ; it is the custom of the country. 
 
 y 2 
 
324 TALUS OF OlD JAPAN. 
 
 " No, no ; although you make so much of your misfortunes, 
 your son is but a little extravagant after all. There's no such 
 great cause for grief there. I've got a very different story to 
 teU. Of late years my shopmen, for one reason or another, 
 have been running me into debt, thinldng nothing of a debt 
 of fifty or seventy ounces ; and so the ledgers get all wrong. 
 Just think of that. Here have I been keeping these fellows 
 ever since they were little children unable to blow their own 
 noses, and now, as soon as they come to be a little useful in 
 the shop, they begin running up debts, and are no good what- 
 ever to their master. You see, you only have to spend your 
 money upon your own son." 
 
 Then another gentleman said — 
 
 " Well, I thiak that to spend money upon your shop-people 
 is no such great hardship after aU. Now I've been ia some- 
 thing like trouble lately. I can't get a penny out of my 
 customers. One man owes me fifteen ounces ; another owes 
 me twenty-five ounces. EeaUj that is enough to make a man 
 feel as if his heart was worn away." 
 
 "When he had finished speaking, an old gentleman, who was 
 sitting opposite, playing with his fan, said — 
 
 "Certainly, gentlemen, your grievances are not without 
 cause ; stUl, to be perpetually asked for a little money, or to 
 back a bill, by one's relations or friends, and to have a lot of 
 hangers-on dependent on one, as I have, is a worse case stOl" 
 
 But before the old gentleman had half finished speaking, 
 his neighbour called out — 
 
 " No, no ; all you gentlemen are in luxury compared to me. 
 Please listen to what I have to suffer. My wife and my 
 mother can't hit it off anyhow. All day long they're like a 
 couple of cows butting at one another with their horns. The 
 house is as unendurable as if it were full of smoke. I often 
 think it would be better to send my wife back to her village ; 
 but then I've got two little children. If I interfere and take 
 my wife's part, my mother gets low-spirited. If I scold my 
 wife, she says that I treat her so brutally because she's not 
 of the same flesh and blood ; and then she hates ma The 
 
JAPANESE SERMONS. 325 
 
 trouble and anxiety are beyond description : I'm like a post 
 stuck up between them." 
 
 And so they all twaddled away in chorus, each about his 
 own troubles. At ■ last one of the gentlemen, recollecting' 
 himself, said- — 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, certainly the deer ought to be roaring ; 
 but we've been so engrossed with our conversation, that 
 we don't know whether we have missed hearing them 
 or not." 
 
 With this he pulled aside the sliding-door of the verandah 
 and looked out, and, lo and behold! a great big stag was 
 standing perfectly silent in front of the garden. 
 
 " HuUo ! " said the man to the deer, " what's this ? Since 
 you've been there all the time, why did you not roar ?" 
 
 Then the stag answered, with an innocent face — 
 
 "Oh, I came here to listen to the lamentations of you 
 gentlemen." 
 
 Isn't that a funny story? 
 
 Old and young, men and. women, rich and poor, never 
 cease grumbling from morning tiU night. All this is the 
 result of a diseased heart. In short, for the sake of. a very 
 trifling inclination or selfish pursuit, they wUl do any wrong 
 in order to effect that which is impossible. This is want of 
 judgment, and this brings all sorts of trouble upon the world. 
 If once you gain possession of a perfect heart, knowing that 
 which is impossible to be impossible, and recognizing that 
 that which is difficult is difficult, you will not attempt to 
 spare yourself trouble unduly. What says the Ghin-Yo?' 
 The wise man, whether his lot be cast amongst rich or poor, 
 amongst barbarians or in sorrow, understands his position 
 by his own instinct. If men do not understand this, they 
 think that the causes of pain and pleasure are in the body 
 Putting the heart on one side, they earnestly strive after 
 the comforts of the body, and launch into extravagance, the 
 end of which is miserly parsimony. Instead of pleasure 
 
 >■ The second book of Confucius. 
 
326 TALES OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 they meet with grief of the heart, and pass their lives in 
 "weeping and wailing. In one way or another, everything 
 in this world depends upon the heart. I implore every 
 cue of you to take 'heed that tears fall not to your lot. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE HAEA-KIRI. 
 fFnoii A BARB Japanese MS.) 
 
 Seppuku {hara-kiri) is the mode of suicide adopted amongst 
 Samurai -when they have no alternative but to die. Some 
 there are who thus commit suicide of their own free will.; 
 others there are who, having committed some crime which 
 does not put them outside the pale of the privileges of the 
 Samurai class, are ordered by their superiors to put an 
 end to their' own lives. It is needless to say that it is 
 absolutely necessary that the principal, the witnesses, and 
 the seconds who take part in the affair should be acquainted 
 with all the ceremonies to be observed. A long time ago, a 
 certain Daimio invited a number of persons, versed in the 
 various ceremonies, to call upon him to explain the different 
 forms to be observed by the official witnesses who inspect 
 and verify the head, &c., and then to instruct him in the 
 ceremonies to be observed in the act of suicide ; then he 
 showed all these rites to his son and to all his retainers. 
 Another person has said that, as the ceremonies to be gone 
 through by principal, witnesses, and seconds are all very im- 
 portant matters, men should familiarize themselves with a 
 thing which is so terrible, in order that, should the time 
 come for them to take part in it, they may not be taken 
 by surprise. 
 
 The witnesses go .to see and certify the suicide. Tor 
 
330 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 seconds, men are wanted who have distinguished themselves 
 in the military arts. In old days, men used to bear these 
 things in mind ; but nowadays the fashion is to be ignorant 
 of such ceremonies, and if upon rare occasions a criminal is 
 handed oyer to a Daimio's charge, that he may perform hara- 
 hiri, it often happens, at the time of execution, that there is 
 no one among all the prince's retainers who is competent to 
 act as second, in which case a man has to be engaged in a 
 hurry from some other quarter to cut off the head of the 
 criminal, and for that day he changes his name and becomes 
 a retainer of the prince, either of the middle or lowest class, 
 and the affair is entrusted to him, and so the difficulty 
 is got over: nor is this considered to be a disgrace. It 
 is a great breach of decorum if the second who is a most 
 important officer, commits any mistake (such as not 
 striking off the head at a blow) in the presence of the 
 witnesses sent by the Government. On this account a 
 skilful person must be employed ; and, to hide the unman- 
 liness of his own people, a prince must perform the ceremony 
 in this imperfect manner. Every Samurai should be able to 
 cut off a man's head : therefore, to have to employ a stranger 
 to act as second is to incur the charge of ignorance of the 
 arts of war, and is a bitter mortiiication. However, young 
 men, trusting to their youthful ardour, are apt to be careless, 
 and are certain to make- a mistake. Some people there are 
 who, not lacking in skill on ordinary occasions, lose their 
 presence of mind in public, and cannot do themselves justice. 
 It is all the more important, therefore, as the act occurs but 
 rarely, that men who are liable to be called upon to be either 
 principals or seconds or witnesses in the hara-kiri should 
 constantly be examined in their skill as swordsmen, and 
 should be familiar with all the rites, in order that when the 
 time comes they may not lose their presence of mind. 
 
 According to one authority, capital punishment may be 
 divided into two kinds — beheading and strangulation. The 
 ceremony of hara-kiri was added afterwards in the case of 
 persons belonging to the military class being condemned to 
 
THE HAUA-KIlil. 331 
 
 death. This was first instituted in the days of the Asliikaga ^ 
 dynasty. At that time the country was in a state of utter 
 confusion ;' and. there were men who, although fighting, were 
 neither guilty of high treason nor of infidelity to their feudal 
 lords, but who by the chances of war were taken prisoners. 
 To drag out such men as these, bound as criminals, and cut 
 their heads off, was intolerably cruel; accordingly, men hit 
 upon a ceremonious mode of suicide by disembowelling, 
 in order to comfort the departed spirit. Even at present, 
 where it becomes necessary to put to death a man who has 
 been guilty of some act not unworthy of a Samurai, at the 
 time of the execution witnesses are sent to the house ; and the 
 criminal, having bathed and put on new clothes, in obedience 
 to the commands of his superiors, . puts an end to himself, 
 but does not on that account forfeit his rank as a Samurai. 
 This is a law for which, in all truth, men should be grateful. 
 
 ON THE PKEPAEATION OF THE PLACE. OF EXECUTION. 
 
 In old days the ceremony of hara^Tcvri used to be per- 
 formed in a temple. In- the third year of the period called 
 Kan-yei (a.d. 1626), a certain person, h&,ving been guilty of 
 treason, was ordered to- disembowel himself, on the four- 
 teenth day of the first month, in the- temple of Kichij6ji, 
 at Komagom4 in Yedo. Eighteen years later, the retainer 
 of a certain Daimio, having, had a dispute with a saUor 
 belonging to an Osaka coasting-ship, killed the sailor; and, 
 an investigation having been made into the matter by the 
 Governor of Osaka, the retainer was ordered to perform 
 Imra-kiri, on the twentieth day of the sixth month, in the 
 temple called Sokusanji, in Osaka. During the period ShohS 
 (middle of seventeenth century), a certain man, having been 
 guilty of heinous misconduct, performed hara-kiri in the 
 
 1 Ashikaga, third dynasty of Shoguns, flourished from 1336 to 1568 a.b. 
 The practice of suicide by disembowelling is of great antiquity. This is the 
 time when the ceremonies attending it were invented. 
 
332 TALUS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 temple called SMmpukuji, in the K6ji-street of Yedo. On 
 the fourth day of the fifth month of the second year of 
 the period Meir^ki (a.d. 1656), a certain man, for having 
 avenged the death of his cousin's husband at a place called 
 Shimidzudani, ia the K6ji-street, disembowelled himself in 
 the temple called Honseiji. On the twenty-sixth day of 
 the sixth month of the eighth year of the period Yempfi 
 (a.d. 1680), at the funeral ceremonies ia honour of the 
 anniversary of the death of Genyuin Sama, a former Shogun, 
 Nait6 Idzumi no Kami, having a cause of hatred agaiast 
 Nagai Shinano no Kami, killed him at one- blow with a 
 short sword, in the main haU of the temple called Z6j6ji 
 (the burial-place of the Shoguns in Yedo). Idzumi no 
 Kami was arrested by the officers present, and on the fol- 
 lowing day performed hara-lci/ri at Kirid&shi, in the temple 
 called Seiriuji 
 
 In modern times the ceremony has taken place at night, 
 either in the palace or in the garden of a Daimio, to whom 
 the condemned man has been given in charge. Whether it 
 takes place ia the palace or in the garden depends upon the 
 rank of the individual. Daimios and Hatamotos, as a matter 
 of course, and the higher retainers of the Shogun, disembowel 
 themselves in the palace : retainers of lower rank should do 
 so in the garden. In the case of vassals of feudatories, 
 according to the rank of their families, those who, being 
 above the grade of captains, carry the b§.ton,^ should perform 
 hara-kiri in the palace ; aU others in the garden. If, when 
 the time comes, the persons engaged m. the ceremony are in 
 any doubt as to the proper rules to be followed, they should 
 inquire of competent persons, and settle the question. At the 
 beginning of the eighteenth century, during the period Gen- 
 roku, when Asano Takumi no Kami ^ disembowelled himself 
 ia the palace of a Daimio called Tamura, as the whole thing 
 was sudden and unexpected, the garden was covered with 
 
 ^ A bftton with a tassel of paper strips, used for giving directions in war- 
 time. 
 ' See the story of the Forty-seven KSnins. 
 
TBH HARA-KIRI. 335 
 
 matting, and on the top of this thick mats were laid and a 
 carpet, and the affair was concluded so ; but there are people 
 who say that it was wrong to treat a Daimio thus, as if he 
 had heen an ordinary Samurai. But it is said that in old 
 times it was the custom that the ceremony should take place 
 upon a leather carpet spread in the garden ; and further, that 
 the proper place is inside a picket fence tied together in the 
 garden : so it is wrong for persons who are only acquainted 
 with one form of the ceremony to accuse Tamura of having 
 acted improperly. If, however, the object was to save the 
 house from the pollution of hlood, then the accusation of iU- 
 wiU may well be brought ; for the preparation of the place is 
 of great importance. 
 
 Formerly it was the custom that, for personages of import- 
 ance, the enclosure within the picket fence should be of thirty- 
 six feet square. An entrance was made to the south, and 
 another to the north : the door to the south was called Shugi- 
 ydmon (" the door of the practice of virtue ") ; that to the 
 north was called Umbanmon (" the door of the warm basin "^). 
 Two mats, with white binding, were arranged in the shape of 
 a hammer, the one at right angles to the other ; six feet of 
 white silk, four feet broad, were stretched on the mat, which 
 was placed lengthwise ; at the four corners were erected four 
 posts for curtains. In front of the two mats was erected a 
 portal, eight feet high by six feet broad, in the shape of the 
 portals in front of temples, made of a fine sort of bamboo 
 wrapped in white ^ silk. "White curtains, four feet broad, were 
 hung at the four corners, and four flags, six feet long, on 
 which should be inscribed four quotations from the sacred 
 books. These flags, it is said, were immediately after the 
 ceremony carried away to the grave. At night two lights 
 were placed, one upon either side of the two mats. The 
 candles were placed in saucers upon stands of bamboo, four 
 feet high, wrapped in white silk. The person who was to 
 
 ' Wo Japanese authority that I have been able to consult gives any expla- 
 natioTi of this singular name. 
 ^ White, in China and Japan, is the colour of mourning. 
 
