Part 7
Namida koboshite Shinku wo kataru, Kawairashi-sa ga Mashimasuru!
As she tells me all the pain of her toil, shedding tears,--ever her sweetness seems to increase.
LOVE-SONG
(_Province of Suruga, village of Gotemba_)
Hana ya, yoku kike! Sho aru naraba, Hito ga fusagu ni Naze hiraku?
O flower, hear me well if thou hast a soul! When any one sorrows as I am sorrowing, why dost thou bloom?
OLD TOKYO SONG
Iya-na o-kata no Shinsetsu yori ka Suita o-kata no Muri ga yoi.
Better than the kindness of the disliked is the violence of the beloved.
LOVE-SONG
(_Province of Iwami_)
Kawairashi-sa ya! Hotaru no mushi wa Shinobu nawate ni Hi wo tomosu.
Ah, the darling!... Ever as I steal along the ricefield-path [_to meet my lover_], the firefly kindles a light to show me the way.
COMIC SONG
(_Province of Shinano_)
Ano yama kage de Hikaru wa nanja?-- Tsuki ka, hoshi ka, hotaru no mushi ka? Tsuki demo naiga; Hoshi demo naiga;-- Shuto no o-uba no me ga hikaru,-- (Chorus) _Me ga hikaru!_
In the shadow of the mountain What is it that shines so? Moon is it, or star?--or is it the firefly-insect? Neither is it moon, Nor yet star;-- It is the old woman's Eye;--it is the Eye of my mother-in-law that shines,-- (Chorus) _It is her Eye that shines!_
KAERI-ODORI[99]
(_Province of Sanuki_)
[99] I am not sure of the real meaning of the name _Kaeri-Odori_ (lit. "turn-dance" or "return-dance").
Oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!--
(Chorus) _Oh! the cruelty!_
Even tells me to paint a picture on running water! If ever I paint a picture on running water, You will count the stars in the night-sky!
_Count the stars in the night-sky!_
--_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable Garden!_--
_Chan-chan! Cha-cha! Yoitomose, Yoitomose!_
Who cuts the bamboo at the back of the house?--
(Chorus) _Who cuts the bamboo?_--
My sweet lord's own bamboo, the first he planted,--
_The first be planted?_
--_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable Garden!_--
_Chan-chan! Cha-cha! Yoitomose, Yoitomose!_
Oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!--
_Oh! the cruelty!_
Tells me to cut and make a hakama[100] out of rock! If ever I cut and sew a hakama of rock, Then you will learn to twist the fine sand into thread,--
_Twist it into thread._
--_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable Garden!_--
_Chan-chan! Cha-cha! Yoitomose, Yoitomose! Chan-chan-chan!_
[100] A divided skirt of a peculiar form, worn formerly by men chiefly, to-day worn by female students also.
OTERA-ODORI (TEMPLE-DANCE)
(_Province of Iga, village called Uenomachi_)
Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the august gate, The august gate I find to be of silver, the panels of gold. Noble indeed is the gate of the honorable temple,-- _The honorable temple!_
Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the garden, I see young pinetrees flourishing in the four directions: On the first little branch of one the _shijugara_[101] has made her nest,-- _Has made her nest_.
Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the water-tank, I see little flowers of many colors set all about it, Each one having a different color of its own,-- _A different color._
Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the parlor-room, I find many kinds of little birds gathered all together, Each one singing a different song of its own,-- _A different song._
Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the guest-room, There I see the priest, with a lamp beside him, Reading behind a folding-screen--oh, how admirable it is!-- _How admirable it is!_
[101] The Manchurian great tit. It is said to bring good fortune to the owners of the garden in which it builds a nest,--providing that the nest be not disturbed and that the brood be protected.
Many kinds of popular songs--and especially the class of songs sung at country-dances--are composed after a mnemonic plan. The stanzas are usually ten in number; and the first syllable of each should correspond in sound to the first syllable of the numeral placed before the verse. Sometimes Chinese numerals are used; sometimes Japanese. But the rule is not always perfectly observed. In the following example it will be observed that the correspondence of the first two syllables in the first verse with the first two syllables of the Japanese word for one (_hitotsu_) is a correspondence of meaning only;--_ichi_ being the Chinese numeral:--
SONG OF FISHERMEN
(_Province of Shimosa,--town of Choshi_)[102]
[102] Choshi, a town of some importance, is situated at the mouth of the Tonegawa. It is celebrated for its _iwashi_-fishery. The _iwashi_ is a fish about the size of the sardine, and is sought chiefly for the sake of its oil. Immense quantities of _iwashi_ are taken off the coast. They are boiled to extract the oil; and the dried residue is sent inland to serve as manure.
