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Presented to the
LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
from
the estate cf
PROF. W.A.C.H. DOBSON
\y^^' A^^
I
0
PRIMITIVE & MEDIAEVAL
JAPANESE TEXTS
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH INTRODUCTIONS
NOTES AND GLOSSARIES
0
FREDERICK VICTOR DICKINS, C.B,
SOMETIME REGISTRAR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
ILLUSTRATED FROM JAPANESE SOURCES
WITH A COMPANION VOLUME OF ROMANIZED TEXTS
MENCIUS i^ 15 IS
OXFOED
AT THE CLAEENDON PEESS
1906
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHEB TO THE UIHVEBSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK AND TORONTO
TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
SIR EENEST SATOW, G.C.M.G.
MINISTER TO CHINA
SOMETIME MINISTER TO JAPAN
HI NI MUKAHI
HI NO DE NO HIKARI
HI NO IRI NO
HINA NI I-WATASHITE
HIZHIRI SHIRUSERI
KASANE-GOHI [3l 't^l ^^^ ^^
PREFACE
In preparing the present volume and its companion
volume of romanized texts I have desired to assist the
English reader towards some fuller understanding of
the primitive and mediaeval literature of Japan than
can be gathered from merely literal or imitative
translations. The examples chosen are the earliest of
the categories to which they respectively belong, and
have been followed, more or less closely, as models,
in the production of most of the purely Japanese —
as distinct from Japano-Chinese — literature of later
times.
The first is a collection of all the long Isljs {naga-
uta or chdha) of the famous Anthology (Manydshiu) of
the eighth century of our era, together with most
of their tanka or Jianka — mizika or kaheshi uta — or
envoys. The second is the Story of the Old Bamboo
Wicker- worker (Taketori no Okina no Monog atari) , a
romance of the tenth century ; the third is Tsurayuki's
celebrated preface to his Kokinshiu (Garner of Japa-
nese Verse, Old and New), an Anthology mainly
of tanka or single stanzas, of the same century,
more admired, perhaps, by the Japanese than its
immediate and greater predecessor, the Manyoshiu
itself ; and the last is the utahi or drama of the 1^6
of Takasago, the oldest, it may be, of the miracle-plays
or semi-religious plays accompanied by music, mime,
and dance of mediaeval Japan.
The Anthology and the Story of the Wicker-
worker, though not uninfluenced, are among the least
influenced by Chinese thought or example of the
VI
PREFACE
literary productions of archaic Japan, while the Preface
and Miracle-Play are admiring attempts to maintain
the ancient spirit. In all four examples of the litera-
ture of Old Japan, but more especially in the first two,
the Chinese script in which they are written is merely
and mainly a veil of obscurity, and their translitera-
tion is, in eflfect, a restoration more or less accurate of
the ancient texts. The two volumes taken together,
with their introductions, notes, and glossaries, will not
only enable the reader, with a very moderate amount
of labour, not uninteresting in itself, to appreciate a
curious phase of far-eastern literature, but — with the
addition of a knowledge of easy syllabaries — will
render accessible to him most of the mediaeval and
later poetry, fiction, and narrative of Dai Nippon.
In the translations, the ibrm and language of the
text have been adhered to as closely as was possible.
But, following King Alfred's example, I have sought
to transfer meanings rather than mere expressions.
With Old Japanese, however, much more than with
the modem over-sinicized tongue, an approach to a
literal version is, not seldom, quite feasible, if only the
order of words be in proper measure reversed, and due
allowance made for poetic inversions. I have tried to
avoid what I believe to be the chief blemishes incident
to translation from an oriental tongue — paraphrase
and the replacement of eastern by western modes of
thought and diction. This was the easier in that
Japan, in conformity with her geographical position, is
less, in fact, oriental, in the usual sense of the expres-
sion, than China, as China herself is than the middle
and nearer East. The word-plays in the Anthology
are treated as serious elements in the decoration of the
verse — it is but seldom in the ancient uta or poems
PKEFACE vii
that they are otherwise intended. Verbal adornment,
however, can but rarely be transferred from one
tongue to another, and I have been obliged in many
cases to content myself with endeavouring to convey to
the mind of a western reader the impressions likely to
have been made upon the mind of a Japanese hearer
of the first millennium of our era by the ingenious
word-jugglery of the period. At the best, transla-
tions, especially of the Anthology, can reproduce but
a portion of the significance of the uta, and convey
but a shadow of whatever beauty they possess. My
aim, generally, has been to render the whole thought
of the original texts, preserving as much as possible
of their decoration, colour, and distinctive imperson-
ality, even of their conventionalisms, without loss of
their essential simplicity. Only a partial success can
be hoped for ; the texts themselves are corrupt, there
are many points, contextual, circumstantial, and inter-
pretative, on which no certainty is attainable. There
must, too, be discoverable not a few errors of transla-
tion. Only a quite inadequate Japanese library has
been at my disposal, nor have I been able to profit by
the assistance of native wagakusha (scholars), whose
erudition, especially in Old Japanese, is beyond the
opportunity but not the envy of the foreign scholar.
With regard to the Manyoshiu, more particularly, the
data for a satisfactory comparison and criticism of the
various traditional explanations of the commentators
are scattered and of very uncertain value ; to enter
upon their discussion would be out of the question
otherwhere than in Japan itself, and even there it is
pretty certain that the result would not be commen-
surate with the necessary expenditure of time and
toil. The Introduction to the Anthology, especially
viii PREFACE
sections I, V, VII T, X, XI, and XII, should be read
as a preliminary to the perusal of the uta, if justice
is to be done to these primal efforts of tte Japanese
muse, and their true significance adequately understood.
I desire here to acknowledge my great indebted-
ness to the writings of Dr. Aston, C.M.G., Professor
B. H. Chamberlain, Dr. Karl Florenz, and Sir Ernest
Satow, G.C.M.G. ; to my friend, Mr. Minakata
Kumaf];usu : to the contributors to the Transactions of
the Asiatic Society of Japan ; to the works of Captain
Brinkley, E A., especially to his great Japanese-English
Lexicon ; to the similar work of M. Lemarechal ; to
that excellent native dictionary the Kotoha no Izumi
(Fount of Language) ; to the Jimmei-jisho (Japanese
Dictionary of National Biography), and — above all —
to the Manydshiu KogL
F. VICTOR DICKINS.
Seend, June, 1906.
The punctuation in the following pages is part of
the translation, especially in relation to the Manyoshiu.
Colon and semicolon are avoided, and the climatic
construction of the Japanese text has been preserved
as much as possible (even at the risk, occasionally, of
some little trouble to the reader), being essential to
a tme version ; in particular the simple dash has been
much employed to this end. The spelling of Japanese
words is syllabic in the case of quoted texts, otherwise
modern and phonetic.
LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED
IX
The following works, among others, in addition to
those referred to in the Preface, have been consulted
in tlie preparation of these volumes.
Kozhiki den, ~^ i^ g^ ^, Motowori's gi*eat annotated
edition of the Kojiki.
Nihonshoki Ts4kai, 0 ^^pC ^ fE M >P' Ihida's great
edition of the Nihongi, with Commentary.
Zoku Nihongi, jM Q ;^ g^, Continuation of the
Nihongi.
Tamato Monogatari, ^ ^p ^^ ^, Yamato Tales (the
title perhaps means Japanese, as distinct from Chinese Tales).
Nihon Gwaishi, Q ^ ^^ ^, Outer (unofficial) His-
tory of Japan.
WamyS Ruijiusho, ^ ^ %M ¥^ ^^ An Explanatory
List of Various Japanese Names (Words) —the earliest
native dictionary.
Gunsho Ichiran, ^ ^ — * ^' ^ View of the World
of Books (a bibliography, early nineteenth century).
Manydshiu Riyakuge, ^ ^ ^ B^" ^|» The Antho-
log}'', with Brief Commentary.
Manydshiu Daishoki, j\^ |g gg. This is Keichiu's
celebrated and fundamental edition of the Anthology, with
Commentary.
Wakunshiori, ^ =J|| S , Clue to Japanese Meanings.
Wakansansaidzuwe, ^p ^^ ^ 7J" Q ^, Illustrated
Encyclopaedia of the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and
Man), early eighteenth century.
Makura kotoba Shiuran, l^jj^ j
List of Pillow-words.
Shokubutsu Mei-i, jji^ 4^ ^ 1
and Scientific, of Japanese Plants.
Nippon Gokogaku, Q 7p^ :^ "j^ ^, Treatise on
Japanese Ai-chaeology.
Dai Nippon Jimniei-Jisho, ;^ 0 >4^ A. ^ ^ ©*
Dictionary of National (Japanese) Biography.
^, Explanatory
List of Names, Native
X LIST OF WOKKS CONSULTED
Shihkivg, g^ ^, Classic of (Chinese) Poetry.
The Editions of the ManySshiu and Taketori published
by the Haku bunk wan.
Various Melsho, ^ J^, Itineraries of the Provinces,
with descriptions and illustrations, especially of Settsu and
Yamato.
Essays on the Chinese Language. Watters.
Chinese Biographical Dictionary. Dr. H. A. Giles.
Handbook to Chinese Buddhism. E. J. Eitel.
Early Institutional Life of Japan. K. Asakawa.
The Poetry of the Chinese. Sir John Davis.
Shintd, or the Way of the Gods. Dr. W. G. Aston.
History of Japan. Murdoch and Yamagata.
Chinese Reader's Manual, Mayers.
Poesies de VJSpoque des Thang. Marquis D'Hervey-
St.-Denys.
Zoologie Mythologique. De Gubernatis.
Mythologie des Plantes. De Gubernatis.
Dictionnaire Francais-Japonais. E. Raguet, M.A.
Dictionnaire historique et gSographique du Japon,
par E. Papinet.
Bluthen Chinesischen Litteratur. A. Forke.
Geschichte der Chinesischen Litteratur. Dr. W. Grube.
Ges'hichte der Japanischen Litteratur. Dr. K. Florenz.
Geschichte von Japan. 0. Nachod.
I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Edition used in
Preface .....
Introduction to the Manyoshiu
Section I. General
„ 11. Description of the Kogi
this work
III. JDaigo, or Title .
IV. Date and Compilation
V. Order of Books, Glosses, Earlier Editions
VI. Metre, Form, Number of Lays. Dai or
Arguments
VII. Contents of the Books of the Manyoshiu
VIII. Yamato and Adzuma Lays .
IX. Antiquity of the Lays ....
X. Eanks and Names ....
XI. Japan in the Manyo Age
XII. Decoration of Japanese Verse
XIII. Makura Tcotoba or Pillow-words
XIV. Comparison of Chinese and Japanese
Verse ......
XV. The Ancient Learning . . . .
XVI. Short Biographies of the Principal Poets
XVII. Notices of the Principal Commentators .
XVIII. Short Notice of the Author of the Kogi
PAGE
V
XXV
xxxiii
xxxvii
xl
xliii
xlv
xlix
Ivii
Iviii
lix
Ixii
Ixxx
Ixxxiii
Ixxxix
xcv
xcviii
cii
cv
Lay book I : Part I.
1. * Come, live with me, and be my love.' By the Mikado
Yuryaku ........ 1
2. A View of the Land from Mount Amanokagu. By
the Mikado Jomei 3
3. The Koyal Hunt on the Moor of Uchi. By Hashibito
no Murazhi 4
4. A Eoyal Progress to Aya in Sanuki. By Ikiisa no
Ohokimi 5
xii CONTENTS
LAY PAGE
5. The Three Mountains. By Nakano Ohoye . . 7
6. Spring and Autumn. By the Princess Nukata . . 8
7. The Fair Hill of Miwa. By the Princess Nukata . 9
Part II.
8. A Love-lay. By the Mikado Temmu . . .10
9. In Praise of Ohotsu, City-Royal. By Hitomaro . 10
10. The Palace of Yoshinu. By Hitomaro . . .13
11. A Second Lay on the Palace of Yoshinu. By Hitomaro 14
12. Prince Karu's Eetreat on the Moor of Aki. By Hito-
maro . 15
Part III.
13. The Building of the Palace at Fujihara . . .16
14. In Praise of the Palace of Fujihara ... .18
15. On the Removal of the Court from Fujihara to Nara . 19
BOOK II : Part L
16. On Leaving his Wife in Ihami. By Hitomaro . . 21
17. A Second Lay on the above. By Hitomaro . . 22
Part II.
18. On the Ascent to Heaven of the Mikado Tenchi . . 24
19. On the Enshrinement of the Mikado Tenchi. By the
Queen Consort 24
20. On her Return from the mi-sasagi of the Mikado Tenchi.
By the Princess Nukata 27
21. On the Ascent to Heaven of the Mikado Temmu. By
the Queen Consort Jito 27
22. On the Enshrinement of Hinami no Miko. By Hito-
maro 28
23. On the Enshrinement of Kahashima no Miko. By
Hitomaro ........ 31
24. On the Enshrinement of Takechi no Miko. By Hito-
maro 32
Part IIL
25. On the Passing of Yuge no Miko. By the Eastlander
Okisome . . 37
26. On the Enshrinement of the Princess Asuka. By
Hit5maro 38
27. On the Death of his Wife. By Hitomaro . . . 40
CONTENTS xiii
LAY PAGE
28. A Second Lay on the above. By Hitomaro . .43
29. On the Death of an Uneme. By Hitomaro . . 45
30. On Seeing a Corpse on the Sands of Samine . . 47
Several Short Lays on the Death of Hit6maro . . 49
31. On the Death of Shiki no Miko. By Kanamura (?) . 50
BOOK III: Part L
32. On Prince Naga's Hunt on the Moor of Kariji. By
Hitomaro 51
33. In Praise of Mount Amanokagii. By Kimitari hito . 53
34. To Nihitabe no Miko. By Hitomaro . . . .54
35. On a Progress to Yoshino. By Ohotomo no Kyo . 54
36. On Fujiyama. By Akahito 55
37. In Praise of Fujiyama. By Kanamura (?) . . . 56
38. On the Hot Wells of lyo. By Akahito ... 58
39. On Going up to Kamiwoka. By Akahito . . .59
Part II.
40. On Embarking at Tsiinuga in Echizen. By Kanamura 60
41. On Ascending to the Moor of Asuka. By Akahito . 61
42. An Invocation. By the Lady of Sakanohe . . 62
43. On the Ascent of Mount Tsukuba. By Tajihi no
Mabito 63
44. A Travel-lay. By Wakamiya Ayumaro . . .63
Part IIL
45. On the Death of Ihata no Ohokimi. By the Lady
Nifu 65
46. Another Lay on the above. By Yamakuma no
Ohokimi 67
47. On Passing the Tomb of the Maid of Mama. By
Akahito ........ 68
48. On the Self-strangling of Hasetsukabe no Tatsumaro.
By the Hangwan Ohotomo 69
49. On the Death of the Korean Nun Kigwan. By the
Lady of Sakanohe 71
50. On the Death of his me. By Yakamochi ... 72
51. On the Death of Asaka no Miko. By Yakamochi . 73
52. A Second Lay on the above. By Yakamochi . . 75
53. On the Death of his Wife. By Takahashi . . 76
xiv CONTENTS
LAY BOOK IV : Part I. page
64. A Queen-Regnant's Love-complaint. By the Queen
Regnant Kogyoku (?) . . • • • .77
55. On Departing for the Westland — a Love-complaint. By
Tajihi no Mabito 78
56. A Love-lay. By Aki no Ohokimi . . . .80
57. A Girl's Love-lay. By Kanamura . . . .81
58. Love at first Sight. By Kanamura . . . .82
59. A Love-complaint. By the Lady of Sakanohe . . 83
Part II.
60. Lines to her Eldest Daughter. By the Lady of Saka-
nohe 84
BOOK V : Part I.
60a. a Chinese Elegy with a Chinese Preface. By Omi
Okura 84
61. A Japanese Elegy on the Death of his Wife. By Omi
Okura 87
62. A Lay of Moral Remonstrance, with Chinese Preface.
By Omi Okura 88
63. On the Love of Children. By Omi Okura ... 90
64. On the Impermanence of Life, with Chinese Preface . 91
65. On the Chinkwai Stones in Tsukushi. By Omi Okura 93
Part II.
66. The Fate of Kumagori. By Omi Okura ... 94
67. A Dialogal Lay on the Misery of Povei-ty. By Omi
Okura (?) 95
68. 'God-speed 'and 'Welcome Home'. By Omi Okura . 97
69. Old Age and Parental Love. By Omi Okura (?) . . 99
70. On the Death of his Son Fiiruhi. By Omi Okura (?) . 101
BOOK VI: Part L
71. On a Royal Progress to Yoshinu. By Kanamura . 103
72. In Praise of Yoshinu. By Kuramochi no Asomi
Chitose 104
78. On a Royal Progress to Kii. By Akdhito . . 105
74. On a Royal Progress to Y6shinu. By Kanamura . 106
76. In Praise of Y6shinu. By Akdhito . . . .106
76. A Second Lay on the above. By Akdhito . . .107
CONTENTS
XV
liAY PAGE
77. On a Koyal Progress to Naniha. By Kanamura . 107
78. In Praise of Suminoye. By Kuramochi . . . 109
79. In Praise of Naniha. By Akahito . . . .109
80. On a Royal Progress to the Moor of Inami. By
Kanamura 110
81. On a Royal Progress to the Moor of Inami. By
Akahito Ill
82. On Passing the Island of Karani. By Akahito. . Ill
83. On Passing the Bay of Minume. By Akahito . .112
84. A Lay of Remorse for Neglect of Duty . . . 113
85. On Crossing Mount Nago. By the Lady of Sakanohe 115
86. On the Departure of Fujihara no Umakahi on an
Expedition. By Takahashi . . . .116
87. A Lay chanted at a Banquet given by Royal Command
to Three Commissioners on their Departure from
City-Royal 117
Part II.
88. On a Royal Progress to Yoshinu. By Akahito . 118
89. On the Exile to Tosa of Otomaro no Kyo. By his
Wife 119
90. A Second Lay on the above. By the same . . 119
91. A Third Lay on the above. By the same . .121
92. Complaint on the Desolation of Nara, City-Royal.
Collection of Tanobe no Sakimaro . . .122
93. In Praise of Kuni, City-Royal. Collection of Tanobe 124
94. A Second Lay in Praise of Kuni. Collection of
Tanobe 125
95. Complaint on the Desolation of Kuni, City-Royal, in
Spring. Collection of Tanobe . . . .126
96. In Praise of Naniha 127
97. On Passing the Bay of Minume. Collection of Tanobe 128
BOOK VIII : Part I.
98. In Praise of Mount Kusaka. A Love-lay . .128
99. In Praise of Cherry Blossoms. By Wakamiya . 129
100. On the Departure of Hironari, Envoy to China. By
Kanamura 129
101. To his Wife with an Orange Spray. By Yakamochi 130
XVI
CONTENTS
LAY PaBT II. PAGE
102. On Tanabata Night. By Omi Okura . . .132
103. To his Wife. By Yakamochi 134
BOOK IX: Part I.
104. In Praise of Fair Tamana of Suwe . . . .135
105. The Lay of Urashima, with the Story, Traditions,
No, and Opera 136
106. On Seeing a Lady Crossing a Bridge . . . 146
107. On the Kemoval of the Court to Naniha . . . 147
108. In Praise of the Cherry Blossoms in Tatsuta . . 148
109. A Second Lay on the above 148
Part II.
1 10. On the Ascent of Mount Tsukuba. By Takahashi (?) 149
111. In Praise of the Cuckoo 150
112. On the Ascent of Mount Tsukuba .... 152
113. Change-singing on Mount Tsukuba . . . . 153
114. On the Hart in Autumn 154
115. On Tanabata Night 154
116. A Farewell, to Ohotomo no Kyo .... 155
117. A Lay of Friendship 155
118. A Love-lay. By Kanamura (?).... 156
119. A Mother's Farewell .158
120. A Love-lay. Collection of Tanobe . . . .158
121. On Seeing a Corpse in the Pass of Ashigara. Col-
lection of Tanobe 160
122. On Passing by the Tomb of the Maid of Ashiya.
Collection of Tanobe 160
123. On the Death of a Younger Brother. Collection of
Tanobe 163
124. On the Death of the Maid of Mama. Collection of
Takahashi 164
125. On Passing by the Tomb of the Maid of Unahi.
Collection of Takahashi . • . . . 165
BOOK X : Part L
126. In Praise of the Cuckoo. From an ancient Collection 168
Part IL
127. On Tanabata Night 169
128. On Tanabata Night. By Hitdmaro (?) . . . 170
CONTENTS
XTii
LAY BOOK XIII: Part I.
page
129. In Praise of Spring in Hatsuse
. 171
130. In Praise of Mount Mimoro ....
. 171
131. In Praise of Mount Kamunabi
. 172
132. In Praise of the Waters of Hatsuse
. 173
133. In Praise of Mount Mimoro ....
. 173
134. From Nara to Kamunabi. A Travel-lay
. 174
' 135. In Praise of the Waters of Yo^hinu
. 174
136. In Praise of Ise
. 175
137. In Praise of the Grove of Ihata
. 176
138. Nara's Pass to Omi's Lake. A Love-lay
. 177
139. Lake Omi and the Warning of the Plot agains
Temmu .......
. 178
140. On the Exile of Hodzumi no Asomi
. 178
141. The Maid of Minu. A Love-lay .
. 180
142. In Praise of the Waters of Nagato .
. 180
143. The Elixir of the Lord of Moonland
. 181
144. The Talisman of the Fount of Nuna
. 182
145. A Love-lay
. 182
146. A Love-lay .
. 182[
147. A Love-lay
. 183
148. * Sou vent femme varie ' .
. 183
149. A Love-lay
. 184
150. Love is inexhaustible as the Waters of Woharida
. 185
151. By the Waters of Hatsuse. A Love-lay.
185
152. Autumn on Kamunabi. A Love-lay
. 187
153. A Lover's Departure
187
154. A Traitor to Love . . , .
188
155. Jealousy * . .
. 189
156. A comhination of Lays 187 and 188 .
190
157. A Lover's Departure . . . . .
190
158. Love's Yearnings ......
191
159. Lover and Beloved . . .
192
160. Love's Hope
192
161. A repetition of Lay 160
193
162. Sick with Love . . . .
193
16S. A repetition of Lay 160 . . . .
194
164. A combination of Lays 160, 162, and WS
194
Part IL
165. Love's Constancy
194
DICKINS. 11 b
xviii • CONTENTS
LAY PAGE
166. The Parting of Lovers 195
167. Love's Constancy 195
168. Beloved and Lover 196
169. The Need of Love 197
170. A Lover's Farewell 197
171. Can Love be Hidden ? 198
172. Love's Depth 198
173. A Lover's Fears 199
174. An Envoy to Lay 173 200
175. The Hope of Love 200
176. 'Forget me not' 201
177. A combination of Lays 175 and 176 . . . . .^01
178. The Impatience of Love, with a parallel Long Lay
from the Kojiki 201
179. The Perils of Love 203
180. A Japanese ' Shule Agra ' 203
181. How the Evening Oracle Helped . . . .204
182. The Fears of Love 204
183. On the Death of Takechi no Miko. (Hitomaro ?) . 205
184. A second lay on the Death of Takechi . . . 207
185. The Grief of the Horses of the Lord of Minu . . 208
186. Elegy on a dead Lord (Mikado?) . . . .209
187. Elegy on a Husband 209
188. Another Elegy on a Husband 210
189. Elegy on a Mistress 210
190. Elegy on a Youth who Died early (?) . . .211
191. The Impermanence of this World .... 212
192. On the Death of an absent Spouse (or Lover) . .212
193. Elegy on a Drowned Man 213
194. Another Elegy on a Drowned Man . . . .213
195. On a Corpse found on the Strand of Kamishima . 214
196. On the Death of a Spouse (or Lover) . . . 215
197. On the Death of a Husband and Father . . .216
BOOK XV: Part L
198. On the Parting of Lovers 216
199. From Mitsu to Tama. An oversea Travel-lay . 217
Part II.
200. On the Death of Yukino Murazhi Yakamori . . 219
CONTENTS
XIX
LAY PAGE
201.' On the Death of a Member of the Mission mentioned
in Lay 198^ 221
202. On the Sickness of Yakamori (see 200) . . . 222
BOOK XVI: Part I.
203. Two short Lays on the Story of Sakura no Ko. The
Story of the Ancient and the Nine Damsels.
Youth and Age 222
204. A Wife's Love for her Husband . . . .227
Part IL
205. A Fair One's Complaint 228
206. Her Desire 229
207. A Noto Lay 229
208. A Second Noto Lay 229
209. A Third Noto Lay 230
210. The Hart's Lament 230
211. The Crab's Elegy . 232
BOOK XVII: Part L
212. In Praise of Kuni City-EoyaL By Oyamaro . . 235
213. On the Death of a Younger Brother. By Yakamochi 236
214. On his own Illness. By Yakamochi . . . 237
215. To Ikenushi, preceded by a Correspondence in
Chinese between Yakamochi and Ikenushi . 238
Part II.
216. A Chinese Ode on Country Eambles, with a Corre-
spondence in Chinese with Yakamochi. By Ike-
nushi. Also a Chinese Answer-ode. By Yakamochi 242
217. To his Wife. By Yakamochi . . . .247
218. In Praise of Mount Futakami in Etchiu. By Yaka-
mochi ... ..... 249
219. In Praise of the Water of Fuse in Etchiu. By
Yakamochi . 250
220. An Answer-lay to 219. By Ikenushi . . .251
221. In Praise of Mount Tachi (Tateyama) in Arakaha.
By Yakamochi . 254
222. An Answer-lay to 221. By Ikenushi . . .254
223. On his Departure for City-Koyal. By Yakamochi
to Ikenushi 255
b 2
zx
CONTENTS
LAY
PAGE
224. An Answer-lay to 223. By Ikenushi . . . 257
225. On a favourite Hawk lost and found. ByYakamochi 258
BOOK XVIII : Part I.
226. In Praise of the Cuckoo. By Yakamochi . .261
227. On a Find of Gold in Michinoku. By Yakamochi . 262
Part II.
228. On a Koyal Progress to Yoshinu. By Yakamochi . 265
229. To his Wife with a present of awabi Pearls. By
Yakamochi ....... 266
230. To a Husband who had deserted his Wife. By
Yakamochi ....... 267
231. In Praise of the Orange-tree. By Yakamochi . 270
232. On a Pink planted in his Garden to comfort him in
the absence of his Wife. By Yakamochi . . 272
233. On the Keturn of a Friend. By Yakamochi . . 273
234. On the Appearance of a Cloud promising Eain in
Drought. By Yakamochi 274
235. On Tanabata Night. By Yakamochi . . .275
BOOK XIX : Part I.
236. In Praise of his Dappled Hawk. By Yakamochi . 275
237. In Praise of Cormorant-fishing. By Yakamochi . 276
238. On the Impermanence of this World. ByYakamochi 277
239. In Praise of Ancestors. By Yakamochi . . 278
240. Cuckoo and Blossoms. By Yakamochi . . . 279
241. From a Daughter to her Mother. By Yakamochi . 280
242. A Lay of Sorrow at Separation in Cuckoo Season.
By Yakamochi, addressed to Ikenushi . .281
243. In Praise of the Cuckoo. By Yakamochi . . 282
244. In Praise of the Yamabuki (Kerria). ByYakamochi 282
245. In Praise of the Water of Fuse. By Yakamochi . 283
246. With a Present of Cormorants to Ikenushi. By
Yakamochi . ' 284
247. Cuckoo and Fuji (Wistaria) flowers. ByYakamochi 284
248. The Poet's Jealousy on hearing the earliest Cuckoo
Song in his Neighbour's Garden .... 285
249. Why singeth not Cuckoo ? By Hironaha . . 286
CONTENTS
XXI
LAY Part II. page
250. The Hapless Maid of Unahi. By Yakamochi . . 286
251. On the Death of Toy onari's Mother. By Yakamochi 288
252. To her Daughter. By the Lady of Sakanohe . . 289
253. On the Death of a Mistress 290
254. To Hironari on his Departure with a Mission to
China. By Kanemaro (?) 291
255. A Lay composed to be chanted (or recited) at a Royal
Banquet 292
256.
257.
Part III
A Lay composed to be chanted at a Banquet to a
Mission leaving for China ..... 293
On the occasion of the Promulgation of a Royal
Rescript. By Yakamochi 294
BOOK XX: Part L
258. On the Departure of a Frontier Soldier for Tsukushi.
By Yakamochi 295
259. In Praise of Naniha. By Yakamochi . . . 296
260. On his Departure on Royal Service. By Karamaro 298
261.
262.
263.
264.
Part II.
Lament of a Frontier Soldier. By Yakamochi
Lament of a Frontier Soldier. By Yakamochi
Laus Gentis Ohotomo. By Yakamochi .
Final Envoy. By Yakamochi
299
300
302
303
A Lay from the KojiJci 304
A Lay from the Nihongi 304
Short Lays from the KokinsMu ..... 305
Short Lays from the Hiydkunin IssJiiu .... 307
HoMu, or Epigrams . 309
Introduction to the Story of the Wicker-worker . . 314
The Story of the Wicker-worker : —
Book I. The Coming of the Lady of Light . . 322
II. The Wooing of the Maid . . .328
III. The First Task : The Quest of the Bowl
of Buddha 334
xxU CONTENTS
PAGE
The Story of the Wicker-worker (continued) : —
Book IV. The Second Task: The Quest of the
Jewelled Spray 338
V. The Third Task : The Quest of the Kobe
of Salamander Fur . . . .346
VI. The Fourth Task: The Quest of the
Dragon's Jewel 352
VII. The Fifth Task : The Quest of the Birth-
easing Shell 359
VIII. The Koyal Hunt 362
IX. The Celestial Kobe of Feathers . .367
Preface to the KokinsMu. By Ki no Tsurayuki . . 378
Introduction to the Mime, or No, of Takasago . . . 391
The Mime of Takasago : —
Prologue 399
ActI . . . 400
Act II 409
Index of Proper Names 413
MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Map of the World, as known to the Japanese
OF the Mythical Era ....
(By kind permission of Professor Chamber-
lain, from his translation of the Kozhiki,
being the Supplement to vol. x of the
Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
Japan.)
Motto of the Author of the Kogi prefixed
TO that work
MiwA Hill .
Amanokagu yama .
Saho-gaha
YOSHINO .
The Moor of Kasuga
The Magpies' Bridge Dancd
The Pass op Nara
The Storm (Story of the Wicker-worker)
The Grief of Kaguyahime and her Foster
Parents
The Descent of the Moon-Car and the
Discomfiture of the Men-at-Arms
to face p, XXV
1
9
53
71
103
113
133
177
355
369
373
The following abbreviations are employed in this
volume : —
(K.) Professor Chamberlain's translation of the Kojiki.
(N.) Dr. Aston's translation of the Nihongi.
(Fl.) Professor Florenz's part translation of the Nihongi.
(Br.) Captain Brinkley's Japanese-English Dictionary.
(I.) Kotoba no Izumi.
(T. A. S. J.) Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan.
MANYOSHIU INTRODUCTION
§1. GENERAL
Of the Japanese, as of the other great races of mankind,
the earliest recorded utterances are poetical. But these
are not theirs alone ; they are the primal extant deliverances
of the whole Ural-Altaic stock, which still prevails, as it
prevailed thousands of years ago, from the Caspian Sea to
the northern shores of the Eastern Pacific. For the Japanese
are Tartars ; their kinsfolk in the West are the Huns and
Turks ; in the East the islanders of Liukiu, the peninsulars
of Korea, the nomads of Mongolia, and the farmers of Man-
churia. In none of these lands and islands has the Chinaman
or the Slav any birthright of presence; among men who
dwell outside their borders the Japanese can show the
justest title to predominance.
It may well be doubted whether the introduction of
Chinese civilization — in the wake of Buddhism or other-
wise— during the middle centuries of the first millennium
of the Christian era was not a distinct, though inevitable
misfortune for Japan. I will not assert this, but it may
be pointed out that it neither consolidated the State nor
affirmed the throne, while it arrested the language, altered
the nature of the religion, and kept in bondage to an alien
past the intellect of the country for a millennium and a
half, up to the period of its emancipation at the close of
the Bakufu^ period in the latter third of the nineteenth
century.
In modern Japanese, the characters (ideographs) repre-
senting the Japano-Chinese words, forming now two-thirds
and ever forming more of the vocabulary, must be seen to be
understood ; the sound alone does not give the sense. Thus,
the development of the language in the direction of imagery
or rhetorical expression was almost destroyed. One can
jieither be witty nor pathetic in the current language of
^ The Shogunate (1192-1868), lit. camp-rule.
xxvi INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
educated Japan, save so far as recourse is had to the
remains of Old Japanese it contains, or to very completely
naturalized Chinese compounds. The modern literature of
Japan, as such, is nearly worthless. Not a line of power
or beauty, it is scarcely too much to say, has been penned
since the last nionogatari was written.^ Quite other is the
case with Old Japanese within its own limits. Those limits
are set by its comparatively scanty vocabulary. But, in this
respect, we must not forget how little Old Japanese is extant;
not very much, indeed, as literature, if we except the mono-
gatari and a few other works, beyond what is contained in
the present volume. Of Old Japanese the vocabulary was
as susceptible of clear and forcible compound expression
as Greek. The makura kotoha, or fixed epithets, as will
be better understood after a perusal of Section XII of this
Introduction, could all, apart from their special allusiveness,
be perfectly rendered in Greek ; and most of the Homeric
epithets, not involving personification, could with equal
accuracy be rendered in Old Japanese. In many other
ways — in its prefixes, such as mi, sa, ka, i, ta — analogies
between the two languages may be discovered : in its com-
pound verbs, in expressions equivalent to hvs, ev, &c. ; in
form- words or particles such as ya, ka^ mo, koso, so, haya^
7ia, ne, namUj and in other analogous ways essential simi-
larities may be found. In Old Japanese, differing from the
modern tongue, there existed distinct pronouns, a, na, ka,
80, ko, &c., which were, besides, not scantily used. The sub-
ject of the verb was more often expressed ; the commence-
ment even of personification may be detected. But the
introduction of Chinese civilization was the beginning of
the end of all this. The script hastened the process : it was
easier to use the Chinese combinations than a great variety
of ideographs as mere phonetic elements (the syllabaries did
* It is scarcely too much to say that the modern language of Japan,
in its rapidly progressive sinicization, becomes more and more inca-
pable of rendering, so as to be fully understood by a Japanese not
already acquainted with some Western language, a single sentence,
not simply descriptive or narrative, of the literature, properly so called,
of the Occident.
GENEEAL xxvii
not come into general use for a century and a half following
the completion of the Manyoshiu), and as Chinese literature
was more read it was found more convenient to use ready-
made compounds denoting new ideas than to translate them
into a not very intelligible Japanese. The syntax of Old
Japanese is, on the whole, accurate and full of meaning; there
are the beginnings of inflexion, a system of post-particles
answering to case and number, while position to some
extent replaced concord. With an enlarged vocabulary, a
somewhat extended use of pronouns, and a more frequent
expression of the subject of the sentence, Japanese might
have become a vehicle of literary expression not much less
inferior to Greek than, in many respects, such a language
as French is to the tongue of Homer and Sophocles, though
it might never have attained the extreme of personification
exemplified in the yepoiv yipovri . . . t/lvos and abeXtfya . . .
TovToia-Lv . . . 6p€TiTripia of the great speech of Polyneices in
the Oedipus Coloneus. Such, at least, are the conclusions
to which a close study of the primitive literature of Japan
has led the present writer. Their justification would require
a chapter to itself.
Of the three fundamental documents of Japanese history
and letters, the oldest, the Kojiki, or Ancient Annals, pre-
sents an almost prehistoric picture of primitive Japan —
confused, in parts repulsive, but not wholly unfaithful in
essence; in the Nihongi, or Chronicles of Japan, almost
of contemporaneous composition, we have the same picture
developed and extended, and more or less rationalized, so to
say, in accordance with the principles, then of recent intro-
duction, or at least adoption, of Chinese religion, history,
and philosophy; while in the ManySshiu we possess a
precious, and indeed unparalleled, Anthology of verse,
wholly Japanese in diction and phrasing, and predominantly
so in the themes it deals with, and in the ti'eatment of these
— themes taken mainly from the life of the time and its
natural environment, and together exhibiting almost the
oldest, perhaps the truest, certainly the most pleasing,
portraiture extant of the Japanese world in its archaic
age.
xxviii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
All three documents were compiled within the first sixty
years of the eighth century/ and while the Anthology,
though it contains a few Chinese epistles, poems, and
didactic pieces, answers fully to its title, both the Annals
and the Chronicles are embellished by uta or poems which
are mostly single stanzas of five lines only, and are intended
to illustrate, in some degree to confirm, the text. Of these
uta one hundred and eleven are found in the Annals, and
one hundred and thirty-two (inclusive of about thirty of
those contained in the Annals) in the Chronicles. None of
the uta, in their present form at least, can be much older
than the texts which they embellish, but some of them may
be adaptations of more ancient examples. Many of those
found in the Annals are of phallic or analogous origin, but
in the Chronicles, owing doubtless to the influence of
Chinese literary restraint in such matters, there is scarcely
a trace of coarseness in word or thought ; in the Anthology
there is absolutely none, but in the Far East platonism
was as little understood then as now, and the theme of love
is treated in the ManySshiu from a frankly possessory
point of view. Of a choka (naga-uta), or long lay, from
the Annals, and of one from the Chronicles, translations are
appended to those of the lays from the Anthology, followed
by a few examples of later mediaeval poetry, inclusive of the
epigram of seventeen syllables, which was the final reduc-
tion of the long lay to its least expression, as accepted in
later mediaeval and Tokugawa days.
Of the ManySshiu and its contents a full account will be
^ We have no means of determining the significance of the com-
position of two histories so different in tone and content as the Annals
and the Chronicles within a few years of each other. They seem to
represent an ultra-conservative and an ultra-progressive mode of
thought respectively, and this dualism has remained characteristic of
Japan throughout her history. In the eighth century the principles
represented by the Nihongi were victorious, but the more primitive
ideas of the Kojiki maintained a more or less dormant existence, and
in the nineteenth century regained part of their original supremacy.
In the twentieth century Japan exhibits the singular spectacle of a
political entity on a level with Western civilization in many respects,
while behind the civilization of China in not a few.
GENEEAL
XXIX
found in the following sections of this Introduction. The
author of the edition I have used, the Manyoshiu Kogi, or
Ancient Meaning of the Manyoshiu, describes the Anthology
with perfect justice as the ancestor and model of all subse-
quent Japanese verse, to be admired and revered as the
moon in high heaven. Tsurayuki, in his celebrated pre-
face to the KokinsMu (Garner of Verse, old and new), a
translation of which is contained in the present volume,
eulogizes the Anthology in more extravagant language ;
and the revivalist writers of the close of the eighteenth
century exalt it, together with the Kojiki and Nihongiy
above all other Japanese literature.
In sober truth, the lays cannot be said to form an addition
to the world's poetry. But they are a contribution, and
a most interesting one, to its v§rse. Their imagery is
deficient, owing largely to the impersonal character of the
Japanese language, reflected in the want of personification
in Japanese imagery ^, partly to the insensibility of the
Japanese mind (either original or through arrest of develop-
ment by Chinese influences) to most of the beauty of nature,
to all the beauty of the human form, and to nearly all of
the charm of human emotion. The Far East is essentially
•* In Shakespeare's picture of the Egyptian queen —
The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,
burned on the water; the poop was beaten gold,
purple the sails, and so perfumed that
the winds were love-sick with them ....
For her own person,
it beggared all description : she did lie
in her pavilion — cloth-of-gold of tissue —
o'er-picturing that Venus where we see
the fancy outwork nature ; on each side her
stood pretty-dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,
with divers- coloured fans, whose wind did seem
to glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool,
and what they undid did—
there is no personification, save in the epithet 'love-sick', which is
rather a blemish than a beauty. With that one exception, the whole
passage could be perfectly rendered in pure Japanese. There can be
little doubt that personification is often pushed to an extreme in
Western literature of all a^es and climes.
XXX
INTEODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
lacking in humanism. Of cloud and sea, of light and shade,
of leaf and flower, beyond the conventional praise of vernal
blossom and autumnal leaf-fall borrowed from China, little
note is taken in the Anthology ; in the uta of the Annals
and Chronicles even the beauties of spring and autumn are
almost wholly neglected. Nevertheless the Lays have
a charm of their own, distinct from that of Chinese poetry,
and nearer to that of Western verse than any of the com-
positions found in the ShihJdng, in the works of the Thang
poets, or in the productions of mediaeval or Tokugawa
Japan. They are full of conventionalisms, but these are
usually simple and natural, artless even in their artifice ;
their imagery, if somewhat monotonous, is not trivial,
though it appears so occasionally to a Western critic, based,
as it largely must be, upon unfamiliar myth, story, custom,
social phase, or habit of thought. Their decoration is
extremely ingenious; when fully understood it affords a
peculiar pleasure, much of which unfortunately cannot be
conveyed in any translation. But the decoration of ancient
Japanese verse, some sufficient explanation of which is
attempted in one of the following sections, proved the
destruction of Japanese poetry, which finally degenerated
into metrical exercises of purely verbal ingenuity, often
dexterous enough in their way, as may be gathered from
the examples following the lays, and from the epigrams
contained in this volume, but affording no space or scope
for the expression of poetic emotion.
The veneration the Japanese still feel for the Manyoshiu
may be sufficiently understood from the expressions con-
tained in the two prefatial letters of which translations are
given in the next section of this Introduction. In the first, a
member of the noble Sanjo family writes — ' By the Man-
ySs^du men may climb to a knowledge of the learning of
the ancient world, and to an understanding of its valiant
and noble figures ' ; in the second, a senator of the former
Genro-In declares that the Anthology ' is the chief ornament
of our literature ; to read it is to understand the feelings,
procure acquaintance with the manners, and know the
men and things of that ancient time \
GENERAL
XXXI
Kamo Mabuchi (died 1770) had long before written * all
histories, from the If ihongi downwards, are full of embellish-
ments to falsehoods, for in fact the truth about matters is
hard to get at. But the ManyosJdu is a real record of the
feelings of the men who composed its lays, and throws
valuable light upon the period.'
But with the Anthology the production of true poetry
ended in Old Japan. The next Anthology, the Kokinwakcc-
shiu, is a collection, almost entirely, of tanka; the few
naga-uta in it are mere echoes of the older poems. In the
saibara, mimes, we find the metre and the diction of the
naga-uta but none of their spirit ; in the iVo no utahi, a
mosaic of Buddhist and manyo phraseology. Neither
Keichiu in his compositions, one of which is given in
Dr. Aston's History of Japanese Literature, nor Motowori
in his long uta on Mount Yoshino displayed more than the
dexterity of a verse-monger well acquainted with the
Anthology. In later times poetical composition was largely
replaced by 'literary follies' of the kind described in
Disraeli's Curiosities of Literature. An example or two
may be given. Here is a palindrome : —
na-ga-ki yo no After a long night's sleep,
to-wo no ne-bu-ri no how pleasant 'tis to awake,
mi-na me-sa-me listening to the sound of the
na-mi no-rifu-ne no boat rocked on the waves of
o-to no yo-ki ka-na !
the sea !
(reading bu as the syllabic character fu voiced, o as wo,
and ga as ka voiced).
An acrostic may be added, composed by the Princess
Hirohata, who persuaded the Mikado Murakami (947-51)
to order a revision of the Manyoshiu, She gave it to
him with some incense, and he requested his concubines
to find out the meaning, not apparent on the surface.
Afusaka mo
hate ha yukiki no
seH mo izM
tsdzunete tohi ko
"kinala kahesazhi.
xxxii INTEODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
The meaning is : ' Not going forth beyond the barrier
passed by those who come and go — 'tis Afusaka's hill, — place
of starting and meeting — if thou inquire for me thou shalt
not be refused.' But taking the thick- typed syllables and
allowing for nigori (voicing), we have ahase taki Tnono
suJcoshi = ' Just a trifle of mingled perfumes.'
Lastly, I may quote the opening lines of a song officially
composed for the use of the soldiers in the recent war, known
as a Sei'Ro-ka (Chastise-Russian-Song), a naga-uta : —
Ten ni kawarite Representative of Heaven,
ohogivii no our Emperor
tatakahi norasu orders the war,
mikotonori such his high command,
sekai no hate made to the very ends of the earth
hibikitari doth it resound ;
skin-jiu tomo ni the gods too, and mankind
ikidoharu too,
Roshia utsubeshi are full of indignation ;
korasuheshi, struck down must Russia be,
Russia must be chastised !
To resume. The Kojiki, the Nihongi, and the Manyoshiu,
all composed in the eighth century of our era, are the three
classics of primitive Japan, and with the story of Take-
tori have served as models for all her later literature not
Buddhist or Confucianist. They are the earliest extant
documents in the language, the only literary sources from
which any knowledge of the founders and formation of the
Japanese state, and of the modes of life and thought of
archaic" Japan can be drawn, and the main, if not the sole,
founts of the myth and tradition of unsinicized Hinomoto
that have come down to the present day. Of the above
works the first two have been translated in their entirety
by English scholars, and now a version of the major
and more important portion of the third is ofiered by
a compatriot.
The long lays (chSka) of the ManySshiu^ with their envoys
(hanJca\ represent something less than two- thirds of the total
contents of the Anthology. The remaining third consists
DESCRIPTION OF THE KOGI xxxiii
of tanka, each of five lines and thirty-one syllables only.
These are of minor literary value. Judging from their
structure, I am inclined to consider many of them, especially
among those that are without dai (arguments), as additions
made after Yakamochi's day. Be this as it may, their
interest lies in the light, though 'tis scanty, they throw
upon the Many6 age. To have included them in the
present work would have greatly increased its bulk, and
tried the reader's patience.
§ II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MANYOsHIU KOGI
The original edition of the Manyoshm Kogi ' — ' The
Ancient Meaning of the Manyoshiu * — as published by the
Government in 12 Meiji (1879), was an edition de luxe in
124 volumes, each averaging 70 Japanese, i. e. 140 of our
pages. In paper, wide margins, spacing, and typography no
finer production of the Imperial Press is known to me. Of
these, ninety-fi.ve volumes contain the Lays, with the com-
mentary attached to each, the category (where named),
author's name (where given), and the dai or argument (where
added). The remaining volumes, twenty-nine in number,
answer to the eight volumes of the ordinary edition about to
be mentioned. The edition I have principally used is a re-
print of the edition de luxe in thirty-one ^ closely, but very
clearly, printed volumes, containing from 70 to 140 Japanese
double pages each (140 to 280 of our pages). The canonical
twenty books of the Lays are distributed over twenty-three
volumes. The remaining eight volumes contain the Soron^
or Prolegomena (1 vol.) ; the Chiushaku mokuroku, or Con-
tents and Lexicon (1 vol.) ; the Jimbutsuden, or Biographies
(1 vol.) ; the Hi')nhutsu or Buppin or Shinamono-kai,
Fauna and Flora of the Anthology (1 vol.) ; the Meishoko,
Geography of the Anthology (2 vols.) ; and the Makura
^ The full title is Manydshiu Kogi Chiushaku, gy yj ^fe ~^
^ ^^ ^, 'The Ancient Meaning of the Manydshiu set forth with
commentary.'
^ A number corresponding to that of the syllables in a regular
hanka.
DICKIKS. u
xxxiv INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
kotoba ShiJcaiy Glossary of makura kotoba or pillow-words
(2 vols.).
Much of the matter contained in these last-mentioned
eight volumes is also found repeated as commentary in the
twenty-three volumes of text.
The work displays immense learning; every extant
source of information bearing upon the text and its inter-
pretation has been consulted, and the critical acumen
shown in their use is very great. No existing edition can
be compared with the Kogi in fullness and accuracy. All
the important various readings are given, and in nearly
every case the selection of the Kogi is to be preferred to
that of the Riyakuge, as well as to the readings adopted
by Motowori or Mabuchi. Of the latter two, indeed, the
emendations are often of little value ; to my mind by far
the best of the older commentators is Keichiu. In his-
torical matters the Kogi, of course, had no choice but to
accept the Kojiki and the Nihongi with its continuations.
The etymologies are sometimes good, often absurd ; scientific
philology and archaeology hardly existed in Kamochi's time,
and the account given of the fauna and flora is meagre and
almost useless. The great aim of the scholars of Old Japan
was to decipher and correct texts— a very difficult matter
in the case of the Manyoshiu, as illustrated by the story
related at the end of Section V. The complicated and
variously employed script could only be gradually ex-
plained by the successive labours of generations of scholars,
and the close examination by each scholar, in his turn, of
all that his predecessors had done, and of all existing
manuscript and printed copies. Keichiu's edition w^as, no
doubt, the first to be printed. Up to the beginning of the
seventeenth century hardly any but Buddhist (and some
Confucianist) works were published in other than manu-
script editions (cf. Sir E. Satow's papers on Early Printing in
Japan and Korea, in the volumes of the T. A. S. J.). Next
to the text in importance come the identification of places
and persons, and the biographies of the latter— chiefly con-
cerned with the exact dates at which the various ranks and
offices bestowed upon them were conferred— together with
DESCEIPTION OF THE KOGI xxxv
such unravelment of the significance and occasion of a
lay, as could be gathered or imagined from extant sources
of information, usually of small historical value. I use
designedly the phrase ' small historical value ', but in most
cases it seems clear, from intrinsic evidence, that the
significance of any lay must have resembled, or been ana-
logous with, the explanation proposed in the commentary,
just as the Nihongi, though very far from being trust-
worthy history, does present a series of events resembling
more or less closely the actual course of early Japanese
history.
The fault of the Kogi is its prolixity and the long-winded
style of the commentary. The author appears to have
aimed at a more or less archaic style, and often, though
his meaning is fairly clear, one has to travel over lengthy
sentences to arrive at it.
The subjoined Imperial approval of the Kogi, and the
two quasi-prefaces that succeed, are prefixed, written in
cursive character, to the text in the first volume, follow-
ing the motto reproduced in the present work on the leaf
facing page 1.
* Meiji jiuni nen hachi givatsu. Ippon Shinn6 Taruhito.'
[In the eighth month (August) of the twelfth year of
Meiji (1879). Of the First Order of Rank, a Prince of the
Blood, Taruhito.]
Preface by Sanjo Nishi Suetomo
By the Manyoshiu men may climb to a knowledge of the
learning of the ancient world, and to an understanding of
its valiant and noble figures. Commentaries on the Many 6-
skill are numerous enough, and their differences often
perplex the reader. But here we have a Tosa man,
Kamochi Masazumi, who for ' years and months ^ ' has
given his whole mind to the study of the Anthology, and
after exhaustive consideration of all sources of information,
*no corner of his subject left unrounded ^,' has produced a
book full of erudition, which no one can read without admi-
ration of the spirit, language, and manners of that Exalted
1 Common phrases in the Manyoshiu.
C 3
XXXVl
INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
Age. Great has been the advance on many paths during
the present reign, and unparalleled the development of our
modem civilization, but no work of this kind of anything
like equal merit has appeared.
The Commentary was brought to His Majesty's notice,
who ordered it to be printed ; thus, although the true soul
of Masazumi has mounted above the clouds, his labour has
seen its fulfilment below the skies.
It is by His Majesty's own desire that I write these words
on the occasion of the publication of this work. Mean as
my capacities are and awkward my style, I have ventured
to pen the foregoing sentences.
Summer of 12 Meiji (1879).
Sanj6 Nishi Suetomo ^, a Member of the Senior Division
of the Second Order of Rank.
Preface by Fukuba Yoshishidzu
The ManySshiu is the chief ornament of our literature.
To read it is to understand the feelings, procure acquaint-
ance with the manners, and know the men and things of
that ancient time. In the course of ages language and
script have changed, and the text has become more and
more difficult to understand. Hence commentaries have
been wiitten by the score, none of which have been wholly
profitless, and now, in this age of ours, has Kamochi
Masazumi, a native of Tosa, produced the Manyoshiu Kogi,
the fullest and best commentary yet published. Up to the
day of his death he was occupied with his great task, and so
excellently has he accomplished it that the Government has
determined to publish the work. Only one complete manu-
script copy was known — in the possession of the author's
friend 2, Fukuoka K6ren, a samurai of K6chi ^ Ken. Not
even in the house of his heir, Asukahi Masaharu, was a perfect
copy of the many volumes of the original found. The task
of revision was undertaken by the above-mentioned gentle-
men, and the complete work finally handed to the Kunaisho
* A relative, probably, of the late Premier Sanjo.
• mompa, lit. ' co-sectary.' 3 j^ ^Qg^^
DAIG6, OE TITLE xxxvii
— a hundred volumes having been prepared by Fukuoka,
and some twenty others by Asukahi. The supervision of
the printing of the work was entrusted to myself, and in
the summer of this twelfth year of Meiji the first of these
volumes saw the light. In reading the proofs, collation
and otherwise, Fukuoka and his pupils have lent their aid,
I write this preface in obedience to command and as an
introduction to the Commentary.
Eighth month, 12 Meiji (1879). Fukuba Yoshishidzu ^
Senator (former Genro-In gihwan), official in the Literary
Department of the Ministry of the Imperial Household
[Kunaisho),
§ III. THE DAIGd, OR TITLE, OF THE
MANYdSHIU'-
Many6shiu — written archaically Man-yefu-shifu, and
doubtless so pronounced (/ being labial) before and in the
eighth century — is written with characters ^ ^ ^
meaning literally ' myriad-leaves-collection '. When or by
whom the title was given is unknown. It does not appear
to be mentioned in any Japanese work earlier than the
Kokinshiu, compiled, and in part composed, by the cele-
brated Ki no Tsurayaki, who died in 946 A.D. He refers
to the Anthology in his well-known preface, of which a
translation is given in the present volume. To this refer-
ence will be made immediately.
In Chinese, the ' daigo ' would be read tuan'^-yeh^^-chi^*
(Giles) — in Cantonese, man-yp-tsap. The p in Japanese
would become a labial /, in which any one of the three
sounds fhiu might become predominant — as in Gaelic
' fhwat ' for ' what '. Thus we get yefu, shifu, sinking into
yeivu, yeu, yo, and shiwu, shi'u, or shu. Man means
a myriad, or myriads, the highest number denoted by a
single character in (older) Chinese, hence an undefined
great number. Yd is 'leaf, but also 'age' or 'period'
* Afterwards a viscount. He was almost a dwarf, being scarcely
over three feet in height.
^ This now appears to be the accepted spelling.
XXXVIU
INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
(Giles) ; part of the character, indeed, but not its primitive,
la shih, ' age, reign/ &c.
Three interpretations of the title are more or less current.
The first, hitherto adopted by all Western scholars, is the
literal one— A Collection (shiu) of a Myi-iad Leaves. I can
find no warrant for this interpretation in any Japanese
work at my disposal. The other two interpretations are,
in pure Japanese, (a) Yorodzu no koto no ha no atsunfie ;
(b) Yorodzu no yo no atsume. In English the first is,
* Collection of a Myriad (countless) Leaves of Speech (i. e.
words)', the second, 'Collection of a Myriad (countless) Ages^'
In the Kolcin preface above mentioned the opening sen-
tence is, Yamato uta ha hito no kokoro wo tane to shite yoro-
dzu no koto no ha to zo narikeru,' which may be rendered :
* As to the poetry of our country, 'tis the soul of man that it
takes as the seed (subject) and develops countless myriads of
the leaves of language.' ^ This is believed to be the earliest
instance of the use of the conceit koto no ha (in which ha, leaf,
is connected with tane, seed) for kotoha (speech or language).
In the Anthology the expression is not met with. The Kogi
states that from ancient times the title has been read as
denoting either 'the heart (spirit or meaning) of myriads
of ages ' or ' the heart of myriads of words ', and that either
rendering may be supported. In the preface to a Chinese
poetical treatise cited in the Karahumi Bunsen (Selections
from Chinese Literature) the expression manyd is used to
denote a myriad (or myriads) of ages. The passage is :
' To dwell in faithfulness to the laws of Heaven, to estab-
lish the people to the uttermost, there is nothing nobler
than such conduct (on the part of the Prince), God causes
such a throne to shine, maintains the reign, affirms the
^ See also the account given of the Anthology in the Giinsho ichiran,
an excellent Japanese bibliography in six vols., published in 1801
by Wozaki Masayoshi, who died in 1808. There we read that Sengaku
(flourished latterhalf of thirteenth century) was of the opinion that yd
should be read koto no ha, and that Kitamura Kikin, a later commen-
tator (died 1706), thought it meant yo, * age, generation, reign.'
^ We may compare— though the analogy is distant— the 'Talking
Oak ' of Tennyson, and the rustling of the oak-leaves of Dodona which,
were interpreted by the Peleiades.
DAIGO, OR TITLE xxxix
succession, assures its endurance through myriads of ages
{many 6), and assures justice^.' The date of the quotation
appears to be some time between A.D. 384 and 456. Other
examples of this use of manyo by Chinese authors, among
whom it appears to have been common, are given in the Kogi.
In the ShakumyS (Explanations of Names [of things]), in
relation to verse, the voice of man is likened to the trunk
of a tree, whence ramify the branches bearing the foliage.
The expression wan-yeh (manyd), again, is used by Huai-
nan^, who recommends scholars to aim at the perfection
of a tree with its trunk and leafery. Liu-Yii-si, too,
a poet of the eighth century (Mayers' Chinese Manual^
No. 423), in his Verses on the Winds of Autumn, sings, ' Lo I
the hundreds of insects meet in the dusk, and the myriads
of leaves murmur under autumn skies.' These and other
passages that might be cited from Chinese literature go
to support Tsurayuki's use of the expression koto no ha,
and the rendering of yd by kotoba. In later anthologies,
too, made by sovran command, the words kinyo, gyokuyo,
shiny 6 (golden, precious, fresh yd), may be taken to imply
the meaning of ' language '. Still, these may all be merely
modern uses of the expression. In a rescript of Nimmyd
(A.D. 834-50) manyd means yorodzu-yo, myriads of ages.
The Kogi adduces other examples of this employment of yd
as equivalent to yd (age, period), one of which is the title
of a collection, go yd 6 Am, ' Anthology of Five Reigns (Ages).'
The conclusion of the Kogi is that, notwithstanding current
usage, the true meaning of the title Manydshiw is not
' A Collection of a Myriad Leaves (of language) ', but ' A
Collection of All the Ages (i.e. an Anthology) ', the ancestor
and model, of all succeeding verse, ' to be reverenced as
the moon shining in high heaven.' The rendering 'Lays
of Ancient Japan' sufficiently answers to a possible —
in my belief probable — meaning of the title, and is
descriptive of the Anthology itself. Though true odes
^ From the preface to the Chhushuishih (winding-water poems), by
Yenyenchih (flourished a.d. 384-456). See Giles, Biogr. Diet., No. 2481.
^ Liu An, or Liu Ngan, died B.C. 122, a grandson of the founder of
the Han dynasty. See Giles, Biogr. Diet, No. 1.269, Mayers, No. 412.
xl INTEODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
are found in the Anthology, 'Lays' more fully describe
the contents. Lai or laid was originally, indeed, an
ode or song chanted to a sort of rote. It was at a much
later date that the term was extended to narrative
poems. A few of the 'lays' that follow are really
ballads, others are didactic; most refer to some actual
and present event, or some story of the past, and as such,
illustrating more or less the life of primitive Japan, possess
a .slightly epic character. Indeed the Anthology may be
not unjustly regarded as a discontinuous social epos of
Ancient Japan, up to the period, that is, of the permanent
establishment of the capital (City-Royal) at Heian, the City
of Peace, later Ky6to, in a.d. 794.
§ IV. DATE AND COMPILATION
Ti-adition alone affords any information as to the date and
compilation of the Anthology. A long and learned note
on the subject is contained in the Kogi, upon which (to-
gether with the notice in the Gunsho ickiran) the follow-
ing brief account is based. According to the Kokinskm-
sitsu, the Mikado Seiwa, some time during the period
J6gwan (859-77), caused inquiry to be made in relation to
the date of the Manyoshiu. From one Arisuwe, a scribe,
the enigmatical answer was obtained that it was an ancient
book of the time when the Palace bore the name of the oak-
tree (nara ^, oak) that sheds its leaves in the Kaminadzuki,
or godless (tenth) month — when the gods are away at
Kidzuki, in Idzumo, settling the affairs of the world 2. The
Nara period, however, extended from a.d. 708 to 782, and
the answer of Arisuwe throws little light upon the subject.
It would seem that he may have referred to the reign of
the Mikado Heizei (8C6-9), who was known as Nara Tenn6,
from his resumption, for a short time, of residence at Nara.
* The true derivation of Nara is said to be not nara, an oak
(Quercus glandulifera, Bl.), but nara (narashi) to make level : i. e.
prepare the ground for building a royal mii/a. The discredited
explanation, however, seems the more probable one.
' Hirata says name-dzuki = tasting month or harvest festival.
Afton, Shinto, p. 145.
DATE AND COMPILATION xli
In the Chinese preface to the Shinzoku Koklnshiu (New
Continuation of the KoJcinshiu, written between 1429 and
1440) it is also stated that the Anthology was prepared in
twenty volumes during the reign of Heizei, and by his com-
mand. In Tsurayuki's preface to the KoJcinshiu again, the
Nara period is mentioned as that of the compilation, but the
figures given point — as the Chinese preface suggests — to the
reign of Heizei. A reference to Hitdmaro, who died (707)
just before the beginning of the Nara age, together with the
computation of that age as extending over ten reigns and a
hundred years, destroys the value of Tsurayuki's statement.
