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MYTHS Sf LEGENDS 
 OF JAPAN 
 
DEDICATED TO 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
Fr. 
 
 The Lovers who exchanged Fans. 
 (Seepage 24.5) 
 
MYTHS & LEGENDS 
 OF JAPAN 
 
 BY 
 
 F. HADLAND DAVIS 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE LAND OF THE YELLOW SPRING AND OTHER 
 JAPANESE STORIES" "THE PERSIAN MYSTICS" ETC. 
 
 WITH THIRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 BY 
 
 EVELYN PAUL 
 
 T 
 
 NEW YORK 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
PRINTED BY 
 
 BALL ANT YNE & COMPANY LTD 
 
 AT THE BALLANTYNE PRESS 
 
 TAVISTOCK STREET COVENT GARDEN 
 
 LONDON ENGLAND 
 
PREFACE 
 
 IN writing Myths and Legends of Japan I have 
 been much indebted to numerous authorities on 
 Japanese subjects, and most especially to Lafcadio 
 Hearn, who first revealed to me the Land of the Gods. 
 It is impossible to enumerate all the writers who have 
 assisted me in preparing this volume. I have borrowed 
 from their work as persistently as Japan has borrowed 
 from other countries, and I sincerely hope that, like 
 Japan herself, I have made good use of the material I 
 have obtained from so many sources. 
 
 I am indebted to Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain 
 for placing his work at my disposal, and I have found 
 his encyclopaedic volume, Things Japanese, his transla- 
 tion of the Kojiki, his Murray's Hand-book for Japan (in 
 collaboration with W. B. Mason), and his Japanese 
 Poetry, of great value. I thank the Executors of the 
 late Dr. W. G. Aston for permission to quote from 
 this Ieafne31mthority's work. I have made use of his 
 translation of the Nihongi (Transactions of the Japan 
 Society, 1896) jmd have gathered much useful material 
 from A History of Japanese Literature. I am indebted 
 to Mr. F. Victor Dickins for allowing me to make use 
 of his translation of the Tafatori Monogatari and the 
 Hd-p-ki. My friend Mrs. C. M. Salwey has taken a 
 sympathetic interest in my work, which has been 
 invaluable to me. Her book, Fans of Japan, has 
 supplied me with an exquisite legend, and many of her 
 articles have yielded a rich harvest. I warmly thank 
 Mr. Yone Noguchi for allowing me to quote from his 
 poetry, and also Miss Clara A. Walsh for so kindly 
 putting at my disposal her fascinating volume, The 
 Master-Singers of Japan, published by Mr. John Murray 
 in the " Wisdom of the East " series. My thanks are 
 
 399735 
 
PREFACE 
 
 due to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin Company, for allowing 
 me to quote from Lafcadio Hearn's Glimpses of 
 Unfamiliar Japan and The Japanese Letters of Lafcadio 
 Hearn ; to Messrs. George Allen & Sons, for giving me 
 permission to quote from Sir F. T. Piggott's Garden of 
 Japan ; to the Editor of the Academy , for permitting me 
 to reprint my article on " Japanese Poetry," and to 
 Messrs. Cassell and Co. Ltd., for allowing me to 
 reproduce "The Garden of Japan," which I originally 
 contributed to Cassell' s Magazine. The works of Dr. 
 William Anderson, Sir Ernest Satow, Lord Redesdale, 
 Madame Ozaki, Mr. R. Gordon Smith, Captain 
 F. Brinkley, the late Rev. Arthur Lloyd, Mr. Henri 
 L. Joly, Mr. K. Okakura, the Rev. W. E. Griffis, 
 and others, have been of immense value to me, and in 
 addition I very warmly thank all those writers I have 
 left unnamed, through want of space, whose works have 
 assisted me in the preparation of this volume. 
 
 VI 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 i PERIOD OF THE GODS 21 
 
 II. HEROES AND WARRIORS 38 
 
 III. THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-MAIDEN 65 
 
 IV. BUDDHA LEGENDS 80 
 V. Fox LEGENDS 93 
 
 VI. Jizo, THE GOD OF CHILDREN 104 
 
 VII. LEGEND IN JAPANESE ART 112 
 
 VIII. THE STAR LOVERS AND THE ROBE OF FEATHERS 126 
 
 IX. LEGENDS OF MOUNT FUJI 130 
 
 X. BELLS 140 
 
 XI. YUKI-ONNA, THE LADY OF THE SNOW 149 
 
 XII. FLOWERS AND GARDENS 154 
 
 XIII. TREES 174 
 
 XIV. MIRRORS 190 
 
 XV. KWANNON AND BENTEN. * DAIKOKU, EBISU, AND 
 
 HOTEI 199 
 
 XVI. DOLLS AND BUTTERFLIES 214 
 
 XVII. FESTIVALS 220 
 
 XVIII. THE PEONY-LANTERN 228 
 
 XIX. KOBO DAISHI, NICHIREN, AND SHODO SHONIN 234 
 
 XX. FANS 243 
 
 XXL THUNDER 250 
 
 ^v^, x vii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 XXII. ANIMAL LEGENDS 255 
 
 XXIII. BIRD AND INSECT LEGENDS 276 
 
 XXIV. CONCERNING TEA 290 
 XXV. LEGENDS OF THE WEIRD 300 
 
 XXVI. THREE MAIDENS 313 
 
 XXVII. LEGENDS OF THE SEA 323 
 
 XXVIII. SUPERSTITIONS 342 
 
 XXIX. SUPERNATURAL BEINGS 350 
 
 XXX. THE TRANSFORMATION OF ISSUNBOSHI AND KIN- 
 
 TARO, THE GOLDEN BOY 364 
 
 XXXI. MISCELLANEOUS LEGENDS 370 
 A NOTE ON JAPANESE POETRY 380 
 GODS AND GODDESSES 387 
 GENEALOGY OF THE AGE OF THE GODS 393 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 397 
 INDEX OF POETICAL QUOTATIONS 402 
 GLOSSARY AND INDEX 403 
 
 vi 11 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Lovers who exchanged Fans Frontispiece 
 
 Uzume awakens the Curiosity of Ama-terasu 28 
 
 Susa-no-o and Kushi-nada-hime 30 
 
 Hoori and the Sea God's Daughter 34 
 
 Yorimasa slays the Vampire 38 
 Yorimasa and Benkei attacked by a ghostly company of the 
 
 Taira Clan 42 
 
 Raiko and the Enchanted Maiden 46 
 
 Raiko slays the Goblin of Oyeyama 50 
 
 Prince Yamato and Takeru 52 
 
 Momotaro and the Pheasant 5 8 
 
 Hidesato and the Centipede 62 
 
 The Moonfolk demand the Lady Kaguya 76 
 
 Buddha and the Dragon 80 
 
 The Mikado and the Jewel Maiden 96 
 
 Jizo 108 
 
 A Kakemono Ghost 124 
 
 Sengen, the Goddess of Mount Fuji 134 
 
 Visu on Mount Fuji-Yama 138 
 
 Kiyo and the Priest 146 
 
 Yuki-Onna, the Lady of the Snow 150 
 
 Shing6 and Yoshisawa by the Violet Well 166 
 
 Matsu i escues Teoyo 188 
 
 Shinzaburo recognised Tsuyu and her maid Yone 228 
 
 The Jelly-Fish and the Monkey 27 2 
 
 The Firefly Battle 286 
 
 Hoichi-the- Earless 304 
 
 The Maiden of Unai 3 I 4 
 
 Urashima and the Sea King's Daughter 326 
 
 Tokoyo and the Sea Serpent 334 
 
 The Kappa and his Victim 35 
 
 Kato Sayemon in his Palace of the Shogun Ashikaga 370 
 
 Totaro and Samebito 37 
 
 ix 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 \ 
 
 PIERRE LOTI in Madame ChrysanMme, Gilbert 
 and Sullivan in The Mikado, and Sir Edwin 
 Arnold in Seas and Lands, gave us the im- 
 pression that Japan was a real fairyland in the Far East. 
 We were delighted with the prettiness and quaintness 
 of that country, and still more with the prettiness and 
 quaintness of the Japanese people. We laughed at 
 their topsyturvy ways, regarded the Japanese woman, 
 in her rich-coloured kimono, as altogether charming and 
 fascinating, and had a vague notion that the principal 
 features of Nippon were the tea-houses, cherry-blossom, 
 and geisha. Twenty years ago we did not take Japan 
 very seriously. We still listen to the melodious music 
 of The Mikado, but now we no longer regard Japan as 
 a sort of glorified willow-pattern plate. The Land of 
 the Rising Sun has become the Land of the Risen Sun, 
 for we have learnt that her quaintness and prettiness, 
 her fairy-like manners and customs, were but the outer 
 signs of a great and progressive nation. To-day we 
 recognise Japan as a power in the East, and her victory 
 over the Russian has made her army and navy famous 
 throughout the world. 
 
 The Japanese have always been an imitative nation, 
 quick to absorb and utilise the religion, art, and social 
 life of China, and, having set their own national seal 
 upon what they have borrowed from the Celestial 
 Kingdom, to look elsewhere for material that should 
 strengthen and advance their position. This imitative 
 quality is one of Japan's most marked characteristics. 
 She has ever been loath to impart information to others, 
 but ready at all times to gain access to any form of 
 knowledge likely to make for her advancement. In 
 the fourteenth century Kenko wrote in his Tsure-dzure- 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 gusa : " Nothing opens one's eyes so much as travel, 
 no matter where/' and the twentieth-century Japanese 
 has put this excellent advice into practice. He has 
 travelled far and wide, and has made good use of his 
 varied observations. Japan's power of imitation 
 amounts to genius. East and West have contributed to 
 her greatness, and it is a matter of surprise to many of 
 us that a country so long isolated and for so many years 
 bound by feudalism should, within a comparatively short 
 space of time, master our Western system of warfare, as 
 well as many of our ethical and social ideas, and become 
 a great world-power. But Japan's success has not been 
 due entirely to clever imitation, neither has her place 
 among the foremost nations been accomplished with such 
 meteor-like rapidity as some would have us suppose. 
 
 We hear a good deal about the New Japan to-day, 
 and are too prone to forget the significance of the Old 
 upon which the present regime has been founded. 
 Japan learnt from England, Germany and America all 
 the tactics of modern warfare. She established an 
 efficient army and navy on Western lines ; but it must 
 be remembered that Japan's great heroes of to-day, 
 Togo and Oyama, still have in their veins something of 
 the old samurai spirit, still reflect through their 
 modernity something of the meaning of Eushido. The 
 Japanese character is still Japanese and not Western. 
 Her greatness is to be found in her patriotism, in her 
 loyalty and whole-hearted love of her country. 
 Shintoism has taught her to revere the mighty dead ; 
 Buddhism, besides adding to her religious ideals, has 
 contributed to her literature and art, and Christianity 
 has had its effect in introducing all manner of beneficent 
 social reforms. 
 
 There are many conflicting theories in regard to the 
 racial origin of the Japanese people, and we have no 
 
 Xll 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 definite knowledge on the subject. The first inhabitants 
 of Japan were probably the Ainu, an Aryan people who 
 possibly came from North-Eastern Asia at a time when 
 the distance separating the Islands from the mainland 
 was not so great as it is to-day. The Ainu were 
 followed by two distinct Mongol invasions, and these 
 invaders had no difficulty in subduing their predecessors ; 
 but in course of time the Mongols were driven north- 
 ward by Malays from the Philippines. " By the year 
 A.D. 500 the Ainu, the Mongol, and the Malay elements 
 in the population had become one nation by much the 
 same process as took place in England after the Norman 
 Conquest. To the national characteristics it may be 
 inferred that the Ainu contributed the power of 
 resistance, the Mongol the intellectual qualities, and the 
 Malay that handiness and adaptability which are the 
 heritage of sailor-men." 1 Such authorities as Baelz 
 and Rein are of the opinion that the Japanese are 
 Mongols, and although they have intermarried with 
 the Ainu, " the two nations," writes Professor 
 B. H. Chamberlain, " are as distinct as the whites and 
 reds in North America." In spite of the fact that the 
 Ainu is looked down upon in Japan, and regarded as a 
 hairy aboriginal of interest to the anthropologist and 
 the showman, a poor despised creature, who worships 
 the bear as the emblem of strength and fierceness, he 
 has, nevertheless, left his mark upon Japan. Fuji was 
 possibly a corruption of Huchi, or Fuchi, the Ainu 
 Goddess of Fire, and there is no doubt that these 
 aborigines originated a vast number of geographical 
 names, particularly in the north of the main island, that 
 are recognisable to this day. We can also trace Ainu 
 influence in regard to certain Japanese superstitions, such 
 as the belief in the Kappa, or river monster. 
 
 i The Full Recognition of Japan, by Robert P. Porter. 
 
 Xlll 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Chinese called Japan Jih-pen, " the place the 
 sun comes from," because the archipelago was situated 
 on the east of their own kingdom, and our word Japan 
 and Nippon are corruptions of Jih-pen. Marco Polo 
 called the country Zipangu, and one ancient name 
 describes it as " The-Luxuriant-Reed-Plains-the-land- 
 of-Fresh-Rice-Ears-of-a-Thousand - Autumns-of- Long- 
 Five-Hundred-Autumns." We are not surprised to 
 find that such a very lengthy and descriptive title is not 
 used by the Japanese to-day ; but it is of interest to 
 know that the old word for Japan, Yamato, is still 
 frequently employed, Yamato Damashii signifying "The 
 Spirit of Unconquerable Japan." Then, again, we still 
 hear Japan referred to as The Island of the Dragon-fly. 
 We are told in the old Japanese Chronicles that the 
 Emperor, in 630 B.C., ascended a hill called Waki Kamu 
 no Hatsuma, from which he was able to view the land 
 on all sides. He was much impressed by the beauty of 
 the country, and said that it resembled " a dragon-fly 
 licking its hinder parts," and the Island received the 
 name of Akitsu- Shima ("Island of the Dragon-fly "). 
 
 The Kojiki, or " Records of Ancient Matters," com- 
 pleted A.D. 712, deals with the early traditions of the 
 Japanese race, commencing with the myths, the basis of 
 Shintoism, and gradually becoming more historical until 
 it terminates in A.D. 628. Dr. W. G. Aston writes in 
 A History of Japanese Literature : " The Kojikt, however 
 valuable it may be for research into the mythology, the 
 manners, the language, and the legends of early Japan, 
 is a very poor production, whether we consider it as 
 literature or as a record of facts. As history it cannot 
 be compared with the Nihongi? a contemporary work 
 
 1 Chronicles of Japan, completed A.D. 720, deals, in an interesting 
 manner, with the myths, legends, poetry and history from the earliest 
 times down to A.D. 697. 
 xiv 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 in Chinese ; while the language is a strange mixture of 
 Chinese and Japanese, which there has been little 
 attempt to endue with artistic quality. The circum- 
 stances under which it was composed are a partial 
 explanation of the very curious style in which it is 
 written. We are told that a man named Yasumaro, 
 learned in Chinese, took it down from the lips of a 
 certain Hiyeda no Are, who had such a wonderful 
 memory that he c could repeat with his mouth whatever 
 was placed before his eyes, and record in his heart 
 whatever struck his ears. 7 ' It is possible that Hiyeda 
 no Are was one of the Kataribe or " Reciters," whose 
 duty it was to recite " ancient words " before the 
 Mikado at the Court of Nara on certain State occasions. 
 The Kojiki and the Nihongi are the sources from 
 which we learn the early myths and legends of Japan. 
 In their pages we are introduced to Izanagi and 
 Izanami, Ama-terasu, Susa-no-o, and numerous other 
 divinities, and these august beings provide us with 
 stories that are quaint, beautiful, quasi-humorous, and 
 sometimes a little horrible. What could be more na'ive 
 than the love-making of Izanagi and Izanami, who con- 
 ceived the idea of marrying each other after seeing the 
 mating of two wagtails ? In this ancient myth we 
 trace the ascendency of the male over the female, an 
 ascendency maintained in Japan until recent times, 
 fostered, no doubt, by Kaibara's Onna Daigafyt, " The 
 Greater Learning for Women." But in the protracted 
 quarrel between the Sun Goddess and her brother, the 
 Impetuous Male, the old chroniclers lay emphasis upon 
 the villainy of Susa-no-o ; and Ama-terasu, a curious 
 mingling of the divine and the feminine, is portrayed 
 as an ideal type of Goddess. She is revealed 
 preparing for warfare, making fortifications by 
 stamping upon the ground, and she is also depicted 
 
 XV 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 peeping out of her rock-cavern and gazing in the 
 Sacred Mirror. Ama-terasu is the central figure in 
 Japanese mythology, for it is from the Sun Goddess 
 that the Mikados are descended. In the cycle of 
 legends known as the Period of the Gods, we are 
 introduced to the Sacred Treasures, we discover the 
 origin of the Japanese dance, and in imagination 
 wander through the High Plain of Heaven, set foot 
 upon the Floating Bridge, enter the Central Land of 
 Reed-Plains, peep into the Land of Yomi, and follow 
 Prince Fire-Fade into the Palace of the Sea King. 
 
 Early heroes and warriors are always regarded as 
 minor divinities, and the very nature of Shintoism, 
 associated with ancestor worship, has enriched those of 
 Japan with many a fascinating legend. For strength, 
 skill, endurance, and a happy knack of overcoming all 
 manner of difficulties by a subtle form of quick-witted 
 enterprise, the Japanese hero must necessarily take a 
 high position among the famous warriors of other 
 countries. There is something eminently chivalrous 
 about the heroes of Japan that calls for special notice. 
 The most valiant men are those who champion the 
 cause of the weak or redress evil and tyranny of every 
 kind, and we trace in the Japanese hero, who is very far 
 from being a crude swashbuckler, these most excellent 
 qualities. He is not always above criticism, and 
 -sometimes we find in him a touch of cunning, but such 
 a characteristic is extremely rare, and very far from 
 being a national trait. An innate love of poetry and 
 the beautiful has had its refining influence upon the 
 Japanese hero, with the result that his strength is com- 
 bined with gentleness. 
 
 Benkei is one of the most lovable of Japanese heroes. 
 He possessed the strength of many men, his tact 
 amounted to genius, his sense of humour was strongly 
 xvi 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 developed, and the most loving of Japanese mothers 
 could not have shown more gentleness when his 
 master's wife gave birth to a child. When Yoshitsune 
 and Benkei, at the head of the Minamoto host, had 
 finally vanquished the Taira at the sea-fight of Dan- 
 no-ura, their success awakened the jealousy of the 
 Shogun, and the two great warriors were forced to fly the 
 country. We follow them across the sea, over moun- 
 tains, outwitting again and again their numerous 
 enemies. At Matsue a great army was sent out 
 against these unfortunate warriors. Camp-fires 
 stretched in a glittering line about the last resting-place 
 of Yoshitsune and Benkei. In an apartment were 
 Yoshitsune with his wife and little child. Death stood 
 in the room, too, and it was better that Death should 
 come at the order of Yoshitsune than at the command 
 of the enemy without the gate. His child was killed 
 by an attendant, and, holding his beloved wife's head 
 under his left arm, he plunged his sword deep into her 
 throat. Having accomplished these things, Yoshitsune 
 committed hara-kiri. Benkei, however, faced the 
 enemy. He stood with his great legs apart, his back 
 pressed against a rock. When the dawn came he was 
 still standing with his legs apart, a thousand arrows in 
 that brave body of his. Benkei was dead, but his was 
 a death too strong to fall. The sun shone on a man 
 who was a true hero, who had ever made good his 
 words : <c Where my lord goes, to victory or to death, 
 I shall follow him."' 
 
 Japan is a mountainous country, and in such 
 countries we expect to find a race of hardy, brave men, 
 and certainly the Land of the Rising Sun has given us 
 many a warrior worthy to rank with the Knights of 
 King Arthur. More than one legend deals with the 
 destruction of devils and goblins, and of the rescue of 
 
 B 
 
 xvu 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 maidens who had the misfortune to be their captives. 
 One hero slays a great monster that crouched upon the 
 roof of the Emperor's palace, another despatches the 
 Goblin of Oyeyama, another thrusts his sword through 
 a gigantic spider, and another slays a serpent. All the 
 Japanese heroes, whatever enterprise they may be 
 engaged in, reveal the spirit of high adventure, and 
 that loyalty of purpose, that cool disregard for danger 
 and death which are still characteristic of the Japanese 
 people to-day. 
 
 "The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Maiden" 
 (Chapter III) is adapted from a tenth-century story 
 called Taketori Monogatari^ and is the earliest example 
 of the Japanese romance. The author is unknown, but 
 he must have had an intimate knowledge of court life 
 in Kyoto. All the characters in this very charming 
 legend are Japanese, but most of the incidents have 
 been borrowed from China, a country so rich in 
 picturesque fairy-lore. Mr. F. V. Dickins writes con- 
 cerning the Taketori Monogatari : " The art and grace 
 of the story of the Lady Kaguya are native, its 
 unstrained pathos, its natural sweetness, are its own, 
 and in simple charm and purity of thought and language 
 it has no rival in the fiction of either the Middle 
 Kingdom or of the Dragon-fly Land." 
 
 In studying Japanese legend one is particularly struck 
 by its universality and also by its very sharp contrasts. 
 Most nations have deified the sun and moon, the stars 
 and mountains, and all the greatest works of Nature ; 
 but the Japanese have described the red blossoms of 
 azaleas as the fires of the Gods, and the white snow of 
 Fuji as the garments of Divine Beings. Their legend, 
 on the one hand at any rate, is essentially poetical, and 
 those who worshipped Mount Fuji also had ghostly 
 tales to tell about the smallest insect. Top much stress 
 
 xviii 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 cannot be laid upon Japan's love of Nature. The early 
 myths recorded in the Kojity and Nihongi are of con- 
 siderable interest, but they cannot be compared with 
 the later legends that have given souls to trees and 
 flowers and butterflies, or with those pious traditions 
 that have revealed so tenderly and yet so forcibly the 
 divine significance of Nature. The Festival of the 
 Dead could only have originated among a people to 
 whom the beautiful is the mainstay and joy of life, for 
 that festival is nothing less than a call to the departed 
 dead to return to their old earthly haunts in the summer- 
 time, to cross green hills dotted with pine-trees, to 
 wander down winding ways, by lake and seashore, to 
 linger in old, well-loved gardens, and to pass into 
 homes where, without being seen, they see so much. 
 To the Japanese mind, to those who still preserve the 
 spirit of Old Yamato, the most glowing account of a 
 Buddhist Paradise is not so fair as Japan in the summer- 
 time. 
 
 Perhaps it is as well that Japanese myth, legend, 
 fairy tale, and folk-lore are not exclusively poetical, or 
 we should be in danger of becoming satiated with too 
 much sweetness. It may be that we admire the arches 
 of a Gothic cathedral none the less for having gazed 
 upon the hideous gargoyles on the outside of the 
 sacred edifice, and in the legends of Japan we find 
 many grotesques in sharp contrast with the traditions 
 associated with the gentle and loving Jizo. There is 
 plenty of crude realism in Japanese legend. We are 
 repelled by the Thunder God's favourite repast, amazed 
 by the magical power of foxes and cats ; and the story of 
 " Ho'ichi-the-Earless " and of the corpse-eating priest 
 afford striking examples of the combination of the 
 weird and the horrible. In one story we laugh over 
 the antics of a performing kettle, and in another we are 
 
 XIX 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 almost moved to tears when we read about a little 
 Japanese quilt that murmured : " Elder Brother 
 probably is cold ? Nay, thou probably art cold ? " 
 
 We have had numerous volumes of Japanese fairy 
 tales, but hitherto no book has appeared giving a com- 
 prehensive study of the myths and legends of a country 
 so rich in quaint and beautiful traditions, and it is 
 hoped that the present volume, the result of much 
 pleasant labour, will be a real contribution to the 
 subject. I have made no attempt to make a complete 
 collection of Japanese myths and legends because their 
 number is legion ; but I have endeavoured to make a 
 judicious selection that shall at any rate be representa- 
 tive, and many of the stories contained in this volume 
 will be new to the general reader. 
 
 Lafcadio Hearn wrote in one of his letters : " The 
 fairy world seized my soul again, very softly and 
 sweetly as a child might a butterfly," and if we too 
 would adopt a similar spirit, we shall journey to the 
 Land of the Gods, where the great Kobo Daishi will 
 write upon the sky and running water, upon our very 
 hearts, something of the glamour and magic of Old 
 Japan. With Kobo Daishi for guide we shall witness 
 the coming of Mount Fuji, wander in the Palace of the 
 Sea King and in the Land of Perpetual Youth, watch 
 the combats of mighty heroes, listen to the wisdom of 
 saints, cross the Celestial River on a bridge of birds, 
 and when we are weary nestle in the long sleeve of the 
 ever-smiling Jizo. 
 
 F. HADLAND DAVIS 
 
CHAPTER I : THE PERIOD OF 
 THE GODS 
 
 In the Beginning 
 
 WE are told that in the very beginning " Heaven 
 and Earth were not yet separated, and the 
 In and To not yet divided." This reminds 
 us of other cosmogony stories. The In and To y corre- 
 sponding to the Chinese Tang and Tin, were the male 
 and female principles. It was more convenient for the 
 old Japanese writers to imagine the coming into being 
 of creation in terms not very remote from their own 
 manner of birth. In Polynesian mythology we find 
 pretty much the same conception, where Rangi and Papa 
 represented Heaven and Earth, and further parallels 
 may be found in Egyptian and other cosmogony stories. 
 In nearly all we find the male and female principles 
 taking a prominent, and after all very rational, place. 
 We are told in the Nihongi that these male and female 
 principles "formed a chaotic mass like an egg which 
 was of obscurely defined limits and contained germs." 
 Eventually this egg was quickened into life, and the 
 purer and clearer part was drawn out and formed 
 Heaven, while the heavier element settled down and 
 became Earth, which was " compared to the floating of 
 a fish sporting on the surface of the water." A 
 mysterious form resembling a reed-shoot suddenly 
 appeared between Heaven and Earth, and as suddenly 
 became transformed into a God called Kuni-toko-tachi, 
 (" Land-eternal-stand-of-august-thing "). We may pass 
 over the other divine births until we come to the 
 important deities known as Izanagi and Izanami 
 (" Male-who-invites " and " Female-who-invites "). 
 About these beings has been woven an entrancing 
 myth. 
 
 21 
 
MYtHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Izanagi and Izanami 
 
 Izanagi and Izanami stood on the Floating Bridge 
 of Heaven and looked down into the abyss. They 
 inquired of each other if there were a country far, far 
 below the great Floating Bridge. They were determined 
 to find out. In order to do so they thrust down a jewel- 
 spear, and found the ocean. Raising the spear a little, 
 water dripped from it, coagulated, and became the island 
 of Onogoro-jima (" Spontaneously-congeal-island "). 
 
 Upon this island the two deities descended. Shortly 
 afterwards they desired to become husband and wife, 
 though as a matter of fact they were brother and sister ; 
 but such a relationship in the East has never precluded 
 marriage. These deities accordingly set up a pillar on 
 the island. Izanagi walked round one way, and 
 Izanami the other. When they met, Izanami said : 
 "How delightful! I have met with a lovely youth." 
 One would have thought that this naive remark would 
 have pleased Izanagi ; but it made him extremely 
 angry, and he retorted : " I am a man, and by that 
 right should have spoken first. How is it that on the 
 contrary thou, a woman, shouldst have been the first to 
 speak ? This is unlucky. Let us go round again." 
 So it happened that the two deities started afresh. 
 Once again they met, and this time Izanagi remarked : 
 " How delightful ! I have met a lovely maiden." 
 Shortly after this very ingenuous proposal Izanagi and 
 Izanami were married. 
 
 When Izanami had given birth to islands, seas, rivers, 
 herbs, and trees, she and her lord consulted together, 
 saying : " We have now produced the Great-Eight- 
 Island country, with the mountains, rivers, herbs, and 
 trees. Why should we not produce some one who 
 shall be the Lord of the Universe ?" 
 
 22 
 
IZANAGI AND IZANAMI 
 
 The wish of these deities was fulfilled, for in due 
 season Ama-terasu, the Sun Goddess, was born. She 
 was known as " Heaven-Illumine-of-Great-Deity," and 
 was so extremely beautiful that her parents determined 
 to send her up the Ladder of Heaven, and in the high 
 sky above to cast for ever her glorious sunshine upon 
 the earth. 
 
 Their next child was the Moon God, Tsuki-yumi. 
 His silver radiance was not so fair as the golden 
 effulgence of his sister, the Sun Goddess, but he was, 
 nevertheless, deemed worthy to be her consort. So up 
 the Ladder of Heaven climbed the Moon God. They 
 soon quarrelled, and Ama-terasu said : " Thou art a 
 wicked deity. I must not see thee face to face.'* 
 They were therefore separated by a day and night, and 
 dwelt apart. 
 
 The next child of Izanagi and Izanami was Susa-no-o 
 (" The Impetuous Male "). We shall return to Susa-no-o 
 and his doings later on, and content ourselves for the 
 present with confining our attention to his parents. 
 
 Izanami gave birth to the Fire God, Kagu-tsuchi. 
 The birth of this child made her extremely ill. Izanagi 
 knelt on the ground, bitterly weeping and lamenting. 
 But his sorrow availed nothing, and Izanami crept away 
 into the Land of Yomi (Hades). 
 
 Her lord, however, could not live without her, and 
 he too went into the Land of Yomi. When he dis- 
 covered her, she said regretfully : " My lord and 
 husband, why is thy coming so late ? I have already 
 eaten of the cooking-furnace of Yomi. Nevertheless, 
 I am about to lie down to rest. I pray thee do not 
 look at me." 
 
 Izanagi, moved by curiosity, refused to fulfil her 
 wish. It was dark in the Land of Yomi, so he secretly 
 took out his many-toothed comb, broke off a piece, and 
 
 23 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 lighted it. The sight that greeted him was ghastly 
 and horrible in the extreme. His once beautiful wife 
 had now become a swollen and festering creature. 
 Eight varieties of Thunder Gods rested upon her. 
 The Thunder of the Fire, Earth, and Mountain were 
 all there leering upon him, and roaring with their great 
 voices. 
 
 Izanagi grew frightened and disgusted, saying : " I 
 have come unawares to a hideous and polluted land." 
 His wife retorted : " Why didst thou not observe that 
 which I charged thee ? Now am I put to shame." 
 
 Izanami was so angry with her lord for ignoring her 
 wish and breaking in upon her privacy that she sent 
 the Eight Ugly Females of Yomi to pursue him. 
 Izanagi drew his sword and fled down the dark regions 
 of the Underworld. As he ran he took off his head- 
 dress, and flung it to the ground. It immediately be- 
 came a bunch of grapes. When the Ugly Females 
 saw it, they bent down and ate the luscious fruit. 
 Izanami saw them pause, and deemed it wise to pursue 
 her lord herself. 
 
 By this time Izanagi had reached the Even Pass of 
 Yomi. Here he placed a huge rock, and eventually 
 came face to face with Izanami. One would scarcely 
 have thought that amid such exciting adventures 
 Izanagi would have solemnly declared a divorce. But 
 this is just what he did do. To this proposal his wife 
 replied : " My dear lord and husband, if thou sayest 
 so, I will strangle to death the people in one day." 
 This plaintive and threatening speech in no way in- 
 fluenced Izanagi, who readily replied that he would 
 cause to be born in one day no less than fifteen 
 hundred. 
 
 The above remark must have proved conclusive, for 
 when we next hear of Izanagi he had escaped from the 
 24 
 
AMA-TERASU AND SUSA-NO-O 
 
 Land of Yomi, from an angry wife, and from the Eight 
 Ugly Females. After his escape he was engaged in 
 copious ablutions, by way of purification, from which 
 numerous deities were born. We read in the Nihongi : 
 " After this, Izanagi, his divine task having been ac- 
 complished, and his spirit-career about to suffer a change, 
 built himself an abode of gloom in the island of Ahaji, 
 where he dwelt for ever in silence and concealment." 
 
 Ama<terasu and Susa-no-o 
 
 Susa-no-o,or "The Impetuous Male," was the brother 
 of Ama-terasu, the Sun Goddess. Now Susa-no-o was a 
 very undesirable deity indeed, and he figured in the Realm 
 of the Japanese Gods as a decidedly disturbing element. 
 His character has been clearly drawn in the Nihongi) more 
 clearly perhaps than that of any other deity mentioned in 
 these ancient records. Susa-no-o had a very bad tempe r , 
 which often resulted in many cruel and ungenerous acts. 
 Moreover, in spite of his long beard, he had a habit of 
 continually weeping and wailing. Where a child in a 
 tantrum would crush a toy to pieces, the Impetuous Male,- 
 when in a towering rage, and without a moment's warning, 
 would wither the once fair greenery of mountains, and in 
 addition bring many people to an untimely end. 
 
 His parents, Izanagi and Izanami, were much troubled 
 by his doings, and, after consulting together, they decided 
 to banish their unruly son to the Land of Yomi. 
 Susa, however, had a word to say in the matter. He 
 made the following petition, saying : " I will now obey 
 thy instructions and proceed to the Nether-Land 
 (Yomi). Therefore I wish for a short time to go 
 to the Plain of High Heaven and meet with my 
 elder sister (Ama-terasu), after which I will go away for 
 ever." This apparently harmless request was granted, 
 and Susa-no-o ascended to Heaven. His departure 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 occasioned a great commotion of the sea, and the hills 
 and mountains groaned aloud. 
 
 Now Ama-terasu heard these noises, and perceiving 
 that they denoted the near approach of her wicked 
 brother Susa-no-o, she said to herself : " Is my younger 
 brother coming with good intentions ? I think it must 
 be his purpose to rob me of my kingdom. By the 
 charge which our parents gave to their children, each 
 of us has his own allotted limits. Why, therefore, 
 does he reject the kingdom to which he should proceed, 
 and make bold to come spying here ? " 
 
 Ama-terasu then prepared for warfare. She tied her 
 hair into knots and hung jewels upon it, and round 
 her wrists "an august string of five hundred Yasaka 
 jewels." She presented a very formidable appearance 
 when in addition she slung over her back "a thou- 
 sand-arrow quiver and a five-hundred-arrow quiver,' * 
 and protected her arms with pads to deaden the 
 recoil of the bowstring. Having arrayed herself 
 for deadly combat, she brandished her bow, grasped 
 her sword-hilt, and stamped on the ground till 
 she had made a hole sufficiently large to serve as a 
 fortification. 
 
 All this elaborate and ingenious preparation was in 
 vain. The Impetuous Male adopted the manner of a 
 penitent. "From the beginning," he said, "my heart 
 has not been black. But as, in obedience to the stern 
 behest of our parents, I am about to depart for ever 
 to the Nether-Land, how could I bear to depart 
 without having seen face to face thee my elder sister ? 
 It is for this reason that I have traversed on foot the 
 clouds and mists and have come hither from afar. I 
 am surprised that my elder sister should, on the 
 contrary, put on so stern a countenance." 
 
 Ama-terasu regarded these remarks with a certain 
 26 
 
AMA-TERASU AND SUSA-NO-O 
 
 amount of suspicion. Susa-no-o's filial piety and 
 Susa-no-o's cruelty were not easily to be reconciled. She 
 thereupon resolved to test his sincerity by a remarkable 
 proceeding we need not describe. Suffice it to say that 
 for the time being the test proved the Impetuous Male's 
 purity of heart and general sincerity towards his sister. 
 
 But Susa-no-o's good behaviour was a very short-lived 
 affair indeed. It happened that Ama-terasu had made 
 a number of excellent rice-fields in Heaven. Some were 
 narrow and some were long, and Ama-terasu was justly 
 proud of these rice-fields. No sooner had she sown 
 the seed in the spring than Susa-no-o broke down the 
 divisions between the plots, and in the autumn let 
 loose a number of piebald colts. 
 
 One day when he saw his sister in the sacred 
 Weaving Hall, weaving the garments of the Gods, he 
 made a hole through the roof and flung down a flayed 
 horse. Ama-terasu was so frightened that she acci- 
 dentally wounded herself with the shuttle. Extremely 
 angry, she determined to leave her abode ; so, gathering 
 her shining robes about her, she crept down the blue 
 sky, entered a cave, fastened it securely, and there 
 dwelt in seclusion. 
 
 Now the world was in darkness, and the alternation 
 of night and day was unknown. When this dreadful 
 catastrophe had taken place the Eighty Myriads of 
 Gods assembled together on the bank of the River of 
 Heaven and discussed how they might best persuade 
 Ama-terasu to grace Heaven once more with her 
 shining glory. No less a God than "Thought-com- 
 bining,'* after much profound reasoning, gathered 
 together a number of singing-birds from the Eternal 
 Land. After sundry divinations with a deer's leg-bone, 
 over a fire of cherry-bark, the Gods made a number of 
 tools, bellows, and forges. Stars were welded together 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 to form a mirror, and jewellery and musical instruments 
 were eventually fashioned. 
 
 When all these things had been duly accomplished 
 the Eighty Myriads of Gods came down to the rock- 
 cavern where the Sun Goddess lay concealed, and gave 
 an elaborate entertainment. On the upper branches of 
 the True Sakaki Tree they hung the precious jewels, 
 and on the middle branches the mirror. From every 
 side there was a great singing of birds, which was 
 only the prelude to what followed. Now Uzume 
 ("Heavenly-alarming-female") took in her hand a 
 spear wreathed with Eulalia grass, and made a head- 
 dress of the True Sakaki Tree. Then she placed a 
 tub upside down, and proceeded to dance in a very 
 immodest manner, till the Eighty Myriad Gods began 
 to roar with laughter. 
 
 Such extraordinary proceedings naturally awakened 
 the curiosity of Ama-terasu, and she peeped forth. 
 Once more the world became golden with her presence. 
 Once more she dwelt in the Plain of High Heaven, 
 and Susa-no-o was duly chastised and banished to the 
 Yomi Land. 
 
 O'O and the Serpent 
 With the usual inconsistency of myths and legends, 
 we are not surprised to find that all reference to Susa 
 dwelling in the Land of Yomi is entirely omitted. 
 When we next see him it is apart from his usual mis- 
 chievous disposition. Indeed, we find him in a rble 
 worthy of one of the Knights of the Round Table. 
 Whether the sudden display of knight-errantry was a 
 cunning move on his part for some ulterior motive, or 
 whether his sister's sudden withdrawal from Heaven 
 had made him permanently reform his ways, we are 
 left in entire ignorance. 
 28 
 
Uzume awakens the curiosity of Ama-terasu. 
 
 28 
 
SUSA'NOO AND THE SERPENT 
 
 Susa-no-o 3 having descended from Heaven, arrived at 
 the river Hi, in the province of Idzumo. Here he was 
 disturbed by a sound of weeping. It was so unusual 
 to hear any other than himself weep that he went in 
 search of the cause of the sorrow. He discovered an 
 old man and an old woman. Between them was a young 
 girl, whom they fondly caressed and gazed at with pitiful 
 eyes, as if they were reluctantly bidding her a last fare- 
 well. When Susa-no-o asked the old couple who they 
 were and why they lamented, the old man replied : " I 
 am an Earthly Deity, and my name is Ashi-nadzuchi 
 (" Foot-stroke-elder "). My wife's name is Te- 
 nadzuchi (" Hand-stroke-elder "). This girl is our 
 daughter, and her name ,is Kushi-nada-hime (" Won- 
 drous-Inada-Princess "). The reason of our weeping 
 is that formerly we had eight children, daughters ; 
 but they have been devoured year by year by an eight- 
 forked serpent, and now the time approaches for this 
 girl to be devoured. There is no means of escape for 
 her, and therefore do we grieve exceedingly." 
 
 The Impetuous Male listened to this painful recital 
 with profound attention, and, perceiving that the maiden 
 was extremely beautiful, he offered to slay the eight- 
 forked serpent if her parents would give her to him 
 in marriage as a fitting reward for his services. This 
 request was readily granted. 
 
 Susa-no-o now changed Kushi-nada-hime into a many- 
 toothed comb and stuck it in his hair. Then he bade 
 the old couple brew a quantity of sake. When the sake 
 was ready, he poured it into eight tubs, and awaited 
 the coming of the dreadful monster. 
 
 Eventually the serpent came. It had eight heads, 
 and the eyes were red, " like winter-cherry." More- 
 over it had eight tails, and firs and cypress-trees grew 
 on its back. It was in length the space of eight hills 
 
 29 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 and eight valleys. Its lumbering progress was neces- 
 sarily slow, but finding the sake, each head eagerly 
 drank the tempting beverage till the serpent became ex- 
 tremely drunk, and fell asleep. Then Susa-no-o, having 
 little to fear, drew his ten-span sword and chopped the 
 great monster into little pieces. When he struck one 
 of the tails his weapon became notched, and bending 
 down he discovered a sword called the Murakumo-no- 
 Tsurugi. Perceiving it to be a divine sword, he gave 
 it to the Gods of Heaven. 
 
 Having successfully accomplished his task, Susa-no-o 
 converted the many-toothed comb into Kushi-nada- 
 hime again, and at length came to Suga, in the pro- 
 vince of Idzumo, in order that he might celebrate his 
 marriage. Here he composed the following verse : 
 
 " Many clouds arise, 
 On all sides a manifold fence, 
 To receive within it the spouses, 
 They form a manifold fence 
 Ah ! that manifold fence ! " 
 
 Nifiongi, trans, by W. G. ASTON. 
 
 The Divine Messengers 
 
 Now at that time the Gods assembled in the High 
 Plain of Heaven were aware of continual disturbances 
 in the Central Land of Reed-Plains (Idzumo). We 
 are told that " Plains, the rocks, tree-stems, and herb- 
 age have still the power of speech. At night they 
 make a clamour like that of flames of fire ; in the 
 day-time they swarm up like flies in the fifth month." 
 In addition certain deities made themselves objection- 
 able. The Gods determined to put an end to these 
 disturbances, and after a consultation Taka-mi-musubi 
 decided to send his grandchild Ninigi to govern the 
 Central Land of Reed-Plains, to wipe out insurrection, 
 and to bring peace and prosperity to the country. It 
 30 
 
Susa-no-o and Kushi-nada-hime. 
 
 3 
 
THE DIVINE MESSENGERS 
 
 was deemed necessary to send messengers to prepare 
 the way in advance. The first envoy was Ama-no-ho ; 
 but as he spent three years in the country without 
 reporting to the Gods, his son was sent in his place. 
 He adopted the same course as his father, and defied 
 the orders of the Heavenly Ones. The third messenger 
 was Ame-waka (" Heaven-young-Prince "). He, too, 
 was disloyal, in spite of his noble weapons, and instead 
 of going about his duties he fell in love and took to wife 
 Shita-teru-hime (" Lower-shine-Princess "). 
 
 Now the assembled Gods grew angry at the long 
 delay, and sent a pheasant down to ascertain what was 
 going on in Idzumo. The pheasant perched on the 
 top of a cassia-tree before Ame-waka's gate. When 
 Ame-waka saw the bird he immediately shot it. The 
 arrow went through the bird, rose into the Place of 
 Gods, and was hurled back again, so that it killed the 
 disloyal and idle Ame-waka. 
 
 The weeping of Lower-shine-Princess reached 
 Heaven, for she loved her lord and failed to recognise 
 in his sudden death the just vengeance of the Gods. 
 She wept so loud and so pitifully that the Heavenly 
 Ones heard her. A swift wind descended, and the 
 body of Ame-waka floated up into the High Plain of 
 Heaven. A mortuary house was made, in which the 
 deceased was laid. Mr. Frank Kinder writes : " For 
 eight days and eight nights there was wailing and 
 lamentation. The wild goose of the river, the heron, 
 the kingfisher, the sparrow, and the pheasant mourned 
 with a great mourning." 
 
 Now it happened that a friend of Ame-waka, Aji-shi- 
 ki by name, heard the sad dirges proceeding from 
 Heaven. He therefore offered his condolence. He 
 so resembled the deceased that when Ame-waka's 
 parents, relations, wife, and children saw him, they 
 
 3' 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 exclaimed: "Our lord is still alive!" This greatly 
 angered Aji-shi-ki, and he drew his sword and cut 
 down the mortuary house, so that it fell to the Earth 
 and became the mountain of Moyama. 
 
 We are told that the glory of Aji-shi-ki was so 
 effulgent that it illuminated the space of two hills and 
 two valleys. Those assembled for the mourning cele- 
 brations uttered the following song : 
 
 " Like the string of jewels 
 Worn on the neck 
 Of the Weaving-maiden, 
 That dwells in Heaven 
 Oh ! the lustre of the jewels 
 Flung across two valleys 
 From Aji-suki-taka-hiko-ne ! 
 
 " To the side-pool 
 The side-pool 
 Of the rocky stream 
 Whose narrows are crossed 
 By the country wenches 
 Afar from Heaven, 
 Come hither, come hither ! 
 (The women are fair) 
 And spread across thy net 
 In the side-pool 
 Of the rocky stream." 
 
 Nihongi, trans, by W. G. ASTON. 
 
 Two more Gods were sent to the Central Land of 
 Reed-Plains, and these Gods were successful in their 
 mission. They returned to Heaven with a favourable 
 report, saying that all was now ready for the coming of 
 the August Grandchild. 
 
 The Coming of the August Grandchild 
 
 Ama-terasu presented her grandson Ninigi, or Prince 
 Rice-Ear-Ruddy-Plenty, with many gifts. She gave 
 him precious stones from the mountain-steps of Heaven, 
 32 
 
COMING OF THE AUGUST GRANDCHILD 
 
 white crystal balls, and, most valuable gift of all, the 
 divine sword that Susa-no-o had discovered in the 
 serpent. She also gave him the star-mirror into which 
 she had gazed when peeping out of her cave. Several 
 deities accompanied Ninigi, including that lively maiden 
 of mirth and dance Uzume, whose dancing, it will be 
 remembered, so amused the Gods. 
 
 Ninigi and his companions had hardly broken through 
 the clouds and arrived at the eight-forked road of 
 Heaven, when they discovered, much to their alarm, a 
 gigantic creature with large and brightly shining eyes. 
 So formidable was his aspect that Ninigi and all his 
 companions, except the merry and bewitching Uzume, 
 started to turn back with intent to abandon their 
 mission. But Uzume went up to the giant and de- 
 manded who it was that dared to impede their progress. 
 The giant replied : " I am the Deity of the Field-paths. 
 I come to pay my homage to Ninigi, and beg to have 
 the honour to be his guide. Return to your master, 
 O fair Uzume, and give him this message." 
 
 So Uzume returned and gave her message to the 
 Gods, who had so ignominiously retreated. When 
 they heard the good news they greatly rejoiced, burst 
 once more through the clouds, rested on the Floating 
 Bridge of Heaven, and finally reached the summit of 
 Takachihi. 
 
 The August Grandchild, with the Deity of the Field- 
 paths for guide, travelled from end to end of the 
 kingdom over which he was to rule. When he had 
 reached a particularly charming spot, he built a palace. 
 
 Ninigi was so pleased with the service the Deity 
 of the Field-paths had rendered him that he gave that 
 giant the merry Uzume to wife. 
 
 Ninigi, after having romantically rewarded his faith- 
 ful guide, began to feel the stirring, of love himself, 
 
 c 33 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 when one day, while walking along the shore, he saw 
 an extremely lovely maiden. "Who are you, most 
 beautiful lady ? " inquired Ninigi. She replied : " I 
 am the daughter or the Great-Mountain-Possessor. 
 My name is Ko-no-Hana, the Princess who makes the 
 Flowers of the Trees to Blossom." 
 
 Ninigi fell in love with Ko-no-Hana. He went 
 with all haste to her father, Oho-yama, and begged 
 that he would favour him with his daughter's hand. 
 
 Oho-yama had an elder daughter, Iha-naga, Princess 
 Long-as-the-Rocks. As her name implies, she was not 
 at all beautiful ; but her father desired that Ninigi's 
 children should have life as eternal as the life of rocks. 
 He therefore presented both his daughters to Ninigi, 
 expressing the hope that the suitor's choice would fall 
 upon Iha-naga. Just as Cinderella, and not her ugly 
 sisters, is dear to children of our own country, so did 
 Ninigi remain true to his choice, and would not even 
 look upon Iha-naga. This neglect made Princess Long- 
 as-the-Rocks extremely angry. She cried out, with more 
 vehemence than modesty : " Had you chosen me, you 
 and your children would have lived long in the land. 
 Now that you have chosen my sister, you and yours 
 will perish as quickly as the blossom of trees, as quickly 
 as the bloom on my sister's cheek." 
 
 However, Ninigi and Ko-no-Hana lived happily 
 together for some time ; but one day jealousy came to 
 Ninigi and robbed him of his peace of mind. He had 
 no cause to be jealous, and Ko-no-Hana much resented 
 his treatment. She retired to a little wooden hut, and 
 set it on fire. From the flames came three baby boys. 
 We need only concern ourselves with two of them 
 Hoderi ("Fire-shine") and Hoori ("Fire-fade"). 
 Hoori, as we shall see later on, was the grandfather of 
 the first Mikado of Japan. 
 34 
 

 Hoori and the Sea God's Daughter. 
 
 34 
 
IN THE PALACE OF THE SEA GOD 
 
 In the Palace of the Sea God 
 
 Hoderi was a great fisherman, while his younger 
 brother, Hoori, was an accomplished hunter. One day 
 they exclaimed : " Let us for a trial exchange gifts." 
 This they did, but the elder brother, who could catch 
 fish to some purpose, came home without any spoil 
 when he went a-hunting. He therefore returned the 
 bow and arrows, and asked his younger brother for the 
 fish-hook. Now it so happened that Hoori had lost 
 his brother's fish-hook. The generous offer of a new 
 hook to take the place of the old one was scornfully 
 refused. He also refused to accept a heaped-up tray 
 of fish-hooks. To this offer the elder brother replied : 
 " These are not my old fish-hook : though they are 
 many, I will not take them." 
 
 Now Hoori was sore troubled by his brother's 
 harshness, so he went down to the sea-shore and there 
 gave way to his grief. A kind old man by the name 
 of Shiko-tsutsu no Oji (" Salt-sea-elder ") said : " Why 
 dost thou grieve here ? " When the sad tale was told, 
 the old man replied : " Grieve no more. I will arrange 
 this matter for thee." 
 
 True to his word, the old man made a basket, set 
 Hoori in it, and then sank it in the sea. After 
 descending deep down in the water Hoori came to a 
 pleasant strand rich with all manner of fantastic sea- 
 weed. Here he abandoned the basket and eventually 
 arrived at the Palace of the Sea God. 
 
 Now this palace was extremely imposing. It had 
 battlements and turrets and stately towers. A well 
 stood at the gate, and over the well there was a cassia- 
 tree. Here Hoori loitered in the pleasant shade. He 
 had not stood there long before a beautiful woman 
 appeared; As she was about to draw water, she raised 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 her eyes, saw the stranger, and immediately returned, 
 with much alarm, to tell her mother and father what she 
 had seen. 
 
 The God of the Sea, when he had heard the news, 
 " prepared an eightfold cushion " and led the stranger 
 in, asking his visitor why he had been honoured by his 
 presence. When Hoori explained the sad loss of his 
 brother's fish-hook the Sea God assembled all the fishes 
 of his kingdom, "broad of fin and narrow of fin." 
 And when the thousands upon thousands of fishes were 
 assembled, the Sea God asked them if they knew 
 anything about the missing fish-hook. "We know 
 not," answered the fishes. " Only the Red-woman 
 (the tat) has had a sore mouth for some time past, and 
 has not come." She was accordingly summoned, and 
 on her mouth being opened the lost fish-hook was 
 discovered. 
 
 Hoori then took to wife the Sea God's daughter, 
 Toyo-tama ("Rich-jewel "), and they dwelt together in 
 the palace under the sea. For three years all went 
 well, but after a time Hoori hungered for a sight of his 
 own country, and possibly he may have remembered 
 that he had yet to restore the fish-hook to his elder 
 brother. These not unnatural feelings troubled the 
 heart of the loving Toyo-tama, and she went to her 
 father and told him of her sorrow. But the Sea God, 
 who was always urbane and courteous, in no way 
 resented his son-in-law's behaviour. On the contrary 
 he gave him the fish-hook, saying : " When thou givest 
 this fish-hook to thy elder brother, before giving it to 
 him, call to it secretly, and say, c A poor hook ! ' He 
 also presented Hoori with the Jewel of the Flowing 
 Tide and the Jewel of the Ebbing Tide, saying : " If 
 thou dost dip the Tide-flowing Jewel, the tide will 
 suddenly flow, and therewithal thou shalt drown thine 
 36 
 
HODERI AND HOORI RECONCILED 
 
 elder brother. But in case thy elder brother should 
 repent and beg forgiveness, if, on the contrary, thou dip 
 the Tide-ebbing Jewel, the tide will spontaneously ebb, 
 and therewithal thou shalt save him. If thou harass 
 him in this way thy elder brother will of his own accord 
 render submission." 
 
 Just before Hoori was about to depart his wife came 
 to him and told him that she was soon to give him a 
 child. Said she : " On a day when the winds and 
 waves are raging I will surely come forth to the sea- 
 shore. Build for me a house, and await me there." 
 
 Hoderi and Hoori Reconciled 
 
 When Hoori reached his own home he found his 
 elder brother, who admitted his offence and begged for 
 forgiveness, which was readily granted. 
 
 Toyo-tama and her younger sister bravely confronted 
 the winds and waves, and came to the sea-shore. There 
 Hoori had built a hut roofed with cormorant feathers, 
 and there in due season she gave birth to a son. When 
 Toyo-tama had blessed her lord with offspring, she 
 turned into a dragon and slipped back into the sea. 
 Hoori's son married his aunt, and was the father of 
 four children, one of whom was Kamu-Yamato-Iware- 
 Biko, who is said to have been the first human Emperor 
 of Japan, and is now known as Jimmu TennO. 
 
 37 
 
CHAPTER II : HEROES AND WARRIORS 
 
 Yorimasa 
 
 ALONG time ago a certain Emperor became 
 seriously ill. He was unable to sleep at night 
 owing to a most horrible and unaccountable 
 noise he heard proceeding from the roof of the palace, 
 called the Purple Hall of the North Star. A number 
 of his courtiers decided to lie in wait for this strange 
 nocturnal visitor. As soon as the sun set they noticed 
 that a dark cloud crept from the eastern horizon, and 
 alighted on the roof of the august palace. Those who 
 waited in the imperial bed-chamber heard extraordinary 
 scratching sounds, as if what had at first appeared to be 
 a cloud had suddenly changed into a beast with gigantic 
 and powerful claws. 
 
 Night after night this terrible visitant came, and 
 night after night the Emperor grew worse. He at last 
 became so ill that it was obvious to all those in 
 attendance upon him that unless something could be 
 done to destroy this monster the Emperor would 
 certainly die. 
 
 At last it was decided that Yorimasa was the one 
 knight in the kingdom valiant enough to relieve his 
 Majesty of these terrible haun tings. Yorimasa ac- 
 cordingly made elaborate preparations for the fray. 
 He took his best bow and steel-headed arrows, donned 
 his armour, over which he wore a hunting-dress, and a 
 ceremonial cap instead of his usual helmet. 
 
 At sunset he lay in concealment outside the palace. 
 While he thus waited thunder crashed overhead, light- 
 ning blazed in the sky, and the wind shrieked like a 
 pack of wild demons. But Yorimasa was a brave man, 
 and the fury of the elements in no way daunted him. 
 When midnight came he saw a black cloud rush through 
 38 
 
Yorimasa slays the Vampire. 
 
YOSHITSUNE AND BENKEI 
 
 the sky and rest upon the roof of the palace. At the 
 north-east corner it stopped. Once more the light- 
 ning flashed in the sky, and this time he saw the 
 gleaming eyes of a large animal. Noting the exact 
 position of this strange monster, he pulled at his bow 
 till it became as round as the full moon. In another 
 moment his steel-headed arrow hit its mark. There 
 was an awful roar of anger, and then a heavy thud as 
 the huge monster rolled from the palace roof to the 
 ground. 
 
 Yorimasa and his retainer ran forward and despatched 
 the fearful creature they saw before them. This evil 
 monster of the night was as large as a horse. It had 
 the head of an ape, and the body and claws were like 
 those of a tiger, with a serpent's tail, wings of a bird, 
 and the scales of a dragon. 
 
 It was no wonder that the Emperor gave orders that 
 the skin of this monster should be kept for all time as 
 a curiosity in the Imperial treasure-house. From the 
 very moment the creature died the Emperor's health 
 rapidly improved, and Yorimasa was rewarded for his 
 services by/being presented with a sword called Shishi- 
 wo, which means "the King of Lions." He was also 
 promoted at Court, and finally married the Lady 
 Ayame, the most beautiful of ladies-in-waiting at the 
 Imperial Court. 
 
 Yoshitsune and Benkei 
 
 We may compare Yoshitsune with the Black Prince or 
 Henry V., and Benkei with " Little John, Will Scarlet, 
 and Friar Tuck rolled in one." Yoshitsune would 
 have seemed a very remarkable hero had not his faith- 
 ful henchman, Benkei, also figured in Japanese history 
 and legend. As it is we are forced to admit that 
 Benkei was far and away the greater man. He not 
 
 39 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OFOAPAN 
 
 only towered in stature above his companions, but he 
 rose above his brethren in courage, wit, resource, and a 
 wonderful tenderness. Here was a rrian who could 
 slay a hundred men with absolute ease, ancf* with the 
 same quiet assurance expound the Buddhist Scriptures. 
 He could weep over Yoshitsune when, by way of 
 strategy, he found it necessary to severely 'beat him, 
 and with infinite gentleness render assistance when his 
 lord's wife gave birth to a son. There wasyet another 
 side to Benkei's versatile character his love of a practical 
 joke. The bell incident, referred to elsewhere, is a 
 case in point, and his enormous feast at the expense of 
 a number of priests another ; but if he had his joke he 
 never failed to pay for the laugh to the full. Benkei 
 remarked on one occasion : " When there is an un- 
 lucky lot to draw my lord sees to it that I am the one 
 to get it." This was certainly true. Benkei always 
 made a point of doing the dirty work, and when his 
 master asked him to do anything Benkei's only com- 
 plaint was that the task was not sufficiently difficult, 
 though as a matter of fact it was often so dangerous 
 that it would have frightened a dozen less gifted 
 heroes. 
 
 We are told that when Benkei was born he had long 
 hair, a complete set of teeth, and, moreover, that he 
 could run as swiftly as the wind. Benkei was too big 
 for a modest Japanese home. When he struck Jin- 
 saku's anvil that useful object sank deep into the earth, 
 and for firewood he would bring a great pine-tree. 
 When Benkei was seventeen years old he became a 
 priest in a Buddhist temple ; but that did not prevent 
 him from having a thrilling escapade with a beautiful 
 young girl called Tamamushi. We soon find our hero 
 breaking away from love and priestcraft, and entirely 
 devoting his attention to the exciting adventures of a 
 40 
 
YOSHITSUNE AND THE TAIRA 
 
 lawless warrior. Here, for the moment, we must leave 
 him, and give the story of Yoshitsune, and how he had 
 the good fortune to meet and retain the service and 
 friendship of Benkei till his dying day. 
 
 Yoshitsune and the Taira 
 
 Yoshitsune's father, Yoshitomo, had been killed in 
 a great battle with the Taira. At that time the Taira 
 clan was all-powerful, and its cruel leader, Kiyomori, 
 did all he could to destroy Yoshitomo's children. But 
 the mother of these children, Tokiwa, fled into hiding, 
 taking her little ones with her. With characteristic 
 Japanese fortitude, she finally consented to become the 
 wife of the hated Kiyomori. She did so because it was 
 the only way to save the lives of her children. She 
 was allowed to keep Yoshitsune with her, and she 
 daily whispered to him : " Remember thy father, 
 Minamoto Yoshitomo ! Grow strong and avenge his 
 death, for he died at the hands of the Taira ! " 
 
 When Yoshitsune was seven years of age he was sent 
 to a monastery to be brought up as a monk. Though 
 diligent in his studies, the young boy ever treasured in 
 his heart the dauntless words of his brave, self-sacrificing 
 mother. They stirred and quickened him to action. He 
 used to go to a certain valley, where he would flourish 
 his little wooden sword, and, singing fragments of war- 
 songs, hit out at rocks and stones, desiring that he might 
 one day become a great warrior, and right the wrongs 
 so heavily heaped upon his family by the Taira clan. 
 
 One night, while thus engaged, he was startled by a 
 great thunderstorm, and saw before him a mighty giant 
 with a long red nose and enormous glaring eyes, bird- 
 like claws, and feathered wings. Bravely standing his 
 ground, Yoshitsune inquired who this giant might be, 
 and was informed that he was King of the Tengu that 
 
 4* 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 is, King of the elves of the mountains, sprightly little 
 beings who were frequently engaged in all manner of 
 fantastic tricks. 
 
 The King of the Tengu was very kindly disposed 
 towards Yoshitsune. He explained that he admired 
 his perseverance, and told him that he had appeared 
 upon the scene with the meritorious intention of teaching 
 him all that was to be learnt in the art of swordsmanship. 
 The lessons progressed in a most satisfactory manner, 
 and it was not long before Yoshitsune could vanquish 
 as many as twenty small tengu, and this extreme agility 
 stood Yoshitsune in very good stead, as we shall see 
 later on in the story. 
 
 Now when Yoshitsune was fifteen years old he heard 
 that there lived on Mount Hiei a very wild bonze 
 (priest) by the name of Benkei. Benkei had for some 
 time waylaid knights who happened to cross the Gojo 
 Bridge of Kyoto. His idea was to obtain a thousand 
 swords, and he was so brave, although such a rascal, 
 that he had won from knights no less than nine hundred 
 and ninety-nine swords by his lawless behaviour. When 
 the news of these doings reached the ears of Yoshitsune 
 he determined to put the teaching of the King of the 
 Tengu to good use and slay this Benkei, and so put 
 an end to one who had become a terror in the land. 
 
 One evening Yoshitsune started out, and, in order to 
 establish the manner and bearing of absolute indiffer- 
 ence, he played upon his flute till he came to the Gojo 
 Bridge. Presently he saw coming towards him a 
 gigantic man clad in black armour, who was none other 
 than Benkei. When Benkei saw the youth he considered 
 it to be beneath his dignity to attack what appeared to 
 him to be a mere weakling, a dreamer who could play 
 excellently, and no doubt write a pretty poem about 
 the moon, which was then shining in the sky, but one 
 4* 
 
Yoshitsune and Benkei attacked by a ghostly company 
 
 of the Taira Clan. 42 
 
YOSHITSUNE AND BENKEI FIGHT 
 
 who was in no way a warrior. This affront naturally 
 angered Yoshitsune, and he suddenly kicked Benkei's 
 halberd out of his hand. 
 
 Yoshitsune and Benkei Fight 
 
 Benkei gave a growl of rage, and cut about indis- 
 criminately with his weapon. But the sprightliness 
 of the tengu teaching favoured Yoshitsune. He j umped 
 from side to side, from the front to the rear, and 
 from the rear to the front again, mocking the giant 
 with many a jest' and many a peal of ringing laughter. 
 Round and round went Benkei's weapon, always strik- 
 ing either the air or the ground, and ever missing its 
 adversary. 
 
 At last Benkei grew weary, and once again Yoshitsune 
 knocked the halberd out of the giant's hand. In trying 
 to regain his weapon Yoshitsune tripped him up, so 
 that he stumbled upon his hands and knees, and the 
 hero, with a cry of triumph, mounted upon the now 
 four-legged Benkei. The giant was utterly amazed at 
 his defeat, and when he was told that the victor was 
 none other than the son of Lord Yoshitomo he not 
 only took his defeat in a manly fashion, but begged 
 that he might henceforth become a retainer of the 
 young conqueror. 
 
 From this time we find the names of Yoshitsune and 
 Benkei linked together, and in all the stories of warriors, 
 whether in Japan or elsewhere, never was there a more 
 valiant and harmonious union of strength and friend- 
 ship. We hear of them winning numerous victories 
 over the Taira, finally driving them to the sea, where 
 they perished at Dan-no-ura. 
 
 We get one more glimpse of Dan-no-ura from a 
 legendary point of view. Yoshitsune and his faithful 
 henchman arranged to cross in a ship from the province 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 of Settsu to Saikoku. When they reached Dan-no-ura 
 a great storm arose. Mysterious noises came from the 
 towering waves, a far-away echo of the din of battle, of 
 the rushing of ships and the whirling of arrows, of the 
 footfall of a thousand men. Louder and louder the 
 noise grew, and from the lashing crests of the waves 
 there arose a ghostly company of the Taira clan. Their 
 armour was torn and blood-stained, and they thrust 
 out their vaporous arms and tried to stop the boat in 
 which Yoshitsune and Benkei sailed. It was a ghostly 
 reminiscence of the battle of Dan-no-ura, when the 
 Taira had suffered a terrible and permanent defeat. 
 Yoshitsune, when he saw this great phantom host, cried 
 out for revenge even upon the ghosts of the Taira 
 dead ; but Benkei, always shrewd and circumspect, bade 
 his master lay aside the sword, and took out a rosary 
 and recited a number of Buddhist prayers. Peace came 
 to the great company of ghosts, the wailing ceased, and 
 gradually they faded into the sea which now became calm. 
 Legend tells us that fishermen still see from time to 
 time ghostly armies come out of the sea and wail and 
 shake their long arms. They explain that the crabs 
 with dorsal markings are the wraiths of the Taira 
 warriors. Later on we shall introduce another legend 
 relating to these unfortunate ghosts, who seem never to 
 tire of haunting the scene of their defeat. 
 
 The Goblin of Oyeyama 
 
 In the reign of the Emperor Ichijo many dreadful 
 stories were current in Kyoto in regard to a demon 
 that lived on Mount Oye. This demon could assume 
 many forms. Sometimes appearing as a human being, 
 he would steal into Kyoto, and leave many a home 
 destitute of well-loved sons and daughters. These 
 young men and women he took back to his mountain 
 44 
 
THE GOBLIN OF OYEYAMA 
 
 stronghold, and, sad to narrate, after making sport of 
 them, he and his goblin companions made a great feast 
 and devoured these poor young people. Even the 
 sacred Court was not exempt from these awful happen- 
 ings, and one day Kimitaka lost his beautiful daughter. 
 She had been snatched away by the Goblin King, 
 Shutendoji. 
 
 When this sad news reached the ears of the Emperor 
 he called his council together and consulted how they 
 might slay this dreadful creature. His ministers in- 
 formed his Majesty that Raiko was a doughty knight, 
 and advised that he should be sent with certain com- 
 panions on this perilous but worthy adventure. 
 
 Raiko accordingly chose five companions and told 
 them what had been ordained, and how they were to 
 set out upon an adventurous journey, and finally to 
 slay the King of the Goblins. He explained that 
 subtlety of action was most essential if they wished for 
 success in their enterprise, and that it would be well to 
 go disguised as mountain priests, and to carry their 
 armour and weapons on their backs, carefully concealed 
 in unsuspicious-looking knapsacks. Before starting 
 upon their journey two of the knights went to pray at 
 the temple of Hachiman, the God of War, two at the 
 shrine of Kwannon, the Goddess of Mercy, and two at 
 the temple of Gongen. 
 
 When these knights had prayed for a blessing upon 
 their undertaking they set out upon their journey, and 
 in due time reached the province of Tamba, and saw 
 immediately in front of them Mount Oye. The 
 Goblin had certainly chosen the most formidable of 
 mountains. Mighty rocks and great dark forests 
 obstructed their path in every direction, while almost 
 bottomless chasms appeared when least expected. 
 
 Just when these brave knights were beginning to 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 feel just a little disheartened, three old men suddenly 
 appeared before them. At first these newcomers were 
 regarded with suspicion, but later on with the utmost 
 friendliness and thankfulness. These old men were 
 none other than the deities to whom the knights had 
 prayed before setting out upon their journey. The 
 old men presented Raiko with a jar of magical sake 
 called Shimben-Kidoku-Shu ("a cordial for men, but 
 poison for goblins "), advising him that he should by 
 strategy get Shutendoji to drink it, whereupon he 
 would immediately become paralysed and prove an easy 
 victim for the final despatch. No sooner had these old 
 men given the magical sake and proffered their valuable 
 advice than a miraculous light shone round them, and 
 they vanished into the clouds. 
 
 Once again Raiko and his knights, much cheered by 
 what had happened, continued to ascend the mountain. 
 Coming to a stream, they noticed a beautiful woman 
 washing a blood-stained garment in the running water. 
 She was weeping bitterly, and wiped away her tears 
 with the long sleeve of her kimono. Upon Raiko asking 
 who she was, she informed him that she was a princess, 
 and one of the miserable captives of the Goblin King. 
 When she was told that it was none other than the 
 great Raiko who stood before her, and that he and his 
 knights had come to kill the vile creature of that 
 mountain, she was overcome with joy, and finally led 
 the little band to a great palace of black iron, satisfying 
 the sentinels by telling them that her followers were 
 poor mountain priests who sought temporary shelter. 
 
 After passing 'through long corridors Raiko and his 
 knights found themselves in a mighty hall. At one 
 end sat the awful Goblin King. He was of gigantic 
 stature, with bright red skin and a mass of white hair. 
 When Raiko meekly informed him who they were, 
 46 
 
Raiko and the Enchanted Maiden. 
 
RAIKO SLAYS THE GOBLIN 
 
 the Goblin King, concealing his mirth, bade them be 
 seated and join the feast that was about to be set before 
 them. Thereupon he clapped his red hands together, 
 and immediately many beautiful damsels came running 
 in with an abundance of food and drink, and as Raiko 
 watched these women he knew that they had once lived 
 in happy homes in Kyoto. 
 
 When the feast was in full progress Raiko took out 
 the jar of magic sak^ and politely begged the Goblin 
 King to try it. The monster, without demur or 
 suspicion, drank some of the sakJ, and found it so 
 good that he asked for a second cup. All the goblins 
 partook of the magic wine, and while they were 
 drinking Raiko and his companions danced. 
 
 The power of this magical drink soon began to work. 
 The Goblin King became drowsy, till finally he and his 
 fellow goblins fell fast asleep. Then Raiko sprang to 
 his feet, and he and his knights rapidly donned their 
 armour and prepared for war. Once more the three 
 deities appeared before them, and said to Raiko : " We 
 have tied the hands and feet of the Demon fast, so you 
 have nothing to fear. While your knights cut off his 
 limbs do you cut off his head : then kill the rest of the 
 oni (evil spirits) and your work will be done." Then 
 these divine beings suddenly disappeared. 
 
 Raiko Slays the Goblin 
 
 Raiko and his knights, with their swords drawn, 
 cautiously approached the sleeping Goblin King. With 
 a mighty sweep Raiko's weapon came crashing down on 
 the Goblin's neck. No sooner was the head severed 
 than it shot up into the air, and smoke and fire poured 
 out from the nostrils, scorching the valiant Raiko. 
 Once more he struck out with his sword, and this time 
 the horrible head fell to the floor, and never moved 
 
 47 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 again. It was not long before these brave knights 
 despatched the Demon's followers also. 
 
 . There was a joyful exit from the great iron palace. 
 Raiko's five knights carried the monster head of the 
 Goblin King, and this grim spectacle was followed by a 
 company of happy maidens released at last from their 
 horrible confinement, and eager to walk once again in 
 the streets of Kyoto. 
 
 The Goblin Spider 
 
 Some time after the incident mentioned in the 
 previous legend had taken place the brave Raiko 
 became seriously ill, and was obliged to keep to his 
 room. At about midnight a little boy always brought 
 him some medicine. This boy was unknown to Raiko, 
 but as he kept so many servants it did not at first 
 awaken suspicion. Raiko grew worse instead of better, 
 and always worse immediately after he had taken the 
 medicine, so he began to think that some supernatural 
 force was the cause of his illness. 
 
 At last Raiko asked his head servant if he knew any- 
 thing about the boy who came to him at midnight. 
 Neither the head servant nor any one else seemed to 
 know anything about him. By this time Raiko's sus- 
 picions were fully awakened, and he determined to go 
 carefully into the matter. 
 
 When the small boy came again at midnight, instead 
 of taking the medicine, Raiko threw the cup at his head, 
 and drawing his sword attempted to kill him. A sharp 
 cry of pain rang through the room, but as the boy was 
 flying from the apartment he threw something at 
 Raiko. It spread outward into a huge white sticky 
 web, which clung so tightly to Raiko that he could hardly 
 move. No sooner had he cut the web through 
 with his sword than another enveloped him. Raiko 
 48 
 
THE GOBLIN SPIDER 
 
 then called for assistance, and his chief retainer met the 
 miscreant in one of the corridors and stopped his 
 further progress with extended sword. The Goblin 
 threw a web over him too. When he at last managed 
 to extricate himself and was able to run into his master's 
 room, he saw that Raiko had also been the victim of 
 the Goblin Spider. 
 
 The Goblin Spider was eventually discovered in a 
 cave writhing with pain, blood flowing from a sword- 
 cut on the head. He was instantly killed, and with his 
 death there passed away the evil influence that had 
 caused Raiko's serious illness. From that hour the 
 hero regained his health and strength, and a sump- 
 tuous banquet was prepared in honour of the happy 
 event. 
 
 Another Version 
 
 There is another version of this legend, written by 
 Kenko Hoshi, which differs so widely in many of its 
 details from the one we have already given that it 
 almost amounts to a new story altogether. To dispense 
 with this version would be to rob the legend of its most 
 sinister aspect, which has not hitherto been accessible 
 to the general reader. 1 
 
 On one occasion Raiko left Kyoto with Tsuna, the 
 most worthy of his retainers. As they were crossing 
 the plain of Rendai they saw a skull rise in the air, and 
 fly before them as if driven by the wind, until it finally 
 disappeared at a place called Kagura ga Oka. 
 
 Raiko and his retainer had no sooner noticed the 
 disappearance of the skull than they perceived before 
 them a mansion in ruins. Raiko entered this dilapi- 
 dated building, and saw an old woman of strange aspect. 
 
 1 This version appears in the Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese 
 Paintings In the British Museum, by Dr. William Anderson. 
 
 D 49 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 " She was dressed in white, and had white hair ; she 
 opened her eyes with a small stick, and the upper eye- 
 lids fell back over her head like a hat ; then she used 
 the rod to open her mouth, and let her breast fall 
 forward upon her knees." Thus she addressed the 
 astonished Raiko : 
 
 " I am two hundred and ninety years old. I serve 
 nine masters, and the house in which you stand is 
 haunted by demons." 
 
 Having listened to these words, Raiko walked into 
 the kitchen, and, catching a glimpse of the sky, he per- 
 ceived that a great storm was brewing. As he stood 
 watching the dark clouds gather he heard a sound of 
 ghostly footsteps, and there crowded into the room a 
 great company of goblins. Nor were these the only 
 supernatural creatures which Raiko encountered, for 
 presently he saw a being dressed like a nun. Her very 
 small body was naked to the waist, her face was two 
 feet in length, and her arms " were white as snow 
 and thin as threads." For a moment this dreadful 
 creature laughed, and then vanished like a mist. 
 
 Raiko heard the welcome sound of a cock crowing, 
 and imagined that the ghostly visitors would trouble 
 him no more ; but once again he heard footsteps, and 
 this time he saw no hideous hag, but a lovely woman, 
 " more graceful than the willow branches as they wave 
 in the breeze." As he gazed upon this lovely maiden 
 his eyes became blinded for a moment on account of 
 her radiant beauty. Before he could recover his sight 
 he found himself enveloped in countless cobwebs. 
 He struck at her with his sword, when she disappeared, 
 and he found that he had but cut through the planks of 
 the floor, and broken the foundation-stone beneath. 
 
 At this moment Tsuna joined his master, and they 
 perceived that the sword was covered with white 
 50 
 
Raiko slays the Goblin of Oyeyama. 
 
ADVENTURES OF PRINCE YAMATO TAKE 
 
 blood, and that the point had been broken in the 
 conflict. 
 
 After much search Raiko and his retainer discovered 
 a den in which they saw a monster with many legs and 
 a head of enormous size covered with downy hair. Its 
 mighty eyes shone like the sun and moon, as it groaned 
 aloud : " I am sick and in pain ! " 
 
 As Raiko and Tsuna drew near they recognised the 
 broken sword-point projecting from the monster. The 
 heroes then dragged the creature out of its den and cut 
 off its head. Out of the deep wound in the creature's 
 stomach gushed nineteen hundred and ninety skulls, 
 and in addition many spiders as large as children. 
 Raiko and his follower realised that the monster before 
 them was none other than the Mountain Spider. 
 When they cut open the great carcass they discovered, 
 within the entrails, the ghostly remains of many human 
 corpses. 
 
 The Adventures of Prince Yamato Take 
 
 King Keiko bade his youngest son, Prince Yamato, 
 go forth and slay a number of brigands. Before his 
 departure the Prince prayed at the shrines of Ise, and 
 begged that Ama-terasu, the Sun Goddess, would bless 
 his enterprise. Prince Yamato's aunt was high- 
 priestess of one of the Ise temples, and he told her 
 about the task his father had entrusted to him. This 
 good lady was much pleased to hear the news, and 
 presented her nephew with a rich silk robe, saying that 
 it would bring him luck, and perhaps be of service to 
 him later on. 
 
 When Prince Yamato had returned to the palace and 
 taken leave of his father, he left the court accompanied 
 by his wife, the Princess Ototachibana, and a number 
 of staunch followers, and proceeded to the Southern 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Island of Kiushiu, which was infested by brigands. 
 The country was so rough and impassable that Prince 
 Yamato saw at once that he must devise some cunning 
 scheme by which he might take the enemy unawares. 
 
 Having come to this conclusion, he bade the Princess 
 Ototachibana bring him the rich silk robe his aunt had 
 given him. This he put on under the direction, no 
 doubt, of his wife. He let down his hair, stuck a comb 
 in it, and adorned himself with jewels. When he 
 looked into a mirror he saw that the disguise was per- 
 fect, and that he made quite a handsome woman. 
 
 Thus gorgeously apparelled, he entered the enemy's 
 tent, where Kumaso and Takeru were sitting. It hap- 
 pened that they were discussing the King's son and his 
 efforts to exterminate their band. When they chanced 
 to look up they saw a fair woman coming towards 
 them. 
 
 Kumaso was so delighted that he beckoned to the 
 disguised Prince and bade him serve wine as quickly as 
 possible. Yamato was only too delighted to do so. 
 He affected feminine shyness. He walked with very 
 minute steps, and glanced out of the corner of his eyes 
 with all the timidity of a bashful maiden. 
 
 Kumaso drank far more wine than was good for 
 him. He still went on drinking just to have the 
 pleasure of seeing this lovely creature pouring it out 
 for him. 
 
 When Kumaso became drunk Prince Yamato flung 
 down the wine-jar, whipped out his dagger, and stabbed 
 him to death. 
 
 Takeru, when he saw what had happened to his 
 brother, attempted to escape, but Prince Yamato leapt 
 upon him. Once more his dagger gleamed in the air, 
 and Takeru fell to the earth. 
 
 "Stay your hand a moment," gasped the dying 
 5* 
 
Prince Yamato and Takeru. 
 

THE WOODEN SWORD 
 
 brigand. " I would fain know who you are and whence 
 you have come. Hitherto I thought that my brother 
 and I were the strongest men in the kingdom. I am 
 indeed mistaken." 
 
 "I am Yamato," said the Prince, "and son of the 
 King who bade me kill such rebels as you ! " 
 
 "Permit me to give you a new name," said the 
 brigand politely. "From henceforth you shall be 
 called Yamato Take, because you are the bravest man 
 in the land." 
 
 Having thus spoken Takeru fell back dead. 
 
 The Wooden Sword 
 
 When the Prince was on his way to the capital he 
 encountered another outlaw named Idzumo Takeru. 
 Again resorting to strategy, he professed to be extremely 
 friendly with this fellow. He cut a sword of wood and 
 rammed it tightly into the sheath of his own steel 
 weapon. He wore this whenever he expected to meet 
 Takeru. 
 
 On one occasion Prince Yamato invited Takeru to 
 swim with him in the river Hinokawa. While the 
 brigand was swimming down-stream the Prince secretly 
 landed, and, going to Takeru's clothes, lying on the bank, 
 he managed to change swords, putting his wooden 
 one in place of the keen steel sword of Takeru. 
 
 When Takeru came out of the water and put on his 
 clothes the Prince asked him to show his skill with the 
 sword. "We will prove," said he, "which is the 
 better swordsman of the two." 
 
 Nothing loath, Takeru tried to unsheath his sword. 
 It stuck fast, and as it happened to be of wood it was, 
 of course, useless in any case. While the brigand was 
 thus struggling Yamato cut off his head. Once again 
 cunning had served him, and when he had returned to 
 
 53 
 

 MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the palace he was feasted, and received many costly 
 gifts from the King his father. 
 
 The " Grass'Cleaving'Sword " 
 
 Prince Yamato did not long remain idle in the palace, 
 for his father commanded him to go forth and quell an 
 Ainu rising in the eastern provinces. 
 
 When the Prince was ready to depart the King gave 
 him a spear made from a holly-tree called the " Eight- 
 Arms-Length-Spear." With this precious gift Prince 
 Yamato visited the temples of Ise. His aunt, the 
 high-priestess, again greeted him. She listened with 
 interest to all her nephew told her, and was especially 
 delighted to know how well the robe she had given 
 him had served in his adventures. 
 
 When she had listened to his story she went into the 
 temple and brought forth a sword and a bag containing 
 flints. These she gave to Yamato as a parting gift. 
 
 The sword was the sword of Murakumo, belonging 
 to the insignia of the Imperial House of Japan. The 
 Prince could not have received a more auspicious gift. 
 This sword, it will be remembered, once belonged to 
 the Gods, and was discovered by Susa-no-o. 
 
 After a long march Prince Yamato and his men 
 found themselves in the province of Suruga. The 
 governor hospitably received him, and by way of 
 entertainment organised a deer-hunt. Our hero for 
 once in a way was utterly deceived, and joined the hunt 
 without the least misgiving. 
 
 The Prince was taken to a great and wild plain 
 covered with high grass. While he was engaged in 
 hunting down the deer he suddenly became aware of 
 fire. In another moment he saw flames and clouds of 
 smoke shooting up in every direction. He was sur- 
 rounded by fire, from which there was, apparently, no 
 54 
 
THE SACRIFICE OF OTOTACHIBANA 
 
 escape. Too late the guileless warrior realised that he 
 had fallen into a trap, and a very warm trap too ! 
 
 Our hero opened the bag his aunt had given him, 
 set fire to the grass near him, and with the sword of 
 Murakumo he cut down the tall green blades on either 
 side as quickly as possible. No sooner had he done so 
 than the wind suddenly changed and blew the flames 
 away from him, so that eventually the Prince made 
 good his escape without the slightest burn of any kind. 
 And thus it was that the sword of Murakumo came 
 to be known as the "Grass-Cleaving-Sword." 
 
 The Sacrifice of Ototachibana 
 
 In all these adventures the Prince had been followed 
 by his faithful wife, the Princess Ototachibana. Sad to 
 say, our hero, so praiseworthy in battle, was not nearly 
 so estimable in his love. He looked down on his 
 wife and treated her with indifference. She, poor loyal 
 soul, had lost her beauty in serving her lord. Her 
 skin was burnt with the sun, and her garments were 
 soiled and torn. Yet she never complained, and though 
 her face became sad she made a brave effort to maintain 
 her usual sweetness of manner. 
 
 Now Prince Yamato happened to meet the fascinat- 
 ing Princess Miyadzu. Her robes were charming, her 
 skin delicate as cherry-blossom. It was not long before 
 he fell desperately in love with her. When the time 
 came for him to depart he swore that he would return 
 again and make the beautiful Princess Miyadzu his wife. 
 He had scarcely made this promise when he looked up 
 and saw Ototachibana, and on her face was a look of 
 intense sadness. But Prince Yamato hardened his heart, 
 and rode away, secretly determined to keep his promise. 
 
 When Prince Yamato, his wife and men, reached the 
 sea-shore of Idzu, his followers desired to secure a 
 
 55 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 number of boats in order that they might cross the 
 Straits of Kadzusa. 
 
 The Prince cried haughtily : " Bah ! this is only 
 a brook ! Why so many boats ? I could jump 
 across it ! " 
 
 When they had all embarked and started on their 
 journey a great storm arose. The waves turned into 
 water-mountains, the wind shrieked, the lightning 
 blazed in the dark clouds, and the thunder roared. It 
 seemed that the boat that carried the Prince and his 
 wife must needs sink, for this storm was the work of 
 Rin-Jin, King of the Sea, who was angry with the proud 
 and foolish words of Prince Yamato. 
 
 When the crew had taken down the sails in the hope 
 of steadying the vessel the storm grew worse instead 
 of better. At last Ototachibana arose, and, forgiving 
 all the sorrow her lord had caused her, she resolved 
 to sacrifice her life in order to save her much-loved 
 husband. 
 
 Thus spoke the loyal Ototachibana : " Oh, Rin-Jin, 
 the Prince, my husband, has angered you with his 
 boasting. I, Ototachibana, give you my poor life in 
 the place of Yamato Take. I now cast myself into 
 your great surging kingdom, and do you in return 
 bring my lord safely to the shore. " 
 
 Having uttered these words, Ototachibana leapt into 
 the seething waves, and in a moment they dragged that 
 brave woman out of sight. No sooner had this sacrifice 
 been made than the storm abated and the sun shone 
 forth in a cloudless sky. 
 
 Yamato Take safely reached his destination, and 
 succeeded in quelling the Ainu rising. 
 
 Our hero had certainly erred in his treatment of his 
 faithful wife. Too late he learnt to appreciate her 
 goodness ; but let it be said to his credit that she 
 56 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF MOMOTARO 
 
 remained a loving memory till his death, while the 
 Princess Miyadzu was entirely forgotten. 
 
 The Slaying of the Serpent 
 
 Now that Yamato Take had carried out his father's 
 instructions, he passed through the province of Owari 
 until he came to the province of Omi. 
 
 The province of Omi was afflicted with a great 
 trouble. Many were in mourning, and many wept and 
 cried aloud in their sorrow. The Prince, on making 
 inquiries, was informed that a great serpent every day 
 came down from the mountains and entered the villages, 
 making a meal of many of the unfortunate inhabitants. 
 
 Prince Yamato at once started to climb up Mount 
 Ibaki, where the great serpent was said to live. About 
 half-way up he encountered the awful creature. The 
 Prince was so strong that he killed the serpent by twist- 
 ing his bare arms about it. He had no sooner done 
 so than sudden darkness came over the land, and 
 rain fell heavily. However, eventually the weather 
 improved, and our hero was able to climb down the 
 mountain. 
 
 When he reached home he found that his feet burned 
 with a strange pain, and, moreover, that he felt very ill. 
 He realised that the serpent had stung him, and, as he 
 was too ill to move, he was carried to a famous mineral 
 spring. Here he finally regained his accustomed health 
 and strength, and for these blessings gave thanks to 
 Ama-terasu, the Sun Goddess. 
 
 The Adventures of Momotaro 
 
 One day, while an old woman stood by a stream 
 washing her clothes, she chanced to see an enormous 
 peach floating on the water. It was quite the largest 
 she had ever seen, and as this old woman and her 
 
 57 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 husband were extremely poor she immediately thought 
 what an excellent meal this extraordinary peach would 
 make. As she could find no stick with which to draw 
 the fruit to the bank, she suddenly remembered the 
 following verse : 
 
 " Distant water is bitter, 
 The near water is sweet ; 
 Pass by the distant water 
 And come into the sweet." 
 
 This little song had the desired effect. The peach 
 came nearer and nearer till it stopped at the old woman's 
 feet. She stooped down and picked it up. So delighted 
 was she with her discovery that she could not stay to 
 do any more washing, but hurried home as quickly as 
 possible. 
 
 When her husband arrived in the evening, with a 
 bundle of grass upon his back, the old woman excitedly 
 took the peach out of a cupboard and showed it to him. 
 
 The old man, who was tired and hungry, was equally 
 delighted at the thought of so delicious a meal. He 
 speedily brought a knife and was about to cut the 
 fruit open, when it suddenly opened of its own accord, 
 and the prettiest child imaginable tumbled out with a 
 merry laugh. 
 
 "Don't be afraid," said the little fellow. "The 
 Gods have heard how much you desired a child, and 
 have sent me to be a solace and a comfort in your old 
 age." 
 
 The old couple were so overcome with joy that they 
 scarcely knew what to do with themselves. Each in 
 turn nursed the child, caressed him, and murmured 
 many sweet and affectionate words. They called him 
 Momotaro, or "Son of a Peach." 
 
 When Momotaro was fifteen years old he was a lad 
 far taller and stronger than boys of his own age. The 
 58 
 
Momotaro and the Pheasant. 
 
 5 
 
THE TRIUMPH OF MOMOTARO 
 
 making of a great hero stirred in his veins, and it was 
 a knightly heroism that desired to right the wrong. 
 
 One day Momotaro came to his foster-father and 
 asked him if he would allow him to take a long journey 
 to a certain island in the North-Eastern Sea where 
 dwelt a number of devils, who had captured a great 
 company of innocent people, many of whom they 
 ate. Their wickedness was beyond description, and 
 Momotaro desired to kill them, rescue the unfortunate 
 captives, and bring back the plunder of the island that 
 he might share it with his foster-parents. 
 
 The old man was not a little surprised to hear this 
 daring scheme. He knew that Momotaro was no 
 common child. He had been sent from heaven, and 
 he believed that all the devils in the world could not 
 harm him. So at length the old man gave his consent, 
 saying : " Go, Momotaro, slay the devils and bring 
 peace to the land." 
 
 When the old woman had given Momotaro a number 
 of rice-cakes the youth bade his foster-parents farewell, 
 and started out upon his journey. 
 
 The Triumph of Momotaro 
 
 While Momotaro was resting under a hedge eating 
 one of the rice-cakes, a great dog came up to him, 
 growled, and showed his teeth. The dog, moreover, 
 could speak, and threateningly begged that Momotaro 
 would give him a cake. " Either you give me a cake," 
 said he, " or I will kill you ! " 
 
 When, however, the dog heard that the famous 
 Momotaro stood before him, his tail dropped between 
 his legs and he bowed with his head to the ground, 
 requesting that he might follow " Son of a Peach," and 
 render to him all the service that lay in his power. 
 
 Momotaro readily accepted the offer, and after 
 
 59 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 throwing the dog half a cake they proceeded on their 
 way. 
 
 They had not gone far when they encountered a 
 monkey, who also begged to be admitted to Momotaro's 
 service. This was granted, but it was some time before 
 the dog and the monkey ceased snapping at each other 
 and became good friends. 
 
 Proceeding upon their journey, they came across a 
 pheasant. Now the innate jealousy of the dog was 
 again awakened, and he ran forward and tried to kill 
 the bright-plumed creature. Momotaro separated the 
 combatants, and in the end the pheasant was also 
 admitted to the little band, walking decorously in the 
 rear. 
 
 At length Momotaro and his followers reached the 
 shore of the North-Eastern Sea. Here our hero dis- 
 covered a boat, and after a good deal of timidity on the 
 part of the dog, monkey, and pheasant, they all got 
 aboard, and soon the little vessel was spinning away 
 over the blue sea. 
 
 After many days upon the ocean they sighted an 
 island. Momotaro bade the bird fly off, a winged 
 herald to announce his coming, and bid the devils 
 surrender. 
 
 The pheasant flew over the sea and alighted on the 
 roof of a great castle and shouted his stirring message, 
 adding that the devils, as a sign of submission, should 
 break their horns. 
 
 The devils only laughed and shook their horns and 
 shaggy red hair. Then they brought forth iron bars 
 and hurled them furiously at the bird. The pheasant 
 cleverly evaded the missiles, and flew at the heads of 
 many devils. 
 
 In the meantime Momotaro had landed with his two 
 companions. He had no sooner done so than he saw 
 60 
 
THE TRIUMPH OF MOMOTARO 
 
 two beautiful damsels weeping by a stream, as they 
 wrung out blood-soaked garments. 
 
 " Oh ! " said they pitifully, " we are daughters of 
 daimyos, and are now the captives of the Demon King 
 of this dreadful island. Soon he will kill us, and alas ! 
 there is no one to come to our aid." Having made 
 these remarks the women wept anew. 
 
 "Ladies," said Momotaro, "I have come for the 
 purpose of slaying your wicked enemies. Show me a 
 way into yonder castle." 
 
 So Momotaro, the dog, and the monkey entered 
 through a small door in the castle. Once inside this 
 fortification they fought tenaciously. Many of the 
 devils were so frightened that they fell off the parapets 
 and were dashed to pieces, while others were speedily 
 killed by Momotaro and his companions. All were 
 destroyed except the Demon King himself, and he 
 wisely resolved to surrender, and begged that his life 
 might be spared. 
 
 " No," said Momotaro fiercely. " I will not spare 
 your wicked life. You have tortured many innocent 
 people and robbed the country for many years." 
 
 Having said these words he gave the Demon King 
 into the monkey's keeping, and then proceeded through 
 all the rooms of the castle, and set free the numerous 
 prisoners he found there. He also gathered together 
 much treasure. 
 
 The return journey was a very joyous affair indeed. 
 The dog and the pheasant carried the treasure between 
 them, while Momotaro led the Demon King. 
 
 Momotaro restored the two daughters of daimyos to 
 their homes, and many others who had been made 
 captives in the island. The whole country rejoiced in 
 his victory, but no one more than Momotaro's foster- 
 parents, who ended their days in peace and plenty, 
 
 61 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 thanks to the great treasure of the devils which 
 Momotaro bestowed upon them. 
 
 "My Lord Bag of Rice" 
 
 One day the great Hidesato came to a bridge that 
 spanned the beautiful Lake Biwa. He was about to 
 cross it when he noticed a great serpent-dragon fast 
 asleep obstructing his progress. Hidesato, without a 
 moment's hesitation, climbed over the monster and 
 proceeded on his way. 
 
 He had not gone far when he heard some one calling 
 to him. He looked back and saw that in the place ot 
 the dragon a man stood bowing to him with much 
 ceremony. He was a strange-looking fellow with a 
 dragon-shaped crown resting upon his red hair. 
 
 " I am the Dragon King of Lake Biwa," explained 
 the red-haired man. " A moment ago I took the form 
 of a horrible monster in the hope of finding a mortal 
 who would not be afraid of me. You, my lord, showed 
 no fear, and I rejoice exceedingly. A great centipede 
 comes down from yonder mountain, enters my palace, 
 and destroys my children and grandchildren. One by 
 one they have become food for this dread creature, and 
 I fear soon that unless something can be done to slay 
 this centipede I myself shall become a victim. I have 
 waited long for a brave mortal. All men who have 
 hitherto seen me in my dragon-shape have run away. 
 You are a brave man, and I beg that you will kill my 
 bitter enemy." 
 