334 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 disembowel himself, entering the picket fence by the north 
 entrance, took his place upon the white silk upon the mat 
 facing the north. Some there were, however, who said that 
 he should sit facing the west : in that case the whole place 
 must be prepared accordingly. The seconds enter the enclo- 
 sure by the south entrance, at the same time as the principal 
 enters by the north, and take their places on the mat that is 
 placed crosswise, as shown in the annexed plan. 
 
 Nowadays, when the hdra-ldri is performed inside the 
 palace, a temporary place is made on purpose, either in the 
 garden or in some unoccupied spot ; but if the criminal is to 
 die on the day on which he is given in charge, or on the next 
 day, the ceremony, having to take place so quickly, is per- 
 formed in the reception-room. Still, even if there is a lapse 
 of time between the period of giving the prisoner in charge and 
 the execution, it is better that the ceremony should take 
 place in a decent room in the house than in a place made on 
 purpose. If it is heard that, for fear of dirtying his house, 
 a man has made a place expressly, he will be blamed for it. 
 It surely can be no disgrace to the house of a soldier that he 
 was ordered to perform the last oflices towards a Samurai who 
 died by hara-lciri. To slay his eneiny against whom he has 
 cause of hatred, and then to kill himself, is the part of a 
 noble Samurai; and it is sheer nonsense to look upon the 
 place where he has disembowelled himself as polluted. In 
 the beginning of the eighteenth century, seventeen of the 
 retainers of Asano Takumi no Kami performed hara-ldri in 
 the garden of a palace at Shirokan^ in Yedo. When it was 
 over, the people of the palace called upon the priests of a sect 
 named Shugenja to come and purify the place ; but when the 
 lord of the palace heard this, he ordered the place to be left 
 as it was ; for what need was there to purify a place where 
 faithful Samurai had died by their own hand"? But in other 
 palaces to which the remainder of the retainers of Takumi 
 no Kami were entrusted, it is said that the places of execution 
 were purified. But the people of that day praised Kumamoto 
 Ko (the Prince of Higo), to whom the palace at Shirokan^ 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 335 
 
 belonged. It is a currish thing to look upon death in battle 
 or by hara-kiri as a pollution : this is a thing to bear in 
 mind. In modem times the place of hara-hiri is eighteen 
 feet square in all cases ; in the centre is a place to sit upon, 
 and the condemned man is made to sit facing the witnesses ; at 
 other times he is placed with his side to the witnesses : this is 
 according to the nature of the spot. In some cases the seconds 
 turn their backs to the witnesses. It is open to question, how- 
 ever, whether this is not a breach of etiquette. The witnesses 
 should be consulted upon these arrangements. If the wit- 
 nesses have no objection, the condemned men should be 
 placed directly opposite to them. The place where the wit- 
 nesses are seated should be removed more than twelve or 
 eighteen feet from the condemned man. The place from 
 which the sentence is read should also be close by. The 
 writer has been furnished with a plan of the hara-kiri as it 
 is performed at present. It is annexed here. Although the 
 ceremony is gone through in other ways also, still it is more 
 convenient to follow the manner indicated. 
 
 If the execution takes place in a room, a kerchief of five 
 breadths of white cotton cloth or a quilt should be laid down, 
 and it is also said that two mats should be prepared; however, 
 as there are already mats in tbe room, there is no need for 
 special mats : two red rugs should be spread over all, sewed 
 together, one on the top of the other ; for if the white cotton 
 cloth be used alone, the blood will soak through on to the 
 mats; therefore it is right the rugs should be spread. On the 
 twenty-third day of the eighth month of the fourth year of 
 the period Yenkiy6 (a.d. 1740), at the hara-kiri of a certain 
 person there were laid down a white cloth, eight feet square, 
 and on that a quilt of light green cotton, six feet square, and 
 on that a cloth of white hemp, six feet square, and on that 
 two rugs. On the third day of the ninth month of the ninth 
 year of the period Temp6 (a.d. 1838), at the hara-kiri of a 
 certain person it is said that there were spread a large double 
 cloth of white cotton, and on that two rugs. But, of these two 
 occasions, the first must be commended for its careful pre- 
 
336 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 paration. If the execution be at night, candlesticks of white 
 wood should be placed at each of the four corners, lest the 
 seconds be hindered in their work. In the place where the 
 witnesses are to sit, ordinary candlesticks should be placed, 
 according to etiquette ; but an excessive illumination is not 
 ;decorous. Two screens covered with white paper should be 
 set up, behind the shadow of which are concealed the dirk 
 upon a tray, a bucket to hold the head after it has been cut 
 off, an incense-burner, a pail of water, and a basin. The above 
 rules apply equally to the ceremonies observed when the 
 hara-kiri takes place in a garden. In the latter case the 
 place is hung round with a white curtain, which need not be 
 new fot the occasion. Two mats, a white cloth, and a rug are 
 spread. If the execution is at night, lanterns of white paper 
 are placed on bamboo poles at the four corners. The sentence 
 having been read inside the house, the persons engaged in the 
 ceremony proceed to the place of execution ; but, according to 
 cireumstances, the sentence may be read at the place itself. 
 In the case of Asano Takumi no Kami, the sentence was 
 read out in the house, and he afterwards performed hara-hiri 
 in the garden. On the third day of the fourth month of the 
 fourth year of the period Tenmei (a.d. 1784), a Hatamoto 
 named Sauo, having received his sentence in the supreme 
 court-house, disembowelled himseK in the garden in front o*" 
 the prison. When the ceremony takes place in the garden, 
 matting must be spread all the way to the place, so that 
 sandals need not be worn. The reason for this is that some 
 men in that position suffer from a rush of blood to the head, 
 from nervousness, so their sanda]s might slip off their feet 
 without their being aware of their loss ; and as this would 
 have a very bad appearance, it is better to spread matting. 
 Care must be taken lest, in spreading the matting, a place be 
 left where two mats join, against which the foot might trip. 
 The white screens and other things are prepared as has been 
 directed above. If any curtailment is made, it must be done 
 as well as circumstances will permit. According to the 
 crime of which a man who is handed over to any Daimio's 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 337 
 
 charge is guilty, it is known whether he will have to perform 
 hara-Mri; and the preparations should be made accordingly. 
 Asano Takumi no Kami was taken to the palace of Tamura 
 Sama at the hour of the monkey (between three and five in 
 the afternoon), took off his dress of ceremony, partook of a 
 bowl of soup and five dishes, and drank two cups of warm 
 water, and at the hour of the cock (between five and seven in 
 the evening) disembowelled himself A case of this kind 
 requires much attention ; for great care should be taken that 
 the preparations be carried on without the knowledge of the 
 principal. If a temporary room has been built expressly for 
 the occasion, to avoid pollution to the house, it should be kept 
 a secret. It once happened that a criminal was received in 
 charge at the palace of a certain nobleman, and when his 
 people were about to erect a tempcoiary building for the cere- 
 mony, they wrote to consult some of the parties concerned ; 
 the letter ran as follows : 
 
 " The house in which we live is very small and inconvenient 
 in aU respects. We have ordered the guard to treat our 
 prisoner with all respect ; but our retainers who are placed on 
 guard are much inconvenienced for want of space ; besides, 
 in the event of fire breaking out or any extraordinary event 
 taking place, the place is so small that it would be difficult 
 to get out. We are thinking, therefore, of adding an apartment 
 ' to the original building, so that the guard may be able at all 
 times to go in and out freely, and that if, in case of fire or 
 otherwise, we should have to leave the house, we may do so 
 easily. We beg to consult you upon this point." 
 
 When a Samurai has to perform hara-hi¥i by the command 
 of his own feudal lord, the ceremony should take place in one 
 of the lesser palaces of the clan. Once upon a time, a certain 
 prince of the Inouy6 clan, having a just cause of offence 
 against, his steward, who was called Ishikawa Tozayemon, and 
 wishing to punish him, caused him to be killed in his prin- 
 cipal palace at Kandabashi, in Yedo. When this matter was 
 reported to the Shogun, having been convicted of disrespect of 
 the privileges of the city, he was ordered to remove to his 
 
 z 
 
338 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 lesser palace at Asakusa. E"ow, although the hara-ldri cannot* 
 be called properly an execution, stiU, as it only differs from aw 
 ordinary execution in that by it the honour of the Samurai is 
 not affected, it is only a question of degree ; it is a matter of 
 ceremonial. If the principal palace^ is a long distance from 
 the Shogun's castle, then the hara-hiri may take place there ; 
 but there can be no objection whatever to its taking place 
 in a minor palace. Nowadays, when a man is condemned 
 to har-a-hiri by a Daimio, the ceremony usually takes place in 
 one of the lesser palaces ; the place commonly selected is an 
 open space near the horse-exercising ground, and the prepa- 
 rations which I have described above are often shortened 
 according to circumstances. 
 
 When a retainer is suddenly ordered to perform Tiarorkiri 
 during a journey, a temple or shrine should be hired for the 
 occasion. On these hurried occasions, coarse mats, faced with 
 finer matting or common mats, may be used. If the criminal 
 is of rank to have an armour-bearer, a carpet of skin should be 
 spread, should one be easily procurable. The straps of the 
 skin (which are at the head) should, according to old custom, 
 be to the front, so that the fur may point backwards. In old 
 days, when the ceremony took place in a garden, a carpet of 
 skin was spread. To hire a temple for the purpose of causing 
 a man to perform hara-kiri was of frequent occurrence : it is 
 doubtful whether it may be done at the present time. This 
 sort of question should be referred beforehand to some com- 
 petent person, that the course to be adopted may be clearly 
 understood. 
 
 In the period Kambun (a.d. 1661 — 1673) a Prince Sakai, 
 travelling through the Bishiu territory, hired a temple or 
 shrine for one of his retainers to disembowel himself in ; and 
 so the affair was concluded. 
 
 * The principal yaahikis (palaces) of the nobles are for the most part imme- 
 diately round the Shogim's castle, in the enclosure known as the official 
 quarter. Their proximity to the palace forbids their being made the scenes 
 of executions. 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 33a 
 
 ON THE CEREMONIES OBSERVED AT THE HAEA-KIKI OF A PERSON 
 GIVEN IN CHARGE TO A DAIMIO. 
 
 When a man has been ordered by the Government to dis- 
 embowel himself, the public censors, who have been appointed 
 to act as witnesses, write to the prince who has the criminal 
 in charge, to inform them that they will go to his palace on 
 public business. This message is written directly to the chief, 
 and is sent by an assistant censor ; and a suitable answer is 
 returned to it. Before the ceremony, the witnesses send an 
 assistant censor to see the place, and look at a plan of the 
 house, and to take a list of the names of the persons who are 
 to be present ; he also has an interview with the kaishaku, or 
 seconds, and examines them upon the way of performing the 
 ceremonies. When all the preparations have been made, he 
 goes to fetch the censors; and they all proceed together to 
 the place of execution, dressed in their hempen-cloth dress 
 of ceremony. The retainers of the palace are collected to do 
 obeisance in the entrance-yard ; and the lord, to whom the 
 criminal has been entrusted, goes as far as the front porch to 
 meet the censors, and conducts them to the front reception- 
 room. The chief censor then announces to the lord of the 
 palace that he has come to read out the sentence of such an 
 one who has been condemned to perform hara-kiri, and that 
 the second censor has come to witness the execution of the 
 sentence. The lord of the palace then inquires whether he is 
 expected to attend the execution in person, and, if any of the 
 relations or family of the criminal should beg to receive his 
 remains, whether their request should be complied with ; after 
 this he announces that he will order everything to be made 
 ready, and leaves the room. Tea, a fire-box for smoking, and 
 sweetmeats are set before the censors; but they decline to 
 accept any hospitality until their business shall have been 
 concluded. The minor officials follow the same rule. If the 
 censors express a wish to see the place of execution, the re- 
 tainers of the palace show the way, and their lord accompanies 
 
 z 2 
 
340 TJLES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 them; in this, however, he may be replaced by one of his har6 
 or councillors. They then return, and take their seats in the 
 reception-room. After this, when all the preparations have 
 been made, the master of the house leads the censors to the 
 place where the sentence is to be read ; and it is etiquette that 
 they should wear both sword and dirk.^ The lord of the 
 palace takes his place on one side ; the inferior censors sit 
 on either side in a lower place. The councillors and other 
 officers of the palace also take their places. One of the 
 councillors present, addressing the censors without moving 
 from his place, asks whether he shall bring forth the pri- 
 soner. 
 
 Previously to this, the retainers of the palace, going to 
 the room where the prisoner is confined, inform him that, as 
 the censors have arrived, he should change his dress, and the 
 attendants bring out a change of clothes upon a large tray : 
 it is when he has finished his toilet that the witnesses go 
 forth and take their places in the appointed order, and the 
 principal is then introduced. He is preceded by one man, 
 who should be of the rank of Mono-gashira (retainer of the 
 fourth rank), who wears a dirk, but no sword. Six men act 
 as attendants ; they should be of the fifth or sixth rank ; they 
 walk on either side of the principal. They are followed by 
 one man who should be of the rank of YSnin (councillor of 
 the second class). When they reach the place, the leading man 
 draws on one side and sits down, and the six attendants sit 
 down on either side of the principal. The officer who followa 
 him sits down behind him, and the chief censor reads the 
 sentence. 
 
