Japanese Literature

He promised but he comes not, and I lie on my pillow in the fifth watch of the night:—The wind shakes the pine trees and the bamboos; can it be my beloved?

when there comes borne to me the sound of her voice, humming as she sat alone:—

"The breezes through the pine trees moan,         The dying torch burns low;Ah me! 'tis eerie all alone!         Say, will he come or no?"

So I gave a gentle rap on the back door, on hearing which she cried out: "Who's there? who's there?" Well, a shower was falling at the time. So I answered by singing:—

Who comes to see you Hana dear,        Regardless of the soaking rain?And do your words, Who's there, who's there?        Mean that you wait for lovers twain?

to which Hana replied:—

"What a fine joke! well, who can tell?        On such a dark and rainy nightWho ventures out must love me well,        And I, of course, must be polite,        And say: Pray sir, pass this way."

And, with these words, she loosened the ring and staple with a cling-a-ring, and pushed open the door with a crick-a-tick; and while the breeze from the bamboo blind poured towards me laden with the scent of flowers, out she comes to me, and, "At your service, sir," says she, "though I am but a poor country maid." So in we went, hand in hand, to the parlor. But yet her first question, "Who's there?" had left me so doubtful as to whether she might not be playing a double game, that I turned my back on her, and said crossly that I supposed she had been expecting a number of lovers, and that the thought quite spoiled my pleasure. But oh! what a darling Hana is! Coming to my side and clasping tight my hand, she whispered, saying:

"If I do please you not, then from the firstBetter have said that I do please you not;But wherefore pledge your troth, and after turnAgainst me? Alas! alas!

"Why be so angry? I am playing no double game." Then she asked why I had not brought you, Taraukuwazhiya, with me; and on my telling her the reason why you had remained at home, "Poor fellow!" said she, "how lonely he must be all by himself! Never was there a handier lad at everything than he, though doubtless it is a case of the mugwort planted among the hemp, which grows straight without need of twisting, and of the sand mixed with the mud, which gets black without need of dyeing,178 and it is his having been bound to you from a boy that has made him so genteel and clever. Please always be a kind master to him." Yes, those are the things you have said of you when Hana is the speaker. As for my old vixen, she wouldn't let as much fall from her mug in the course of a century, I'll warrant! [Violent shaking under the blanket.] Then she asked me to pass into the inner room to rest awhile. So in we went to the inner room, hand in hand. And then she brought out wine and food, and pressed me to drink, so that what with drinking one's self, and passing the cup to her, and pressing each other to drink, we kept feasting until quite far into the night, when at her suggestion another room was sought and a little repose taken. But soon day began to break, and I said I would go home. Then Hana exclaimed:—

"Methought that when I met thee, dearest heart!I'd tell thee all that swells within my breast:—But now already 'tis the hour to part,And oh! how much still lingers unexpress'd!

Please stay and rest a little longer!" "But no!" said I, "I must get home. All the temple-bells are a-ringing." "And heartless priests they are," cried she, "that ring them! Horrid wretches to begin their ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, when it is still the middle of the night!" But for all her entreaties, and for all my own regrets, I remembered that "meeting is but parting," and,

Tearing me loose, I made to go; farewell!Farewell a thousand times, like ocean sandsUntold! and followed by her distant gazeI went; but as I turn'd me round, the moon,A slender rim, sparkling remain'd behind,And oh! what pain it was to me to part!

[He sheds tears.] And so I came home. Oh! isn't it a pity? [Weeping again.] Ah well! out of my heart's joy has flamed all this long history, and meanwhile you must be very uncomfortable. Take off that "abstraction blanket." Take it off, for I have nothing more to tell you. Gracious goodness! what a stickler you are! Well, then! I must pull it off myself. I will have it off, man! do you hear me?

[He pulls off the blanket, and up jumps his wife.

Wife.—Oh! how furious I am! Oh! how furious I am! To hoax me and go off to Hana in that manner!

Husband.—Oh! not at all, not at all! I never went to Hana. I have been performing my devotions, indeed I have.

Wife.—What! so he means to come and tell me that he has been performing his devotions? and then into the bargain to talk about "things the old vixen would never have let drop"! Oh! I'm all ablaze with rage! Hoaxing me and going off—where? Going off where?

[Pursuing her husband round the stage.

Husband.—Not at all, not at all! I never said anything of the kind. Do, do forgive me! do forgive me!

Wife.—Oh! how furious I am! Oh! how furious I am! Where have you been, sir? where have you been?

Husband.—Well, then! why should I conceal it from you? I have been to pray both for your welfare and for my own at the Temple of the Five Hundred Disciples179 in Tsukushi.