 Hidesato, who always welcomed an adventure, the 
 more so when it was a perilous one, readily consented 
 to see what he could do for the Dragon King. 
 
 When Hidesato reached the Dragon King's palace 
 he found it to be a very magnificent building indeed, 
 scarcely less beautiful than the Sea King's palace itself. 
 62 
 
MY LORD BAG OF RICE 
 
 He was feasted with crystallised lotus leaves and flowers, 
 and ate the delicacies spread before him with choice 
 ebony chopsticks. While he feasted ten little goldfish 
 danced, and just behind the goldfish ten carp made sweet 
 music on the koto and samisen. Hidesato was just 
 thinking how excellently he had been entertained, and 
 how particularly good was the wine, when they all 
 heard an awful noise like a dozen thunderclaps roaring 
 together. 
 
 Hidesato and the Dragon King hastily rose and ran 
 to the balcony. They saw that Mount Mikami was 
 scarcely recognisable, for it was covered from top to 
 bottom with the great coils of the centipede. In its 
 head glowed two balls of fire, and its hundred feet were 
 like a long winding chain of lanterns. 
 
 Hidesato fitted an arrow to his bowstring and pulled 
 it back with all his might. The arrow sped forth into 
 the night and struck the centipede in the middle of the 
 head, but glanced off immediately without inflicting any 
 wound. Again Hidesato sent an arrow whirling into 
 the air, and again it struck the monster and fell harm- 
 lessly to the ground. Hidesato had only one arrow 
 left. Suddenly remembering the magical effect of 
 human saliva, he put the remaining arrow-head into his 
 mouth for a moment, and then hastily adjusted it to his 
 bow and took careful aim. 
 
 The last arrow struck its mark and pierced the centi- 
 pede's brain. The creature stopped moving ; the light 
 in its eyes and legs darkened and then went out, and 
 Lake Biwa, with its palace beneath, was shrouded in 
 awful darkness. Thunder rolled, lightning flashed, and 
 it seemed for the moment that the Dragon King's palace 
 would topple to the ground. 
 
 The next day, however, all sign of storm had 
 vanished. The sky was clear. The sun shone brightly. 
 
 63 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 In the sparkling blue lake lay the body of the great 
 centipede. 
 
 The Dragon King and those about him were over- 
 joyed when they knew that their dread enemy had been 
 destroyed. Hidesato was again feasted, even more 
 royally than before. When he finally departed he did 
 so with a retinue of fishes suddenly converted into men. 
 The Dragon King bestowed upon our hero five precious 
 gifts two bells, a bag of rice, a roll of silk, and a 
 cooking-pot. 
 
 The Dragon King accompanied Hidesato as far as 
 the bridge, and then he reluctantly allowed the hero 
 and the procession of servants carrying the presents to 
 proceed on their way. 
 
 When Hidesato reached his home the Dragon 
 King's servants put down the presents and suddenly 
 disappeared. 
 
 The presents were no ordinary gifts. The rice-bag 
 was inexhaustible, there was no end to the roll of 
 silk, and the cooking-pot would cook without fire of 
 any kind. Only the bells were without magical pro- 
 perties, and these were presented to a temple in the 
 vicinity. Hidesato grew rich, and his fame spread far 
 and wide. People now no longer called him Hidesato, 
 but Tawara Toda, or " My Lord Bag of Rice." 
 
CHAPTER III : THE BAMBOOCUTTER 
 AND THE MOON-MAIDEN 
 
 The Coming of the Lady Kaguya 
 
 LONG ago there lived an old bamboo-cutter by the 
 name of Sanugi no Miyakko. One day, while 
 he was busy with his hatchet in a grove of bam- 
 boos, he suddenly perceived a miraculous light, and on 
 closer inspection discovered in the heart of a reed a very 
 small creature of exquisite beauty. He gently picked 
 up the tiny girl, only about four inches in height, and 
 carried her home to his wife. So delicate was this little 
 maiden that she had to be reared in a basket. 
 
 Now it happened that the Bamboo-cutter continued 
 to set about his business, and night and day, as he cut 
 down the reeds, he found gold, and, once poor, he now 
 amassed a considerable fortune. 
 
 The child, after she had been but three months with 
 these simple country folk, suddenly grew in stature to 
 that of a full-grown maid ; and in order that she should 
 be in keeping with such a pleasing, if surprising, event, 
 her hair, hitherto allowed to flow in long tresses about 
 her shoulders, was now fastened in a knot on her head. 
 In due season the Bamboo-cutter named the girl the 
 Lady Kaguya, or " Precious -Slender -Bamboo -of- the - 
 Field-of- Autumn." When she had been named a great 
 feast was held, in which all the neighbours participated. 
 
 The Wooing of the " PreciouS'Slende^BamboO' 
 of -the-Field-of - Autumn " 
 
 " When a woman is somewhat fairer than the crowd 
 of women how greatly do men long to gaze upon her 
 beauty ! " Taketori. 
 
 Now the Lady Kaguya was of all women the most 
 beautiful, and immediately after the feast the fame of 
 
 65 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 her beauty spread throughout the land. Would-be 
 lovers gathered around the fence and lingered in the 
 porch with the hope of at least getting a glimpse of 
 this lovely maiden. Night and day these forlorn suitors 
 waited, but in vain. Those who were of humble origin 
 gradually began to recognise that their love-making 
 was useless. But five wealthy suitors still persisted, 
 and would not relax their efforts. They were Prince 
 Ishizukuri and Prince Kuramochi, the Sadaijin Dainagon 
 Abe no Miushi, the Chiunagon Otomo no Miyuki, and 
 Morotada, the Lord of Iso. These ardent lovers bore 
 c< the ice and snow of winter and the thunderous heats 
 of midsummer with equal fortitude." When these lords 
 finally asked the Bamboo-cutter to bestow his daughter 
 upon one of them, the old man politely explained that 
 the maiden was not really his daughter, and as that was 
 so she could not be compelled to obey his own wishes 
 in the matter. 
 
 At last the lords returned to their mansions, but still 
 continued to make their supplications more persistently 
 than ever. Even the kindly Bamboo-cutter began to 
 remonstrate with the Lady Kaguya, and to point out 
 that it was becoming for so handsome a maid to marry, 
 and that among the five noble suitors she could surely 
 make a very good match. To this the wise Kaguya 
 replied : " Not so fair am I that I may be certain of a 
 man's faith, and were I to mate with one whose heart 
 proved fickle what a miserable fate were mine ! Noble 
 lords, without doubt, are these of whom thou speakest, 
 but I would not wed a man whose heart should be all 
 untried and unknown." 
 
 It was finally arranged that Kaguya should marry 
 the suitor who proved himself the most worthy. 
 This news brought momentary hope to the five great 
 lords, and when night came they assembled before the 
 66 
 
BEGGING-BOWL OF THE LORD BUDDHA 
 
 house where the maiden dwelt "with flute music and 
 with singing, with chanting to accompaniments and 
 piping, with cadenced tap and clap of fan." Only 
 the Bamboo-cutter went out to thank the lords for 
 their serenading. When he had come into the house 
 again, Kaguya thus set forth her plan to test the 
 suitors : 
 
 "In Tenjiku (Northern India) is a beggar's bowl of 
 stone, which of old the Buddha himself bore, in quest 
 whereof let Prince Ishizukuri depart and bring me the 
 same. And on the mountain Horai, that towers over 
 the Eastern ocean, grows a tree with roots of silver 
 and trunk of gold and fruitage of pure white jade, and 
 1 bid Prince Kuramochi fare thither and break off and 
 bring me a branch thereof. Again, in the land of 
 Morokoshi men fashion fur-robes of the pelt of the 
 Flame-proof Rat, and I pray the Dainagon to find me 
 one such. Then of the Chiunagon I require the 
 rainbow-hued jewel that hides its sparkle deep in the 
 dragon's head ; and from the hands of the Lord Iso 
 would I fain receive the cowry-shell that the swallow 
 brings hither over the broad sea-plain." 
 
 The Begging'bowl of the Lord Buddha 
 
 The Prince Ishizukuri, after pondering over the 
 matter of going to distant Tenjiku in search of the 
 Lord Buddha's begging-bowl, came to the conclusion 
 that such a proceeding would be futile. He decided, 
 therefore, to counterfeit the bowl in question. He laid 
 his plans cunningly, and took good care that the Lady 
 Kaguya was informed that he had actually undertaken 
 the journey. As a matter of fact this artful suitor hid 
 in Yamato for three years, and after that time discovered 
 in a hill-monastery in Tochi a bowl of extreme age 
 7 67 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 resting upon an altar of Binzuru (the Succourer in 
 Sickness). This bowl he took away with him, and 
 wrapped it in brocade, and attached to the gift an 
 artificial branch of blossom. 
 
 When the Lady Kaguya looked upon the bowl she 
 found inside a scroll containing the following : 
 
 " Over seas, over hills 
 hath thy servant fared, and weary 
 and wayworn he perisheth : 
 O what tears hath cost this bowl of 
 stone, 
 what floods of streaming tears ! " 
 
 But when the Lady Kaguya perceived that no light 
 shone from the vessel she at once knew that it had 
 never belonged to the Lord Buddha. She accordingly 
 sent back the bowl with the following verse : 
 
 " Of the hanging dewdrop 
 not even the passing sheen 
 dwells herein : 
 
 On the Hill of Darkness, the Hill 
 of Ogura, 
 what couldest thou hope to find ?" 
 
 The Prince, having thrown away the bowl, sought to 
 turn the above remonstrance into a compliment to the 
 lady who wrote it. 
 
 " Nay, on the Hill of Brightness 
 what splendour 
 will not pale ? 
 
 Would that away from the light 
 of thy beauty 
 
 the sheen of yonder Bowl might 
 prove me true ! " 
 
 It was a prettily turned compliment by a suitor who 
 was an utter humbug. This latest poetical sally availed 
 nothing, and the Prince sadly departed. 
 68 
 
JEWEL-BEARING BRANCH OF MOUNT HORAI 
 
 The Jewel'bearing Branch of Mount Horai 
 
 Prince Kuramochi, like his predecessor, was equally 
 wily, and made it generally known that he was setting 
 out on a journey to the land of Tsukushi in quest of 
 the Jewel-bearing Branch. What he actually did was 
 to employ six men of the Uchimaro family, celebrated 
 craftsmen, and secure for them a dwelling hidden from 
 the haunts of men, where he himself abode, for the 
 purpose of instructing the craftsmen as to how they 
 were to make a Jewel-bearing Branch identical with 
 the one described by the Lady Kaguya. 
 
 When the Jewel-bearing Branch was finished, he set 
 out to wait upon the Lady Kaguya, who read the 
 following verse attached to the gift : 
 
 " Though it were at the peril 
 of my very life, 
 
 without the Jewel-laden Branch 
 in my hands never again 
 would I have dared to return ! " 
 
 The Lady Kaguya looked sadly upon this glittering 
 branch, and listened without interest to the Prince's 
 purely imaginative story of his adventures. The Prince 
 dwelt upon the terrors of the sea, of strange monsters, 
 of acute hunger, of disease, which were their trials upon 
 the ocean. Then this incorrigible story-teller went on 
 to describe how they came to a high mountain rising 
 out of the sea, where they were greeted by a woman 
 bearing a silver vessel which she filled with water. On 
 the mountain were wonderful flowers and trees, and a 
 stream " rainbow-hued, yellow as gold, white as silver, 
 blue as precious run (lapis lazuli) ; and the stream was 
 spanned by bridges built up of divers gems, and by it 
 grew trees laden with dazzling jewels, and from one of 
 
 69 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 these I broke off the branch which I venture now to 
 offer to the Lady Kaguya." 
 
 No doubt the Lady Kaguya would have been forced 
 to believe this ingenious tale had not at that very 
 moment the six craftsmen appeared on the scene, and 
 by loudly demanding payment for the ready-made Jewel- 
 Branch, exposed the treachery of the Prince, who made 
 a hasty retreat. The Lady Kaguya herself rewarded 
 the craftsmen, happy, no doubt, to escape so easily. 
 
 The Flameproof Fur-Robe 
 
 The Sadaijin (Left Great Minister) Abe no Miushi 
 commissioned a merchant, by the name of Wokei, to 
 obtain for him a fur-robe made from the Flame-proof 
 Rat, and when the merchant's ship had returned from 
 the land of Morokoshi it bore a fur-robe, which the 
 sanguine Sadaijin imagined to be the very object of his 
 desire. The Fur-Robe rested in a casket, and the 
 Sadaijin, believing in the honesty of the merchant, 
 described it as being " of a sea-green colour, the hairs 
 tipped with shining gold, a treasure indeed of incom- 
 parable loveliness, more to be admired for its pure 
 excellence than even for its virtue in resisting the flame 
 of fire." 
 
 The Sadaijin, assured of success in his wooing, gaily 
 set out to present his gift to the Lady Kaguya, offering 
 in addition the following verse : 
 
 " Endless are the fires of love 
 that consume me, yet unconsumed 
 is the Robe of Fur : 
 dry at last are my sleeves, 
 for shall I not see her face this day ! " 
 
 At last the Sadaijin was able to present his gift to the 
 Lady Kaguya, Thus she addressed the Bamboo-cutter, 
 70 
 
THE JEWEL IN THE DRAGON'S HEAD 
 
 who always seems to have been conveniently on the 
 scene at such times : " If this Robe be thrown amid 
 the flames and be not burnt up, I shall know it is in 
 very truth the Flame-proof Robe, and may no longer 
 refuse this lord's suit." A fire was lighted, and the Robe 
 thrown into the flames, where it perished immediately. 
 " When the Sadaijin saw this his face grew green as 
 grass, and he stood there astonished." But the Lady 
 Kaguya discreetly rejoiced, and returned the casket with 
 the following verse : 
 
 " Without a vestige even left 
 thus to burn utterly away, 
 had I dreamt it of this Robe of Fur. 
 Alas the pretty thing ! far otherwise 
 would I have dealt with it." 
 
 The Jewel in the Dragon's Head 
 
 The Chiunagon Otomo no Miyuki assembled his 
 household and informed his retainers that he desired 
 them to bring him the Jewel in the Dragon's head. 
 
 Aften some demur they pretended to set off on this 
 quest. In the meantime the Chiunagon was so sure 
 of his servants' success that he had his house lavishly 
 adorned throughout with exquisite lacquer-work, in gold 
 and silver. Every room was hung with brocade, the 
 panels rich with pictures, and over the roof were silken 
 cloths. 
 
 Weary of waiting, the Chiunagon after a time j ourneyed 
 to Naniwa and questioned the inhabitants if any of his 
 servants had taken boat in quest of the Dragon. The 
 Chiunagon learnt that none of his men had come to 
 Naniwa, and, considerably displeased at the news, he 
 himself embarked with a helmsman. 
 
 Now it happened that the Thunder God was angry 
 and the sea ran high. After many days the storm 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 grew so severe and the boat was so near sinking 
 that the helmsman ventured to remark : " The howling 
 of the wind and the raging of the waves and the 
 mighty roar of the thunder are signs of the wrath of 
 the God whom my lord offends, who would slay the 
 Dragon of the deep, for through the Dragon is the 
 storm raised, and well it were if my lord offered a 
 prayer." 
 
 As the Chiunagon had been seized with "a terrible 
 sickness," it is not surprising to find that he readily took 
 the helmsman's advice. He prayed no less than a 
 thousand times, enlarging on his folly in attempting to 
 slay the Dragon, and solemnly vowed that he would 
 leave the Ruler of the deep in peace. 
 
 The thunder ceased and the clouds dispersed, but 
 the wind was as fierce and strong as ever. The helms- 
 man, however, told his master that it was a fair wind 
 and blew towards their own land. 
 
 At last they reached the strand of Akashi, in 
 Harima. But the Chiunagon, still ill and mightily 
 frightened, vowed that they had been driven upon a 
 savage shore, and lay full length in the boat, panting 
 heavily, and refusing to rise when the governor of the 
 district presented himself. 
 
 When the Chiunagon at last realised that they had not 
 been blown upon some savage shore he consented to 
 land. No wonder the governor smiled when he saw 
 "the wretched appearance of the discomfited lord, 
 chilled to the very bone, with swollen belly and eyes 
 lustreless as sloes." 
 
 At length the Chiunagon was carried in a litter to his 
 own home. When he had arrived his cunning servants 
 humbly told their master how they had failed in the 
 quest. Thus the Chiunagon greeted them : " Ye have 
 done well to return empty-handed. Yonder Dragon, 
 7* 
 
THE ROYAL HUNT 
 
 assuredly, has kinship with the Thunder God, and 
 whoever shall lay hands on him to take the jewel that 
 gleams in his head shall find himself in peril. Myself 
 am sore spent with toil and hardship, and no guerdon 
 have I won. A thief of men's souls and a destroyer of 
 their bodies is the Lady Kaguya, nor ever will I seek 
 her abode again, nor ever bend ye your steps thither- 
 ward." 
 
 We are told, in conclusion, that when the women of 
 his household heard of their lord's adventure "they 
 laughed till their sides were sore, while the silken 
 cloths he had caused to be drawn over the roof of his 
 mansion were carried away, thread by thread, by the 
 crows to line their nests with." 
 
 The Royal Hunt 1 
 
 Now the fame of the Lady Kaguya's beauty reached 
 the court, and the Mikado, anxious to gaze upon her, 
 sent one of his palace ladies, Fusago, to go and see the 
 Bamboo-cutter's daughter, and to report to his Majesty 
 of her excellences. 
 
 However, when Fusago reached the Bamboo-cutter's 
 house the Lady Kaguya refused to see her. So the 
 palace lady returned to court and reported the matter 
 to the Mikado. His Majesty, not a little displeased, 
 sent for the Bamboo-cutter, and made him bring the 
 Lady Kaguya to court that he might see her, adding : 
 "A hat of nobility, perchance, shall be her father's 
 reward." 
 
 The old Bamboo-cutter was an admirable soul, and 
 mildly discountenanced his daughter's extraordinary 
 behaviour. Although he loved court favours and 
 
 1 The Fifth Quest, that of Lord Iso, is omitted. The story is 
 trivial and of no particular interest. Suffice it to say that Lord Iso's 
 search for the cowry-shell T .vas in vain. 
 
 73 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 probably hankered after so distinguished a hat, it must 
 be said of him that he was first of all true to his duty 
 as a father. 
 
 When, on returning to his home, he discussed the 
 matter with the Lady Kaguya, she informed the old 
 man that if she were compelled to go to court it would 
 certainly cause her death, adding : " The price of my 
 father's hat of nobility will be the destruction of his 
 child." 
 
 The Bamboo-cutter was deeply affected by these 
 words, and once more set out on a journey to the 
 court, where he humbly made known his daughter's 
 decision. 
 
 The Mikado, not to be denied even by an extra- 
 ordinarily beautiful woman, hit on the ingenious plan 
 of ordering a Royal Hunt, so arranged that he might 
 unexpectedly arrive at the Bamboo-cutter's dwelling, 
 and perchance see the lady who could set at defiance 
 the desires of an emperor. 
 
 On the day appointed for the Royal Hunt, therefore, 
 the Mikado entered the Bamboo-cutter's house. He 
 had no sooner done so than he was surprised to see in 
 the room in which he stood a wonderful light, and in 
 the light none other than the Lady Kaguya. 
 
 His Majesty advanced and touched the maiden's 
 sleeve, whereupon she hid her face, but not before the 
 Mikado had caught a glimpse of her beauty. Amazed 
 by her extreme loveliness, and taking no notice of her 
 protests, he ordered a palace litter to be brought ; but 
 on its arrival the Lady Kaguya suddenly vanished. The 
 Emperor, perceiving that he was dealing with no mortal 
 maid, exclaimed : " It shall be as thou desirest, maiden ; 
 but 'tis prayed that thou resume thy form, that once 
 more thy beauty may be seen." 
 
 So the Lady Kaguya resumed her fair form again* 
 74 
 
THE CELESTIAL ROBE OF FEATHERS 
 
 As his Majesty was about to be borne away he 
 composed the following verse : 
 
 " Mournful the return 
 of the Royal Hunt, 
 and full of sorrow the brooding 
 heart ; 
 
 for she resists and stays behind, 
 the Lady Kaguya ! " 
 
 The Lady Kaguya thus made answer : 
 
 " Under the roof o'ergrown with 
 hopbine 
 
 long were the years 
 she passed. 
 
 How may she dare to look upon 
 The Palace of Precious Jade ? " 
 
 The Celestial Robe of Feathers 
 
 In the third year after the Royal Hunt, and in the 
 spring-time, the Lady Kaguya continually gazed at the 
 moon. On the seventh month, when the moon was 
 full, the Lady Kaguya's sorrow increased so that her 
 weeping distressed the maidens who served her. At 
 last they came to the Bamboo-cutter, and said : " Long 
 has the Lady Kaguya watched the moon, waxing in 
 melancholy with the waxing thereof, and her woe now 
 passes all measure, and sorely she weeps and wails ; 
 wherefore we counsel thee to speak with her." 
 
 When the Bamboo-cutter communed with his 
 daughter, he requested that she should tell him the 
 cause of her sorrow, and was informed that the sight of 
 the moon caused her to reflect upon the wretchedness 
 of the world. 
 
 During the eighth month the Lady Kaguya explained 
 to her maids that she was no ordinary mortal, but that 
 her birthplace was the Capital of Moonland, and that 
 
 75 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the time was now at hand when she was destined to 
 leave the world and return to her old home. 
 
 Not only was the Bamboo-cutter heart-broken at this 
 sorrowful news, but the Mikado also was considerably 
 troubled when he heard of the proposed departure of 
 the Lady Kaguya. His Majesty was informed that at 
 the next full moon a company would be sent down 
 from that shining orb to take this beautiful lady away, 
 whereupon he determined to put a check upon this 
 celestial invasion. He ordered that a guard of soldiers 
 should be stationed about the Bamboo-cutter's house, 
 armed and prepared, if need be, to shoot their arrows 
 upon those Moonfolk, who would fain take the beautiful 
 Lady Kaguya away. 
 
 The old Bamboo-cutter naturally thought that with 
 such a guard to protect his daughter the invasion from 
 the moon would prove utterly futile. The Lady 
 Kaguya attempted to correct the old man's ideas on the 
 subject, saying : " Ye cannot prevail over the folk of 
 yonder land, nor will your artillery harm them nor 
 your defences avail against them, for every door will 
 fly open at their approach, nor may your valour help, 
 for be ye never so stout-hearted, when the Moonfolk 
 come vain will be your struggle with them. 1 ' These 
 remarks made the Bamboo-cutter exceedingly angry. 
 He asserted that his nails would turn into talons in 
 short, that he would completely annihilate such impudent 
 visitors from the moon. 
 
 Now while the royal guard was stationed about the 
 Bamboo-cutter's house, on the roof and in every direc- 
 tion, the night wore away. At the hour of the Rat 1 a great 
 glory, exceeding the splendour of the moon and stars, 
 
 1 Midnight until two in the morning. " Years, days, and hours," 
 writes Professor B. H. Chamberlain, " were all accounted as belonging 
 to one of the signs of the zodiac." 
 
The Moonfolk demand the Lady Kaguya. 
 
 7 6 
 
THE CELESTIAL ROBE OF FEATHERS 
 
 shone around. While the light still continued a strange 
 cloud approached, bearing upon it a company of Moon- 
 folk. The cloud slowly descended until it came near 
 to the ground, and the Moonfolk assembled themselves 
 in order. When the royal guard perceived them 
 every soldier grew afraid at the strange spectacle ; but 
 at length some of their number summoned up sufficient 
 courage to bend their bows and send their arrows flying ; 
 but all their shafts went astray. 
 
 On the cloud there rested a canopied car, resplendent 
 with curtains of finest woollen fabric, and from out 
 the car a mighty voice sounded, saying : " Come thou 
 forth, Miyakko Maro ! " 
 
 The Bamboo-cutter tottered forth to obey the 
 summons, and received for his pains an address from 
 the chief of the Moonfolk commencing with, " Thou 
 fool," and ending up with a command that the Lady 
 Kaguya should be given up without further delay. 
 
 The car floated upward upon the cloud till it hovered 
 over the roof. Once again the same mighty voice 
 shouted : " Ho there, Kaguya ! How long wouldst 
 thou tarry in this sorry place ?" 
 
 Immediately the outer door of the storehouse and 
 the inner lattice-work were opened by the power of 
 the Moonfolk, and revealed the Lady Kaguya and her 
 women gathered about her. 
 
 The Lady Kaguya, before taking her departure, 
 greeted the prostrate Bamboo-cutter and gave him a 
 scroll bearing these words : " Had I been born in this 
 land, never should I have quitted it until the time came 
 for my father to suffer no sorrow for his child ; but 
 now, on the contrary, must I pass beyond the boundaries 
 of this world, though sorely against my will. My silken 
 mantle I leave behind me as a memorial, and when the 
 moon lights up the night let my father gaze upon it. 
 
 77 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Now my eyes must take their last look and I must 
 mount to yonder sky, whence I fain would fall, meteor- 
 wise, to earth." 
 
 Now the Moonfolk had brought with them, in a 
 coffer, a Celestial Feather Robe and a few drops of the 
 Elixir of Life. One of them said to the Lady Kaguya : 
 " Taste, I pray you, of this Elixir, for soiled has your 
 spirit become with the grossnesses of this filthy world." 
 
 The Lady Kaguya, after tasting the Elixir, was about 
 to wrap up some in the mantle she was leaving behind for 
 the benefit of the old Bamboo-cutter, who had loved 
 her so well, when one of the Moonfolk prevented her, 
 and attempted to throw over her shoulders the Celes- 
 tial Robe, when the Lady Kaguya exclaimed : " Have 
 patience yet awhile ; who dons yonder robe changes 
 his heart, and I have still somewhat to say ere I depart." 
 Then she proceeded to write the following to the 
 Mikado : 
 
 "Your Majesty deigned to send a host to protect 
 your servant, but it was not to be, and now is the 
 misery at hand of departing with those who have come 
 to bear her away with them. Not permitted was it to 
 her to serve your Majesty, and despite her will was it 
 that she yielded not obedience to the Royal command, 
 and wrung with grief is her heart thereat, and perchance 
 your Majesty may have thought the Royal will was 
 not understood, and was opposed by her, and so will 
 she appear to your Majesty lacking in good manners, 
 which she would not your Majesty deemed her to be, 
 and therefore humbly she lays this writing at the Royal 
 Feet. And now must she don the Feather Robe and 
 mournfully bid her lord farewell." 
 
 Having delivered this scroll into the hands of the 
 captain of the host, together with a bamboo joint con- 
 
THE CELESTIAL ROBE OF FEATHERS 
 
 taining the Elixir, the Feather Robe was thrown over 
 her, and in a moment all memory of her earthly 
 existence departed. 
 
 Then the Lady Kaguya entered the car, surrounded 
 by the company of Moonfolk, and the cloud rapidly 
 rose skyward till it was lost to sight. 
 
 The sorrow of the Bamboo-cutter and of the Mikado 
 knew no bounds. The latter held a Grand Council, 
 and inquired which was the highest mountain in the 
 land. One of the councillors answered : " In Suruga 
 stands a mountain, not remote from the capital, that 
 towers highest towards heaven among all the mountains 
 of the land." Whereupon his Majesty composed the 
 following verse : 
 
 " Never more to see her ! 
 Tears of grief overwhelm me, 
 and as for me, 
 with the Elixir of Life 
 what have I to do ? " 
 
 Then the scroll, which the Lady Kaguya had written, 
 together with the Elixir, was given to Tsuki no Iwakasa. 
 These he was commanded to take to the summit of the 
 highest mountain in Suruga, and, standing upon the 
 highest peak, to burn the scroll and the Elixir of Life. 
 
 " So Tsuki no Iwakasa heard humbly the Royal 
 command, and took with him a company of warriors, 
 and climbed the mountain and did as he was bidden. 
 And it was from that time forth that the name of Fuji 
 (Fuji-yama^ 'Never Dying') was given to yonder 
 mountain, and men say that the smoke of that burning 
 still curls from its high peak to mingle with the clouds 
 of heaven." 
 
 79 
 
CHAPTER IV : BUDDHA LEGENDS 
 
 The Legend of the Golden Lotus 
 
 THE following legend is obviously not of Japanese 
 origin. The priests of Buddhism in Japan 
 knew that the success of their religion lay, not 
 in sweeping out the old gods of Shinto, but in adapting 
 them with infinite cleverness to the needs of their own 
 teaching. In this case Japan has borrowed from India 
 and in a minor degree from China, if we may look 
 upon the dragon as originally belonging to the Celestial 
 Kingdom. We have followed closely Mr. Edward 
 Greey's version, and insert it here because it often 
 enters into a Nippon priest's discourse, and has a de- 
 cidedly Japanese setting. We might duplicate legends 
 of this kind, but one will be sufficient for our purpose. 
 The other two legends given in this chapter are strictly 
 Japanese. 
 
 The Lord Buddha, having concluded his holy medi- 
 tations upon Mount Dan-doku, slowly walked along 
 a rocky pathway on his way to the city. The dark 
 shadows of night crept over the country, and there was 
 profound stillness everywhere. 
 
 On- nearing his destination the Lord Buddha heard 
 some one shout : " Shio-giyo mu-jiyo /" ("The outward 
 
 manner is not always an index to the natural disposi- 
 f)\ 
 tion. ) 
 
 The Lord Buddha was delighted at these words, and 
 desired to learn who had spoken so wisely. Over and 
 over again he heard the same words, and, drawing to 
 the edge of a precipice, he looked down into the valley 
 beneath, and perceived an extremely ugly dragon gazing 
 up at him with angry eyes. 
 
 The Holy One then seated himself upon a rock, and 
 inquired of the dragon how he had come to learn one 
 80 
 
Buddha and the Dragon. 
 
 80 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN LOTUS 
 
 of the highest mysteries of Buddhism. Such profound 
 wisdom suggested a store of spiritual truths yet to be 
 revealed, and the Lord Buddha, therefore, requested 
 that the dragon should give utterance to other wise 
 sayings. 
 
 Then the dragon, having coiled himself round the 
 rock, shouted with a great voice : " Ze-shio metsu-po / " 
 ("All living things are antagonistic to the law of 
 Buddha ! ") 
 
 After uttering these words the dragon was silent for 
 some time. Then the Lord Buddha begged to hear 
 yet another sentence. 
 
 " Shio-metsu metsu-i I " (" All living things must die ! ") 
 shouted the dragon. 
 
 At these words the dragon looked up at the Lord 
 Buddha, and upon his dreadful countenance there was 
 an expression of extreme hunger. 
 
 The dragon then informed the Lord Buddha that the 
 next truth was the last, and so precious that he could 
 not reveal it until his hunger had been appeased. 
 
 At this the Holy One remarked that he would deny 
 the dragon nothing so long as he heard the fourth truth 
 revealed, and inquired of the dragon what he demanded. 
 When the Lord Buddha heard that human flesh was what 
 the dragon required in exchange for his last precious 
 fragment of wisdom, the Master informed the dragon 
 that his religion forbade the destruction of life, but 
 that he would, for the welfare of his people, sacrifice 
 his own body. 
 
 The dragon opened his great mouth and said : " Jaku- 
 metsu I-raku ! " (" The greatest happiness is experienced 
 after the soul has left the body ! ") 
 
 The Lord Buddha bowed, and then sprang into the 
 gaping mouth of the dragon. 
 
 No sooner had the Holy One touched the jaws of 
 
 F 8l 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the monster than they suddenly divided into eight 
 parts, and in a moment changed into the eight petals 
 of the Golden Lotus. 
 
 The Bronze Buddha of Kamakura and the Whale 1 
 
 " Above the old songs turned to ashes and pain, 
 Under which Death enshrouds the idols and trees with mist of sigh, 
 (Where are Kamakura's rising days and life of old ?) 
 With heart heightened to hush, the Daibutsu forever sits." 
 
 Tone Noguchi. 
 
 The great bronze Buddha of Kamakura, or the 
 Daibutsu, is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable 
 sights in Japan. At one time Kamakura was the capital 
 of Nippon. It was a great city of nearly a million in- 
 habitants, and was the seat of the Shoguns and of the 
 Regents of the Hojo family during the troublous 
 period of the Middle Ages. But Kamakura, for all its 
 devout worshippers of the Lord Buddha, was destroyed 
 by storm on two occasions, until it finally lost its im- 
 portance. To-day rice-fields and woods are to be seen 
 in place of the glory of old. Storm and fire, however, 
 have left untouched the temple of Hachiman (the God 
 of War) and the bronze image of Buddha. At one 
 time this gigantic figure reposed in a temple, but now 
 it stands high above the trees, with an inscrutable smile 
 upon its great face, with eyes full of a peace that cannot 
 be shaken by the petty storms of the world. 
 
 Legend is nearly always elemental. Divinities, 
 irrespective of their austerity, are brought down to a 
 very human level. It is a far cry from the complex 
 teaching of the Lord Buddha to the story of Amida 
 Butsu and the whale. One can trace in the following 
 legend an almost pathetic desire to veil the greatness of 
 Buddha. The gigantic size of the Daibutsu is not 
 
 1 Adapted from Fairy Tales of Old Japan, by W. E. Griffis. 
 82 
 
THE BRONZE BUDDHA AND THE WHALE 
 
 really in keeping with that curious love of little things 
 which is so characteristic of the Japanese people. There 
 is a playful irony in this story, a desire to take down 
 the great Teacher a peg or two if only to take him 
 down in stature a paltry two inches ! 
 
 So many things appear to us to be done in a topsy- 
 turvy way in Japan that we are not surprised to find that 
 in measuring metal and soft goods the feet on the yard- 
 stick are not alike. For soft goods a whale measure is 
 used, for any hard material a metal foot. There are 
 two inches of difference in these measures, and the 
 following legend may possibly give us the reason for 
 this apparently rather confusing discrepancy. 
 
 The Bronze Buddha, in its sitting posture, is fifty 
 feet high, ninety-seven feet in circumference, the length 
 of its face eight feet, and as for its thumbs they are three 
 feet round. It is probably the tallest piece of bronze 
 in the world. Such an enormous image naturally 
 created a considerable sensation in the days when 
 Kamakura was a flourishing city, laid out by the great 
 General Yoritomo. The roads in and about the city 
 were densely packed with pilgrims, anxious to gaze upon 
 the latest marvel, and all agreed that this bronze image 
 was the biggest thing in the world. 
 
 Now it may be that certain sailors who had seen 
 this marvel chatted about it as they plied their nets. 
 Whether this was so or not, a mighty whale, who lived 
 in the Northern Sea, happened to hear about the Bronze 
 Buddha of Kamakura, and as he regarded himself as being 
 far bigger than anything on land, the idea of a possible 
 rival did not meet with his approval. He deemed it 
 impossible that little men could construct anything that 
 could vie with his enormous bulk, and laughed heartily 
 at the very absurdity of such a conception. 
 
 His laughter, however, did not last long. He was 
 
 83 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 inordinately jealous, and when he heard about the 
 numerous pilgrimages to Kamakura and the incessant 
 praise evoked from those who had seen the image he 
 grew exceedingly angry, lashed the sea into foam, and 
 blew down his nose with so much violence that the 
 other creatures of the deep gave him a very wide berth. 
 His loneliness only aggravated his trouble, and he was 
 unable to eat or sleep, and in consequence grew thin. 
 He at last decided to chat the matter over with a kindly 
 shark. 
 
 The shark answered the whale's heated questions with 
 quiet solicitude, and consented to go to the Southern 
 Sea in order that he might take the measurement of 
 the image, and bring back the result of his labour to 
 his agitated friend. 
 
 The shark set off upon his journey, until he came to 
 the shore, where he could see the image towering above 
 him, about half a mile inland. As he could not walk 
 on dry land he was about to renounce his quest, when 
 he had the good fortune to discover a rat enjoying a 
 scamper along a junk. He explained his mission to 
 the rat, and requested that much-flattered little creature 
 to take the measurement of the Bronze Buddha. 
 
 So the rat climbed down the junk, swam ashore, and 
 entered the dark temple where the Great Buddha stood. 
 At first he was so overcome by the magnificence he saw 
 about him that he was uncertain as to how to proceed 
 in carrying out the shark's request. He eventually 
 decided to walk round the image, counting his foot- 
 steps as he went. He discovered after he had per- 
 formed this task that he had walked exactly five 
 thousand paces, and on his return to the junk he told 
 the shark the measurement of the base of the Bronze 
 Buddha. 
 
 The shark, with profuse thanks to the rat, returned 
 84 
 
THE BRONZE BUDDHA AND THE WHALE 
 
 to the Northern Sea, and informed the whale that the 
 reports concerning the size of this exasperating image 
 were only too true. 
 
 " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing " evidently 
 applies equally well to whales, for the whale of this 
 legend, after receiving the information, grew more 
 furious than ever. As in a story familiar to English 
 children, he put on magic boots in order to travel on 
 land as well as he had always done in the sea. 
 
 The whale reached the Kamakura temple at night. 
 He discovered that the priests had gone to bed, and 
 were apparently fast asleep. He knocked at the door. 
 Instead of the dismal murmur of a half-awake priest he 
 heard the Lord Buddha say, in a voice that rang like 
 the sound of a great bell : " Come in ! " 
 
 c< I cannot," replied the whale, cc because I am too big. 
 Will you please come out and see me ? " 
 
 When Buddha found out who his visitor was, and 
 what he wanted at so unearthly an hour, he con- 
 descendingly stepped down from his pedestal and came 
 outside the temple. There was utter amazement on 
 both sides. Had the whale possessed knees they would 
 assuredly have knocked together. He knocked his 
 head on the ground instead. For his part, Buddha 
 was surprised to find a creature of such gigantic 
 proportions. 
 
 We can imagine the consternation of the chief priest 
 when he found that the pedestal did not bear the image 
 of his Master. Hearing a strange conversation going 
 on outside the temple, he went out to see what was 
 taking place. The much-frightened priest was invited 
 to join in the discussion, and was requested to take the 
 measurement of the image and the whale, and ac- 
 cordingly began to measure with his rosary. During 
 this proceeding the image and the whale awaited the 
 
 85 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 result with bated breath. When the measurements 
 had been taken the whale was found to be two inches 
 longer and taller than the image. 
 
 The whale went back to the Northern Sea more utterly 
 vain than ever, while the image returned to its temple 
 and sat down again, and there it has remained to this 
 day, none the worse, perhaps, for finding that it was not 
 quite so big as it imagined. Dealers in dry goods and 
 dealers in wood and iron agreed from that day to this 
 to differ as to what was a foot and the difference was 
 a matter of two inches. 
 
 The Crystal of Buddha 1 
 
 In ancient days there lived in Japan a great State 
 Minister named Kamatari. Now Kamatari's only 
 daughter, Kohaku Jo, was extremely beautiful, and as 
 good as she was beautiful. She was the delight of her 
 father's heart, and he resolved that, if she married, no 
 one of less account than a king should be her husband. 
 With this idea continually in his mind, he steadfastly 
 refused the offers for her hand. 
 
 One day there was a great tumult in the palace 
 courtyard. Through the open gates streamed a number 
 of men bearing a banner on which was worked a silken 
 dragon on a yellow background. Kamatari learnt that 
 these men had come from the court of China with a 
 message from the Emperor Koso. The Emperor had 
 heard of the exceeding beauty and exquisite charm of 
 Kohaku Jo, and desired to marry her. As is usual in 
 the East on such occasions, the Emperor's offer was 
 accompanied with the promise that if Kohaku Jo should 
 become his bride he would allow her to choose from 
 his store of treasures whatever she liked to send to her 
 own country. 
 
 1 Adapted from BuddhJs Crystal, by Madame Yei Ozaki. 
 86 
 
THE CRYSTAL OF BUDDHA 
 
 After Kamatari had received the envoys with due 
 pomp and ceremony, and put at their disposal a whole 
 wing of the palace, he returned to his own room and 
 bade his servant bring his daughter into his presence. 
 
 When Kohaku had entered her father's room she 
 bowed before him and sat patiently on the white mats 
 waiting for her august parent to speak to her. 
 
 Kamatari told her that he had chosen the Emperor 
 of China to be her husband, and the little maid wept 
 on hearing the news. She had been so happy in her 
 own home, and China seemed such a long way off. 
 When, however, her father foretold more happiness in 
 the future than she had ever had in the past, she dried 
 her eyes and listened to her parent's words, a little 
 amazed to hear, perhaps, that all China's treasures were 
 to be laid at her own small feet. She was glad when 
 her father told her that she would be able to send three 
 of these treasures to the temple of Kofukuji, where she 
 had received a blessing when a little babe. 
 
 So Kohaku obeyed her father with not a little mis- 
 giving, not a little heartache. Her girl companions 
 wept when they heard the news, but they were com- 
 forted when Kohaku's mother told them that some 
 of their number would be chosen to go with their 
 mistress. 
 
 Before Kohaku sailed for China she wended her 
 way to the beloved temple of Kofukuji, and, arriving 
 at the sacred shrine, she prayed for protection in her 
 journey, vowing that if her prayers were answered she 
 would search China for its three most precious treasures, 
 and send them to the temple as a thank-offering. 
 
 Kohaku reached China in safety and was received 
 by the Emperor Koso with great magnificence. Her 
 childish fears were soon dispelled by the Emperor's 
 kindness. Indeed, he showed her considerably more 
 
 87 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 than kindness. He spoke to her in the language of a 
 lover : " After long, long days of weary waiting I have 
 gathered the c azalea of the distant mountain,' and now 
 I plant it in my garden, and great is the gladness of my 
 heart 1 " l 
 
 The Emperor Koso led her from palace to palace, and 
 she knew not which was the most beautiful, but her 
 royal husband was aware that she was far more lovely 
 than any of them. Because of her great loveliness he 
 desired that it should be ever remembered throughout 
 the length and breadth of China, even beyond the 
 bounds of his kingdom. " So he called together his 
 goldsmiths and gardeners," as Madame Ozaki writes 
 in describing this story, "and commanded them to 
 fashion a path for the Empress such as had never been 
 heard of in the wide world. The stepping-stones of 
 this path were to be lotus-flowers, carved out of silver 
 and gold, for her to walk on whenever she strolled 
 forth under the trees or by the lake, so that it might 
 be said that her beautiful feet were never soiled by 
 touching the earth ; and ever since then, in China and 
 Japan, poet-lovers and lover-poets in song and sonnet 
 and sweet conversation have called the feet of the 
 women they love c lotus feet.'* 
 
 But in spite of all the magnificence that surrounded 
 Kohaku she did not forget her native land or the vow 
 she had made in the temple of Kofukuji. One day 
 she timidly informed the Emperor of her promise, 
 and he, only too glad to have another opportunity of 
 pleasing her, set before her such a store of beautiful and 
 precious things that it seemed as if an exquisite phantom 
 world of gay colour and perfect form had suddenly 
 come into being at her very feet. There was such a 
 wealth of beautiful things that she found it very 
 1 Madame Ozaki. 
 
THE CRYSTAL OF BUDDHA 
 
 difficult to make a choice. She finally decided upon 
 the following magical treasures : a musical instrument, 
 which if one struck would continue to play for ever, 
 an ink-stone box, which, on opening the lid, was found 
 to contain an inexhaustible supply of Indian ink, and, 
 last of all, " a beautiful Crystal, in whose clear depths 
 was to be seen, from whichever side you looked, an 
 image of Buddha riding on a white elephant. The 
 jewel was of transcendent glory and shone like a star, 
 and whoever gazed into its liquid depths and saw 
 the blessed vision of Buddha had peace of heart for 
 
 evermore." l 
 
 After Kohaku had gazed for some time upon these 
 treasures she sent for Admiral Banko and bade him 
 safely convey them to the temple of Kofukuji. 
 
 Everything went well with Admiral Banko and his 
 ship until they were in Japanese waters, sailing into 
 the Bay of Shido-no-ura, when a mighty tempest 
 whirled the vessel hither and thither. The waves rolled 
 up with the fierceness of wild beasts, and lightning 
 continually blazed across the sky, to light up for a 
 moment a rolling ship, now flung high upon a mountain 
 of water, aow swept into a green valley from which it 
 seemed it could never rise again. 
 
 Suddenly the storm abated with the same unex- 
 pectedness with which it had arisen. Some fairy hand 
 had brushed up all the clouds and laid a blue and 
 sparkling carpet across the sea. The admiral's first 
 thought was for the safety of the treasures entrusted to 
 him, and on going below he discovered the musical 
 instrument and ink-stone box just as he had left them, 
 but that the most precious of the treasures, Buddha's 
 Crystal, was missing. He contemplated taking his 
 life, so grieved was he at the loss ; but on reflection he 
 1 Madame Ozaki. 
 
 89 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 saw that it would be wiser to live so long as there 
 was anything he could do to find the jewel. He 
 accordingly hastened to land, and informed Kamatari 
 of his dreadful misfortune. 
 
 No sooner had Kamatari been told about the loss of 
 Buddha's Crystal than this wise minister perceived that 
 the Dragon King of the Sea had stolen it, and for that 
 purpose had caused the storm, which had enabled him 
 to steal the treasure unperceived. 
 
 Kamatari offered a large reward to a number of 
 fishermen he saw upon the shore of Shido-no-ura if 
 any of their number would venture into the sea and 
 bring back the Crystal. All the fishermen volunteered, 
 but after many attempts the precious jewel still remained 
 in the keeping of the Sea King. 
 
 Kamatari, much distressed, suddenly became aware 
 of a poor woman carrying an infant in her arms. She 
 begged the great minister that she might enter the sea 
 and search for the Crystal, and in spite of her frailty she 
 spoke with conviction. Her mother-heart seemed to 
 lend her courage. She made her request because, if she 
 succeeded in bringing back the Crystal, she desired that 
 as a reward Kamatari should bring up her Jittle son as 
 a samurai in order that he might be something in life 
 other than a humble fisherman. 
 
 It will be remembered that Kamatari in his day had 
 been ambitious for his daughter's welfare. He readily 
 understood the poor woman's request, and solemnly 
 promised that if she carried out her part faithfully he 
 would gladly do his. 
 
 The woman withdrew, and taking off her upper 
 garments, and tying a rope round her waist, into which 
 she stuck a knife, she was prepared for her perilous 
 journey. Giving the end of the rope to a number of 
 fishermen, she plunged into the water. 
 90 
 
THE CRYSTAL OF BUDDHA 
 
 At first the woman saw the dim outline of rocks, the 
 dart of a frightened fish, and the faint gold of the sand 
 beneath her. Then she suddenly became aware of the 
 roofs of the palace of the Sea King, a great and gorgeous 
 building of coral, relieved here and there with clusters 
 of many-coloured seaweed. The palace was like a huge 
 pagoda, rising tier upon tier. The woman swam nearer 
 in order to inspect it more closely, and she perceived a 
 bright light, more brilliant than the light of many moons, 
 so bright that it dazzled her eyes. It was the light of 
 Buddha's Crystal, placed on the pinnacle of this vast 
 abode, and on every side of the shining jewel were 
 guardian dragons fast asleep, appearing to watch even 
 in their slumber ! 
 
 Up swam the woman, praying in her brave heart that 
 the dragons might sleep till she was out of harm's way 
 and in possession of the treasure. No sooner had she 
 snatched the Crystal from its resting-place than the 
 guardians awoke ; their great claws extended and their 
 tails furiously lashed the water, and in another moment 
 they were in hot pursuit. - 4 Rather than lose the Crystal, 
 which she had won at so much peril, the woman cut a 
 wound in her left breast and forced the jewel into the 
 bleeding cavity, pressing her hand, without a murmur 
 of pain, upon the poor torn flesh. When the dragons 
 perceived that the water was murky with the woman's 
 blood they turned back, for sea-dragons are afraid of 
 the very sight of blood. 
 
 Now the woman sharply pulled the rope, and the 
 fishermen, sitting upon the rocks far above, drew her to 
 land with ever-quickening speed. They gently laid her 
 upon the shore, and found that her eyes were closed 
 and her breast bleeding profusely. Kamatari at first 
 thought that the woman had risked her life in vain ; but 
 bending over her he noticed the wound in her breast. 
 
 9' 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 At that moment she opened her eyes, and, taking the 
 jewel from its place of concealment, she murmured a 
 few words about Kamatari's promise, then fell back dead 
 with a smile of peace upon her face. 
 
 Kamatari took the woman's child home and looked 
 after him with all the loving care of a father. In due 
 time the boy grew to manhood and became a brave 
 samurai, and at Kamatari's death he, too, became a great 
 State minister. When in later years he learnt the 
 story of his mother's act of self-sacrifice he built a 
 temple in the Bay of Shido-no-ura, in memory of one 
 who was so brave and true. It is called Shidoji, and 
 pilgrims visit this temple and remember the nobility of 
 a poor shell-gatherer to this day. 
 
 92 
 
CHAPTER V : FOX LEGENDS 
 
 Inari, the Fox God 
 
 THE fox takes an important place in Japanese 
 legend, and the subject is of a far-reaching and 
 complex kind. 1 Inari was originally the God 
 of Rice, but in the eleventh century he became associated 
 with the Fox God, with attributes for good and evil, 
 mostly for evil, so profuse and so manifold in their 
 application that they cause no little confusion to the 
 English reader. All foxes possess supernatural powers 
 to an almost limitless degree. They have the power 
 of infinite vision ; they can hear everything and under- 
 stand the secret thoughts of mankind generally, and in 
 addition they possess the power of transformation and of 
 transmutation. The chief attribute of the bad fox is 
 the power to delude human beings, and for this pur- 
 pose it will take the form of a beautiful woman, and 
 many are the legends told in this connection. 2 If the 
 shadow of a fox-woman chance to fall upon water, only 
 the fox, and not the fair woman, is revealed. It 
 is said that if a dog sees a fox-woman the femi- 
 nine form vanishes immediately, and the fox alone 
 remains. 
 
 Though the legends connected with the fox in Japan 
 are usually associated with evil, Inari sometimes poses 
 as a beneficent being, a being who can cure coughs and 
 colds, bring wealth to the needy, and answer a woman's 
 prayer for a child. Another kindly act on the part of 
 
 1 The strange supernatural powers of the fox do not belong 
 exclusively to Japan. Numerous examples of this animal's magical 
 attainments may be found in Chinese legend. See Strange Ta/es 
 fro-n a Chinese Studio, by Professor H. A. Giles. 
 
 2 See my Land of the Yellow Spring, and other Japanese Stories, 
 p. 113. 
 
 93 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Inari, which we might well have associated with Jizo, 
 is to enable little boys and girls to bear with fortitude 
 the troublesome performance of being shaved with a 
 none too perfect razor, and also to help the little ones 
 to go through the painful process of a hot bath, never 
 less in Japan than 1 10 F. ! 
 
 Inari not infrequently rewards human beings for any 
 act of kindness to a fox. Only a part of his reward, 
 however, is real ; at least one tempting coin is bound to 
 :urn very quickly into grass ! The little good done 
 >y Inari and we have tried to do him justice is alto- 
 gether weighed down by his countless evil actions, 
 >ften of an extremely cruel nature, as will be seen later 
 on. The subject of the fox in Japan has been aptly 
 described by Lafcadio Hearn as "ghostly zoology," 
 and this cunning and malignant animal is certainly 
 ghostly with a completeness far more horribly subtle 
 than our own stock-in-trade ghost with luminous garment 
 and clanking chain ! 
 
 Demoniacal Possession 
 
 Demoniacal possession is frequently said to be due 
 k to the evil influence of foxes. This form of possession 
 is known as kitsune-tsuki. The sufferer is usually a 
 woman of the poorer classes, one who is highly sensitive 
 and open to believe in all manner of superstitions. The 
 question of demoniacal possession is still an unsolved 
 problem, and the studies of Dr. Baelz, of the Imperial 
 University of Japan, seem to point to the fact that animal 
 possession in human beings is a very real and terrible truth 
 after all. 1 He remarks that a fox usually enters a woman 
 either through the breast or between the finger-nails, and 
 that the fox lives a separate life of its own, frequently 
 speaking in a voice totally different from the human. 
 
 1 See Pastor Sh: 9 one of China's Questions, by Mrs. Taylor. 
 94 
 
THE DEATH^STONE 
 
 The Death-Stone 1 
 
 " The Death-Stone stands on Nasu's moor 
 Through winter snows and summer heat ; 
 The moss grows grey upon its sides, 
 But the foul demon haunts it yet. 
 
 " Chill blows the blast : the owl's sad choir 
 Hoots hoarsely through the moaning pines ; 
 Among the low chrysanthemums 
 The skulking fox, the jackal whines, 
 As o'er the moor the autumn light declines." 
 
 Translated by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 The Buddhist priest Genno, after much weary travel, 
 came to the moor of Nasu, and was about to rest under 
 the shadow of a great stone, when a spirit suddenly- 
 appeared, and said : " Rest not under this stone. This 
 is the Death-Stone. Men, birds, and beasts have 
 perished by merely touching it ! " 
 
 These mysterious and warning remarks naturally 
 awakened Genno's curiosity, and he begged that the spirit 
 would favour him with the story of the Death-Stone. 
 
 Thus the spirit began : " Long ago there was a fair 
 girl living at the Japanese Court. She was so charming 
 that she was called the Jewel Maiden. Her wisdom 
 equalled her beauty, for she understood Buddhist lore 
 and the Confucian classics, science, and the poetry of 
 China." 
 
 " So sweetly decked by nature and by art, 
 The monarch's self soon clasp'd her to his heart." 
 
 Translated by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 "One night," went on the spirit, "the Mikado gave 
 
 i " The Death-Stone " is certainly one of the most remarkable of 
 fox legends. It illustrates a malignant fox taking the form of a 
 seductive woman in more than one life. She is a coming and 
 vanishing creature of alluring but destructive power, a sort of 
 Japanese version of Fata Morgana. The legend has been adapted from 
 a No, or lyrical drama, translated by Professor B. H. Chamberlain. 
 
 95 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 a great feast in the Summer Palace, and there he 
 assembled the wit, wisdom, and beauty of the land. It 
 was a brilliant gathering ; but while the company ate 
 and drank, accompanied by the strains of sweet music, 
 darkness crept over the great apartment. Black clouds 
 raced across the sky, and there was not a star to be seen. 
 While the guests sat rigid with fear a mysterious wind 
 arose. It howled through the Summer Palace and 
 blew out all the lanterns. The complete darkness pro- 
 duced a state of panic, and during the uproar some one 
 cried out, c A light ! A light ! ' 
 
 " And lo ! from out the Jewel Maiden's frame 
 There's seen to dart a weirdly lustrous flame ! 
 It grows, it spreads, it fills th' imperial halls ; 
 The painted screens, the costly panell'd walls, 
 Erst the pale viewless damask of the night 
 Sparkling stand forth as in the moon's full light." 
 
 Translated by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 "From that very hour the Mikado sickened,' * con- 
 tinued the spirit. "He grew so ill that the Court 
 Magician was sent for, and this worthy soul speedily 
 ascertained the cause of his Majesty's decline. He 
 stated, with much warmth of language, that the Jewel 
 Maiden was a harlot and a fiend, c who, with insidious 
 art, the State to ravage, captivates thy heart ! ' 
 
 " The Magician's words turned the Mikado's heart 
 against the Jewel Maiden. When this sorceress was 
 spurned she resumed her original shape, that of a fox, 
 and ran away to this very stone on Nasu moor." 
 
 The priest looked at the spirit critically. " Who are 
 you ? " he said at length. 
 
 " I am the demon that once dwelt in the breast of 
 the Jewel Maiden 1 Now I inhabit the Death-Stone for 
 evermore ! " 
 
 The good Genno was much horrified by this dreadful 
 
The Mikado and the Jewel Maiden. 
 
 9 6 
 
THE DEATH-STONE 
 
 confession, but, remembering his duty as a priest, he 
 said : " Though you have sunk low in wickedness, you 
 shall rise to virtue again. Take this priestly robe and 
 begging-bowl, and reveal to me your fox form." 
 Then this wicked spirit cried pitifully : 
 
 " In the garish light of day 
 I hide myself away, 
 Like pale Asama's fires : 
 With the night I'll come again, 
 Confess my guilt with pain 
 And new-born pure desires." 
 
 Translated by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 With these words the spirit suddenly vanished. 
 
 Genno did not relinquish his good intentions. He 
 strove more ardently than ever for this erring soul's 
 salvation. In order that she might attain Nirvana, he 
 offered flowers, burnt incense, and recited the sacred 
 Scriptures in front of the stone. 
 
 When Genno had performed these religious duties, 
 he said : " Spirit of the Death-Stone, I conjure thee ! 
 what was it in a former world that did cause thee to 
 assume in this so foul a shape ?" 
 
 Suddenly the Death-Stone was rent and the spirit 
 once more appeared, crying : 
 
 " In stones there are spirits, 
 In the waters is a voice heard : 
 The winds sweep across the firmament ! " 
 
 Translated by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Genno saw a lurid glare about him and, in the 
 shining light, a fox that suddenly turned into a beautiful 
 maiden. 
 
 Thus spoke the spirit of the Death-Stone : " I am 
 she who first, in Ind, was the demon to whom Prince 
 Hazoku paid homage. ... In Great Cathay I took the 
 form of Hoji, consort of the Emperor luwao ; and at 
 
 c 97 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the Court of the Rising Sun I became the Flawless 
 Jewel Maiden, concubine to the Emperor Toba." 
 
 The spirit confessed to Genno that in the form of the 
 Jewel Maiden she had desired to bring destruction to 
 the Imperial line. "Already," said the spirit, "I was 
 making my plans, already I was gloating over the 
 thought of the Mikado's death, and had it not been for 
 the power of the Court Magician I should have suc- 
 ceeded in my scheme. As I have told you, I was 
 driven from the Court. I was pursued by dogs and 
 arrows, and finally sank exhausted into the Death- 
 Stone. From time to time I haunted the moor. Now 
 the Lord Buddha has had compassion upon me, and he 
 has sent his priest to point out the way of true religion 
 and to bring peace." 
 
 The legend concludes with the following pious 
 utterances poured forth by the now contrite spirit : 
 
 " ' I swear, O man of God ! I swear/ she cries, 
 * To thee whose blessing wafts me to the skies, 
 I swear a solemn oath, that shall endure 
 Firm as the Death-Stone standing on the moor, 
 That from this hour I'm virtue's child alone ! ' 
 Thus spake the ghoul, and vanished 'neath the Stone." 
 
 Translated by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 How Tokutaro was Deluded by Foxes 
 
 Tokutaro was a complete sceptic in regard to the 
 magical power of foxes. His scepticism exasperated a 
 number of his companions, who challenged him to go 
 to Maki moor. If nothing happened to him, Tokutaro 
 was to receive, writes A. B. Mitford (Lord Redesdale) 
 in Tales of Old Japan, " five measures of wine and a 
 thousand copper cash x worth of fish." If, on the other 
 
 1 The cask, now no longer in use, was roughly equivalent to one 
 penny. 
 98 
 
HOW TOKUTARO WAS DELUDED BY FOXES 
 
 hand, Tokutaro should suffer through the power of the 
 foxes, he was to present a similar gift to his companions. 
 Tokutaro jeeringly accepted the bet, and when night 
 had come he set out for the Maki moor. 
 
 Tokutaro was determined to be very cute and very 
 wary. On reaching his destination he happened to 
 meet a fox running through a bamboo grove. Im- 
 mediately afterwards he perceived the daughter of the 
 headman of Upper Horikan. On telling the woman 
 that he was going to this village, she explained that as 
 she was going there too they might journey together. 
 
 Tokutaro's suspicions were fully aroused. He walked 
 behind the woman, vainly searching for a fox's tail. 
 When they reached Upper Horikane the girl's parents 
 came out, and were much surprised to see their 
 daughter, who had married, and was living in another 
 village. 
 
 Tokutaro, with a smile of superior wisdom, explained 
 that the maid before them was not really their daughter, 
 but a fox in disguise. The old people were at first 
 indignant, and refused to believe what Tokutaro had 
 told them. Eventually, however, he persuaded them 
 to leave the girl in his hands while they waited for the 
 result in the store-closet. 
 
 Tokutaro then seized the girl, and brutally knocked 
 her down, pouring abuse upon her. He stamped upon 
 her, and tortured her in every possible way, expecting 
 every moment to see the woman turn into a fox. But 
 she only wept and cried piteously for her parents to 
 come to her rescue. 
 
 This whole-hearted sceptic, finding his efforts so far 
 fruitless, piled wood upon the floor and burnt her to 
 death. At this juncture her parents came running in 
 and bound Tokutaro to a pillar, fiercely accusing him 
 of murder. 
 
 99 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Now a priest happened to pass that way, and, hearing 
 the noise, requested an explanation. When the girl's 
 parents had told him all, and after he had listened to 
 Tokutaro's pleadings, he begged the old couple to spare 
 the man's life in order that he might become in time a 
 good and devout priest. This extraordinary request, 
 after some demur, was agreed to, and Tokutaro knelt 
 down to have his head shaved, happy, no doubt, to 
 be released from his predicament so easily. 
 
 No sooner had Tokutaro's wicked head been shaved 
 than he heard a loud peal of laughter, and he awoke 
 to find himself sitting on a large moor. He instinctively 
 raised his hand to his head, to discover that foxes had 
 shaved him and he had lost his bet ! 
 
 A Fox's Gratitude 
 
 After the preceding gruesome legend describing the 
 evil propensities of the fox, it is refreshing to come 
 across one that was capable of considerable self-sacrifice. 
 
 Now it happened, on a certain spring day, that two 
 little boys were caught in the act of trying to catch a 
 baby fox. The man who witnessed the performance 
 possessed a kind heart, and, on hearing that the boys 
 were anxious to sell the cub, gave them half a bit* 
 
 When the children had joyfully departed with the 
 money the man discovered that the little creature was 
 wounded in the foot. He immediately applied a 
 certain herb, and the pain speedily subsided. Perceiving 
 at a short distance a number of old foxes watching him, 
 he generously let the cub go, and it sprang with a 
 bound to its parents and licked them profusely. 
 
 Now this kind-hearted man had a son, who was 
 afflicted with a strange disease. A great physician at 
 last prescribed the liver of a live fox as being the only 
 
 i About 84 
 
 100 
 
INARI ANSWERS A WOMAN'S PRAYER 
 
 remedy likely to effect a cure. When the boy's 
 parents heard this they were much distressed, and 
 would only consent to accept a fox's liver from one who 
 made it his business to hunt foxes. They finally com- 
 missioned a neighbour to obtain the liver, for which 
 they promised to pay liberally. 
 
 The following night the fox's liver was brought by 
 a strange man totally unknown to the good people of 
 the house. The visitor professed to be a messenger 
 sent by the neighbour whom they had commissioned. 
 When, however, the neighbour himself arrived he 
 confessed that though he had tried his utmost to obtain 
 a fox's liver he had failed to do so, and had come to 
 make his apologies. He was utterly amazed to hear 
 the story the parents of the suffering boy told him. 
 
 The next day the fox's liver was made into a con- 
 coction by the great physician, and immediately restored 
 the little boy to his usual health again. 
 
 In the evening a beautiful young woman appeared at 
 the bedside of the happy parents. She explained that 
 she was the mother or the cub the master had saved, 
 and that in gratitude for his kindness she had killed 
 her offspring, and that her husband, in the guise of the 
 mysterious messenger, had brought the desired liver. 1 
 
 Inari Answers a Woman's Prayer 
 
 Inari, as we have already found, is often extremely 
 benevolent. One legend informs us that a woman 
 who had been married many years and had not been 
 blessed with a child prayed at Inari's shrine. At the 
 conclusion of her supplication the stone foxes wagged 
 their tails, and snow began to fall. She regarded these 
 phenomena as favourable omens. 
 
 1 The lirer, both animal and human, frequently figures in fj 
 Japanese legend as a remedy for various ailments. jf 
 
 101 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 When the woman reached her home a yeta (beggar) 
 accosted her, and begged for something to eat. The 
 woman good-naturedly gave this unfortunate wayfarer 
 some red bean rice, the only food she had in the house, 
 and presented it to him in a dish. 
 
 The next day her husband discovered this dish lying 
 in front of the shrine where she had prayed. The 
 beggar was none other than Inari himself, and the 
 woman's generosity was rewarded in due season by the 
 birth of a child. 
 
 The Meanness of Raiko 
 
 Raiko was a wealthy man living in a certain village. 
 In spite of his enormous wealth, which he carried in 
 his obi (girdle), he was extremely mean. As he grew 
 older his meanness increased till at last he contemplated 
 dismissing his faithful servants who had served him so 
 well. 
 
 One day Raiko became very ill, so ill that he almost 
 wasted away, on account of a terrible fever. On the 
 tenth night of his illness a poorly dressed bozu (priest) 
 appeared by his pillow, inquired how he fared, and 
 added that he had expected the oni to carry him off 
 long ago. 
 
 These home truths, none too delicately expressed, 
 made Raiko very angry, and he indignantly demanded 
 that the priest should take his departure. But the bozu, 
 instead of departing, told him that there was only one 
 remedy for his illness. The remedy was that Raiko 
 should loosen his obi and distribute his money to the 
 poor. 
 
 Raiko became still more angry at what he considered 
 the gross impertinence of the priest. He snatched a 
 dagger from his robe and tried to kill the kindly bozu. 
 The priest, without the least fear, informed Raiko that 
 1 02 
 
THE MEANNESS OF RAIKO 
 
 he had heard of his mean intention to dismiss his worthy 
 servants, and had nightly come to the old man to drain 
 his life-blood. " Now," said the priest, " my object is 
 attained ! " and with these words he blew out the 
 light. 
 
 The now thoroughly frightened Raiko felt a ghostly 
 creature advance towards him. The old man struck 
 out blindly with his dagger, and made such a commotion 
 that his loyal servants ran into the room with lanterns, 
 and the light revealed the horrible claw of a monster 
 lying by the side of the old man's mat. 
 
 Carefully following the little spots of blood, Raiko' s 
 servants came to a miniature mountain at the extreme 
 end of the garden, and in the mountain was a large 
 hole, from whence protruded the upper part of an 
 enormous spider. This creature begged the servants 
 to try to persuade their master not to attack the Gods, 
 and in future to refrain from meanness. 
 
 When Raiko heard these words from his servants he 
 repented, and gave large sums of money to the poor. 
 Inari had assumed the shape of a spider and priest in 
 order to teach the once mean old man a lesson. 
 
 103 
 
CHAPTER VI : JIZO, THE GOD OF 
 CHILDREN 
 
 The Significance of Jizo 
 
 JIZO, the God of little children and the God who 
 makes calm the troubled sea, is certainly the 
 most lovable of the Buddhist divinities, though 
 Kwannon, the Goddess of Mercy, has somewhat similar 
 attributes. The most popular Gods, be they of the 
 East or West, are those Gods with the most human 
 qualities. JizO, though of Buddhist origin, is 
 essentially Japanese, and we may best describe him 
 as being the creation of innumerable Japanese women 
 who have longed to project into the Infinite, into the 
 shrouded Beyond, a deity who should be a divine 
 Father and Mother to the souls of their little ones. 
 And this is just what JizO is, a God essentially of the 
 feminine heart, and not a being to be tossed about in 
 the hair-splitting debates of hoary theologians. A 
 study of the nature and characteristics of JizO will 
 reveal all that is best in the Japanese woman, for he 
 assuredly reveals her love, her sense of the beautiful, 
 and her infinite compassion. JizO has all the wisdom 
 of the Lord Buddha himself, with this important 
 difference, namely, that JizO has waived aside Nirvana, 
 and does not sit upon the Golden Lotus, but has 
 become, through an exquisitely beautiful self-sacrifice, 
 the divine playmate and protector of Japanese children. 
 He is the God of smiles and long sleeves, the enemy 
 of evil spirits, and the one being who can heal the 
 wound of a mother who has lost her child in death. 
 We have a saying that all rivers find their way to the 
 sea. To the Japanese woman who has laid her little 
 one in the cemetery all rivers wind their silver courses 
 into the place where the ever-waiting and ever-gentle 
 104 
 
JIZO AND LAFCADIO HEARN 
 
 JizO is. That is why mothers who have lost their 
 children in death write prayers on little slips of paper, 
 and watch them float down the rivers on their way to 
 the great spiritual Father and Mother who will answer 
 all their petitions with a loving smile. 
 
 At Jizo's Shrine 
 
 " Fronting the kindly Jizo's shrine 
 The cherry-blooms are blowing now, 
 Pink cloud of flower on slender bough, 
 And hidden tracery of line. 
 
 " Rose-dawn against moss-mellowed grey, 
 Through which the wind-tost sprays allow 
 Glimpse of calm smile and placid brow, 
 Of carven face where sunbeams play. 
 
 " Dawn-time, I pluck a branch, and swift 
 Flutters a flight of petals fair ; 
 Through the fresh-scented morning air 
 Down to the waving grass they drift. 
 
 " Noon-tide my idle fingers stray, 
 Through the fair maze of bud and flower, 
 Sending a sudden blossom-shower 
 From the sweet fragance-haunted spray. 
 
 " Low in the west the red fire dies, 
 Vaguely I lift my hand, but now 
 Jizo is not nor cherry bough 
 Only the dark of starless skies ! " 
 
 CLARA A. WALSH. 
 
 Jizo and Lafcadio Hearn 
 
 Lafcadio Hearn, in one of his letters, 1 writes : 
 " There is a queer custom in Izumo which may interest 
 you. When a wedding takes place in the house of an 
 
 1 The Japanese Letters of Lafca&o Hfarn, edited by Elizabeth 
 Bisland. 
 
 105 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 unpopular man in the country the young men of the 
 village carry a roadside statue of JizO into the Zashiki, 
 and announce the coming of the God. (This is especially 
 done with an avaricious farmer, or a stingy family.) 
 Food and wine are demanded by the God. The 
 members of the family must come in, salute the deity, 
 and give all the sak& and food demanded while any 
 remains in the house. It is dangerous to refuse ; the 
 young peasants would probably wreck the house. After 
 this the statue is carried back again to its place. The 
 visit of JizO is much dreaded. It is never made to 
 persons who are liked." 
 
 On one occasion Lafcadio Hearn, who had a very 
 warm admiration for this God, desired to restore the 
 head and arms of a broken JizO image. His wife 
 remonstrated with him, and we quote his quaint reply 
 because it reminds us not a little of the last legend 
 mentioned in this chapter : " Gomen> gomen I [" Forgive 
 me !"] I thought only to give a little joy as I hoped. 
 The JizO I wrote you about is not the thing you will 
 find in the graveyards ; but it is JizO who shall guard 
 and pacify the seas. It is not a sad kind, but you do 
 not like my idea, so I have given up my project. It 
 was only papa's foolish thought. However, poor JizO- 
 sama wept bitterly when it heard of your answer to me. 
 I said to it, c I cannot help it, as Mamma San doubted 
 your real nature, and thinks that you are a graveyard- 
 keeper. I know that you are the saviour of seas and 
 sailors.' The JizO is crying even now." 
 
 " The Dry Bed of the River of Souls " 
 \ Under the earth there is the Sai-no-Kawara, or " the 
 U)ry Bed of the River of Souls." This is the place 
 jvhere all children go after death, children and those 
 who have never married. Here the little ones play 
 106 
 
THE HUMMING OF THE SALNO-KAWARA 
 
 with the smiling JizO, and here it is that they build 
 small towers of stones, for there are many in this 
 river-bed. The mothers of these children, in the 
 world above them, also pile up stones around the 
 images of JizO, for these little towers represent 
 prayers ; they are charms against the oni y or wicked 
 spirits. Sometimes in the Dry Bed of the River of 
 Souls the oni for a moment gain a temporary victory, 
 and knock down the little towers which the ghosts of 
 children have built with so much laughter. When 
 such a misfortune takes place the laughter ceases, and 
 the little ones fly to JizO for protection. He hides 
 them in his long sleeves, and with his sacred staff 
 drives away the red-eyed oni. 
 
 The place where the souls of children dwell is a 
 shadowy and grey world of dim hills and vales through 
 which the Sai-no-Kawara winds its way. All the 
 children are clad in short white garments, and if 
 occasionally the evil spirits frighten them there is 
 always JizO to dry their tears, always one who sends 
 them back to their ghostly games again. 
 
 The following hymn of JizO, known as " The Legend 
 of the Humming of the Sai-no-Kawara," gives us a 
 beautiful and vivid conception of JizO and this ghostly 
 land where children play : 
 
 The Legend of the Humming of the Sai^no^Kawara 
 
 "Not of this world is the story of sorrow. 
 The story of the Sai-no-Kawara, 
 At the roots of the Mountain of Shide ; 
 Not of this world is the tale ; yet 'tis most pitiful to hear. 
 For together in the Sai-no-Kawara are assembled 
 Children of tender age in multitude, 
 Infants but two or three years old, 
 Infants of four or five, infants of less than ten : 
 In the Sai-no-Kawara are they gathered together. 
 And the voice of their longing for their parents, 
 
 107 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The voice of their crying for their mothers and their fathers 
 
 Is never as the voice of the crying of children in this world, 
 
 But a crying so pitiful to hear 
 
 That the sound of it would pierce through flesh and bone. 
 
 And sorrowful indeed the task which they perform, 
 
 Gathering the stones of the bed of the river, 
 
 Therewith to heap the tower of prayers. 
 
 Saying prayers for the happiness of father, they heap the first tower ; 
 
 Saying prayers for the happiness of mother, they heap the second 
 
 tower ; 
 Saying prayers for their brothers, their sisters, and all whom they 
 
 loved at home, they heap the third tower. 
 Such, by day, arc their pitiful diversions. 
 But ever as the sun begins to sink below the horizon, 
 Then do the Of, the demons of the hells, appear, 
 And say to them, * What is this that you do here ? 
 Lo ! your parents still living in the Shaba-world 
 Take no thought of pious offering or holy work : 
 They do nought but mourn for you from the morning unto the 
 
 evening. 
 
 Oh ! how pitiful ! alas ! how unmerciful ! 
 Verily the cause of the pains that you suffer 
 Is only the mourning, the lamentation of your parents.' 
 And saying also, ' Blame never us ! * 
 The demons cast down the heaped-up towers, 
 They dash their stones down with their clubs of iron. 
 But lo ! the teacher JizO appears. 
 
 All gently he comes, and says to the weeping infants : 
 ' Be not afraid, dears ! be never fearful ! 
 Poor little souls, your lives were brief indeed ! 
 Too soon you were forced to make the weary journey to the Meido, 
 The long journey to the region of the dead ! 
 Trust to me ! I am your father and mother in the Meido, 
 Father of all children in the region of the dead.' 
 And he folds the skirt of his shining robe about them ; 
 So graciously takes he pity on the infants. 
 
 To those who cannot walk he stretches forth his strong shakujd* 
 And he pets the little ones, caresses them, takes them to his loving 
 
 bosom. 
 So graciously he takes pity on the infants. 
 
 Namu Amida Butsu ! >' LAFCADIO HEARN. 
 
 1 Sacred staff. * " Hail, omnipotent Buddha !" 
 
 108 
 

 
 Jizo. 
 
 108 
 
THE CAVE OF THE CHILDREN'S GHOSTS 
 
 This abode of the souls of children is certainly not 
 an ideal land. It is JizO, and not his country, who 
 has sprung from the hearts of Japanese women. The 
 stern Buddhist teaching of cause and effect, of birth 
 and re-birth, applies to even gentle infants. But if the 
 great Wheel of Existence revolves with unerring force, 
 and only fails to move when the desire for not-being is 
 finally attained in Nirvana, JizO lovingly stands at the 
 foot of Destiny and makes easy the way where the feet 
 of little children so softly patter. 
 
 The Cave of the Children's Ghosts 
 
 There is a cave in Japan known as Kyu-Kukedo- 
 San, or Ancient Cavern, and far within its recess there 
 is to be found an image of JizO, with his mystic jewel 
 and sacred staff. Before JizO there is a little torii * and 
 a pair of gohei? both symbols of the Shinto faith ; but, 
 as Lafcadio Hearn observes, " this gentle divinity has 
 no enemies ; at the feet of the lover of children's ghosts 
 both creeds unite in tender homage." Here it is that 
 the ghosts of little children meet, softly whispering 
 together as they stoop hither and thither in order to 
 build their towers of stones. At night they creep over 
 the sea from their Dry Bed of the River of Souls, and 
 cover the sand in the cavern with their ghostly footsteps, 
 building, ever building those prayers of stone, while 
 JizO smiles down upon their loving labour. They depart 
 before the rising of the sun, for it is said that the dead fear 
 to gaze upon the Sun Goddess, and most especially are 
 these infants afraid of her bright gold eyes. 
 
 1 A gateway. 
 
 a " A wand from which depend strips of white paper cut into 
 little angular bunches (gofoi), intended to represent the offerings of 
 cloth which were anciently tied to branches of the sacred cleyera 
 tree at festival time." B. H. Chamberlain. 
 
 109 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The Fountain of Jizo 
 
 Another beautiful sea-cave contains the Fountain of 
 JizO. It is a fountain of flowing milk, at which the souls of 
 children quench their thirst. Mothers suffering from 
 want of milk come to this fountain and pray to JizO, and 
 mothers having more milk than their infants require pray 
 to the same God that he may take some of their milk 
 and give it to the souls of children in his great shadowy 
 kingdom. And JizO is said to answer their prayers. 
 
 How Jizo Remembered 
 
 A woman named Soga Sadayoshi lived by feeding silk- 
 worms and gathering their silk. One day, on a visit to 
 the temple of Ken-cho-ji, she thought that an image of 
 JizO looked cold, and went home, made a cap, returned 
 with it, and set it upon Jizo's head, saying : " Would 
 I were rich enough to give thee a warm covering for 
 all thine august body ; but, alas ! I am poor, and even 
 this which I offer thee is unworthy of thy divine 
 acceptance." 
 
 In her fiftieth year the woman died, and as her body 
 remained warm for three days her relatives would not 
 consent to her burial. On the evening of the third day, 
 however, much to the surprise and joy of those about 
 her, she came to life once more. 
 
 Shortly after the woman had resumed her work again 
 she narrated how her soul had appeared before the 
 great and terrible Emma-O, Lord and Judge of the dead, 
 and how that dread being had been angry with her 
 because, contrary to Buddha's teaching, she had killed 
 innumerable silkworms. Emma-O was so angry that he 
 ordered her to be thrown into a pot filled with molten 
 metal. While she cried out in intense agony JizO 
 came and stood beside her, and immediately the metal 
 no 
 
HOW JIZO REMEMBERED 
 
 ceased to burn. After JizO had spoken kindly to the 
 woman he led her to Emma-O, and requested that she 
 who had once kept warm one of his images should 
 receive pardon. And Emma-O granted the request of 
 the ever-loving and compassionate God, and the woman 
 returned to the sunny world of Japan again. 
 
 in 
 
CHAPTER VII : LEGEND IN 
 JAPANESE ART 
 
 The Significance of Japanese Art 
 
 SIR ALFRED EAST, in lecturing on the subject 
 of Japanese art, described it as " great in small 
 things, but small in great things," and this, 
 generally speaking, is very true. The Japanese artist 
 excels in depicting flowers and insects and birds. He 
 is triumphant in portraying the curl of a wave, a 
 branch of cherry-blossom against a full moon, a flight 
 of heron, a group of pine-trees, and carp swimming in 
 a stream ; but that genius for minute and accurate 
 detail seems to have prevented him from depicting what 
 we understand as a great subject-picture, an historical 
 scene crowded with many figures. This zest to portray 
 various fragments from Nature was no narrow and 
 academic affair. Art was not intended solely for the 
 kakemono, or hanging scroll, to be suspended in the 
 alcove of a Japanese home, to be admired for a time, 
 and then to be replaced by another. Art in Japan was 
 universal to an extent not to be found in any other 
 country, where a cheap towel had a pleasing design 
 upon it, and where the playing cards, unlike our own, 
 were works of art. 
 
 It has been said that the woman in Japanese art is 
 wooden. This is not really so, if by wooden we mean 
 entirely without expression ; but it is necessary first of 
 all to know something about the Japanese woman in 
 actual life before we can understand her representation 
 in art. There is a wealth of old tradition behind that 
 apparently immobile face. It is a curious fact that until 
 we get accustomed to the various Japanese types one 
 face so closely resembles another that discrimination is 
 out of the question, and we are apt to run away with 
 
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JAPANESE ART 
 
 the idea that Nature in Japan has been content to repeat 
 the same physiognomy over and over again, forgetting 
 that we in turn present no diversity of type to the 
 Japanese on first acquaintance. The Japanese face in 
 art is not without expression, only it happens to be an 
 expression rather different from that with which we are 
 familiar, and this is particularly true in regard to the 
 portrayal of Japanese women. Most of us have seen a 
 number of colour-prints devoted to this subject in which 
 we find no shading in the face. We are apt to exclaim 
 that this omission gives an extremely flat effect to the 
 face, and to observe in consequence that the work before 
 us must be very bad art. But it is not bad art, for the 
 Japanese face is flat, and the artists of that country 
 never fail to reflect this characteristic. Colour-prints 
 depicting Nipponese women do not reveal emotion a 
 smile, a gesture of yearning, are absent; but because we 
 find so much negation we should be very far from the 
 truth to suppose that a colour-print of this kind ex- 
 presses no feeling, that the general effect is doll-like and 
 uninteresting. We must take into consideration the 
 long period of suppression through which the Japanese 
 woman had to pass. A superficial study of that extra- 
 ordinary treatise by Kaibara known as Onna Daigaku, 
 or " The Greater Learning for Women/ ' will help us to 
 realise that it was the duty of every Japanese woman to 
 be sweet, amiable, virtuous ; to obey those in authority 
 without demur, and above all to suppress her feelings. 
 When we have taken these points into consideration 
 we shall very slowly perceive that there is strength and 
 not weakness in a portrait of a Japanese woman ; a quiet 
 and dignified beauty in which impulse is held in check, 
 veiled, as it were, behind a cloud of rigid tradition. 
 The Japanese woman, though she has been surrounded 
 at every turn by severe discipline, has, nevertheless, 
 
 H 113 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 given us a type ot womanhood supreme in her true 
 sweetness of disposition, and the Japanese artist has 
 caught the glamour of her charm. In the curve of her 
 form he suggests the grace of a wind-blown willow, 
 in the designs upon her robe the promise of spring, 
 and behind the small red mouth a wealth of infinite 
 possibilities. 
 
 Japan owed her art to Buddhism, and it was quick- 
 ened and sustained by Chinese influence. Buddhism 
 gave Nippon her pictorial art, her mural decoration 
 and exquisite carving. Shinto temples were severe 
 and plain, those of Buddhism were replete with all 
 that art could give them ; and last, but not least, it 
 was Buddha's teaching that brought into Japan the 
 art of gardening, with all its elaborate and beautiful 
 symbolism. 
 
 A Japanese art critic wrote : " If in the midst of a 
 stroke a sword-cut had severed the brush it would have 
 bled." From this we may gather that the Japanese 
 artist put his whole heart into his work ; it was a part 
 of him, something vital, something akin to religion 
 itself. With this great force behind his brush it is 
 no wonder that he was able to give that extraordinary 
 life and movement to his work, so strikingly depicted 
 in portraits of actors. 
 
 Though we have so far only shown the Japanese 
 artist as a master of little things, he has, nevertheless, 
 faithfully and effectively represented the Gods and 
 Goddesses of his country, and many of the myths and 
 legends connected with them. If he excelled in the 
 beautiful, he no less excelled in depicting the horrible, 
 for no artists, excepting those of China, have succeeded 
 in portraying the supernatural to more effect. What a 
 contrast there is between an exquisite picture of JizO or 
 Buddha or Kwannon and the pictorial representation 
 "4 
 
THE TREASURE SHIP 
 
 of a Japanese goblin ! Extreme beauty and extreme 
 ugliness are to be found in Japanese art, and those 
 who love the many pictures of Mount Fuji and the 
 moth-like colouring of Utamaru's women will turn in 
 horror from the ghastly representations of supernatural 
 beings. 
 
 The Gods of Good Fortune 
 
 Many of the legendary stories given in this volume 
 have been portrayed by Japanese artists, and in the 
 present chapter we propose to deal with the legends in 
 Japanese art not hitherto mentioned. The favourite 
 theme of the Japanese artist is undoubtedly that of the 
 Seven Gods of Good Fortune, nearly always treated 
 with rollicking good-humour. There was Fukurokuju, 
 with a very long head, and attended by a crane, deer, or 
 tortoise ; Daikoku, who stood upon rice-bales and was 
 accompanied by a rat ; Ebisu, carrying a fish ; Hotei, 
 the merry God of Laughter, the very embodiment of our 
 phrase "Laugh and grow fat." There was Bishamon, 
 resplendent in armour, and bearing a spear and toy 
 pagoda ; Benten, the Goddess of Beauty, Wealth, Ferti- 
 lity, and Offspring ; while Jurqjin was very similar to 
 Fukurokuju. These Seven Gods of Good Fortune, or ^ 
 to be more accurate, six Gods and one Goddess, seem t< 
 have sprung from Shintoism, Taoism, Buddhism, an< 
 Brahmanism, and apparently date from the seventeentl 
 century. 
 
 The Treasure Ship 
 
 In connection with this theme the Japanese artist is 
 fond of portraying the Gods of Good Fortune as jovial 
 passengers on the Takara-bune^ or Treasure Ship, which 
 is said to come to port on New Year's Eve, with no less 
 a cargo than the Hat of Invisibility, the Lucky Rain- 
 
 "5 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 coat, the Sacred Key, the Inexhaustible Purse, and other 
 curious and magical treasures. At this time of the 
 year pictures of the Treasure Ship are placed under 
 children's wooden pillows, and the practice is said to 
 bring a lucky dream. 
 
 " Sleep, my own, till the bell of dusk 
 Bring the stars laden with a dream. 
 With that dream you shall awake 
 Between the laughters and the song." 
 
 YONE NOGUCHI. 
 
 The Miraculous in Japanese Art 
 
 Among other legends is the story of Hidari JingorO, 
 the famous sculptor, whose masterpiece came to life 
 When finished, which reminds us not a little of the story 
 ^f Pygmalion. There are other legendary stories con- 
 nected with the coming to life of Japanese works of art. 
 On a certain occasion a number of peasants were much 
 annoyed by the destruction of their gardens caused by 
 some wild animal. Eventually they discovered that 
 the intruder was a great black horse, and on giving 
 chase it suddenly disappeared into a temple. When 
 they entered the building they found Kanasoka's 
 painting of a black steed steaming with its recent 
 exertion ! The great artist at once painted in a rope 
 tethering the animal to a post, and from that day to 
 this the peasants' gardens have remained unmolested. 
 
 When the great artist Sesshiu was a little boy the 
 story goes that he was, by way of punishment, securely 
 bound in a Buddhist temple. Using his copious tears 
 for ink and his toe for a brush, the little fellow sketched 
 some rats upon the floor. Immediately they came to 
 life and gnawed through the rope that bound their 
 youthful creator. 
 
 116 
 
HOKUSAI 
 
 Hokusai 
 
 There is something more than mere legend in these 
 stories, if we may believe the words of the famous 
 artist Hokusai, whose u Hundred Views of Fuji " are 
 regarded as the finest examples of Japanese landscape- 
 painting. He wrote in his Preface to this work : " At 
 ninety I shall penetrate the mystery of things ; at a 
 hundred I shall certainly have reached a marvellous 
 stage ; and when I am a hundred and ten everything 
 I do, be it a dot or a line, will be alive.'* Needless to 
 say, Hokusai did not reach the age of a hundred and 
 ten. In his last hours he wrote the following lines, 
 which were afterwards inscribed upon his tomb : 
 
 " My soul, turned Will-o'-the-wisp, 
 Can come and go at ease over the summer fields." 
 
 With that strong poetic feeling so characteristic of the 
 Japanese, Eternity meant for Hokusai an infinite time 
 in which to carry on his beloved work to perfect, to 
 make alive all the wonderful strokes of his brush. As 
 in ancient Egypt, so in Old Japan, the future life could 
 only mean real happiness with periodic visits to this 
 world again, and there is a subtle and almost pathetic 
 paradox in this conception, suggesting, as it were, 
 the continual loading of Eternity with fresh earthly 
 memories. In both countries we find the spirit hanker- 
 ing after old human haunts. In Egypt the soul re- 
 turned through the medium of its preserved body, and 
 in Japan the Festival of the Dead, described elsewhere, 
 afforded a joyous exit from the world of Emma-O, a three 
 days' visit in the middle of July to Japan, a land more 
 beautiful, more dear, it would seem, than any Japanese 
 conception of a future world. But Hokusai appears to 
 suggest that his visits would not be made merely in the 
 
 117 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 summer season rather a frequent coming and going at 
 all times of the year. 
 
 A Japanese poet has written : 
 
 " It is an awesome thing 
 To meet a-wandering, 
 
 In the dark night, 
 The dark and rainy night, 
 A phantom greenish-grey, 
 Ghost of some wight, 
 Poor mortal wight ! 
 Wandering 
 Lonesomely 
 Through 
 The black 
 Night." 
 
 Translated by CLARA A. WALSH. 
 
 Ghosts and Goblins 
 
 It is scarcely less awesome to come across ghosts, 
 goblins, and other supernatural beings in a Japanese 
 picture. We find ghosts with long necks supporting 
 horribly leering faces. Their necks are so long that it 
 would seem that the ghastly heads could look above 
 and into everything with a fiendish and dreadful relish. 
 The ghoul, though represented in Japanese art as a 
 three-year-old child, has reddish-brown hair, very long 
 ears, and is often depicted as eating the kidneys of dead 
 people. The horrible in this phase of Japanese art is 
 emphasised to an almost unbearable degree, and a living 
 Japanese artist's conception of a procession of ghosts l 
 is so uncanny, so weird, that we certainly should not 
 like to meet them in broad daylight, much less "through 
 the dark night ! " 
 
 1 See indent Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by R. Gordon 
 Smith. 
 118 
 
THE DREAM OF ROSEI 
 
 A Garden of Skulls 
 
 The Japanese artist's conception of a garden, with 
 its pine-trees, and stone lanterns, and azalea-bordered 
 lakes, is usually extremely beautiful. Hiroshige, like 
 so many Japanese artists, has painted a garden touched 
 with snow ; but in one of his pictures he portrays the 
 snow as turning into a number of skulls, and has 
 borrowed this fantastic conception from the Heike 
 Monogatari. 
 
 It must not be thought that the Japanese artist, 
 when portraying some supernatural being, or in depict- 
 ing some scene from a legendary story, exclusively 
 catches the grim and horrible. The grim and horrible 
 are certainly portrayed with considerable spirit and 
 dramatic force, but many of the Japanese works of art 
 depict the Gods and Goddesses of Old Japan with much 
 grace and charm. 
 
 The Dream of Rosei x 
 
 Japanese ornament frequently illustrates some ancient 
 legend. We may see on a certain tsuba (sword-guard) 
 a pine-tree with people sitting in the branches. One 
 man carries a banner, while two others are playing on 
 musical instruments. There is an exquisite legend con- 
 nected with this quaint design, and, though it is of 
 Chinese origin, it deserves to find a place in this volume 
 because it is one of those fantastic Chinese legends that 
 has been woven into Japanese literature and art has 
 become, in short, one of the favourite themes of 
 Japanese artists, and of those who witness the No y or 
 lyrical drama, of Nippon. 
 
 Rosei, in ancient times, reached the little inn of 
 
 1 Adapted from the No drama, translated by B. H. Chamberlain. 
 
 119 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Kantan, so weary with his travel that he fell asleep as 
 soon as his head touched the pillow. It was no ordinary 
 pillow, but might well be described as the Magic Pillow 
 of Dreams, for directly Rosei was asleep an envoy 
 approached him, and said : " I am sent by the Emperor 
 of Ibara to inform you that his Majesty wishes to 
 relinquish the throne and to install you in his place. 
 Be pleased to enter the palanquin that awaits you, and 
 the bearers will quickly carry you to the capital." 
 
 Rosei, much amazed by what he had heard and seen, 
 entered the palanquin, " strewn with gems of radiant 
 hue," and was borne to a wonderful country, best 
 described in the following verse : 
 
 " For ne'er in those old vasty halls Imperial, 
 Bath'd in the moonbeams bright, 
 Or where the dragon soars on clouds ethereal, 
 Was ought like this to entrance the sight : 
 With golden sand and silvern pebbles white 
 Was strewn the floor ; 
 And at the corners four, 
 Through gates inlaid 
 With diamonds and jade, 
 
 Pass'd throngs whose vestments were of radiant light, 
 So fair a scene, 
 That mortal eye might ween 
 It scann'd the very heav'ns' unknown delight. 
 Here countless gifts the folk came bearing, 
 Precious as myriad coins of finest gold ; 
 And there, the lesser with the greater sharing, 
 Advanced the vassals bold, 
 Their banners to display 
 That paint the sky with colours gay, 
 While rings the air as had a thunder roll'd." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Rosei found himself in a magical country where 
 Nature either forgot her natural laws or was led into 
 fresh wonders by the people of that land. In the east 
 there was a silver hill over which the gold sun shone, 
 
 120 
 
THE DREAM OF ROSEI 
 
 and in the west there was a gold hill over which the 
 moon shone. 
 
 " No spring and autumn mark the time, 
 And o'er that deathless gate 
 The sun and moon their wonted speed forget." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 The whole idea of this charming story seems to suggest 
 that this country was not only a land of eternal youth, 
 but a land, too, where Nature marshalled her seasons 
 together, where there were always colour and blossom, 
 and where no flower faded. 
 
 When Rosei had lived and reigned for fifty years 
 in this glorious country a minister came to him one 
 day and bade him drink of the Elixir of Life, in order 
 that he might, like his subjects, live for ever. 
 
 The monarch drank the Elixir, " 'Mid dazzling 
 pomp and joys more ravishing than e'er before were 
 shower'd on mortal sight." Rosei believed that he 
 had cheated Death of his due, and lived the life of 
 poetic, if sensuous, ecstasy. He gave sumptuous feasts 
 to his courtiers, feasts which saw the sun and moon 
 without intermission, where lovely maidens danced, and 
 where there were endless music and song. 
 