In the nineteenth book of the ZohuNihon gokl (A Continua-
tion of the Nihongi) it is related that the Mikado Nimmyo in
A.D. 849 visited the monastery of Kyofuku, and was there
presented with a congratulatory long lay on attaining his
fortieth year, in which the monks complained of the prevail-
ing neglect of Japanese poetry, even among the clergy, as
a danger to civilization. The explanation given of this
neglect was that from Hoji (ad. 757-64) the state was in
an unsettled condition ; from 770 to 781 Japanese poetry was
unheeded at the Court owing to the ill example shown by
the Mikado himself; from 782 to 806 the neglect continued ;
and lastly, that during the reign of the Mikado Saga
(810-42) Chinese poetry was alone in fashion, even among
the ladies of the Court. Under the Mikado Seiwa the
study of Japanese, as distinct from Chinese, hterature was
revived, and the revival continued throughout the period
Yengi (901-23), which brings the subject to the days of
Tsurayuki and the composition of the Kokinshiu (Garner
of Japanese Verse, Old and New), the Japanese preface to
which was written during the fii'st third of the tenth
century.
The earlier of the commentators, as distinct from the
mere glossists, Sengaku, in his Manyoshiu Sho ^, com-
posed about the middle of the thirteenth century, was
of opinion that the compilation of the Anthology was
begun by the Sadaijin Tachibana no Moroye, and
completed by the Chiunagon, Ohotomo no Sukune Yaka-
' Notes upon the Manyoshiu,
xlii INTKODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
mochi. The celebrated Okabe (Kamo Mabuchi) quotes
from the Yotmgi Monogatari to the effect that under
the Takano Mikado (the Queen-Regnant Koken, 749-58)
M6roye was commanded to prepare an Anthology with
the assistance of the kyo (ministers) and shin (higher
officials). But Mdroye died in 1 H6ji (757), and could not
therefore have compiled the Anthology in its present state,
since it contains lays of a later date.
The priest Keichiu (died 1701), whose work, the Manyo
d^t8^(5H, together with that of his contemporary, Kitamura
Kikin, the Manyd Skiusui Sho, forms the foundation of all
modern learning on the subject, thought that the Anthology
was the work of Yakamochi alone, and that it was not
compiled by command of the Sovran. The proofs adduced
in support of this latter contention also go to prove the
authorship of Yakamochi, particularly the description of
Yakamochi's own lays as ^mean' (tsutanai) and the
language of his references to his father. His own name,
too, he always gives in full. In the commentary on the
short lay in Book xix, beginning Shirayuki no, an
alteration in the text is stated to have been made by the
Sadaijin — no doubt M(5roye. This reference brings up
the question of M6roye's part-authorship. Okabe speaks
of an old arrangement, of which the first six books are
identical with Books i, ii, xiii, xi, xii, xiv respectively
of the modem editions, and it is not impossible that all of
these books were compiled by Moroye (or, more probably,
the first two only), and that the others were the work of
Yakamochi. The last lay in Book xx is dated 3 Tempyo
Hoji (Feb. 2, 759), and Yakamochi died in 785. There was,
therefore, time for him to have effected a complete arrange-
ment of the Anthology according to subjects and dates, but
this was not done except in the case of Books i-ii, which
may have been arranged by M6roye. The work was left
in an incomplete state, and the explanation of this fact may
be the neglect of Japanese learning, which, as just shown,
began shortly after the middle of the eighth century. A
revival of Japanese leai-ning took place in the reign of
Seiwa (859-76), and attained fuller development about the
OEDEK OF BOOKS, GLOSSES, EDITIONS xliii
time of the composition of the Japanese preface to the
Kokinshiu in or about 922, but did not persist long after
the latter date.
§ V. ORDER OF BOOKS, GLOSSES, EDITIONS
The ManySshiu has always been arranged in twenty
books. Okabe, as already mentioned, thought he could
discover in the Lays themselves traces of a different arrange-
ment from the present one, but the Kogi, admitting some
plausibility in the theory, declares it to be unsupported by
any extrinsic evidence. The correspondence of the first
six books of the supposed arrangement with the existing
order has been set forth above, that of the remaining
fourteen may be thus presented, the numbers in brackets
representing the modern order — vii (x), viii (vii), ix
(v), X (ix), xi (xv), xii (viii), xiii (iv), xiv (iii), xv
(vi) ; xvi, xvii, xviii, xix, and xx are identical in
both arrangements. These fourteen books contain lays
taken from various collections, including many of Yaka-
mochi's own composition, and were regarded by Okabe as
additions to the original Manyoshiu. There is no doubt
something to be said for this theory, at all events the
present sequence (except of the first two volumes) is very
irregular, chronologically and categorically. Books i, ii,
iii, X, xi, xii, xv, xix, and xx are each divided into three
parts — upper, middle, and lower ; the remainder into upper
and lower parts only.
All the lays are written in the Chinese character, used
after a very peculiar fashion explained in the volume of
Texts. Here it must suffice to say they are sometimes read
phonetically, japonice or japano-sinicS, sometimes they
must be translated into Japanese, sometimes they must be
puzzled out as rebus-like combinations — thus the character
read japonicS as Icamo, a wild-duck, is constantly used to
signify the two exclamatory particles ka mo, ' must it be
so?' — an exclamation of mingled doubt and entreaty or
hope.
xliv INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
In most, but not all, of the books, a dai or argument,
written in pure Chinese, is prefixed to each lay, stating
very briefly its authorship, occasion or subject, and date,
or one or two only of these particulars. There are often
also postscripts added, and now and then notes within the
text, the latter usually by Yakamochi, the former by
Yakamochi or Sengaku, or other early commentator.
Originally the Chinese script alone was given. As time
went on the true reading became more and more difficult,
and after Kukai (A-D. 774-834) had invented the syllabaries
(if he did so), additions were made to indicate inflexional
terminations and grammatical particles ; finally, to the right
of the column of characters was appended a full kana (sylla-
bic) transliteration into pure Japanese. These glosses are
known as kunten^ and are distinguished as ancient, inter-
mediary, and new. The ancient kunten was the work
of Minamoto Shitagafu and four others, known as the
Tiashitsiibo (Pear-tub Chamber) committee,^ who under-
took the task by command of the Mikado Murakami, at
the instance of the Princess Hirohata, some time in the
period Tenryaku (a.d. 947-57).
The intermediary kunten was prepared by Ohoye Suke-
kuni (eleventh century) and five assistants.
The new kunten was a result of Sengaku's scholarship
(thirteenth century), and was more in the nature of a com-
mentary than a mere gloss, as were most subsequent works
on the ManySshiu. His work, the Manyoskiu Sho, is alone
extant of the three ten, and is described in the Gunsho
Ichiran, vol. iv, p. 5, v. lb does not appear (so far as I
know) that Sengaku added the kanxi transliteration, nor
is there any certainty as to when or by whom this trans-
literation was first effected.
Since the time of Sengaku the principal editions have
been theDaishdki of the Naniha priest Keichiu (died 1701),
the Manyd jiuuhd of Kitamura Kikin (died 1706), the
RiyaJcuge (Brief Commentary) of Tachibana (or Kato)
Chikage (died 1808), and the Kogi, on which this partial
* See note, p. xlv.
METEE, FOEM, AND NUMBEE OF LAYS xlv
presentation of the Anthology is founded. Of the last named
and its author a full account is given in the last section of
this Introduction.
The Pear-tub Hall, known also as shdyosha (Bright Hall) was one
of the Six (or Five ?) sha or pavilions of the Inner Palace of mediaeval
times. [The name probably imports a pear-tree of some kind [kaiddy
perhaps Pyrus spectabilis) growing in a tub by the sha. On either side
of the row of sha were rows of den or larger pavilions. Every sha had
its name— Hri (Paulownia), ume (plum), fuji (Wistaria), and one was
known as the haminari sha, because here was posted the Thunder-guard
(kammari = Divine-roar), whose duty it was to be in readiness to
look to the defence of the Palace when more than three i*eals of
thunder reverberated in succession.] Shitagafu and his committee
were busy with their task every day during A.D. 952. The following
pleasant story is told of him. In executing their task the committee
came upon the following tanka: —
Shiranami no what years uncounted
hamamatsu ga ye no those pious offerings countless
tamuke-gusa on yonder pine hung
iku yo made ni ka the surfy shore o'ershadowing,
toshi mo henuramu ! have men on yonder pine hung !
The verse will be found in the middle part of Book i. It is attri-
buted to Prince Kahashima— by some to Omi Okura. The occasion
was a Royal Progress to Kii of the Queen-Regnant Jit6, mentioned in
the Nihongi under the 13th day of the 9th month of the 4th year
of her reign (N. ii. 399). Shiranamino is an epithet (m. k.) of
hama [matsu], which here means shore-pine ; gusa here means 'kinds '.
The version (as to the last line) is conjectural. The committee were
sorely puzzled by the characters 'stone-two' in the script of the
fourth verse. Shitagafu accordingly journeyed to Ishiyama and prayed
to Kwannon for help, but though he prayed for seven days and nights
no help came. Exhausted and disappointed he began his journey
back to his house in City-Royal, and on the way stopped at an inn at
Ohotsu. Early the next morning he heard a traveller, getting ready
for departure from a neighbouring house, say to a servant, as the
baggage was being secured on the packhorse, ' Stop a bit ' {mate, wait),
when the word desired, mate or made (until), flashed upon his mind.
§ VI. METRE, FOKM, AND NUMBER OF LAYS.
THE DAI, OR ARGUMENTS
In Japanese, as in Chinese verse, there is, strictly speak-
ing, no metre, for there are no distinct feet. The line
;dvi INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
consists of so many syllables, in Japanese all open, and all
simple, for there are no diphthongs. A sort of rhythm,
however, does exist, but is difficult of definition. Modern
verse is usually read or recited in a monotonous high-
pitched falsetto, very unpleasing to a Western ear. There
is little emphasis, and that not concerned, apparently,
with the sense. The lays of the ManySshiu were doubtless
recited, or sung or chanted, after a similar fashion, and
there was a more or less regular sequence of slight arsis
and thesis. There was a total absence of rhyme or asso-
nance in any form, but word-jingles of a peculiar kind
were not uncommon. These will be noticed in a later
section.
Almost all the lays consist of alternate pentasyllable
and heptasyllabic lines, beginning with a pentasyllabic, and
ending with two heptasyllabic lines, thus resembling the
contemporary Thang poetry, except that in the latter the
verses were not alternating, but all pentasyllabic or all hepta-
syllabic save in irregular pieces. There were no long or short
syllables in Old Japanese, every syllable was pronounced
much in the same time, between the time of a long and
short syllable in Greek or Latin. There was scarcely any
vocabular or phrasal ictus or even tone. The recital of
Japanese verse was and is rather an enunciation [yomi)
of syllables than of words or sentences.
The general character of the language is iambic rather
than trochaic (to my ear), or, more accurately, between
those qualities, but there does often seem to exist a slight
ictus on the first syllable of a line, chiefly where that
begins a phrase. French verse read with some deliberation
more resembles the Japanese line than any classical or
Germanic form. In English, ictus is unavoidable, but the
iambic measure I have chosen for the translations, which
correspond exactly (with some exceptions) to the text in
the number of syllables, appears to me closer to the original
than the more staccato form of such poems as Hiawatha
or Der Trompeter von Sdkkingen.
In classical parlance the metric scheme of the Japanese
uta would be, essentially, an approach to an alternation
METRE, FOEM, AND NUMBER OF LAYS xlvii
of catalectic iambic monometers and dimeters, with the
first iambus of the dipody more often spondaic. There
was, or may have been, an indistinct caesura at the end
of the third syllable in the pentasyllable, and of the fourth
on the heptasyllabic line.
Elision is found, but is not common, neither is hiatus ;
enjambement is, on the other hand, usual. The line is
sometimes incomplete, sometimes redundant ; in what seem
to be the earlier lays irregularities are most common.
The uta closes with a couplet of heptasyllabics, some-
times with a triplet. In the Anthology there are three
forms of uta. The choka (naga-uta) or long lay consists
of alternating monometers and dimeters ending with two
dimeters. The number of lines varies from seven or nine
to a hundred or more. Lay 24 has a hundred and fifty
lines, the longest Old Japanese poem known to me. The
tanka {inizhika-uta) or short lay is a tvaka (Japanese
verse) of only ^\e lines containing thirty-one syllables,
and opens with two monometers separated by a dimeter,
to end with a couplet of dimeters, all of course catalectic.
It is a tercet followed by a couplet.
Many of the tanka are 'envoys' to the choka; in that
case they are sometimes designated hanka (kaheshi-uta) ,
answer-lays. Not seldom, several hanka follow a choka,
of which they are mostly echoes, occasionally postscripts.
A third form of uta is the sento or sedSka, which has
thirty-six syllables arranged in six lines. It is a tanka
with a second dimeter following the first, so that it consists
of two symmetrical moieties, each a tercet, of which the
latter generally echoes some portion of the former. There
is in most tanka a pause in structure and sense at the
end of the third line, and in all uta the final couplet (or
triplet) states the moral or resumes the theme or kuse
(intention) of the whole.
The number of lays varies in the different editions. In
the Kogi, which contains more than any other edition,
there are 4,496, of which 4,173 are tanka (inclusive of those
appended to choka), 262 are choka, and 61 are seddka. In
the present volumes will be found all the chdka, with those
xlviii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
of the tanka appended to them that appeared worth
translating.
As to the Dai or Arguments prefixed to the lays, these
were probably written by Yakamochi or some slightly later
compiler. They are in pure Chinese (of a kind), but whether
they ought to be read in pure Japanese or as mana or
katia mazhiri is not very certain. Kamochi, who was a
strong Shintoist (the early years of the nineteenth century
continued the rather unreal Shinto revivalism of the
eit^hteenth, in opposition to the Buddho- Confucianism of the
Tokuo-awa period), declares that it is quite an 'enormous
error ' not to read them as pure Japanese ; but there is a
great deal of pure Chinese in the Manydshiu that must
have been read as such, and it is most probable that the
dai were read, as texts of that kind at a later period
are known to have been read, as mixed Japano-Chinese
and Japanese. Many Chinese expressions, however, were
probably read out of respect in Japanese — such as gyo-u
(reigned), which in archaic Japanese would be translated
amenoshita shiroshimeshishi. In the present work (vol. of
Texts) for several reasons the dai are transliterated into
archaic Japanese in accordance with the kana gloss.
The address-title kyd, ^||j, or mahetsukimi (Minister—^
it might be rendered ' Excellency '), common in the dai, is
added to the oflfice and family name of men of the third
rank who are not yet Dainagon, and even sometimes to
designations of men not of the third rank for special
reasons, or as a mark of respect.
Kyd may also be used with office and family name, or
with family name only, or with family and personal name,
or with office only.
Na, or personal names, are not mentioned in the dai in two
cases : one, where the personage is a dainagon, or of higher
office; the other where it was thought desirable for any
reason, or respectful, not to mention them, even when names
of personages of lower office than that of dainagon. Some-
times the na are abbreviated or imperfectly written, as in
cases of doubt or where office and family name sufficed.
THE BOOKS OF THE MANY6SHIU xlix
§ YH. contents' OF THE BOOKS OF THE
MANYdSHIU
The lays are arranged, but not completely, or in all the
books, under six categories, in imitation, perhaps, of a
similar but not identical arrangement of the contents of the
Book of Odes (Shih King). The Chinese arrangement is
given in Mayers' Manual (p. 325) as the Three Divisions
and the Three Styles — (1) Ballads, (2) Eulogies, (3) Homage
Odes, (4) Allusive, (5) Metaphorical, and (6) Descriptive.
The Japanese arrangement is — (1) Kusdgusa or unclassed
lays ; (2) Somon or Shitdshinii, lays of the affections, love,
friendship, &c. ; (3) Banka or Kandshimi, lays of sorrow,
death, parting, absence, &c. ; (4) Tatohe, illustrative or
exemplary lays ; (5) ShiJci, lays of the four seasons ;
(6) Shiki somon, affection-lays of the four seasons.^
Examples of Shitdshinii are lays 16, 17, 54-6, 116-20,
145-74 ; ofKandshimi, lays 18-30, 46, 47, 55, 70, 89,90,
116, 121-5, 183-97; of shiki, lays 97, 99; of Shiki
somon, lUO-3, 126-8. There are only two tatohe long lays,
lays 176 and 182. Some lays are of a special character,
67, 79, 203 ; a few are marchen or ballads, 105, 122, 125 ;
some are dialogal, 67, 174 ; two are of a fabular character,
210, 211 ; while a certain number are local, Noto, 207-9 ;
and ddzuma (Eastland) lays like those of the Fourteenth
Book; others, lastly, are didactic, 62, 63, 64 and 69.
Of the twenty books of the Manyoshiu the contents may
now be briefly set forth.
The First Book (or maH-roll) is divided into three parts,
upper (kami), middle (naka), and lower (shimo).
The upper part consists entirely of kusdgusa (unclassed)
lays, and contains the long lays numbered 1-7 in the present
volume. The middle part also contains none but kusdgusa
^ This categorical arrangement, being irregular and incomplete, is
not reproduced in the present volume. It may suffice to give here
the numbers of the long lays under each category :— Kusdgusa, 1-15,
18-44, 60 A-97, 104, 115, 129, 144, 203, 211 ; Shitdshimi, 16, 17, 54-60 ;
116-20, 145-74; Kandshimi, 18-31, 45-53, 121-5, 183-97, 198,
200-2 ; Tatohe, 182, 176. Tohi-hotahe (sort of love-lays), 175-81 ;
Shiki (Spring) 98-100, (Summer)^ 126, 181, (Autumn) 102, 127, 128,
103. Lays 203-64 are uncategorized.
DicKiNs- II d
1 INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
lays, among them the long lays 8-12. Lay 9 is the earliest
of the Hit6maro lays. The lower part is also kusdgusa,
and in it are found lays 13-15. There are sixty-seven
tanka in the book, mostly of an occasional character, inclu-
sive of the hanka or envoys to the long lays. The best
of the long lays are 1, 2, 3, 6, and those by Hitomaro, 9-12,
•while lay 13 affords an interesting glimpse of the period.
In this book the lays attributed to the Sovran are dis-
tinguished by the highly honorific phrase mi yomima-
seru ohomi uta, the exalted lay that His Majesty hath
deigned to [cause to be] compose[d]. Analogous phrases in
descending order of dignity are mi yomimaseru m.i uta,
yomimaseru mi uta, yomitam^aheru uta, down to yomeru
uta, which is simply ' composed by '.
The dates of the lays range from the Hatsuse Asdkura
age (a.d. 475) to the beginning of the Nara age (708-82).
The last lay in the book is attributed to Naga no miko,
who died in 1 Reiki (715). The principal authors are the
Princess (ohokimi) Nukata and Hit6maro.
The Second Book is likewise divided into three parts.
The upper part consists wholly of shitdshiwyi lays, and
contains the long lays 16, 17. The middle part consists of
kandshimi lays, containing the long-lays 18-24. In the
lower part, again, all the lays are kandshim^i, including
the long lays 25-31. The more remarkable of the lays in
this book are 16, 20, 22, 24, 27, and 28. Lays 16, 22, 24,
27, and 28 are by Hit(5maro. Lay 24 is the most sustained
efibrt in Old Japanese poetry known to me, and the only
one of a distinctly martial character. After lay 30 follow
several tanka on the death of Hitdmaro himself. The
dates of the shitdshimi lays range from the Naniha Takatsu
age to that of Fujihara ; of the kandshimi lays from the
later Wokamoto period to that of Nara — generally from the
reign of Nintoku (313-99) to the Wadd period (708-21)
within the Nara age. In both the above two books — and
in these alone among the twenty — the arrangement of the
lays is complete as to authorship, chronology, and category.
The oldest lays in the Anthology are said to be the last
three of the first four lays in the present book.
THE BOOKS OF THE MANY6SHIU li
The first is by Suwe no kami Oho Iratsume
Kimi ga yuki
he nagaici narinu
yama tadzune
nnukahe Imyukanm
raachi ni ka Tnatamu.
The going forth of my lord !
long is the time that hath
gone by —
amid the wild hills search-
ing
shall I go forth to meet him,
waiting, shall I wait for him !
That is, she would not wait idly for the return of her lover
(Prince Karu) ; she must go after him, even across the hills
(to lyo where he has been banished). The tanka is also
found in the Kojiki, where the story is given (K. Ixxxvii,
but compare N. I. 324). In the Kojiki yamatadzune is
read yamatadzunOi a makura kotoha of which it is im-
possible to make sense. The date would be about 435.
The story is that of the incest of the Princess with her
uterine brother Prince Karu. The other three lays are
attributed to the Queen-Consort Ihanohime, who may have
composed them on her desertion by the Mikado Nlntoku
for the girl Yata. She was his sister by the father's side
(N. I. 278). In 347 she died, and the next year Yata
occupied her place.
The first of the three uta is subjoined : —
Kaku bakari
kohitsutsu arazu ha
takayaraa no
ihane shi makite
or (iha neshi makite)
shinamashi mono wo !
And now thus is it —
should his love for me fail,
on the high hills (or on
Takayama)
fain would I seek stone
pillow
and lay me down and die
there !
The Third Book is divided into three parts. The upper
part contains none but kusdgusa lays, including the long
lays 32-9. The range of dates is from Jitd (690-702) to
Sh6mu (724-56), but the chronology is irregular.
The middle part comprises likewise none but kusdgusa
lays, including the long lays 40-4.
The lower part consists of tatohe lays, among which are
no long lays, but certain lays addressed by Kasa no Ira-
da
lu INTKODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
tsume to Yakamochi \ while yet a toneri (palace servant or
page) and kandshimi lays, including an elegy by Sh6toku
Daishi ^ and the long lays 45-53. The dates range from
4 Wad6 (712) to 16 Tempy6 (745).
The chronology is irregular, but the authorship is stated.
The Kogi believes that the third and fourth books should
stand in reversed order. The more remarkable lays are
23 (Kimitari), 36 (the first by Akahito), 37 (the first by
Kan^mura), 44, 47, 49 (by Sakanohe no Iratsume), 50 (by
Yakamochi on the death of his wife), and 53 (by Takahashi,
an elegy on his wife).
The Fourth Book is divided into two parts, upper and
lower. It contains none but shitdshimi lays, including the
long lays 54-70, the last being found in the lower part.
The dates range from Nintoku (313-99) to Shdmu (724-48).
The more remarkable lays are 56, 59 (Sakanohe), and 60
(Sakanohe's mother).
The Fifth Book, in two parts, contains kusdgusa lays,
including the long lays 61-70. The arrangement is con-
fused, the dates range from 1 Jinki (724) to 6 Tempy6
(734). Various notes, prefaces, and postscripts in Chinese
are intermixed with the lays. There is also a Chinese lay
(numbered 60 a). The book opens with the answer of
Ohotomo no ky6 — commander of the Tsukushi frontier
garrison — to the envoys sent to condole with him on the
death of his wife, preceded by 60 a and a series of Buddhist
reflections in Chinese. The remaining lays are mainly
taken from the Okura Collection ; some of them relate to
a mission to China. The more remarkable lays are 62, 63,
64, and 69, all of a moral or didactic character and purely
* This is the first mention of Yakamochi in the Manydshiu. A
little further on is the first tanka by Yakamochi, addressed to Saka-
nohe no Ihe no Oho-Iratsume, wife of Ohotomo no Sukune Sukuna-
maro, and daughter of Sakanohe no Imtsume.
' Or Uhenomiya no Miko. The purport of the tanka is— To die in
one'a own home with my hand in thine, dearest [were no hardship] ;
but to die on a journey amid the bushy hills, 'tis piteous indeed !
8h6toku Taishi (heir-apparent), the ' Constantine of Japanese Bud-
dhiim ', was Regent, but never Mikado (Prof. Chamberlain). He
flouriahed 572-621 (N. II. 95).
THE BOOKS OF THE MANYOSHIU liii
Chinese in thought and treatment. Lay 67 is a bitter com-
plaint against oppression and poverty, the only one known
to me in Japanese poetical literature ; and 70 is an elegy
on the death of the poet's son, Furuhi.
The Sixth Book (in two parts) contains none but kusd-
gusa lays, comprising the long lays 71-97. The dates,
which are fairly sequent, range from 7 Y6r6 (723) to 16
Tempy6 (744). The more remarkable lays are 79, 81, 84,
89, 90, and 92. The principal names are Kanamura, Aka-
hito, Sakanohe, Okura, and Yakamochi.
The Seventh Book (two parts) contains no long lays. All
the tanka, with the exception of thirteen at the end, which
are kandshir)ii, are kusdgusa. Of many the dates and
authors are not given. In the older editions there was
a journey-lay at the end, but in the Koji this is placed
among the kusdgusa. The book opens with a tanka on
the heavens, in which Hitomaro likens the sky to the ocean,
the clouds to the waves, the constellations to forests, and
the crescent-moon to a boat sailing through the scene. A
number of lays follow — on the moon, on clouds, on rains, on
' mountains, hills, and rivers ' (landscapes), on foliage, moss,
birds, homeland, wells, and the Japanese koto (fiat harp).
Then come tanka made in Yoshinu, Yamashiro, and many
in Settsu. Most, if not all, of the above seem to have
been taken by Yakamochi from Anthologies (MS. collections)
not now extant. In the second part are found dialogal lays
and tanka on birds and fishermen (from old collections).
Other subjects are travelling-dress, bows, gems, trees, plants,
rice, flowers, quadrupeds, the seashore, seaweed, boats,
thunder, gods, buried logs^, &c. Many are taken from
^ Buried log — here in river-bed, &c. — at a later period, fossil wood.
The tanka is a singularly good instance of the poetic dexterity of the
ancient Japanese, and of the wealth of meaning that can be crowded
into a single stanza— as Dr. Florenz has well remarked in his valuable
Geschichte der Japanischen Litteratur —
1
MakanamocM
5
That there be not
2
Yuge no kdhara no
4
the likelihood of non-appearance
3
umoregi no
3
as of a log buried
4
araharumazhiki
2
under the sands of the river ot
5
koto to aranaku ni —
the smooth' d bow.
1
the well-planed bow.
Kv INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHKT
the Hit(5maro Collection, not now extant. Most of the lays
may probably be ascribed to the first half of the eighth
century.
The Eighth Book (in two parts) consists mostly of kusd-
gum and shitdshimi tanka, arranged in proper succession
as shibi (lays of the four seasons) and shiki somon (shitd-
shimi lays of the four seasons). The long lays 98, 103,
are also found in this book. The more remarkable of them
are lays 101 and 103 (by Yakamochi), and 102, on Tana-
bata night (by Okura). Many of the tanka are interchanged
between Yakamochi and his wife Sakanohe. No dates are
given, but the range was from some time within the latter
half of the seventh century to a period within the first half
of the eighth century.
The Ninth Book in the upper part contains kusdgusa lays,
in the lower part shitdshimi lays, among which are found
the long lays 104-25. Many are taken from the Hitdmaro
Collection, others from the Mushimaro Collection, some from
the Ohoura, Tanob^, Sakimaro, and Kanamura Collections.
The more remarkable lays are 105 (the Ballad of Urashima),
110, 111, 113 (change-singing on Mount Tsukuba), 119 (a
mother's farewell), 120 (a love-lay), 122 and 125 (on the
story of the Damsel of Unahi). The principal names are
Okura, Kanamura, and the Princess (ohokmii) Nukata.
The Tenth Book (in three parts) contains lays arranged
as kusdgusa and shitdshimi of the four seasons. They
seem to be all taken from the Hitomaro Collection, and
among them are the long lays 126-8, of which the latter
two (on Tanahata) are the best. There are no dates, but
they must belong to the latter half of the seventh century ;
nor ai*e the names of authors given.
The Eleventh Book (in three parts) contains no long lays.
The lines (text) 1, 2, 3 form a m. k. of 4. Line 1 is a m. k. of Yu
[mi] ge [dzut'u]^ the name of a river— by a word-play equivalent to
tH^foros (with the ma of 1). Line 5 suggests, with the aid of two
negatives 4 and 5 {aranaku), that the damsel's meeting with her
lover will not be so uncertain as the refloating of a log brought down
the river when low, and buried under the sand and soil rolled down
in flood, i. e. ' that it will come about.'
THE BOOKS OF THE MANYOSHIU Iv
The tanka are older and later shitdshimi, dialogal, occa-
sional (tada omohi), and tatohe lays, without authors'
names. Most are taken from the Hitdmaro Collection.
A few sento (sedo) lays are found in this book. The older
lays date from the Middle (Kahara) Asuka age to the
(Kiyomihara) Asuka age (670-686 circiter) ; the later from
the Fujihara age to that of Nara, 700-708 and later).
Their arrangement in the Kogi edition differs somewhat
from that found in the older books.
The Twelfth Book (in three parts) has no long lays.
There are dialogal, road, and kusdgusa tanka, some of
which are taken from the Hitomaro Collection. There are
neither dates nor authors' names.
The Thirteenth Book (in two parts) contains many long
lays, 129-97, among the oldest and best in the Anthology.
Lay 183 is the only one of any length. All the lays are
anonymous and undated. There are kusdgusa, shitdshinii
nfYiondo (dialogal), tatohe, and kandshimi lays, with a few
seddka. Among the more remarkable are 131, 136, 140,
146, 151, 168, 178, 182 (a tatohe lay), 183, 190, and 197.
The Fourteenth Book (in two parts) contains no long lays.
The lays are all ddzuma (Eastland), arranged, according to
provinces, as kusdgusa and shitdshimi. The book closes
with a few dialogal and garrison or march-men (sakimori)
lays.
The Fifteenth Book (in three parts) rather resembles the
Fifth Book in the nature of its contents. It comprises, with
many tanka, the long lays 198-202. Many of the lays,
older and later, deal with a mission to Korea in 8 Tempyo
(736) ; of the remainder most are lays interchanged between
an exiled courtier and his mistress.
The Sixteenth Book (in two parts) contains the long lays
203-11, with many tanka. The subjects of the lays are,
among others, the stories of the Princess Sakura and the
Princess Kadzura, and the story of the Sage and the Nine
Foolish Virgins (203), with a long Chinese preface and nine
versified apologies from the virgins. No dates are given,
but often the authors' names are added in postscripts.
The remaining four books (17, 18, 19, 20) contain lays
Ivi INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
collected or composed by Yakamochi, interspersed with
poems, notes, and letters in Chinese. The dates are given
but the lays are not arranged in categories.
The Seventeenth Book (in two parts) contains the long
lays 212-25. The dates range from 2 Tempy6 (730) to
20 Tempyd (748). From the 11th month 2 Tempy6 (Dec,
730--Jan., 731) to the 5th day of the 4th month 16 Tempyd
(June 19, 744), the lays, irregularly arranged, are such as
were omitted by Yakamochi from the preceding sixteen
books. The lays of 13 Tempy6 (741) are followed by lays
of 744. The next date is 7th month 18 Tempyo (July-
Aug., 746), when Yakamochi went to Etchiu as Governor
(Kami). From the last date to 20 Tempyd (748) the
arrangement is as ' regular as that of a diary '.
The Eighteenth Book (in two parts) contains the long
lays 226-35. The dates range from 2 Tempyd (730) to the
second month of 2 Sh6h6 (March-Apr., 750) ; collected by
Yakamochi while Governor of Etchiu. Older lays, not
before known to Yakamochi, are here found, together with
new ones composed by visitors (officials) from City-Royal,
with names attached.
The Nineteenth Book (in three parts) contains the long
lays 236-57. The dates range from 2 Shdko (750) to the
8th month of 3 Sh6k6 (Aug.-Sept., 751), then-after the
return of Yakamochi to City-Royal— to the 2nd month
of 5 Sh6h6 (March-Apr., 753).
The Twentieth Book (in three parts) contains the long
lays 258-63. The dates range from 5 Shdhd (753) to the
7th month of 2 H6ji (August-Sept., 758), while Yaka-
mochi was Governor of Inaba. On New Year's Day of 3
H6ji (Feb. 2, 759) he recited his last tanka at a congratu-
latory banquet, in which he expressed the hope that the
prosperity of the land would increase as the faUing snow
on that day was increasing.
Many Eastland lays are found in this book, but they are
not arranged in any order.
An interesting feature of the last four books is the poetical
and Chinese correspondence of Yakamochi and his friend
Ikenushi, a secretary of the adjoining province of Echizen.
YAMATO AND ADZUMA LAYS Ivii
§ Vlir. YAMATO AND AdZUMA LAYS
A further division was established of these ancient
lays into Yamato and Adzuma Lays — in other words, into
Court and Eastland verse. Eastland verse, however, shows
but few dialectal differences from the language of City-
Royal ; it was rather the comparatively unpolished strains,
offensive to Court taste, of officials employed in, and pro-
bably natives of, the remote Eastern and Northern Pro-
vinces. The Michinoku lays, even, merely differ from
those of the Court in a certain lack they exhibit of decora-
tive dexterity. Yet up to quite a late period in early
Japan a great part of Michinoku — most of the tract, indeed,
north of Sendai — was chiefly populated by J^figi-Ainn ^.
The signification of adzuma is unknown. The fanciful
derivation a\ga^dzuif}%a^ ' Oh my wife I ' the cry of Yama-
totake as he looked back from the barrier hills on his way
to the Eastland, regretting his parting from the Princess
Ototachibana (Famous-orange-tree), is fanciful and nothing
more. The story will be found in N. I. 207.
As to Yamato lays, the import of the name Yamato,
there can be little doubt, is concerned with tracks or
passages through a wild hilly country, the province of
Yamato being surrounded by hills. These were Court lays.
The story of the- ideographic representation of Yamato is
interesting. The original character was ^ {wo or u'a),
which is merely a contraction of ^ (short) and J^ or ^
(man), and means a dwarf or pigmy. In the later Han
history we read that in the first century a.d. a country
called Ito sent an envoy to the Chinese emperor, who gave
him a gold seal. This seal was discovered in the eighteenth
century, and is said to be still preserved. On it are
characters meaning * dwarf-slave ', as epithetical of the
envoy's own land, Japan. He may have come from Ito
in Chikuzen, where, at that time, the authority of the
Yamato Sovran was scarcely established. The name Ito
' Partly civilized. See N. II. 261.
Iviii INTEODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
was later written with characters meaning the ' harmonious
place '. So when Japanese writers began to entertain a
higher sense of their country's worth they changed ^ (wai
or wa) to ^ (wa), which means 'peace ' or 'harmony '. Wai
easily becomes wa, even in Chinese ; thus Wai-Kwoh, or
Kwok, the old Chinese disrespectful name for Japan, was
heard as Wak-Wak (i. e. Wa-Kwak) by the Arab mediaeval
navigators to the Far East.
§ IX. ANTIQUITY OF THE LAYS
The lays comprised in the Manyoshiu, in date of com-
position range over a period of some 400 years. The
earhest would appear to be the three lays attributed to
Iwanohime, which open the Second Book, and these may
have been composed about a.d. 347 (but seethe note in the
Kogi) ; and the latest is Yakamochi's concluding tanka in
the Twentieth Book, written in 759. But lay 178 is, or
may be, either a much older lay or a rifaciniento of a
much older one, for it is identical with a lay in the Kojiki
ascribed to the age of the gods — that is, to a period earlier
than B.C. 660. It may very well be doubted, however, as
already mentioned, whether any of the Manydshiu lays, as
we have them, date more than a century or two beyond the
period of its compilation. The preservation in an un-
written form of a number of short and disconnected lays,
many of them of a personal nature, others didactic or
lyrical, through any considerable tract of time is unlikely.
The regularity of metre and form displayed by nearly all
the lays, too (as well as their identity of diction and
phrase), is against their antiquity. Of the 111 lays of the
Kojiki, eighty-four lie within the period (up to a.d. 400) of
which the history, according to Professor Chamberlain^ is
undeserving of credence (K. p. 368). Of these lays, too, and
of the 132 lays of the Nihongi, the earlier examples differ
scarcely at all from the later, although represented as
separated in time by more than a thousand years, in metre
and form, and not much in diction and phrasing. The
NihoDgi and Many 6 lays are, however, free from the gross-
EANKS AND NAMES lix
nesses of the Kojiki lays, as might be expected in works
composed more or less within the view, at least, of Chinese
models. Lastly, about half the Kojiki lays are tanka, and
it is scarcely credible that these highly artificial produc-
tions should have an antiquity much greater than that of the
Anthology itself. On the whole, then, I believe that though
the lays in the present volume may be in some measure
echoes, or remodellings in certain cases, of more ancient
pieces, none of them are in their present state much older
than the seventh century. I am disposed to say the same
of the Kojiki and Nihongi lays, the differentiae of which
may be largely due to their having been selected with less
discrimination and under more purely Japanese influences
than those of the Anthology, compiled nearly half a century
later. It seems even probable that the memory feats of
Hiyeda no Are (K. Introduction) were confined to the lays
of the Kojiki, and that in some cases the text of the
Annals was written up to the lays, and in others old lays
were more or less remodelled to suit and illustrate the text.
§ X. BANKS AND NAMES
The Kogi displays a good deal of erudition in relation to
the designation of the Sovran. The earliest name (K. App.
xxviii, age of Keiko, 71-130) seems to have been simply
ohokimi — Great Lord. Another, almost exclusively used
in the dai (arguments, probably the work of Yakamochi),
is Sumera mnikoto — His Supreme Majesty. Sumerogi, or
Sumeragi (suberagi in the Kokinshiii), are other names.
Suonerami is Queen-regnant — compare Izana-gi (Inviting
Male or Prince) and Izana-mi (Inviting-Female or Princess).^
Sumeramikusa is SumeraTni-ikusa — The Great Royal Host.
Sumera is rendered by the characters ^ ^, Heaven-
sovereign ; that is, Sovereign appointed by Heaven. But
that is not a Japanese idea. The Japanese Sovran is not
appointed by Heaven with duties assigned to him, but he
is the descendant of the Sky-shine Lady, and has no duties
^ Probably these explanations are inaccurate. See Aston, Shinto,
p. 172.
Ix INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
to fulfil at all, any more than a god. Sumera and Sumero
are, of course, identical expressions. What ro signifies
cannot be determined — we find it again in kaomirogi —
perhaps it is ra, a worn-down form-word, extending the
connotation of its principal. Sume is said to be connected
with 8ube(ru) and to involve the idea of a general control
(government) according to Dr, Aston and Sir Ernest Satow.
I am not satisfied with that explanation, but I can offer no
other, unless it be aume, used of the abiding-place of a god.
The term Mikado — Grand Dwelling — is not used to denote
the Sovran in the ManySshiti, but rather his court, or even
his realm, wosu kuni no toho no niiJcado, ' the far-bounded
land our Lord ruleth,' lay 87.
In the Kokinshiu, however, the expression is found with
a personal application, and at the present day, though
Mikado is not used, Miya (Grand House) is universally
employed to designate a Prince. I use * Sovran ' partly as
somewhat more poetic than ' emperor ' ; partly as differenti-
ating the Japanese monarch from the Chinese emperor;
partly because the Mikado, in any proper Western sense of
the word, never was an emperor.
The principal wife of the Sovran is designated oho-kisaki,
Great Kisaki. The derivation of kisaki is not known. It
is easy, but too easy, to equate it with kisaki, come first, or
kimi saki, i. e. lady-in-front. The earliest use of the
expression will be found in the Nihongi under the seventh
year of Teuchi (668), when the Princess Yamato, daughter
of the Crown Prince Furubito no Ohoye, was made Queen-
Consort, a result doubtless of the Chinese reforms of 645 A. D.
The Crown Prince, or Heir Apparent, was known as Oho
Miko (Great Prince), or Miko no Mikoto (His Princely
Highness). For the Crown Prince as well as for the miko
generally the Japanese term is usually employed. Of the
principal ranks and offices some account is given in the
brief review, presented in a subsequent section, of the
political and social conditions of the Many 6 age. It remains
shortly to explain the system of naming followed in the
dui (arguments).
In ancient Japan no man who was * hidalgo \ that is
EANKS AND NAMES Ixi
'somebody', was a private person. He had rank, office,
clan or tribe, family, and last — perhaps least — his own
individuality. His full designation comprised all these
elements. Of the Sovran the name was not mentioned.
Of the higher dignitaries the family or personal names were,
in like manner, under a quasi tabu ; thus in the da% as a
rule, the personal names, at least of officials of dainagon or
higher rank, were not given. In some cases the office,
designation, and family-name are alone given. The Kogi
expatiates on this subject at considerable length, but the
details are without interest for Western readers. The com-
plete designation of the author of lay 258 will suffice to
illustrate the foregoing remarks. It was : —
Sagamu ]
Qo Kuni no
Of the Land of Sagami,
Sakimori
Kotoritsukahi
the Inspector of Frontier-re-
cruiting (or levying),
jiu go wi
ge
the lower division of junior-
fifth rank.
Fujihara
tribal name.
Asomi
Jcahane or family name (Asomi
was, perhaps, a Korean title,
according to Dr. Aston),
Sukunamaro.
personal name.
Women seem to have had no personal names as a rule.
Sometimes they bore the family and official names of their
husbands, fathers, or eldest sons. To women of low rank,
ukareme (hetairae), for instance, nicknames were given ;
[occasionally, in other cases, thus we have Sakura Ko, the
iLady Sakura (Cherryblossom). Often the uji or family
name is given, followed by a descriptive appellation —
irdtsume, noble damsel ; oho irdtsume, elder noble damsel ;
tozJii, house-lady, who (according to Sir Ernest Satow
T. A, J. S., vii. 403) could sacrifice to the hearth-god on
[behalf of the family — the miyazhi {mi ya nushi) was
'(originally at least) the house-master, who performed the
same duty in connexion with the palace hearth. Other
[designations of women are — ohokimii (great lady, a princess
[of the blood) ; hime or hime 'miko (a princess of the royal
[l[iouse) ; uneme or itnehe (lady-in-waiting, waiting-woman,
Ixii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYCSHIU
i. e. on the Sovran) ; wotome (maid or girl) ; musume
(daughter, girl) ; mi omo (lady-mother) ; kimi (lady) ; and
me (woman), occasionally used in an intimate manner to
denote the wife or concubine of the speaker or writer.
§ XL JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE
Even as early as the fifth century the Mikado reigned
rather than governed. Whether at any previous period he
had exercised much real power may be doubted. In the
sixth century, at all events, the Court was governed by the
Soga clan ; in the next by the Fujihara house, whose
supremacy paved the way for the Sh6gunate and the dual
regime which lasted down to 1868. The reverence for the
Sovran, or the Sovranty, however, endured, as did that for
the kingship during the baronial wars that preceded the
establishment of the Tudor dynasty in England.
There is nothing to show that the Many6 Mikado had
any force of his own to depend on, or ever exercised any
real authority. He was the creature of the dominant fac-
tion among the Tniko (princes of the blood) and the kimi
(nobles of royal descent), with the heads of the tomo and be.
The position was maintained by the sanctity attaching to
it. How that sanctity was originally acquired it is difficult
to say. Jimmu seems to have been the only Mikado
viewed by tradition as a hero. He, no doubt, represents
some tribal chief. In the Manyo age the Mikado acted
personally or by deputy as high priest for the land. In
this capacity, no doubt, he once officiated personally at the
Ohoharahi (great- sweeping) enacted at the end of the sixth
and the twelfth lunar months, as well as on other occa-
sions.^ This was a symbolical cleansing of the land from
^ The norito or religious formilla pronounced on these occasions
are always dignified and solemn compositions. The notito of the
Ohoharahi may be briefly summarized (from Dr. Ashton's Shinfd) : —
* . , . Hearken all of you [the assembled princes and functionaries],
the Sovran dear ancestors who divinely dwell in the Plain of High
Heaven . . . gave command, saying : " Let our August Grandchild
[Ninigi] hold serene rule over the fertile reed-plain, the region of fair
rice-eart, aa a land of peace "... there were savage deities [who were]
JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE Ixiii
heavenly sins (agricultural misdemeanours) and earthly-
offences (ordinary crimes, inclusive of leprosy, &c.). The
immigration of the Japanese took place piecemeal, and ex-
tended, no doubt, over a long period. There are no distinct
traces in the myths or legends of continental life. The
account of the Creation given in the Annals and in the
Chronicles refers to Japan alone. The picture of the Japanese
pantheon drawn in those works is full of Chinese touches ;
it is very hard to say with any certainty what step of the
' Way of the Gods ' was not trodden or guided by Chinese
teachers about the period of the Christian era. Hence the
peculiar sanctity, attaching less to the Mikado than to the
office or descent incarnated in him, seems not to have been
brought to Japan by the continental ancestors of the Japa-
nese, but to have been almost wholly of Japano-Chinese
creation, long posterior to the establishment of the Japanese
in Kyushu and Idzumo, which may go back to a period
some centuries before the Christian era. But how it came
into existence, and attained the dominant influence the
Annals and Chronicles view it as possessing from the
earliest days of the Mikadoate, we do not know, for there
called to a divine account, and expelled with a divine expulsion.
Moreover, the rocks, trees, and smallest leaves of grass which had
power of speech were put to silence. Then they dispatched him down-
ward . . . cleaving as he went with an awful way-cleaving the many-
piled clouds of Heaven, and delivered to him the Land [Japan]. At
the middle point . . . Yamato, the High-Sun-Land, was established,
. . . and there was built here a fair palace ... to shelter him from
sun and rain, with massy pillars based deep on the nethermost
rocks, and up-raising to . . . High Heaven ... its roof. . . . [There
are] Heavenly offences [enumerated] . . . and Earthly offences
[enumerated] ... let him recite the . . . celestial ritual . . .
[then] the Gods of Heaven, thrasting open the adamantine door of
Heaven . . . will lend ear. The Gods of Earth, climbing to the tops
of the high mountains . . . will lend ear . . . as [and] all offences
will be annulled ... as the many-piled clouds of Heaven are scat-
jtered by the breath of the Wind-God ; as the morning breezes and
[the evening breezes dissipate the dense morning vapours and the
lense evening vapours ... so shall all offences be utterly annulled.
'herefore he [the Mikado] is graciously pleased to purify and cleanse
them away . . .'
Ixiv INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
are no data, texts, traditions, or myths to assist the inquiry
to a truly historical conclusion.
The expressions of loyalty in the Lays, fervid as they
appear, are mostly of the conventional type common with
Court poets — as conventional as those which invoke per-
petuity for the palaces, which were changed with almost
every reign up to the foundation of Kyoto, long after the
last tanka of the Manydshiu had been composed.
The record of the Many6 age set forth in the Nihongi
and its zoku^ or continuation, is not exhilarating reading.
It is the story of an endless welter of faction-fights, re-
bellions, plots, and murders. If the much- vaunted virtue
of chiugi ^ (loyalty) existed in those days, the Mikado was
the last person to profit by it. The Yamato territory, occu-
pying the central and western lands of the Ise peninsula,
lying between the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean, had
been extended northwards and eastwards at the expense of
the Yemishi or Ainu, to the south at the expense of the
Kumaso aboriginals. How this was effected the Nihongi
does not tell us. Probably it was a gradual extension of
settlement, as partly to escape taxation and service, partly
through pressure of population, folk migrated from the
central territories over the frontiers. It does not appear to
have been due, save perhaps in the case of the Eastland
to some extent, to deliberate conquest. The Nihongi is
equally silent upon the nature of the overlordship which
Japan seems to have exercised over the Korean kingdoms
* Chiugi is a Chinese word, and the sentiment is really Chinese not
Japanese. It is inculcated by Confucianism, not by Buddhism, nor is
it a tenet of Shinto. Shinto teaches, as far as it teaches anything,
blind obedience to the Mikado as a god ; but that is not chiugi. It was
a creation of the so-called feudal system, and when this culminated in
the Tokugawa Sh6gunate, which, in effect, was the beginning of its
end by rendering it unnecessary, the study of Confucianism degraded
fu-chiugi, or disloyalty — i. e. disobedience to one's immediate superior
and all above— to the position awarded to it by Dante, the giudecca,
or last ring of the Inferno. Nothing in Old Japanese history or
literature leads me to suppose that chiugi as a worldly virtue— it has no
Japanese equivalent— was a whit more characteristic of Old Japan
than of other lands. The practice of hamkiri was not its outcome.
JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE Ixv
of Mimana and Kudara. Immigration on a considerable
scale from Korea is mentioned, and missions to and from
that country and China — where Japan was regarded as a
tributary state — are frequently noticed. Otherwise Japan
had no intercourse with the outside world. Within her
own limits there was, as there always has been in Japan,
great activity in decree and statute-making, and after the
introduction of Buddhism in the sixth century — to some
extent before — considerable progress was achieved in in-
ternal organization. The characteristic trait of the time is
still the characteristic trait of the Japanese state — the
persistence of the sovranty in one family, easily enough
maintained where adoption was common, and where poly-
gamy, in effect, was the rule ; which, however, has often been
modified by the election out of that family of the scion —
son, brother (or even widow) of the deceased Mikado —
most acceptable to the dominant party of princes, nobles,
and high officials.
It was the introduction of Buddhism that led to the
supremacy of the Soga clan ; and it was probably the desire
of the Fujihara clan to concentrate and centralize the power
they had usurped that led to the reform of a.d. 645, which
sought to combine the order and regularity of the Chinese
system with the traditional prestige and vague patriarchism
of a Sumerogi who was a descendant of the Sky-shine
goddess. Thus the power of the state was in the hands of
the clan, assured by its association with a sacrosanct
authority which could sustain but not weaken its exercise.
By the sixth century the territory of the Mikado is said
to have been divided into kuni or provinces, kori or
counties, and agata or sato, cantons or ' gau ', originally,
perhaps, tracts of land containing about fifty family-houses.
The Mikado's revenue, wholly gathered in kind, consisted of
the produce of his mita or Crown-lands, cultivated by
Crown-serfs {tabe), and stored in Crown-granaries (miyake).
In addition he levied taxes, mitsugi, of which there were
two kinds, bow-end Tnitsugiy the produce of men's labour
as hunters and fishers, and hand-end mitsugi, the produce
of women's labour, grain, cloth, &c. Cloth, indeed, served
DICKINS. n G
Ixvi INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
as a sort of cuiTency. Forced labour, etachi, was at his
disposal for the building of palaces, ships, and tombs
(misaaagi) ; and a special tax of rice, tachikara (lit. field-
force or arm-power, the product of labour), supplied, doubt-
less, the principal means of payment to his officers, guards,
and servants. What means the Government possessed of
enforcing its will is not clear. There were apparently
palace guards, assisted by the 6tomo and Mononobe clans,
to preserve order in the capital, but for punitive expedi-
tions to frontier districts or to Korea the goodwill of the
princes and the outer clans had to be enlisted. The Mikado
had no clan of his own, but he was primus among a crowd
of kinsmen, and must have depended entirely upon the
support, even within his own palace, of the party in power.
With the extension of the territory the central power
waned, and the spirit of faction grew until it culminated in
the creation by Yoritomo of the dual government in 1192,
which lasted down to 1868.
Around the Mikado were grouped the princes of the
blood (miko) and the kinsmen of the blood (kimi), next
to whom came the ministers (omi). There was no nobility
without office, nor, in later times, without special rank;
but there might be office without nobility, at least high
nobility. Yakamochi, for instance, began his career as a
mere toneri (page or servant, associated with yatsuko,
house-servant), to end as a provincial governor and privy
councillor. He, however, boasted of belonging to the
Ohotomo clan, the primal ancestor of which was of divine
descent, higher even than that of the Sun-goddess herself.
It is noteworthy that men of rank always traced back their
descent to a scion of the Royal House. The high officials
were miyatsuko, servants of the Gi*and House ; tomo no
miyatsuko, officials of the Court and the home territories ;
and kuni no tniyoisuko, officials of the provinces and
frontiers. The Ohotomo and Mononobe clans (uji or
families, rather than clans or tribes) had hereditary charge
of the Palace gates, the significance of which is, probably,
that they were, or were part of, the dominant party up to
the time of the rise of the Soga combination.
JAPAN IN THE MANYO AGE Ixvii
There existed also a corps of hayato (swift-men) or
soldiery, but the position of these men cannot be definitely
stated. Lastly, there was, from the fourth or fifth century
onwards, a considerable garrison in Tsukushi to keep open
communications with Korea, but how this was recruited and
maintained is not evident. In the latter part of the Manyo
age it was known as the Dazaifu (great-control government).
With the miko. kinoi, and both miyatsuko the murazhi
are constantly enumerated. Murazhi, mura-nushi, means
' chief, tribal or family ; they may have been locally what
the omi were at the Court. The various official names,
miyatsuko of this, murazhi of that, became in course of
time kabane or titles merely, which by prescription or
grant hardened into family names. All the above designa-
tions are met with in the lays, or their dai, and in addition
some of the following : — -
Kmi% wake, and inaki, local officers of inferior position ;
atahe, landowners ; suguri, tsukasa, and kishi, who may
have been charged with the headship of Korean immigrant
colonies, and agata-nushi, who with the kuni-miyatsuko
were the highest local officials. The kami, heads of depart-
ments, chiefs, or governors, seem, among other duties, to have
administered frontier or remote provinces — the name was
a later one than any of those just mentioned. These titles,
more or less, became family kabane, like the higher desig-
nations. It is often impossible to determine whether a
particular expression is a mere family name, or an official
designation. The uji and kabane were distributed, in early
times, in tomo, groups or corporations or associations. Of
these there were said to be eighty, hence the expression so
common in the lays, ya so tomo (it became a makura
kotoba) — ya so (eighty) probably signified merely ' all '.
In these the tomo (speaking generally) were the be, or guilds
(the nearest English term). There were said to be 180 of these
momoyatobe, but here again the expression may mean simply
I* all the be '. They are arranged by Professor Asakawa
(in his valuable Early Institutional Life of Japan) in
three classes : — Personal followers of the head of the be (or
tomo) — these probably were the oldest be, such as Saheki,
e 2
Ixviii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
Kume, 6tomo, Monono (all mentioned in the Anthology) ;
groups created (?) in memory of persons or events of impor-
tance, such as Takerube (after Yamatotake), Fujiharabe
(after the Princess Fujihara), Ghihisakobe^, Sukushibe {a.iteT
a chief of Su p|, descended from a Chinese who supplied
the court with cows' milk, then a rare luxury) ; occupation-
groups, guilds or corporations of yugebe (bowyers), yatsu-
kuribe (fletchers), totoribe (fowlers), torikahibe (cormorant-
keepers), shiahitobe (fleshei*s), amabe (fishers), hashibe
(potters), yamabe (foresters), ivikahibe (swineherds), a guild
of Korean scholars, &c., &c. Many be were of foreign
origin, Korean or Chinese, such as tbuki no ofuto (who
looked after hand-tributes, such as foreign cloth, a sort of
custom-house officials ?), tsukuribe (Chinese potters), yeka-
kibe (foreign artists), niehikibe (brocade makers, or im-
porters?), knrabe (saddlers), &c. (see N. reigns of Yuryaku,
Suinin, Keikd, 6jin, K6gyo, &c.). Many of these became or
were granted as family names — kabane, lit. a corpse, perhaps
through confusion between the ideograph denoting kabane
JF^ and the similar one B denoting a habitation.^ The
first class of toTno or be no doubt represented the early
tribes who occupied Yamato ; the second and third classes
were of administrative or social origin. Their existence
points to the attainment of a considerable degree of organ-
ization by the State before the Chinese reforms of 645. Of
the multitude we hear little. The tami constituted a
popvlus i-ather than a plebs^ in part at least : the upper
sections being more or less free,^ the middle, villains,
possessed of some freedom, the lower consisting of slaves,
often of Korean or Ainu origin. The great men exercised
almost complete power over their inferiors. Ojin gave the
slanderer of his elder brother Takeno-uchi into slavery with
* The origin of the name is quaint enough. The Mikado Yuryaku
(fifth century), wishing to promote the cultivation of silk, ordered one
of hig courtiers to collect silkyforms—kahiko. Kahiko also means
* nurslings ', and he accordingly collected babies instead of silkworms.
Then the Mikado told him he might bring them up himself, and
made him head of the Little-one (Chihisako) he (N. I. 347).
' See note appended to this section (p. Ixxix).
JAPAN IN THE MANYO AGE Ixix
all his posterity ; Yuryaku tattooed the faces of a number
of the men of Uda in Yamato, and made them slaves of the
fowler be, and the descendants of another slanderer, Ke
no Omi, to be bag-bearers of Chinu, a royal farm steward.
Presents of men and women, too, frequently passed between
the Korean States and Japan and China. Slaves could
be bought and sold, but there was no slave-trade or
market. Debtors, children, &c., could be sold into slavery.
They are frequently mentioned in the Nihongi, and in the
laws and edicts of the period, and are always regarded as
vile creatures. Slaves were not seldom offered as sacrifices
to the gods, or buried alive with their dead masters.
In 645 the old kahane did not altogether cease to exist.
In 684, under Temmu, eight new ones (hassei) were created,
most of which are mentioned in the dai of the uta. They
were mahito (patricians, of royal kinship), asonii (courtiers),
8ukune (nobles), imiiki (ritual officials), michinoshi (learned
men, artists, &c.), omi (Court officials), murazhi (district
officials), and inagi (perhaps gentry). See also cap-ranks,
N. II. 281, and Fl. 310, notes.
Under the Mikado Saga (810-23) the Shinsensh-Sshiroku
was compiled (List of new-made kahane), giving the names
of 1,182 clans or families, of which about twenty still
exist ; among these the four well-known ones, Minamoto,
Taira, Tachibana (descended from former Mikados), and
Fujihara, said to be descended from a pre-Jimmu god, but
virtually from the Mikado Tenchi (668-71).
In 645 it was decreed that the progeny of nobles should
belong to the father, of non-nobles to the mother, and the
mixed progeny of slaves should be slaves. Mean people
(iyashito) are keepers of graves, servants, and slaves ; but
there must have been a free class, not soldiers, interme-
diate between slaves and nobles.
Marriage in Early Japan was simply cohabitation. There
was no word for ' VHfe ' or for ' marriage ' ; in modern
I Japanese all words relating to the subject of marriage are
Chinese. There was, however, a word for ' spouse (tauma),
the etymology of which is unknown. The Sovran took
his tsuma usually from among his own kinsfolk : often he
Ixx INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
espoused a half-sister (by the fathers side usually), and
this practice probably obtained among the nobility.^ A man
might have many ' tsuma ' in different places,^ remote from
each other ; their children would rarely know each other,
and often not their father ; hence marriage with half-sisters
not by the mother's side did not appear objectionable.
A peculiarity of the system was that — as often appears in
the lays — a man visited his ' tsuma ', who remained in her
parents' home, usually by stealth, perhaps until a child
was born. The wife who lived with her husband had a
separate apartment, often a separate dwelling or pavilion
of her own. What her rights were, if any, is unknown.
With the spread of Chinese civilization her position im-
proved. Lay 6.2, with its preface, is a curious illustration
of this advance. At some time during the Many6 period
it was the custom for the bride's parents to send a koto
(flat harp) to the groom (adzuma koto = my wife-harp) ;
on separation this was returned, koto to [korol wo watasu =
change A:o^o-place. Noble and mean could not inter-
marry ; caste customs rigidly restricted the connuhiwm.
In some cases women could be heads of families, even
bastards might, or strangers in blood, by adoption, a prac-
tice that became more common in later times. There were
rules governing adoption, but these seem to have been of
Chinese origin. So also the rule that the husband must
be fifteen and the wife thirteen.
Duiing the greater part of the Many 6 age the dead were
buried. The old word for ' bury ' was hafuru. The bodies
of persons of rank or importance were not at once interred.
They were deposited in a coffin or sarcophagus, apparently,
within a stone enclosure {araki)^ to be preserved from the
attacks of wild beasts. Later, a hut was built, as a sort of
mortuary chapel ; around the place of deposit were built
* In the reign of Henry VIII, the Pope, to solve a political diffi-
culty, was willing that the king's illegitimate son, the Duke of Rich-
mond, should marrj' his half-sister, Mary. I believe there are
instances in European history of the marriage of uterine brothers
and sisters being contemplated for political purposes.
* See the Kojiki lay following after lay 264.
JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE Ixxi
other huts for watchers, also for mourners ; sometimes a
' palace ' was erected for a prolonged mourning, which
might extend over years. During eight days and nights
a mourning ritual was observed, part of which consisted in
chanting or reciting the deceased's nenia. The watching
of the corpse is thus alluded to in one of two tanka on the
death of Prince Yamato-dake (a. d. 113).
Nadzuhi no Among the rice-fields,
ta no ina-gara ni where bare are the rice-
i-nagara haulms standing,
hahi-motorofu among the rice-haulms
toJcorodzura. creepeth coiling ever
the five-leaved plant of yam !
That is, the mourners wander endlessly about the fields
near the chapel (or tomb), like the coils of the creeping yam
among the rice-stubbles. There is a word-play on the two
inagara (K. xxxiv. 221) ; nadzuki = ina tsiiJci. To pre-
serve the body it was rubbed (in some cases ?) with
cinnabar. The coffin was of wood at first, later of stone.
There was a be of stone coffin-makers — ishitsukurihe (cf.
Taketori, the First Quest, infra). At the proper time the
true funeral took place after a very elaborate fashion.