 "When the reading of the sentence is finished, the principal 
 leaves the room and again changes his clothes, and the chief 
 censor immediately leaves the palace; but the lord of the 
 palace does not conduct him to the door. The second 
 censor returns to the reception-room until the principal has 
 changed his clothes. When the principal has taken his seat 
 
 ' A Japanese removes his sword on entering a house, retaining only his 
 dirk. 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 341 
 
 at the place of execution, the councillors of the palace 
 announce to the second censor that aU is ready; he then 
 proceeds to the place, wearing his sword and dirk. The lord 
 of the palace, also wearing his sword and dirk, takes his seat 
 on one side. The inferior censors and councillors sit in front 
 of the censor: they wear the dirk only. The assistant second 
 brings a dirk upon a tray, and, having placed it in front of 
 the principal, withdraws on one side : when the principal leans 
 his head forward, his chief second strikes off his head, which 
 is immediately shown to the censor, who identifies it, and 
 tells the master of the palace that he is satisfied, and thanks 
 him for all his trouble. The corpse, as it lies, is hidden by a 
 white screen which is set up around it, and iacense is brought 
 out. The witnesses leave the place. The lord of the palace 
 accompanies them as far as the porch, and the retaiaers pros- 
 trate themselves in the yard as before. The retainers whc 
 should be present at the place of execution are one or two 
 councillors {Kar6), two or three second councillors {Ydnin), 
 two or three Monogashira, one chief of the palace (Busui), six 
 attendants, one chief second, two assistant seconds, one man to 
 carry incense, who need not be a person of rank — any Samurai 
 will do. They attend to the setting up of the white screen. 
 
 The duty of burying the corpse and of setting the place in 
 order again devolves upon four men ; these are selected from 
 Samurai of the middle or lower class ; during the perform- 
 ances of their duties, they hitch up their trousers and wear 
 neither sword nor dirk. Their names are previously sent in 
 to the censor, who acts as witness ; and to the junior censors, 
 should they desire it. Before the arrival of the chief censor, 
 the requisite utensils for extinguishing a fire are prepared, 
 firemen are engaged,^ and officers constantly go the rounds 
 to watch against fire. Prom the time when the chief censor 
 comes into the house until he leaves it, no one is allowed to 
 enter the premises. The servants on guard at the entrance 
 porch should wear their hempen dresses Of ceremony. Every- 
 
 1 In Japan, where firea are of daily occurrence, the fire-buckets and othei 
 utensils form part of the gala dress of the house of a person of rank. 
 
342 TALM OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 thing in the palace should be conducted with decorum, and 
 the strictest attention paid in all things. 
 
 When any one is condemned to hara-kiri, it would he well 
 •ihat people should go to the palace of the Prince of Higo, 
 and learn what transpired at the execution of the Eonins of 
 Asano Takumi no Kami It is my intention to annex a plan 
 of the event. A curtain was hung round the garden in front 
 of the reception-room ; three mats were laid down, and upon 
 these was placed a white cloth. The condemned men were 
 kept in the reception-room, and summoned, one by one ; two 
 men, one on each side, accompanied them ; the second fol- 
 lowed behind ; and they proceeded together to the place of 
 execution. "When the execution was concluded in each case, 
 the corpse was hidden from the sight of the chief witness by 
 a. white screen, folded up in white cloth, placed on a mat, and 
 carried off to the rear by two foot-soldiers ; it was then placed 
 in a cof&n. The blood-stained ground was sprinkled with 
 sand, and swept clean ; fresh mats were laid down, and the 
 place prepared anew ; after which the next man was sum- 
 moned to come forth. 
 
 ON CERTAIN THINGS TO BE BORNE IN MIND BY THE 
 
 WITNESSES. 
 
 When a clansman is ordered by his feudal lord to perform 
 hara-kiri, the sentence must be read out by the censor of the 
 clan, who also acts as witness. He should take his place in 
 front of the criminal, at a distance of twelve feet ; according 
 to some books, the distance should be eighteen feet, and he 
 should sit obliquely, not facing the criminal ; he should lay 
 his sword down by his side, but, if he pleases, he may wear 
 it in his girdle ; he must read out the sentence distinctly. If 
 the sentence be a long document, to begin reading in a very 
 loud voice and afterwards drop into a whisper has an appear- 
 ance of faint-heartedness ; but to read it throughout in a low 
 voice is worse still : it should be delivered clearly from begin- 
 
THB HARA-KIRI. 343 
 
 ning to end. It is the duty of the chief witness to set an 
 example of fortitude to the other persons who are to take 
 part in the execution. "When the second has finished his 
 work, he carries the head to the cliief witness, who, after in- 
 specting it, must declare that he has identified it ; hS then 
 should take his sword, and leave his place. It is sufficient, 
 however, that the head should he struck off without being 
 carried to the chief witness ; in that case, the second receives 
 his instructions beforehand. On rising, the chief witness 
 should step out with his left foot and turn to the left. If the 
 ceremony takes place out of doors, the chief witness, wearing 
 his sword and dirk, should sit upon a box ; he must wear his 
 hempen dress of ceremony ; he may hitch his trousers up 
 slightly ; according to his rank, he may wear his full dress — 
 that is, wiugs over his full dress. It is the part of the chief 
 witness to instruct the seconds and others in the duties which 
 they have to perform, and also to preconcert measures in the 
 event of any mishap occurring. 
 
 If whilst the various persons to be engaged in the ceremony 
 are rubbing up their military lore, and preparing themselves 
 for the event, any other person should come in, they should 
 immediately turn the conversation. Persons of the rank of 
 Samurai should be familiar with all the details of the hara- 
 Idri ; and to be seen discussing what should be done in case 
 anything went wrong, and so forth, would have an appear- 
 ance of ignorance. If, however, an intimate friend should 
 go to the place, rather than have any painful concealment, he 
 may be consulted upon the whole affair. 
 
 When the sentence has been read, it is probable that the 
 condemned man wUl have some last words to say to the chief 
 witness. It must depend on the nature of what he has to say 
 whether it will be received or not. If he speaks in a confused 
 or bewildered manner, no attention is paid to it : his second 
 should lead him away, of his own accord or at a sign from 
 the chief witness. 
 
 If the condemned man be a person who has been given in 
 charge to a prince by the Government, the prince, after the 
 
344 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 reading of the sentence, should send his retainers to the 
 prisoner with a message to say that the decrees of the Govern- 
 ment are not to be eluded, but that if he has any last wishes 
 to express, they are ordered by their lord to receive them. If 
 the prisoner is a man of high rank, the lord of the palace 
 should go in person to hear his last wishes. 
 
 The condemned man should answer in the following 
 way :— 
 
 " Sir, I thank you for your careful consideration, but I have 
 nothing that I wish to say. I am greatly indebted to you 
 for the great kindness which I have received since I have 
 been under your charge. I beg you to take my respects to 
 your lord and to the gentlemen of your clan who have treated 
 me so well." Or he may say, " Sirs, I have nothing to say ; 
 yet, since you are so kind as to think of me, I should be 
 obliged if you would deliver such and such a message to 
 such an one." This is the proper and becoming sort of 
 speech for the occasion. If the prisoner entrusts them with 
 any message, the retainers should receive it in such a manner 
 as to set his mind at rest. Should he ask for writing ma- 
 terials in order to write a letter, as this is forbidden by the 
 law, they should tell him so, and not grant his request. Still 
 they must feel that it is painful to refuse the request of a 
 dying man, and must do their best to assist him. They must 
 exhaust every available kindness and civility, as was done in 
 the period Genroku, in the case of the E6nins of Asano Takumi 
 no Kami. The Prince of Higo, after the sentence had been 
 read, caused paper and writing-materials to be taken to their 
 room. If the prisoner is light-headed from excitement, it is 
 no use furnishing him with writing-materials. It must 
 depend upon circumstances ; but when a man has murdered 
 another, having made up his mind to abide by the conse- 
 quences, then that man's execution should be carried through 
 with all honour. When a man kills another on the spot, in a 
 iit of ungovernable passion, and then is bewildered and dazed 
 by his own act, the same pains need not be taken to conduct 
 matters punctiliously. If the prisoner be a careful man, he \k '11 
 
THTl HAUA-KIRI 345 
 
 take an early opportunity after he has been given in charge 
 to express his wishes. To carry kiadness so far as to supply 
 writing-materials and the like is not obligatory. If any doubt 
 exists upon the point, the chief witness may be consulted. 
 
 After the E8nins of Asano Takumi no Kami had heard 
 their sentence in the palace of Matsudaira Oki no Kami, that 
 Daimio in person went and took leave of them, and calling 
 Oishi Chikara,! the son of their chief, to him, said, " I have 
 heard that your mother is at home in your own country ; 
 how she will grieve when she hears of your death and that 
 of your father, I can well imagine. If you have any message 
 that you wish to leave for her, tell me, without standing upon 
 ceremony, and I wiU transmit it without delay." For a while 
 Chikara kept his head bent down towards the ground ; at last 
 he drew back a little, and, lifting his head, said, " I humbly 
 thank your lordship for what you have been pleased to say. 
 My father warned me from the first that, our crime was so 
 great that, even were we to be pardoned by a gracious judg- 
 ment upon one count, I must not forget that there would be a 
 hundred million counts against us for which we must commit 
 suicide ; and that if I disregarded his words his hatred would 
 pursue me after death. My father impressed this upon me at 
 the temple called Sengakuji, and again when I was separated 
 from him to be taken to the palace of Prince Sengoku. Now. 
 my father and myself have been condemned to perform hara- 
 Jciri, according to the wish of our hearts. Still I cannot 
 forget to think of my mother. When we parted at Kiy6to, 
 she told me that our separation would be for long, and she 
 bade me not to play the coward when I thought of her. 
 As I took a long leave of her then, I have no message to send 
 to her now." When he spoke thus, Oki no Kami and all 
 his retainers, who were drawn up around him, were moved 
 to tears in admiration of his heroism. 
 
 Although it is right that the condemned man should bathe 
 and partake of wine and food, these details should be cur- 
 
 1 Oishi Chikara was separated from his father, who was one of the seven- 
 teen delivered over to the charge of the Prince of Higo. 
 
346 TALM OP OLD JAPAN. 
 
 tailed. Even should he desire these favours, it must depend 
 upon his conduct whether they be granted or refused. He 
 should be caused to die as quickly as possible. Should he 
 ■wish for some water to driak, it should be given to him. If 
 in his talk he should express himself like a noble Samurai, 
 all pains should be- exhausted in carrying out his execution. 
 Yet however careful a man he may be, as he nears his death 
 his usual demeanour will undergo a change. If the execution 
 is delaj'ed, in all probability it will cause the prisoner's 
 courage to fail him ; therefore, as soon as the sentence shall 
 have been passed, the execution should be brought to a con- 
 clusion. This, again, is a point for the chief witness to 
 remember. 
 
 CONCEENING SECONDS (kAISHAKU). 
 
 When the condemned man is one who has been given in 
 charge for execution, six attendants are employed ; when the 
 execution is within the clan, then two or three attendants 
 will suffice; the number, however, must depend upon the 
 rank of the principal. Men of great nerve and strength must 
 be selected for the office ; - they must wear their hempen 
 dress of ceremony, and tuck up their trousers ; they must 
 on no account wear either sword or dirk, but have a small 
 poniard hidden in their bosom : these are the officers who 
 attend upon the condemned man when he changes his dress, 
 and who sit by him on the right hand and on the left hand 
 to guard him whilst the sentence is being read. In the event 
 of any mistake occurring (such as the prisoner attempting to 
 escape), they knock him down ; and should he be unable to 
 stand or to walk, they help to support him. The attendants 
 accompanying the principal to the place of execution, if they 
 are six in number, four of them take their seats some way off 
 and mount guard, while the other two should sit close behind 
 the principal. They must understand that should there be 
 any mistake they must throw the condemned man, and, 
 holding him down, cut off his head with their poniard, or 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 347 
 
 stab him to death. If the second hungles in cutting off the 
 head and the principal attempts to rise, it is the duty of the 
 attendants to kill him. They must help him to take off his 
 upper garments and bare his body. In recent times, how- 
 ever, there have been cases where the upper garments have 
 not been removed : this depends upon circumstances. The 
 setting up of the white screen, and the laying the corpse in 
 the coffin, are duties which, although they may be performed 
 by other officers, originally devolved upon the six attendants. 
 When a common man is executed, he is bound with cords, 
 and so made to take his place ; but a Samurai wears his dress 
 of ceremony, is presented with a dagger, and dies thus. 
 There ought to be no anxiety lest such a man should attempt 
 to escape ; still, as there is no knowing what these six at- 
 tendants may be called upon to do, men should be selected 
 who thoroughly imderstan(^- their business. 
 
 The seconds are three in number — ^the chief second, the 
 assistant second, and the inferior second. When the execution 
 is carried out with proper solemnity, three men are employed ; 
 stiU a second and assistant second are sufficient. If three 
 men serve as seconds, their several duties are as follows : — 
 The chief second strikes off the head ; that is his duty : he 
 is the most important officer, in the execution by hara-lciri. 
 The assistant second brings forward the tray, on which is 
 placed the dirk ; that is his duty : he must perform his part 
 in such a manner that the principal second is not hindered in 
 his work. The assistant second is the officer of second im- 
 portance in the execution. The third or inferior second 
 carries the head to the chief witness for identification ; and in 
 the event of something suddenly occurring to hinder either of 
 the other two seconds, he should bear in mind that he must 
 be ready to act as his substitute : his is an office of great 
 importance, and a proper person must be selected to fill it. 
 
 Although there can be no such thing as a haishaku 
 (second) in any case except in one of hara-kiri, still in old 
 times guardians and persons who assisted others were also 
 called haishaku : the reason for this is because the kaishakii, 
 
348 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 or second, comes to the assistance of the principal. If the 
 principal were to make any mistake at the fatal moment, it 
 would be a disgrace to his dead body : it is in order to 
 prevent such mistakes that the kaishaku, or second, is 
 employed. It is the duty of the kaishaku to consider this 
 as his first duty. 
 