Wife.—Oh! how furious I am! Oh! how furious I am! as if you could have got as far as the Five Hundred Disciples!

Husband.—Do, do forgive me! Do forgive me!

Wife.—Oh! how furious I am! Oh! how furious I am!

[The husband runs away.

Where's the unprincipled wretch off to? Is there nobody there? Please catch him! I won't let him escape! I won't let him escape!

1

Which means, "The Romance of Genji."

2

The beautiful tree, called Kiri, has been named Paulownia Imperialis, by botanists.

3

Official titles held by Court ladies.

4

The name of a Court office.

5

A celebrated and beautiful favorite of an Emperor of the Thang dynasty in China, whose administration was disturbed by a rebellion, said to have been caused by the neglect of his duties for her sake.

6

A Niogo who resided in a part of the Imperial palace called "Koki-den."

7

The Hakamagi is the investiture of boys with trousers, when they pass from childhood to boyhood. In ordinary cases, this is done when about five years old, but in the Royal Family, it usually takes place earlier.

8

A carriage drawn by hands. Its use in the Court-yard of the Palace was only allowed to persons of distinction.

9

Cremation was very common in these days.

10

A Court lady, whose name was Yugei, holding an office called "Miôbu."

11

Miyagi is the name of a field which is famous for the Hagi or Lespedeza, a small and pretty shrub, which blooms in the Autumn. In poetry it is associated with deer, and a male and female deer are often compared to a lover and his love, and their young to their children.

12

In Japan there is a great number of "mushi" or insects, which sing in herbage grass, especially in the evenings of Autumn. They are constantly alluded to in poetry.

13

In Japanese poetry, persons connected with the Court, are spoken of as "the people above the clouds."

14

A famous Chinese poem, by Hak-rak-ten. The heroine of the poem was Yô-ki-hi, to whom we have made reference before. The story is, that after death she became a fairy, and the Emperor sent a magician to find her. The works of the poet Peh-lo-tien, as it is pronounced by modern Chinese, were the only poems in vogue at that time. Hence, perhaps, the reason of its being frequently quoted.

15

There were two divisions of the Imperial guard, right and left.

16

The general name for a species of musical instrument resembling the zither, but longer.

17

In these days Imperial Princes were often created founders of new families, and with some given name, the Gen being one most frequently used. These Princes had no longer a claim to the throne.

18

The ceremony of placing a crown or coronet upon the head of a boy. This was an ancient custom observed by the upper and middle classes both in Japan and China, to mark the transition from boyhood to youth.

19

Before the crown was placed upon the head at the Gembuk, the hair was gathered up in a conical form from all sides of the head, and then fastened securely in that form with a knot of silken cords of which the color was always purple.

20

The color of purple typifies, and is emblematical of, love.

21

A body of men who resembled "Gentlemen-at-arms," and a part of whose duty it was to attend to the falcons.

22

A hero of an older fiction, who is represented as the perfect ideal of a gallant.

23

A fast observed when some remarkable or supernatural event took place, or on the anniversary of days of domestic misfortune.

24

A general of the Imperial Guards.

25

Love letters generally are not signed or are signed with a fancy name.

26

Left Master of the Horse.

27

Secretary to the Master of Ceremonies.

28

Deputy-governors of provinces. In those days these functionaries were greatly looked down upon by the Court nobles, and this became one of the causes of the feudal system.

29

The naoshi is an outer attire. It formed part of a loose and unceremonious Court dress.

30

This alludes to a common habit of women, who push back their hair before commencing any task.

31

Some kinds of nuns did not shave their heads, and this remark seems to allude to the common practice of women who often involuntarily smooth their hair before they see people, which practice comes, no doubt, from the idea that the beauty of women often depends on the tidiness of their hair.

32

This means that her soul, which was sinful, would not go at once to its final resting-place, but wander about in unknown paths.

33

A mountain spoken of in Chinese literature. It was said to be in the Eastern Ocean, and people of extraordinary long lives, called Sennin, were supposed to dwell there.

34

In China and Japan handwriting is considered no less an art than painting.

35

An ideal woman patroness of the art of dyeing.

36

The weaver, or star Vega. In the Chinese legend she is personified as a woman always engaged in weaving.

37

In the same legend, it is said that this weaver, who dwells on one side of the Milky Way in the heavens, meets her lover—another star called Hikoboshi, or the bull-driver—once every year, on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month. He dwelt on the other side of the Milky Way, and their meeting took place on a bridge, made by birds (jays), by the intertwining of their wings. It was this which gave rise to the popular festival, which takes place on this day, both in China and Japan.

38

Little darlings—a kind of pink.