A description of the rites practised at various epochs will
be found in Mr. Lay's excellent paper on the subject
(T. A. S. J. xix, p. 509). The rear of the procession was
brought up by followers bearing flags of blue, red, and
white, such as are mentioned in lay 24. The araki
above described may have been converted into or replaced
by the stone cell and passage, as described in Mr. Gowland's
valuable memoir on ' Dolmens and Burial Mounds in Japan '
(Archaeologia, Iv).
In the ManySahiu ancestor- worship is scarcely, if at all,
referred to. In the Koj'iki it is not, I think, mentioned.
In the Nihongi there is a definite instance under the year
A. D. 681 of worship of the spirit of the Mikado's grand-
father. There can be no doubt that true ancestor- worship
in Japan is of Chinese importation, as are most other beliefs
and practices, in greater or less measure, even of archaic
Ixxii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
Japan, as they have come down to us. On this point
Dr. Aston's Shintd should be consulted.
In the Introduction to his translation of the Kojiki
Professor Chamberlain has drawn an elaborate picture of
the life of the early Japanese. But the picture seems too
harsh in outline and colour to represent truly the social
state of Japan during, at least, the latter part of the Many6
age. The material of their clothes, we are told, was cloth
made of hemp and of the inner bark of the paper-mulberry
(Broussonetia) , which was dyed by being rubbed with
madder, woad, and other tinctorial plants. But in the
Nihongi^ under the year 681, we read that in that year
a sumptuary law, in ninety-two articles, was established
which enacted the regulation according to a scale given in
the statute of ' the costumes of all, from the princes of the
blood down to the common people, and the wearing of gold
and silver, pearls and jewels, purple, brocade, embroidery,
fine silks, together with woollen carpets, head-dresses, and
girdles, as well as all kinds of coloured stuffs ' (N. II. 350).^
The dress of both sexes seems to have consisted essentially
of an upper open-sleeved mantle, and a lower, more or less
ample, sometimes (in women's dress) trailing skirt, with
skirts or petticoats underneath, confined by girdles, the
knotting of which as a token of fidelity is often alluded to.
Socks of stuff" or silk were worn under lacquered or leather
boots, and on state occasions hats or caps of various sizes
and shapes were worn by the men. The hair was bound
up in a topknot by boys, in a knot on either side the head
in men ; the girls let their tresses fall over their shoulders ;
the tmma wore a kind of topknot and flowing locks
combined. Most of these details are referred to in the
lays; for a more complete account Professor Chamber-
lain's description must be consulted (K. xxx). One custom
frequently mentioned in the lays is the wearing by either
sex of wigs or false hair (katsura or kazura 2), and chaplets
I See also the curious lay (203) of the Old Man and the Nine Virgins.
* The Nippon Kdkogaku says that the nature and purpose of these
are unknown. They may have been rather coverings for the hair, than
true wigs or false hair {kamoji). Perhaps chaplets are always meant.
JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE Ixxiii
or garlands of flowers (chiefly cherry-sprays) or of leaves
(autumn maple) ; depending armlets, too, were worn of
small threaded oranges, as well as bead-laces and such-like
ornaments. The beads, tama, were aivahi pearls, agates,
cornelians, steatites, &c., shaped into cylinders, carved and
pierced, or into claw-like curved forms (Baron H. von
Siebold's Notes on Japanese Archaeology, also Aston's
ShintS). A head-dress, hire, is often mentioned, either
a scarf or a loose wimple, Kprfb^ixvov. Horses (for riding),
the barndoor fowl, cormorants for fishing, dogs, deer, and
whales are often referred to in the lays. Boats are fre-
quently mentioned, but neither in the Manyoshiu nor in
the Nihongi (I think) is there any reference to sailing
craft. They are always propelled by poles or sculls fore
and aft. Only a few birds are mentioned — dotterels, phea-
sants, coppercocks, wild geese, teal, grebes, wild-duck, haw-
finches, the owl, the uguisu, and the hawk. Hawking was
a favourite amusement, and is described in the Nihongi
as early as A.D. 352. Hunting with the bow and arrow
was another diversion of the better sort of folk ; so was
net-fowling, and netting fish, and angling. Then, as
now, the view of a fishery was a delight to the (more or
less conventionally) nature-loving Japanese. Trout were
esteemed, so were crabs and various shell-fish (Melania,
clams, Tnrhinidae sp., &c.) ; whales were caught — pretty
often, it would appear, as a onakura kotoha turns upon the
feat — and no doubt eaten. K-ice is scarcely mentioned in
the Anthology, millet rarely, some sort of Brassica more
often, lettuce once or twice, various seaweeds ^ (apparently
much prized), a species of Pueraria, and a sort of yam
(Dioscorea) ; but no fruit except the orange, tachibana,
which does not seem to have been eaten, though in one
lay (231) there is a reference to it implying its use as an
article of food. The flowers, too, are very few — the pink,
the bush- clover (Lespedeza), the cherry blooms and plum
blossoms, the lily, and one or two more are all that are
noticed in the lays.
^ The ancient Chinese ate pondweeds and duckweeds, boiling them
as vegetables. Water-plants, it is said, are never poisonous.
Ixxiv INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
The use of sails is not mentioned, as already stated, in
the Many6shiu or in the Nihongi ; communication by sea
must have been long and perilous. Journey by land was
almost equally dangerous. In the Anthology the hardships
and discomforts of travel are a subject of bitter complaint—
to follow what were mere tracks at the best through the
dense woods and rugged mountainous country of central
Japan, obliged to sleep under a tree, or amidst the bush, or
under a hastily run-up shelter, exchanging for these toils
the social pleasures of the capital — the only place in the
realm where such were possible — must have been felt by
the courtiers appointed to some provincial post as a most
repulsive part of their duty. Their complaints are often
very undignified whines.^
The dwellings, including the 'palaces' of early Japan,
were simple wooden structures, usually built on a platform
or area of beaten earth 2, and surrounded by a fence, often
of wattled bush- work, sometimes of strong palisades with
gateways.
A new 'palace' was deemed necessary by most of the
Mikados on their succession, up to the Heian period (end
of ninth century). The previous death probably put the
palace under tabu. The 'palace' consisted of a number
of wooden structures more or less connected, and sur-
rounded by defences pierced with twelve gates, apparently,
towards the close of the Manyo period. There were no
slidiug, but opening doors, mats were used, but neither
tables nor chairs, and either separate sleeping chambers or
toko (alcoves) existed. The niwa, or forecourt of the com-
pound, seems, in part at least, to have been used as a
garden. In the sato, or villages near the capital, there
may have been terraces of dwellings occupied by officials
of the court and members of the great families. Bridges
* Travellers not unfrequently died of hunger and hardship.
Several of the Manyd lays turn upon the finding of the corpses of
Buch ill-starred wayfarers. As late as the sixteenth century Sasa
Norimasa, with all his family, died of starvation in his flight from his
foes, near Mt. Yarigatake (as to which peak, see the Rev. W. Wes-
ton's Japanese Alps).
• Compare the m. k. atcomyoshi as applied to Nara.
t
JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE Ixxv
of timber were sometimes coloured red, but nothing is said
in the Anthology about any decoration, exterior or interior,
of the habitations of the period. Tiles, however, are men-
tioned once (lay 203).
Beyond City-Royal no town is named as such in the
Manydshiu, nor is the designation given of any village, or
specifically, of any shrine or temple.
It may be doubted whether the reforms of a.d. 645
increased the prestige or power of the Mikado, or indeed
was of any particular political advantage to the state. It
favoured the spread of Buddhism, and organized an aristo-
cratic bureaucracy, of the new ranks of which some brief
account is necessary. The principal innovation was the
introduction of the system of i or Court ranks, and kwan,
grades of office. In 634 the eighty kabane had already
been reduced to eight — Mahito, Asomi, Sukune, Imiki, Omi,
Michinoshi, Murazhi, and Inaki ; thus degrading the Omi
and Murazhi and exalting the Inaki. With the reform the
tomo disappeared, not probably all the be, nor the kabane
or uji, but power was taken from them. Six ranks, each
two-graded, were established about 604. In 685 six
ranks were instituted for princes, each divided into dai
(great) and kwo (broad), and twenty-four for high officials,
similarly divided — in all sixty grades of rank. Eventually
the number of ranks was reduced in number, but their
subdivision was carried further. As is seen in the dai
to the later lays the full designation of a person included
his rank and office, and was given with his uji alone in
the case of a person of high rank. The administrative
changes {kiuan) were radical. There were three supreme
councillors (daijin), sa (left) and u (right), and naijin
(a sort of high chancellor). Later there was a daijo
daijin, or prime councillor. Below the daijin came the
daibu (great ones), who superintended and occupied the
higher posts in the eight Boards created in 649, to which,
in effect, correspond the existing Departments of the
Imperial Government. A full statement and discussion
of the early institutions of Japan, with a description of
the reforms initiated in the seventh century, and a com-
Ixxvi INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
parison of the new system with that of China, on which
it was modelled, will be found in Prof. Asakawa's valuable
work cited above.
In the Fifth Book, and in the last four books, the pre-
vailing tone of the lays is Buddhist ; in the remaining
books Shintd. But not many references are made to re-
ligious pi-actices, and these are of a very cursory nature ;
nor (beyond those of a few of the primal ancestral deities)
are the names of any gods given, nor is there any mention
of images or pictures of any of the gods. Neither, as
already stated, is there any clear reference to ancestral
worship, nor to invocation of the spirits of the dead, to be
found in the Manyoshiu, I believe, nor in the Kojiki or
Nihongi; indeed, save in a few later instances, ancestors
are scarcely alluded to unless in connexion with the
Mikado, the worship of whose ancestors as gods is alone
enjoined. Even the Greater Purification (ohoharahi) is
unnoticed — in the choka^ at all events ; the Lesser Purifica-
tion (misogi ^) is alluded to occasionally, as in lay 84.
The Mikado, at death, went back to heaven ; as for other
folk, Shint6 seems to have had no definite place for them,
good or bad, but merely a rubbish- world (yomi), a dark
under-place into which all pollutions and polluted things
— perhaps all things inferior to the Mikado — were indis-
criminately swept.
In Japanese cosmology the idea of a firmament is not
distinctly formed. Sora means the space occupied by the
atmosphere, above which was ama, heaven, conceived of as
having a material nature ; indeed it is treated very much
as an earthly land. But this is not a firmament. The
relation of the stars, sun, moon, and planets to this ama
are nowhere (so far as I know) set forth in the ancient
cosmology of Japan. About these, as about most other
* A good account of both these lustrations is given in Dr. Aston's
Shintd, They consisted essentially of a ritual, which in time became
complicated and is still practised ; prayers of hope rather than grati-
tude—one is cited at the opening of this -section-and offerings of
cloth and other symbols, which were finally committed to a running
•tream.
JAPAN IN THE MANYO AGE Ixxvii
natural appearances, the Old Japanese seem never to have
had any curiosity, or, indeed, to have paid any attention
whatever to them.
The mass of the people — tami, field-hands — appear to
have been serfs or slaves, though freemen existed, subject,
however, to the uncontrolled will of the great folk,
especially in the remoter and frontier provinces. Sus-
tenance-fiefs of houses, up to many thousands, are fre-
quently mentioned in the Nihongi ; and the tenants of these
houses must have given labour and tax in kind to the
feoffee, in fact they were practically his serfs or villains.
There was, however, no real feudalism ; the organization
remained tribal, in essence, up to Bakufu times — more or less
so, indeed, up to the abolition of the han in 1871. There
was no law, no moral code (apart from Buddhism and
Chinese innovations) ; the purifications, originally of a
purely physical character, came by extension to serve as a
moral system, especially in reference to ritual offences, and
offences of a kind that have been universally considered
as shocking to human sense, or grossly incompatible with
an existing form of human society. Crimes or sins^ —
tsumi (the etymology of the word is unknown ^) — fell into
two categories, heavenly sins and earthly sins ; the latter
such as have been committed since the advent of Jimmu.
Sir E. Satow has propounded an attractive theory of these,
turning upon the probability that the earliest Asiatic immi-
grants to Izumo were tillers of the soil, while the abori-
ginals were hunters and fishers. For long the two races
did not intermingle, and as they came from beyond the sea,
where sea and sky touch, they acquired a celestial cha-
racter, and their particular offences (which would be
infringements of the ritual they brought with them and
offences of an agricultural character) thus came to bo re-
garded as * heavenly ', while acts of violence, grossness, and
the like (a terrible list is given of them in the Kojiki) were
appropriated to the aboriginal quasi-savage hunters and
^ It may be tsumi, to pluck — i.e. to rob harvest-fields, a gross
agricultural crime. Such a derivation would lend support to
Sir E. Satow's theory mentioned below.
Ixxviii INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYCSHIU
fishers and termed 'earthly' offences. A full account of
Shint6 1 will be found in Sir E. Satow's papers in the
T.A.S. /., supplemented by an excellent one by Professor
Florenz in the same series, and the whole subject is treated
at length in Dr. Aston's work, already often cited.
A brief examination is here opportune of the great
reform of the seventh century, which effectually sinicized the
state, of which, nevertheless, the unforeseen consequence was
the establishment of the military tyranny of the Sh6gunate
in the twelfth century. The government was remodelled
upon the plan of that of China, with differences of no
great importance — the central administration consisting of
eight ministries or sho, as under : —
Nakatsukasa, dealing with matters appertaining to the
Mikado, and with the archives of the state.
^A^A;^&^^, superintending Court rites and the civil hierarchy.
Jihu, regulating matters connected with the nobility and
etiquette.
Mimbu, a sort of Ministry of the Interior.
Hydbu, Ministry of War.
CrySbu, Ministry of Criminal Justice.
Okura, Ministry of Finance.
Kunai, Ministry of Court Finance.
These were subordinate to a High Council, consisting of
three Daijin or great ministers, of the left (So), of the
right (V), and a third, Naijin (not to be mistaken for the
later Naidaijin), the first Naijin being Kamako himself^.
The Daijin were assisted by two kuni-hakase, or state
doctors or learned men. At a later period the High
Council included three nagon or privy councillors (dai,
chiu, and shS), a sangi (chancellor), and a naidaijin, who
seems to have replaced the naijin.
* It is worth mentioning that in hoth Chinese and Japanese mytho-
logy the creation or shaping of the world (or part of it) is accounted
for, and also the origins of the gods ; the creation or development of
man is not, apparently, noticed. Further information on many of
the points mentioned in this section will be found in the notes to the
lays.
• His position seems to have been much that of a high chan-
cellor.
JAPAN IN THE MANY6 AGE Ixxix
In the sho we find kyo (principal minister), taiu (vice-
minister), shoyu (second vice-minister), w^ith various karai
(heads of departments), saJcwan (deputies), suke (assistants),
and other officers.
The reform was a consequence of the fall of the Soga
clan, the story of which is well told in N. II. 189-94, and
was effected by a Prince, Naka no Ohoye, and a member
of the Nakatomi family, Kamako, better known as Kama-
tari (614-97), the founder of the great Fujihara house, with
the help of a learned Chinese named Min, versed in the
policy of the Thang dynasty, and Takamuko, a Japanese
who had studied administration in China. The Chinese
system, however, was designed to preserve the dynasty ; the
Japanese reform was not needed for that purpose, and
became merely a more efficient means of taxing the people.
It may well be doubted whether, on the whole, it was not
injurious rather than beneficial to the state.
Such was the central government. The local adminis-
tration (outside of, partially within, the klnai or Home
Provinces) depended upon a division of the territory into
kuni (provinces), kohori (counties), sato (districts of fifty
houses), and kurtii (associations of five families). The
counties consisted of — (a) three sato ; (b) four to thirty
sato ; (c) thirty-one to forty sato. Of the lower divisions
there were elders who do not appear to have been elected
but nominated ; the kohori were placed under governors
known asganrei, and the kuni under lords (kami), assisted
by deputies (suke), secretaries (hangwan or tnatsurigoto-
hito), and clerks (fumibito). All these designations are
met with in the dai (arguments) prefixed to the lays.
It may be said, generally, that the business of the local
officials was to collect taxes (in kind), and increase the
amount by facilitating increase of population to enable
more and more land to be cultivated. In the result the
courtiers came to live more and more upon the taxes drawn
from the provinces; outlaws of all kinds increased and
migrated to the kinai, where taxation was less onerous,
or became dependents of the nobles, who themselves not
seldom robbed the convoys of provincial taxes. These
Ixxx INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
nobles were miko and ohokimi (princes— very numerous
owing to the polygamy of the Mikados), and 07ni, the higher
nobles and officials. Many of the kimi were poor— in a.d. 733
salt and rice were distributed to two hundred and thirteen
of them, who were at the same time scolded for their lazi-
ness. Thus began the dependence of court on country, which
finally reduced the former to a mere shadow so far as
political power was concerned. The outer lords, by them-
selves or their representatives, obtained the control of the
provinces bordering upon the advancing frontier. In A.D. 889
Prince Takamochi obtained the family name Taira, and in
941 Prince Tsunemoto was granted that of Minamoto. The
centre of political power moved to a position on the battle-
field between these two famous clans, out of which emerged
the Shogunate of 1192 and the system of mihtary govern-
ment which culminated in the absolute tyranny of the
Bakufu, 1603-1868, and, save for a glimpse of the West in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, maintained the
Japanese spirit in bondage until recent years.
Note.— In an interesting essay on the kdbane, printed in the Shigdku
Zasshi of Dec. 14, 38 Meiji (1905), K. Nagata Hdgakushi explains the
use of this curious term (corpse) for family or clan as due to a
Japanese reading of the character *^, lit. bone or skeleton, used in
connexion with ancient Korean designations of [rank or] relationship.
He finds that the term was not used before the age of Ojin and
Nintoku (a.d. 270-399), after the historical commencement of Korean
intercourse with Japan. Of the three very ancient kdbane — Omiy
Murazhi, and Atdhe (rank-names originally), he also finds a Korean
derivation {atahe may be of Ainu origin), although, with the aid of
the facile etymologies of Japan, these are usually explained as ohomi
(grandee), muranushi (village headman), and ata (or ate) hiye {lie
or e), noble elder brother.
§ Xn. DECORATION OF JAPANESE VERSE
In relation to the decoration of Japanese verse it must
be remembered that archaic Japanese poetry had but scanty
means of embellishment at its command. The language
was the court-colloquial of the time, slightly poetized by
such devices as the use of ' empty ' or enclitical words, shi,
DECOKATION OF JAPANESE VERSE Ixxxi
mo, ka, ya, yo, na, and the like, or compounds of these,
employed much as similar words are employed in Homeric
verse— not, however, as mere chevilles, for they round
off the sense as well as the metre; by repetitions of
refrain-like phrases, parallelisms resembling those of
Hebrew poetry ; and inversions, such as are more common
in our own than in any other modern verse. But the
main decoration of archaic Japanese poetry, wholly in-
trinsic in character, was of a quite unique quality. The
elements were word-plays, sound -plays, and makura Jcotoba,
or pillow-words. The latter form of embellishment is
discussed in the next section. In estimating the value of
the decoration of Japanese verse we must remember that
the poet of Old Nippon could not resort for ornamental
purposes either to classical metre, or to romantic rhyme,
or to Teutonic alliteration, and that, on the other hand,
the abundance of homophons in his language tempted him
irresistibly to the use of word and sound jugglery. The
expectation of rhyme and metre was replaced by the
expectation of a double or even a triple meaning conveyed
by a single sound, or rhyme-wise within the verse by
difference of meanings combined with identity of sounds.
iThe latter combination, of course, is a mere jingle, but so,
Rafter all, is Western rhyme to a Japanese, so would it,
>robably, have been to a Greek ear ; but the former kind
is often very ingenious and always quaint, generally
[seriously intended as a grace, not as a mere joke (kydgen)
or a piece of humour (share). It is not difficult to under-
stand how pleasantly such devices would impress a Japanese
of the eighth century accustomed to and expectant of the
devices of the literary craftmanship of his time. They can,
of course, hardly ever be rendered or even imitated in
a translation, though some dim suggestion of their value
is occasionally possible.
To illustrate the foregoing remarks a few instances may
be cited and explained.
In Lay 210 the first eleven verses are merely a preface
to the syllable he of H^guri Hill. He here is probably
a contraction of uhS, upper, but he also means folds or
DICKIKS. U I
Ixxxii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYCSHIU
layers, and the prefatial lines involve a reference to empiled
tiger-skins described poetically as the trophy of a supposed
husband or lover, absent on sei-vice in Korea.
In another lay a similar preface introduces ' Futakami '
HiU where futa means twain— the Twain-peaked Hill.
But to futa as ' twain ' no poetical expression can easily
be applied, hence the poet treats it as its homophon futa,
* a lid,' which is adorned by a description suitable to the lid
of a lady's toilet-box (kushige), or of a kushige of some
goddess, such as are mentioned in many myths, or in
mdrchen like that of Urashima, lay 105.
A third instance is furnished by a tanka beginning
with : —
Wotomeraga
umi wo kaku tofu
Kase no yama. —
Here Kase is the name of a hill, it also means a spool
or hank of hempen yarn, and by resorting to the homophon
the decoration can be introduced ' the hill men Hank- (that
spinsters wind) hill call '. The order of words in Japanese
allows of this embellishment being introduced without con-
fusion of the phrase.
The main defence of these devices is that they extend
the range of suggestiveness ; a cardinal principle of Japanese
poetry, not carried to an unpleasing excess in the Antho-
logy, being the utmost compression of language combined
with the utmost development of meaning, not stated but
(inevitably) implied ; as when a verse ends with a dash — ,
but yet is so expressed that the dash is more eloquent
than words.
Even in the tenth century these devices had become
conceits that absorbed almost all the poetic power of Japan ;
later still the tanka or five-line sonnet itself was shortened,
and replaced by a sort of epigram or tercet of seventeen
syllables, that was rather a suggestive title to a poem, than
itself a poem. The following comparison, in which the
Bame motive, love of home, is treated by two Western poets
and their brother of the farthest East, will show the
PILLdW-WOEDS Ixxxiii
* skeletonesque ' trill which the latter came to regard — not
without some justice, nevertheless — as poetry.
Lamartine has somewhere the charming if rather senti-
mental lines : —
Ce sont la les sejours, les sites, les rivages,
Donfc mon ame attendrie evoque les images,
Et dont, pendant des nuits, mes songes les plus beaux,
Pour enchanter mes yeux, composent leurs tableaux.
' Locker-Lampson, in ' My Confidences ', puts the matter in
a more homely, perhaps a more telling way — citing William
AUingham : —
Four ducks and a pond,
a grass bank beyond,
a blue sky of spring,
white clouds on the wing —
how little a thing,
to remember for yeai-s,
to remember with tears !
But the Japanese poet is briefer than either : —
Furu ike ya The old pond, ha!
kahazu tobi komu and the leap in
mfiidzu no oto ! of the frog, and the din !
I take the epigram from Prof. Chamberlain's Shiruhe.
Many other examples will be found in his fine essay on
Basho and the Japanese Epigram ', T. A. S. /., vol. xxx,
[pt. ii, some of which I have extracted and appended to
[the la^'^s.^
§ XIII MAKURA KOTOBA OR PILLOW- WORDS
The name makura kotoha has been much discussed, but
its origin and precise value cannot be certainly ascertained.
Makura {maki-kura = roll-rest) means a pillow, originally
I a rolled up cylinder of cloth or paper, or a bundle of reeds
(or grass used as a head-rest. Makura no Zdshi is the
title of a sort of journal (nikki) kept by the Princess Sei
Sh6nagon, a descendant of the compiler of the Nihonqi,
who flourished in the eleventh century. The story runs that
1 See infra, p. 309.
f2
Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
the Queen-consort showed her a quantity of paper, saying
that the Mikado on a similar roll had caused a history to
be written. * It will do for a pillow,' replied the Princess.
' Then take it,' cried the Queen. So the Princess took it
and used it up by writing upon it all sorts of things.^
Makura-koto—' pillow-talk '—means ordinary conversation
such as might be held by a bed-side. Makura kotoba has
been taken to signify an introductory ornamental word at
the beginning of an uta, like a pillow for the substance
of the uta to rest upon, or a similar word, more or less
meaningless, introduced epithet- wise in the body of an uta,
mainly for metrical purposes or as a rest for the following
word. Whatever the origin of the name, miakura kotoba,
as the Kogi justly remarks, were not employed merely as
headings nor as chevilles. They were a principal charac-
teristic of archaic Japanese verse, and, in the longer lays
at least, they often lend both force and beauty to the line.
Of many, however, the meaning is obscure, though there
are but few of which some sort of more or less plausible
or traditional explanation cannot be given. Some, possibly,
are survivals from a forgotten dialect, or mispronounced
imitations of Ainu or Korean expressions, that have, homo-
phonously, acquired a Japanese meaning, not seldom
assisted by the Chinese characters of the script, used as
phonetics only, yet invested with a signification.
Makura kotoba, in fine, may be described as fixed epi-
thets, belonging mainly to the word following them, as
a verbal decoration, but sometimes more or less necessary
to the poem as well. Not unfrequently they are compar-
able with the Homeric epithet, but they lack all personi-
fication, and of the wealth of imagery characteristic of
classical poetry the humbler verse of Japan cannot boast.
To render possible some approach to an appreciation
of the part played by m. k. in archaic Japanese verse
a number of typical instances of their use are subjoined.
It will be seen that they may be employed quite otherwise
than as mere epithets, and that they constitute a decoration
^ Aston, Hist. Jap. Lit.
PILLOW-WOEDS Ixxxv
peculiar to uta, often, as already stated, not transferable
to a translation though their value may be indirectly
rendered in many cases.
Among makura kotoba used as epithets one of the com-
monest is yasumishishif which may be rendered ' with peace
and power who rulest ', debellator, Koa-firJTcop, would be good
Latin and Greek equivalents. It is always found with
Ohokimi, Great-Lord, an appellation, chiefly, of the Sovran.
Harunohino, *of' (or ' like') spring,' kapivos^ is used with
Jcasumitaru, ' misty ' in lay 105 — * a misty day of spring.'
Many m. k. end with this genitive particle no, a useful ele-
ment to make up the five syllables of which the m. k. should
properly consist — though some have only four, and a few
have six. Other purely epithetical pillow-words are : awayu-
kino, ' like foam and snow ' ; awayukino kihe, 'pass away like
foam and snow'; chirihijino, ' like dust and dii't ' — epithet-
ical of the sentence, kadzu ni mo aranu, ' of no account,'
i. e. mean, inferior, as this fleeting world is ; chihayaburu,
'thousand-swift-brandish,' or, ' hilt-swift-brandish,' eKaroy-
Xetpoy, epithet of Kavii, a god ; tartiakiharu (tamashil
kiharu), epithet of inochi, life, — life of which the "^vxv ti^s
its appointed limit (but see list of makura kotoba) ; kaga-
ruinasu, ' mirror-like,' epithet of miru, see, and — a mirror
being a precious object in ancient Japan — of im.o, my
.love — my love, my treasure ! ; kum^oivinasu, ' like where the
iclouds stay,' — tohoku,^fa,v ofi'asthe clouds that stay '(on
|the horizon) ; m^ayobikino, ' like (my love's) painted eye-
brows ' — applied to the arched form of a hill (Yokoyama) ;
mikem^ukafu, ' what is offered to the Sovran,' epithet of
m.i-wa, a kind of sacred sake ; sabahenasu, ' like flies in the
fifth (sa) month,' used with sawaku, ' make a din,' — be in
ia state of commotion, buzz, busy, as courtiers in the palace,
[&c. ; sanidzurafu^ ' red-stained,' ruddy, comely-looking,
epithet of lover, mistress, girl, &c. ; awokumo, KeXaivecprj^ ;
kamunagaraj IcroOeos ; harukazeno, rjpefioeL?, Sac, &c. Other
m. k. conceal an allusion or word-play. Skiranuhino, ' of
unknown flames,' as an epithet of Tsukushi may recall the
[etory mentioned in the notes to lay 62, akikusano^ ' like
autumn herbs,' is used with musubishi, ' knotted,' but as
Ixxxvi INTKODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
liomophonous with musuhi, ' produce/ i. e. flower and fruit ;
amatsumidzu, ' heaven- water,' epithet of afugite, ' looking
upwards,' i. e. towards the sky, hoping for rain in a time of
drought ; Isonokami, a tract in Yamato, where a place
existed called Furu (furu = old), hence the m. k. is used
with it allusively ; kamukazeno, ' of divine wind (influence),^
epithet of Ise, where the chief gods had their seat ; kari-
ganeno, 'like the wild-geese,' applied to kitsugi, ' come in due
season ' (as the wild-geese do) ; fuyukomori, * winter-prisoned,'
an epithet of spring regarded as confined or intercepted
by winter ; kusamakura, ' grass-pillow,' alluding to the
hardships of travel — tabi, to which the m. k. is applied ;
makanefuku, ' iron-smelt/ referring to the industry of Nifu,
of which place it is an epithet ; amoritsuku, ' from-heaven-
descended-upon/ an epithet of Kaguyama, where the gods
alighted from heaven ; kotosaheku, 'mumble, stammer,' m. k.
of Kara (China or Korea), the immigrants from which
countries could only ' mumble ' Japanese (compare Russian
nyemttsu, dumb, as applied to Germans) ; momotarazu,
'less than a hundred,' a m. k. ofyaso, eight}^ ; namayoonino,
'fresh savoury flesh ' — as of a shell-fish (kahi), hence applied
to Kahi, name of a province ; nanoriso (nami-nori or
' wave-ride-seaweed '), involving the meaning na nori so, * do
not tell (my name) ' — by a double quibble, na being the
negative imperative particle, and also, ' name ' (nomen) ;
oshiteruya (for oshi-tateru, surge, topple), an epithet of
Naniha (nami-haya), where the waves are swift ; tokoyo-
moTio, ' a thing of the Eternal Land,' epithet of tachibana,
orange, brought by Tazhima Mori from China (N. I. 86 ;
see also lay 231) ; udzuranasii, ' quail-like,' used with
ihahi-motohori, * wander about invoking the gods,' said of
followers calling on their dead lord, with crouch and cry,
like quails, amid the j ungle ; wotomeraka, * Is it a maid ? *
m. k. of Sodefuru yama (hill name), because sodefuru
means to ' wave the sleeves ', as one's love does when part-
ing from her to go on an official journey.
Often the quibble is one of sound only ; Ahashima (an
island so named) with aAa^H, ' no t-to-meet ' {zh is s^ voiced);
arikinuno, fresh or fine garment, with ari-ari, arite (be,
PILLOW-WORDS
Ixxxvii
be really) ; ashitadzuno, ' like reed-birds,' with tadzutad^
zushif * uncertain ' ; atehawoshi for ajikayoshi (meaning
obscure), with Chika no saki — Cape Chika — here j is ch
voiced ; chichinomino, ' like fruit of maiden-hair tree/ with
chichi, ' father '; so hahasohano, 'like Quercus dentata/ with
haha, 'mother' ; hototogisu, 'cuckoo,' with hotohoto^ ' noise of
knocking, tapping,' as at one's door by a lover or mistress.
Sometimes a whole phrase is used as a m.k. ; as imoga-
iheni (imo ga ihe ni), ' to my lover's abode,' as a m.k. of yuku,
' to go '. Not infrequently the m.k. is applied to a part only
of a word or place-name. Thus soramitsu (if taken to
mean ' shining sky '), used with Yamato, applies only to
yama (mountain) ; suganoneno, the Tie, by sound-quibble
applies to ne of nemogoro (nengoro), ' earnestly ' ; akikazeno
(' like autumn-wind') used with Yamahuki no se, Yamabuki
or Kerria stream, applies to the buki only (fuki voiced)
' to blow ' ; amadzutafw ('sky-traverse' or climb), used with
Higasa no yama applies only to Ili = hi, sun.
The application is at times far-fetched, as when ihaba-
shino (' like stepping-stones ') is applied to chikaki, ' near,'
because the stones are Tiear each other ; awohatano (' like a
green banner,' probably corruption of ayahatano, ' like a
banner of patterned stuff'), used with Osaka (little pass),
Osaka being confounded with osoki (osohi-ki), ' outer vest-
ment ' (uhagi).
Of not a few makura kotoba the explanations are quite
speculative. Such are chihayaburti, awoniyoshi, yamata-
dzuno, tamakiharu, kagirohi, umasahafu, monioshikino^
nihimuTono, sasudakeno, soramiisu, tamadzusano, natsu-
sobiku, &c. I have contented myself with the meanings
proposed in the Kogi and the Kotoba no Idzumi. Of the
above and other m. k. all sorts of versions are possible
owing to the distressing amount of homophony in archaic
Japanese, and its still more perplexing frequency in modern
Japanese. In the Kotoba no Idzumi there are, for instance,
between thirty and forty words all pronounced kaku —
some Japanese, some Japano-Chinese. In the domain of
language Chinese is more and more victorious ; of true
Japanese none but the form-words, some particles and
Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
inflexional terminations, with a few common nouns and
more or less auxiliary verbs, appear likely to survive.
Of Old Japanese the vocabulary was scanty. There were,
in especial, few adjectives, and it was largely to supply
this want, as well as to add variety and ornament, that
maknra kotoba were employed by the ancient poets,
to some of whom Hit6maro, Akahito, Omi Okura, and
Yakamochi it is impossible to refuse the name. The earlier
m. k. were, probably, all serious, they resumed the figura-
tive diction of the time ; even of the later ones in the
Anthology few are intended as mere hydgeii — humorous
quibbles. In later times, even as early as the age of
Tsurayuki, the mere punning and sound quibbles became
so numerous that poetry was replaced by dexterity in the
manipulation of language.
Thus — to illustrate the foregoing remarks — naga was
the only word for ' long ' ; suganoneno, matsunoneno, and
similar expressions gave variety and embellishment — ' long
as rush-stem ' (which is continually renewed), ' long as pine-
trunk shall endure ' ; in this particular case the ne is often a
sound quibble only, as with Tiemogoro (nengoro), but nemo-
goro=ne mokoro, like ne, * enduring,' hence 'persevering,'
hence ' earnest ' ; kihe, ke, was almost the only word express-
ing the idea of passing away, impermanency, and with it
were combined similes involving allusions to running
water, the foam on a swirling stream, the morning mists
that soon disappear, falling snow that rapidly melts away,
dew and rime that show only to vanish — similes due to
Buddhist ideas ; shiku-shiku okitsunami — ' ripple-ripple-in-
for-ever the waves from the deep sea ' — was the equivalent
not altogether unsuccessful of the avripidixov yeKaa-fxa of
Greek.
The makura Jcotoha offer the chief difficulty in translat-
ing the lays of the ManySbhiu. Even where they are fixed
epithets and nothing more, they are but rarely susceptible
of being rendered by a single compound-expression in
English. Their value only can be conveyed, and that in a
more or less roundabout way. When they involve a word-
play, or apply to part of a place-name or word, with,
CHINESE AND JAPANESE VERSE Ixxxix
perhaps, a word-play thrown in, they cannot strictly be
rendered at all; all that can be done is so to turn the
Western version as to give the reader more or less of the
impression the original may have made upon the Japanese
hearer of the eighth century. The same must be said of such
cases as (lay 105) tsurugitachi shi, where tsurugitachi,
straight-bladed sword, is applied to shi as a mere word,
not to Urashima, whom the shi grammatically represents.
§ XIV. COMPARISON OF CHINESE AND
^JAPANESE VERSE
Of extant uta anterior to those collected in the Anthology
— there are 111 in the Annals and 132 in the Chronicles, most
of which are single stanzas or very short poems — only a very
few possess any literary merit. The two best, one taken
from each compilation, will be found at the end of the lays —
infra, p. 304. The uta are mostly love- or drinking-songs.
The love-songs in the Annals, according to Prof. Chamber-
lain's translation, are not seldom coarse ^ ; those in the
Chronicles are free from any such taint. A few of the lays
are narrative or descriptive, one in the Chronicles (N. I. 402)
seems to aiiticipate the kaido-kudari (travel-lays) of the
Anthology and later times.^ A very few are slightly martial
in tone ; in few are there any references to myth or legend,
the lay describing the embassy of Tajima (Tazhima) to China
to fetch the orange-tree ^ is, perhaps, historical. There is
a loyal ode or two (N. 11.142) but no fervour of mikadoism is
discernible anywhere in either the Annals or the Chronicles,
the odes contain only passing allusions to natural beauty,
but scarcely a line in praise of vernal blossoms or autumnal
^ Not, I venture to think, so coarse as the Latin translations make
them appear.
* In which the ' names of places along the route are ingeniously
[by word-play] woven into the narrative in such a way as to suggest
reflexions suitable to the circumstances ' (Aston, Hist. Jap. Literature,
p. 172). The michitjuki or journey- verses of the No no utahi are of
similar character.
^ See N. I. 186— the uta is altogether Chinese in tone— and also
lay 231.
xc
INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
tints, the stock themes of Japanese natural poetry and art,
from the seventh to the twentieth century.
The themes of the Kojiki and Nihongi lays are then
largely different from those of the Anthology, and when
the same, the latter are differently treated. But the diction
in all the lays is practically identical, the use of the word-
plays similar, and there is no pillow-word in the Annals
or Chronicles that is not found in the Manyoshiu. Very few
of the lays collected in the latter are destitute of merit —
though not seldom the merit is not great — and all are utterly
free from coarseness of phrase or idea. It seems clear,
therefore, that the compiler of the Anthology was chiefly
influenced in his choice by purely literary considerations,
and these could only be of a Chinese character. In the
latter books especially, above all in the last four books,
and more particularly in the compositions of Omi Okura
and of Yakamochi himself the Chinese 'climate,' so to
speak, of the verse is unmistakable, while the means of
expression are native and its proper decoration is preserved.
The pentasyllables and heptasyllabics may have been an
imitation of shi or Chinese poetry, where both, especially
the former, are common, but not the alternation, nor the
final heptasy liable couplet of the uta which are not found
in shi. The couplet briefly and often very effectively states
the Jcuse — gist or conclusion or moral of the whole piece.
The oldest lays seem to have preserved what was,
perhaps, the original native form of irregular verse ; long
ere the close of the Many 6 period, however, most of the
more ancient lays had become modified by continuous
manipulation into a regular penta-heptasyllabic form. No
attempt was made to introduce the Chinese decoration of
rhyme, though rhyme is not, by any means, impossible in
Old Japanese. Word-juggling was probably an imitation,
in part at least, of Chinese devices, and so to some extent
were the prefatial epithet-like introductions to words or
even paiis of words, as in lay 210 \ where He[guri] yama is
* Both in the Annals and the Chronicles similar introductions are
found in the lays to this very syllable he (fold), part of the hill-name
Heguri. A sort of like preface exists in the Ode on the Value of
CHINESE AND JAPANESE VEKSE xci
brought in at the end of a long epithetical exordium or
introduction.
The "inakura kotoba or pillow- words appear to be indi-
genous to Japan. Some of the allusive ones such as
Mranuhi (lay 61) can be partially paralleled in Chinese
poetry ; the Lisao S for instance, is full of historical and
mythical allusions, but these are not contained or resumed
in a single expression. Most Chinese epithetical words,
like the Japanese, refer to history, mythology, popular
customs and traditions, and natural phenomena or events.
The metaphors, similes and figurative expressions generally
of both poesies are drawn from like sources, but though
resemblant are not by any means identical in form or
content. When the oldest of the Manyd lays, as we have
them, were written down, perhaps as early as the sixth
century, it is certain that Chinese learning was not unknown
at the Japanese Court ; to persons of culture in the seventh
century Chinese literature must have been familiar. The
poetry of the Shih King, of the latter portions of the Chou
and earlier Han periods, and of the first century of the
great Thang dynasty covering the period of production of
the earlier poems of Lipeh ^ and Tufu ^ must have been
known to Yakamochi and his brother poets.
Nevertheless in the Manydshiu I find very little real
resemblance to the poetry of ancient and mediaeval China —
so far as my limited knowledge of Chinese poetry extends*
Friendship in the Shih King (no. 5 of second decade of second part of
Lesser Festal Odes).
^ The Lisao ^'^ |^ (* Removal of Sorrow ') was composed by Khu
Yuan (or Khii Ping) in the fourth century B.C. to ' convey instruction
to his Sovereign's mind ' (in the words of Mayers) — * who had unjustly
dismissed him — by clothing the lessons of antiquity in a lyrical form '.
A complete translation of this fine poem, and of the Nine Odes of
similar import by the same disgraced minister, by Pfizmaier, will be
found in the Denk. Kais. Akad. d. Wissensch., Wien, 1852.
2 A.D. 699-762. The most famous of Chinese poets. Mayers,
No. 361, Giles's Biograph. Diet., No. 1181, and Foesie de Vepogue des
Thang, by the Marquis D'Hervey-St.-Denys.
' Contemporary with, and inferior only to, Lipeh. See Mayers^
No. 680; Giles, loc. cit., 2058 ; and Poe'sie des Thang.
xcu
INTEODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
The language of China is impersonal like that of Japan,
and this identity of form involves similarity not only
of phraseology but of treatment. But the themes differ
considerably. The ancestral and sacrificial poems of the
iikih King are not paralleled in the Many6shiu ; the social
and historic events of China, so often the subjects of Chinese
poetry, were quite different in character from those of
Japan ; the remonstrances addressed to the Chinese Emperor
or Prince were never addressed to the Mikado, who was
not an officer of Thien (Heaven) but a direct descendant of
the gods, an incarnation of very godhead, who could do
no wrong. Martial preparations and expeditions, weddings,
wine feastings, praise of hunting with dogs, abstractions,
evils of slandering and false friendship, incompetent officials
and similar subjects are Chinese but not Japanese themes,
while yearnings of parted lovers, longings for home on the
part of officials dispatched to distant posts, are common
themes of the poets in both countries. Even the nature-
subjects of the two poesies were not alike. Spring and
autumn, the time of sowing and the time of gathering were,
of course, subjects of song in both lands, but in China the
peach blossom, in Japan the wild-cherry blossom was the
symbol of spring, and in the Middle Kingdom the momiji
or niddiness of autumn foliage was much less an object of
poetic admiration than in Japan. The didactic and Bud-
dhist pieces of the latter book of the Manyoshiu are dis-
tinctly Chinese in thought and treatment; But the one or
two mdrchen (the story of Urdshima, lay 105, the Tanabata
legend, lay 102, and, perhaps, the tale of the Maid of
Unahi) of Chinese birth are dealt with in an original
manner. On the whole the poetry of the Manyoshkv appears
to me more poetic than any Chinese poetry I have read.
It is less sustained, less intellectual, less varied, in some way
less interesting, but we have only a very small body of
Japanese poetry anterior to the ninth century to compare
with a very great volume of Chinese verse. In the love-
lays of the ManySshiu, in especial, I think we find more
grace and feeling, though perhaps, in a sense, more con-
ventionality than in the work of the Thang poets. Much
CHINESE AND JAPANESE VERSE xciii
of the advantage of Japanese poetry is due to the immense
superiority of ancient Japanese as a means of expression
to Chinese. Chinese is a skeletal tongue, a staccato
sequence of formless vocables or double-vocables, brief
without being terse, for the reader is left largely to guess
the relations between the ideas expressed, and depending
very much upon the visual comprehension of the characters.
The jointures and articulations of the phrase or sentence
are bare intervals leaving open crevices in the construc-
tion which, to a Western reader, remain unsightly. A
Chinese poem, in a word, is rather a collection of notes for
a poem, or a telegraphic summary of one, than a completed
work.
Far other is the case of Old Japanese poetry. Every uta is
a complete construction, all the elements of which are deftly
combined into a single whole. It is, indeed, too complete, the
sentences run into each other as the clauses of the sentence
do, and the result is sometimes a certain clumsiness and con-
fusion of style — the defect of Japanese verse, in a word, is the
opposite of that found in the verse of the Middle Kingdom.
The Chinese script in which the lays were of necessity written
down is an obstruction, a veil, not a visual aid, a visual
part of the verse as in Chinese. The allusions are brought
in with more grace and skill, the suggestiveness is finer,
the crude commonplace of Chinese is not absent but is less
frequent, the figurative language has more soul and feeling,
and the decoration is, usually, more suitable and more pure.
The partial inflexichi of the Japanese verb gives a pliancy
and a sense of life absent from Chinese, the particles and
expletives are more frequent and varied, the whole language
is more plastic, more sensitive to the thought of him who
uses it. Even the word-jugglery, always unattractive to us,
is least so in Old Japanese, where it is used mainly as
a decorative means of combining several values, often of a
pivotal character, in a single expression. Lastly, the makura
kotoha, as already explained in the section dealing with them,
at least approach the dignity and beauty of the Homeric
epithet, nearly all of them could easily be rendered in epic
Greek compounds, and of themselves differentiate the poetry
XCIV
INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
of Old Japan from that of China, much to the advantage of
the former.
Two instances may be given illustrative of the foregoing
remarks, showing the poverty of Chinese side by side with
the fullness of the island-tongue.
^ ming y^ shing
^ yiieb -^ shuan
:^ sung ^ shih
^ kien JQ shang
M chao ^ liu
ming yiieh sung kien chao } Q^imese.
tshing shuan shih shang liu )
meio getsu sho kan sho ) japano-Chinese.
sei sen seki jo ryu »
aka[ru] tsuki[ha] sugi [no] ahida [ni] ter[u] j p^^^ Japanese.
kiyo[ki] idzumi [wo] ishi [no] uhe [ni] naga[su] i
The meaning is: [The] bright moon shining through [the] pine
[tree] [with its] clear light-flood [the] rocky surface o'erflows.
In the pure Japanese rendering the portions in brackets
show the grammatical additions. A similar function is
that of the brackets in the English translation.
The second example is ;
j&B. fjj chi getsu zen to jo )
zT ^1^ )- Japano-Chinese.
^ JL ^^^ ^^^ kotsu sei raku ^
^ H Ike [ni] tsuki [ha] yaya '
I- ^ higashi [wo] nobor[u] _ ,
-^ '^ yama [ha] hikavi [ni] tachimachi [ni] T "* ■'*P^''^-
nishi [ni] otor[u]
[In the] lake [the] moon slowly ascends [the] east,
[on the] hill [the] glow quickly westwards sinks.
The words and inflexions in brackets are not in the
Chinese text at all ; they are partly suggested by position,
but have for the most part to be supplied by the reader's
own intelligence.
The latter example is a good instance of the visual
decoration more or less characteristic of some kinds of
Chinese poetry, j^ (lake), it will be noticed, is opposed
THE ANCIENT LEARNING xcv
to [Jj (hill), ^ (moon) to 3^ (sun-glow), '0 (slowly) to
j^» (^^ once), ^ (east) to ig (west), J^ (ascend) to ^
(sink). And this answers to the kuse or meaning of the
poem. The spectator is supposed to be contemplating the
image of the moon reflected on the waters of the lake,
at full moon as the orb rises in the east, while the glow of
the setting sun is disappearing in the west — the whole
picture being mirrored on the lake's surface.^
§ XV. THE ANCIENT LEARNING 2
In explaining the meanings and settling the kana
(syllabic) spelling of ancient words, Keichiu, the Naniha
priest, led the way. He was followed by Wokabe, who, in
his turn, was succeeded by Motowori, both of whom, espe-
cially the latter, made great advances in the study of words,
though they were far from exhausting the subject. It
would seem that the need of some syllabic method of
spelling words arose in China, where at an early date it
became necessary to transliterate, as well as to translate,
the Scriptures of Buddhism. It may be thought, (pursues
the author of the Kogi, with a certain humility,) that it is
not altogether permissible to dignify the study of the
language of the Manyoshiu, a work of Fujihara and Nara
times, as a part of the Ancient Learning, or to seek in it
the true Japanese spirit of the Age of the Gods. Chinese
learning was first introduced into Japan through Kudara
(a southern state of Korea), in the sixteenth year of the
Mikado Ojiu (a.d. 285), and by the same route. Buddhism
was introduced some two centuries later. Under the Fuji-
hara and Nara dynasties Confucianism and Buddhism
became the two most important agencies of the time. It
was these influences that shaped the forms and ideas of the
^ I wish, to add that in relation to the verse of the Manyoshiu I have
collected numerous parallel or analogous passages from Western litera-
ture, ancient and modern, of which I have given a very few, by way of
illustration, in the notes to the lays.
^ A summary of one of the sections of Kamochi's Sdron. It is well
to remember that this was written during the last decades of the
Shdgunate.
xcvi INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
age, and one would expect to find them so predominant in
the poetry of the Manyoshiu period that it would be vain
to search for any trace of the national temper of Japan in
the productions of the authors of the poems contained in
that Anthology. Such, however, was not the result of
this contact with the civilization of China ; and one may
safely look for the ancient ideas of Japan in the Manyoshiu
lays. The poets and philosophers of the Fujihara and
Nara periods were, no doubt, admirers and students both
of Buddhism and Confucianism ; and were besides deeply
impressed by Chinese learning. One of the most eminent
of the Manydshiu poets, Yamanohe Okura (eighth century),
has confessed in some of his productions his reverent devo-
tion to the new religion and the new learning. Never-
theless his poems are pervaded by the ancient Japanese
spirit. In lay 68 he gives eloquent expression to the
pride he felt in his country and its past. As an alterna-
tive translation, the following lines are given : —
From the Gods' own foretime
hath run the ancient story
how heaven-shining
Yamato hath been ever
of lands the fairest,
of lands the most divine,
in speech most em'nent
of all the lands that under
broad heaven lie —
so have our fathers told us,
and in this age we,
before our own eyes see we
how true the tale is,
and with our own souls know we
how true the tale is !
Thus the ancient spirit of Dai Nippon was fully alive
in the Many6shiu age. But from that period onwards a
gradual change took place. Foreign ideas more and more
predominated, and the poetic impulse found a less and less
perfect expression in accordance with the pure primitive
genius of the people. The poems of the Kokinshiu (Songs
THE ANCIENT LEAKNING xcvii
Old and New ^), and of later collections, departed in an
increasing degree from the temper and form of the Manyd-
shiUi to which we must look if we wish to know what was
the true spirit of the earlier time.
What was that spirit ? The Lord of Chikuzen (Okura)
shall again tell us in a lay, nevertheless, of a didactic kind,
and founded, as the preface to it states, upon Chinese ethics.
It is in the sixty-second of the long lays of the Manyoshiu
that we meet with the following pithy description of the
true duty of a Japanese : —
Heavenwards mounting,
thou might'st thine own will follow,
but earth thou dwell'st on
where ay the Sovran ruleth,
and sun and moon 'neath,
as far and wide as hover
the clouds of heaven,
down to the tract so scanty
the toad's realm is,
wherever sun or moon shines,
allwhere the land
our Sovran's sway obeyeth.
The philosophy of China teaches that any one who is
sufficiently virtuous may become the chief of the State.
Not only is this not the Japanese ideal, but our doctrine is
directly opposed to it. The Mikado is Sovran because he
is Sovran by divine right, not by divine appointment, nor
by the grace of God, but by right of divine descent, and
his people owe him loyalty because of his descent, not
because they appreciate his virtue. Such is the true motive
of all Japanese feeling and action. In their exposition
and praise of this motive our poets show their patriotism ;
patriotism is loyalty to the Sovran, for Sovran and country
are one. So it has ever been from the beginning of our
land — the Sovran is born one and the people are his
servants. This is the unique character of the land and
people of Japan. A quasi-rhyme runs : —
^ Or ' Garner of Japanese Verse, Old and New ', see infra, p. 378.
OICKIKS. n g
XCVlll
INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
umi yukaba mi-dzuku kahane
yama yukaba kusamusu kabane
ohokimi no he ni koso shiname. (Lay 227.)
We, too, so serve our Sovran,
serve him at sea,
our sodden corpses leaving
to the salt sea leaving,
our Sovran serve by land,
our corpses leaving
amid the wild-waste bushes,
rejoiced to die
in our dread Sovran's cause.
Such are the lessons of the Ancient Learning.
It is a foreign (i.e. Chinese) delusion that the Sovran
ought to humiliate himself by assuming the designation of
a * virtueless man,' as the Chinese do who dub themselves
kwajin, ' men of little.' The Japanese Sovran is a monarch
by ancestry, and has no need to be humble. Our country,
unlike other countries (i.e. China), scorns to boast of itself
as a Middle Land, the centre of civilization, and to dub
other lands as barbarous. There is no object in contrasting
our land with other lands. Old names for Japan, it is true,
are Ohoydshima, the ' Great Eight Islands ' ; Toyo-ashihara,
*Rich Eeed-Plain'; Midzuho no kuni, 'Land of Shining
Ears,' &c. But these names express the gratitude of the
people to their land ; they do not bear a comparative
meaning. They have no relation to Chinese philosophy or
other foreign doctrines (Buddhism), as some teachers con-
ceive; they do but state the unquestioned excellence of
Dai Nippon, as known and admitted from earliest times.
§ XVI. SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THE
PRINCIPAL POETS
Of Kakinomoto no Asomi Hit6maro ^ ^, — the
Ason Hit6maro of the Kaki (persimmon — Diospyros, kaki-
tree) — little is known. In the Jimmei-jisho (Diet, of
Nat. Biography) we find the following account of him : —
*His family is said to have traced its descent from
THE PEINCIPAL POETS xcix
Ametarashi Hikokuni Oshihito no mikoto (a son of the
Mikado K6shd, B.C. 475-393, according to the Kojiki).
Another account makes him descend from the Mikado
Bidatsu (572-85). He served tinder the Queen-Regnant Jitd
(A.D. 690-6) and the Mikado Mommu (697-707). As to
the ranks and offices he held nothing is clearly known.
He was a fine poet, and is known as the * Sage of the World
(or Age) of Poesy.' In company with Prince Nihitabe (son
of the Mikado Temmu, A. D. 673-86) he travelled through
Kii, Ise, Kamiwoka and Ydshinu, as well as Afumi (Omi),
Ihami, and Tsukushi. He composed poems on every
place he came to. Towards the close of life he lived in
Ihami and died there. His tomb is shown in Sohegami in
Yamato.'
Mr. Chamberlain adds a story, derived no doubt from
his name Kakinomoto (* Under the persimmon tree '), of a
warrior, Ayabe, who found a child of more than mortal
splendour under one. On being asked who he was, the child
answered, 'No father or mother have I, but the moon and
winds obey me, and in poetry I find my joy.' The boy was
adopted and became the prince of Japanese poets. If the
story is not the outcome of the name, the name is of the
story. In the short lays following lay 30 his death is men-
tioned, his own feelings on its approach, and those of his
wife and some of his friends. Lays 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 22,
23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, are the work of Hit6maro.
Yamabe no Sukune AkAhtto ^ ^.
According to the Nihongi, Wodate was the first mura-
zJii of the Yamabe house — so called after the company of
mountain-forest wardens created in A. D. 485. The Mikado
Temmu (673-86) added the rank of Sukune. There
seems to be some doubt whether Yamabe should not
rather read ' Yama ' only. The Jimmei-jisho states that
Akahito and Hitomaro are usually bracketed together, as
equal in poetic rank, under the expression ' Yama-Kaki '. At
the beginning of Jinki (724-9) he accompanied the Mikado
(Shomu) to Kii, later he resorted to the hot wells of lyo.
He afterwards visited the Eastland, and it was on this
g 2
c INTKODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
journey that he composed the well-known stanza on the
view of Fuji from Tago Bay ^
Ohotomo no Sukune Yakamochi ^ :f^— Yakamochi,
a noble (Sukune) of the Ohotomo clan.
In the eighth volume of the Anthology there are four
short lays by Yakamochi ascribed to the eighth year of
Tempyo (736). These seem to be his earliest efforts there
preserved. Up to that time he had held no office, and was
doubtless quite a youth.
Five years later, in 13 Tempy6 (741), we find three lays
of his, in answer to two of his brother Fumimochi in praise
of the cuckoo. He was then called an uchitoneri. In
16 Tempyd (744) he wrote six short lays on the death of
Asaka no miko, a son of the Mikado Shdmu (724-48) ; he
is still designated uchitoneri. The toneri were personal
attendants of noble bii*th upon the Mikado and Princes of
the Blood. There were three ranks of them — upper, middle,
and lower ; the middle, or uchitoneri, were at first ninety in
number— royal pages, they might be called — and were first
created by the Mikado Mommu (697-707).
In 17 Tempyo, Yakamochi was promoted from toneri to
the lower division of the junior-fifth rank. In 18 Tempyd
(746) an office within the Palace was allotted to him and
he was made Etchiu no kami. In 1 Shohd (749) he was
placed in the upper division of the junior-fifth rank and
made a shonagon (junior Councillor). In 6 Sh6h6 (754) he
attained a subordinate position in the War Office, and
a higher one in 1 Hoji (757). In 2 Hdji (758) he was
granted the rank of Inaba no kami, and in 8 H6ji (764)
that of Harima no kami. In 1 Keiun (767) he was made
a shdni (a middle rank officer) of the Dazaifu (Tsukushi
garrison), in 7 H6ki (770) an official of the Mimbu (Home
Office) and advanced to the lower division of the senior-
fifth rank), in 2 Hoki (771) to the lower division of the
junior-fourth rank, in 7 H6ki (776) he was created Ise no
kami, in 8 H6ki (777) promoted to upper division of the
junior-fourth rank and afterwards made a Daishi — Great
^ A translatiou is given on p. 308, No. 19.
THE PRINCIPAL POETS ci
Teacher, an honour conferred by the Mikado upon learned
or virtuous persons ; in 9 Hoki he was advanced to lower
division of senior-fourth rank, in 1 Yenreki to upper
division of senior-fourth rank, and then to lower division
of junior-third rank. In 2 Yenreki (or Yenriyaku) he was
made a chiunagon, and in the eighth month of 4 Yenreki
(Sept. 785) he died. His claim to descent from the Oho-
tomo ancestor does not appear to have been recognized, for
the common term shisu is used (in the Zoku Nihongi) to
signify his death. However, he must have been of good
stock — his grandfather Yasumaro and his father Tabiudo
were both Dainagon. After his death and before he was
buried, the murder of a chiunagon, Fujihara Tanetsugu,
became known, and apparently Yakamochi was suspected of
having been concerned in the crime. The result was that
his children were banished. But the truth becoming known
— namely, that Ohotomo Tsugibito and others were the real
murderers, the famil}^ was reinstated. Closing the last
volume of the Anthology, we find Yakamochi's short lay
composed in 3 Hdji (759) which was recited or chanted
at a banquet held at the residence of Inaba. Between
that date and his death, twenty-six years later, he must
have composed many poems. But there was no con-
tinuator of the ManySshiu, and they are, unfortunately,
lost.
Most of Yakamochi's productions are excellent, if slightly
elaborate. His poetical correspondence with Ikenushi is
a most interesting example of the literary life of the Coiu*t
and official world in the eighth century. There can be no
doubt that we owe the Anthology to his enthusiasm and
literary discernment; his own numerous contributions —
they almost fill the last four of the twenty volumes — never
sink to mediocrity according to the accepted standards of
Japanese poetry.
Of Yamanohe no [Omi] Okura ^ ^ ]^— the Minis-
ter Okura (Little grange ?) of Yamanohe (Uplands) family-
little is known.
In 1 Daihd (a. d. 701) he joined the embassy to China of
cu
INTRODUCTION TO THE MANY6SHIU
Ahada no Ason Mabito (the true-man, ^vavrjpj Ahada (Millet-
field) of Ason rank) as shoroku, under-secretary. In 7 Wado
(714) he is mentioned as promoted to the lower division of
the junior-fifth rank. In 2 Reiki he was made Hdki
no kami and in 5 Y6r6 (721) he returned to Court, doubtless
much to his own satisfaction, and held an office in the
Eastern Palace. His contributions to the Anthology are
not numerous, but display, perhaps, more enthusiasm than
any of the other poems comprised in the collections. Conf.
lay 68 and notes thereto.
The above short biographies of the four principal poets
of the Anthology are summarized partly from the Jimmei-
jisho, partly fi-om the Kogi. Their historicity is doubtful
enough, for in Japan history and biography, past or present,
are anything but critical, but, even when not actual, they do,
we may be sure, closely imitate fact. Of Yakamochi, as
the compiler or the principal compiler of the Anthology,
a fuller account is given than of the others.
§ XVII. NOTICES OF THE PRINCIPAL
COMMENTATORS
Tachibana no Moroye ^ JJj (originally Katsuraki)
was the son of Minu, chief minister of the Jibusho (Board
of Public Worship), and grandson of Naniha Miko. In
Wad6 (708-715) he gained the lower division of the junior-
fifth rank, and in 1 H6ji (757) he died, aged 74, with the
rank of upper division of the senior-first rank. He was
a great student of ancient Japanese verse, and is supposed
to have had a hand in the compilation of the Anthology.
His accomplishments made him a favourite with four
Mikados, and in 8 Wad6 (715) he obtained the restoration
to his family of the surname Tachibana (orange-bush),
which had been bestowed upon one of his ancestors by a
former Mikado as a reward for his services, the Mikado
saying, as he handed a young orange-bush to the recipient,
that so beautiful-flowered and fruited, so lovely and endur-
ing a tree, well represented the devotion and loyalty he
desired to acknowledge. {Jimmei-jisho.)