 It so happened, however, that these joyous feasts, 
 these pageants of colour, were not endless after all, for 
 eventually Rosei awoke to find himself resting upon 
 "Kantan's pillow." The moralist steps in at this 
 juncture with the following : 
 
 " But he that ponders well 
 Will find all life the self-same story tell, 
 That, when death comes, a century of bliss 
 Fades like a dream." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Rosei, after this fantastic experience, came to the 
 conclusion that " life is a dream," that ambition is 
 
 121 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 a dream too, and, having accepted this Buddhistic 
 teaching, he returned to his own home. 
 
 A Kakemono Ghost 1 
 
 Sawara was a pupil in the house of the artist Tenko, 
 who was a kind and able master, while Sawara, even at 
 the commencement of his art studies, showed con- 
 siderable promise. Kimi, Tenko's niece, devoted her 
 time to her uncle and in directing the affairs of the 
 household generally. Kimi was beautiful, and it was 
 not long before she fell desperately in love with Sawara. 
 This young pupil regarded her as very charming, one 
 to die for if need be, and in his heart he secretly loved 
 her. His love, however, unlike Kimi's, was not demon- 
 strative, for he had his work to attend to, and so, 
 to be sure, had Kimi ; but work with Sawara came 
 before his love, and with Kimi it was only love that 
 mattered. 
 
 One day, when Tenko was paying a visit, Kimi came 
 to Sawara, and, unable to restrain her feelings any longer, 
 told him of her love, and asked him if he would like to 
 marry her. Having made her request, she set tea before 
 her lover, and awaited his answer. 
 
 Sawara returned her affection, and said that he would 
 be delighted to marry her, adding, however, that 
 marriage was not possible until after two or three years, 
 when he had established a position for himself and had 
 become a famous artist. 
 
 Sawara, in order to add to his knowledge of art, 
 decided to study under a celebrated painter named 
 Myokei, and, everything having been arranged, he bade 
 farewell to his old master and Kimi, promising that he 
 would return as soon as he had made a name for himself 
 and become a great artist. 
 
 1 Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by R. Gordon Smith. 
 
 122 
 
A KAKEMONO GHOST 
 
 Two years went by and Tenko and Kimi heard no 
 news of Sawara. Many admirers of Kimi came to her 
 uncle with offers of marriage, and Tenko was debating 
 as to what he should do in the matter, when he received 
 a letter from Myokei, saying that Sawara was doing 
 good work, and that he desired that his excellent pupil 
 should marry his daughter. 
 
 Tenko imagined, perhaps not without some reason, 
 that Sawara had forgotten all about Kimi, and that the 
 best thing he could do was to give her in marriage to 
 Yorozuya, a wealthy merchant, and also to fulfil 
 Miyokei's wish that Sawara should marry the great 
 painter's daughter. With these intentions Tenko 
 resolved to employ strategy, so he called Kimi to him, 
 and said : 
 
 " Kimi, I have had a letter from Myokei, and I am 
 afraid the sad news which it contains will distress you. 
 Myokei wishes Sawara to marry his daughter, and I 
 have told him that I fully approve of the union. I feel 
 sure that Sawara has neglected you, and I therefore 
 wish that you should marry Yorozuya, who will make, 
 T am sure, a very good husband.'* 
 
 When Kimi heard these words she wept bitterly, and 
 without a word went to her room. 
 
 In the morning Tenko entered Kimi's apartment, 
 but his niece had gone, and the protracted search that 
 followed failed to discover her whereabouts. 
 
 When Myokei had received Tenko's letter he told 
 the promising young artist that he wished him to 
 marry his daughter, and thus establish a family of 
 painters ; but Sawara was amazed to hear this extra- 
 ordinary news, and explained that he could not accept 
 the honour of becoming his son-in-law because he was 
 already engaged to Tenko's niece. 
 
 Sawara, all too late, sent letters to Kimi, and, receiving 
 
 123 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 no reply, he set out for his old home, shortly after the 
 death of Myokei. 
 
 When he reached the little house where he had 
 received his first lessons in the art of painting he learnt 
 with anger that Kimi had left her old uncle, and in 
 due time he married Kiku (" Chrysanthemum "), the 
 daughter of a wealthy farmer. 
 
 Shortly after Sawara' s marriage the Lord of Aki bade 
 him paint the seven scenes of the Islands of Kabakari- 
 jima, which were to be mounted on gold screens. He 
 at once set out for these islands, and made a number 
 of rough sketches. While thus employed he met along 
 the shore a woman with a red cloth round her loins, 
 her hair loose and falling about her shoulders. She 
 carried shell-fish in her basket, and as soon as she saw 
 Sawara she recognised him. 
 
 "You are Sawara and I am Kimi," said she, "to 
 whom you are engaged. It was a false report about 
 your marriage with Myokei's daughter, and my heart 
 is full of joy, for now nothing prevents our union." 
 
 "Alas ! poor, much-wronged Kimi, that cannot be ! " 
 replied Sawara. " I thought that you deserted Tenko, 
 and that you had forgotten me, and believing these 
 things to be true I have married Kiku, a farmer's 
 daughter." 
 
 Kimi, without a word, sprang forward like a hunted 
 animal, ran along the shore, and entered her little hut, 
 Sawara running after her and calling her name over and 
 over again. Before his very eyes he saw Kimi take a 
 knife and thrust it into her throat, and in another 
 moment she lay dead upon the ground. Sawara wept 
 as he gazed upon her still form, noticed the wistful 
 beauty of Death upon her cheek, and saw a new glory 
 in her wind-blown hair. So fair and wonderful was 
 her presence now that when he had controlled his 
 124 
 
A Kakemono Ghost. 
 
 124 
 
KIMI FINDS PEACE 
 
 weeping he made a sketch of the woman who had loved 
 him so well, but so pitifully. Above the mark of the 
 tide he buried her, and when he reached his own home 
 he took out the rough sketch, painted a picture cf 
 Kimi, and hung the kakemono on the wall. 
 
 Kimi Finds Peace 
 
 That very night he awoke to find that the figure 
 on the kakemono had come to life, that Kimi with the 
 wound in her throat, the dishevelled hair, stood beside 
 him. Night after night she came, a silent, pitiful 
 figure, until at last Sawara, unable to bear these visita- 
 tions any longer, presented the kakemono to the Korinji 
 Temple and sent his wife back to her parents. The 
 priests of the Korinji Temple prayed every day for the 
 soul of Kimi, and by and by Kimi found peace and 
 troubled Sawara no more. 
 
CHAPTER VIII : THE STAR LOVERS 
 AND THE ROBE OF FEATHERS 
 
 The Star Lovers 
 
 ONE of the most romantic of the old Japanese 
 festivals is the Festival of Tanabata, the 
 Weaving Lady. It takes place on the seventh 
 day of the seventh month, and on this occasion it 
 was customary to place freshly cut bamboos either 
 on the roofs of houses or to fix them in the ground 
 close beside them. Coloured strips of paper were 
 attached to these bamboos, and upon every strip of 
 paper was a poem in praise of Tanabata and her husband 
 Hikoboshi, such as : "As Tanabata slumbers with her 
 long sleeves rolled up, until the reddening of the dawn, 
 do not, O storks of the river-shallows, awaken her by 
 your cries.'* This festival will more readily be under- 
 stood when we have described the legend in connection 
 with it. 
 
 The God of the Firmament had a lovely daughter, 
 name, and she spent her time in weaving 
 ents" for her august father. One day, while she 
 sat at her loom, she chanced to see a handsome lad 
 leading an ox, and she immediately fell in love with 
 him. Tanabata's father, reading her secret thoughts, 
 speedily consented to their marriage. Unfortunately, 
 however, they loved " not wisely, but too well," with 
 the^uesiik that Tanabata neglected her weaving, and 
 ^likobosm^ ox was allowed to wander at large over 
 tfuTHigirPlain of Heaven. The God of the Firma- 
 ment became extremely angry, and commanded that 
 these too ardent lovers should henceforth be separated 
 by th_Ce]estial River. On the seventh night of the 
 seventh month, provided the weather was favourable, 
 a great company of birds formed a bridge across the 
 126 
 
THE ROBE OF FEATHERS 
 
 river, and by this means the lovers were able to meet. 
 Their all too brief visit was not even a certainty, for 
 if there were rain the Celestial River would become 
 too wide for even a great bridge of magpies to span, 
 and the lovers would be compelled to wait another 
 weary year before there was even a chance of meeting 
 each other again. 
 
 No wonder that on the Festival of the Weaving 
 Maiden little children should sing, " Tenki ni nari" 
 (" Oh, weather, be clear ! "). Love laughs at lock- 
 smiths in our own country, but the Celestial River in 
 flood is another matter. When the weather is fine and 
 the Star Lovers meet each other after a weary year's 
 waiting it is said that the stars, possibly Lyra and Aquila, 
 shine with five different colours blue, green, red, 
 yellow, and white and that is why the poems are 
 written on paper of these colours. 
 
 The Robe of Feathers l 
 
 " Oh, magic strains that fill our ravish'd ears ! 
 The fairy sings, and from the cloudy spheres, 
 Chiming in unison, the angels' lutes, 
 Tabrets, and cymbals, and sweet silv'ry flutes, 
 Ring through the heav'n that glows with purple hues, 
 As when Someiro's western slope endues 
 The tints of sunset, while the azure wave 
 From isle to isle the pine-clad shores doth lave. 
 From Yukishima's slope a beauteous storm 
 Whirl down the flow'rs : and still that magic form, 
 Those snowy pinions, fluttering in the light, 
 Ravish our souls with wonder and delight." 
 
 Ha-Goromo. (Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN.) 
 
 It was spring-time, and along Mio's pine-clad shore 
 there came a sound of birds. The blue sea danced and 
 
 1 The subject of this story resembles a certain Norse legend. See 
 William Morris's The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon. 
 
 127 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 sparkled in the sunshine, and Hairukoo, a fisherman, 
 sat down to enjoy the scene. As he did so he chanced 
 to see, hanging on a pine-tree, a beautiful robe of pure 
 white feathers. 
 
 As Hairukoo was about to take down the robe he 
 saw coming toward him from the sea an extremely 
 lovely maiden, who requested that the fisherman would 
 restore the robe to her. 
 
 Hairukoo gazed upon the lady with considerable 
 admiration. Said he : "I found this robe, and I mean 
 to keep it, for it is a marvel to be placed among the 
 treasures of Japan. No, I cannot possibly give it to 
 you." 
 
 "Oh," cried the maiden pitifully, "I cannot go 
 soaring into the sky without my robe of feathers, for if 
 you persist in keeping it I can never more return to my 
 celestial home. Oh, good fisherman, I beg of you to 
 restore my robe I " 
 
 The fisherman, who must have been a hard-hearted 
 fellow, refused to relent. "The more you plead," said 
 he, " the more determined I am to keep what I have 
 found." 
 
 Thus the maiden made answer : 
 
 " Speak not, dear fisherman ! speak not that word ! 
 Ah ! know'st thou not that, like the hapless bird 
 Whose wings are broke, I seek, but seek in vain, 
 Reft of my wings, to soar to heav'n's blue plain ? " 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 After further argument on the subject the fisherman's 
 heart softened a little. " I will restore your robe of 
 feathers," said he, " if you will at once dance before me." 
 
 Then the maiden replied : " I will dance it here 
 the dance that makes the Palace of the Moon turn 
 round, so that even poor transitory man may learn its 
 mysteries. But I cannot dance without my feathers." 
 128 
 
THE MOON-LADY'S SONG 
 
 " No," said the fisherman suspiciously. " If I give 
 you this robe you will fly away without dancing before 
 me." 
 
 This remark made the maiden extremely angry. 
 " The pledge of mortals may be broken," said she, "but 
 there is no falsehood among the Heavenly Beings." 
 
 These words put the fisherman to shame, and, with- 
 out more ado, he gave the maiden her robe of feathers. 
 
 The Moon'Lady's Song 
 
 When the maiden had put on her pure white garment 
 she struck a musical instrument and began to dance, 
 and while she danced and played she sang of many 
 strange and beautiful things concerning her far-away 
 home in the Moon. She sang of the mighty Palace of 
 the Moon, where thirty monarchs ruled, fifteen in robes 
 of white when that shining orb was full, and fifteen robed 
 in black when the Moon was waning. As she sang and 
 played and danced she blessed Japan, " that earth may 
 still her proper increase yield ! " 
 
 The fisherman did not long enjoy this kindly exhi- 
 bition of the Moon-Lady's skill, for very soon her 
 dainty feet ceased to tap upon the sand. She rose into 
 the air, the white feathers of her robe gleaming against 
 the pine-trees or against the blue sky itself. Up, up 
 she went, still playing and singing, past the summits 
 of the mountains, higher and higher, until her song was 
 hushed, until she reached the glorious Palace of the 
 Moon. 
 
 129 
 
CHAPTER IX : LEGENDS OF 
 MOUNT FUJI 
 
 The Mountain of the Lotus and the Fan 
 
 MOUNT FUJI, or Fuji-yama ("The Never- 
 dying Mountain "), seems to be typically 
 Japanese. Its great snow-capped cone re- 
 sembles a huge inverted fan, the fine streaks down its 
 sides giving the appearance of fan-ribs. A native has 
 thus fittingly described it : "Fuji dominates life by its 
 silent beauty : sorrow is hushed, longing quieted, peace 
 seems to flow down from that changeless home of peace, 
 the peak of the white lotus. " The reference here to a 
 white lotus is as appropriate as that of the wide-stretched 
 fan, for it refers to the sacred flower of the Lord 
 Buddha, and its eight points symbolise to the devout 
 Buddhist the Eight Intelligences of Perception, Purpose, 
 Speech, Conduct, Living, Effort, Mindfulness, and 
 Contemplation. The general effect of Fuji, then, 
 suggests on the one hand religion, and on the other 
 a fan vast enough and fair enough to coquet with 
 stars and swift-moving clouds. Poets and artists alike 
 have paid their tributes of praise to this peerless moun- 
 tain, and we give the following exquisite poem on this 
 apparently inexhaustible theme : 
 
 " Fuji Yama, 
 
 Touched by thy divine breath, 
 We return to the shape of God. 
 Thy silence is Song, 
 Thy song is the song of Heaven : 
 Our land of fever and care 
 Turns to a home of mellow-eyed ease 
 The home away from the land 
 Where mortals are born only to die. 
 We Japanese daughters and sons, 
 Chanting of thy fair majesty, 
 130 
 
MOUNTAIN OF THE LOTUS AND THE FAN 
 
 The pride of God, 
 
 Seal our shadows in thy bosom, 
 
 The balmiest place of eternity, 
 
 O white-faced wonder, 
 
 O matchless sight, 
 
 O sublimity, O Beauty ! 
 
 The thousand rivers carry thy sacred image 
 
 On their brows ; 
 
 All the mountains raise their heads unto thee 
 
 Like the flowing tide, 
 
 As if to hear thy final command. 
 
 Behold ! the seas surrounding Japan 
 
 Lose their hungry-toothed song and wolfish desire, 
 
 Kissed by lullaby-humming repose, 
 
 At sight of thy shadow, 
 
 As one in a dream of poem. 
 
 We being round thee forget to die : 
 
 Death is sweet, 
 
 Life is sweeter than Death. 
 
 We are mortals and also gods, 
 
 Innocent companions of thine, 
 
 O eternal Fuji ! " 
 
 Tone Noguchi. 
 
 Mount Fuji has been a place of pilgrimage for 
 hundreds of years, and Lafcadio Hearn has described 
 its peak as "the Supreme Altar of the Sun." Many 
 pilgrims still cling to the old Shinto custom of ascend- 
 ing this sacred mountain, wearing white clothes and very 
 broad straw hats, and frequently ringing a bell and 
 chanting : " May our six senses be pure, and the 
 weather on the honourable mountain be fair." 
 
 Fuji was at one time an extremely active volcano. 
 Her final outbreak took place in 1707-8, and covered 
 Tokyo, sixty miles distant, with six inches of ash. The 
 very name Fuji is probably derived from Huchi, or 
 Fuchi, the Aino Goddess of Fire ; " for," writes Pro- 
 fessor Chamberlain, " down to times almost historical 
 the country round Fuji formed part of Aino-land, and 
 all Eastern Japan is strewn with names of Aino origin." 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The Deities of Fuji 
 
 Sengen, the Goddess of Fuji, is also known as Ko-no- 
 hana-saku-ya-hime l (" Radiant-blooming-as-the-flowers- 
 of-the-trees "), and on the summit is her temple. In 
 ancient days it is said that this Goddess hovered in a 
 luminous cloud above the crater, tended by invisible 
 servants, who were prepared to throw down any pilgrims 
 who were not pure of heart. Another deity of this 
 mountain is O-ana-mochi (" Possessor of the Great 
 Hole," or " Crater ' '). In addition we have the Luminous 
 Maiden, who lured a certain emperor to his doom. At 
 the place of his vanishing a small shrine was erected, 
 where he is still worshipped. It is said that on one 
 occasion a shower of priceless jewels fell down from 
 this mountain, and that the sand which during the day 
 is disturbed by the feet of countless pilgrims falls to the 
 base and nightly reascends to its former position. 
 
 Fuji, the Abode of the Elixir of Life 
 
 It is not surprising to find that legend has grown 
 round this venerable and venerated mountain. Like so 
 many mountains in Japan, and, indeed, in other Eastern 
 countries, it was associated with the Elixir of Life. The 
 Japanese poet's words, " We being round thee forget 
 to die," though written in recent years, seem to reflect the 
 old idea. We have already seen, in the legend of " The 
 Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-Maiden," that Tsuki was 
 commanded by the Lady Kaguya to ascend Fuji and 
 there burn the Elixir of Life, together with a certain 
 scroll. 
 
 The fame of Fuji, so an old legend informs us, 
 reached the ears of an Emperor of China. When he 
 was told that this mountain had come into being in a 
 
 1 She married Ninigi, and is referred to in Chapter I. 
 132 
 
THE LAND OF PERPETUAL YOUTH 
 
 single night 1 he conjectured that Mount Fuji must 
 needs yield the Elixir of Life itself. He accordingly 
 collected about him a number of handsome youths and 
 maidens and set sail for the Land of the Rising Sun. 
 The junks rushed before the roaring wind like a shower 
 of gold petals ; but eventually the storm abated, and 
 the Emperor and his people saw the white splendour 
 of Fuji rise up before them. When the junks had run 
 in upon the shore the Emperor formed his company in 
 procession, and, walking very slowly, led the way up 
 the mountain. Hour after hour the procession climbed, 
 the gold-robed Emperor ever walking in advance, until 
 the sound of the sea was lost, and the thousand feet 
 trod softly on the snow where there was peace and life 
 eternal. Nearing the journey's end, the old Emperor 
 ran forward joyously, for he wanted to be the first to 
 drink of the Elixir of Life. And he was the first to 
 taste of that Life that never grows old ; but when the 
 company found him they saw their Emperor lying on 
 his back with a smile upon his face. He had indeed 
 found Life Eternal, but it was through the way of 
 Death. 
 
 Sentaro's Visit to the Land of Perpetual Youth 
 
 The desire to wrest from Mount Fuji the secret of 
 perpetual life never seems to have met with success. 
 A Chinese, Jofuku by name, reached the sacred moun- 
 tain with this object in view. He failed, and never 
 lived to return to his own country ; but he is looked 
 upon as a saint, and those bound on the same quest 
 pray earnestly at his shrine. 
 
 Sentaro on one occasion prayed at this shrine, and 
 was presented with a small paper crane, which expanded 
 to a vast size directly it had reached his hands. On 
 
 1 See the last section of this chapter. 
 
 133 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the back of this great crane flew Sentaro to the Land of 
 Perpetual Youth, where, to his amazement, the people 
 ate poisons and longed in vain to die ! Sentaro soon 
 grew weary of this land, returned to his own country, 
 and resolved to be content with the ordinary span of 
 years allotted to mankind as well he may have been, 
 considering that he had already spent three hundred 
 years in the country where there was no death and no 
 birth. 
 
 The Goddess of Fuji 
 
 Yosoji's mother, in common with many in the village 
 where she lived, was stricken down with smallpox. 
 Yosoji consulted the magician Kamo Yamakiko in the 
 matter, for his mother grew so ill that every hour he 
 expected her to be taken from him in death. Kamo 
 Yamakiko told Yosoji to go to a small stream that 
 flowed from the south-west side of Mount Fuji. "Near 
 the source of this stream," said the magician, "is a 
 shrine to the God of Long Breath. Go fetch this water, 
 and give it to your mother, for this alone will cure her." 
 
 Yosoji, full of hope, eagerly set forth upon his journey, 
 and when he had arrived at a spot where three paths 
 crossed each other he was in difficulty as to the right 
 one to take. Just as he was debating the matter a 
 lovely girl, clad in white, stepped out from the forest, 
 and bade him follow her to the place where the precious 
 stream flowed near the shrine of the God of Long Breath. 
 
 When they reached the stream Yosoji was told to 
 drink himself, as well as to fill the gourd with the 
 sparkling water for his mother. When he had done 
 these things the beautiful girl accompanied him to the 
 place where he had originally seen her, and said : " Meet 
 me again at this place in three days' time, for you will 
 require a further supply of this water." 
 

 Sengen, the Goddess of Mount Fuji. 134 
 
THE GODDESS OF FUJI 
 
 After five visits to this sacred shrine Yosoji rejoiced 
 to find that his mother was quite well again, and not 
 only his mother, but many of the villagers who had also 
 been privileged to drink the water. Yosoji's bravery 
 was loudly extolled, and presents were sent to the 
 magician for his timely advice ; but Yosoji, who was an 
 honest lad, knew in his heart that all praise was really 
 due to the beautiful girl who had been his guide. He 
 desired to thank her more fully than he had hitherto done, 
 and for this purpose he once more set out for the stream. 
 
 When Yosoji reached the shrine of the God of Long 
 Breath he found that the stream had dried up. With 
 much surprise and not a little sorrow he knelt down 
 and prayed that she who had been so good to his 
 mother would appear before him in order that he 
 might thank her as she so richly deserved. When 
 Yosoji arose he saw the maiden standing before him. 
 
 Yosoji expressed his gratitude in warm and elegant 
 language, and begged to be told the name of her who 
 had been his guide and restored his mother to health 
 and strength again. But the maiden, smiling sweetly 
 upon him, would not tell her name. Still smiling, she 
 swung a branch of camellia in the air, so that it seemed 
 that the fair blossom beckoned to some invisible spirit 
 far away. In answer to the floral summons a cloud 
 came down from Mount Fuji ; it enveloped the lovely 
 maiden, and carried her to the sacred mountain from 
 which she had come. Yosoji knew now that his guide 
 was none other than the Goddess of Fuji. He knelt 
 with rapture upon his face as he watched the departing 
 figure. As he gazed upon her he knew in his heart 
 that with his thanks love had mingled too. While he 
 yet knelt the Goddess of Fuji threw down the branch 
 of camellia, a remembrance, perhaps a token, of her 
 love for him. 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The Rip van Winkle of Old Japan 
 
 We have already referred to the coming of Fuji in a 
 single night, and the following legend gives an account 
 of this remarkable event. We have added to this legend 
 another, which is probably of Chinese origin, because 
 the two fit in well together and furnish interesting 
 material in regard to this mountain. 
 
 Many years ago there lived on the then barren plain 
 of Suruga a woodman by the name of Visu. He was 
 a giant in stature, and lived in a hut with his wife and 
 children. One night, just as Visu was about to fall 
 asleep, he heard a most extraordinary sound coming 
 from under the earth, a sound louder and more terrible 
 than thunder. Visu, thinking that he and his family 
 were about to be destroyed by an earthquake, hastily 
 snatched up the younger children and rushed to the 
 door of the hut, where he saw a most wonderful sight. 
 Instead of the once desolate plain he perceived a great 
 mountain from whose head sprang tongues of flame 
 and dense clouds of smoke ! So glorious was the sight 
 of this mountain that had run under the earth for two 
 hundred miles and then suddenly sprung forth on the 
 plain of Suruga that Visu, his wife and family, sat down 
 on the ground as if under a spell. When the sun rose 
 the next morning Visu saw that the mountain had put 
 on robes of opal. It seemed so impressive to him that 
 he called it Fuji-yama ("The Never-dying Mountain "), 
 and so it is called to this day. Such perfect beauty 
 suggested to the woodman the eternal, an idea which 
 no doubt gave rise to the Elixir of Life so frequently 
 associated with this mountain. 
 
 Day after day Visu sat and gazed upon Fuji, and was 
 just conjecturing how nice it would be for so imposing 
 a mountain to be able to see her loveliness, when 
 136 
 
THE ADVENTURES OF VISU 
 
 a great lake suddenly stretched before him, shaped like 
 a lute, and so called Biwa. 1 
 
 The Adventures of Visu 
 
 One day Visu received a visit from an old priest, 
 who said to him : " Honourable woodman, I am afraid 
 you never pray." Visu replied : "If you had a wife 
 and a large family to keep you would never have time 
 to pray." This remark made the priest angry, and 
 the old man gave the woodcutter a vivid description 
 of the horror of being reborn as a toad, or a mouse, 
 or an insect for millions of years. Such lurid details 
 were not to Visu's liking, and he accordingly promised 
 the priest that in future he would pray. " Work and 
 pray," said the priest as he took his departure. 
 
 Unfortunately Visu did nothing but pray. He 
 prayed all day long and refused to do any work, so 
 that his rice crops withered and his wife and family 
 starved. Visu's wife, who had hitherto never said a 
 harsh or bitter word to her husband, now became 
 extremely angry, and, pointing to the poor thin bodies 
 of her children, she exclaimed : " Rise, Visu, take up 
 your axe and do something more helpful to us all 
 than the mere mumbling of prayers ! " 
 
 Visu was so utterly amazed at what his wife had 
 said that it was some time before he could think of a 
 fitting reply. When he did so his words came hot 
 and strong to the ears of his poor, much-wronged wife. 
 
 1 There is some confusion here, for in actual fact Lake Biwa is a 
 hundred and forty miles distant from Fuji too great a distance, 
 one would imagine, for even a miraculous mountain to look into. 
 Legend asserts that Fuji came from the earth in a single night, while 
 Lake Biwa sank simultaneously. Professor Chamberlain writes : 
 " May we not have here an echo of some early eruption, which 
 resulted in the formation, not indeed of Lake Biwa . . . but of 
 one of the numerous small lakes at the foot of the mountain ? " 
 
 '37 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 " Woman," said he, " the Gods come first. You are 
 an impertinent creature to speak to me so, and I will 
 have nothing more to do with you ! " Visu snatched 
 up his axe and, without looking round to say farewell, 
 he left the hut, strode out of the wood, and climbed 
 up Fuji-yama, where a mist hid him from sight. 
 
 When Visu had seated himself upon the mountain 
 he heard a soft rustling sound, and immediately after- 
 ward saw a fox dart into a thicket. Now Visu deemed 
 it extremely lucky to see a fox, and, forgetting his 
 prayers, he sprang up, and ran hither and thither in 
 the hope of again finding this sharp-nosed little 
 creature. He was about to give up the chase when, 
 coming to an open space in a wood, he saw two 
 ladies sitting down by a brook playing go. 1 The 
 woodman was so completely fascinated that he could 
 do nothing but sit down and watch them. There was 
 no sound except the soft click of pieces on the board 
 and the song of the running brook. The ladies took 
 no notice of Visu, for they seemed to be playing a 
 strange game that had no end, a game that entirely 
 absorbed their attention. Visu could not keep his 
 eyes off these fair women. He watched their long 
 black hair and the little quick hands that shot out 
 now and again from their big silk sleeves in order 
 to move the pieces. After he had been sitting there 
 for three hundred years, though to him it was but a 
 summer's afternoon, he saw that one of the players 
 had made a false move. " Wrong^ most lovely lady ! " 
 he exclaimed excitedly. In a moment these women 
 turned into foxes 2 and ran away. 
 
 When Visu attempted to pursue them he found to 
 
 1 A game introduced from China resembling chess, but a more 
 complicated variety than the game with which we are familiar. 
 
 2 Fox legends have been fully described in Chapter V. 
 138 
 
Visu on Mount Fuji-yama. 138 
 
VISITS RETURN 
 
 his horror that his limbs were terribly stiff, that his 
 hair was very long, and that his beard touched the 
 ground. He discovered, moreover, that the handle 
 of his axe, though made of the hardest wood, had 
 crumbled away into a little heap of dust. 
 
 Visu's Return 
 
 After many painful efforts Visu was able to stand on 
 his feet and proceed very slowly toward his little home. 
 When he reached the spot he was surprised to see 
 no hut, and, perceiving a very old woman, he said : 
 " Good lady, I am amazed to find that my little home 
 has disappeared. I went away this afternoon, and now 
 in the evening it has vanished ! " 
 
 The old woman, who believed that a madman was 
 addressing her, inquired his name. When she was 
 told, she exclaimed : " Bah ! you must indeed be mad ! 
 Visu lived three hundred years ago ! He went away 
 one day, and he never came back again." 
 
 " Three hundred years I " murmured Visu. " It can- 
 not be possible. Where are my dear wife and children ? " 
 
 " Buried ! " hissed the old woman, " and, if what 
 you say is true, your children's children too. The 
 Gods have prolonged your miserable life in punishment 
 for having neglected your wife and little children. 1 ' 
 
 Big tears ran down Visu's withered cheeks as he 
 said in a husky voice : " I have lost my manhood. 
 I have prayed when my dear ones starved and needed 
 the labour of my once strong hands. Old woman, 
 remember my last words: if you pray ^ work too I " 
 
 We do not know how long the poor but repentant 
 Visu lived after he returned from his strange adven- 
 tures. His white spirit is still said to haunt Fuji- 
 yama when the moon shines brightly. 
 
 '39 
 
CHAPTER X : BELLS 
 
 The Bell of Enkakuji 
 
 JAPANESE bells are among the finest in the 
 world, for in their size, construction, and decora- 
 tion the bell-maker of Nippon has reached a high 
 level of efficiency. The largest bell in Japan belongs 
 to the Jodo temple of Chion, at Kyoto. It weighs 
 seventy-four tons, and requires seventy-five men to 
 ring it in order to get the full effect from this great 
 mass of metal. The bell of Enkakuji is the largest 
 bell in Kamakura. It dates from the beginning of the 
 thirteenth century, and is six inches thick, four feet 
 seven inches in diameter, and about eight feet high. 
 This bell, unlike our own, is the same diameter from 
 top to bottom, a feature common to all big Japanese 
 bells. It is rung by means of a beam suspended 
 from the roof, and from the beam hangs a rope. 
 When the beam is set swinging with sufficient velocity 
 it strikes a lotus-moulding on the side of the bell, and 
 a great note quivers forth, " deep as thunder, rich as 
 the bass of a mighty organ." 
 
 The Return of Ono-no*Kimi 
 
 When Ono-no-Kimi died he went before the Judg- 
 ment Seat of Emma-O, the Judge of Souls, and was told 
 by that dread deity that he had quitted earthly life too 
 soon, and that he must at once return. Ono-no- 
 Kimi pleaded that he could not retrace Jhis steps, as 
 he did not know the way. Then Emma-O said : "By 
 listening to the bell of Enkakuji you will be able to find 
 your way into the world again." And Ono-no-Kimi 
 went forth from the Judgment Seat, and, with the sound 
 of the bell for guidance, once more found himself in 
 his old home. 
 140 
 
A WOMAN AND THE BELL OF MIIDERA 
 
 The Giant Priest 
 
 On one occasion it is said that a priest of giant stature 
 was seen in the country, and no one knew his name or 
 whence he had come. With unceasing zest he travelled 
 up and down the land, from village to village, from 
 town to town, exhorting the people to pray before the 
 bell of Enkakuji. It was eventually discovered that 
 this giant priest was none other than a personification 
 of the holy bell itself. This extraordinary news had its 
 effect, for numerous people now flocked to the bell of 
 Enkakuji, prayed, and returned with many a wish 
 fulfilled. On another occasion this sacred bell is said 
 to have sounded a deep note of its own accord. Those 
 who were incredulous and laughed at the miracle met 
 with calamity, and those who believed in the miraculous 
 power of the sacred bell were rewarded with much 
 prosperity. 
 
 A Woman and the Bell of Miidera 
 
 In the ancient monastery of Miidera there was a 
 great bronze bell. It rang out every morning and 
 evening, a clear, rich note, and its surface shone like 
 sparkling dew. The priests would not allow any woman 
 to strike it, because they thought that such an action 
 would pollute and dull the metal, as well as bring 
 calamity upon them. 
 
 When a certain pretty woman who lived in Kyoto 
 heard this she grew extremely inquisitive, and at last, 
 unable to restrain her curiosity, she said : " I will go 
 and see this wonderful bell of Miidera. I will make it 
 sound forth a soft note, and in its shining surface, 
 bigger and brighter than a thousand mirrors, I will 
 paint and powder my face and dress my hair." 
 
 At length this vain and irreverent woman reached 
 
 141 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the belfry in which the great bell was suspended at a 
 time when all were absorbed in their sacred duties. 
 She looked into the gleaming bell and saw her pretty 
 eyes, flushed cheeks, and laughing dimples. Presently 
 she stretched forth her little fingers, lightly touched the 
 shining metal, and prayed that she might have as great 
 and splendid a mirror for her own. When the bell felt 
 this woman's fingers, the bronze that she touched 
 shrank, leaving a little hollow, and losing at the same 
 time all its exquisite polish. 
 
 Benkei and the Bell 
 
 Benkei, 1 the faithful retainer ot Yoshitsune, may be 
 fittingly described as the strong man of Old Japan. His 
 strength was prodigious, as will be seen in the following 
 legend. 
 
 When Benkei was a monk he very much desired 
 to steal the bell of Miidera, and bring it to his own 
 monastery. He accordingly visited Miidera, and, at an 
 opportune moment, unhooked the great bell. Benkei's 
 first thought was to roll it down the hill, and thus save 
 himself the trouble of carrying such a huge piece of 
 metal ; but, thinking that the monks would hear the 
 noise, he was forced to set about carrying it down the 
 steep incline. He accordingly pulled out the cross- 
 beam from the belfry, suspended the bell at one end, 
 and humorous touch his paper lantern at the other, 2 
 and in this manner he carried his mighty burden for 
 nearly seven miles. 
 
 When Benkei reached his temple he at once de- 
 manded food. He managed to get through a concoc- 
 tion which filled an iron soup-pot five feet in diameter, 
 
 1 See Chapter II. 
 
 2 Hence the Japanese saying : " Lantern and bell, which is the 
 heavier ? " 
 
 142 
 
KARMA 
 
 and when he had finished he gave permission for a few 
 priests to strike the stolen bell of Miidera. The bell 
 was struck, but in its dying murmur it seemed to cry : 
 " I want to go back to Miidera ! I want to go back to 
 Miidera 1" 
 
 When the priests heard this they were amazed. The 
 abbot, however, thought that if the bell were sprinkled 
 with holy water it would become reconciled to its new 
 abode ; but in spite of holy water the bell still sobbed 
 forth its plaintive and provoking cry. No one was 
 more displeased by the sound than Benkei himself. It 
 seemed that the bell mocked him and that arduous 
 journey of his. At last, exasperated beyond endurance, 
 he rushed to the rope, strained it till the beam was far 
 from the great piece of metal, then let it go, hoping 
 that the force of the swift-rushing beam would crack 
 such a peevish and ill-bred bell. The whirling wood 
 reached the bell with a terrific crash ; but it did not 
 break. Through the air rang again : " I want to go 
 back to Miidera ! " and whether the bell was struck 
 harshly or softly it always spoke the same words. 
 
 At last Benkei, now in a towering rage, shouldered 
 the bell and beam, and, coming to the top of a mountain, 
 he set down his burden, and, with a mighty kick, sent it 
 rolling into the valley beneath. Some time later the 
 Miidera priests found their precious bell, and joyfully 
 hung it in its accustomed place, and from that time it 
 failed to speak, and only rang like other temple bells. 
 
 Karma 
 
 The power of Karma is one of the great Buddhist 
 doctrines, and many are the stories, both true and 
 legendary, told in connection with this theme. Of the 
 former Lafcadio Hearn in " Kokoro " narrates the pitiful 
 tale of a priest who had the misfortune to attract the 
 
 H3 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 love of many women. Rather than yield to their solicita- 
 tions he committed suicide by kneeling in the middle 
 of a railway track and allowing an express train to put 
 an end to his temptations. 
 
 The story of " The Bamboo-cutter and the Moon- 
 Maiden " gives us another representation of the work- 
 ing out of Karma. The Lady Kaguya was banished 
 from her home in the moon owing to indulgence in 
 some sensual passion. In her exile it will be re- 
 membered that her weakness was vanquished, and that 
 she steadfastly resisted this particular sin during her 
 earthly sojourn. 
 
 Karma by no means represents exclusively the power 
 of evil thought, though it is most commonly applied to 
 the human passions. In its fuller meaning it signifies 
 cause and effect all thoughts, all actions that are not 
 spiritual, for by the working of Karma, according to 
 Buddhist teaching, is the world and all it contains 
 fashioned. The desire to be is Karma. The desire 
 not to be is the breaking of the great wheel of birth 
 and rebirth, and the attainment of Nirvana. 
 
 There are Japanese lovers who, owing to circum- 
 stance, are unable to marry ; but they do not blame 
 circumstance. They regard their misfortune as the re- 
 sult of an error in a previous existence, such as break- 
 ing their promise to wed, or because they were cruel to 
 each other. Such lovers believe that if they bind them- 
 selves together with an under-girdle and spring into a 
 river or lake they will become united in their next birth. 
 This suicide of Japanese lovers is called jvshi, which 
 means "love-death" or "passion-death." Buddhism 
 is strongly opposed to self-destruction, and no less to a 
 love of this kind, for \njvshi there is no desire to destroy, 
 but rather to foster, the power of Karma. Such lovers 
 may be united, but in the teaching of the Lord Buddha 
 144 
 
A BELL AND THE POWER OF KARMA 
 
 a union of this kind is a delusion, while Nirvana alone 
 is worth striving for. We read in the Ralana Sutra : 
 " Their old Karma is exhausted, no new Karma is being 
 produced : their hearts are free from the longing after 
 future life ; the cause of their existence being destroyed, 
 and no new yearnings springing up within them, they, 
 the wise, are extinguished like this lamp." 
 
 A Bell and the Power of Karma 
 
 "There are various paths leading to the attainment of 
 complete happiness. When we find ourselves upon the 
 wrong one it is our duty to quit it." 
 
 BAKIN. 
 
 Near the banks of the Hidaka there once stood a far- 
 famed tea-house nestling amid lovely scenery beside a 
 hill called the Dragon's Claw. The fairest girl in this 
 tea-house was Kiyo, for she was like " the fragrance of 
 white lilies, when the wind, sweeping down the mountain 
 heights, comes perfume-laden to the traveller." 
 
 Across the river stood a Buddhist temple where the 
 abbot and a number of priests lived a simple and devout 
 life. In the belfry of this temple reposed a great bell, 
 six inches thick and weighing several tons. It was one 
 of the monastery rules that none of the priests should 
 eat fish or meat or drink sake, and they were especially 
 forbidden to stop at tea-houses, lest they should lose 
 their spirituality and fall into the sinful ways of the flesh. 
 
 One of the priests, however, on returning from a 
 certain shrine, happened to see the pretty Kiyo, flitting 
 hither and thither in the tea-garden, like a large, bright- 
 winged butterfly. He stood and watched her for a 
 moment, sorely tempted to enter the garden and speak 
 to this beautiful creature, but, remembering his priestly 
 calling, he crossed the river and entered his temple. 
 That night, however, he could not sleep. The fever 
 
 K H5 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 of a violent love had come upon him. He fingered 
 his rosary and repeated passages from the Buddhist 
 Scriptures, but these things brought him no peace of 
 mind. Through all his pious thoughts there ever 
 shone the winsome face of Kiyo, and it seemed to him 
 that she was calling from that fair garden across the 
 river. 
 
 His burning love grew so intense that it was not 
 long before he stifled his religious feelings, broke one 
 of the temple rules, and catered the forbidden tea- 
 . house. Here he entirely forgot his religion, or found 
 a new' one iri" contemplating the Beautiful Kiyo, who 
 brought him refreshment. Night after night he crept 
 across the river and fell under the spell of this 
 woman. She returned his love with equal passion, so 
 that for the moment it appeared to this erring priest 
 that he had found in a woman's charms something far 
 sweeter than the possibility of attaining Nirvana. 
 
 After the priest had seen Kiyo on many nights 
 conscience began to stir within him and to do battle 
 with his unholy love. The power of Karma and the 
 teaching of the Lord Buddha struggled within his 
 breast. It was a fierce conflict, but in the end passion 
 was vanquished, though, as we shall learn, not its 
 awful consequences. The priest, having stamped out 
 his carnal love, deemed it wise to deal with Kiyo as 
 circumspectly as possible, lest his sudden change should 
 make her angry. 
 
 When Kiyo saw the priest after his victory over the 
 flesh she observed the far-away look in his eyes and 
 the ascetic calm that now rested upon his face. She 
 redoubled her feminine wiles, determined either to 
 make the priest love her again, or, failing that, to put 
 him to a cruel death by sorcery. 
 
 All Kiyo's blandishments failed to awaken love 
 146 
 
Kiyo and the Priest. 
 
 46 
 
A BELL AND THE POWER OF KARMA 
 
 within the priest's heart, and, thinking only of vengeance, 
 she set out, arrayed in a white robe, and went to a 
 certain mountain where there was a Fudo 1 shrine. 
 Fudo sat, surrounded by fire, a sword in one hand and 
 a small coil of rope in the other. Here Kiyo prayed 
 with fearful vehemence that this hideous-looking God 
 would show her how to kill the priest who had once 
 loved her. 
 
 From Fudo she went to the shrine of Kompira, 2 
 who has the knowledge of magic and is able to teach 
 sorcery. Here she begged that she might have the 
 power to turn herself at will into a dragon-serpent. 
 After many visits a long-nosed sprite (probably a 
 tengu\ who waited upon Kompira, taught Kiyo all the 
 mysteries of magic and sorcery. He taught this once 
 sweet girl how to change herself into the awful creature 
 she desired to be for the purpose of a cruel vengeance. 
 
 Still the priest visited Kiyo ; but no longer was he 
 the lover. By many exhortations he tried to stay the 
 passion of this maiden he once loved ; but these priestly 
 discourses only made Kiyo more determined to win 
 the victory in the end. She wept, she pleaded, she 
 wound her fair arms about him ; but none of her 
 allurements had the slightest effect, except to drive 
 away the priest for the last time. 
 
 Just as the priest was about to take his departure 
 he was horrified to see Kiyo's eyes suddenly turn into 
 
 1 Fudo is not, as is generally supposed, the God of Fire, but is 
 identified, according to Sir Ernest Satow, with Dainichi, the God of 
 Wisdom. It is not quite clear why Kiyo visited Fudo, whose sacred 
 sword symbolises wisdom, while his fire represents power, and the 
 coil of rope that which binds the passions. 
 
 2 Kompira was originally an Indian God, which the mediaeval 
 Shintoists identified with Susa-no-o, brother of the Sun Goddess, 
 who, as we have already seen, would be only too pleased to lend 
 himself to mischief. 
 
 '47 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 those of a serpent. With a shriek of fear he ran out 
 of the tea-garden, swam across the river, and hid 
 himself inside the great temple bell. 
 
 Kiyo raised her magic wand, murmured a certain 
 incantation, and in a moment the sweet face and form 
 of this lovely maiden became transformed into that of 
 a dragon-serpent, hissing and spirting fire. With eyes 
 as large and luminous as moons she crawled over the 
 garden, swam across the river, and entered the belfry. 
 Her weight broke down the supporting columns, and 
 the bell, with the priest inside, fell with a deafening 
 crash to the ground. 
 
 Kiyo embraced the bell with a terrible lust for 
 vengeance. Her coils held the metal as in a vice ; 
 tighter and tighter she hugged the bell, till the metal 
 became red-hot. All in vain was the prayer of the 
 captive priest ; all in vain, too, were the earnest 
 entreaties of his fellow brethren, who implored that 
 Buddha would destroy the demon. Hotter and hotter 
 grew the bell, and it rang with the piteous shrieks of 
 the priest within. Presently his voice was stilled, and 
 the bell melted and ran down into a pool of molten 
 metal. The great power of Karma had destroyed it, 
 and with it the priest and the dragon-serpent that was 
 once the beautiful Kiyo. 
 
 ,+8 
 
CHAPTER XI : YUKI-ONNA, THE LADY 
 OF THE SNOW 
 
 " Midwinter gloom the earth enshrouds, 
 
 Yet from the skies 
 
 The blossoms fill 
 
 A flutt'ring shower, 
 
 White petals all ! 
 
 Can spring be come, 
 So soon beyond the clouds ? " 
 Kujohara No Fukayabu (Trans, by CLARA A. WALSH). 
 
 Yuki-Onna 
 
 SNOW-TIME in Japan has a beauty peculiarly 
 its own, and it is a favourite theme of Japanese 
 poets and artists. Both, for the most part, 
 treat it artistically, as well they may do, seeing that in 
 Nippon the white flakes fall upon the ornate roofs of 
 Buddhist temples, upon the fairy-like bridges, resem- 
 bling those we have seen on willow-pattern plates, and 
 upon the exquisitely shaped stone lanterns that adorn so 
 many Japanese gardens. The ideal snow-scene is to be 
 found in Japan, and because it is so particularly beautiful 
 it is surprising to find that Yuki-Onna, 1 the Lady of the 
 Snow, is very far from being a benevolent and attractive 
 spirit. All the artistry and poetry of snow vanish in 
 her malignant presence, for she represents Death, with 
 attributes not unlike that of a vampire. But Japan is 
 full of sharp and surprising contrasts, and the delicate 
 and beautiful jostle with the ugly and horrible. There 
 is no promise of spring in the long white form of 
 Yuki-Onna, for her mouth is the mouth of Death, 
 and her ice-cold lips draw forth the life-blood of her 
 unfortunate victims. 
 
 1 See my Land of the Yellow Spring, p. 39. 
 
 149 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The Snow'Bride 
 
 Mosaku and his apprentice Minokichi journeyed to 
 a forest, some little distance from their village. It was 
 a bitterly cold night when they neared their destination, 
 and saw in front of them a cold sweep of water. They 
 desired to cross this river, but the ferryman had gone 
 away, leaving his boat on the other side of the water, 
 and as the weather was too inclement to admit of 
 swimming across the river they were glad to take shelter 
 in the ferryman's little hut. 
 
 Mosaku fell asleep almost immediately he entered 
 this humble but welcome shelter. Minokichi, however, 
 lay awake for a long time listening to the cry of the wind 
 and the hiss of the snow as it was blown against the door. 
 
 Minokichi at last fell asleep, to be soon awakened 
 by a shower of snow falling across his face. He found 
 that the door had been blown open, and that standing 
 in the room was a fair woman in dazzlingly white 
 garments. For a moment she stood thus ; then she 
 bent over Mosaku, her breath coming forth like white 
 smoke. After bending thus over the old man for a 
 minute or two she turned to Minokichi and hovered 
 over him. He tried to cry out, for the breath of this 
 woman was like a freezing blast of wind. She told him 
 that she had intended to treat him as she had done the 
 old man at his side, but forbore on account of his youth 
 and beauty. Threatening Minokichi with instant death 
 if he dared to mention to any one what he had seen, she 
 suddenly vanished. 
 
 Then Minokichi called out to his beloved master : 
 " Mosaku, Mosaku, wake ! Something very terrible has 
 happened ! " But there was no reply. He touched the 
 hand of his master in the dark, and found it was like a 
 piece of ice. Mosaku was dead ! 
 150 
 
THE SNOW-BRIDE 
 
 During the next winter, while Minokichi was return- 
 ing home, he chanced to meet a pretty girl by the name 
 of Yuki. She informed him that she was going to 
 Yedo, where she desired to find a situation as a servant. 
 Minokichi was charmed with this maiden, and he went 
 so far as to ask if she were betrothed, and hearing that 
 she was not, he took her to his own home, and in due 
 time married her. 
 
 Yuki presented her husband with ten fine and hand- 
 some children, fairer of skin than the average. When 
 Minokichi's mother died her last words were in praise 
 of Yuki, and her eulogy was echoed by many of the 
 country folk in the district. 
 
 One night, while Yuki was sewing, the light of a 
 paper lamp shining upon her face, Minokichi recalled 
 the extraordinary experience he had had in the ferry- 
 man's hut. "Yuki," said he, "you remind me so 
 much of a beautiful white woman I saw when I was 
 eighteen years old. She killed my master with her 
 ice-cold breath. I am sure she was some strange spirit, 
 and yet to-night she seems to resemble you ! " 
 
 Yuki flung down her sewing. There was a horrible 
 smile on her face as she bent close to her husband and 
 shrieked : " It was I, Yuki-Onna, who came to you 
 then, and silently killed your master ! Oh, faithless 
 wretch, you have broken your promise to keep the 
 matter secret, and if it were not for our sleeping children 
 I would kill you now ! Remember, if they have aught 
 to complain of at your hands I shall hear, I shall 
 know, and on a night when the snow falls I will kill 
 you ! " 
 
 Then Yuki-Onna, the Lady of the Snow, changed 
 into a white mist, and, shrieking and shuddering, 
 passed through the smoke-hole, never to return 
 again. 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Kyuzaemon's Ghostly Visitor 
 
 According to Mr. R. Gordon Smith, in his " Ancient 
 Tales and Folk-lore of Japan," " all those who die by 
 the snow and cold become spirits of snow." That is to 
 say, all those who perish in this way become identified 
 with Yuki-Onna, the Lady of the Snow. The follow- 
 ing legend is adapted from Mr. Smith's book referred 
 to above, 
 
 Kyuzaemon, a poor farmer, had closed the shutters 
 of his humble dwelling and retired to rest. Shortly 
 before midnight he was awakened by loud tapping. 
 Going to the door, he exclaimed : " Who are you ? 
 What do you want ? " 
 
 The strange visitor made no attempt to answer these 
 questions, but persistently begged for food and shelter. 
 The cautious Kyuzaemon refused to allow the visitor 
 to enter, and, having seen that his dwelling was secure, 
 he was about to retire to bed again, when he saw 
 standing beside him a woman in white flowing garments, 
 her hair falling over her shoulders. 
 
 "Where did you leave your ge fa?" demanded the 
 frightened farmer. 
 
 The white woman informed him that she was the 
 visitor who had tapped upon his door. " I need no 
 geta" she said, "for I have no feet ! I fly over the 
 snow-capped trees, and should have proceeded to the 
 next village, but the wind was blowing strongly against 
 me, and I desired to rest awhile." 
 
 The farmer expressed his fear of spirits, whereupon 
 the woman inquired if her host had a butsudan (a family 
 altar). Finding that he had, she bade him open the 
 butsudan and light a lamp. When this was done the 
 woman prayed before the ancestral tablets, not forgetting 
 to add a prayer for the still much-agitated Kyuzaemon. 
 152 
 
KYUZAEMON'S GHOSTLY VISITOR 
 
 Having paid her respects at the butsudan^ she informed 
 the farmer that her name was Oyasu, and that she had 
 lived with her parents and her husband, Isaburo. When 
 she died her husband left her parents, and it was her 
 intention to try to persuade him to go back again and 
 support the old people. 
 
 Kyuzaemon began to understand as he murmured to 
 himself : " Oyasu perished in the snow, and this is her 
 spirit I see before me." However, in spite of this 
 recollection he still felt much afraid. He sought the 
 family altar with trembling footsteps, repeating over 
 and over again: "Namu Amida Butsu ! " ("Hail, 
 Omnipotent Buddha ! ") 
 
 At last the farmer went to bed and fell asleep. 
 Once he woke up to hear the white creature murmur 
 farewell ; but before he could make answer she had 
 disappeared. 
 
 The following day Kyuzaemon went to the next 
 village, and called upon Isaburo, whom he now found 
 living with his father-in-law again. Isaburo informed 
 him that he had received numerous visits from the 
 spirit of his wife in the guise of Yuki-Onna. After 
 carefully considering the matter Kyuzaemon found that 
 this Lady of the Snow had appeared before Isaburo 
 almost immediately after she had paid him such a 
 mysterious visit. On that occasion Isaburo had promised 
 to fulfil her wish, and neither he nor Kyuzaemon were 
 again troubled with her who travels in the sky when the 
 snow is falling fast. 
 
CHAPTER XII : FLOWERS AND 
 GARDENS 
 
 " All the joy of my existence is concentrated around the 
 pillow which giveth me nightly rest, all the hope of my 
 days I find in the beauties of Nature that ever please my 
 eyes." 
 
 " (Trans, by F. V. DICKINS). 
 
 Japanese and English Gardens 
 
 THERE is nothing particularly aesthetic about the 
 average English garden. When the bedding- 
 out time comes a slow old gardener puts in his 
 plants. Later on we see a crude blaze of colour 
 scarlet geraniums, yellow calceolarias, blue lobelias, the 
 green grass and the ochre-coloured paths. And this 
 is the colour effect of the average English garden, a 
 colour effect that makes the eyes ache and shames the 
 very flowers so unwisely set in this fashion. The truth 
 of the matter is that we do not understand the art of 
 flower arrangement. We buy flowers just to make the 
 garden look bright, under the impression that bright- 
 ness is an abstract quality with which we should like 
 to spend our summer days. An Englishman once 
 attempted to make a landscape garden after the 
 Japanese manner. He was extremely proud of the 
 result, and on one occasion he took a Japanese 
 gentleman round to see it. The Japanese gentleman 
 exclaimed, with extreme courtesy : " It is very beauti- 
 ful ; we have nothing at all like it in Japan ! " The 
 Englishman failed in his attempt to imitate because 
 he considered gardening a hobby, while in Japan the 
 garden is something indelibly associated with Japanese 
 life itself. In Japan it is an ancient cult to which 
 poets and artists have given years of thought, a cult 
 
THE LOVE OF FLOWERS 
 
 in which emotion, memory, and religion play their 
 part. 
 
 The Love of Flowers, its Growth and Symbolism 
 
 One of the most striking, and certainly one of the 
 most pleasing, characteristics of the Japanese is their 
 intense love of flowers and trees. Merry parties set 
 out to see the azaleas bloom, or the splendour of the 
 pink-white cherry-blossom, or the scarlet glory of the 
 maple-trees. This " flower-viewing "is an integral part 
 of their existence. The very kimono of the laughing 
 children look like little gardens of flowers themselves. 
 Take away their landscape, and you take away at once 
 their sense of poetry, and, we may almost add, the floral 
 side of their religion too, for the Japanese worship 
 flowers and trees in a way utterly impossible to the 
 more prosaic Westerner. 
 
 During a recent spring the magnolia-trees in Kew 
 Gardens afforded a wonderfully beautiful spectacle. 
 But there were few to see these leafless trees with their 
 profusion of lotus-like blossom. The most appreciative 
 spectator was a child, who sat under the sweet-scented 
 branches, gathered the fallen petals in her little brown 
 hands, and made up a quaint story as she did so. But 
 in Japan, where magnolia-trees bloom too, a hundred 
 little poems would be threaded to the branches, and little 
 cakes made in imitation of the petals. Perhaps, too, a 
 branch of magnolia would be set in a vase, the object 
 of silent admiration of the members of some tea cere- 
 mony. And afterwards the spray of blossom would be 
 gently placed on a river or buried with joy and reverence 
 for the beauty it had exhibited in its brief hour of life. 
 The love of flowers is only a small part of the 
 Japanese love of Nature. There was an evolutionary 
 growth in this worship as in every other, and we are 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 inclined to think that the Japanese go very far back in 
 this matter, and learnt first of all to love rocks and 
 stones. To us rocks and stones are of interest only to 
 the geologist and metallurgist, merely from a scientific 
 point of view, and it seems almost incredible that rocks 
 and stones have a poetical meaning. But it is otherwise 
 to the Japanese. The Japanese garden is essentially a 
 landscape garden. The owner of a garden falls in love 
 with a certain view. It haunts him, and awakens in 
 him some primitive feelings of delight that cannot be 
 analysed. He brings that view perpetually before him 
 in his garden, in miniature, perhaps, but a miniature of 
 wonderful exactness. His garden thus becomes a place 
 of happy memory, and not a plot laid out with gaudy 
 flowers and terraces that can have no meaning, no poetry 
 to his mind. Without a doubt Japanese gardens, with 
 their gorgeous flowers, merry sunshine, and the sweet 
 tinkle of dainty fairy-bells suspended from the branches 
 of the trees, are the most delightful in the world. 
 
 Japanese Gardens 
 
 One thing that strikes us about Japanese gardens 
 that we do not find in England is the wonderful 
 economy displayed in their schemes. Suburbia often 
 makes the excuse that their pocket-handkerchief of a 
 garden is much too small to be made beautiful. Too 
 small to be made beautiful ? Why, the Japanese can 
 make a wonderful little garden in a space no bigger than 
 a soup-plate ! Necessity is the mother of invention, and 
 if we only loved Nature more we should soon find the 
 means to make our smallest gardens attractive. The 
 great Japanese designer of gardens, Kobori-Enshiu, 
 said that an ideal garden should be like "the sweet 
 solitude of a landscape clouded by moonlight, with a 
 half-gloom between the trees." 
 156 
 
JAPANESE GARDENS 
 
 Miss Florence Du Cane has much to say concerning 
 Japanese rocks and stones. What poetry is suggested in 
 the names of some of these garden stones for example, 
 "The Stone of Easy Rest." Then, among the lake 
 stones we have one called "Wild Wave Stone," that 
 at once suggests Matsushima, with its waves breaking 
 against innumerable rocks. 
 
 The stone or wooden lamps are very important 
 ornaments in a Japanese garden. The idea was borrowed 
 from Korea, and they are still sometimes known as 
 "Korean towers." They are seldom lit, except in 
 temple gardens, but they need no jewel of light to make 
 them beautiful. They are rich in amber and green moss, 
 and in the winter they catch the snow and make ghost 
 lanterns of exquisite beauty. Another feature of a 
 Japanese garden is the Torii, a simple arch of wood 
 shaped like a huge Chinese character. Shinto in origin, 
 no one has as yet discovered what they were originally 
 intended to represent, though there have been many 
 diverse opinions on the subject. These gates to nowhere 
 are extremely fascinating, and to look at them with the 
 sea about their feet is to dream of a far-away fairy tale 
 of childhood. 
 
 The lakes, cascades, tiny bridges, the stepping-stones 
 over the winding ways of silver sand, form a place of 
 retreat indeed. And then the colour of the Japanese 
 garden ! Every month has some fresh colour scene as 
 the plum and cherry and peach-trees come into bloom. 
 Trailing over the ground among the pine-needles or 
 looking into the clear blue lake, one may see the 
 azaleas. If there were ever a flower that personified 
 colour then it is surely the azalea. It is the rainbow of 
 flowers, and there seems scarcely a shade of colour not 
 to be found in its blossoms. To look at the azaleas is 
 to look into the very paint-box of Nature herself. Then 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 at another season of the year we get the iris in purple 
 and lavender, yellow and white, or the beautiful rose- 
 coloured lotus that opens with a little explosion on the 
 placid waters, as if to herald its coming to perfection. 
 The last colour glory of the year is the splendour of the 
 maple-trees. We have a fine crimson effect in our 
 English blackberry leaves, but they lie hidden in the 
 wet autumn hedges. In Japan the maples do not hide. 
 They seem everywhere alive in a splendid flame. In 
 the autumn it appears as if the maple-trees had conjured 
 with the sunset, for at that time Japan is not the Land 
 of the Rising Sun, but the land of the sun going 
 down in a great pageant of red leaves. And is that the 
 end of Nature's work for the year ? No, indeed. Last 
 of all comes the snow, and the beauty of its effect lies 
 not so much in the soft flakes themselves, but in the 
 way they are caught and held upon the beautiful little 
 houses and temples and lanterns. See a Japanese 
 garden then, and you see the white seal of Nature's 
 approval upon it all. The snow scene is perhaps 
 Nature's supreme touch in Japan, after all ; and it is a 
 scene dear to the hearts of the Japanese. In midsummer 
 a Japanese emperor once had the miniature mountains 
 in his gardens covered with white silk to suggest snow, 
 and, no doubt, to give an imaginary coolness to the 
 scene. A slight acquaintance with Japanese art will 
 reveal the fact that snow affords a favourite theme for 
 the artist's brush. 
 
 Nature in Miniature 
 
 The Japanese, for the most part, are little in stature, 
 and have a love of things in miniature. Lafcadio Hearn 
 tells a charming story of a Japanese nun who used to 
 play with children and give them rice-cakes no bigger 
 than peas and tea in very minute cups. Her love of 
 158 
 
THE PINE-TREE 
 
 very small things came as the result of a great sorrow, 
 but we see in this Japanese love of little objects some- 
 thing pathetic in the nation as a whole. Their love of 
 dwarf trees, hundreds of years old, seems to say : " Be 
 honourably pleased never to grow big. We are a little 
 people, and so we love little things." The ancient 
 pine, often less than a foot in height, does not render 
 its age oppressive, and is not a thing to fear just because 
 it is so very small. Westerners have been inclined to 
 describe the dwarf Japanese tree as unnatural. It is no 
 more unnatural than the Japanese smile, and reveals 
 that the nation, like the Greeks of old, is still closely 
 in touch with Nature. 
 
 The Pine-tree 
 
 The pine-tree is the emblem of good fortune and 
 longevity. That is why we see this tree at almost 
 every garden gate ; and it must be admitted that a pine- 
 tree is a more graceful talisman than a rusty old horse- 
 shoe. In a certain Japanese play we find the following : 
 "The emblem of unchangeableness exalted is their 
 fame to the end of time the fame of the two pine-trees 
 that have grown old together." This refers to the 
 famous pines of Takasago. Mr. Conder tells us that 
 at wedding feasts " a branch of the male pine is placed 
 in one vessel and a branch of the female pine in the 
 other. The general form of each design would be 
 similar, but the branch of the female pine facing the 
 opposite vase should stretch a little beneath the corre- 
 sponding branch of the male pine." In other words, it 
 shows that Woman's Suffrage exists not in Japan, and 
 that the Japanese wife is subject to her lord and master, 
 which is a very pretty way of suggesting what is in 
 England a very dangerous subject. The design referred 
 to above typifies "eternal union." The pine-tree really 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 symbolises the comradeship of love, the Darby and 
 Joan stage of old married people in Japan. 
 
 A Great Nature'lovet 1 
 
 Kamo No Chomei was a Buddhist recluse of the 
 twelfth century, and he wrote a little book called 
 Ho-jo-ty (" Notes from a Ten-feet-square Hut "). In this 
 volume he describes how he left the ways of the world 
 and took up his abode in a hut on the mountain-side. 
 Chomei used to sing and play and read his beloved 
 books in the very heart of the country. He writes : 
 " When the sixtieth year of my life, now vanishing as a 
 dewdrop, approached, anew I made me an abode, a sort 
 of last leap, as it were, just as a traveller might run 
 himself up a shelter for a single night, or a decrepit 
 silkworm weave its last cocoon." We see him, a happy 
 old man, slowly trudging along the hills, gathering 
 blossom as he went, ever watching with delighted eyes 
 the ways and secrets of Nature. With all his musings, 
 so full of poetry, his religious character plays a part. 
 He writes with dry humour : " I do not need to trouble 
 myself about the strict observance of the command- 
 ments, for, living as I do in complete solitude, how should 
 I be tempted to break them ? " A very different experi- 
 ence to that of some of the Indian anchorites, who find 
 in solitude a veritable thunder-cloud of temptation ! 
 But Chomei was a happy soul, and we mention him here 
 to show that the mainstay of his life were not the things 
 of the world, but the workings of Nature on the hills 
 and in the valleys, in the flowers and in the trees, in the 
 running water and in the rising moon. To quote his 
 own words : " You have fled from the world to live 
 the life of a recluse amid the wild woods and hills, thus 
 to bring peace to your soul and walk in the way of the 
 Buddha." 
 160 
 
JAPANESE FLAG AND THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 
 
 The Festival of the Dead 
 
 We find the Festival of the Dead the greatest argu- 
 ment of all in support of Japan's love of Nature. It 
 was a woman's thought, this Festival of the Dead, and 
 there is something about it so tender, so plaintive, that 
 it could only have come from a woman. In July 
 the spirits of the dead return from their dark abode. 
 Little meals are prepared for this great company of 
 ghosts, and the lanterns hang in the cemeteries and on 
 the pine-trees of good fortune at the garden gates. The 
 Japanese used to commit hara-kiri? but let us not forget 
 that their souls come back again to wander in a country 
 that seems to be one great garden. And why do they 
 come back ? They come back with their soft footsteps 
 over the hills and far away from over the sea to look 
 at the flowers once more, to wander in the gardens where 
 they spent so many happy hours. They come, that 
 invisible host, when the sun shines brightly, when it 
 seems that blossoms floating in the breeze suddenly turn 
 into butterflies, when life is at its full, when Death and the 
 dark place where Emma-O reigns cannot be endured. 
 What a time to come back again ! What a silent com- 
 pliment to Nature that that great company of souls 
 should wander back to her arms in the summer-time ! 
 
 The Japanese Flag and the Chrysanthemum 
 
 Most of us are familiar with the Japanese flag depict- 
 ing a red sun on a white ground, and we should naturally 
 suppose that such an emblem was originally connected 
 with the Sun Goddess. In this supposition, however, 
 we should be entirely wrong. Astrological designs in 
 
 1 Hara-kiri, or seppuku, is the term applied to suicide among the 
 samurai class. For detailed account see Tales of Old Japan, by 
 A. B. Mitford (Lord Redesdale). 
 
 L 161 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 ancient days figured upon the Chinese banners, and 
 Professor B. H. Chamberlain describes them thus : 
 " The Sun with the Three-legged Crow that inhabits it, 
 the Moon with its Hare 1 and Cassia-tree, the Red Bird 
 representing the seven constellations of the southern 
 quarter of the zodiac, the Dark Warrior (a Tortoise) 
 embracing the seven northern constellations, the Azure 
 Dragon embracing the seven eastern, the White Tiger 
 embracing the seven western, and a seventh banner 
 representing the Northern Bushel (Great Bear)." The 
 Chinese banners depicting the sun and moon were 
 particularly noteworthy, because the sun represented 
 the Emperor's elder brother and the moon his sister. 
 In the seventh century the Japanese adopted these 
 banners ; but as time went on they dropped many of 
 the quaint astrological designs so dear to the heart of the 
 Chinese. When in 1859 a national flag became neces- 
 sary the sun banner pure and simple was adopted ; 
 but a plain orb without rays was not sufficient, and a 
 more elaborate design was executed the sixteen-petalled 
 chrysanthemum. We can only conjecture the connec- 
 tion between the sun and the chrysanthemum. Both 
 were venerated in ancient China, and we may assume 
 that the Japanese artist, in wishing to depict the sun's 
 rays, found excellent material in copying the flower of 
 a wild chrysanthemum. 
 
 The chrysanthemum is Japan's national flower, and 
 we owe to Nippon its culture in our own country. 
 Mythological scenes, particularly that of the Treasure 
 Ship with the Gods of Luck on board is a favourite 
 
 \ l To this day Japanese peasants still believe in the Hare in the 
 Moon. This animal employs its time in pounding rice in a mortar 
 /and making it into cakes. The origin of this conception is probably 
 
 /to be found in a pun, for " rice-cake " and " full moon " are both 
 
 / described by the word mochi. 
 162 
 
LADY WHITE AND LADY YELLOW 
 
 device, fashioned entirely with innumerable chrysanthe- 
 mums. Boats, castles, bridges, and various other objects 
 are designed from the same flower with wonderful 
 dexterity. Japan has always been happy in her use of 
 names, and to no greater advantage than in the naming 
 of her chrysanthemums. There is poetry in such names 
 as " Sleepy Head," Golden Dew," " White Dragon," 
 and "Starlit Night." 
 
 The chrysanthemum is certainly a fitting symbolism 
 for the Imperial standard. Once, like our English rose, 
 it figured as a badge in the War of the Chrysanthemums, 
 a protracted civil war that divided the nation into two 
 hostile factions. Now the chrysanthemum stands for a 
 united Empire. 
 
 Lady White and Lady Yellow 
 
 Long ago there grew in a meadow a white and a yellow 
 chrysanthemum side by side. One day an old gardener 
 chanced to come across them, and took a great fancy to 
 Lady Yellow. He told her that if she would come 
 along with him he would make her far more attractive, 
 that he would give her delicate food and fine clothes to 
 wear. 
 
 Lady Yellow was so charmed with what the old man 
 said that she forgot all about her white sister and con- 
 sented to be lifted up, carried in the arms of the old 
 gardener, and to be placed in his garden. 
 
 When Lady Yellow and her master had departed 
 Lady White wept bitterly. Her own simple beauty 
 had been despised ; but, what was far worse, she was 
 forcecT to remain in the meadow alone, without the 
 converse of her sister, to whom she had been devoted. 
 
 Day by day Lady Yellow grew more fair in her 
 master's garden. No one would have recognised the 
 common flower of the field now ; but though her petals 
 
 163 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 were long and curled and her leaves so clean and well 
 cared for, she sometimes thought of Lady White alone 
 in the field, and wondered how she managed to make 
 the long and lonely hours pass by. 
 
 One day a village chief came to the old man's garden 
 in quest of a perfect chrysanthemum that he might take 
 to his lord for a crest design. 1 He informed the old 
 man that he did not want a fine chrysanthemum with 
 many long petals. What he wanted was a simple white 
 chrysanthemum with sixteen petals. The old man took 
 the village chief to see Lady Yellow ; but this flower 
 did not please him, and, thanking the gardener, he took 
 his departure. 
 
 On his way home he happened to enter a field, where 
 he saw Lady White weeping. She told him the sad 
 story of her loneliness, and when she had finished her 
 tale of woe the village chief informed her that he had 
 seen Lady Yellow and did not consider her half as 
 beautiful as her own white self. At these cheering 
 words Lady White dried her eyes, and she nearly 
 jumped oft her little feet when this kind man told her 
 that he wanted her for his lord's crest ! 
 
 In another moment the happy Lady White was being 
 carried in a palanquin. When she reached the Daimyu's 
 palace all warmly praised her remarkable perfection of 
 form. Great artists came from far and near, sat about 
 her, and sketched the flower with wonderful skill. She 
 soon needed no mirror, for ere long she saw her pretty 
 
 1 The sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum is one of the crests of the 
 Imperial family, while the other represents the flowers and leaves of 
 the paulownia. Crests in Japan are not confined to the wealthy 
 classes. The crest is still worn upon the upper part of the native 
 garment, to be seen on each breast and sleeve, and upon the back 
 of the neck. Favourite designs are derived from the bamboo, birds, 
 fans, Chinese characters, &c. 
 
CHRYSANTHEMUM-OLD.MAN 
 
 white face on all the Daimyv's most precious belong- 
 ings. She saw it on his armour and lacquer boxes, on 
 his quilts and cushions and robes. When she looked 
 upward she could see her face in great carved panels. 
 She was painted floating down a stream, and in all 
 manner of quaint and beautiful ways. Every one 
 acknowledged that the white chrysanthemum, with her 
 sixteen petals, made the most wonderful crest in all 
 Japan. 
 
 While Lady White's happy face lived for ever 
 designed upon the Daimyu's possessions, Lady Yellow 
 met with a sad fate. She had bloomed for herself 
 alone and drunk in the visitors' praise as eagerly as she 
 did the dew upon her finely curled petals. One day, 
 however, she felt a stiffness in her limbs and a cessation 
 of the exuberance of life. Her once proud head fell 
 forward, and when the old man found her he lifted her 
 up and threw her upon a rubbish heap. 
 
 " Chrysanthemum-Old-Man " ' 
 
 Kikuo (" Chrysanthemum-Old-Man ") was the faith- 
 ful retainer of Tsugaru. One day his lord's force was 
 overthrown, and the castle and fine estates were taken 
 away by the enemy ; but fortunately Tsugaru and Kikuo 
 were able to escape to the mountains. 
 
 Kikuo, knowing his master's love of flowers, especially 
 that of the chrysanthemum, resolved to cultivate this 
 flower to the best of his ability, and in so doing to 
 lessen a little of his master's remorse and humiliation 
 in exile. 
 
 His efforts pleased Tsugaru, but unfortunately that 
 lord soon fell sick and died, and the faithful Kikuo 
 wept over his master's grave. Then once more he 
 
 1 This story and those that follow ir> this chapter have been 
 adapted from Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan> by R. Gordon Smith. 
 
 165 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 returned to his work, and planted chrysanthemums about 
 his master's tomb till he had made a border thirty yards 
 broad, so that red, white, pink, yellow, and bronze 
 blossoms scented the air, to the wonder of all who 
 chanced to come that way. 
 
 When Kikuo was about eighty-two he caught cold 
 and was confined to his humble dwelling, where he 
 suffered considerable pain. 
 
 One autumn night, when he knew those beloved 
 flowers dedicated to his master were at their best, he 
 saw in the verandah a number of young children. 
 As he gazed upon them he realised that they were not 
 the children of this world. 
 
 Two of these little ones drew near to Kikuo, and 
 said : " We are the spirits of your chrysanthemums, 
 and have come to tell you how sorry we are to find you 
 ill. You have guarded and loved us with such care. 
 There was a man in China, Hozo by name, who lived 
 eight hundred years by drinking the dew from chry- 
 santhemum blossoms. Gladly would we lengthen out 
 your days, but, alas ! the Gods ordain otherwise. 
 Within thirty days you will die." 
 
 The old man expressed the wish that he might die in 
 peace, and the regret that he must needs leave behind 
 him all his chrysanthemums. 
 
 " Listen," said one of the ghostly children : " we have 
 all loved you, Kikuo, for what you have done for us. 
 When you die we shall die too." As soon as these words 
 were spoken a pufF of wind blew against the dwelling, 
 and the spirits departed. 
 
 Kikuo grew worse instead of better, and on the thir- 
 tieth day he passed away. When visitors came to see the 
 chrysanthemums he had planted, all had vanished. The 
 villagers buried the old man near his master, and, thinking 
 to please Kikuo, they planted chrysanthemums near his 
 166 
 
Shinge and Yoshisawa by the Violet Well. 166 
 
THE VIOLET WELL 
 
 grave ; but all died immediately they were put into the 
 ground. Only grasses grow over the tombs now. The 
 child-souls of the chrysanthemums chatter and sing and 
 play with the spirit of Kikuo. 
 
 The Violet Well 
 
 Shinge and her waiting-maids were picnicking in the 
 Valley of Shimizutani, that lies between the mountains 
 of Yoshino and Tsubosaka. Shinge, full of the joy of 
 spring, ran towards the Violet Well, where she discovered 
 great clumps of purple, sweet-scented violets. She was 
 about to pick the fragrant blossoms when a great snake 
 darted forth, and she immediately fainted. 
 
 When the maidens found her they saw that her lips 
 were purple, as purple as the violets that surrounded her, 
 and when they saw the snake, still lurking in the vicinity, 
 they feared that their mistress would die. Matsu, how- 
 ever, had sufficient presence of mind to throw her basket 
 of flowers at the snake, which at once crawled away. 
 
 Just at that moment a handsome youth appeared, and, 
 explaining to the maidens that he was a doctor, he gave 
 Matsu some medicine, in order that she might give it to 
 her mistress. 
 
 While Matsu forced the powder into Shinge's mouth 
 the doctor took up a stick, disappeared for a few moments, 
 and then returned with the dead snake in his hands. 
 
 By this time Shing had regained consciousness, and 
 asked the name of the physician to whom she was 
 indebted for saving her life. But he politely bowed, 
 evaded her question, and then took his departure. 
 Only Matsu knew that the name of her mistress's 
 rescuer was Yoshisawa. 
 
 When Shing had been taken to her home she grew 
 worse instead of better. All the cleverest doctors came to 
 her bedside, but could do nothing to restore her to health. 
 
 167 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Matsu knew that her mistress was gradually fading 
 away for love of the handsome man who had saved her 
 life, and she therefore talked the matter over with her 
 master, Zembei. Matsu told him the story, and said 
 that although Yoshisawa was of a low birth, belonging 
 to the Eta, the lowest caste in Japan, who live by 
 killing and skinning animals, yet nevertheless he was 
 extremely courteous and had the manner and bearing of 
 a samurai. " Nothing," said Matsu, " will restore your 
 daughter to health unless she marries this handsome 
 physician." 
 
 Both Zembei and his wife were dismayed at these 
 words, for Zembei was a great daimyV) and could not for 
 one moment tolerate the idea of his daughter marrying 
 one of the Eta class. However, he agreed to make 
 inquiries concerning Yoshisawa, and Matsu returned to 
 her mistress with something like good news. When 
 Matsu had told Shinge what her father was doing on her 
 oehalf she rallied considerably, and was able to take 
 food. 
 
 When Shinge was nearly well again Zembei called her 
 to him and said that he had made careful inquiries con- 
 cerning Yoshisawa, and could on no account agree to her 
 marrying him. 
 
 Shing6 wept bitterly, and brooded long over her 
 sorrow with a weary heart. The next morning she was 
 not to be found in the house or in the garden. Search 
 was made in every direction ; even Yoshisawa himself 
 sought her everywhere ; but those who sought her found 
 her not. She had mysteriously disappeared, burdened 
 with a sorrow that now made her father realise the effect 
 of his harsh decree. 
 
 After three days she was found lying at the bottom of 
 the Violet Well, and shortly after Yoshisawa, overcome 
 with grief, sought a similar end to his troubles. It is 
 168 
 
THE GHOST OF THE LOTUS LILY 
 
 said that on stormy nights the ghost of Shinge is to be 
 seen floating over the well, while near by comes the 
 sound of the weeping of Yoshisawa. 
 
 The Ghost of the Lotus Lily 
 
 " O Resurrection, Resurrection of World and Life ! 
 Lo, Sun ascend ! The lotus buds flash with hearts parted, 
 With one chant * Namu, Amida ! ' " 
 
 Tone Noguchi. 
 
 The lotus is the sacred flower of Buddhism. Because 
 it grows out of mud, rears its stalk through water, and 
 from such dark and slimy beginnings yields a lovely 
 flower, it has been compared with a virtuous man dwell- 
 ing in this wicked world. Sir Monier Williams writes : 
 " Its constant use as an emblem seems to result from 
 the wheel-like form of the flower, the petals taking the 
 place of spokes, and thus typifying the doctrine of 
 perpetual cycles of existence/' Buddha is frequently 
 portrayed as either standing or sitting upon a golden 
 lotus, and the flower reminds us of the Buddhist sutra y 
 known as the "Lotus of the Good Law." 
 
 Thus Lafcadio Hearn describes the lotus of Paradise : 
 " They are gardening, these charming beings ! they are 
 caressing the lotus buds, sprinkling their petals with 
 something celestial, helping them to blossom. And 
 what lotus-buds ! with colours not of this world. Some 
 have burst open ; and in their luminous hearts, in a 
 radiance like that of dawn, tiny naked infants are seated, 
 each with a tiny halo. These are Souls, new Buddhas, 
 hotoke born into bliss. Some are very, very small ; 
 others larger ; all seem to be growing visibly, for their 
 lovely nurses are feeding them with something ambrosial. 
 I see one which has left its lotus-cradle, being conducted 
 by a celestial Jizo toward the higher splendours far 
 away." 
 
 169 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 So much, then, for the celestial lotus and for its 
 intimate connection with Buddhism. In the following 
 legend we find this flower possessed with the magical 
 power of keeping away evil spirits. 
 
 A certain disease broke out in Kyoto from which 
 many thousands of people died. It spread to Idzumi, 
 where the Lord of Koriyama lived, and Koriyama, his 
 wife and child, were stricken down with the malady. 
 
 One day Tada Samon, a high official in Koriyama's 
 castle, received a visit from a yamabushi, or mountain 
 recluse. This man was full of concern for the illness of 
 the Lord Koriyama, and, addressing Samon, he said : " All 
 this trouble has come about through the entrance of 
 evil spirits in the castle. They have come because the 
 moats about the abode are dry and contain no lotus. If 
 these moats were at once planted with this sacred flower 
 the evil spirits would depart, and your lord, his wife 
 and child, grow well again." 
 
 Samon was much impressed by these wise words, and 
 permission was given for this recluse to plant lotus 
 about the castle. When he had accomplished his task 
 he mysteriously disappeared. 
 
 Within a week the Lord Koriyama, his wife and son, 
 were able to get up and resume their respective duties, 
 for by this time the walls had been repaired, the moats 
 filled with pure water, which reflected the nodding heads 
 of countless lotus. 
 
 Many years later, and after the Lord Koriyama had 
 died, a young samurai chanced to pass by the castle 
 moats. He was gazing admiringly at these flowers 
 when he suddenly saw two extremely handsome boys 
 playing on the edge of the water. He was about to 
 lead them to a safer place when they sprang into the 
 air and, falling, disappeared beneath the water. 
 
 The astonished samurai, believing that he had seen a 
 170 
 
THE SPIRIT OF THE PEONY 
 
 couple of kappas* or river goblins, made a hasty retreat 
 to the castle, and there reported his strange adventure. 
 When he had told his story the moats were dragged 
 and cleaned, but nothing could be found of the supposed 
 kappas. 
 
 A little later on another samurai^ Murata Ippai, saw 
 near the same lotus a number of beautiful little boys. 
 He drew his sword and cut them down, breathing in as 
 he did so the heavy perfume of this sacred flower with 
 every stroke of his weapon. When Ippai looked about 
 him to see how many of these strange beings he had 
 killed, there arose before him a cloud of many colours, 
 a cloud that fell upon his face with a fine spray. 
 
 As it was too dark to ascertain fully the extent and 
 nature of his onslaught, Ippai remained all night by the 
 spot. When he awoke in the morning he found to his 
 disgust that he had only struck off the heads of a 
 number of lotus. Knowing that this beneficent flower 
 had saved the life of the Lord Koriyama, and now pro- 
 tected that of his son, Ippai was filled with shame and 
 remorse. Saying a prayer by the water's edge, he com- 
 mitted hara-kiri. 
 
 The Spirit of the Peony 
 
 It had been arranged that the Princess Aya should 
 marry the second son of Lord Ako. The arrangements, 
 according to Japanese custom, had been made entirely 
 without the consent or approval of the actual parties 
 concerned. 
 
 One night Princess Aya walked through the great 
 garden of her home, accompanied by her waiting-maids. 
 The moon shone brightly upon her favourite peony bed 
 near a pond, and covered me sweet-scented blooms in a 
 
 1 Referred to elsewhere in the chapter dealing with Supernatural 
 Beings. 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 silver sheen. Here she lingered, and was stooping to 
 breathe the fragrance of these flowers when her foot 
 slipped, and she would have fallen had not a handsome 
 young man, clad in a robe of embroidered peonies, 
 rescued her just in time. He vanished as quickly and 
 mysteriously as he had come, before, indeed, she had 
 time to thank him. 
 
 It so happened that shortly after this event the 
 Princess Aya became very ill, and in consequence the 
 day for her marriage had to be postponed. All the 
 medical aid available was useless to restore the feverish 
 maiden to health again. 
 
 The Princess Aya's father asked his favourite 
 daughter's maid, Sadayo, if she could throw any 
 light upon this lamentable affair. 
 
 Sadayo, although hitherto bound to secrecy, felt that 
 the time had come when it was wise, indeed essential, to 
 communicate all she knew in the matter. She told her 
 master that the Princess Aya was deeply in love with 
 the young samurai wearing the robes embroidered with 
 peonies, adding that if he could not be found she feared 
 that her young mistress would die. 
 
 That night, while a celebrated player was performing 
 upon the biwa in the hope of entertaining the sick 
 Princess, there once more appeared behind the peonies 
 the same young man in the same silk robe. 
 
 The next night, too, while Yae and Yakumo were 
 playing on the flute and koto, the young man appeared 
 again. 
 
 The Princess Aya's father now resolved to get at the 
 root of the matter, and for this purpose he bade Maki 
 Hiogo dress in black and lie concealed in the peony bed 
 on the following night. 
 
 When the next night came Maki Hiogo lay hidden 
 among the peonies, while Yae and Yakumo made sweet 
 172 
 
THE SPIRIT OF THE PEONY 
 
 music. Not long after the music had sounded the 
 mysterious young samurai again appeared. Maki Hiogo 
 rose from his hiding-place with his arms tightly bound 
 round this strange visitor. A cloud seemed to emanate 
 from his captive. It made him dizzy, and he fell to the 
 ground still tightly holding the handsome samurai. 
 
 Just as a number of guards came hurrying to the spot 
 Maki Hiogo regained consciousness. He looked down 
 expecting to see his captive. But all that he held in his 
 arms was a large peony ! 
 
 By this time Princess Aya and her father joined the 
 astonished group, and the Lord Naizen-no-jo at once 
 grasped the situation. " I see now," said he, " that the 
 spirit of the peony flower had a moment ago, and on 
 former occasions, taken the form of a young and hand- 
 some samurai. My daughter, you must take this flower 
 and treat it with all kindness." 
 
 The Princess Aya needed to be told no more. She 
 returned to the house, placed the peony in a vase, and 
 stood it byi her bedside. Day by day she got better, 
 while the flower flourished exceedingly. 
 
 When the Princess Aya was quite well the Lord of 
 Ako arrived at the castle, bringing with him his second 
 son, whom she was to marry. In due time the wedding 
 took place, but at that hour the beautiful peony suddenly 
 died. 
 
CHAPTER XIII : TREES 
 
 " One day Kinto Fujiwara, Great Adviser of State, dis- 
 puted with the Minister of Uji which was the fairest of 
 spring and autumn flowers. Said the Minister : ' The 
 Cherry is surely best among the flowers of spring, the 
 Chrysanthemum among those of autumn.' Then Kinto 
 said, * How can the cherry-blossom be the best ? You 
 have forgotten the Plum.' Their dispute came at length 
 to be confined to the superiority of the Cherry and Plum, 
 and of other flowers little notice was taken. At length 
 Kinto, not wishing to offend the Minister, did not argue 
 so vehemently as before, but said, ' Well, have it so ; the 
 Cherry may be the prettier of the two ; but when once 
 you have seen the red plum-blossom in the snow at the 
 dawn of a spring morning, you will no longer forget its 
 beauty.' This truly was a gentle saying." 
 
 " The Garden of Japan" by SIR F. T. PIGGOTT. 
 
 Cherry and Plum 
 
 THE supreme floral glory of Japan takes place in 
 April with the coming of the cherry-blossom, and, 
 as we have seen in the above quotation, it is the 
 cherry and plum that are regarded with the most favour. 
 The poet MotoOri wrote: " If one should ask you con- 
 cerning the heart of a true Japanese, point to the wild 
 cherry flower glowing in the sun," and Lafcadio Hearn, 
 without the least exaggeration, but with true poetic in- 
 sight, has compared Japan 's cherry-blossom with a deli- 
 cate sunset that has, as it were, strayed from the sky 
 and lingered about the leafless branches. 
 
 The really great wonders of Nature, to those who are 
 sufficiently susceptible to the beautiful, are apt to leave 
 behind an indefinable yearning, a regret that so much 
 loveliness must needs pass away, and this gentle touch of 
 sorrow mingled with the ecstasy is easily discovered in 
 much of the Japanese poetry. It is a point worthy of 
 emphasis because it reveals a temperament charged with 
 '74 
 
THE CAMELLIA 
 
 a supreme love of the beautiful, this craving for a petal 
 that shall never wither, a colour that shall never fade. 
 Thus sang Korunushi : 
 
 " No man so callous but he heaves a sigh 
 When o'er his head the withered cherry flowers 
 Come fluttering down. Who knows ? the Spring's soft showers 
 May be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 One of the greatest tributes Japan has paid to the 
 cherry is as follows : " The cherry-trees in the far-away 
 mountain villages should keep back their blooms until 
 the flowers in the town have faded, for then the people 
 will go out to see them too." A Japanese woman's 
 beauty is frequently associated with the cherry-blossom, 
 while her virtue is compared with the flower of the 
 plum. 
 
 The Camellia 
 
 The Precious-Camellia of Yaegaki, with its double 
 trunk and immense head, is of great age, and is regarded 
 as so sacred that it is surrounded by a fence, and stone 
 lamps are placed about it. The tree's unique shape, 
 with the double trunk growing together in the middle, 
 has given rise to the belief that this extraordinary tree 
 symbolises a happy wedded life, and, moreover, that 
 good spirits inhabit it, ever ready to answer the ardent 
 prayers of lovers. 
 
 The camellia-tree is not always beneficent. A legend 
 is recorded of a tree of this species walking about at 
 night in a samurai s garden at Matsue. Its strange and 
 restless wanderings became so frequent that at last the 
 tree was cut down, and it is said that when it was struck 
 it shot forth a stream of blood. 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 
 The Cryptomeria 
 
 Another tree held in high veneration is the imposing 
 cryptomeria, and there is one avenue of these trees 
 stretching from Utsunomiya to Nikko, a distance of 
 twenty miles. One of these trees is seven feet in diameter, 
 and is said to have been planted "by a deputation 
 representing eight hundred Buddhist nuns of the pro- 
 vince of Wakasa." Later on in this chapter we give a 
 legend connected with this, particular tree. 
 
 A Pine-tree and the God of Roads 
 
 In the grounds of the great hakaba (cemetery) of the 
 Kwannondera is a pine-tree standing upon four great 
 roots that have the appearance of gigantic legs. About 
 this tree is a fence,i shrine, and a number of torn. Before 
 the shrine repose miniature horses made from srvaw. 
 These are offerings to Koshin, the God of Roads, en- 
 treaties that the real horses which they symbolise may be 
 preserved from death or sickness. The pine-tree, how- 
 ever, is not usually associated with Koshin. It may be 
 fittingly described as the most domestic of Japanese trees, 
 for it takes a conspicuous place in the New Year festival * 
 a tree to plant at the garden gate, because it is said to 
 bring good luck and, especially, happy marriages. 
 
 A Tree Spirit 
 
 As we shall see in the legends that follow, more than 
 one variety of Japanese trees is endowed with super- 
 natural power. There is a tree spirit known as 
 Ki-no-o-bake that is capable of walking about and 
 assuming various guises. The spirit of the tree speaks 
 but little, and if disturbed disappears into the trunk or 
 among the leaves. The spirit of the God Kojin 2 resides 
 
 1 See Chapter XVII. 2 See Chapter XVI. 
 
 176 
 
WILLOW WIFE 
 
 in the enoki tree, the God to whom very old dolls are 
 
 dedicated. 
 
 The Miraculous Chestnut 
 
 The Princess Hinako-Nai-Shinno begged that chest- 
 nuts should be brought to her ; but she took but one, 
 bit it, and threw it away. It took root, and upon all 
 the chestnuts thati it eventually bore there were the 
 marks of the Princess's small teeth. In honouring her 
 death the chestnut had expressed its devotion in this 
 strange way. 
 
 The Silent Pine 
 
 The Emperor Go-Toba, who strongly objected to the 
 croaking of frogs, was on one occasion disturbed by 
 a wind-blown pine-tree. When his Majesty loudly 
 commanded it to be still, the pine-tree never for a 
 moment moved again. So greatly impressed was this 
 obedient tree that the fiercest wind failed to stir its 
 branches, or even its myriad pine-needles. 
 
 Willow Wife 1 
 
 " I have heard of the magical incense that summons the souls of the 
 
 absent ; 
 
 Would I had some to burn, in the nights when I wait alone/' 
 
 From the "Japanese. 
 
 In a certain Japanese village there grew a great willow- 
 tree. For many generations the people loved it. In 
 the summer it was a resting-place, a place where the 
 villagers might meet after the work and heat of the day 
 were over, and there talk till the moonlight streamed 
 through the branches. In winter it was like a great 
 half-opened umbrella covered with sparkling snow. 
 
 1 This story and the one that follows have been adapted from 
 Ancient Tales and folk-lore of Japan, by R. Gordon Smith. 
 
 M 177 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Heitaro, a young farmer, lived quite near this tree, 
 and he, more than any of his companions, had entered 
 into a deep communion with the imposing willow. It 
 was almost the first object he saw upon waking, and 
 upon his return from work in the fields he looked out 
 eagerly for its familiar form. Sometimes he would 
 burn a joss-stick beneath its branches and kneel down 
 and pray. 
 
 One day an old man of the village came to Heitaro 
 and explained to him that the villagers were anxious to 
 build a bridge over the river, and that they particularly 
 wanted the great willow-tree for timber. 
 
 " For timber ? " said Heitaro, hiding his face in his 
 hands. " My dear willow-tree for a bridge, one to bear 
 the incessant patter of feet ? Never, never, old man ! " 
 
 When Heitaro had somewhat recovered himself, he 
 offered to give the old man some of his own trees, if 
 he and the villagers would accept them for timber and 
 spare the ancient willow. 
 
 The old man readily accepted this offer, and the 
 willow-tree continued to stand in the village as it had 
 stood for so many years. 
 
 One night while Heitaro sat under the great willow 
 he suddenly saw a beautiful woman standing close beside 
 him, looking at him shyly, as if wanting to speak. 
 
 " Honourable lady," said he, " I will go home. I 
 see you wait for some one. Heitaro is not without 
 kindness towards those who love." 
 
 :c He will not come now," said the woman, smiling. 
 
 " Can he have grown cold ? Oh, how terrible when 
 a mock love comes and leaves ashes and a grave 
 behind ! " 
 
 " He has not grown cold, dear lord." 
 
 " And yet he does not come ! What strange mystery 
 is this ? " 
 178 
 
WILLOW WIFE 
 
 " He has come ! His heart has been always here, 
 here under this willow-tree." And with a radiant smile 
 the woman disappeared. 
 
 Night after night they met under the old willow- 
 tree. The woman's shyness had entirely disappeared, 
 and it seemed that she could not hear too much from 
 Heitaro's lips in praise of the willow under which they 
 sat. 
 
 One night he said to her : " Little one, will you be my 
 wife you who seem to come from the very tree itself ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the woman. " Call me Higo (" Willow ' ') 
 and ask no questions, for love of me. J have no father 
 or mother, and some day you will understand." 
 
 Heitaro and Higo were married, and in due time they 
 were blessed with a child, whom they called Chiyodo. 
 Simple was their dwelling, but those it contained were 
 the happiest people in all Japan. 
 
 While this happy couple went about their respective 
 duties great news came to the village. The villagers 
 were full of it, and it was not long before it reached 
 Heitaro's ears. The ex-Emperor Toba wished to build 
 a temple to Kwannon l in Kyoto, and those in authority 
 sent far and wide for timber. The villagers said that 
 they must contribute towards building the sacred edifice 
 by presenting their great willow-tree. All Heitaro's 
 argument and persuasion and promise of other trees 
 were ineffectual, for neither he nor any one else could 
 give as large and handsome a tree as the great willow. 
 