_Hitotsutose_,-- Ichiban bune e tsumi-konde, Kawaguchi oshikomu o-yagoe.
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Futatsutose_,-- Futaba no oki kara Togawa made Tsuzuite oshikomu o-yagoe.
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Mitsutose_,-- Mina ichido-ni maneki wo age, Kayowase-bune no nigiyakasa
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Yotsutose_,-- Yoru-hiru taitemo taki-amaru, San-bai itcho no o-iwashi!
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Itsutsutose_,-- Itsu kite mitemo hoshika-ba ni Akima sukima wa sarani nai.
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Mutsutoye_,-- Mutsu kara mutsu made kasu-wari ga O-wari ko-wari de te ni oware.
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Nanatsutose_,-- Natakaki Tonegawa ichi-men ni Kasu-ya abura wo tsumi-okuru
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Yatsutose_,-- Yatebune no okiai wakashu ga, Ban-shuku soroete miya-mairi.
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Kokonotsutose_,-- Kono ura mamoru kawa-guchi no Myojin riyaku wo arawasuru.
_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_
_Firstly_ (or "Number One"),--
The first ship, filled up with fish, squeezes her way through the river-mouth, with a great shouting.[103]
[103] _O-yagoe._ The chorus-cry or chant of sailors, pulling all together, is called yagoe.
_O this ship of great fishing!_[104]
[104] _Tai-ryo bune_, lit.:--"great-fishing," or "great-catching-ship." The adjective refers to the fishing, not to the ship. The real meaning of the refrain is, "this-most-successful-in-fishing of ships."
_Secondly_,--
From the offing of Futaba even to the Togawa,[105] the ships, fast following, press in, with a great shouting.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
[105] Perhaps the reference is to a village at the mouth of the river Togawa,--not far from Choshi on the Tonegawa. The two rivers are united by a canal. But the text leaves it uncertain whether river or village is meant.
_Thirdly_,--
When, all together, we hoist our signal-flags, see how fast the cargo-boats come hurrying!
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Fourthly_,--
Night and day though the boiling be, there is still too much to boil--oh, the heaps of _iwashi_ from the three ships together!
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Fifthly_,--
Whenever you go to look at the place where the dried fish are kept,[106] never do you find any room,--not even a crevice.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
[106] _Hoshika-ba_: lit., "the hoshika-place" or "hoshika-room." "Hoshika" is the name given to dried fish prepared for use as fertilizer.
_Sixthly_,--
From six to six o'clock is cleaning and washing: the great cutting and the small cutting are more than can be done.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Seventhly_,--
All up and down the famous river Tonegawa we send our loads of oil and fertilizer.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Eighthly_,--
All the young folk, drawing the _Yatai-bune_,[107] with ten thousand rejoicings, visit the shrine of the God.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
[107] _Yatai_ is the name given to the ornamental cars drawn with ropes in a religious procession. _Yatai-bune_ here seems to mean either the model of a boat mounted upon such a car, or a real boat so displayed in a religious procession. I have seen real boats mounted upon festival-cars in a religious procession at Mionoseki.
_Ninthly_,--
Augustly protecting all this coast, the Deity of the river-mouth shows to us his divine favor.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
A stranger example of this mnemonic arrangement is furnished by a children's song, composed at least a hundred years ago. Little girls of Yedo used to sing it while playing ball. You can see the same ball-game being played by girls to-day, in almost any quiet street of Tokyo. The ball is kept bounding in a nearly perpendicular line by skilful taps of the hand delivered in time to the measure of a song; and a good player should be able to sing the song through without missing a stroke. If she misses, she must yield the ball to another player.[108] There are many pretty "ball-play songs;" but this old-fashioned and long-forgotten one is a moral curiosity:--
[108] This is the more common form of the game; but there are many other forms. Sometimes two girls play at once with the same ball--striking it alternately as it bounds.
_Hitotsu to ya:_--
Hito wa ko na hito to iu; On wo shiraneba ko naraji.
_Futatsu to ya:_--
Fuji yori takaki chichi no on; Tsune-ni omoute wasure-naji.
_Mitsu to ya:_--
Mizu-umi kaette asashi to wa, Haha no on zo ya omou-beshi.