THE PEINCIPAL COMMENTATOES cui
MiNAMOTO Shitagafu (op Jun) ^]^^ j|g was the grandson
of a Dainagon. In 5 Tenryaku (951) Shitagafu, with four
others (known as the Nashitsubo or Pear-tub Committee),
was charged with the preparation of a new Anthology (Gosen
Wakashiu — Aftei: Selection of Japanese Verse), in twenty
vols. In 1 6wa (961) he was made Idzumi no kami, and
later Noto no kami. He died, aged 73, in 1 Yeikwan
(983). The authorship of the Taketori story is credited to
him. Of the earliest Japanese dictionary (a sort of ency-
clopaedia, still of great use), the Wamyo Ruijiushdy he was
the author ^. (Jimmei-jisho.)
Of Sengaku f[|j ^ the family name and homeplace are
unknown. We hear of him first at the New Buddha Hall
(Shin Shaka Do) at Kamakura. He seems to have been a
Kenritsushi (commissioner or master in criminal law), but
he soon acquired fame as an expounder of Old Japanese
literature and as a commentator on the text of the An-
thology. During the reign of Kameyama (1260-74) he
rectified the extant ten (glosses) and offered the results of
his labours to the retired Mikado Saga U (reigned
1243-46). His remains were collected by a priest of
Fujisawa, Yua (?), who published them under the name
Shirin Saiyosho ('Leaves from a Forest of Words'), a work
containing useful notes on various old words and forms of
script. The date of the postscript is 1349. His work on the
Anthology, called Manyoshiu Shd (20 vols.), is exegetical,
and preserves portions of many Fudoki (Histories of
localities, customs, &c.) now lost. It is the earliest com-
plete commentary on the Many5shiu. (JioriTnei-jisho.)
Keichiu ^ yrfl was the son of a clansman of Awoyama,
the daimyd of Amagasaki in Settsu. He was born in 1640,
and at an early age gave proofs of a marvellous memory,
learning the Hiyakunin isshiu in ten days when only five
years old. At eleven he entered the monastery of My6h6
(Enlightened or Illustrious Doctrine) at Imasato, near
Osaka. Later he took the tonsure and migrated to the
^ Conf. § V of this Introduction, and the Introduction to the
Taketori, infra.
CIV
INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
famous monastery of Mt. K6ya, in Kishiu. In 1662 he
again changed his abode. He then took to travelling
about the country studying Japanese, Chinese, and Bud-
dhism ; finally he almost confined himself to the Ancient
Learning. The fame of his scholarship came to the ears of
the Prince of Mito, who invited him to Yedo, and requested
him to complete a commentary on the Manyoshiu which
had been begun by another scholar. Keichiu refused both
invitation and request, but of his own motion wrote the
Many 6 Daishohi in twenty volumes (' Manyo-Notes by
another craftsman'), a work full of learning, good sense, and
acumen. He died in 1701 in a village near Osaka, having
continually declined the repeated invitations to Yedo sent
him by the Prince of Mito. (Jirrimei-jisho.) See also
Sir E. Satow's paper in T. A. S, J.
Kamo (or Wokabe) Mabuchi JJW ^^ )]^ prided him-
self on his descent from the god who, under the figure of
an eight-clawed crow, acted as guide to Jimmu in his inva-
sion of Yamashiro (N.I. 115). He lived in the county of
Fuchi in Totomi, whence his name. His father was warden
of the shrine of Kamo. In 1 733, being thirty-six years old,
he went to Ky6to and became a pupil of Kada Atsumaro.
After his master's death in 1736 he removed to Yedo,
where he spent the remainder of his days in the acquisition
of learning. Chikage, the author of the Riyakuge (so well
known to students of Japanese), was his pupil. He died
in 1770. He was one of the greatest of the Shint6 re-
vivalists. His chief works on the Manyoshiu are the
ManyS shiusai Hiyakushuge in three vols. ; the Kwanjiko
(a glossary of Makura kotoha) ; and the ManySshiukS
(Commentary on the ManySshiu). (This is not mentioned
in the Gunsho.) Mabuchi died in 1770. (Jimmel-jisho,
Gunsho Ichiran, and Sir E. Satow's article on the Revival
of Pure Shintau, T.A.S. /., vol. iii \)
* In Sir E. Satow's valuable paper a full account will be found of
the Revivalist leaders Kada, Motowori, Mabuchi, and Himta, of their
works, and of the epoch-making movement itself, of which they were
the soul.
r
THE AUTHOR OF THE KOGI cv
Tachibana (or Kat6) Chtkage =p j^ was the son of a
clansman of Ohowoka, Echizen no kami, who was a police
officer in Yedo. Chikage at an early age began to study
the Ancient Learning, and later became a pupil of the
celebrated Kamo Mabuchi. He succeeded to his father's
office, but without abandoning his studies, and resigned
after an illness that overtook him in 8 Temmei (1788). He
died the 2nd of 9th month of 5 Bunkwa (October 2, 1808).
His principal work is the Manyoshiu Riyakuge, Short
Commentary on the Manydshiu^ a mediocre performance
entirely superseded by the Kogi. (Jimmei-jisho.)
§ XVIII. SHORT NOTICE OF THE AUTHOR OF
THE KOGI
The following biography of the author of the Manydshiu
Kogi •i' ^,^ extracted for me by Mr. Kumagusu Minakata
from the Kokugakusha Denki Shilsei ^ 0^ ^ 'ft ^g
^ ^, 1903, by Ohogawa Shigerro ^^ )\\ ^ t^ and
Minami Shigeki ^ ^ i^ (Biographies of Japanese
Men of Learning), may be found interesting as a record of
the life, ways, and surroundings of a scholar of the close
of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Kamochi Masazumi J^ 1(^
W^ y^ ^^^ born in 1791, and died in 1858 in the sixty-
eighth year of his age (according to the Japanese fashion
of counting the years of life), in the village of Kamochi ^,
in the district of Irino A ^ in the county of Hata
||^ ^ in the province of Tosa [in Shikoku]. His clan
was Fujiwara, and his family name was Yanagimura
;pj ij^ or Kamochi. His common name ^ ;^ was
Genda 7]^ ^, afterwards changed to ^ ;^ Toda.
He was descended from a Kuge (Court noble) named
Masakazu ^ ^, of the Asukai family ^ J^ ^, of
the Fujiwara clan, having the official title of shogun
^ I have in this and previous sections given the Chinese script of
the names because of their frequent occurrence in Japanese literature.
2 As written, Shikamochi.
CVl
INTEODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
/J^ ^ ^^ general, who fled from Kiy6to during the civil
war of 6nin ^ ^^ 1467-77, to Tosa, where he settled in
the above-mentioned village of Kamochi. His father's name
(the author of the Kogi) was Yanagimura Korenori |pp
^d* 'JJ^ ^Ij. He changed the name to the original one,
Kamochi, which, in turn, his son Masayoshi ^ ^
changed to the earlier one of Asukai. Masayoshi's son
(grandson of the author of the Kogi) Masafuru ^^ -^ is
still alive (1903).
Of Masazumi's childhood nothing particular is known.
He entered upon his studies at the age of seventeen or
eighteen. In Chinese letters his master was one Nakamura ;
he studied the Japanese classics under a teacher named
Miyaji ^ ^^, and the art of writing under another
named Shimomoto ~\\ y^. He then devoted himself
entirely to the study of ancient Japanese leai*ning. As he
lived, however, far from any centre of culture, and was
besides so poor that he could not buy books, he was obliged
to borrow them from his friends. The Kar6 (chief Coun-
cillor) of his clan, Fukuoka, hearing of his poverty and
diligence, opened his library to him, and assisted him
further by buying for his use books not contained in his
library. Thus Masazumi made great progress, and was
engaged as teacher by many of the samurai of the clan,
some of whom afterwards took a prominent part in the
Restoration of Ishin ^. Among such were Takeichi Ham-
peida -^ ^ ^ -^ ^ and Yoshimura Toritaro ^
^ ^ ifc MR* ^^ ^ later period he taught the former
daimio of Tosa, and a collateral member of the family
(renshi ^M ^^)' H^ also corresponded with many learned
men throughout the empire, especially with Shimizu
Hamaomi "^ y^ »^^ ^, a famous classicist of the day.
As his fame grew he was rewarded by his daimio with
presents of money or rice. He was made tutor to his lord's
sons, and a professor in the provincial college Bumbukwan
* Of 1868, The expression is borrowed from Chinese literature.
THE AUTHOE OF THE KOGI cvii
^ ^ Sit* -^^ "^^^ ^^^^ granted the rank of samurai.
The earlier half of his life was passed in such poverty that
he could only purchase a day's supply of rice at a time.
One day, while going to the rice-store with a little money
in his pocket, he met an old flower- seller. Suddenly
attracted by the flowers, he spent all his money in buying
them, quite forgetting that he would have nothing to eat
that day. On another occasion the thatch of his house was
blown off and the rain poured through, but he only shifted
his seat and continued his studies. He would pound his
rice with one foot whilst at work on his books, and go on
pounding long after the rice was free from bran. He held
books in such honour that he would never place them on
the matting of the floor; in lecturing to his pupils he
always bade them never to put their books elsewhere than
on zen or sambo (low tables) if there was no proper desk
at hand. He was a genuine scholar^, utterly lacking all
worldly craft. His pupils, time and again, found him
employment, but he could never keep it. His poverty
passed human thought ; when supported by Fukuoka, the
latter had to supply him with brush and ink.
The following is a list of his principal works : —
"^ ^ ^ ~^ ^ ManySshiu Kogi : The Many6shiu
explained according to its ancient (true) meaning.
Manyoshiu ^ JJj^ ^ Himhutsukai : Explanations of
the objects (fauna and flora) mentioned in the Manyoshiu.
Manyoshiu ^ j^Jj U ^ Ileisho Kuniwake : Arrange-
ment under their respective provinces of the places men-
tioned in the Manydshiu.
Manyoshiu ^ Mj •& Jimhutsu Den : Lives of Persons
referred to in the Manydshiu.
Manydshiu ;^ ^Jf ^ Meishoko : Notes on the Places
mentioned in the Many6shiu.
Manyoshiu Makura kotoba Kai : Explanations of the
makura kotoba (pillow-words) in the Manydshiu.
He was the author also of a number of treatises on
* The stories sound like Chinese compliments rather than realities.
cviii INTRODUCTION TO THE MANYOSHIU
literary composition, of an annotated edition of the Tosa
Nikki, of a commentary on the Nihongwaishi, and of
various other essays and short treatises on points of
Japanese (as distinct from Chinese) learning, none of which
are known to the present writer.
The Kogi was the ^magnum opus of the author, who
devoted all his life to the study of the Manyoshiu, and is
by far the best and most elaborate commentary on that
Anthology. It was published by Imperial authority in
1879 under the direction of the Kunaishd (Ministry of the
Imperial Household), in a magnificently printed edition,
now very rare, comprising all the labours of Masazumi on
the subject. A full description of the edition will be found
in § II of this Introduction.
POSTSCRIPT
It should have been stated in the above Introduction that in the
translations of the Lays the syllabic metre of the Japanese text is
exactly followed.
kike
do
*i;
shi
zen
aki
nil
on
ky6
VOX VERA NATURAE
MANYOSHIU
Book I, Part I
By the Sovran ^ at his palace of Asd-kura^ in Hd,tsus*e
whence he ruleth all the land.
0 maiden bearing
thy little basket,
0 fine thy basket —
0 maiden bearing
thy bamboo truel,
0 fine thy truel ^ —
maiden wandering
upon the knoll- side
gathering
wild herbs for sallets—
o*er wide Yamato *,
land of shining 5 moun-
tains,
true lord am I and Sovran,
all where are men
to me obeisant,
men everywhere
to my will bow them,
wherefore thou'lt husband
call me,
and name and homeplace
tell me ®.
The lay is addressed to a girl the Sovran meets out hunting,
who is gathering potherbs or salads on the hill-side — perhaps
an uneme or lady-in-waiting on a hunt for herbs and simples
among the hills near City-Royal, a dissipation in which the
early Mikados themselves often indulged. The ancient Japanese
do not appear to have cultivated any vegetables. There is no
envoy. Or the whole of the first part of the lay may be a
preface to Jco maiden, and so merely epithetical. [I use
throughout City-Eoyal to designate Miyako, the Grand House-
Place or Capital.]
^ Yuryaku (a. d. 457-9). The Residence at Asakura did not
last beyond his reign. In early days each new Sovran built
himself a new palace. (See As ton's Shinto,) I take my
BICKINS. II
B
2 manyOshiu
history, as the Kogi does, from the Kojiki (Ancient Annals),
Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan), and the Zoku Nihongi (Continua-
tion of the Nihongi). The latter two alone have any pretensions,
and these not considerable, to historical accuracy, but at least
their narrative resembles the truth.
* Asakura, as written, means hemp-grange. Hatsuse (in
Yamato) is variously written, probably it means a head of
waters, a river source, or perhaps a streamy land.
' In text fukushi or fugushi = hoguse, hera.
* Yamato, confer Nagato, Yedo, minato (a haven, i. e. water-
gateway), may mean a pass or passage through or among
mountains. The province is encircled by hills. But we do
not know how far ancient place-names were script or phonetic
alterations of older forms of Japanese, or even of Korean (in-
vented anew or imported like Danish and Saxon names in
England) or Ainu designations. (See K. 23, also Chamberlain's
* Geographical Nomenclature, &c., of Japan viewed in Light of
Ainu Studies ' (Mem. Lit. Coll. Imp. Univ. Japan, No. I).)
^ This may be taken as the value of the curious m. k. (makura
kotoba or pillow- word, see List in volume of Texts) soramitsu. A
more usual meaning contains an allusion to part of the speech of
Jimmu, the first earthly Sovran, to his elder brother (N. I. 110) :
* I have heard from the Ancient of the Sea that in the East is a
fair land encircled on all sides by blue mountains, and I think
that this land will be suitable for the extension of the Heavenly
Task [entrusted to me] so that its glory should fill the Uni-
verse. It is doubtless the centre of the world [a Chinese
phrase]. Why should we not proceed thither and make it the
Capital. The person [god?] who flew down there was Nigi-
haya-hi (soft-swift-sun).' The * fair land ' is Yamato which the
god saw (mitsu) as he descended through the air (sora), or mi-tsu
is the fair goal (of his descent in the famous * rock-boat '). But
the interpretation as * shining ' or * glowing ' or * skyey ' seems
more correct. Japanese etymology, however, is a most unsatis-
factory science.
" The rendering is somewhat too imperative. In the original
we have the slightly precative particle ne (negu, negafu). Up to
the close of the seventh century Japan was but little sinicized,
women were more on an equality with men — in 600 years
before the ninth century there were eight empresses — and the
Mikados were not secluded — a practice of much later origin.
THE LONG LAYS 3
In fact the less real power they had the more they — or rather
their office — were revered, but there seems to have been little
reality even in the reverence. It was an extremely useful
political asset for any party in power.
The greater deference paid to women is well shown in the
account of the interview between the mikado and the moon-
maiden in the story of Taketori infra.
During the Eesidence at Wokarnoto in Takechi.^
2
A Royal Lay upon a View of the Land from Mount
Kagu,
Land of Yamato !
among its hills unnum-
bered
doth Amakagu
stand forth in
beauty —
The high brow climbing
I look forth all the land
o'er,
the champaign showeth
perfect
allwhere the smoke up-
curling
from a thousand cabins,
allwhere the seaplain
showeth
flight upon flight
of busy sea-gulls rising —
0 land to love,
fair land of rich ripe ears,^
Yamato, fertile, fruitful !
^ The Sovran is Jomei (629-41) or the Queen-Kegnant Saimei
(655-61). Jomei built the Palace and was buried at Kinohe
after temporary interment at Kame-hazama. In the * Book of
Barrows ' (mi-sasagi) his is described as 102 feet high and 816i
feet in contour. (N. II. 177.) There is no envoy.
2 Amenokagu or Kagu or Kaku, in Yamato (there still exists
a village, Kakumura). If Ame be simply epithetical, as is
likely, the true rendering would be Heavenly Mt. Kagu, either
sky-piercing, or the counterpart in Heaven of the one on Earth
may be poetically alluded to. (See N. I. 34.) In K. 31 the
name is connected with Kago {sMJcOrJco), young deer.
^ Akitsushima, a m. k. In later days explained as the
B 2
4 MANY6SHIU
Dragon-fly-shaped land {dicitsu = tomho = dragon-fly). Often
toi/o, abundant, is prefixed to the name, of which the real
origin is unknown.
On the occasion of a Koyal Hunt on the moor of
Uchi ^ the Princess Nakachi offereth the Sovran
this Lay, indited at her request by Hashihito no
Murazhi Oyu.
My Lord and Sovran, for hunt at even
in peace and power who still maketh he him ready,
ruleth 2, and ever yon bow-end
when daybreak show^- of the whitewood bow he
eth loveth —
in his trusty bow delight- it echoeth full loudly .
eth,
when dusk is falling
with heed aside he setteth, On Utsu*s * moorland
and ever yon bow-end, (the days of life are num-
bow-end of bow of white- ber'd) ^
wood ^ the horsefolk gather,
my Sovran loveth, and men shall beat the
full loudly it resoundeth, j^^gl^
for hunt at daybreak and rouse the game there
ay maketh he him ready, crouching.
^ Uchi or Utsu is in Yamato ; Nakachi, according to Okabe, is
the Consort Hashihito — so named after her foster-mother (of
the family of Hashihito), a common practice in Old Japan. In
the Nihongi (N. II, 165) she is mentioned as the second
(nakachi or middle) daughter of the Mikado Jomei. She
became the consort of the Mikado Kotoku, and died in the
fourth year of the Mikado Tenchi (665)— at her death 330
persons were compelled to enter religion (N. II. 283). Hashi-
hito no Murazhi Oyu (oyu = okotOf venerable sir), a member of
the Nakatomi clan, is mentioned in the Nihongi (N. II. 246)
THE LONG LAYS 5
under the year 654. The name Hashi is that of Nomi no
Sukune, who advised the Mikado Suinin to bury clay images
instead of live men in the mi-sasagi or barrows (N. I. 130).
More correctly, Hashi (= Hanishi, potter), is the he name. The
object of the lay seems to be a remonstrance against the
mikado's passion for the chase, which takes him so early afield,
and brings him so late home, that the princess cannot properly
attend upon him. There is no envoy.
* The m. k. yasumishishi may be thus rendered. See List of
maJcura Jcotoha (Texts). Another rendering is 'who knoweth
(ruleth) the eight (all) corners (of the land) ', i. e. who ruleth all
the land. But the former rendering is better — compare ' par-
cere subiectis et dehellare superbos ' — debellator, Koa-fx-qroyp.
^ adsusa-nO'M, Catalpa, or possibly Prunus, or hi-no-ki (Chamae-
cyparis).
* utsu (utsutsu) means real wakeful life as opposed to yume^
dreams — hence the applicability of the m. k. in the text of
which I have attempted to give the value in the second line
of the envoy.
^ This line gives the value of the m. k. tamaJciharUj life-limit-
ing, applied to utsu, real existence.
By Ikusa no Ohokimi on coming to the mountain
passes he must cross on accompanying a Koyal
Progress to Aya in Sd,nuki ^
and all my spirit
is filled with wretched-
Tis misty springtime,
to close the long day
draweth,
and with the darkness
the mingling daylight
passeth,
and heavy my heart is,
the ruler of my being^,
while owls ^ complaining
the night crowd with their
shriekings,
ness,
wherefore 'tis well
I utter my complaini
my lofty Sovran
I follow in my service,
the mountain passes
where roar the blasts to
climb,
both morn and even
6 MANY6SHIU
cold winds upon me blow- my very heart within me,
ing like fireflames roaring
in gusts unceasing beneath the salt pans
while I on couch all lonely, tended
on grassy pillow, by fisher-maids of Tsunu.
must wayfarer's rest still
seek me, The gales incessant
fair palace service are rushing o'er the passes,
for toilsome tracks ex- no sleepy night I
changing — yearn not with love and
nor quit me can I longing
of many a sad regret, to clasp thee left behind
till my woe burneth me !
^ Whether Ikusa no Ohokimi is a name or a title is un-
certain. Ohokimi (Great Prince) was the title of the Mikado,
of Princes of the Blood Koyal, also known as Shinno (Kelated
Chiefs) and of mi-Jco, Illustrious (mi or ma) Children. The pro-
gress was to the Hot Wells of lyo, and took place in the
eleventh year of Jomei (769). (See N. II. 169.) There is one
envoy.
* An imitation of the m. k. muraMmono, lit. all the inner
organs.
^ Nuye, mentioned in what is probably the oldest of the lays
quoted in the Kojiki (K. 76, note). Mr. Chamberlain cites a
description from the Yd Kiyoku Tsuge or Tsukai ('Commentary
on the No dramas ') : 'It has the head of a monkey, the body of
a racoon-faced dog, the tail of a serpent, and the hands [sic]
and feet of a tiger ' ; another, from the Wakim Shiwori ('Guide to
a Knowledge of Japanese Words as distinguished from Chinese'):
' It is a bird larger than a pigeon and having a loud and mournful
cry % and a third, from an old and curious Chinese work called
SanJcaikyoC Mountain and Sea Classic '—a sort of Description of
Nature) : * Like a pheasant with markings on its head, white
wings, and yellow feet, whose flesh is a certain cure for the
hiccough *. The original of this more or less mythic bird is
probably a species of owl.
THE LONG LAYS
During the Residence at the Palace of Afumi.
5
On the Three Mountains, by Nakano Ohoye ^
for a woman's grace and
favour
shall strive in rivalry.
Exalted Kagu,
charmed by tJnebi's beauty,
with Miminashi
to win the fair hill
strove —
such rivalries
the very gods' age knew,
long, long ago
so 'twas, and ever will be
that we poor mortals
High Kaguyama
and the hill of Miminashi
together wrangled —
*twas to Inami's moorland
to 'suage the strife the
god came.
^ The Mikado Tenchi (or Tenji), 668-71. He resided at
Omi no Miya (665-71). The Kogi says Ohoye (great Elder
Brother) was a designation of the Heir Apparent. The Story of
the Three Hills, all in Yamato, is this — two of them quarrelled
as rivals for possession of the third, and the god Aho, hearing
of this, left Izumo with the object of making an arrangement.
On the way he heard that the struggle was ended, and, instead
of pursuing his journey, turned his boat bottom-upwards and
remained at Inami no hara in Harima, where he heard the
news. (He must therefore have come round by sea — a pretty
long voyage even for a god.) The mikado cites the case of the
Three Hills as justifying men's rivalry in love in his own day.
Perhaps in the story (among other memories) there is some
faint echo of a strife between clans whose tribal gods had their
seats on the hills in question. Of one of the two envoys the
journey of the god Aho is the subject. The Kogi explains the
rivalry as allusive to burning mountains. The name Inaml
means, homophonously, ^ refuse *, and may imply the refusal of
the god to pursue a journey that had become useless.
8 manyOshiu
During the Eesidence at the Palace of Ohotsu in
Afumi.
6
Spring and Autumn.^
From winter's prison so close the jungle
now cometh spring escap- I may not reach the
ing 2, blossoms —
and birds late songless in time of autumn
do fill the woods with I featly pierce the
music, thickets
the copse erst flow'rless to choose and gather
the hills with blossoms the sprays with autumn
decketh, ruddiest,
but in the springtime the sprays un glowing
so thick-pleached are the Ithrust aside, unplucking,
bowers and so ^ for me,
scarce way I win there for me the hills of
to list the birds' new carols, autumn ! *
^ By the Princess Nukata. Chosen by the mikado at his
palace of Otsu (Omi) from a number indited at his command,
comparing the vernal and autumnal beauties of the hills. The
command was delivered to the Naidaijin Fujihara no Asomi
(the celebrated Kamatari Ko of whose mi-sasagi or barrow a
woodcut will be found in Aston's Nihongi II. 243). He died
in the latter half of the seventh century. See also Jimmei-
jisho sub Fujihara Kamatari. Nukata was one of the ladies of
the Mikado Temmu (N. II. 322).
* A rendering of the m. k. fuyulcomoriy winter-prison'd.
' In the text nageJcu = naga-iku, lit. draw-deep-breath, of
pleasure, or — more often—of grief.
* Autumn is preferred because it is easier at that season to
discover the ruddy sprays wherewith to deck the head than
the blooms of spring amid the thick greenery. But spring is
not to be despised.
nded Nara
mt
iimong :
but till is i.
.t every bend,
o
o
'*.
o
P-^PT Vi--
■'■6 lor its heh
-' mwa meet.,,.,.
od the m. k.
Japan.
. ... ; place-na...
where the mi is said to be tV
jnote date to have been
^1 k
and limy h^ cow i
T'^ ^
1i
THE LONG LAYS
By the Princess Nukata, on going down to Afumi.
O hill of Miwa,
nigh pleasant home that
riseth,
sweet hill of Miwa !
over the Pass of Nara
(well-founded Nara !)
afar the track now bears
me
among the hills,
but till is hidden Miwa,
at every bend,
and they are many,
I turn to gaze on Miwa
while I may see it,
again, again to see it,
but mists too heartless
arise and hide
receding Miwa from me —
sweet hill of Miwa,
nigh pleasant home that
riseth ! ^
* The traveller regrets leaving her home and chides the
mists for hiding Miwa, a hill in Yamato, not far from City-
Koyal, famous for its beauty. The pivot of the lay is Miwa,
the homophon miwa means a sort of sacred saJce, and to it
therefore is attached the m. k. umasakeno, sweet saJce, a treasured
thing in ancient Japan. ZJmasaJceno is a curious m. k. ; it is
attached to other place-names beginning with mi, as Mimoro,
where the mi is said to be the name of a herb added to saJce
(to give flavour?), and also to Jcami or kamii, 'chew', as in
Kamunabi (a hill-name), because saJx seems at some very re-
mote date to have been prepared by chewing, in some such
way as kava is prepared in Polynesia. Or, lastly, mi may be
an abbreviation of Mmi. TJmasakeno means ' like sweet drink',
and may be compared with the Homeric 178^0709.
10 manyOshiu
Book I, Pakt II
During the Residence at the Palace of Kiyomihara
in Asaka.
8
A Lay indited by the Sovran ^
On high Mikane of the winding mountain
in Y6shinu's fair land pathway
p n . t as ceaselessly
snow ever lalJetn, n m .^ • n ^^
as lalleth ram, snow lall-
and the rain it raineth ^^^^
ever — qq thee my thoughts
at every bend dwell, dear !
1 Probably the Mikado Temmu (673-86).
During the Eesidence at the Palace of Fujihara.^
9
By Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro, on visiting
City-Eoyal in Afumi.
By high Unebi anon Yamato,
(gift-bearing suppliants broad land of skyey
know 2) heights,
that towers o'er forsook the Sovran,
wide Kashihara's moor his own dread will obey-
was manifested ing ^
the great divine sun- of well-laid Nara "^
ruler ^, to cross the lofty pass
and ever after, towards 6mi's ^ land
age after age succeeding *, no distant heaven under,
the great god-rulers a land all rocky
o'er all the under-heaven ^ with roar of waters echo-
have lofty sway borne — ing,
THE LONG LAYS
11
where stood the stately
halls 10 T
Where Kara's^^ head-
land
O'er Shiga's ripples
towers,
though fair the age be,
now never a barge there
waiteth
the pleasure of the Palace.
and by the ripples
of Ohotsu's ^ strand high-
rear'd
his stately palace,
and ruled the under-
heaven ;
here dwelt our Sovrans,
here dwelt our godlike
rulers,
and here their palace,
as old folks tell us ever,
their lofty halls,
as we do ever hear,
did stand, alas 1
but coiling mists in spring-
time,
tall reeds in summer,
are seen where rose the
Palace,
* Between 690-707. This is the first of the Lays by Hito-
maro, commonly regarded as the prince of the Manyoshiu poets.
(See Introduction, Sect, xv.)
^ The m. k. here tentatively rendered is tamatasuM, applied
to unCf arm, part of the place-name Unebi. It is generally
explained as fine (tama) arm-bands (hand-helps) — that is, cords
fastened behind the shoulders and supporting, originally, the
tray on which offerings were carried to be offered to the gods,
or food, &c., for the mikado by his uneme, or waiting-maids —
none but women attended upon him. Tama itself is probably
connected with tamafu^, bestow — the meaning 'fine* or 'precious'
being secondary. But the Kogi prefers to explain the epithet
as nothing but a variant of fahatasuM, bands fastened to the
openings of the sleeves, gathering them up (tahane) and draw-
them back so as to free the arms for movement. The Kogi
cites so many passages in support of this view that I am
inclined to adopt it. Professor Florenz prefers the other view
(T. A. S. J. VII). See List of m. k. (Texts).
still are the waters
of the pool of Ohowada ^^
in wavy ^^ Shiga —
0 would the men of old
time
there might be seen once
more
12 MANYOSHIU
' The first mikado, Iharebiko (Jimmu).
^ There is a word-play here — a very poor one — not sus-
ceptible of imitation, turning upon the similarity of sound
between tsuga (Abies tsuga) and tsugi (succession).
^ A Japanese rendering of a common Chinese expression,
denoting the known, non-barbarian world, the olKovfievrj of the
Far East.
* The literal meaning seems to be ^ what could he be think-
ing of; what was his mind or will ? *
^ The m. k. awoniyoshi might conceivably convey to a
Japanese ear the meaning awomi yoshi, as epithetical of nara
(Quercus glandulifera ?), homophonous with Nara, City-Koyal.
But see List m. k.
* Afumi (Omi) = Ahaumi. Aha may mean * foam ', more
probably here millet. Ahaumi would then mean millet -pro-
ductive, not an unlikely place-designation. Here, as in so
many cases of Japanese nomenclature, homophonous confusion
has turned a significant into an unmeaning name. Omi is
inore commonly written as foam-sea^ and applied not only to
the province but to the vast lake better known as Lake Biwa.
^ Or Ohodzu. It is best to use the nigori (muddying, i e.
voicing of surds) as little as may be. In the text the m. k.
sasanami is applied to Ohodzu — sasanami, now written ripples
or little waves, seems to have been an ancient name of a dis-
trict, and as such is applicable both to Ohotzu and Shiga (see
the envoys). The poetical use of it I have ventured to retain.
^° The m. k. here is momoshiJci, and is variously explained. It
seems to have meant originally a fort, or stone-faced earthwork,
or sangar, or tomb-place, built of many (momo) stones (ishi).
Ki is a keep or work or construction. The m. k. may fairly be
rendered stout, stately, &c.
" Overlooking Lake Biwa. Karasdki sakiJcu, a pivotal word-
play, it might be rendered 'though Happy Cape hight, no
happy barge awaiteth the pleasure of the palace ', the second
* happy ' taken as = opportune.
^^ A creek of the lake, where the court-folk used to angle.
" More strictly, perhaps, wavy applies to Ohowada.
THE LONG LAYS
13
10
By Hit6maro, on the occasion of the Sovran's visit to
the Palace in Y6shinu.^
In peace and power
o'er all the under-heaven
our Sovran reigneth,
o'er many a fair land
reigneth,
and none is fairer
than Kdfuchi ^ the hilly
land of sweet waters,
and Yoshinu
the heart delighteth
ever ^,
where Akitsu's ^ moor
is white with fallen
flowers,
where stands the palace
on stately pillars reared,
where o'er the waters
the servants of the Sov-
ran
in many a wherry
mornmg
fare o'er the
waters,
and the ev'ning waters
with many a craft are
crowded —
0 never may
the rivers cease to flow
there,
the mountains never
to climb the heavens cease
there,
mid streamy roar
still flourish City-Royal ^,
a place of joy for ever!
A joy for ever ^
to gaze on Yoshinu,
where glide the waters
in streamy flow unending,
a land to gaze on ever.
^ The Sovran is the Queen-Kegnant Jito (690-6).
^ Kafuchi = Kaha-fucM^ river-pools, now Kawachi, written
Kaha-uchiy 'amongst the rivers*. Perhaps in ancient times
ucM was pronounced /wc^i. (Aston*s Gramm., p. 34.)
^ This line renders the m. k. mikdkorowOy here used not as
an epithet but as connected by a word-play with yoshi = good,
fine, part of Yoshinu, which no doubt meant * reedy moor '
(yosM also meaning the reed Phragmites Communis).
* The story connecting the name — Dragon-ily-moor — is
given by Dr. Aston (N. I. 342). The Mikado Yuriyaku (457-9),
being out hunting, was troubled by a gadfly. A dragon-fly,
winging his way by, seizes the tormentor. Thereupon the
14 MANYOSHIU
Mikado orders his courtiers to compose a lay, but they cannot,
or dare not. He therefore composes one himself, ending thus —
Even a creeping insect
waits upon the Great Lord,
thy form it will bear,
O Yamato, land of the Dragon-fly.
Thereafter the place was called the Dragon-fly-moor. Akidzu
or Akitsu, it will be remembered, is one of the names of Japan.
(See Glossary, and List of m. k. (Texts).)
^ There is a place in Mino called Tagi (cascade or rapids),
but the tagi (taki) in the text is descriptive merely.
^ A close translation, * although one gaze, never tired is one
of gazing.'
11
By Hit6maro,^
In peace and power on the upper waters
onr Sovran Lady ruleth, ord'ring
divinely lonely, the cormorant fishing,
in majesty she dwelleth ^ the meshy nets far casting
in high-roofed palace in the lower waters,
midst Y6shinu's swirling so humbly serve our
waters — Sovran
the great hills climbing both hill and river —
o'erall the land she gazeth, 'tis the god's own age
for her the gods belike,
of the green empilfed ^ a god Yamato ruling !
hills
provide due offerings, The streams and moun-
coronals of cherry-blossoms tains
in happy springtime, they throng to serve our
of ruddy leafery garlands Sovran,
in time of autumn, a very god she —
while Yiifu's god purvey-- in Kafuchi land of waters
eth whereon she takes her
the royal fare, pleasure.
THE LONG LAYS
15
^ There is no argument. The lay is by Hitomaro, on the
same theme as the preceding lay. Far from the City-Royal,
unattended by a courtly train, the Sovran is yet served by the
very gods of the hills and streams, as though the ancient days
of the gods when they held direct intercourse with mortals
were come back. The Sovran was probably the Queen-Reg-
nant Jito, but may have been her successor the Mikado
Mommu. The Yiifu river is in Yamato.
^ More literally, * reigneth at \ This and preceding line seem
better to render Jcamusahi than ' as a god she exercised a god's
choice '.
' ' Empil^d ' renders the m. k. tatanadsuku ; awokaU in the
text I translate green, more literally it is * green-fenced *, i.e.
covered with forest greenery, green-wooded.
12
By Hit6maro, on the occasion of Prince Karu s Eetreat
on the Moor of Aki.^
Illustrious heir
of the shining sun's great
goddess 2,
divine in majesty
in awfulness who bid-
eth—
he hath foregone
the state of City-Eoyal ^,
the wilds of Hdtsuse
by rugged hills engir-
dled^
the Prince hath sought,
climb'd trackless hills,
thro' forests ^,
o'er rocks and bushes,
^ The name Karu occurs several times in the Nihongi. In
the Kogi, Karu is said to have been the child-name of the
Mikado Mommu (679-707), son of Kusakabe, son of the
amid thick jungle faring,
when morn is breaking,
what time the birds
are plaining,
when darkens even,
as dieth down the sun-
glow
in the west still burn-
ing«,^^
where Aki's vasty moor
with snow is whitened,
where grow tall plumy
grasses "^
aside he brusheth
to sleep on reedy pillow ^
and muse on days agone.
16 manyOshiu
Mikado Temmu (673-86) ; Kusakabe is further identified with
the Prince Hinami, who is thrice mentioned in Book II (see
XXII). It is in remembrance of his father that the Prince
practises a sort of retreat on the Moor of Aki.
^ Amaterasu, the great Sky-Shine Goddess, ancestress of the
mikados.
' I use this designation for Miyako, lit. the Grand House-
Place, i. e. the Capital.
* Equivalent of the m. k. in the text, JcomoriJcu.
* The text is * right-trees ', trees fit for building, probably
Chamaecyparis obtusa is meant. The name in the text (maki) is
now given to the Podocarpus macrophylla or chinensis.
^ Here the m. k. {kagirohi) can only be conjecturally ren-
dered.
' Hatasusuki, Miscanthus sinensis.
* For a fuller explanation see List of m. k. (Texts).
Book I, Part III
13
A Lay of the Folk charged with the Building of the
Palace at Fujihara.^
Our Sovran Lady, their grace bestowed
Bright sun-descendedone, her —
in peace and power And now vast balks of
o'er all the land who timber
ruleth, on Tanakami
on Fuji's moor in rocky roaring Afumi '^,
where coarse wistaria of right- wood timber
groweth^ which builders deftly
she stood, forth sending split *,
her glance o'er all the are hewn and borne
champaign, by eager folk to float
and there she minded them
to rear a stately palace, down ITji's river
divinely minded, (which men call All-folk-
and the gods of earth and water ^)
heaven like river weed
THE LONG LAYS
17
so crowded drift the tim-
bers—
in multitudes
we haul the logs un-
tired,
of homes, of selves,
in service leal forgetful ^,
as wild-fowl swim we
the logs so featly float-
ing
wherewith the Palace
to rear for our Sovran,
the sun-child's Palace,
from tracts unknown, re-
mote,
by Kose's road "^
we haul the heavy tim-
bers—
0 may the land
for ages long endure,
the tortoise omen ®,
late shown of strange-
writ shell,
be happy jDresage,
of time to come fair pre-
sage !
by Idzumi's waters
we bring the balks of
right-wood,
in rafts well knotted,
full half-a-hundred ^ rafts,
and so upstream
against the waters pole we
towards City-Eoyal,
where men our travail
watching
shall own for a god we
labour ^^
^ The occasion of the lay is the erection of a new Palace at
Fujihara by the Queen-Kegnant Jito (N. II. 400-9). Accord-
ing to Motowori the timber would be felled on Tanakami (in
Afumi), thence dragged to the Uji-gaha, and floated down the
stream to a point, whence it was borne to the Idzumi-gaha, to
be made into rafts which drifted down to Naniha, whence they
would be poled up the Kii river by Kose to Fujihara. I have
not been able to verify this itinerary for lack of maps.
^ 1 render the m. k. here by * coarse', though applicable
rather to the cloth made of Wistaria bark than to the shrub
itself.
^ More literally ' land of rocky torrents '. There is a m. k.
{Tioromode) here which cannot be rendered ; it is explained in
the list of m. k. (Texts).
* The m. k. is literally ' wood-split ', i. e. easy to split, an
epithet applicable to hi (Chamaecyparis), the timber still used
temples and important buildings.
^ Here is given the gist of the m. k. which literally is ^ com-
C
DICKIKS. II
18
manyCshiu
panies of warrior-folk ' and * eight score ' (very many) applied
to * clan ' or ' family '.
^ * King Wan used the strength of the people to make his
tower . . . and yet the people rejoiced to do the work.*
Mencius, Legge's translation.
' The Kose road (Kose-ji) passed through the district of
Fujihara— A»se=pass along or over.
* In N. 11. 293 under a.d. 670 we read 'within the capital
a tortoise had been caught, on its back was written the character
for sant (ape or monkey), one of the twelve signs of the Chinese
zodiac \ The wonder recurred two years later, the reappear-
ance of the tortoise was marked, however, not by prosperity,
but by civil disturbances.
^ The m. k. is ' less than a hundred ', applied to ' fifty ', used
merely to signify a large number.
^" Compare the line * divinely minded. The palace is fit for
a god.*
14
In praise of the Palace of Fujihara.
In peace and power east of the Palace rising,
she ruleth all the land,
our Lady Sovran \
the shining sun's descen-
dant,
midmost the plain
of the Fount of Purple
Blossoms 2
her Palace building
oft on the dyke there
watch'd she
of Haniyasu ^
(where potters erst their
art plied)
and gazed around her —
There Kagu's green hill
saw she
o*er broad Yamato
there fair Unebi
high o'er the wide plain
shining
west of the Palace,
there green-rushed Mimi-
nashi
'gainst the northern skies
uprising,
and the flow'ry slopes
too
of the hills of Yoshinu
noon's heaven climbing
where earth meets cloudy
welkin —
on high the skies are
rounded in radiance,
and all the heavens
THE LONG LAYS
la
shine with the sun-orb's
splendour,
'neath either glorj
the Fount's bright waters
sparkle ;
flow ever those sweet
waters ! *
Now built the Palace,
how gladly render ser-
vice
successive bevies
of maids, obeisant service
to their high Sovran
yielding. ^
^ The Queen-Eegnant Jito (690-6).
^ The Fount or Well of Fuji or Wistaria. There is a m. k. not
translated — arafaheno, of rough cloth (made of Wistaria fibre).
^ Of Haniyasu-no-ike, the pool of Haniyasu. It lies at the
foot of Mount Kagu in Yamato. In the Nihongi (N. I. 119)
we read, ' Take Earth [said the Heavenly Deity] from within
the Shrine of the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and of it make eighty
(i.e. many) Heavenly Platters. Also make sacred jars and
therewith sacrifice to the Gods of Heaven and Earth.'
^ The lay is anonymous ; the author is doubtless a member
of the Queen-Regnant's suite. Some portions of the translation
are more or less conjectural.
^ This seems to be the meaning, but the envoy is somewhat
obscure. Okab^ considers the stanza not to be an envoy at all,
but an independent tanka.
During the Eesidence at Nara.
15
On the occasion of the removal of the Court from
Fujihara to Nara.^
In dread obeisance
to my great lord and
Sovran,
fair home and pleasant
in Fujihara quitting,
o'er watery ways
from hill-engirdled Hasse
I wend me sadly,
and never a turn I round
of endless windings
whence times a thousand
thousand
I turn not, gazing
C 2
20
MANY6SHIU
tow'rds Fujihara, gazing
with wistful glances,
from dawn till even latens
the spear-ways ^ wend-
ing
until of Saho's river
I reach the waters ^
flow nigh well-founded
Nara,
and waking marvel
to see the moon . still
shining,
and all the land white
with show of rime and
hoar-frost ;
and all the waters
to floors of ice fast frozen,
the livelong night thro'
the chilly night thro' rest-
less—
as thus I wend me
I vow for a thousand ages
shall we, friend, meet
still
in yonder house new-
builded
where long may'st thou
live happy !
Well-founded Nara —
where now, friend, thou
abidest,
for time uncounted
I will not fail to show me^
nor think thou to forget
me!
^ By an unknown author. The removal of the Court took
place about 708. The author, it seems, has assisted his friend
in building a new house in Nara, where the friends shall still
meet, despite the distance that may separate them. The author
like his friend leaves Fujihara, but apparently goes to Hasse or
some neighbouring place.
"^ Of the m. k. thus rendered several explanations have been
given. One is * straight as a spear ' with reference to a quibble in
michi, road, which may be read (Motowori) mi chi, true shaft of
spear : michi may be used for landways or waterways. Another
turns upon the story of Izanagi and Izanami, who, standing
upon the Bridge (or Ladder) of Heaven, thrust down a wondrous
spear into the ocean, the drops of brine dropping from which
on withdrawal produced the island of Onogoro by self-coagula-
tion. Dr. Aston gives the m. k. a phallic origin upon good
grounds (see his Shinto).
• The journey is by river.
THE LONG LAYS
21
Book II, Part I
During the Eesidence at the Palace of Fujihara.
16
The first of two Lays by Hit6maro, on leaving his
wife in Ihami ^ to go up to City-Koyal.
On Tsunu's coast thou bod'st whom I leave
anigh Ihami's waters sadly 5,
though men may say while times ten thousand,
no sheltering bay there at every winding corner
lieth.
of lengthening track
though men may say
I turn me round and home-
no salty flats there
wards
offer,2
my wistful eyes send,
yet on the shore-sands
while ever farther, farther,
of the sea of whaley^
our homeplace fleeth,
waters,
and steeper rise the moun-
upon the shore-sands
tains
Watadzu's marge that
I climb, wayfaring ;
border,
as herb in summer droop-
the green green sea-
ing
weeds ^
love s burden bows me.
shore- weeds and deep sea
0 hills remove your masses
tresses
that I may see our cottage !
with the morning
breezes
From mid the wild-
are blown to find their
wood
resting.
on Takatsunu hangeth
and as the seaweeds
in our Ihami
at last rest, wind or wave-
my sleeve in farewell
tost,
wave I,
so in my arms, dear,
0 will she see my token ]
22 MANY6SHIU
By soft winds ruffled but me the murmur mind-
tlie sasa^ leaves are rust- eth
ling of the woe of parting from
amid the still hills thee.
* In the far west of the main island.
"^ Where shell-fish may be gathered.
* The m. k. is * where men catch whales ', an epithet of the sea.
* Various seaweeds were eaten by the ancient Japanese,
some are still articles of food. The grace of woman is often
compared with the flexuous drift of laminar or filamentous sea-
herbs. As the weeds find their final rest on the shore, so the
wife found hers in her husband's arms, who now, alas ! must
leave her for City-Royal. The opening portion of the lay serves
as an introduction or preface to the line, ' so in my arms, dear.'
^ The m. k. of * leave ' (oJcite) I am obliged to leave unren-
dered. It is tsuyushimonOj rime and dew, as *left' on the
branches and leaves of plants in the morning or evening, or a
symbol of impermanence.
^ A small bamboo (Arundinaria japonica) forming a low
brushwood.
By Kara's cape as cruel 'tis
(whatbabbleKaratalkis^) as clinging ivy stripping
from deep-sea bottom from shelt'ring tree-
by ivy-cloth' d Ihami ^ trunk
the sea-wrack riseth, ....
and all along the sea-sands now all my heart,
float fine sea-tangles, chief ruler of my being,
so deep within me bideth is filled with sorrow,
love deep as sea-wrack as long looks throwing
for her who by me sleepeth towards
like shore-weed restful, our home-place, dear,
nor many alas have been I find the ruddy shower
our days of joyance, of the leaves of autumn,
and each time we are wherewith glows vast
parted Watari,
THE LONG LAYS
23
from my eyes hideth
the waving of thy sleeve
farewell me bidding,
the while upon Yakami
from rift infrequent
the hast'ning clouds allow
the moonbeams' shim-
mer,
sad moon sad thoughts
recalling,
and the sun scarce
ling'ring
its course in the far west
endeth —
a warrior am T
yet now my sleeves of
fine stuff
are drenched with the dew
of tears.
he
In headlong gallop
on his grey steed
hasteth
beyond all knowing
and far beyond he passeth
her home-place whom he
loveth.
High hill of Autumn
aw^iile thy leaves so ruddy
delay to shower —
a little longer let me
gaze where she gazeth
tow'rds me.
^ This is the second of the two lays mentioned in the argu-
ment of 16.
The first portion of the lay forms a preface to the line ^ for
her who by me sleepeth ' (by the poet's side, when abiding in
his own home).
As far as seemed legitimate I have incorporated the value
of the various m. k. in the translation. Of the two envoj^s
the first is inappropriate, and doubtless wrongly placed here.
It implies a regret that some passing love, perhaps on official
duty, does not give a moment to his mistress.
" The name Kara reminds the poet of Kara (China or Korea)
of strange speech.
^ Tlie m. k. is, exactly, ev/cio-o-o?.
24 MANYOSHIU
Book II, Part II
During the Eesidence at the Palace of Ohotsu in
Afumi.
18
By one of the Ladies of the Court on the ascent to
heaven of the Sovran.^
Earthly and mortal, were I a jewel worn,
my lord I may not follow or any vestment,
on high ascended 2, ' I should be still unparted^
and far from him divided from whom I love,
each morn my tears my lord whom in a vision
each even flow my tears, but yesternight I saw \
from him wide sun-
derd—
* An elegy (banlca) by one of the Mikado's ladies. Another
explanation mentions her ascent of the mi-sasagi (barrow) there
to mourn the Mikado.
* In early Shinto the Mikado was regarded as a god incar-
nate on earth. His death was a return to heaven, where he
had his palace, ama tsu mi Jcado.
^ eyo) )(Lro}v ycvoifxrjv
oTTCDs ail ^opijs ftf. Anacreon.
^ The appearance of friends or lovers in dreams is a common
incident in Chinese poetry.
19
By the Queen-Consort, on the occasion of the
Enshrinement of the Mikado \
On Afumi's waters to inward oar ^ or out-
— wideasthewhaleysea — ^ ward —
ye boatmen oaring ! the birds he cherish'd,
or deeper waters seek ye, my lord and husband
ye boatmen oaring ! cherish'd,
or shallow waters seek ye, free flight now straight-
bend gently, pray you way take they.
THE LONG LAYS
25
* One of four elegies. The other three are tanka, two
anonymous, one by a tozlii or house-lady. The Mikado may
have been Tenchi (668-71). The enshrinement or 'lesser
burial ' was a disposal of the corpse in a tomb of rough stones
(araki) or shrine or mortuary chapel while the mi-sasagi or
barrow was being prepared, or the barrow might be heaped
over the araki. The boatmen are bidden to row gently so
as not to alarm the birds now liberated on their master's
death. This may be a Buddhist practice. At the present day
birds are often set at liberty at a funeral, and the equivalent
in Japan of * no flowers ' is ' Ikebana tsukiiribana hanashidori
go soyo no gi wa onkotowari moshiagesoro,' * we beg to decline
flowers, real or artificial, and birds to set at liberty.' (Cham-
berlain's Introd. to Study of Japanese Writing, 423.) Hawking
seems to have been introduced into Japan from Hyakusai
(Pekche) in Korea. In N. I. 249 an interesting account of its
introduction will be found. Hawking was a favourite amuse-
ment of the Shogans and of the Daimyos up to the close of the
Bakufu period (1868). But hawks do not appear to be meant
here —pet birds of some kind are intended. From the Nihongi
I take the following descriptions of funeral ceremonies from the
age of the gods to the close of the seventh century.
* On the death of Ame-waka-hito (the Young Sky-Lord) his
wife (the Undershine Princess) sent down a swift wind to
bring the body up to the sky. Then an araki was made
in which it was deposited. The barn-door fowls were made
head-hanging bearers (with offerings of rice on their heads)
and the river geese were broombearers (to sweep the road in
front). The kingfisher attended as the deceased, sparrows
represented the pounding-women (pounding rice for guests or
offerings), and wrens the mourners. [Evidently birds were
necessary as the funeral took place in the sky.] For eight
days and nights they wept and sang dirges.' Apropos of this
passage Mr. Aston cites, appositely enough, the story of the
Death and Burial of Cock Robin. On the death of the Mikado
Ingiyo, the King of Silla (in Korea) sent eighty (i. e. many)
tribute-ships with eighty musicians, who put on plain white
garments, and wept and wailed, and sang and danced until
they assembled at the araki of provisional burial. In N. I.
326 will be found a view (after a photograph) of the mi-sasagi
of Ingiyo tenno.
26 MANYOSHIU
In A.D. 612 the body of the Queen-Consort Katashi was
re-interred in the great mi-sasagi of Hinokuma. Funeral ora-
tions were made on the Karu way, and offerings to the spirit
of the dead of sacred things and garments, fifteen thousand
kinds in all.
In 683 the Mikado Temmu granted a distinguished official
burial with beat of drum and blowing of horns (N. II. 360,
n. 2). Officials of the third rank were allowed one hearse, forty
drums, twenty great horns, forty small horns, 200 flags,
one metal gong, one handbell, and one day's lamentation.
In 686, on the death of Temmu, various eulogies were pro-
nounced on behalf of different orders, guilds, and ranks, and
the priests and nuns made lament. On some occasions absti-
nence was practised, chaplets were offered, remissions of punish-
ment were made, many additional eulogies were pronounced,
and the tatefushi (shield and sword dance) was performed.
Under the year 646 rules are given for interments. Originally,
we are told, burials were made on high places, but there were
no mi-sasaki and no plantations of larch and cryptoneria. The
offerings should be rice and clay figures, not jewels or pearls
or ' jade armour '. [This description shows that the above is
merely a Chinese plagiarism.] Of Princes the barrows must not
exceed nine fathoms square by five fathoms high. In the case
of superior ministers the dimensions shall be seven fathoms
square by three fathoms in height. * The wor^ shall be com-
pleted by 500 labourers in five days.' The bier shall be borne
by men and have white hangings. Ordinary persons must be
interred at once without mound, and the hangings must be of
coarse (unbleached) cloth. Suicide at the grave, slaying of
horses, thigh-stabbing while pronouncing eulogiums are for-
bidden practices, no gold or silver, no silk or dyed stuff shall
be buried. See also Dr. Gowland's * Dolmens, &c., in Japan,'
Archaeologia, 1897, and Mr. Lay's paper on Japanese Funeral
Eites, r. A. S. J. XIX.
^ See isanatorif List of m. k. (Texts), also lay 16.
^ That is, * do not splash too loudly with the oars.' There is
a long note in the Kogi on the subject of larboard and star-
board. What exactly were the oars or sculls used by the
mariners of ancient Japan we do not know. The modern ro
(of which an excellent cut is given in Lemarechal's Dictionary)
was not known, apparently, in the earlier centuries of the pre-
THE LONG LAYS
27
sent era. The "kai and IzazM, mentioned in the Anthology, seem
to have differed. The hai was perhaps a paddle, or side oar,
the hazlii a stern oar, or scull. Anciently the left hand
was known as dki no fe, the right hand as he no te. He and oki
mean respectively shallow waters and deep waters (offing).
OTiitsukai then meant to turn the prow to larboard (port), and
hetsukai to turn it to starboard. The explanation, however, is
not in all points clear to me. The expressions okitsu and hetsu
are found in K, lay V.
20
By the Princess Nukata, on her return from the
misasagi of the Mikado ^ at Yamashina.
where all the day
through,
and every day and all days,
the royal servants
have mourned, their mighty
Sovran —
In peace and power
o'er all the wide land
ruled he,
my lord, and Sovran
whose lofty tomb is
builded
on high Kagami
Yamashina o'ertow'reth, their watching ended,
where all the night their different ways they
through, wend them
and every night and all who served the stately
nights. Palace !
^ The Mikado Tenchi (Tenji, 668-71), who died in 672. The
barrow was completed in 674.
During the Eesidence at the Palace of Kiyomiliara
in Asuka.
21
By the Queen-Consort ^ on the ascent to heaven
of the Mikado.
In peace and power
Our Sovran ruled his
people,
as fell the evening
he joyed to see his ser-
vants ^
28
manyOshiu
as broke the morning
to greet his servants joy 'd
he—
on Kamiwoka
adovv with the tints of
autumn
he lieth, I would he,
each day might greet his
servants,
and every morrow
glad eyes bend on his
servants —
but as I gaze on
yonder lonely hillside,
as even latens
my heart is full of sorrow,
and with the morning
I wake alone and des'late,
my sleeve, alas,
of hempen cloth un-
bleached,
no truce of tears know-
ing]
^ The Queen-Consort is Jito, afterwards Queen-Regnant.
The Mikado is Temmu (673-86).
'^ Or the Queen-Consort only, but the indefiniteness of
Japanese as to number justifies a reference to the servants of
the court generally, or to the Mikado's ladies more particularly.
In many of these lays a similar vagueness is found which
cannot be rendered in the translation.
During the Eesidence at the Palace of Fujihara.
22
By Hit6maro, on the occasion of the Enshrinement
of Hinami no Miko.^
In the beginning,
when earth and sky were
sunder'd,
midmost the channel
of the stream of shining
Heaven ^
the countless myriads
of gods, the thousand
mvriads,
held high assembly
and
there
in
sat them
council —
tlie gods then parted,
the world's dominion
parted,
and gave high Heaven
to the maj esty of Hir ume *,
sky-shining goddess !
and o'er the spacious
Keedland,
THE LONG LAYS
29
where ay the grain-
plants
show ears in ripe abun-
dance,
a Sovran chose they —
those gods of Earth and
Heaven !
The Earthly Sovran ^
broke through the clouds
of Heaven,
through clouds empiled,
to rule his realm for ages,
till glebe and sky
again should come to-
gether— ^
Twas thus the Sun-
Child
came in his majesty
through many an age
to rule all under-heaven,
in Kiyomi*s palace
a very god abiding
till that he open'd
the rock-door of the sky,
and there ascending
as god and ruler bideth — "^
anon our Prince he
to rule the land descended,
to all folk bringing,
a time of flowery spring ^,
and weal and joyance
as moon at fullest am-
ple ;
till men to rest them
and lean upon him learnt,
as shipmen trust them
to their great hulls stout-
builded,
as on the heavens
for welcome rain men
lean —
then — whysohapp'dit^
that thus our Prince be-
thought him —
on lone Mayumi ^^
alas, far from us lieth he,
where stately shrine ^^
is on stout pillars reared
there still he ruleth
in majesty he ruleth —
But ne'er on any morrow
fair greetings may he
exchange with his good
lieges,
so months and days
will come and go for ever,
his men unknowing
what ways of life to follow,
their gracious lord still
mourning !
^ Or time of mourning. Actual enshrinement (lesser or tem-
porary burial) seems not to have been confined to the Mikados.
2 In the Nihongi (N. II. 391) we read that in 689 the
30 MANY6SHIU
Prince Imperial Kusakabe died. Kusakabe was a son of the
Mikado Temmu, and was born in the first year of the reign of
the Mikado Tenchi (668-71). He died in his twenty-eighth
year. Hinami (Hinami Shirasu) was a second name of Kusa-
kabe.
^ The m. k. here rendered * shining ' is explained in the list
of m. k. {hisakatano). It is sometimes explained as gourd- or
dome-shaped, as sunbright, eternal, &c.
* Amaterasu no Ohongami.
* Hono ninigi no Mikoto, a grandson of one of the two
deities originating from the Lord of the Centre of Heaven
(Fl. I. 216). (See also N. and K.) The expression * broke
through the clouds of heaven, &c.' is perhaps an imita-
tion of the quintain, which is supposed, but erroneously (see
Introduction), to be the oldest extant Japanese poem. Its text
is Yorkumo tatsu | Idsumo ya-hegaki \ isuma-gomi ni \ ya-Jiegaki
tsukuru I sono ya-hegaM wo. Various renderings of this tanka
have been given (N. K. FL). I venture to add my own : ' Clouds
upon clouds arise | eight-fold (i. e. manifold) is the fence of
bright (or dread) clouds | for a spouse-secluding fence | is this
manifold fence made ] O this manifold fence ! ' I take idzu as
meaning ' bright ' or ^ dread '. As to the application of the
tanka, there are no adequate data. Many of the lays contained
in the Kojiki and the Nihongi seem to me to be more or less
illustrative interpolations of uncertain but comparatively late
dates ; most of them could not have been contemporaneous, in
their extant shape, with the events they are introduced to
embellish.
^ Creation was the parting of sky and globe, the end of the
world is their coming together again.
"^ Hinami no Miko.
* The m. k. in the text are slightly amplified here.
^ That is, * how did it please him to think or intend ? ' * how
came it about ' ; an indirect way of suggesting the fact of death
as a voluntary, not a forced, change of existence.
^® Spindle-tree (Euonymus) Hill, in Yamato. A mi-sasagi is
described as having existed there in early mediaeval times.
*^ The meaning seems to be that from his shrine (mi araka)
symbolic of his ' Palace in Heaven ' (ama tsu mi kado) he still
ruleth.
THE LONG LAYS
31
23
By Hit6maro, on the occasion of the EnsKrinement
of Prince Kahashima^ presented to the Princess
Hatsusebe [or Prince Osakabe].
In the upper waters (dark as black berry
of Asuka's morning river on pardanth * shrub that
showeth) —
oh, would that I
some solace still might
find me,
e'en Ochi's^ moor
I would affront to meet
him,
though morning's dew
should drench my fine-
stuff vestment ^,
and w^ith the night-
mists
(when fowl in flocks
fly ')
the water-fronds are float-
ing,
in the lower waters
the river-tresses waving,
hither, thither,
in swaying grace are
drifting,
so graceful was
mylord,mynobleprince —
in close embracings
my lord's fine arms within my long-sleeved robe be
(sword- wielding arms)^
no more soft yielding
sleep I,
and our alcove
as darkest night is deso-
late,
wetted
on grassy pillow
wayfarers rest I'd seek
me,
my lord, once more to
meet thee.
^ Prince Kahashima was the son of the Mikado Tenchi. He
died in the fifth year of the Queen-Kegnant Jito (695). The
Princess Hatsusebe was one of four children (two boys and two
girls) and a daughter of Ohomaro. The argument of this lay
is of uncertain authenticity. In some old books Kahashima is
said to have been buried on the moor of Ochi and the lament
to have been written on that occasion. In N. II. 404 he is
said to have died in 692. One account mftkes the Princess the
32
MANY6smu
wife of Osakabe. But in the Nihongi she is mentioned as his
sister. The lay must be taken as composed by Hitomaro to
represent the feelings of the Princess.
^ The m. k. relates to asu (morning), part of the name Asuka
(probably asa haha, shallow river), and can only be partially
rendered.
' The m. k. here is merely epithetic, applied really to mi
(person) not to * arms '.
* Pardanthus chinensis, compare Tennyson 'more black
than ash-buds in the month of March '.
^ Wochi (ocM) in Yamato. There was a mi-sasagi here of
the Queen-Regnant Kogyoku, who abdicated in 645. The m. k.
means * dripping ', epithetic and repetitive of wochi, drip or drop.
* The text has tama mo, which by word-play may be rendered
either * fine seaweed ' or ' fine skirt '.