 Heitaro went home and told his wife. " Oh, wife," 
 said he, " they are about to cut down our dear willow- 
 tree ! Before I married you I could not have borne it. 
 Having you, little one, perhaps I shall get over it some 
 day." 
 
 That night Heitaro was aroused by hearing a piercing 
 
 i See Chapter XV. 
 
 179 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 cry. " Heitaro," said his wife, " it grows dark ! The 
 room is full of whispers. Are you there, Heitaro ? Hark ! 
 They are cutting down the willow-tree. Look how its 
 shadow trembles in the moonlight. I am the soul of the 
 willow-tree ! The villagers are killing me. Oh, how 
 they cut and tear me to pieces ! Dear Heitaro, the 
 pain, the pain ! Put your hands here, and here. Surely 
 the blows cannot fall now ? " 
 
 " My Willow Wife ! My Willow Wife ! " sobbed 
 Heitaro. 
 
 "Husband," said Higo, very faintly, pressing her 
 wet, agonised face close to his, " I am going now. 
 Such a love as ours cannot be cut down, however fierce 
 
 the blows. I shall wait for you and Chiyodo My hair 
 
 is falling through the sky ! My body is breaking ! " 
 
 There was a loud crash outside. The great willow- 
 tree lay green and dishevelled upon the ground. 
 Heitaro looked round for her he loved more than any- 
 thing else in the world. Willow Wife had gone ! 
 
 The Tree of the One-eyed Priest 
 
 In ancient days there stood on the summit of Oki- 
 yama a temple dedicated to Fudo, a god surrounded 
 by fire, with sword in one hand and rope in the other. 
 For twenty years Yenoki had performed his office, and 
 one of his duties was to guard Fudo, who sat in a shrine, 
 only accessible to the high-priest himself. During the 
 whole of this period Yenoki had rendered faithful 
 service and resisted the temptation to take a peep at 
 this extremely ugly god. One morning, finding that 
 the door of the shrine was not quite closed, his curiosity 
 overcame him and he peeped within. No sooner had 
 he done so than he became stone-blind in one eye and 
 suffered the humiliation of being turned into a 
 
 1 A long-nosed creature referred to elsewhere. 
 180 
 
THE TREE OF THE ONE-EYED PRIEST 
 
 He lived for a year after these deplorable happen- 
 ings, and then died. His spirit passed into a great 
 cryptomeria-tree standing on the east side of the moun- 
 tain, and from that day Yenoki's spirit was invoked by 
 sailors who were harassed by storms on the Chinese 
 Sea. If a light blazed from the tree in answer to their 
 prayers, it was a sure sign that the storm would abate. 
 
 At the foot of Oki-yama there was a village, where, 
 sad to relate, the young people were very lax in their 
 morals. During the Festival of the Dead they per- 
 formed a dance known as the Bon Odori. These 
 dances were very wild affairs indeed, and were accom- 
 panied by flirtations of a violent and wicked nature. 
 The dances became more unrestrained as years went by, 
 and the village got a bad name for immoral practices 
 among the young people. 
 
 After a particularly wild celebration of the Bon a 
 young maiden named Kimi set out to find her lover, 
 Kurosuke. Instead of finding him she saw an ex- 
 tremely good-looking youth, who smiled upon her and 
 continually beckoned. Kimi forgot all about Kurosuke ; 
 indeed, from that moment she hated him and eagerly 
 followed the enticing youth. Nine fair but wicked 
 maidens disappeared from the village in a similar way, 
 and always it was the same youth who lured them 
 astray in this mysterious manner. 
 
 The elders of the village consulted together, and 
 came to the conclusion that the spirit of Yenoki was 
 angry with the excesses connected with the Bon festival, 
 and had assumed the form of a handsome youth for 
 the purpose of administering severe admonition. The 
 Lord of Kishiwada accordingly summoned Sonob6 to 
 his presence, and bade him journey to the great crypto- 
 meria-tree on Oki-yama. 
 
 When Sonobe reached his destination he thus 
 
 181 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 addressed the ancient tree : "Oh, home of Yenoki's 
 spirit, I upbraid you for carrying away our daughters. 
 If this continues I shall cut down the tree, so that you 
 will be compelled to seek lodging elsewhere." 
 
 Sonob had no sooner spoken than rain began to fall, 
 and he heard the rumblings of a mighty earthquake. 
 Then from out of the tree Yenoki's spirit suddenly 
 appeared. He explained that many of the young people 
 of Sonobe's village had offended against the Gods by 
 their misconduct, and that he had, as conjectured, 
 assumed the form of a handsome youth in order to take 
 away the principal offenders. " You will find them," 
 added the spirit of Yenoki, "bound to trees on the 
 second summit of this mountain. Go, release them, 
 and allow them to return to the village. They have 
 not only repented of their follies, but will now persuade 
 others to live nobler and purer lives." And with these 
 words Yenoki disappeared into his tree. 
 
 Sonobe set off to the second summit and released the 
 maidens. They returned to their homes, good and 
 dutiful daughters, and from that day to this the Gods 
 have been well satisfied with the general behaviour of 
 the village that nestles at the foot of Oki-yama. 
 
 The Burning of Three Dwarf Trees 
 
 In the reign of the Emperor Go-Fukakusa there lived 
 a celebrated Regent, Saimyoji Tokiyori. When thirty 
 years of age this Regent retired to a monastery for 
 several years, and not infrequently his peace of mind 
 was sadly disturbed by stories of peasants who suffered 
 at the hands of tyrannical officials. Now Tokiyori 
 loved above everything the welfare of his people, and 
 after giving the matter careful consideration he deter- 
 mined to disguise himself, travel from place to place, 
 and discover in an intimate way the heart of the poorer 
 182 
 
THE BURNING OF THREE DWARF TREES 
 
 people, and later on to do all in his power to suppress 
 malpractice on the part of various officials. 
 
 Tokiyori accordingly set out upon his excellent 
 mission, and finally came to Sano, in the province of 
 Kozuki. Now it was the time of winter, and a heavy 
 snowstorm caused the royal wanderer to lose his way. 
 After wearily tramping about for several hours in the 
 hope of finding shelter, he was about to make the best 
 of the matter by sleeping under a tree when, to his joy, 
 he noticed a small thatched cottage nestling under a 
 hill at no great distance. To this cottage he went, 
 and explained to the woman who greeted him that he 
 had lost his way and would be much indebted to her 
 if she would afford him shelter for the night. The 
 good woman explained that as her husband was away 
 from home, it would be disloyal as his wife to give 
 shelter to a stranger. Tokiyori not only took this reply 
 in good part, but he greatly rejoiced, in spite of a night 
 in the snow, to find such a virtuous woman. But he 
 had not gone far from the cottage when he heard a man 
 calling to him. Tokiyori stood still, and presently he 
 saw some one beckoning him. The man explained that 
 he was the husband of the woman the ex-Regent had 
 just left, and cordially invited one whom he took to be 
 a wandering priest to return with him and accept such 
 humble hospitality as was available. 
 
 When Tokiyori was sitting in the little cottage 
 simple fare was spread before him, and as he had eaten 
 nothing since the morning he did full justice to the 
 meal. But the fact that millet and not rice was provided 
 clearly conveyed to the observant Tokiyori that here 
 was poverty indeed, but with it all a generosity that 
 went straight to his heart. Nor was this all, for, the 
 meal finished, they gathered round the fire that was fast 
 dying out for want of fuel. The good man of the house 
 
 183 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 turned to the fuel-box. Alas ! it was empty. Without 
 a moment's hesitation he went out into the garden, 
 heavily covered with snow, and brought back with him 
 three pots of dwarf trees, pine, plum, and cherry. Now 
 in Japan dwarf trees are held in high esteem ; much time 
 and care is bestowed upon them, and their age and 
 unique beauty have made them dear to the people of 
 Nippon. In spite of Tokiyori's remonstrance his host 
 broke up these little trees, and thus made a cheerful blaze. 
 
 It was this incident, scarcely to be fully appreciated 
 by a Westerner, that caused Tokiyori to question his 
 host, whose very possession of these valuable trees 
 strongly suggested that this generous man was not a 
 farmer by birth, but had taken to this calling by force of 
 circumstance. The ex-Regent's conjecture proved to 
 be correct, and his host, with some reluctance, finally 
 explained that he was a samurai by the name of Sano 
 Genzalmon Tsuneyo. He had been forced to take up 
 farming owing to the dishonesty of one of his relatives. 
 
 Tokiyori readily recalled the name of this samurai 
 before him, and suggested that he should make an 
 appeal for redress. Sano explained that as the good 
 and just Regent had died (so he thought), and as his 
 successor was very young, he considered it was worse 
 than useless to present a petition. But, nevertheless, 
 he went on to explain to his interested listener that 
 should there come a call to arms he would be the first 
 to make an appearance at Kamakura. It was this 
 thought of some day being of use to his country that 
 had sweetened the days of his poverty. 
 
 The conversation, so rapidly suggested in this story, 
 was in reality a lengthy one, and by the time it was con- 
 cluded already a new day had begun. And when the 
 storm-doors had been opened it was to reveal sunlight 
 streaming over a world of snow. Before taking his 
 184 
 
THE BURNING OF THREE DWARF TREES 
 
 departure Tokiyori warmly thanked his host and hostess 
 for their hospitality. When this kindly visitor had gone 
 Sano suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to 
 inquire the name of his guest. 
 
 Now it happened that in the following spring a call 
 to arms was instituted by the Government at Kamakura. 
 No sooner had Sano heard the joyful news than he set 
 out to obey the summons. His armour was shabby in 
 the extreme, his halberd covered with rust, and his 
 horse was in a very poor condition. He presented a 
 sorry fig\ire among the resplendent knights he found in 
 Kamakura. Many of these knights made uncompli- 
 mentary remarks concerning him, but Sano bore this 
 insolence without a word. While he stood, a forlorn 
 figure, among the sparkling ranks of samurai about him, 
 a herald approached riding on a magnificent horse, and 
 carrying a banner bearing the house-crest of the Regent. 
 With a loud, clear voice he bade the knight wearing the 
 shabbiest armour to appear before his master. Sano 
 obeyed the summons with a heavy heart. He thought 
 that the Regent was about to rebuke him for appearing 
 in such a gaily decked company clad in such miserable 
 accoutrements. 
 
 This humble knight was surprised by the cordial 
 welcome he received, and still more surprised when a 
 servant pushed aside the screens of an adjoining room 
 and revealed the Regent Saimyoji Tokiyori, who was 
 none other than the priest who had taken shelter in his 
 little home. Nor had Tokiyori forgotten the burning 
 of the dwarf pine, plum, and cherry-trees. Out of that 
 sacrifice, readily given without a thought of gain, came 
 the thirty villages of which Sano had been robbed. This 
 was only Sano's due, and in addition the grateful 
 Tokiyori had the happy idea of presenting this faithful 
 knight with the village of Matsu-idu, Umeda, and 
 
 185 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Sakurai, matsu, ume y and sakura being the Japanese names 
 for pine, plum, and cherry. 
 
 The Pine-tree Lovers 
 
 " The dawn is near, 
 And the hoar-frost falls 
 On the fir-tree twigs ; 
 But its leaves' dark green 
 Suffer no change. 
 Morning and evening 
 Beneath its shade 
 The leaves are swept away, 
 Yet they never fail. 
 True it is 
 That these fir-trees 
 Shed not all their leaves ; 
 Their verdure remains fresh 
 For ages long, 
 
 As the Masaka trailing vine ; 
 Even amongst evergreen trees 
 The emblem of unchangeableness 
 Exalted is their fame 
 As a symbol to the end of time 
 The fame of the fir-trees that have grown 
 old together." 
 
 " Takasago." (Trans, by W. G. ASTON.) 
 
 The Takasago is generally considered one of the finest 
 of the No y or classical dramas. The No was performed 
 by statuesque players who chanted in an ancient dialect. 
 It belonged to that period of Japanese formality fittingly 
 described as " Heav'n to hear tell about, but Hell to 
 see." The theme of the Takasago seems to be a relic of a 
 phallic cult common enough in the history of primitive 
 nations. The pine-tree of Takasago symbolises longe- 
 vity, and in the following chorus from this drama we 
 may gather the potency of this evergreen tree : 
 
 " And now, world without end, 
 
 The extended ajras of the dancing maidens 
 186 
 
THE PINE-TREE LOVERS 
 
 In sacerdotal robes 
 
 Will expel noxious influences; 
 
 Their hands folded to rest in their bosoms 
 
 Will embrace all good fortune ; 
 
 The hymn of a thousand autumns 
 
 Will draw down blessings on the people, 
 
 And the song of ten thousand years 
 
 Prolong our sovereign's life. 
 
 And all the while 
 
 The voice of the breeze, 
 
 As it blows through the firs 
 
 That grow old together, 
 
 Will yield us delight." 
 
 The efficacy of the pine-tree is still believed in to this 
 day. It is conspicuous in the festival of the San-ga-nichi, 
 when pine branches decorate the gateways during the 
 New Year festivities. Both this use of the pine-tree and 
 that of this particular Nv drama owe their origin to the 
 great pine-tree of Takasago, about which we narrate the 
 following legend. 
 
 In ancient days there lived at Takasago a fisherman, 
 his wife, and little daughter Matsue. There was 
 nothing that Matsue loved to do more than to sit 
 under the great pine-tree. She was particularly fond of 
 the pine-needles that never seemed tired of falling to 
 the ground. With these she fashioned a beautiful dress 
 and sash, saying : " I will not wear these pine-clothes 
 until my wedding-day." 
 
 One day, while Matsue was sitting under the pine- 
 tree, she sang the following song : 
 
 " No man so callous but he heaves a sigh 
 When o'er his head the withered cherry flowers 
 Come fluttering down. Who knows ? the Spring's soft showers 
 May be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky." 
 
 While she thus sang Teoyo stood on the steep shore 
 of Sumiyoshi watching the flight of a heron. Up, up 
 
 187 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 it went into the blue sky, and Teoyo saw it fly over the 
 village where the fisherfolk and their daughter lived. 
 
 Now Teoyo was a youth who dearly loved adventure, 
 and he thought it would be very delightful to swim 
 across the sea and discover the land over which the 
 heron had flown. So one morning he dived into the 
 sea and swam so hard and so long that the poor fellow 
 found the waves spinning and dancing, and saw the 
 great sky bend down and try to touch him. Then he 
 lay unconscious on the water ; but the waves were kind 
 to him after all, for they pressed him on and on till he 
 was washed up at the very place where Matsue sat 
 under the pine-tree. 
 
 Matsue carefully dragged Teoyo underneath the 
 sheltering branches, and then set him down upon a 
 couch of pine-needles, where he soon regained conscious- 
 ness, and warmly thanked Matsue for her kindness. 
 
 Teoyo did not go back to his own country, for after 
 a few happy months had gone by he married Matsue, 
 and on her wedding morn she wore her dress and sash 
 of pine-needles. 
 
 When Matsue's parents died her loss only seemed 
 to make her love Teoyo the more. The older they 
 grew the more they loved each other. Every night, 
 when the moon shone, they went hand in hand to the 
 pine-tree, and with their little rakes they made a couch 
 for the morrow. 
 
 One night the great silver face of the moon peered 
 through the branches of the pine-tree and looked in 
 vain for the old lovers sitting together on a couch of 
 pine-needles. Their little rakes lay side by side, and 
 still the moon waited for the slow and stumbling steps 
 of the Pine-Tree Lovers. But that night they did not 
 come. They had gone home to an everlasting resting- 
 place on the River of Souls. They had loved so well 
 1 88 
 
THE PINE-TREE LOVERS 
 
 and so splendidly, in old age as well as in youth, 
 that the Gods allowed their souls to come back again 
 and wander round the pine-tree that had listened to 
 their love for so many years. When the moon is full 
 they whisper and laugh and sing and draw the pine- 
 needles together, while the sea sings softly upon the 
 shore. 
 
 
 189 
 
CHAPTER XIV : MIRRORS 
 
 " As the sword is the soul of a samurai, so is the mirror 
 the soul of a woman." 
 
 " When the mirror is dim the soul is unclean." 
 
 Japanese Proverbs. 
 
 The Significance of Japanese Mirrors 
 
 OLD Japanese metal mirrors are circular, the 
 surface convex, and the back adorned with 
 elaborate designs in relief of flowers, birds, and 
 other scenes from Nature. Professor B. H. Chamber- 
 lain writes : " An extraordinary peculiarity characterises 
 some of these Japanese mirrors : sunlight reflected from 
 their face displays a luminous image i of the design on 
 their back ! So strange a phenomenon has naturally 
 attracted the attention of men of science. After much 
 speculation, it has been clearly proved by Professors 
 Ayrton and Perry to arise from the fact that the curva- 
 ture of the face of the mirror over the plain part of 
 the back is greater than over the design." It is the 
 phenomenon rather than the possible explanation of it 
 that interests us, and no doubt this strange occurrence 
 accounts in some measure for the magical significance 
 of Nipponese mirrors. 
 
 The great legendary idea underlying Japanese mirrors 
 is just this, that the mirror, through constant reflection 
 of its owner's face, draws to itself the very soul of its 
 possessor, and, as we shall see later on, something of 
 the same idea is to be traced in regard to old but much- 
 loved Japanese dolls. 
 
 Hidari Jingoro 
 
 The famous sculptor Hidari JingorO on one occasion 
 happened to fall in love with a very attractive woman 
 whom he met in the street on his return to his studio. He 
 190 
 
THE SOUL OF A MIRROR 
 
 was so fascinated by her rare beauty that as soon as he had 
 reached his destination he commenced to carve a statue 
 of her. Between the chiselled robes he placed a mirror, 
 the mirror which the lovely woman had dropped, and 
 which her eager lover had at once picked up. Because 
 this mirror had reflected a thousand thousand times 
 that fair face, it had taken to its shining surface the very 
 body and soul of its owner, and because of these strange 
 things the statue came to life, to the extreme happiness 
 of sculptor and maid. 
 
 The Divine Mirror 
 
 Long before the Japanese mirror was a familiar object 
 in the house it had a very deep religious significance in 
 connection with Shintoism. The Divine Mirror into 
 which the Sun Goddess gazed reposes at Ise. Other 
 mirrors are to be found in Shinto shrines ; indeed, 
 these mirrors are the essential part of a shrine remarkable 
 for its simplicity. The mirror "typifies the human 
 heart, which, when perfectly placid and clear, reflects 
 the very image of the deity." In the Kojiki we are told 
 that Izanagi presented his children with a polished silver 
 disc, and bade them kneel before it every morning and 
 evening and examine their reflections. He told them 
 to think of heavenly things, to stifle passion and all evil 
 thought, so that the disc should reveal a pure and 
 lovely soul; 
 
 The Soul of a Mirror 
 
 The shrine of Ogawachi-Myojin fell into decay, and 
 the Shinto priest in charge, Matsumura, journeyed to 
 Kyoto in the hope of successfully appealing to the 
 ShOgun for a grant for the restoration of the temple. 
 
 Matsumura and his family resided in a house in 
 Kyoto, said to be extremely unlucky, and many tenants 
 
 191 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 had thrown themselves into the well on the north-east 
 side of the dwelling. But Matsumura took no notice 
 of these tales, and was not the least afraid of evil 
 spirits. 
 
 During the summer of that year there was a great 
 drought in Kyoto. Though the river-beds dried up 
 and many wells failed for want of rain, the well in 
 Matsumura's garden was full to overflowing. The 
 distress elsewhere, owing to want of water, forced many 
 poor people to beg for it, and for all their drawing the 
 water in this particular well did not diminish. 
 
 One day, however, a dead body was found lying in 
 the well, that of a servant who had come to fetch 
 water. In his case suicide was out of the question, and 
 it seemed impossible that he should have accidentally 
 fallen in. When Matsumura heard of the fatality he went 
 to inspect the well. To his surprise the water stirred 
 with a strange rocking movement. When the motion 
 lessened he saw reflected in the clear water the form 
 of a fair young woman. She was touching her lips 
 with bent. At length she smiled upon him. It was a 
 strange smile that made Matsumura feel dizzy, a smile 
 that blotted out everything else save the beautiful 
 woman's face. He felt an almost irresistible desire to 
 fling himself into the water in order that he might reach 
 and hold this enchanting woman. He struggled against 
 this strange feeling, however, and was able after a while 
 to enter the house, where he gave orders that a fence 
 should be built round the well, and that from thence- 
 forth no one, on any pretext whatever, should draw 
 water there. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the drought came to an end. For 
 three days and nights there was a continuous downpour 
 of rain, and the city shook with an earthquake. On 
 the third night of the storm there was a loud knocking 
 192 
 
THE SOUL OF A MIRROR 
 
 at Matsumura' s door. The priest himself inquired 
 who his visitor might be. He half opened the door, 
 and saw once more the woman he had seen in 
 the well. He refused her admission, and asked why 
 she had been guilty of taking the lives of so many 
 harmless and innocent people. 
 
 Thus the woman made answer : " Alas ! good priest, 
 T have never desired to lure human beings to their 
 death. It is the Poison Dragon, who lived in that 
 well, who forced me against my will to entice people to 
 death. But now the Gods have compelled the Poison 
 Dragon to live elsewhere, so that to-night I was able 
 to leave my place of captivity. Now there is but little 
 water in the well, and if you will search there you will 
 find my body. Take care of it for me, and 1 shall not 
 fail to reward your goodness." With these words she 
 vanished as suddenly as she had appeared. 
 
 Next day well-cleaners searched the well, and discovered 
 some ancient hair ornaments and an old metal mirror. 
 
 Matsumura, being a wise man, took the mirror and 
 cleaned it, believing that it might reveal a solution to 
 the mystery. 
 
 Upon the back of the mirror he discovered several 
 characters. Many of the ideographs were too blurred to 
 be legible, but he managed to make out " third month, 
 the third day." In ancient time the third month used 
 to be called Tayoi, or Month of Increase, and re- 
 membering that the woman had called herself Yayoi, 
 Matsumura realised that he had probably received a 
 visit from the Soul of the Mirror. 
 
 Matsumura took every care of the mirror. He 
 ordered it to be resilvered and polished, and when this 
 had been done he laid it in a box specially made for it, 
 and mirror and box were placed in a particular room in 
 the house. 
 
 N 193 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 One day, when Matsumura was sitting in the apart- 
 ment where the mirror reposed, he once more saw Yayoi 
 standing before him, looking more beautiful than ever, 
 and the refulgence of her beauty was like summer 
 moonlight. After she had saluted Matsumura she 
 explained that she was indeed the Soul of the Mirror, 
 and narrated how she had fallen into the possession of 
 Lady Kamo, of the Imperial Court, and how she had 
 become an heirloom of the Fujiwara House, until 
 during the period of Hogen, when the Taira and 
 Minamoto clans were engaged in conflict, she was 
 thrown into a well, and there forgotten. Having 
 narrated these things, and all the horrors she had gone 
 through under the tyranny of the Poison Dragon, 
 Yayoi begged that Matsumura would present the 
 mirror to the Shogun, the Lord Yoshimasa, who was 
 a descendant of her former possessors, promising the 
 priest considerable good fortune if he did so. Before 
 Yayoi departed she advised Matsumura to leave his 
 home immediately, as it was about to be washed away 
 by a great storm. 
 
 On the following day Matsumura left the house, and, 
 as Yayoi had prophesied, almost immediately afterwards 
 his late dwelling was swept away. 
 
 At length Matsumura was able to present the mirror 
 to the Shogun Yoshimasa, together with a written 
 account of its strange history. The Shogun was so 
 pleased with the gift that he not only gave Matsumura 
 many personal presents, but he also presented the 
 priest with a considerable sum of money for the re- 
 building of his temple. 
 
 A Mirror and a Bell 
 
 When the priests of Mugenyama required a large bell 
 for their temple they asked the women in the vicinity 
 194 
 
A MIRROR AND A BELL 
 
 to contribute their old bronze mirrors for the purpose 
 of providing the necessary metal. 
 
 Hundreds of mirrors were given for this purpose, 
 and all were offered gladly, except the mirror presented 
 by a certain farmer's wife. As soon as she had given 
 her mirror to the priests she began to regret having 
 parted with it. She remembered how old it was, how 
 it had reflected her mother's laughter and tears, and 
 even her great-grandmother's. Whenever this farmer's 
 wife went to the temple she saw her coveted mirror 
 lying in a great heap behind a railing. She recognised 
 it by the design on the back known as the Shv-Chiku- 
 Bai) or the three emblems of the Pine, Bamboo, and 
 Plum-flower. She yearned to stretch forth her arm 
 between the railings and to snatch back her beloved 
 mirror. Her soul was in the shining surface, and it 
 mingled with the .souls of those who had gazed into it 
 before she was born. 
 
 When the Mugenyama bell was in course of construc- 
 tion the bell-founders discovered that one mirror would 
 not melt. The workers said that it refused to melt 
 because the owner had afterwards regretted the gift, 
 which had made the metal hard, as hard as the woman's 
 selfish heart. 
 
 Soon every one knew the identity of the giver of the 
 mirror that would not melt, and, angry and ashamed, 
 the farmer's wife drowned herself, first having written 
 the following : " When I am dead you will be able to 
 melt my mirror, and so cast the bell. My soul will 
 come to him who breaks that bell by ringing it, and I 
 will give him great wealth." 
 
 When the woman died her old mirror melted imme- 
 diately, and the bell was cast and was suspended in its 
 customary place. Many people having heard of the 
 message written by the deceased farmer's wife, a great 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 multitude came to the temple, and one by one rang the 
 bell with the utmost violence in the hope of breaking 
 it and winning great wealth. Day after day the ringing 
 continued, till at last the noise became so unbearable 
 that the priests rolled the bell into a swamp, where it 
 lay hidden from sight. 
 
 The Mirror of Matsuyama 
 
 In ancient days there lived in a remote part of Japan 
 a man and his wife, and they were blessed with a little 
 girl, who was the pet and idol of her parents. On one 
 occasion the man was called away on business in distant 
 Kyoto. Before he went he told his daughter that if she 
 were good and dutiful to her mother he would bring her 
 back a present she would prize very highly. Then the 
 good man took his departure, mother and daughter 
 watching him go. 
 
 At last he returned to his home, and after his wife 
 and child had taken off his large hat and sandals he sat 
 down upon the white mats and opened a bamboo basket, 
 watching the eager gaze of his little child. He took 
 out a wonderful doll and a lacquer box of cakes and put 
 them into her outstretched hands. Once more he dived 
 into his basket, and presented his wife with a metal 
 mirror. Its convex surface shone brightly, while upon 
 its back there was a design of pine-trees and storks. 
 
 The good man's wife had never seen a mirror before, 
 and on gazing into it she was under the impression that 
 another woman looked out upon her as she gazed with 
 growing wonder. Her husband explained the mystery 
 and bade her take great care of the mirror. 
 
 Not long after this happy home-coming and distri- 
 bution of presents the woman became very ill. Just 
 before she died she called to her little daughter, and 
 said : " Dear child, when I am dead take every care of 
 196 
 
THE MIRROR OF MATSUYAMA 
 
 your father. You will miss me when I have left you. 
 But take this mirror, and when you feel most lonely 
 look into it and you will always see me." Having said 
 these words she passed away. 
 
 In due time the man married again, and his wife was 
 not at all kind to her stepdaughter. But the little one, 
 remembering her mother's last words, would retire to a 
 corner and eagerly look into the mirror, where it seemed 
 to her that she saw her dear mother's face, not drawn 
 in pain as she had seen it on her death-bed, but young 
 and beautiful. 
 
 One day this child's stepmother chanced to see her 
 crouching in a corner over an object she could not quite 
 see, murmuring to herself. This ignorant woman, who 
 detested the child and believed that her stepdaughter 
 detested her in return, fancied that this little one was 
 performing some strange magical art perhaps making 
 an image and sticking pins into it. Full of these 
 notions, the stepmother went to her husband and told 
 him that his wicked child was doing her best to kill her 
 by witchcraft. 
 
 When the master of the house had listened to this 
 extraordinary recital he went straight to his daughter's 
 room. He took her by surprise, and immediately the 
 girl saw him she slipped the mirror into her sleeve. 
 For the first time her doting father grew angry, and he 
 feared that there was, after all, truth in what his wife 
 had told him, and he repeated her tale forthwith. 
 
 When his daughter had heard this unjust accusation 
 she was amazed at her father's words, and she told him 
 that she loved him far too well ever to attempt or wish 
 to kill his wife, who she knew was dear to him. 
 
 "What have vou hidden in your sleeve?" said her 
 father, only hair convinced and still much puzzled. 
 
 " The mirror you gave my mother, and which she on 
 
 197 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 her death-bed gave to me. Every time I look into its 
 shining surface I see the face of my dear mother, young 
 and beautiful. When my heart aches and oh ! it has 
 ached so much lately I take outthe mirror, and mother's 
 face, with sweet, kind smile, brings me peace, and helps 
 me to bear hard words and cross looks." 
 
 Then the man understood and loved his child the 
 more for her filial piety. Even the girl's stepmother, 
 when she knew what had really taken place, was ashamed 
 and asked forgiveness. And this child, who believed 
 she had seen her mother's face in the mirror, forgave, 
 and trouble for ever departed from the home. 
 
CHAPTER XV:KWANNON AND BENTEN. 
 DAIKOKU, EBISU, AND HOTEI 
 
 " Adoration to the great merciful Kwannon, who looketh 
 down above the sound of prayer." 
 
 An Inscription. 
 
 Kwannon 
 
 KWANNON, the Goddess of Mercy, resembles 
 in many ways the no less merciful and gentle 
 JizO, for both renounced the joy of Nirvana 
 that they might bring peace and happiness to others. 
 Kwannon, however, is a much more complex divinity 
 than JizO, and though she is most frequently portrayed 
 as a very beautiful and saintly Japanese woman, she 
 nevertheless assumes a multitude of forms. We are 
 familiar with certain Indian gods and goddesses with 
 innumerable hands, and Kwannon is sometimes depicted 
 as Senjiu- Kwannon, or Kwannon -of- the -Thousand- 
 Hands. 1 Each hand holds an object of some kind, as 
 if to suggest that here indeed was a goddess ready in 
 her love to give and to answer prayer to the uttermost. 
 Then there is Jiu-ichi-men-Kwannon, the Kwannon- 
 of-the-Eleven-Faces. The face of Kwannon is here 
 represented as " smiling with eternal youth and infinite 
 tenderness," and in her glowing presence the ideal of 
 the divine feminine is presented with infinite beauty of 
 conception. In the tiara of Jiu-ichi-men-Kwannon are 
 exquisite faces, a radiation, as it were, of miniature 
 Kwannons. Sometimes the tiara of Kwannon takes 
 another form, as in BatO-Kwannon, or Kwannon-with- 
 the-Horse's-Head. The title is a little misleading, for 
 such a graceful creature is very far from possessing a 
 
 1 The title is not accurate, for in reality this form of Kwannon 
 possesses only forty hands. No doubt the name is intended to 
 suggest munificence on the part of this Goddess. 
 
 I 99 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 horse's head in any of her manifestations. Images of 
 this particular Kwannon depict a horse cut out in the 
 tiara. BatO-Kwannon is the Goddess to whom peasants 
 pray for the safety and preservation of their horses and 
 cattle, and BatO-Kwannon is not only said to protect 
 dumb animals, particularly those who labour for man- 
 kind, but she extends her power to protecting their 
 spirits and bringing them ease and a happier life than 
 they experienced while on earth. In sharp contrast with 
 the Kwannons we have already described is Hito-koto- 
 Kwannon, the Kwannon who will only answer one 
 prayer. The Gods of Love and Wisdom are frequently 
 represented in conjunction with this Goddess, and the 
 " Twenty-eight Followers " are personifications of certain 
 constellations. But in all the variations of Kwannon she 
 preserves the same virgin beauty, and this Goddess of 
 Mercy has not inappropriately been called the Japanese 
 Madonna. 
 
 Kwannon in Chinese Myth 
 
 In China Kwannon is known as Kwanjin, and is the 
 spiritual son of Amit&bha, but this divinity always 
 appears as a goddess, as her images in both China and 
 Japan testify. The Chinese claim that Kwanjin is of 
 native origin, and was originally the daughter of the 
 King of the Chow dynasty. She was sentenced to death 
 by her father because she refused to marry, but the 
 executioner's sword broke without inflicting a wound. 
 We are told that later on her spirit went to Hell. There 
 was something so radiantly beautiful about the spirit of 
 Kwanjin that her very presence turned Hell into Paradise. 
 The King of the Infernal Regions, in order to maintain 
 the gloomy aspect of his realm, sent Kwanjin back to 
 earth again, and he caused her to be miraculously 
 transported on a lotus flower to the Island of Pootoo. 
 
 200 
 
THE THIRTY-THREE PLACES 
 
 An Incarnation of Kwannon 
 
 Chojo Hime, a Buddhist nun, is generally regarded 
 as the greatest early Japanese artist of embroidery, and, 
 according to legend, she was an incarnation of Kwannon. 
 Chujo Hime met with much cruel treatment from her 
 stepmother, until she finally retired to the temple of 
 Toema-dera, and there worked upon the wonderful 
 lotus thread embroidery depicting the Buddhist Paradise. 
 The design is so exquisite that we can easily understand 
 the Japanese belief that the Gods helped this great artist 
 in her work. 
 
 Kwannon the Mother 
 
 There is another remarkable embroidery, by Kano 
 Hogai, depicting Kwannon as the Divine Mother, 
 pouring forth from a crystal phial the water of creation. 
 As this holy water falls in a series of bubbles, each bubble 
 may be seen to contain a little babe with reverently 
 folded hands. It is altogether a wonderful piece of 
 work, and, turning from its pictorial beauty to study a 
 description of its technicalities, we find that it took three 
 years to execute, and that 12,100 different shades of 
 silk, and twelve of gold thread, were used. 
 
 The *' Thirty 'three Places" Sacred to Kwannon 
 
 There are thirty-three shrines sacred to Kwannon. 
 All are carefully numbered, and are to be found in 
 the provinces near Kyoto. The following legend may 
 possibly account for the reverence bestowed upon the 
 Saikoku Sanjtt-san Sho (the "Thirty-three Places"). 
 
 When the great Buddhist abbot of the eighth century, 
 Tokudo Shonin, died, he was conducted into the presence 
 of Emma-O, the Lord of the Dead. The castle in which 
 Emma-O lived was resplendent with silver and gold, 
 
 201 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 rosy pearls, and all manner of sparkling j ewels. A light 
 emanated from Emma-O too, and that dread God had 
 a smile upon his face. He received the distinguished 
 abbot with extreme courtesy, and thus addressed him : 
 
 " Tokudo Shonin, there are thirty-three places where 
 Kwannon reveals her special favour, for behold she has, 
 in her boundless love, divided herself into many bodies, 
 so that he who cries for aid shall not cry in vain. Alas ! 
 men continue to go their evil ways, for they know not 
 of these sacred shrines. They live their sordid lives 
 and pass into Hell, a vast and countless number. Oh, 
 how blind they are, how wayward, and how full of 
 folly ! If they were to make but a single pilgrimage 
 to these thirty-three shrines sacred to our Lady of 
 Mercy, a pure and wonderful light would shine from 
 their feet, feet made spiritually strong to crush down 
 all evil, to scatter the hundred and thirty-six hells 
 into fragments. If, in spite of this pilgrimage, one 
 should chance to fall into Hell, I will take his place and 
 receive into myself all his suffering, for if this happened 
 my tale of peace would be false, and I should indeed 
 deserve to suffer. Here is a list of the thirty-and-three 
 sacred shrines of Kwannon. Take it into the troubled 
 world of men and women, and make known the ever- 
 lasting mercy of Kwannon." 
 
 Tokudo, having carefully listened to all Emma-O had 
 told him, replied : " You have honoured me with such 
 a mission, but mortals are full of doubts and fears, and 
 they would ask for some sign that what I tell them is 
 indeed true." 
 
 Emma-O at once presented the abbot with his jewelled 
 seal, and, bidding him farewell, sent him on his way 
 accompanied by two attendants. 
 
 While these strange happenings were taking place 
 in the Underworld the disciples of Tokudo perceived 
 202 
 
LIST OF THE THIRTY/THREE PLACES 
 
 that though their master's body had lain for three days 
 and nights the flesh had not grown cold. The devoted 
 followers did not bury the body, believing that their 
 master was not dead. And such was indeed the case, 
 for eventually Tokudo awakened from his trance, and 
 in his right hand he held the jewelled seal of Emma-O. 
 Tokudo lost no time in narrating his strange adven- 
 tures, and when he had concluded his story he and his 
 disciples set off on a pilgrimage to the thirty-three holy 
 places * over which the Goddess of Mercy presides. 
 
 List of the "Thirty-three Places" 
 
 The following is a complete list of the " Thirty- 
 three Places " sacred to Kwannon : 
 
 1. Fudaraku-ji, at Nachi, in Kisha. 
 
 2. Kimii-dera, near Wakayama, in Kisha. 
 
 3. Kokawa-dera, in Kisha. 
 
 4. Sefuku-ji, in Izumi. 
 
 5. Fujii-dera, in Kawachi. 
 
 6. Tsubosaka-dera, in Yamato. 
 
 7. Oka-dera, in Yamato. 
 
 8. Hase-dera, in Yamato. 
 
 9. Nan-endo, at Nara, in Yamato. 
 
 10. Mimuroto-dera, at Uji, in Yamashiro. 
 
 1 1. Kami Daigo-dera, at Uji, in Yamashiro. 
 
 12. Iwama-dera, in Omi._ 
 
 13. Ishiyama-dera,jiear Otsu, in Omi. 
 
 14. Miidera, near Otsu, in Omi. 
 
 15. Ima-Gumano, at Kyoto, in Yamashiro. 
 
 1 6. Kiyomizu-dera, at Kyoto. 
 
 17. Rokuhara-dera, at Kyoto. 
 
 1 " In imitation of the original Thirty-three Holy Places, thirty- 
 three other places have been established in Eastern Japan, and also 
 in the district of Chichibu." Murray 1 ! Handbook for Japan, by 
 Basil Hall Chamberlain and W. B. Mason. 
 
 203 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 1 8. Rokkaku-do, at Kyoto. 
 
 19. Kodo, at Kyoto. 
 
 20. Yoshimine-dera, at Kyoto. 
 
 21. Anoji, in Tamba. 
 
 22. Sojiji, in Settsu. 
 
 23. Katsuo-dera, in Settsu. 
 
 24. Nakayama-dera, near Kobe, in Settsu. 
 
 25. Shin Kiyomizu-dera, in Harima. 
 
 26. Hokkeji, in Harima. 
 
 27. Shosha-san, in Harima. 
 
 28. Nareai-ji, in Tango. 
 
 29. Matsunoo-dera, in Wakasa. 
 
 30. Chikubu-shima, island in Lake Biwa, in Omi. 
 
 31. Chomeiji, in Omi. 
 
 32. Kwannonji, in Omi. 
 
 33. Tanigumi-dera, near Tarui, in Mino. 1 
 
 The "Hall of the Second Moon" 
 
 The Buddhist temple of Ni-gwarsu-do (" Hall of the 
 Second Moon ") contains a small copper image of Kwan- 
 non. It has the miraculous power of being warm like 
 living flesh, and since the image was enshrined special 
 services in honour of Kwannon take place in February, 
 and on the i8th of each month the sacred image is 
 exposed for worship. 
 
 Kwannon and the Deer 
 
 An old hermit named Saion Zenji took up his abode 
 on Mount Nariai in order that he might be able to gaze 
 upon the beauty of Ama-no-Hashidate, a narrow fir-clad 
 promontory dividing Lake Iwataki and Miyazu Bay. 
 Ama-no-Hashidate is still regarded as one of the Sankei, 
 or "Three Great Sights," of Japan, and still Mount 
 
 1 Compiled from Murray's Handbook for Japan. 
 204 
 
KWANNON AND THE DEER 
 Nariai is considered the best spot from which to view 
 this charming scene. 
 
 On Mount Nariai this gentle and holy recluse erected 
 a little shrine to Kwannon not far from a solitary pine- 
 tree. He spent his happy days in looking upon Ama-no- 
 Hashidate and in chanting the Buddhist Scriptures, and 
 his charming disposition and holy ways were much 
 appreciated by the people who came to pray at the little 
 shrine he had so lovingly erected for his own joy and for 
 the joy of others. 
 
 The hermit's abode, delightful enough in mild and 
 sunny weather, was dreary in the winter-time, for when 
 it snowed the good old man was cut off from human 
 intercourse. On one occasion the snow fell so heavily 
 that it was piled up in some places to a height of twenty 
 feet. Day after day the severe weather continued, and 
 at last the poor old hermit found that he had no food of 
 any kind. Chancing to look out one morning, he saw 
 that a deer was lying dead in the snow. As he gazed 
 upon the poor creature, which had been frozen to death, 
 he remembered that it was unlawful in the sight of 
 Kwannon to eat the flesh of animals ; but on thinking 
 over the matter more carefully it seemed to him that he 
 could do more good to his fellow creatures by partaking 
 of this deer than by observing the strict letter of the 
 law and allowing himself to starve in sight of plenty. 
 
 When Saion Zenji had come to this wise decision he 
 went out and cut off a piece of venison, cooked it, and ate 
 half, with many prayers of thanksgiving for his deliver- 
 ance. The rest of the venison he left in his cooking-pot. 
 
 Eventually the snow melted, and several folk 
 hastily wended their way from the neighbouring vil- 
 lage, and ascended Mount Nariai, expecting to see that 
 their good and much-loved hermit had forever passed 
 away from this world. As they approached the shrine, 
 
 205 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 however, they were rejoiced to hear the old man 
 chanting, in a clear and ringing voice, the sacred 
 Buddhist Scriptures. 
 
 The folk from the village gathered about the hermit 
 while he narrated the story ot his deliverance. When, 
 out of curiosity, they chanced to peep into his cooking- 
 pot, they saw, to their utter amazement, that it contained 
 no venison, but a piece of wood covered with gold foil. 
 Still wondering what it all meant, they looked upon the 
 image of Kwannon in the little shrine, and found that 
 a piece had been cut from her loins, and when they 
 inserted the piece of wood the wound was healed. Then 
 it was that the old hermit and the folk gathered about 
 him realised that the deer had been none other than 
 Kwannon, who, in her boundless love and tender mercy, 
 had made a sacrifice of her own divine flesh. 
 
 Beaten 
 
 " The wild flowers fade, the maple-leaves, 
 Touched by frost-fingers, float to earth ; 
 But on the bosom of the sea 
 The flowers to which her waves give birth 
 Fade not, like blossoms on the land, 
 Nor feel the chill of Autumn's hand." 
 
 Tasuhide. (Trans, by CLARA A. WALSH.) 
 
 Benten, the Goddess of the Sea, is also one of the 
 Seven Divinities of Luck ; and she is romantically 
 referred to as the Goddess of Love, Beauty, and 
 Eloquence. She is represented in Japanese art as 
 riding on a dragon or serpent, which may account for 
 the fact that in certain localities snakes are regarded as 
 being sacred. Images of Benten depict her as having 
 eight arms. Six hands are extended above her head 
 and hold a bow, arrow, wheel, sword, key, and sacred 
 jewel, while her two remaining hands are reverently 
 crossed in prayer. She resembles Kwannon in many 
 206 
 
BENTEN'OF-THExBIRTH^WATER 
 
 ways, and images of the two goddesses are frequently 
 seen together, but the shrines of Benten are usually to 
 be found on islands. 
 
 Benten and the Dragon 
 
 We have already referred to Benten riding on a 
 dragon, and the following legend may possibly be con- 
 nected with this particular representation. 
 
 In a certain cave there lived a formidable dragon, 
 which devoured the children of the village of Koshigoe. 
 In the sixth century Benten was determined to put a 
 stop to this monster's unseemly behaviour, and having 
 caused a great earthquake she hovered in the clouds 
 over the cave where the dread dragon had taken up 
 his abode. Benten then descended from the clouds, 
 entered the cavern, married the dragon, and was thus 
 able, through her good influence, to put an end to 
 the slaughter of little children. With the coming of 
 Benten there arose from the sea the famous Island of 
 Enoshima, 1 which has remained to this day sacred to 
 the Goddess of the Sea. 
 
 Hanagaki Baisha, a young poet and scholar, attended 
 a great festival to celebrate the rebuilding of the 
 Amadera temple. He wandered about the beautiful 
 grounds, and eventually reached the place of a spring 
 from which he had often quenched his thirst. He 
 found that what had originally been a spring was 
 now a pond, and, moreover, that at one corner of the 
 pond there was a tablet bearing the words Tanjv-Sui 
 (" Birth- Water "), and also a small but attractive temple 
 dedicated to Benten. While Baisha was noting the 
 
 1 See Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, by Lafcadio Hearn, vol. i. 
 pp. 62-104. 
 
 207 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 changes in the temple grounds the wind blew to his 
 feet a charmingly written love-poem. He picked it up, 
 and discovered that it had been inscribed by a female 
 hand, that the characters were exquisitely formed, and 
 that the ink was fresh. 
 
 Baisha went home and read and re-read the poem. 
 It was not long before he fell in love with the writer, 
 and finally he resolved to make her his wife. At length 
 he went to the temple of Benten-of-the-Birth- Water, 
 and cried : " Oh, Goddess, come! to my aid, and help 
 me to find the woman who wrote these wind-blown 
 verses ! " Having thus prayed, he promised to perform 
 a seven days' religious service, and to devote the seventh 
 night in ceaseless worship before the sacred shrine of 
 Benten, in the grounds of the Amadera. 
 
 On the seventh night of the vigil Baisha heard a voice 
 calling for admittance at the main gateway of the temple 
 grounds. The gate was opened, and an old man, clad 
 in ceremonial robes and with a black cap upon his 
 head, advanced and silently knelt before the temple of 
 Benten. Then the outer door of the temple mys- 
 teriously opened, and a bamboo curtain was partially 
 raised, revealing a handsome boy, who thus addressed the 
 old man : " We have taken pity on a young man who 
 desires a certain love-union, and have called you to 
 inquire into the matter, and to see if you can bring the 
 young people together." 
 
 The old man bowed, and then drew from his sleeve 
 a cord which he wound round Baisha's body, igniting 
 one end in a temple-lantern, and waving his hand the 
 while, as if beckoning some spirit to appear out of the 
 dark night. In a moment a young girl entered the 
 temple grounds, and, with her fan half concealing her 
 pretty face, she knelt beside Baisha. 
 
 Then the beautiful boy thus addressed Baisha : " We 
 208 
 
BENTEN'OF'THE-BIRTH- WATER 
 
 have heard your prayer, and we have known that 
 recently you have suffered much. The woman you 
 love is now beside you." And having uttered these 
 words the divine youth departed, and the old man left 
 the temple grounds. 
 
 When Baisha had given thanks to Benten-of-the- 
 Birth-Water he proceeded homeward. On reaching 
 the street outside the temple grounds he saw a young 
 girl, and at once recognised her as the woman he loved. 
 Baisha spoke to her, and when she replied the gentle- 
 ness and sweetness of her voice filled the youth with 
 joy. Together they walked through the silent streets 
 until at last they came to the house where Baisha lived. 
 There was a moment's pause, and then the maiden 
 said : " Benten has made me your wife," and the lovers 
 entered the house together. 
 
 The marriage was an extremely fortunate one, and 
 the happy Baisha discovered that his wife, apart from her 
 excellent domestic qualities, was accomplished in the art 
 of arranging flowers and in the art of embroidery, and 
 that her delicate writing was not less pleasing than 
 her charming pictures. Baisha knew nothing about her 
 family, but as she had been presented to him by the 
 Goddess Benten he considered that it was unnecessary to 
 question her in the matter. There was only one thing 
 that puzzled the loving Baisha, and that was that the 
 neighbours seemed to be totally unaware of his wife's 
 presence. 
 
 One day, while Baisha was walking in a remote 
 quarter of Kyoto, he saw a servant beckoning to him 
 from the gateway of a private house. The man came 
 forward, bowed respectfully, and said : "Will you deign 
 to enter this house ? My master is anxious to have 
 the honour of speaking to you." Baisha, who knew 
 nothing of the servant or his master, was not a little 
 
 o 209 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 surprised by this strange greeting, but he allowed him- 
 self to be conducted to the guest-room, and thus his 
 host addressed him : 
 
 "I most humbly apologise for the very informal 
 manner of my invitation, but I believe that I have 
 acted in compliance with a message I received from the 
 Goddess Benten. I have a daughter, and, as I am 
 anxious to find a good husband for her, I sent her 
 written poems to all the temples -of Benten in Kyoto. 
 In a dream the Goddess came to i^ e, and told me that 
 she had secured an excellent husbi i for my daughter, 
 and that he would visit me during e coming winter. 
 I was not inclined to attach very :h importance to 
 this dream ; but last night Benten again revealed her- 
 self to me in a vision, and said that to-morrow the 
 husband she had chosen for my daughter would call 
 upon me, and that I could then arrange the marriage. 
 The Goddess described the appearance of the young 
 man so minutely that I am assured that you are my 
 daughter's future husband." 
 
 These strange words filled Baishu with sorrow, and 
 when his courteous host proposed to present him 
 to the lady he was unable to summon up sufficient 
 courage to tell his would-be father-in-law that he already 
 had a wife. Baishu followed his host into another 
 apartment, and to his amazement and joy he discovered 
 that the daughter of the house was none other than 
 his own wife ! And yet there was a subtle difference, 
 for the woman who now smiled upon him was the body 
 of his wife, and she who had appeared before the temple 
 of Benten-of-the-Birth- Water was her soul. We are 
 told that Benten performed this miracle for the sake of 
 her worshippers, and thus it came to pass that Baisha 
 had a strange dual marriage with the woman he 
 loved. 
 
 210 
 
DAIKOKU'S RAT 
 
 Daikoku j f 
 
 Daikoku, the God of Wc.iith, Ebisu, his son, the 
 God of Labour, and Hotei, the God of Laughter and 
 Contentment, belong to that cycle of deities known as 
 the Gods of Luck. Daikoku is represented with a 
 Magic Mallet, which bears the sign of the Jewel, 
 embodying the male and female spirit, and signifies a 
 creative deity. A stroke of his Mallet confers wealth, 
 and his second attrit^ te is the Rat. Daikoku is, as we 
 should suppose, an jrt tremely popular deity, and he is 
 frequently portray, r as a prosperous Chinese gentle- 
 man, richly appar^^l, and is usually shown standing 
 on bales of rice, wirh a bag of precious things on his 
 shoulder. This genial and beneficent God is also 
 depicted as seated on bales of rice, or showing his 
 treasures to some eager and expectant child, or holding 
 the Red Sun against his breast with one hand and 
 grasping the Magic Mallet with the other. 
 
 Daikoku's Rat 
 
 Daikoku's attribute, a Rat, has an emblematic and 
 moral meaning in connection with the wealth hidden in 
 the God's bag. The Rat is frequently portrayed either 
 in the bale of rice with its head peeping out, or in it, 
 or playing with the Mallet, and sometimes a large 
 number of rats are shown. 
 
 According to a certain old legend, the Buddhist Gods 
 grew jealous of Daikoku. They consulted together, 
 and finally decided that they would get rid of the too 
 popular Daikoku, to whom the Japanese offered prayers 
 and incense. Emma-O, the Lord of the Dead, promised 
 to send his most cunning and clever oni y Shiro, who, he 
 said, would have no difficulty in conquering the God 
 of Wealth. Shiro, guided by a sparrow, went to 
 
 211 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Daikoku's castle, but though he hunted high and low 
 he could not find its owner. Finally Shiro discovered 
 a large storehouse, in which he saw the God of Wealth 
 seated. Daikoku called his Rat and bade him find out 
 who it was who dared to disturb him. When the Rat 
 saw Shiro he ran into the garden and brought back a 
 branch of holly, with which he drove the oni away, and 
 Daikoku remains to this day one of the most popular 
 of the Japanese Gods. This incident is said to be the 
 origin of the New Year's Eve charm, consisting of a 
 holly leaf and a skewer, or a sprig of holly fixed in the 
 lintel of the door of a house to prevent the return of 
 the oni. 
 
 The Six Daikoku 
 
 1. Makura Daikoku, ordinary form with Mallet on 
 lotus leaf. 
 
 2. Ojikara Daikoku, with sword and vajra. 
 
 3. Bika Daikoku, a priest, with Mallet in right hand, 
 vajra-hihed sword in left. 
 
 4. Yasha Daikoku, with Wheel of the Law in his 
 right hand. 
 
 5. Shinda Daikoku, a boy seated with a crystal in 
 his left hand. 
 
 6. Mahakara Daikoku, seated female, with small 
 bale of rice on her head. 
 
 Ebisu 
 
 Ebisu and his father Daikoku are usually pictured 
 together : the God of Wealth seated upon bales of rice, 
 pressing the Red Sun against his breast with one hand, 
 and with the other holding the wealth-giving Mallet, 
 while Ebisu is depicted with a fishing-rod and a great 
 tai fish under his arm. 
 
 212 
 
HOTEI 
 
 Hotei 
 
 Hotei, the God of Laughter and Contentment, is one 
 of the most whimsical of the Japanese Gods. He is 
 represented as extremely fat, carrying on his back a 
 linen bag (ho-tei\ from which he derives his name. In 
 this bag he stows the Precious Things, but when in a 
 particularly playful mood he uses it as a receptacle for 
 merry and inquisitive children. Sometimes Hotei is 
 represented in a broken-down and extremely shabby 
 carriage drawn by boys, and is then known as the 
 Waggon Priest. Again he is portrayed as carrying in 
 one hand a Chinese fan and in the other his bag, or 
 balancing at either end of a pole the bag of Precious 
 Things and a boy. 
 
CHAPTER XVI : DOLLS AND 
 BUTTERFLIES 
 
 " I asked a charming Japanese girl : * How can a doll 
 live ? ' * Why,' she answered, l if you love it enough, it will 
 live!'" 
 
 LAFCADIO HEARN. 
 
 The English and Japanese Doll 
 
 OUR English dolls, with their flaxen hair, blue 
 eyes, and simpering faces, are certainly not a 
 credit to the toy-maker's art if they are to be 
 regarded as bearing even a remote likeness to living 
 children. Put in a horizonal position, something will 
 click in their little heads and their blue eyes will close, 
 or more correctly roll backward ; a pinch will make 
 them emit a tolerable imitation of the words "Papa ! " 
 " Mamma ! " and yet in spite of these mechanical devices 
 they have nothing more to their credit than a child's 
 short-lived love. They are speedily broken, or liable 
 at any moment to be decapitated by a little brother who 
 has learnt too well the story of Lady Jane Grey ! 
 
 In Japan, however, the doll is not merely a play- 
 thing by which little children may become make-believe 
 mothers, but in earlier days it was regarded as a means 
 to make a wife a mother. Lafcadio Hearn writes : 
 " And if you see such a doll, though held quite close to 
 you, being made by a Japanese mother to reach out its 
 hands, to move its little bare feet, and to turn its head, 
 you would be almost afraid to venture a heavy wager 
 that it was only a doll." It is this startling likeness 
 that is perhaps accountable for the quaint and beautiful 
 love connected with Japanese dolls. 
 
 214 
 
LIVE DOLLS 
 
 Live Dolls 
 
 At one time certain dolls were actually said to become 
 alive, to take to their small bodies a human soul, and 
 the belief is merely an echo of the old idea that much 
 love will quicken to life the image of a living thing. 
 In Old Japan the doll was handed down from one 
 generation to another, and sometimes remained in an 
 excellent condition for over a hundred years. A 
 hundred years spent in little children's arms, served 
 with food, put to bed regularly every night, and the 
 object of constant endearments, will no doubt work 
 wonders in the poetic imagination of a happy and child- 
 like people. 
 
 The tiny doll known as O-Hina-San does not come 
 within the region of our present study ; it was simply a 
 toy and nothing more. It is the life-size dolls we must 
 deal with, those dolls so cunningly representing little 
 children two or three years old. The girl doll of this 
 class is known as O-Toku-San and the boy doll as 
 TokutarO-San. It was believed that if these dolls were 
 ill-treated or neglected in any way they would weep, 
 become angry, and bring misfortune upon their pos- 
 sessors. They had in addition many other supernatural 
 powers. 
 
 In a certain old family there was a TokutarO-San 
 which received a reverence almost equal to that shown 
 to Kishibojin, the Goddess to whom Japanese wives 
 pray for offspring. This TokutarO-San was borrowed 
 by childless couples. They gave it new clothes and 
 tended it with loving care, assured that such a doll which 
 had a soul would make them happy by answering their 
 prayers for a child. TokutarO-San, according to legend, 
 was very much alive, for when the house caught fire it 
 speedily ran into the garden for safety ! 
 
 215 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 A Doll's Last Resting-place 
 
 What happens to a Japanese doll when after a very 
 long and happy life it eventually gets broken ? Though 
 finally regarded as dead, its remains are treated with the 
 utmost respect. It is not thrown away with rubbish, or 
 burned, or even reverently laid upon running water, as 
 is often the case with dead Japanese flowers. It is not 
 buried, but dedicated to Kqjin, frequently represented 
 as a deity with many arms. Kojin is supposed to reside 
 in the enoki tree, and in front of this tree there is a 
 small shrine and torii. Here, then, the remains of a 
 very old Japanese doll are reverently laid. Its little 
 face may be scratched, its silk dress torn and faded and 
 its arms and legs broken, but it once had a soul, once 
 had the mysterious desire to give maternity to those 
 who longed for it. 
 
 On March 3 the Girls' Festival takes place. It is 
 known as Jdmi no Sekku y or Hina Matsuri, the Feast or 
 Dolls. 
 
 Butterflies 
 
 " Where the soft drifts lie 
 Of fallen blossoms, dying, 
 Did one flutter now, 
 From earth to its brown bough ? 
 Ah, no ! 'twas a butterfly, 
 Like fragile blossom flying ! " 
 
 Arakida Mortitake. 
 (Trans, by CLARA A. WALSH.) 
 
 It is in China rather than in Japan that the butterfly 
 is connected with legend and folk-lore. The Chinese 
 scholar Rosan is said to have received visits from two 
 spirit maidens who regaled him with ghostly stories 
 about these bright-winged insects. 
 
 It is more than probable that the legends concerning 
 216 
 
BUTTERFLIES OF GOOD AND EVIL OMEN 
 
 butterflies in Japan have been borrowed from China. 
 Japanese poets and artists were fond of choosing for 
 their professional appellation such names as " Butterfly- 
 Dream," " Solitary Butterfly," Butterfly-Help," and 
 so on. Though probably of Chinese origin, such ideas 
 naturally appealed to the aesthetic taste of the Japanese 
 people, and no doubt they played in early days the 
 romantic game of butterflies. The Emperor GensO 
 used to make butterflies choose his loves for him. At 
 a wine-party in his garden fair ladies would set caged 
 butterflies free. These bright-coloured insects would 
 fly and settle upon the fairest damsels, and those maidens 
 immediately received royal favours. 
 
 Butterflies of Good and Eril Omen 
 
 In Japan the butterfly was at one time considered to 
 be the soul of a living man or woman. If it entered a 
 guest-room and pitched behind the bamboo screen it 
 was a sure sign that the person whom it represented 
 would shortly appear in the house. The presence of a 
 butterfly in the house was regarded as a good omen, 
 though of course everything depended on the indi- 
 vidual typified by the butterfly. 
 
 The butterfly was not always the harbinger of good. 
 When Taira-no-Masakado was secretly preparing for a 
 revolt Kyoto was the scene of a swarm of butterflies, 
 and the people who saw them were much frightened. 
 Lafcadio Hearn suggests that these butterflies may have 
 been the spirits of those fated to fall in battle, the 
 spirits of the living who were stirred by a premonition 
 of the near approach of death. Butterflies may also be 
 the souls of the dead, and they often appear in this 
 form in order to announce their final leave-taking from 
 the body. 
 
 217 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 "The Flying Hairpin of Kocho " 
 
 The Japanese drama contains reference to the ghostly 
 significance of butterflies. In the play known as The 
 Flying Hairpin of K^ochv, the heroine, Kocho, kills her- 
 self on account of false accusations and cruel treat- 
 ment. Her lover seeks to discover who has been the 
 cause of her untimely death. Eventually Kocho's hair- 
 pin turns into a butterfly and hovers over the hiding- 
 place of the villain who has caused all the trouble. 
 
 The White Butterfly 
 
 There is a quaint and touching Japanese legend 
 connected with the butterfly. An old man named 
 Takahama lived in a little house behind the cemetery 
 of the temple of Sozanji. He was extremely amiable 
 and generally liked by his neighbours, though most of 
 them considered him to be a little mad. His madness, 
 it would appear, entirely rested upon the fact that he 
 had never married or evinced desire for intimate com- 
 panionship with women. 
 
 One summer day he became very ill, so ill, in fact, 
 that he sent for his sister-in-law and her son. They 
 both came and did all they could to bring comfort 
 during his last hours. While they watched Takahama 
 fell asleep ; but he had no sooner done so than a 
 large white butterfly flew into the room, and rested on 
 the old man's pillow. The young man tried to drive 
 it away with a fan ; but it came back three times, as if 
 loth to leave the sufferer. 
 
 At last Takahama's nephew chased it out into the 
 garden, through the gate, and into the cemetery beyond, 
 where it lingered over a woman's tomb, and then 
 mysteriously disappeared. On examining the tomb the 
 young man found the name "Akiko" written upon it, 
 218 
 
THE WHITE BUTTERFLY 
 
 together with a description narrating how Akiko died 
 when she was eighteen. Though the tomb was covered 
 with moss and must have been erected fifty years 
 previously, the boy saw that it was surrounded with 
 flowers, and that the little water-tank had been recently 
 filled. J 
 
 When the young man returned to the house he found 
 that Takahama had passed away, and he returned to his 
 mother and told her what he had seen in the cemetery. 
 
 "Akiko?" murmured his mother. "When your 
 uncle was young he was betrothed to Akiko. She died 
 of consumption shortly before her wedding-day. When 
 Akiko left this world your uncle resolved never to marry 
 and to live ever near her grave. For all these years he 
 has remained faithful to his vow, and kept in his heart 
 all the sweet memories of his one and only love. Every 
 day Takahama went to the cemetery, whether the air 
 was fragrant with summer breeze or thick with falling 
 snow. Every day he went to her grave and prayed for 
 her happiness, swept the tomb and set flowers there. 
 When Takahama was dying, and he could no longer 
 perform his loving task, Akiko came for him. That 
 white butterfly was her sweet and loving soul." 
 
 Just before Takahama passed away into the Land of 
 the Yellow Spring he may have murmured words like 
 those of Yone Noguchi : 
 
 " Where the flowers sleep, 
 Thank God ! I shall sleep to-night. 
 Oh, come, butterfly ! " A 
 
 1 Legends concerning other insects will be found in Chapter XXIII. 
 
 219 
 
CHAPTER XVII : FESTIVALS 
 
 The New Year 
 
 THE San-ga-nichi, or " three days " of the New 
 Year, is one of the most important of the 
 Japanese festivals, for the Japanese ^make far 
 more of the New Year than we do in this country. 
 They regard the first three days of the year as a fitting 
 occasion when it is most important to insure good luck 
 and happiness for the days that follow, and in order to 
 bring this about many quaint and ancient observances 
 take place. Before the houses are decorated a thorough 
 winter cleaning is carried out. "In ancient times," 
 writes Mrs. C. M. Salwey, " from the Court of the 
 Emperor to the hut of the peasant, this attention was 
 observed to such an extent that the Shogun's Court 
 provided overseers, who visited with ornamented dust- 
 ing poles, to overhaul the labour of the servants, passing 
 their official brooms over ledges and crevices, and in 
 so doing flourishing in a certain manner their mystic 
 wands to demonstrate the Chinese ideograph which 
 signified water." Not only is the house thoroughly 
 cleaned and everything put in order, but evil spirits 
 are got rid of by throwing out peas and beans from the 
 open shoji, or paper slides. 
 
 On the festival of the New Year the houses and gate- 
 posts are adorned with straw ropes, and these are often 
 made to represent such lucky Chinese numbers as three, 
 five, and seven. The food chiefly eaten on this occasion 
 comprises lobsters (their bent and ancient appearance 
 suggesting long life), oranges, and certain varieties of 
 edible seaweeds. In addition there are mirror cakes, 
 associated with the Sun Goddess, and these cakes, com- 
 posed of rice, are eaten with the oranges and lobster, 
 and served on pure white trays. One other important 
 
 220 
 
THE BOYS' FESTIVAL 
 
 decoration must not be overlooked, and that is the 
 branches of the pine-tree. These branches symbolise 
 long life, and for some unknown reason they are burnt 
 when the festival is over. 
 
 One of the most picturesque customs associated with 
 this festival, and one particularly appealing to children, 
 is the Treasure Ship with the Seven Gods of Good Luck 
 on board, to which we have referred elsewhere. 1 
 
 The Bcxys* Festival 
 
 The Tango no Sekku, or Boys' Festival, takes place on 
 May 5, and is intended to inspire the youth of Japan 
 with warlike qualities. It is the day when flags are to 
 be seen in every direction, when the roofs of the houses 
 are decorated with the leaves of iris, so that Nature's 
 flag and the flag made by human hands are both con- 
 spicuous on this joyous festival, which is popularly 
 known as the Feast of Flags. Boys are presented with 
 small figures representing certain great heroes of the 
 past, while ancient swords, bows, arrows, spears, &c., are 
 handed down from one generation of children to another. 
 
 Perhaps the dominant feature of this festival is the 
 paper flag shaped like a carp. It is hollow, and when 
 inflated with wind has the appearance of vigorously 
 flying through the air. The carp symbolises something 
 more than the crude spirit of warfare, for it typifies 
 tenacity of purpose and indomitable courage. As the 
 carp swims against the stream, so is the Japanese youth 
 expected to fight against all the fierce currents of adver- 
 sity. This idea is probably derived from the fascinating 
 Chinese legend of the Dragon Carp which, after a long 
 struggle, succeeded in swimming past the Dragon Gate 
 rapids, lived a thousand years, and finally rose into the 
 sky. 
 
 1 Chapter VII. : "Legend in Japanese Art." 
 
 221 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The Festival of the Dead 
 
 The Festival of the Dead, or Bommatsuri, deserves 
 mention here because it contains much that is legendary. 
 The Japanese peasant's conception of a future life is not 
 a very delightful one. At death the body is washed 
 and shaven and then arrayed in a pure white garment 
 indeed, in the garment of a pilgrim. Round the neck 
 is hung a wallet containing three or six rin, according 
 to the custom of the place in which the death occurs, 
 and these rin are buried with the deceased. The idea of 
 burying coin with the dead is to be found in the belief 
 that all who die, children alone excepted, must journey 
 to the Sanzu-no-Kawa, or "The River of the Three 
 Roads." On the bank of this dismal river Sodzu-Baba, 
 the Old Woman of the Three Roads, awaits the coming 
 of souls, together with her husband, Ten Datsu-Ba. If 
 three rin are not paid to the Old Woman she takes 
 away the white garments of the dead and, regardless 
 of entreaties, hangs them octrees. Then there is the 
 no less formidable Emma-O, the Lord of the Dead ; 
 and when we add to these dread figures some of the 
 terrors of the Buddhist hells it is not surprising that 
 the gentle and poetical Japanese should have founded a 
 festival that will afford a pleasant, if all too brief, respite 
 from the horrors of Hades. 
 
 The festival takes place from July 13 to 15. At 
 such a time most of the houses are mere skeletons, 
 being open to the summer breeze on all sides. 
 People saunter about in the lightest of garments. 
 Butterflies and dragon-flies disport in countless numbers, 
 flying over a cool stretch of lotus or settling on the 
 purple petal of an iris. Fuji rears her great head into 
 the clear blue sky, bearing like a white scarf a patch of 
 fast-fading snow. 
 222 
 
THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD 
 
 When the morning of the I3th arrives new mats ot 
 rice straw are spread upon all Buddhist altars and on the 
 little household shrines. Every Japanese home on that 
 day is provided with a quaint, minute meal in readiness 
 for the great company of ghosts. 
 
 At sunset the streets are bright with the flames of 
 torches, and the entrances of houses gay with brightly 
 coloured lanterns. Those to whom this festival applies 
 in a particular sense and not in a general one that is to 
 say, those who have recently lost some dear one go out 
 on this night to the cemeteries, and there pray, make 
 offerings, burn incense, and pour out water. Lanterns 
 are lit and bamboo vases filled with flowers. 
 
 On the evening of the 1 5th the ghosts of the Circle 
 of Penance or Gakido are fed, and in addition those 
 ghosts who have no friends among the living to care for 
 them. There is a legend bearing upon this particular 
 phase of the Festival of the Dead. Dai-Mokenren, a 
 great disciple of Buddha, was once permitted to see the 
 soul of his mother in the Gakido. He grieved so 
 much on account of intense suffering that he gave her a 
 bowl containing choice food. Every time she tried to 
 eat the food would suddenly turn into fire, and finally 
 to ashes. Then Mokenren asked Buddha to tell him 
 what he could do to ease his mother's suffering. He 
 was told to feed the ghosts of the great priests of all 
 countries "on the fifteenth day of the seventh month." 
 When this had been done Mokenren returned, to find 
 his mother dancing for joy. In this happy dance after 
 much tribulation we trace the origin of the Bon-odori y 
 which takes place on the third night of the festival. 
 
 When the evening of the third day arrives prepara- 
 tions are made for the departure of the ghosts. 
 Thousands of little boats are packed with food and 
 loving messages of farewell. Into these boats step the 
 
 223 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 departing ghosts. Loving hands set these frail craft upon 
 river, lake, or sea. A small lantern glows at the prow, 
 while pale blue clouds of incense float up from the stern. 
 Hearn writes : " Down all the creeks and rivers and 
 canals the phantom fleets go glimmering to the sea ; 
 and all the sea sparkles to the horizon with the lights 
 of the dead, and the sea wind is fragrant with incense." 
 There is a pathetic charm about this festival. It is 
 by no means unique, for it corresponds to the Indian 
 Sraddha ; but in Japan it is touched with a more 
 delicate and haunting beauty. No one has been able 
 to solve conclusively the origin of the Torii, that 
 wonderful gateway that leads nowhere. What a 
 charming entrance or exit for a company of wandering 
 souls ! What a place for ghosts to play and dream 
 awhile is a Japanese garden, with its lake and moon- 
 shaped bridge, its stone lantern, its paths of silver sand ! 
 And what a street for ghosts to wander in is the Street 
 Everlasting that is so near to the Street of Aged Men ! 
 Thus Yone Noguchi sums up the magic of a Japanese 
 night, one of those three nights when souls come in 
 touch with old earthly memories : 
 
 " The scented purple breezes of the Japanese night ! 
 The old moon like a fairy ship of gold 
 Softly through the dream sea begins to rock on : 
 (I hear the unheard song of Beauty in the moon ship, 
 I hear even the whisper of her golden dress.) 
 The hundred lanterns burning in love and prayer, 
 Float on the streets like haunting memories. 
 The silvery music of wooden clogs of the Japanese girls ! 
 Are they not little ghosts out of the bosom of ancient age ? 
 Are they returning to fulfil their thousand fancies forgotten ? 
 O the fancy world of the Japanese night 
 Born out of the old love and unfulfilled desires ! 
 The crying love-song of the Japanese night, 
 The samisen music of hungry passion and tears ! 
 O the long wail of heart through the darkness and love ! " 
 224 
 
THE TORII 
 
 The Laughing Festival of Wasa 
 
 Numerous other Japanese festivities take place 
 during the year, and two, the Festival of Dolls and 
 the Festival of Tanabata, the Weaving Maiden, have 
 been referred to elsewhere. Perhaps in some way 
 the Laughing Festival of Wasa is the most quaint 
 of all the Japanese festivities. During the month of 
 October a number of old men form a procession 
 carrying two boxes full of oranges and persimmons 
 spitted on sticks. These old men are followed by 
 children with similar fruit on bamboo rods. Just as 
 the leader reaches the shrine he turns round and makes 
 a most ludicrous grimace, which is immediately followed 
 by a merry peal of laughter, and this irresistible merri- 
 ment has its origin in the following legend. 
 
 In the month of October the Gods used to assemble 
 in a great temple at Izumo, and they met for the 
 purpose of arranging the love-affairs of the people. 
 When the Gods were sitting in the temple one of them 
 said : "Where is Miwa DaimyO-jin ? " All the Gods 
 looked everywhere for him, but he was not to be 
 found. Now Miwa DaimyO-jin was extremely deaf, 
 and, owing to this defect, he had mistaken the great 
 day when the Gods met together. When he reached 
 Izumo the meeting had been dissolved, and all the Gods 
 laughed very much when they heard about it, a laughter 
 that is imitated year by year in the Laughing festival 
 to which we have referred. 
 
 The Torii 
 
 We have referred in this chapter and elsewhere to 
 the torii, and though authorities agree to differ in 
 regard to its use and origin, the theme is a fascinating 
 one and well worthy of study. According to a popular 
 
 p 225 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 account the word torii means "fowl-dwelling" or "bird- 
 rest/' On the top beam of this imposing gateway the 
 fowls heralded the approach of dawn, and in their cry 
 bade the priests attend to their early morning prayers. 
 In one legend we are informed that the sun descends 
 to earth in the form of the Ho-Ho Bird, messenger of 
 love, peace, and goodwill, and rests upon one of the 
 torii. 
 
 Professor B. H.. Chamberlain regards the "bird-rest" 
 etymology and the theories derived from it as erroneous, 
 and believes that the torii came originally from Asia. 
 He writes, in Things Japanese : " The Koreans erect 
 somewhat similar gateways at the approach of their royal 
 palaces ; the Chinese p*ai Iou y serving to record the vir- 
 tues of male or female worthies, seem related in shape 
 as well as in use ; and the occurrence of the word turan 
 in Northern India and of the word tori in Central India, 
 to denote gateways of strikingly cognate appearance, 
 gives matter for reflection." Dr. W. G. Aston also 
 believes that the torii came from abroad, " but holds 
 that it was fitted with a pre-existing name, which would 
 have originally designated c a lintel ' before it came to 
 have its present sacred associations." * 
 
 In regard to the construction of these gateways, 
 Mrs. C. M. Salwey writes : "The oldest torii of Japan 
 . . . were constructed of plain unvarnished wood. In 
 fact, they were built of straight, upright trunks of trees 
 in their natural state, though sometimes bereft of the 
 outer bark. Later on the wood was painted a deep, rich 
 vermilion, possibly to heighten the effect when the 
 background was densely wooded." Though the torii 
 was originally associated with Shintoism, it was later 
 on adopted by the Buddhists, who considerably altered 
 its simple but beautiful construction by turning up the 
 
 1 Things Japanese, by Professor B. H. Chamberlain. 
 226 
 
THE FOOTSTOOL OF THE KING 
 
 corners of the horizontal beams, supplying inscriptions 
 and ornaments of various kinds. 
 
 ''The Footstool of the King*' 
 
 Whatever the origin and significance of the Shinto 
 torii may be, no one will deny its exquisite beauty, and 
 many will agree in believing it to be the most perfect 
 gateway in the world. Perhaps the most wonderful torii 
 is the one that stands before the Itsukushima shrine on 
 the Island of Myajima, and it is called " The Footstool 
 of the King," "The Gateway of Light," or "The 
 Water Gate of the Sacred Island." 
 
 Mrs. Salwey writes : " Is not this Gateway the 
 symbol of the Right Direction, according to the dogmas 
 of the Shinto Cult, the Goal towards which the face 
 should be turned c The Way of the Gods/ Are 
 they not monitors writing their mystic message as an 
 ideographic sign over the Lord of the Gods before the 
 rising and setting sun, enhancing by their presence the 
 dense luxuriance of cryptomerian avenue, reflecting 
 within dark, still rivers or the silver ripples of the In- 
 land Sea?" We must be content with this pleasing 
 interpretation of the symbolism of the torii y for it takes 
 us through the gate of conflicting theories, and gives 
 us something more satisfying than the ramifications of 
 etymology. 
 
 227 
 
CHAPTER XVIII : THE PEONY. 
 LANTERN 1 
 
 '* Morning Dew " 
 
 ("Morning Dew") was the only daughter 
 oFlijima. When her father married again she 
 found she could not live happily with her 
 stepmother, and a separate house H was built for her, 
 where she lived with her servant-r^aid Yone. 
 
 One day Tsuyu received a visTt^rrdm the family 
 physician, Yamamoto ShiJQ, accompanied by a handsome 
 young samurai named Hagiwark ._ ShinzaburO. These 
 young people fell in love with each other, and at part- 
 ing Tsuyu whispered to ShinzaburO : "Remember! if 
 you do not come to see me again I shall certainly die ! " 
 
 ShinzaburO had every intention of seeing the fair 
 Tsuyu as frequently as possible. Etiquette, however, 
 would not allow him to visit her alone, so that he was 
 compelled to rely on the old doctor's promise to take 
 him to the villa where his loved one lived. The old 
 doctor, however, having seen more than the young 
 people had supposed, purposely refrained from keeping 
 his promise. 
 
 Tsuyu, believing that the handsome young samurai 
 * had proved unfaithful, slowly pined away and died. 
 Her faithful servant Yone also died soon afterwards, 
 being unable to live without her mistress, and they 
 were buried side by side in the cemetery of Shin- 
 Banzui-In. 
 
 Shortly after this sad event had taken place the old 
 
 1 This story, though inspired by a Chinese tale, is Japanese in 
 local colour, and serves to illustrate, in an extremely weird way, the 
 power of Karma, or human desire, referred to in Chapter X. We 
 have closely followed Lafcadio Hearn's rendering, to be found in 
 In Ghostly Japan. 
 228 
 
Shinzaburo recognised Tsuyu and her maid Yone. 228 
 
THE DEAD RETURN 
 
 doctor called upon Shinzaburo and gave him full par- 
 ticulars of the death of Tsuyu and her maid. 
 
 Shinzaburo felt the blow keenly. Night and day 
 the girl was in his thoughts. He inscribed her name 
 upon a mortuary tablet, placed offerings before it, and 
 repeated many prayers. 
 
 The Dead Return 
 
 When the first day of the Festival of the Dead 1 
 arrived he set food on the Shelf of Souls and hung out 
 lanterns to guide the spirits during their brief earthly 
 sojourn. As the night was warm and the moon at her 
 full, he sat in his verandah and waited. He felt that all 
 these preparations would not be in vain, and in his heart 
 he believed that the soul of Tsuyu would come to him. 
 
 Suddenly the stillness was broken by the sound of 
 kara-kon, kara-kon, the soft patter of women's geta. 
 There was something strange and haunting about the 
 sound. Shinzaburo rose and peeped over the hedge. 
 He saw two women. One was carrying a long-shaped 
 lantern with silk peonies stuck in at the upper end; 
 the other wore a lovely robe covered with designs of 
 autumnal blossom. In another moment he recognised 
 the sweet figure of Tsuyu and her maid Yon6. 
 
 When Yone had explained that the wicked old doctor 
 had told them that Shinzaburo was dead, and the young 
 samurai had likewise informed his visitors that he, too, 
 had learnt from the same source that his loved one and 
 her maid had departed this life, the two women entered 
 the house, and remained there that night, returning 
 home a little before sunrise. Night after night they 
 came in this mysterious manner, and always Yon6 
 carried the shining peony-lantern, always she and her 
 mistress departed at the same hour. 
 
 1 See Chapter XVII. 
 
 229 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 A Spy 
 
 One night TomozO, one of Shinzaburo's servants, 
 who lived next door to his master, chanced to hear the 
 sound of a woman's voice in his lord's apartment. He 
 peeped through a crack in one of the sliding doors, and 
 perceived by the night-lantern within the room that his 
 master was talking with a strange woman under the 
 mosquito-net. Their conversation was so extraordinary 
 that TomozO was determined to see the woman's face. 
 When he succeeded in doing so his hair stood on end 
 and he trembled violently, for he saw the face of a dead 
 woman, a woman long dead. There was no flesh on 
 her fingers, for what had once been fingers were now a 
 bunch of jangling bones. Only the upper part of her 
 body had substance ; below her waist there was but a 
 dim, moving shadow. While TomozO gazed with 
 horror upon such a revolting scene a second woman's 
 figure sprang up from within the room. She made 
 for the chink and for Tomozo's eye behind it. With 
 a shriek of terror the spying TomozO fled to the house 
 of Hakuodo Yusai. 
 
 Yusai's Advice 
 
 Now Yusai was a man well versed in all manner of 
 mysteries ; but nevertheless Tomozo's. story made 
 considerable impression upon him, and he listened to 
 every detail with the utmost amazement. When the 
 servant had finished his account of the affair Yusai in- 
 formed him that his master was a doomed man if the 
 woman proved to be a ghost, that love between the 
 living and the dead ended in the destruction of the 
 living. 
 
 However, apart from critically examining this strange 
 event, Yusai took practical steps to rescue this young 
 230 
 
HOLY CHARMS 
 
 samurai from so horrible a fate. The next morning he 
 discussed the matter with Shinzaburo, and told him 
 pretty clearly that he had been loving a ghost, and that 
 the sooner he got rid of that ghost the better it would 
 be for him. He ended his discourse by advising the 
 youth to go to the district of Shitaya, in Yanaka-no- 
 Sasaki, the place where these women had said they 
 lived. 
 
 The Mystery is Revealed 
 
 Shinzaburo carried out Yusai's advice, but nowhere 
 in the quarter of Yanaka-no-Sasaki could he find the 
 dwelling-place of Tsuyu. On his return home he 
 happened to pass through the temple Shin-Banzui-In. 
 There he saw two tombs placed side by side, one of no . 
 distinction, and the other large and handsome, adorned 
 with a peony-lantern swinging gently in the breeze. 
 Shinzaburo remembered that this lantern and the one 
 carried by Yone were identical, and an acolyte informed 
 him that the tombs were those of Tsuyu and Yone. 
 Then it was that he realised the strange meaning of 
 Yon6's words: "We went away, and found a 'very 
 small house in Tanaka-no-Sasaki. There we are now just 
 barely able to live by doing a little private work" Their 
 house, then, was a grave. The ghost of Yone carried 
 the peony-lantern, and the ghost of Tsuyu wound 
 her fleshless arms about the neck of the young 
 samurai. 
 
 Holy Charms 
 
 Shinzaburo, now fully aware of the horror of the 
 situation, hastily retraced his steps and sought counsel 
 from the wise, far-seeing Yusai. This learned man 
 confessed his inability to help him further in the matter, 
 but advised him to go to Ithe high-priest RyOseki, of 
 
 231 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Shin-Banzui-In, and gave him a letter explaining what 
 had taken place. 
 
 RyOseki listened unmoved to Shinzaburo's story, for 
 he had heard so many bearing on the same theme, the 
 evil power of Karma. He gave the young man a 
 
 1 small gold image of Buddha, which he instructed him 
 to wear next his skin, telling him that it would protect 
 
 ! the living from the dead. He also gave him a holy 
 sutra^ called "Treasure-Raining Sutra," which he was 
 commended to recite in his house every night ; and 
 lastly he gave him a bundle of sacred texts. Each 
 holy strip he was to paste over an opening in his 
 house. 
 
 By nightfall everything was in order in Shinzaburo's 
 house. All the apertures were covered with sacred 
 texts, and the air resounded with the recitation of the 
 " Treasure-Raining Sutra," while the little gold Buddha 
 swayed upon the samurai 's breast. But somehow or 
 other peace did not come to ShinzaburO that night. 
 Sleep refused to close his weary eyes, and just as a 
 temple bell ceased booming he heard the old karan- 
 koron, karan-koron the patter of ghostly geta ! Then 
 the sound ceased. Fear and joy battled within Shinza- 
 buro's heart. He stopped reciting the holy sutra and 
 looked forth into the night. Once more he saw Tsuyu 
 and her maid with the peony-lantern. Never before 
 had Tsuyu looked so beautiful or so alluring ; but a 
 nameless terror held him back. He heard with bitter 
 anguish the women speaking together. He heard Yone 
 tell her mistress that his love had changed because his 
 doors had been made fast against them, followed by the 
 plaintive weeping of Tsuyu. At last the women wan- 
 dered round to the back of the house. But back and 
 front alike prevented their entry, so potent were the 
 sacred words of the Lord Buddha. 
 232 
 
THE BETRAYAL 
 
 The Betrayal 
 
 As all the efforts of Yone to enter Shinzaburo's house 
 were of no avail, she went night after night to TomozO 
 and begged him to remove the sacred texts from his 
 master's dwelling. Over and over again, out of intense 
 fear, TomozO promised to do so, but with the coming 
 of daylight he grew brave and decided not to betray one 
 to whom he owed so much. One night, however, Yon 
 refused to be trifled with. She threatened TomozO with 
 awful hatred if he did not take away one of the sacred 
 texts, and in addition she pulled such a terrible face that 
 TomozO nearly died of fright. 
 
 TomozO's wife Min happened to awake and hear A 
 the voice of a strange woman speaking to her husband. 
 When the ghost-woman had vanished Mine gave her 
 lord cunning counsel to the effect that he should con- 
 sent to carry out Tone's request provided that she 
 would reward him with a hundred ryv. 
 
 Two nights later, when this wicked servant had re- 
 ceived his reward, he gave Yon the little gold image 
 of Buddha, took down from his master's house one of 
 the sacred texts, and buried in a field the sutra which 
 his master used to recite. This enabled Yon and her 
 mistress to enter the house of ShinzaburO once more, 
 and with their entry began again this horrible love of the 
 dead, presided over by the mysterious power of Karma. 
 
 When TomozO came the next morning to call his 
 master as usual, he obtained no response to his knock- 
 ing. At last he entered the apartment, and there, under 
 the mosquito-net, lay his master dead, and beside him 
 were the white bones of a woman. The bones of 
 " Morning Dew " were twined round the neck of one 
 who had loved her too well, of one who had loved her 
 with a fierce passion that at the last had been his undoing. 
 
CHAPTER XIX : KOBO DAISHI, 
 NICHIREN, AND SHODO SHONIN 
 
 "When he died it was as though a bright light had 
 gone out in the midst of a black night." 
 
 "Namudaism." (Trans, by ARTHUR LLOYD.) 
 
 The "Namudaishi* 
 
 KOBO DAISHI 1 (" Glory to the Great Teacher "), 
 who was born A.D. 774, was the most holy and 
 most famous of the Japanese Buddhist saints. 
 He founded the Shingon-shu, a Buddhist sect remark- 
 able for its magical formulae and for its abstruse and 
 esoteric teachings, and he is also said to have invented 
 the Hiragana syllabary, a form of running script. In 
 the Namudaishi, which is a Japanese poem on the life 
 of this great saint, we are informed that Kobo Daishi 
 brought back with him from China a millstone and 
 some seeds of the tea-plant, and thus revived the drink- 
 ing of this beverage, which had fallen into disuse. We 
 are also told in the same poem that it was Kobo Daishi 
 who " demonstrated to the world the use of coal." He 
 was renowned as a great preacher, but was not less 
 famous as a calligraphist, painter, sculptor, and traveller. 
 
 "A Divine Prodigy " 
 
 Kobo Daishi, however, is essentially famous for the 
 extraordinary miracles which he performed, and nume- 
 rous are the legends associated with him. His concep- 
 tion was miraculous, for when he was born in the 
 Baron's Hall, on the shore of Byobu, a bright light shone, 
 and he came into the world with his hands folded as if 
 in prayer. When but five years of age he would sit 
 
 1 The saint's name when living was Kukai. KobO Daishi was a 
 posthumous title, and it is by this title that he is generally known. 
 234 
 
GOHITSU-OSHO 
 
 among the lotuses and converse with Buddhas, and he 
 kept secret all the wisdom he thus obtained. His heart 
 was troubled by the sorrow and pain of humanity. 
 While on Mount Shashin he sought to sacrifice his own 
 life by way of propitiation, but he was prevented from 
 doing so by a number of angels who would not allow 
 this ardent soul to suffer death until he had fulfilled his 
 destiny. His very games were of a religious nature. 
 On one occasion he built a clay pagoda, and he was 
 immediately surrounded by the Four Heavenly Kings 
 (originally Hindu deities). The Imperial Messenger, 
 who happened to pass by when this miracle took place, 
 was utterly amazed, and described the young Kobe 
 Daishi as "a divine prodigy." While at Muroto, in 
 Tosa, performing his devotions, we are told in the Namu- 
 daishi that a bright star fell from Heaven and entered 
 his mouth, while at midnight an evil dragon came 
 forth against him, " but he spat upon it, and with his 
 saliva he killed it." 
 
 In his nineteenth year he wore the black silk robes of 
 a Buddhist priest, and with a zeal that never failed him 
 sought for enlightenment. " Many are the ways," he 
 said ;< "but Buddhism is the best of all." During his 
 mystical studies he came across a book containing the 
 Shingon doctrine, a doctrine that closely resembles the 
 old Egyptian speculations. The book was so abstruse 
 that even Kobo Daishi failed to master it ; but, nothing 
 daunted, he received permission from the Emperor to 
 visit China, where he ultimately unravelled its profound 
 mysteries, and attained to that degree of saintship asso- 
 ciated with the miraculous. 
 
 GohitsU'Osho 
 
 When Kobo Daishi was in China the Emperor, hear- 
 ing of his fame, sent for him and bade him rewrite the 
 
 235 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 name of a certain room in the royal palace, a name that 
 had become obliterated by the effacing finger of Time. 
 Kobo Daishi, with a brush in each hand, another in his 
 mouth, and two others between the toes, wrote the 
 characters required upon the wall, and for this extra- 
 ordinary performance the Emperor named him Gohitsu- 
 Osho (" The Priest who writes with Five Brushes "). 
 
 Writing on Sky and Water 
 
 While still in China Kobo Daishi met a boy standing 
 by the side of a river. " If you be Kobo Daishi," said 
 he, " be honourably pleased to write upon the sky, for I 
 have heard that no wonder is beyond your power." 
 
 Kobo Daishi raised his brush ; it moved quickly in the 
 air, and writing appeared in the blue sky, characters 
 that were perfectly formed and wonderfully beautiful. 
 
 When the boy had also written upon the sky with no 
 less skill, he said to Kobo Daishi : " We have both 
 written upon the sky. Now I beg that you will write 
 upon this flowing river." 
 
 Kobo Daishi readily complied. Once again his brush 
 moved, and this time a poem appeared on the water, a 
 poem written in praise of that particular river. The 
 letters lingered for a moment, and then were carried 
 away by the swift current. 
 
 There seems to have been a contest in magical power 
 between these two workers of marvels, for no sooner had 
 the letters passed out of sight than the boy also wrote 
 upon the running water the character of the Dragon, and 
 it remained stationary. 
 
 Kobo Daishi, who was a great scholar, at once per- 
 ceived that the boy had omitted the ten, a dot which 
 rightly belonged to this character. When Kobo Daishi 
 pointed out the error, the boy told him that he had for- 
 gotten to insert the ten, and begged that the famous 
 236 
 
KINO MOMOYE AND ONOMO TOKU 
 
 saint would put it in for him. No sooner had Kobo 
 Daishi done so than the Dragon character became a 
 Dragon. Its tail lashed the waters, thunder-clouds 
 sped across the sky, and lightning flashed. In another 
 moment the Dragon arose from the water and ascended 
 to heaven. 
 
 Though Kobo Daishi's powers of magic excelled 
 those of the boy, he inquired who this youth might be, 
 and the boy replied: " I am Monju Bosatsu, the Lord of 
 Wisdom." Having spoken these words, he became 
 illumined by a radiant light ; the beauty of the Gods 
 shone upon his countenance, and, like the Dragon, he 
 ascended into heaven. 
 
 How Kob5 Daishi Painted the Ten 
 
 On one occasion Kobo Daishi omitted the ten on a 
 tablet placed above one of the gates of the Emperor's 
 palace. 1 The Emperor commanded that ladders should 
 be brought; but Kobo Daishi, without making use of 
 them, stood upon the ground, and threw up his brush, 
 which, after making the ##, fell into his hand. 
 
 Kino Momoye and Onomo Toku 
 
 Kino Momoye once ridiculed some of Kobo Daishi's 
 characters, and said that one of them resembled a con- 
 ceited wrestler. On the night he made this foolish jest 
 Momoye dreamed that a wrestler struck him blow upon 
 blow moreover, that his antagonist leapt upon his body, 
 causing him considerable pain. Momoye awoke, and 
 cried aloud in his agony, and as he cried he saw the 
 wrestler suddenly change into the character he had so 
 unwisely jeered at. It rose into the air, and went back 
 to the tablet from whence it had come. 
 
 1 Hence the Japanese proverb : " Even Kobo Daishi sometimes 
 wrote wrong." 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Momoye was not the only man who imprudently 
 scoffed at the great Kobo Daishi's work. Legend 
 records that one named Onomo Toku said that the 
 saint's character Shu was far more like the character 
 " rice." That night Onomo Toku had good reason to 
 regret his folly, for in a dream the character Shu took 
 bodily form and became a rice-cleaner, who moved up 
 and down the offender's body after the manner of 
 hammers that were used in beating this grain. When 
 Onomo Toku awoke it was to find that his body was 
 covered with bruises and that his flesh was bleeding in 
 many places. 
 
 Kobo Daishi's Return 
 
 When Kobo Daishi was about to leave China and 
 return to his own country he went down to the seashore 
 and threw his vajra * across the ocean waves, and it was 
 afterwards found hanging on the branch of a pine-tree at 
 Takano, in Japan. 
 
 We are not told anything about Kobo Daishi's voyage 
 to his own land ; but directly he arrived in Japan he 
 gave thanks for the divine protection he had received 
 during his travels. On the Naked Mountain he offered 
 incantations of so powerful a nature that the once barren 
 mountain became covered with flowers and trees. 
 
 Kobo Daishi, as time advanced, became still more 
 holy. During a religious discussion the Divine Light 
 streamed from him, and he continued to perform many 
 great marvels. He made brackish water pure, raised the 
 dead to life, and continued to commune with certain 
 gods. On one occasion Inari, 2 the God of Rice, 
 
 1 An instrument of incantation somewhat resembling a thunder- 
 bolt. 
 
 2 At a later period Inari was known as the Fox God. See 
 Chapter V. 
 
 238 
 
A MIRACULOUS IMAGE 
 
 appeared on Mount Fushime and took from the great 
 saint the sacrifice he offered. "Together, you and I,' ' 
 said Kobo Daishi, "we will protect this people." 
 