_Yotsu to ya:_--
Yoshiya mazushiku kurasu tomo, Sugu-naru michi wo maguru-moji.
_Itsutsu to ya:_--
Itsumo kokoro no kawaranu wo, Makoto no hito to omou-beshi.
_Mutsu to ya:_--
Munashiku tsukihi wo kurashi-naba, Nochi no nageki to shirinu-beshi.
_Nanatsu to ya:_--
Nasaki wa hito no tame narode, Waga mi no tame to omou-beshi.
_Yatsu to ya:_--
Yaku-nan muryo no wazawai mo Kokoro zen nara nogaru-beshi.
_Kokonotsu to ya:_--
Kokoro kotoba no sugu-naraba, Kami ya Hotoke mo mamoru-beshi.
_To to ya_:--
Totoi hito to naru naraba, Koko mono to iwaru-beshi.
_This is the first_:--
[Only] a person having filial piety is [worthy to be] called a person:[109] If one does not know the goodness of parents, one has not filial piety.
[109] Lit., "A person having filial piety is called a person." The word _hito_ (person), usually indicating either a man or a woman, is often used in the signification of "people" or "Mankind." The full meaning of the sentence is that no unfilial person deserves to be called a human being.
_The second_:--
Higher than the [mountain] Fuji is the favor of a father: Think of it always;--never forget it.
_The third_:--
[Compared with a mother's love] the great lake is shallow indeed! [By this saying] the goodness of a mother should be estimated.
_The fourth_:--
Even though in poverty we have to pass our days, Let us never turn aside from the one straight path.
_The fifth:_--
The person whose heart never changes with time, A true man or woman that person must be deemed.
_The sixth_:--
If the time [of the present] be spent in vain, In the time of the future must sorrow be borne.
_The seventh_:--
That a kindness done is not for the sake of others only, But also for one's own sake, should well be kept in mind.
_The eighth_:--
Even the sorrow of numberless misfortunes We shall easily escape if the heart be pure.
_The ninth_:--
If the heart and the speech be kept straight and true, The Gods and the Buddhas will surely guard us well.
_The tenth_:--
In order to become a person held in honor, As a filial person one must [first] be known.
The reader may think to himself, "How terribly exigent the training that could require the repetition of moral lessons even in a 'ball-play song'!" True,--but it produced perhaps the very sweetest type of woman that this world has ever known.
* * * * *
In some dance-songs the burthen is made by the mere repetition of the last line, or of part of the last line, of each stanza. The following queer ballad exemplifies the practice, and is furthermore remarkable by reason of the curious onomatopoetic choruses introduced at certain passages of the recitative:--
KANE-MAKI-ODORI UTA
("_Bell-wrapping-dance song_."--_Province of Iga--Naga district_)
A Yamabushi of Kyoto went to Kumano. There resting in the inn Chojaya, by the beach of Shirotaka, he saw a little girl three years old; and he petted and hugged her, playfully promising to make her his wife,--
(Chorus) _Playfully promising._
Thereafter that Yamabushi travelled in various provinces; returning only when that girl was thirteen years old. "O my princess, my princess!" he cried to her,--"my little princess, pledged to me by promise!"--"O Sir Yamabushi," made she answer,--"good Sir Yamabushi, take me with you now!--
"_Take me with you now!_"
"O soon," he said, "I shall come again; soon I shall come again: then, when I come again, I shall take you with me,--
"_Take you with me._"
Therewith the Yamabushi, escaping from her, quickly, quickly fled away;--with all haste he fled away. Having passed through Tanabe and passed through Minabe, he fled on over the Komatsu moor,--
_Over the Komatsu moor._
KAKKARA, KAKKARA, KAKKARA, KAKKA![110]
[110] These syllables, forming a sort of special chorus, are simply onomatopes; intended to represent the sound of sandalled feet running at utmost speed.
Therewith the damsel, pursuing, quickly, quickly followed after him;--with all speed she followed after him. Having passed through Tanabe and passed through Minabe, she pursued him over the Komatsu moor,--
_Over the Komatsu moor._
Then the Yamabushi, fleeing, came as he fled to the river of Amoda, and cried to the boatman of the river of Amoda,--"O good boatman, good sir boatman, behind me comes a maid pursuing!--pray do not take her across, good boatman,--
"_Good sir boatman!_"
_DEBOKU, DEBOKU, DEBOKU, DENDEN!_[111]
[111] These onomatopes, chanted by all the dancers together in chorus, with appropriate gesture, represent the sound of the ferryman's single oar, or scull, working upon its wooden peg. The syllables have no meaning in themselves.