24
By Hit6maro, on the Enshrinement of Takechi no
Miko no Mikoto on the Hill of Kinohe.^
I fear to utter,
to utter word I fear,
so dread the theme is
my soul a strange awe
filleth—
midmost the moor
of high Makami riseth,
of sunbright heaven
the lofty palace riseth
which in his wisdom
he hath established,
a rocky dwelling
for majesty to bide in,
dread Lord and Sov-
ran— 2
who crossed wild-wooded
Fuha
beyond the frontier,
and on Wazami's ^ moor-
land
a resting palace
did build, where as from
heaven
descending dwelt he,
and all the wide realm
ruled,
and all the land
would settle to his sway —
socharged the Prince he
the host forthwith to
summon
of cock-crow Eastland,
to quell the fierce smiters*,
and lands rebellious
compel to royal peace —
so stoutly girding
THE LONG LAYS
83
his great sword on his
thigh
and stoutly grasping
his mighty bow in hand
the Prince, true Prince^
he,
the Eastland host ar-
rayed ;
the welkin echoed
with order'd drums' loud
thunder,
the horns outblared
like fierce tigers roaring
to flight men scaring
with their tremendous
growl,
while high the pennons
upborne o'er the moorland
flatter,
as flames^ in spring-
time
run flickering mid the
bushes
when spring escapeth
from winter's prisoning
clutch —
so waved the pennons
beneath the windy skies,
and echoed widely
the clang of twanging
bow-ends
like din of storm -gale
mid winter forest roaring,
men's ears
with the awful sound
affrighting,
while thick the shafts
flew,
as snow flakes tempest-
driven,
from countless bow-
strings—
the crowd rebellious
in arms arrayed there
like morning's dew or
hoar-frost
but show to vanish ;
like noisy flocks of wild-
fowl
along the border
of the battle fight they
fiercely,
when,lo ! there bloweth
from holy Watarahi "^
a wind divine
the froward folk con-
founding,
with cloudy canopy
the skies and all the land
there
in darkness wrapping
as of the under- world —
so brought to peace
was
the Land of Shining
Rice-ears,
in years agone —
DICKIKS. II
34
MANY6SHIU
and now the Prince's
Highness *
th e wide realm' s welfare
before the Sovran^ layeth,
in godlike maj'sty
in peace and power who
ruleth
the under-heaven —
and so for a myriad ages
like bush in blossom,
men hoped would still
endure
the happy time,
when — to his place of
resting
as shrine divine
forth come the white-
robed mourners,
and mid the moor
'fore Haniyasu^® thatlieth
from ruddy dawn of day,
and all the day long
stag-like on bended knees
do bend them there,
and bow them there in
prayer,
and when descendeth
night black as pardanth
berry,
upon the shrine
they gaze, and wander
about the fence,
like crouching quail they
wander,
and long to serve him
who ne'er can know their
service,
like birds in spring-
time
they err distractedly,
their wailing endless,
their woe unending ever —
what time they come
from stammeringKudara^ ^
who for him order
the rites funereal
and on Kinohe,
where green the woods are
hanging,
a tomb enduring
for our high Prince estab-
lish,
that ever god- wise
in peace divine he rest
there —
so was it ordered,
but time was when our
Prince
a palace builded,
through many an age to
last,
on Kagu's hill,
through many an age
to last
the palace built he,
and now as though
tow'rds heaven
THE LONG LAYS
35
mj eyes I lift there,
in reverent memory
my noble Prince still
keeping. ^^
[where now his state he
keepeth].
Months, days unknow-
ing,
to my lord my love still
passetb,
I know, who ruleth
in sun-bright heaven rul-
eth
Their ways they know
not,
his servants wand' ring
wildly,
amid the grasses
grow tall on Haniyasu,
the dike of Haniyasu.
^ The text of this lay is not .free from difficulty, and the
rendering is, occasionally, somewhat conjectural. It is the
longest in the Manyoshiu, containing 150 verses — a few of
which are irregular in metre — and 536 characters in the
Chinese script. It is the only example of martial poetry
known to me, and Takechi is the only hero celebrated in old
Japanese verse. Of most of the masurawo of old Japan it must
be said i illacrimabiles
Urgentur ignotique longa
Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.'
Takechi was a son of Temmu (672-86), the earlier years of
whose reign were disturbed by a civil war, which the Prince
mainly assisted in quelling (N. II. 301 sqq.). A remark-
able speech of the Mikado addressed to him is recorded
(N. II. 310), and is worth quoting : * " At the Court of Afumi
(6mi) are . . . shrewd ministers with whom to conclude
counsel. Now We have no one to advise with except young
children. What is to be done ? " The Prince . . . bared his
arms and grasped his sword . . . saying, " However numerous
the Afumi ministers may be, how shall they dare to oppose
the [Mikado's] divine spirit . . . thy servant Takechi, in re-
liance on the spiritual help of the Gods of Heaven and Earth,
will inflict chastisement on them." . . . The [Mikado] . . .
stroked his back, saying:— '* Be prudent ...".... and de-
livered to him the entire conduct of military affairs. The
Prince straightway returned to Wazami.' The decisive battle
D 2
36 MANY6SHIU
took place at Seta towards the close of the seventh month of
672. The description of the rebel army may be compared
with that of Takechi*s host in the uta. * Their banners
covered the plain ; the sound of their drums and gongs could
be heard for several tens of ri, their ranged crossbows were dis-
charged confusedly and the arrows fell like rain/ [This descrip-
tion is based on the conventional Chinese account of a battle.]
The above story shows that a considerable period (twenty-
four years) elapsed between the event referred to in the first
eighty or ninety lines of the lay and the death of Takechi.
A brief histoiy of Takechi may be subjoined, taken from the
Nihongi as cited in the Kogi. He was the son of the Mikado
Temmu by one of his ladies, Amako, the daughter of a man
having the curious name of Munakata Tokuse. He was conse-
quently a half-brother of Prince Shiki, the subject of Lay IV.
In A.D. 676 he was granted certain official dresses and arm-
rests— the latter only accorded to princes and nobles of high
rank. In the same year ' sustenance-fiefs ' were allotted him —
i. e., he was granted the tributes or taxes and services paid and
rendered by a certain number of households.
In 685 he was promoted to the second division of the rank
Jokwo (pure amplitude). In 686 additional fiefs were be-
stowed upon him. He also gained prizes at the * conun-
drum' tournaments over which the Mikado himself presided,
and in which princes, ministers, and high officials took part.
Various other fiefs were allotted him, so that by 692 he
possessed 5,000 of these. In 693 he was promoted to the first
class of Jokwo, having previously acted (690) as Daijo Daijin
(Prime Minister). In the Mino war, as related above, he dis-
played great valour. He died in 696. His mi-sasagi was
erected on Mitashi Hill, in Hirose in Yamato; an old name of
Mitashi is Kinohe. A half column is allotted him in the
Jimmei-jisho (* Diet, of Nat. Biography ').
To understand the lay, it must be remembered that the
Mikado Temmu is buried under the mi-sasagi of Makami ; that
the battle takes place at Seta, not far from Wazami ; and that
the miya, mentioned towards the close, is one built by Takechi
during his lifetime on the slopes of Mount Kagu, near to
Haniyasu no ike, alluded to in the second and most interesting
of the appended hanka. The temporary interment would be at
Haniyasu, the mi-sasagi on Kinohe as above stated. The first four
lines of the lay, or the former or latter two which are parallel-
THE LONG LAYS
37
jsms, are common modes of humilific expression, recalling —
€t fioL OijjLL^ rdB' avSav, Soph. FUectra.
'' High ruler— the Mikado Temmu (672-86). He continues
to reign from his burial place, as if from Heaven to which
he has ascended.
' Wazami, The m. k. cannot be translated. Mdkura hotoha
often apply to a part of word or name, and are then quite
untranslatable. It is, however, precisely in such cases that
they least deserve notice. Wazami is in Mind.
* chihaydbuni in the text, a m. k. of uncertain meaning. See
List m. k. texts. ^ Takechi, as Daijo Daijin.
^ Bush fires lit to burn the ground for renewal of vegetation.
' The seat of the principal gods in Ise.
* Takechi, twenty-four years later. A thunderstorm occurred
on the day of the battle, in 672, at which, however, Takechi
was not present. ® The Queen-Regnant Jito (690-6).
^° At the foot of Mount Kagu in Yamato. H. no hara and
H. no ike.
" hotosaheTcu in the text, applied to Kudara, means to stam-
mer or speak indistinctly as a foreigner does. The place-name
Kudara (written Hiyakusai) is that of one of the Korean states,
[transferred to Japan — a memory of one of the many Korean
immigrations into early Japan.
^"^ There are seventeen ra. k. in this lay, all of which could
J be rendered by Greek compounds; some of them indeed are
learly the equivalents of common classical epithets, such as
fasumisMsi (Koo-jLtiJTU)/)), shirotaJieno (XtTrapo-), chihayaburu (kKaro-
y^d/aos or €y;(€(r7raA.os), &C.
Book II, Part III
25
On the Passing of Prince Yuge ^ by the Eastlander
Okisome.
My Lord and Sovran
in peace and power who
rulest,
great Sun-descended
Prince and Highness
in sun-bright heaven
thou bidest in thy palace 2,
a very god,
a very god thou bidest
in wondrous maj'sty —
and every day and all day,
each night and all night,
38
many6shiu
I lay me down and mourn
thee
nor tears
assuage my
sorrow.
Ah, mighty Lord,
a very god he dwelleth
beyond the clouds,
beyond the clouds empiled
he bideth hidden from me.
1 A son of Temmu (672-86).
^ Kepresented on earth by the shrine of temporary inter-
ment. At death the soul (mi-tama) of the Mikado mounts to
Heaven, and dwells in a palace there.
26
By Hit6maro on the occasion of the Enshrinement
of the Princess Asuka on Mount Kinohe.^
Of Asuka's river
(of morning bird-flights
minding) ^
the upper waters
mid bridging rocks swirl
on,
the lower waters
rush rough log-bridges
under,
there river-tresses
upon the rocks cling
firmly,
wilt and renew
and drift and sway for
ever,
upon the timbers,
that bear the feet across,
the streamy tangle
in long abundance grow-
eth.
wilting, renewing,
and drifting, swaying
ever —
alas how happ'd it ^ !
as watery tresses graceful
e'er was my lady,
as streamy tangle graceful,
e'er was my lady,
or stood she straight and
slender,
or lay she idly
her slim limbs on the
matting —
was it her lord
forgat some morning
duty,
or night-watch broke,
her lord beloved and
comely !
THE LONG LAYS
39
while quick her days
were
in time of spring fair
flow'rs
to deck their heads,
red sprays in time of
autumn
to deck their heads,
amid the wild-woods
sought they,
their fine-stuff sleeves
together touching roamed
they
the hills around,
with eyes as bright as
mirrors
in tireless joyance
[on spring and autumn]
gaz'd they
the orbed moon
still rounder growing
watch' d they,
the Princess and her
lover —
on Kinohe
(of royal drink that
mindeth) ^
a shrine is builded,
where she shall rest for
ever,
all ended now
their multitudinous
words and glances ended,
long hath he sorrowed
and all his days are weary
like nuye bird
unmated left and des'late,
like restless wild-fowl
thatflutter in the morning
he wand'reth, wond'-
reth,
beneath his misery droop-
^ ing
like summer grasses,
like even's star uncertain*
his steps are wayward,
his heart like ship at sea
toss'd
with sorrow heaveth,
no solace ever
for his woesome soul he
findeth,
nor any help
to him may come, come
ever,
her name and story
shall ever move to pity,
while earth and heaven
endure the tale shall sad-
den,
and her fair name,
to Asuka's stream that
answereth ^,
to the end of time
shall the winding waters
hallow
him of her beauty minding.
40 MANYOSHIU
^ In the Zokii Nihongi (* Continuation of the Chronicles of
Japan ') we read of a daughter of the Mikado Tenchi by Tachi-
tana no Iratsume, Asuka no hime, who died in 701. The
motive of the lay is partly the identity of the name of the
Princess with that of the river (in Takechi in Yamato). The
Mmi or spouse is Osakabe no miko, a son of the Mikado
Temmu. Some commentators see in the lay a pendant to
Lay 23 (on the death of Prince Kawashima), but the style
ohokimi given to the Princess in the lay points to its being
composed wholly in her honour. There are two envoys of no
importance.
2 In each of these parentheses the value of a m. k. is given.
^ The following lines suggest that the interruption to the
course of their love was some misfeasance or omission of duty
by the Prince, on account of which he was banished. During
his exile the lady died.
* The different positions and appearances of Mars (hinsei =
golden star) and Mercury (suisei = watery star) may be in-
tended. Or Venus as a morning and evening star, shifting
thus from east to west, may be meant.
' The bed of the river Asuka is constantly changing, and is
frequently cited in Japanese poetry, new and old, as illustra-
tive of the devious course of lovers' fortunes. The name of
the Princess is a homonym of the river, hence the suggested
word-play.
27
By Hit6maro on the death of his wife.
By Karu's track but meetings few vouch -
(high fly the birds by saf 'd us »,
Karu) ^ yet ever I trusted,
my love, my sister tho' endless as the wild
abode she in her village 2, vine *
and deep desire the ways might be
to see her filled my soul, at last to meet my dear,
but eyes too many as shipman hopeful
forbade my constant visits, who on his tall ship
and eyes too curious leaneth —
THE LONG LAYS
41
while secret still
our ways of love were,
secret
as pool secluded
mid rocks (bear seeds of
fire)^
alas, my world
a sunless world became,
and clouds o'er spread
the moon that lit my
heaven,
for she, my love,
as deep-sea tangle grace-
ful
like autumn*s glory
out of my days hath
faded —
such are the tidings
the sceptred runner "^
bringeth,
as clang of bow-string
of whitewood bow ^ I hear
them,
but word to answer
or means of solace find
not,
the very words e'en
are pain intolerable,
yet fain a thousandth
I would assuage my sor-
row—
so Karu towards
where ay she watched
my coming
I wend me listening,
listening for her voice,
but only hear
the screams of wild fowl
flying
across Unebi ^,
and folk the spear- way ^^
thronging
I meet and scan
their faces, but no face ever
like hers behold I,
so nought is left me
I can but call her name
andwavemysleeveinvain.
Amid the hill ways
bv autumn's red leaves
hidden
my wandering love
I fain would seek but
know not
those mountain-ways I
know not.^^
With fall autumnal
of the ruddy forest leaves
the runner see I,
and think of a day of
trysting
that never more shall be.^^
* Karu is in Yamato (not far,- probably, from the then City-
Royal, Fujihara. Its homophon liam (karu-gamo) is the
42 MANY6SHIU
dusky mallard (Br.), hence the application to it of the m. k., of
which the value is given in the second line of the translation.
^ Sato is more than a mere village ; it signified a district
containing fifty houses at least, in early days probably houses
inhabited by courtiers and officials with their servants and
cultivators.
^ There is a difficulty in the lay, that of the need of visiting
the ^vife secretly. This appears, however, to have been the
custom in ancient Japan, where the wife often remained with
her parents long after her quasi-marriage. The whole subject
of early marriage is briefly dealt with in the Introduction.
The author of the Kogi asks with reference to this lay: If
Hitomaro does not display genius in this revelation of deep
emotion, what poet is there who does? The envoys suggest,
more Japonico, rather than express their meaning.
The wife (who was, perhaps, a concubine, having borne no
children), must be taken tp have died in Autumn.
The term we, woman, is used, not by way of depreciation,
but as an expression of intimacy and affection.
* More correctly Kadzura japonica (Br.), a trailing creeper of
which the end is difficult to find amid the bushes, and there-
fore often made the subject of a simile illustrating indefinite-
ness in space or time.
^ See List of m. k., sub voce Jcagirohi.
* With the flexuous slenderness of various seaweeds the
Japanese poet often compares the graceful lines of female
beauty.
' Tamadzusa, the * sceptre ' (one is reminded of the Homeric
a-KrJTrrpov) was a rod or branch of whitewood (Catalpa, or
Prunus cerasus), decorated in various ways, perhaps with beads
or haliotis pearls after a fashion conveying a meaning to the
recipient, or guaranteeing any verbal message that might be
delivered ; or a writing might be attached — but this would be
in later times probably. The word tamadzusa in modern
Japanese means a letter. A hank of yufu (Broussonetia) yarn,
hung outside the door, usually indicated the house of call.
This mode of communication was commonly employed by
lovers. De Gubernatis, in his Mythologie des PlanteSj tom. ii.
p. 263, writes : * Dans la campagne d*Arpinum (S. Italy) les
jeunes filles connaissent le degre d'amour de leurs fiances h la
couleur du ruban dont ils entourent la branche d'olivier qu'ils
THE LONG LAYS
43
apportent de I'eglise a la bien-aim6e le dimanche des Palmes. *
Posies or nosegays with amorous meaning, or with a love letter
attached, were common in England up to a recent period.
® A tentative rendering of the m. k. — whitewood bow.
^ Of the m. k. of Unebi I have not attempted to give the
value. See tamatasuM, List of m. k.
^^ See tamahokono, List of m. k.
" An allusion probably to her wandering in the darkness of
death along paths he cannot follow.
^* He is reminded of an autumnal meeting (to cull the ruddy
sprays) arranged by a like messenger.
28
A Second Lay by Hitomaro on the death
of his wife \
When we twain wended
the ways of life together,
and hand in hand
upon the elm trees crowd-
ing
the dike's ridge yonder
anigh our cottage rising
did gaze together,
were thoughts of love as
frequent
as leaves in spring
upon the thick pleached
branches,
and on thee leaning
my soul upon thee rested —
but sad the doom is
that none may win escape
from ;
across the moorland
(where men see far the
flames glow) ^
thy bier is borne
mid banners white fune-
real ^
at break of dawn
who rose as morning fowl
fly.
must now be hidden
as day by sunset hills —
a little son
is thy memorial,
he weeps and begs
and seeks for comfort from
me,
but I can nothing give
him,
no toy to cheer him,
I can but clasp him to me
44 MANYCSHIU
and fondle him but bootless toil is,
as doth a man, ungently — for thee whom living
how desolate our chamber Joved i
where close our pillows I ™ay not see,
did erstwhile lie together; e'en for a moment dimly
from dawn to darkness ^J ^J^s let rest upon
the dav is full of sorrow, *"e®-
from dusk to day-break
I sob and sigh unsleeping,. The same moon 'tis
and know not whither ^^^^ ^^^^^^ .-^^ .jj^^.
to turn me m my misery ! , i
and love thee ever ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^
though never may I see ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ ,^
thee. -^
space
on high Hakahi that year agone divideth !
(though cock-crow hill its
name be)
I know thou sleepest, I turn me homewards,*
for men such tidings bring and round our chamber
me ; gazing,
the steep heights stony without the alcove
to climb with painful tra- my eyes upon thy pillow
vail upon thy pillow linger.
^ The subject of the lay must have been a cJiaJcusai or true
wife, one who had borne a child. The m. k. can only be
partially rendered in this lay ; of Hakahi, lit. wing-flap, the
m. k. is ohoforiy great bird, i. e. cock, * cock-crow ' is an imita-
tion of the m. k. There may be an opposition intended be-
tween * cock-crow ' and * sleepest '. There is another envoy in
which the husband declares that returning from his wife's tomb
on Mount Hikite, he finds life worthless. Mount Hikite is a
portion of Mount Hakahi.
^ This line is an attempt to combine the literal meaning of
the text with the explanation given by the Kogi, which regards
the passage as indicating an extensive moorland, being one
THE LONG LAYS
45
over which for long distances the glow of torch or beacon
would be visible.
' Or screens (of white cloth ?), according to the Kogi.
* After accomplishing his week's mourning by her tomb.
The note to 1. 43 (vol. of texts) is too positive as to the hus-
band's hope of seeing his wife's spirit. The Mikado, and per-
haps his relatives, alone appear to have been endowed with
a mi-tamay though ghosts are once or twice mentioned in the
Manyoshiu. But a ghost — or attenuated body — is not identical
with a mi-tama.
29
By Hitomaro on the death of an uneme ^ who came
to City-Koyal from Shigatsu '\
Her cheek was glow-
ing^
as spray of autumn forest,
her form was graceful
as bending bamboo s stem,
I know not how
so sad a fate was hers,
for life long seeming
as coil of cord of yufu,
like dew of morning
that perisheth ere even,
like mist of evening
that perisheth with the
morrow *
hath passed and van-
ished—
as twang of bow-end
noisdd,
of bow of whitewood,
the tidings brought me
sorrow
though scarce upon
her
had ever dwelt my eyes —
but oh how desolate
the heart of him,
how turned to misery
the love he cherished,
whose arm with hers
made pillow
(soft shining pillow) ^,
her lover whom she loved
(sword-girt ^ and youth-
ful)—
untimely victim
the maid hath passed
away,
her little life
like morning dew is va-
nish'd,
like sunset mist is gone!
46 MANYOSHIU
Yon maid of Shigatsu, and by the stream to
Shigatsu in Sasanami, wander
she hath the world and think of her 'tis sad.
left—
* A palace waiting-woman or court-maid. Dr. Aston's deri-
vation yone-me means rice-woman, rice-bearer. But why not
simply uneme = arm-woman, i. e. bearer. In N. II. 209 we
read, * For waiting-women in the palace let there be furnished
the sisters or daughters of district officials . . . good-looking
women [with one male and two female servants — slaves ? — to
attend on them], and let 100 houses be allotted to provide
rations for each waiting- woman.'
^ In Afumi (Omi), probably a ferry or a village by a ferry.
' This rendering is doubtful though supported by some com-
mentators. Comp. text (vol. of texts).
* In the above lines the implications in the text are ren-
dered.
^ The m. k. is lit. a fine fabric coverlet, mantle, or plaid, or
perhaps sleeping dress. It is applied to anything connected with
sleeping. Here its value cannot be fully given without exces-
sive paraphrase, but of this and a conjoined m. k. the sugges-
tion is contained in the translation.
* The m. k. sword-girt is really a decorative epithet of mi,
person, self, but in this instance, as in many others, the sug-
gestion to the Japanese hearer would be, though indistinctly,
obliquely as it were, after the manner of Japanese poetry, an
application of the m. k. to the lover. The uneme was, possibly,
a celebrated beauty whose early death excited commiseration.
There are two envoys: the first (here given) upon the grief
caused by the sight of the Shiga river — the uneme came from
Shigatsu and was buried there ; the second echoes the poet's
regret for the untimely death of a beautiful maid.
' So rendering the m. k. sasanami^ which Mabuchi, however,
explains as sasanabiMj dwarf-bamboo-bending. The stream
alluded to is unknown.
THE LONG LAYS
30
47
By Hit6rnaro on seeing a corpse lying on the shore
of the island of Samine by Sdnuki.
shore-
do
On Sanuki's
sands
fine seaweed folk
gather,
and fair the land is
whereof the eye ne'er
wearieth,
a land divine,
most excellent, exalted,
of lyo's faces ^
one face it is as ever
have said our fathers,
as earth, sky, sun, and
moon
for ever perfect. —
and now from Naka's
haven
the ship hath started,
and over sea I oar me,
by timely breezes ^
blown towards the cloudy
sea-marge,
and mid the waters
the waves I mark ay
restless,
and on the shore-sands
the whitening breakers
hear ;
the whaley sea
how vast it is and awful !
now hither, thither,
with turn of helm I
wander,
and many an island
I pass the waters crowd-
ing; ^
Samine's isle ^
of all the isles is fairest,
whose pebbly strand
I tread and thereon build
me
a scanty shelter,
and gaze around and hear
the ceaseless rumour
of the waves the shore-
sands beating — -
where hath he pillow
on couch of rough stones
made him
who lieth here
upon the strand flung
prostrate,
his home-place knew I
I would the sad news tell
there,
or knew his wife what
ways to wend to seek him
she would come surelv,
but the spear- ways she
know'th not,
48 MANYOSHIU
and anxious waiteth. have gathered for her
for his home coming yearn- husband
ing, for yet the season lasteth !
his winsome wife she
waiteth! . Upon the shore-sands
whereon the waves are
rolling,
Dwelt his wife near, are ever rolling,
upon Samine's hillside his pillow hath he made
fresh wild herbs * would him,
she belike, to take his rest.
* (K. p. 21) * Next they [Izanagi and Izanami] gave birth to
the island Futa-na in lyo (sometimes in the old days desig-
nating the whole of Shikoku, of which it is now one of the
four provinces). This island has one body and four faces, and
each face has a name [the names being, as it were, in wedded
pairs]. So the Land of lyo is called the Lovely Princess ; the
Land of Sanuki is called Prince Good-Boiled-Eice ; the Land
of Aha is called the Princess-of-Great-Food ; the Land of Tosa
the Brave Good Youth.' Sanuki is by some derived from saho
no hi, saplings used for poles to propel boats. Speculation on
the meaning of very many of the old names of places, gods and
persons, is, however, very unfruitful, for want of data, i. e. for
want of earlier specimens than any extant of the dialects
spoken in ancient Japan. Such speculation, too, is extremely
facile, from the number of homophons in Japanese. Mr. Cham-
berlain has done his learned best in this matter, and better
theories than his, conjectural though these largely must be, are
not likely for some time to be forthcoming.
^ See text.
* Samine, off Sanuki (NW. portion of Shikoku). *
"* The plant named is uhagi (Boltonia cantoniensis ?) a
composite plant used as a vegetable. The plural form of the
word tsuma (wife) is used in the text — but I take it as an
honour-singular, like Tcora in the preceding lay. She would
have gathered herbs to save him from hunger.
THE LONG LAYS 4»
Several short lays follow, which are worth giving
as they refer to the death of Hit6maro.
A Lay on his approaching death by Hitomaro.
On the rocky heights
of Kamo's ^ hill must rest,
belike, my body —
unknowing my sad fate
alas ! doth she await me !
^ Kamo is said to be identical with the present Kamoshima,
an island off the coast of Ihami. There is still a yashiro
(shrine) there known as Hitomaro (written yV/L) Daimyojin,
with an image of the deified poet. The people there say the
image is of great antiquity. Another reading is Imo hill (sister
or wife-hill).
Kamo rea4 hi mo expresses doubt and anxiety, hence
a word-play rendered in * belike '. In the dai (argument) the
word for death is mi makaru, but the character is shinuru, used
only for persons of or below the sixth rank ; for the fifth and
fourth ^ is used, for the third and higher ranks ^g (sugi-
maseru, passed away).
Two Lays by the Lady Yosami ^ wife of Hit6maro,
on the death of her husband.
Each day, each day
I hoped to bid thee welcome
to thine own home pi ace —
who now as the dead shells empty
of Ishi art men tell me.
^ Yosami must have been a second chakusai, or true wife,
recognized under the Chinese reformation of 645. The mean-
ing of the tanka seems to be that death leaves the body a mere
empty shell as it were — a Buddhist notion. The Kiver Ishi
flows at the foot of Kamoyama.
DICKINS. 11 E
60 . manyOshiu
The second lay was composed after Yosami had
gone down to Ihami upon hearing of her husband's
death.
0 would I might
again my lord's face see,
it mav not be so —
*/
yet, oh, were the mist but lifted
from Ishi's flowing waters^.
^ She would at least gaze upon the stream familiar to her
dead husband.
A Lay made by Tajihi no Mabito, as an answer
from Hitomaro.
Fine pebbles gather ^
rolled down by Ishi's waters
to heap beside me,
that some kind soul may tell her
hereby her husband lieth.
* To serve as a cairn to mark his resting-place.
Another anonymous lay is cited from a makimono
(MS. roll) apparently representing the feelings of
Yosami.
In heaven-distant
march-land of moor and waste
my lord is left —
and ever shall I love him
and broken-hearted mourn him.
During the residence at the Palace of Nara.
31
A Lay indited on the Death of Prince Shiki ^ in the
long-moon month of the first year of Beiki ^,
On Takamato — his sheaf of arrows
where roves the hunter, in archer-hands, the deer
grasping to stalk and chase —
THE LONG LAYS
51
on Takamato,
though autumn tints the
moorland,
the gleam I noted
of flaming springtim e fires,
and fain would know
of passing wayfarer
the spear- ways wending
what might they mean,
these flamings ? ^
fast fell his tears
his fine-stuff sleeves be-
drenching
like summer showers
as there he stood and
answerd —
but wherefore ask him,
ask him of things unhappy,
his tale with tears,
but filled mine eyes with
tears,
his mournful tidings
but wrung my heart with
sorrow —
* the funeral train 'tis
our noble Prince that
beareth
to his last rest,
and the fires of their
torches
yon moorland slopes illu-
mine ! '
^ Son of the Mikado Temmu (673-86), and father of the
Mikado Konin (770-81). See N. II. 379. He died in the
long-moon month (9th) of 715.
The first six lines are a quasi-epithetical preface or introduc-
tion to ' Takamato ', the name of a hill in Yamato.
^ A.D. 715. The Lay is in the Collection of Kasa^no Kana-
mura Asomi — perhaps by Kanamura himself.
^ It was autumn, and what seemed to be bush-fires usual in
spring to renovate vegetation, suggested the inquiry.
Book III, Part I
32
By Hitomaro, on the occasion of a Hunt by Prince
Naga ^ on the moor of Kariji
child of the sun-orb
that shineth in high
heaven,
My noble Prince
in peace and power who
ruleth,
E 2
52 MANYOSHIU
hath ta'en his horses as to the sun-bright
hath ranged his horses heaven,
with him ^ lift eyes as shining
on grassy Kd-riji as mirror truly polished — *
wild fowl and stag to is he not winsome,
chase — my Prince, as flowers in
as stag that boweth springtime,
his knees upon the ground, my noble lord and
as quail that creepeth PriDce 1
amid the rustling jungle —
so I too staglike The moon, see, crosseth
the knee do bow before large-orbed the shining
him, heaven,
so I too crouching we will set cords to 't —
like quail amid the jungle, and draw the very moon
my service loyal down
to him do humbly tender 2, to canopy his Htter !
and lift my eyes up
^ No doubt an adulatory effusion written to order. Naga was
the fourth son of the Mikado Temmu, he died in 715. Kariji
Moor is in Yamato.
^ So, literally, but horses and attendants are meant. The
first part is introductory to the rest.
' The knee-bending stag (a distinctive attitude) and the
creeping quail are common illustrations of dutifulness in
ancient Japanese poetry.
* The implication may be that his loyal heart is as free from
stain as a well-polished mirror (a treasure in ancient Japan)
from flaw.
The conceit of the envoy is to honour the Prince by pro-
posing, after the moon (harvest- or hunter's moon ?) has risen,
at the close of a late hunt, perhaps, to bring down the
broad orb to serve as canopy, or cover, or roof to his mikoshi or
litter.
For the m. k. see text, especially as to the one {Jiisakatd)
rendered * sunbright '.
o o
^ X o
CP 5J 5
?i S
53
In iniisi
on heave vji
descended, ^ _
the breezes mifen^* ^ ^ ^ 1, I-
.ongthech- -. -^ ^-IH i' ^ §^^
woods, . 5 r I ilf si ^-S
the waters ruflfenc "^ 1:, I, ^^ ^
^ II >
the pool l)eDr ^ f-' ^ 7^ •
hill. ■^. g;|g_a,i|. I m
^..l.>^ . .-vS . ^> V V.-. - r- ■-.•.'-> ?-j >-, V I — > ., . v.
beauty— 2. |; ^ - - ^ g^ | g,
waters mi(% ^ | § £,
o 2
•5 «-»- it
ild-duc ""^ Kja '^.
ad anes
.,^' *-»- t«.
rill ■ S'S
3f.
r ^ ^
' . .<
■'ii :^9
' lis ^
THE LONG LAYS
53
33
By Kamo no Kimitari-hito upon Mount Kagu.^
In misty springtime
on heavenly Kagu's hill,
where long ago
the great high gods
descended,
the breezes murmur
amongthe clustering pine-
woods,
the waters ruffling
of the pool beneath the
hill,
while cherry blossoms
still whelm the groves in
beauty —
the waters midmost
the wild-duck calls his
mate,
the strand anear
loud whirr the flocks of aji 2,
but on the waters
no barge awaits the
pleasure
of palace folk,
with pole and oar forth
furnished,
all desolate on the waters
unmanned there he the
barges.
or
That no man oareth
boat or barge, 'tis
plain,
for diving wild-fowl, .
the oshi ^ and takahe *,
stand perch'd upon their
borders.
How long hath lasted
this awful solitude ?
the moss hath gather'd,
on Kagu's straight-shafted
cedars
will tell the mournful tale!
^ Of the author of the lay nothing is known. The lament is
on the ruined chapel of Takechi (see 24).
In the first envoy the desolation is shown by the birds
perching on the royal wherries ; in the second the moss
growing on the trunks of the cryptomerias shows how long
it is since the burial took place.
^ A kind of teal (Anas formosa ?).
^ Anas galericulata.
* Some kind of wild-duck or teal or widgeon.
54
MANY6SHIU
34
To Prince Nihitabe.
My noble Prince !
in peace and power who
nileth,
child of the sun-orb
which shineth in high
heaven —
where mid the hills
our Prince to rest him
deigneth,
from the sunbright skies
adown the air now falleth
white snow incessant —
as frequent, Prince, thy
presence
bestow upon the Palace.
So thick it falleth
the snow the wild woods
hideth
on Ydtsuri's hillside,
and well 'tis now to see
the court-folk brave the
tempest !
35
By the Chiunagon Ohotomo no Ky6, on the occasion
of a Koyal Visit to the Country-Palace at Ydshino
in the yayohi month \
may it endure,
unchanged may it endure
our Sovran's country
Palace.
Yon country Palace
fair Y6shino ^ midmost
standeth
by hills engirdled,
hills excellent to look on,
by sweet streams
water'd,
whose flow to watch is
pleasant —
as earth and heaven
for years a thousand thou-
sand
As Kisa's ^ waters
seen long ago once more
my eyes do gladden —
0 brighter glow the waters,
more shining rolls the
river !
THE LONG LAYS
55
^ The yayoM is the third or ' blossoming ' month. Accord-
ing to the Zdku Nihongi the year was 1 Jinki (724).
■^ There is a m. k. of Yoshino in the text which would make
the meaning lit. ' Yoshinu fair Yoshinu '.
^ On the river Akidzu there still exists a village called Kisa-
tani mura — * village in the vale of Kisa *. The envoy describes
the pleasure of the poet (who may have been long absent on
provincial duty) on revisiting scenes familiar to him as a
courtier.
36
By Yd-mabe no Sukune Akdhito, on viewing Fuji-
yama.^
Since earth and heaven the white clouds wayless
were parted long ago hov'ring,
hath Fuji reared and on the mountain
its loftypeak and glorious, the snows lie everlasting —
divine and lonely, and so for ever
midmost Suriiga's land — I would there ran the
as wondering story,
of the lofty peak of
I search the sunbright
heavens,
I note the mountain
the very sun s light hiding,
I note the mountain
the very moon's light hid-
ing \
about the mountain
Fuji
On Tago's ^ strand
I wander forth to gaze —
lo, whitest white
high Fuj i's summit shineth
with white snow newly
fallen !
^ The first of the lays attributed to Akahito, one of the most
famous of the poets of the Manyoshiu. Little is known of
him. Sukune is a title — younger prince (F. II. 310), also a
kabane which — as here probably — often became part of the uji
or family name. The Kogi has a long note on the name
Yamabe and the ways of writing it ideographically. The name
Yamabe no Sukune is found in the Nihongi (under 13th year
56
many6shiu
of Temmu). In the Jimmeirjisho ('Diet, of Nat. Biogr.') he is
considered nearly equal in poetic merit to Hitomaro, the prince
of Japanese poets, part of whose name (Kakinomoto) he adopted.
In Tempyo (729-49) he was in Yoshinu, and later in the East-
land, where he saw Fujiyama.
^ So lofty is the mountain its peak part hides even the light
of the lofty orbs of sun and moon as they fulfil their course.
^ A quintain almost identical with the envoy will be found
in the Hiyakunin IssJiiu (*A Hundred Poems by a Hundred
Poets'). See infra Hiyakunin, No. XIX. Tago (Take) is a
favourite place whence to view Fuji, situate on the coast of
Siiruga.
37
A Lay upon Fujiyama.
Where Kahi marches
— of savoury shell-fish
minding — ^
with the land of Siiruga.,
amid the lands encircling,
on high great Fuji
its tow'ringpeak exalteth,
where hither, thither,
the heaven-clouds come
and go,
where fowl high-flying
to reach the peak soar
vainly,
where burning fires
the snows etern would
vanquish,
where falling snows
the fires etern would van-
quish—
what words may fitly
describe yon peerless
mountain
which his dread seat
the awful god hath made
him —
anigh the mountain
the lake men Se ^ call lieth,
whose waters Fuji
doth with its high slopes
border,
and from its flank forth
a river * roareth seawards,
by wayfarers crossed
or east or westwards
faring,
all our vast Dawnland
the land of Old Yamato
that great god ruleth
who hath his seat on Fuji,
the chiefest treasure
THE LONG LAYS
57
of all our land is Fuji,
that hill exalted
o'er all the hills of Suruga,
a joy UDchang'd and
changeless !
on Fuji's peak
the fallen snow that lietli
in the month of mid-
year ^,
when the moon is fullest
melteth,
and the self same night
snow falleth ^ !
^ Said to be found in the collection of Tsukasa no Ason Kana-
mura, though contained in the Anthology of Mushimaro.
^ Kahi (Kai) is one of the eight provinces adjoining the
mountain ; the homophon means ' a shell ', hence the m. k., of
which the value is attempted in the next line. In ancient
Japan shell-fish were esteemed somewhat of a luxury. But
kahi was more probably the equivalent of tani, a valley.
^ There is in the Kogi a long note upon Se, the upshot of
which is that it is a lake or pool in the vicinity, and is not the
* divine water ', more properly narusawa, said to be found in
a hollow place at the bottom of the crater, surrounded by small
shrubs, and containing a huge boulder in its midst. Narusawa
means * resounding-swamp ', and the name, we are told, is due
to the roar of the steam and greenish vapours that bubble
through the water, a sort of solfatara which may very w^ell
have existed in the more active days of the volcano within
the present crater (more probably in the neighbourhood of
the hump known as Hoyeisan, caused by a flank-eruption in the
fourth year of the nengo (year-period) so called (1707). Accord-
ing to the Waliansanzaidzue ('Chinese and Japanese Pictorial
Encyclopaedia of the Three Powers, Heaven, Earth, and Man ',
published in eighty volumes in 1714, founded upon the Chinese
* San ts'ai t*o hwui ') the creation of Fuji took place in the
reign of the Mikado Kosei (in b. c. 285), and eruptions from the
summit occurred in 18 Yenryaku (a.d. 800), and again in
5 Jogwan (a. d. 865). See my Fugdku HyaTckei, or * Hundred
Views of Fujiyama '. There are said to be eight tarns or lakes
round Fujiyama. See also the story of Taketori, infra.
* The river is the Fujigawa, forded on the passage along the
Tokaido, the great Eastern sea-way connecting the Eastern and
Western capitals, the capital of the Shogun (Yedo now Tokyo),
with that of the Mikado (Kyoto or Saikyo). Of course this road
68
manyOshiu
was not in existence in the Manyo age, but it probably follows
the old Eastland track.
^ Fifteenth of the sixth month.
^ This tradition is paralleled by another — that the stones
constantly rolling down the flanks of Fuji during the daytime
roll up again during the night, and so preserve the height and
mass of the mountain unchanged.
38
By Akd-hito, on visiting
Many the lands are
within our Sovran's sway
lie,
and healing waters
in every land are flowing,
but the land of lyo ^
most excellent in moun-
tains,
in islands excellent,
its lofty peak 3 show'th
towering,
in craggy steepness,
o'er the knoll of Izaniha,
where long ago
the Learned Prince stood
musinor
o
in reverie poetic —
the Hot wells of lyo.^
while idly gazing
upon the grove there
clustering
above the Hot- wells,
of the omi tree* I mind me
where rivalling song-
sters
once carolled, carolling
still there ^,
and ever may they
from such a tree still
carol
the Sovran gladdening
who shall these happy
waters
bless with his godlike
Presence.
^ The poet, on a visit to the famous hot springs in lyo,
remembers that here was once a favourite resort of the Learned
Prince, Toyotomimi, and, later, of the Mikado Jomei (629-41).
On the latter occasion the Mikado was much charmed with the
song of a pair of birds, the * ikaru ' (Japanese hawfinch), and
the ' shime ' (common hawfinch) who haunted an * omi ' (note 4)
THE LONG LAYS
59
tree or grove near the springs. In the Nihongi, under the year
593, the story of Toyotomimi — ' Learned Prince % otherwise
Shotoku Daishi, the real founder of Buddhism in Japan — is
told. He was the second child of the Mikado Tachibana
Yomei, 586-7. His mother, on going round the 'forbidden
precinct', reached the door of the stables, when she was
suddenly delivered of him without effort. He was able to
speak as soon as he was born, and was so wise when he grew
up that he could attend to the suits of ten men at once and
decide them all without error — mirahile didu. He also knew
beforehand what was going to happen. He became thoroughly
proficient in the Inner Doctrine (Buddhism) and the Outer
Doctrine (Confucianism). He was known as the Senior Prince,
Mumayado Toyotomimi (stable door or sharp-eared Prince).
Almost verbatim from N. II. 122-3. His death is recorded
under the year 621.
^ See ante Lay 30.
^ Ishidzuchi yama is the name of the hill.
^ Omi no M, the courtier's tree, a sawara (Chamaecyparis
pisifera?) that grew near the residence of the Wokamato
Mikado, Jomei (629-41), when he visited the springs with his
consort.
39
By Akahito, on going up to Kamiwoka ^
In Mimoro ^
on the hill of Kaminabi
the leaves are crowded
of the tsuga trees there
standing,
and countless ever
as the leaves are of the
tsuga ^,
and endless ever
as the coils of tamakad-
zura *
I hoped my farings
to Asuka ceaseless would
be,
now desolate, deserted —
where tower the moun-
tains
and far-off waters glisten
in days of spring time
where fair to see the hills
are,
60 manyCshiu
in autumn moonlight on ancient memories
the rivers sparkle bravely, musing.
where morning clouds
rise Like mists arising
to hide the noisy cranes, from every pool that
and mists of evening stayeth
the croaking frogs to Asuka s waters
cover, the mists of memory bring
the scene so fair me !
now filleth me with sad thoughts that pass
sorrow away not^
^ Kamioka.
"- Mimoro, in Yamato, seat of the god 6miwa. The name
means sacred cave [dwelling ?] : according to (F. I. 146 n.)
a sacred grove.
^ Ahies tsuga : there is a jingle here, tsuga=isugitsugi<, which
I do not imitate.
^ Cercidiphyllum japonicum, a long trailing sarmentaceous
hedge-plant.
Both lay and envoy allude to the deserted condition of the
palace of the Mikado Temmu (673-86) at Kiyomihara.
^ The text of the Ttanka cannot be rendered literally : as close
an imitation as possible is given.
Book III, Part II
40
By Kand,mura, on embarking at Tsiinuga in Echizen ^
, From Tsdnuga's haven whence men huge whales
to fare o'er Koshi's waters drive shorewards —
the great ship starteth, ^g ^^^^ ^^^ ,.^^,^^3
with stout oars manned Tayuhi's^ bay is reached,
full amply ^^^^^ YAg\i the fumes
to ride the waters j,^gg
p
THE LONG LAYS
61
the fumes of fires blazing
the saltpans under
which fisher-maids are
tending —
on grassy pillow
a lonely traveller nothing
the scene me pleasureth,
toYamato ^ land of islands,
with longing thoughts I
turn me.
^ He is homesick. The m. k. in this lay can scarcely be
rendered. One suggests — in the usual aside— heroic strength
in relation to ta (arm) of Tayuhi ; another a phrasal m. k. con-
sisting of three verses emphasizes the sentiment of the last
two lines. Tayuhi is in £chizen. Koshi is an old name for
the three modern provinces of ^chizen, Etchiu, and Echigo.
Of Kanamura (Kasa no Asomi Kanamura) nothing is known.
* That is, the view of the salt-pans (often cited as a
picturesque element in Japanese poetry) affords me no pleasure,
having not my love to share it with. This I believe to be the
meaning of the text, supported by a short lay (the sixth) in
the seventh book, in which, for a like reason, the poet can take
no joy from contemplation of the beauty of a moonlight night.
' Shimane may also be either a place in (there is a Ken of
that name still), or an old name of, Yamato.
41
By Akdhito, on ascending to the moor of Asuka.
Upon Mikasa ^ unmated sitteth,
(of royal cap reminding) so I each morn unmated,
by cloudy Kdsuka 2, and all the day through,
where springtime bring- and every night the night
eth mist, through,
morn after morn still am filled with sorrow,
the kaho bird doth twitter, for that with thee I am not
with heart a-drifting whom daylong nightlong
like clouds that hover love I.
fluttering
* Mikasa may mean a canopy or sunshade held over the
Sovran or his litter. The translation is, in part, imitative.
62 MANYOSHIU
In the Nihongi (lida's edition) under the year 649 I find the
following uta : —
on the mountain river
two pairing wild-fowl are there
of equal beauty —
and she and I were paired too,
but she hath been ta*en from me!
* In Yamato, a part of the Mikasa group.
42
A Lay of Invocation by Sdkanohe no Irdtsume ^.
On Takechiho, before thy altar,
where long ago de- thou god from heaven
scended'st descended,
from sunbright heaven, and full-thrid bead-lace
thou dread god 2, on our of bamboo circlets wearing
land — I bow me lowly,
of sacred cleyera asbend the deer I bend me,
fresh flow'ry sprays I about me casting
gather, my woman's scarf of
with white cloths ^ deck, prayer *
and hang with shining and ask the god, dear,
tresses, that I again may meet thee
full jars of sake again that we may meet,
in due array presenting dear.
^ Daughter of Saho Dainagon no Sukune Yasumaro, younger
sister of Tabihito no Kyo and aunt and mother-in-law of Yaka-
mochi no Kyo. She married first Prince Hodzumi, then a
Fujihara, and lastly Ohotomo Sukune Namaro, and bore him
two daughters, of whom one was Sakanohe no Oho Iratsume,
often mentioned in the Anthology. Iratsume does not appear
to be a title but rather a designation, * beloved lady '. She
had a house at Sakanohe village.
* The god was Ame no Oshihi no Mikoto ancestor of the
Ohotomo house.
* Of paper mulberiy bark.
THE LONG LAYS
63
* A long veil or scarf, hiding the face, reaching to the hem of
the skirt, used in prayer, originally (said to be) part of the
ordinary dress of women.
43
The Ascent ^ of Mount Tsukuba.^
In cockcrow Eastland,
though many the lofty
hills are,
of all the noblest
is the twin-peaked hill of
Tsukuba ^,
and ever hath been
from the age of the gods
till now —
whence all the cham-
paign
may men with full delight
view,
^ Mentioned in the Nihongi under the year 737. In 739 he was
made Mimbu no Shobu (Under-Secretary of the Home Office).
2 The double-peaked mountain in Hitachi familiar to the
inhabitants of Tokyo, and a conspicuous object from Yokohama.
' More lit. * twin-godded ' ; one peak is the seat of a god, the
other of a goddess (^qq post, Lay 110).
* From this point the text is obscure ; two lines are inter-
polated by Keichiu. I have slightly amplified the translation
to give what appears to be the full sense.
and now when spring-
time,
escaping clutch of winter*,
hath come, yet snow still
upon the mountain lieth,
I will not further,
untried the mountain,
wend me,
but climb the hill ways
and strain to reach the
twin-peak
amid the snows un-
vanished.
44
A Travel -lay, by [Wakamiya Toshinwo Maro X]}
Most wonderful which pass we, rounding
the sea is, realm of gods — the white surfed shores of
midmost whose waters lyo,
Ahaji's isle upriseth, and from Akashi
64
many6shiu
(of the bright'ning
moon-orb ^
that later riseth minding)
we oar as falleth,
the dusk of even falleth,
the tide it floweth,
and as the daylight
foUoweth
the tide it ebbeth,
as daylight showeth,
ebbeth,
what waves and mighty
the flowing tide upheav-
eth,
roar mid the locks
Ahaji's shores defend-
ing—
I cannot sleep,
when will the night-gloom
vanish
and day appear —
on Asa's moor by Tagi ^
betimes the pheasants,
will each their mate be
calling,
up men, the oars man,
and pant we forth to sea,
for calm is
sea-floor
the morning
The isles we coast,
round Minume's lofty cape
our bark we oar —
the cries of cranes I hear,
is this beloved Yamato !
* The lay is attributed to Wakamiya, of whom, however,
nothing is known.
2 According to the Kogi the seventeenth day is that of the
tachi (when one may see the moon-rise ere retiring), the
eighteenth that of the wi (when moon-rise may be seen just
before retiring), the nineteenth that of the ne (when moon-rise
may be seen after retiring to sleep) — alluding to the changes
in the time of rising of the satellite immediately after full
moon. The translation is an attempt to give the value of the
makura kotoba.
^ In Settsu. The cry of the cranes reminds the traveller —
always in ancient Japan a reluctant one — of the homeland,
Yamato, where stands City-Royal.
THE LONG LAYS
65
Book III, Pabt III
45
By the Lady Nifu^ on the Passing of Ihata no
Ohokimi.
O graceful, comely
my ruddy lord he was —
and now come tidings
on Hdtsuse's hill secluded
in loneliness
and blessedness he lieth,
such are the tidings
the sceptred runner bring-
eth—
what sad words these 1
or false or foolish marvel-
ling
in grief I ponder,
and earth and heaven
seem full,
seem full of sorrow,
to the very clouds above,
as far as heaven,
as far as earth extend-
eth—
so forth I wend me,
on nearer ways or further,
on staff still leaning
or by a staff unholpen 2,
the evening oracle
ofwayfarers'talkto listen^,
or rock to question
DICKINS. II
and thence draw helping
answer-
I will a shrine set
will set within my dwell-
ing
invoke the gods there,
and by my pillow
range sacrificial jars,
and don mv bead-lace
of bamboo-rings close
thridded,
and suppliant arms
upbear with cords of yufu,
and in my hands
will take the sacred rush-
haulm ^
that in the meadow
of Heaven s sasara ^ grow-
eth,
nay, in the waters
of Heaven's own stream
eternal
would lave me pure —
for my sweet lord to pray
who lieth on steepy
Taka !
66 MANYOSHIU
Oh would they false Thick as the cedars
were ! hide Furu's hill "upon me
these woesome tidings sad thoughts come
false were, crowding —
alas, he iieth nor may I chase them
on Taka's steep out- from me
stretched, for they are thoughts of
alone my lord he Iieth ! thee.
* She flourished in Tempyo (a.d. 729-49). There is, how-
ever, another Nifu, who was a man, mentioned in the list of
ohoMmi. Of Ihata nothing is known.
^ This became a common phrase — tsuwe tsuki mo tzukazu
mo yuMte, meaning ' at all events ', ' in any case '—or, perhaps,
* if blind or old ', tsuwe tsuki = mekura (eye-dark, i. e. blind).
^ Going forth into the crossways to listen to the utterances
of passing wayfarers, and gather from these such guidance as
may be possible.
* A mikado (Keiko, 71-130) is said to have found a boulder
on Kashiha moor and to have declared — ' If We are to succeed
in destroying the rebels (tsusM-gumo^ earth-spiders or earth-
cave-dwellers), when We kick this stone may it fly up like a
Kashiha (oak) leaf.' He then kicked it, the boulder flew up,
and the cave-men were subdued (N. I. 195). [In a work of
the fifteenth century we read — * There is a stone kept at the
shrine of Sai (Sahe?) no Kami(Priapus) by lifting up which people
practise divination — if they succeed, good luck will attend
them.' With regard to the road-oracle — Chikamatsu in one
of his plays, Horikaha nami no tsudzumi, describes a Kataki uchi
(vendetta) party, who hesitate on meeting a group of peasant
women talking together about having had no opportunity of
beating their sandals {waraji uchi), or words ominous of th^ir
inability to kill (u^M) their enemy. Afterwards they draw
courage from the words of another pai'ty who are talking about
an ignorant barber cutting (kiru = cut or kill) his customer by
the awkward use of the razor.]
* * Sacred rush ' written * seven joints '. The Kogi gets over
the difficulty by reading * seven ' as * iha ' (stone) — the two
characters might then be read iha ahi, from which the transi-
THE LONG LAYS
67
tion to iJidhi (blessed, sacrificial, sacred, &c.) is no feat in
Japanese etymology. The rush was used to sprinkle water in
the Lesser (or personal) Purification. See K. 280, and Florenz,
{T. A, S, J. XXVII), also Aston, Shinto.
^ A moor in skyland. Keichiu, however, says there is a
place called Sasara in Yamato, and that its transference to
heaven arose from a confusion with Sasara no ye (the broom
in the moon) ; Sasara ye otoko is the man in the moon who
holds the broom, a Taouist fancy.
46
An Elegy by Yamdkuma no Ohokimi on the Death of
Ihata no Ohokimi.^
Ihare's track
— all ivied o'er the rocks
are —
each morn he trod,
I would he trod them ever,
and Imightmeet him —
the fifth moon ^ under,
when blithe- voiced cuckoo
Cometh,
fair sweet flag flowers
and orange blooms would
gather,
and weave in garlands
wherewith to deck the
head —
in the late-moon ^ month,
when showers fall apace,
the sprays of autumn
would pluck and weave in
chaplets —
and so for ever,
for time as endless as
the coils of kuzu *,
would fare to meet my
lord —
but now, alas,
no more the morrow
know'th him,
where may my eyes
behold him !
^ Some commentators attribute this lay to Hitomara. In
some editions the envoys follow. Yamakuma was a son of
Prince Osakabe, one of the sons of the Mikado Temmu. Of
Ihata nothing is known ; see XLV.
^ Sa-tsuJci. Various explanations, none satisfactory, are
given of this name. The ' Kotoba no Izumi ' suggests sa-nahe,
quick growth.
F 2
68
MANY6SHIU
' nagatsuMf not * long month % but perhaps ' long or late moon \
* hunter's moon month'. Another derivation is from nigi^
* fruiting ' month.
* A trailing leguminous plant, Pueraria Thunbergiana.
47
By Akahito on passing by the Tomb of the Maid of
Mama in Kdtsushika \
In Mama village
in the land of Kdtsushika
of old time dwelt
a maid of wondrous
beauty,
and well wooed was she,
exchanged were Shidzu^
girdles
and bride-hut builded ^,
so well wooed was the
maiden —
her tomb they told me
lay here by thick pleached
leafery
of maki hidden
yet long as pine tree
lasteth
her piteous story
the tale of all her sorrow
shall in my heart endure !
sea-
Still heaves the
wrack
in Mama's clear waters
bv Katsushika —
«/
how oft the drifting sea
spoil
hath Mama's fair maid
gather'd ! *
^ Known in Eastland as Katsushika no Mama no teko (The
Beauty of Mama). She was of low degree, but wooed by many,
and embarrassed by the difficulty of choice finally threw
herself into the sea ; probably because she could not become
the wife of the one she preferred.
Compare the lays on the Maid of Unahi (122, 125), and
the one on Sakura no ko (203).
^ Shitsu = shidzuy a sort of cloth (hempen ?) ; also a variety
in which a weft of dyed yarn was woven in to form a sort
of mixed pattern. It was used for girdles. In old Japan
lovers exchanged their girdles in sign of mutual affection, or
knotted them in token of fidelity.
THE LONG LAYS
69
^ In the text, fuse-ya, a small cottage, or hut, or penthouse.
In old days a small hut was built by the bridegroom's house
in which the pair passed the first night. The custom is often
alluded to in the Annals. In a village in Tosa known to
the author of the Kogi (a Tosa man), the same custom still
obtained in his day (first half of nineteenth century),
* A similarity is implied between the movement of the floating
weeds and the grace of the maid who gathered them.
48
An Elegy by the Hang wan Ohotomo no Sukune
Minaka on the Death by self-strangling of the
Secretary of Fief-allotments in the land of Tsu,
Hasetsukabe no Tatsumaro, in the first year of
Tempy6 (729).
' True liegeman ever
of those who guard the
frontier
from marge to marge
of o'er canopying heaven,
or watch without,
or serve within the Palace
am I,' exclaimed he,
to father, mother,
to wife and children say-
ing \
how faithfully
for generations endless
as coil of kadzura ^
good service to their
Sovran
his foregoers gave,
and he would prove him
vrorthy
of their great name —
so from the day of parting
his lady mother
who tenderly had nursed
him,
full jars of sakd
before the gods present-
ing,
in one hand bearing
god-gifts of yufu cloth,
in one uplifted
fine-fabric offerings due
to earth and sky
gods,
and prayed them to pro-
tect him
from every evil —
what year, what month,
what day, the housefolk
wonder,
will they behold him,
70
manyOshiu
the flower-blooming house
lord,
like absent mate
to niho duck returning 3,
his lonely wife
with his caresses gladden,
standing, sitting S
his housefolk thus await
him —
In dread obeisance
to his Sovran's high com-
mand
years long he bided
in the land of wave-worn
Naniha,
undry the sleeves
of his bright vestments
ever,
morn and even
thus bided he in sorrow ^
when — ^no man kno weth
what thoughtarose within
him —
the mortal misery
of this mean world imper-
manent
as dew and rime are ^
to flee for ever left he
untimely sped self-fated !
But yesterday
perchance he still drew
breath,
and now, alas,
above the pines shore
fringing
his funeral fumes are drift-
ing!
^ They would all be under the same roof. See Glossary.
^ To take provincial service.
^ Allusion to the common Chinese illustration of mandarin
ducks as examples of wedded fidelity. See the first ode of the
Shihking.
"* A phrase signifying 'continually.*
^ Kegretting his home in City-Koyal.
^ The m. k. , of which the value is here given, is in the text
an epithet of okitej ' abandoning.'
LONG LAYS 71
' e on the
^ iij 7
jounfe
X
beaKf !:»? ^ e- -i I 1
<^
3
2 K'^von^ ^ ■
^■1 Hl^'
II: ?!
^-M
>^rj;
\)
THE LONG LAYS
71
49
An Elegy by the Lady Ohotomo no Sakanohe on the
Death of the Korean Nun Kigwan ^ in 7
Tempyo (735).
From bright ^ Shiraki
to our distant land she
journey'd,
whereof the fame
from men's lips had she
heard,
tho' kindred none,
tho' parents none, nor
brethren
for sweet devising
abode in our Dawnland —
nor City-Eoyal
where many a mansion
standeth
in sunlight flooded ^,
chose she for her abode,
but other-minded
beyond the stream of Saho
sought solitude
amid the mountain ways
like child that weepeth
and sure refuge findeth
anigh its mother ;
so came the Nun among
us
and builded her
a modest house to dwell in
and there while length-
ened
the thread of years abode
she,
but none the dest'ny
of mortals may avoid —
while those who loved
her*
on distant ways are faring
— grass-pillow ways —
o'er Saho's stream is borne
towards the wild- wood
hills
beyond the moor of Ka-
suka,
in darkest darkness
to rest, the outland nun —
nor help is any,
nor words of solace any,
alone and deslate
I wander hither, thither,
my tears ever
my fair white sleeves be-
drenching,
and as I weep
within myself I muse
perchance my tears may
as clouds o'erArima gather
and fall in gentle rain
there !
72
manyOshiu
^ The nun Eigwan came from Shinra(Silla,akingdom of Korea),
and lived for many years in (or near) the house of the Dainagon,
the Commander-in-Chief, Ohotomo no Kyo (Yasumaro no Kyo ?).
In 7 Tempyo (735) she fell suddenly ill, and died. The wife of
the Dainagon had gone to the baths of Arima — her name was
Ishikaha no myobu (a fifth rank dignity) — and the death took
place during her absence. The daughter, Sakanohe no Iratsume
(see Lay 42, to be distinguished from her daughter Sakanohe
no Oho-iratsume) alone accompanied the funeral, and sent the
elegy to her mother at Arima.
2 The m. k. is ' (white as) mulberry bark cord '.
^ This is a literal rendering of the m. k.
'^ i. e. her friends, save Sakanohe herself, who at the time of
her death had gone to Arima.
50
An Elegy by Ohotomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the
death of his me ^
Now in the forecourt
thy flower 2 well it bloom-
eth,
yet bringeth to me,
no ease of heart it bringeth,
were we together,
like water-fowl a-pairing,
I'd pluck a flower
and show it to thee dear,
but mortal wast thou,
thy days on earth were
fleeting,
impermanent
as rime or dew of morning,
and now thou liest
amid the wild- wood hills,
like setting sun
beyond the ken of earth,
O what my sorrow,
what grief my soul doth
burden,
I cannot speak,
thy name I cannot utter,
this world without thee
is but a traceless misery
to bear my woe I know not!
How long so'eer —
life's end impendeth ever,
her sad fate mourning,
from me my love is taken
and but a baby left me.
Would I had known
what way of fate were
thine,
would I had known it
THE LONG LAYS
73
I would have lield thee hath bloomed and passed
safe, love ! away,
and barred that way ^ for agone its season —
thee. and flow afresh mv tears
my sleeves are undry
The flower th ou kne west
ever.
^ Jfe, lit. * woman ', here means ^ wife ' ; not used in a humi-
lific sense, but as a term of intimacy.
This lay seems to be the first choka by Yakamochi.
^ A nadeshiko, or pink (Dianthus), planted by the wife.
^ The way of death.
* Several short elegies precede the above, of which one may
be given as explanatory of the longer lay —
As autumn showeth,
the pretty pink thou plantedst
to make my home
more bright with memory of thee —
what profiteth its flower!
The date of these lays is 740.