 When a man is appointed to act as second to another, what 
 shall be said of him if he accepts the office with a smiling 
 face ? Yet must he not put on a face of distress. It is as 
 well to attempt to excuse oneself from performing the duty. 
 There is no heroism in cutting a man's head off well, and it is 
 a disgrace to do it in a bungling manner ; yet must not a man 
 allege lack of skill as a pretext for evading the office, for it is an 
 unworthy thing that a Samurai should want the skill required 
 to behead a man. . If there are any that advocate employing 
 young men as seconds, it should rather be said that their 
 hands are inexpert. To play the coward and yield up the 
 office to another man is out of the question. When a man 
 is called upon to perform the office, he should express his 
 readiness to use his sword (the dirk may be employed, but 
 the sword is the proper weapon). As regards the sword, the 
 second should borrow that of the principal : if there is any 
 objection to this, he should receive a sword from his lord ; he 
 should not use his own sword. When the assistant seconds 
 have been appointed, the three should take counsel together 
 about the details of the place of execution, when they have been 
 carefully instructed by their superiors in all the ceremonies ; 
 and having made careful inquiry, should there be anything 
 wrong, they should appeal to their superiors for instruction. 
 The seconds wear their dresses of ceremony when the criminal 
 is a man given in charge by the Government : when he is one 
 of their own clan, they need only wear the trousers of the 
 Samurai. In old days it is said that they were dressed in 
 the same way as the principal ; and some authorities assert 
 that at the hara-kiri of a nobleman of high rank the seconds 
 should wear white clothes, and that the handle of the sword 
 should be wrapped in white silk. If the execution takes 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 349 
 
 place in the house, they should partially tuck up their 
 trousers; if in the garden, they should tuck them up 
 entirely. 
 
 The seconds should address the principal, and say, " Sir, 
 we have been appointed to act as your seconds ; we pray you 
 to set your mind at rest," and so forth ; but this must depend 
 upon the rank of the criminal. At this time, too, if the 
 principal has any last wish to express, the second should 
 receive it, and should treat him with every consideration in 
 order to relieve his anxiety. If the second has been selected 
 by the priacipal on account of old friendship between them, 
 or if the latter, during the time that he has been in charge, has 
 begged some special retainer of the palace to act as his second 
 in the event of his being condemned to death, the person so 
 selected should thank the principal for choosing so unworthy 
 a person, and promise to beg his lord to allow him- to act as 
 second : so he should answer, and comfort him, and having 
 reported the matter to his lord, should act as second. He 
 should take that opportunity to borrow his principal's sword 
 in some such terms as the following : "As I am to have the 
 honour of being your second, I would fain borrow your sword 
 for the occasion. It may be a consolation to you to perish 
 by your own sword, with which you are familiar." If, how- 
 ever, the principal declines, and prefers to be executed with 
 the second's sword, his wish must be complied with. If the 
 second should make an awkward cut with his own sword, it 
 is a disgrace to him ; therefore he should borrow some one 
 else's sword, so that the blame may rest with the sword, and 
 not with the swordsman. Althoiigh this is the rule, and 
 although every Samurai should wear a sword fit to cut off 
 a man's head, still if the princfpal has begged to be executed 
 with the second's own sword, it must be done as he desires. 
 
 It is probable that the condemned man will inquire of his 
 second about the arrangements which have been made : he 
 must attend therefore to rendering himself capable of answer- 
 ing aU such questions. Once upon a time, when the con- 
 demned man inquired of his second whether his head would 
 
350 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 be cut off at the moment when he received the tray with the 
 dirk upon it, " No," replied the second ; " at the moment when 
 you stab yourself with the dirk your head will be cut off." 
 At the execution of one San6, he told his' second that, when 
 he had stabbed himself in the belly, he would utter a cry ; 
 and begged him to be cool when he cut off his head. The 
 second replied that he would do as he wished, but begged 
 him in the meantime to take the tray with the dirk, according 
 to proper form. When San& reached out his nand to take 
 the tray, the second cut off his head immediately. Now, 
 although this was not exactly right, still as the second acted 
 so in order to save a Samurai from the disgrace of performing 
 the liara-kin improperly (by crying out), it can never be 
 wrong for a second to act kindly. If the principal urgently 
 requests to be allowed really to disembowel himself, his wish 
 may, according to circumstances, be granted; but in this 
 case care must be taken that no time be lost in striking off 
 the head. The custom of striking off the head, the prisoner 
 only going through the semblance of disembowelling himself, 
 dates from the period Yemp6 (about 190 years ago). 
 
 When the principal has taken his place, the second strips 
 his right shoulder of the dress of ceremony, which he allows 
 to fall behind his sleeve, and, drawing his sword, lays down 
 the scabbard, taking care that his weapon is not seen by the 
 principal; then he takes his place on the left of the principal 
 and close behind him. The principal should sit facing the 
 west, and the second facing the north, and in that position 
 should he strike the blow. When the second perceives the 
 assistant second bring out the tray on which is laid the dirk, 
 he must brace up his nerves and settle his heart beneath his 
 navel : when the tray is laid down, he must put himself in 
 position to strike the blow. He should step out iirst with the 
 left foot, and then change so as to bring his right foot forward: 
 this is the position which he should assume to strike ; he may, 
 however, reverse the position of his feet. When the principal 
 removes his upper garments, the second must poise his sword: 
 when the princip^ reaches out his hand to draw the tray 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 351 
 
 towards him, as lie leans his head forward a little, is the exact 
 moment for the second to strike. There are all sorts of 
 traditions about this. Some say that the principal should 
 take the tray and raise it respectfully to his head, and set it 
 down ; and that this is the moment to strike. There are three 
 rules for the time of cutting off the head : the first is when 
 the dirk is laid on the tray ; the second is when the prin- 
 cipal looks at the left side of his telly before inserting 
 the dirk ; the third is when he inserts the dirk. If these 
 three moments are allowed, to pass, it becomes a difficult 
 matter to cut off the head : so says tradition. However, 
 four moments for cutting are also recorded : first, when the 
 assistant second retires after having laid down the stand on 
 which is the dirk; second, when the principal draws the 
 stand towards him ; third, when he takes the dirk in his 
 hand; fourth, when he makes the incision into the belly. 
 Although all four ways are approved, still the first is too 
 soon ; the last three are right and proper. In short, the blow 
 should be struck without delay. If he has struck off the 
 head at a blow without failure, the second, taking care not to 
 raise his sword, but holding it point downwards, should retire 
 backward a little and wipe his weapon kneeling ; he should 
 have plenty of white paper ready in his girdle or in his bosom 
 to wipe away the blood and rub up his sword ; having re- 
 placed his sword in its scabbard, he should readjust his 
 upper garments and take his seat to the rear. When the 
 head has fallen, the junior second should enter, and, taking up 
 the head, present it to the witness for inspection. When he 
 has identified it, the ceremony is concluded. If there is no 
 assistant or junior second, the second, as soon as he has cut 
 off the head, carrying his sword reversed in his left hand, 
 should take the head in his right hand, holding it by the top- 
 knot of hair, should advance towards the witness, passing on 
 the right side of the corpse, and show the right profile of the 
 head to the witness, resting the chin of the head upon the 
 hilt of his sword, and kneeling on his left knee; then return- 
 ing again round by the left of the corpse, kneeHug on his left 
 
352 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 knee, and carrying the head in his left hand and resting it on 
 the edge of his sword, he should again show the left profile to 
 the witness. It is also laid down as another rule, that the 
 second, laying down his sword, should take out paper from the 
 bosom of his dress, and placing the head in the palm of his 
 left hand, and taking the top-knot of hair in his right hand, 
 should lay the head upon the paper, and so submit it for 
 inspection. Either way may he said to he right. 
 
 Note. — To lay down thick paper, and place the head on it, shows a 
 disposition to pay respect to the head; to place it on the edge of the 
 sword is insulting : the course pursued must depend upon the rank 
 of the person. If the ceremony is to be curtailed, it may end with 
 the cutting off of the head : that must be settled beforehand, in 
 consultation with the witness. In the event of the 'second making 
 a false cut, so as not to strike off the head at a blow, the second 
 must take the head by the top-knot, and, pressing it down, cut it off. 
 Should he' take bad aim and cut the shoulder by mistake, and 
 should the principal rise and cry out, before he has time to writhe, 
 he should hold him down and steb him to death, and then cut off his 
 head, or the assistant seconds, who are sitting behind, should come 
 forward and hold him down, while the chief second cuts off his 
 head. It may be necessary for the second, after he has cut off the 
 head, to push down the body, and then take up the head for inspec- 
 tion. It the body does not faU at once, which is said to be some- 
 times the case, the second should pull the feet to make it fall. 
 
 There are some who say that the perfect way for the second to 
 cut off the head is not to cut right through the neck at a blow, but 
 to leave a little uncut, and, as the head hangs by the skin, to seize 
 the top -knot and slice it off, and then submit it for inspection. The 
 reason of this is, lest, the head being struck off at a blow, the cere- 
 mony should be confounded with an ordinary execution. According 
 to the old authorities, this is the proper and respectful manner. 
 After the head is cut off, the eyes are apt to blink, and the mouth 
 to move, and to bite the pebbles and sand. This being hateful to 
 see, at what amongst Samurai is so important an occasion, and being 
 a shameful thing, it is held to be best not to let the head fall, but 
 to hold hack a little in deUvering the blow. Perhaps this may be 
 right ; yet it is a very difficult matter to cut so as to leave the head 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 353 
 
 hanging by a little flesh, and there is the danger of missing the cut ; 
 and as any mistake in the cut is most horrible to see, it is better to 
 strike a fair blow at once. Others say that, even when the head is 
 struck off at a blow, the semblance of slicing it off should be gone 
 through afterwards ; yet be it borne in mind that this is unnecessary. 
 
 Three methods of carrying the sword are recognized 
 amongst those skilled in swordmanship. If the rank of the 
 principal he high, the sword is raised aloft ; if the principal 
 and second are of equal rank, the sword is carried at the 
 centre of the body ; if the principal be of inferior rank, the 
 sword is allowed to hang downwards. The proper position 
 for the second to strike from is kneeling on one knee, but 
 there is no harm in his standing up : others say that, if the 
 execution takes place inside the house, the second should 
 kneel; if in the garden, he should stand. These are not points 
 upon -which to insist obstinately: a man should strike in 
 whatever position is most convenient to him. 
 
 The chief duty for the assistant second to bear in mind is 
 the bringing in of the tray with the dirk, which should he 
 produced very quietly when the principal takes his place : it 
 should be placed so that the condemned man may have 
 to 1 retch his hand well out in order to reach it.^ The 
 assistant second then returns to his own place; but if the 
 condemned man shows any signs of agitation, the assistant 
 second must lend his assistance, so that the head may be 
 properly cut off. It once happened that the condemned man, 
 having received the tray from the assistant second, held it up 
 for a long time without putting it down, until those near him 
 had over and over again urged him to set it down. It also 
 happens that after the tray has been set down, and the assistant 
 second has retired, the condemned man does not put out his 
 hand to take it ; then must the assistant second press him 
 to take it. Also the principal may ask that the tray be placed 
 a little nearer to him, in which case his wish must he granted. 
 The tray may also he placed in such a way that the assistant 
 
 1 Tt should be placed about three feet away from him, 
 AA 
 
354 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 second, holding it in his left hand, may reach the dirk to the 
 condemned man, who leans forward to take it. Which is the 
 best of all these ways is uncertain. The object to aim at 
 is, that the condemned man should lean forward to receive 
 the blow. Whether the assistant second retires, or not, must 
 depend upon the attitude assumed by the condemned man. 
 
 If the prisoner be an unruly, violent man, a fan, instead of 
 a dirk, should be placed upon the tray ; and should he object 
 to this, he should be told, in answer, that the substitution of 
 the fan is an ancient custom. This may occur sometimes. It 
 is said that once upon a time, in one of the palaces of the 
 Daimios, a certain brave matron murdered a man, and having 
 been allowed to die with all the honours of the hara-kiri, a 
 fan was placed upon the tray, and her head was cut off. TMs 
 may be considered right and proper. If the condemned man 
 appears inclined to be turbulent, the seconds, without showing 
 any sign of alarm, should hurry to his side, and, urging him 
 to get ready, quickly cause him to make all his preparations 
 with speed, and to sit down in his place; the chief second, 
 then drawing his sword, should get ready to strike, and, 
 ordering him to proceed as fast as possible with the cere- 
 mony of receiving the tray, should perform his duty without 
 appearing to be afraid. 
 
 A certain Prince Kato, having condemned one of his 
 councillors to death, assisted at the ceremony behind a 
 curtain of slips of bamboo. The councillor, whose name was 
 Katayama, was bound, and during that time glared fiercely at 
 the curtain, and showed no signs of fear. The chief second 
 was a man named Jihei^ who had always been used to treat 
 Katayama with great respect. So Jihei, sword in hand, said 
 to Katayama, " Sir, your last moment has arrived : be so good 
 as to turn your cheek so that your head may be straight." 
 When Katayama heard this, he replied, " Fellow, you are in- 
 solent ; " and as he was looking round, Jihei struck the fatal 
 blow. The lord Kato afterwards inquired of Jihei what was 
 the reason of this ; and he replied that, as he saw that the 
 prisoner was meditating treason, he determined to kill him at 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 355 
 
 once, and put a stop to this rebellious spirit. This is a pattern 
 for other seconds to bear in mind. 
 