 The Death of Kobo Daishi 
 
 In A.D. 834 this remarkable saint died, and we are told 
 that a very great gathering, both lay and priestly, wept at 
 the graveyard of Okunoin, in Koya, where he was buried. 
 His death, however, by no means meant a sudden cessa- 
 tion of miracles on his part, for when the Emperor Saga 
 died " his coffin was mysteriously borne through the air to 
 Koya, and Kobo himself, coming forth from his grave, 
 performed the funeral obsequies." Nor did the wonders 
 cease with this incident, for the Emperor Uda received 
 from Kobo Daishi the sacred Baptism. When the 
 Imperial Messenger to the temple where Kobo Daishi 
 was worshipped was unable to see the face of this 
 great saint, Kobo "guided the worshipper's hand to 
 touch his knee. Never, as long as he lived, did the 
 Messenger forget that feeling ! " 
 
 A Miraculous Image 
 
 At Kawasaki there is a temple dedicated to Kobo 
 Daishi. " Local legend attributes the sanctity of this 
 place to an image of Kobo Daishi carved by that saint 
 himself while in China, and consigned by him to the 
 waves. It floated to this coast, where it was caught in 
 a fisherman's net, and, being conveyed ashore, performed 
 numerous miracles. The trees in the temple grounds, 
 trained in the shape of junks under sail, attest the 
 devotion paid to this holy image by the seafaring 
 folk." l 
 
 1 Murray's Handbook for Japan, by B. H. Chamberlain and W. B. 
 Mason. 
 
 239 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Nichiren 
 
 Nichiren was the founder of the Buddhist sect which 
 bears his name. His name means Sun Lotus, and was 
 given to him because his mother dreamt that the sun 
 rested on a lotus when she conceived him. Nichiren 
 was an iconoclast of very marked character. He received, 
 by revelation, a complete knowledge of Buddhist mys- 
 teries, though in reading the story of his life one would 
 have supposed that he acquired his remarkable religious 
 wisdom through arduous study. During his lifetime 
 Japan was visited by a terrible earthquake, followed by 
 a destructive hurricane, pestilence, and famine. So great 
 were these calamities that men prayed to die rather than 
 live amidst such universal misery. Nichiren saw in these 
 great disasters the hand of Fate. He saw that religion 
 and politics had become corrupt, and that Nature had 
 rebelled against the numerous evils that existed at that 
 time. Nichiren realised that Buddhism was no longer 
 the simple teaching of the Lord Buddha. In the various 
 Buddhist sects he had studied so diligently he found 
 that the priests had neglected Shaka Muni (the Buddha), 
 and worshipped Amida, a manifestation of the Lord 
 Buddha, instead. Nor did their heresy end there, for 
 he found that priests and people also worshipped Kwan- 
 non and other divinities. Nichiren desired to sweep 
 these deities aside and to restore Buddhism to its old 
 purity and singleness of purpose. He cried in one of 
 his sermons : " Awake, men, awake ! Awake and look 
 around you. No man is born with two fathers or two 
 mothers. Look at the heavens above you : there are 
 no two suns in the sky. Look at the earth at your 
 feet : no two kings can rule a country." In other 
 words, he implied that no one can serve two masters, 
 and the only master he found to be worthy of service 
 240 
 
NICHIREN 
 
 and worship was Buddha himself. With this belief he 
 sought to replace the ordinary mantra, Namu Amida Butsu y 
 by Namu Myvhv Renge KyG (" Oh, the Scripture of the 
 Lotus of the Wonderful Law ! "). 
 
 Nichiren wrote Risshv Ankvku Ron (" Book to Tran- 
 quillise the Country "), which contained the prediction 
 of a Mongol invasion and many bitter attacks against 
 the other Buddhist sects. At length Hojo Tokiyori 
 was compelled to exile him to I to for thirty years. He 
 escaped, however, and renewed his heated attacks upon 
 the rival sects. Nichiren's enemies sought assistance 
 from the Regent Tokimune, who decided to have the 
 monk beheaded, and the vindictive Nichiren was finally 
 sent to the beach of Koshigoye to be executed. While 
 awaiting the fatal stroke Nichiren prayed to Buddha, 
 and the sword broke as it touched his neck. Nor was 
 this the only miracle, for immediately after the breaking 
 of the sword a flash of lightning struck the palace at 
 Kamakura, and a heavenly light surrounded the saintly 
 Nichiren. The official entrusted with the deed of exe- 
 cution was considerably impressed by these supernatural 
 events, and he sent a messenger to the Regent for a 
 reprieve. Tokimune, however, had sent a horseman 
 bearing a pardon, and the two men met at a river now 
 called Yukiai (" Place of Meeting/') 
 
 Nichiren's miraculous escape was followed by an even 
 more vigorous attack on those whom he considered 
 were not of the true religion. He was again exiled, 
 and finally took up his abode on Mount Minobu. 
 It is said that a beautiful woman came to this mountain 
 whilst Nichiren was praying. When the great saint 
 saw her, he said : " Resume your natural state." After 
 the woman had drunk water she changed into a snake 
 nearly twenty feet long, with iron teeth and golden 
 scales. 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Shodo Shonin 
 
 Shodo Shonin was the founder of the first Buddhist 
 temple at Nikko, and the following legend is supposed 
 to have led to the construction of the sacred bridge 
 of Nikko. One day, while Shodo Shonin was on a 
 journey, he saw four strange-looking clouds rise from 
 the earth to the sky. He pressed forward in order to 
 see them more clearly, but could not go far, for he 
 found that his road was barred by a wild torrent. 
 While he was praying for some means to continue his 
 journey a gigantic figure appeared before him, clad 
 in blue and black robes, with a necklace of skulls. 
 The mysterious being cried to him from the opposite 
 bank, saying : cc I will help you as I once helped 
 Hiuen." Having uttered these words, the Deity threw 
 two blue and green snakes across the river, and on this 
 bridge of snakes the priest was able to cross the torrent. 
 When Shodo Shonin had reached the other bank the 
 God and his blue and green snakes disappeared. 
 
 242 
 
CHAPTER XX : FANS 
 
 The Significance of the Japanese Fan 
 
 HER weapons are a smile and a little fan." 
 This quotation from Mr. Yone Noguchi only 
 illustrates one phase of the Japanese fan, the 
 phase with which we are familiar in our own country. 
 The Japanese fan is not merely a dainty feminine trifle 
 to be used in conjunction with a smile or with eyes 
 peeping behind some exquisite floral design. Nippon's 
 fan has a fascinating history quite outside the gentle 
 art of coquetry, and those who are interested in this 
 subject would do well to consult Mrs. C. M. Salwey's 
 Fans of Japan. Here the reader will find that the fan 
 of the Land of the Rising Sun has performed many 
 important offices. It has been used by ancient warriors 
 on the battlefield as a means of giving emphasis to 
 their commands. On one occasion it was the mark of 
 Nasu no Yoichi's bow, and although the sun-marked 
 fan was whirling in the wind, tied to* a staff in the gunwale 
 of one of the Taira ships, Yoichi brought it down : 
 
 " Alas ! the fan ! 
 Now driftwood on the sea. 
 The lord Nasu, 
 Skilful with the bow, 
 Yoichi's fame is spread." 
 
 A certain Japanese fan, of gigantic size, is used in the 
 festival of the Sun Goddess in Ise, and there is a pretty 
 story told of the widow of Atsumori becoming a nun 
 and curing a priest by fanning him with the first folding 
 fan, which is said to have been her own invention. 
 
 One of the most important parts of the Japanese 
 fan, as of any other, is the rivet, and concerning the 
 rivet there is the following legend. Kashima on 
 one occasion stuck his sword through the earth, with 
 
 243 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the idea of steadying the world and thus preventing 
 earthquakes, phenomena still prevalent in Japan. 
 Eventually the sword turned into stones, and it was 
 called Kaname ishi y or the Rivet Rock, and this was 
 the origin of the name kaname as applied to Japanese 
 fans. 
 
 Mrs. C. M. Salwey tells us in an article entitled 
 On Symbolism and Symbolic Ceremonies of the Japanese' 1 
 that the folding fan symbolises life itself. She writes : 
 " The rivet end typifies the starting-point, the radiating 
 limbs the road or life. . . . The outside frame-sticks 
 specify the parents, the inside limbs the children, to 
 show that children must be under control all their life 
 long." On the frame there is often a cat's eye, sug- 
 gesting the rapid passing of time, or, again, there is 
 a series of circles, one linked into the other an incom- 
 plete design, showing that " life and wisdom can never 
 be exhausted." 
 
 There is a legend concerning the Japanese fan that 
 is extremely pleasing, and neither war nor philosophy 
 figures in it. Though the story of the Japanese fan is 
 wide and varied, it appeals to us most in its more tender 
 aspect. The Japanese fan that has a love-poem upon 
 it and a love-story behind it is the fan that will always 
 be the most precious to those who still keep a place 
 for romance in their hearts. The following legend is 
 from The Diary of a Convolvulus. 
 
 The Love of Asagao 
 
 " The morning glory 
 Her leaves and bells has bound 
 My bucket-handle round. 
 I would not break the bands 
 Of those soft hands. 
 
 1 4 static Quarterly Review, October 1894. 
 244 
 
THE LOVE OF ASAGAO 
 
 The bucket and the well to her I left : 
 Lend me some water, for I come bereft." 
 
 From the Japanese. (Trans, by SIR EDWIN ARNOLD.) 
 
 Komagawa Miyagi, a retainer of one of the daimyvs, 
 came to a suburb of Kyoto. As it happened to be a 
 warm summer evening he hired a boat, and, forgetting 
 all his worries, he watched many bright-robed little 
 ladies catching fireflies. In the air and on the grass 
 these bright insects shone, so that the laughing 
 ladies had many opportunities of catching these living 
 jewels and placing them for a moment in their hair, 
 upon poised finger, or against a silk flower on a 
 kimono. 
 
 While Komagawa watched this pretty scene he saw 
 that one of the ladies was in difficulty with her boat. 
 Komagawa at once came to her assistance, and there and 
 then fell desperately in love with her. They lingered 
 together in a cool recess on the river, and no longer 
 troubled about fireflies, for both were eager to express 
 their love. 
 
 In order to pledge their vows these two lovers, 
 according to an ancient custom, exchanged fans. On 
 Miyuki's fan there was a painting of a convolvulus. 
 Komagawa wrote a poem about this lovely flower upon 
 his own fan before presenting it to the woman he loved. 
 So it was that their fans and their vows were exchanged, 
 and the convovulus, in picture and in verse, became 
 the pledge of their troth. 
 
 Ji O 
 
 Eventually the lovers separated, to meet again a few 
 days later at Akasha, where it chanced that their ships 
 touched each other. When they had exchanged many 
 a fair and loving word they returned to their respective 
 homes. 
 
 When Miyuki reached her home, radiant with thoughts 
 of her true love, she discovered that her parents had 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 already arranged a marriage for her with some one the 
 poor little woman had never seen. 
 
 Miyuki heard this piece of news with an aching 
 heart. She knew that children must obey their parents, 
 and when she was lying down on her futon she did her 
 utmost to comply with her parents' wish. But the 
 struggle proved useless, for the form of her lover kept 
 on coming back to her, and the river and the gleaming 
 fireflies. So she arose, crept out of the house, and 
 walked towards a certain town, hoping to find Koma- 
 gawa, only to discover on her arrival that he had 
 departed, no one knew whither. 
 
 This bitter disappointment much affected Miyuki, 
 and she wept for many days; Her salt tears flowed so 
 persistently that she soon became quite blind, as helpless 
 a creature as " a bird without feathers or a fish without 
 fins." 
 
 Miyuki, after she had given way to grief for some 
 time, discovered that if she did not wish to starve she 
 must do something to earn a living. She made up her 
 mind to make use of her excellent voice and to sing in 
 streets or in tea-houses. Her voice, combined with 
 her beautiful and pathetic face, won instant recognition. 
 People wept over her plaintive [singing without know- 
 ing why; She loved to sing the little poem about the 
 convolvulus Komagawa had written on his fan, so the 
 people who heard her called her Asagao (" Convolvulus"). 
 
 The blind maiden was led from place to place by her 
 friend Asaka (" Slight Fragrance"), till some one killed 
 her, and Asagao was left alone to tap out her dark journeys 
 without a loving hand to guide her. There was only 
 one thought that consoled Asagao, and that was that she 
 might, in her wanderings, eventually meet her lover. 
 
 When a few years had passed by it chanced that 
 Komagawa, accompanied by Iwashiro Takita, was sent 
 246 
 
THE LOVE OF ASAGAO 
 
 on business by his DaimyV. While on their journey 
 they happened to enter a certain tea-house. Iwashiro 
 Takita was sullen and morose, and sat in gloomy silence, 
 not deigning to notice his surroundings. Komagawa, 
 on the other hand, looked about him, and saw on a 
 screen the very poem he had written about the convol- 
 vulus, the poem he had so lovingly inscribed for Asagao. 
 While pondering the matter in his mind the master 
 of the tea-house entered the apartment. Komagawa 
 questioned him concerning this little love-poem, and 
 the master of the tea-house told the following story : 
 
 " It is a very sad story," said he. " The poem was 
 sung by a poor blind lady. She ran away from her 
 home because she could not marry the man her parents 
 had chosen for her. She was unable to consent to the 
 union because she already had a lover, and this lover she 
 sought up and down the country, ever singing this little 
 poem about the convolvulus, in the hope that some day 
 she might have the good fortune to meet him. Honour- 
 able sir, at this very moment she is in my tea-garden ! " 
 
 Komagawa could scarcely conceal his joy when he 
 requested that the master of the tea-house would bring 
 in the blind woman. 
 
 In another moment Asagao stood before him. He 
 saw in her delicate face an added beauty, the beauty of 
 a hope, of a love kept bright and clear through the long, 
 sorrowful years of waiting. 
 
 Asagao touched the samisen. 1 Very gently she sang : 
 
 " Down fell the shower of silver rain and wet the poor Convolvulus, 
 The sweet dew on the leaves and flowers being taken away by the 
 jealous sun." 
 
 1 " The samisen, or ' three strings,' now the favourite instrument 
 of the singing-girls and of the lower classes generally, seems to have 
 been introduced from Manila as recently as the year 1700." Things 
 Japaneje, by B. H. Chamberlain. 
 
 2 47 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Komagawa listened intently, longing to speak, longing 
 to reveal his love, yet keeping silent because his ill-bred 
 companion still remained in the room. He watched her 
 dark eyes fixed upon him, but they were without ex- 
 pression, for they could not see. Still the samisen tinkled, 
 and still the voice sounded sweet and low and un- 
 speakably pathetic in the apartment. With an aching 
 heart and without a word of love he dismissed her with 
 the usual fee. She walked out of the room as if conscious 
 of a new, acute sorrow. There was something in her 
 patron's voice that was extremely tender, something that 
 moved her deeply, and it made her heart ache and yearn 
 without knowing why. 
 
 The next day Komagawa gave the master of the tea- 
 house a fan, saying : " Give this fan and money to 
 Asagao. She will understand." With these words 
 Komagawa and his companion proceeded on their 
 journey. 
 
 When Asagao had received the fan she felt it eagerly 
 with her small white fingers. " Who has given me this 
 fan and money ? " she inquired. " Oh, tell me what 
 the fan is like. Has it a drawing of a convolvulus ?" 
 
 The master of the tea-house looked at her gently. 
 " He to whom you sang last night gave you this fan," 
 said he. " There is a drawing of a convolvulus upon it." 
 
 Asagao gave a cry of joy. " Last night," she said 
 softly, " I was with my lover again ! And now, and 
 now . . ." 
 
 At this very moment a servant from Asagao's old 
 home arrived, asserting that he had been sent by her 
 parents to bring her back again. But Asagao, true to 
 her old love, determined to fight down all opposition. 
 
 Now it happened that the master of this tea-house 
 had once been employed by Asagao's father. He had 
 committed a great wrong in that capacity, a wrong 
 248 
 
THE LOVE OF ASAGAO 
 
 worthy of death ; but Asagao's father had taken pity 
 upon him. He had dismissed him with money, which 
 had enabled the wrongdoer to set up in business for 
 himself. During this crisis the master of the tea-house 
 thought over the kindness that had been shown him, 
 and resolved to commit seppuku in order that his old 
 master's child might receive her sight again by means 
 of this brave man's liver. 1 
 
 So the master of the tea-house killed himself, and 
 Asagao received her sight. That very night, though 
 there was a fierce tempest raging, she set out in search 
 of her lover, accompanied by a faithful little band of 
 servants. All night the maiden journeyed over rough 
 and rugged roads. She scarcely noticed the heavy rain 
 or her bleeding feet. She was urged on by a joyous 
 love, by the fond hope of finding her lover again. 
 
 As she climbed a mountain, now bathed in sunlight, 
 she fancied she heard a voice calling her name. She 
 looked about her and discovered Komagawa. Peace 
 came to her then. All the weariness of long search and 
 almost endless waiting were over for ever, and in a little 
 while the lovers were married. The convolvulus, or 
 morning glory, is a flower that only blooms for a few 
 hours ; but Asagao's love had the beauty of the con- 
 volvulus combined with the strength and long life of 
 the pine. In their happy union they had remained true 
 to the pledge of love upon their fans, and out of blind- 
 ness and much suffering Asagao could hold up her fair 
 head to the dew and sunshine of her lover's sheltering 
 arms. 
 
 1 The liver, both of man and animal, was supposed to have 
 
 remarkable medicinal properties. It frequently occurs in Japanese 
 
 legends, but the idea was probably borrowed from the strangest 
 pharmacopoeia in the world, that of the Chinese. 
 
 249 
 
CHAPTER XXI : THUNDER 
 
 " The earth is full of saltpetre and sulphur, which rise 
 in the form of mist, and, uniting in the sky, become a 
 vapour that possesses the properties of gunpowder. When 
 this nears the intense heat of the sun it explodes, like a 
 natural gas ; and the terrible sound is heard by all the 
 world. The shock, striking animals and birds wandering 
 in the clouds, hurls them to the ground. Therefore 
 thunder, and lightning, and the creatures that tumble 
 from the clouds during a storm, are not one and the same 
 thing." 
 
 " Shin-rai-ki " (Record of Thunder). 
 
 Raiden 
 
 ""^HERE are many quaint legends in regard to 
 thunder, and in Bakin's Kumono Tayema Ama 
 A To No Tsuki x (" The Moon, shining through a 
 Cloud-rift, on a Rainy Night") the famous Japanese 
 novelist, who is an ardent believer in many of the 
 superstitions of his country, has much to say in regard 
 to Raiden, the God of Thunder, and the supernatural 
 beings associated with him. Raiden is usually depicted 
 as having red skin, the face of a demon, with two claws 
 on each foot, and carrying on his back a great wheel or 
 arc of drums. He is often found in company with Fugin, 
 or with his son, Raitaro. When the Mongols attempted 
 to invade Japan they were prevented from doing so by 
 a great storm, and, according to legend, only three men 
 escaped to tell the tale. Raiden's assistance in favour of 
 Japan is often portrayed in Japanese art. He is de- 
 picted sitting on the clouds emitting lightning, and 
 sending forth a shower of arrows upon the invaders. 
 In China the Thunder God is regarded as a being ever 
 on the look-out for wicked people. When he finds 
 
 1 See translation, entitled A Captive of Love, by Edward Greey. 
 250 
 
THUNDER BIRD AND THUNDER WOMAN 
 
 them, the Goddess of Lightning flashes a mirror upon 
 those whom the God wishes to strike. 
 
 The Thunder Animal 
 
 Raiju, or Thunder Animal, appears to be more 
 closely associated with lightning than with thunder. 
 He is seen in forms resembling a weasel, badger, or 
 monkey. In the Shin-rai-ki (" Thunder Record ") we 
 read the following : " On the twenty-second day of the 
 sixth month of the second year of Meiwa [July 1766] 
 a Thunder Animal fell at Oyama [Great Mountain], in 
 the province of Sagami. It was captured by a farmer, 
 who brought it to Yedo, and exhibited it for money on 
 the Riyo-goku Bridge. The creature was a little larger 
 than a cat, and resembled a weasel : it had black hair, 
 and five claws on each paw. During fine weather it 
 was very tame and gentle ; but, before and during a 
 storm, exceedingly savage and unmanageable." In 
 China the Thunder Animal is described as having 
 " the head of a monkey, with crimson lips, eyes like 
 mirrors, and two sharp claws on each paw." During a 
 storm the Thunder Animal of Japan springs from tree 
 to tree, and if any of the trees are found to have been 
 struck by lightning it is believed to be the savage 
 work of the Thunder Animal's claws. This being, in 
 common with the Thunder God himself, is said to have 
 a weakness for human navels, so that for this reason 
 many superstitious people endeavour, if possible, to lie 
 flat on their stomachs during a thunderstorm. Bark 
 torn by the Thunder Animal is carefully preserved, and 
 is supposed to be an excellent remedy for toothache. 
 
 The Thunder Bird and Thunder Woman 
 
 Raicho, Thunder Bird, resembles a rook, but it has 
 spurs of flesh, which, when struck together, produce a 
 
 251 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 horrible sound. This is the bird to which the Emperor 
 of Goto-bain referred in the following poem : 
 
 " In the shadow of the pine-tree of Shiro-yama 
 Thunder-birds rest, and spend the night," 
 
 These birds feed upon the tree-frog named rai 
 (thunder), and are always seen flying about in the sky 
 during a thunderstorm. 
 
 Little is known concerning Kaminari (Thunder 
 Woman), except that on one occasion she is said to have 
 appeared in the guise of a Chinese Empress. 
 
 A Strange Belief 
 
 Bakin remarks that those who are afraid of thunder 
 have the In, or female principle, predominating, while 
 those who are not afraid have the 70, or the male 
 principle, in the ascendency. The same writer gives the 
 following custom in regard to those who have suffered 
 as the result of a thunderstorm, and we must note that 
 emphasis is laid upon thunder as the destructive power 
 noise rather than light : " When any one is struck by 
 thunder make him lie upon his back, and place a live 
 carp in his bosom. If the carp jumps and moves the 
 patient will recover. This is infallible. When thunder 
 scorches the flesh burn Ko (incense) under the sufferer's 
 nose. This will cause him to cough, and break the spell 
 of the Thunder God." 
 
 The Child of the Thunder God 
 
 Most of the legends relating to Raiden and his 
 kindred spirits are of a malevolent nature ; but in the 
 following story we learn that the Thunder God's child 
 brought considerable prosperity. 
 
 Near Mount Hakuzan there once lived a very poor 
 farmer named Bimbo. His plot of land was extremely 
 small, and though he worked upon it from dawn till sun- 
 252 
 
THE CHILD OF THE THUNDER GOD 
 
 set he had great difficulty in growing sufficient rice for 
 himself and his wife. 
 
 One day, after a protracted drought, Bimbo dismally 
 surveyed his dried-up rice sprouts. As he thus stood fear- 
 ing starvation in the near future, rain suddenly descended, 
 accompanied by loud claps of thunder. Just as Bimbo 
 was about to take shelter from the storm he was nearly 
 blinded by a vivid flash of lightning, and he prayed fer- 
 vently to Buddha for protection. When he had done so 
 he looked about him, and to his amazement saw a little 
 baby boy laughing and crooning as he lay in the grass. 
 
 Bimbo took the infant in his arms, and gently carried 
 him to his humble dwelling, where his wife greeted him 
 with surprise and pleasure. The child was called 
 Raitaro, the Child of Thunder, and lived with his foster- 
 parents a happy and dutiful boy. He never played with 
 other children, for he loved to roam in the fields, to 
 watch the stream and the swift flight of clouds overhead. 
 
 With the coming of Raitaro there came prosperity to 
 Bimbo, for Raitaro could beckon to clouds and bid them 
 throw down their rain-drops only on his foster-father's 
 field. 
 
 When Raitaro had grown into a handsome youth of 
 eighteen he once again thanked Bimbo and his wife for 
 all they had done for him, and told them that he must 
 now bid farewell to his benefactors. 
 
 Almost before the youth had finished speaking, he 
 suddenly turned into a small white dragon, lingered a 
 moment, and then flew away. 
 
 The old couple ran to the door. As the white dragon 
 ascended into the sky it grew bigger and bigger, till it 
 was hidden behind a great cloud. 
 
 When Bimbo and his wife died a white dragon was 
 carved upon their tomb in memory of Raitaro, the Child 
 of Thunder. 
 
 253 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Shokuro and the Thunder God 
 
 Shokuro, in order to stand well with TorQ, the magis- 
 trate of his district, promised him that he would catch 
 the Thunder God. "If," said Shokuro, "I were to tie 
 a human navel to the end of a kite, and fly it during a 
 stormy day, I should be sure to catch Raiden, for the 
 Thunder God would not be able to resist such a repast. 
 The most difficult part of the whole business is to secure 
 the meal." 
 
 With this scheme in view Shokuro set out upon a 
 journey in quest of food for the Thunder God. On 
 reaching a wood he chanced to see a beautiful woman 
 named Chiyo. The ambitious Shokuro, without the least 
 compunction, killed the maid, and, having secured his 
 object, flung her corpse into a deep ditch. He then 
 proceeded on his way with a light heart. 
 
 Raiden, while sitting on a cloud, happened to notice 
 the woman's body lying in a ditch. He descended 
 quickly, and, being fascinated by the beauty of Chiyo, he 
 took from his mouth a navel, restored her to life, and 
 together they flew away into the sky. 
 
 Some days later Shokuro was out hunting for the 
 Thunder God, his kite, with its gruesome relic, soaring 
 high over the trees as it flew hither and thither in a 
 strong wind. Chiyo saw the kite, and descended nearer 
 and nearer to the earth. At last she held it in her hands 
 and saw what was attached. Filled with indignation, 
 she looked down in order to see who was flying the 
 kite, and was much astonished to recognise her mur- 
 derer. At this juncture Raiden descended in a rage, 
 only to receive severe chastisement at the hands of 
 Shokuro, who then made his peace with Chiyo, and 
 afterwards became a famous man in the village. Truly 
 an astonishing story ! 
 2 54 
 
CHAPTER XXII : ANIMAL LEGENDS 
 
 Magical Animals 
 
 MANY of the following stones are the tales a 
 Japanese mother narrates to her child, for 
 animal stories make a universal appeal to the 
 child-mind. They are generally regarded as fairy stories, 
 but they contain so much legendary material that it is 
 necessary to include them in a book of this kind, for 
 they tend to illustrate our subject in a lighter vein, where 
 the miraculous is mingled with the humorous. We 
 have devoted a separate chapter to fox legends on 
 account of the importance of the subject, but it must be 
 borne in mind that the supernatural characteristics of 
 this animal apply also to the badger and cat, for in 
 Japanese legend all three animals have been associated 
 with an incalculable amount of mischief. 
 
 The Hare 
 
 The hare is supposed to attain, like the fox, tortoise, 
 crane, and tiger, a fabulous age, extending to no less 
 than a thousand years. In Taoist legends the hare is 
 said to live in the moon, and is occupied in pounding, 
 with pestle and mortar, the drugs that compose the 
 Elixir of Life, while in other legends, as we have seen 
 elsewhere, this animal is represented as pounding rice. 
 Shaka Muni (the Lord Buddha), according to legend, is 
 said to have sacrificed himself as a hare in order that he 
 might appease the hunger of Indra, who drew the animal 
 upon the moon by way of showing his admiration. The 
 fur of the hare becomes white when it has lived for five 
 hundred years, and we give below the famous legend 
 from the Kojiki known as " The White Hare of 
 Inaba." 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The White Hare of Inaba 
 
 In ancient days there were eighty-one brothers, who 
 were Princes in Japan. With the exception of one 
 brother they were quarrelsome fellows, and spent their 
 time in showing all manner of petty jealousy, one 
 toward the other. Each wanted to reign over the whole 
 kingdom, and, in addition, each had the misfortune to 
 wish to marry the Princess of Yakami, in Inaba. Al- 
 though these eighty Princes were at variance in most 
 things, they were at one in persistently hating the 
 brother who was gentle and peaceful in all his ways. 
 
 At length, after many angry words, the eighty brothers 
 decided to go to Inaba in order to visit the Princess of 
 Yakami, each brother fully resolved that he and he alone 
 should be the successful suitor. The kind and gentle 
 brother accompanied them, not, indeed, as a wooer of 
 the fair Princess, but as a servant who carried a large 
 and heavy bag upon his back. 
 
 At last the eighty Princes, who had left their much- 
 wronged brother far behind, arrived at Cape Keta. 
 They were about to continue their journey when they 
 saw a white hare lying on the ground looking very 
 miserable and entirely divested of fur. 
 
 The eighty Princes, who were much amused by the 
 sorry plight of the hare, said : "If you want your fur 
 to grow again, bathe in the sea, and, when you have 
 done so, run to the summit of a high mountain and 
 allow the wind to blow upon you." With these words 
 the eighty heartless Princes proceeded on their way. 
 
 The hare at once went down to the sea, delighted at 
 the prospect of regaining his handsome white fur. Hav- 
 ing bathed, he ran up to the top of a mountain and lay 
 down upon it ; but he quickly perceived that the cold 
 wind blowing on a skin recently immersed in salt water 
 256 
 
THE WHITE HARE OF INABA 
 
 was beginning to crack and split. In addition to the 
 humiliation of having no fur he now suffered consider- 
 able physical pain, and he realised that the eighty 
 Princes had shamefully deceived him. 
 
 While the hare was lying in pain upon the mountain 
 the kind and gentle brother approached, slowly and 
 laboriously, owing to the heavy bag he carried. When 
 he saw the weeping hare he inquired how it was that 
 the poor animal had met with such a misfortune. 
 
 "Please stop a moment," said the hare, "and I will 
 tell you how it all happened. I wanted to cross from 
 the Island of Oki to Cape Keta, so 1 said to the croco- 
 diles : c I should very much like to know how many 
 crocodiles there are in the sea, and how many hares on 
 land. Allow me first of all to count you/ And hav- 
 ing said these words the crocodiles formed themselves 
 into a long line, stretching from the Island of Oki to 
 Cape Keta. I ran across their horny bodies, counting 
 each as I passed. When I reached the last crocodile, 
 I said : c O foolish crocodiles, it doesn't matter to me 
 how many there are of you in the sea, or how many 
 hares on land ! I only wanted you for a bridge in order 
 that I might reach my destination.' Alas ! my miserable 
 boast cost me dear, for the last crocodile raised his head 
 and snapped off all my fur ! " 
 
 "Well," said the gentle brother, "I must say you 
 were in the wrong and deserved to suffer for your 
 folly. Is that the end of your story ? " 
 
 " No," continued the hare. "I had no sooner suffered 
 this indignity than the eighty Princes came by, and 
 lyingly told me that I might be cured by salt water and 
 wind. Alas ! not knowing that they deceived me, I 
 carried out their instructions, with the result that my 
 body is cracked and extremely sore." 
 
 "Bathe in fresh water, my poor friend," said the 
 
 R 257 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 good brother, " and when you have done so scatter the 
 pollen of sedges upon the ground and roll yourself in 
 it. This will indeed heal your sores and cause your 
 fur to grow again. " 
 
 The hare walked slowly to the river, bathed himself, 
 and then rolled about in sedge pollen. He had no 
 sooner done so than his skin healed and he was covered 
 once more with a thick coat of fur. 
 
 The grateful hare ran back to his benefactor. "Those 
 eighty wicked and cruel brothers of yours," said he, 
 " shall never win the Princess of Inaba. It is you who 
 shall marry her and reign over the country." 
 
 The hare's prophecy came true, for the eighty Princes 
 failed in their mission, while the brother who was good 
 and kind to the white hare married the fair Princess 
 and became King of the country. 
 
 The Crackling Mountain 
 
 An old man and his wife kept a white hare. One 
 day a badger came and ate the food provided for the 
 pet. The mischievous animal was about to scamper 
 away when the old man, seeing what had taken place, 
 tied the badger to a tree, and then went to a neigh- 
 bouring mountain to cut wood. 
 
 When the old man had gone on his journey the 
 badger began to weep and to beg that the old woman 
 would untie the rope. She had no sooner done so than 
 the badger proclaimed vengeance and ran away. 
 
 When the good white hare heard what had taken 
 place he set out to warn his master ; but during his 
 absence the badger returned, killed the old woman, 
 assumed her form, and converted her corpse into 
 broth. 
 
 " I have made such excellent broth," said the badger, 
 when the old man returned from the mountain. "You 
 258 
 
THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN 
 
 must be hungry and tired : pray sit down and make a 
 good meal ! " 
 
 The old man, not suspecting treachery of any kind, 
 consumed the broth and pronounced it excellent. 
 
 " Excellent ? " sneered the badger. " You have 
 eaten your wife ! Her bones lie over there in that 
 corner," and with these words he disappeared. 
 
 While the old man was overcome with sorrow, and 
 while he wept and bewailed his fate, the hare returned, 
 grasped the situation, and scampered off to the moun- 
 tain fully resolved to avenge the death of his poor old 
 mistress. 
 
 When the hare reached the mountain he saw the 
 badger carrying a bundle of sticks on his back. Softly 
 the hare crept up, and, unobserved, set light to the 
 sticks, which began to crackle immediately. 
 
 " This is a strange noise," said the badger. " What 
 is it?" 
 
 "The Crackling Mountain," replied the hare. 
 
 The fire began to burn the badger, so he sprang into 
 a river and extinguished the flames ; but on getting out 
 again he found that his back was severely burnt, and 
 the pain he suffered was increased by a cayenne poultice 
 which the delighted hare provided for that purpose. 
 
 When the badger was well again he chanced to see 
 the hare standing by a boat he had made. 
 
 "Where are you going in that vessel ?" inquired the 
 badger. 
 
 "To the moon," replied the hare. "Perhaps you 
 would like to come with me ? " 
 
 "Not in your boat!" said the badger. "I know 
 too well your tricks on the Crackling Mountain. But I 
 will build a boat of clay for myself, and we will journey 
 to the moon." 
 
 Down the river went the wooden boat of the hare 
 
 259 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 and the clay boat of the badger. Presently the badger's 
 vessel began to come to pieces. The hare laughed 
 derisively, and killed his enemy with his oar. Later 
 on, when the loyal animal returned to the old man, he 
 justly received much praise and loving care from his 
 grateful master. 
 
 The Badger 
 
 The badger in legend has much in common with the 
 fox. It can adopt human form and assume the shape 
 of the moon ; but in many legends it is described as a 
 humorous creature, an animal intensely fond of a 
 practical joke. The badger is frequently depicted in 
 legend and art as playing a tattoo on its protuberant 
 and drum-like stomach, and it is for this reason that 
 Japanese jesters are sometimes called badgers. 
 
 Kadzutoyo and the Badger 
 
 On one occasion Kadzutoyo and his retainer went 
 fishing. They had had excellent sport, and were about 
 to return home, when a violent shower came on, and 
 they were forced to take shelter under a willow-tree. 
 After waiting for some time the rain showed no sign 
 of abating, and as it was already growing dark they 
 decided to continue their journey in spite of the in- 
 clement weather. They had not proceeded far when 
 they perceived a young girl weeping bitterly. Kadzu- 
 toyo regarded her with suspicion, but his retainer was 
 charmed by the maiden's great beauty, and inquired 
 who she was and why she lingered on such a stormy 
 night. 
 
 "Alas! good sir," said the maiden, still weeping, 
 " my tale is a sad one. I have long endured the taunts 
 and cruelties of my wicked stepmother, who hates me. 
 To-night she spat upon me and beat me. I could bear 
 260 
 
KADZUTOYO AND THE BADGER 
 
 the bitter humiliation no longer, and I was on the way 
 to my aunt, who lives in yonder village, there to receive 
 peace and shelter, when I was stricken down with a 
 strange malady, and compelled to remain here until the 
 pain subsided. " 
 
 These words much affected the kind-hearted retainer, 
 and he fell desperately in love with this fair maiden ; 
 but Kadzutoyo, after carefully considering the matter, 
 drew his sword and cut off her head. 
 
 " Oh I my lord," said the retainer, " what awful deed 
 is this ? How can you kill a harmless girl ? Believe 
 me, you will have to pay for your folly." 
 
 " You do not understand," replied Kadzutoyo, " but 
 all I ask is that you keep silence in the matter." 
 
 When they reached home Kadzutoyo soon fell asleep ; 
 but his retainer, after brooding over the murder of the 
 fair maiden, went to his lord's parents and told them 
 the whole pitiful story. 
 
 Kadzutoyo's father was stricken with anger when he 
 heard the dreadful tale. He at once went to his son's 
 room, roused him, and said : " Oh, miserable murderer ! 
 How could you slay an innocent girl without the least 
 provocation ? You have shamed the honourable name 
 of samurai, a name that stands for true chivalry and 
 for the defence of the weak and helpless. You have 
 brought dishonour upon our house, and it is my duty 
 to take your life." Having said these words, he drew 
 his sword. 
 
 " Sir," replied Kadzutoyo, without flinching at the 
 shining weapon, " you, like my retainer, do not under- 
 stand. It has been given me to solve certain mysteries, 
 and with that knowledge I assure you that I have not 
 been guilty of so foul a crime as you suppose, but have 
 been loyal to the fair calling of a samurai. The girl I 
 cut down with my sword was no mortal. Be pleased 
 
 261 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 to go to-morrow with your retainers to the spot where 
 this scene occurred. If you find the corpse of a girl 
 you will have no need to take my life, for I will 
 disembowel myself." 
 
 Early next day, when the sun had scarce risen in the 
 sky, Kadzutoyo' s father, together with his retainers, set 
 out upon the journey. When they reached the place 
 where the tragedy had taken place the father saw lying 
 by the roadside, not the corpse of a fair maiden as he 
 had feared, but the body of a great headless badger. 
 
 When the father reached home again he questioned 
 his son: "How is it," said he, "that what appeared 
 to be a girl to your retainer seemed to you to be a 
 badger?" 
 
 " Sir," replied Kadzutoyo, " the creature 1 saw last 
 night appeared to me as a girl ; but her beauty was 
 strange, and not like the beauty of earthly women. 
 Moreover, although it was raining hard, I observed 
 that the garments of this being did not get wet, and 
 having noticed this weird occurrence, I knew at once 
 that the woman was none other than some wicked 
 goblin. The creature took the form of a lovely maiden 
 with the idea of bewitching us with her many charms, 
 in the hope that she might get our fish." 
 
 The old Prince was filled with admiration for his 
 son's cleverness. Having discovered so much foresight 
 and prudence, he resolved to abdicate, and proclaim 
 Kadzutoyo Prince of Tosa in his stead. 
 
 The Miraculous Tea-kettle 
 
 One day a priest of the Morinji temple put his old 
 tea-kettle on the fire in order that he might make him- 
 self a cup of tea. No sooner had the kettle touched 
 the fire than it suddenly changed into the head, tail, 
 and legs of a badger. The novices of the temple were 
 262 
 
THE MIRACULOUS TEA-KETTLE 
 
 called in to see the extraordinary sight. While they 
 gazed in utter astonishment, the badger, with the body 
 of a kettle, rushed nimbly about the room, and finally 
 flew into the air: Round and round the room went the 
 merry badger, and the priests, after many efforts, suc- 
 ceeded in capturing the animal and thrusting it into a 
 box. 
 
 Shortly after this event had taken place a tinker 
 called at the temple, and the priest thought it would be 
 an excellent idea if he could induce the good man to 
 buy his extraordinary tea-kettle. He therefore took 
 the kettle out of its box, for it had now resumed its 
 ordinary form, and commenced to bargain, with the 
 result that the unsuspecting tinker purchased the kettle, 
 and took it away with him, assured that he had done a 
 good day's work in buying such a useful article at so 
 reasonable a price. 
 
 That night the tinker was awakened by hearing a 
 curious sound close to his pillow. He looked out 
 from behind his quilts and saw that the kettle he 
 had purchased was not a kettle at all, but a very lively 
 and clever badger: 
 
 When the tinker told his friends about his remarkable 
 companion, they said : " You are a fortunate fellow, 
 and we advise you to take this badger on show, for it is 
 clever enough to dance and walk on the tight-rope. 
 With song and music you certainly have in this very 
 strange creature a series of novel entertainments which 
 will attract considerable notice, and bring you far more 
 money than you would earn by all the tinkering in the 
 world." 
 
 The tinker accordingly acted upon this excellent 
 advice, and the fame of his performing badger spread 
 far and wide. Princes and princesses came to see the 
 show, and from royal patronage and the delight of the 
 
 263 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 common people he amassed a great fortune. When 
 the tinker had made his money he restored the kettle 
 to the Morinji temple, where it was worshipped as a 
 precious treasure. 
 
 The Cat 
 
 " Feed a dog for three days and he will remember your 
 kindness for three years ; feed a cat for three years and she 
 will forget your kindness in three days." 
 
 A Japanese Proverb. 
 
 The Japanese cat, with or without a tail, is very far 
 from being popular, for this animal and the venomous 
 serpent were the only two creatures that did not weep 
 when the Lord Buddha died. Nipponese cats seem to 
 be under a curse, and for the most part they are left 
 to their own resources, resources frequently associated 
 with supernatural powers. Like foxes and badgers, 
 they are able to bewitch human beings. Professor 
 B. H. Chamberlain writes in Things Japanese : " Among 
 Europeans an irreverent person may somtimes be heard 
 to describe an ugly, cross old woman as a cat. In 
 Japan, the land of topsy-turvydom, that nickname is 
 colloquially applied to the youngest and most attractive 
 the singing-girls. " The comparison seems strange to 
 us, but the allusion no doubt refers to the power of 
 witchery common alike to the singing-girl and the cat. 
 
 The Japanese cat, however, is regarded with favour 
 among sailors, and the mike-neko, or cat of three colours, 
 is most highly prized. Sailors the world over are 
 said to be superstitious, and those of Japan do their 
 utmost to secure a ship's cat, in the belief that this 
 animal will keep off the spirits of the deep. Many 
 sailors believe that those who are drowned at sea never 
 find spiritual repose ; they believe that they everlastingly 
 lurk in the waves and shout and wail as junks pass by. 
 264 
 
THE VAMPIRE CAT 
 
 To such men the breakers beating on the seashore are 
 the white, grasping hands of innumerable spirits, and 
 they believe that the sea is crowded with O-bakt, 
 honourable ghosts. The Japanese cat is said to have 
 control over the dead. 
 
 The Vampire Cat 
 
 The Prince of Hizen, a distinguished member of the 
 Nabeshima family, lingered in the garden with O Toyo, 
 the favourite among his ladies. When the sun set they 
 retired to the palace, but failed to notice that they were 
 being followed by a large cat. 
 
 O Toyo went to her room and fell asleep. At mid- 
 night she awoke and gazed about her, as if suddenly 
 aware of some dreadful presence in the apartment. At 
 length she saw, crouching close beside her, a gigantic 
 cat, and before she could cry out for assistance the 
 animal sprang upon her and strangled her. The animal 
 then made a hole under the verandah, buried the corpse, 
 and assumed the form of the beautiful O Toyo. 
 
 The Prince, who knew nothing of what had happened, 
 continued to love the false O Toyo, unaware that in 
 reality he was caressing a foul beast. He noticed, little 
 by little, that his strength failed, and it was not long 
 before he became dangerously ill. Physicians were 
 summoned, but they could do nothing to restore the 
 royal patient. It was observed that he suffered most 
 during the night, and was troubled by horrible dreams. 
 This being so his councillors arranged that a hundred 
 retainers should sit with their lord and keep watch 
 while he slept. 
 
 The watch went into the sick-room, but just before 
 ten o'clock it was overcome by a mysterious drowsi- 
 ness. When all the men were asleep the false O Toyo 
 crept into the apartment and disturbed the Prince until 
 
 265 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 sunrise. Night after night the retainers came to guard 
 their master, but' always they fell asleep at the same 
 hour, and even three loyal councillors had a similar 
 experience. 
 
 During this time the Prince grew worse, and at length 
 a priest named Ruiten was appointed to pray on his 
 behalf. One night, while he was engaged in his suppli- 
 cations, he heard a strange noise proceeding from the 
 garden. On looking out of the window he saw a young 
 soldier washing himself. When he had finished his ab- 
 lutions he stood before an image of Buddha, and prayed 
 most ardently for the recovery of the Prince. 
 
 Ruiten, delighted to find such zeal and loyalty, invited 
 the young man to enter his house, and when he had 
 done so inquired his name. 
 
 " I am Ito Soda," said the young man, " and serve in 
 the infantry of Nab6shima. I have heard of my lord's 
 sickness and long to have the honour of nursing him ; 
 but being of low rank it is not meet that I should 
 come into his presence. I have, nevertheless, prayed 
 to the Buddha that my lord's life may be spared. I 
 believe that the Prince of Hizen is bewitched, and if I 
 might remain with him I would do my utmost to find 
 and crush the evil power that is the cause of his illness." 
 
 Ruiten was so favourably impressed with these words 
 that he went the next day to consult with one of the 
 councillors, and after much discussion it was arranged 
 that Ito Soda should keep watch with the hundred 
 retainers. 
 
 When Ito Soda entered the royal apartment he saw 
 that his master slept in the middle of the room, and 
 he also observed the hundred retainers sitting in the 
 chamber quietly chatting together in the hope that they 
 would be able to keep off approaching drowsiness. By 
 ten o'clock all the retainers, in spite of their efforts, had 
 266 
 
THE VAMPIRE CAT 
 
 fallen asleep. Ito Soda tried to keep his eyes open, but 
 a heaviness was gradually overcoming him, and he 
 realised that if he wished to keep awake he must resort 
 to extreme measures. When he had carefully spread 
 oil-paper over the mats he stuck his dirk into his thigh. 
 The sharp pain he experienced warded off sleep for a 
 time, but eventually he felt his eyes closing once more. 
 Resolved to outwit the spell which had proved too 
 much for the retainers, he twisted the knife in his thigh, 
 and thus increased the pain and kept his loyal watch, 
 while blood continually dripped upon the oil-paper. 
 
 While Ito Soda watched he saw the sliding doors 
 drawn open and a beautiful woman creep softly into the 
 apartment. With a smile she noticed the sleeping re- 
 tainers, and was about to approach the Prince when she 
 observed Ito Soda. After she had spoken curtly to him 
 she approached the Prince and inquired how he fared, but 
 the Prince was too ill to make a reply. Ito Soda watched 
 every movement, and believed she tried to bewitch the 
 Prince, but she was always frustrated in her evil purpose 
 by the dauntless eyes of Ito Soda, and at last she was 
 compelled to retire. 
 
 In the morning the retainers awoke, and were filled 
 with shame when they learnt how Ito Soda had kept his 
 vigil. The councillors loudly praised the young soldier 
 for his loyalty and enterprise, and he was commanded 
 to keep watch again that night. He did so, and once 
 more the false O Toyo entered the sick-room, and, as 
 on the previous night, she was compelled to retreat 
 without being able to cast her spell over the Prince. 
 
 It was discovered that immediately the faithful Soda 
 had kept guard the Prince was able to obtain peaceful 
 slumber, and, moreover, that he began to get better, 
 for the false O Toyo, having been frustrated on two 
 occasions, now kept away altogether, and the guard was 
 
 267 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 not troubled with mysterious drowsiness. Soda, im- 
 pressed by these strange circumstances, went to one 
 of the councillors and informed him that the so-called 
 O Toyo was a goblin of some kind. 
 
 That night Soda planned to go to the creature's room 
 and try to kill her, arranging that in case she should 
 escape there should be eight retainers outside waiting 
 to capture her and despatch her immediately. 
 
 At the appointed hour Soda went to the creature's 
 apartment, pretending that he bore a message from the 
 Prince. 
 
 " What is your message ? " inquired the woman. 
 
 " Kindly read this letter," replied Soda, and with 
 these words he drew his dirk and tried to kill her. 
 
 The false O Toyo seized a halberd and endeavoured 
 to strike her adversary. Blow followed blow, but at last 
 perceiving that flight would serve her better than battle 
 she threw away her weapon, and in a moment the lovely 
 maiden turned into a cat and sprang on to the roof. 
 The eight men waiting outside in case of emergency 
 shot at the animal, but the creature succeeded in eluding 
 them. 
 
 The cat made all speed for the mountains, and caused 
 trouble among the people who lived in the vicinity, but 
 was finally killed during a hunt ordered by the Prince 
 Hizen. The Prince became well again, and I to Soda 
 received the honour and reward he so richly deserved. 
 
 The Dog 
 
 Generally speaking the dog in Japan is looked upon 
 as a friendly animal, and in most legends he acquits him- 
 self well ; but in the Oki Islands many of the inhabi- 
 tants believe that all dogs have supernatural power, 
 attributed to the fox elsewhere. Professor B. H. 
 Chamberlain writes : "The human beings in league 
 268 
 
SHIPPEITARO AND THE PHANTOM CATS 
 
 with them are termed inu-gami-mochi that is, c dog-god 
 owners/ When the spirit of such a magic dog goes forth 
 on an errand of mischief its body remains behind, grow- 
 ing gradually weaker, and sometimes dying and falling 
 to decay. When this happens the spirit on its return 
 takes up its abode in the body of a wizard, who there- 
 upon becomes more powerful than ever." 
 
 Shippeitaro and the Phantom Cats 
 
 A certain knight took shelter in a lonely and dilapi- 
 dated mountain temple. Towards midnight he was 
 awakened by hearing a strange noise. Gazing about 
 him, he saw a number of cats dancing and yelling and 
 shrieking, and over and over again he heard these words : 
 " Tell it not to Shippeitarv ! " 
 
 At midnight the cats suddenly disappeared, stillness 
 reigned in the ruined temple, and our warrior was able 
 to resume his slumber. 
 
 The next morning the young knight left the haunted 
 building, and came to one or two small dwellings near a 
 village. As he passed one of these houses he heard 
 great wailing and lamentation, and inquired the cause 
 of the trouble. 
 
 " Alas 1 " said those who thronged about the knight, 
 " well may you ask why we are so sorely troubled. This 
 very night the mountain spirit will take away our fairest 
 maiden in a great cage to the ruined temple where you 
 have spent the night, and in the morning she will be 
 devoured by the wicked spirit of the mountain. Every 
 year we lose a girl in this way, and there is none to 
 help us." 
 
 The knight, greatly moved by these pitiful words, 
 and anxious to be of service, said: "Who or what is 
 Shippeitaro ? The evil spirits in the ruined temple 
 
 used the name several times." 
 
 269 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 " ShippeitarO," said one of the people, " is a brave and 
 very fine dog, and belongs to the head man of our Prince." 
 
 The knight hastened off, was successful in securing 
 ShippeitarO for one night, and took the dog back with 
 him to the house of the weeping parents. Already the 
 cage was prepared for the damsel, and into this cage he 
 put ShippeitarO, and, with several young men to assist 
 him, they reached the haunted temple. But the young 
 men would not remain on the mountain, for they were full 
 of fear, and, having performed their task, they took their 
 departure, so that the knight and the dog were left alone. 
 
 At midnight the phantom cats again appeared, this 
 time surrounding a tomcat of immense size and of great 
 fierceness. When the monster cat saw the cage he 
 sprang round it with screams of delight, accompanied 
 by his companions. 
 
 The warrior, choosing a suitable opportunity, opened 
 the cage, and ShippeitarO sprang out and held the great 
 cat in his teeth. In another moment his master drew 
 forth his sword and slew the wicked creature. The 
 other cats were too amazed at what they had seen to 
 make good their escape, and the valiant ShippeitarO 
 soon made short work of them. Thus the village 
 was no longer troubled with ravages of the mountain 
 spirit, and the knight, in true courtly fashion, gave all 
 the praise to the brave ShippeitarO. 
 
 The Old Man Who Made the Trees to Blossom 
 
 One day, while an old man and his wife were in the 
 garden, their dog suddenly became very excited as he 
 lowered his head and sniffed the ground in one particular 
 place. The old people, believing that their pet had 
 detected something good to eat, brought a spade and 
 commenced to dig, and to their amazement they dug up 
 a great number or gold and silver pieces and a variety of 
 270 
 
THE MAN WHO MADE THE TREES BLOSSOM 
 
 precious treasures as well. With this newly acquired 
 wealth the old couple lost no time in distributing alms 
 among the poor. 
 
 When the people next door heard about their neigh- 
 bours' good fortune they borrowed the dog, and spread 
 before him all manner of delicacies in the hope that the 
 animal would do them a good turn too. But the dog, 
 who had been on previous occasions ill-treated by his 
 hosts, refused to eat, and at length the angry couple 
 dragged him into the garden. Immediately the dog 
 began to sniff, and exactly where he sniffed the greedy 
 couple began to dig ; but they dug up no treasure, and 
 all they could find was very objectionable refuse. The 
 old couple, angry and disappointed, killed the dog and 
 buried him under a pine-tree. 
 
 The good old man eventually learnt what had befallen 
 his faithful dog, and, full of sorrow, he went to the place 
 where his pet was buried, and arranged food and flowers 
 on the grave, weeping as he did so. 
 
 That night the spirit of the dog came to his master, 
 and said : " Cut down the tree where I am buried, and 
 from the wood fashion a mortar, and think of me when- 
 ever you use it." 
 
 The old man carried out these instructions, and he 
 found that when he ground the grains of rice in the pine 
 mortar every grain turned into a precious treasure. 
 
 The wicked old couple, having borrowed the dog, 
 had no compunction in borrowing the mortar too, but 
 with these wicked people the rice immediately turned 
 into filth, so that in their anger they broke and burnt 
 the precious vessel. 
 
 Once again the spirit of the dog appeared before his 
 master, and informed him what had taken place, adding : 
 " If you will sprinkle the ashes of the mortar over 
 withered trees they will immediately become full of 
 
 271 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 blossom," and having uttered these words the spirit 
 departed. 
 
 The kind-hearted old man secured the ashes, and, 
 placing them in a basket, journeyed from village to 
 village and from town to town, and over withered trees 
 he threw the ashes, and, as the dog had promised, they 
 suddenly came into flower. A prince heard of these 
 wonders, and commanded the old man to appear before 
 him, requesting that he would give an exhibition of his 
 miraculous power. The old man did so, and joyfully 
 departed with the many royal gifts bestowed upon him. 
 
 The old man's neighbours,, hearing of these miracles, 
 collected together the remaining ashes of the wonderful 
 mortar, and the wicked fellow went about the country 
 claiming to be able to revive withered or dead trees. 
 Like the original worker of wonders, the greedy old man 
 appeared in the palace, and was commanded to restore a 
 withered tree. The old man climbed up into a tree 
 and scattered the ashes, but the tree still remained 
 withered, and the ashes almost blinded and suffocated the 
 Prince. Upon this the old impostor was almost beaten to 
 death, and he went away in a very miserable state indeed. 
 
 The kind old man and his wife, after rebuking their 
 neighbours for their wickedness, allowed them to share 
 in their wealth, and the once mean, cruel, and crafty 
 couple led good and virtuous lives. 
 
 The Jellyfish and the Monkey 3 
 
 Rin-Jin, the King of the Sea, took to wife a young 
 and beautiful Dragon Princess. They had not been 
 
 L The Three Mystic Apes figure in Japanese legend. Mizaru is 
 represented with his hands over his eyes, Kikazaru with his hands 
 covering his ears, and Iwazaru with his hands laid upon his mouth. 
 These mystic apes symbolise (i) He who sees no evil, (2) He who 
 hears no evil, (3) He who speaks no evil. 
 272 
 
The Jelly Fish and the Monkey. 272 
 
THE JELLY-FISH AND THE MONKEY 
 
 married long when the fair Queen fell ill, and all the 
 advice and attention of the great physicians availed 
 nothing. 
 
 " Oh," sobbed the Queen, " there is only one thing 
 that will cure me of my illness ! " 
 
 " What is that ? " inquired Rin-Jin. 
 
 " If I eat the liver of a live monkey I shall imme- 
 diately recover. Pray get me a monkey's liver, for I 
 know that nothing else will save my life." 
 
 So Rin-Jin called a jelly-fish to his side, and said : 
 " I want you to swim to the land and return with a live 
 monkey on your back, for I wish to use his liver that 
 our Queen may be restored to health again. You are 
 the only creature who can perform this task, for you 
 alone have legs and are able to walk about on shore. 
 In order to induce the monkey to come you must tell 
 him of the wonders of the deep and of the rare beauties 
 of my great palace, with its floor of pearl and its walls 
 of coral." 
 
 The jelly-fish, delighted to think that the health and 
 happiness of his mistress depended upon the success of 
 his enterprise, lost no time in swimming to an island. 
 He had no sooner stepped on shore than he observed a 
 fine-looking monkey playing about in the branches of a 
 pine-tree. 
 
 Hello ! " said the jelly-fish, " I don't think much 
 of this island. What a dull and miserable life you 
 must lead here ! I come from the Kingdom of the Sea, 
 where Rin-Jin reigns in a palace of great size and beauty. 
 It may be that you would like to see a new country 
 where there is plenty of fruit and where the weather is 
 always fine. If so, get on my back, and I shall have 
 much pleasure in taking you to the Kingdom of the 
 Sea." 
 
 " I shall be delighted to accept your invitation," said 
 
 s 273 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 the monkey, as he got down from the tree and comfort- 
 ably seated himself on the thick shell of the jelly-fish. 
 
 " By the way," said the jelly-fish, when he had accom- 
 plished about half of the return journey, "I suppose 
 you have brought your liver with you, haven't you ? " 
 
 "What a personal question!" replied the monkey. 
 "Why do you ask?" 
 
 " Our Sea Queen is dangerously ill," said the foolish 
 jelly-fish, "and only the liver of a live monkey will save 
 her life. When we reach the palace a doctor will make 
 use of your liver and my mistress will be restored to 
 health again." 
 
 "Dear me!" exclaimed the monkey, "I wish you 
 had mentioned this matter to me before we left the 
 island." 
 
 " If I had done so," replied the jelly-fish, " you would 
 most certainly have refused my invitation." 
 
 "Believe me, you are quite mistaken, my dear jelly- 
 fish. I have several livers hanging up on a pine-tree, 
 and I would gladly have spared one in order to save 
 the life of your Queen. If you will bring me back to 
 the island again I will get it. It was most unfortunate 
 that I should have forgotten to bring a liver with me." 
 
 So the credulous jelly-fish turned round and swam 
 back to the island. Directly the jelly-fish reached the 
 shore the monkey sprang from his back and danced 
 about on the branches of a tree. 
 
 "Liver," said the monkey, chuckling, "did you say 
 liver ? You silly old jelly-fish, you'll certainly never 
 get mine ! " 
 
 The jelly-fish at length reached the palace, and told 
 Rin-Jin his dismal tale. The Sea King fell into a great 
 passion. " Beat him to a jelly ! " he cried to those 
 about him. " Beat this stupid fellow till he hasn't a 
 bone left in his body ! " 
 274 
 
THE HORSE OF BRONZE 
 
 So the jelly-fish lost his shell from that unfortunate 
 hour, and all the jelly-fishes that were born in the 
 sea after his death were also without shells, and have 
 remained nothing but jelly to this day. 
 
 The Horse of Bronze 
 
 Upon the festival of the Minige, or "The Body- 
 escaping," the Deity of Kitzuki, Oho-kuninushi, is 
 said to ride through the streets on the Bronze Horse. 
 The rite connected with the festival is of so mysterious 
 a kind that the officiating priest can only impart the 
 secret after his death to his son through the medium 
 of the deceased man's spirit. The great carved dragon 
 of Kitzuki was supposed at one time to crawl over the 
 roofs of many houses, but when his wooden throat was 
 cut he remained simply a work of art and no longer 
 troubled the inhabitants. Bronze deer of Matsue, a 
 stag and a doe, also had miraculous power and were 
 able to run about the streets at night. These visitations 
 were so frequent and so disturbing that eventually their 
 heads were cut and their escapades came to an end. 
 The gigantic tortoise of the Gesshoji temple, a stone 
 colossus very nearly sixteen feet in height, was on many 
 occasions seen endeavouring to swim across a pond 
 covered with lotus. This creature, like those we 
 have just mentioned, was mutilated, and his midnight 
 wanderings permanently checked. 
 
 *75 
 
CHAPTER XXIII : BIRD AND INSECT 
 LEGENDS 
 
 Birds 
 
 WE have already noticed certain birds mentioned 
 in Japanese legend, the pheasant in the story 
 of Momotaro, the Ho-Ho Bird, the Bridge of 
 Magpies in the accountiof Tanabata, the mysterious light 
 said to shine from the blue heron, the Thunder Bird, 
 &c. The sckireiy or wagtails, are sacred to Izanagi and 
 Izanami, for it was through these birds that these divi- 
 nities first learnt the art of love, and not even the God 
 of Scarecrows can frighten them. When the great hero 
 Yamato-take died he was supposed to have been trans- 
 formed into a white bird, and we read in the Hv-jv-ki' 1 
 that Chomei fancied he heard in the note of a copper 
 pheasant the cry of his mother. Mythical creatures 
 such as the Tengu possess certain bird-like qualities, 
 but they cannot be classed under the heading of birds, 
 and for this reason they are dealt with elsewhere. 
 
 The Cock 
 
 The God of Mionoseki detests cocks and hens and 
 everything pertaining to these birds, and the inhabitants 
 respect his very marked dislike. On one occasion a 
 certain steamer, shortly after making for the open sea, 
 encountered a severe storm, and it was thought that the 
 God of Mionoseki, who is the God of Mariners, must 
 have been seriously offended. At length the captain 
 discovered that one of his passengers was smoking a pipe 
 adorned with the figure of a crowing cock. The pipe 
 was immediately thrown into the sea, and the storm 
 abated. 
 
 1 Translated by F. Victor Dickins. 
 
HOW YORITOMO WAS SAVED BY TWO DOVES 
 
 We are able to gather the reason for the hatred of 
 the cock from the following legend. In the Kojity we 
 are informed that the son of the Deity of Kitsuki spent 
 many an hour at Mionoseki in catching birds and fish. 
 At that time the cock was his trusted friend, and it 
 was the duty of this bird to crow lustily when it was time 
 for the God to return from his sport. On one occasion, 
 however, the cock forgot to crow, and in consequence, 
 in the God's hurry to go back in his boat he lost his 
 oars, and was compelled to propel the vessel with his 
 hands, which were severely bitten by fishes. 
 
 How Yoritomo was Saved by Two Doves 
 
 Yoritomo, having been defeated in a battle against 
 Oba Kage-chika, was forced to retreat with six of his 
 followers. They ran with all speed through a forest, 
 and, finding a large hollow tree, crept inside for shelter. 
 
 In the meantime Oba Kage-chika said to his cousin, 
 Oba Kagetoki : " Go and search for Yoritomo, for I 
 have good reason to believe that he lies hidden in this 
 forest. I will so arrange my men that the flight of our 
 enemy will be impossible." 
 
 Oba Kagetoki departed, none too pleased with the 
 mission, for he had once been on friendly terms with 
 Yoritomo. When he reached the hollow tree and saw 
 through a hole in the trunk that his old friend lay con- 
 cealed within, he took pity on him, and returned to his 
 cousin, saying : " I believe that Yoritomo, our enemy, 
 is not in this wood." 
 
 When Oba Kage-chika heard these words he cried 
 fiercely : " You lie ! How could Yoritomo make his 
 escape so soon and with my men standing on guard 
 about the forest ? Lead the way, and I and some of my 
 men will follow you. No cunning this time, cousin, or 
 you shall severely suffer for it." 
 
 *77 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 In due time the party reached the hollow tree, and 
 Kage-chika was about to enter it, when his cousin cried : 
 " Stay ! What folly is this ? Cannot you see that there 
 is a spider's web spun across the opening ? How could 
 any one enter this tree without breaking it ? Let us 
 spend our time more profitably elsewhere." 
 
 Kage-chika, however, was still suspicious concerning 
 his cousin, and he thrust his bow into the hollow trunk. 
 It almost touched the crouching Yoritomo, when two 
 white doves suddenly flew out of the cavity. 
 
 "Alas ! " exclaimed Kage-chika, " you are right, our 
 enemy cannot lie concealed here, for doves and a cob- 
 web would not admit of such a thing/' 
 
 By the timely aid of two doves and a spider's web the 
 great hero Yoritomo made good his escape, and when, 
 in later years, he became Shogun he caused shrines to 
 be erected to Hachiman, the God of War, in recognition 
 of his deliverance, for the doves of Japan are recognised 
 as the messengers of war, and not of peace, as is the case 
 in our own country. 
 
 The Hototogisu 
 
 " A solitary voice ! 
 Did the Moon cry ? 
 'Twas but the hototogisu." 
 
 From the Japanese. 
 
 There is a mysterious bird called the hototogisu which 
 plaintively cries its own name, dividing it into syllables 
 thus: " ho-to-to-gi-su" According to legend it is no 
 earthly bird, but wanders from the Realm of the Dead 
 at the end of May, and warns all peasants who see it 
 that it is time to sow the rice. Some interpret the 
 bird's note as meaning, " Has the fyfymono been sus- 
 pended ? " others that it gently repeats : " Surely it is 
 better to return home." The latter intrepretation is 
 278 
 
THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW 
 
 characteristically Japanese, for if it is believed that souls 
 return in the summer-time, it is reasonable to suppose 
 that at least one of the birds should fly back to the old 
 woods and streams and hills of Nippon. 
 
 The Tongue'cut Sparrow 
 
 A cross old woman was at her wash-tub when her 
 neighbour's pet sparrow ate up all the starch, mistaking 
 it for ordinary food. The old woman was so angry at 
 what had happened that she cut out the sparrow's tongue, 
 and the unfortunate bird flew away to a mountain. 
 
 When the old couple to whom the sparrow belonged 
 heard what had taken place they left their home and 
 journeyed a great distance until they had the good 
 fortune to find their pet again. 
 
 The sparrow was no less delighted to meet his master 
 and mistress, and begged them to enter his house. 
 When they had done so they were feasted with an 
 abundance of fish and saJ^ y were waited upon by the 
 sparrow's wife, children, and grandchildren, and, not 
 content with these deeds of hospitality, the feathered 
 host danced a jig called the Sparrow's Dance. 
 
 When it was time for the old couple to return home 
 the sparrow brought forth two wicker baskets, saying : 
 " One is heavy, and the other is light. Which would 
 you rather have ? " 
 
 " Oh, the light one," replied the old couple, " for we 
 are aged and the journey is a long one." 
 
 When the old people reached their home they opened 
 the basket, and to their delight and amazement dis- 
 covered gold and silver, jewels and silk. As fast as 
 they took the precious things out an inexhaustible 
 supply came to their place, so that the wonderful basket 
 of treasure could not be emptied, and the happy old 
 
 couple grew rich and prosperous. 
 
 279 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 It was not long before the old woman who had cut 
 out the sparrow's tongue heard about the good fortune 
 of her neighbours, and she hastened to inquire where 
 this wonderful sparrow was to be seen. 
 
 Having gained the information, she had no difficulty 
 in finding the sparrow. When the bird saw her he asked 
 which of two baskets she would prefer to take away 
 with her, the heavy or light one ? The cruel and greedy 
 old woman chose the heavy one, believing that this 
 basket would contain more treasure than the light one ; 
 but when, after much labour, she reached home and 
 opened it, devils sprang upon her and tore her to pieces. 
 
 A Noble Sacrifice 
 
 There was once a man who was extremely fond of 
 shooting birds. He had two daughters, good Bud- 
 dhists, and each in turn pointed out the folly of their 
 father's cruel sport, and begged him not to destroy 
 life wantonly. However, the man was obstinate and 
 would not listen to his daughters' entreaties. One 
 day a neighbour asked him to shoot two storks, and 
 he promised to do so. When the women heard what 
 their father was about to do, they said : " Let us 
 dress in pure white garments and go down upon the 
 shore to-night, for it is a place much frequented by 
 storks. If our father should kill either of us in mis- 
 take for the birds, it, will teach him a lesson, and he 
 will surely repent his evil ways, which are contrary to 
 the gentle teaching of the Lord Buddha." 
 
 That night the man went to the shore, and the 
 cloudy sky made it difficult for him to discover any 
 storks. At last, however, he saw two white objects in 
 the distance. He fired ; the bodies fell immediately, 
 and he ran to where they lay, only to discover that he 
 had shot both his noble, self-sacrificing daughters. 
 280 
 
INSECTS 
 
 Stricken with sorrow, the man erected a funeral pyre 
 and burnt the bodies of his poor children. Having 
 done these things, he shaved his head, went into the 
 woods, and became a hermit. 
 
 A Pair of Phoenix 
 
 A clever woman named Saijosen was engaged in 
 embroidery. One day an old man called upon her, 
 and said : " Work for me on a piece of cloth a pair of 
 phoenix." Saijosen readily complied, and when the 
 birds were worked the old man closed his eyes and 
 pointed at the phoenix with his finger. Immediately 
 the birds became alive, and the girl and the old man 
 mounted upon their backs and disappeared into the 
 sky. 
 
 Insects 
 
 Much has been written about the Japanese semi, 
 or tree-crickets, and it seems strange to us that these 
 little creatures should be bought and placed in minute 
 cages, where they sing with extraordinary sweetness. 
 Lafcadio Hearn in Kottt gives us a pathetic story 
 concerning one of these insects. He tells us that his 
 servant forgot to feed it, and that gradually it ceased 
 to sing, being forced at last to eat its own minute 
 limbs. 
 
 The minminzemis singing resembles the chanting of 
 a Buddhist priest, while the green semi, or higurashi, 
 makes a sound like the trilling of a tiny bell. The 
 carrying of a dried beetle is said to increase one's ward- 
 robe. It must be remembered in the legends that 
 follow that according to Buddhist teaching all life is 
 sacred, and, moreover, that on account of some sin 
 the Buddhists believe that the soul of a man or woman 
 can enter even the minute form of an insect. 
 
 281 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Dragon'flies 
 
 " The gold sun shimmering in noontide skies 
 Shines down, where the red-burnished dragon-flies 
 Flit to and fro in the translucent haze 
 Over the village of eventless days ! " 
 
 Trans, by CLARA A. WALSH. 
 
 The dragon-fly is frequently mentioned in Japanese 
 poetry, but nowhere more pathetically than in the follow- 
 ing lines written by Chiyo after the death of her little 
 son : 
 
 " How far, I wonder, did he stray, 
 Chasing the burnished dragon-fly to-day ? " 
 
 Chiyo, in this exquisite fragment, suggests a very great 
 deal, for in her mother-love there is no dismal concep- 
 tion of Death. She regards the future life of her little 
 one as the happiest hour of playtime. Once more in 
 these lines there is the Japanese idea of the soul coming 
 back again. 
 
 The most charming Japanese dragon-fly is called 
 TensM-tombO) " the Emperor's dragon-fly." There is a 
 larger variety particularly sought after by children, and 
 of this species there are many more females than males. 
 Boys tie a female to a tree, and sing : " Thou, the 
 male, King of Korea, dost thou not feel shame to flee 
 away from the Queen of the East ? " This quaint song 
 is an allusion to the legendary conquest of Korea, to 
 which we shall refer later on, and it succeeds in attract- 
 ing the male dragon-fly. It is also believed that if a 
 certain ideograph is traced in the air it has the power to 
 paralyse the dragon-fly one wishes to catch. 
 
 Tama's Return 
 
 I- Kazariya Kyubei, a merchant, had a maid-servant 
 
 called Tama. Tama worked well and cheerfully, but 
 
 282 
 
TAMA'S RETURN 
 
 she was negligent in regard to her dress. One day, 
 when she had been five years in Kyabei's house, her 
 master said to her : " Tama, how is it that, unlike 
 most girls, you seem to have no desire to look your 
 best ? When you go out you wear your working 
 dress. Surely you should put on a pretty robe on 
 such occasions." 
 
 "Good master," said Tama, "you do well to rebuke 
 me, for you do not know why, during all these years, 
 I have worn old clothes and have made no attempt to 
 wear pretty ones. When my father and mother died I 
 was but a child, and as I had no brothers or sisters it 
 rested upon me to have Buddhist services performed 
 on behalf of my parents. In order that this might 
 come to pass I have saved the money you have given 
 me, and spent as little upon myself as possible. Now 
 my parents' mortuary tablets are placed in the Jorakuji 
 temple, and, having given my money to the prieets, the 
 sacred rites have now been performed. I have fulfilled 
 my wish, and, begging for your forgiveness, I will in 
 future dress more becomingly." 
 
 Before Tama died she asked her mistress to keep 
 the remaining money she had saved. Shortly after her 
 death a large fly entered Kyabei's house. Now at that 
 time of the year, the Period of the Greatest Cold, it 
 was unusual for flies to appear, and the master of the 
 house was considerably puzzled. He carefully put the 
 insect outside the house ; but it flew back immediately, 
 and every time it was ejected it came back again. 
 "This fly," said Kyubei's wife, "may be Tama." 
 Kyabei cut a small piece out of the insect's wings, and 
 this time carried it some distance from his abode. But 
 the next day it returned once more, and this time the 
 master painted the fly's wings and body with rouge, and 
 took it even further away from his dwelling. Two 
 
 283 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 days later the fly returned, and the nick in its wings and 
 the rouge with which it was covered left no doubt in the 
 minds of Kyubei and his wife that this persistent insect 
 was indeed Tama. 
 
 "I believe," said Kyubei's wife, "that Tama has 
 returned to us because she wants us to do something 
 for her. I have the money she asked me to keep. 
 Let us give it to the priests in order that they may pray 
 for her soul." When these words had been spoken 
 the fly fell dead upon the floor. 
 
 Kyubei and his wife placed the fly in a box, and 
 with the girl's money they went to the priests. A sutra 
 was recited over the body of the insect, and it was duly 
 buried in the temple grounds. 
 
 Sanemori and Shiwan 
 
 Sanemori, who was a great warrior, was on one 
 occasion, while riding on a horse, engaged in fighting 
 an enemy. During the conflict his horse slipped and 
 rolled into a rice-field. As the result of this mishap 
 his antagonist was able to slay him, and from that hour 
 Sanemori became a rice-devouring insect, known by the 
 peasantry of Izumo as Sanemori-San. During certain 
 summer nights the peasants light fires in their rice-fields 
 in order to attract the insect, play upon flutes and beat 
 gongs, crying : " O Sanemori, augustly deign to come 
 hither ! " A religious rite is then performed, and a 
 straw representation of a rider upon a horse is either 
 burnt or thrown into water. It is believed that this 
 ceremony will successfully free the fields from the rice- 
 devouring insect. 
 
 The shiwan, a small yellow insect that feeds upon 
 cucumbers, is said to have once been a physician. This 
 physician, guilty of some intrigue, was forced to leave 
 his home, but in attempting to make his escape his foot 
 
 284 
 
FIREFLIES 
 
 caught in the sinuous coils of a cucumber vine, and 
 he was killed by his pursuers. His angry ghost 
 became a shiwan y and from that day to this the 
 insect feeds upon cucumbers. 
 
 Fireflies 
 
 " For this willow-tree the season of budding would seem 
 to have returned in the dark look at the fireflies." 
 
 In ancient days firefly-hunting was one of the amuse- 
 ments of great nobles, but to-day it is the pastime of 
 children only. These hunting parties, however, have 
 lost none of their picturesqueness, and the flashing 
 insect has been the theme of many an exquisite poem, 
 such as : " Ah, the cunning fireflies ! being chased, they 
 hide themselves in the moonlight ! " 
 
 Grown-up people, however, go out to see the fire- 
 flies with the same ardour with which they indulge in 
 flower-viewing. To the minds of these great Nature- 
 lovers the fireflies resemble dazzling petals of some 
 strange fire-flower or a host of wondering stars that 
 has left the sky to wander upon the earth. During 
 the summer thousands of people visit Uji in order to 
 see the Hotaru-Kassen, or Firefly Battle. From the 
 river-bank dart myriads of these flashing insects, and in 
 a moment they form a great silver-shining cloud. The 
 cloud breaks and the flowing river, once dark as black 
 velvet, becomes a winding stretch of gleaming jewels. 
 No wonder the Japanese poet cries : " Do I see only 
 fireflies drifting with the current ? Or is the Night 
 itself drifting, with its swarming of stars ? " 
 
 There is a legend connected with this fascinating 
 spectacle. It is believed that the Minamoto-Firefly and 
 the Taira-Firefly are the ghosts of the old warriors of 
 the Minamoto and Taira clans. On the night of the 
 
 285 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 twentieth day of the fourth month they fight a great 
 battle on the Uji River. On that night all caged fire- 
 flies are set free in order that they may fight again the 
 old clan battles of the twelfth century. The ghostly 
 significance of fireflies is further strengthened by the fact 
 that these insects are fond of swarming round willow- 
 trees the most eerie trees in Japan. Fireflies in 
 ancient days were supposed to possess medicinal pro- 
 perties. Firefly ointment was said to render all poisons 
 harmless^ and, moreover, it had the power to drive away 
 evil spirits and to preserve a house from the attacks of 
 robbers. 
 
 A Strange Dream 
 
 A young man of Matsue was returning home from a 
 wedding-party when he saw, just in front of his house, 
 a firefly. He paused a moment, surprised to see such 
 an insect on a cold winter's night with snow on the 
 ground. While he stood and meditated the firefly flew 
 toward him, and the young man struck at it with his 
 stick, but the insect flew away and entered the garden 
 adjoining his own. 
 
 The next day he called at his neighbour's house, and 
 was about to relate the experience of the previous night 
 when the eldest daughter of the family entered the 
 room, and exclaimed : " I had no idea you were here, 
 and yet a moment ago you were in my mind. Last 
 night 1 dreamt that I became a firefly. It was all very 
 real and very beautiful, and while I was darting hither 
 and thither I saw you, and flew toward you, intending 
 to tell you that I had learnt to fly, but you thrust me 
 aside with your stick, and the incident still frightens 
 
 me." 
 
 The young man, having heard these words from the 
 lips of his betrothed, held his peace. 
 286 
 
The Firefly Battle. 
 
 286 
 
THE VENGEANCE OF KANSHIRO 
 
 The Vengeance of Kanshiro 1 
 
 In the village of Funakami there lived a devout old 
 farmer called Kanshiro. Every year the old man made 
 various pilgrimages to certain shrines, where he prayed 
 and asked the blessings of the deities. At last, how- 
 ever, he became so infirm that he realised that his earthly 
 days were numbered, and that he would probably only 
 have strength to pay one more visit to the great shrines 
 at Ise. When the people of the village heard this noble 
 resolution they generously gave him a sum of money 
 in order that the respected old farmer might present it 
 to the sacred shrines. 
 
 Kanshiro set off upon his pilgrimage carrying the 
 money in a bag, which he hung round his neck. The 
 weather was extremely hot, and the heat and fatigue of 
 the journey made the old man so ill that he was forced 
 to remain for a few days in the village of Myojo. He 
 went to a small inn and asked Jimpachi, the innkeeper, 
 to take care of his money, explaining that it was an 
 offering to the Gods at Ise. Jimpachi took the money, 
 and assured the old man that he would take great care 
 of it, and, moreover, that he himself would attend upon 
 him. 
 
 On the sixth day the old man, though still far from 
 well, paid his bill, took the bag from the innkeeper, and 
 proceeded on his journey. As Kanshiro observed many 
 pilgrims in the vicinity he did not look into the bag, 
 but carefully concealed it in the sack containing spare 
 raiment and food. 
 
 When Kanshiro at length rested under a pine-tree 
 he took out the bag and looked inside. Alas ! the money 
 had been stolen, and stones of the same weight inserted 
 
 1 Adapted from Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by R. Gordon 
 Smith. 
 
 287 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 in its place. The old man hastily returned to the inn- 
 keeper and begged him to restore the money. Jimpachi 
 grew extremely angry, and gave him a severe beating. 
 
 The poor old man crawled away from the village, and 
 three days later, with indomitable courage, he succeeded 
 in reaching the sacred shrines at Ise. He sold his pro- 
 perty in order to refund the money his good neighbours 
 had given him, and with what remained he continued 
 his pilgrimage, till at last he was forced to beg for food. 
 
 Three years later Kanshiro went to the village of 
 Myoto, and found that the innkeeper who had treated 
 him so badly was now comparatively well off, and lived 
 in a large house. The old man went to him, and said : 
 " You have stolen sacred money from me, and I have 
 sold my little property in order that I might refund it to 
 those who had given it to me. Ever since that time I 
 have been a beggar, but be assured vengeance shall fall 
 upon you ! " 
 
 Jimpachi cursed the old man and told him that he 
 had not stolen his money. During the heated dispute 
 a watchman seized Kanshiro, dragged him away from 
 the house, and told him that he would be arrested if he 
 dared to return. At the end of the village the old man 
 died, and a kindly priest took his body to a temple, 
 respectfully burnt it, and offered up many holy prayers 
 for his good and loyal soul. 
 
 Immediately after Kanshiro's death Jimpachi grew 
 afraid of what he had done, and became so ill that he 
 was forced to take to his bed. When he had lost all 
 power of movement a great company of fireflies flew 
 out of the farmer's tomb and surrounded Jimpachi's 
 mosquito-curtain, and tried to break it down. Many of 
 the villagers came to Jimpachi's assistance and killed a 
 number of fireflies, but the stream of shining insects 
 that flew from Kanshiro's tomb never lessened. Hun- 
 288 
 
THE VENGEANCE OF KANSHIRO 
 
 dreds were killed, but thousands came to take their 
 place. The room was ablaze with firefly light, and 
 the mosquito-curtain sank beneath their ever-increasing 
 weight. At this remarkable sight some of the villagers 
 murmured : " Jimpachi stole the old man's money after 
 all. This is the vengeance of Kanshiro." 
 
 Even while they spoke the curtain broke and the fire- 
 flies rushed into the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose of the 
 terrified Jimpachi. For twenty days he screamed aloud 
 for mercy ; but no mercy came. Thicker and thicker 
 grew the stream of flashing, angry insects, till at last 
 they killed the wicked Jimpachi, when from that hour 
 they completely disappeared. 
 
 289 
 
CHAPTER XXIV : CONCERNING TEA 1 
 
 " The first cup moistens my lips and throat, the second 
 cup breaks my loneliness, the third cup searches my inmost 
 being. . . . The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration all 
 the wrong of life passes away through my pores. At the 
 fifth cup I am purified ; the sixth cup calls me to the realms 
 of immortals. The seventh cup ah, but I could take no 
 more ! I only feel the breath of cool wind that rises in 
 my sleeves. Where is Horaisan ? 2 Let me ride on this 
 sweet breeze and waft away thither." 
 
 Lotung. 
 
 Tea'drinking in England and Japan 
 
 IN England we regard tea simply as a beverage, a 
 refreshing and mild stimulant over which ladies are 
 wont to gossip with their neighbours. There is 
 nothing romantic about our tea-pots and kettles and 
 spoons ; they come from the kitchen and are returned to 
 the kitchen with prescribed regularity. We have a few 
 stock comments on the subject of tea, and can quote the 
 exact price our grandmothers paid for this beverage. 
 We have our opinions as to whether it is best taken 
 with or without sugar, and have sometimes found it 
 efficacious in driving away a headache. 
 
 When tea reached our own country in 1650 it was 
 referred to as "that excellent and by all physicians 
 approved China drink, called by the Chineans Tcha, and 
 by other nations Tay, alias Tee." In 1711 the Spectator 
 remarked : " I would therefore in a particular manner 
 recommend these my speculations to all well-regulated 
 families that set apart an hour every morning for tea, 
 bread and butter ; and would earnestly advise them for 
 
 1 We have derived most of the material for this chapter from The 
 Book of Tea, by Okakura-Kakuzo, and we warmly commend this very 
 charming volume to those who are interested in the subject. 
 
 2 The Chinese Paradise. 
 
TEA IN CHINA 
 
 their good to order this paper to be punctually served 
 up and to be looked upon as a part of the tea-equipage." 
 Dr. Johnson described himself as "a hardened and 
 shameless tea-drinker, who for twenty years diluted his 
 meals with only the infusion of the fascinating plant ; 
 who with tea amused the evening, with tea solaced the 
 midnight, and with tea welcomed the morning." But 
 there is no romance, no old tradition associated with our 
 tea-drinking in this country. Perhaps it is as well 
 that the ladies sitting in our fashionable drawing-rooms 
 are unacquainted with the grim and pathetic legend 
 that narrates how a Buddhist priest fell asleep during 
 his meditations. When he awoke he cut off his 
 offending eyelids and flung them on the ground, 
 where they were immediately transformed into the first 
 tea-plant. 
 
 In Japan tea-drinking has become a ritual. It is not 
 so much a social function as a time for peaceful medi- 
 tation. The elaborate tea ceremonies, cha-no-yu, have 
 their tea-masters, etiquette, and numerous observances. 
 A cup of Japanese tea is combined with spiritual and 
 artistic enlightenment. But before discussing these very 
 interesting ceremonies we must learn something about 
 the significance of tea in China, for it was the drinking 
 of this beverage in the Celestial Kingdom, associated 
 with the rarest porcelain and aesthetic and religious 
 thought, that inspired the tea cult in the Land of 
 the Gods. 
 
 Tea in China 
 
 The tea-plant, a native of Southern China, was origi- 
 nally regarded as a medicine. It was referred to in the 
 classics by such names as Tou, Tseh, Chung^ Kha y and 
 Mingy and was much esteemed on account of its medi- 
 cinal properties. It was regarded as an excellent lotion 
 
 291 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 for strengthening the eyes, and, moreover, had the power 
 to banish fatigue, strengthen the will, and delight the 
 soul. It was sometimes made in the form of a paste, 
 and was believed to be efficacious in reducing rheumatic 
 pain. The Taoists went so far as to claim that tea was 
 one of the ingredients of the Elixir of Life, while the 
 Buddhist priests drank it whenever it was necessary for 
 them to meditate during the long hours of the night. 
 
 Luwuh and the "Chaking" 
 
 In the fourth and fifth centuries we find that tea 
 became a highly favoured beverage among the people 
 
 O J O O 1 i 
 
 of the Yangtse-Kiang valley. At this time, too, poets 
 waxed eloquent in its praise, and described it as the 
 " froth of the liquid jade." But tea at that time was a 
 very horrible concoction indeed, for it was boiled with 
 rice, salt, ginger, orange-peel, and not infrequently with 
 onions ! However, Luwuh, who lived in the eighth 
 century, discountenanced the strange mixture we have 
 just referred to. He was the first Chinese tea-master, 
 and not only did he idealize tea, but he saw, with keen 
 poetic insight, that the ceremony of drinking it made 
 for harmony and order in daily life. 
 
 In his Chaking ("The Holy Scripture of Tea") he 
 describes the nature of the tea-plant, and how its leaves 
 should be gathered and selected. He was of the 
 opinion that the best leaves should have " creases like 
 the leathern boot of Tartar horsemen, curl like the 
 dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold like a mist rising 
 out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a zephyr, 
 and be wet and soft like fine earth newly swept by rain." 
 Luwuh describes the various utensils connected with 
 the tea ceremony, and asserts that the green beverage 
 should be drunk from blue porcelain cups. He dis- 
 courses on the subject of the choice of water and the 
 292 
 
THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY 
 
 manner of boiling it. In poetical language he describes 
 the three stages of boiling. He compares the little 
 bubbles of the first boil with the eyes of fishes, the 
 bubbles of the second boil with a fountain crowned 
 with clustering crystal beads, and the final boil is 
 described as resembling the surge of miniature billows. 
 The concluding chapters of the Chaking deal with the 
 vulgar and unorthodox methods of drinking tea, and 
 the ardent master gives a list of celebrated tea-drinkers, 
 and enumerates the famous Chinese tea plantations. 
 Luwuh's fascinating book was regarded as a master- 
 piece. He was sought after by the Emperor Taisung, 
 attracted many disciples, and was regarded as the 
 greatest authority on tea and tea-drinking. His fame 
 did not die with him, for since his death Chinese tea- 
 merchants have worshipped him as a tutelary god. 
 
 The Japanese Tea Ceremony 
 
 It is believed that the great Buddhist saint, Dengyo 
 Daishi, introduced tea into Japan from China in 
 A.D. 805. In any case tea-drinking in Nippon was 
 associated with Buddhism, and most particularly with 
 the Zen sect, which had incorporated so many of the 
 Taoist doctrines. The priests of this order drank tea 
 from a single bowl before the image of Bodhi Dharma 
 (Daruma). They did so in the spirit of reverence, 
 and regarded the tea-drinking as a holy sacrament. It 
 was this Zen observance, strictly of a religious nature, 
 which finally developed into the Japanese tea ceremony. 
 
 "The tea ceremonies," writes Professor B. H. 
 Chamberlain, " have undergone three transformations 
 during the six or seven hundred years of their existence. 
 They have passed through a medico-religious stage, 
 a luxurious stage, and, lastly, an aesthetic stage." In 
 the religious stage the Buddhist priest Eisai wrote a 
 
 293 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 pamphlet entitled The Salutary Influence of Tea-drinking, 
 in which he asserted that this beverage had the 
 power to drive away evil spirits. He introduced a 
 religious ceremonial in regard to the worship of 
 ancestors, accompanied by the beating of drums and 
 the burning of incense. Eisai wrote his tract with the 
 intention of converting Minamoto-no-Sanetomo from 
 his vicious love of the wine-cup, and endeavoured to 
 show the superiority of the tea-plant over the juice of 
 the grape. 
 
 We find that the tea ceremonies for the time being 
 lost their religious significance; "The DaimyOs," 
 writes Professor Chamberlain, " who daily took part in 
 them reclined on couches spread with tiger-skins and 
 leopard-skins. The walls of the spacious apartments 
 in which the guests assembled were hung, not only with 
 Buddhist pictures, but with damask and brocade, with 
 gold and silver vessels, and swords in splendid sheaths. 
 Precious perfumes were burnt, rare fishes and strange 
 birds were served up with sweetmeats and wine, and the 
 point of the entertainment consisted in guessing where 
 the material for each cup of tea had been produced ; for 
 as many brands as possible were brought in, to serve as a 
 puzzle orjeu de societe. . . . Every right guess procured 
 for him who made it the gift of one of the treasures that 
 were hung round the room. But he was not allowed 
 to carry it away himself. The rules of the tea cere- 
 monies, as then practised, ordained that all the things 
 rich and rare that were exhibited must be given by their 
 winners to the singing- and dancing-girls, troupes of 
 whom were present to help the company in their 
 carousal." 
 
 This variety of tea ceremony, which appears to have 
 been more of an orgy than anything else, reflected the 
 luxurious and dissolute age in which it was practised. 
 294 
 
THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY 
 
 The tea ceremony, in its more enduring and characteristic 
 form, was destined to abandon all vulgar display, to 
 embrace a certain amount of religion and philosophy, 
 and above all to afford a means of studying art and the 
 beauty of Nature. The tea-room became, not a place of 
 carousal, but a place where the wayfarer might find peace 
 in solemn meditation. Even the garden path leading to 
 the tea-room had its symbolic meaning, for it signified 
 the first stage of self-illumination. The following was 
 Kobori-Enshiu's idea of the path leading to the tea-room : 
 
 " A cluster of summer trees, 
 A bit of the sea, 
 A pale evening moon." 
 
 Such a scene was intended to convey to the wayfarer 
 a sense of spiritual light. The trees, sea, and moon 
 awakened old dreams, and their presence made the guest 
 eager to pass into the greater joys of the tea-room. No 
 samurai was allowed to take his sword into the fragrant 
 sanctuary of peace, and in many tea-rooms there was a 
 low door through which the guests entered with bowed 
 head, as a sign of humility. In silence the guests made 
 obeisance before a kakemono, or some simple and beautiful 
 flower on the tokonoma (alcove), and then seated them- 
 selves upon the mats. When they had done so the host 
 entered and the water was heard to boil in the kettle with 
 a musical sound, because of some pieces of iron which it 
 contained. Even the boiling of the kettle was associated 
 with poetical ideas, for the song of water and metal was 
 intended to suggest " the echoes of a cataract muffled 
 by clouds, of a distant sea breaking among the rocks, a 
 rainstorm sweeping through a bamboo forest, or of the 
 soughing of pines on some far-away hill." There was a 
 sense of harmony in the tea-room. The light was like 
 the mellow light of evening, and the garments of the 
 
 295 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 company were as quiet and unobtrusive as the grey 
 wings of a moth. In this peaceful apartment the guests 
 drank their tea and meditated, and went forth into the 
 world again better and stronger for having contemplated 
 in silence the beautiful and the noble in religion, art, 
 and nature. " Seeking always to be in harmony with the 
 great rhythm of the universe, they were ever prepared 
 to enter the unknown." 
 
 The Passing of Rikiu 
 
 Rikiu was one of the greatest of tea-masters, and for 
 long he remained the friend of Taiko-Hideyoshi ; but the 
 age in which he lived was full of treachery. There were 
 many who were jealous of Rikiu, many who sought his 
 death. When a coldness sprang up between Hideyoshi 
 and Rikiu, the enemies of the great tea-master made use 
 of this breach of friendship by spreading the report that 
 Rikiu intended to add poison to a cup of tea and present 
 it to his distinguished patron. Hideyoshi soon heard of 
 the rumour, and without troubling to examine the matter 
 he condemned Rikiu to die by his own hand. 
 
 On the last day of the famous tea-master's life he in- 
 vited many of his disciples to join with him in his final tea 
 ceremony. As they walked up the garden path it seemed 
 that ghosts whispered in the rustling leaves. When the 
 disciples entered the tea-room they saw a kakemono hang- 
 ing in the tokonoma, and when they raised their sorrowful 
 eyes they saw that the writing described the passing of 
 all earthly things. There was poetry in the singing of the 
 tea-kettle, but it was a sad song like the plaintive cry of an 
 insect. Rikiu came into the tea-room calm and dignified, 
 and, according to custom, he allowed the chief guest to 
 admire the various articles associated with the tea cere 
 mony. When all the guests had gazed upon them, 
 noting their beauty with a heavy heart, Rikiu presented 
 296 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE TEA-PLANT 
 
 each disciple with a souvenir. He took his own cup in his 
 hand, and said : " Never again shall this cup, polluted 
 by the lips of misfortune, be used by man." Having 
 spoken these words, he broke the cup as a sign that the 
 tea ceremony was over, and the guests bade a sad fare- 
 well and departed. Only one remained to witness, not 
 the drinking of another cup of tea, but the passing of 
 Rikiu. The great master took off his outer garment, 
 and revealed the pure white robe of Death. Still calm 
 and dignified, he looked upon his dagger, and then 
 recited the following verse with unfaltering voice : 
 
 " Welcome to thee, 
 O sword of eternity ! 
 Through Buddha 
 And through Daruma alike 
 Thou hast cleft thy way." 
 