51
An Elegy by Yakamochi on the Death of Prince
Asaka.i
With awe and reverence
of things so high to
chant ^ —
from Kuni's Palace,
from Kuni, City-Eoyal
my noble Prince,
would that a myriad ages
o'er great Yamato
high rule thou mightest
have borne.
as swaying spring forth
cometh
all where the hill-sides
are rich with crowded
blossom,
and the clear rivers
are live with darting
troutlets 3,
as each day groweth
with vernal beauty
gayer,
from Kuni, where
there come the tidings,
74 MANY6SHIU
these tidings, sad to hear, of my Lord's new rule in
that — 0 to tell them — Heaven,
the servants of the Palace on the woods of Wad-
fair white robes donning zuka,
to the wooded heights of as day by day passed b}",
Wadzuka I turned but eye in-
have borne thy bier — different.^
and thou in all-shine The wooded hill-sides,
Heaven where close the hi trees
high sway still bearest cluster,
butlow with grief Igrovel, are gay with blossom—
my sleeves with tears be- as wilt the fiow'rs and
drench'd ! perish
my lord from the world
Whileyetldreamednot hath faded !
^ The lay is the second of six, four of which are short lays
indited in memory of Asaka a son of the Mikado Shomu
(724-48), who died at the age of seventeen. Shomu estab-
lished his City-Koyal at Kuni, in Yamashiro, but only, accord-
ing to Satow, from 724 to 728. The Prince died in the
hisaragi month of 745. Kisaragi is an old name for the second
month. The etymology given is M (put on), sam (again), gi
(raiment ?), i. e. the month of doubled clothing to ward off the
cold.
Asaka was apparently regarded as heir, and would preserve
his earthly rank in heaven, whence his ancestors came, and
where they now were gathered. Like the Jews, the ancient
Japanese thought there was a counterpart in heaven of the
world they knew — a heavenly Nippon, just as there was a
heavenly Jerusalem.
* This is a rendering of the introductory quatrain, with which
many of the lays open. More literally — ' with a great fear to
utter, with awe to speak, belike ! '
* * Where stooping you may see
the little minnows darting aimlessly.*
* Now the hill is endeared to the poet as the burial place of
his Lord.
THE LONG LAYS
52
A Second Elegy by Yakamochi on the Death of
Prince Asaka.
With awe and reverence
of theme so high to sing —
ofttimes would summon,
my Lord the palace ser-
vants ^
to the chase of deer
amid the hills of morning,
mid the hills of even
to rouse the wary wild-
fowl
his goodly courser
with staying hand re-
straining
on hill and river
to gaze and heart to glad-
den—
on high Ikuji
where hang the wild woods
shaggy
the sprays were blossom-
ing,
but now of all their glory
the hills are empty,
for such the fleeting way is
of this our world —
with stout glaive girded,
with hero-heart high
beating,
with bow of white wood
and arrowful quiver slung
across their shoulders,
as long as heaven,
as long as earth should last,
for a myriad ages
thy servants on thee
leaned them
and trusted ever
so might the state en-
dure—
who thronged thy spacious
palace
like flies in summer,
like flies on summer ways,
but now, white-robed,
their whilom smilings
vanished,
their busy joyance
gone, as the days agone
are,
their piteous plight
ment.2
la-
^ Lit. weapon- wights, warriors ; equivalent nearly to toneri,
retainers, palace attendants of gentle birth, who in ancient
Japan were always of the warrior class.
^ The sense of the various m. k. is included in the trans-
lation.
76
MANY6SHIU
53
An Elegy by Takahashi no Asomi ^ on the Death of
his wife.
Our fair white sleeves towards Sagaraka,
on love's embrace enlacing o'er-towering Yamashiro,
as thou art borne,
nor words I find me,
nor ways to ease my
sorrow —
till jetty tresses
to snowy locks should
turn them,
year after year
to dwell together ever,
imparted ever
the thread of our twain
lives,
was what we vow'd each,
w^e vow'd each to the
other,
thou and I, dear,
but unf ulfiird the bond is,
our hearts desire
all unachieved remain-
eth—
for destiny
our shining sleeves hath
parted
and thee, my spouse,
from pleasant home hath
taken,
behind thee leavino:,
a baby's tears leaving —
like morning mist
now vanishest thou from
me.
before the chamber,
where close we slept
together,
in morning hour
about thy garden pacing 2,
in evening hour
within the chamber pacin g,
I grieve for thee, dear,
and as a man may, strive I
thy wailing infant
to fondle and to solace —
as plain the wild-fowl,
who cry in morning hour,
for thee I weep,
but nought my tears avail
me,
and where thou liest,
though speech none win
I of thee,
I will betake me,
I will the steep hill climb-
ing
uponthylovestillleanme.^
THE LONG LAYS
77
^ Of whom little is known. We hear of two members of
the clan or family in the year-period Tempyo (729-49). The
date of the lay is the 20th of the 7th month (August 22) 745.
^ The garden (niha) around the sa-neshi tsuma-ya, the spouse
house or pavilion where they slept together. Immediately
after this use of the character for niha it is employed to signify
the particles ni ha,
^ I conjecture this to be the meaning of the last couplet of
the lay ; literally — ' the mountain where she lies buried I yearn
for as a place of refuge or help \
Book IV, Part I
54
A Lay by the Wokamoto MikadoJ
From times remotest
though men in genera-
tions
in countless crowds have
full fiU'd the wide world-
spaces
in noisy multitudes ^
like morning flights of
wild-fowl —
yet all the day thro*
till day is lost in darkness,
and all the night thro'
till day the darkness
chaseth,
I know but sorrow,
for thou my lord art absent,
I cannot sleep, too slowly
the tardy hours are pass-
ing ^
^ The use of kimi in the text points to a Queen-Eegnant as the
authoress. If so, she must have been Kogyoku who, after abdi-
cating in 645, was restored (with the after-name of Saimei) in 655.
The beloved is absent, fickle, too, in all probability : the multi-
tudes of other men give no comfort ; it is for him she grieves.
^ The epithet ' noisy ' is borrowed from the next line.
^ The following tanJca are worth giving : —
'Along the borders of the hills the flight of aji (Anas
formosa) fill tumultuously the air [so men fill the world] ; but
I am lonely, alas ! for my lord is not with me.'
'Mid the ways of Omi ever floweth Isaya*s stream from
78
MANY6SHIU
Toko's flank ; but will the love of former days still endure ? '
Toko is everlasting, Isa[ya] = isa, an exclamation of doubt,
he (in the text) = Uhe, vanish. The whole sense is, * Will love
last or disappear with the lapse of time as the river mists do
with the advance of day ? *
B5
A Lay by Tajihi no Mabito on going down to the
Westland.1
By Mitsu s ^ sea-strand
— like polish'd mirror
shining,
court ladies treasure
in dainty toilet^casket —
my under-girdle
in ruddy grain deep-tinted
in faith still knotted,
I long for thee, my dear,
the livelong night thro',
till dawn the darkness
breaketh,
and all the welkin
with scream of cranes is
ringing
thro* the mists of morn-
ing-
some whit, how scanty
ever,
a thousand thousandth,
of the woe my heart
oppresseth
to ease, towards home
to take a last look turning
I send my eyes,
and see green Katsuraki^
whose canopy
of white clouds hideth it,
and westwards faring
behind me leave Awaji
the homeland fronting,
and further Aha's island
mid the distant waters
I pass, and listening hear
the cries of sailors
across the calm of morn-
ing,
in the calm of evening
the sound ofoars I hearken,
so o'er the sea waves
alengthening track pursu-
ing
the rock-isles thread I,
pass Inabitsuma s bay,
like sea-fowl tossing
upon the heaving billows,
THE LONG LAYS
79
till that I beach
on Ihe's distant shingle,
where floating seaweed,
which men call 'wordless-
wort ' *,
remindeth me I left thee
nor said what I would
say thee
Our sleeves exchanging
our shining sleeves we
change ^,
and till I see thee
the months and days shall
count me
must pass ere I shall see
thee.
^ Of Tajihi nothing is known. On the point of embarking
for Tsukushi on duty or in the train of the mikado, he re-
members that he has not said the farewell to his wife he might
have said, which will be found in the envoy. The lay is a
good example of the travel-lay in which the places passed are
mentioned, and appropriate similes or quibbles extracted
from them.
^ In Settsu, in the county of Nishinari, west of the present
Kozu, and near the ancient Naniha. A double m. k. is applied
to mi (a vocable of many meanings), part of Mitsu in the three
lines preceding the name, which may be literally rendered * mi,
which is like the mirror that ladies of the court keep in their
comb-box.'
^ A hill in Yamato. The M is written sometimes with the
character M (tree), sometimes with that representing castle,
fort, earthwork. Kadzura may be a contraction of Tcazari-tsura,
* face- (or head-) deck,' referring to the garlands or chaplets with
which the ancient Japanese, of both sexes, were fond of adorn-
ing themselves, as the Polynesians are to this day. From this
origin the word came to have various botanical meanings,
Olea, Cercidiphyllum, &c., also a wig or false hair, the man in
the moon (Katsura-wo), and so forth.
^ This lay is a sort of Kaido-Jcudari, or road-song. A curious
word-play in the text is worth explaining. The 'wordless-
wort' is nanoriso, a species of Sargassum (S. Horneri). The
true origin of the name is, of course, nami-noru-so, wave-float-
weed, a most apt designation. But na nori so also means * do
not say ', hence the quibble. [In N. I. 322 we read — * In 242
80 MANY6SHIU
the mikado made a progress to the Palace of Chinu . . . Soto-
hori Iratsume (the Lady S.) made a song — ''For ever and e^'er 1
Oh ! that I might meet my Lord, | as often as drift beach-
ward I the weeds of the shore of ocean | (where whales are
caught)." Then the mikado said, " No other person must hear
this song. For if the Empress heard it she would surely be
greatly wrath." Therefore the men of that time named the
shore- weed na-nori-ahi-mo.' Dr. Aston thinks the point of the
story not quite clear. But na-nori-dhi-mo may mean ' do not
each call the other by name at all ', i. e. let there be no such
intimacy as the song alludes to. According to Prof. Matsu-
mura's ShoTcuhutsu Meii (' Enumeration of the names of Plants '),
1904, nanori-so is Sargassum Horneri. It still forms part of
the festal decorations of the new year. The mikado's prohibi-
tion was in fact a tabu. See Mr. Minakata's paper ' The Tabu
System in Ancient Japan ', read at the Bristol Meeting of the
British Association in 1898.]
" An exchange of sleeves, according to Motowori, was a token
of affection between lovers who had to part for a time. Each
wearing some article or part of the other's dress was constantly
reminded of the absent one.
56
A Love Lay by Aki no Ohokimi ^.
Far from thee, dear, I would the morrow
by lengthening spear- ways sweet speech seek with
wending, thee, dear,
I know the sorrow that each for other
the woe of absence know I, might still unanxious be,
would I a cloud were as erstwhile were we
in the empyrean floating I would we were together
would I a bird were asinthedaysnowperish'd.
under heaven soaring,
* Nothing is known of him beyond the fact that he was the
son of Asuka no Miko, grandson of Shiki no Miko, and flourished
THE LONG LAYS
81
in the period Tempyo (729-749). He is on some official mis-
sion, and longs for home and wife whom he has left behind at
City-Eoyal. There is one envoy, lamenting that a whole year
has passed since he pillowed his head on his wife's arm.
^ *0 wind that o'er my head art flying,
I should not feel the pain of dying
Could I with thee a message send.'
57
By Kanamura, at the prayer of a damsel to whose
lover, a squire in the Royal train, he is asked to
give it.^
Among the squires
attendant on our Sovran
now Ki-wards faring
in royal state and splen-
dour,
my sweet lord goeth,
by Karu's path far- wend-
ing,
where high the fowl fly ^,
o'er steep Unebi,
— of suppliant arms that
mindeth^ —
anon the road-track
to Kii leadeth treads he
and mid the falling
flying leaves of autumn
his love may haply
yield to their ruddy
beauty *,
* Of Kanamura (Kasa no Ason) nothing is known. Keichiu
classes him with Takahashi no Mushimaro, Yamanohe no
Okura, Tanobe no Sakimaro, and other poets of the Manyoshiu,
whom he ranks with but after Hitomaro and Akahito. The
date assigned to the lay is 1 Jinki (724).
DICKINS II G^
and grassy pillow ^
of toilsome travel better
than my arms please him —
I am not sure,
me many a doubt assail-
eth,«
and fain to follow
my dear lord I were,
and times a thousand
my heart to follow longeth,
but feeble woman
what may I dare to venture,
to road-guards curious
what speech of mine were
answer,
what trembling gest and
stammer ! "^
82 MANYOSHIU
* Karu, a place-name, is also the name of a bird, a kind of
mallard. The verse gives the value of the m. k. amatohu ya
and tamatasuJci.
^ Thus I render the suggestions contained in the m. k. See
ante Lay 27 and also List of m. k.
* He will be distracted by the beauty of the autumnal tints.
* The suggestion of the m. k. Jcusa mahura is here given.
" I am not sure of the rendering of the text which seems
obscure here. The commentators (but not the Kogi) think
some lines have been lost.
■^ There is here an untranslatable fancy. The text is tsuma-
dzukUy which means stumbling (as of a horse), or, spousal em-
brace. The suggestion of course is double — her desire to meet
her * comely lord ', and the uncertainty and danger of endeavour-
ing to do so.
There are two envoys which echo the thought of the lay,
the first of them turning on a word-play on the name Mt.
Imose, which the lover must cross, and which should remind
him of their union — imo se = wife and husband.
58
A Love-Lay by Kand-mura.^
On Mika's moor I leave it whether
a wayfarer I lodged me, our sleeves shall inter-
and on the spear- way twine
by hap I met a maiden, and she my love be,
but careless glance I and if this night that
as though atpassing cloud laggeth
cast, shall find her mine,
nor one word speaking oh, grant, yegods, it outlast
one word to yonder a thousand nights of
maiden, autumn.
when suddenly
my heart seemed stilled I saw her passing
within me — asoneaheaven-cloudsees^
and to the high gods, yet such her beauty
the gods of earth and body and soul clave to her,
heaven, clave to that fair creature.
THE LONG LAYS 83
' The date is 2 Jinki (725), the love-struck squire was in
attendance upon the mikado, who was passing to his country
palace on the moor of Mika in Yamashiro.
^ Lit. * looking heaven-cloud-elsewhere,' i. e. gazing carelessly
as one passes along the road.
59
A Lay of Complaint by the Lady Sakanohe ^.
With constancy or slanderous word of
firm stablish'd as the mortals,
sedges that who so often
that grow deep-rooted came,comethnownomore,
in the pools of wave-worn nor sceptred messenger
Naniha, e'en sendeth to me ever —
he spoke and promis'd ^^^ j ^^^ ^^^ 1^^ .^^
through all the years to ^here help to seek I know
love me- ^^^^
and I my heart gave *^^^' ^^^ ^^^^^ darkness
unflecked as polished as black as pardanth berry,
j^-j.j.Q^ and all the day thro'
and leaned upon him, ^^^^^ *^^ «^^^^s ^^ ^^^^^
and all my faith put in him *^^ '
as in tall ship ^ ^^^P ^^^^olpen,
histrustthesailorputteth, ^nhoping still and hope-
nor from that day forth ^^^^~
asdrifting sea-fronds wave a hapless woman
once wavered I— 'tis plain I be to all folk,
and like a child
yet — is't the gods al- I weep the while I wander
mighty nor dare a word wait
us twain have parted ! from him
1 See Lay 42.
G 2
84 MANYOSHIU
Book IV, Pakt IT
60
A Complaint by the Lady Sakanolie, from her country
house at Tomi, to her eldest daughter the Great
Lady Sakanohe, left at the family mansion in
City-Royal.
Away from thee, child, for vain my love for thee is,
though not in the world of thee, dear, empty
of darkness^ how drear is the home-
since thou our door left place
I nothing know but these many months and
sorrow, weary !
my child, my darling,
black night 2 or shining My thoughts are tan-
day gled,
divide I cannot, as tangled as my hair
for I am lean with misery, on morning pillow,
I weep and weep, forso I love thee, daughter,
my sleeves are undryever, I see thee in my dreams^.
my child, my lady,
^ Even if not dead at loss of thee, I am full of sorrow.
^ The m. k. is * black as pardanth berry ', see ante Lay 23.
^ I adopt Motowori's explanation.
Book V, Part I
60a
The Fifth Book opens with a Chinese zho, or preface, to
a short lay by the Dazaisui Ohotomo no Ky6, which is an
answer to official expressions of condolence on the death of
his wife. Ohotomo no Ky6 is the Tabihito or Tabiudo no
Ky6 mentioned in the Third Book. According to Keichiu,
it was upon tidings of the death of Ohotomo's wife, Oho-
tomo no Iratsume, reaching City-Royal that two represen-
tatives of the kimi (princes) and ky6 (ministers) were sent
THE LONG LAYS 85
down to assist at the mourning. In the Third Book will
be found three short lays on ' one who has passed away '
(his wife), dated 5 Jinki (728).
In the same book are five short lays composed on
Ohotomo's way up to City-Royal upon his advancement to
the office of Dainagon in 2 Tempyd (730), and three others
composed on his return, all expressing his grief for the
loss of his wife.
In the Eighth Book also there is a short lay by one of
the representatives above mentioned — Nori no Tsukasa
(President of the Board of Rites), Isonokami Asomi — in
which the death is alluded to, and an answer to it by
Ohotomo.
The death, therefore, of Ohotomo no Iratsume, would
seem to have deeply impressed both her husband and the
Court.
The zho laments the miseries and vicissitudes of this
life, the frequency of the need of consolatory inquiries, the
writer's deep sorrow at his loss, and the comfort he has
derived from the visit of condolence, ending with regret at
the insufficiency of the brush to write words, and of words
to express the feelings he entertains — an insufficiency the
ancients had to regret as much as the moderns [he is
anxious to justify himself by adducing the practice of the
ancients].
The short lay is subjoined —
Well we know
how empty are our days,
each day new sorrow,
and every day new sorrows
in endless sequence brings us!
Following this come the headings.
23rd of 6th month of 5 Jinki (Aug. 2, 728).
A Chinese elegy on the death of his wife, with a Chinese
preface, by Chikuzen no Kami Yamanahe no Omi Okura.
The zho to the Chinese poem is an interesting example
of early Buddhist feeling in Japan.
* If we consider the Four Births (tchatur yoni — from the
womb, from an egg, from moisture as gnats, fishes, slugs, &c.,
86 MANYdSHIU
and by transformation, as in silkworms, &c.), that is, all
existence, we see that life is but a vanity and a dream/
' The Three Existences (trdilokya — Mma, of desire ; r4pa,
of form ; arijt/pa, of formlessness) fluctuate in an unresting
circle. Therefore even the great sage Yuima (Vimalakirtti,
a contemporary of Sakya Muni), in his one -jd (ten feet)
square cell ^ could not escape sickness. So the Buddha him-
self, sitting in benevolent contemplation under the twain
trees of meditation (the Sala grove in Kusinagara where
Sakya entered into nirvana)^ had to endure pains in the
achievement of supreme absorption. These holy saints
could not oppose Death when, in his resistless strength, he
came to bear off their lives. For who in all the 3000
universes can hope to avoid the search of the goddess of
Black Darkness. The twain rats (sun and moon, or day
and night) are rivals in rapid lapse, like the flight of
a swift bird time flies before our eyes, the four snakes
(i. e. the four elements, earth, fire, air, and water) carry on
a constant and insidious warfare [hence their personification
as snakes] against our bodies, which perish daily, rapidly,
as a swift horse seen galloping past a chink. Alas ! ruddy-
faced maids must go with their three obediences (to parents,
to husband, to eldest son), lost for ever are the fair faces
with their four virtues (language, behaviour, appearance,
works). Can we hope to live in married union till both
spouses are old ? we must fly alone ere life is half over, in
her fragrant chamber the tapestry waves in the wind
[the room is untenanted, the wife being dead], his (the hus-
band's) heart is wrung with grief, by the pillow hangs the
mirror all unused, his tears are so greatly tinged [with
blood?] as to dye bamboo. Once the gate of the nether
world shut upon them, the dead are invisible — alas, alas,
what grief, what grief is this ! '
The Chinese poem is in heptasyllabics, a common measure
of the Thang period.
The waves of the Stream of Love ^ have disappeared,
The woes of the ocean of Sorrow can no more beset me,
Wherefore satiated I renounce this world of filth,
My deepest wish is for a new life in that Pure Land ^
THE LONG LAYS
87
^ So we have the HojoJci (* Notes from a j6-square Hut ') the
well-known classic of Chomei (see ' A Japanese Thoreau of the
Twelfth Century ', Journal of the JR. A, S., April, 1905).
^ The agitations of emotion.
' Paradise. The Chinese texts in the Manyoshiu are more
or less corrupt, and, as restored, are not always intelligible,
hence my translation is often, in some degree, conjectural.
61
A Japanese Elegy [by Omi Okura, the composer of
the Chinese Poem 60a].
To far-off Tsukushi,
where glowed of yore
strange fires ^j
me did she follow,
in love upon me leaning
as child its mother ^,
in tender haste that spared
her
no toil of travel,
but short the time, alas^
was,
when unawares
down-stricken dead she
lay there ! —
what words mayhelp me,
where all unholpen am I,
from stocks and stones
what solace can I gather ^
in our own home place
if but thy form were left
me! —
but thou art cruel,
my wife, my lady wife,
how hast thou used me,
did we not vow for ever,
like mated wild-fowl *,
to live our life unparted ? —
broken the vow is,
for far apart alas ! now
thy lonely home and ours
lie!
^ The m. k. in the text is shiranuM — sMranu hi, unknown
fires. In the Kotoha no Isumi the following explanation is
given. In the time of the Mikado Keiko (71-130) the
monarch being off the coast of Tsukushi in a boat, upon a dark
night, was in great peril, when opportunely sea-glows were
perceived which indicated the coasts of Hizen and Higo.
In connexion with the Maldive myth of the shining boat
that brought annually a demon to Male who had to be
88 MANYOSHIU
propitiated by a young girl, Dr. Frazer, in his admirable
Early History of the Kingship^ quotes Mr. Gardiner, of Caius
College, who writes to him * a peculiar phosphorescence, like
the glow of a lamp hidden by a roughened glass shade, is
occasionally visible on lagoon shoals in the Maldives. I
imagine it to have been due to some single animal with a
greater phosphorescence than any at present known to us.
2 The m. k. is * like weeping child % i. e. a quite young
child.
^ He is in the wilds of Tsukushi, on official duty. The gods
had in early days deprived stones and trees of the power of
speech.
^ NihO'tori, a sort of grebe, Podiceps minor.
The death having taken place on the wild frontier, far from
City-Eoyal, amid hills and forests, the survivor finds no human
solace, and his sorrow is increased by the remoteness of her
tomb from their home in or near the capital. There are five
envoys echoing the various sentiments expressed in the lay.
The last I subjoin on account of its curious extravagance.
Ohonu yama o*er Ohonu's hill
kiri tachi-wataru the mists that drift and hover
waga nageku are of sighs born
okiso no kaze ni sharp-drawn from me by sor-
kiri tachi-wataru. row,
the mists that hang on Ohonu !
oMso seems to mean, shrill, sharp breathing. There is also
a hill of that name; see Lay 141, and perhaps a word-play
is intended.
62
A Lay composed by Chfkuzen no Kami Yamanohe
no Okura on the 21st day of the 7th month of the
5th year of the period Jinki (a.d. 729) to bring
back the fioward to the right way.
The following preface in Chinese precedes the lay
— its thought is classical, not Buddhist : —
I
THE LONG LAYS 89
The man who does not honour his parents is he
who does not supply them with proper food.
He who provides not for his wife and children treats
his duty lightly, and is regarded as a vulgar savage.
Though a man's aspirations rise above the grey
clouds his body remains attached to this vulgar world
of dirt and dust. He [who neglects the above duties] is
ignorant of the wisdom of righteous conduct and of
keeping to the true doctrine, and is of the folk who run
away to hide among the hills and swamps (riff-raff).
Therefore it is that inculcating the three bonds
(Prince and Vassal, Father and Child, Husband and
Wife) and displaying the Five Duties or Kelation-
ships (the three bonds and those between brothers
and friends), in the following lay an endeavour is
made to bring back the fro ward into the right way.^
Father and mother thou art enlimed, my
thou shalt not fail to treat friend,
with honour ever, [nor knowest thou
to love and care for always whither thy life's stream
thy wife and children, bear th thee,] ^
nor fail thou to remember if human duties
the younger's duty thou scorn'st as ragged
to the elder brother, foot-gear
nor how behove th shalt thou thyself call
youth to yield to age, not man but stock or
nor how to friend stone-born —
in interchange of amity heavenwards mounting
should friend be faith- thou might'st thine own
ful — will follow,
but earth thou dwell'st
for such the world-way is on
and midst the world's where ay the Sovran
ways ruleth,
90
MANYOSmU
of thine, my friend, shall
rule not
thy conduct here below !
and sun and moon'neath,
as far and wide as hover
the clouds of heaven,
down to the tract so scanty
the toad's realm is ^, Remote the ways *
wherever sun or moon of shining heaven are
shines turn thou then, turn
allwhere the land thee
our Sovrans sway obey- to thine own earthly home,
eth — and do thy duty there !
so wayward will
^ The text seems, in part, corrupt, or at least it has been
manipulated. The version is almost literal, despite its modern
air. The classical wisdom of China is, in fact, modern in tone
and spirit, even in language. It is an enlightened, in some
respects extended, Machiavelism on paper, very inadequately
carried out in practice.
^ These lines — they signify the course of events — are said to
be an interpolation.
^ That is, the whole land down to the petty territory of
toads, taniguku = hikikaheru (Bufo vulgaris), is under the
Sovran's rule.
* The envoy teaches the need of attending to the duties of
this life, irrespective of any life to come.
63
On the Love of children.^
On melon feasting ^ what count I silver,
my children I remember,
or munching chestnuts
yet more I love my
children,
whence come they to me 1
as daily I behold them
more anxious ever am I ! ^
I gold
or
what count
jewels,
what count I these *?
my children are my
treasure,*
all other treasure passing !
THE LONG LAYS 91
^ Said to be by Omi Okura. The lay is preceded by sen-
tences in Chinese, cited, apparently, from the Sutra of the most
excellent Dharani of Buddha's Head (see Nanjio's Tripi^aka,
No. 352) :
' Shaka, who cometh to men as came the countless Buddhas
before him, spoke with his golden mouth these words of
righteousness : —
" I care for all men as I care for my own son Kahula."
And again : —
" There is not any love that surpasseth one's love for one's
own children."
The wisest and most virtuous of men, then, loved his child.
Much more shall not the common weeds of earth (mankind)
love their children ' (that is, to do so will be no derogation in
view of the Buddha's own example).
^ Melon seeds probably meant : the idea is Chinese.
' More lit., * their image fills our eyes, never are we at ease
about them.'
* The envoy may be read generally, in the first person plural.
64
An Elegy on the miserable impermanence of Human
Life, preceded by a short Chinese preface.^
Acquirement [of the apparent good things of this
life] is easy, but choice [true selection of the really
good] is difficult.
We cannot help coming into contact with the eight
adversities but we never get to the end of them.
(They are Birth, Old age, Disease, Death, Parting of
those who love each other, to be subject or object of
Hatred, to strive and not succeed, subjection to
Skhonda [Life, or the five shadows or forms of exist-
ence, i. e. Form, Perception, Consciousness, Action,
Knowledge]). What the ancients grieved over was the
loss of a hundred years' (i. e. enduring or real) happi-
ness, now to attain this is the help of the present
92
MANYOSHIU
lay offered to chase away the miseries of both hairs
[black and white hairs, in other words the miseries of
youth and old age].
^ These prefaces, no doubt, were elegant courtesies of the
period, the first third of the eighth century. They show that
by that time the court poets were well acquainted with the
language and literature of China.
In this our world
the ills of life succeed,
as years and months
slide,
in sequence ever endless ;
life's accidents
uninterrupted follow
and all life's evils
must men meet as they
may-
fair maidens ever
the wont of maidens
following
fine outland jewels
upon their long sleeves
broider
their shining sleeves
they ^
let flutter in the breezes,
and smocks all scarlet,
of deep-dyed scarlet, trail
they,
as hand in hand held
disport the like-aged
bevies ;
such time of blossom
they fain would stay but
may not,
for ne'er the days rest,
but surely bring time's
hoar-frost
to whiten tresses
erst black as pulp of sea-
shell,
while wrinkles in rosy
faces
come why or whence one
know'th not —
and lustie youths too
the wont of bold youths
follow,
on stout thigh girding
the trustyblade of warrior,
strong bow of hunter
in eager hands they grasp,
and ride their coursers,
their chestnut coursers,
harness'd
with finest furn'ture —
so since the world was,
hath the world, belike,
been ever ! —
or doors too noisy
THE LONG LAYS
93
are boldly pushed and what comely was ishateful,
opened,
and fair arms searched
for
and fine fair arms enlaced;
long last such joys not,
ere many years are over,
on staff supported
come tottering steps to
stumble,
and as time passe th
his days are number'd,
to piteous plight they
bring him
nor help for him is any ! ^
Such ever must be
the life of the world
below —
alas ! that never
of these our fleeting days
to sere age youth turneth, the hours may be arrested !
for such man's life is.
^ In parts the version is slightly amplified to give the full
sense.
65
A Lay made by Omi Okura on the Chinkwai Stones
in Tsiikushi.^
With awe and reverence
of that Sovran Queen
Tarashi
I dare indite
who all the wide land
ruled
and realms Korean
had to her sway com-
pelled—
to her great heart
repose to bring and peace
she took and blessed
these twain Kocks, pre-
cious treasures,
for a memorial
to all her folk to witness,
for a myriad ages
her fame undimm'd pre-
serving—
and nigh the waters
that brood in deepFukaye,
unfathom'd waters
by Kofu's brine-bound
moor,
her own hands royal
these twain Kocks have
establish'd,
dread Queen divine,
her very soul containing
shall they not be revered !
94 MANYOSHIU
^ Chinkwai may be translated * comforting '. The preface to
the lay says * on Kofu moor near the village of Fukaye, in the
County of Ito, province of Tsukushi, on a knoll near the shore,
are two stones of egg-like shape and beautiful appearance, very
jewels in fact. All who pass, officials or not, dismount and do
them reverence. Old men declare that when Okinaga-tarashi
(the Queen-Kegnant Jingo) conquered Shiraki (Silla), she took
these stones and put one in either sleeve to facilitate her confine-
ment (of the Mikado Ojin), and afterwards placed them in this
spot. A very different account of her purpose is given which
need not be mentioned here. Jingo reigned 201-69, and died
at the age of 100. See also N. I. 229, where a somewhat
different tradition is given.
Book V, Part II
66
An Elegy by the Provincial Governor, (^kura, repre-
senting the feelings of Kumagori.^
Towards City-Eoyal to make my couch, too
the Sun-Child's sunny city des'late,
beyond the care and there I fling me
of her who nursed me to lie in grief and tears —
faring, Oh would I were
thro' tracts unknown in my own land where still
and o'er uncounted hills we,
wending, devising son and father,
when might my eyes in my own home where
behold still we,
fair City-Royal, son and mother,
the weary windings might each the other
following gl adden '^ —
of the long spear- way but so it must be^
I pluck wild herbs for for such the world- way is,
pillow, and like a dog
and strew the bushes that by the roadside dieth
I
THE LONG LAYS 95
must I lie down and perish! now must I leave you,
leave you
In all the world a long farewell must bid
again I ne'er shall see them, you.
father, mother —
^ The lay is the only long lay of six compositions by
Yamanohe no Okura representing the feelings of Kumagori
on his death-bed. I subjoin the story told in a sort of a preface
written in Chinese.
Ohotomo Kumagori was a native of Hinomichi no shiri
(Higo). In his 18th year (3 Tempyo, 731) he was accorded
the seimei (surname) of Tomohito (Squire of the Guard). He
therefore started to go up to City-Koyal, but heaven visited
him in the way, he fell ill and died at the relay-station
of Agi or Aki (Geishiu) ; on his death-bed, sighing deeply,
he exclaimed : * I have heard the saying, " Easily perisheth the
body which is the result of a chance rencounter (of the four
elements, earth, water, fire, wind) ". Existence is like foam,
it endureth not, wherefore it is that the thousand sages have
died, and the hundred worthies have not remained, much more
as to the common folk, how could they escape destruction. But
my old father and mother, they see the days pass as they wait
for me in my cottage, I am full of grief as I think of them,
their hopes will be disappointed, they will be blind with teaj-s,
alas ! for my father's grief, alas ! for my mother's woe, I grieve
not at my own death, but over the sorrow of my parents who
overlive me in misery, to-day 'tis a long farewell, how shall I
learn whether they are hale or sick.'
^ The meaning is that were he in his own land, or in his
home place his parents would tend him in his illness.
67
A Dialogal Lay on the Misery of Poverty.^
Amid the whirling the night is chilly,
wind and driving snow, and help for me is none —
amid the driving g^j^ sesamum cake ^
rain and falhng snow, i ^^ibble, nibble, swallow
96
many6shiu
sour vilest sake
of sorry dregs rough-
brew'd,
I cough and hawk
and wheeze and snuffle
sorely
and stroke my beard,
scarce feeling it my own
as still I stroke it,
and yet I vaunt me
a man I still must be,
or none a man is,
so to myself I boast, yet —
the cold's so bitter,
well o'er my head I draw
my coverlet hempen
and all the bark-cloth
cloaks
I can, yet ever
the night is bitter cold,
ay ! bitter cold !
yet many a wretch therebe
than me more wretched,
for his parents cold and
hungry
do starve and shiver,
his wife and little children
do beg and weep,
and how through weary life
may such win ask I —
how winn'st thou thro'
this world, friend '? —
Though wide its bounds
be,
the world of heaven and
earth
too hardly hems me,
though sun and moon shine
brightly,
for me they shine not ;
is this the lot of all men,
or mine alone such 1
a mere chance belike,
each worldly life is ^,
and I, as must my fellows,
must labour ever,
my cloak un wadded hang-
ing
about my shoulders,
in sorry tatters hanging
like ragged sea-wrack,
tumblingmy shabby hovel,
its floor bare earth
with wisps of straw o'er-
strewn,
that there my parents
may sleep beside my
pillow,
and wife and children
for sleep seek at my feet,
in huddled misery ;
no smoke from my hearth
riseth,
their webs have spiders
about the cauldron spun
that hath forgotten
rice e'er was seeth'd
therein —
THE LONG LAYS 97
and last there cometh for dues or service
hoarse-voiced as nuye in loud and angry tone —
bird,
my less to lessen such is my lot,
my cloth too short cut unholpen, helpless am I,
shorter/ for such the world's ways
and rod in hand be !
the village headman call-
ing
^ This very curious lay, the date of which must be anterior
to the middle of the eighth century, is not an actual dialogue,
but the poet puts first the case of the unmarried wretch, and
next that of the still more miserable married one.
^ Lit. ' hard salt ', perhaps coarse salt fish is meant.
' A Buddhist notion.
* An almost literal rendering.
There are three envoys : in the first the poor man deplores
the world's misery, and wishes he had the wings of a bird to
flee from it ; in the second he describes his joy at receiving the
cast-off rags of the children of the rich ; in the third he laments
the lack of even the coarsest raiment wherewith to cover his
nakedness.
68
A Lay of ' God-speed ' and ' welcome home ' respect-
fully offered by Omi Okura.^
From the Gods own broad heaven He,
foretime so have our fathers told
hath run the ancient story us,
how great Yamato and in this age we
land of skyey mountains before our own eyes see we
hath ay been fairest how true the tale is,
of lands the most divine and in our own hearts
in speech most em'nent know we
of all the lands that under how true the tale is —
DICKINS. II H
98
MANY6SHIU
now mid the multitudes
our land who people,
the Sovran, dread descen-
dant
of the sun that shin-
eth
on high in middle heaven,
— a veiy god he,
in plenitude of glory —
hath gentle scions
of noble houses ^ chosen
to serve his Majesty —
and thou my lord amongst
them
a chosen servant
to distant Morokoshi
must cross the waters
bearing our Sovran's
greeting
to that far outland,
and may the gods whose
kingdom
the sea-deeps are,
and eke the gods who sway
hold
o'er the shallow waters,
yea all the gods with power
girt o'er ocean,
thy prow draw all un-
scathed
across the sea-plain,
the gods of earth and
heaven
and that great spirit
ofourownlandof Yamato ^
from high beholding
with favouring eyes con-
voy thee —
and when, concluded
thy mandate, thou re-
turnest,
once more the great gods
lend thee their grace and
favour,
with hands divine
thy ship draw straightway
homeward
on track unswerving
as mark of builder's ink-
line *,
past Chika's headland
— where aji fowl build —
to Mitsu's shining haven ^
straightway, and so
to homeland, well and
prosperd,
return, and that right
speedily !
^ On the departure on an embassy to China of Taji no
Mabito Hironari in 5 Tempyo, 733.
^ Of families that have held high office.
^ No doubt the god Ohokunidama mentioned with Ama-
terasu no ohongami in N. I. 151. There are (or were) shrines
THE LONG LAYS
99
I
to this god in the district of Yamato in the county of Yamate
in Yamato. As to the signification of this god the field is
open to conjecture.
* Straight as a carpenter's ink-cord or line.
^ The m. k. (not rendered) here is ohotomo, great warrior,
epithetical of Mitsu, valiant, taken as mitsu of mitsumitsushif
heroic. See K. 142.
One of the envoys is worth giving : — ' As I hear of the arrival
of this ship in the haven of Naniha, I unloose my girdle and
am like to hurry there in one jump ' (tachi-hashiri). The Kogi
cites, in illustration, a passage from the Nihongi (N. I. 205):
* Looking over the sea he (Yamatodake) spake with a loud voice,
and said : — " This is but a little sea ; one might even jump over
it (tachi-hashiri).'^ ' The reputation of Omi Okura stands high
with lovers of the ancient learning, though his name is not well
known to the general reader. He was appointed an under-
secretary to the embassy to China of 701. In 703 he went to
China in an official capacity, returning in 704. About 716 he
was nominated governor of the province of Hoki. Later, he
was appointed guardian or tutor to the Crown Prince, and was
afterwards governor of the province of Chikuzeu. He died at
the age of seventy-four in June 733, some two months after
composing the lay. A considerable number of his lays, long
and short, are collected in the Manyoshiu.
69
A Lay on the increasing misery of growing old and
on parental love.^
Within the limits
of this our little life
would all were smooth,
would all were fair and
pleasant,
nor evil threatened,
nor loomed a time of
mournms:-
but full the world is
of wretchedness and
misery,
as tho' one poured
into a gnawing sore ^
sharp salt and bitter —
our burdens grow more
heavy,
as packhorse groan we
beneath a load redoubled.
H 2
100
MANY6SHIU
with years increasing
amain our ills increase,
from dawn to darkness
spend the hours
we
lamenting,
and all the night thro'
we sigh and weep till day-
break,
the long years thoro*
as ill to ill succeedeth ^
and moon moon follow' th
our woe more wild' ring
groweth
and we would die,
but when around us see we
our children playing
like summer flies in frolic
we cannot bear,
we cannot bear to leave
them
and death we fear * —
such miseries we endure
with hearts that perish,
and various is our sorrow
as pining, pining,
we grow full faint with
grief
and knowno truce of tears.
^ By Omi Okura? The lay is preceded by some Chinese
heptasyllabics.
The changing course of the common world is a matter of
vision,
The regular march of human affairs is a matter of action,
To ride upon floating clouds is to voyage in empty air,
If mind and body be exhausted what is there left !
In other words, use your sense, and govern your action by
the knowledge so gained ; waste not your energies physical or
mental in vague speculations which lead to futile action.
^ Life itself is a misery to begin with.
^ Reading yami shi.
* The text here is to me obscure. I base my rendering on
the sense of one of the four envoys : — Our life is full of miseries,
and the time comes when we would fain go anywhere to escape
from them, but the thought of our children arrests us.
THE LONG LAYS
101
70
An Elegy on the Death of the Poet's son, Fdruhi."
Seven treasures ^
do men in this life covet,
but none I coveted,
my son my only care was,
my Fiiruhi
my boy, my fairest jewel,
my son born to us —
as rose the star of morning
in brightening glory,
he would within our alcove,
now standing up,
now lying still, caress me,
and talk and frolic,
and when the star of
evening
shone in the heavens,
he would my hand take,
crying,
'Come, daddy, mammy,
'tis bedtime, do not leave
me,
like midmost haulm
of three-stalked mitsuba ^
I'd sleep between you' —
so would he prattle
my pretty boy, my sonny,
the while I pondered
and ill I fear'd,
and weal I dared to hope
for,
and on good luck lean'd
as sailor on tall ship
leaneth —
unthought
what time
of,
some sudden breath of evil
was wafted us- ward,
and all unholpen were
we ; '
my whitest armbands
around my shoulders
throwing,
and brightest mirror
in suppliant hands uplift-
my eyes to heaven
I rais'd in anxious prayer,
and prostrate flung me
'fore gods of earth and
heaven,
or good or evil
to the high gods' grace
committing,
but vain my prayers
were,
what might he as a man and all unholpen were we,
be, little by little
102
MANYdsmu
the boy each day grew
weaker,
his body thinner,
and morning after morn-
ing
'twas less he prattled,
till that his little life-
thread
was shorn asunder. —
I reeled in misery,
and stunn'd with sor-
row
lay groaning on the
ground,
sobbing, sighing,
my beating heart nigh
broken,
my boy for ever
hath fled from my em-
braces,
so sad the world's way is.
My little sonny
upon the ways of darkness
too young to know
them ! —
that dread realm's angel
would I
with gifts implore to bear
him !
With humble offerings
will I beseech Lord
Buddha
'mong the Dewa's ways
along the way of grace
to lead my little sonny !
^ The author, probably, is Omi Okura.
"^ The Sapta Eatna of Buddhism are no doubt meant. There
were several of these categories — the more usual Japanese one is,
Gold, Silver, Lapis-Iazuli, Pearls, Kubies (Garnets ?), Coral and
Agate (Cornelian ?).
^ In the text saMTmsa, Some say a pine-tree is meant, some
Chamaecyparis [hino-M), some the lily. But mitsuha or mitsuba-
zeri (Cryptotaenia japonica, Hassk), an umbellifer may be
intended. In the word sakikusa, a play on saki (good fortune),
may be implied.
I
10;5
• KaiiJJ
showing,
litro' years un-- ^ ^
funeby lagtn ^cg |. s |
fure the palal-' ^ .S^ --cS
Akidzu in Y6 "^
the Mil
ie value ; 5* §
cies of/ E, ^ ^ g ^
-" w< o <,>
^5" >^
THE LONG LAYS 103
Book VI, Part I
71
By Kanamura, on the occasion of a Royal Progress
to the Country Palace in Ydshinu in the summer
(5th) month of 7 Yaurau (Y6r6 723).i
For a myriad ages divine abode
through generations to be for ever honour d,
order'd ^ mid scenes of beauty
like tsuga trees dehghtful to behold,
their abundant leaf 'ry where bright the rivers
showing, and manifold the hills
thro* years unending, are —
on Mifune by Tagi q Pakce-Eoyal
endure the palace ^he very gods belike
of Akidzu in Y6shinu, ^f ^y ^hy fair site stab-
fair Yoshinu, lished.^
^ By the Mikado Gensho, 715-23. The translation is slightly
abbreviated.
^ The value of a quibble on tsuga is here attempted. Tsuga
is a species of Abies.
^ There is an envoy worth giving : —
Where the hills are lofty,
and white with flower cascades,
and the streamy land
with roar of waters echoes,
'tis a scene of joy unending.
The point of the envoy turns on the word ochitagifsu, fall
in cascades, applied to the mass of bloom, and the swirl of
waters in the fair land of Tagi (cascades).
i04
manyOshiu
72
By Kuramoclii no Asomi Chitose ^.
Far-voiced as thunder
echoing under heaven
wide fame the beauty
of Yoshinu extolleth^,
whence from the up-
lands
with right- wood ^ trees
thick studded,
are seen the rivers,
and the mists there ever
wreathing
with every daybreak,
and whence are heard each
even
the marshes murmur* —
while these weary ways I
wend me,
nor e'er ungird me,
I would my folk were
with me
on scene so fair to feast
them !
^ Of whom nothing is known.
^ In these four lines an attempt is made to give part of the
value of a twofold word-conceit in the text — umakori, pretty-
woven, as epithet of aya (pattern), homophon of aya, strangely.
^ MaM trees — in early times species of Chamaecyparis — now
M no hi were probably thus designated — true or right trees,
that is, for building purposes. At the present day species of
Podocarpus are usually called makL According to some autho-
rities the maki tree was the modern ^ sugV (Cryptomeria
japonica).
^ The croaking of the frogs — not unpleasing to the ear of the
Japanese poet.
THE LONG LAYS 105
73
By Akdhito, on the occasion of a Eoval Progress to
the Land of Kii.^
From Sdhika's ^ moor, where white the surf
where have his servants breaks under
builded the winds of ocean,
a country palace and every tide rich harvest
for our dread lord and of tamamo briugeth.
Sovran, wherefore, * The Island
the eye that roameth Precious ' ^
seawards will flash upon from the days of the gods
a fair-beached island, men call it.
^ The Mikado was Shomei, and the Progress took place on
the 5th of the lOth month of 1 Jinki (Oct. 28, 724).
^ He built a palace here attracted by the beauty of the sea-
ward view, inclusive of the island of Tamatsushima. [Sahika
is not more than a couple of miles from my friend Mr. Mina-
kata's residence.]
^ Tamatsushima yama, the mountain island of Tamatsushima,
celebrated in three lays in the Seventh Book, and in one in the
Ninth Book, also in the Kokinshiu. (See post, Preface to
Kokinshiu.) The name may have reference to the richness of
the shore in tama, washed up by the tide. What exactly tama
were it is not easy to say, — awahi pearls, cornelians, agates, &c.
There are two envoys ; one extols the shores as rich with sea-
weed, the other delights in the cry of the cranes as they fly
landwards among the sedges when the tide flows in over the
lowlands, their feeding grounds.
106 MANYOSHIU
74
By Kand,mura, on the occasion of a Eojal Progress to
the Country Palace in Y6shinu in the 5th month
of 2 Jinki (June-July 725).i
With hi trees ^ studded, about the palace
with swirling rivers on various service haste
water'd them
are the fair hills to do their duty —
of Y6shinu the pleasant, most fair to see and
and as I gaze on pleasant —
Yoshinu's clear river and the gods of heaven,
from the upper waters andthegodsofearthlpray,
Ihear the dotterels piping, for a myriad ages,
from the lower waters for time shall be as endless
the frogs their mates as wild vine's ^ creeper,
a-calling, may such high state
and fellow-lieges endure,
I watch in busy multitudes such is my humble prayer !
^ The Mikado is Shomu.
" See List of m. k., sub voce ashihiJci,
^ Kadzura japonica.
75
By AHhito.
O dread my Sovran mid clear rivers,
in peace and power who waters of streamy Kafuchi
resteth, .^jg ^^lere in spring time
thy palace standeth ^^ie land is drown'd in
in Y6shmu engirdled blossom \
by manifold hills j^ time of autumn
whose steeps are whelm'd t^e mists roU o'er the
in greenery. hiUsides-
THE LONG LAYS 107
may the hills endure, with thronging courtiers
the rivers run, for ever, crowded
the stately palace to time's end last I pray !
^ Of the cherry and plum trees.
The three envoys are merely echoes of the principal uta.
76
A second Lay by Akdhito.
On the lesser moor my dread lord ^ will go
that high Akidzu crown- hunting
eth and start the stag
in pleasant Y6shino and with the fall of evening
now are the trackers the wild fowl rouse ^,
order d, so is the chase commanded
the bowmen posted amid the lush spring moor-
upon the craggy hillside — lands !
for 'tis this morning
^ The Mikado. The envoy may be given:— Among the
wooded hills, upon the moorlands, the Eoyal Chase forth
goeth, arrows carry they under their arms, and the twang of
the bow resoundeth.
^ For hawking. I have slightly abbreviated the lay by
shortening of a few common forms.
77
By Kandmura, on a Royal Progress to the Palace of
Ndniha in the godless (10th) month. ^
That shining ^ Nd-niha all men had long forgotten,
— tall reeds engirdle Nd- deserted city,
niha — and so at Ndgara ^ builded
had been the capital the Sovran's servants
108 MANYOSHIU
on stout and lofty pillars the servants of the Sovran
their dread lord's palace, their dwellings builded
and there in peacefulness but travel-huts they
he ruled Yamato — builded
upon the waste of Aji and made their City-
where sea-fowl gather Royal.*
* By the Mikado Shomu in 725. The ^ godless ' month is
the 10th (November), in which the gods are all busied with
discussing the affairs of the universe for the ensuing year,
assembled in the bed of the Kiver of Heaven, more correctly at
Kidzuki in Idzumo.
"^ So the m. k. here is often written. But another meaning
— probably derived from the common etymology of the name
Naniha {nami-hayay where the waves are swift — a name said to
have been given by Jimmu ; comp. N., sub Jimmu) — is oshi teru
= oshi-tateru, referring to the surging or toppling of great
waves, wave-worn.
^ In 665 in winter the Mikado removed the capital to
Toyosaki, in Nagara by Naniha. Old people said . . . ' the
movement of rats towards Naniha from spring until summer
was an omen of the removal of the Capital.' What the 'old
people said ' is a mere plagiarism from Chinese history (N. II.
205, note). The object of the poet is to remind Shomu of the
ancient story of Naniha, the landing-place of the ancestor of
all the Mikados, Jimmu. These removals were sometimes re-
garded as arbitrary (see the Hojoki, Journal B. A. 5., April
1905), and perhaps the plagiarized passage in the Nihongi above
cited is a satirical allusion to the readiness of some courtiers to
anticipate a tyrannical act of the sovereign, forced upon him,
probably, by the dominant faction of the moment.
* The presence of the sovereign made a sort of City-Royal,
even of the hastily run-up houses of his courtiers.
THE LONG LAYS
109
78
Bv Kuramochi no Asomi Chitose.
By the fair sea-strands
— where men great whales
haul in —
to note 'tis pleasant
the wealth of trembling
sea-fronds,
in the calm of morning
the countless ripples
sparkling,
in endless following
the waves of evening
breaking —
from the sea-deeps ever
rolls in the heaving swell,
in lines white-crested
sweep in the nearer waters,
as glide the months by,
as glide the days, 'tis
pleasant,
for ever pleasant
on Suminoye's sea-strand
to watch the foaming
breakers.
79
A Lay by Akd,hito.
As heaven and earth
wide
is our dread Sovran's rule,
as sun and moon long
may that mighty sway
endure
from stately palace
in wave-beat Naniha —
of land and ocean
all days the spoil is brought
there
and fisher-toilers
of Nu's isle, nigh Ahaji,
who search the deeps
still
from hidden sea-rocks
gath'ring
pearls of awabi —
in many a ranged bark
the waters riding
their loyal service render,
and brave the scene to
watch is.^
^ In the Nihongi (N. I. 303), a curious story is told of the
Mikado Kichiu, in which the fishermen of Nu or No play
a part. Before ascending the throne, Kichiu desired to make
110 manyOshiu
a nobleman's daughter, the Lady Kuro {dame bnme)^ his con-
cubine. By a stratagem she was seduced by the Imperial
Prince Nakatsu whom Kichiu had sent to the lady to arrange
a lucky day for their union. The result was a plot on the part
of Nakatsu to destroy the Mikado by firing his palace. The
Mikado, however, though * drunk and unable to get up ', escaped
through the help of his attendants, and raising troops went
towards Mount Tatsuta, where he saw a number of armed men
following in pursuit of him. He hid his own men, and finding
that his pursuers were No fishermen sent by Nakatsu, gave the
signal, whereupon his own forces, sallying from their ambush,
fell upon the No fishermen and slew them all. Possibly a
tribute of shell or pearls was in consequence imposed upon the
islanders.
80
By Kandmura while accompanying a Eoyal Progress
to the moor of Inami in Hd-rima (15th of the
long-moon month of 3 Jinki) (Oct. 14, 726).
From Funase, fare o'er the wave I cannot,
anigh Nakisumi lieth, nor boat nor oar find
far o'er the waters to bear me o'er the waters
is seen Ahaji*s Mdtsuho, to greet those damsels
where folk fine seaweed for whom my heart is
in the calm of morning longing,
gather, and woman-like
where fisher-maidens unwarrior-like, I wander
at even tend the salt-fires a lot too sad bewailing ! ^
men tell me, yet
* The gathering of seaweed for food and the tending of the
fires under the salt-pans on the sea-shore, were regarded as
among the principal elements of picturesque nature. The poet
indirectly praises the famous strand of Matsuho by regretting
his inability to visit the spot. There is no boat to carry him,
he pleads, but in truth his duty is the bar, though as a servant
of the Mikado he cannot allege it as a reason. The touch is
characteristically Japanese.
THE LONG LAYS 111
81
By Akdhito.i
In peace and power the flames neath the salt-
where my great Sovran pans nourish,
resteth — and fair to gaze on
in Fujiye's waters that busy bay it is,
— of wild wistaria mind- that busy strand
ing — 2 right fair to watch it is,
by the vasty ocean a scene my Sovran
Inami's moor bounding full oft doth love to gaze
the fishers, fishing on,
for tunny, crowd their that shore on the bright
barks, sea s border !
and fishermaids many
* The occasion of the lay, of which the version is slightly
abbreviated, is that of the preceding one.
^ The wistaria is in Japanese fuji ; here the allusion in-
volves a reference to a kind of cloth made in ancient times of
wistaria fibre.
There is an envoy : —
Midmost the jungle
o'ergrow'th Inami's moor
my couch I make me,
and every sleepy night still
my thoughts turn ever homewards.
82
By Akdhito on passing the Island of Kdrani ^
Away from thee, no nightly pillow
my love whom I love to roll for slumber may I-
dearly, o'er sea must fare
112
MANY6SHIU
on ship with birch-bark
fended,
where now are mann d
the oars and forth I wend
me,
Niishima's island
anear Ahaji passing,
till Karani loometh
beside Inami's border,
and from the islands
I look towards my home-
land,
but mid the green hills
'tis from my eyes secluded,
mid manifold clouds
'tis veiled from my gaze,
and on we oar still
past many a curved coast
oaring,
and island headlands
oft hide our ship from
view ^ —
as each is rounded
of thee I still think dear,
while the weary way is
length'ning.
I would I were
a cormorant fishing mid-
most
Kdrani's waters —
wer't so no pain of parting
were mine, nor any
sorrow.^
^ Karani is sometimes said to be named after Korean (Kara)
merchant-ships (ni), which resorted to that port. See N. I. 269.
^ Anchored or beached in the bays.
' He would have none of the regrets which vex a man who
has to leave home and family on official duty.
The m. k. in the text, which are complicated with word-
jugglery, are explained in the volume of texts.
83
By Akahito on passing the Bay of Minume \
High Minume's bay,
Ahaji's isle that faceth,
— of millet minding
that maketh royal fare-
in the outer waters
doth miru deep-weed
flourish,
in the nearer shallows
men wordless-wort do
gather —
1 i .i
' Minu;
trom
pical k j
£5 ^ i
!Wor», the name of a c «^ «>
' "eak. Lr; « > - - -^
s^o fire ■:
voy represents tl»« feeling of ■
ae ■ ■ ^
to IJ '
that xiv o"
of thee, ni^; • ? S o
t . ^^ "^ sir '^ o
g. ^ ^ ^ J s ^
?* |S ^1 ^
= - ' s, ? r ci
THE LONG LAYS 113
as deep my longing, woe 's me, no tidings
as deep-weed grow'th to exchange we ever-parted,
see thee, and so my days are life-
as dumb of thee less !
my world as any dumb-
wort —
^ Minume is in Settsu. The subject of the lay has departed
from City-Eoyal on some appointed duty and regrets his
separation from his spouse. The text, full of conceits of a
typical kind, is worth a brief explanation. First, awa (millet)
is suggested by the name of the island Ahaji. Next, miru, to
see, is a homophon of miru, a sort of sea-wrack (Codium), and
nanoriy the name of a common sea- weed (sargassum), na-nori, do
not speak. Lastly, in the Chinese script, characters meaning
twice-two are used to signify the Japano-Chinese vocable sJd
(four), but shi is really employed as a pure Japanese emphatic
particle. Under these conditions nothing beyond an imita-
tion, more or less infelicitous, could be accomplished. The
envoy represents the feelings of the deserted spouse : —
I would I were
as close as smock to salt-girl
to my beloved, —
that never a day unmindful
of thee, my lord, I were !
84
A Lay on the Detention, by Sovran command laid
upon the Chief Ministers and Ministers, in the
Palace Armoury in the 6th month of 4 Jinki
(June-July, 727), of certain gentles of the Court.^
On Kdsuka's hill its wind-sway 'd vernal
— where lush the creepers leaf'ry,
coil — 2 and mists are coiling
now spring-time show- the mountain slopes en-
eth wreathing,
DICKINS. n I
114
manyOshiu
while nightingales
sing blitheon Takamato —
'tis now the season
whereof the wild geese
tell us,
the welkin filling
with noisy scream of
greeting,
when we were wont
amid the pleasant villages
to ride in companies,
we gentles of the Palace —
but vainly have we
awaited fair springs
coming,^
ere led by pleasure —
with awe and dread con-
fess we —
to break our duty,*
would we ourselves be-
thought had
rush roots ^ to gather
and fern of polypody «
to ward off evil,
and in the running waters
our bodies cleansing
ill lusts from us forth
driven —
to high behests
had we, as servants loyal
of the lofty Palace,
obeisance duly render d
now knew we spring's
new beauty.
The plum's white
flowers,
the willow's drooping
leafery,
they will not stay —
of merry jaunts "^ by Saho
the rumours fill the
palace.
* The author is not named. A number of the Palace guards
had gone out among the hills near City- Royal, some say to
play a sort of polo, in defiance of a recent edict forbidding such
neglect of duty which had become too common. They were
put under arrest, and lament their exclusion from the pleasures
of the season.
^ A species of Pueraria, a creeping leguminous plant common
in Japan.
' That is, a spring not of enjoyment but of detention.
* Their fault ; had they anticipated such a falling off fi-om
duty, they would have taken the means mentioned in the
following lines to avoid.
° Suga, used for purificatory purposes in Shinto ritual ; suga
suga or sugashi means pure, imdefiled.
I
THE LONG LAYS 115
^ Or shinuhu-gusa, all kinds of (evil) desires, also the name
of a fern, Davallia Bullata.
■^ Which they, being under arrest, were, unhappily, unable
to join.
85
By the Lady Sakanohe on crossing Mt. Nago on
her way to City-Royal from Chikuzen in
2 Tempyo (730) \
Oh6namuji despite the name,
and Sukunabikona,^ Mount Comfort doth af-
great gods, first gave ford me
its name to lofty Nago,^ o'er its rough ways now
but solace none, faring,
nor comfort, no not any,
^ In the eleventh month (November) cold comfort — nago, may
mean peace, comfort, &c. — is all that Nago's hill affords her,
despite its name. The Iratsume was daughter of Saho Daina-
gon Arimaro Kyo, and younger sister of Tabiudo no Kyo ; she
had gone with the latter to Tsukushi and now returned with him
to City-Koyal. She leaves her husband and child behind her
in Chikuzen, and is eager to reach the capital.
^ The great and small gods of Izumo. Ohonamuji {Oho-na-
mocM), great name-possessor, or as probably, great land-{na)
possessor, was the son of Susa-no-wo. Sukuna-biko-na (or
Sukuna-hiko-na) was a much older god, being of the third series,
beginning with the Lord of the Centre of the Sky, Ama no mi
ndka nusM. His name seems to mean the Lesser or Dwarf
Prince. But in both names na may equal ne, a term of endear-
ment (F. I. 143. Consult also the excellent synopsis of Divine
Genealogy, p. 309). See also N. I. 59 * Ohonamuchi and
Sukunabikona with united strength and one heart constructed
this sub-celestial world . . . The people enjoy their protection
universally until the present day.'
^ Nago (nagu, nagusamu, nagi) is written to mean calm,
peace, «&c. The word-fancy is obvious. In the text there is
a succession of na which may also be so intended. See also
Aston's Shinto.
1 %
116
MANY6SHIU
S6
By Takahashi no Murazhi Mushimaro, on the Depar-
ture of Fujihara no Umakahi no Ky6 for the
Western Frontier ^ on a military ^ expedition.
Now rime and dew
tint cloudy Tdtsuta's
woods
with colours ruddy
what time my lord forth
fareth
o*er hills a hundred ^
to frontier-guarding Tsu-
kushi —
among the hills
among the hills and moor-
lands
the points of vantage
he chooseth for his
warriors,
as far as echoes
amid the hills reverb'rate
the land he vieweth,
the ordering thereof noting
down to the scanty
tract of valley mur-
murer * —
* In 4 Tempyo (732). The 'western frontier* means the
marches and coasts of the vice-royalty of Tsukushi. According
to the Zokki, Umakahi was this year sent on a special expedi-
tion to Tsukushi. A short pentesyllabic Chinese ode was
addressed to him on his departure : —
In years gone by to Eastland,
and now to Westland farest thou,
thy life is one of burdensome journeys,
how oft wilt thou endure the toils of further warfare.
and when spring cometh,
escaping winter's prison,
return, I pray thee
return, my lord, as swiftly
as bird e'er flieth,
when glow the red azaleas
anigh Okabe
that lieth by glowing
Tatsuta,
and cherry blossoms
do all the hill-slopes
whiten,
and I'll go forth
when thou to City-Eoyal
returnest, forth to meet
thee ' I
o'er countless rebels,
unnumber'd hordes of
rebels
— no prayer is needed —
he shall return victorious,
and hero shall I hail him.