 When the head has been struck off, it becomes the duty of 
 the jimior second to take it up by the top-knot, and, placing 
 it upon some thick paper laid over the palm of his hand, to 
 carry it for inspection by the witness. This ceremony has 
 been explained above. If the head be bald, he should pierce 
 the left ear with the stiletto carried in the scabbard of his 
 dirk, and so carry it to be identified. He must carry thick 
 paper in the bosom of his dress. Inside the paper he shall 
 place a bag with rice bran and ashes, in order that he may 
 carry the head without being sullied by the blood. When the 
 identification of the head is concluded, the junior second's 
 duty is to place it in a bucket. 
 
 If anything should occur to hinder the chief second, the 
 assistant second must take his place. It happened on one 
 occasion that before the execution took place the chief second 
 lost his nerve, yet he cut off the head without any dif&culty ; 
 but when it came to taking up the head for inspection, his 
 nervousness so far got the better of him as to be extremely 
 inconvenient. This is a thing against which persons acting as 
 seconds have to guard. 
 
 As a corollary to the above elaborate statement of the cere- 
 monies proper to be observed at the hara-kiri, I may here 
 describe an instance of such an execution which I was sent 
 officially to witness. The condemned man was Taki Zenza- 
 bur8, an officer of the Prince of Bizen, who gave the order to 
 fire upon the foreign settlement at Hiogo in the month of 
 February 1868, — an attack to which I have alluded in the 
 preamble to the story of the Eta Maiden and the Hatamoto. 
 Up to that time no foreigner had witnessed such an execution, 
 which was rather looked upon as a traveller's fable. 
 
 The ceremony, which was ordered by the Mikado himself, 
 took place at 10.30 at night in the temple of Seifukuji, the 
 
 AA 2 
 
356 TALES OF. OLD JAPAN. 
 
 head-quarters of the Satsuma troops at Hiogo. A witness was 
 sent from each of the foreign legations. We were seven 
 foreigners in all. 
 
 We were conducted to the temple by officers of the Princes 
 of Satsuma and Choshiu. Although the ceremony was to be 
 conducted in the most private manner, the casual remarks 
 which we overheard in the streets, and a crowd lining the 
 principal entrance to the temple, showed that it was a matter 
 of no little interest to the public. The courtyard of the temple 
 presented a most picturesque sight; it was crowded with 
 soldiers standing about in knots round large fires, which 
 threw a dim flickering light over the heavy eaves and quaint 
 gable-ends of the sacred buildings. We were shown into an 
 inner room, where we were to wait until the preparation for 
 the ceremony was completed : in the next room to us were 
 the high Japanese officers. After a long interval, which 
 seemed doubly long from the silence which prevailed, It6 
 Shunsk^, the provisional Governor of Hiogo, came and took 
 down our names, and informed us that seven kenshi, sheriffs 
 or witnesses, would attend on the part of the Japanese. He 
 and another officer represented the Mikado ; two captains of 
 Satsuma's infantry, and two of Choshiu's, with a represen- 
 tative of the Prince of Bizen, the clan of the condemned 
 man, completed the number, which was probably arranged 
 in order to tally with that of the foreigners. ItS Shunsk^ 
 further inquired whether we wished to put any questions to 
 the prisoner. We replied in the negative. 
 
 A further delay then ensued, after which we were invited 
 to follow the Japanese witnesses into the hondo or main hall 
 of the temple, where the ceremony was to be performed. It 
 was an imposing scene. A large hall with a high roof sup- 
 ported by dark pillars of wood. From the ceiling hung a 
 profusion of those huge gilt lamps and ornaments peculiar 
 to Buddhist temples. In front of the high altar, where the 
 floor, covered with beautiful white mats, is raised some three 
 or four inches from the ground, was laid a rug of scarlet felt. 
 Tall candles placed at regular intervals gave out a dim mys- 
 
run HARA-KIRI. 357 
 
 tenons light, just sufficient to let all the proceedings be 
 seen. The seven Japanese took their places on the left of 
 the raised floor, the seven foreigners on the right, No other 
 person was present. 
 
 After an interval of a few minutes of anxious suspense, 
 Taki ZenzaburS, a stalwart man, thirty-two years of age, with 
 a noble air, walked into the hall attired in his dress of cere- 
 mony, with the peculiar hempen-cloth wings which are worn 
 on great occasions. He was accompanied by a kaishahi and 
 three officers, who wore the jimhaori or war surcoat with gold- 
 tissue facings. The word Jeaishaku, it should be observed, is 
 one to which our word exemtioner is no equivalent term. The 
 office is that of a gentleman : in many cases it is performed 
 by a kinsman or friend of the condemned, and the relation 
 between them is rather that of principal and second than 
 that of victim and executioner. In this instance the kai- 
 shahu was a pupil of Taki Zenzaburo, and was selected by 
 the friends of the latter from among their own number for 
 his skill in swordsmanship. 
 
 With the kaishaku on his left hand, Taki Zenzaburo ad- 
 vanced slowly towards the Japanese witnesses, and the two 
 bowed before them, then drawing near to the foreigners they 
 saluted us in the same way, perhaps even with more deference : 
 in each case the salutation was ceremoniously returned. 
 Slowly, and with great dignity, the condemned man mounted 
 on to the raised floor, prostrated himself before the high altar 
 twice, and seated ^ himself on the felt carpet with his back 
 to the high altar, the kaishaku crouching on his left-hand 
 side. One of the three attendant officers then came forward, 
 bearing a stand of the kind used in temples for offerings, on 
 which, wrapped in paper, lay the wahizasU, the short sword 
 or dirk of the Japanese, nine inches and a half in length, with 
 a, point and an edge as sharp as a razor's. This he handed, 
 prostrating himself, to the condemned man, who received it 
 
 » Seated himself— that is, in the Japanese fa.shion, his knees and toes 
 touching the ground, and his hody resting on his heels. In this position, 
 Vhich if one of respect, he remained until his death. 
 
358 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 reverently, raising it to his head with both hands, and placed 
 it in front of himself. 
 
 After another profound obeisance, Taki Zenzabur6, in a 
 voice which betrayed just so much emotion and hesitation, 
 as might be expected from a man who is making a painfur 
 confession, but with no sign of either in his face or manner, 
 spoke as follows : — 
 
 " I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the 
 foreigners at K6be, and again as they tried to escape. Tor 
 this crime I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are 
 present to do me the honour of witnessing the act." 
 
 Bowing once more, the speaker allowed his upper garments 
 to slip down to his girdle, and remained naked to the waist. 
 Carefully, according to custom, he tucked his sleeves under his 
 knees to prevent himself from falling backwards ; for a noble 
 Japanese gentleman should die faUing forwards. Delibe- 
 rately, with a steady hand, he took the dirk that lay before 
 liim ; he looked at it wistfully, almost affectionately ; for a 
 moment he seemed to coUect his thoughts for the last time, 
 and then stabbing himself deeply below the waist on the 
 left-hand side, he drew the dirk slowly across to the right 
 side, and, turning it in the wound, gave a slight cut upwards. 
 During this sickeningly painful operation he never moved a 
 muscle of his face. When he drew out the dirk, he leaned 
 forward and stretched out his neck ; an expression of pain 
 for the first time crossed his face, but he uttered no sound. 
 At that moment the haishalm, who, stiU crouching by his 
 side, had been keenly watching his every movement, sprang 
 to his feet, :poised his sword for a second in the air ; there 
 was a flash, a heavy, ugly thud, a crashing fall; with one 
 blow tie head had been severed from the body. 
 
 A dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise 
 of the blood throbbing out of the inert heap before us, which 
 but a moment before had been a brave and chivalrous man. 
 It was horrible. 
 
 The kaishahu made a low bow, wiped his sword with a 
 piece of paper which he had ready for the purpose, and retired 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 359 
 
 i'roiri the raised floor; and the stained dirk was solemnly- 
 borne away, a bloody proof of the execution. 
 
 The two representatives of the Mikado then left their 
 places, and, crossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat, 
 called us to witness that the sentence of death upon Taki 
 Zenzabur6 had been faithfully carried out. The ceremony 
 being at an end, we left the temple. 
 
 The ceremony, to which the place and the hour gave an 
 additional solemnity, was characterized throughout by that 
 extreme dignity and punctUiousness which are the distinctive 
 marks of the proceedings of Japanese gentlemen of rank ; 
 and it is important to note this fact, because it carries with 
 it the conviction that the dead man was indeed the officer 
 who had committed the crime, and no substitute. WhUe pro- 
 foundly impressed by the terrible scene, it was impossible at 
 the same time not to be filled with admiration of the firm 
 and manly bearing of the sufferer, and of the nerve with 
 which the kaishaku performed his last duty to his master. 
 Nothing could more strongly show the force of education. 
 The Samurai, or gentleman of the military class, from his 
 earliest years learns to look upon the hara-kiri as a ceremony 
 in which some day he may be called upon to play a part as 
 principal or second. In old-fashioned families, which hold 
 to the traditions of ancient chivalry, the child is instructed 
 in the rite and familiarized with the idea as an honourable 
 expiation of crime or blotting out of disgrace. If the hour 
 comes, he is prepared for it, and bravely faces an ordeal 
 which early training has robbed of half its horrors. In what 
 other country ia the world does a man learn that the last 
 tribute of affection which he may have to pay to his best 
 friend may be to act as his executioner ? 
 
 Since I wrote the above, we have heard that, before his 
 entry into the fatal hall, Taki Zenzaburo called round him 
 all those of his pwn clan who were present, many of whom 
 had carried out his order to fire, and, addressing them in a 
 short speech, acknowledged the heinousAess of his crime and 
 the jtistiee of his sentence, and warned them solenmly to 
 
360 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 avoid any repetition of attacks upon foreigners. They were 
 also addressed by the officers of the Mikado, who urged them 
 to bear no ill-will against us on account of the fate of their 
 fellow-clansman. They declared that they entertained no 
 such feeling. 
 
 The opinion has been expressed that it would have been 
 politic for the foreign representatives at the last moment to 
 have interceded for the life of Taki Zenzabur&. The question 
 is believed to have been debated among the representatives 
 themselves. My own belief is that mercy, although it might 
 have produced the desired effect among the more civilized 
 clans, would have been mistaken for weakness and fear by 
 those wilder people who have not yet a personal knowledge 
 of foreigners. The offence — an attack upon the flags and 
 subjects of all the Treaty Powers, which lack of skill, not of 
 will, alone prevented from ending in a universal massacre — 
 was the gravest that has been committed upon foreigners 
 since their residence in Japan. Death was undoubtedly 
 deserved, and the form chosen was in Japanese eyes mer- 
 ciful and yet judicial. The crime might have involved a war 
 and cost hundreds of lives ; it was wiped out by one death. 
 I believe that, in the interest of Japan as well as in our own, 
 the course pursued was wise, and it was very satisfactory to 
 me to find that one of the ablest Japanese ministers, with 
 whom I had a discussion upon the subject, was quite of my 
 opinion. 
 
 The ceremonies observed at the hara-Mri appear to vary 
 slightly in detail in different parts of Japan ; but the fol- 
 lowing memorandum upon the subject of the rite, as it used 
 to be practised at Yedo during the rule of the Tycoon, 
 clearly establishes its judicial character. I translated it from 
 a paper drawn up for me by a Japanese who was able to 
 speak of what he had seen himself Three different cere- 
 monies are described : — 
 
 1st. Ceremonies observed at the " hara-hiri " of a Hatamoto 
 (jpetty noble of the Tycoon'' s court) in prison. — This is con- 
 ducted with great secrecy. Six mats are spread in a large 
 
THE HARA-KIRI. 361 
 
 courtyard of the prison; an ometmke (officer whose duties 
 appear to consist in the surveillance of other officers), assisted 
 by two other ometsukSs of the second and third class, acts as 
 kenshi (sheriff or witness), and sits in front of the mats. The 
 condemned man, attired in his dress of ceremony, and wearing 
 his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre of the mats. At 
 each of the four corners of the mats sits a prison official. 
 Two officers of the Governor of the city act as kaishaku (exe- 
 cutioners or seconds), and take their place, one on the right 
 hand and the other on the left hand of the condemned. The 
 kaishaku on the left side, announcing his name and surname, 
 says, bowing, "I have the honour to act as kaishaku to 
 you; have you any last wishes to confide to me?" The 
 condemned man thanks him and accepts the offer or not, 
 as the case may be. He then bows to the sheriff, and a 
 wooden dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him 
 at a distance of three feet, wrapped in paper, and lying on a 
 stand such as is used for offerings in temples. As he reaches 
 forward to take the wooden sword, and stretches out his neck, 
 the kaishaku on his left-hand side draws his sword and 
 strikes off his head. The kaishaku on the right-hand side 
 takes up the head and shows it to the sheriff. The body is 
 given to the relations of the deceased for burial. His 
 property is confiscated. 
 
 2nd. The ceremonies observed at the " hara-kiri " of a Daimio's 
 retainer. — When the retainer of a Daimio is condemned to 
 perform the hara-kAri, four mats are placed in the yard of 
 \h& yashiki or palace. The condemned man, dressed in his 
 robes of ceremony, and wearing his wings of hempen cloth, 
 sits in the centre. An officer acts as chief witness, with a 
 second witness under him. Two officers, who act as kaishaha, 
 are on the right and left of the condemned man ; four officers 
 are placed at the corners of the mats. The kaishaku, as in 
 the former case, offers to execute the last wishes of the con- 
 demned. A dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before 
 him on a stand. In this case the dirk is a real dirk, which 
 the man takes and stabs himself with on the left side, below 
 
302 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 the navel, drawing it across to the right side. At this 
 moment, when he leans forward in pain, the haisJidku on 
 the left-hand side cuts off the head. The kaishahu, on the 
 right-hand side takes up the head, and shows it to the sheriff. 
 The body is given. to the relations for burial. In most cases 
 the property of the deceased is confiscated. 
 