39

The Tokonatz (everlasting summer) is another name for the pink, and it is poetically applied to the lady whom we love.

40

A female divinity in Indian mythology.

41

From the Chinese poet Hak-rak-ten, who was mentioned before. He says in one of his poems: "Once upon a time a certain host invited to his abode a clever match-maker. When the guests were assembled he poured forth wine into a beautiful jar, and said to all present, 'drink not for a moment, but hear what I say about the two choices, daughters of the rich get married soon, but snub their husbands, daughters of the poor get married with difficulty but dearly love their mothers-in-law.'"

42

A soft style of Japanese writing commonly used by ladies.

43

A stiff and formal style of Japanese writing.

44

The fifth of May is one of the five important national festivals. A solemn celebration of this fête used to be performed at Court. It is sometimes called the festival of the "Sweet Flags,"—calami aromatici—because it was held at the season when those beautiful water-plants were in the height of perfection.

45

Another of the five above-mentioned. It was held on the ninth of September, and it was customary on the occasion for rhymes to be given out to those present, wherewith to compose Chinese poems. It was sometimes called the "Chrysanthemum Festival," for the same reason that the celebration of the fifth of May was termed the "Sweet Flag Festival."

46

This is an astrological superstition. It is said that when this God is in any part of the compass, at the time being, it is most unlucky to proceed towards it, and to remain in the same line of its direction.

47

The deputy governor of the province Iyo; he is supposed to be in the province at this time, leaving his young wife and family behind.

48

The father of Kokimi seems to have been holding the office Yemon-no-Kami as well as Chiûnagon.

49

Tataki, or Amma, a sort of shampooing, a very common medical treatment in Japan.

50

Hahaki-gi, the broom-like tree, is said to have been a certain tree growing in the plain of Sonohara, so called from its shape, which, at a distance, looked like a spreading broom, but when one comes near, its appearance was totally changed.

51

Ji and Kôh are the names of certain positions in the game of "Go."

52

Name of an ecclesiastical office.

53

Sasinuki is a sort of loose trousers, and properly worn by men only, hence some commentators conclude, the attendant here mentioned to mean a boy, others contend, this garment was worn by females also when they rode.

54

A mythological repulsive deity who took part in the building of a bridge at the command of a powerful magician.

55

A popular superstition in China and Japan believes foxes to have mysterious powers over men.

56

Upasaka, a sect of the followers of Buddhism who are laymen though they observe the rules of clerical life.

57

Meitreya, a Buddhisatva destined to reappear as a Buddha after the lapse of an incalculable series of years.

58

It is the Oriental custom that when one offers up a prayer, he first washes his hands, to free them from all impurity.

59

According to the Buddhist's doctrine of the Hosso sect, all the souls of the dead pass, during seven weeks after death, into an intermediate state, and then their fate is decided. According to the Tendai sect, the best and the worst go immediately where they deserve, but those of a medium nature go through this process.

60

An offering made of paper, to the God of roads, which travellers were accustomed to make, before setting out on a journey.

61

An Indian theological writing.

62

In the Buddhist Bible it is stated that there is in Paradise a divine tree, called Udon, which rarely blossoms. When, however, it does blossom, Buddha is said to appear in the world, therefore we make use of this expression when referring to any rare event.

63

The name of a song which in those days formed the first lesson in writing.

64

The authoress represents her in a subsequent chapter as suffering punishment in the next world for this sin. The real cause of Genji's exile is also supposed to have resulted from the same sin.

65

Young nobles spent a night in the palace in turns, to attend to any unexpected official business.

66

When a new emperor succeeded, two virgins, chosen from the royal princesses, were sent—one to the Shintô temple at Ise, the other to the same temple at Kamo—to become vestals, and superintend the services.

67

From a Chinese poem about poor people "night advancing, snow and hail fly white around. Youth with its body uncovered, and the aged with chilly pain, grief and cold come together, and make them both sob."

68

A play upon the word "hana," which means a nose, as well as a flower.

69

An old custom in Japan for girls when married, or even betrothed, is to blacken their teeth. This custom, however, is rapidly disappearing.

70

In an old tale it is stated that this man had a sweetheart. He often pretended to be weeping, and made his eyes moist by using the water which he kept in his bottle for mixing ink, in order to deceive her. She discovered this ruse; so one day she put ink into it secretly. He damped his eyes as usual, when, giving him a hand mirror, she hummed, "You may show me your tears, but don't show your blackened face to strangers."

71

Kalavinka, the beautifully singing holy birds in Paradise, to whose singing the voice of Buddha is compared.

72

On New Year's Eve, in Japan, some people fry peas, and throw them about the rooms, saying, "Avaunt, Devil, avaunt! Come in happiness!" This is called driving out devils.