 He who loved to quote the old poem, "To those 
 who long only for flowers fain would I show the 
 full-blown spring which abides in the toiling buds of 
 snow-covered hills," has crowned the Japanese tea 
 ceremony with an immortal flower. 
 
 The Legend of the Tea-plant 1 
 
 Daruma was an Indian sage, whose image, as we have 
 already seen, was associated with the ritualistic drinking 
 of tea by the Zen sect in Japan. He is said to have 
 been the son of a Hindu king, and received instruction 
 from Panyatara. When he had completed his studies 
 he retired to Lo Yang, where he remained seated in 
 meditation for nine years. During this period the sage 
 was tempted after the manner of St. Anthony. He 
 wrestled with these temptations by continually reciting 
 sacred scriptures ; but the frequent repetition of the 
 
 1 A full account of this beautiful legend will be found in Lafcadio 
 Hearn's Some Chinese Ghosts. 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 word "jewel " lost its spiritual significance, and became 
 associated with the precious stone worn in the ear of a 
 certain lovely woman. Even the word " lotus," so 
 sacred to all true Buddhists, ceased to be the symbol of 
 the Lord Buddha and suggested to Daruma the opening 
 of a girl's fair mouth. His temptations increased, 
 and he was transported to an Indian city, where he 
 found himself among a vast crowd of worshippers. He 
 saw strange deities with horrible symbols upon their 
 foreheads, and Rajahs and Princes riding upon elephants, 
 surrounded by a great company of dancing-girls. The 
 great crowd of people surged forward, and Daruma with 
 them, till they came to a temple with innumerable pin- 
 nacles, a temple covered with a multitude of foul forms, 
 and it seemed to Daruma that he met and kissed the 
 woman who had changed the meaning of jewel and 
 lotus. Then suddenly the vision departed, and Daruma 
 awoke to find himself sitting under the Chinese sky. 
 The sage, who had fallen asleep during his meditation, 
 was truly penitent for the neglect of his devotions, and, 
 taking a knife from his girdle, he cut off his eyelids and 
 cast them upon the ground, saying : " O Thou Perfectly 
 Awakened ! " The eyelids were transformed into the 
 tea-plant, from which was made a beverage that would 
 repel slumber and allow good Buddhist priests to keep 
 their vigils. 
 
 Daruma 
 
 Daruma is generally represented without legs, for 
 according to one version of the legend we have just 
 given he lost his limbs as the result of the nine-year 
 meditation. Netsu^e 1 -carvers depict him in a full, bag- 
 
 1 " Originally a kind of toggle for the medicine-box or tobacco- 
 pouch, carved out of wood or ivory." Things Japanese, by B. H. 
 Chamberlain. 
 
DARUMA 
 
 like garment, with a scowling face and lidless eyes. 
 He is sometimes presented in Japanese art as being 
 surrounded with cobwebs, and there is a very subtle 
 variation of the saint portrayed as a female Daruma, 
 which is nothing less than a playful jest against Japanese 
 women, who could not be expected to remain silent 
 for nine years ! An owl is frequently associated with 
 Daruma, and in his journey to Japan he is pictured as 
 standing on waves, supported by a millet stalk. Three 
 years after Daruma's death he was seen walking across 
 the western mountains of China, and it was observed 
 that he carried one shoe in his right hand. When 
 Daruma's tomb was opened by the order of the 
 Emperor it was found only to contain a shoe, which 
 the saint had forgotten to take away with him. 1 
 
 1 Reference to Yuki-Daruma, or Snow-Daruma, and toy-Daruma, 
 called Oktagari-koboshi (" The Getting-up Little Priest "), will be 
 found in Lafcadio Hearn's A Japanese Miscellany. 
 
 299 
 

 v^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXV : LEGENDS OF THE 
 WEIRD 1 
 
 "H6ichi'the'Earless" 
 
 IN the stories concerning Yoshitsune and his loyal 
 retainer Benkei we have already referred to the 
 battle of Dan-no-ura, the last conflict between the 
 Taira and Minamoto clans. 2 In this great sea-fight the 
 Taira perished, including their infant Emperor, Antoku 
 Tenno. Thus is the memorable scene described in the 
 Heike Monogatari^ translated by Dr. W. G. Aston : 
 
 " c This world is the region of sorrow, a remote spot 
 small as a grain of millet. But beneath the waves there 
 is a fair city called the Pure Land of Perfect Happiness. 
 Thither it is that I am taking you/ With such words 
 she soothed him. The child then tied his top-knot to 
 the Imperial robe of the colour of a mountain-dove, and 
 tearfully joined together his lovely little hands. First 
 he turned to the East, and bade adieu to the shrine of 
 the great God of Ise and the shrine of Hachiman. 
 Next he turned to the West, and called upon the name 
 of Buddha. When he had done so, Niidono made 
 bold to take him in her arms, and, soothing him with 
 the words, c There is a city away below the waves,' 
 sank down to the bottom one thousand fathoms deep." 
 
 It is said that for seven hundred years after this 
 great battle the sea and coast in the vicinity have been 
 haunted by the ghosts of the Taira clan. Mysterious 
 fires shone on the waves, and the air was filled with the 
 noise of warfare. In order to pacify the unfortunate 
 spirits the temple of Amidaji was built at Akamagaseki, 
 and a cemetery was made close by, in which were various 
 
 1 The legends in this chapter are adapted from stories in Lafcadio 
 Ream's Kwaldan and Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan. 
 
 2 See Chapter II. 
 300 
 
" HOiCHLTHE^EARLESS " 
 
 monuments inscribed with the names of the drowned 
 Emperor and his principal followers. This temple and 
 cemetery pacified the ghostly visitants to a certain extent, 
 but from time to time many strange things happened, as 
 we shall gather from the following legend. 
 
 There once lived at the Amidaji temple a blind 
 priest named Ho'ichi. He was famous for his recitation 
 and for his marvellous skill in playing upon the biwa 
 (a four-stringed lute), and he was particularly fond of 
 reciting stories in connection with the protracted war 
 between the Taira and Minamoto clans. 
 
 One night Ho'fchi was left alone in the temple, and as 
 it was a very warm evening he sat out on the verandah, 
 playing now and again upon his biwa. While thus 
 occupied he heard some one approaching, some one 
 stepping across the little back garden of the temple. 
 Then a deep voice cried out from below the verandah : 
 " Hcvfchi ! " Yet again the voice sounded : " HoYchi ! " 
 
 Holchi, now very much alarmed, replied that he 
 was blind, and would be glad to know who his visitor 
 might be. 
 
 " My lord," began the stranger, " is now staying at 
 Akamagaseki with many noble followers, and he has 
 come for the purpose of viewing the scene of the battle 
 of Dan-no-ura. He has heard how excellently you 
 recite the story of the conflict, and has commanded me 
 to escort you to him in order that you may show him 
 your skill. Bring your biwa and follow me. My lord 
 and his august assembly now await your honourable 
 presence." 
 
 Ho'fchi, deeming that the stranger was some noble 
 samurai, obeyed immediately. He donned his sandals 
 and took his biwa. The stranger guided him with 
 an iron hand, and they marched along very quickly. 
 HcVfchi heard the clank of armour at his side ; but all 
 
 301 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 fear left him, and he looked forward to the honour of 
 showing his skill before a distinguished company. 
 
 Arriving at a gate, the stranger shouted : " Kaimon ! " 
 Immediately the gate was unbarred and opened, and the 
 two men passed in. Then came the sound of many 
 hurrying feet, and a rustling noise as of screens being 
 opened. Ho'ichi was assisted in mounting a number of 
 steps, and, arriving at the top, he was commanded to 
 leave his sandals. A woman then led him forward by 
 the hand till he found himself in a vast apartment, 
 where he judged that a great company of people were 
 assembled. He heard the subdued murmur of voices 
 and the soft movement of silken garments. When 
 Ho'ichi had seated himself on a cushion the woman 
 who had led him bade him recite the story of the great 
 battle of Dan-no-ura. 
 
 Ho'ichi began to chant to the accompaniment of his 
 biwa. His skill was so great that the strings of his 
 instrument seemed to imitate the sound of oars, the 
 movement of ships, the shouting of men, the noise 
 of surging waves, and the whirring of arrows. A low 
 murmur of applause greeted Ho'ichi's wonderful per- 
 formance. Thus encouraged, he continued to sing and 
 play with even greater skill. When he came to chant of 
 the perishing of the women and children, the plunge 
 of Niidono into the sea with the infant Emperor in 
 her arms, the company began to weep and wail. 
 
 When the performance was over the woman who had 
 led Ho'ichi told him that her lord was well pleased with 
 his skill, and that he desired him to play before him for 
 the six following nights. " The retainer," added she, 
 "who brought you to-night will visit your temple at 
 the same hour to-morrow. You must keep these visits 
 secret, and may now return to your abode." 
 
 Once more the woman led Ho'ichi through the apart- 
 302 
 
" HOICHLTHE'EARLESS " 
 
 ment, and having reached the steps the same retainer 
 led him back to the verandah at the back of the temple 
 where he lived. 
 
 The next night Ho'ichi was again led forth to enter- 
 tain the assembly, and he met with the same success. 
 But this time his absence was detected, and upon his 
 return his fellow priest questioned him in regard to the 
 matter. Ho'lchi evaded his friend's question, and told 
 him that he had merely been out to attend some private 
 business. 
 
 His questioner was by no means satisfied. He 
 regretted Hcvfchi's reticence and feared that there was 
 something wrong, possibly that the blind priest had 
 been bewitched by evil spirits. He bade the men- 
 servants keep a strict watch upon Ho'fchi, and to follow 
 him if he should again leave the temple during the 
 night. 
 
 Once more Ho'fchi left his abode. The men-ser- 
 vants hastily lit their lanterns and followed him with all 
 speed ; but though they walked quickly, looked every- 
 where, and made numerous inquiries, they failed to 
 discover Ho'ichi, or learn anything concerning him. On 
 their return, however, they were alarmed to hear the 
 sound of a biwa in the cemetery of the temple, and on 
 entering this gloomy place they discovered the blind 
 priest. He sat at the tomb of Antoku Tenno, the infant 
 Emperor, where he twanged his biwa loudly, and as 
 loudly chanted the story of the battle of Dan-no-ura. 
 About him on every side mysterious fires glowed, like 
 a great gathering of lighted candles. 
 
 " Ho'fchi ! Ho'fchi ! " shouted the men. " Stop your 
 playing at once ! You are bewitched, Hcvfchi ! " But 
 the blind priest continued to play and sing, rapt, it 
 seemed, in a strange and awful dream. 
 
 The men-servants now resorted to more extreme 
 
 303 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 measures. They shook him, and shouted in his ear : 
 " Ho'fchi, come back with us at once ! " 
 
 The blind priest rebuked them, and said that such an 
 interruption would not be tolerated by the noble assembly 
 about him. 
 
 The men now dragged HcVfchi away by force. When 
 he reached the temple his wet clothes were taken off 
 and food and drink set before him. 
 
 By this time Ho'ichi's fellow priest was extremely 
 angry, and he not unjustly insisted upon a full explana- 
 tion of his extraordinary behaviour. HoTchi, after much 
 hesitation, told his friend all that had happened to him. 
 When he had narrated his strange adventures, the priest 
 said: 
 
 " My poor fellow ! You ought to have told me this 
 before. You have not been visiting a great house of a 
 noble lord, but you have been sitting in yonder ceme- 
 tery before the tomb of Antoku Ten no. Your great 
 skill has called forth the ghosts of the Taira clan. 
 Ho'ichi, you are in great danger, for by obeying these 
 spirits you have assuredly put yourself in their power, 
 and sooner or later they will kill you. Unfortunately 
 I am called away to-night to perform a service, but 
 before I go I will see that your body is covered with 
 sacred texts. " 
 
 Before night approached Holchi was stripped, and 
 upon his body an acolyte inscribed, with writing-brushes, 
 the text of the sutra known as Hannya-Shin-Kyv. These 
 texts were written upon Ho'fchi's breast, head, back, 
 face, neck, legs, arms, and feet, even upon the soles 
 thereof. 
 
 Then the priest said : " HcVfchi, you will be called 
 again to-night. Remain silent, sit very still, and con- 
 tinually meditate. If you do these things no harm will 
 befall you." 
 304 
 
Ho'fchi-the-Earless. 
 
 304 
 
THE CORPSEJEATER 
 
 That night HoKchi sat alone in the verandah, scarcely 
 moving a muscle and breathing very softly. 
 
 Once more he heard the sound of footsteps. 
 "HcVfchi!" cried a deep voice. But the blind priest 
 made no answer. He sat very still, full of a great 
 fear. 
 
 His name was called over and over again, but to no 
 effect. "This won't do," growled the stranger. "I 
 must see where the fellow is." The stranger sprang 
 into the verandah and stood beside HcVfchi, who was now 
 shaking all over with the horror of the situation. 
 
 " Ah ! " said the stranger. " This is the biwa, but in 
 place of the player I see only two ears ! Now I under- 
 stand why he did not answer. He has no mouth, only 
 his two ears ! Those ears I will take to my lord ! " 
 
 In another moment Hcvfchi's ears were torn off, but in 
 spite of the fearful pain the blind priest remained mute. 
 Then the stranger departed, and when his footsteps had 
 died away the only sound Ho'ichi heard was the trickling 
 of blood upon the verandah, and thus the priest found 
 the unfortunate man upon his return. 
 
 " Poor Hctfchi ! " cried the priest. " It is all my 
 fault. I trusted my acolyte to write sacred texts on 
 every part of your body. He failed to do so on your 
 ears. I ought to have seen that he carried out my 
 instructions properly. However, you will never be 
 troubled with those spirits in future." From that day 
 the blind priest was known as Mimi-nashi-Hv'tchi y 
 " Ho'fchi-the-Earless." 
 
 The Corpse'eater 
 
 Muso Kokushi, a priest, lost his way while travelling 
 through the province of Mino. Despairing of finding a 
 human abode, he was about to sleep out in the open, when 
 he chanced to discover a little hermitage, called anjitsu. 
 
 v 305 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 An aged priest greeted him, and MusO requested that he 
 would give him shelter for the night. " No," replied the 
 old priest angrily, " I never give shelter to any one. In 
 yonder valley you will find a certain hamlet ; seek a 
 night's repose there." 
 
 With these rather uncivil words, MusO took his 
 departure, and reaching the hamlet indicated he was 
 hospitably received at the headman's dwelling. On 
 entering the principal apartment, the priest saw a number 
 of people assembled together. He was shown into a 
 separate room, and was about to fall asleep, when he 
 heard the sound of lamentation, and shortly afterwards a 
 young man appeared before him, holding a lantern in 
 his hand. 
 
 "Good priest," said he, "I must tell you that my 
 father has recently died. We did not like to explain the 
 matter upon your arrival, because you were tired and 
 much needed rest. The number of people you saw in 
 the principal apartment had come to pay their respects to 
 the dead. Now we must all go away, for that is the 
 custom in our village when any one dies, because strange 
 and terrible things happen to corpses when they are left 
 alone ; but perhaps, being a priest, you will not be afraid 
 to remain with my poor father's body." 
 
 MusO replied that he was in no way afraid, and told 
 the young man that he would perform a service, and 
 watch by the deceased during the company's absence. 
 Then the young man, together with the other mourners, 
 left the house, and MusO remained to perform his 
 solitary night vigil. 
 
 After Muso had undertaken the funeral ceremonies, 
 he sat meditating for several hours. When the night 
 had far advanced, he was aware of the presence of a 
 strange Shape, so terrible in aspect that the priest could 
 neither move nor speak. The Shape advanced, raised 
 306 
 
THE CORPSE^EATER 
 
 the corpse, and quickly devoured it. Not content with 
 this horrible meal, the mysterious form also ate the 
 offerings, and then vanished. 
 
 The next morning the villagers returned, and they 
 expressed no surprise on hearing that the corpse had 
 disappeared. After MusO had narrated his strange 
 adventure he inquired if the priest on the hill did not 
 sometimes perform the funeral service. " I visited him 
 last night at his anjitsu, and though he refused me 
 shelter, he told me where I might rest." 
 
 The villagers were amazed at these words, and 
 informed MusO that there was certainly no priest and 
 no anjitsu on yonder hill. They were positive in 
 their assertion, and assured MusO that he had been 
 deluded in the matter by some evil spirit. MusO did 
 not reply, and shortly afterwards he took his departure, 
 determined if possible to unravel the mystery. 
 
 MusO had no difficulty in finding the anjitsu again. 
 The old priest came out to him, bowed, and exclaimed 
 that he was sorry for his former rudeness. " I am 
 ashamed," added he, " not only because I gave you no 
 shelter, but because you have seen my real shape. 
 You have seen me devour a corpse and the funeral 
 offerings. Alas ! good sir, I am zjikininki [man-eating 
 goblin], and if you will bear with me I will explain my 
 wretched condition. 
 
 " Many years ago I used to be a priest in this district, 
 and I performed a great number of burial services ; but 
 I was not a good priest, for I was not influenced by true 
 religion in performing my tasks, and thought only of 
 the good and fine clothes I could get out of my calling. 
 For that reason I was reborn zithninkiy and have ever 
 since devoured the corpses of all those who died in this 
 district. I beg that you will have pity on my miserable 
 plight, and repeat certain prayers on my behalf, that I 
 
 307 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 may speedily find peace and make an end of my great 
 wickedness." 
 
 Immediately after these words had been spoken, the 
 recluse and his hermitage suddenly vanished, and Muso 
 found himself kneeling beside a moss-covered tomb, 
 which was probably the tomb of the unfortunate 
 priest. 
 
 The Ghost Mother 
 
 A pale-faced woman crept down a street called 
 Nakabaramachi, entered a certain shop, and purchased 
 a small quantity of midzu-ame?- Every night, at a late 
 hour, she came, always haggard of countenance and 
 always silent. The shopkeeper, who took a kindly 
 interest in her, followed her one night, but seeing that 
 she entered a cemetery, he turned back, puzzled and 
 afraid. 
 
 Once again the mysterious woman came to the little 
 shop, and this time she did not buy midzu-ame^ but 
 beckoned the shopkeeper to follow her. Down the 
 street went the pale-faced woman, followed by the seller 
 of amber syrup and some of his friends. When they 
 reached the cemetery the woman disappeared into a 
 tomb, and those without heard the weeping of a child. 
 When the tomb was opened they saw the corpse of the 
 woman they had followed, and by her side a living 
 child, laughing at the lantern-light and stretching forth 
 its little hands towards a cup of mtdzu-ame. The 
 woman had been prematurely buried and her babe born 
 in the tomb. Every night the silent mother went forth 
 from the cemetery in order that she might bring back 
 nourishment for her child. 
 
 1 A syrup made from malt and given to children when milk is not 
 available. 
 
THE FUTON OF TOTTORI 
 
 The Futon of Tottori 
 
 In Tottori there was a small and modest inn. It was 
 a new inn, and as the landlord was poor he had been 
 compelled to furnish it with goods purchased from a 
 second-hand shop in the vicinity. His first guest was 
 a merchant, who was treated with extreme courtesy and 
 given much warm sakt. When the merchant had drunk 
 the refreshing rice wine he retired to rest and soon fell 
 asleep. He had not slumbered long when he heard the 
 sound of children's voices in his room, crying pitifully : 
 " Elder Brother probably is cold ?" " Nay, thou prob- 
 ably art cold ? " Over and over again the children 
 repeated these plaintive words. The merchant, thinking 
 that children had strayed into his room by mistake, 
 mildly rebuked them and prepared to go to sleep again. 
 After a moment's silence the children again cried : 
 " Elder Brother probably is cold ? " " Nay, thou prob- 
 ably art cold ? " 
 
 The guest arose, lit the andon (night-light), and pro- 
 ceeded to examine the room. But there was no one in 
 the apartment ; the cupboards were empty, and all the 
 shvji (paper-screens) were closed. The merchant lay 
 down again, puzzled and amazed. Once more he heard 
 the cry, close to his pillow : " Elder Brother probably 
 is cold?" "Nay, thou probably art cold?" The 
 cries were repeated, and the guest, cold with horror, 
 found that the voices proceeded from his futon (quilt). 
 
 He hurriedly descended the stairs and told the inn- 
 keeper what had happened. The landlord was angry. 
 " You have drunk too much warm sake," said he. 
 " Warm sake has brought you evil dreams." But the 
 guest paid his bill and sought lodging elsewhere. 
 
 On the following night another guest slept in the 
 haunted room, and he, too, heard the same mysterious 
 
 309 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 voices, rated the innkeeper, and hastily took his de- 
 parture. The landlord then entered the apartment 
 himself. He heard the pitiful cries of children coming 
 from one futon, and now was forced to believe the 
 strange story his two guests had told him. 
 
 The next day the landlord went to the second-hand 
 shop where he had purchased the futon, and made 
 inquiries. After going from one shop to another, he 
 finally heard the following story of the mysterious 
 futon : 
 
 There once lived in Tottori a poor man and his wife, 
 with two children, boys of six and eight years respec- 
 tively. The parents died, and the poor children were 
 forced to sell their few belongings, until one day they 
 were left with only a thin and much-worn futon to cover 
 them at night. At last they had no money to pay the 
 rent, and not even the wherewithal to purchase food of 
 any kind. 
 
 When the period of the greatest cold came, the snow 
 gathered so thickly about the humble dwelling that the 
 children could do nothing but wrap the futon about 
 them, and murmur to each other in their sweet, pathetic 
 way : "Elder Brother probably is cold ?" " Nay, thou 
 probably art cold ? " And sobbing forth these words 
 they clung together, afraid of the darkness and of the 
 bitter, shrieking wind. 
 
 While their poor little bodies nestled together, 
 striving to keep each other warm, the hard-hearted 
 landlord entered, and finding that there was no one 
 to pay the rent, he turned the children out of the 
 house, each clad only in one thin kimono. They tried 
 to reach a temple of Kwannon, but the snow was too 
 heavy, and they hid behind their old home. A futon 
 of snow covered them and they fell asleep on the 
 merciful bosom of the Gods, and were finally buried in 
 310 
 
A TEST OF LOVE 
 
 the cemetery of the Temple of Kwannon-of-the-Thou- 
 sand-Arms. 
 
 When the innkeeper heard this sad story he gave the 
 futon to the priests of the Kwannon temple, prayers 
 were recited for the children's souls, and from that hour 
 the futon ceased to murmur its plaintive cries. 
 
 The Return 
 
 In the village of Mochida-no-ura there lived a peasant. 
 He was extremely poor, but, notwithstanding, his wife 
 bore him six children. Directly a child was born, the 
 cruel father flung it into a river and pretended that it 
 had died at birth, so that his six children were murdered 
 in this horrible way. 
 
 At length, as years went by, the peasant found himself 
 in a more prosperous position, and when a seventh child 
 was born, a boy, he was much gratified and loved him 
 dearly. 
 
 One night the father took the child in his arms, and 
 wandered out into the garden, murmuring ecstatically : 
 "What a beautiful summer night ! " 
 
 The babe, then only five months old, for a moment 
 assumed the speech of a man, saying : " The moon looks 
 just as it did when you last threw me in the river ! " 
 
 When the infant had uttered these words he became 
 like other children ; but the peasant, now truly realising 
 the enormity of his crime, from that day became a priest. 
 
 A Test of Love 
 
 There was once a certain fair maiden who, con- 
 trary to Japanese custom, was permitted to choose her 
 own husband. Many suitors sought her hand, and they 
 brought her gifts and fair poems, and said many loving 
 words to her. She spoke kindly to each suitor, saying : 
 " I will marry the man who is brave enough to bear a 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 certain test I shall impose upon him, and whatever that 
 test of love may be, I expect him, on the sacred honour 
 of a samurai, not to divulge it." The suitors readily 
 complied with these conditions, but one by one they left 
 her, with horror upon their faces, ceased their wooing, 
 but breathed never a word concerning the mysterious 
 and awful secret. 
 
 At length a poor samurai, whose sword was his only 
 wealth, came to the maiden, and informed her that he was 
 prepared to go through any test, however severe, in order 
 that he might make her his wife. 
 
 When they had supped together the maiden left 
 the apartment, and long after midnight returned clad 
 in a white garment. They went out of the house 
 together, through innumerable streets where dogs 
 howled, and beyond the city, till they came to a great 
 cemetery. Here the maiden led the way while the samurai 
 followed, his hand upon his sword. 
 
 When the wooer was able to penetrate the darkness he 
 saw that the maiden was digging the ground with a spade. 
 She dug with extreme haste, and eventually tore off 
 the lid of a coffin. In another moment she snatched up 
 the corpse of a child, tore offan arm, broke it, and com- 
 menced to eat one piece, flinging the other to her wooer, 
 crying : " If you love me, eat what I eat ! " 
 
 Without a moment's hesitation the samurai sat down by 
 the grave and began to eat one half of the arm. " Excel- 
 lent ! " he cried, " I pray you give me more ! " At this 
 point of the legend the horror happily disappears, for 
 neither the samurai nor the maiden ate a corpse the arm 
 was made of delicious confectionery ! 
 
 The maiden, with a cry of joy, sprang to her feet, and 
 said : " At last I have found a brave man ! I will marry 
 you, for you are the husband I have ever longed for, and 
 until this night have never found. " 
 312 
 
CHAPTER XXVI : THREE MAIDENS 
 
 The Maiden of Unai 
 
 THE Maiden of Unai dwelt with her parents in 
 the village of Ashin6ya. She was extremely 
 beautiful, and it so happened that she had two 
 most ardent and persistent lovers Mubara, who was a 
 native of the same countryside, and Chinu, who came from 
 Izumi. These two lovers might very well have been 
 twins, for they resembled each other in age, face, figure, 
 and stature. Unfortunately, however, they both loved 
 her with an equal passion, so that it was impossible to dis- 
 tinguish between them. Their gifts were the same, and 
 there appeared to be no difference in their manner of 
 courting. We get a good idea of the formidable aspect 
 of these two lovers in the following, taken from Mushi- 
 maro's poem on the subject : 
 
 " With jealous love these champions twain 
 
 The beauteous girl did woo ; 
 Each had his hand on the hilt of his sword, 
 And a full-charged quiver, too, 
 
 " Was slung o'er the back of each champion fierce, 
 
 And a bow of snow-white wood 
 Did rest in the sinewy hand of each ; 
 And the twain defiant stood." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 In the meantime, the Maiden of Unai grew sick at 
 heart. She never accepted the gifts of either Mubara 
 or Chinu, and yet it distressed her to see them standing 
 at the gate month after month, never relaxing for a 
 moment the ardent expression of their feeling toward her. 
 
 The Maiden of Unai's parents do not seem to have 
 appreciated the complexity of the situation, for they said 
 to her : " Sad it is for us to have to bear the burden of 
 thine unseemly conduct in thus carelessly from month to 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 month, and from year to year, causing others to sorrow. 
 If thou wilt accept the one, after a little time the other's 
 love will cease." 
 
 These well-meant words brought no consolation or 
 assistance to the poor Maiden of Unai, so her parents 
 sent for the lovers, explained the pitiful situation, and 
 decided that he who should shoot a water-bird swimming 
 in the river Ikuta, which flowed by the platform on 
 which the house was built, should have their daughter 
 in marriage. 
 
 The lovers were delighted at this decision, and 
 anxious to put an end to this cruel suspense. They 
 pulled their bow-strings at the same instant, and 
 together their arrows struck the bird, one in the head 
 and the other in the tail, so that neither could claim to 
 be the better marksman. When the Maiden of Unai 
 saw how entirely hopeless the whole affair was, she 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " Enough, enough ! yon swiftly flowing wave 
 Shall free my soul from her long anxious strife : 
 Men call fair Settsu's stream the stream of life, 
 But in that stream shall be the maiden's grave ! " 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 With these melodramatic words she flung herself from 
 the platform into the surging water beneath. 
 
 The maid's parents, who witnessed the scene, shouted 
 and raved on the platform, while the devoted lovers 
 sprang into the river. One held the maiden's foot, and 
 the other her hand, and in a moment the three sank 
 and perished. In due time the maiden was buried with 
 her lovers on either side, and to this day the spot is 
 known as the "Maiden's Grave." In the grave of 
 Mubara there was a hollow bamboo-cane, together 
 with a bow, a quiver, and a long sword ; but nothing 
 had been placed in the grave of Chinu. 
 3H 
 
The Maiden of Unai. 
 
THE GRAVE OF THE MAIDEN OF UNAI 
 
 Some time afterwards a stranger happened to pass 
 one night in the neighbourhood of the grave, and he 
 was suddenly disturbed by hearing the sound of 
 fighting. He sent his retainers to inquire into the 
 matter, but they returned to him saying they could 
 hear or see nothing of an unusual nature. While the 
 stranger pondered over the love-story of the Maiden of 
 Unai he fell asleep. He had no sooner done so than 
 he saw before him, kneeling on the ground, a blood- 
 stained man, who told him that he was much harassed 
 by the persecutions of an enemy, and begged that the 
 stranger would lend him his sword. This request was 
 reluctantly granted. When the stranger awoke he was 
 inclined to think the whole affair a dream ; but it was no 
 passing fantasy of the night, for not only was his sword 
 missing, but he heard near at hand the sound of a great 
 combat. Then the clash of weapons suddenly ceased, 
 and once more the blood-stained man stood before him, 
 saying : " By thine honourable assistance have I slain 
 the foe that had oppressed me during these many 
 years." So we may infer that in the spirit world Chinu 
 fought and slew his rival, and after many years of bitter 
 jealousy was finally able to call the Maiden of Unai 
 his own. 
 
 The Grave of the Maiden of Unai 
 
 " I stand by the grave where they buried 
 
 The Maiden of Unai, 
 Whom of old the rival champions 
 Did woo so jealously. 
 
 " The grave should hand down through the ages 
 
 Her story for evermore, 
 That men yet unborn might love her, 
 And think on the days of yore. 
 
 315 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 " And so beside the causeway 
 
 They piled up the boulders high ; 
 Nor e'er, till the clouds that o'ershadow us 
 Shall vanish from the sky, 
 
 " May the pilgrim along the causeway 
 
 Forget to turn aside, 
 
 And mourn o'er the grave of the Maiden ; 
 And the village folk, beside, 
 
 " Ne'er cease from their bitter weeping, 
 
 But cluster around her tomb ; 
 And the ages repeat her story, 
 And bewail the Maiden's doom. 
 
 " Till at last e'en I stand gazing 
 
 On the grave where she lies low, 
 And muse with unspeakable sadness 
 On the old days long ago." 
 
 Saklmaro. (Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN.) 
 
 The Maiden of Katsushika 
 
 " Where in the far-off eastern land 
 The cock first crows at dawn, 
 The people still hand down a tale 
 Of days long dead and gone. 
 
 u They tell of Katsushika's maid, 
 Whose sash of country blue 
 Bound but a frock of home-spun hemp, 
 And kirtle coarse to view ; 
 
 " Whose feet no shoe had e'er confined, 
 Nor comb passed through her hair ; 
 Yet all the queens in damask robes 
 Might nevermore compare 
 
 " With this dear child, who smiling stood, 
 
 A flow'ret of the spring 
 In beauty perfect and complete, 
 Like to the full moon's ring. 
 316 
 
THE MAIDEN WITH THE WOODEN BOWL 
 
 " And, as the summer moths that fly 
 
 Towards the flame so bright, 
 Or as the boats that seek the port 
 When fall the shades of night, 
 
 " So came the suitors ; but she said : 
 
 * Why take me for your wife ? 
 Full well I know my humble lot, 
 I know how short my life.' 
 
 " So where the dashing billows beat 
 
 On the loud-sounding shore, 
 Hath Katsushika's tender maid 
 Her home for evermore. 
 
 " Yes ! 'tis a tale of days long past; 
 
 But, list'ning to the lay, 
 
 It seems as I had gazed upon 
 
 Her face but yesterday." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 To the translation of this Japanese ballad Professor 
 B. H. Chamberlain adds the following note : " To the 
 slight, but undoubtedly very ancient, tradition preserved 
 in the foregoing ballad, there is nothing to add from 
 any authentic source. Popular fancy, however, has 
 been busy filling up the gaps, and introduces a cruel 
 stepmother, who, untouched by the piety of the maiden 
 in drawing water for her every day from the only well 
 whose water she cares to drink, is so angry with her for, 
 by her radiant beauty, attracting suitors to the house, 
 that the poor girl ends by drowning herself, upon which 
 the neighbours declare her to be a goddess, and erect a 
 temple in her honour. Both the temple and the well 
 are still among the show-places in the environs of 
 Tokyo." 
 
 The Maiden with the Wooden Bowl 
 
 In ancient days there lived an old couple with their 
 only child, a girl of remarkable charm and beauty. 
 
 3 1 ? 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 When the old man fell sick and died his widow became 
 more and more concerned for her daughter's future 
 welfare. 
 
 One day she called her child to her, and said : 
 " Little one, your father lies in yonder cemetery, and I, 
 being old and feeble, must needs follow him soon. The 
 thought of leaving you alone in the world troubles me 
 much, for you are beautiful, and beauty is a temptation 
 and a snare to men. Not all the purity of a white 
 flower can prevent it from being plucked and dragged 
 down in the mire. My child, your face is all too rair. 
 It must be hidden from the eager eyes of men, lest it 
 cause you to fall from your good and simple life to one 
 of shame." 
 
 Having said these words, she placed a lacquered bowl 
 upon the maiden's head, so that it veiled her attractions. 
 " Always wear it, little one," said the mother, " for it 
 will protect you when I am gone." 
 
 Shortly after this loving deed had been performed the 
 old woman died, and the maiden was forced to earn her 
 living by working in the rice-fields. It was hard, weary 
 work, but the girl kept a brave heart and toiled from 
 dawn to sunset without a murmur. Over and over 
 again her strange appearance created considerable com- 
 ment, and she was known throughout the country as 
 the "Maiden with the Bowl on her Head." Young 
 men laughed at her and tried to peep under the vessel, 
 and not a few endeavoured to pull off the wooden 
 covering ; but it could not be removed, and laughing and 
 jesting, the young men had to be content with a glimpse 
 of the lower part of the fair maiden's face. The 
 poor girl bore this rude treatment with a patient but 
 heavy heart, believing that out of her mother's love and 
 wisdom would come some day a joy that would more 
 than compensate for all her sorrow. 
 318 
 
THE MAIDEN WITH THE WOODEN BOWL 
 
 One day a rich farmer watched the maiden working 
 in his rice-fields. He was struck by her diligence and 
 the quick and excellent way she performed her tasks. 
 He was pleased with that bent and busy little figure, and 
 did not laugh at the wooden bowl on her head. After 
 observing her for some time, he came to the maiden, 
 and said : " You work well and do not chatter to your 
 companions. I wish you to labour in my rice-fields 
 until the end of the harvest/ 7 
 
 When the rice harvest had been gathered and winter 
 had come the wealthy farmer, still more favourably 
 impressed with the maiden, and anxious to do her a 
 service, bade her become an inmate of his house. " My 
 wife is ill," he added, " and I should like you to nurse 
 her for me." 
 
 The maiden gratefully accepted this welcome offer. 
 She tended the sick woman with every care, for the same 
 quiet diligence she displayed in the rice-fields was 
 characteristic of her gentle labour in the sick-room. As 
 the farmer and his wife had no daughter they took very 
 kindly to this orphan and regarded her as a child of 
 their own. 
 
 At length the farmer's eldest son returned to his old 
 home. He was a wise young man who had studied 
 much in gay Kyoto, and was weary of a merry life of 
 feasting and frivolous pleasure. His father and mother 
 expected that their son would soon grow tired of his 
 father's house and its quiet surroundings, and every day 
 they feared that he would come to them, bid farewell, 
 and return once more to the city of the Mikado. But 
 to the surprise of all the farmer's son expressed no 
 desire to leave his old home. 
 
 One day the young man came to his father, and 
 said : " Who is this maiden in our house, and why does 
 she wear an ugly black bowl upon her head ? " 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 When the farmer had told the sad story of the 
 maiden his son was deeply moved ; but, nevertheless, 
 he could not refrain from laughing a little at the bowl. 
 The young man's laughter, however, did not last long. 
 Day by day the maiden became more fascinating to 
 him. Now and again he peeped at the girl's half-hidden 
 face, and became more and more impressed by her 
 gentleness of manner and her nobility of nature. It 
 was not long before his admiration turned into 
 love, and he resolved that he would marry the Maiden 
 with the Bowl on her Head. Most of his relations 
 were opposed to the union. They said : " She is all 
 veryjwell in her way, but she is only a common servant. 
 She wears that bowl in order to captivate the unwary, 
 and we do not think it hides beauty, but rather ugliness. 
 Seek a wife elsewhere, for we will not tolerate this 
 ambitious and scheming maiden." 
 
 From that hour the maiden suffered much. Bitter 
 and spiteful things were said to her, and even her 
 mistress, once so good and kind, turned against her. 
 But the farmer did not change his opinion. He still 
 liked the girl, and was quite willing that she should 
 become his son's wife, but, owing to the heated remarks 
 of his wife and relations, he dared not reveal his wishes 
 in the matter. 
 
 All the opposition, none too kindly expressed, only 
 made the young man more desirous to achieve 
 his purpose. At length his mother and relations, 
 seeing that their wishes were useless, consented to the 
 marriage, but with a very bad grace. 
 
 The young man, believing that all difficulties had 
 been removed, joyfully went to the Maiden with the 
 Bowl on her Head, and said : " All troublesome opposi- 
 tion as at an end, and now nothing prevents us from 
 getting married." 
 320 
 
THE MAIDEN WITH THE WOODEN BOWL 
 
 " No," replied the poor maiden, weeping bitterly, 
 " I cannot marry you. I am only a servant in your 
 father's house, and therefore it would be unseemly for 
 me to become your bride." 
 
 The young man spoke gently to her. He expressed 
 his ardent love over and over again, he argued, he 
 begged ; but the maiden would not change her mind. 
 Her attitude made the relations extremely angry. They 
 said that the woman had made fools of them all, little 
 knowing that she dearly loved the farmer's son, and 
 believed, in her loyal heart, that marriage could only 
 bring discord in the home that had sheltered her in her 
 poverty. 
 
 That night the poor girl cried herself to sleep, and 
 in a dream her mother came to her, and said : " My 
 dear child, let your good heart be troubled no more. 
 Marry the farmer's son and all will be well again." 
 The maiden woke next morning full of joy, and when 
 her lover came to her and asked once more if she would 
 become his bride, she yielded with a gracious smile. 
 
 Great preparations were made for the wedding, and 
 when the company assembled, it was deemed high time 
 to remove the maiden's wooden bowl. She herself 
 tried to take it off, but it remained firmly fixed to her 
 head. When some of the relations, with not a few 
 unkind remarks, came to her assistance, the bowl uttered 
 strange cries and groans. At length the bridegroom 
 approached the maiden, and said : " Do not let this 
 treatment distress you. You are just as dear to me 
 with or without the bowl," and having said these words, 
 he commanded that the ceremony should proceed. 
 
 Then the wine-cups were brought into the crowded 
 apartment and, according to custom, the bride and 
 bridegroom were expected to drink together the " Three 
 times three" in token of their union. Just as the 
 
 x 3*1 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 maiden put the wine-cup to her lips the bowl on her 
 head broke with a great noise, and from it fell gold and 
 silver and all manner of precious stones, so that the 
 maiden who had once been a beggar now had her 
 marriage portion. The guests were amazed as they 
 looked upon the heap of shining jewels and gold and 
 silver, but they were still more surprised when they 
 chanced to look up and see that the bride was the most 
 beautiful woman in all Japan. 
 
 3 22 
 
CHAPTER XXVII : LEGENDS OF 
 THE SEA 
 
 " Oh ! that the white waves far out 
 On the sea of Ise 
 Were but flowers, 
 That I might gather them 
 And bring them as a gift to my love." 
 
 Prince Aki. (Trans, by W. G. ASTON.) 
 
 The Tide of the Returning Ghosts 
 
 ON the last day of the Festival of the Dead the sea 
 is covered with countless shvryvbune (soul-ships), 
 for on that day, called Hotoke-umi, which means 
 Buddha-Flood, or the Tide of the Returning Ghosts, 
 the souls go back to their spirit world again. The sea 
 shines with the light of the departed, and from over the 
 waves comes the sound of ghosts whispering together. 
 No human being would dream of putting out to sea 
 amid such sacred company, for the sea that night 
 belongs to the dead ; _it is their long pathway to the 
 realm where Emma-O reigns supreme. 
 
 It sometimes happens, however, that a vessel fails to 
 come to port before the departure of the soul-ships, 
 and on such occasions the dead arise from the deep, 
 stretch forth their arms, and implore that buckets may 
 be given them. Sailors comply with this request, but 
 present the ghosts with one that has no bottom, for if 
 they gave the dead sound buckets, the angry spirits 
 would use them for the purpose of sinking the vessel. 
 
 Urashima 
 
 " 'Tis Spring, and the mists come stealing 
 
 O'er Suminoye's shore, 
 And I stand by the seaside musing 
 On the days that are no more. 
 
 3*3 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 " I muse on the old-world story, 
 As the boats glide to and fro, 
 Of the fisher-boy Urashima, 
 Who a-fishing lov'd to go." 
 
 Trans, by B. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 " The legend of Urashima/ ' writes Professor B. H. 
 Chamberlain in Japanese Poetry ', " is one of the oldest in 
 the language, and traces of it may even be found in 
 the official annals." In the popular version, which we 
 give below, " the Evergreen Land," recorded in the 
 Japanese ballad, "The Fisher Boy Urashima," appears 
 as the Dragon Palace. Professor Chamberlain writes : 
 " The word Dragon Palace is in Japanese ryUgU> or, more 
 properly, ryttkytt, which is likewise the Japanese pronun- 
 ciation of the name of the islands we call Luchu, and 
 the Chinese Liu-kiu ; and it has been suggested that 
 the Dragon Palace may be but a fanciful name given by 
 some shipwrecked voyager to those sunny southern 
 isles, whose inhabitants still distinguish themselves, 
 even above their Chinese and Japanese neighbours, by 
 their fondness for the dragon as an artistic and archi- 
 tectural adornment. There is one ode in the Man-yvshu 
 which would favour this idea, speaking as it does of the 
 orange having first been brought to Japan from the 
 c Evergreen Land * lying to the south." 
 
 Urashima and the Tortoise 
 
 One day Urashima, who lived in a little fishing village 
 called Midzunoe, in the province of Tango, went out to 
 fish. It so happened that he caught a tortoise, and as 
 tortoises are said to live many thousands of years, the 
 thoughtful Urashima allowed the creature to return to 
 the sea, rebaited his hook, and once more waited for 
 the bite of a fish. Only the sea gently waved his line 
 3H 
 
IN THE SEA KING'S PALACE 
 
 to and fro. The sun beat down upon his head till at 
 last Urashima fell asleep. 
 
 He had not been sleeping long when he heard some 
 one calling his name : " Urashima, Urashima ! " 
 
 It was such a sweet, haunting voice that the fisher- 
 lad stood up in his boat and looked around in every 
 direction, till he chanced to see the very tortoise he had 
 been kind enough to restore to its watery home. The 
 tortoise, which was able to speak quite fluently, profusely 
 thanked Urashima for his kindness, and offered to take 
 him to the ryttkyu, or Palace of the Dragon King. 
 
 The invitation was readily accepted, and getting on 
 the tortoise's back, Urashima found himself gliding 
 through the sea at a tremendous speed, and the curious 
 part about it was he discovered that his clothes remained 
 perfectly dry. 
 
 In the Sea King's Palace 
 
 Arriving at the Sea King's Palace, red bream, flounder, 
 sole, and cuttlefish came out to give Urashima a hearty 
 welcome. Having expressed their pleasure, these 
 vassals of the Dragon King escorted the fisher-lad to 
 an inner apartment, where the beautiful Princess 
 Otohime and her maidens were seated. The Princess 
 was arrayed in gorgeous garments of red and gold, all 
 the colours of a wave with the sunlight upon it. 
 
 This Princess explained that she had taken the form 
 of a tortoise by way of testing his kindness of heart. 
 The test had happily proved successful, and as a 
 reward for his virtue she offered to become his bride in 
 a land where there was eternal youth and everlasting 
 summer. 
 
 Urashima bashfully accepted the high honour be- 
 stowed upon him. He had no sooner spoken than a 
 great company of fishes appeared, robed in long cere- 
 
 3*5 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 monial garments, their fins supporting great coral trays 
 loaded with rare delicacies. Then the happy couple 
 drank the wedding cup of sak^ and while they drank, 
 some of the fishes played soft music, others sang, and 
 not a few, with scales of silver and golden tails, stepped 
 out a strange measure on the white sand. 
 
 After the festivities were over, Otohime showed her 
 husband all the wonders of her father's palace. The 
 greatest marvel of all was to see a country where all the 
 seasons lingered together. 1 Looking to the east, 
 Urashima saw plum- and cherry-trees in full bloom, 
 with bright-winged butterflies skimming over the 
 blossom, and away in the distance it seemed that the 
 pink petals and butterflies had suddenly been converted 
 into the song of a wondrous nightingale. In the south 
 he saw trees in their summer glory, and heard the gentle 
 note of the cricket. Looking to the west, the autumn 
 maples made a fire in the branches, so that if Urashima 
 had been other than a humble fisher-lad he might have 
 recalled the following poem : 
 
 " Fair goddess of the paling Autumn skies, 
 Fain would I know how many looms she plies, 
 Wherein through skilful tapestry she weaves 
 Her fine brocade of fiery maple leaves 
 Since on each hill, with every gust that blows, 
 In varied hues her vast embroidery glows ? " 
 
 Trans, by CLARA A. WALSH. 
 
 It was, indeed, a " vast embroidery," for when 
 Urashima looked toward the north he saw a great stretch 
 of snow and a mighty pond covered with ice. All the 
 seasons lingered together in that fair country where 
 Nature had yielded to the full her infinite variety of 
 beauty. 
 
 After Urashima had been in the Sea King's Palace for 
 
 i Compare " The Dream of Rosei " in Chapter VII. 
 326 
 
Urashima and the Sea King's Daughter 
 
 326 
 
THE HOME-COMING OF URASHIMA 
 
 three days, and seen many wonderful things, he suddenly 
 remembered his old parents, and felt a strong desire to 
 go and see them. When he went to his wife, and told 
 her of his longing to return home, Otohime began to 
 weep, and tried to persuade him to stop another day. 
 But Urashima refused to be influenced in the matter. 
 " I must go," said he, " but I will leave you only for 
 a day. I will return again, dear wife of mine." 
 
 The Home-coming of Urashima 
 
 Then Otohime gave her husband a keepsake in re- 
 membrance of their love. It was called the Tamate-Bako 
 (" Box of the Jewel Hand)." She explained that he was 
 on no account to open the box, and Urashima, promis- 
 ing to fulfil her wish, said farewell, mounted a large 
 tortoise, and soon found himself in his own country. He 
 looked in vain for his father's home. Not a sign of it 
 was to be seen. The cottage had vanished, only the 
 little stream remained. 
 
 Still much perplexed, Urashima questioned a passer- 
 by, and he learnt from him that a fisher-lad, named 
 Urashima, had gone to sea three hundred years ago and 
 was drowned, and that his parents, brothers, and their 
 grandchildren had been laid to rest for a long time. 
 Then Urashima suddenly remembered that the country 
 of the Sea King was a divine land, where a day, accord- 
 ing to mortal reckoning, was a hundred years. 
 
 Urashima's reflections were gloomy in the extreme, 
 for all whom he had loved on earth were dead. Then 
 he heard the murmur of the sea, and recalled the lovely 
 Otohime, as well as the country where the seasons 
 joined hands and made a fourfold pageant of their 
 beauty the land where trees had emeralds for leaves 
 and rubies for berries, where the fishes wore long robes 
 and sang and danced and played. Louder the sea 
 
 327 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 sounded in Urashima's ears. Surely Otohime called 
 him ? But no path opened out before him, no obliging 
 tortoise appeared on the scene to carry him to where his 
 wife waited for him. "The box! the box!" said 
 Urashima softly, " if I open my wife's mysterious gift, 
 it may reveal the way." 
 
 Urashima untied the red silk thread and slowly, 
 fearfully opened the lid of the box. Suddenly there 
 rushed out a little white cloud ; it lingered a moment, 
 and then rolled away far over the sea. But a sacred 
 promise had been broken, and Urashima from a hand- 
 some youth became old and wrinkled. He staggered 
 forward, his white hair and beard blowing in the wind. 
 He looked out to sea, and then fell dead upon the 
 shore. 
 
 Professor Chamberlain writes : " Urashima's tomb, 
 together with his fishing-line, the casket given him by 
 the maiden, and two stones said to be precious, are 
 still shown at one of the temples in Kanagawa." 
 
 The Land of the Morning Calm 
 
 Chosen, the Land of the Morning Calm, was the old 
 name for Korea, 1 and however poetical the phrase may 
 be, it was, nevertheless, totally inapplicable to actual 
 fact. In its early history it was a country divided 
 against itself, and later on it was troubled with the 
 invading armies of China and Japan, to say nothing of 
 minor skirmishes with other countries. There is cer- 
 tainly a pathetic calm in Korea to-day, but it is the calm 
 of a long-vanquished and persecuted nation. It now rests 
 with Japan whether or not the Koreans rise from 
 serfdom and regain something of that old hardihood 
 that was at one time so prominent a feature of her 
 northern men. 
 
 1 See The Story of Korea, by Joseph H. Longford. 
 
THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM 
 
 Long ago Korea came under the glamour of the 
 Chinese civilisation, and it haunts her people to this 
 day. Japan borrowed from Korea what Korea had bor- 
 rowed from China. It was because Japan went on 
 borrowing from the West when she had exhausted all 
 that Korea and China could teach her that she even- 
 tually became, with the progressive stream of thought 
 and action flowing vigorously through her, a world- 
 power, while Korea remained a forlorn example of an 
 almost stagnant country. 
 
 When Japan had succeeded in convincing Korea 
 that she alone could be her faithful guide, Russia 
 came, like a thief in the night, and established a 
 military outpost at Wiju. The Russo-Japanese War 
 resulted, and Korea became a Japanese colony, an 
 experimental ground for social and political reform. 
 Japan has waited long for Korea. May she find it at 
 last, not a turbulent and rebellious country, but in very 
 deed the Land of the Morning Calm. Korea in the 
 past has contributed to the making of Japan's greatness 
 in handing on the religion, art, and literature of China. 
 Now it is Japan's turn to succour an impoverished 
 country, and if the Morning Calm is united with the 
 Rising Sun, there should be peace and prosperity in 
 her new possession. 
 
 Professor J. H. Longford, in The Story of Korea, writes 
 in regard to the invasion of the Empress Jingo : " Dr. 
 Aston . . . contemptuously dismisses the whole as a myth 
 founded on two very distinct historical facts that there 
 was, at the time of the alleged invasion, an Empress 
 of Japan, a woman of real determination and ability, 
 and that not one, but several Japanese invasions of 
 Korea did occur, though at later periods, in which the 
 Japanese did not invariably meet with the triumphant 
 success that they claim for the Empress." We give 
 
 329 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 below the picturesque legend of Japan's first invasion 
 of Korea. 
 
 The Tide Jewels 
 
 One night the Empress Jingo, as she lay asleep in 
 her tent, had a strange dream. She dreamt that a spirit 
 came to her and told her of a wonderful land, a land in 
 the West, full of treasures of gold and silver, a dazzling 
 land, fair to look upon as a beautiful woman. The 
 spirit informed her that the name of this country was 
 Chosen (Korea), and that it might belong to Japan if 
 she would set out and conquer this wealthy land. 
 
 The next day the Empress Jingo informed her hus- 
 band about her dream ; but the Emperor, a stolid, 
 matter-of-fact man, did not believe in dreams. How- 
 ever, as his wife persisted in thrusting upon him what 
 he deemed to be a foolish scheme, he climbed a high 
 mountain, and looking toward the setting sun saw no 
 land in the West. When the Emperor had come down 
 from the mountain, he informed his wife that he would 
 on no account give his consent to invade and conquer a 
 country which simply owed its existence to a disordered 
 dream. But the Gods were angry with the Emperor, 
 and shortly after he had uttered his prohibition he 
 died in battle. 
 
 The Gift of the Dragon King 
 
 When the Empress Jingo became sole ruler she was 
 determined to go to this country she had heard about 
 in a dream ; but as she was resolved to make her 
 expedition no puny and tame affair, she called upon the 
 Spirit of the Mountain to give her timber and iron for 
 her ships. The Spirit of Fields gave her rice and other 
 grain for her army, while the Spirit of Grass pre- 
 sented her with hemp for rope. The Wind God looked 
 330 
 
THE VOYAGE 
 
 favourably upon her scheme, and promised to blow her 
 ships towards Korea. All the spirits appeared in com- 
 pliance with the Empress Jingo's wishes except Isora, 
 the Spirit of the Seashore. 
 
 Isora was a lazy fellow, and when he finally appeared 
 above the waves of the sea, he did so without gorgeous 
 apparel, for he was covered with slime and shells, and 
 seaweed adorned his unkempt person. When the 
 Empress saw him she bade him go to his master, the 
 Dragon King, and ask him to give her the Tide Jewels. 
 
 Isora obeyed, dived down into the water, and presently 
 stood before the Dragon King and made his request. 
 
 The Dragon King took out the Tide Jewels from a 
 casket, placed them on a great shell, and bade Isora 
 promptly return to the Empress Jingo with this precious 
 gift. 
 
 Isora sprang from his master's palace to the surface 
 of the sea, and the Empress Jingo placed the Tide 
 Jewels in her girdle. 
 
 The Voyage 
 
 Now that the Empress had obtained the Jewel of 
 the Flood-Tide and the Jewel of the Ebb-Tide she 
 had three thousand ships built and launched, and during 
 the tenth month she started on her great expedition. 
 Her fleet had not proceeded far when a mighty storm 
 arose, so that the vessels crashed together and were 
 likely to sink to the bottom of the sea. The Dragon 
 King, however, commanded great sea-monsters to go to 
 the rescue ; some bore up the ships with their great 
 bodies, others pushed their heads against the sterns of 
 many vessels, thus propelling them through a heavy sea 
 which had very nearly driven them back whence they 
 came. Powerful dragon-fishes lent their aid to those 
 pushing and snorting in the rear by holding the ships' 
 
 331 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 cables in their mouths and towing the vessels forward at 
 a surprising speed. Directly the storm ceased, the sea- 
 monsters and dragon-fishes disappeared. 
 
 The Throwing of the Tide Jewels 
 
 At last the Empress Jingo and her army saw the 
 distant mountains of Korea loom out on the horizon. 
 On nearing the coast they perceived that the whole of 
 the Korean army stood upon the shore with their ships 
 ready to be launched at the word of command. As soon 
 as the Korean sentinels perceived the Japanese fleet, 
 they gave the signal for embarking, and immediately a 
 great line of war-vessels shot out over the water. 
 
 The Empress stood watching these proceedings with 
 unruffled calm. She knew that the victory or defeat 
 of her army lay in her power. When the Korean 
 vessels drew near to her fleet she threw into the sea 
 the Jewel of the Ebb-Tide. Directly it touched the 
 water it caused the tide to recede from under the very 
 keels of the Korean ships, so that they were left 
 stranded upon dry land. The Koreans, suspecting 
 no magic and believing their stranded condition to 
 have been the result of a tidal wave and, moreover, 
 that the Japanese vessels would succumb to the back- 
 wash, sprang from their vessels and rushed over the 
 sand. Now the Japanese bowmen twanged their bow- 
 strings, and a great cloud of arrows flew into the air, 
 killing many hundreds of the enemy. When the 
 Koreans were quite near the Japanese vessels, the 
 Empress flung forth the Jewel of the Flood-Tide. 
 Immediately a great wave rushed over and destroyed 
 nearly the whole of the Korean army. It was now an 
 easy matter for the Japanese to land and capture the 
 country. The King of Korea surrendered, and the 
 Empress returned to her own kingdom laden with silk 
 33* 
 
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SEA SERPENT 
 
 and jewels, books and pictures, tiger-skins and precious 
 robes. 
 
 When the Tide Jewels had been thrown by the 
 Empress, they did not lie long on the bed of the ocean. 
 Isora speedily rescued them and carried them back 
 to the Dragon King. 
 
 Prince Ojin 
 
 Soon after the Empress Jingo's return she gave 
 birth to a son named Ojin. When Ojin had grown 
 into a fair and wise little boy, his mother told him 
 about the wonderful Tide Jewels, and expressed a wish 
 that he, too, should possess them in order that he might 
 bring honour and glory to Japan. 
 
 One day the Prime Minister, who was said to be 
 three hundred and sixty years old, and the counsellor 
 of no less than five Mikados, took Ojin with him in a 
 royal war-barge. The vessel skimmed over the sea 
 with its gold silk sails. The Prime Minister in a loud 
 voice called on the Dragon King to give young Ojin 
 the Tide Jewels. 
 
 Immediately the waves about the vessel were 
 churned into foam, and amid a great thunderous roar 
 the Dragon King himself appeared with a living 
 creature of dreadful countenance for a helmet. Then 
 out of the water arose a mighty shell, in the recess of 
 which glittered the Tide Jewels. After presenting 
 these jewels, and making a pretty little speech, he 
 returned to his great green kingdom. 
 
 The Slaughter of the Sea Serpent l 
 
 Oribe Shima had offended the great ruler Hojo 
 Takatoki, and was in consequence banished to Kami- 
 
 1 This legend, and those that follow in this chapter, are adapted 
 from Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by R. Gordon Smith. 
 
 333 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 shima, one of the Oki Islands, and forced to leave his 
 beautiful daughter Tokoyo, whom he deeply loved. 
 
 At last Tokoyo was unable to bear the separation 
 any longer, and she was determined to find her father. 
 She therefore set out upon a long journey, and arriving 
 at Akasaki, in the province of Hoki, from which coast 
 town the Oki Islands are visible on a fine day, she 
 besought many a fisherman to row her to her destina- 
 tion. But the fisher- folk laughed at Tokoyo, and bade 
 her relinquish her foolish plan and return home. The 
 maiden, however, would not listen to their advice, and 
 at nightfall she got into the lightest vessel she could 
 find, and by dint of a fair wind and persistent rowing 
 the brave girl came to one of the rocky bays of the 
 Oki Islands. 
 
 That night Tokoyo slept soundly, and in the morn- 
 ing partook of food. When she had finished her meal 
 she questioned a fisherman as to where she might find 
 her father. " I have never heard of Oribe Shima," 
 replied the fisherman, " and if he has been banished, I 
 beg that you will desist from further search, lest it lead 
 to the death of you both." 
 
 That night the sorrowful Tokoyo slept beneath a 
 shrine dedicated to Buddha. Her sleep was soon 
 disturbed by the clapping of hands, and looking up she 
 saw a weeping maiden clad in a white garment with a 
 priest standing beside her. Just as the priest was 
 about to push the maiden over the rocks into the 
 .roaring sea, Tokoyo sprang up and held the maiden's 
 arm. 
 
 The priest explained that on that night, the 
 thirteenth of June, the Serpent God, known as 
 Yofun6-Nushi, demanded the sacrifice of a young girl, 
 and that unless this annual sacrifice was made the God 
 became angry and caused terrible storms. 
 334 
 
Tokoyo and the Sea Serpent. 
 
 334 
 
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE SEA SERPENT 
 
 " Good sir," said Tokoyo, " I am glad that I have 
 been able to save this poor girl's life. I gladly offer 
 myself in her place, for I am sad of heart because 
 I have been unable to find my father. Give him this 
 letter, for my last words of love and farewell go to 
 him." 
 
 Having thus spoken, Tokoyo took the maiden 's 
 white robe and clad herself in it, and having prayed to 
 the image of Buddha, she placed a small dagger 
 between her teeth and plunged into the tempestuous 
 sea. Down she went through the moonlit water till 
 she came to a mighty cave where she saw a statue 
 of Hojo Takatoki, who had sent her poor father into 
 exile. She was about to tie the image on her back 
 when a great white serpent crept out from the cave 
 with eyes gleaming angrily. Tokoyo, realising that 
 this creature was none other than Yofune-Nushi, drew 
 her dagger and thrust it through the right eye of the 
 God. This unexpected attack caused the serpent to 
 retire into the cave, but the brave Tokoyo followed and 
 struck another blow, this time at the creature's heart. 
 For a moment Yofune-Nushi blindly stumbled forward, 
 then with a shriek of pain fell dead upon the floor 
 of the cavern. 
 
 During this adventure the priest and the maiden 
 stood on the rocks watching the spot where Tokoyo 
 had disappeared, praying fervently for the peace of her 
 sorrowful soul. As they watched and prayed they saw 
 Tokoyo come to the surface of the water carrying an 
 image and a mighty fish-like creature. The priest 
 hastily came to the girl's assistance, dragged her upon 
 the shore, placed the image on a high rock, and 
 secured the body of the White Sea Serpent. 
 
 In due time the remarkable story was reported to 
 Tameyoshi, lord of the island, who in turn reported the 
 
 335 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 strange adventure to Hojo Takatoki. Now Takatoki 
 had for some time been suffering from a disease which 
 defied the skill of the most learned doctors ; but it was 
 observed that he regained his health precisely at the 
 hour when his image, which had been cursed and 
 thrown into the sea by some exile, had been restored. 
 When Hojo Takatoki heard that the brave girl was the 
 daughter of the exiled Oribe Shima, he sent him back 
 with all speed to his own home, where he and his 
 daughter lived in peace and happiness. 
 
 The Spirit of the Sword 
 
 One night a junk anchored off Fudo's Cape, and 
 when various preparations had been made, the Captain, 
 Tarada by name, and his crew fell asleep on deck. At 
 about midnight Tarada was awakened by hearing an 
 extraordinary rumbling sound that seemed to proceed 
 from the bottom of the sea. Chancing to look in the 
 direction of the bow of the vessel, he saw a fair girl 
 clad in white and illumined by a dazzling light. 
 
 When Tarada had awakened his crew he approached 
 the maiden, who said : " My only wish is to be back 
 in the world again." Having uttered these words, she 
 disappeared among the waves. 
 
 The next day Tarada went on shore and asked many 
 who lived in Amakura if they had ever heard of a 
 wondrous maiden bathed, as it were, in a phospho- 
 rescent light. One of the villagers thus made answer : 
 "We have never seen the maiden you describe, but for 
 some time past we have been disturbed by rumbling 
 noises that seem to come from Fudo's Cape, and ever 
 since, these mysterious sounds have prevented fish 
 from entering our bay. It may be that the girl you 
 saw was the ghost of some poor maiden drowned at 
 sea, and the noise we hear none other than the anger 
 336 
 
THE LOVE OF O CHO SAN 
 
 of the Sea God on account of a corpse or human bones 
 polluting the water." 
 
 It was eventually decided that the dumb Sankichi 
 should dive into the sea and bring up any corpse he 
 might find there. So Sankichi went on board Tarada's 
 junk, and having said farewell to his friends, he plunged 
 into the water. He searched diligently, but could see 
 no trace of corpse or human bones. At length, how- 
 ever, he perceived what looked like a sword wrapped 
 in silk, and on untying the wrapping he found that it 
 was indeed a sword, of great brightness and without a 
 flaw of any kind. Sankichi came to the surface and 
 was quickly taken aboard. The poor fellow was gently 
 laid on the deck, but he fainted from exhaustion. His 
 cold body was rubbed vigorously and fires were lit. In 
 a very short time Sankichi became conscious and was 
 able to show the sword and give particulars of his 
 adventure. 
 
 An official, by the name of Naruse Tsushimanokami, 
 was of the opinion that the sword was a sacred treasure, 
 and on his recommendation it was placed in a shrine 
 and dedicated to Fudo. Sankichi faithfully guarded 
 the precious weapon, and Fudo's Cape became known 
 as the Cape of the Woman's Sword. To the delight of 
 the fisher-folk, the spirit of the weapon now being 
 satisfied, the fish came back into the bay again. 
 
 The Love of O Cho San 
 
 " To-day is the tenth of June. May the rain fall in torrents ! 
 For I long to see my dearest O Cho San." 
 
 Trans, by R. GORDON SMITH. 
 
 In the isolated Hatsushima Island, celebrated for its 
 suisenn (jonquils), there once lived a beautiful maiden 
 called Cho, and all the young men on the island were 
 eager to marry her. One day the handsome Shinsaku, 
 
 Y 337 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 who was bolder than the rest, went to Gisuke, the 
 brother of Cho, and told him that he much desired to 
 marry his fair sister. Gisuke offered no objections, 
 and calling Cho to him, when the suitor had gone, he 
 said : " Shinsaku wishes to become your husband. I 
 like the fisherman, and think that in him you will make 
 an excellent match. You are now eighteen, and it is 
 quite time that you got married." 
 
 6O Cho San fully approved of what her brother had 
 >aid, and the marriage was arranged to take place in 
 :hree days* time. Unfortunately, those days were days 
 of discord on the island, for when the other fishermen 
 lovers heard the news they began to hate the once 
 popular Shinsaku, and, moreover, they neglected their 
 work and were continually fighting each other. These 
 lamentable scenes cast such a gloom upon the once 
 happy Hatsushima Island that O Cho San and her 
 lover decided that for the peace of the many they 
 would not marry after all. 
 / This noble sacrifice, however, did not bring about the 
 
 /desired effect, for the thirty lovers still fought each 
 other and still neglected their fishing. O Cho San 
 determined to perform a still greater sacrifice. She 
 wrote loving letters of farewell to her brother and 
 Shinsaku, and having left them by the sleeping Gisuke, 
 she softly crept out of the house on a stormy night 01 
 the loth of June. She dropped big stones into her 
 pretty sleeves, and then flung herself into the sea. 
 
 The next day Gisuke and Shinsaku read their letters 
 from O Cho San, and, overcome by grief, they searched 
 the shore, where they found the straw sandals of Cho. 
 The two men realised that the fair maid had indeed 
 taken her precious life, and shortly after her body was 
 taken from the sea and buried, and over her tomb 
 Shinsaku placed many flowers and wept continually. 
 338 
 
THE SPIRIT OF THE GREAT AWABI 
 
 One evening, Shinsaku, unable to bear his sorrow 
 any longer^ decided to take his life, believing that by 
 doing so he would meet the spirit of O Cho San. As 
 he lingered by the girl's grave, he seemed to see her 
 white ghost, and, murmuring her name over and over 
 again, he rushed toward her. At this moment Gisuke, 
 awakened by the noise, came out of his house, and 
 found Shinsaku clinging to his lover's gravestone. 
 
 When Shinsaku told his friend that he had seen the 
 spirit of O Cho San, and intended to take his life in 
 order to be with her for ever, Gisuke made answer 
 thus : " Shinsaku, great is your love for my poor 
 sister, but you can love her best by serving her in this 
 world. When the great Gods call, you will meet her, 
 but await with hope and courage till that hour comes, 
 for only a brave, as well as a loving, heart is worthy 
 of O Cho San. Let us together build a shrine and 
 dedicate it to my sister, and keep your love strong and 
 pure by never marrying any one else." 
 
 The thirty lovers who had shown such unmanly 
 feeling now fully realised the sorrow they had caused, 
 and in order to show their contrition they too helped 
 to build the shrine of the unfortunate maiden, where to 
 this day a ceremony takes place on the loth of June, 
 and it is said that the spirit of O Cho San comes 
 in the rain. 
 
 The Spirit of the Great Awabi 
 
 The morning after a great earthquake had devas- 
 tated the fishing village of Nanao, it was observed that 
 about two miles from the shore a rock had sprung up 
 as the result of the seismic disturbance and, moreover, 
 that the sea had become muddy. One night a number 
 of fishermen were passing by the rock, when they 
 observed, near at hand, a most extraordinary light that 
 
 339 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 appeared to float up from the bottom of the sea with a 
 glory as bright as the sun. The fishermen shipped 
 their oars and gazed upon the wonderful spectacle with 
 considerable surprise, but when the light was suddenly 
 accompanied by a deep rumbling sound, the sailors 
 feared another earthquake and made all speed for 
 Nanao. 
 
 On the third day the wondrous rays from the deep 
 increased in brilliance, so that folk standing on the shore 
 of Nanao could see them distinctly, and the super- 
 stitious fishermen became more and more frightened. 
 Only Kansuke and his son Matakichi had sufficient 
 courage to go fishing. On their return journey they 
 reached the Rock Island, and were drawing in their line 
 when Kansuke lost his balance and fell into the sea. 
 
 Though old Kansuke was a good swimmer, he went 
 down like a stone and did not rise to the surface. 
 Matakichi, deeming this strange, dived into the water, 
 almost blinded by the mysterious rays we have already 
 described. When he at length reached the bottom he 
 discovered innumerable awabi (ear-shells), and in the 
 middle of the group one of vast size. From all these 
 shells there poured forth a brilliant light, and though 
 it was like day under the water, Matakichi could find 
 no trace of his father. Eventually he was forced to rise 
 to the surface, only to find that the rough sea had 
 broken his boat. However, scrambling upon a piece 
 of wreckage, with the aid of a favourable wind and 
 current he at last reached the shore of Nanao, and gave 
 the villagers an account of his remarkable adventure, 
 and of the loss of his old father. 
 
 Matakichi, grieving sorely over the death of his 
 parent, went to the old village priest and begged that 
 worthy that he would make him one of his disciples in 
 order that he might pray the more efficaciously for the 
 34 
 
THE SPIRIT OF THE GREAT AWABI 
 
 spirit of his father. The priest readily consented, and 
 about three weeks later they took boat to the Rock 
 Island, where both prayed ardently for the soul of 
 Kansuke. 
 
 That night the old priest awoke with a start and saw 
 an ancient man standing by his bedside. With a pro- 
 found bow the stranger thus spoke : " I am the Spirit 
 of the Great Awabi, and I am more than one thousand 
 years old. I live in the sea near the Rock Island, and 
 this morning I heard you praying for the soul of Kan- 
 suke. Alas ! good priest, your prayers have deeply 
 moved me, but in shame and sorrow I confess that I ate 
 Kansuke. I have bade my followers depart elsewhere, 
 and in order to atone for my sin 1 shall take my own 
 wretched life, so that the pearl that is within me may 
 be given to Matakichi." And having uttered these 
 words, the Spirit of the Great Awabi suddenly dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 When Matakichi awoke next morning and opened 
 the shutters he discovered the enormous awabi he had 
 seen near the Rock Island. He took it to the old priest, 
 who, after listening to his disciple's story, gave an 
 account of his own experience. The great pearl and 
 shell of the awabi were placed in the temple, and the 
 body was reverently buried. 
 
 34* 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII j SUPERSTITIONS 
 
 Japanese Superstition 
 
 THE subject of Japanese superstition is of special 
 importance, because it serves to indicate the 
 channel by which many myths and legends, but 
 more particularly folk-lore, have evolved. Superstition 
 is, as it were, the raw material out of which innumerable 
 strange beliefs are gradually fashioned into stories, and 
 an inquiry into the subject will show us the peasant 
 mind striving to counteract certain supernatural forces, 
 or to turn them to advantage in every-day life. Many 
 superstitions have already been recorded in these pages, 
 and in the present chapter we shall deal with those that 
 have not been treated elsewhere. It is scarcely necessary 
 to point out that these superstitions, selected from a 
 vast store of quaint beliefs, are necessarily of a primitive 
 kind and must be regarded, excluding, perhaps, those 
 associated with the classic art of divination, as peculiar 
 to the more ignorant classes in Japan. 
 
 Human Sacrifice 
 
 In prehistoric times the bow was believed to possess 
 supernatural power. It would miraculously appear on 
 \ the roof of a man's house as a sign that the eldest 
 \unmarried daughter must be sacrificed. She was accord- 
 ingly buried alive in order that her flesh might be 
 consumed by the Deity of Wild Beasts. Later on, 
 however, the bow was no longer the message of a cruel 
 divinity, for it gradually lost its horrible significance, 
 and has now become a symbol of security. To this 
 day it may be seen fixed to the ridge-pole of a roof, and 
 is regarded as a lucky charm. 
 
 We have another example of human sacrifice in the 
 old repulsive custom of burying a man alive with the 
 34* 
 
HUMAN SACRIFICE 
 
 idea of giving stability to a bridge or castle. In the 
 early days, when forced labour existed, there was un- 
 fortunately scant regard for the sacredness of human 
 life. Those who laboured without reward were under 
 the control of a merciless superintendent, who empha- 
 sised his orders by means of a spear. He was ready 
 to kill all those who were idle or in any way rebellious, 
 and many corpses were flung into the masonry. When 
 a river had to be dammed, or a fortification constructed 
 with the utmost despatch, this deplorable deed was not 
 unusual. 
 
 When a new bridge was built its utility and long life 
 were assured, not always by human sacrifice or sorrow, 
 but sometimes by happiness. The first persons allowed 
 to walk over a new bridge were those of a particularly 
 happy disposition. We are told that two genial old 
 men, who each had a family of twelve children, first 
 crossed the Matsue bridge, accompanied by their 
 wives, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 
 This joyous procession took place amid much re- 
 joicing and a display of fireworks. The idea of 
 happiness contributing to the success of a Japanese 
 bridge is a pretty conception, but, unfortunately, 
 the old bridge of Matsue, now replaced by one far 
 less picturesque, is associated with a very unpleasant 
 tradition. 
 
 When Horio Yoshiharu became Daimyti of Izumo he 
 arranged to build a bridge over the turbulent river at 
 Matsue. Many laboured to carry out his wishes, but 
 the work did not prosper. Countless great stones 
 were flung into the rushing water with the idea of 
 making a solid base on which to construct the pillars, 
 but many of the stones were washed away, and as soon 
 as the bridge took tangible form it was wrecked by the 
 fierce torrent. It was believed that the spirits of the 
 
 343 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 flood were angry, and in order to appease them it was 
 deemed necessary to offer a human sacrifice. A man 
 was accordingly buried alive below the central pillar 
 where the water was most turbulent. When this had 
 been done the work prospered, and the bridge remained 
 intact for three hundred years. Gensuke was the un- 
 fortunate victim, and this was the name given to the 
 central pillar. It is said that on moonless nights a 
 mysterious red fire shines from this pillar the ghostly 
 emanations of poor Gensuke. 
 
 Classical Divination 
 
 One of the most popular forms of Japanese super- 
 stition is associated with divination, and Confucianism 
 has no doubt contributed much to its popularity. The 
 Tih-King, or " Book of Changes," is the main source of 
 the art, and Confucius devoted so much time to the 
 study of this mysterious work that it is said that the 
 leathern thongs used to hold the leaves together were 
 replaced three times during his lifetime. The Tih-King 
 was commenced by Fu Hsi two thousand years before 
 the birth of Christ, and Confucius added much fresh 
 material. A more complicated method of reading the 
 future than by means of eight trigrams and sixty-four 
 diagrams cannot be imagined. So involved a system 
 of divination naturally became the art of the learned 
 few, but in course of time it underwent various modifi- 
 cations. It lost, to a certain extent, its most classic 
 aspect, and many Japanese diviners sprang up in the 
 country professing to read the future for a small fee, 
 and without the qualification of having deeply pondered 
 over the instruction to be found in the Tih-King. A 
 comparatively simple form of divination is with fifty 
 divining rods, shuffled in a particular way, and the final 
 position of the rods is supposed to answer the various 
 344 
 
OTHER FORMS OF DIVINATION 
 
 questions of the inquirer. Many diviners in Japan 
 to-day are mere charlatans working upon the credulity 
 of their patrons, without fully understanding the art they 
 practise. But in ancient times divination was associated 
 with a sacred ritual. It was necessary for the diviner, 
 like the old swordsmith, to prepare and fit himself 
 for his task. It was required of him that he should 
 thoroughly cleanse his body, seat himself in a private 
 apartment, and go through the elaborate process of 
 holding the rods in the spirit of reverence. At a 
 certain moment he was instructed to close his eyes, 
 suspend breathing for a time, and concentrate his 
 thoughts on his work of divination, for the old diviner, 
 like the old Shinto priest, believed that he was calling 
 the supernatural to his aid. 
 
 Other Forms of Divination 
 
 In other forms of divination, requiring no expert 
 interpretation, we find that the future is supposed to 
 be revealed in the cracks and lines of a slightly burnt 
 shoulder-bone of a deer, a method which closely 
 resembles the old English custom of "reading the 
 speal-bone." It was not always easy to secure a 
 deer's shoulder-bone, and as the markings were of 
 more importance than the bone itself, in course of time 
 burnt tortoise-shell took its place. As hair-combs 
 were usually made of this material, a woman, by 
 charring it, was able to read the lines and ascertain the 
 constancy or otherwise of her lover, &c. Girls used to 
 read the riddle of the future and see what it had 
 in store for them by going out at night and stringing 
 together the fragmentary remarks of passers-by. This 
 method is known as tsuji-ura, but it is by no means 
 peculiar to Japan, for it is still frequently practised by 
 superstitious people in our own country. A love-sick 
 
 345 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 maiden tried to discover whether or not her love would 
 be requited by placing a rod in the ground, surrounding 
 it with various offerings, and listening to the conversa- 
 tion of wayfarers who chanced to come that way. 1 A 
 later and more elaborate development of this form 
 of divination required three maidens, and the method 
 employed is as follows. The young women went to 
 where roads crossed each other, and thrice repeated an 
 invocation to the God of Roads. When they had 
 supplicated this Deity, they flung rice on the ground, 
 for rice has the power or driving away evil spirits. 
 The maidens then rubbed their fingers against the 
 teeth of a boxwood comb, because tsuge, the Japanese 
 name for this wood, also means " to tell." After these 
 preparations they each stood in a different position 
 and pieced together the remarks of passers-by. 
 Occasionally some message from the future was 
 received while the inquirer stood under a bridge and 
 listened to the clatter of feet, and sometimes a - priest 
 whistling by inhalation was supposed to reveal an 
 omen or some kind. 
 
 Unlucky Years and Days 
 
 It is believed that certain periods of life are extremely 
 unlucky. The twenty-fifth, forty-second, and sixty- 
 first years of a man's life are considered unfortunate, 
 while the unlucky years of a woman's life are the 
 nineteenth, thirty-third, and thirty-seventh. In order 
 to prevent calamity during these periods, it is necessary 
 to devote much time to religious exercises. Men and 
 women are advised not to take a journey during the 
 
 1 This variety of divination is of particular interest, for the rod 
 symbolises the God of Roads, the Deity created from Izanagi's staff, 
 which, it will be remembered, he flung behind him when pursued in 
 the Under-world by the Eight Ugly Females. 
 346 
 
CHILDREN 
 
 sixteenth, twenty-fifth, thirty-fourth, forty-third, fifty- 
 second, and sixty-first year. When superstitious 
 women wish to make a new garment, they utter an 
 invocation, and later on sprinkle three pinches of 
 salt on the shoulder gusset. No woman should use 
 her needle on a " monkey " day, but rather on a 
 " bird " day. If the work is undertaken on the 
 former day, the garment is in danger of being burnt or 
 rent ; but if the apparel is made on the latter day, it 
 will have the beauty and durability of the feathers of a 
 bird. 
 
 Children 
 
 When a child's tooth falls out, it is thrown away 
 under the eaves, with the wish that it may be replaced 
 by the tooth of a demon. Sometimes the tooth of 
 a little boy or girl is thrown on the floor with the 
 request that it may be replaced by the tooth of a rat. 
 Children may be immune from nightmare if the word 
 " puppy " is written on their foreheads ; and if to this 
 precaution is added a sketch of the Baku, Eater of 
 Dreams, the little one's slumber will be sure to be of a 
 peaceful kind. The word " dog " inscribed on a child's 
 forehead is a protection against the magic of foxes and 
 badgers. 
 
 Some of the nostrums that are supposed to cure 
 children's ailments are very curious. Blood extracted 
 from a cock's comb cures indigestion, while an eruption 
 on the head may be driven away by repeating these 
 words : " In the long days of spring weeds may be 
 removed, but those in the garden must be cut down at 
 once." Even a Japanese baby cries occasionally, but if 
 a red bag containing dog's hair is fastened on its back, 
 it will immediately cease to cry, and the plaintive 
 wailing will give place to smiles. Blindness is fre- 
 
 347 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 quently the result of smallpox, but this calamity may 
 be prevented by throwing seven peas into a well, 
 reciting seven prayers, and then drawing off all the 
 water from the well. 
 
 Charms 
 
 Many Japanese charms are pieces of paper bearing 
 an inscription designed to avert evil. Another variety 
 is inscribed with the name of a god. It takes the form 
 of a long strip which the poor fasten on the outside of 
 their houses, while those who have not to contend with 
 poverty regard it as a part of their domestic altar. 
 The imprint of a child's hand, "obtained," writes 
 Professor Chamberlain, " by first wetting the hand with 
 ink and then applying it to a sheet of paper, is believed 
 to avert malign influences." Fragments of temples, 
 rice-grains carved to represent the Gods of Luck, 
 minute sutras, copies of Buddha's footprint, and 
 many other quaint conceits are among the multitudinous 
 charms of Japan. 
 
 The Beckoning Leaf 
 
 There is a certain Japanese tree, called tegashiwa, and 
 its leaves in shape are not unlike a hand. In ancient 
 days, when it was necessary for a samurai to leave his 
 home, he received just before his departure a tai (perch), 
 which was served on the leaf of a tegashiwa tree. This 
 was his farewell repast, and when the samurai had eaten 
 the fish the leaf was hung over the door, in the belief 
 that it would guard him on his journey, and bring him 
 safely back to his home again. It was not the shape, 
 but the movement of the tegashiwa leaf that gave rise 
 to this pleasing fancy, for the leaf, when blown by the 
 wind, appeared to beckon after the graceful Japanese 
 manner. 
 348 
 
BIMBOGAMI 
 
 Bimbogami 
 
 Dry peas are usually found to be efficacious in driving 
 away evil spirits, but Bimbogami, the God of Poverty, 
 is not so easily overcome. There is something pathetic 
 in the idea that poverty should be regarded as an 
 obstinate and most unwelcome fellow, for at this point 
 we touch reality. However, though Bimbogami takes 
 no notice of dry peas, he may be vanquished by other 
 means. 
 
 The charcoal fire in a Japanese kitchen is blown into 
 a cheerful glow by means of a utensil called hlfukidake^ 
 a bamboo tube a more artistic and simple form of 
 bellows, where the inflated cheeks take the place of 
 our hand-moved leather bag. Before long the bamboo 
 tube cracks with the intense heat. When this takes 
 place a copper coin is put inside the tube, an incantation 
 is uttered, and then the " fire-blow-tube " is thrown 
 either into the street or into a stream. This throwing 
 away of the useless bamboo of the kitchen is always 
 supposed to signify the forced departure of Bimbogami. 
 Most of us are familiar with what is known as the 
 Death-spider that ticks l;ke a watch in our walls. In 
 Japan it is called Bimbomushi, " Poverty-Insect." Its 
 ticking does not foretell the coming of Death, as is the 
 belief in our own country, but it denotes the unwelcome 
 presence of the God of Poverty in the Japanese home. 
 
 349 
 
CHAPTER XXIX : SUPERNATURAL 
 BEINGS 
 
 The Kappa 
 
 THE Kappa is a river goblin, a hairy creature 
 with the body of a tortoise and scaly limbs. 
 His head somewhat resembles that of an ape, 
 in the top of which there is a cavity containing a mys- 
 terious fluid, said to be the source of the creature's 
 power. The chief delight of the Kappa is to challenge 
 human beings to single combat, and the unfortunate 
 man who receives an invitation of this kind cannot 
 refuse. Though the Kappa is fierce and quarrelsome, 
 he is, nevertheless, extremely polite. The wayfarer 
 who receives his peremptory summons gives the goblin 
 a profound bow. The courteous Kappa acknowledges 
 the obeisance, and in inclining his head the strength- 
 giving liquid runs out from the hollow in his cranium, 
 and becoming feeble, his warlike characteristics imme- 
 diately disappear. To defeat the Kappa, however, is 
 just as unfortunate as to receive a beating at his hands, 
 for the momentary glory of the conquest is rapidly 
 followed by a wasting away of the unfortunate wayfarer. 
 The Kappa possesses the propensities of a vampire, for 
 he strikes people in the water, as they bathe in lake 
 or river, and sucks their blood. In a certain part of 
 Japan the Kappa is said to claim two victims every year. 
 When they emerge from the water their skin becomes 
 blanched, and they gradually pine away as the result of 
 a terrible disease. 
 
 In Izumo the village people refer to the Kappa as 
 Kawako ("The Child of the River"). Near Matsue 
 there is a little hamlet called Kawachi-mura, and on the 
 bank of the river Kawachi there is a small temple known 
 as Kawako-no-miya, that is, the temple of the Kawako or 
 
The Kappa and his Victim. 
 
 350 
 
THE TENGU 
 
 Kappa, said to contain a document signed by this river 
 goblin. Concerning this document the following legend 
 is recorded. 
 
 The Kappa's Promise 
 
 In ancient days a Kappa dwelt in the river Kawachi, 
 and he made a practice of seizing and destroying a 
 number of villagers, and in addition many of their 
 domestic animals. On one occasion a horse went into 
 the river, and the Kappa, in trying to capture it, in some 
 way twisted his neck, but in spite of considerable pain 
 he refused to let his victim go. The frightened horse 
 sprang up the river bank and ran into a neighbouring 
 field with the Kappa still holding on to the terrified 
 animal. The owner of the horse, together with many 
 villagers, securely bound the Child of the River. " Let 
 us kill this horrible creature," said the peasants, "for 
 he has assuredly committed many horrible crimes, and 
 we should do well to be rid of such a dreadful monster." 
 " No," replied the owner of the horse, "we will not kill 
 him. We will make him swear never to destroy any 
 of the inhabitants or the domestic animals of this 
 village." A document was accordingly prepared, and 
 the Kappa was asked to peruse it, and when he had 
 done so to sign his name. " I cannot write," replied the 
 penitent Kappa, " but I will dip my hand in ink and 
 press it upon the document." When the creature had 
 made his inky mark, he was released and allowed to 
 return to the river, and from that day to this the Kappa 
 has remained true to his promise. 
 
 The Tengu 
 
 We have already referred to the Tengu in the story 
 of Yoshitsune and Benkei. 1 In this legend it will 
 i See Chapter II. 
 
 351 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 be remembered that Yoshitsune, one of the greatest 
 warriors of Old Japan, learnt the art of swordsmanship 
 from the King of the Tengu. Professor B. H. Chamber- 
 lain describes the Tengu as " a class of goblins or gnomes 
 that haunt the mountains and woodlands, and play 
 many pranks. They have an affinity to birds ; for they 
 are winged and beaked, sometimes clawed. But often 
 the beak becomes a large and enormously long human 
 nose, and the whole creature is conceived as human, 
 nothing bird-like remaining but the fan of feathers with 
 which it fans itself. It is often dressed in leaves, and 
 wears on its head a tiny cap." In brief, the Tengu are 
 minor divinities, and are supreme in the art of fencing, 
 and, indeed, in the use of weapons generally. The 
 ideographs with which the name is written signify 
 " heavenly dog," which is misleading, for the creature 
 bears no resemblance to a dog, and is, as we have 
 already described, partly human and partly bird-like in 
 appearance. There are other confusing traditions in 
 regard to the word Tengu, for it is said that the Emperor 
 Jomei gave the name to a certain meteor " which whirled 
 from east to west with a loud detonation.' ' Then, again, 
 a still more ancient belief informs us that the Tengu were 
 emanations from Susa-no-o, the Impetuous Male, and 
 again, that they were female demons with heads of beasts 
 and great ears and noses of such enormous length that 
 they could carry men on them and fly with their sus- 
 pended burden for thousands of miles without fatigue, 
 and in addition their teeth were so strong and so sharp 
 that these female demons could bite through swords and 
 spears. The Tengu is still believed to inhabit certain 
 forests and the recesses of high mountains. Generally 
 speaking, the Tengu is not a malevolent being, for 
 he possesses a keen sense of humour, and is fond of 
 a practical joke. Sometimes, however, the Tengu 
 
ADVENTURES OF KIUCHI HEIZAYEMON 
 
 mysteriously hides human beings, and when finally 
 they return to their homes they do so in a demented 
 condition. This strange occurrence is known as Tengu- 
 kakushi, or hidden by a Tengu. 
 
 Tobikawa Imitates a Tengu 
 
 Tobikawa, an ex-wrestler who lived in Matsue, spent 
 his time in hunting and killing foxes. He did not 
 believe in the various superstitions concerning this 
 animal, and it was generally believed that his great 
 strength made him immune from the witchcraft of foxes. 
 However, there were some people of Matsue who pro- 
 phesied that Tobikawa would come to an untimely end 
 as the result of his daring deeds and disbelief in super- 
 natural powers. Tobikawa was extremely fond of prac- 
 tical jokes, and on one occasion he had the hardihood to 
 imitate the general appearance of a Tengu, feathers, long 
 nose, claws, and all. Having thus disguised himself 
 he climbed up into a tree belonging to a sacred grove. 
 Presently the peasants observed him, and deeming the 
 creature they saw to be a Tengu, they began to worship 
 him and to place many offerings about the tree. Alas ! 
 the dismal prophecy came true, for while the merry 
 Tobikawa was trying to imitate the acrobatic antics of a 
 Tengu, he slipped from a branch and was killed. 
 
 The Adventures of Kiuchi Heizayemon 
 
 We have already referred to the Tengu-kakushi, and 
 the following legend gives a graphic account of this 
 supernatural occurrence. 
 
 One evening, Kiuchi Heizayemon, a retainer, myste- 
 riously disappeared. Kiuchi's friends, when they heard 
 of what had taken place, searched for him in every 
 direction. Eventually they discovered the missing man's 
 clogs, scabbard, and sword ; but the sheath was bent 
 
 z 353 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 like the curved handle of a tea-kettle. They had no 
 sooner made this lamentable discovery than they also 
 perceived Kiuchi's girdle, which had been cut into three 
 pieces. At midnight, those who searched heard a strange 
 cry, a voice calling for help. Suzuki Shichiro, one of the 
 party, chanced to look up, and he saw a strange creature 
 with wings standing upon the roof of a temple. When 
 the rest of the band had joined their comrade, they 
 all looked upon the weird figure, and one said : " I 
 believe it is nothing but an umbrella flapping in the 
 wind." " Let us make quite sure," replied Suzuki 
 Shichiro, and with these words he lifted up his voice, 
 and cried loudly: " Are you the lost Kiuchi ?" " Yes," 
 was the reply, "and I pray that you will take me 
 down from this temple as speedily as possible." 
 
 When Kiuchi had been brought down from the temple 
 roof, he fainted, and remained in a swoon for three days. 
 At length, gaining consciousness, he gave the following 
 account of his strange adventure : 
 
 " The evening when I disappeared I heard some one 
 shouting my name over and over again, and going out I 
 discovered a black-robed monk, bawling c Heizayemon ! ' 
 Beside the monk stood a man of great stature ; his face 
 was red, and his dishevelled hair fell upon the ground. 
 c Climb up on yonder roof,' he shouted fiercely. I 
 refused to obey such an evil-faced villain, and drew my 
 sword, but in a moment he bent the blade and broke my 
 scabbard into fragments. Then my girdle was roughly 
 torn off and cut into three pieces. When these things 
 had been done, I was carried to a roof, and there 
 severely chastised. But this was not the end of my 
 trouble, for after I had been beaten, I was forced to seat 
 myself on a round tray. In a moment I was whirled 
 into the air, and the tray carried me with great speed to 
 many regions. When it appeared to me that I had 
 354 
 
MOUNTAIN WOMAN AND MOUNTAIN MAN 
 
 travelled through space for ten days, I prayed to the 
 Lord Buddha, and found myself on what appeared to 
 be the summit of a mountain, but in reality it was the 
 roof of the temple whence you, my comrades, rescued 
 
 me." 
 
 A Modern Belief in the Tengu 
 
 Captain Brinkley, in Japan and China^ informs us 
 that as late as 1860 the officials of the Yedo Govern- 
 ment showed their belief in supernatural beings. Prior 
 to the visit of the Shvgun to Nikko, they caused the 
 following notice to be exhibited in the vicinity of the 
 mausolea : 
 
 "TO THE TENGU AND OTHER DEMONS 
 
 " Whereas our ShSgun intends to visit the Nikko Mausolea 
 next April, now therefore ye Tengu and other Demons 
 inhabiting these mountains must remove elsewhere until 
 the Shogurfs visit is concluded. 
 
 " (Signed) MIZUNO, Lord of Dewa. 
 "Dated July 1860." 
 
 The local officials were not content with a notice of 
 this kind. After duly notifying the Tengu and other 
 demons of the coming of the Shdgun, the exact moun- 
 tains were specified where these creatures might live 
 during the ruler's visit. 
 
 The Mountain "Woman and the ML 'titain Man 
 
 The Mountain Woman's body is covered with long 
 white hair. She is looked upon as an ogre (kijo\ and, as 
 such, figures in Japanese romance. She has cannibalistic 
 tendencies, and is able to fly about like a moth and 
 traverse pathless mountains with ease. 
 
 The Mountain Man is said to resemble a great dark- 
 
 355 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 haired monkey. He is extremely strong, and thinks 
 nothing of stealing food from the villages. He is, how- 
 ever, always ready to assist woodcutters, and will gladly 
 carry their timber for them in exchange for a ball of rice. 
 It is useless to capture or kill him, for an attack of any 
 kind upon the Mountain Man brings misfortune, and 
 sometimes death, upon the assailants. 
 
 Sennin 
 
 The Sennin are mountain recluses, and many are the 
 legends told in connection with them. Though they 
 have human form, they are, at the same time, immortal, 
 and adepts in the magical arts. The first great Japanese 
 sennin was Yosho, who was born at Noto A.D. 870. 
 Just before his birth his mother dreamt that she had 
 swallowed the sun, a dream that foretold the miraculous 
 power of her child. Yosho was studious and devout, 
 and spent most of his time in studying the " Lotus of 
 the Law." He lived very simply indeed, and at length 
 reduced his diet to a single grain of millet a day. He 
 departed from the earth A.D. 901, having attained 
 much supernatural power. He left his mantle hanging 
 on the branch of a tree, together with a scroll bearing 
 these words : " I bequeath my mantle to Emmei of 
 Dogen-ji." In due time Emmei became a sennin , and, 
 like his master, was able to perform many marvels. 
 Shortly after Yosho's disappearance his father became 
 seriously ill, and he prayed most ardently that he might 
 see his well-loved son again. In reply to his prayers, 
 Yosho's voice was heard overhead reciting the " Lotus 
 of the Law." When he had concluded his recitations, 
 he said to his stricken father : " If flowers are offered 
 and incense burned on the 1 8th of every month, my 
 spirit will descend and greet you, drawn by the perfume 
 of the flowers and the blue smoke of incense." 
 356 
 
A GLOBE OF FIRE 
 
 Sennin in Art 
 
 Sennin are frequently depicted in Japanese art : 
 Chokoro releasing his magic horse from a gigantic 
 gourd ; Gama with his wizard toad ; Tekkai blowing 
 his soul into space ; Roko balancing himself on a 
 flying tortoise ; and Kum6, who fell from his chariot of 
 cloud because, contrary to his holy calling, he loved 
 the image of a fair girl reflected in a stream. 
 