 3rd. Self-immolation of a Daimio on account of disgrace. — 
 When a Daimio had been guilty of treason or offended 
 against the Tycoon, inasmuch as the family was disgraced, 
 and an apology could neither be offered nor accepted, the 
 offending Daimio was condemned to hara-kiri. Calling his 
 councillors around him, he confided to them his last will and 
 testament for transmission to the Tycoon. Then, clothing 
 himself in his court dress, he disembowelled himself, and cut 
 his own throat. His councillors then reported the matter to 
 the Government, and a coroner was sent to investigate it. 
 To him the retainers handed the last wiU and testament of 
 their lord, and he took it to the Gorojiu (first council), who 
 transmitted it to the Tycoon. If the offence was heinous, 
 such as would involve the ruin of the whole family, by the 
 clemency of the Tycoon, half the property might be confis- 
 cated, and half returned to the heir ; if the offence was trivial, 
 the property was inherited intact by the heir, and the family 
 did not suffer. 
 
 In all cases where the criminal disembowels himself of his 
 own accord without condemnation and without investigation, 
 inasmuch as he is no longer able to defend himself, the offence is 
 considered as non-proven, and the property is not confiscated. 
 In the year 1869, a motioh was brought forward in the 
 Japanese parliament by one Ono Seigoro, clerk of the house, 
 advocatiag the abolition of the practice of hara-kiri. Two 
 hundred members out of a house of 209 voted against, the 
 motion, which was supported by only three speakers, six 
 members not voting on either side. In this debate the 
 seppuku, or hara-kiri, was called "the very shrine of the 
 Japanese national spirit, and the embodiment in practice of 
 devotion to principle," " a great ornament to the empire," " a 
 
THE HABA-KIBI. 365 
 
 pillar of the constitution," " a valuable institution, tending to^ 
 the honour of the nohles, and based on a compassionate feeling 
 towards the official caste," " a pillar of religion and a spur to 
 virtue." The whole debate (which is well worth reading, and 
 an able translation of which by Mr. Aston has appeared in a 
 recent Blue Book) shows the affection with which the Japanese 
 cling to the traditions of a chivalrous past. It is worthy of 
 notice that the proposer, Ono Seigor6, who on more than one 
 occasion rendered himself conspicuous by introducing motions 
 bas§d upon an admiration of our "Western civilization, was 
 murdered not long after this debate took place. 
 
 There are many stories on record of extraordinary heroism 
 being displayed in the hara-Jdri. The case of a young fellow, 
 only twenty years old, of the Choshiu clan, which was told 
 me the other day by an eye-witness, deserves mention as a 
 marvellous instance of determination. Not content with 
 giving himself the one necessary cut, he slashed himself 
 thrice horizontally and twice vertically. Then he stabbed 
 himself in the throat until the dirk protruded on the other- 
 side, with its sharp edge to the front ; setting his teeth in one 
 supreme effort, he drove the knife forward with both hands 
 through his throat, and fell dead. 
 
 One more story and I have done. During the revolution, 
 when the Tycoon, beaten on every side, fled ignominiously to 
 Yedo, he is said to have determined to fight no more, but to 
 yield everything. A member of his second council went to- 
 bim and said, " Sir, the only way for you now to retrieve the 
 honour of the family of Tokugawa is to disembowel yourself ;. 
 and to prove to you that I am sincere and disinterested in 
 what I say, I am here ready to disembowel myself with you." 
 The Tycoon flew into a great rage, saying that he would listen 
 to no such nonsense, and left the room. His faithful retainer,, 
 to prove his honesty, retired to another part of the castle,. 
 and solemnly performed the hara-kiri. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 THE MARKIAGE CEREMONT. 
 
 (Fbom the "Sho-eei Hikki" — Record of Ceebmokies.) 
 
 The ceremonies observed at marriages are various, and it is 
 not right for a man, exceeding the bounds of his condition 
 in life, to transgress against the rules which are laid down. 
 When the middle-man has arranged the preliminaries of the 
 marriage between the two parties, he carries the complimen- 
 tary present, which is made at the time of betrothal, from the 
 future bridegroom to his destined bride ; and if this present 
 is accepted, the lady's family can no longer retract fheir 
 promise. This is the beginning of the contract. The usual 
 betrothal presents are as foUows. Persons of the higher 
 classes send a robe of white sUk ; a piece of gold embroidery 
 for a girdle ; a piece of silk stuff; a piece of white silk, with 
 a lozenge pattern, and other silk stuffs (these are made up 
 into a pile of three layers) ; fourteen barrels of wine, and seven 
 sorts of condiments. Persons of the middle class send a 
 piece of white silk stuff ; a piece of gold embroidery for a 
 girdle ; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge pattern, and 
 other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of two layers) ; 
 ten barrels of wine, and five sorts of condiments. The lower 
 classes send a robe of white silk, a robe of coloured sUk, in a 
 pile of one layer, together with six barrels of wine and three 
 sorts of condiments. To the future father-in-law is sent a 
 sword, with a scabbard for slinging, such as is worn in war- 
 time, together with a list of the presents ; to the mother-in- 
 
RITBS AND CEREMONIES. 365 
 
 law, a silk robe, with wine and condiments. Althougli all 
 these presents are right and proper for the occasion, still 
 they must be regulated according to the means of the persons 
 concerned. The future father-in-law sends a present of equal 
 value in return to his son-in-law, but the bride elect sends no 
 return present to her future husband ; the present from the 
 father-in-law must by no means be omitted, but according 
 to his position, if he be poor, he need only send wine and 
 condiments. 
 
 In sending the presents care must be taken not to fold the 
 silk robe. The two silk robes that are sent on the marriage 
 night must be placed with the collars stitched together in a 
 peculiar fashion. 
 
 The ceremonies of sending the litter to fetch the bride 
 on the wedding night are as follows. In families of good 
 position, one of the principal retainers on either side is 
 deputed to accompany the bride and to receive her. Mat- 
 ting is spread before the entrance-door, upon which the 
 bride's litter is placed, while the two principal retainers con- 
 gratulate one another, and the ofi&cers of the bridegroom 
 receive the litter. If a bucket containing clams, to make the 
 wedding broth, has been sent with the bride, it is carried 
 and received by a person of distinction. Close by the 
 entrance-door a fire is lighted on the right hand and on the 
 left. These fires are called garden-torches. In front of the 
 corridor along which the litter passes, on the right hand 
 and on the left, two men and two women, in pairs, place 
 two mortars, right and left, in which they pound rice ; as the 
 litter passes, the pounded rice from the left-hand side is moved 
 across to the right, and the two are mixed together into one. 
 This is called the blending of the rice-meal.^ Two candles 
 are lighted, the one on the right hand and the other on the 
 left of the corridor; and after the litter has passed, the 
 
 1 Cf. Gibbon on Roman Marriages, "Decline and Fall of the Roman 
 Empire " vol iv. p. 345 : "The contracting parties were seated on the same 
 sheepskin; they tasted a salt cake of fwr, or rice; and this amfarreatim, 
 which denoted the ancient food of Italy, served as an emblem of their mystic 
 iinion of mind and body." 
 
366 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 candle oiv the left is passed over to the right, and, the two 
 wicks being brought together, the candles are extinguished. 
 These last three ceremonies are only performed at the 
 weddings of persons of high rank; they are not observed 
 at the weddings of ordinary persons. The bride takes 
 with her to her husband's house, as presents, two sUken 
 robes sewed together in a peculiar manner, a dress of 
 ceremony with wings of hempen cloth, an upper girdle 
 and an under girdle, a fan, either five or seven pocket- 
 books, and a sword: these seven presents are placed on a 
 long tray, and their value must depend upon the means of 
 the. family. 
 
 The dress of the bride is a white silk robe with a lozenge 
 pattern, over an under-robe, also of white silk. Over her 
 head she wears a veU of white silk, which, when she sits 
 down, she allows to fall about her as a mantle. 
 
 The bride's furniture and effects are all arranged 
 for her by female attendants from her own house on a 
 day previous to the wedding; and the bridegroom's effects 
 are in like manner arranged by the women of his own 
 house. 
 
 When the bride meets her husband in the room where the 
 relations are assembled, she takes her seat for this once in 
 the place of honour, her husband sitting in a lower place, 
 not directly opposite to her, but diagonally, and discreetly 
 avoiding her glance. 
 
 On the raised part of the floor are laid out beforehand two 
 trays, the preparations for a feast, a table on which are two 
 wagtails,* a second table with a representation of Elysium, 
 
 ■* The god who created Japan is called Kunitokodachi no Mikoto. Seven 
 generations of gods after his time existed Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no 
 Mikoto — the first a god, the second a goddess. As these two divine beings 
 were standing upon the floating bridge of heaven, two wagtails came; and the 
 gods, watching the amorous dalliance of the two birds, invented the art ol 
 love. From their union thus inaugurated sprang the mountains, the rivers, 
 the grass, the trees, the remainder of the gods, and mankind. Anothgr fable 
 is, that as the two gods were standing on the floating bridge of heaven, 
 Izanagi no Mikoto, taking the heavenly jewelled spear, stirred up the sea. 
 
RITES ANB CEREMOmi:S. 367 
 
 fowls, fish, two wine-bottles, three wine-cups, and two sorts of 
 kettles for warming wine. The ladies go out to meet the 
 bride, and invite her into a dressing-room, and, when she has 
 smoothed her dress, bring her into the room, and she and the 
 bridegroom take their seats in the places appointed for them. 
 The two trays are then brought out, and the ladies-in-waiting, 
 with complimentary speeches, hand dried fish and seaweed, 
 such as accompany presents, and , dried chestnuts to the 
 couple. Two married ladies then each take one of the wine- 
 bottles which have been prepared, and place them in the 
 lower part of the room. Then two handmaids, who act as 
 wine-pourers, bring the kettles and place them in the lower 
 part of the room. The two wine-bottles have respectively a 
 male and female butterfly, made of paper, attached to them. 
 The female butterfly is laid on its back, and the wine is poured 
 from the bottle into the kettle. The male butterfly is then 
 taken and laid on the female butterfly, and the wine from the 
 bottle is poured into the same kettle, and the whole is trans- 
 ferred with due ceremony to another kettle of different shape, 
 which the wine-pourers place in front of themselves. Little 
 low dining-tables are laid, one for each person, before the 
 bride and bridegroom, and before the bride's ladies-in-waitiug ; 
 the woman deputed to pour the wine takes the three wine- 
 cups and places them one on the top of the other before 
 the bridegroom, who drinks two cups ^ from the upper cup, 
 and pours a little wine from the fuU kettle into the empty 
 kettle. The pouring together of the wiue on the wedding 
 night is symbolical of the union that is being contracted. 
 The bridegroom next pours out a third cup of wine and 
 drinks it, and the cup is carried by the ladies to the bride, 
 who drinks three cups, and pours a little wine from one kettle 
 into the other, as the bridegroom did. A cup is then set down 
 and put on the other two, and they are carried back to 
 
 and the drops which fell from the point of it congealed and became an island, 
 which was called Onokoro-jima, on which the two gods, descending from 
 heaven, took up their abode. 
 ^ Each cup contains but a sip. 
 
368 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 the raised floor and arranged as before. After this, condiments 
 are set out on the right-hand side of a little table, and 
 the wine-pourers place the three cups before the bride, who 
 drinks three cups from the second cup, which is passed to the 
 bridegroom; he also drinks three cups as before, and the cups 
 are pUed up and arranged in their original place, by the wine- 
 pourers. A different sort of condiment is next served on the 
 left-hand -side; and the three cups are again placed before the 
 bridegroom, who drinks three cups from the third cup, and 
 the bride does the same. When the cups and tables have 
 been put back in their places, the bridegroom, rising from his 
 seat, rests himself for a while. During this time soup of 
 fishes' fins and wine are served to the bride's ladies-in-waiting 
 and to the serving- women. They are served with a single wine- 
 cup of earthenware, placed upon a small square tray, and this 
 again is set upon a long tray, and a wine-kettle with all sorts 
 of condiments is brought from the kitchen. When this part 
 of the feast is over, the room is put in order, and the bride 
 and bridegroom take their seats again. Soups and a prepara- 
 tion of rice are now served, and two earthenware cups, gilt 
 and silvered, are placed on a tray, on which there is a repre- 
 sentation of the island of Takasago.^ This time butterflies of 
 gold and silver paper are attached to the wine-kettles. The 
 bridegroom drinks a cup or two, and the ladies-in-waiting oflfer 
 more condiments to the couple. Eice, with hot water poured 
 over it, according to custom, and carp soup are brought in, 
 and, the wine having been heated, cups of lacquer ware are 
 produced ; and it is at this time that the feast commences. 
 (Up to now the eating and drinking has been merely a form.) 
 Twelve plates of sweetmeats and tea are served ; and the 
 dinner consists of three courses, one course of seven dishes, 
 
 ' In the island of Takasago, in the province of Harima, stands a pine-tree, 
 called the " pine of mutual old age." At the root the tree is single, but to- 
 wards the centre it springs into two stems — an old, old pine, models of which 
 are used at weddings as a symbol that the happy pair shall reach old age 
 together. Its evergreen leaves are an emblem of the unchanging constancy 
 of the heart. Figures of an old man and woman under the tree are the spirits 
 of the old pine. 
 
RITES AND CEREMONIES. '.'m 
 
 one of five dishes, and one of three dishes, or else two courses 
 of five dishes and one of three dishies, according to the means 
 of the family. The ahove ceremonies are those which are 
 proper only in families of the highest rank, and are by no 
 means fitting for the lower classes, who must not step out 
 of the proper bounds of their position. 
 