I
THE LONG LAYS 117
^ In Yamato. In the third volume of the Yamato Meisho
(Illustrated Description of Yamato) will be found an admirable
woodcut of the Tatsuta river, with its floating broidery of
autumn leaves, which the Mikado is admiring, so often cele-
brated in Japanese song.
^ lit. * five hundreds of hills.'
* taniguJm, toad, which only wanders over a small extent of
ground. The intention is to illustrate the minute care with
which an official ought to do his duty. These hyperboles are
all borrowed from the Chinese. Anciently taniguku (translate
' toad *) may have meant * frog '.
^ The difficult m. k. yamatadzuno in the text cannot be
adequately rendered.
87
A Lay chanted at a Banquet given by Sovran com-
mand on the dispatch of three ky6 or commis-
sioners on special duty to the Eastland, the
Westland, and the south and north Midland.^
To distant marchlands, and pray the high gods,
my lords, I bid you fare, their favouring grace
that I your Sovran imploring,
may tranquil sway enjoy success to lend you —
and fold my hands ^ i i_ a j
_ r- 1 9,nd when returned
m perfect peacefulness. in . i .
^ ^ ye shall present your duty,
and I, your Sovran, rich wassail shall ye
will solemn offerings ^ of this rich sake quaff,
make, rich sake with me quaff ! *
^ By the Mikado Shomu in 4 Tempyo, 732. There were
three hjo (ministers), Fujihara no Ason Fusasaka, dispatched
to the Eastland and South Midland, Tajihi no Mabito Agata-
mori to the North Midland, and Minakahi to the Westland.
Their duty no doubt was to inspect and pacify (see N. II.
370, where a like nomination of commissioners by Temmu is
mentioned under the year 685). Some commentators pretend
that the Mikado was not Shomu, but the Queen-Kegnant
118 manyOshiu
Genshd (715-48), who is also credited with the authorship of
the lay.
^ A purely Chinese expression.
* Mi te gura = mi take hum, fine-fabric-offering-stand. The
oflFerings consisted, in early Japan, of cloths of hempen and
mulberry-bark, represented in later times by gohei, strips
of white paper cut and folded in conventional imitation of
vestments.
* The banquet or feast referred to is equivalent to investiture
of office, or decoration for faithful execution of duty. There are
many examples in the Nihongi of the festive and ritual uses of
sake (N. I. 154-6).
Book VI, Part II
88
By Akdhito, under Sovran command, on a Eojal Pro-
gress in the 10 th (godless) moon to the country
palace in Yoshinu.^
In Y6shinu roll down their sparkling
my dread lord's palace waters —
tow'reth, and till the hills
high are the hills there, their peaks shall cease to
the clouds upon their rear,
peaks lie, until the rivers
swift are the rivers, shall end their swirl and
their murmur is delightful, flood
in lofty majesty shall yonder palace,
the mountains scale the the vast and spacious
heavens, palace,
the rivers allwhere ne*er cease to be, belike 1
^ The Mikado was Shomu, and the progress was made in
730.
THE LONG LAYS
11^
A Lay on the exile of
My lord of Fum ^
Isonokami's Highness
from path of duty
seduced by a frail girl's
beauty,
cord-bound, a prisoner,
like packhorse led by
halter,
like stag by archers
by bowmen set and
warded,^
89
Otomaro no kyo to Tosa \
for act of treason
'gainst his liege Lord and
Sovran,
an exile fareth
to march-land heaven-
distant —
oh, may my lord
the hill of Matsuchi^
climbing
again behold his homeland.
90
A second Lay on the exile of Otomaro.
In dread obeisance
to his great liege and
Sovran
my lord now fareth,
the paired lands ^ tow'rds
he fareth —
with awe and trembling
the god revealed invoke I
of Suminoye,^
his Presence to establish
in power divine "^
upon the ship's high prow;
so round the headlands
of all the isles in safety,
in safety ever,
the capes of all the bays,
my dear lord fare,
rough waves nor foul
winds meeting,
unhurt and halesome,
fulfilled the time of exile,
to his own land returning [
^ This and the succeeding lay are attributed to the wife of
the exile. The story as given in the Zokki runs thus : — Oto-
maro (who is called Kyo, an appellation used in relation to the
third and higher ranks, and here given by courtesy to Otomaro,
120 MANYOSHIU
who did not attain the third rank until later) was banished to
Tosa, then a frontier land (hina), on account of an intrigue
with Kume no Muraji Wakame, a lady favoured by the
Mikado, she herself being sent to Shimosa. The event took
place in 11 Tempyo (739). In 13 Tempyo a general amnesty
was proclaimed by the Mikado (Shomu), and Otomaro returned
to City-Royal.
There is a difference of one year in the respective chronolo-
gies of Zokki and the Manyoshiu in this connexion, but in the
chronology of ancient Japan that is hardly a blemish.
^ At Iso no Kami, a village-district in Yamate County
(Yamato), was a shrine known as Furu no miya, from which
the ancient family of the lords of Isonokami took their desig-
nation of Furo no mikoto (miJcoto — Highness, not applied to
the mikado only and the princes of the blood, but also to persons
of rank, especially if of royal descent ; thus we have tsuma no
mikotOf my lpr4 husband, imo no mikoto^ my lady younger
sister, &c.)
^ The allusion is to a drive of four-footed game.
* Matsuchi. The etymology may be ma-tsuchi, right or true
soil (i. e. glebe-gods), or matsu chi, pine-wood land, or ma utsu
chiy right-beat-Jand, that is, where the cloth is true-beaten. The
last etymology (the true one probably, is either * place of glebe-
gods ' or ' pine- wood land ') is the one to which the m. k.
furu haromo (old garment) in the text applies by a sort of
word-play, not here renderable. In the Hyakunin Isshiu
there is a tanJca (XCIV) Miyoshino no \ yama no aki-Mze \ sayo
fukete 1 furusafo samuJcu \ Jcoromo utsu nari (^ on the moorlands of
fair Yoshino, cold are the autumn winds, at dead of night in
my old village will be now heard the sound of the beating of
the cloth ') a reminiscence of home by a courtier in attendance
on the Mikado at his country palace at Yoshino. In the text here
the phrase is furu koromo MatuscJii no yama yu, Matsuchi is
a hill on the borders of Kii and Yamato, which the traveller
returning from Tosa, by way of some port in Kii, would cross
on his journey to City-Royal.
" The expression in the text, sashi nami (sashi-nami no kuni,
i. e. Tosa), is explained in a long note in the Kogi. It may be
a m. k. of to (door) part of Tosa— in ancient Japan the doors
opened as they do in the West, often apparently as folding
doors— more probably it = sashi- mukahe, right opposite, Tosa
I
THE LONG LAYS 121
being opposite (in a manner) to Kii. Lastly it may refer
to the fact that the island of Shikoku (i. e. the island of the
four Provinces, Tosa, lyo, Sanuki, and Awa), from whichever
of the four quarters of the compass regarded, presents two
{sashinami = twain = ]^rommeiit) provinces or 'paired lands'
to the traveller's view.
^ Suminoye's gods (or god?). On Izanagi's return from
Hades (K. 39) he got rid of the pollutions of that 'hideous
land ' by bathing in the waters of an estuary, the creek of
Suminoye or Sumiyoshi ('Beau-Sejour '), and, among a crowd
of other gods, were thus brought into being the three gods
of Suminoye, the god of the upper waters, the god of the
middle waters, and the god of the lower waters. It was
immediately after this fruitful ablution that were born of the
washings of Izanagi's left eye the great-sky-shine goddess (the
Sun) and from those of his right eye the moon-night-possessor
(or perhaps, ' lord of the moon's excellence '), while the god born
of the washings of his nose was the evil god Suso, identified by
some with the rain-cloud or thunderstorm (O'Neill, Night of
the Gods). But Dr. Aston does not accept this explanation, see
his Shinto, where we learn that the gods are invoked as pro-
tectors against shipwreck and foul winds.
' That is, a god revealed in mortal form (N. I. 342), perhaps
an image. As to ara and nigi Kami (rough and gentle gods),
see Aston's Shinto, 33.
91
A third Lay on the exile of Otomaro.^
My honoured father to City-Eoyal journeying
right well he loveth me, due gifts do offer,
right well her son too and I, too, dare to offer
my lady mother loveth, coarse cloths and fine
yet their We maugre cloths
must I towards Kashiko the high god's grace
wend me imploring
where all the lieges on my weary way to Tosa.
^ The occasion is that of the preceding two lays, but the lay
is attributed to Otomaro himself.
122
manyOshiu
92
A Lay of sorrow over the desolation of Nara, the
Citj-Koyal.i
In peace and power
where ruleth our dread
Sovran,
in wide Yamato
since the days of the gods
themselves
in line unbroken
hath Sovran after Sovran
o*er all the land ruled —
a thousand thousand years
gone 2
there 'twas decreed
that Nara should be
stablished
for City-Eoyal,
where when the bright
spring showeth
upon Mikasa
anigh the hill of Kdsuga
the cherry blossoms
along the moorland border
whelm all the land in
beauty,
and kaho ^ warblers
sing singing, ever singing ;
where dewy, rimy
autumn cometh ruddy,
and on Hakahi *
and Tobuhi's lofty steep
the leaves fall thicklv
of hagi bush, and softly
the hillsides cover
'neath hoof o f stag to rustle
his consort calling
till all the welkin echoeth ^ ;
where fair the hills are,
and fair were the homes
to dwell in,
and wide the roads
lav,
by the lieges' mansions
bordered —
for a thousand ages
still might fair Nara
flourish,
until that heaven
and earth should come
together ^
my "^ hope and trust was,
but with the course of days
obeisance loyal
the Sovran still requireth*
and as the blossom
of spring doth fall and
wither,
and as with daybreak
the birds wing far their
flight,
are gone the court-
folk.
THE LONG LAYS 123
their bravery ^ all is no sound of horse-hoof
ended, now echoeth where stood
the ways untrodden, Nara,
the ways they thronged Nara, City-Eoyal.
are silent,
^ Found also in the Tanobe collection (Tunobe no Sakimaro).
Little is known of him. According to Keichiu he became
Naniha no Ko in 20 Tempyo (748), and was sent by Tanabata no
Sadaijin to Yakamochi in Etchiu as Imrei or counsellor. The
[temporary] desertion of Nara took place in the reign of Shomu.
On New Year's Day he occupied the Kuni Palace in Yamashiro.
The walls were unfinished, and the reception of the Court was
accomplished within curtained screens. About four years later
the ruin of Nara had begun. In 744 the lay was composed.
The Mikado referred to in the lay is, probably, Temmu.
^ lit. * eight hundred myriads, a thousand years.'
' Kaho (face or beautiful ?) birds, perhaps uguisu ; according
to some commentators, kingfishers, Msuhi, are intended.
* Ikoma has been suggested, but Hakahi is supported by
other passages in the Manyoshiu. It was one of the hills used
for signal-fires (tobu-hi) in the days of the Mikado Gemmei,
708-21. It may be that Tobuhi is merely a descriptive name
for Hakahi (Yamato).
^ The stag, poetically at least, calls its mate about the time
of the wilting of the hagi or bush-clover.
^ Heaven and earth, separated ' in the beginning ', will come
together again at the * end ' of the world.
^ It may be * my ' or * our ' or * their ' hope, &c.
* The meaning of this passage is to me obscure. It seems to
be, that circumstances change with times but alwaj'^s must the
Mikado's leading be followed. Regret for Nara must not inter-
fere with abandoning the old for the new capital at the
Sovran's command. The poet had, no doubt, to ' save his face '.
^ Sasudake no ohomiya hito ; sasudake is [earth] piercing
bamboo [shoot]. The young shoots grow with extraordinary
rapidity, hence the m. k. = ' flourishing,' &c. Another explana-
tion is that it is an old name for Uhi (Sorghum, sp. the kaoliang)
and hibi had a variant kimi, homophon of kimi (lord) — hence the
application of the m. k. to kimi, &c.
124
manyOshiu
93
In praise of Kuni, City-Eoyal.^
Illustrious Sovran
within thy broad realms
lie
full manv a land
and many homes of men —
in Yamashiro
where high the ranged
hills rise,
where by the rivers
stand ordered homes well-
builded,
by Kase's steep
on pillars stout is rear'd
thy lofty palace,
Futagi's lofty palace,
whence thou the land
rul'&t —
where ever is heard the
murmur
of running waters,
and the song of birds ay
echoes
from neighb'ringwoods,
where noisily in autumn
the hart his mate calls,
where the sprays bear
wealth of blossom
in spring's fair season
the steepy cliffs all
hiding —
'tis fair to gaze on,
Futagi's spacious cham-
paign,
most excellent
for any City-Eoyal,
therefore, belike,
our Sovran hath
manded
of his royal will
there princely ^ halls
build him,
a princely palace build
him.
com-
to
^ From the lays of Tanobe Sakimaro. It is the Palace of
Futagi rather than Kuni, City-Eoyal, that is the subject of the
lay. The Mikado was Shomu (724-56). Kuni was the
miyaico from 724-28 only, according to Sir E. Satow's tables,
but, according to the Zokki, the choice of the site was made in
12 Tempyo (740) on the advice of Tachibana no Moroye (one of
the supposed compilers of the Manyoshiu), and the new capital
THE LONG LAYS 125
was inaugurated with a banquet and consecrated by a religious
mission to Ise in 13 Tempyo.
Futagi is usually interpreted as fata tagi (two torrents, or fork
of a rapid river, or of the river Tagi). It designates the tract
of land in Yamashiro in which Kuni was built.
^ 'Princely' is the nearest equivalent I can find for the
m. k. (sasudaJceno), as applied to ohomiya, palace. See pre-
ceding lay, note 9.
94
A Second Lay in Praise of Kuni.
Futagi's palace when loud the stag his
where our dread Sovran njate calls,
ruleth the mists sweep sky-
mid high hills riseth wards,
with many a tall tree whereof sharp rains are
shaggy, born,
where swirling rivers and all the scene
foam noisily through the withruddytintsis brave —
plain,
where in the spring-time thro' countless ages
amid the bushes the while may all folk
the nightingales sing render,
loudly, good service render
and sprays all blossom- to their great Lord and
ing Sovran,
with glow of painted and ay unchanged
flowers ^ through generations end-
embroider gaily less
the rough rock- faces endure the stately palace !
frowning,
and where in autumn, 0 hill of Kase '^
126
manyOshiu
(of
grown
young maids' toil with days hath
reminding thy glory
spin endless hemp- achieved in City-Eoyal !
skeins)
* One, perhaps, may compare : —
d XtycLa jxivvperaL
Oafiilovcra fxdXLcrr arjSwv
xXoypaL<s viro ^a(r(rat5. — ,Oedip. Colon.
* The homophon of Kase means a hank of yarn (hempen),
and the point of the conceit, in addition to its word-play pre-
face, is to suggest a hope that the new capital shall flourish for
a time endless as the thread of the hank. The personification
in the translation may here be admissible.
95
A Lay of Regret on the ruined state of Kuni, City
Royal, visited in Spring.^
On the moor of Mika
stood Kuni, City-Royal,
where high the hills are
and clear run the rivers
and fair the scene is
as ever have men declared
it, ^
and fair to dwell in
as ever to me hath seem'd
it—
but now 'tis desolate,
none tread the ways
deserted,
the homes are empty
where men once dwelt as
neighbours —
how fair the scene was,
by Ease's hill o erlook'd
w^herethegodhis shrine
hath,2
w^here still the sprays
a-blossoming
show all their wealth,
their wealth of varied
colour,
where hosts of warblers
still fill with song the
valleys —
0 pleasant land,
how men might love to
dwell there,
alas, 'tis lone and desolate!
THE LONG LAYS
127
' In the Lays of Tanobe (see 92). The lay was composed
after the final removal of the Court to Nara.
'^ Motowori reads here wmi wo Tcdku as in the envoy to 94.
The Kogi gives an account of the choice of Kuni or Naniha as
capital. Twenty-three courtiers of the fifth and higher rank
and 157 of lower rank voted for Naniha, and twenty-three of
fifth and lower rank and 138 others for Kuni.
96
A Lay made at the Palace of Ndniha.
By Ndniha's ^ palace,
where oft our Sovran
fareth,
anigh the sea
(whence men haul mon-
strous whales !)
fair pearls are gathered
upon the strand where
roar
the morning breakers,
and pleasant 'tis to hear
the endless murmur,
and pleasant 'tis at even
the sound of oars
to hear across the calms,
or with the daybreak,
from the night's long sleep
awaking,
anigh the sea
to listen to the dott'rels
upon the shore sands
their mates a-calling
as fall the ebbing waters,
and note the screaming
of busy flights of crane-
fowl
mid the reeds resound-
ing—
to hear folk tell e'en
of scene so fair onelongeth
to view Ajifu ^
(fare royal provideth)
where riseth the stately
Palace
one wearieth ne'er to gaze
on.
^ See 92, 95. In 16 Tempyo (a.d. 744) the treasury and
great shields were removed from Kuni to Naniha, and shortly
afterwards the store of arms was taken by water to the
latter place. There, accordingly, the ministers of the Mikado
requested that the Court should be removed, which was
graciously permitted.
128
many6shiu
^ Ajifu, aji- field (so written), is in Settsu. Aji (Anas for-
mosa) were royal fare, part of the tribute in kind paid by the
people.
97
A Lay made on passing the Bay of Minume.^
Since the far foretime
of the god of comitless
spears,^
of ships and sailors
hath Minume been the
haven
'fore all exalted — ■
upon the shore there,
blown by the winds of
morning
the waves break nois'ly,
and with the tides of
evening
^ Among the lays of Tanobe (see 92). The translation is
slightly abbreviated. Minume is in Settsu.
"^ Yachihdko. He is the god Ohonamuchi ; see ante^ lay 85,
»lso Aston's Shinto and Nihongi.
fair harvest floateth
of welcome tamamo sea-
spoil ;
on that strand shining,
on those clear floods for
ever
eyes all unwearied
may men turn, still
delighted,
on that fair strand and
sea-flood.
Book VIII, Part I
98
A Lay on the Hill of Kusaka.^
I leave behind me as o'er the hill I wend me
wave-worn Nd-niha far- amid the blossoms
ing of dshibi ^, full flowered ;
towards Kusaka, ah ! fine to see,
(where green the swaying and fine my kind love,
reeds are,^) were it
and darkness falleth to meet, no further faring.
THE LONG LAYS
129
I
^ Said to be the composition of a person of mean condition,
no name being given.
The subject of the lay is supposed to be a girl who is anxious
to arrive at the place where her lover is to meet her.
^ The sense of this line is partially implied in the name
Kusaka (in Kawachi).
^ AseU (Andromeda japonica). There is here a sound-
quibble, of which an imitation is given in the repetition of the
word * fine *.
I
99
In Praise of Cherry Blossoms.^
For heads of ladies, these wide realms
for heads of courtly gentles brighten,
to weave in garlands, O fair to see the blossoms
0 fair the cherry blooms of the cherry tree in
are flower !
from end to end
^ By Wakamiya no Ayumaro, of whom nothing is known.
In the Jimmei-jisho a man of that name is said to have flourished
in the period Jokwan (859-79), but he cannot have been the
author of this lay.
100
A Lay of Farewell, addressed to Hironari on his
Departure for China.^
A day ne'er endeth
I yearn not for my lord,
for whom my love is
the thread of all my life-
days ^,
who now obeisant,
as mortal man he must be,
to his dread Sovran,
as the night hours pass,
and calleth
the crane his partner,
from Ndniha's haven
fareth ;
the tall ship ready,
the stout oars all forth
furnish'd,
DICKINS II
130
MANY6smu
over the white waves
of the great sea- waste ^ he
oareth,
beyond the islands,
upon the far track speeding
to Morokoshi * —
the while right offerings
take I
and pray the high gods
to have him in their
keeping,
and swift return voucli-
safe him
to me in the homeland
waiting !
* In 5 Tempyo (734), Tajihi no Mabito Hironari was sent as
envoy to China. The embassy is the subject of lay 68 in the
fifth book, and of lays 119 and 254 in the ninth and nineteenth
books respectively.
2 So I render iJci no wo ni omofu, conf. 101.
^ arumi, for aruru umi^ which is exactly ttoi/tos drpvycTos.
* An old name for China.
There are two envoys, one of which expresses the desire of
the vassal or friend (or mistress ?) to be the rudder-oar of the
traveller's ship, that there may be no parting. Though
^ offered ' by Kanamura, the lay must be the work of Yaka-
mochi or Sakanohe.
101
By Yakamochi, on sending a Spray of Orange Blossom
to his Wife, the Elder Lady Sakanohe.
see
garden
When shall
thee ?—
the while the
midmost
the bosky orange
in leafy richness revels,
and now nigh cometh
the lush ^ month, time of
garlands,
and pregnant blossoms
the leafy sprays are bend-
ing,
with every morrow
I gaze upon them hoping
they may endure
till come clear moonlit
nights,
when thou shalt, dear,
who art my very life's
thread 2,
THE LONG LAYS
131
a glimpse, if scanty, and now the blossoms
gain of my flowering alas ! the ground they're
I
orange —
oh, orange flowers !
I pray they may not
scatter,
and jealously
my bloomy treasures
watch I
when — mischievous —
that rogue the cuckoo
Cometh,
each ruddy daybreak
his reckless spoiling
doeth,^
I chase him, chase him,
but more he cometh,
shouteth.
strewing,
nor help is any,
so spray I pluck and send
thee
my dear, for thee to look on.
A spray of orange
that groweth in my
garden,
on mid-month night,
the clear full moonlight
under,
I thought to show thee,
dear.
* So sa may be rendered — the fifth month (June — July). The
fruits of the orange were small and threaded as a chaplet.
* The thread on which the years of my life are strung —
a Buddhist notion.
' The cuckoo spoiling the orange blossoms is a Chinese idea.
The bird (hototogisu) is the Cuculus poliocephalus, which flits
restlessly in and out of the orange bushes, on moonlight nights
especially, and rends or rubs to pieces the leaves and blossoms.
The cry resembles * hut-tu-tu, hut-tu-tu ', very rapidly repeated.
K i
132
mai^y6shiu
Book VIII, Part II
102
On Tanabata night, by Omi Okura.
(There are ten lays on this subject, of which two,
a short lay and a long lay, are given).i
upon the cloud-vault
Upon the waters
of the Eiver of Shining
Heaven ^
oh ! will my lord
his bark this seventh night
launch
and fare across to love me ?
Since earth and heaven
long, long ago were
parted,^
upon the shore
of heaven's wide flood
standing
the youthful Herdman
for the Webster Maiden
longing,
with love
pining,
no peace knew in his
heart —
no peace knew,
sighing, sobbing ever,
for ever gazing
upon those waters blue,
for ever weeping.
gazmg,
in manner piteous
so stood the youth
lamenting,
so stood the lover
with empty yearnings
stirr'd —
for bark red-painted
how sorely did he long,
with oars bejewelPd,
with trusty oars forth
furnish'd
to beat the waters
in the calm time of the
morning,
or flood at even
to cleave with level keel —
so stood he idly
thoughts by the stream of shining
Heaven,
her scarf a- waving,
his fine arms far out-
stretched
embrace desiring,
and heart with love afire
while xiutumn tarried
still*
13J^
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THE LONG LAYS 133
^ Omi Okura is mentioned in the Zokki, and attained the
fifth rank. The tanha is dated the seventh of the seventh month
724. Tandhata (ta na hata^ but not so written) seems to mean
handloom. As this feast (seventh night of seventh month) is
always mentioned in the Anthology as dating from the age of
the gods, it would appear to have had considerable antiquity
even in the eighth century. But its reference to the divine age
may signify nothing more than the honour in which it was
held. The story is a Chinese one, and as summarized in
Mayers's Chinese Reader's Manual, p. 97, sub Khien Niu, is seen
to be connected with the relative position of the ' Cowherd '
constellation ifi y Aquila, or, according to others, parts of
Capricornus and Sagittarius) and the weaver- woman or Webster
star (a Lyra), on either side of the Milky Way. Hwainan tsz
{alias Liu An or Liu Ngan), who died b.c. 122, found or in-
vented the story that the two stars come together every year
on the seventh night of the seventh month (at half moon
nearly) by means of a bridge (Jcasasagi hashi) made by magpies
joining their wings together. During the rest of the year the
lover-stars are supposed to be ' star-gazing ' at each other vainly
across the stream. All sorts of legends and poetic motives
have been founded upon this story. Chang Khien, who went
on an embassy to Western Asia in the second century b. c, is
said to have rowed up the Yellow Eiver (which was supposed to
be the continuation on earth of the Milky Way) until he met
a herdman and a weaving-woman, the latter of whom gave him
her shuttle, telling him to show it on his return to a certain
star-gazer. Chang Khien did so, and the wise man discovered
that on the very night in question a wandering star (Chang
Khien) was seen to intrude itself between Aquila and Lyra.
Thus Chang Khien found he was the only mortal who had ever
rowed on the waters of the Heavenly Stream. In Japanese the
herdboy is called Hikohoshi and the webster-woman Tanabata
tsu me, as in the text.
^ The Milky Way.
' *In the morning of the world,
when earth was nigher heaven than now.*
Browning.
* In various difficult passages I follow the explanations of the
Kogi.
134
many6shiu
103
Lines to his Wife, by Yakamochi ^.
Full of sad thoughts,
dear,
I know not any solace ;
oh, would each mor-
row,
hand held in hand to-
gether,
about our garden
we might as lovers
wander,
and as fell evening,
our chamber well pre-
paring,
our shining sleeves
inclose embrace comming-
there wait the daybreak
and love as we were wont
to—
the hill-bird ^ say they,
beyond the hill well-
wooded
his mate he wooeth,
but I am but a mortal,
nor help for me,
nor help for me is any,
each day, each night, I
away from thee know
tears
unceasing ever
my heart is full of sad-
ness,
of sorrow full 'tis,
wherefore to find me
comfort
to Takamato,
to hill and moor I hasten,
my misery
to ease in wandering there
among the flowers,
among the blooms and
flowers ^,
but more my love
grow'th
as more I gaze upon
them,
and howsoe'er
I would shake ofi" my sad-
ness
for thee my heart more
yearneth.
On Takamato
I see the pretty face-
flower * —
and so thy beauty
how should I there forget,
dear,
how should I there for-
get!
THE LONG LAYS 135
1 Sakanohe.
* The yamadori, or copper cock. His mate is supposed to fly
away over the hills at night.
^ The plum and cherry blossom on the hills.
* Kahohana^kakitsubata (Iris laevigata).
Book IX, Part I
104
In Praise of Fair Td-mana of Suwe In Kd,dzusa.^
In the land of Alia e'en uninvited
— where the long- about her doorway linger;
breath'd ^ birds are those, too, who dwell
flocking — anear, in sudden fashion
in Suwe village their wives forgetting,
— Bow-end 3 the people the key of all their treasure
call it — > to give her will they,
in Suwe, say I, ere she the gift de-
fair Tdmana she dwelleth, mandeth,
wide-bosom'd Is she, for such her beauty *
of figure slim , waist slender all whom she approacheth,
as any sand- wasp*, fair Td,mana, bewltcheth.
and very sweet of face,
a flower of beauty
In every smile sheseemeth, If by her doorway
and all who wend them one stayethbut a moment,
along the spear-ways, he leaveth witless,
her smiling seeing, his way In life Is lost him
to further fare forget they, as a wanderer's by night !
^ The author of this lay is unknown. Suwe, placed in Kad-
zusa in the argument, in the text is placed in Awa, an adjoining
province, which at the date of the lay was probably not yet
separated from Kadzusa.
2 According to Mr. Minakata, with whom I agree. The
136
MANY6SHIU
Kogi gives * long-tailed'. The word is SU-naga. Shi we find in
tama-shii (soul-precious breath, ifrvxn) ; also in haze, wind {Jcami-
shi, kanshi, haze = god's-breath). The bird intended may be a
niho (sp. perhaps Podiceps Philippensis).
^ In the text adzusa yumi suwe, whitewood-bow— swz^e.
Suwe is a bow-end, where the string is attached ; see woodcut
of a bow, with parts named, in the Oho Yedo Setsuyo, a useful
popular encyclopaedia, published in the last year of the Shogu-
nate.
* Sugaru. In Japanese there are five homophons of sugaru,
but the choice here lies between sugaru, a kind of deer, and
sugaru, a sand- wasp (Vespra fossoris, M.).
^ Another reading is tori-yosohi, * dress oneself finely '. The
heroine of the lay is evidently a courtesan.
105
The Lay of Urd^shima.
Upon a day,
a misty day in spring-
time,
all idly wandering
on the sands of Sumi-
noye,
the boats a-fishing
upon the heaving waters
I watched, and suddenly
an old-world tale remem-
bered.
'Twas long ago when
Urd^shima, the Childe
of Midzunoye —
a boasting fisher was he
of bream and tunny —
for days and days until
that
the tale was seven,
his threshold never cross'd
he,
for he had oared him
far o'er the great blue sea-
plain,
and there the daughter
of the mighty sea-god
met he,
0 happy wight he !
as still the oar he plied,
they sat together,
and long the twain devised,
until love bound them,
at last in union bound
them,
then far'd they further.
THE LONG LAYS
137
I
I
to the sea-god's palace
fared they,
and hand in hand held
the inmost bower reach'd
they,
there, age unknowing,
by death unvisited,
in lasting joyance
one life they thought to
lead —
but the world-wight,
ever
a mortal in his folly,
thus spake his dear,
'A little while, I fain,
sweet,
from thee would wend
me,
my father and my mother
to seek and greet,
but not beyond the morrow
shall we be parted ' —
so heard the maid, and
answered,
' if thou desirest
to our Deathless Land
again to turn thee,
and our fair life of love
to live for ever,
take thou this comb-box
with thee ;
but good heed have thou
the comb-box ne'er to
open ' —
so vow'd Urdshima
to do as he was bidden,
and wended world wards
and came to Suminoye,
and there his home-
place,
there his village sought he,
but found no village,
nor there his home-place
found he,
and marvelled greatly,
for that, but three years
by-gone,
were fence and house too
from all the land evan-
ished—
then he bethought him,
the precious comb-box
given,
perchance, if open'd,
might bring back home
and village —
and so the lid
a little lifted he,
when out came coiling
a vast white roll of cloud,
which spread and drifted
towards the Deathless
Land —
Urd-shima,
he ran with haste and
anguish
the cloud pursuing.
138 MANYOSHIU
and rav'd and wav'd his till life departed
sleeves, from Midzunoye's Childe,
and in an agony Urdshima,
fellheadlong on the strand, whose home once stood
his limbs a-tremble — anigh
what time all suddenly, where I this lay Indite.
his heart did fail him,
his body, erst so youthful. In the Deathless Land
did shrink and wrinkle, still his abode might be,
his jetty hair fell grey, but foolish world- wight,
and eke his breathing was that sword-girdled^
grew breath by breath gentle,
still weaker, the Childe of Midzunoye.
The lay seems founded upon a Chinese motive (itself
perhaps of Indian origin), and many of the elements in
the Fudoki story are distinctly Chinese; nevertheless
the treatment is entirely Japanese, and whatever grace
lay or story may possess is of a Japanese, not a Chinese
character.
In the lay the story is less fully and much less in-
terestingly told than in the Tango FMoki (' Description
of Tango ') ^, said to have been written in the first half of
the eighth century, earlier than the Many6shiu itself. I
subjoin a complete translation of the story, and of the
tanka appended to it ^ : —
In Tango is a county known as Yosa [still so named],
and in Yosa a canton * called Heki, and in this canton ^
a village ^, Tsutsugaha. Among the dwellers in this village
* This is merely a fixed epithet of ' gentle *.
* Tango was originally a part of Tamba, but separated in
6 Wado (708-15).
' The story is referred to in N. I. 368, but the commentators
reject it as an interpolation.
* This is better than * village * for sato. Prof. Florenz uses
the word * gau '.
" According to Prof. Florenz. ^ mura.
I
I
THE LONG LAYS iM
was the ancestor of the Fuhi Shitabe no KamiJ whose
name was Tsutsugaha no Shimako. He was a man of
handsome appearance and incomparable elegance. He was
afterwards known as Midzunoye^ no Urashima no Ko.
The ancient author Ihobe Umakahi no Muraji has described
him much as above, so I will set about my narrative.
In the days of the Asakura Mikado (Yuryaku, 457-9)
Shimako® rowed out alone to fish with line in mid-sea.
For three days and nights he fared onwards and caught
nothing. Then he hooked a five-hued tortoise ^**, and was
greatly surprised. He put the animal in the bottom of the
boat, and immediately fell asleep. The tortoise at once
changed into a damsel of peerless beauty, and Shimako
[awaking] spoke to her, and said :
' We are far away from any dwellings of men, and the
sea is empty of men, too. Who art thou that thus suddenly
appearest here 1 '
She smiled, and answered :
' Elegant youth, you are all alone on the blue sea, with
none to have converse with ; so I came to you, riding on
the winds and clouds ^^.'
Then Shimako spoke again :
* Whence camest thou on the winds and the clouds ? *
She said :
' I am a Sennin ^^ from above the skies, and I say to you
hesitate not, but devise with me lovingly.'
^ Prof. Florenz has Kusakabe no Obito, but this does not
seem to agree with the characters in the text as cited in the
Kogi.
* Midzunoye may have been an old name of Suminoye, but
it became that of a family. Ko is 'son*, used here as an
honour-title of address. It often signifies Prince or Sage.
' Shimako may be an abbreviation of Urashima no ko.
'^^ The five colours varied somewhat ; generally they were
green-blue, red, yellow, white, and black.
" ' Through the air.'
^^ Celestial being— not exactly an angel. The character means
' recluse of the hills *. In Taouism, one who by virtue rises above
man yet is not divine.
140 manyCshiu
But Shimako, seeing she was in truth a Sennin, was
afraid, and knew not what to do. Then she spoke again,
and said :
' I have determined to become your humble spouse, for
as long as heaven and earth and sun and moon shall last.
What think you ? tell me. Do you not agree ? '
Shimako answered ;
' I hardly dare say.'
But the damsel added :
'You would do well to change your course, and steer
for the Eternal Land.*
Next she bade him close his eyes, and in a trice they
came to a great island in the middle of the ocean. It
looked like an expanse of precious stones. There were
gateways with high keeps over them, and also many-
storied pavilions shone there ^^. AH was quite different
from anything Shimako had ever seen or heard of. The
twain, holding each other's hands, then walked slowly
towards the Palace, and after a time came to a great
gateway.
The Sennin then said :
' Wait here a little while.'
Then she opened the gate and went in. And presently
seven young gentles came out and, talking among them-
selvco, said :
* He is the Princess Tortoise's husband.'
Next eight young gentles came out, and, talking among
themselves, said :
' He is the Princess Tortoise's husband.'
So Shimako knew the Sennin was called the Princess
Tortoise.
After a little time the Princess herself came out, and
Shimako told her what had occurred.
She answered :
' The seven gentles are the stars of the " rising " constella-
tion (Pleiades), and the eight gentles are the stars of the
setting constellation (Hyades). Do not be astonished.' So
" This description is altogether Chinese in character.
THE LONG LAYS 141
saying, she went on in front and led the way within. And
her parents came to meet them, and all saluted and took
their seats. Then they explained to Shimako the difference
between mortals and the denizens of that heavenly palace,
and referred to the happy meeting of a divine being and
a mortal, after which all kinds of sweet-smelling refresh-
ments were offered. Her elder and younger brothers and
sisters lifted cups and offered nectar, and young maidens
with rosy cheeks came in from the neighbouring mansions,
who amused the guest and made the empty air resonant
with their celestial songs, and danced celestial dances before
him. The joyance and feasting were ten thousand times
more pleasing than among mortal men.
Meanwhile Shimako saw that it was getting dark ; but
as twilight deepened all the divine beings gradually with-
drew and only the Princess was left behind with him. So,
eyebrow to eyebrow and sleeve enlaced with sleeve, they
became bride and bridegroom.^*
After this fashion Shimako forgot his former life, divert-
ing himself in the Palace until soon three years had passed.
Suddenly a feeling of homesickness arose in his heart.
When alone, he thought with sorrow of his father and
mother, and his grief and misery increased greatly, so that
day by day he fell to sighing more and more. At last the
Princess spoke and said :
* I have watched your face of late, my Prince ; it is no
longer what it was. Tell me what ails you, whatever it
may be.'
He answered :
' The men of old said that the ordinary man longs for
his village as the dying fox to lay his head on his own earth.
I took that for foolish talk, but now I know it is true.'
She said :
' Do you wish to go back to your own land, then ? '
" The restrained and decent language of the story— very-
different from that of the native myths collected in the Kojiki
— is additional evidence of its Chinese— originally Indian —
origin.
142 MANYOSHIU
He answered :
* Though near, I went away from the ways of my rela-
tions ; though far, I came to this land of Sennin. I cannot
resist my affection for my kin, and so I have come to
think perhaps I might hope to return for a little while to
my own folk and salute my father and mother/
The Princess feel to weeping and sighing, and said :
' I thought we were to live together for ten thousand
years, as long as bronze and stone endure. Why do you
yearn after your own folk so much as to wish to desert me
for a time ? '
Then hand in hand they wandered up and down, devis-
ing with each other, and torn by grief, and sleeve touching
sleeve, they came to a parting of the ways. There followed
them the Princess's father and mother and all her family,
and they all sorrowfully took leave of Shimako ; and the
Princess gave him a precious comb-casket ^^ and as she gave
it to him she said :
* If you do not forget your humble wife, and if you desire
to see her again, keep carefully this casket, and above all
be sure never to open it to look inside.'
Then they parted, and Shimako got into his boat, when
she bade him shut his eyes, which he did, and in a trice
found himself at his old home at Tsutsugaha. He gazed at
the village, but men and things were so changed there was
nothing he could recognize. So he spoke to a countryman
he met, and said :
* Where is the house where the family of Midzunoye no
Urdshima no Ko formerly dwelt ? '
The man answered :
'Whence come ye who ask about a man who lived so
long ago ? I have heard old folk talk of one Midzunoye
who rowed out into the blue sea all alone and never came
^'^ Comb and mirror were among the earliest treasures of the
women of ancient Japan — both were doubtless among the most
admired importations from China. The tai mentioned in the
lay is a species of sea-bream (Pagrus cardinalis), and is the most
excellent in flavour of Japanese fishes.
THE LONG LAYS 143
back. But this happened three hundred years ago. How
is it all of a sudden you come here and ask about him ? '
Well, Shimako had left all his heart behind him to come
and salute his parents, and now not a single relative re-
mained. 1^0 he spent several tens of days wandering about
his old homeplace, until one day his hand touched the
casket, and he bethought him of the Sennin who had given
it him ; but he forgot what had passed between them, and
with a sudden movement opened the casket. Before he
could so much as look inside it, in a moment something
fragrant issued from the casket, amid the winds and clouds
(into the air), and coiled upwards towards the sky. For
Shimako had gone against what had passed between
the Sennin and himself — now far from her, never should
he behold her again. So, turning his face towards the
Immortal Isle, and beside himself with grief^ he sobbed and
sighed and wandered up and down, and then, brushing the
tears from his eyes, he made a verse and sang : — ^^
Toward the Deathless Land
the coil of white cloud rolleth,
and beareth with it
the last words of Urashima,
the Childe of Midzunoye.
To which the celestial maiden answered softly from afar : —
Yamato-ward
the rising wind doth blow
as clouds in heaven
far, far thou art from me —
yet thou forget me not.
And Urashima sang : —
For thee, dear, longing
at dawn of day I stand
in mine own doorway,
and hear the waves that break
on the shores of the Happy Land.^''
^^ The following tanka are all quoted in the Kogi com-
mentary.
*^ With the above three tanka I may, perhaps, venture to
144 MANYOSHIU
In a later day men have sung : —
Urdshima,
the Childe of Midzunoye
unopened had he
that casket kept, as bidden,
his love he ne'er had lost.
And again (but the text is deficient and the rendering con-*
jectural) : —
To the Land Immortal
the rolling cloud is borne,
nor stayeth a moment,
had I but kept my promise
I should not know this sorrow.
The story of Yiian Chao may properly find a place here.
* During the reign of Hanming (a.d. 58-75), when [Yuan
Chao was] rambling with his friend Liu Chhen among the
Thienthai hills, the two travellers lost their way, and after
wandering about for many days were at length guided by
accident to a fairy retreat among the hills, where two
beauteous sisters feasted them on the seeds of the huma
(hemp plant), and admitted them to share their couches.
Returning at length to their homes, they found with dismay
that seven generations had elapsed since they left their
homes ' (Mayers's Chinese Reader's Manual, Pt. I, No. 959).
Perhaps the earliest embodiment of the Taouist myth in
Japanese legend is to be found in the story of Ho no
Susori and Hohodemi (As ton's Shinto, 113). Ninigi, the
grandson of the Sun-Goddess, was sent down to earth by
the gods. There he married the Princess of Tree-blossomS,
rejecting the Princess of Rocks as too ugly, who thereupon
cursed her (younger) sister's progeny. This is why human
compare a rhyme of Provence taken from Prof. Ker's Dark
Ages: —
Quan la douss* aura venta
deves vostre pal's
m'es vejaire qu'eu senta
odor de paradis.
THE LONG LAYS 145
life fades and perishes like the blossom of trees. [All this
is entirely Chinese in tone.] Retiring to a doorless house
(parturition hut) she bore three children. Of the two elder
of these the elder was Ho no Susori, and he was a fisher-
man, the younger was Hohodemi, and he was a hunter.
They exchanged fishhook and bow and arrows, but neither
could learn the use of the other's weapons. Hohodemi into
the bargain lost his brother's fishhook and offered him
a number of his own make. These were, as might be
expected, ill-made, and Susori raised such a pother that his
brother went down to the seashore and stood there weeping
bitterly. There came to him the Old Man of the Sea, who
advised him to visit the sea-god's palace at the bottom of
the sea. Hohodemi went there accordingly, and climbed
up a cassia tree near the gate overshadowing a well. While
he was there the daughter of the sea-god came out to draw
water, and saw his face reflected in the well. She fell in
love with him, and at her instance her father called a council
of the sea-fishes to find the hook which was eventually
discovered in the mouth of a tai fish, which Hoho was told
to hand over with averted face after spitting twice.
Meanwhile Hoho married the Princess and lived with her
for three years. Then he became homesick and returned
to the world, where he built a parturition house for his
wife, thatched with cormorant's feathers. She came riding
on a tortoise, and begged him not to look at her, but he
did, and found she was a monster eight fathoms long. She
was disgusted [as probably he was], and returned to her
father. Her child was brought up by the ugly Aunt, and
this child was the father of Jimmu, who is officially regarded
as the first of the Mikados of Japan.
Upon the mdrchen of Urashima are founded a Nd no
utahi, or religious mediaeval drama, and a modern opera,
both so named. In the N6, Urashima has become a god,
he has a shrine at a place called Midzunoye, of which the
Mikado has heard, and sends an envoy to report upon it ;
to him the story, or rather part of the story is suggested
rather than told, and he returns, after having been honoured
by the presence of the god Urashima, the king of the sea-
146 MANYOSHIU
dragons, the five-hued tortoise, and an angel from H6rai
(perhaps the sea-nymph whom Ur^shima loved and fatally
disobeyed). He also seems to bring back with him a por-
tion of the Elixir of Life. The piece is vague and shadowy,
almost incapable of definite translation ; but it possesses
a certain dreamy charm not uncommon in these unique
mediaeval miracle-dramas.
The opera, quite a recent production, is a much more
elaborate performance.
The story follows the legend pretty closely, but Ura-
shima, who becomes a god in the No, finally resumes his
youth as a mortal in the opera, the closing lines of which
may be thus rendered : —
Shineth the sun's light ever,
quit we the sun's light never,
never — and ever
charmed by the land etern
let us to earth return,
H6rai in this world find we,
this world in HOrai mind we ! ^
* Translations of the lay of Urashima have been published
by Dr. Aston, Prof. Chamberlain, and Dr. Karl Florenz, all of
which have been consulted.
106
On a Lady crossing a Bridge alone.
A Lady see I upon her shoulders wear-
across yon red bridge ing
tripping as all so lonely
that beareth o*er across the bridge she
swift Kata-dsuha'*s river, trippeth —
her smock of scarlet I wonder whether
behindhertrailingdaintly, some lustie swain she
and dark-blue mantle loveth,
THE LONG LAYS
147
or still nnmated
like single acorn ^ pineth,
and fain would ask
her,
but know not where her
home-place,
nor where she bides in
beauty.
^ The acorn, a single kernel, is symbolic of spinsterhood ; the
chestnut, often double, of married life. The lay is anonymous.
107
On the occasion of the Court going to Nd,niha.
Nigh Tdtsuta's hill,
where ever white clouds
hover,
on W6kura's steep
o'er swirling waters
rising ^,
the cherry blossoms
do all their pride display,
but high the hills are
and ever the gales are
blowing,
and the rains are falling,
and the tree-top blos-
soms
lie scattered, blown, and
withered,
but the under-flowers
are on the sprays still
hanging —
oh, tender blossoms
yet bide awhile, beseech
you,
nor fall nor scatter
until my lord cross Tdtsuta
towards City-Koyal,
rough grassy couch
affronting,
oh, blossoms bide to cheer
him!
Ere seven days gone
I fare to City-Eoyal
oh, god of T^tsuta,
the winds who rulest,
spare
the blossoms spare, I pray
thee.
I
* In 3 Keiun (707) from Fujihara on the occasion of a Royal
Progress of the Mikado Mommu. The taifUy daibu, or iat/u —
malietsukimi in old Japanese — were heads of departments.
They had been sent to Naniha in the third — yaijoi or growing
L a
148 MANY6SHIU
month— to prepare for the reception of the Court. The friend
of the poet (who is unknown) is one of them, and the poet's
wish is that some of the cherry blossoms, at least, may remain
to cheer his friend on the homeward journey. Or does Mmi in
the text simply refer to the return of the Court, as in lay 108.
2 Of the Tatsuta river. Or simply, Tagi no he.
108
A second Lay on the Cherry blooms of Td,tsuta.
As even latens, to flower fiUing
across the hill of Td,tsuta, upon this spray or that
white-clouded Tdtsuta, spray,
I wend my way and may they not wither ^
notice unseen those coming blos-
the cherry blossoms soms,
by Tagi ^ blown and for soon, belike,
scattered, my Lord and Sovran
but buds unblown still journeyeth
upon the sprays I see there by Td,tsuta'shill to Naniha.
' Tagi no he (above the rapids) is in Yamato.
* The translation follows the explanation given in the Kogi,
which would interpolate this verse as missing.
109
Lines on returning from Nd,niha after a night's
stay there.
But yesterday mid islands there fast
along the slopes I jour- floweth,
neyed but one night spent I
0 'erhang the river ^ in wave-worn Ndniha,
THE LONG LAYS
149
blow not ye storm-
winds,
I pray at the wind god's
shrine
blow not a while, ye storm-
winds ! ^
yet from the hill-side
the cherry blossoms saw I
adown the river
by the swirl of waters
carried —
oh, till my lord
his eyes feast on the
blossoms
^ Keichiu thinks shima yama in the text was the name of
a hill on the Nara road. I have included the Kogi view in the
first four lines of the translation.
"^ This lay must be read with the two preceding ones. The
translation, in this as in lays 107 and 108, follows the indications
given in the Kogi.
Book IX, Part II
110
On ascending Mount Tsukuba with the Kenzeishi
Ohotomo no Ky6.
I longed to climb
andshrilly sighing, breath-
the twin- peaks of Tsuku-
ing,
bane
until the twin-peaks
in wide Hitachi
I showed my lord ^ there
— of long sleeve folds that
rising.
mindeth — ^
and welcome gave us
what time my lord came,
the god who one peak
and through the heats
holdeth.
together.
the goddess blessed us
with sweaty toil,
whose seat is on the other,
with many a pant we
while high Tsukubane,
clomb,
where oft in sudden wise
the tree-roots grasp-
the clouds collecting
ing,
in showers of rain dissolve,
150 many6shiu
shone bright in sun- nor deeper could our joy
lights be
and all the land, oft mistj, in pleasant spring-time
revealed its beauty, when flow'rs are gay
so filled with joy our and birds are singing,
hearts were, for rank and thick
our girdles loosed we, though grew the summer
and at our ease we lay j^^^g^^
there all the wide land's beauty
as though in chamber, saw we.^
* Of the Kenzeishi, tax commissioner, nothing is clearly-
known. More than one Ohotomo no Kyo is mentioned in the
Anthology. We are told, however, elsewhere, that he may
have heen Takahashi no Murazhi Mushimaro who remained in
Hitachi after the expiration of his employment as commis-
sioner. But there is no certainty, and the point is not worth
labouring.
Tsukuba, some forty or fifty miles north of Tokyo, is often
visible from Yokohama, and shrines still exist there on either
peak.
'^ The meaning of the m. k., of which the value is given in
this line, is much disputed. See List of m. k. (Texts).
' Ohotomo.
* On this occasion the mountain put on its cheeriest look in
honour of the visit.
^ Which the mists of spring would have hidden.
Ill
A Lay on the Hototogisu.^
Among the fledglings nor like his mother,
of the nightingale he soareth high, and flieth
the cuckoo hath his to the moor side,
birth — amid the white-flowVd
alone is he, bushes 2,
nor like his father sinp;eth.
I
THE LONG LAYS 151
and with his singing and bribe him would I
the welkin all resoundeth; ne'er far away to fly,
the orange blossoms but in my garden,
he rendeth as he singeth, among the orange blos-
and all day long soms,
liis song I hearken gladly, to sit and sing for ever.
' The Japanese cuckoo — Cuculus poliocephalus. The com-
mon cuckoo is also found (C. canorus). He is known as Kakko-
dori. The Hofcotogisu — the cry resembles hut-tvrtu — is often
noisy till late at night, even through the night, in copses and
bushes. He is known as ta wosa, rice-field inspector, because
he appears about the time when the young rice is transplanted.
The bird is also called shide no tawosa ^Ettl <leath-official.
Shide is a corruption of shidzu, common, rustic. Some among
many tanka on the bird may be given : —
Ikubaku no how many many
ta no tsuhureba ha rice-fields dost thou labour
hototogisu 0 hototogisu
shide no tawosa no who every morning shoutest
asana sana ydbu, 'here comes the rice inspector,*
* shi-de no ta-wo-sa ' ;
for his note is supposed to resemble the syllables of the last
line.
Sanahe toru when folk transplant
toM ni shimo naku the tender slender seedlings
hototogisu the hototogisu
shide no tawosa to cometh singing, singing,
ube mo ifu nari. * the rice-field's lord is he ! '
When Ise no Nyogo (889-934) lost her child-prince, aged
eight, she wrote —
Shide no yama the hill of Shide
Tcahete hi tsuramu hast thou crossed hither
hototogisu coming
JcoishiU hito no O hototogisu !
uhe kataranamu. tell me about him, tell me,
my child ay lost to me !
Here shide (shidzu) is confounded with the hill in Hades
where the Old Woman receives the clothes of the farther
152 many6shiu
faring dead who will have no more use for them. (I owe the
above to my friend Mr. Minakata.) Confer De Gubernatis
MytJiologie Zoologique, and Brand's Popular Antiquities, See
also lay 101.
^ In the text u no liana (Deutzia scabra), a common hedge-
bush in Japan.
There is a pretty envoy : —
On misty nights
when falleth rain in showei*s^
to hear the cuckoo,
as through the night he flieth,
how pleasant 'tis to hear !
112
A Lay on the Ascent of Mount Tsukuba.^
With wayfare wearied where screaming wild
and wayfare's grassy geese
])illow 2 announced the chills of
I clomb Tsukubane autumn,
all fain to win me solace, and the winds the waters
and from high Tsukuba to white waves raised on
my tired eyes let wander Toba — *
o'er the fields of Shid-
zuku so fair the scene was
with scattered grass- the pains of many a day
plumes^ matted, of toilsome travel vanished.
^ Anonymous. Shidzuku village and the Lake of Toba are
in Hitachi, not far from Tsukuba yama.
^ That is, toils and hardships of travel, very great in early
Japan. The famous view (still famous) from the top of Tsu-
kuba would console him.
' Wdbana (Miscanthus sinensis).
* In Nihibari county, in the province of Hitachi.
THE LONG LAYS
153
113
Change-singing on Mount Tsukuba,
Above Mohakitsu ^,
'neath eagle- haunted Tsu-
kuba,
come sirs and dames
in merry troops assem-
bling,
in changing ditties
their blithesomeness ex-
changing—
with my wife thou,
friend,
and I with thine will sing,
so hath permitted
the spirit of the mountain
from time uncounted ^
on this our day of joyance ;
and so this day
let all our looks be kindly
and all our speech be
friendly *.
^ In the text Tcakahi or Trngahi (etymology uncertain) is
written with characters that mean (according to Prof. Giles'
Chinese Diet., No. 11071) seductive or gesture-songs, songs of
the southern barbarians. It appears to be an Eastland ex-
pression, the Yamato word is uta-gaki, song-fence, a sort of
Welsh ^penillion'. These song-fences are very ancient, they
are mentioned in the Kojihi (K. 330), and in the Nihongi (N. I.
399), and afford proof of the freedom of women in early times,
when, indeed, to the relations of the sexes was applicable the
trouvfere's line —
'toutes pour tons et tons pour toutes*.
^ Lit. ' above the ferry of Mohakitsu ' — if tsu here means ferry
— tsu is perhaps the to of toJcoro, place.
^ Lit. ' from the time when the mountain became the seat of
a deity '. The envoy may be rendered : Around the peak of the
male god (one of the two peaks of Tsukuba), though the
clouds thicken and the showers fall, and drenched my vest-
ments may be, yet fain would I again join in the dance and
song there.
* In the text megushi, which has two opposite senses, see
vol. Texts. I take the passage as megushi mo na mi so, as
preserving the parallelism with the next line.
154
MANY6SH1U
114
A Lay on the Hart in Autumn.^
On higVi Mikaki ^
that faceth Kamunabi
in the land of Mimoro ^
where the bush of autumn
bloometh
for his wife still longing
morn's moon the hart still
hateth *
and mid the mountains
with hi trees thickly
studded
his cry resoundeth
among the hills far echo-
ing
as still his mate he calleth!
^ The stag is believed to bell for his mate in the autumn
when the hagi, bush of autumn (Lespedeza or bush-clover), is
in flower.
^ Mt. Takechi in Yamato.
* It is possible that Mimoro {mi moro = shrine), may be
intended as a sort of m. k. of Kamu {kami) nabi.
* The moon shining till daybreak was objected to by the
ancient Japanese lover as counterfeiting the unwelcome dawn.
Along the channel
of the river of sunbright
heaven
the upper waters
by a precious bridge are
spann'd,
'tis the lower waters
a boat bear floating on
them,
so if it raineth
115
A Tanabata Lay.^
and with the rain wind
bloweth,
and if it bloweth
and with the w^ind rain
raineth,
with garb unwetted
still mayest thou cross to
me,
to me by yon fine bridge
cross !
' Invitation of one of the Tanabata god-stars to the other.
See antCf lay 102.
THE LONG LAYS
155
116
A Lay of Farewell addressed to Oliotomo no Kyo at
the Bridge of Kd-ruim in Kdshima.
The bark red painted
by Kashima's^ headland
lieth,
that stretcheth towards
the bay of Miyake ^,
the fine oars set are,
and now the tide full-
floweth,
and with the even
the shipmen all are sum-
moned,
and forth there glideth
the tall ship on the
waters —
who love thee thronging
the w^aters edge do wish
thee
a prosp'rous voyage,
and roll them on the sea-
shore
their feet a-shuffling,
rending
the air, lamenting,
as over sea thou farest
for Unakami's haven !
^ Kashima and Karunu are in Hitachi, Unakami and
Miyake in Shimosa ; but there was also an Unakami in Kad-
zusa. Ohotomo no Kyo is the Kenzei of lay 110.
2 The m. k. of Miyake is untranslatable. It seems to mean
a bull in some way sacred, perhaps for sacrifice (conf. Kotdba
no Idzumi), and so applicable to Miya (shrine or palace), part of
name Miyake, in the sense of the latter as a government
granary. Conf. Asakawa (' Early Institutional Life of Japan *),
p. 76. The various explanations in the Kogi appear far-
fetched.
117
A Lay made in the Autumn of 5 Jinki (728).
The flesh's burden,
is a burden hard to bear,
by a sad chance only
into this world we come —
but die we, live we,
we must the Sovran's
bidding
obeisant follow —
156
manyCshiu
therefore while on this
earth
thou dwell'st a mortal,
liege loyal to thy Sovran
thou must remain still,
who now yon distant
frontier
to guard forth goest,
forth goest with company
as flocks of wild-fowl
at dawn their far flight
winging
multitudinous,
the while in City-Eoyal
the friend thou quit-
test
shall not forget to love thee
how long soe'er thou'rt
absent !
Towards Koshi ^ faring,
when snowy hills thou rt
crossmg
thy friend remember,
whom thou hast left
behind thee,
with love remember him !
^ Koshi comprised the modern provinces of Etchiu, Echizen,
and Echigo, the three Echi. The poet's friend must do his
duty, ill world as this is ; but when most he feels the hardships
of the rough ways he must remember how much he is loved
by him whom he leaves in City-Koyal. During the pleasanter
part of the journey he will be comforted by the beauties of
nature.
118
A Lay made in the closing month of the first year
of Tempyo (729). ^
Bat mortal am I
and to my Lord and
Sovran
owe dread obedience
w^herefore in Furu's vil-
lage
in Isonokami
in wide ^ Yamato's land
'tis loos'd my girdle,
and all undofi"d, I sleep —
and every daybreak
my tumbled vestments
tell me ^
much more I love thee,
yet love thee, dear, I may
not,
lest folk should know it,
and all this night of
winter
I yearn, unsleeping.
THE LONG LAYS 157
I long for lingering day- and fain would face to face
break — I fain again would see
I love thee, dear, thee !
^ [By Kanamura ?] Mention is made in the ZoJcu Nihongi
of the dispatch of a commissioner to survey the lands of the
Home Provinces in the eleventh month of the 1 Tempyo (729).
The author of the lay was probably in the train of the commis-
sioner, and laments that although so near City-Koyal as Furu,
his duty compels him to abstain from visiting his wife, and
condemns him to pass the long winter nights alone. Furu no
sato (' ancient residence ') is in Yamato, perhaps it was the site
of some former capital. See the first of the Kokinshiu quintains
which follow these lays.
^ In the text ShiMshima ; shi (stone), M (fort or earthwork),
shima (tract) or island. Originally a place with a stone-faced
fort in Yamato — such places, camps or * tuns ' are mentioned
both in the Kojiki and Nihongi. At a later period shi ki,
variously written, was confounded with shikiy * spread out '
* spacious', &c., while s/fima became more restricted to one of
its two meanings, 'island' and thus Shikishima was applied
to Yamato, and finally to all Japan.
^ He has not put on night-garments but slept in his day
ones. It was a special duty of the Japanese wife to keep her
husband's hakama, haori, &c., clean, in good condition, and
properly folded.
In the Chinese script of the text we meet with two curious
instances of kariji, or characters used rebus-wise. In one, the
syllable i oil mo nesu (cannot sleep), is written with characters
signifying i, fifty ; in the other, the word de (go forth) is
written with characters signifying * upon-mountain-again -piled-
mountain', because the character for de {shutsu in Japano-
Chinese) resembles the character for mountain san in Japano-
Chinese) doubled on itself vertically. Again, the character for
* one ' (hito)f is written for the character {hito) * man '. Confer
the section on the script of the Manyoshiu in the Introduction
(Texts).
158
many6shiu
119
A mother's farewell to her son on his departure from
Ndniha as member of a mission to China.^
As hart, that wooer
of autumn's blossomy
bush time 2,
hath one son only,
of one son only mother
am I who write thee,
who far from me now
fareth,
on toilsome journey^ —
wherefore beads closely
threaded
of bamboo circlets,
and full-fill' d jars of sake,
and cloths of yufu *
before the high god oflPer-
ing
I pray for my lov'd one's
safety.
^ In 5 Tempyo (733).
^ So-called because in autumn, when the liagi (Lespedeza)
flowers on the hill sides, the stag bells for his mate.
' Literally, * on grass-pillow way fare.'
^ Inner bark of paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera).
The Chinese characters in the text are now used to represent
momevij cotton, which was introduced into Japan at a date
much later than the Manyo age.
My love, my pearl,
thy name must not be
thridden
on string of language 2,
while days pass by full
many
I ne'er may meet thee,
yet while the days are
passing
my love increaseth,
120
A Love-lay.^
but way I never
may find to ease my
sorrow,
my heart that guard-
eth
that guardeth all my life-
ways^
now faileth me,
my lips are ever trembling
with words unspoken —
THE LONG LAYS
159
my love, I would I clasped
thee
as close as armlet,
with mine eyes looked in
thine
that shine like mirror,*
as Shitahi's ^ hidden
waters
my love deep lieth,
nor may I tell it thee,
to tell it yearning
to thee, my heart's desire,
all truce of grief unknow-
ing.