 Miraculous Lights 
 
 There are many varieties of fire apparitions in Japan. 
 There is the ghost-fire, demon-light, fox-flame, flash- 
 pillar, badger-blaze, dragon-torch, and lamp of Buddha. 
 In addition supernatural fire is said to emanate from 
 certain birds, such as the blue heron, through the skin, 
 mouth, and eyes. There are also fire-wheels, or mes- 
 sengers from Hades, sea-fires, besides the flames that 
 spring from the cemetery. 
 
 A Globe of Fire 
 
 From the beginning of March to the end of June 
 there may be seen in the province of Settsu a globe of 
 fire resting on the top of a tree, and within this globe 
 there is a human face. In ancient days there once 
 lived in Nikaido district of Settsu province a priest 
 named Nikobo, famous for his power to exorcise evil 
 spirits and evil influences of every kind. When the 
 local governor's wife fell sick, Nikobo was requested to 
 attend and see what he could do to restore her to health 
 again. Nikobo willingly complied, and spent many days 
 by the bedside of the suffering lady. He diligently 
 practised his art of exorcism, and in due time the 
 governor's wife recovered. But the gentle and kind- 
 hearted Nikobo was not thanked for what he had done ; 
 
 357 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 on the contrary, the governor became jealous of him, 
 accused him of a foul crime, and caused him to be put 
 to death. The soul of Nikobo flashed forth in its 
 anger and took the form of a miraculous globe of fire, 
 which hovered over the murderer's house. The strange 
 light, with the justly angry face peering from it, had its 
 effect, for the governor was stricken with a fever that 
 finally killed him. Every year, at the time already 
 indicated, Nikobo's ghost pays a visit to the scene of 
 its suffering and revenge. 
 
 The Ghostly Wrestlers 
 
 In Omi province, at the base of the Katada hills, there 
 is a lake. During the cloudy nights of early autumn 
 a ball of fire emerges from the margin of the lake, 
 expanding and contracting as it floats toward the hills. 
 When it rises to the height of a man it reveals two 
 shining faces, to develop slowly into the torsos of two 
 naked wrestlers, locked together and struggling furi- 
 ously. The ball of fire, with its fierce combatants, floats 
 slowly away to a recess in the Katada hills. It is harm- 
 less so long as no one interferes with it, but it resents 
 any effort to retard its progress. According to a legend 
 concerning this phenomenon, we are informed that a 
 certain wrestler, who had never suffered a defeat, waited 
 at midnight for the coming of this ball of fire. When 
 it reached him he attempted to drag it down by force, 
 but the luminous globe proceeded on its way, and hurled 
 the foolish wrestler to a considerable distance. 
 
 Baku 
 
 In Japan, among superstitious people, evil dreams 
 are believed to be the result of evil spirits, and the 
 supernatural creature called Baku is known as Eater of 
 Dreams. The Baku> like so many mythological beings, 
 358 
 
THE SHOJO'S WHITE SAKE 
 
 is a curious mingling of various animals. It has the 
 face of a lion, the body of a horse, the tail of a cow, the 
 forelock of a rhinoceros, and the feet of a tiger. Several 
 evil dreams are mentioned in an old Japanese book, 
 such as two snakes twined together, a fox with the voice 
 of a man, blood-stained garments, a talking rice-pot, 
 and so on. When a Japanese peasant awakens from an 
 evil nightmare, he cries : " Devour, O Baku I devour 
 my evil dream." At one time pictures of the Baku 
 were hung up in Japanese houses and its name written 
 upon pillows. It was believed that if the Baku could 
 be induced to eat a horrible dream, the creature had the 
 power to change it into good fortune. 
 
 The Shojo's White Sake 1 
 
 The Shojv is a sea monster with bright red hair, and 
 is extremely fond of drinking large quantities of sacred 
 white sake. The following legend will give some 
 account of this creature and the nature of his favourite 
 beverage. 
 
 We have already referred to the miraculous appear- 
 ance of Mount Fuji. 2 On the day following this alleged 
 miracle a poor man named Yurine, who lived near this 
 mountain, became extremely ill, and feeling that his 
 days were numbered, he desired to drink a cup of sake 
 before he died. But there was no rice wine in the little 
 hut, and his boy, Koyuri, desiring if possible to fulfil 
 his father's dying wish, wandered along the shore with 
 a gourd in his hand. He had not gone far when he 
 heard some one calling his name. On looking about 
 him he discovered two strange-looking creatures with 
 long red hair and skin the colour of pink cherry-blossom, 
 
 * Adapted from Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by R. Gordon 
 Smith, 
 
 1 See Chapter IX. 
 
 359 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 wearing green seaweed girdles about their loins. Draw- 
 ing nearer, he perceived that these beings were drinking 
 white sake from large flat cups, which they continually 
 replenished from a great stone jar. 
 
 " My father is dying," said the boy, " and he much 
 desires to drink a cup of sakt before he departs this life. 
 But alas ! we are poor, and 1 know not how to grant 
 him his last request." 
 
 " I will fill your gourd with this white sakt" replied 
 one of the creatures, and when he had done so Koyuri 
 ran with haste to his father. 
 
 The old man drank the white sak& eagerly. " Bring 
 me more," he cried, " for this is no common wine. It 
 has given me strength, and already I feel new life flow- 
 ing through my old veins." 
 
 So Koyuri returned to the seashore, and the red-haired 
 creatures gladly gave him more of their wine ; indeed, 
 they supplied him with the beverage for five days, and 
 by the end of that time Yurine was restored to health 
 again. 
 
 Now Yurine' s neighbour was a man called Mamikiko, 
 and when he heard that Yurine had recently obtained a 
 copious supply of sakt he grew jealous, for above all 
 things he loved a cup of rice wine. One day he called 
 Koyuri and questioned him in regard to the matter, 
 saying : " Let me taste the sakL" He roughly snatched 
 the gourd from the boy's hand and began to drink, 
 making a wry face as he did so. " This is not sakt ! " 
 he exclaimed fiercely ; " it is filthy water," and having 
 said these words, he began to beat the boy, crying : 
 " Take me to those red people you have told me about. 
 I will get from them fine sakt, and let the beating I have 
 given you warn you never again to play a trick upon 
 me." 
 
 Koyuri and Mamikiko went along the shore together, 
 360 
 
THE SHOJO'S WHITE SAKE 
 
 and presently they came to where the red-haired crea- 
 tures were drinking. When Koyuri saw them he 
 began to weep. 
 
 " Why are you crying ? " said one of the creatures. 
 " Surely your good father has not drunk all the sakt 
 already ? " 
 
 " No," replied the boy, " but I have met with 
 misfortune. This man I bring with me, Mamikiko by 
 name, drank some of the sakt, spat it out immediately, 
 and threw the rest away, saying that I had played a trick 
 upon him and given him foul water to drink. Be so 
 good as to let me have some more sakt for my father." 
 
 The red-haired man filled the gourd, and chuckled 
 over Mamikiko's unpleasant experience. 
 
 " 1 should also like a cup or sake," said Mamikiko. 
 " Will you let me have some ? " 
 
 Permission having been granted, the greedy Mami- 
 kiko filled the largest cup he could find, smiling over 
 the delicious fragrance. But directly he tasted the sake 
 he felt sick, and angrily remonstrated with the red- 
 haired creature. 
 
 The red man thus made answer : " You are evidently 
 not aware that I am a Shojv, and that I live near the 
 Sea Dragon's Palace. When I heard of the sudden 
 appearance of Mount Fuji I came here to see it, assured 
 that such an event was a good omen and foretold of 
 the prosperity and perpetuity of Japan. While enjoy- 
 ing the beauty of this fair mountain I met Koyuri, and 
 had the good fortune to save his honest father's life by 
 giving him some of our sacred white sakt that restores 
 youth to human beings, together with an increase in 
 years, while to Shojv it vanquishes death. Koyuri's father 
 is a good man, and the sakt was thus able to exert its 
 full and beneficent power upon him ; but you are greedy 
 and selfish, and to all such this sak& is poison." 
 
 361 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 " Poison ? " groaned the now contrite Mamikiko. 
 " Good Shojv y have mercy upon me and spare my life ! " 
 
 The Shojv gave him a powder, saying : "Swallow 
 this in sakt and repent of your wickedness." 
 
 Mamikiko did so, and this time he found that the 
 white sakt was delicious. He lost no time in making 
 friends with Yurine, and some years later these men 
 took up their abode on the southern side of Mount 
 Fuji, brewed the Shop's white sakt, and lived for three 
 hundred years. 
 
 The Dragon 
 
 The Dragon is undoubtedly the most famous ot 
 mythical beasts, but, though Chinese in origin, it has 
 become intimately associated with Japanese mythology. 
 The creature lives for the most part in the ocean, river, 
 or lake, but it has the power of flight and rules over 
 clouds and tempests. The Dragon of China and 
 Japan resemble each other, with the exception that the 
 \ Japanese variety has three claws, while that of the 
 [Celestial Kingdom has five. The Chinese Emperor 
 i ao was said to be the son of a dragon, and many 
 rulers of that country were metaphorically referred to 
 as " dragon-faced. " The Dragon has the head of a 
 camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a hare, scales of a carp, 
 paws of a tiger, and claws resembling those of an eagle. 
 In addition it has whiskers, a bright jewel under its 
 chin, and a measure on the top of its head which 
 enables it to ascend to Heaven at will. This is merely 
 a general description and does not apply to all dragons, 
 some of which have heads of so extraordinary a kind 
 that they cannot be compared with anything in the 
 animal kingdom. The breath of the Dragon changes 
 into clouds from which come either rain or fire. It is 
 able to expand or contract its body, and in addition it 
 362 
 
THE DRAGON 
 
 has the power of transformation and invisibility. In 
 both Chinese and Japanese mythology the watery 
 principle is associated with the Dragon, as we have 
 already seen in the story of Urashima. the Empress 
 Jingo, and the adventures of Hoori, &c. 
 
 The Dragon ( Tatsu) is one of the signs of the zodiac, 
 and the four seas, which in the old Chinese conception 
 limited the habitable earth, were ruled over by four 
 Dragon Kings. The Celestial Dragon ruled over the 
 Mansions of the Gods, the Spiritual Dragon presided 
 over rain, the Earth Dragon marked the courses of 
 rivers, and the Dragon of Hidden Treasure guarded 
 precious metals and stones. 
 
 A white Dragon, which lived in -a pond at Yamashiro, 
 transformed itself every fifty years into a bird called 
 O-Goncho, with a voice resembling the howling of a 
 wolf. Whenever this bird appeared it brought with it 
 a great famine. On one occasion, while Fuk Hi was 
 standing by the Yellow River, the Yellow Dragon 
 presented him with a scroll inscribed with mystic 
 characters. This tradition is said to be the legendary 
 origin of the Chinese system of writing. 
 
 363 
 
CHAPTER XXX : THE TRANSFORMA- 
 TION OF ISSUNBOSHI, AND KINTARO, 
 THE GOLDEN BOY 
 
 A Prayer to the Empress Jingo 
 
 AN old married couple went to the shrine of the 
 deified Empress Jingo, 1 and prayed that they 
 might be blessed with a child, even if it were 
 no bigger than one of their fingers. A voice was 
 heard from behind the bamboo curtain of the shrine, 
 and the old people were informed that their wish would 
 be granted. 
 
 In due time the old woman gave birth to a child, 
 and when she and her husband discovered that this 
 miniature piece of humanity was no bigger than a little 
 finger, they became extremely angry, and thought that 
 the Empress Jingo had treated them very meanly 
 indeed, though, as a matter of fact, she had fulfilled 
 their prayer to the letter. 
 
 "One-Inch Priest " 
 
 The little fellow was called Issunboshi ("One-Inch 
 Priest"), and every day his parents expected to see him 
 suddenly grow up as other boys ; but at thirteen years 
 of age he still remained the same size as when he was 
 born. Gradually his parents became exasperated, for 
 it wounded their vanity to hear the neighbours describe 
 their son as Little Finger, or Grain-of-Corn. They 
 were so much annoyed that at last they determined to 
 send Issunboshi away. 
 
 The little fellow did not complain. He requested 
 his mother to give him a needle, a small soup-bowl, 
 and a chop-stick, and with these things he set off 
 on his adventures. 
 
 * Deifying the mighty dead is one of the teachings of Shintoism. 
 364 
 
AN ENCOUNTER WITH ONI 
 
 Issunboshi becomes a Page 
 
 His soup-bowl served as a boat, which he propelled 
 along the river with his chop-stick. In this fashion he 
 finally reached Kyoto. Issunboshi wandered about 
 this city until he saw a large roofed gate. Without 
 the least hesitation he walked in, and having reached 
 the porch of a house, he cried out in a very minute 
 voice : " I beg an honourable inquiry ! " 
 
 Prince Sanjo himself heard the little voice, and it 
 was some time before he could discover where it came 
 from. When he did so he was delighted with his 
 discovery, and on the little fellow begging that he 
 might live in the Prince's house, his request was 
 readily granted. The boy became a great favourite, 
 and was at once made the Princess Sanjo's page. In 
 this capacity he accompanied his mistress everywhere, 
 and though so very small, he fully appreciated the 
 honour and dignity of his position. 
 
 An Encounter with Oni 
 
 One day the Princess Sanjo and her page went to the 
 Temple of Kwannon, the Goddess of Mercy, " under 
 whose feet are dragons of the elements and the lotuses 
 of Purity." As they were leaving the temple two 
 oni (evil spirits) sprang upon them. Issunboshi took 
 out his needle-sword from its hollow straw, and loudly 
 denouncing the oni y he flourished his small weapon 
 in their evil-looking faces. 
 
 One of the creatures laughed. " Why," said he scorn- 
 fully, " I could swallow you, as a cormorant swallows a 
 trout, and what is more, my funny little bean-seed, I 
 will do so ! " 
 
 The oni opened his mouth, and Issunboshi found him- 
 self slipping down a huge throat until he finally stood 
 
 365 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 in the creature's great dark stomach. Issunboshi, noth- 
 ing daunted, began boring away with his needle-sword. 
 This made the evil spirit cry out and give a great 
 cough, which sent the little fellow into the sunny 
 world again. 
 
 The second oni, who had witnessed his companion's 
 distress, was extremely angry, and tried to swallow the 
 remarkable little page, but was not successful. This 
 time Issunboshi climbed up the creature's nostril, and 
 when he had reached the end of what seemed to him to 
 be a very long and gloomy tunnel, he began piercing 
 the onis eyes. The creature, savage with pain, ran off 
 as fast as he could, followed by his yelling companion. 
 
 Needless to say, the Princess was delighted'. with her 
 page's bravery, and told him that she was sure her 
 father would reward him when he was told about the 
 terrible encounter. 
 
 The Magic Mallet 
 
 On their way home the Princess happened to pick 
 up a small wooden mallet. " Oh ! " said she, " this 
 must have been dropped by the wicked oni, and it is 
 none other than a lucky mallet. You have only to 
 wish and then tap it upon the ground, and your wish, 
 no matter what, is always granted. My brave (Issun- 
 boshi, tell me what you would most desire, and I will 
 tap the mallet on the ground." 
 
 After a pause the little fellow said : " Honourable 
 Princess, I should like to be as big as other people." 
 
 The Princess tapped the mallet on the ground, calling 
 aloud the wish of her page. In a moment Issunboshi 
 was transformed from a bijou creature to a lad just 
 like other youths of his age. 
 
 These wonderful happenings excited the curiosity 
 of the Emperor, and Issunboshi was summoned to his 
 366 
 
KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY 
 
 presence. The Emperor was so delighted with the 
 youth that he gave him many gifts and made him a 
 high official. Finally, Issunboshi became a great lord 
 and married Prince Sanjo's youngest daughter. 
 
 Kintaro, the Golden Boy 
 
 Sakata Kurando was an officer of the Emperor's 
 bodyguard, and though he was a brave man, well versed 
 in the art of war, he had a gentle disposition, and 
 during his military career chanced to love a beautiful 
 lady named Yaegiri. Kurando eventually fell into 
 disgrace, and was forced to leave the Court and to 
 become a travelling tobacco merchant. Yaegiri, who 
 was much distressed by her lover's flight, succeeded 
 in escaping from her home, and wandered up and 
 down the country in the hope of meeting Kurando. 
 At length she found him, but the unfortunate man, who, 
 no doubt, felt deeply his disgrace and his humble 
 mode of living, put an end to his humiliation by 
 taking his miserable life. 
 
 Animal Companions 
 
 When Yaegiri had buried her lover she went to 
 the Ashigara Mountain, where she gave birth to a 
 child, called Kintaro, or the Golden Boy. Now Kintaro 
 was remarkable for his extreme strength. When only a 
 few years old his mother gave him an axe, with which 
 he felled trees as quickly and easily as an experienced 
 woodcutter. Ashigara Mountain was a lonely and 
 desolate spot, and as there were no children with 
 whom Kintaro could play, he made companions of 
 the bear, deer, hare, and monkey, and in a very short 
 time was able to speak their strange language. 
 
 One day, when Kintaro was sitting on the mountain, 
 with his favourites about him, he sought to amuse 
 
 367 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 himself by getting his companions to join in a friendly 
 wrestling match. A kindly old bear was delighted with 
 the proposal, and at once set to work to dig up the 
 earth and arrange it in the form of a small da'fs. When 
 this had been made a hare and a monkey wrestled 
 together, while a deer stood by to give encouragement 
 and to see that the sport was conducted fairly. Both 
 animals proved themselves to be equally strong, 
 and Kintaro tactfully rewarded them with tempting 
 rice-cakes. 
 
 After spending a pleasant afternoon in this way, 
 Kintaro proceeded to return home, followed by his 
 devoted friends. At length they came to a river, and 
 the animals were wondering how they should cross 
 such a wide stretch of water, when Kintaro put his 
 strong arms round a tree which was growing on the 
 bank, and pulled it across the river so that it formed 
 a bridge. Now it happened that the famous hero, 
 Yorimitsu, and his retainers witnessed this extraordinary 
 feat of strength, and said to Watanab6 Isuna : " This 
 child is truly remarkable. Go and find out where he 
 lives and all about him." 
 
 A Famous Warrior 
 
 So Watanabe" Isuna followed Kintaro and entered 
 the house where he lived with his mother. " My 
 master," said he, " Lord Yorimitsu, bids me find out 
 who your wonderful son is." When Yagiri had 
 narrated the story of her life and informed her visitor 
 that her little one was the son of Sakata Kurando, the 
 retainer departed and told Yorimitsu all he had heard. 
 
 Yorimitsu was so pleased with what Watanabe Isuna 
 told him that he went himself to Yagiri, and said : 
 " If you will give me your child I will make him my 
 retainer." The woman gladly consented, and the 
 368 
 
A FAMOUS WARRIOR 
 
 Golden Boy went away with the great hero, who 
 named him Sakata Kintoki. He eventually became a 
 famous warrior, and the stones of his wonderful deeds 
 are recited to this day. Children regard him as their 
 favourite hero, and little boys, who would fain emulate 
 the strength and bravery of Sakata Kintoki, carry his 
 portrait in their bosoms. 
 
 2 A 369 
 
CHAPTER XXXI : MISCELLANEOUS 
 LEGENDS 
 
 Kato Sayemon 
 
 KATO SAYEMON lived in the palace of the 
 Shogun Ashikaga, where he had his separate 
 apartments, and as there was no war at that 
 time, he remained contentedly with his wife and con- 
 cubines. Kato Sayemon was a man who loved luxury 
 and ease, and he regarded domestic peace as the greatest 
 of all earthly blessings. He honestly believed that 
 among all his smiling, courteous women there was 
 nothing but harmony, and this thought made life parti- 
 cularly sweet to him. 
 
 One evening Kato Sayemon went into the palace 
 garden and was enchanted by the ever-moving cloud of 
 fireflies, and he was scarcely less pleased with the gentle 
 song of certain insects. "What a charming scene," 
 murmured Sayemon, cc and what a charming world we 
 live in 1 Bows and smiles and abject humility from my 
 women. Oh, it's all very wonderful and very delightful ! 
 I would have life always so." 
 
 Thus voicing his thoughts in this self-satisfied 
 manner, he chanced to pass his wife's room, and peeped 
 in with a loving and benevolent eye. He observed that 
 his wife was playing go with one of his concubines. 
 " Such polite decorum," murmured Sayemon. cc Surely 
 their words are as sweet as honey and as soft and fair 
 as finely spun silk. But stay ! What strange thing 
 is this ? The hair of my wife and the hair of my 
 concubine have turned into snakes that twist and 
 rear their heads in anger. All the time these women 
 smile and bow and move their pieces with well-ordered 
 charm and grace. Gentle words come from their 
 lips, but the snakes of their hair mock them, for 
 370 
 
Kato Sayemon in his Palace of the Shogun Ashikaga. 370 
 
KATO SAYEMON 
 
 these twisting reptiles tell of bitter jealousy in their 
 hearts." 
 
 Sayemon's beautiful dream of domestic happiness was 
 for ever shattered. "I will go forth/' said he, "and 
 become a Buddhist priest. I will leave behind the hot 
 malice and envy of my wife and concubines, and in the 
 teaching of the Blessed One I shall indeed find true 
 peace." 
 
 The next morning Sayemon left the palace secretly, 
 and though search was made for him, he could not be 
 found. About a week later Sayemon's wife reduced the 
 establishment and lived quietly with her little son, 
 Ishidomaro. Two years went by and still there came 
 no news of her husband. 
 
 At length Sayemon's wife and child went in search of 
 the missing man. For five years they wandered about 
 the country, till at length they came to a little village in 
 Kishu, where an old man informed the weary and travel- 
 stained wanderers that Sayemon was now a priest, and 
 that a year ago he lived in the temple of Kongobuji, on 
 Mount Koya. 
 
 The next day the woman and her son found that at 
 the temple of Kongobuji no women were permitted to 
 enter, so Ishidomaro, after carefully listening to his 
 mother's instructions, ascended the mountain alone. 
 When the boy, after a long and arduous climb, reached 
 the temple, he saw a monk, and said : " Does a priest 
 called Kato Sayemon live here ? I am his little son, and 
 my good mother awaits me in yonder valley. Five 
 years we have sought for him, and the love that is in 
 our hearts will surely find him." 
 
 The priest, who was none other than Sayemon him- 
 self, thus addressed his son : " I am sorry to think that 
 your journey has been in vain, for no one of the name of 
 Kato Sayemon lives in this temple." 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Sayemon spoke with outward coldness, but within his 
 heart there was a struggle between his religion and love 
 for his son. Knowing, however, that he had left his wife 
 and child well provided for, he yielded to the teaching of 
 the Lord Buddha and crushed out his parental feelings. 
 
 Ishidomaro, however, was not satisfied, for he felt 
 instinctively that the man before him was in reality his 
 father, and once again he addressed the priest : " Good 
 sir, on my left eye there is a mole, and my mother told 
 me that on the left eye of my father there is a similar 
 mark, by which I might at once recognise him. You 
 have the very mark, and in my heart I know that you 
 are my father." And having said these words the boy 
 wept bitterly, longing for arms that never came to caress 
 and soothe the unhappy little fellow. 
 
 Sayemon's feelings were again stirred ; but with a 
 great effort to conceal his emotion, he said : " The mark 
 of which you speak is very common. I am certainly 
 not your father, and you had better dry your eyes and 
 seek him elsewhere." With these words the priest left 
 the boy in order to attend an evening service. 
 
 Sayemon continued to live in the temple. He had 
 found peace in serving the Lord Buddha, and he cared 
 not what became of his wife and child. 
 
 How an Old Man lost his "Wen 
 
 There was once an old man who had a wen on his 
 right cheek. This disfigurement caused him a good 
 deal of annoyance, and he had spent a considerable sum 
 of money in trying to get rid of it. He took various 
 medicines and applied many lotions, but instead of the 
 wen disappearing or even diminishing, it increased in size. 
 
 One night, while the old man was returning home 
 laden with firewood, he was overtaken by a terrible 
 thunderstorm, and was forced to seek shelter in a hollow 
 372 
 
HOW AN OLD MAN LOST HIS WEN 
 
 tree. When the storm had abated, and just as he was 
 about to proceed on his journey, he was surprised to 
 hear a sound of merriment close at hand. On peeping 
 out from his place of retreat, he was amazed to see a 
 number of demons dancing and singing and drinking. 
 Their dancing was so strange that the old man, forget- 
 ting caution, began to laugh, and eventually left the tree 
 in order that he might see the performance better. As 
 he stood watching, he saw that a demon was dancing by 
 himself, and, moreover, that the chief of the company was 
 none too pleased with his very clumsy antics. At length 
 the leader of the demons said : " Enough ! Is there 
 no one who can dance better than this fellow ? " 
 
 When the old man heard these words, it seemed that 
 his youth returned to him again, and having at one time 
 been an expert dancer, he offered to show his skill. So 
 the old man danced before that strange gathering of 
 demons, who congratulated him on his performance, 
 offered him a cup ofsakd, and begged that he would give 
 them the pleasure of several other dances. 
 
 The old man was extremely gratified by the way he 
 had been received, and when the chief of the demons 
 asked him to dance before them on the following night, 
 he readily complied. "That is well," said the chief, 
 " but you must leave some pledge behind you. I see 
 that you have a wen on your right cheek, and that will 
 make an excellent pledge. Allow me to take it off for 
 you." Without inflicting any pain, the chief removed 
 the wen, and having accomplished this extraordinary feat, 
 he and his companions suddenly vanished. 
 
 The old man, as he walked towards his home, kept on 
 feeling his right cheek with his hand, and could scarcely 
 realise that after many years of disfigurement he had at 
 last the good fortune to lose his troublesome and un- 
 sightly wen. At length he entered his humble abode, 
 
 373 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 and his old wife was none the less pleased with what 
 had taken place. 
 
 A wicked and cantankerous old man lived next door 
 to this good old couple. For many years he had been 
 afflicted with a wen on his left cheek, which had failed 
 to yield to all manner of medical treatment. When he 
 heard of his neighbour's good fortune, he called upon 
 him and listened to the strange adventures with the 
 demons. The good old man told his neighbour where 
 he might find the hollow tree, and advised him to hide 
 in it just before sunset. 
 
 The wicked old man found the hollow tree and entered 
 it. He had not remained concealed more than a few 
 minutes when he rejoiced to see the demons. Presently 
 one of the company said : " The old man is a long time 
 coming. I made sure he would keep his promise." 
 
 At these words the old man crept out of his hiding- 
 place, flourished his fan, and began to dance ; but, 
 unfortunately, he knew nothing about dancing, and his 
 extraordinary antics caused the demons to express con- 
 siderable dissatisfaction. "You dance extremely ill," 
 said one of the company, " and the sooner you stop the 
 better we shall be pleased ; but before you depart we 
 will return the pledge you left with us last night." 
 Having uttered these words, the demon flung the wen 
 at the right cheek of the old man, where it remained 
 firmly fixed, and could not be removed. So the wicked 
 old man^ who had tried to deceive the demons, went 
 away with a wen on either side of his face. 
 
 A Japanese Gulliver 1 
 
 Shikaiya Wasobioye was a man of Nagasaki, and 
 possessed considerable learning, but disliked visitors. 
 
 1 Adapted from Professor B. H. Chamberlain's translation in the 
 Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. vii. 
 374 
 
A JAPANESE GULLIVER 
 
 On the eighth day of the eighth month, in order to 
 escape the admirers of the full moon, he set off in his 
 boat, and had proceeded some distance, when the sky 
 looked threatening, and he attempted to return, but the 
 wind tore his sail and broke his mast. The poor man 
 was tossed for three months on the waves, until at last 
 he came to the Sea of Mud, where he nearly died of 
 hunger, for there were no fishes to be caught. 
 
 At length he reached a mountainous island, where 
 the air was sweet with the fragrance of many flowers, 
 and in this island he found a spring, the waters of which 
 revived him. At length Wasobioye met Jofuku, who 
 led him through the streets of the main city, where all 
 the inhabitants were spending their time in pursuit of 
 pleasure. There was no death or disease on this island ; 
 but the fact that here life was eternal was regarded by 
 many as a burden, which they tried to shake off by study- 
 ing the magic art of death and the power of poisonous 
 food, such as globe-fish sprinkled with soot and the 
 flesh of mermaids. 
 
 When twenty years had passed by Wasobioye grew 
 weary of the island, and as he had failed in his attempts 
 to take his life, he started upon a journey to the Three 
 Thousand Worlds mentioned in Buddhist Scriptures. 
 He then visited the Land of Endless Plenty, the Land 
 of Shams, the Land of the Followers of the Antique, 
 the Land of Paradoxes, and, finally, the Land of Giants. 
 
 After Wasobioye had spent five months riding on 
 the back of a stork through total darkness, he at length 
 reached a country where the sun shone again, where 
 trees were hundreds of feet in girth, where weeds were 
 as large as bamboos, and men sixty feet in height. In 
 this strange land a giant picked up Wasobioye, took 
 him to his house, and fed him from a single grain of 
 monster rice, with chopsticks the size of a small tree. 
 
 375 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 For a few weeks Wasobioye attempted to catechise his 
 host in regard to the doctrines of the old world whence 
 he came, but the giant laughed at him and told him 
 that such a small man could not be expected to under- 
 stand the ways of big people, for their intelligences were 
 in like proportion to their size. 
 
 The Jewel-tears of Samebito 
 
 One day, while TotarO was crossing the Long Bridge 
 of Seta, he saw a strange-looking creature. It had the 
 body of a man, with a skin blacker than that of a negro ; 
 its eyes glowed like emeralds, and its beard was like 
 the beard of a dragon. TotarO was not a little startled 
 at seeing such an extraordinary being ; but there was 
 so much pathos in its green eyes that TotarO ventured 
 to ask questions, to which the strange fellow replied : 
 
 " I am Samebito [" A Shark-Person "], and quite 
 recently I was in the service of the Eight Great Dragon 
 Kings as a subordinate officer in the Dragon Palace. I 
 was dismissed from this glorious dwelling for a very 
 slight fault, and I was even banished from the sea. 
 Ever since I have been extremely miserable, without a 
 place of shelter, and unable to get food. Pity me, good 
 sir ! Find me shelter, and give me something to eat ! " 
 
 Totaro's heart was touched by Samebito's humility, 
 and he took him to a pond in his garden and there gave 
 him a liberal supply of food. In this quiet and secluded 
 spot this strange creature of the sea remained for nearly 
 half a year. 
 
 Now in the summer of that year there was a great 
 female pilgrimage to the temple called Miidera, situated 
 in the neighbouring town of Otsu. TotarO attended 
 the festival, and there saw an extremely charming girl. 
 " Her face was fair and pure as snow ; and the loveliness 
 of her lips assured the beholder that their very utterance 
 376 
 
Totaro and Samebito. 
 
 376 
 
THE JEWEL-TEARS OF SAMEBITO 
 
 would sound c as sweet as the voice of a nightingale 
 singing upon a plum-tree/ ' 
 
 TotarO at once fell in love with this maiden. He 
 discovered that her name was Tamana, that she was 
 unmarried, and would remain so unless a young man 
 could present her with a betrothal gift of a casket con- 
 taining no fewer than ten thousand jewels. 
 
 When TotarO learnt that this fair girl was only to be 
 won by what seemed to him an impossible gift, he 
 returned home with a heavy heart. The more he 
 thought about the beautiful Tamana, the more he fell 
 in love with her. But alas ! no one less wealthy than 
 a prince could make such a betrothal gift ten thousand 
 jewels ! 
 
 TotarO worried himself into an illness, and when a 
 physician came to see him, he shook his head, and said : 
 " I can do nothing for you, for no medicine will cure the 
 sickness of love." And with these words he left him. 
 
 Now Samebito gained tidings of the sickness of his 
 master, and when the sad news reached him, he left the 
 garden pond and entered Totaro's chamber: 
 
 TotarO did not speak about his own troubles. He 
 was full of concern for the welfare of this creature of 
 the sea. " Who will feed you, Samebito, when I am 
 gone ? " said he mournfully. 
 
 When Samebito saw that his good master was dying, 
 he uttered a strange cry, and began to weep. He wept 
 great tears of blood, but when they touched the floor 
 they suddenly turned into glowing rubies. 
 
 When TotarO saw these jewel-tears he shouted for 
 joy, and new life came back to him from that hour. " I 
 shall live ! I shall live ! " he cried with great delight. 
 " My good friend, you have more than repaid me for 
 the food and shelter I have given you. Your wonderful 
 tears have brought me untold happiness." 
 
 377 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Then Sambito stopped weeping, and asked his 
 master to be so good as to explain the nature of his 
 speedy recovery. 
 
 So TotarO told the Shark-Man of his love-affair and 
 of the marriage-gift demanded by the family of 
 Tamana. " I thought," added TotarO, " that I should 
 never be able to get ten thousand jewels, and it was 
 that thought that brought me so near to death. Now 
 your tears have turned into jewels, and with these the 
 maid will become my wife." 
 
 TotarO proceeded to count the jewels with great 
 eagerness. " Not enough ! Not enough ! " he ex- 
 claimed with considerable disappointment. " Oh, 
 Sambito, be so good as to weep a little more ! " 
 
 These words made Samebito angry. " Do you 
 think," said he, " I can weep at will like women ? My 
 tears come from the heart, the outward sign of true 
 and deep sorrow. I can weep no longer, for you are 
 well again. Surely the time has come for laughter and 
 merrymaking, and not for tears." 
 
 " Unless I get ten thousand jewels, I cannot marry 
 the fair Tamana," said TotarO. "What am I to do ? 
 Oh, good friend, weep, weep ! " 
 
 Samebito was a kindly creature. After a pause, he 
 said : " I can shed no more tears to-day. Let us go 
 to-morrow to the Long Bridge of S6ta, and take with 
 us a good supply of wine and fish. It may be that as 
 I sit on the bridge and gaze toward the Dragon Palace, 
 I shall weep again, thinking of my lost home, and 
 longing to return once more." 
 
 On the morrow they went to the S6ta Bridge, and 
 after Samebito had taken a good deal of wine, he gazed 
 in the direction of the Dragon Kingdom. As he did 
 so his eyes filled with tears, red tears that turned into 
 rubies as soon as they touched the bridge. TotarO, 
 378 
 
THE JEWEL-TEARS OF SAMEBITO 
 
 without very much concern for his friend's sorrow, 
 picked up the jewels, and found at last that he had ten 
 thousand lustrous rubies. 
 
 Just at that moment they heard a sound of sweet 
 music, and from the water there rose a cloud-like palace, 
 with all the colours of the setting sun shining upon it. 
 Sambito gave a shout of joy and sprang upon the 
 parapet of the bridge, saying : " Farewell, my master ! 
 The Dragon Kings are calling ! " With these words 
 he leaped from the bridge and returned to his old 
 home again. 
 
 TotarO lost no time in presenting the casket contain- 
 ing ten thousand jewels to Tamana's parents, and in 
 due season he married their lovely daughter. 
 
 379 
 
A NOTE ON JAPANESE POETRY 
 
 f | ^HERE is a subtle charm about Japanese poetry 
 
 1 peculiarly its own. I recall with pleasure the 
 unforgettable hours I spent in reading Mr. 
 Yone Noguchi's The Pilgrimage. I was compelled, 
 through sheer delight, to read the two volumes at a 
 sitting. It is true that Mr. Noguchi is very much 
 under the influence of Walt Whitman, and it has left 
 its impress upon his work ; but that only tends to 
 heighten the effect of the purely Japanese element. 
 A brief, haunting phrase of Mr. Noguchi has far more 
 charm than an imitation of his American master's 
 torrential manner. Japan has no need to imitate as 
 far as her poetry is concerned. In the old days one of 
 the characteristics of that country's poetry was its 
 almost entire freedom from outside influences, not 
 even excepting that of China, from whom, in other 
 directions, she borrowed so much. I have mentioned 
 Mr. Yone Noguchi because his work forms an excel- 
 lent starting-point for the study of Japanese poetry. 
 This charming poet, writing in English, has given us 
 for the first time an intimate knowledge of the very 
 spirit of Japanese poetry. When a book is written on 
 comparative poetry, that of Japan will take a very high 
 place. 
 
 It is far easier to describe what Japanese poetry is 
 not than what it actually is. To begin with, there are 
 no Japanese epics, such as the Iliad and Odyssey, the 
 Kalevala, and the Mahabharata, and their phrase naga- 
 uta (" long poetry ") is to us a misnomer, for they have 
 no really long poems. Philosophy, religion, satire are 
 not themes for the Japanese poet ; he even goes so far 
 as to consider war no fit subject for a song. 
 380 
 
THE TANKA AND HOKKU 
 
 The Tanka and Hokku 
 
 Where, then, are the charm and wonder of Japan's 
 Pegasus ? The real genius is to be found in the tanka ^ 
 a poem of five lines or phrases and thirty-one syllables. 
 In many ways the tanka shows far more limitation than 
 an English sonnet, and our verbose poets would do 
 well to practise a form that engenders suppression and 
 delicately gives suggestion the supreme place. It is 
 surprising what music and sentiment are expressed 
 within these limits. The tanka is certainly brief in 
 form, but it frequently suggests, with haunting insist- 
 ency, that the fragment really has no end, when 
 imagination seizes it and turns it into a thousand 
 thousand lines. The tanka belongs as much to Japan 
 as Mount Fuji itself. One cannot regard it without 
 thinking that a Japanese poet must essentially have all 
 the finer instincts of an artist. In him the two arts 
 seem inseparable. He must convey in five lines, in 
 the most felicitous language at his disposal, the idea he 
 wishes to express. That he does so with extraordinary 
 success is beyond dispute. These brief poems are 
 wonderfully characteristic of the Japanese people, for 
 they have such a love for little things. The same love 
 that delights in carving a netsuke y the small button 
 on a Japanese tobacco-pouch, or the fashioning of a 
 miniature garden in a space no bigger than a soup-plate 
 is part of the same subtle genius. 
 
 There is an even more Lilliputian form of verse. It 
 is called the hokku^ and contains only seventeen 
 syllables, such as : " What I saw as a fallen blossom 
 returning to the branch, lo ! it was a butterfly." 
 Butterflies were no mere flying insects in Old Japan. 
 The sight of such a brightly coloured creature heralded 
 the approach of some dear friend. On one occasion 
 
 381 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 great clouds of butterflies were thought to be the souls 
 of an army. 
 
 The Hyaku'nin*isshiu 
 
 Those who are familiar with the Hyaku-nin-isshiu 1 
 ("Single Verses by a Hundred People"), written 
 before the time of the Norman Conquest, will recognise 
 that much of the old Japanese poetry depended on 
 the dexterous punning and the use of " pivot ' ' and 
 "pillow " words. The art was practised, not with the 
 idea of provoking laughter, which was the aim of 
 Thomas Hood, but rather with the idea of winning 
 quiet admiration for a clever and subtle verbal ornament. 
 No translation can do full justice to this phase of Japanese 
 poetry ; but the following tanka y by Yasuhide Bunya, 
 may perhaps give some idea of their word-play : 
 
 " The mountain wind in autumn time 
 Is well called ' hurricane ' ; 
 It hurries canes and twigs along, 
 And whirls them o'er the plain 
 To scatter them again." 
 
 The cleverness of this verse lies in the fact that 
 yama kaze (" mountain wind ") is written with two 
 characters. When these characters are combined they 
 form the word arashi (" hurricane "). Clever as these 
 " pillow " and " pivot " words were, they were used 
 but sparingly by the poets of the classical period, to be 
 revived again in a later age when their extravagant use 
 is to be condemned as a verbal display that quite 
 overshadowed the spirit of the poetry itself. 
 
 Love Poems 
 
 There are Japanese love poems, but they are very 
 different from those with which we are familiar. The 
 
 1 See translation by William N. Porter. 
 382 
 
LOVE POEMS 
 
 tiresome habit of enumerating a woman's charms, either 
 briefly or at length, is happily an impossibility in the 
 tanka. There is nothing approaching the sensuousness 
 of a Swinburne or a D. G. Rossetti in Japanese poetry, 
 but the sentiments are gentle and pleasing nevertheless. 
 No doubt there were love-lorn poets in Japan, as in 
 every other country, poets who possibly felt quite pas- 
 sionately on the subject ; but in their poetry the fire 
 is ghostly rather than human, always polite and delicate. 
 What could be more naive and dainty than the following 
 song from the " Flower Dance " of Bingo province ? 
 
 " If you want to meet me, love, 
 Only we twain, 
 Come to the gate, love, 
 Sunshine or rain ; 
 And if people pry 
 Say that you came, love, 
 To watch who went by. 
 
 " If you want to meet me, love, 
 Only you and I, 
 Come to the pine-tree, love, 
 Clouds or clear sky ; 
 Stand among the spikelets, love, 
 And if folks ask why, 
 Say that you came, love, 
 To catch a butterfly." 
 
 Or again, the following tanka by the eleventh- 
 century official, Michimasa : 
 
 " If we could meet in privacy, 
 Where no one else could see, 
 Softly I'd whisper in thy ear 
 This little word from me 
 I'm dying, Love, for thee." 
 
 There is a good deal more ingenuity in this poem 
 than would appear on the surface. It was addressed 
 to the Princess Masako, and though omoi-taenamu may 
 
 383 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 be correctly translated, " I'm dying, Love, for thee," it 
 may also mean, " I shall forget about you." The poem 
 was purposely written with a double meaning, in case it 
 miscarried and fell into the hands of the palace guards. 
 
 Nature Poems 
 
 Charming as are many of the Japaneses love poems, 
 they are not so pleasing or so distinguished as those 
 describing some mood, some scene from Nature, for 
 the Japanese poets are essentially Nature poets. Our 
 National Anthem is very far from being poetry. Here 
 is Japan's, literally rendered into English : " May our 
 Lord's Empire live through a thousand ages, till tiny 
 pebbles grow into giant boulders covered with emerald 
 mosses." It is based on an ancient song mentioned in 
 the KokinshiUy and, like all ancient songs in praise of 
 kingship, expresses a desire for an Emperor whose very 
 descent from the Sun shall baffle Death, one who shall 
 live and rule past mortal reckoning. There is a 
 symbolic meaning attached to Japanese rocks and 
 stones, closely associated with Buddhism. They 
 represent something more than mere stolidity ; they 
 represent prayers. It is the Nature poems of Japan 
 that are supremely beautiful, those describing plum- and 
 cherry-blossom, moonlight on a river, the flight of a 
 heron, the murmuring song of a blue pine, or the 
 white foam of a wave. The best of these poems are 
 touched with pathos. Here is one by Is6 : 
 
 " Cold as the wind of early Spring, 
 Chilling the buds that still lie sheathed 
 In their brown armour with its sting, 
 And the bare branches withering- 
 So seems the human heart to me ! 
 Cold as the March wind's bitterness ; 
 I am alone, none comes to see 
 Or cheer me in these days of stress," 
 384 
 
CHOMEI 
 
 Chomei 
 
 I often think of that twelfth-century Japanese re- 
 cluse Chomei. He lived in a little mountain hut far 
 away from City Royal, and there he read and played 
 upon the biwa, went for walks in the vicinity, picking 
 flowers and fruit and branches of maple-leaves, which 
 he set before the Lord Buddha as thankofferings. 
 Chomei was a true lover of Nature, for he understood 
 all her many moods. In the spring he gazed upon " the 
 festoons of the wistaria, fine to see as purple clouds." 
 In the west wind he heard the song of birds, and when 
 autumn came he saw the gold colouring of the trees, 
 while the piling and vanishing of snow caused him to 
 think of " the ever waxing and waning volume of the 
 world's sinfulness." He wrote in his charming Hv-JG-ki, 
 the most tender and haunting autobiography in the 
 Japanese language : " All the joy of my existence is 
 concentrated around the pillow which giveth me 
 nightly rest ; all the hope of my days I find in the 
 beauties of Nature that ever please my eyes." He 
 loved Nature so well that he would fain have taken all 
 the colour and perfume of her flowers through death 
 into the life beyond. That is what he meant when 
 he wrote : 
 
 " Alas ! the moonlight 
 Behind the hill is hidden 
 In gloom and darkness ! 
 Oh, would her radiance ever 
 My longing eyes rejoiced ! " 
 
 Here is a touching hokku, written by Chiyo, after the 
 death of her little son : 
 
 " How far, I wonder, did he stray, 
 Chasing the burnished dragon-fly to-day ? " 
 
 2B 385 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The souls of Japanese children are often pictured as 
 playing in a celestial garden with the same flowers and 
 butterflies they used to play with while on earth. It is 
 just this subtle element of the childlike disposition in 
 Japanese people that has helped them to discover the 
 secrets or flowers, and birds, and trees, has enabled 
 them to catch their timorous, fleeting shadows, and to 
 hold them, as if by magic, in a picture, on a vase, or in 
 a delicate and wistful poem. 
 
 "The Ah-ness of Things * 
 
 There is a Japanese phrase, mono no aware wo shiru 
 (" the Ah-ness of things "), which seems to describe 
 most accurately the whole significance of Japanese 
 poetry. There is a plaintive and intimate union 
 between the poet and the scene from Nature he is 
 writing about. Over and over again he suggests that 
 Spring, with all her wealth of cherry- and plum- 
 blossom, will continue to grace his country long after 
 he has departed. Nearly all Japan's people, from the 
 peasant to the Mikado himself, are poets. They write 
 poetry because they live poetry every day of their 
 lives that is to say, before Japan dreamed of wearing 
 a bowler hat and frock-coat, or became a wholesale 
 buyer of everything Western. They live poetry, 
 always that poetry steeped in an intimate communion 
 with Nature. And when in July the Festival of the 
 Dead takes place, there comes a great company of poet 
 souls to see Nippon's blossom again, to wander down 
 old familiar gardens, through red torii, or to lean upon 
 a stone lantern, and drink in the glory of a summer 
 day, which is sweeter to them than life beyond the 
 grave. 
 
 386 
 
GODS AND GODDESSES 
 
 MYO-O. 
 
 AjI-SHI-KI. 
 
 AMA-NO-HO. 
 
 AMA-TERASU. 
 AME-WAKA. 
 
 AMIDA. 
 
 ANAN. 
 
 BENTEN. 
 
 BlMBOGAMI, 
 BlNZURU. 
 
 BlSHAMON. 
 BOSATSU. 
 
 BUDDHA. 
 DAIKOKU. 
 DAINICHI NYORAI, 
 
 DAISHI. 
 
 DARUMA. 
 
 DOSOJIN. 
 EBISU. 
 
 EKIBIOGAMI. 
 
 The God of Love. 
 
 A Shinto God who was mistaken for 
 
 his deceased friend Ame-waka. 
 The first of the Divine Messengers sent 
 
 to prepare the way for the coming 
 
 of Ninigi. 
 The Sun Goddess. 
 " Heaven-young-Prince," and one of 
 
 the Divine Messengers. 
 A Buddhist deity, originally an abstrac- 
 tion, the ideal of boundless light. 
 
 The Dalbutm at Kamakura represents 
 
 this God. 
 A cousin of Buddha, and, like Bishamon, 
 
 gifted with great knowledge and a 
 
 wonderful memory. 
 One of the Seven Deities of Luck. 
 The God of Poverty. 
 A disciple of Buddha, and worshipped 
 
 by the lower classes on account of 
 
 his miraculous power to cure all 
 
 human ailments. 
 
 The God of Wealth and also of War. 
 A term applied to Buddhist saints. 
 See Shaka. 
 
 The God of Wealth. 
 A personification of purity and wisdom. 
 
 One of the Buddhist Trinity. 
 " Great Teacher," a term applied to 
 
 many Buddhist saints. 
 A follower of Buddha. 
 The God of Roads. 
 A God of Luck and of Daily Food. 
 
 He is the patron of honest labour, 
 
 and is represented as a fisherman 
 
 carrying in his hand a taj-fish. 
 
 The God of Pestilence. 
 
 387 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 The Lord of Hell and Judge of the 
 Dead. 
 
 A deified Chinese priest. 
 
 The God of Wisdom. 
 
 The divine patron of those who 
 practise a special kind of ecstatic 
 meditation. He is usually depicted 
 as sitting on the right hand of Shaka. 
 
 A God of Luck, and typifies longevity 
 and wisdom. 
 
 Evil Gods. 
 
 The Five Buddhas of Contemplation, 
 viz. : Yakushi, Taho, Dainichi, Ashuku, 
 and Shaka. 
 
 A generic name for the Shinto incarna- 
 tions of Buddhas. It is also applied 
 to deified heroes. 
 
 A Buddhist moon-deity. 
 
 The God oflWar. He is the deified 
 Emperor Ojin, patron of the Mina- 
 moto clan. 
 
 " Fire Shine," and son of Ninigl. 
 
 " Fire Fade," and son of Ninigi. 
 
 The God of Smallpox. 
 
 A God of Luck who typifies content- 
 ment. 
 
 The name of all Buddhas, and frequently 
 applied to the dead generally. 
 
 A protector of Buddhism. 
 
 "Princess Long-as-the-Rocks," eldest 
 daughter of the Spirit of Moun- 
 tains. 
 
 The Goddess of Rice, and also asso- 
 ciated with the Fox God. 
 
 The Spirit of the Seashore. 
 
 The Creator and Creatress of Japan, 
 and from them the deities of the 
 Shinto pantheon are descended. 
 
 The God of Children. 
 
 EMMA-O. 
 Fu DAISHI 
 
 J? UDOt 
 FUGEN. 
 
 FUKUROKUJU. 
 
 GAKI. 
 
 GO-CHI NYORAI. 
 
 GONGEN. 
 
 GWAKK6 BOSATSU. 
 HACHIMAN. 
 
 HODERI. 
 
 HOORI. 
 
 HOSO-NO-KAMI. 
 
 HOTEL 
 
 HOTOKE. 
 
 IDA TEN. 
 IHA-NAGA. 
 
 INARI. 
 
 ISORA. 
 
 IZANAGI and IZANAMI 
 
 JlZ5 
 3 88 
 
GODS 
 
 JuROjIN. 
 
 KAMI. 
 
 KASHO. 
 
 KAZE-NO-KAMI. 
 
 KENGYU. 
 
 KEN-RO-JI-JIN. 
 KISHI BOJIN. 
 
 KOBO DAISHI. 
 
 KoDOMO-NO-lNARI. 
 
 KOJIN. 
 
 KOK.UZO BOSATSU. 
 
 KoMPIRA. 
 
 KOSHIN. 
 KUNI-TOKO-TACHI. 
 
 KWANNON. 
 
 MARISHITEN. 
 
 MAYA BUNIN. 
 
 AND GODDESSES 
 
 A God of Luck. 
 
 A general name for all Shinto deities. 
 One of the greatest disciples of Buddha. 
 The God of Wind and Bad Colds. 
 The Herdsman lover of the Weaving 
 
 Maiden. 
 
 The Earth God. 
 An Indian Goddess, worshipped by 
 
 the Japanese as the protectress of 
 
 children. 
 
 A deified Buddhist sage. 
 The children's Fox God. 
 The God of the Kitchen. Worn-out 
 
 dolls are offered to this deity. 
 A female Buddhist saint. 
 A Buddhist deity of obscure origin, 
 
 identified with Susa-no-o and other 
 
 Shinto Gods. 
 The God of Roads. A deification of 
 
 the day of the Monkey, represented 
 
 by the Three Mystic Apes. 
 
 "The Earthly Eternally Standing 
 One." A self-created Shinto God. 
 
 The Goddess of Mercy, represented in 
 various forms : 
 
 1 . Sho-Kwannon (Kwannon the Wise). 
 
 2. Ju-ichl-men Kwannon (Eleven-Faced). 
 
 3. Sen-ju Kwannon (Thousand- 
 
 Handed). 
 
 4. Ba-to-Kwannon (Horse-Headed). 
 
 5. Nyo-i-rin Kwannon (Omnipotent). 
 
 In Japanese and Chinese Buddhism she 
 is represented as the Queen of 
 Heaven. She has eight arms, two 
 of which hold the symbols of the 
 sun and moon. In Brahminical 
 theology she is the personification 
 of Light, and also a name of Krishna. 
 
 The mother of Buddha. 
 
 38 
 
MYTHS AND 
 
 MlROKU. 
 MlWA-DAIMYO-JIN. 
 
 MONJU BOSATU. 
 * MUSUBI-NO-KAMI. 
 
 NlKKO BoSATSU. 
 NlNIGI. 
 
 Ni-o. 
 
 NOMINOSUKUNE. 
 NYORAI, 
 
 O-ANA-MOCHI. 
 
 OHO-YAMA. _ 
 
 ONAMUJI or OKUNI-NUSHI. 
 
 ONI. 
 
 OTOHIME. 
 RAIDEN. 
 RAITARO. 
 RAKAN. 
 
 ROKU-BU-TEN. 
 
 RlN-JlN. 
 
 SARUTA-HIKO. 
 
 SENGEN. 
 
 SHAKA MUNI. 
 
 390 
 
 LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Buddha's successor, and known as the 
 
 Buddhist Messiah. 
 The deity associated with the Laughing 
 
 Festival of Wasa. 
 The Lord of Wisdom. 
 The God of Marriage. 
 A Buddhist solar deity. 
 The grandson of Amer-terasu, the Sun 
 
 Goddess. 
 Two gigantic and fierce kings who 
 
 guard the outer gates of temples. 
 Patron deity of wrestlers. 
 
 An honorific title applied to all 
 
 Buddhas. 
 " Possessor of the Great Hole " of 
 
 Mount Fuji. 
 
 The Spirit of the Mountains. 
 Son of Susa-no-o. He ruled in Izumo, 
 
 but retired in favour of Ninigi. 
 A general name for evil spirits. 
 The daughter of the Dragon King. 
 The God of Thunder. 
 The son of the Thunder God. 
 A name used to designate the perfected 
 
 saint and also the immediate dis- 
 ciples of Buddha. 
 A collective name for the Buddhist 
 
 Gods Bonten, Tauhaku^ and the Shi- 
 
 TtnnS. 
 
 The Dragon, or Sea, King. 
 A terrestrial deity who greeted Ninigi. 
 The Goddess of Mount Fuji. She is 
 
 also known as Asama or Ko-no-Hana- 
 
 Saku-ya-Hims, "The Princess who 
 
 makes the Flowers of the Trees to 
 
 Blossom." 
 The founder of Buddhism, also called 
 
 Gautama, but most generally known 
 
 as the Buddha. 
 
GODS 
 
 SHARIHOTSU. 
 SHICHI FUKUJIN. 
 
 SHITA-TERU-HIME. 
 SHI-TENNO. 
 
 SHODEN. 
 
 SoHODO-NO-KAMI. 
 SuKUNA-BlKONA. 
 
 SUSA-NO-O. 
 
 TAISHAKU. 
 
 TANABATA or SHOKUJO 
 
 TEN. 
 
 TENJIN. 
 
 TENNIN. 
 
 TOSHOGU. 
 
 TOYOKVNI. 
 
 TOYO-TAMA. 
 
 ToYOUKE-BIME. 
 
 TSUKI-YUMI. 
 
 UZUME. 
 
 YAKUSHI NYORAI. 
 
 YOFUN^-NUSHI. 
 
 YUKI-ONNA. 
 
 AND GODDESSES 
 
 The wisest of Buddha's ten chief dis- 
 ciples. 
 
 The Seven Gods of Luck, viz. : Ebisu, 
 Daikoku, Benten, Fukurokuju, Bishamon, 
 Jurojin, and Hotel. 
 
 " Lower-shine-Princess," and wife of 
 Ame-waka* 
 
 The Four Heavenly Kings who protect 
 the earth from demons, each defend- 
 ing one quarter of the horizon. Their 
 names are Jikoku, East ; Komoku, 
 South ; Zdcfo, West ; and Tamon, 
 also called Bishamon, North. Their 
 images are placed at the inner gate 
 of the temple. 
 
 The Indian Ganesa, God of Wisdom. 
 
 The God of Scarecrows. 
 
 A deity sent from Heaven to assist 
 Onamu/i in pacifying his realm. 
 
 "The Impetuous Male," brother of 
 the Sun Goddess. 
 
 The Brahminical God Indra. 
 
 The Weaving Maiden. 
 
 A title equivalent to the Sanskrit Dtva. 
 
 The God of Calligraphy. 
 
 Female Buddhist Angels. 
 
 The deified name of the great ShOgun 
 leyasu or Gongen Sama. 
 
 The deified name of Hideyoshi. 
 
 The Dragon King's daughter. 
 
 The ShintQ Goddess of Earth or Food. 
 
 The Moon God. 
 
 The Goddess of Dancing. 
 
 The Healing Buddha." 
 
 The Serpent God. 
 
 The Lady of the Snow. 
 
 39 1 
 
GENEALOGY OF THE AGE OF 
 THE GODS 
 
 The Heavenly parent, Ame yudzuru hi ame no sa-giri kuni 
 yudzuru tsuki kuni no sa-giri Mikoto. 
 
 FIRST GENERATION. 
 
 Companion-born heavenly Gods. 
 
 Ame no mi-naka-nushi no Mikoto. 
 Heaven middle master. 
 
 Umashi-ashi-kabi hikoji no Mikoto. 
 Sweet reed-shoot prince elder. 
 
 SECOND GENERATION. 
 
 Companion-born heavenly Gods. 
 
 Kuni no toko tachi no Mikoto. 
 Land eternal stand. 
 
 Toyo-kuni-nushi no Mikoto. 
 Rich land master. 
 
 A BRANCH. 
 
 Ame-ya-kudari no Mikoto. 
 Heaven eight descend. 
 
 THIRD GENERATION. 
 
 Heavenly Gods born as mates. 
 
 Tsuno-gui no Mikoto. 
 Horn stake. 
 
 Iku-gui no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. 
 Live stake. 
 
 A BRANCH. 
 
 Ame mi kudari no Mikoto. 
 Heaven three descend. 
 
 393 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 FOURTH GENERATION. 
 Heavenly Gods born as mates. 
 
 Uhiji-ni no Mikoto. 
 Mud earth (honorific affix). 
 
 Suhiji-ni no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. 
 Sand earth. 
 
 A BRANCH. 
 
 Ama-ahi no Mikoto. 
 Heaven meet. 
 
 FIFTH GENERATION. 
 
 Heavenly Gods born as mates. 
 
 Oho-toma-hiko no Mikoto. 
 Great mat prince. 
 
 Oho-toma-he no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. 
 Great mat place. 
 
 A BRANCH. 
 
 Ame ya-wo-hi no Mikoto. 
 Heaven eight hundred days, 
 
 SIXTH GENERATION. 
 
 Heavenly Gods born as mates. 
 
 Awo-kashiki ne no Mikoto. 
 Green awful (honorific). 
 
 Aya-kashiki ne no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. 
 Ah! awful. 
 
 A BRANCH. 
 
 Ame no ya-so-yorodzu-dama no Mikoto. 
 Eighty myriad spirits. 
 
 SEVENTH GENERATION. 
 Heavenly Gods born as mates. 
 
 Izanagi no Mikoto. 
 
 Izanami no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. 
 394 
 
GENEALOGY OF THE AGE OF THE GODS 
 
 A BRANCH. 
 
 Taka mi-musubi no Mikoto. 
 High august growth. 
 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 Ama no omohi-game no Mikoto. 
 Heaven thought-compriser. 
 
 Ama no futo-dama no Mikoto. 
 Bigjewel. 
 
 Ama no woshi-hi no Mikoto. 
 Endure sun. 
 
 Ama no kamu-dachi no Mikoto, 
 God stand. 
 
 Next there was 
 
 Kamu mi musubi no Mikoto. 
 Above growth. 
 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 Amc no mi ke mochi no Mikoto. 
 August food hold. 
 
 Ame no michi ne no Mikoto. 
 Road (honorific). 
 
 Ame no kami-dama no Mikoto. 
 God jewel. 
 
 Iku-dama no Mikoto. 
 Live jewel. 
 
 Next there was 
 
 Tsu-haya-dama no Mikoto. 
 Port quick jewel. 
 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 Ichi-chi-dama no Mikoto. 
 Market thousand jewel. 
 
 Kogoto-dama no Mikoto. 
 Ama no ko-yane no Mikoto. 
 Child-roof. 
 
 395 
 
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF JAPAN 
 
 Takechi-nokori no Mikoto. 
 Brave milk remnant. 
 
 Next there was 
 
 Furu-dama no Mikoto. 
 Shake jewel. 
 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 Saki-dama no Mikoto. 
 First jewel. 
 
 Ama no woshi-dachi no Mikoto. 
 Endure stand. 
 
 Next there was 
 
 Yorodzu-dana no Mikoto.. 
 Myriad jewel. 
 
 CHILD. 
 
 Ama no koha-kaha no Mikoto 
 Hard river. 
 
 396 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 ANDERSON, WILLIAM. 
 
 ' The Pictorial Arts of Japan. 
 
 Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese 
 Paintings in the British Museum. 
 
 History of Japanese Art. 
 ASTON, W. G. 
 
 A History of Japanese Literature. 
 
 A Grammar of the Japanese Written Language. 
 
 A Grammar of the Japanese Spoken Language. 
 
 The Nihongi. Transactions of the Japan Society, 1896. 
 AUDSLEY, G. A. 
 
 Ornamental Arts of Japan. 
 AUDSLEY, G. A., and TOMKINSON, M. 
 
 The Art Carvings of Japan. 
 AYRTON, W. E., and PERRY, J. 
 
 On the Magic Mirrors of Japan, Proceedings of the Royal Society, 
 
 Vol. xxvii. 
 BACON, A. M. 
 
 In the Land oj the Gods. 
 
 Japanese Girls and Women. 
 BALLARD, S. 
 
 Fairy -Tales from Far Japan. 
 BATCHELOR, Rev. J. 
 
 The Ainu of Japan. 
 BINYON, LAURENCE. 
 
 The Flight of the Dragon. 
 BISHOP, Mrs. 
 
 Unbeaten Tracks In Japan. 
 BRINKLEY, Captain F. 
 
 Japan and China. 
 CHAMBERLAIN, BASIL HALL. 
 
 Things Japanese. 
 
 Japanese Poetry. 
 
 The Language, Mythology, and Geographical Nomenclature of Japan, 
 Viewed In the Light of Aino Studies. 
 
 Handbook of Colloquial Japanese. 
 
 Practical Introduction to Study of Japanese Writing. 
 
 Murray's Handbook for Japan. (In collaboration with W. B. 
 MASON.) 
 
 397 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN, BASIL HALL (continued). 
 
 A Translation of the " Kojiki," or " Records of Ancient Matters" 
 with Introduction and Commentary. Published as Supplement 
 to Vol. x. of the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. 
 
 The Japanese Fairy -Tales Series . 
 CONDER, J. 
 
 The Floral Art of Japan. 
 
 Flowers of Japan. 
 
 Landscape Gardening in Japan. 
 DAVIDSON, J. W. 
 
 The Island oj Formosa, Past and Present: History, People, Resources, 
 
 and Commercial Prospects. 
 DAVIS, F. HADLAND. 
 
 The Land of the Yellow Spring, and other Japanese Stories. 
 DE BEN NEVILLE, JAMES S. 
 
 Salt 5 Musashi-Bd Benkei. Tales of the Wars ofGempei. 
 DENNING, WALTER. 
 
 Life of Hideyoshi. 
 
 Japan in Days of Yore. 
 DICK, STEWART. 
 
 Arts and Crafts of Old Japan. 
 DICKINS, F. VICTOR. 
 
 The Old Bamboo-heiver't Story. (A translation of the Take tori 
 Monogatari.) 
 
 Primitive and Mediaeval Japanese Texts. 
 
 Ht-Jt-Ki ("Notes from a Ten Feet Square Hut"). From 
 the Japanese of Kamo No ChOmei. 
 
 The Chiushingura; or, The Loyal League. Translated with Notes 
 
 and an Appendix containing The Ballad o f Takasago. 
 Du CANB, FLORENCE. 
 
 Flowers and Gardens of Japan. 
 EDWARDS, OSMAN. 
 
 Japanese Plays and Playfellows. 
 GILES, H. A. 
 
 A History of Chinese Literature. 
 
 Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. 
 
 GONSE, Louis. 
 
 UArt Japonais. 
 
 GOWLAND, W. 
 
 Dolmens and Burial Mounds in Japan. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 GRIFFIS, Rev. W. E. 
 
 The Japanese Nation in Evolution. 
 The Mikadtfs Empire. 
 Japan in History, Folklore, and Art. 
 Fairy-Tales of Old Japan. 
 
 GULIC, Rev. S. L. 
 
 Evolution of the Japanese. 
 HEARN, LAFCADIO. 
 
 Glimpses oj Unfamiliar Japan. 
 
 Out of the East. 
 
 In Ghostly Japan. 
 
 Shadowing*. 
 
 Gleanings in Buddha-Fields. 
 
 Kokoro : Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life. 
 
 A Japanese Miscellany. 
 
 Exotics and Retrospectives. 
 
 KottS. 
 
 Kwaidan. 
 
 The Romance oj- the Milky Way. 
 
 Japan : An Interpretation. 
 
 The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn. By ELIZABETH BISLAND. 
 
 The Japanese Letters of Lafcadio Hearn. Edited by ELIZABETH 
 BISLAND. 
 
 HINCKS, M. A. 
 
 The Japanese Dance. 
 
 HUISH, M. B. 
 
 Japan and its Art. 
 
 INOUE, JUKICHI. 
 
 Sketches ofTdkyS Life. 
 
 JAMES, GRACE. 
 
 Green Willow, and other Japanese Fairy-Tales. 
 
 JOLY, HENRI L. 
 
 Legend in Japanese Art. 
 
 KAEMPFER, E. 
 
 History of Japan. 
 
 KNAPP, A. M. 
 
 Feudal and Modern Japan. 
 
 LAY, A. H. 
 
 Japanese Funeral Rites. Transactions of the Asiatic Society oj 
 Japan, Vol. xix. 
 
 399 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 LEECH, J. H. 
 
 Butterflies from Japan. 
 
 LLOYD, Rev. ARTHUR. 
 
 The Creed of Half Japan. 
 
 LONGFORD, JOSEPH H. 
 
 The Story of Old Japan. 
 The Story of Korea. 
 
 LOWELL, PERCIVAL. 
 
 The Soul of the Far East. 
 Occult Japan. 
 
 McCLATCHIE, T. R. H. 
 
 Japanese Heraldry. 
 
 MITFORD, A. B. (LORD REDESDALE). 
 Tales of Old Japan. 
 
 MORRISON, ARTHUR. 
 
 The Painters of Japan. 
 
 MUNRO, N. G. 
 
 Coins of Japan. 
 
 NITOBE, INAZO. 
 
 Bushido : The Sou} of Japan. 
 
 NOGUCHI, YoNE. 
 
 From the Eastern Sea. 
 The Pilgrimage. 
 Lafcadio Hearn in Japan. 
 
 OKAKURA, K. 
 
 The Book of Tea. 
 Ideals of the East. 
 
 OKAKURA, Y. 
 
 The Japanese Spirit. 
 OKUMA, Count. 
 
 Fifty Years of New Japan. English edition. Edited by MARCUS 
 B. HUISH. 
 
 OZAKI, Y. T. 
 
 The Japanese Fairy Book. 
 
 Warriors of Old Japan. 
 
 Buddha's Crystal. 
 PASTEUR, VIOLET M. 
 
 Gods and Heroes of Old Japan. 
 400 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 PIGGOT, Sir F. T. 
 
 The Garden of Japan. 
 
 The Music and Musical Instruments of Japan. 
 
 PORTER, ROBERT P. 
 
 The Full Recognition of Japan. 
 PORTER, WILLIAM N. 
 
 A Tear of Japanese Epigrams. 
 
 A Hundred Verses from Old Japan. A translation of the Hyaku- 
 
 nin-isshiu, or " Single Verses by a Hundred People." 
 REIN, J. J. 
 
 Japan. 
 
 The Industries of Japan. 
 
 RlNDER, F. 
 
 Old-world Japan. 
 SALWEY, C. M. 
 
 Fans of Japan. 
 
 Japanese Monographs. Asiatic Quarterly Review. 
 SARGENT, C. S. 
 
 Forest Flora of Japan. 
 SATOW, Sir ERNEST. 
 
 The Shinto Temples of he. 
 
 The Revival efPure Shinto. 
 
 Ancient Japanese Rituals. See Vols. ii., iii., vii., and ix. of the 
 
 Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. 
 SMITH, R. GORDON. 
 
 Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan. 
 STRANGE, EDWARD F. 
 
 Japanese Colour Prints. 
 TOMITA, K., and LEE, G. A. 
 
 Japanese Treasure Tales. 
 TOMKINSON, M. 
 
 A Japanese Collection. 
 WALSH, CLARA A. 
 
 The Master-Singers of Japan. 
 WENCKSTERN, FR. VON. 
 
 Bibliography of the Japanese Empire. 
 WESTON, Rev. WALTER. 
 
 Japanese Alps. 
 
 2 C 4OI 
 
INDEX TO POETICAL QUOTATIONS 
 
 Arnold, Sir Edwin, 244, 245 (trans- 
 lation) 
 
 Aston, W. G., 30, 32, 1 86 (trans- 
 lation), 323 (translation) 
 
 Chamberlain, B. H. (translations), 
 95. 96, 97, 98, 120, 121, 127, 128, 
 175, 3i3, 315, 3i6, 317, 323, 324 
 
 Chiyo, 385 
 
 Chomei, 385 
 
 Dickins, F. V., 154 (translation) 
 
 " Flower Dance 
 vince), 383 
 
 (of Bingo pro- 
 
 Hearn, Lafcadio, 108 
 
 Is6, 384 
 
 Japanese, From the, 177, 278 
 
 Nonguchi, Yone, 82, 1 1 6, 1 30, 131, 
 169, 224 
 
 Smith, R. Gordon, 337 (trans- 
 lation) 
 
 Walsh, Clara A., 105, (transla- 
 tions) 1 1 8, 149, 206, 216, 282, 
 326 
 
 Yasuhide Bunya, 382 
 
 402 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF JAPANESE NAMES 
 
 " Remember, in pronouncing Japanese, that the consonants are to be 
 sounded approximately as in English, the vowels as in Spanish or 
 Italian ; that is to say, 
 
 a as in ' father.' o as in ' pony.' 
 
 e 'pet.' u 'full.' 
 
 * ' Pin.' 
 
 " There is scarcely any tonic accent ; in other words, all the syllables 
 are pronounced equally, or nearly so. But particular care must be 
 taken to distinguish long d and u. The short vowels are pronounced 
 in a very light, staccato manner. Thus O tori nasai means ' Please 
 take this ' ; but O tori nasai means ' Please come [or go ; lit., pass] in.' 
 Short * and u sometimes become almost inaudible. ... In diphthongs 
 each vowel retains its original force. Thus : 
 
 ai as in the English word ' sky.' 
 au ,, ,, ,, ' cow.' 
 
 ei 'hay.' 
 
 " g is hard, as in ' give,' never soft, as in ' gin ' ; but in Tokyo 
 and Eastern Japan it sounds like ng when in the middle of a word, 
 exactly as in the English words ' singer,' ' springy ' (not ' sing-ger,' 
 ' spring-gy '). s is always sharp, as in ' mouse.' w is often omitted 
 after k or g, as in kashi, ' cake,' for kwashi. Be very careful to pro- 
 nounce double consonants really double, as in English words ' shot- 
 /ower,' ' meanness,' ' cockcrow.' Thus kite with one t means ' coming ' ; 
 but kitte with two t's means ' a ticket ' ; ama is a nun, amma a sham- 
 pooer." Murray's Handbook for Japan, by B. H. Chamberlain and 
 W. B. Mason. 
 
 ABE NO MIUSHI. The Sadaijin 
 Dainagon ; one of Kaguya's 
 five suitors, 66-71 
 
 AINO GODDESS OF FIRE. The 
 name of Mount Fuji prob- 
 ably derived from Fuchi, the, 
 
 131 
 AINO-LAND. Professor B. H. 
 
 Chamberlain writes re, 131 
 AINU, or AINO. Probably first 
 
 inhabitants of Japan, xiii ; 
 
 rising of, subdued by Prince 
 
 Yamato, 54-56 
 AJI-SHI-KI. Friend of Ame-waka ; 
 
 forms mountain of Moyama, 31, 
 
 32 
 
 AKAMAGASEKI. Temple of Ami- 
 
 daji built at, 300 
 AKASAKI. Tokoyo arrives at, in 
 
 province of Hoki, 334 
 AKO, THE LORD OF. Princess 
 
 Aya marries the second son of, 
 
 173 
 
 AMADERA TEMPLE. Hanagaki 
 Baishu attends festival in, 207 
 
 AMA-NO-HASHIDATE. A fir-clad 
 promontory dividing Lake Iwa- 
 taki and Miyazu Bay, 204 ; 
 one of the "Three Great 
 Sights " of Japan, 204 ; Saion 
 Zenji gazes on, 204-206 
 
 AMA-NO-HO. Envoy sent out to 
 prepare way of Ninigi, 31 
 
 AMA-TERASU. Daughter of 
 Izanagi and Izanami ; the 
 
 43 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 Sun Goddess, 23 ; ascends the 
 Ladder of Heaven, 23 ; perse- 
 cuted by Susa-no-o, 27; flees 
 to a dark cave, 27 ; tempted 
 by, to Heaven, 27, 28 ; Ninigi 
 grandson of, 32; her gifts 
 to Ninigi, 32, 33 ; Prince 
 Yamato craves the blessing 
 of, 51 
 
 AME-WAKA. Envoy sent out 
 to prepare way of Ninigi, 
 3 1 ; weds Shita - teru - hime, 
 31 ; punished by the Gods, 31, 
 
 3 2 
 AMIDA BUTSU. Story of, and the 
 
 whale, 82 
 AMIDAJI. Temple of, built at 
 
 Akamagaseki, 300 
 AMITABHA. Kwanjin (Chinese 
 
 Kwannon) the spiritual son of, 
 
 200 
 ANDERSON, DR. WILLIAM. Legend 
 
 from the Catalogue of Japanese 
 
 and Chinese Paintings in the 
 
 British Museum, 49, footnote 
 ANIMALS. Legends referring to, 
 
 255-275 
 
 ANOJI. Place in Tamba ; one of 
 the thirty -three places sacred 
 to Kwannon, 204 
 
 ANTOKO TENNO. See Tenno, 300 
 
 ARNOLD, SIR EDWIN. Reference 
 to his Seas and Lands, xi 
 
 ART, JAPANESE. Due to Bud- 
 dhism, 114; quickened by 
 Chinese influence, 114; extreme 
 beauty and ugliness found in, 
 114; woman in, 112-114; the 
 Treasure Ship in, 1 1 5-116 ; the 
 miraculous in, 116; ghosts 
 and goblins in, 118 ; sennin 
 in, 357 
 
 ASAGAO. Legend from The 
 Diary of a Convolvulus re- 
 garding the love of, 244-249 ; 
 otherwise Miyuki, 245, 246 ; 
 her love for Komagawa Mi- 
 yagi, 245-249 
 
 ASAKA ("Slight Fragrance"). 
 Friend of Asagao, 246 
 
 ASHIGARA MOUNTAIN. Yaegiri 
 goes to, and gives birth to 
 Kintaro there, 367 
 
 404 
 
 ASHI - NADZUCHI (Foot - stroke - 
 elder). An earthly deity, hus- 
 band of Tenadzuchi, and father 
 of Kushi-nada-hime, 29 ; gives 
 his daughter in marriage to 
 Susa-no-o, 29, 30 
 
 ASHIN6YA. Village in which 
 Maiden of Unai dwelt, 313- 
 
 315 
 
 ASTON, DR. W. G. Reference to 
 the torii, by, 226 ; descrip- 
 tion in the Heike Monog atari 
 of great sea-fight between Taira 
 and Minamoto clans translated 
 by, 300 
 
 ATSUMORI. Story regarding her 
 use of the fan, 243 
 
 AWABI, THE GREAT. A group of, 
 340, 341 ; the Spirit of, appears 
 to Kansuke, 341 
 
 AYA, PRINCESS. The Spirit of the 
 Peony and, 171-173 ; love for 
 the Spirit of the Peony in the 
 form of a young and handsome 
 samurai, 172, 173 ; Sadayo, 
 maid of, 172 
 
 AYAME, THE LADY. Married to 
 Yorimasa, 39 
 
 AYRTON, PROFESSOR. Japanese 
 mirrors and, 190 
 
 BADGER-S. Story of the hare and 
 the, on the Crackling Mountain, 
 258-260; description of, in 
 legend, 260 ; Kadzutoyo and 
 the, 260, 262 
 
 BAELZ, DR., of the Imperial 
 University of Japan. Opinion 
 of, re the Japanese and Mongols, 
 xiii ; reference to, 94 
 
 BAISHU, HANAGAKI. See Hana- 
 gaki Baishu, 207-209 
 
 BAKIN. A famous Japanese 
 novelist ; his Kumono Tayema 
 Ama Yo No Tsuki and thun- 
 der legends, 250; the In 
 (female principle) and the 
 Yo (male principle) associated 
 with thunder, remarks on by, 
 252 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 BAKU. A supernatural creature 
 known as the Eater of Dreams, 
 358, 359 
 
 BATO-KWANNON. See Kwannon, 
 200 
 
 BELL-S. Japanese, described, 140 ; 
 the largest in the Jodo temple 
 of Chion, at Kyoto, 140 ; the 
 bell of Enkakuji the largest in 
 Kamakura, 140 ; the bell of 
 Miidera, 141, 142 
 
 BENKEI. One of the most lovable 
 of Japanese heroes, xvi ; com- 
 pared with Little John, Will 
 Scarlet, and Friar Tuck com- 
 bined, 39 ; conflicting traits 
 in his character, 40 ; became 
 a Buddhist priest at age 
 of seventeen, 40 ; adventure 
 with Tamamushi, 40 ; breaks 
 from priestcraft and becomes 
 a lawless warrior, 41 ; his 
 doings at Mount Hiei, 42 ; 
 waylays knights crossing the 
 Gojo Bridge of Kyoto, 42 ; 
 conquered by Yoshitsune, 42, 
 43 ; assists Yoshitsune finally 
 to drive out the Taira, 43, 44 ; 
 carries off the bell of Miidera, 
 142, 143 ; reference to story 
 of, 351, 352 
 
 BENTEN. One of the Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune, 115, 
 
 206 ; variants, Goddess of the 
 Sea, of Love, of Beauty, and 
 Eloquence, 115, 206 ; resembles 
 Kwannon, 206 ; the Dragon 
 and, 207 ; famous Island of 
 Enoshima and the coming of, 
 
 207 ; temple of the " Birth 
 Water " sacred to, 207 ; Hana- 
 gaki Baishu and, 207-209 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY. See 397-401 
 
 BIMBO. Raitaro (the Child of 
 Thunder) and, 252, 253 
 
 BIMBOGAMI. The God of Poverty ; 
 Japanese superstitions and, 349 
 
 BIMBOMUSHI (" Poverty-Insect "). 
 Superstition ve, 349 
 
 BIRD-S. Legends of, 276-280 ; 
 the hototogisu, a mysterious, 
 278 ; the Tongue-cut Sparrow, 
 279 ; killing of, contrary to 
 
 teaching of the Lord Buddha, 
 
 280 ; Saijosen and the Phoenix, 
 
 281 ; called 0-Goncho, 363 ; 
 birds beloved of Chomei, 385 
 
 BISHAMON. One of the Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune, 1 1 5 
 
 BIWA, LAKE. Hidesato's en- 
 counters with the Dragon King 
 of, 62-64 ; Visu sees lake 
 bearing name of, 137 ; Pro- 
 fessor Chamberlain's opinion re, 
 
 137 
 BANKO, ADMIRAL. Kohaku Jo 
 
 sends treasures by, to temple 
 
 of Kofukuji, 89 
 BON ODORI. A dance at the 
 
 Festival of the Dead, 181 ; 
 
 origin of, 223 ; corresponds to 
 
 the Indian sraddha, 224 
 BOWL. The Begging -bowl of 
 
 the Lord Buddha, see Buddha, 
 
 67-69 ; the Maiden with the, on 
 
 her head, 316-322 
 " Box OF THE JEWEL HAND." See 
 
 Tamate-Bako, 327 
 BREATH, GOD OF LONG. Yosoji 
 
 visits shrine of, 1 34 
 BRINKLEY, CAPTAIN. His refer- 
 ence in Japan and China to the 
 
 belief of Yedo Government 
 
 officials in Tengu, 355 
 BRONZE BUDDHA. See Buddha, 
 
 82 
 BUDDHA FLOOD. Otherwise the 
 
 Tide of the Returning Ghosts, 
 
 323 
 
 BUDDHA, THE LORD. Begging- 
 bowl of, 67 ; the legend of the 
 Golden Lotus and, 80-82 ; 
 the Bronze, of Kamakura, and 
 the whale, 82-86 ; the Crystal 
 of, 86 ; has compassion on 
 spirit of the Death-Stone, 98 ; 
 the White Lotus the sacred 
 flower of, 1 30 ; the eight 
 Intelligences of Perception, 
 Purpose, Speech, Conduct, 
 Living, Effort, Mindfulness, 
 Contemplation, 130; cat and 
 serpent only creatures that did 
 not weep at death of, 264 ; 
 copies of footprint of, as charms, 
 348 ; lamp of, 357 
 
 405 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 BUDDHISM. Its contribution to 
 Japanese religion and art, xii ; 
 success in Japan, secured not 
 by sweeping out Gods of Shinto 
 but in clever adaptations from 
 India and China, 80 ; Japan 
 owed art to, 114; pictorial 
 art given to Nippon by, 114 ; 
 the power of Karma one of the 
 great doctrines of, 143 ; the 
 lotus the sacred flower of, 
 169 ; the torii adopted by, 
 226 ; Nichiren attempts to re- 
 store to original purity, 240, 241 
 
 BUDDHIST. Shingon-shu, a sect 
 founded by Kobo Daishi, 234 ; 
 Nichiren sect founded by Ni- 
 chiren, 240 ; first temple at 
 Nikko, Shodo Shonin founder 
 of, 242 ; saint, Dengyo Daishi, 
 introduced tea into Japan, 293 
 
 BUDDHIST DIVINITIES. Jizo the 
 most lovable of, 104 ; jealousy 
 of, toward Daikoku, 211, 212 
 
 BUTTERFLY-IES. Connected with 
 folk-lore, 216; legends re, bor- 
 rowed by Japanese from China, 
 217; Japanese . poets and 
 "butterfly names," 217; ro- 
 mantic game of, 217 ; Emperor 
 Genso and, 217 ; of good and 
 evil omen, 217 ; suggestion of 
 Lafcadio Hearn re, 217 ; refer- 
 ences in Japanese drama re, 2 1 8 ; 
 legend of the White, 218-219 ; 
 significance in Old Japan, 381, 
 382 
 
 CARP. Legend of the Dragon, 221 ; 
 flag shaped like a, 221 ; sym- 
 bolism of the, 221 ; Bakin's 
 reference to, 252 
 
 CATHAY, GREAT. Spirit of Death- 
 Stone took form of Hoji in, 97 
 
 CAT-S. The Japanese, not 
 popular, 264 ; the serpent and 
 the, did not weep when the 
 Lord Buddha died, 264 ; story 
 of the vampire, 265-268 ; 
 Shippeitaro and the phantom, 
 269, 270 
 
 406 
 
 CELESTIAL RIVER. Hikoboshi and 
 Tanabata separated at the, 126, 
 127 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN, PROFESSOR BASIL 
 HALL. Reference to his works, 
 Things Japanese, Kojiki (trans- 
 lation of), Handbook JOY Japan, 
 and Japanese Poetry, v ; legend 
 of the Death-Stone translated 
 t>y, 95 ; reference to his trans- 
 lation of Ha-Goromo, 127 ; 
 his reference to Mount Fuji, 
 131 ; designs on Chinese 
 banners described by, 162 ; 
 Japanese mirrors described by, 
 190 ; reference to the torii by, 
 226 ; reference to temple at 
 Kawasaki sacred to Kobo 
 Daishi, in Murray's Handbook 
 for Japan, by, 239 ; reference 
 to samisen, the favourite instru- 
 ment of the singing-girls, by, 
 247 ; reference to cats in Things 
 Japanese, 264 ; reference to 
 Japanese dogs, 268 ; on tea 
 ceremonies, 293 ; his transla- 
 tion of the ballad of " The 
 Maiden of Katsushika," 316, 
 317 ; the legend of Urashima 
 and, 324 ; his explanation re 
 the Japanese equivalent for 
 Dragon Palace, 324 ; his refer- 
 ence to Urashima's tomb, 328 ; 
 reference to Japanese charms, 
 348 ; description of the Tengu 
 by, 352 ; story of Shikaiya 
 Wasobioye adapted from his 
 translation in the Transactions 
 of the A siatic Society of Japan, 
 
 374 
 
 CHARMS. See Superstitions, 348 
 
 CHIKUBU-SHIMA. Island in Lake 
 Biwa, in Omi, one of the 
 thirty-three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 204 
 
 CHILDREN. Jizo the God of the, 
 104-111 ; the Cave of the 
 Ghosts of the, 109 ; super- 
 stitions relating to, 347, 348 
 
 CHINA. Emperor Koso wooes and 
 weds Kohaku Jo, daughter of 
 Kamatari, 86-88 ; butterfly 
 connected with*l folk -lore in, 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 216; Thunder God in, 250; 
 thunder animal in, 251 ; tea- 
 drinking in, 291, 292 ; Dragon 
 of, 362 
 
 CHINU. Of Izumi, one of the 
 
 Maiden of Unai's lovers, 3 1 3-3 1 6 
 
 CHINESE. Japan called Jih-pen 
 
 by, xiv; banners, described, 
 
 162 ; myth, Kwannon known 
 
 as Kwanjin in, 200 
 
 CHIYO. A beautiful woman slain 
 
 by Shokuro, 2 54 ; restored to life 
 
 by Raiden, 254 ; Shokuro makes 
 
 peace with, 254; a poetess of 
 
 the same name makes pathetic 
 
 reference to a dragon-Hy, 282 ; 
 
 a touching hokku by, 385 
 
 CHIYODO. Child of Heitaro and 
 
 Higo (Willow), 1 80 
 CHOKORO. Depicted releasing his 
 magic horse from a gigantic 
 gourd, 357 
 
 CHOMEI. Twelfth -century Bud- 
 dhist recluse; reference to his 
 Ho-jo-ki, 1 60, 385 _ 
 CHOMEIJI. Place in Omi ; one of 
 the thirty-three places sacred 
 to Kwannon, 204 
 CHOSEN. Otherwise the Land of 
 the Morning Calm, the old 
 name for Korea, 328 
 CHOW DYNASTY. Kwanjin origi- 
 nally the daughter of the King 
 of the, 200 
 CHRONICLES OF JAPAN (" Ni- 
 
 HONGI "). Reference to, xv 
 CHRYSANTHEMUM. The Japanese 
 flag and the, 161-163 ; Japan's 
 national flower, the, 162; poeti- 
 cal naming of the, 163 ; Lady 
 White and Lady Yellow, story 
 of, 163-165 ; Kikuo(" Chrysan- 
 themum - Old - Man ' ' ), retainer 
 of Tsugaru, story of , 165-167 
 CHUJO HIME. A Buddhist nun, 
 the greatest early Japanese 
 artist of embroidery, an in- 
 carnation of Kwannon, 201 ; 
 retires to temple of Toema- 
 dera, 201 
 
 CONDER, JOSIAH. Tells of CUStom 
 
 connected with pine-trees at 
 wedding feasts, 1 59 
 
 CONFUCIUS. Added fresh material 
 to the Yih-King ("Book of 
 Changes "), 344 
 
 CONTENTMENT, THE GOD OF. 
 See Hotei, 211-213 
 
 CORPSE-EATER. See Muso Koku- 
 shi, 305-308 ; maiden who 
 tested the love of her suitors 
 as a, 311, 312 
 
 CRYSTAL, THE, of Buddha, 89-91 
 
 D 
 
 DAIBUTSU, THE. See Buddha 
 (the Bronze), 82 
 
 DAIKOKU. One of the Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune, 115; 
 associated with Ebisu (his son) 
 and Hotei, the God of Laughter, 
 21 1 ; his wonderful Mallet, 211 ; 
 a Rat the second attribute 
 of, 211 ; old legend regarding 
 jealousy of Buddhist Gods to- 
 ward, 211, 212; the sixfold 
 representation of, 212 ; usually 
 pictured with his son, Ebisu, 212 
 
 DAI-MOKENREN. A great disciple 
 of Buddha; sees soul of his 
 mother in the Gakido, 223 
 
 DAIMYO. Lady White reaches 
 palace of, 164, 165 
 
 DAN-DOKU, MOUNT. The Lord 
 Buddha's meditations upon, 80 
 
 DAN-NO-URA. The Taira clan 
 finally driven into the sea by 
 Benkei and Yoshitsune, 43, 44 ; 
 Hoi'chi receives stranger, who 
 wishes to view scene of the 
 battle of, 301-304 
 
 DARUMA. Son of a Hindu king, 
 297 ; tempted like St. Anthony, 
 297 ; Indian sage whose image 
 was associated with the ritual- 
 istic drinking of tea by the Zen 
 sect in Japan, 297-299 ; refer- 
 ence to, will be found in Some 
 Chinese Ghosts and A Japanese 
 Miscellany, by Lafcadio Hearn, 
 297, 299 
 
 DAVIS, F. HADLAND. Reference 
 to Land of the Yellow Spring 
 (page 113), by, 93, 149 
 
 407 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 DEAD, LORD OF THE. Emma-O, 
 the, no, 20 1 
 
 DEATH -SPIDER. Japanese Bim- 
 bomushi ( ' ' Poverty - Insect ' ' ) 
 equivalent to our, 349 
 
 DEATH-STONE. Warning remarks 
 of spirit of the, to the Buddhist 
 priest Genno, 95; legend of, 
 related, 95-98 
 
 DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. Attri- 
 buted to evil influence of foxes, 
 
 94 
 
 DENGYO DAISHI. Buddhist saint 
 who first introduced tea into 
 Japan, 293 
 
 DESTINY. Jizo at foot of, 109 
 
 DIVINATION, CLASSICAL. Asso- 
 ciated with Japanese supersti- 
 tion, 344; Y*A-X*ttg("Bookof 
 Changes ") main source of the 
 art, 344 ; various forms of, 
 344-346 
 
 DOG. In Japan, looked on as a 
 friendly animal, 268 
 
 DOLL-S. Comparison of English 
 and Japanese, 214-216 ; last 
 resting-place, 216; dedicated 
 to Kojin when dead, 177, 216 ; 
 the Feast of, otherwise the 
 Girls' Festival, 216 
 
 DRAGON. Intimately associated 
 with Japanese mythology, 362 ; 
 of Japan, and of China, 362 ; one 
 of the signs of the Zodiac, 363 ; 
 in old Chinese conception of 
 earth, four seas ruled over by 
 four Dragon Kings, the Celestial, 
 the Spiritual, the Earth, and 
 the Dragon of the Hidden 
 Treasure, 363 ; a bird called 
 O-Goucho, transformation into 
 a white, 363 
 
 DRAGON-FLIES. Mention of, in 
 Japanese poetry, 282 ; Chiyo 
 and her pathetic reference to, 
 282 
 
 DRAGON KING (of the Sea). 
 Steals Crystal of Buddha, 90 ; 
 Urashima at the palace of, 325- 
 328 ; Otohime the daughter 
 of 325 ; sends Tide Jewels to 
 Empress Jingo by Isora, 331 ; 
 
 resents Tide Jewels to Ojin, 
 
 333 ; Mamikiko meets a Shojd 
 who lives near palace of, 361 
 
 DRAGON KINGDOM. Samebito 
 and, 376-379 
 
 DRAGON PALACE. The Evergreen 
 Land appears in the ballad 
 " The Fisher Boy Urashima " 
 as, 324 ; Professor Chamber- 
 lain's explanation re the equiva- 
 lent in Japanese, 324 ; Same- 
 bito and the, 378 
 
 DREAMS, EATER OF. The Baku 
 known as the, 358, 359 
 
 Du CANE, Miss FLORENCE. Her 
 descriptions concerning Japan- 
 ese rocks and stones, 1 57 
 
 EARTH AND HEAVEN. Elements 
 which comprised, 21 
 
 EAST, SIR ALFRED. Japanese art 
 described by, 112 
 
 EBB-TIDE JEWEL. See Jewels, 
 331, &c. 
 