 There is a popular tradition that, in the ceremony of drink- 
 ing wine on the wedding night, the bride should drink first, 
 and then hand the cup to the bridegroom ; but although there 
 are some authorities upon ceremonies who are in favour of this 
 course, it is undoubtedly a very great mistake. In the " Eecord 
 of Eites," by Confucius, it is written, " The man stands in im- 
 portance before the woman : it is the right of the strong over 
 the weak. Heaven ranks before earth ; the prince ranks before 
 his minister. This law of honour is one." Again, in the 
 "Book of History," by Confucius, it is written, "The hen 
 that crows in the morning brings misfortune." In our own 
 literature in the Jusho (Book of the Gods), "When the 
 goddesses saw the gods for the first time, they were the first to 
 cry out, ' Oh ! what beautiful males ! ' But the gods were greatly 
 displeased, and said, 'We, who are so strong and powerful, 
 should by rights have been the first to speak ; how is it that, 
 on the contrary, these females speak first ? This is indeed 
 vulgar.' " Again it is written, " When the gods brought forth , 
 the cripple Hiruko, the Lord of Heaven, answering, said that 
 his misfortune was a punishment upon the goddesses who had 
 presumed to speak first." The same rule therefore exists in 
 China and in Japan, and it is held to be unlucky that the 
 wife should take precedence : with this warning people should 
 be careful how they commit a breach of etiquette, although it 
 may be sanctioned by the vulgar. 
 
 At the wedding of the lower classes, the bride and her 
 ladies and friends have a feast, but the bridegroom has no 
 feast ; and when the bride's feast is over, the bridegroom is 
 celled in and is presented with the bride's wine-cup ; but 
 as the forms observed are very vulgar, it is not worth while 
 to point out the rules which guide them. As this night is 
 
370 TALBS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 essentially of :iinportaiice to the married couple only, there 
 are some writers on ceremonies who have laid down that 
 no feast need be prepared for the bride's ladies, and in my 
 opinion they are right: for the husband and wife at the 
 beginning of their intercourse to be separated, and for the 
 bride alone to be feasted like an ordinary guest, appears to 
 be an inauspicious opening. I have thus pointed out two 
 ill-omened customs which are to be avoided. 
 
 The ceremonies observed at the weddings of persons of 
 ordinary rank are as foUows : — The feast which is prepared is 
 in proportion to the means of the individuals. There must 
 be three wine-cups set out upon a tray. The ceremony of 
 drinking wine +hree times is gone through, as described above, 
 after which the bride changes her dress, and a feast of three 
 courses is produced — two courses of five dishes and one of 
 thrcb dishes, or one course of five dishes, one of three, and 
 one of two, according to the means of the family. A tray, 
 with a representation of the island of Takasago, is brought 
 out, and the wine is heated ; sweetmeats of five or seven sorts 
 aire also served in boxes or trays ; and when the tea comes in, 
 the bridegroom gets up, and goes to rest himself. If the 
 wine-kettles are of tin, they must not be set out in the room : 
 they must be brought in from the kitchen ; and in that case 
 the paper butterflies are not attached to them. 
 
 In old times the bride and bridegroom used to change their 
 ^ress three or five times during the ceremony; but at the 
 present time, after the nine cups of wine have been drunk, in 
 the manner recorded above, the change of dress takes place 
 once. The bride puts on the silk robe which she has received 
 from the bridegroom, while he dons the dress of ceremony 
 which has been brought by the bride. 
 
 When these ceremonies have been observed, the bride's 
 ladies conduct her to the apartments of her parents-in-law. 
 The bride carries with her silk robes, as presents for her 
 parents and brothers and sisters-in-law. A tray is brought 
 out, with three wine-cups, which are set before the parents- 
 in-law and the bride. The father-in-law drinks three cups 
 
RITES AND CEREMONIES. 371 
 
 and hands the cup to the bride, who, after she has drunk two 
 cups, receives a present from her father-in-law; she then 
 drinks a third cup, and returns the cup to her father-in-law, 
 who again drinks three cups. Fish is then brought in, and, 
 in the houses of ordinary persons, a preparation of rice. 
 Upon this the mother-in-law, taking the second cup, drinks 
 three cups and passes the cup to the bride, who drinks two 
 cups and receives a present from her mother-in-law ; she then 
 drinks a third cup and gives back the cup to the mother-in- 
 law, who drinks three ciips again. Condiments are served, 
 and, in ordinary houses, soup ; after which the bride drinks 
 once from the third cup and hands it to her father-in-law, 
 who drinks thrice from it ; the bride again drinks twice from 
 it, and after her the mother-in-law drinks thrice. The parents- 
 in-law and the bride thus have drunk in all nine times. If 
 there are any brothers or sisters-iu-law,soup and condiments are 
 served, and a single porcelain wine-cup is placed before them on 
 a tray, and they drink at the word of command of the father-in- 
 law. It is not indispensable that soup should be served upon 
 this occasion. If the parents of the bridegroom are dead, in- 
 stead of the above ceremony, he leads his bride to make her 
 obeisances before the tablets on which their names are inscribed. 
 In old days, after the ceremonies recorded above had been 
 gone through, the bridegroom used to pay a visit of ceremony 
 to the bride's parents; but at the present time the visit is paid 
 before the wedding, and although the forms observed on the 
 occasion resemble those of the ancient times, stiU they are 
 different, and it would be well that we should resume the old 
 fashion. The two trays which had been used at the wedding 
 feast, loaded with fowl and fish and condiments neatly 
 arranged, used to be put into a long box and sent to the 
 father-in-law's house. Five hundred and eighty cakes of rice, 
 in lacquer boxes were also sent. The modern practice of 
 sending the rice cakes in a bucket is quite contrary to 
 etiquette: no matter how many lacquer boxes may be re- 
 quired for the purpose, they are the proper utensils for 
 sending the cakes in. Three, five, seven, or ten men's loads 
 
 bb2 
 
372 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 of presents, according to the means of the family, are also 
 offered. The son-in-law gives a sword and a silk robe to his 
 father-in-law, and a silk robe to his mother-in-law, and also gives 
 presents to his brothers and sisters-in-law. (The ceremony of 
 drinking wine is the same as that which takes place between 
 the bride and her parents-in-law, with a very slight deviation : 
 the bridegroom receives no presents from his mother-in-law, 
 and when the third cup is drunk the son-in-law drinks before 
 the father-in-law.) A return visit is paid by the bride's parents 
 to the bridegroom, at which similar forms are observed. 
 
 At the weddings of the great, the bridal chamber is com- 
 posed of three rooms thrown into one,^ and newly decorated. 
 If there are only two rooms available, a third room is built 
 for the occasion. The presents, which have been mentioned 
 above, are set out on two trays. Besides these, the bride- 
 groom's clothes are hung up upon clothes-racks. The 
 mattrass and bedclothes are placed in a closet. The bride's 
 effects must all be arranged by the women who are sent on 
 a previous day for the purpose, or it may be done whilst 
 the bride is changing her clothes. The shrine for the image 
 of the family god is placed on a shelf adjoining the sleep- 
 ing-place. There is a proper place for the various articles 
 of furniture. The kaioM^ is placed on the raised floor ; but 
 if there be no raised floor, it is placed in a closet with the 
 door open, so that it may be conspicuously seen. The 
 books are arranged on a book-shelf or on a cabinet ; if there 
 be neither shelf nor cabinet, they are placed on the raised 
 floor. The bride's clothes are set out on a clothes-rack * 
 in families of high rank, seven robes- are hung up on the 
 rack ; five of these are taken away and replaced by others 
 and again three are taken away and replaced by others ; ana 
 there are either two or three clothes-racks : the towel-rack 
 is set up in a place of more honour than the clothes-racks. 
 
 ^ The partitions of a Japanese suite of apartments being merely composed 
 of paper sliding-screens, any number of rooms, according to the size of the 
 house, can be thrown into one at a moment's notice. 
 
 2 A kaioki is a kind of lacquer basin for washing the hands and face. 
 
RITMS AND CEREMONIES. -ATi 
 
 If there is no dressing-room, the bride's bedclothes and 
 dressing furniture are placed in the sleeping-room. Wo 
 screens are put up on the bridal night, but a fitting 
 place is chosen for them on the following day. All these 
 ceremonies must be in proportion to the means of the 
 family. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The author of the " Sho-rei Hikki " makes no allusion to the 
 custom of shaving the eyebrows and blackening the teeth of 
 married women, in token of fidelity to their lords. In the upper 
 classes, young ladies usually blacken their teeth before leaving 
 their father's house to enter that of their husbands, and complete 
 the ceremony by shaving their eyebrows immediately after the 
 wedding, or, at any rate, not later than upon' the occasion of their 
 first pregnancy. 
 
 The origin of the fashion is lost in antiquity. As a proof that 
 it existed before the eleventh century, a.d., a curious book called 
 " Teij6 Zakki," or the Miscellaneous Writings of Teij6, cites the diary 
 of Murasaki Shikibu, the daughter of one Tam^soki, a retainer of 
 the house of Echizen, a lady of the court and famous poetess, the 
 authoress of a book called " Genji-mono-gatari," and other works. 
 In her" diary it is written that on the last night of the fifth year 
 of the period Kank6 (a.d. 1008), in order that she might appear 
 to advantage on New Year's-day, she retired to the privacy of her 
 own apartment, and repaired the deficiencies of her personal 
 appearance, by reblackening her teeth, and otherwise adorning her- 
 self Allusion is also made to the custom in the " Yeigarmono- 
 gatari," an ancient book by the same authoress. 
 
 The Emperor and nobles of his court are also in the habit of 
 blackening their teeth ; but the custom is gradually dying out in 
 their case. It is said to have originated with one Hanazono 
 Arishito, who held the high rank of SorDaijin, or "minister of the 
 left," at the commencement of the twelfth century, in the reign of 
 the' Emperor Toba. Being a man of refined and sensual tastes, 
 this minister plucked out his eyebrows, shaved his beard, blackened 
 his teeth, powdered his face white, and rouged his lips in order to 
 
374 TALES OF OLD JAPAN 
 
 render himself as like a womaii as possible. In the midaie of the 
 tweKth century, the nobles of the court, who went to the wars, 
 aU. blackened their teeth; and from this time forth the practice 
 became a fashion of the court. The followers of the chiefs of the 
 Hoj6 dynasty also blackened their teeth, as an emblem of their 
 fidelity ; and this was called the Odawara fashion, after the castle 
 town of the family. Thus a custom, which had its origin in a love 
 of sensuality and pleasure, became mistaken for the sign of a good 
 and faithful spirit. 
 
 The fashion of blackening the teeth entails no little trouble 
 upon its followers, for the colour must be renewed every day, or at 
 least every other day. Strange and repelling as the custom appears 
 at first, the eye soon learns to look -without aversion upon a well- 
 blacked and polished set of teeth ; but when the colour begins to 
 wear away, and turns to a dullish grey, streaked with black, the 
 mouth certainly becomes most hideous. Although no one who 
 reads this is likely to put a recipe for blackening the teeth to a 
 practical test, I append one furnished to me by a fashionable 
 chemist and druggist in Yedo : — 
 
 " Take three pints of water, and, having warmed it, add half a 
 teacupful of wine. Put into this mixture a quantity of red-hot 
 iron ; allow it to stand for five or six days, when there will be a 
 scum on the top of the mixture, which should then be poured into 
 a small teacup and placed near a fire. When it is warm, powdered 
 gall-nuts and iron filings should be added to it, and the whole 
 should be warmed again. The liquid is then painted on to the 
 teeth by means of a soft feather brush, with more powdered gaU- 
 nuts and iron, and, after several applications, the desired colour 
 wiU be obtained." 
 
 The process is said to be a preservative of the teeth, and I have 
 known men who were habitual sufferers from toothache to prefer 
 the martyrdom of ugliness to that of pain, and apply the black 
 colouring when the paroxysms were severe. One man told me 
 that he experienced immediate relief by the application, and that 
 so long as he blackened his teeth he was quite free from pain. 
 
ON THE BIETH AND EEAEING OP CHILDEEK 
 
 (FaOM IHE "ShO-REI HlKKI.") 
 
 In the fiftli montli of a -woman's pregnancy, a very lucky 
 day is selected for the ceremony of putting on a girdle, 
 which is of white and red sUk, folded, and eight feet in 
 length. The husband produces it from the left sleeve of 
 his dress ; and the wife receives it in the right sleeve of her 
 dress, and girds it on for the first time. This ceremony is 
 only performed once. When the child is born, the white 
 part of the girdle is dyed sky-blue, with a peculiar mark on 
 it, and is made into clothes for the child. These, however, 
 are not the first clothes which it wears. The dyer is 
 presented with wine and condiments when the girdle is 
 entrusted to him. It is also customary to beg some matron, 
 who has herself had an easy confinement, for the girdle 
 which she wore during her pregnancy; and this lady is 
 called the girdle-mother. The borrowed girdle is tied on 
 with that given by the husband, and the girdle-mother at 
 this time gives and receives a present. 
 
 The furniture of the lying-in chamber is as follows : — Two 
 tubs for placing under-petticoats in ; two tubs to hold the 
 placenta; a piece of furniture like an arm-chair, without 
 legs, for the mother to lean against ; ^ a stool, which is used 
 
 1 ■Women in Japan are delivered in a kneeling position, and after the birth 
 of the child they remain night and day in a squatting position, leaning baok 
 against a support, for twenty-one days, after which they are allowed to recline. 
 Up to tha time the recumbent position is supposed to produce a dangerous 
 rush of blood to the bead. 
 