Then the damsel, pursuing, came to the river of Amoda and called to the boatman, "Bring hither the boat!--take me over in the boat!"--"No, I will not bring the boat; I will not take you over: my boat is forbidden to carry women!--
"_Forbidden to carry women!_"
"If you do not take me over, I will cross!--if you do not take me over, I will cross!--there is a way to cross the river of Amoda!" Taking off her sandals and holding them aloft, she entered the water, and at once turned into a dragon with twelve horns fully grown,--
_With twelve horns fully grown._
Then the Yamabushi, fleeing, reached the temple Dojoji, and cried to the priests of the temple Dojoji:--"O good priests, behind me a damsel comes pursuing!--hide me, I beseech you, good sir priests!--
"_Good sir priests!_"
Then the priests, after holding consultation, took down from its place the big bell of the temple; and under it they hid him,--
_Under it they hid him_.
Then the dragon-maid, pursuing, followed him to the temple Dojoji. For a moment she stood in the gate of the temple: she saw that bell, and viewed it with suspicion. She thought:--"I must wrap myself about it once." She thought:--"I must wrap myself about it twice!" At the third wrapping, the bell was melted, and began to flow like boiling water,--
_Like boiling water_.
So is told the story of the Wrapping of the Bell. Many damsels dwell by the seashore of Japan;--but who among them, like the daughter of the Choja, will become a dragon?--
_Become a dragon?_
This is all the Song of the Wrapping of the Bell!--this is all the Song,--
_All the song!_[112]
[112] This legend forms the subject of several Japanese dramas, both ancient and modern. The original story is that a Buddhist priest, called Anchin, having rashly excited the affection of a maiden named Kiyohime, and being, by reason of his vows, unable to wed her, sought safety from her advances in flight. Kiyohime, by the violence of her frustrated passion, therewith became transformed into a fiery dragon; and in that shape she pursued the priest to the temple called Dojoji, in Kumano (modern Kishu), where he tried to hide himself under the great temple-bell. But the dragon coiled herself round the bell, which at once became red-hot, so that the body of the priest was totally consumed.
In this rude ballad Kiyohime figures only as the daughter of an inn-keeper,--the _Choja_, or rich man of his village; while the priest Anchin is changed into a Yamabushi. The Yamabushi are, or at least were, wandering priests of the strange sect called Shugendo,--itinerant exorcists and diviners, professing both Shinto and Buddhism. Of late years their practices have been prohibited by law; and a real Yamabushi is now seldom to be met with.
The temple Dojoji is still a famous place of pilgrimage. It is situated not far from Gobo, on the western coast of Kishu. The incident of Anchin and the dragon is said to have occurred in the early part of the tenth century.
I shall give only one specimen of the true street-ballad,--the kind of ballad commonly sung by wandering samisen-players. It is written in an irregular measure, varying from twelve to sixteen syllables in length; the greater number of lines having thirteen syllables. I do not know the date of its composition; but I am told by aged persons who remember hearing it sung when they were children, that it was popular in the period of Tenpo (1830-1843). It is not divided into stanzas; but there are pauses at irregular intervals,--marked by the refrain, _Yanrei!_
O-KICHI-SEIZA KUDOKI
("_The Ditty of O-Kichi and Seiza_")
Now hear the pitiful story of two that died for love.--In Kyoto was the thread-shop of Yoemon, a merchant known far and near,--a man of much wealth. His business prospered; his life was fortunate. One daughter he had, an only child, by name O-Kichi: at sixteen years she was lovely as a flower. Also he had a clerk in his house, by name Seiza, just in the prime of youth, aged twenty-and-two.
_Yanrei!_
Now the young man Seiza was handsome; and O-Kichi fell in love with him at sight. And the two were so often together that their secret affection became known; and the matter came to the ears of the parents of O-Kichi; and the parents, hearing of it, felt that such a thing could not be suffered to continue.
_Yanrei!_
So at last, the mother, having called O-Kichi into a private room, thus spoke to her:--"O my daughter, I hear that you have formed a secret relation with the young man Seiza, of our shop. Are you willing to end that relation at once, and not to think any more about that man, O-Kichi?--answer me, O my daughter."