 EBISU. One of the Seven Gods 
 of Good Fortune, 115; son of 
 Daikoku, 211 ; the God of 
 Labour, 211; usually pictured 
 with his father, Daikoku, 212 
 
 EGYPTIAN. Cosmogony stories, 
 reference to, 21 ; conception of 
 the future life, 117 
 
 EIGHT - ARMS - LENGTH - SPEAR. 
 Given to Yamato, 54 
 
 EIGHTY MYRIAD GODS. Make 
 entertainment to tempt the 
 Sun Goddess (Ama-terasu) back 
 to Heaven, 28 
 
 EISAI. A Buddhist priest who 
 wrote a pamphlet entitled The 
 Salutary Influence of Tea- 
 drinking, 294 ; effort to con- 
 vert Minamoto-no-Sanetomo 
 from wine-cup, 294 
 
 ELIXIR OF LIFE. Brought by 
 Moonfolk to Lady Kaguya, 78 ; 
 Rosei drinks of, 121 ; Mount 
 Fuji the abode of the, 132 
 
 EMMA-O. The Lord and Judge 
 of the dead, no ; Jizo pleads 
 with, on behalf of Soga Sada- 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 yoshi, in ; Festival of the 
 Dead and, 117; Ono-no-Kimi 
 appears before, 140 ; Tokudo 
 Shonin conducted into the 
 presence of, 201 ; Shiro sent 
 by, to conquer the God of 
 Wealth, 211, 212; Festival 
 of the Dead and, 222, 323 
 
 EMMEI OF DOGEN-JI. Becomes a 
 sennin, 356 
 
 ENGLAND. Tea-drinking in Japan 
 and, 290, 291 
 
 ENKAKUJI. The great bell of, 140, 
 141 
 
 ENOSHIMA. A famous island, 
 associated with the coming of 
 Benten, 207 
 
 ETERNAL LAND. The God 
 " Thought -combining " brings 
 birds from, 27 
 
 ETERNITY. Its meaning to the 
 famous artist, Hokusai, 117 
 
 EVERGREEN LAND. See Dragon 
 Palace, 324 ; orange first 
 brought from, to Japan, 324 
 
 FAN, JAPANESE. Significance of, 
 243 ; use of, 243 ; use at 
 festival of Sun Goddess in 
 Ise, 243 ; symbolism of, de- 
 scribed by Mrs. C. M. Salwey, 
 244 ; legend, " The Love of 
 Asagao," from The Diary of a 
 Convolvulus, 244-249 
 
 FESTIVAL-S. Of the Dead, 117, 
 161, 181 ; of Tanabata, 126; 
 New Year, 176, 220; the Girls', 
 216; the Dolls', 216; the Boys', 
 221 ; the Laughing, of Wasa, 
 225 ; of the Minige, and Oho- 
 kuninushi the Bronze Horse, 
 at, 275 
 
 FESTIVAL OF TANABATA. Alter- 
 native, the Weaving Lady ; 
 most romantic of Japanese 
 festivals, 126 
 
 FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD. Afforded 
 a joyous exit from the world 
 of Emma -6, 117; the greatest 
 argument for Japan's love of 
 
 Nature found in the, 161 ; Bon 
 Odori, a dance at the, 181 ; 
 customs and rites connected 
 with the, 222-224 ; the Tide 
 of the Returning Ghosts and, 
 323 ; poet souls and the, 386 
 
 FIELD-PATHS, DEITY OF. Accosted 
 by Uzume, 33 
 
 FIELDS, THE SPIRIT OF THE, 330 
 
 FIRE APPARITIONS. Varieties in 
 Japan, 357, 358 
 
 FIREFLIES. Stories re, 2 8 5-2 89; the 
 MinamotoandtheTaira believed 
 to be the ghosts of the Minamoto 
 and Taira clans, 285, 286 
 
 FIRE GOD. Kagu-tsuchi, child 
 of Izanagi and Izanami, the, 23 
 
 FIRMAMENT, GOD OF THE. 
 Tanabata daughter of, 126 
 
 FLAG, JAPANESE. The chrysan- 
 themum and, 161-163 
 
 FLOATING BRIDGE OF HEAVEN. 
 Uzume and her companions 
 rest on the, 33 
 
 FLOOD-TIDE JEWEL. See Jewels, 
 331, &c. 
 
 FLOWERS. The love of, its growth 
 and symbolism among J apanese, 
 154-156 ; legends of, 163-173 
 
 FOOTSTOOL OF THE KING. Torii 
 before the Itsukushima shrine 
 on Island of Myajima ; alter- 
 natives, " The Gateway of 
 Light " and " The Water Gate 
 of the Sacred Island," 227 
 
 Fox GOD. See Inari 
 
 Fox LEGENDS. " The Death- 
 Stone " one of the most re- 
 markable, 95 
 
 FUDARAKU-JI. Place at Nachi, in 
 Kishu ; one of the thirty -three 
 places sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 FUDO. I. God. Identified with 
 Dainichi, the God of Wisdom ; 
 Kiyo visits shrine of, 147 ; 
 temple on Oki-Yama dedicated 
 to, 1 80 ; the one-eyed priest 
 at temple of, 180-182. II. Cape. 
 Known as the Cape of the 
 Woman's Sword, 337 
 
 FUGIN. Raiden, the Thunder 
 God, often found in company 
 with, 250 
 
 409 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 FUJI (Fuji-yama i.e., Never 
 Dying). Name given to highest 
 mountain in Suruga, 79 (see 
 Suruga) ; seems to be typically 
 Japanese, 130; the mountain 
 of the Lotus and the Fan, 
 1 30 ; a place of pilgrimage for 
 hundreds of years, 131 ; its 
 peak described by Lafcadio 
 Hearn as "the Supreme Altar 
 of the Sun," 131 ; an extinct 
 volcano, 131 ; name derived 
 from Huchi, or Fuchi, the 
 Aino Goddess of Fire, 131 ; 
 the deities of, 132 ; the abode 
 of the Elixir of Life, 132 ; 
 Jofuku at, 133 ; Sentaro visits, 
 133 ; the Goddess of, 134, 138 ; 
 Visu's adventures near, 136- 
 139 ; Yurine lived near, 359 
 
 FUJII-DERA. Place in Kawachi ; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 FUKUROKUJU. One of the Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune, 115 
 
 FUSAGO. Sent by the Mikado to 
 Kaguya, 73 
 
 FUTON (Quilt), THE, of Tottori, 
 309-311 
 
 GAMA. With his wizard toad, de- 
 picted as a sennin in Japanese 
 art, 357 
 
 GARDEN-S. English and Japanese 
 contrasted, 154; general de- 
 scription of Japanese, 156; 
 Kobori - Enshiu, the great 
 Japanese designer of, 156 ; the 
 torii, or arch, a characteristic 
 of Japanese, 157 
 
 GARDEN OF SKULLS. Idea of, 
 borrowed by Hiroshige from 
 Heike Monogatari, 119 
 
 GENEALOGY. Table showing the 
 Age of the Gods, 393~396 
 
 GENNO. A Buddhist priest ; 
 warning of the Spirit of the 
 Death -stone to, 95 ; story of 
 the Jewel Maiden related to, 
 95-98 
 
 4 IO 
 
 Victim at building of 
 over river at Matsue, 
 
 GENSUKE. 
 bridge 
 
 344 
 
 GESSHOJI TEMPLE, THB. The 
 gigantic tortoise of, 275 
 
 GHOST -s. Of the Circle of Penance, 
 fed in connection with the 
 Festival of the Dead, 223 ; the 
 ghost mother, 308 ; the Tide 
 of the Returning, and the 
 Festival of the Dead, 323 
 
 GILBERT AND SULLIVAN. Refer- 
 ence to their The Mikado, xi 
 
 GISUKE. Brother of O Cho San, 
 338 ; favours suit of Shin- 
 saku, 338 ; builds shrine to 
 O Cho San, 339 
 
 GOBLIN KING. Shutendoji, the ; 
 his doings on Mount Oye, 44-48 
 
 GOBLINS. Ghosts and, 1 1 8 
 
 GOD OF ROADS, THE. The pine- 
 tree and, 176; love-test by 
 invoking the, 346 
 
 GOD OF THE SEA. Hoori visits 
 palace of, 35 ; father of Toyo- 
 tama ("Rich-jewel"), 36; pre- 
 sents Hoori with the Jewels of 
 the Flowing Tide and the 
 Ebbing Tide, 36 
 
 GODS AND GODDESSES. A general 
 summary of, 387-391 
 
 GO-FUKAKUSA, EMPEROR. Saim- 
 yoji Tokiyori a celebrated 
 Regent during reign of, 182 
 
 GomTSu-OsHO. Name given to 
 Kobo Daishi by Chinese em- 
 peror, 236 
 
 Gojo BRIDGE OF KYOTO. Benkei's 
 lawless doings towards knights 
 happening to cross the, 42 
 
 GOLDEN LOTUS. Legend of, 80- 
 82 
 
 GONGEN. Two of Raiko's knights 
 visit shrine of, 45 
 
 Go-ToBA. The silent pine and 
 the Emperor, 177 
 
 GRASS, THE SPIRIT OF, 330 
 
 GRASS-CLEAVING-SWORD. Given 
 to Yamato, 54 ; the origin of 
 its name, 55 
 
 GREAT - MOUNTAIN - POSSESSOR. 
 Identical with Oho-yama, the 
 Spirit of the Mountains, 34 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 GREEY, EDWARD. The legend 
 
 of the Golden Lotus, version of, 
 
 by, 80 
 GULLIVER. Shikaiya Wasobioye 
 
 of Nagasaki a Japanese, 374- 
 
 376 
 
 H 
 
 HACHIMAN. The God of War ; 
 two of Raiko's intending com- 
 panions visit the temple of, 
 45 ; temple of, still remains, 
 82 ; Yoritomo erects shrines to, 
 278 ; infant Emperor, Antoku 
 Tenno, at shrine of, 300 
 
 HADES (see Yorni), 23; messages 
 from, 357 
 
 HANAGAKI BAISHU. A young 
 poet ; and Benten-of-the-Birth- 
 Water, 207-210 
 
 HAPPINESS, LAND OF PERFECT. 
 See Land, 300 
 
 HARA-KIRI, or SEPPUKU. Term 
 applied to suicide among the 
 samurai class, 161 
 
 HARE. Legends re, 255-260; 
 Taoist legends and the, 255 ; 
 story of hare and badger on 
 the Crackling Mountain, 258- 
 260 
 
 HASE-DERA. Place in Yamato; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 HAT OF INVISIBILITY. Part of 
 cargo of the Treasure Ship, 1 1 5 
 
 HATSUSHIMA ISLAND. Celebrated 
 for its jonquils, 337 ; Cho 
 dwells on, 337 
 
 HAZOKU, PRINCE. Pays homage 
 to demon in Ind, 97 
 
 HEARN, LAFCADIO. Reference to, 
 as an authority on Japanese 
 subjects, v ; works referred to, 
 vi ; subject of fox in Japan 
 described by, 94 ; Jizo, the 
 God of the Children, and, 105 ; 
 reference to the Cave of the 
 Children's Ghosts and Jizo, 109 ; 
 describes peak of Mount Fuji 
 as " the Supreme Altar of the 
 Sun," 131 ; his narrative illus- 
 trating the power of Karma, 
 
 143 ; his story of a Japanese 
 nun with a love for things in 
 miniature, 158, 159; describes 
 the Lotus of Paradise, 169 ; 
 Japanese dolls described by, 
 214 ; the suggestion of, re 
 butterflies, 217 ; the Bon- 
 odori, reference to, by, 224 ; 
 story of Japanese semi (tree- 
 cricket) in Kotto, 281 ; refer- 
 ence to Yuki-Daruma in A 
 Japanese Miscellany by, 299 ; 
 legends of the Weird adapted 
 from stories by, in Kwaidan 
 and Glimpses of Unfamiliar 
 Japan, 300 
 
 HEAVEN. Ladder of, 23 ; High 
 Plain of, 25 ; River of, 27 ; 
 Hikoboshi's ox wanders over 
 High Plain of, 126 
 
 HEAVEN AND EARTH. Elements 
 which comprised, 2 1 
 
 HEITARO. A farmer who married 
 WiUow Wife, 178-180 
 
 HELL. Kwannon's concern for 
 who pass into, told by Emma-O 
 to Tokudo Shonin, 202 
 
 Hi. River in province of Idzumo ; 
 Susa-no-o arrives at, 29 
 
 HIDAKA. A river, on the bank 
 of which Kiyo lived, 145 
 
 HIDARI JINGORO. The famous 
 sculptor ; legend of, reminds 
 us of story of Pygmalion, 116 ; 
 falls in love with a beautiful 
 woman, 190 
 
 HIDESATO. Variants : Tawara 
 Toda, " My Lord Bag of Rice " ; 
 his encounter with the Dragon 
 King of Lake Biwa, 62-64 
 
 HIEI, MOUNT. Yoshitsune hears 
 of priest Benkei as living at, 
 42 
 
 HIGO ("Willow"). Wife of 
 Heitaro, 177-180 
 
 HIKOBOSHI. Husband of Tana- 
 bata, 126 
 
 HINAKO - NAI - SHINNO. The 
 miraculous chestnut and the 
 Princess, 177 
 
 HINOKAWA. River in which 
 Yamato swims with Idzumo 
 Takeru, 53 
 
 411 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 HIROSHIGB. Idea for one of his 
 pictures borrowed from the 
 Heike Monogatari, 1 1 9 
 
 HITO - KOTO - KWANNON. See 
 Kwannon, 200 
 
 HIZEN, PRINCE OF. Story of his 
 love for a cat in form of a 
 woman named O Toyo, 265- 
 268 ; the priest Ruiten prays 
 for, 266 ; Ito Soda discovers 
 cause of illness of, 266-269 
 
 HODERI ("Fire-shine"). Son of 
 Ninigi and Ko-no-Hana, 34 ; 
 quarrels with his brother Hoori, 
 35 ; reconciled to his brother, 
 
 HOICHI-THE-EARLESS. A blind 
 priest who lived at theAmidaji 
 temple, 301 ; his recitals in 
 connection with the war be- 
 tween the Taira and Minamoto 
 clans, 301 ; unknowingly visits 
 tomb of Antoku Tenno, 304 ; 
 how he gained his name, 305 
 
 HOJI. Spirit of Death-Stone 
 takes form of, in Great Cathay, 
 
 Hojo. Kamakura, the seat of 
 Regents of family, 82 
 
 " HO-JO-KI." F. Victor Dickins's 
 translation of, v, 160, 385 
 
 Hojo TAKATOKI. A great ruler, 
 whom Oribe Shima offends, 333 
 
 Hojo TOKIYORI. Nichiren exiled 
 to Ito by, 241 
 
 HOKKEJI. Place in Harima ; one 
 of the thirty-three places sacred 
 to Kwannon, 204 
 
 " HOKKU." See Japanese Poetry, 
 380-386 
 
 HOKUSAI. A famous artist ; and 
 his " Hundred Views of Fuji," 
 117; Eternity, and its meaning 
 to, 117 
 
 HOLY ONE, THE. Alternative 
 title for the Lord Buddha, 80 
 
 HOORI ("Fire-fade"). Son of Nin- 
 igi and Ko-no-Hana, 34 ; grand- 
 father of the first Mikado of 
 Japan, 34 ; conveyed to the 
 Palace of the Sea God by 
 Shiko-tsutsu no Oji (" Salt -sea- 
 elder"), 35; weds Toyo-tama 
 
 412 
 
 (" Rich-jewel"), daughter of the 
 Sea God, 36 ; presented with 
 jewels of the Flowing Tide and 
 Ebbing Tide, 36 ; departs from 
 Sea God's Palace, 37 
 
 HORAI. Mountain ; Kuramochi 
 required to fare to, 67 ; the 
 Jewel-bearing Branch of, 69, 70 
 
 HORIO YOSHIHARU. Daimyo of 
 Izumo; builds bridge over river 
 at Matsue, 343 
 
 HORSE. The Deity of Kitzuki 
 (Oho - kuninushi) and the 
 Bronze, 275 
 
 HOTEL One of the Seven Gods of 
 Good Fortune, 115; the God 
 of Laughter and Contentment, 
 211 ; known as the Waggon 
 Priest, &c., 213 
 
 HUCHI. See Fuji and Aino 
 Goddess of Fire, 131 
 
 HUNT, ROYAL. The Mikado 
 orders, 74 ; the Mikado sur- 
 prises Kaguya by means of, 74 
 
 " HYAKU - NIN - ISSHIU " (" Single 
 Verses by a Hundred People "). 
 Written before the time of 
 the Norman Conquest ; see 
 Japanese Poetry, 382 
 
 ICHI jo, EMPEROR. Stories current 
 in Kyoto regarding the Goblin 
 of Oyeyama during reign of, 
 44 ; Raiko despatched by, to 
 seek out and slay the Goblin, 
 
 45 
 
 IHA-NAGA. Variant, Princess 
 Long-as -the -Rocks ; daughter 
 of Oho-yama, 34 
 
 IIJIMA. Father of Tsuyu (" Morn- 
 ing Dew "), 228 
 
 IMA-GUMANO. Place at Kyoto, 
 in Yamashiro; one of the 
 thirty-three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 203 
 
 IMPETUOUS MALE. See Susa-no-o, 
 
 23, 35 2 
 
 '* IN " AND " Yo." Male and 
 female principles, not yet 
 divided, 21 ; correspond to 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 the Chinese Yang and Yin, 
 21 ; associated with thunder, 
 according to Bakin, 252 
 
 INABA. Legend of the White 
 Hare of, 256-260 
 
 IN ARI. Originally the God of Rice, 
 and later (eleventh century) 
 associated with the Fox God, 
 93, 238 ; answers a woman's 
 
 Srayer, 101 ; appears to Kobo 
 aishi, 238, 239 
 
 INCREASE, THE MONTH OF. Yayoi, 
 the, 193 
 
 IND. Place where demon re- 
 ceived homage of Hazoku, 97 
 
 INDIAN Sraddha. Corresponds 
 to Japanese Festival of the 
 Dead, 223, 224 
 
 INEXHAUSTIBLE PURSE. Part of 
 the cargo of the Treasure Ship, 
 115, 116 
 
 INFERNAL REGIONS. Kwanjin 
 sent to, and from, the, 200 
 
 INSECT -s. Legends re, 281-289 ; 
 Buddhists believe that soul 
 of a man or woman may enter 
 minute form of, 281 ; Sane- 
 mori, a rice-devouring, 284 ; 
 the shiwan described, 284, 285 
 
 INTELLIGENCES, THE EIGHT, of 
 Buddhism, 130 
 
 IPPAI, MURATA. Unwittingly 
 destroys a number of lotus 
 and commits hara-kiri, 171 
 
 ISABURO. Kyuzaemon visits, 
 concerning the mysterious ap- 
 pearance of Oyasu, 153 
 
 ISE. Prince Yamato prays at 
 shrine of, 51 ; the Divine 
 Mirror into which the Sun 
 Goddess gazes reposes at, 191 ; 
 gigantic fan used in festival 
 of , 243 ; infant Emperor Antoku 
 Tenno at shrine of, 300 ; poem 
 by, 384 
 
 ISHIDOMARO. Son of Kato 
 Sayemon, 371-372 
 
 ISHIYAMA-DERA. Place near Otsu, 
 in Omi ; one of the thirty-three 
 places sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 ISHIZUKURI, PRINCE. One of 
 Kaguya's five suitors, 66-72 
 
 ISORA. The Spirit of the Sea- 
 
 shore ; takes Tide Jewels to 
 
 Empress Jingo as a gift from 
 
 the Dragon King, 331 
 ISSUNBOSHI(" One-Inch Priest"). 
 
 Otherwise Little Finger and 
 
 Grain-of -Corn, 364-367 ; marries 
 
 youngest daughter of Prince 
 
 Sanjo, 367 
 ITSUKUSHIMA. Shrine on Island 
 
 of Myajima, 227 ; torii called 
 
 " The Footstool of the King " 
 
 before, 227 
 IUWAO, EMPEROR. Spirit of 
 
 Death-Stone the consort of, 
 
 in Great Cathay, 97 
 IWAMA-DERA. Place in Omi ; one 
 
 of the thirty -three places sacred 
 
 to Kwannon, 203 
 IWAZARU. The three mystic Apes 
 
 which figure in Japanese legend 
 
 are Mizaru, Kikazaru, and, 272 
 
 IZANAGI AND IZANAMI ("Male-wtlO- 
 
 invites" and " Female-who-in- 
 vites"). Two important deities, 
 21 ; island of Onogoro-jima 
 formed by spear of , 22 ; though 
 related as brother and sister, 
 desire to become husband and 
 wife, 22 ; their marriage, 22 ; 
 marriage produces islands, seas, 
 rivers, herbs, and trees, 22 ; 
 desire to produce a Lord of the 
 Universe, 22 ; the wish ful- 
 filled in birth of Ama-terasu, 
 the Sun Goddess, 23 ; send 
 Ama-terasu up Ladder of 
 Heaven, 23 ; parents of Tsuki- 
 yumi, the Moon God, who is 
 sent up Ladder of Heaven to be 
 consort of Ama-terasu, 23 ; Susa- 
 no-o (" The Impetuous Male "), 
 son of, 23 ; Kagu-tsuchi, the 
 Fire God, born to, 23 ; Izanami 
 creeps into the Land of Yomi 
 (Hades), 23 ; Izanagi follows 
 his wife into Land of Yomi 
 (Hades), 23 ; Izanami angry 
 with Izanagi for putting her 
 to shame, 24 ; Izanagi escapes 
 from the Underworld, 24 ; 
 pursuit by the Eight Ugly 
 Females, 24 ; he reaches the 
 Even Pass of Yomi, 24 ; is 
 
 4'3 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 divorced from Izanami, 24 ; 
 builds himself a perpetual home 
 in island of Ahaji, 25 ; wag- 
 tails sacred to, 276 
 
 IZUMI. Place from which Chinu 
 came, 313 
 
 IZUMO. Queer custom in, asso- 
 ciated with Jizo, 105, 106 ; 
 assembly of Gods in October 
 in temple at, 225 ; the Kappa 
 referred to as Kawako by 
 people of village of, 350 
 
 J 
 
 JAPAN. Equivalent, " Land of 
 the Rising Sun," xi ; reference 
 to her victory over Russia, xi ; 
 evolution of, how wrought, 
 xii ; first inhabitants of, xiii ; 
 Ainu, Mongol, and Malay ele- 
 ments formed one nation by 
 A.D. 500, xiii ; national cha- 
 racteristics of, xiii ; called 
 Jih-pen by Chinese, xiv ; 
 general equivalents, xiv ; Kama- 
 Yamato - Iware - Biko first 
 human Emperor of, 37 ; 
 Buddhism in, India and China 
 borrowed from, in regard to 
 religious teaching, 80 ; the 
 Bronze Buddha of Kamakura 
 one of the sights of, 82 ; 
 legends of fox in, 93 ; Ancient 
 Cavern in, in which image of 
 Jizo is seen, 109 ; art of, owed 
 to Buddhism, 114; Buddha's 
 teaching gave art of garden- 
 ing to, 114 ; art, quickened by 
 Chinese influence, 114; happy 
 in naming chrysanthemums, 
 163; Ama-no-Hashidate, one of 
 the " Three Great Sights " of, 
 204 ; butterfly connected with 
 folklore in, 216; legend re 
 invasion by Mongols of, 250 ; 
 Thunder Animal of, 251 ; tea- 
 drinking in England and, con- 
 trasted, 290, 291 ; orange first 
 brought from the "Evergreen 
 Land " to, 324 ; cause of be- 
 coming a world-Power, 329 ; her 
 
 influence on Korea when Russia 
 established a military outpost 
 at Wiju, 329 ; Korea a colony 
 of, 329 ; Dragon of, 362 
 
 JAPANESE. Character not Western, 
 xii ; patriotism, source of, xii ; 
 art and religion influenced 
 by Buddhism, xii ; influence 
 of Shintoism on, xii ; theories 
 regarding racial origin of 
 people, xiii ; superstition re- 
 garding the Kappa (river 
 monster), xiv ; divinities and 
 heroes, general reference to, 
 xvi-xx ; art, described by Sir 
 Alfred East, 112; artists, 
 work of, considered, 112 ; art, 
 the face in, 113; artist, Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune favourite 
 theme of, 115; Festival of 
 Tanabata, 126; bells, general 
 description of, 140 ; woman, 
 cherry and plum blossoms 
 associated with beauty and 
 virtue of, 174 ; mirrors, sig- 
 nificance of, 190-198 ; English 
 dolls compared with, 214-216 ; 
 fan, significance of, 243 ; origin 
 of name kanamk, applied to 
 fans, 244 ; cat, how regarded, 
 264-268 ; art, sennin in, 357 ; 
 poetry, note on, 380-386 
 
 " JAPANESE LITERATURE, A HIS- 
 TORY OF." Reference to, v 
 
 JEWEL-S. Precious, 28 ; the 
 Tide-flowing and the Tide- 
 ebbing, 36 ; the Jewel-bearing 
 Branch of Mount Horai, 69-70 ; 
 the Jewel in the Dragon's Head, 
 71-73 ; the Flood-Tide and the 
 Ebb-Tide, given by Dragon 
 King to Empress Jingo, 331 ; 
 the Jewel-tears of Samebito, 
 
 3/6-379 
 JEWEL MAIDEN. The story of, 95- 
 
 98 
 JIH-PEN. Chinese equivalent for 
 
 Japan, xiv 
 JIMMU TENNO. Variant, Kamu- 
 
 Yamato - Iware - Biko; first 
 
 human Emperor of Japan, 37 
 JIMPACHI. Kanshiro and, 287- 
 
 289 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 JINGO, THE EMPRESS. Professor 
 J. H. Longford writes ve, 329 ; 
 legend of first Japanese invasion 
 of Korea by, 330-333 ; birth 
 of her son Ojin, 333 ; old 
 couple's prayer for a child 
 offered to, 364 
 
 Jizo. The God of Children, 94, 
 104 ; compared to Kwannon, 
 Goddess of Mercy, 104 ; the 
 creation of Japanese mothers, 
 104 ; little children play in 
 the Sai-no-Kawara ("Dry Bed 
 of the River of Souls") with, 
 106 ; hymn of, 107, 108 ; 
 Cave of the Children's Ghosts 
 and, 109; Fountain of, no; 
 Soga Sadayoshi remembered 
 by, no, in; picture of, 
 contrasted with pictorial re- 
 presentation of a Japanese 
 goblin, 114, 115 
 
 JOFUKU. Attempts to wrest the 
 secret of perpetual life from 
 Mount Fuji, 133 ; Shikaiya 
 Wasobioye meets, 375 
 
 JOSHI. Term applied to lovers' 
 suicide variants, " love- 
 death " or " passion-death," 
 144 
 
 JUROJIN. One of the Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune, 115 
 
 K 
 
 KAIBARA. Treatise by, known 
 as Onna Daigaku, 113 
 
 KADZUSA, STRAITS OF. Princess 
 Ototachibana drowned in cross- 
 ing, 56 
 
 KADZUTOYO. Story of the badger 
 and, 260-262 
 
 KAGU-TSUCHI. The Fire God, 
 child of Izanagi and Izanami, 
 
 23 
 
 KAGUYA, LADY ("Precious-Slen- 
 der-Bamboo - of- the - Field - of - 
 Autumn"). Discovered and 
 reared by Sanugi no Miyakko, 
 65 ; Prince Ishizukuri, Prince 
 Kuramochi, the Sadaijin Dai- 
 nagon Abe no Miushi, the 
 
 Chiunagon Otomo no Miyuki, 
 and Morotada, the Lord of 
 Iso, suitors of, 66-72 ; her 
 plan to test the five suitors, 
 67 ; fame of, reaches the 
 Mikado, who sends Fusago to, 
 73 ; Moonland Capital the 
 birthplace of, 75 ; departs to 
 Moonland, 79 
 
 KAMAKURA. The one-time capi- 
 tal of Nippon, 82 ; seat of 
 the Shoguns, 82 ; the Bronze 
 Buddha of, and the Whale, 
 82-86 ; city of, laid out by 
 General Yoritomo, 83 ; the 
 bell of Enkakuji the largest in, 
 140 
 
 KAMATARI. A State Minister of 
 Japan ; father of Kohaku Jo, 
 86 
 
 KAMI DAIGO-DERA. Place at 
 Uji, in Yamashiro ; one of the 
 thirty-three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 203 
 
 KAMINARI. Thunder Woman, 
 252 
 
 KAMISHAMA. One of the Old 
 Islands, to which Oribe Shirna 
 is banished, 333 
 
 KAMO, LADY. The Soul of the 
 Mirror (Yayoi) falls into pos- 
 session of, 194 
 
 KAMO NO CHOMEI. A Buddhist 
 recluse of twelfth century ; his 
 book called Ho-fo-ki shows 
 him a great Nature-lover, 160 
 
 KAMO YAMAKIKO. A magician, 
 consulted by Yosoji, 134 
 
 KAMU - YAMATO - IWARE - BIKO. 
 Descendant of Hoori ; present 
 equivalent, Jimmu Tenno ; 
 first human Emperor of Japan, 
 
 37 
 KANAGAWA. Urashima's tomb 
 
 still shown in a temple in, 328 
 KANASOKA. A great artist ; 
 
 legend re the painted horse of, 
 
 116 
 
 KANO HOGAI. Embroidery de- 
 picting Kwannon as the Divine 
 
 Mother by, 201 
 KANSHIRO. The vengeance of, 
 
 287-289 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 KANSUKB. Father of Matakichi, 
 
 340 
 KANTAN'S PILLOW. Rosei rests 
 
 upon, 121 
 KAPPA, THE. A river goblin ; 
 
 description of, 350; people in 
 
 village of Izumo refer to as 
 
 Kawako ("The Child of the 
 
 River "), 350 ; the story of the 
 
 promise of, 351 
 KARMA. The power of, one of the 
 
 great Buddhist doctrines, 143 ; 
 
 signifies the desire to be in 
 
 contrast to Nirvana, the desire 
 
 not to be, 144 ; reference to, 
 
 in the Ratana Sutra, 145 ; 
 
 Kiyo and the power of, 145- 
 
 148 ; power of, illustrated by 
 
 story of Tsuyu, 228, 233 
 KASHIMA. Origin of kaname, 
 
 name applied to Japanese fans, 
 
 and, 244 
 KATSUO-DERA. Place in Settsu; 
 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 
 sacred to Kwannon, 204 
 KATSUSHIKA, THE MAIDEN OF. 
 
 Ballad of, 316, 317 
 KAWACHI. River, near which is 
 
 the temple known as Kawako - 
 
 no-miya, 350 
 KAWACHI-MURA. Hamlet near 
 
 Matsue, 350 
 KAWAKO ("The Child of the 
 
 River"). See Kappa, 350 
 KAWAKO-NO-MIYA. The temple 
 
 of the Kawako, or Kappa, 350 
 KEN-CHO-JI. Visit of Soga 
 
 Sadayoshi to temple of, no 
 KENKO H6sni. Another legend 
 
 of Raiko and the Goblin by, 
 
 49-51 
 KIKAZARU. The three mystic Apes 
 
 which figure in Japanese legend 
 
 are Mizaru, Iwazaru, and, 272 
 KIKU ("Chrysanthemum"). Sa- 
 
 wara weds, 124 ; Sawara sends 
 
 back to her parents, 125 
 KIKUO (" Chrysanthemum - Old - 
 
 Man"). Retainer of Tsugaru; 
 
 story of, 165-167 
 KIMI. Story of her faithless 
 
 behaviour toward Kurosuke, 
 
 181 
 
 KIMII-DERA. Place near Waka- 
 yama, in Kishu ; one of the 
 thirty-three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 203 
 
 KIMITAKA. The Goblin of Oye 
 snatches away, 45 
 
 KI-NO-O-BAKE. A true spirit, 176 
 
 KINTARO. Otherwise the Golden 
 Boy, 367-369 ; named Sakata 
 Kurando by Yorimitsu,368, 369 
 
 KISHIWADA, THE LORD OF. Sends 
 Sonobe to great cryptomeria- 
 tree on Oki-yama, 181, 182 
 
 KITZUKI. The Deity of (Oho- 
 kuninushi), and the Bronze 
 Horse, 275 ; the Deity of, 
 spends much time catching 
 'birds and fish, 277 
 
 KIUCHI HEIZAYEMON. Adven- 
 tures of, which illustrate the 
 Tengu-kakushi, 3 5 3-35 5 
 
 KIYO. The fairest girl in the 
 tea-house near the Dragon's 
 Claw hill, 145 ; her love for 
 a Buddhist priest and its fatal 
 ending, 145-148 
 
 KIYOMIZU-DERA. Place at Kyoto ; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 KIYOMORI. Leader of the Taira 
 clan, 41 ; Tokiwa, widow of 
 Yoshitomo, weds, 41 
 
 K6B6 DAISHI (" Glory to the 
 Great Teacher"). The most 
 famous of Japanese Buddhist 
 saints, 234 ; Kukai name 
 when living ; Kobo Daishi a 
 posthumous title, 234 ; founded 
 Buddhist sect called the Shin- 
 gon-shu, 234 ; named by 
 Chinese Emperor as Gohitsu- 
 Osho (" The Priest who writes 
 with Five Brushes"), 236; 
 Monju Bosatsu, the Lord of 
 Wisdom, and, 237; paints 
 the ten by flinging his brush, 
 
 237 ; work ridiculed by Kino 
 Momoye and Onomo Toku, 
 237, 238 ; his voyage to Japan, 
 
 238 ; Inari, the God of Rice, 
 and, 238, 239 ; his death, 
 
 239 ; temple at Kawasaki dedi- 
 cated to, 239 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 KOBORI - ENSHIU. The great 
 Japanese designer of gardens, 
 156 
 
 Kocnd. Reference to the play 
 called The Flying Hairpin of 
 Kocho, 218 
 
 KODO. Place at Kyoto; one of 
 the thirty-three places sacred 
 to Kwannon, 204 
 
 KOFUKUJI, TEMPLE OF, 87-89 
 
 KOHAKU Jo. Daughter of Karna- 
 tari, 86 ; Emperor of China 
 hears of beauty of, 86 ; Em- 
 peror of China wooes, 86 ; 
 sails for China, 87 ; weds 
 Emperor of China, 87, 88 ; 
 sends treasures to temple of 
 Kofukuji, 89 
 
 KOJIKI. " Records of Ancient 
 Matters " completed A.D. 712, 
 what it deals with, &c., xv ; 
 told in, that Izanagi presented 
 mirrors to his children, 191 
 
 KOJIN, THE GOD. Spirit of, 
 resides in the enoki tree ; the 
 God to whom very old dolls 
 are dedicated, 176, 177, 216 
 
 KOKAWA-DERA. Place in Kishu ; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 KOMAGAWA MIYAGI. _A retainer 
 of one of the daimyos ; his love 
 for Miyuki, 245-249 
 
 KOMPIRA. Originally an Indian 
 God, identified with Susa-no-o ; 
 the shrine of, visited by Kiyo, 
 
 KO - NO - HANA - SAKU - YA - HIME. 
 
 " The Princess who makes the 
 Flowers of the Trees to Blos- 
 som " ; daughter of Oho-yama, 
 34 ; weds Ninigi, 34 ; mother 
 of Hoderi and Hoori, 34 ; see 
 Sengen, 132 
 
 KOREA. Reference to legendary 
 conquest of, 282 ; Chosen, the 
 Land of the Morning Calm, 
 the old name for, 328; troubled 
 with armies of China and Japan, 
 328 ; under glamour of Chinese 
 civilisation, 329 ; becomes a 
 Japanese colony, 329 ; legend 
 of first invasion of, by Japan, 
 
 329-333 ; King of, surrenders 
 to Empress Jingo, 332 
 
 " KOREAN TOWERS." Lamps in 
 Japanese gardens sometimes 
 still known as, 157 
 
 KORINJI. Kimi prayed for by 
 priests of temple, 125 
 
 KORIYAMA, THE LORD. Idzumi, 
 place where lived, 170 ; he 
 and his wife and child stricken 
 down with a strange malady, 
 170; restored by planting 
 lotus about his castle, 170, 171 
 
 KOSHIN. The God of Roads, 176 
 
 Koso. Emperor of China ; wooes 
 and weds Kohaku Jo, 86-88 
 
 KOYURI. Son of Yurine, 359 
 
 KUMASO. Brigand, slain by 
 Yamato, 52 
 
 KUME. One of the sennin, who 
 falls from his chariot of cloud, 
 depicted in Japanese art, 357 
 
 KUNI-TOKO-TACHI. A Japanese 
 God; origin of, 21 
 
 KURAMOCHI, PRINCB. One of 
 Kaguya's five suitors, 46-72 
 
 KURANDO, SAKATA. An officer of 
 the Emperor's bodyguard, 367 ; 
 falls in love with Yaegiri, 367 ; 
 see Kintaro, 368 
 
 KUROSUKE. Story how he was 
 forsaken by Kimi, 181 
 
 KUSHI-NADA-HIME (" Wondrous- 
 Inada-Princess ' ' ). Daughter of 
 Ashi-nadzuchi and Te-nadzuchi, 
 29 ; wooed and wedded by 
 Susa-no-o, 29, 30 
 
 KWANJIN. Chinese equivalent 
 for Kwannon, 200 
 
 KWANNON. The Goddess of 
 Mercy ; two of Raiko's intend- 
 ing companions visit shrine of, 
 45 ; ex-Emperor Toba desires 
 to build a temple to, 179 ; 
 resemblance to JizS, 199 ; 
 sometimes depicted as Senjiu- 
 Kwannon, or Kwannon-of-the- 
 Thousand - Hands, 199 ; de- 
 scription of Jiu - ichi - men - 
 Kwannon (the Kwannon-of- 
 the-Eleven-Faces), 199 ; the 
 tiara of, sometimes takes title 
 of Bato" -Kwannon (Kwannon- 
 > 417 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 with - the - Horse's - Head), 
 199 ; Bato - Kwannon, the 
 Goddess who protects dumb 
 animals, 200 ; *l (Hito - Koto - 
 Kwannon, the Kwannon who 
 will only answer one prayer, 
 200 ; the Gods of Love and 
 Wisdom are frequently repre- 
 sented in conjunction with, 
 200 ; not inappropriately 
 called the Japanese Madonna, 
 200 ; known in Chinese myth as 
 Kwanjin, 200; is the spiritual 
 son of Amitabha, in China, 200 ; 
 Chujo Hime, a Buddhist nun, 
 an incarnation of, 201 ; as the 
 Divine Mother, 201 ; thirty- 
 three shrines sacred to Kwan- 
 non, 201-204 ; "the Lady of 
 Mercy, 202 ; the Goddess of 
 Mercy, 203 ; copper image of, 
 in temple of Ni-gwarsu-do, 204 ; 
 sacrifice of, in form of a deer, 
 on behalf of Saion Zenji, 204- 
 206 ; Princess Sanjo visits 
 temple of, 365 
 
 KWANNONJI. Place in Omi; one 
 of the thirty-three places sacred 
 to Kwannon, 204 
 
 KYOTO. Stories current in, re- 
 garding the Goblin of Oyeyama, 
 44 ; Matsumura journeys to, 
 191 ; thirty -three shrines sacred 
 to Kwannon in, 201 
 
 KYU - KUKEDO - SAN. An 
 Ancient Cavern in Japan asso- 
 ciated with Jizo, 109 
 
 KYUZAEMON. The Lady of the 
 Snow and, 152, 153 
 
 LADDER OF HEAVEN. Ama-terasu, 
 the Sun Goddess, climbs the, 
 23 ; Tsuki-yumi, the Moon 
 God, also climbs the, 23 
 
 LADY OF MERCY. Kwannon called 
 the, 202 
 
 LAND OF ENDLESS PLENTY. 
 Shikaiya Wasobioye visits the, 
 375 
 
 418 
 
 " LAND, THE EVERGREEN." Ap- 
 pears in the Japanese ballad 
 " The Fisher Boy Urashima " 
 as the Dragon Palace, 324 
 
 LAND OF THE FOLLOWERS OF 
 THE ANTIQUE. Shikaiya Waso- 
 bioye visits the, 375 
 
 LAND OF GIANTS. Shikaiya 
 Wasobioye visits the, 375 
 
 LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. 
 Chosen, the old name for 
 Korea, 328 
 
 LAND OF PARADOXES. Shikaiya 
 Wasobioye visits the, 375 
 
 LAND OF PERFECT HAPPINESS. 
 The infant Emperor, Antoku 
 Tenno, taken to, 300 
 
 LAND OF SHAMS. Shikaiya 
 Wasobioye visits the, 375 
 
 LAUGHTER, GOD OF. See Hotei, 
 211-213 
 
 LEGEND-S. Butterfly, 2 6-219 ; 
 from The Diary of a Con- 
 volvulus, 244-249 ; Thunder, 
 250-254 ; of Magical Animals 
 255-275; the Kojiki ("The 
 White Hare of Inaba"), 255- 
 260 ; the three mystic Apes 
 figure in, 272 ; birds in, 276- 
 281 ; of dragon-flies, 282 ; of fire 
 flies, 285-289 ; of the tea-plant, 
 297-299 ; of the Weird, 300- 
 304 ; of the sea, 323-341 ; of 
 Urashima, 323 ; Japanese super- 
 stitions the source of, 342 ; of 
 the sea monster Shojd, 359- 
 360 ; miscellaneous, 370-379 
 
 LIGHTNING, THE GODDESS OF, 251 
 
 LIGHTS, MIRACULOUS. Varieties 
 in Japan, 357, 358 
 
 LIU-KIU ISLANDS. Chinese equi- 
 valent for Japanese Luchu 
 Islands, 324 
 
 LONG-AS-THE-ROCKS, PRINCESS. 
 
 Variant for Iha-naga, 34 
 LONGFORD, JOSEPH H. Refer- 
 ence to The Story of Korea, 
 by, 328, 329 
 
 LOTUS, THE GOLDEN. Legend of, 
 80-82 ; the sacred flower of 
 Buddhism, 169 
 
 v LOTUS OF THE LAW." Y6shS 
 studies, 356 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 LOVE. Maiden imposes test of, 
 as a corpse -eater, 311, 312; 
 poems, see Japanese Poetry, 
 380-386 ; the Goddess of, 
 206 
 
 LUCHU ISLANDS. The Japanese 
 pronunciation for the, 324 ; 
 Chinese equivalent, Liu-kiu, 
 
 324 
 
 LUCK, SEVEN DIVINITIES OF. 
 Benten one of the, 206 ; 
 variants, the Goddess of the 
 Sea, of Love, of Beauty, of 
 Eloquence, 206 ; charms to 
 represent, 348 
 
 LUCKY RAIN -co AT. Part of cargo 
 of the Treasure Ship, 1 1 5 
 
 LUWUH. The first Chinese tea- 
 master, 292 ; his Chaking (" The 
 Holy Scripture of Tea"), 292 ; 
 sought after by Emperor Tai- 
 sung, 293 
 
 M 
 
 MADONNA, THE JAPANESE. The 
 Goddess of Mercy not in- 
 appropriately called, 200 
 
 "MAIDEN'S GRAVE, THE." Burial- 
 place of the Maiden of Unai, 
 
 3*4 
 
 MAIDEN OF KATSUSHIKA, THE. 
 The tale of, as translated by 
 Professor B. H. Chamberlain, 
 3 J 6, 317 
 
 MAIDEN OF UNAI, THE. And her 
 lovers, 3 1 3-3 1 6 ; the grave of, 
 315. 3i6 
 
 MAIDEN WITH THE WOODEN 
 BOWL. The strange story of, 
 317-322 
 
 MAKI. Moor to which Tokutaro 
 was challenged to go, 98 
 
 MAKI HIOGO. Attempts to cap- 
 ture the Spirit of the Peony, 
 172, 173 
 
 MALAY ELEMENTS. Their con- 
 tribution to Japanese charac- 
 teristics, xiii 
 
 MAMIKIKO. Neighbour of Yuri ne; 
 his unkindness to Koyuri, 360- 
 362 
 
 "MASTER SINGERS OF JAPAN." 
 Miss Clara A. Walsh's reference 
 to, v 
 
 MASON, W. B. Reference to 
 temple at Kawasaki sacred to 
 Kobo Daishi, in Murray's Hand- 
 book/or Japan, by, 239 
 
 MATAKICHI. Son of Kansuke, 340 
 
 MATSU. Shinge's maid, 167 
 
 MATSUE. I. Daughter of a 
 fisherman at Takasago, 187 ; 
 rescues Teoyo, their love, 188, 
 189. II. Bridge. Sacrifices 
 associated with, 343, 344 ; Horio 
 Yoshiharu and, 343. Ill: The 
 Bronze Deer of, 275 
 
 MATSUMURA. A Shinto priest in 
 charge of shrine of Ogawachi- 
 Myojin, 191 ; journey to Kyoto 
 to appeal to Shogun, 191 ; 
 his strange sight of a beautiful 
 woman's face in a well, 192 ; 
 the Poison Dragon and, 193 ; 
 the Soul of the Mirror and, 
 193-196 
 
 MATSUNOO-DERA. Place in Wa- 
 kasa; one of the thirty-three 
 places sacred to Kwannon, 204 
 
 MATSUYAMA, THE MIRROR OF, 
 196-198 
 
 MERCY, GODDESS OF. Kwannon, 
 the ; compared to Jizo, 104 
 
 MICHIMASA. An eleventh-century 
 official; tanka by, quoted, 383 ; 
 addressed tanka to the Princess 
 Masako, 383 
 
 MIIDERA. I. The Bell of, 141-143. 
 II. Place near Otsu, in Omi ; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 MIDZUNOE. Village in province 
 of Tango, in which Urashima 
 lived, 324 
 
 MIMUROTO-DERA. Place at Uji, in 
 Yamashiro; one of the thirty- 
 three places sacred to Kwannon, 
 203 
 
 MINAMOTO CLAN. Reference to 
 great sea-fight between Taira 
 clan and, 300 
 
 MINE. Wife of Tomozo, 233 
 
 MINOKICHI. Loved by the Lady 
 of the Snow, 150-151 
 
 419 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 Mio. Shore of, on which the 
 Moon Lady's Robe of Feathers 
 is found by Hairukoo, 128 
 
 MIONOSEKI. The God of, is the 
 God of Mariners, 276 ; detests 
 cocks and hens, 276 
 
 MIRRORS. Significance of Japan- 
 ese, 190-198 ; the Divine, into 
 which Sun Goddess gazes, re- 
 poses at Ise, 191 ; the soul of 
 the, 193 ; old bronze mirrors 
 contributed to form a bell, 
 195 ; the mirror of Matsu- 
 yama, 196-198 
 
 MITFORD, A. B. (Lord Redes- 
 dale). Reference to his Tales 
 of Old Japan, 98, 161 
 
 MIUSHI. The Sadaijin Dainagon 
 Abe no, one of Kaguya's five 
 suitors, 66-70 
 
 MIWA DAIMYOJIN. Japanese God, 
 in connection with whom the 
 Laughing Festival originated, 
 225 
 
 MIYADZU, PRINCESS. Prince 
 Yamato meets and weds, 55 
 
 MIYUKI. The Chiunagon Otomo 
 no, one of Kaguya's five suitors, 
 66-70 
 
 MIZARU. The three mystic Apes 
 in Japanese legend are Kika- 
 zaru, Iwazaru, and, 272 
 
 MOCHIDA-NO-URA. Peasant of 
 village of , who flung his children 
 into a river, 311 
 
 MOMOTARO (" Son of a Peach"). 
 His romantic discovery, 58 ; 
 his adventures in the North- 
 Eastern Sea, 59-62 
 
 MOMOYE, KINO. Kobo Daishi's 
 work ridiculed by, 237-238 
 
 MONGOL-S. Elements, their con- 
 tribution to Japanese cha- 
 racteristics, xiii ; legend re 
 invasion of Japan by, 250 
 
 MONJU BOSATSU. The Lord of 
 Wisdom ; Kobo Daishi and, 237 
 
 MOON. Belief of Japanese peasants 
 re the Hare in the, 162 
 
 MOONFOLK. The Lady Kaguya 
 and, 75-79 
 
 MOON GOD. Tsuki-yumi, son of 
 Izanagi and Izanami, the, 23 
 
 420 
 
 MOON LADY, THE. The fisher- 
 man finds Robe of Feathers of, 
 
 128, 129 
 MOONLAND. The capital of, 
 
 the birthplace of Kaguya, 75 ; 
 
 Lady Kaguya departs to, 79 
 MOON, PALACE OF THE. The 
 
 dance that makes, turn round, 
 
 128 
 MORNING CALM, THE LAND OF 
 
 THE. Otherwise Chosen, the old 
 
 name for Korea, 328 
 MORRIS, WILLIAM. Story of " The 
 
 Robe of Feathers " resembles 
 
 Norse legend see The Land 
 
 East of the Sun and West of the 
 
 Moon, 127 
 MOROKOSHI, THE LAND OF. 
 
 Miushi required to fare to, 67 
 MOROTADA. The Lord of Iso ; 
 
 one of Kaguya's five suitors, 
 
 66-70 
 MOSAKU. His death by the Lady 
 
 of the Snow, 1 50 
 MOTHER, THE GHOST, 308 
 MOUNTAIN. I. Woman, 355. 
 
 II. Man, 355 
 MOUNTAIN SPIDER. See Goblin 
 
 Spider 
 MOUNTAIN, THE CRACKLING. The 
 
 story of the hare and badger on, 
 
 258-260 
 MOUNTAIN, THE SPIRIT OF THE, 
 
 33 
 MUBARA. One of the Maiden of 
 
 Unai's lovers, 313-316 
 MUD, SEA OF. Visited by Shikaiya 
 
 Wasobioye, 375 
 MUGENYAMA. The priests of, 
 
 require a bell, 194 ; one mirror 
 
 used in making bell of, refuses 
 
 to melt, 195 
 
 MURAKUMO - NO - TSURUGI. A 
 
 divine sword, discovered by 
 
 Susa-no-o and given by him 
 
 to the Gods of Heaven, 30 ; 
 
 sword of, given to Yamato, 54 
 MUSHIMARO. A poet, who wrote 
 
 re the lovers of the Maiden of 
 
 Unai, 313 
 Muso KOKUSHI. A priest ; his 
 
 gruesome experience with the 
 
 corpse-eater, 305-308 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 MYOKEI. A celebrated painter 
 under whom Sawara studies, 
 122 
 
 MYTHOLOGY. The Dragon inti- 
 mately associated with Japan- 
 ese, 362 ; the Dragon in Chinese 
 and Japanese, 363 
 
 N 
 
 NAIZEN-NO-JO, THE LORD. Father 
 of the Princess Aya, 172, 173 
 
 NAKAYAMA-DERA. Place near 
 Kobe, in Settsu ; one of the 
 thirty-three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 204 
 
 " NAMUDAISHI." A Japanese 
 poem describing life of famous 
 saint Kobo Daishi, 234 
 
 NANAO. Fishing village, de- 
 stroyed by earthquake, 339 ; 
 experience of Kansuke and his 
 son Matakichi while fishing 
 near, 340, 341 
 
 NAN-ENDO. Place at Nara, in 
 Yamato; one of the thirty- 
 three places sacred to Kwannon, 
 203 
 
 NAREAI-JI. Place in Tango ; one 
 of the thirty-three places sacred 
 to Kwannon, 204 
 
 NARIAI, MOUNT. Saion Zenji and 
 Kwannon on, 204-206 
 
 NARUSE TSUSHIMANOKAMI. An 
 official who considers the sword 
 secured by Sankichi a sacred 
 treasure, 337 
 
 NASU. Genno arrives at moor of, 
 
 95 
 NASU NO YOICHI. A fan, the mark 
 
 of bow of, 243 
 NATIONAL ANTHEM. English 
 
 and Japanese compared, 384 ; 
 
 Japanese, based on an ancient 
 
 song mentioned in the Kokin- 
 
 shiu, 384 
 NATURE. Japanese love for, 
 
 1 60, 161 ; Japanese poetry 
 
 and, 380-386 
 
 NETHER WORLD. See Yomi 
 NEW YEAR. Pine-tree and the 
 
 Festival of the, 176 ; Daikoku 
 
 and origin of charm connected 
 with, 212 ; quaint observances 
 at Festival of, 220, 221 
 NICHIREN. The founder of the 
 Buddhist sect of that name, 
 240 ; name of, means Sun 
 Lotus, 240 ; his efforts to 
 restore Buddhism to its old 
 
 furity, 240, 241 ; exiled to 
 to for thirty years by Ho jo 
 Tokiyori, 241 ; his escape from 
 execution, 241 ; again exiled, 
 and dwells on Mount Minobu, 
 
 241 ; attempts to replace the 
 ordinary mantra, 241 ; wrote 
 " Book to Tranquillise the 
 Country," 241 
 
 NI-GWARSU-DS (" Hall of the 
 Second Moon "). The Buddhist 
 temple of, 204 ; small copper 
 image of Kwannon in temple 
 of, 204 
 
 " NIHONGI" ("Chronicles of 
 Japan "). Written in Chinese 
 and completed A.D. 720, and 
 deals with the myths, legends, 
 &c., from early times to A.D. 
 697, xv ; male and female 
 principles, reference to, in, 21 
 
 NIIDONO. Takes infant Emperor, 
 Antoku Tenno, to the Pure 
 Land of Perfect Happiness, 300 
 
 NIKKO. First Buddhist temple 
 at, founded by Shodo Shonin, 
 
 242 ; notice to Tengu and other 
 demons prior to visit of Yedo 
 Shogun to, 355 
 
 NIKOBO. A priest, famous for 
 powers to exorcise evil spirits, 
 357, 358 
 
 NINIGI. Grandchild of Taka-mi- 
 musubi ; sent to govern Cen- 
 tral Land of Reed -Plains, 30 ; 
 presented with gifts by Ama- 
 terasu, 32 ; gives Uzume as wife 
 to the Deity of the Field -Paths, 
 33 ; meets and weds Ko-no- 
 hana, 34 ; Hoderi (" Fire-shine ") 
 and Hoori ("Fire-fade"), sons 
 of, 34 
 
 NIPPON. Kamakura at one time 
 
 capital of, 82 ; pictorial art 
 
 given to, by Buddhism, 114; 
 
 421 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 the No, or lyrical drama of, 
 119 ; bell-maker, skill of, 140 ; 
 fan of, 243 ; tea-drinking in, 
 associated with Buddhism, 293 
 
 NIPPONESE. Women, colour-prints 
 depicting, do not reveal emo- 
 tion, 113; mirrors, significance 
 of, 190 
 
 NIRVANA. Genno prays that the 
 Jewel Maiden might attain, 
 97 ; desire for not-being finally 
 attained in, 109 ; signification 
 contrasted with Karma, 144 
 
 " No." The lyrical drama of 
 Nippon, 119 ; the Takasago one 
 of the finest of the, 186 
 
 NOGUCHI, YONE. See Yone 
 Noguchi 
 
 Noxo. Yosho born at, 356 
 
 O-ANA-MOCHI. A deity of Mount 
 Fuji, 132 
 
 OBA KAGB-CHIKA. Yoritomo 
 saved from power of, by two 
 doves, 277-278 
 
 O CHO SAN. Dwells on Hatsu- 
 shima Island, 337 ; Gisuke the 
 brother of, 338 ; Shinsaku the 
 favoured suitor of, 338 ; death 
 of, 338 ; shrine raised to, 339 
 
 OGAWACHI-MYOJIN. Shrine of, 
 referred to, 191 ; Matsumura, 
 the Shinto priest in charge of 
 shrine of, 191 
 
 O-HINA-SAN. Tiny doll named, 2 1 5 
 
 OHO-KUNINUSHI. The Deity of 
 Kitzuki ; the Bronze Horse 
 and, 275 
 
 OHO-YAMA. Variants, Great- 
 Mountain-Possessor and Spirit 
 of the Mountains ; father of 
 Ko-no-hane and Iha-naga, 34 ; 
 presents his daughter to Ninigi, 
 34 
 
 OJIN. Son of Empress Jingo, 
 333 ; the Dragon King presents 
 the Tide Jewels to, 333 
 
 OKA-DERA.J Place in Yarnato; 
 
 ^_,one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 422 
 
 OKAKURA KAKUZO. The Book of 
 Tea by, 290 
 
 OKI ISLANDS. Oribe Shima 
 banished to Kamishima, one 
 of the, 333, 334 
 
 OKI-YAM A. Sonobe sent to great 
 cryptomeria-tree on, 181, 182 
 
 OLD JAPAN. Doll handed down 
 from generation to generation 
 in, 215 
 
 OMI, PROVINCE OF. Yamato 
 Take slays serpent in, 57 
 
 " ONNA DAIGAKU " ("The Greater 
 Learning for Women"). A 
 treatise by Kaibara, 113 
 
 ONOMO TOKU. Kobo Daishi's 
 work ridiculed by, 238 
 
 ONO-NO-KIMI. Appears before 
 the Judgment Seat of Emma-O, 
 the Judge of Souls, 140 
 
 ORIBE SHIMA. Offends Hojo 
 Takatoki and is banished to 
 Kamishima, 333, 334; his grief 
 at leaving his daughter, Tokoyo, 
 334 ; sought after by Tokoyo, 
 334-336 ; set at liberty by 
 Hojo Takatoki, 336 
 
 OTOHIME, THE PRINCESS. 
 daughter of the Dragon (Sea) 
 King, 325 ; becomes the bride 
 of Urashima, 325 ; bestows gift 
 of the "Box of the Jewel 
 Hand " (Tamate-Bako) on Ura- 
 shima, 327 
 
 O-TOKU-SAN. Girl doll of life- 
 size class, 215 
 
 OTOTACHIBANA, PRINCESS. Wife 
 of Prince Yamato, 51, 52 ; 
 drowned in crossing Straits of 
 Kadzusa, 56 
 
 O TOYO. Favourite among ladies 
 of the Prince of Hizen, 265 ; 
 a cat in form of a woman 
 causes grievous harm to Prince 
 of Hizen, 265-269 
 
 OWARI, PROVINCE OF. Yamato 
 Take passes through, 57 
 
 OYAMA, GENERAL. A hero of 
 Japan, xii 
 
 OYASU. Assumed name of the 
 Lady of the Snow, by which 
 she introduces herself to Kyu- 
 zaemon, 153 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 OYEYAMA, THE GOBLIN OF, 44-48 
 OZAKI, MADAME. Reference to 
 
 story told by, regarding Koso 
 
 and Kohaku Jo, 88 
 
 PALACE, DRAGON. " Evergreen 
 Land ' ' appears as, in ballad of 
 "The Fisher Boy Urashima," 
 
 324 
 
 PARADISE, THE BUDDHIST. 
 Tapestry wrought by Kwannon 
 depicting, 201 
 
 PEONY. The Spirit of the, 171 ; 
 the Princess Aya loves, in the 
 form of a young and handsome 
 samurai, 172, 173 
 
 PERRY, PROFESSOR. Japanese 
 mirrors and, 190 
 
 PIERRE LOTI. Reference to his 
 Madame Chrysantheme, xi 
 
 PIGGOTT, SIR F. T. Cherry and 
 plum blossoms, reference to, in 
 The Garden of Japan, by, 174 
 
 PLAIN OF HIGH HEAVEN. Susa- 
 no-o visits his sister, Ama- 
 terasu, in, 25-27 
 
 POETRY, JAPANESE. A note on, 
 380-386 ; Mr. Noguchi's The 
 Pilgrimage and, 380 ; the Tanka 
 and Hokku described, 381 ; 
 reference to the Hyaku-nin- 
 isshiu (" Single Verses by a 
 Hundred People"), 382 ; refer- 
 ence to a tanka by Yasuhide 
 Bunya, 382 ; quotation from 
 the " Flower Dance " of Bingo 
 province, 383 ; quotation from 
 tanka by the eleventh-century 
 official Michimasa, 383 ; refer- 
 ence to Nature poems, 384 ; 
 English National Anthem com- 
 pared with Japanese National 
 Anthem, 384 ; quotation from 
 Nature poem by Is6, 384 ; 
 quotation from the Ho-jo-ki 
 by twelfth-century recluse, 
 Chomei, 385 ; touching hokku 
 quoted, written by Chiyo after 
 the death of her little son, 
 385 ; mono no aware wo shiru 
 
 ("the Ah-ness of things"), a 
 phrase which describes most 
 accurately the whole signifi- 
 cance of, 386 
 
 POISON DRAGON, THE. His evil 
 influence, 193 
 
 POLYNESIAN MYTHOLOGY. Rangi 
 (Heaven) and Papa (Earth) 
 correspond to Japanese In and 
 Yo, 21 
 
 POOTOO. Kwanjin transported 
 to Island of, 200 
 
 POVERTY. Japanese superstitions 
 and Bimbogami, the God of, 
 349 ; insect, Bimbomushi the 
 Japanese name for, 349 
 
 PRECIOUS THINGS. See Hotei, 213 
 
 " PRIEST, ONE-INCH." Other- 
 wise Issunboshi ; also nick- 
 named Little Finger and Grain- 
 of-Corn, 364 
 
 PURPLE HALL OF THE NORTH 
 STAR. Emperor sick at, 38 
 
 Q 
 
 QUILT (Futon), THE, of Tottori, 
 309-311 
 
 R 
 
 RAIDEN. The God of Thunder, 
 250 ; often found in company 
 with Fugin or Raitaro, 250 ; 
 his favour toward Japan, 250 
 
 RAIJU. The Thunder Animal, 
 
 251 
 
 RAIKO. I. A doughty knight 
 who seeks out and slays the 
 Goblin of Oye, 45-48 ; pre- 
 sented with a jar of magical 
 sakb (Shimben-Kidoku-Shu) in- 
 tended by the Goblin King, 46 ; 
 gives sak& to the Goblin, 47 ; 
 slays Goblin, 48 ; returns to 
 Kyoto, 48 ; his illness, 48 ; 
 restored to health by slaying 
 of the Goblin Spider, 49 ; 
 another version of the legend, 
 49-51. II. A wealthy but 
 mean man, whose meanness is 
 cured by Inari, 102, 103 
 
 4 2 3 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 RAITARO. Raiden, the Thunder 
 God, often found in company 
 with, 2 50; Bimbo and, 252,253 
 RAT. The hour of the, 76 ; 
 
 Daikoku's, 211, 212 
 " RATANA SUTRA," THE. Refer- 
 ence to Karma in, 145 
 REDESDALE, LORD. See Mitford, 
 98 
 
 REIN. Opinion of, re Japanese 
 and Mongols, xiii 
 
 RENDAI, PLAIN OF, 49 
 
 RICE, GOD OF. See Inari 
 
 RIKIU. The greatest of tea- 
 masters, 296 ; the friend of 
 Taiko-Hideyoshi, 296, 297 
 
 RIN-JIN. King of the Sea ; 
 Yamato raises anger of, 56 ; 
 anger of, appeased by Princess 
 Ototachibana, 56 ; takes to 
 wife a Dragon Princess, 272- 
 275; the jelly-fish, the 
 monkey, and, 272-275 
 
 RIP VAN WINKLE. Visu the, of 
 Old Japan, 136 
 
 RISING SUN. Spirit of Death- 
 Stone in form of the Jewel 
 Maiden at Court of, 98 
 
 RIVER, CHILD OF THE. See 
 Kappa, 350, 351 
 
 RIVET ROCK. See Kashima, 244 
 
 ROAD-S. The pine-tree and the 
 God of, 176; reference to the 
 God of, 346 
 
 ROBE, THE FEATHER. Brought to 
 Kaguya by the Moonfolk, 78 
 
 ROCK ISLAND. Kansuke and 
 Matakichi behold Spirit of the 
 Great Awabi on, 341 
 
 ROKKAKU-DO. Place at Kyoto; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 204 
 
 ROKO. Depicted, on a flying 
 tortoise, as one of the sennin in 
 Japanese art, 357 
 
 ROKUHARA-DERA. Place at Kyoto; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 ROSAN. Chinese scholar, regaled 
 with ghostly stories re butter- 
 flies, 216 
 
 ROSEI. His Magic Pillow of 
 
 Dreams, 119-122 
 424 
 
 RUITEN. A priest who prays for 
 the Prince of Hizen, 266 
 
 RUSSIA. Establishment of mili- 
 tary outpost at Wiju leads to 
 war with Japan, 329 
 
 RYOSEKI. High-priest of Shin- 
 Banzui-In ; ShinzaburS sent 
 by Yusai to, 231 
 
 SACRED KEY. Part of the cargo 
 of the Treasure Ship, 115, 116 
 
 SACRIFICE, HUMAN. See Super- 
 stition, 342 
 
 SADAYO. Princess Aya's favourite 
 maid, 172 
 
 SAGA, EMPEROR. Kobo Daishi per- 
 forms funeral obsequies of, 239 
 
 SAIJOSEN. The Phoenix and, 281 
 
 SAIKOU SANJU-SAN SHO ("The 
 Thirty -three Places "). Rever- 
 ence bestowed upon the, 201 
 
 SAI-NO-KAWARA. " The Dry Bed 
 of the River of Souls," 106 ; 
 place where all children go at 
 death, 106 ; the legend of the 
 Humming of the, 107 
 
 SAION ZENJI. Kwannon's sacri- 
 fice on behalf of, on Mount 
 Nariai, 204-206 
 
 SAKATA KURANDO. Name given 
 by Yorimitsu to Kintaro, 368 
 
 SALWEY, MRS. C. M. New Year 
 Festival described by, 220 ; 
 reference to the torii by, 226, 
 227 ; reference to Fans of Japan, 
 by, 243 ; reference to On Sym- 
 bolism and Symbolic Ceremonies 
 of the Japanese, by, 244 
 
 SAMEBITO ("A Shark-Person"). 
 Totaro kindly succours, 376 ; 
 the jewel-tears of, 377-379 
 
 SANEMORI. A great warrior ; 
 becomes a rice-devouring insect 
 called Sanemori-San, 284 
 
 SAN-GA-NICHI. Pine-tree con- 
 spicuous at the Festival of, 
 187 
 
 SANJO, PRINCESS. Issunboushi 
 becomes page to, 365-367 ; 
 the magic mallet and, 366 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 SANKICHI. Dives from Tarada's 
 junk and secures the Woman's 
 Sword, 337 
 
 SANO GENZALMON TSUNEYO. 
 Peasant who burns three dwarf 
 trees to give warmth to Toki- 
 yori, 183-186; goes to Kama- 
 Kura, 185 ; rewarded by Toki- 
 von by being presented with 
 the villages of Matsu-idu, 
 Umeda, and Sakurai, 185, 186 
 
 SANUGI NO MIYAKKO. Discovers 
 Lady Kaguya ("Precious- 
 Slender - Bamboo - of - the - 
 Field-of -Autumn "), 65 
 
 SANZU-NO-KAWA. " The River 
 of the Three Roads " along 
 which the dead journey, 222 
 
 SAWARA. Pupil of the artist 
 Tenko, 122 ; loves Kimi, 
 Tenko's niece, 122-125 
 
 SAYEMON, KATO. A rich man who 
 lived in palace of the Shogun 
 Ashikaga, 370 ; Ishidomaro 
 son of, 371 ; becomes a priest 
 in the temple of Kongobuji, 
 on Mount Koya, 371 
 
 SEA. Legends of the, 323-341 ; 
 Urashima in the palace of the 
 Sea-King, 325, 328; of Mud, 
 visited by Shikaiya Wasobioye, 
 
 374 
 
 SEA GOD. See God of the Sea, 35 
 SEASHORE, THE SPIRIT OF THE. 
 
 Is unfavourable to Empress 
 
 Jingo, 331 
 SEFUKUJI. Place in Izumi ; one 
 
 of the thirty-three places sacred 
 
 to Kwannon, 203 
 SENGEN. Otherwise Ko-no-hana- 
 
 saku-ya-hime ; as Ko-no-hana, 
 
 the wife of Ninigi, 34; the God- 
 dess of Fuji, 132 
 SENNIN = mountain recluses, 356, 
 
 357 ; Yosho, the first great 
 
 Japanese, 356 ; Emmei becomes 
 
 a, 356 ; Japanese art and, 357 ; 
 
 Chokoro a, 357; Gama a, 357; 
 
 Tekkai a, 357; Kume a, 357; 
 
 Roko a, 357 
 SENTARO. His visit to the Land 
 
 of Perpetual Youth (Mount 
 
 Fuji), 133, 134 
 
 SERPENT. Cat and the, did not 
 weep when the Lord Buddha 
 died, 264 ; the White Sea, 
 otherwise Yofune-Nushi, 334 
 
 SESSHIU. A great artist ; legend 
 ire his liberation from imprison- 
 ment by painting rats, 116 
 
 SETA. Samebito and Totaro at 
 the Long Bridge of, 376-379 
 
 SEVEN GODS OF GOOD FORTUNE. 
 The favourite theme of the 
 Japanese artist, 115; Shinto- 
 ism, Taoism, Buddhism, and 
 Brahmanism, the source of the, 
 
 US 
 
 SHAKA MUNI. The Lord Buddha ; 
 legend re his sacrifice as a 
 hare, 255 
 
 SHELF OF SOULS. Food placed on, 
 by Shinzaburo, 229 
 
 SHIDOJI. Temple called, built at 
 Shido-no-ura by Kamatari, 92 
 
 SHIDO-NO-URA. Boy of, 89 ; 
 Kamatari builds temple called 
 Shidoji at, 92 
 
 SHIKO-TSUTSU NO Oji ("Salt -sea- 
 elder " ). Conveys Hoori to the 
 Palace of the Sea God, 35 
 
 SHIN KIYOMIZU-DERA. Place in 
 Harima ; one of the thirty-three 
 places sacred to Kwannon, 204 
 
 SHINGE. Bitten by a snake in 
 the Valley of Shimizutani, 167 ; 
 rescued by Yoshisawa, 167 ; 
 found dead at the bottom of the 
 Violet Well, 168 
 
 SHINGON-SHU. Buddhist sect 
 founded by Kobo Daishi, 234 
 
 SHINSAKU. Favoured suitor for 
 hand of O Cho San, 338 ; raises 
 shrine to O Cho San, 339 
 
 SHINTO. Temples, contrasted 
 with those of Buddhism, 114 ; 
 old custom associated with 
 Mount Fuji, 131 ; cult, "The 
 Way of the Gods" symbol of 
 the Right Direction, according 
 to the dogmas of the, 227 
 
 SHINTOISM. Reverence to dead 
 taught by, xii ; legends relating 
 to Japanese heroes enriched by, 
 xvi ; the torit originally asso- 
 ciated with, 226 
 
 425 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 SHINZABURO, HAGIWARA. Falls 
 in love with Tsuyu, 228 ; the 
 sad story of the lovers' fate, 
 228-233 ; Tomozo, servant of, 
 230 ; Hakuodo Yusai advises, 
 230 ; goes to the high -priest 
 Ryoseki, 231 
 
 SHIPPEITARO. The phantom cats 
 and, 269, 270 
 
 SHIRO. Sent by Emma-O to 
 conquer the God of Wealth, 
 211, 212 
 
 SHITA-TERU-HIME (" Lower-shine- 
 Princess"). Wed by Ame- 
 waka, 31 
 
 SHO-CHIKU-BAI. The name em- 
 bracing the three emblems of 
 the Pine, Bamboo, and Plum- 
 flower, 195 
 
 SHOGUN-S. Kamakura, seat of, 
 of the Hojo family, 82 ; Yedo 
 Government issues notice to 
 Tengu and other demons prior 
 to the visit to Nikko of the, 
 
 355 
 
 SHOJO. A sea monster fond of 
 sacred sake, 359 ; legend re 
 Yurine and, 359-362 
 
 SHOKURO. The Thunder God, 
 Raiden, and, 254 ; Chiyo slain 
 by, 254 ; makes peace with 
 Chiyo after she has been 
 restored to life, 254 
 
 SHONIN, SHODO. Founder of first 
 Buddhist temple at Nikko, 242 ; 
 legend re sacred bridge of 
 Nikko, 242 
 
 SHOSHA-SAN. Place in Harima; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 204 
 
 SHUTENDOJI. The Goblin King 
 of Oyeyama ; his doings on 
 Mount Oye, 44-48 ; Kimi- 
 taka's daughter snatched away 
 by, 45 ; Raiko at ball of, 47 ; 
 magic sake drunk by, 47 ; 
 attacked and slain by Raiko, 
 47-48 
 
 SMITH, R. GORDON. Legend 
 of the Lady of the Snow in 
 his Ancient Tales and Folk- 
 lore of Japan, 122, 152, 165, 
 177 
 
 426 
 
 SNOW, THE LADY OF THE. 
 Yuki-Onna is, 149 ; Mosaku 
 and, 149, 150; Minokichi and, 
 149-151 ; Mr. R. Gordon Smith 
 in his Ancient Tales and Folk- 
 lore of Japan describes, 152, 
 153 ; Kyuzaemon and, 152, 153 
 
 SODA, ITO. A young soldier who 
 discovers cause of illness of 
 Prince of Hizen, 266-268 
 
 SODZU-BABA. The Old Woman of 
 the Three Roads, associated with 
 the Festival of the Dead, 222 ; 
 Ten Datsu-Ba, husband of, 222 
 
 SOGA SADAYOSHI. Visits temple 
 of Ken-cho-ji,_ no ; appears 
 before Emma-O, 1 10 ; remem- 
 bered by Jizo, no, in 
 
 Sojiji. Place in Settsu; one of 
 the thirty -three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 204 
 
 SONOBE. Sent by the Lord of 
 Kishiwada to cryptomeria-tree 
 on Oki-yama, 181, 182 
 
 SPIRIT. Of the Mountain, 330; of 
 the Fields, 330 ; of Grass, 330 ; 
 of the Seashore, 331 ; of the 
 Sword, 336 
 
 STAR LOVERS. Stars (possibly 
 Lyra and Aquila) shine with 
 five colours at yearly meeting 
 of the, 127 
 
 STREET EVERLASTING. Place for 
 ghosts to wander in, 224 
 
 STREET OF AGED MEN. Near 
 Street Everlasting, 224 
 
 STONES. Poetry suggested by 
 names given to, by the Japa- 
 nese, 1 57 
 
 SUICIDE. Of Japanese lovers, is 
 called jdshi i.e. , ' ' love-death ' ' 
 or " passion-death," 144 ; see 
 also hara-kiri, or seppuku, 161 
 
 SULLIVAN, SIR ARTHUR. Refer- 
 ence to The Mikado, by, xi 
 
 SUN GODDESS. Ama-terasu, 
 daughter of Izanagi and Iza- 
 nami, the, 23 ; the dead fear 
 to gaze upon the, 109 ; the 
 mirror in which she gazes 
 reposes at Ise, 191 ; mirror 
 cakes associated with, at New 
 Year Festival, 220 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 SUPERSTITION. Japanese, various 
 forms of, 342-349 ; human 
 sacrifice associated with, 342- 
 344 ; forms of divination, 344- 
 346 ; unlucky years and days, 
 346, 347 ; strange, relating to 
 children, 347, 348 ; charms 
 associated with Japanese, 348 ; 
 the Beckoning Leaf, 348 ; 
 Bimbogami (the God of 
 Poverty) and, 349 ; Bimbo- 
 mushi (" Poverty-Insect " ) and, 
 349; the Baku, 358, 359 
 
 SURUGA. The Elixir of Life sent 
 to the highest mountain in, 
 by the Mikado, 79 ; (see Fuji) ; 
 Visu lived on plain of, 1 36 
 
 SUSA-NO-O ("The Impetuous 
 Male"). Child of Izanagi and 
 Izanami, 23 ; brother of the 
 Sun Goddess, Ama-terasu, 25 ; 
 an undesirable and cruel deity, 
 25 ; banished by parents to 
 Yomi, 25 ; proposes to first 
 visit Plain of High Heaven, 
 25 ; his sister, Ama-terasu, pre- 
 pares to withstand him, 26 ; he 
 tricks her by guile, 26 ; Ama- 
 terasu flees from the cruelty 
 of, 27 ; finally banished to 
 Yomi, 28 ; arrives at River Hi, 
 29 ; seeks hand of Kushi-nada- 
 hime, 29 ; wins her by slaying 
 the eight-forked serpent, 29, 
 30; the Tengu = emanations 
 from, 352 
 
 " SUTRA, TREASURE - RAINING." 
 A holy sutra given by Ryoseki 
 to Shinzaburo, 232 
 
 SUZUKI SHICHIRO. Discovers 
 Kiuchi Heizayemon, 353 
 
 SWORD. " The-Grass-Cleaving," 
 a divine weapon discovered by 
 Susa-no-o, 30 ; given as a 
 gift to Prince Yamato, 54 ; the 
 Spirit of the, 336 
 
 TAIKO-HIDEYOSHI. The friend of 
 
 Rikiu, 296, 297 
 TAIRA. Yoshitomo killed in a 
 
 battle with, 41 ; Kiyomori, the 
 cruel leader of the clan, 41 ; 
 finally conquered and driven 
 into the sea at Dan-no-ura by 
 Benkei and Yoshitsune, 43 
 
 TAIRA CLAN. Great sea-fight re- 
 ferred to, between Minamoto 
 clan and, 300 
 
 TAIRA-NO-MASAKADO. Swarm of 
 butterflies during preparation 
 for revolt by, 217 
 
 TAKACHIHI. Uzume and com- 
 panions reach summit of, 33 
 
 TAKAHAMA. The White Butter- 
 fly and, 218, 219 
 
 TAKA-MI-MUSUBI. God who sends 
 Ninigi to govern the Central 
 Land of Reed -Plains, 30 
 
 "TAKASAGO." I. The famous pines 
 of, referred to, 159; Matsue, 
 daughter of a fisherman at, 
 187-189. II. Considered one 
 of the finest of the No or clas- 
 sical dramas, 186 
 
 TAKERU. Brigand, slain by 
 Yamato, 52 
 
 TAKERU, IDZUMO. Outlaw, slain 
 by Yamato, 53 
 
 " TAKETORI MONOGATARI." F. 
 Victor Dickins's translation 
 of, v 
 
 TAMA. Maid-servant of Kazariya 
 Kyubei, 282 ; revisit to master 
 and mistress after her death, in 
 the form of a fly, 284 
 
 TAMANA. Loved by Totaro, 377- 
 379 ; Totaro weds, 379 
 
 TAMATE-BAKO. Otherwise " The 
 Box of the Jewel Hand " ; gift 
 bestowed by Princess Otohime 
 on Urashima, 327 
 
 TAMBA, PROVINCE OF. Raiko and 
 companions reach, 45 
 
 TAMEYOSHI. Death of Sea 
 Serpent, Yofune - Nushi, re- 
 ported to, 335 
 
 TANABATA. Alternative, The 
 Weaving Lady ; daughter of 
 the God of the Firmament, 
 126 ; wife of Hikoboshi, 126, 
 127 
 
 TANGO. Village of Midzunoe, in 
 the province of, 324 
 
 427 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 TANIGUMI-DERA. Place near 
 Tarui, in Mino; one of the 
 thirty-three places sacred to 
 Kwannon, 204 
 
 f ' TANKA." See Japanese Poetry, 
 380-386 
 
 TARADA, CAPTAIN. The Woman's 
 Sword and, 336, 337 
 
 TAWARA TODA (" My Lord Bag of 
 Rice"). See Hidesato, 62-64 
 
 TEA. Origin of first plant, 291 ; 
 in China, 290-293 ; Luwuh 
 the first Chinese tea-master, 
 292 ; Chaking the Holy Scrip- 
 ture of, 292 ; drunk by Zen 
 priests before image of Bodhi 
 Dharma (Daruma), 293 ; Pro- 
 fessor B. H. Chamberlain on 
 tea ceremonies, 293 ; pamphlet 
 on, by Buddhist priest Eisai, 
 293, 294 ; Rikiu the greatest 
 of tea-masters, 296, 297 
 
 TEA-DRINKING. In England and 
 Japan, contrasted, 290, 291 ; 
 the Spectator on, 290 ; Dr. 
 Johnson regarding his pro- 
 pensity to, 291 ; is a ritual in 
 Japan, 291 
 
 TEA-KETTLE. Story of the 
 miraculous, 262-264 
 
 TE-NADZUCHI (" Hand - stroke - 
 elder"). Wife of Ashi-nadzuchi, 
 and mother of Kushi-nada- 
 hime, 29 
 
 TEN DATSU-BA. Husband of 
 Sodzu-Baba, 222 
 
 TENGU. King of the, his kind- 
 ness to Yoshitsune, 41, 42 ; 
 reference to story of the, 351 ; 
 Tobikawa imitates a, 353 ; 
 modern belief in the, 355 ; 
 officials of the Yedo Govern- 
 ment and their belief in the, 
 
 " TENGU-KAKUSHI " = " Hidden 
 by a Tengu," 353 ; legend giving 
 an account of the, 353-355 
 
 TENJIKU. Prince Ishizukuri re- 
 quired to journey to, in order 
 to procure the Begging Bowl 
 of the Lord Buddha, 67 
 
 TENKO. Art master to Sawara ; 
 Kimi's uncle, 122 
 
 428 
 
 TENNO, ANTOKU. Infant Emperor 
 who perished in the great sea- 
 fight between the Taira and 
 Minamoto clans, 300 
 
 TEOYO. Rescued by Matsue, and 
 loved by her, 188, 189 
 
 " THOUGHT - COMBINING." A 
 God who brings birds from the 
 Eternal Land to tempt the 
 Sun Goddess back to Heaven, 
 27, 28 
 
 THUNDER. Legends in regard to, 
 250-254; Bakin's Kumono 
 Tayema Ama Yo No Tsuki, 
 re the God of, 250; Animal; 
 Raiju the, 251; Bird; Raicho 
 the, 251 ; Woman, Kaminari 
 the, 252; Child; Raitaro the, 
 253; Record; Shin-rai-ki the, 
 
 251 
 
 THUNDER GODS. Eight varieties 
 rest on Izanami, 24 ; see 
 Raiden, 250 ; see legends, 
 250-254; Shokuro and the, 
 
 254 
 TIDE JEWELS. Sent by hand of 
 
 Isora as a gift from the Dragon 
 
 King to the Empress Jingo, 331 
 TOBA. I. Emperor. The Jewel 
 
 Maiden concubine to, 98. II. 
 
 Ex-Emperor. Wishes to build 
 
 temple to Kwannon in Kyoto, 
 
 179 
 TOBIKAWA. An ex-wrestler of 
 
 Matsue who imitates a Tengu, 
 
 TOCHI. Ishizukuri discovers a 
 bowl in, which he offers to 
 Kaguya, 68, 69 
 
 TOEMA-DERA. Chujo Hime, a 
 Buddhist nun, retires to temple 
 of, 201 
 
 TOGO, ADMIRAL. A hero of Japan, 
 xii 
 
 TOKIMUNE, REGENT. Nichiren 
 sent to beach of Koshigoye to 
 be beheaded by, 241 
 
 TOKIWA. Wife of Yoshitomo, 
 mother of Yoshitsune ; at her 
 husband's death she weds 
 Kiyomori, 41 ; urges Yoshi- 
 tsune to avenge his father's 
 death, 41 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 TOKIYORI, SAIMYOJI. A cele- 
 brated Regent during reign of 
 Emperor Go-Fukakusa, 182 ; 
 his mission to relieve peasants 
 from grasping officials and its 
 sequel, 182-184 
 
 TOKOYO. Daughter of Oribe 
 Shima, 334 ; her search after 
 her father, 334-336 ; slays 
 Yofune-Nushi (the White Sea 
 Serpent), 335 
 
 TOKUDO SHONIN. The great 
 Buddhist abbot of the eighth 
 century, 201 
 
 TOKUTARO. His scepticism re- 
 garding foxes, and how he was 
 deluded by them, 98-100 
 
 TOKUTARO-SAN. The boy doll 
 of life-size, 215 
 
 TOKYO. Covered with ashes from 
 Fuji volcano, 131 
 
 TOMOZO. One of Shinzaburo's 
 servants, 230 ; Min6 wife of, 
 
 233 
 
 !' TORII," THE. Meaning of = 
 " Fowl - dwelling " or " Bird - 
 rest," 226 ; reference to Pro- 
 fessor B. H. Chamberlain and, 
 226; reference to Dr. W. G. 
 Aston and, 226 ; " The Foot- 
 stool of the King " the most 
 perfect gateway in the world, 
 227 ; Mrs. Salwey's reference 
 to, 227 
 
 TOTARO. Samebito succoured by, 
 377 ; falls in love with 
 amana, 377~379 ; weds 
 
 Fa' 
 
 Tamana, 379 
 309-311 
 
 TOTTORI. The^ futon (quilt) of, 
 
 TOYO - TAMA (" Rich - jewel"). 
 Daughter of the Sea God ; weds 
 Hoori, 36 ; gives birth to a 
 son, assumes form of a dragon, 
 and departs from Hoori, 37 
 
 TREASURE SHIP. The Takara- 
 bune ; Seven Gods of Good 
 Fortune as passengers on, 115 
 
 TREES. Reference to the Japanese 
 dwarf, 159; the pine, the 
 emblem of good fortune and 
 longevity, 159; the cherry and 
 plum, association of Japanese 
 
 woman's beauty and virtue 
 with, 174, 175 ; the camellia, 
 legend regarding, 175 ; the 
 cryptomeria, 176 ; the God of 
 Roads and a pine, 176; Ki- 
 no-o-bake, a tree spirit, 176; 
 the spirit of the God Kojin 
 resides in the enoki tree, 177 ; 
 the silent pine, 177 ; the Willow 
 Wife, 177-180; Yenoki, the tree 
 of the One-eyed Priest, 1 80 ; the 
 burning of the Three Dwarfs, 
 182, 184; the pine-tree lovers, 
 186-189 
 
 TRUE SAKAKI TREE. Hung with 
 jewels and dressed by Uzume 
 to tempt Ama-terasu back to 
 Heaven, 28 
 
 TSUBOSAKA-DERA. Place in Ya- 
 mato ; one of the thirty -three 
 places sacred to Kwannon, 203 
 
 TSUGARU. Kikuo, the retainer of, 
 165 
 
 TSUKI-YUMI. The Moon God, son 
 of Izanagi and Izanami ; climbs 
 Ladder of Heaven to become 
 the consort of Sun Goddess, 
 Ama-terasu, 23 
 
 TSURE-DZURE-GUSA. Record by 
 Kenko written in fourteenth 
 century, xi 
 
 TSUYU ("Morning Dew"). The 
 only daughter of lijima, 228 ; 
 the story of, illustrates the 
 power of Karma, 228-233 ; falls 
 in love with Hagiwara Shinza- 
 bur5, 228 ; the story of their 
 sad fate, 228-233 
 
 TUSKI NO IWAKSA. Scroll of the 
 Elixir of Life sent in charge of, 
 to highest mountain in Suruga, 
 
 79 
 
 TUSNA. Most worthy of Raiko's 
 retainers, 49 
 
 " TWENTY - EIGHT FOLLOWERS." 
 Personifications of certain con- 
 stellations, 200 
 
 U 
 
 UDA, EMPEROR. Baptized by 
 K6bo Daishi, 239 
 
 4*9 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 Uji RIVER. People visit, to 
 witness the firefly battle, 286 
 
 UNAI. The Maiden of, 313-315 ; 
 Mubara and Chinu lovers of 
 the Maiden of, 3i3-3 J 5 
 
 UNDERWORLD. Reference to, 202 
 
 UPPER HORIKANE. Tokutaro at, 
 
 99 
 
 URASHIMA. The legend of, 323- 
 328 ; ballad of " The Fisher 
 Boy of," 324 ; the tortoise 
 and, 324, 325 ; at the Dragon 
 (Sea) King's palace, 325-328 ; 
 weds Otohime, the Dragon 
 King's daughter, 325 ; receives 
 from Otohime the gift of the 
 " Box of the Jewel Hand " 
 (Tamate-Bako), 327 ; the tomb 
 of, still shown at temple in 
 Kanagawa, 328 
 
 UZUME (" Heavenly - alarming - 
 female " ). Dances to tempt the 
 Sun Goddess (Ama-terasu) back 
 to Heaven, 28 ; accompanies 
 Ninigi, 33 ; accosts the Deity 
 of the Field-paths, 33 ; reaches 
 summit of Takachihi, 33 ; given 
 by Ninigi to Deity of the Field- 
 paths as wife, 33 
 
 Visu. The Rip Van Winkle of 
 Old Japan ; his adventures 
 beside Mount Fuji, 136-139 
 
 W 
 
 WAGGON PRIEST See Hotei, 213 
 
 WASA. The Laughing Festival 
 of, 225 
 
 WASOBIOYE, SHIKAIYA. A man 
 of Nagasaki, a Japanese 
 Gulliver, 374-376 ; story of, 
 adapted from Professor B. H. 
 Chamberlain's translation in 
 the Transactions oj the Asiatic 
 Society of Japan, 374 ; arrives 
 at Sea of Mud, 375 ; meets 
 Jofuku, 375 ; starts on journey 
 to the Three Thousand Worlds 
 
 430 
 
 mentioned in Buddhist Scrip- 
 tures, 375 ; visits Lands of 
 Endless Plenty, of Shams, of 
 the Followers of the Antique, 
 of Paradoxes, and of Giants, 
 
 375 
 
 WATANABE, ISUNA. Finds out all 
 details of Kintaro's life, 368 
 
 WEAVING LADY, THE. Festival 
 of Tanabata, or, 126 
 
 WELL, THE VIOLET. See Shinge, 
 167 
 
 WHEEL OF EXISTENCE, THE 
 GREAT, 109 
 
 WILLIAMS, SIR MONIER. His de- 
 scription of the lotus flower, 
 169 
 
 WILLOW WIFE, THE. Story of, 
 adapted from Mr. R. Gordon 
 Smith's A ncient Tales and Folk- 
 lore of Japan, 177 ; Heitaro, 
 husband of Higo, the, 178-180 
 
 WIND GOD, THE, 330 
 
 WOMAN. The, in Japanese art, 
 112, 113 ; the Mountain, 
 
 WORLDS, THREE THOUSAND. Men- 
 tioned in Buddhist Scriptures, 
 375 ; Shikaiya Wasobioye jour- 
 neys to, 375 
 
 WRESTLERS, THE GHOSTLY, in 
 Omi province, 358 
 
 WRITING. Legendary origin of 
 the Chinese system of, 363 
 
 YAEGAKI. The Precious-Camellia 
 of, 175 
 
 YAEGIRI. A lady with whom 
 Sakata Kurando falls in love, 
 367 ; gives birth to Kintaro, 
 or the Golden Boy, 367 
 
 YAKAMI, PRINCESS OF. Eighty- 
 one brothers, Princes in Japan, 
 who wish to marry, 256-258 
 
 YAM A, FUJL See Fuji 
 
 YAMATO TAKE, PRINCE. Youngest 
 son of King Keiko, 5 1 ; Princess 
 Ototachibana wife of, 51 ; his 
 expedition to the Southern 
 Island of Kiushiu, 51, 52 ; 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 disguised as a woman, en- 
 counters Kumaso and Takeru, 
 52 ; slays Kumaso and Takeru, 
 52; he encounters and slays 
 Idzumo Takeru, 53 ; " Eight- 
 Arms - Length - Spear " given 
 to, 54 ; the " Grass-Cleaving- 
 Sword " of Murakumo given to, 
 54 ; meets and weds Princess 
 Miyadzu, 55 ; Ainu rising 
 quelled by, 54-56 ; passes 
 through province of Owari, 57 ; 
 reaches the province of Omi, 
 57 ; slays serpent in, 57 
 
 "YANG" AND " YIN." The 
 Chinese, correspond to In and 
 Yo, 21 
 
 YAO, EMPEROR. Reputed son of 
 a dragon, 362 
 
 YAYOI. The Month of Increase, 
 193 ; the Soul of the Mirror, 
 
 193, 194 
 
 YEDO GOVERNMENT. Officials of, 
 and their belief in the Tengu, 
 
 YENOKI. The One-eyed Priest 
 who served at temple of Fudo, 
 on Oki-yama, 180-182 ; spirit 
 of, passes into a great crypto- 
 meria-tree, 181 ; in form of a 
 handsome youth allures a num- 
 ber of maidens away from their 
 lovers, 181, 182 
 
 YELLOW DRAGON. See Yellow 
 River, 363 
 
 YELLOW RIVER. Fuk Hi present 
 by Yellow Dragon with mystic 
 scroll by the, 363 
 
 "YIH-KING" ("Book of 
 Changes"). The main source 
 of Japanese divination, 344 ; 
 begun by Fu Hsi 2000 B.C. 
 and added to by Confucius, 344 
 
 YOFUNE-NUSHI. The Serpent 
 God ; variant, the White Sea 
 Serpent, 334 ; slain by Tokoyo, 
 
 335 
 
 YOMI, LAND OF (Hades). Izanami 
 creeps away to, 23 ; Izanagi 
 goes to, 23 ; Eight Ugly 
 Females of, 24 ; the Even Pass 
 of, 24 ; Susa-no-o banished to, 
 25,28 
 
 YONE. Faithful servant of Tsuyu, 
 228-233 
 
 YONE NOGUCHI. Sums up magic 
 of a Japanese night associated 
 with the Festival of the Dead, 
 224 ; quotation re Japanese 
 fan from, 243 ; reference to 
 The Pilgrimage by, 380 
 
 YORIMASA. Knight ; encounters 
 and slays evil monsters outside 
 Emperor's palace, the Purple 
 Hall of the North Star, 38, 
 39 ; presented with sword 
 Shishi-wo as a reward, and 
 marries the Lady Ayame, 39 
 
 YORIMITSU. A famous hero who 
 makes Kintaro his retainer, 368, 
 
 369 
 
 YORITOMO. General, who laid out 
 city of Kamakura, 83 ; saved, 
 after defeat, from power of 
 Oba Kage-chika by two doves, 
 277, 278 
 
 YOROZUYA. Proposed husband 
 for Kimi, 123 
 
 YOSHIMASA, THE LORD. The 
 Shogun ; mirror presented to, 
 194 
 
 YOSHIMINE-DERA. Place at Kyoto; 
 one of the thirty-three places 
 sacred to Kwannon, 204 
 
 YOSHISAWA. Rescues Shinge 
 from the snake, 168 ; drowns 
 himself in the Violet Well, 
 1 68 
 
 YOSHITOMO. Father of Yoshi- 
 tsune ; killed in battle with the 
 Taira clan, 41 ; Tokiwa wife 
 of, 41 ; reference to story of, 
 351, 352 
 
 YOSHITSUNE. Compared with the 
 Black Prince and Henry V., 39; 
 his father, YoshitSmo, killed in 
 battle with the Taira, 41 ; 
 his mother, Tokiwa, urges him 
 to avenge his father's death, 
 41 ; his intercourse with the 
 King of the Tengu, 42 ; news 
 of Benkei's lawless doings 
 reaches ears of, 42 ; seeks out 
 and conquers Benkei, 42, 43 ; 
 assisted by Benkei, drives out 
 th Taira, 43, 44 
 
 431 
 
GLOSSARY AND INDEX 
 
 YOSHO. The first great Japanese 
 
 sennin, 356, 357 
 YOSOJI. Consults the magician 
 
 Kamo Yamakiko, 1 34 ; visits 
 
 Mount Fuji, 134, 135 
 YOUTH, THE LAND OF PERPETUAL. 
 
 Visit of Sentaro to, 133, 134 
 YUKI-ONNA. The Lady of the 
 
 Snow, 149 
 YURINE. A poor man who lived 
 
 near Mount Fuji; story of, 359- 
 
 362 ; Koyuri, son of, 359 
 
 YUSAI, HAKUODO. Gives advice 
 to Shinzaburo, 230-232 
 
 ZEMBEI. Father of Shinge, 168 
 
 ZEN. Sect ; tea-drinking asso- 
 ciated with Buddhism by, 293 
 
 ZODIAC. The Dragon (Tatsu) 
 one of the signs of the, 363 
 
 ZOOLOGY. Lafcadio Hearn's refer- 
 ence to ghostly, 94 
 
K 
 
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