37C TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 by the lady who embraces the loins of the woman in labour 
 to support her, and which is afterwards used by the midwife 
 in washing the child ; several pillows of various sizes, that 
 the woman in child-bed may ease her head at her pleasure ; 
 new buckets, basins, and ladles of various sizes. Twenty- 
 four baby-robes, twelve of silk and twelve of cotton, must 
 be prepared ; the hems must be dyed saffron-colour. There 
 must be an apron for the midwife, if the infant is of high 
 rank, in order that, when she washes it, she may not place it 
 immediately on her own knees : this apron should be made 
 of a kerchief of cotton. When the child is taken out of the 
 warm water, its body must be dried with a kerchief of fine 
 cotton, unhemmed. 
 
 On the seventy-fifth Or hundred and twentieth day after 
 its birth, the baby leaves off its baby-linen ; and this day is 
 kept as a holiday. Although it is the practice generally to 
 dress up children in various kinds of silk, this is very wrong, 
 as the two principles of life being thereby injured, the child 
 contracts disease ; and on this account the ancients strictly 
 forbade the practice. In modem times the child is dressed 
 up in beautiful clothes ; but to put a cap on its head, thinking 
 to make much of it, when, on the contrary, it is hurtful to 
 the child, should be avoided. It would be an excellent thing 
 if rich people, out of care for the health of their children, 
 would put a stop to a practice to which fashion clings. 
 
 On the hundred and twentieth day after their birth 
 children, whether male or female, are weaned.^ This day is 
 fixed, and there is no need to choose a lucky day. If the 
 child be a boy, it is fed by a gentleman of the family ; if a 
 girl, by a lady. The ceremony is as follows : — The child is 
 brought out and given to the weaning father or sponsor. He 
 takes it on his left knee. A small table is prepared. The 
 sponsor who is to feed the child, taking some rice which has 
 
 1 This is only a nominal weaning. Japanese children are not really weaned 
 until far later than is ordinary in Europe ; and it is by no means uncommon 
 to see a mother in the poorer classes suckling a hulking child of from five to 
 seven years old. One reason given for this practice is, that by this means 
 the danger of having to provide for large families is lessened. 
 
BITES AND CEREMONIES. 377 
 
 been offered to the gods, places it on tlie corner of the little 
 table -which is by him ; he dips his chop-sticks thrice in this 
 rice, and very quietly places them in the mouth of the chUd, 
 pretending to give it some of the juice of the rice. Five 
 cakes of rice meal are also placed on the left side of the little 
 table, and with these he again pretends to feed the child 
 three times. When this ceremony is over, the child is 
 handed back to its guardian, and three wine-cups are pro- 
 duced on a tray. The sponsor drinks three cups, and pre- 
 sents the cup to the child. When the child has been made 
 to pretend to drink two cups, it receives a present from its 
 sponsor, after which the child is supposed to drink a third 
 time. Dried fish is then brought in, and the baby, having 
 drunk thrice, passes the cup to its sponsor, who drinks thrice. 
 More fish of a different kind is brought in. The drinking is 
 repeated, and the weaning father receives a present from the 
 chUd. The guardian, according to rules of propriety, should 
 be near the child. A feast should be prepared, according to 
 the means of the family. If the child be a girl, a weaning 
 mother performs this ceremony, and suitable presents must 
 be offered on either side. The wine-drinking is gone through 
 as above. 
 
 On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the child's 
 third year, be the child boy or girl, its hair is allowed to 
 grow. (Up to this time the whole head has been shaven : now 
 three patches are allowed to grow, one on each side and one 
 at the back of the head.) On this occasion also a sponsor is 
 selected. A large tray, on which are a comb, scissors, paper 
 string, a piece of string for tying the hair in a knot, cotton 
 wool, and the bit of dried fish or seaweed which accompanies 
 presents, one of each, and seven rice straws — these seven 
 articles must be prepared.^ 
 
 The child is placed facing the point of, the compass which 
 
 is auspicious for that year, and the sponsor, if the chUd be a 
 
 boy, takes the scissors and gives three snips at the hair on 
 
 the left temple, three on the right, and three in the centre. 
 
 1 For a few days previous to the ceremony the child's head is not shaved. 
 
S78 TALES OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 He then takes the piecfe of cotton wool and spreads it over 
 the child's head, from the forehead, so as to make it ihang 
 down behind his neck, and he places the hit of dried fish or 
 seaweed and the seven straws at the bottom of the piece 
 of cotton wool, attaching them to the wool, and ties them 
 in two loops, like a man's hair, with a piece of paper string ; 
 he then makes a woman's knot with two pieces of string; 
 The ceremony of drinking wine is the same as that gone 
 through at the weaning. If the child is a girl, a lady acts as 
 sponsor; the' hair-cutting is begun from the right temple 
 instead of from the left. There is no difference in the rest of 
 the ceremony. 
 
 On the fifth day of the eleventh month of the child's 
 fourth year he is invested with the haka'ma, or loose trousers 
 worn by the Samurai. On this occasion again a sponsor is 
 called in. The child receives from the sponsor a dress of 
 •ceremony, on which are embroidered storks and tortoises 
 (emblems of longevity — the stork is said to live a thousand 
 years, the tortoise ten thousand), fir-trees (which, being ever- 
 green, and not changing" their colour, are emblematic of an 
 unchangingly virtuous heart), and bamboos (emblematic of an 
 upright and straight mind). The child is placed upriglit on 
 a chequer-board, facing the auspicious point of the compass, 
 and invested with the dress of ceremony. It also receives 
 a sham sword and dirk. The usual ceremony of drinking 
 wine is observed. 
 
 Note. — In order to understand the foUowing ceremony, it is neces- 
 sary to lecoUeet that the child at three years of age is allowed to 
 grow its hair in three patches. By degrees the hair is allowed to 
 grow, the crown alone being shaved, and a forelock left. At ten or 
 eleven years of age the hoy's head is dressed like a man's, with the 
 •exception of this forelock. 
 
 The ceremony of cutting off the forelock used in old days 
 to include the ceremony of putting on the noble's cap ; but as 
 this has gone out of fashion, there is no need to treat of it 
 
RITES AND CEREMONIES. \ 379 
 
 Any time after the youth has reached the age of fifteen, 
 according to the cleverness and ability which he shows, a 
 lucky day is chosen for this most important ceremony, after 
 which the boy takes his place amongst fuU-grown men. A 
 person of virtuous character is chosen as sponsor or " cap- 
 father." Although the man's real name (that name which is 
 only known to his intimate relations and friends, not the one 
 by which he usually goes in society) is usually determined 
 before this date, if it be not so, he receives his real name 
 from his sponsor on this day. In old days thfere used to be 
 a previous ceremony of cutting the hair off the forehead in a 
 straight line, so as to make two angles : up to this time the 
 youth wore long sleeves like a woman, and from that day he 
 wore short sleeves. This was called the " half cutting." The 
 poorer classes have a habit of shortening the sleeves before 
 this period; but that is contrary to all rule, and is an evil 
 custom. 
 
 A common tray is produced, on which is placed an earthen- 
 ware wine-cup. The sponsor drinks thrice, and hands the 
 cup to the young man, who, having also drunk thrice, gives 
 back the cup to the sponsor, who again drinks thrice, and 
 then proceeds to tie up the young man's hair. 
 
 There are three ways of tying the hair, and there is also 
 a particular fashion of letting the forelock grow long; and 
 when this is the case, the forelock is only clipped. (This is 
 especially the fashion among the nobles of the Mikado's 
 court.) This applies only to persons who wear the court cap, 
 and not to gentlemen 'of lower grade. Still, these latter 
 persons, if they wish to go throiigh the ceremony in its 
 entirety, may do so without impropriety. Gentlemen of the 
 Samurai or military class cut off the whole of the forelock. 
 The sponsor either ties up the hair of the young man, or else 
 placing the forelock on a willow board cuts it off with a 
 knife, or else, amongst persons of very high rank, he only 
 pretends to do so, and goes into another room whilst the real 
 cutting is going on, and then returns to the same room. The 
 sponsor then, without letting the young man see what he is 
 
380 TALMS OF OLD JAPAN. 
 
 doing, places the lock which has been cut into the pocket of 
 his left sleeve, and, leaving the room, gives it to the young 
 man's guardians, who wrap it in paper and offer it up at the 
 shrine of the family gods. But this is wrong. The locks 
 should be well wrapped up in paper and kept in the house 
 until the man's death, to serve as a reminder of the favours 
 which a man receives from his father and mother in his 
 childhood ; when he dies, it should be placed in his coffin 
 and buried with him. The wine-drinking and presents are 
 as before. 
 
 In the " Shorei Hikki," the book from which the above 
 is translated, there is no notice of the ceremony of naming 
 the child : the following is a translation from a Japanese 
 MS. :— 
 
 " On the seventh day after its birth, the child receives its 
 name ; the ceremony is called the congratulations of the 
 seventh night. On this day some one of the relations of 
 the family, who holds an exalted position, either from his 
 rank or virtues, selects a name for the child, which name he 
 keeps until the time of the cutting of the forelock, when he 
 takes the name which he is to bear as a man. This second 
 name is called Yeboshina^ the cap-name, which is compounded 
 of syllables taken from an old name of the family and from 
 the name of the sponsor. If the sponsor afterwards change 
 his name, his name-chUd must also change his name. For 
 instance, Minamoto no Yoshitsun^, the famous warrior, as 
 a child was called Ushiwakamaru ; when he grew up 
 to be a man, he was called Kuro ; "and his real name waa 
 Yoshitsune." 
 
 ' from Teioshi, a court cap, and Na, a name. 
 
FUNEEAL EITES. 
 
 (From the " Shokbi Hikki.") 
 
 On tlie death of a parent, the mourning clothes worn are 
 made of coarse hempen cloth, and during the whole period 
 of mourning these must be worn night and day. As the 
 burial of his parents is the most important ceremony which 
 a man has to go through during his whole life, when the 
 occasion comes, in order that there be no confusion, he must 
 employ some person to teach him the usual and proper rites. 
 Above all things to be reprehended is the burning of the 
 dead : they should be interred without burning.' The cere- 
 monies to be observed at a funeral should by rights have been 
 learned before there is occasion to put them in practice. If 
 a man have no father or mother, he is sure to have to bury 
 other relations ; and so he should not disregard this study. 
 There are some authorities who select lucky days and hours 
 and lucky places for burying the dead, but this is wrong ; and 
 when they talk about curses being brought upon posterity 
 by not observing these auspicious seasons and places, they 
 make a great mistake. It is a matter of course that an aus- 
 picious day must be chosen so far as avoiding wind and rain 
 is concerned, that men may bury their dead without their 
 minds being distracted ; and it is important to choose a fitting 
 cemetery, lest in after-days the tomb should be damaged by 
 rain, or by men walking over it, or by the place being turned 
 
 ' On the subject of burning the dead, see a note to the stoiy of Chdbei of 
 Bandzuin. 
 
382 TALES OF OIB JAPAN. 
 
 into a field, or built upon. When invited to a friend's or 
 neighbour's funeral, a man should avoid putting on smart 
 clothes and dresses of ceremony ; and when he follows the 
 coffin, he should not speak in a loud voice to the person next 
 him, for that is very rude ; and even should he have occasion 
 to do so, he should avoid entering vidne-shops or tea-houses 
 on his return from the funeral. 
 
 The list of persons present at a funeral should be written 
 on slips of paper, and firmly bound together. It may be 
 written as any other list, only it must not be written, begin- 
 ning at the right hand, as is usually the case, but from the 
 left hand (as is the case in European books). 
 
 On the day of burial, during the funeral service, incense is 
 burned in the temple before the tablet on which is inscribed 
 the name under which the dead person enters salvation.^ 
 The incense-burners, having washed their hands, one by one, 
 enter the room where the tablet is exposed, and advance 
 half-way up to the tablet, facing it; producing incense wrapped 
 in paper from their bosoms, they hold it in their left hands, 
 and, taking a pinch with the right hand, they place the 
 packet in their left sleeve. If the table on which the tablet 
 is placed be high, the person offering incense half raises him- 
 self from his crouching position; if the table be low, he 
 remains crouching to burn the incense, after which he takes 
 three steps backwards, with bows and reverences, and retires 
 six feet, when he again crouches down to watch the incense- 
 burning, and bows to the priests who are sitting in a row 
 with their chief at their head, after which he rises and 
 leaves the room. Up to the time of burning the incense 
 no notice is taken of the priest. At the ceremony of burn- 
 ing incense before the grave, the priests are not saluted. 
 The packet of incense is made of fine paper folded in tliree, 
 both ways. 
 
 1 After death, a person receives a new name. For instance, the famous 
 Prince Tokngawa ly^yasu entered salratiou as Gongen Sama. This name is 
 called oltmrina, or the accompanying name. 
 
RITES AND CEREMONIES. 383 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The reason -why the author of the " Shorei Hikki " has 
 treated so briefly of the funeral ceremonies is probably that these 
 rites, being invariably entrusted to the Buddhist priesthood, vary 
 according to the sect of the latter ; and, as there are no less than 
 fifteen sects of Buddhism in Japan, it would be a long matter to 
 enter into the ceremonies practised by each. Should Buddhism be 
 swept out of Japan, as seems likely to be the case, men wiU pro- 
 bably return to the old rites which obtained before its iutroduction 
 in the sixth century of our era. What those rites were I have 
 been unable to learn. 
 
 TITR r.Nl>. 
 
 n CLAY, SOKS, AHD TATLOk, PEISTIRS, BHEAD STREET HILL. 
 
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