_Yanrei!_
"O my dear mother," answered O-Kichi, "what is this that you ask me to do? The closeness of the relation between Seiza and me is the closeness of the relation of the ink to the paper that it penetrates.[113] Therefore, whatever may happen, O mother of mine, to separate from Seiza is more than I can bear."
_Yanrei!_
[113] Lit.:--"that affinity as-for, ink-and-paper-soaked-like affinity."
Then, the father, having called Seiza to the innermost private room, thus spoke to him:--"I called you here only to tell you this: You have turned the mind of our daughter away from what is right; and even to hear of such a matter is not to be borne. Pack up your things at once, and go!--to-day is the utmost limit of the time that you remain in this house."
_Yanrei!_
Now Seiza was a native of Osaka. Without saying more than "Yes--yes," he obeyed and went away, returning to his home. There he remained four or five days, thinking only of O-Kichi. And because of his longing for her, he fell sick; and as there was no cure and no hope for him, he died.
_Yanrei!_
Then one night O-Kichi, in a moment of sleep, saw the face of Seiza close to her pillow,--so plainly that she could not tell whether it was real, or only a dream. And rising up, she looked about; but the form of Seiza had vanished.
_Yanrei!_
Because of this she made up her mind to go at once to the house of Seiza. And, without being seen by any one, she fled from the home of her parents.
_Yanrei!_
When she came to the ferry at the next village, she did not take the boat, but went round by another road; and making all haste she found her way to the city of Osaka. There she asked for the house of Seiza; and she learned that it was in a certain street, the third house from a certain bridge.
_Yanrei!_
Arriving at last before the home of Seiza, she took off her travelling hat of straw; and seating herself on the threshold of the entrance, she cried out:--"Pardon me kindly!--is not this the house of Master Seiza?"
_Yanrei!_
Then--O the pity of it!--she saw the mother of Seiza, weeping bitterly, and holding in her hand a Buddhist rosary. "O my good young lady," the mother of Seiza asked, "whence have you come; and whom do you want to see?"
_Yanrei!_
And O-Kichi said:--"I am the daughter of the thread-merchant of Kyoto. And I have come all the way here only because of the relation that has long existed between Master Seiza and myself. Therefore, I pray you, kindly permit me to see him."
_Yanrei!_
"Alas!" made answer the mother, weeping, "Seiza, whom you have come so far to see, is dead. To-day is the seventh day from the day on which he died." ... Hearing these words, O-Kichi herself could only shed tears.
_Yanrei!_
But after a little while she took her way to the cemetery. And there she found the sotoba[114] erected above the grave of Seiza; and leaning upon it, she wept aloud.
_Yanrei!_
[114] A wooden lath, bearing Buddhist texts, planted above graves. For a full account of the sotoba see _my Exotics and Retrospectives_: "The Literature of the Dead."
Then--how fearful a thing is the longing of a person[115]--the grave of Seiza split asunder; and the form of Seiza rose up therefrom and spoke.
_Yanrei!_
[115] In the original:--_Hito no omoi wa osoroshi mono yo!_--("how fearful a thing is the thinking of a person!"). The word _omoi_, used here in the sense of "longing," refers to the weird power of Seiza's dying wish to see his sweetheart. Even after his burial, this longing has the strength to burst open the tomb.
--In the old English ballad of "William and Marjorie" (see Child: vol. ii. p. 151) there is also a remarkable fancy about the opening and closing of a grave:--
She followed him high, she followed him low, Till she came to yon churchyard green; _And there the deep grave opened up_, And young William he lay down.
"Ah! is not this O-Kichi that has come? Kind indeed it was to have come to me from so far away! My O-Kichi, do not weep thus. Never again--even though you weep--can we be united in this world. But as you love me truly, I pray you to set some fragrant flowers before my tomb, and to have a Buddhist service said for me upon the anniversary of my death."
_Yanrei!_
And with these words the form of Seiza vanished. "O wait, wait for me!" cried O-Kichi,--"wait one little moment![116] I cannot let you return alone!--I shall go with you in a little time!"
_Yanrei!_
[116] With this episode compare the close of the English ballad "Sweet William's Ghost" (Child: vol. ii., page 148):--
"O stay, my only true love, stay!" The constant Margaret cried: Wan grew her cheeks; she closed her een, Stretched her soft limbs, and died.
Then quickly she went beyond the temple-gate to a moat some four or five _cho_[117] distant; and having filled her sleeves with small stones, into the deep water she cast her forlorn body.
_Yanrei!_
[117] A _cho_ is about one fifteenth of a mile.