73

An infant born to the Emperor is presented to him only when it has attained the age of some months.

74

From an old poem,

"The shade of Ôaraki forest is thick:The summer has come there, the summer has come!"

This is a mere metaphorical pun referring to her still being lively in spite of age.

75

Composing poems in Chinese was a principal part of the feast. The form of it is this, a Court scholar selects in obedience to Imperial command, the subject, and then writes different words on pieces of paper and places them on a table in the gardens, folded up. Two of these are first picked out for the Emperor, and then each one after another, according to precedence, goes to the table, takes one, and these words form their rhymes.

76

It was also the custom, when each had taken his paper, to read it aloud, and also to announce his particular title or station.

77

"Oboro" is an adjective meaning calm, and little glaring, and is specially attributed to the moon in spring. The line is from an old ode.

78

The ceremony of girls putting on a dress marking the commencement of womanhood, corresponding to the Gembuk in the case of boys. These princesses were the daughters of the Niogo of Kokiden. It was the custom that royal children should be brought up at the home of the mother.

79

Name of a well-known ballad.

80

The sacred virgin of the temple of Ise.

81

The same of Kamo, which is situated in the neighborhood of Kiôto, the then capital.

82

"Ajiro" means woven bamboo, and here it signifies a carriage made of woven bamboo.

83

Before proceeding with the story, it is necessary for the reader to peruse the following note: In Japan there existed, and still more or less exists, a certain superstition which is entertained, that the spirits of the dead have the power of inflicting injury on mankind; for instance, a woman when slighted or deserted, dies, her spirit often works evil on the man who forsook her, or on her rival. This is the spirit of the dead. There is also another belief that the spirits of the living have sometimes the same power, but in this case it only takes place when one is fiercely jealous. When this spirit works upon the rival, the owner of the spirit is not aware of it; but she herself becomes more gloomy, as if she had, as it were, lost her own spirit. These spirits can be exorcised, and the act is performed by a certain sect of priests; but the living one is considered far more difficult to exorcise than the other, because it is imagined that the dead spirit can be easily "laid," or driven back to the tomb, while the living one, being still in its present state, cannot be settled so easily. The method of exorcism is as follows: Certain spells are used on the sufferer, and certain religious addresses are read from the Buddhist bibles, and then the sufferer is made to speak out all his subjects of complaint; but it is supposed not to be the man himself who speaks and tells these causes of complaint, but the spirit of which he is possessed. This process is sometimes performed on a third party; in that case the priest temporarily transmits the spirit from the sufferer to the substitute and makes it speak with his mouth. When he has told all the causes of his complaint and wrongs, the priest sometimes argues with him, sometimes chides, sometimes soothes, and sometimes threatens, and at last says to the spirit, "If you do not go out quietly, I will confine you by my sacred power." By such means the spirit is exorcised; the process resembles mesmerism in some points, but of course has no sensible foundation. In other cases the spirits of those who have either recently, or even years before, met with cruel wrongs or death, may in their wanderings seize upon some person in the vicinity, though totally unconnected with the crime done upon them, and may cause them suffering, or even spirits, who from any cause, are unable to obtain rest, may do the same thing.

84

In the ceremony of exorcism a sacred perfume is burnt, and it was this scent which the Lady of Rokjiô perceived in her garment because her spirit was supposed to go to and fro between herself and Lady Aoi, and to bring with it the smell of this perfume.

85

A kind of pink; some translate it Gentian.

86

Here the flower is compared to the child, and autumn to the mother.

87

"Hentski," a children's game. It consists in choosing beforehand a "hen" or half-character, opening a book and seeing which of the players can most quickly pick out the words beginning with this "hen."

88

It seemed to have been the ancient custom, that on the third night of a wedding, the same kind of rice cake, but only of one color, was served up.

89

A temporary residence expressly built for the Saigû to undergo purification.

90

A peculiar gate erected in front of the sacred places.

91

Shinto priests.

92

Name of a river of the province of Ise, which the travellers had to cross.

93

A dress made of the bark of the Wistaria was worn by those who were in deep mourning for near relatives.

94

This was an office held by a Court lady, whose duty it was to act as a medium of communication in the transmitting of messages between the Emperor and State officials.

95

It is said that the tomb of the authoress of this work is to be found at this spot.

96

In the Tendai sect of Buddhists there are sixty volumes of the theological writings which are considered most authoritative for their doctrine.

97

A passage of a Chinese history. The story is, that a Prince of a certain Chinese kingdom contrived to have assassinated an Emperor, his enemy. When he sent off the assassin this event took place. The allusion here seems to imply the allegation that Genji intended high treason.

98