By slanders parted
of folk as hedge set round
us,
how many many
the days are that we
meet not
which sum to months, to
months sum.
^ In the collection of Tanobe Sakimaro. She has to keep her
love secret because of slanderers — common nuisances to lovers
in Japan as elsewhere.
^ Wo, thread or string, is seen in tama no wo, ^string of
pearls (or gems) ' = life, there being a word-play alluding to
tama shi (precious breath), j/^^x^* ^^ here the expression in
the text is 'koto\])a'\ no wo, * string of words ', one familiar to our-
selves ; again iJci no wo, ' string of breathings ' = life. The
passage, however, is somewhat obscure, and could not be fully-
rendered without a paraphrase. Literally, * cannot unravel the
thread whereon words are thrid, so as to bring out thy name.'
' The heart and liver are the two chief organs, one on either
side. Hence the epithet (m. k.) of heart is here *that lieth
opposite the liver '. I have not had the courage to put ' liver '
into the translation. But the word for 'liver' {Mmo) seems
anciently to have denoted any internal organ.
* The Japanese mirror was (and is) of highly polished white
metal.
° On Shitahi hill in Settsu a god named Amatsuwani is said
to have descended in the form of an eagle. He devoured
men, until a hero named Kuhaw^o crept up a drain or under-
ground aqueduct {shitahi) to his lair, and there managed to
propitiate the monster. Possibly the story preserves the
memory of a tarn or pool liable to overflow, to guard against
which some ancient man of sense devised the shita-hi. Shitahi,
again, means ' love ', also shitahi = shita-dohi, secret wooing.
Conf. K. App. LXXVIII.
160
MANYOSHIU
121
A Lay made on seeing a corpse lying in the Pass of
Ashigara in Sagami.^
Ah never more
will he unloose that
girdle
now thrice too large
for yonder shrunken body,
fair bleachen girdle
some woman's hands have
woven,
who spun the hank
and bleached the hempen
thread
within the home fence
for him who lieth there —
perchance returning,
his toil and travail over,
his service rendered,
he thought to see his
homeland,
his wife and children,
his father and his mother,
when thus o'erta'en
by death on the High
God's Pass
in cock-crow Eastland,
he laid him down o'er-
powered,
clad all too scant'ly
against the clime to fend
him,
his tangled hair
still black as pardanth
berry
about him loosely
about him loosely blow-
ing—
whence came he,
where dwelt he, vain the
question,
his lips are voiceless,
his service leal hath
brought him
to this last desolation.
* In Tanobe no Sakimaro's Collection. Ashigara is in the
Hakone district.
122
A Lay made on passing by the tomb of the Maid of
Ashiya.^
Upon the tomb whom noble rivals
of the maid of Ashinoya long years ago did woo,
THE LONG LAYS 161
I stood and gazed, the wayfarer coming
upon that stone-fenced pauseth
tomb — awhile thereby
j_ j_ 1-, ^^ ^ to shed a passinef tear,
to tell the story ,, .„^ ^ ,7 *
^, 1 ., , the village folk still
through many an asfe that .^i . , , ,
^ J ^ with sighs and lamenta-
men
tions
mifijht never cease , . n ,,
,, ^ . , , , . . do tell the story,
the maiden s lot to pity , , "^
T 1 Ml T and now on her ffrave
yon tomb was bunded . °
aniffh the track there . .^' ,
leadeth— '"^ "^""^"'^ '^''''^
I do the tale remember,
from parts remote this old-time tale of
as heaven-clouds distant sorrow.
^ From the lays of Tanobe no Sakimaro. Ashiya seems the
older form of the place-name, but in later literature it is more
commonly written Ashinoya.
The story of Unahi is of ancient origin, and forms the sub-
ject of two other uta in addition to the present — lays 125 and
250. As given in the Yamato Monogatari (Yamato Stories, attri-
buted to the retired Mikado, Kwazan, i. e. Blossom-Hill, reigned
985-1008), summarized in the Kogi, it runs as follows : —
Once upon a time there lived a girl in Settsu who was sought
by two suitors, one a man of the same country named Uhara
(or Ubara), the other a man from Idzumi called Chinu. Both
suitors were equally young and handsome, nor was it possible
to detect any difference in their dispositions ; they plied their
suit as dusk fell and offered gifts, but in these matters also
were alike ; it was impossible to say which of the two was the
better lover. (Confer the Wooing of the Maiden in the story
of the Old Wicker- worker, infra.) The girl was perplexed, her
parents distressed, and the situation at last became intolerable.
* If you can but choose one of them,* said the parents to their
daughter, Hhe other will cease his wooing.* But the girl could
make no choice, and [with her parents] meanwhile retired to
a curtain-enclosure on the banks of the Ikuta. There came
the suitors, and the parents said to them : * So alike are you
DICKKNS U M
162 MANYOSHIU
gentlemen in worth that our young daughter cannot choose
between youj but some way or other the matter must now be
settled. One of you comes a long distance from a far land,
the other is of this land, but is unwearied in wooing, and we
sympathize with both of you.*
The two lovers expressed their joy in respectful language.
* Now what we would say,' the parents went on, * is this ;
take aim, each of you, at yonder wildfowl swimming in the
river, and to the one who hits it we will give our daughter.'
*A good suggestion,' cried the lovers, and each took aim
and shot his arrow. But one of them hit the bird in the head,
and the other in the tail, so that the plan failed, for it could
not be determined which was the better marksman of the pair.
The girl, driven wild, composed a stanza : — * Oh, I am tired
of life, and I will throw myself into the river, which is no
river of life for me, despite its name ' {iJcu = life). Then, as the
curtain-enclosure was close to the water, she let herself fall with
a sudden splash into the river.
Her parents, in despair, called for help, and the two lovers
jumped in after the damsel ; one caught her by the arms and
the other by the feet, but all three were drowned.
The father and mother of the girl were distracted with grief,
and it was with many tears and lamentations that they buried
her body. The parents of the lovers, hearing of the disaster,
came to bury their sons, and it was arranged that one should
be buried on either side of the ill-fated maiden. The country-
folk, however, would not allow the Idzumi man to be buried
on their soil, so his parents had to return to Idzumi and fetch
therefrom a ship-load of soil wherein to bury their son. So
that the maiden's grave was the middle one, and on either side
were the graves of her two lovers. In one of these (the grave
of Chinu) were buried the hunting gear, quiver, bow, girdle,
and sword of the dead man, but in the man of Idzumi's grave
nothing was buried, his parents seem to have been ignorant
folk. The name given to the triple grave was Otome no tsuka
— the maiden's tomb.
Dr. Aston, in his valuable History of Japanese Literature, tells
us that he * once made a pious pilgrimage to these tombs (of
the maid and her wooers), which are still in existence not
far from K6be. He was not a little surprised to find that they
were immense tumuli, * certainly the sepulchres of much more
THE LONG LAYS 163
important personages than the heroes and heroine of the above
tale. Not only so, but the so-called lovers' tombs are a mile
away on each side from that of the fair lady for whom they
died. . . . The Ikuta river . . , now sends to the sea a volume
of water about equal to that of the stream which waters the
public gardens at Bournemouth.'
It is further related that a traveller, on one occasion lodging
hard by the tombs, heard to his astonishment a noise as of
a violent quarrel, and presently there stood before him — he was
in bed — a man covered with blood who declared he had been
wounded by an enemy, and begged for the loan of a sword to
avenge himself with. [This would be the lover foolishly buried
without his arms.] Though much alarmed, as it was for the
good purpose of revenge, the traveller lent his sword, though
when he awoke the whole seemed to him to have been a dream.
However, presently, the noise of fighting again began and he
found that his sword was really gone. After a time the man
he had seen reappeared, looking highly pleased, and exclained :
' Owing to your noble aid I have at last, after many years, slain
my enemy.'
The traveller wanted to know more, but the dawn broke and
the man vanished. The sword, which he had returned, was
found covered with blood, and also blood was visible on the
grave [of the Idzumi man].
The tomb of the Otome is at East Akimura village, the tomb
of Chinu is on the Ikuta river, at Ohoishi is the grave of
Uhara.
The motive of the story seems insufficient, perhaps, but the
dilemma of the girl closely resembles that of Eustacia in
Mr. Hardy's fine novel The Beturn of the Native, and is solved
in a similar manner.
123
Elegy on the death oi a younger brother.^
lily younger brother ! in mutual love we grew —
together children grew we like dew of morning
in true affection thy day hath come and
of father aud of mother, vanished,
brother and brother ^ thy place allotted
M 2
164
manyOshiu
by the great gods in
council
no more doth know thee
within the spacious
boundaries
of Ashihara,
fair land of rich-eared
grain —
nor more shall know thee
to distant Darkland wan-
dered,
like ivy coil
from ivied trunk far
creeping,
and we are parted,
as far as clouds in heaven
are we divided,
and as in darkness wan-
dering
am I distracted,
in pain of heart and sorrow
like wounded deer,
in woe of mind as vexed
as tangled wattles,
as birds that plain in
spring time
my wail is ceaseless,
nor sight nor speech of
thee
may now delight me,
of day and night as dark
as pardanth berry
no difference ever know I,
but burning ever,
my heart with grief con-
sum eth
and misery unending.
^ In the Collection of Tanobe Sakimaro. The m. k. in the
text cannot be fully rendered.
* The m. k. thus imitated might be taken to mean * as like
as two chopsticks ' — ^but we need not ascribe to the poet such
an interpretation as probable because possible.
124
Elegy on the Maid of Mama.^
In cock-crow Eastland
still folk the ancient tale
tell
of the damsel beautiful
of Mama in Kdtsushika —
on hempen mantle
a collar green she wore,
her skirt was woven
of simple stuff unbleachen,
her hair no comb knew,
her feet unshod and naked,
yet noble maiden,
THE LONG LAYS
165
in rich brocade apparell'd,
no lovelier bride were —
it was a face as perfect
as moon full-rounded,
her smile was like a
flower —
as moths to flame flock,
as ships haste towards
their haven,
men sought her, eager
to woo to wife the damsel,
but — why, oneknoweth
not —
few were her days to be,^
and now she lieth
anigh the haven's head
where the echo ever
of breaking surf resound-
eth,
and while time lasteth
shall men still tell the story
with sorrow fresh,
as though butyester morn
last saw the world her
face.
On the well of Mama
in the land of Kdtsushika
as fall my eyes,
I stand in silence dream-
ing
of the maid who there
drew water.
^ In the Collection of Takahashi no Murazhi Mushimaro.
See also lay 47.
^ Self-slaughter is probably suggested ; she could not make
a choice, and so drowned herself — quite the right thing to do
in Old Japan.
125
On Passing by the Tomb of the Maid of Unahi.
In Ashinoya
dwelt the Maiden of Unahi,
eight summers count-
ing*
and o'er her shoulders
fell still
her tresses parted
in maiden-wise unlifted —
from eyes of neighbours
in safe seclusion hidden
dwelt the maiden,
but fame so noised her
beauty
men longed to see her,
and mocking her seclusion
around the dwelling
a fence of wooers made
they,
166
manyOshiu
and one of Chinu,
one was of Unahi,
aflame with passion
each the other counted
rival
and wooed the maiden —
of blade well-forged
each stoutly grasped the
hilt,
and bore on shoulder
full quiver, bow of white-
wood,
or fire or water
to dare was ever ready,
so fierce their rivalry —
when thus she spoke her
mother,
these words she spoke,
' A hank of common hemp-
yarn,
so mean a creature
how may these noble lovers
to win concern them,
why live the days then
since mate I may not,
wherefore I will in Dark-
land
await my destiny' —
so spoke she, and in secret
pined she, weeping,
and so her life deserted —
to him of Chinu
that night in dream the
damsel
appeared, and straight-
way
his love the lover followed,
he of Unahi
his eyes to heaven raised,
defiance shouted,
and flung him on the
ground
in fierce anger,
to mortal rival vowed he
ne'er would he yield him,
his dagger girded on him
and hied him wildly
as 'twere to track the wild-
vine
upon the moorland —
so parents, kindred
of these unhappy three
devised together,
and that to furthest time
the piteous story,
to latest generations
might not unknown be,
midmost the wooers' tombs
her tomb they builded,
so resteth she between
them,
between her lovers —
the tale unheard before
to sorrow moved me,
and sad tears flowed from
me
o'er a grave new-digged.
THE LONG LAYS 167
Now where she resteth its leafy branches o'er
a tree implanted bendeth the grave of him of
— so folk do say — Chinu.^
* In the lays of Takahashi no Murazhi Mushimaro. The story
on which the lay is founded is given under lay 122. In the
present lay, the rivalry of the two wooers seems to be viewed as
developing into the more active hostility alluded to in the
traveller's dream appended to the story. The deaths of the
ill-fated trio are not stated but suggested, nor do they occur
together, nor do the lovers die in attempting to save the girl.
See also lay 250.
There are several m. k. of doubtful interpretation in the
text, of which the value is given as far as was possible. Two
only need be discussed here. One is the m. k. utsuyufu^ applied
to Jcomorite (secluded), which I take to be the inner {utsu =
uchi) bark of the paper-mulberry (Broussonetia), of which a soft-
fibred cloth was made in ancient times, or uchi (utsu) may refer
to beating the fibre to make it supple. The word t/ufu, however,
is written with the characters for ' cotton *, and the cotton fibre
within the pod might therefore be taken as the source of the
simile. But there is no mention (as far as I know) of cotton in
the Anthology. Some commentators refer the allusion to the
silk cocoon's protective enclosure of the chrysalis.
Another m. k. is the word tdkoro-tsura (or dsura), applied to
tadzune (seek). Tokorotsura is a species of Dioscorea, and as an
epithet of tadzune (seek), illustrates the difiiculty of search by
reference to the slender twining stem so hard to trace to its end
in the thickness of the bush or jungle. The hadzura or Tcat-
sura (Cercidiphyllum) is often used as a like illustration in the
Manyoshiu. The verses *and hied him wildly', &c., contain
a poetized suggestion of the distraction and death of the second
lover, who follows the favoured suitor in death.
Of a third m. k. the rendering is omitted in the line * and in
another [world] '. It is the curious compound shizhi hishiro.
Skizhi or sJdshi is no doubt = shigeki, abundant ; but Jcushiro, by
some commentators, is taken to mean bracelet. But in this case
the application of shizhi-kushiro toyomi seems impossible. A better
interpretation turns upon the identity of kushiro and kusuri
(physic), anciently used to denote sake or rice-beer, regarded as
168 MANYOSHIU
a delicacy. The word would then signify some supremacy of
excellence and be applicable to yomi, read not as yomi, Hades,
but homophonously as yomij having the same relation to yoMy
good, as hemi to heJci, able. The probability, however, is that
the passage is corrupt. Shizhi-hushiro, with some such significa-
tion as the above, is found in an uta in the Nihongi (N. II. 10),
where it is applied to umashi, fine, lovely, &c. Perhaps origin-
ally the word was sum Jcushiro, sake-sipped.
Book X, Part I
126
A Summer Lay on the Cuckoo-Bird.^
On Kamnnabi among the piny tree-tops
by ancient City-Royal ^, the cuckoo singeth
where liegemen wont for happy village listeners,
were along the valleys
to come and go obeisant, ^ among the echoing hills
as daybreak gloweth his note resoundeth,
the mulberry bushes * 'tis deep into the night -
midmost, time
as dusk descendeth hisnote the cuckoo calleth.
^ In a collection known as Kokashiu (Ancient Anthology).
* Asuka, the site of City-Royal at various times from the
fifth to the beginning of the eighth century.
' That is, on ofl&cial duty to and from the provinces. In this
and the preceding line an attempt is made to give the value of
the curious epithetical preface in the text.
^ This bush may be Morus alba, or Corn us Kousa, or Cudrania
triloba.
THE LONG LAYS
169
Book X, Part II
127
A Tanabata Lay.
Since Heaven above
from Earth below was
parted,
across the river
the further shore he
watcheth
each year revolving,
for twice to meet his dear
in a single year
he may not dare to hope —
and so when cometh
in each revolving year
the night appointed
a great bark winneth he,
and stem to stern
the bark he maketh ready
to cross the Eiver,
the Eiver of Tranquil
Heaven,
and stout oars setteth,
and mid the bulrushes ^
when breezes murmur
that night of autumn
softly,
across the Eiver,
the whitening waves
affronting
and swirling waters,
to clasp his love he pass-
eth,
his love as lissom
as swaying herbs in spring-
time—
and so he rideth,
as sailor tall ship trusteth,
the waves he rideth,
and every year and each
year
anew the River
will cross to meet his
dear,
yet ever pineth
the long months thro' each
year
till that month cometh
which full of rice-ears
bloometh ^,
and the night appointed,
the seventh night there-
of—
of her ay dreaming,
the weary months he
waiteth,
everdreamingof hisdear ! *
* Seventh of seventh month, when the Herdman and
170
many6shiu
Webster stars cross the Milky Way (River of Heaven) to cele-
brate their yearly nuptials (Chinese).
' More strictly, * grasses ' (Miscanthus sinensis).
' fumi-tsuM (seventh month in lunar calendar, parts of July
and August), fumi = ho fufumi [rice] ear-containing.
* I add a German version (A. Forke, Bliithen chinesischer
Dichtung) of a Chinese poem on the same subject to illustrate
the difference in treatment.
Der Hirt und die Weberin.
Tief am Himmel blinkt
Hell des Hirten Stern,
Und am weissen Strom
Sitzt die Weberin fern.
Sie fahrt hin und her
Mit dem HSndchen fein,
Webstuhl klappert laut,
Schnell fliegt's Webschifflein.
Wenn die Arbeit sie
Abends nicht vollbracht,
Weint sie manche ThrSn'
In der stillen Nacht.
Dort der Himmelsstrom
Scheint ihr klar und seicht,
Zu dem Hirten hin
Daucht der Weg ihr leicht.
Doch da fliesst*s heran
Und halt sie zurttck.
Beide schau'n sich an
Nur mit stummen Blick !
Meich^ng.
128
Another Tanabata Lay.^
From the beginning,
when Earth and Heaven
were parted ^,
it was appointed
by sunbriglit heaven's own
doom
that as the course ran
of the months the months
that follow,
I might my love meet —
wherefore by Heaven's
Kiver,
the winds of autumn
my wide sleeves blowing,
ruffling,
I wait impatient,
what way to find un-
knowing,
my heart within me
that ruleth all my being*.
THE LONG LAYS 171
my soul, too, fluttering I watch the waters, trust-
Hke vestment all un- ing
girdled *, Heaven's stream may flow
this night appointed for ever.
' Anonymous, but perhaps by Hitomaro.
^ To come together again at the end of time.
' The value is here attempted, the curious m. k. muraMmonOy
literally, * all the livers ' — applied to kokoro, heart. According
to Motowori all the internal organs were anciently known as
* kimo ', and the sense might be simply the heart, one or chief
of the crowd of organs.
* See toMMnuno, List of m. k. (Texts).
Book XIII S Part I
129
From clutch of winter mists up the hills are
now 'scapeth spring in creeping,
gladness, the tree-tops under
and every morrow by Hdtsuse all the night
dew on the leaves is through
sparkling blithe nightingale he
and every even singeth !
* All the lays in this book are anonymous and lack dai
(Arguments). Many of the best lays in the Anthology are here
found.
130
0 Hill of Mimoro S with flaming - flowered
a joy to men for ever, camellia
whose slopes are hidden e'en children's tears are
in wealth of ashibi ^ bios- dried
som are dried at sight of
whose heigh tsare ruddy Mimoro.
172
MANY6SHIU
* Mt. Kamunabi, near the ancient capital Asuka, seems to
be intended. The word mimoro originally signified sacred cave
or home or shrine, afterwards confounded with mi (see, or the
honour-word mi) and moru, watch. But Japanese etymologies,
it cannot be too often repeated, are extremely delusive.
2 Andromeda japonica, Thunb.
131
The sun is hidden
amid the mists of heaven,
the long-moon month ^
is dim with rainy showers,
the scream of wild
the air fills pleasantly —
nigh Kamunabi —
mid the domain-land royal
a watch-hut standeth ^,
within the fence a dike
a pond surroundeth,
and on the dike tall
trunks rise,
full half a hundred ^
of holy elms*, whose
leafery
with tints of autumn
is glowing and there I put
forth
my arm enringed ^
with bracelets of tinkling
bells,
a feeble woman
my arm put forth and bend
the red sprays toward
me,
and break a leafy branch
off
and bear away
the spray I bear away
to deck thy head, my
lord!
' The * long-moon month ' is the ninth, the month of harvest,
or hunters' moon month (parts of October and November).
^ To guard the crops of glebelands or government lands.
^ Lit. ' less than a hundred *— a sort of m. k.
* i-tsuki = imi tsuki (Zelkowa acuminata). In N. II. 389 we
read, * 213 Yemishi [aboriginal Ainus] men and women were
entertained under the tsuki tree west of the temple of Asuka.*
Kamunabi is near Asuka.
° This and the next line give the value of a m. k. which
actually applies only to ta (arm) of tawayame, feeble, weak.
THE LONG LAYS
173
132
In H^tsiise's waters
(0 hill-engirdled Hd-tsuse)
is ever mirrored
the brightness of the
clouds —
no kind bay hath it
that fishermen ne'er beach
there ?
nor shoresands welcome
that never anglers fish
there ?
be it so even
no beach for boats there
offereth,
be it so even
no shore for angling offer-
eth,
yet from the deeps
ye angling fishers oar
oar in, in rivalry I ^
^ I take the meaning to be that despite the absence of oppor-
tunity for successful fishing, such as the sea and its coasts
offer, the attractions of the clear river of Hatsuse are worth
a visit. Hatsuse (modern Hase) is not far south of Nara.
133
Within the Keedland
of ripe abundant ears,
on Mimoro,
high hill of Kamunabi,
were offerings made ^
from the days when the
god from Heaven
on the land descended,
from the days of the
thousand gods
the myriad gods
as men have ever
in every age related —
in time of spring there
the mists coil creeping
upwards.
in time of autumn
are all the woods dyed
russet
on Kamunabi
where Mimoro's hill is
girdled
by Asuka's torrent,
and every night in vision,
until the peak
grow green with mossy
verdure
scarce rock sustaineth 2,
the welfare be revealed ^
of land and Sovran
while ever fine glaives
be offered
to Mimoro's god exalted *.
174 MANYOSHIU
* The god was Kayanarumi no mikoto. ^
^ A common poetic phrase denoting length of time.
' Literally, ' show the way of realizing their wishes.'
* A practice dating from the reign of the Mikado Suinin
(B.C. 29-A.D. 70). In N. I. 178 we read: 'The department of
worship was instructed to ascertain by divination what weapons
would be lucky as offerings to the gods. So bows, arrows, and
cross-bows were offered ' [slightly abbreviated],
134
With pious offerings at country palace resting,
from Nara City-Eoyal, and as our feet tread
by Hodzumi, Yoshinu we remember
where sallet herbs grow, how loved our Sovrans
wend we\ Y6shinu\
pass Sdkate,
where fowlers spread their The months and days
nets, they come and go, for
to Kamunabi, ever,
where echoing waters roar, but long endure
and there our Sovran, anigh the Hill of Mimoro
to break his fast, we offer our Sovran s country
fine fare and royal, palace !
* Or I. The lay is a sort of Jcaido Jcudari. The m. k. here
(midzutade) can scarcely be translated. It may signify a salad-
herb (Polygonum flaccidum ?) or a condiment herb (a kind of
water-pepper), or tade may be taderUj steeped, sodden. The
m. k. in this lay are applied to parts only of the place-names,
and not really therefore to the places themselves. But they
suggest their application to those places.
135
Amid the hi trees my stout axe plying
crowd Nifu's wooded I hew the trunks and
slopes bind them
THE LONG LAYS
175
in raft together,
jlnd ship me sculls and
oar me
adown the river
'mong rocks and islands
winding,
unsated gazing
on Y6shinu, rejoicing
in the white waves' mur-
muring music —
Fair Yoshinu's waters
adown the valley roaring
in swirl of waves white-
crested —
would she were here
who stayeth in City-
Koyal
to gaze on the whitening
waters ! ^
^ He wishes his wife were with him to enjoy the beauty of
the scene. This envoy is a sedoJca ; the last three lines are the
poetic answer to the first three.
136
OLandoflseM
within our Sovran s realm
who ruleth ever
in peacefulness his people,
descendant glorious
of the high-shiningsun^ —
0 Land that giveth
to royalty sustenance,
where ay the spirit
of the mighty gods doth
breathe,
how lofty, noble,
are thy great hills to gaze
on,
how bright and clear
are thy running streams
to look on,
how rich in havens
are thy broad seas to
sweep o*er
with eyes delighted,
and how thy islands soar
high o'er the waves
soar !
or far or near one gazeth
'tis fair to eye,
to eye and heart 'tis fair —
with dread and rever-
ence
I dare these words, to
utter,
the royal palace
onlshi's plain by Ydmabe ^
built by his servants
I dare to celebrate,
the stately palace
176
manyOshiu
in the sun of noon that
gloweth,
in the setting sun
how fair the palace shine th ,
'tis fair to eye
to eye and heart *tis fair —
when cometh spring
time
how the hills there wave
with blossom,
in time of autumn
what wealth of tints they^
furnish,
and all the servants
of the stately palace pray,
while earth and heaven,
while sun and moon shall
last,
this happy time endure !
^ In Ise. The poet Akahito had a house here. The plain of
Ishi is said to derive its name from a stone or menhir that
stood there, near which in later times a temple was erected to
Yakushi Nyorai. The author of the lay is unknown.
"^ It may be that these introductory lines — almost a common
form in the Anthology — ought to be read as referring not to
the reigning Sovran, but to the line of Mikados. The vague-
ness of the Japanese language as to number answered to a
similar vagueness or generalization in the poet's mind.
137
The Pass of Nara
— with oak trees ever
green ^ —
midmost Yamato,
where the hills the high
skies pierce,
I climb and wend me
towards Ihata s grove —
for years a thousand
with never break or fail,
for a myriad ages
may men still make that
journey,
by Tsutsuki's moor
in the land of Yamashiro,
by Uji's ferry
of fierce gods the seat ^,
by Agone's waste
anigh Taginoya,
to the holy grove
of Ihata in Yamashina,
where the great god
dwelleth
for whom right oflferings
bearing
now climb I high Ozaka.
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THE LONG LAYS
177
A wayfaring lay. One of the modes of rendering the m. k.
awoniyoshi, preserving at least awo (green) and its applicability
to nara (oak-tree).
^ The curious m. k. chihayaburu {icJii or uchi haydbum), ap-
plied to Uji, seems a mere phonetic jingle, chi for uchi — (with
nigori) Uji, but otherwise applied (to hami, &c.), it seems to
mean * swift brandish ', * violent ', 'fierce ', &c. There are several
obscurities in this lay, the precise object of which is not known,
though Okabe conjectures a motive. The general sense is
praise of the shrine at Ihata, with an expression of hope that
men will continue to frequent it. The value is not given of
all the word-plays.
138
Of green-oaked Nara ^
the pass I climb and fare
toward Uji's ferry,
— of warrior lineage mind-
ing ^ —
in my hand bearing
due offerings to the god,^
o'er Maid-meet * hill
toward Omi'slakel haste
me,
fond
— where tryst
lovers ^ —
along whose wave- worn
strand
by ways uncertain
my secret footsteps bear
me
to meet thee, dear, long-
ing!
^ See preceding lay.
'^ The m. k. is mononofu, lit. * warriors ' = men of gentle
birth, applied to Uji, the homonym of which signifies a gens,
or family.
^ Lit., meeting-pass hill, Afusaka yama. Confer lay 137.
* There is a herb called tamuJce gusa, a species of Chenopod,
Suaeda glauca, Bunge, but this is not specially meant here.
A commoner name is hamamatsu, ' shore-pine \ Keichiu says it
was usual to make an offering to the gods for safe journey at
Afusaka (Osaka) yama, the first stage on the Tokaido after
traversing the Kinai (Home Provinces). Here tamuke gusa
probably means various offerings only. The values of the
m. k. are incorporated partly in the translation ; in the text
they are mere epithets.
^ Giving the value of the line wagimoko ni, -
DICKINS II
N
178
MANY6SHIU
139
Wide Omi's waters
boast many a spacious
haven
and islands many
in lofty capes there tower,
on every headland ^
bloom orange bushes
brightly,
whose upper branches
the fowler hath well
limed,
the middle greenery
doth Hde a grossbeak^
fledgling,
the lower leafage
a tender hawfinch ^ hold-
eth
to trap their father,
and eke to trap their
mother,
they sit unknowing
the fowler's dire purpose,
yon pair of tender fledg-
lings !
^ So in text, yaso shima no sdki-saM, but we may, perhaps,
take part of this sentence as a sort of m. k., and one saki (cape)
only intended.
^ IMruga — the Japanese hawfinch.
* Shime — the common hawfinch.
The lay is said to have been sent by an omi (minister) of the
Mikado Temmu to warn his sons, the Princes Takechi and
Ohodzu, of the designs entertained by Prince Ohotomo against
their father, of which they were ignorant, and for which they
were to be used as decoys. In N. I. 156 we find the following
song : * Ah Prince | unaware that some are stealthily | prepar-
ing to sever | the thread of thy life | thou art careless as
a woman.' These words, sung by a girl, were overheard by an
aunt of the Mikado (Sujin) and interpreted by her as a warning
to avert her nephew's murder. Compare as to diction, &c.,
K. App. XLIII.
140
In meet obeisance
to my dread Lord and
Sovran
I climb high Nara
unsated with its beauty,
next Idzumi's torrent
with right- wood timbers ^
wealthy
I pole across
so Ujis ferry reach,
THE LONG LAYS
179
and mind me there
of the great swift-brand-
ishing gods 2
as the swirlinsf waters
that roar ad own the land
upon the scene retreating
to gaze with sorrow
as drags the lengthening
path,
and the mountain passes
I cross, and straightway more toilsome prove and
upon the track to Omi
Ozaka climb,
and there with offerings
due pray
that me the god
Cape Kara in Shiga land ^
again to gaze on
will of his grace vouch-
safe me,
— 0 wave-lapped Shiga* —
thence fare and halt me,
at every road-turn halt
me
of the way still winding.
steeper,
to high Ikako ^
my weary feet now bring
me
my
journey s
knowing.
end
un-
Of earth and heaven
the gods I pray with tears
good fortune grant me,
that I once more may
gaze on
Cape Kara in the land of
Shiga 6
^ hinoM (Chamaecyparis obtusa).
^ cliihayaburu, see lay 137.
^ There is a repetitive jingle here. Shiga no ^amsaki
saki^t* araha, as well as a play upon the name Kara, the homo-
phon of which, kara, means * bitter '.
* For the m. k. here {sascmamino) see List m. k. (Texts).
^ In the text a two-verse m. k. is applied by a disgraceful
word-play to the place-name IJcaJco, taken as i-JcaJcUy to attack.
^ The occasion of the lay and envoy is said to be the unjust
banishment of Hodzumi no Asomi to Sado in the nengo
Tempyo (729-49).
N 2
180
MANY6SHIU
141
Nigh Kiiguri's miya^
in Minu's wide-famedland
a village lieth
where a most fair damsel
dwelleth 2,
so rumour hath it,
and many a month and
day
I fain would haste me
to gaze on that fair
damsel —
but Okiso ^ riseth,
and Minu's^ hill tooriseth,
the way to bar me,
nor foot nor hand may
help me *
such barriers cruel
to overcome, alas ! —
for heartless things are
both these monstrous
mountains,
both Okiso and Minu !
* See (N. I. 190). The palace of the Mikado Keiko (71-130).
^ This is what is meant by the text — literally, * village most
desirable to visit.'
^ Mt. Okiso and Mt. Minu (i. e. Naka yama) are both in Mino.
* i. e. nothing he can do will affect the hills, bend them to
his will or remove them from his path.
142
Upon the shore-sands ^
of Nd,gato's 2 narrow
waters
in the calm of morning
the flowing tide high
riseth,
in the calm of evening
the waves break softly
there,
may so for ever
the waters of the tide flow,
and ever rippling
the waves break on the
sea-strand,
for so my heart e'er
for love of thee, dear,
beateth
as I do wend me
my heart with thoughts
of love filled
to Ago's ^ waters,
and there the fisher-maids
watch
the sea- wrack gathering
THE LONG LAYS 181
by yonder shore sands under the sea-borne
floating, breezes —
theirbright scarfs drift- ^^d as I gaze on
^^S' tlie pretty scene, my heart,
their _ armlets Ughtly ^y heart it turns to thee,
tinkhng, dgg^p
their white sleeves
fluttering
* The first three lines of the text form an untranslatable
m. k. preface to Nagato. Naga = long, the m. k. means ' as-a-
ball-of-yarn-in-a-basket (long)'.
^ In the province Agi (Western Japan).
^ Probably the same as Nago in Settsu.
* Whom he has left at City-Eoyal. The uta is by some
official sent on service to the West.
143
Be high for ever the moon-lord's ^ manna
the Ladder of the skies, gather,
and soar for ever and humbly offer
the peaks of the lofty my lord that rare elixir
hills ! ^ from age and death to
that I may gather, fend him. ^
^ That the skies may be the more easily reached from earth.
It was down this ladder that the gods descended to the Keed-
land. It was upon Takachiho (Kirishima yama in Hiuga),
with the help of the ladder, that Ninigi-no-mikoto — his name
is four times as long — descended from Heaven (K. 111).
2 See (N. I. 18, 28, 32, 39). Nothing is said in the Nihongi
about the moon-god's possession of an elixir. But in the story
of Taketori (see infra) the elixir is brought down from the
moon by the company of angels, who descend to bear away
the Lady of Light. The myth is of Chinese (perhaps Taouist )
origin. So in Macbeth,
*upon the corner of the moon
there hangs a vaporous drop profound.*
182 MANYOSHIU
The moon-god was born of the washings of the right eye of
Izanagi (K. 43). See also the story of Susa no wo in K. and
N., and in Aston's Shinto,
* More lit. * to bring him back to youth/
144
In deepest depth oh, would that I might
of Nuna's ^ river lieth win it,
life's talisman, for now, alas,
old my dear lord groweth !
^ Nuna's river is Nuna's fount in the middle of the bed of the
Kiver of Heaven. In the story of the Divine Age (see KojiM)
it is written Nuna-wi (= Nu no wi) or Ma na wi (Eight or True
or Excellent Well or Source). Nu is the precious material of
which the spear used by Izanagi and Izanami was made. See
(F. I. 13 nu-bdko),
145
In wide Yamato my lord as the young
are many the men that herbs comely 2,
dwell, and what my love is
but all my thoughts shall I ever hope to prove
like him —
flowers of festoon' d fuji ^ I long for the dawn too
about my lord hang, tardy
^ The Wistaria.
* The m. k. waJcaJcusa.
146
Akitsushima, for the gods of earth and
0 Land of great Yamato, heaven
a Land divine 'tis, know not belike
wherefore no word is what w^oe my heart op-
needed, presseth —
yet must I ppeak, as the moon's bright orb
THE LONG LAYS
183
its nightly course pursu-
eth,
and the shining days
the shining days succeed,
oh, with what sadness
myheart is ever burden'd,
what longings ever
make wearier my soul !
if I ne'er meet him
my days will cease to be,
yet all my life long,
with all my heart I love
him,
and till our eyes
as polished mirrors shin-
ing,
shall meet, no surcease
of love's sad pain can I
or truce of sorrow know.
As shipman trusteth
to his tall ship I trust still
to meet thee dear —
yea, constant my heart
hopeth
mine still shall be that
fortune.^
^ Of this somewhat difficult lay and envoy the meaning
seems to be that the lady, separated from her lover, despite
the divine nature of the land, fears the gods will not pity her
case and bring about a meeting with him, yet declares hope
in the envoy.
1471
0 Land of Eeed-Plains, and I as often meet thee
Ripe
that
fair Land of Rich
Ears,
0 land divine
in need of word
stands not —
yet must I speak
and pray that thou may'st
prosper,
thy days unvexed be, '
on shore
waves m
as wave
breaks,
as break the
myriads
upon the shoresands
so oft such prayer shall
mine be,
so oft such boon imploring.
^ In the Lays of Hitomaro ; compare the preceding lay.
subject is a girl, for the time, separated from her lover.
The
184
manyOshiu
148
From the beginning
the world hath ever said
that never lovers
may peace of mind enjoy,
this thought-thread ever
hath through the ages run
yet the heart of woman
unfathom'd still shall
man e'er
know what it hold-
eth !— 2
as weak as dry rush-haulm
is
my heart's infected,
and anxious fears oppress
me,
for I do perish
with the love I must from
men hide
my very life-thread snap-
ping.
^ A variation of the well-worn theme,
souvent femme varie
fol est qui s'y fie.
^ Two lines appear to have been lost here containing the
word * sea ' (umi) to which a m. k. is attached, otherwise with-
out meaning. See List m. k. natsusohiku. Here, as in most
cases, the value of mere epithets is suggested in the trans-
lation.
149
Years come and go
but never a word to me
doth any runner
his emblem bearing bring
me,
the while spring cometh,
long days of misty spring,
and earth and heaven
are filled with my love
for thee,
while I secluded,
like chrysalis within
its ball immured,
in gloom my days must
pass,
nor tell to any
the love that doth con-
sume me,
and pine for ever
as ever the pine winds
murmur —
each day and every
when the sun that circleth
heaven
THE LONG LAYS
185
to rest declineth
my shining sleeves are
drenched
are drench'd with constant
tears
Did we not love,
not love each other thus,
our vows exchanging —
unloving me thouwould'st
be
as cloud in heaven in-
d iff 'rent.
150
Fount of Ayuchi
midmost Wohdrida ! ^
ne'er folk have ceas'd
to draw those limpid
waters,
for countless ages
those waters sweet to
drink —
^ Woharida is in Owari (Wohari),
so I too, still
do love thee, love, with
love
unknowing pause for
ever!
151
1
By Hd,tsuse's river
Hdtsuse hill-engirdled,
by the upper waters
a stout post 2 deep I drive,
by the lower waters
a right stout post I drive,
and shining mirror
upon the one post hang I,
upon the other,
aright fairbeadlacehangi,
a right fair jewel
art thou, my dear, to me,
as bright as mirror
I think my love to be —
a right fair jewel, my
dear,
in homeland were she,
a mirror-bright maiden,
were she
to homeland would I
haste me but there she
bides not —
for whom should I now
haste me.^
The world for me is
for me but misery,
186 many6shiu
forth from my dwelling men may far from their
to fare, what profit were it love hve,
but to turn me home- so rumour hath it,
wards wretched. b^t I, what space may I
live
away from thee, dear, live !
Twelve months, twelve
months
^ This somewhat obscure lay is found also in the Kojiki
(K. 303, 361). The story there told is as follows (K. 296 sqq) :
^ After the decease of the Heavenly Sovereign (the Mikado
Ingyo, 412-53) it was settled that King Karu of Kinashi
should rule the Sun's succession. But in the interval before
his accession he debauched his younger sister, the Great Lady
of Karu . . . therefore all the officials and the great people of
the Empire turned against [him] and towards the August Child
Anaho. Then . . . Karu fled to the house of a Grandee . . .
thereupon Anaho raised an army and beleaguered the house.'
Finally, the Grandee, tired of his dangerous guest, 'secured
Prince Karu, and led him forth, and presented him [to Prince
Anaho]. ... So Prince Karu was banished to the Hot Waters
of lyo. . . . Queen Sotohoshi . . . being unable to restrain her
love . . . went after him. So when . . . she reached [where
Prince Karu was] pensively waiting, he sang [a song], and
again he sang ' the present lay. ' Having thus sung, they
forthwith killed themselves together.'
^ What the meaning of the posts or piles driven in by the
Prince may be, it is not easy to say. In Korea devil-posts are
common, and may have some affinity with these offering-posts
of ancient Japan. So too may the ' yenawo ' of the Ainu tribes
in Yezo. (See The Ainu of Japariy by Kev. J. Batchelor, and
my translation of a Native Diary in Karafuto, Transactions
Japan Society).
^ The translation differs somewhat from that given in
Mr. Chamberlain's KojiJci (p. 303). I take * ari ' to refer to the
poet's * imo's' continued residence (or existence ?) in the land,
but in lieu of the reading in the Kojiki of the last verse —
Tcimi wo mo shinubame — I adopt that of the Kogi — taga yuwe lea
yukamu. Of the two envoys — it is doubtful whether they really
THE LONG LAYS 187
belong to the lay — the first implies that death is preferable to
a vain search after his love, or it may be a Buddhist condemna-
tion of Tiwanzoku (return to world from religious life) ; the second
declares that he cannot exist without her, be it for ever so
short a time. Both the hcmka are elliptical, and the transla-
tions are conjectural, the sense being suggested rather than
fully expressed, as is usual in Japanese poetry, ancient and
modern. The meaning I give to the second envoy is that
attributed to it in the Kogi.
152
In spring the cherry my heart as yielding
show'th all its wealth of heateth,
blossom, and brief my days seem
in time of autumn as morning's passing
the slopes of Kamunabi dewdrop,
are rich with russet, 'tis sign and symbol
in Asuka's river girdling how deep a love I bear
the sacred mountain thee
the river tresses softly still kept secluded from
to the swift stream me \ ^
vield them
^ She is still kept at home under her mother's wardship.
There is in the text a m. k. descriptive of Kamunabi which
cannot be translated. It is umasaJce wo or 5aA;e-sweet, and is
applied to Kamu (Jcami), of which the homophon kamu means
to chew, reminding one of the preparation of Polynesian Icawa
by chewing various roots.
153
Beyond the cadence while sharp winds under
of Mimoro's Kamunabi the misty heavens blow —
the sky is heavy ^^^j. ^jij Makami^
with clouds and falling _^^ j^^g^ wolf-jaws re-
^^i^> minding —
188
many6shiu
where wayfarer lonely
through wind and rain he
fareth
to gain his homeplace,
oh, may great Heaven
grant him
he reach his home well-
prospered.*
Through the long night
hours
black-dark as pardanth
berry
I lie all wakeful,
and think upon my lord
faring lonely through the
night.
* In this and the next line, I endeavour to give the value of
the m. k. ohoJcuchi (vast-mouth), the use of which seems based
upon the resemblance of Makami to okami 'wolf. Possibly
some story of a wolf-adventure on the plain of Makami may be
alluded to.
^ He is returning to his own home after an interview with
his wife or mistress.
154
In wretched hovel
for burning only fit,
on ragged matting
to useless tatters fallen,
her arms too sordid
with his will he enlace —
yet all the day long
from red dawn until dusk,
and all the night long,
through the black and
weary hours,
our alcove sadly
with my laments resound-
eth,
from dusk to dawn
lamenting.^
* Of this lay the explanation given in the Kogi seems the
best among several, that it is the complaint of a wife (or quasi-
wife) deserted for a mean creature. The traitor is not worth
a thought, but nevertheless she can but lament such infidelity.
Keichiu says the lay is the complaint of a lover whose mistress
has given herself to a mean man.
THE LONG LAYS
189
155
The little moor ^
where all my heart out-
poureth
those village fellows,
too near, with shrine-rope^
holy
would fence from me,
such rumour reacheth
me —
what may I do,
what way may I devise
me 2,
my very homeplace
hath lost its pleasantness,
on grassy pillow
of weary wayfarer
I seem to rest,
no joy I know nor peace,
nor from my heart
may I chase this annoy,
like wayward clouds
I wander hither, thither,
my thoughts disordered
as brushwood sheaves in
house-fence,
as thread entangled
of tumbled hank of hemp-
yarn
on mat unravell'd,
not e'en a thousandth
of the love that me con-
sumeth
can other men know
and if my love prove
hopeless
my life-thread will be
severed.
^ That is, the poet's mistress.
^ The rice-straw rope hung over the portals of Shinto
shrines.
The poet is disquieted at the rumour of suitors who besiege
his mistress from whom he is kept away. The * village
fellows ' are probably officials of like rank with the poet living
near the * little moor '. In the envoy the pains of jealous love
are represented as a cause of emaciation so great that the girdle
that formerly went once round his body will now encircle it
thrice. The same simile is found in lay 121.
190 many6shiu
156
Of this Lay only four verses seem really to belong
to it — of the remainder part belongs to Lay 187
and part to Lay 188.
The four verses may be rendered —
rolling back the white sleeves of my dress
as in loneliness I sleep —
157
Tow'rdsYdmada^far'dl know'th not where haste
— on the hills the larches its waters,
cluster — 2 what time, I knew not,
nor word was spoken might bring me whence
as I from my mistress ^ once more I
parted, might greeting sleeve
my mistress fair wave —
as coverlet well bleachen, so, fared I like a packhorse
and as the river along the far ways stum-
bling.
^ Something prevented his saying farewell, and he had to
leave on his service in a state of misery and distraction. The
lay should he read with the next — the two perhaps originally
formed one — strophe and antistrophe.
^ Lit. hi no M^ Chamaecyparis obtusa — the line refers to the
yama (hill) of the place-name Yamada. There are two Yamada,
one in Yamashiro and another in Kawachi. It is also a family
name.
^ The m. k. shiJcitahe no is written * wavy clouds ' in the
text. It is more commonly written * spread-thin-coverlet ' or
* colour (fine)-delicate '. The Kogi, premising that it is hard to
ascertain the precise value of the expression, explains shiki by
reference to shiku shiku, * repeatedly *, and talie (written yuki,
snow), as * beautiful, delicate '. The fine fabric take is explained
in the Kotoha no Idzumi as a cloth woven from the inner bark
of a tree (paper mulberry). The m. k. here is applied to
THE LONG LAYS
191
tsuma. The values of the m. k. are, here as elsewhere, as far
as possible incorporated with the translation, suggestively, so to
speak, rather than directly. They are essentially verbal decora-
tions, but would convey a real meaning to the Japanese
hearer.
Or where to turn me
or where seek help un-
knowing,
my heart o'erburden'd
with griefs that all the
world fill,
I sigh and sigh,
sighs fathom deep I sigh,
still lonely hoping
that if, perchance, our
souls love ^
he may come to me —
and should some
traveller
upon the spear-ways stop
me,
stop me asking,
* What aileth thee 'i ' ^
no answer dare I give
him,
my lord's name dare not
158
my ruddy lord's name
mention,
lest folk should know it
and know he seeketh me,
so shall I answer
* I wait the moon to see
rise o'er the hiU top
where thick the larches
cluster '
so shall I answer,
who am no moon a- watch-
ing
but for my lord am long-
ing!
I cannot sleep
for love of thee, my lord,
where art thou, dear,
this weary night where
art thou,
I wait, but thou, thou
com'st not !
^ Literally, ^ if our souls meet (or reciprocate).'
^ * Why sigh you so deeply ? '
I
192
MANYOSHIU
1591
In my stable
a fine bay horse he
champeth,
in my stable
a fine black horse he
champeth,
both coursers feed I
and both I ride by
times —
just so my dear
upon my heart she rideth^.
like bowman posted
on lofty Takayama
among the hollows
to watch the wary deer,
so I do wait for
still wait for mv lord's
commg,
therefore, ye
silent ! ^
my
dogs, be
^ The lay seems to be defective. The first portion expresses
the thoughts of a man, the second those of a woman, the link
between the two is missing. Or there may have been three
separate lays, whereof the middle one is lacking.
'^ Comp. the expression "kokoro no koma, colt of my heart.
^ So as not to give the alarm. The dogs (or dog) must be as
silent as the men set to track the deer must be. The envoy
bids the dogs not to betray by their barking the visit of the
lover who scrambles through the fence.
160
My lord I wait for
but still he cometh not,
and forth I gaze
into the night's black
darkness
the heavens scanning,
full late the night hour is,
and from the mountains
rush down the stormy
blasts,
while on my sleeves, lo,
there peering in the mirk-
ness,
the snow that falleth
hath into hard ice frozen —
ah, will my lord come
on such a night come to me,
he will come surely,
though endless seem the
hours
as coil of wild- vine.
THE LONG LAYS 193
my heart too would I com- my lord in waking hour,
fort, in dream that passeth
my fine sleeves gather I surely shall see him
and set the chamber ready, ere night be lost in morn-
e'en see I not ing.
161
This lay is almost identical with 160, of which it
is little more than a replica.
162
As lovingly around my shoulders
as rush-root clings to hanging,
earth and pray the high gods
I would to thee cling, not bid me hide from thee
my dear whom I love, the love my heart con-
and 'fore the gods, sumeth,
the gods of earth and for I am sick with love ! ^
heaven,^ ~
full jars of sake , My mother nought
I offer, close-thrid bead- ^T . """f '
1 but to my lord
lace /
m love obeisant am I
of bamboo circlets
and but his will I follow!
^ This common expression is exactly the Greek x^oi/tot $*
viraTOL.
^ The lay is commonly taken as the work of a man, the
lianJca as that of a woman. The word rendered * lovingly '
nemokoro (or nemogoro = nengoro) is partly written in the text
after a curious rebuslike fashion. The characters may be
taken to mean, one prostration and three salutes, referring to
an ancient custom (more or less common in most lands) of
hailing the moon with such a ceremony. Now Jcorohu signifies
to lie prostrate (there is a proverb nana Jcorohi ya oM, seven
DICKINS. II O
194 MANYOSHIU
times down and eight times up — an optimistic description of
the vicissitudes of life), and to the horo of this word we are led
by those characters of the script which denote the manner of
salutation of the moon.
Lay 163 is little more than a duplicate of 161, and
Lay 164 is made up mainly of the three
preceding lays. Cf. also Lay 169.
Book XIII, Part II
165
As evanescent and I shall never
as rain-drops fallen a moment's space forget
on leaf of lotus thee
on ' girded Glaive Pool ' ^ until our happy meeting,
floating
my hope to see thee, i^ the beginning
for mother hath forbidden the gods ordained our
again to meet thee, union ^
but Kiy6sumi's waters and I shall never
are not more deep a jot fail in obeisance
than is the love I bear to that most high decree,
thee,
^ A tank, so called, constructed in the time of the Mikado
Ojin (270-310), where in the reign of Jomei (629-41) an auspi-
cious hachisu (lotos) appeared bearing two flowers on one
stem. The drops on the broad lily-leaf may be blown away
by the wind at any moment.
^ In the great council held in the bed of the Eiver of
Heaven (or at Kidzuki in Idzumo) in the very beginning of the
parting of Heaven and Earth. The Kogi sees an allusion to
the Buddhist doctrine of ingwa (cause and effect — predestined
events), but the reference seems to be to the assembly of the
gods determining the lot of mankind in the beginning of things.
Cf. Aston's Shinto.
THE LONG LAYS
195
166
As cling the rushes
to the wild-wood hillsides
studded
with right-wood ^ trees
midmost exalted ^ Y6-
shinu,
my love too clingeth
to my sweet lord who
goeth,
in dread obeisance
to his high Lord and
Sovran,
to far-off march-lands
to rule in peace the
people —
as daybreak showeth,
and flights of birds are
soaring,
my lord will leave me,
but I shall love him ever
as far he fareth,
oh, let him not forget me,
but what words help
me,
where may I look for
solace 1
our parting pitiless
as when one strippeth ivy
from close-clung tree-
trunk ^
upon some wooded hill-
side,
oh, pitiless is our parting !
* Timber fit for building — Cryptomeria or Chamaecyparis.
^ The Mikado had a country palace in Yoshinu.
^ A conventional simile.
167
On high Mikane
in royal Y6shinu
rain falleth ever
and ever falleth snow,
so men aver,
and like that falling snow
my love shall cease not,
and like that falling rain,
my love shall fail not,
for such my love is, dear,
nor e'er shall time be
I shall not love thee, love
thee,
thyself ^ I shall not love ! ^
* Compare lay 8. In the envoy added to the above as a late
version of lay 8 the girl is reminded that although only a glance
O %
196 MANYOSHIU
was had of her, as of a passing cloud floating over the peak of
snowy Mikane, not sufiicient to explain his passion, yet his love
went on increasing as time passed.
^ In this lay — as often in other lays — every verse leads up
to the last, to the imo (wife), to whom the lay applies as an
unbroken adjectival sentence — ^thyself represents imo — thy-
self I shall . love continuously as the rain and snow fall on
Mikane.'
168 1
The moorland o'er — 'tis well, well is it
Miyake's sunny heath — the mother wist it not,
his feet a. pathway 'tis well, well is it
the summer jungle thoro', the father wist it not,
I pray, win hither, as flesh of mina ^
thro' thigh-deep thickset jet black her tresses are,
bushes with yufu bands,
a way be won me, fine bands of bleachen yufu,
yet am I fair that for her locks abundant
me, are mingled and uplifted
for me such travail with fine comb fixed,
my lord should dare af- comb of Yamato box-wood
front — my spouse, my love so
dainty ! ^
^ The text and meaning of the concluding climax of this lay
are much disputed. Some outline of the controversy will be
found in the notes to the text.
The first half of the piece expresses the fear of the ' secluded
wife (mistress) ' whose family have some inkling of the lover ;
the latter half is the lover's answer.
^ Or dishevelled, as when waking. There are several inter-
pretations of this passage.
^ The comb was fixed in the girl's hair by her lover as a sort
of tabu. When thrown down it tabued the woman from ap-
proaching the man — thus Izanagi divorced Izanami, and by a
similar means kept off the female demons who at the bidding of
the divorcee attempted to attack him. A like story is found in
Scandinavian folk-lore. When the newly elected Saigu (Itsuki
THE LONG LAYS
197
no miya) set out for Ise, there to remain in virginity during
the lifetime of the Mikado, the latter fixed a comb in her hair,
which she took out on arrival at the Watarahi shrine, but
carefully preserved during her lifetime. In the Diary of the
Kamakura Shoguns (Adzuma Kagami, * Mirror of the Eastland ')
is a strange story of a man who tried to annihilate the tie of
blood in order to commit an outrage by throwing a comb down
which the object of his violence picked up. But in the present
lay no tabu of any kind seems intended. I owe the above to
Mr. Minakata. Yamato box-wood seems to have been a famous
material for combs. Combs, highly decorated, are still much
prized by Japanese women.
I
169 1
If my lot be not
to meet thee, dear, ever,
whom ever love I
without a moment's sur-
cease—
while daylight shineth,
while night's black dark-
ness lasteth
I shall not rest,
for such the love I bear
thee,
I cannot live without thee!
^ This lay is very similar to 162. In the envoy the poet
declares he would rather die, but if he should continue to live
it will be but a joyless life as long as his love is unrequited.
There is a play upon imo, * my love ', and i mo (nezu), ^ I cannot
sleep '. In the script of the envoy, the shi of shinamu (I shall
die) is written * 2 x 2 ' which = 4 (J^) in Japano-Chinese, sJii.
Across the waters
upon the further bank
I see her lingering,
and full of love am
wretched,
and full of mis'ry
my heart no ease it
knowetli —
170
oh, fain I would
some bark red-painted
find here
and precious oars,
wherewith to cross the
waters
and with my love de-.
vise!^
198 MANYOSHIU
^ Another reading names the stream — the secluded river of
Hatsuse. The lover has taken, it seems, his first stage on
some official journey. The occasion of this lay, like those of
most of the other lays contained in this book, being unknown,
the version is to some extent conjectural. The plural imof-a,
of imo, my love, is found in the text as an honour-form.
171
Love's soft impeach- by wave-worn Ndniha,
ment their red-stained ships a
with all the strength de- hauling,
nied I, yet my name in men's
times and again, mouths echoes.^
that fishers show a-haul-
ing,
^ Of this very obscure lay only a conjectural version can be
given, founded upon Motowori's explanation cited in the Kogi.
See Appendix (volume of texts).
172
On Ise's shoresands — my love for thee, my lord,
divine breath'd land of is,
Ise — again to see me
in the calm of morning when passed the months
the waves roll in the deep- and days are,
weed ^, and call me spouse eke
in the calm of evening will not thy heart incline
roll in the fine return- thee,
weed, whom I must love for
as deep as any deep- ever!
weed
^ FuJcamiru and matamiru are species of Codium, a seaweed.
The couple are separated for a time, but the bond shall not
THE LONG LAYS
199
be broken by her, nor, she trusts, by him. He is to come
back to her ; the two miru are as one, fuJca (' deep ') illustrating
her constancy, mata (* again,' or * return,* more literally per-
haps ' forked '), being symbolic of their reunion with the
passage of time.
173
By Muro's bay
within the land of Ki
for years a thousand
with her to bide unparted,
for a myriad years,
years, months and days
I trusted,
as trust eth sailor
to his tall ship, I trusted —
below the headland,
midmost the blue sea
jutteth,
the clear waters
with mom roll in the
deep-weed,
with evening stillness
the waves roll in the
thread-weed,
as deep my love is
as any deep-weed grow^eth,
and is the tie
that bound us but a thread
now
like yon sea thread-
weed,
to break if one but strain
it?—
for village rivals
they press around her
striving
to win her from me,
like screaming children
urge her,
and as the hunter
from white-wood bow
forth speedeth
of arrows twain one
would they divide us
twain —
oh, full of fear, am L^
^ The explanation given in the Kogi of the lay is this ; An
official residing at Muro is stricken with love for a girl there,
but— if the next lay be really a pendant to this— is recalled
to City-Koyal. He has rivals in the place who seek to win his
love from him and fears disaster.
The Kogi adds, 'No one has ever yet found the key to
this lay*. The latter part of the version is largely conjec-
tural.
200
manyOshiu
174
Thus spake lie to me
— a village neighbour was
it—
* the man thou lovest,
thy comely swain he
fareth
by Kamunabi,
where now the leaves lie
scattered
of russet autumn,
on a black horse riding
fareth
across the waters
of many - channelled
Asuka ^
and heavy-hearted
the wayfarer seemed to
be/
so spake to me the villager.
As lief I were
he had not spoken to me,
nor by ill hap
had met my lord who
fareth,
my lord who fareth from
me! 2
^ Famous in Japanese song for its changing and devious
channels. The occasion of this lay is unknown, unless, as
Motowori suggests, it is a pendant to the preceding lay. In
both, taken together, some commentators see an allusion to
the uncertainties of life, the miseries of its many partings, and
the changing ways of this world ; but this is to see a good
deal.
^ For to hear of him only renews her grief.
175
In happy mood
along the spring ways
wandering,
the vernal hillsides
with joy I contemplated,
whose bright azaleas
my mistress doth out-
shine,
whose cherry-blossoms
my love excels in fair-
ness—
with mine thy name,
dear,
the world doth ever couple,
with thine my name
dear,
men-folk do ever men-
tion,
the wild hills even
to words of men will listen,
be not thy heart more
cruel. ^
I
THE LONG LAYS 201
^ Cf. lay 141, where the hills Okiso and Minu are entreated
to yield to the prayer of the lover whom they part from his
mistress. Here the girl is adjured not to be more hard-
hearted than the hills themselves are desired to be.
176 1
So may it be, Sir, than topmost orange
but pass must many sum- blossom —
^^^« forget me 2 not,
and fall my tresses ^^ ^he river ne'er for-
o'er either shoulder flow- g-etteth
. ^^^ adown the vale to flow,
till taller am I
^ This lay is defective. It appears to be an answer to 175.
When the girl is old enough she will respond to her lover —
meanwhile let him not forget her. At the age of three or four
the hair was first cut, the ends only (fukasogi\ when it reached
the shoulders it was parted in the middle (fuTiwahe\ after eight
it was not cut. Up to gembuku (shaving of forelock in boys),
and kamiage (putting the hair up in girls), boys and girls were
known as waraha (children).
^ i. e. the maid herself, who lives by the river. The last
two lines of the translation are somewhat conjectural. The
lay is tatohe, the only other one among the long lays of the
Manyoshiu is lay 182.
177
This Lay is a combination of 175 and 176.
178
To the land of Hd,t- from clouded heaven,
suse and down the rain hath
mid lofty hills secluded fallen
I come a-wooing, from lowering sky,
and thick the snow hath while the pheasant loudly
fallen calleth
202
MANY6SHIU
across the moor,
and the household cock
shrill croweth
the day betokening,
and the mirk of night
hath yielded —
yet enter will I
to seek my love within
there,
wherefore I bid you
open
fi
^ The lay — describing a lover's impatience after a toilsome
journey to visit his mistress — though dawn has shown, enter
he will, — is more or less an imitation of one contained in the
Kojiki (K. App. II) attributed to the god of eight thousand
(countless) spears — i. e. lord of a vast host — Yachihoko no
Kami (Ohokuni nushi). The following version of what is,
perhaps, the oldest example of Japanese poetry extant (yet of
course having nothing like the antiquity of the events with
which it is connected in the Kojiki), may be found inter-
esting.
Of spears countless
His Majesty the God —
in all wide Yashima
he sought but found no spouse,
in far-off Koshi
a virtuous damsel dwelt,
so heard the god,
a beauteous damsel dwelt,
so heard the god,
so went he her well-wooing
to woo and woo her,
his glaive in belt still girded,
his veil unloos'd,
* And here I stand ', quoth he,
* her door to open,
And here I stand ', quoth he,
^ her door still pushing,
the while the owl-bird scream-
eth
the green hills midmost
and the moorland pheasant
echoeth,
and nigh her dwelling
the cock, too, loud he crow-
eth !—
* I would these birds all
would stop scream, call and
crow,
these fowls too wretched
that fill the air with rumour ! '
Of the remainder of the text of the lay I can make nothing.
It may mean ' this is what the swift messenger of the skies,
swift as a flying stone, hath told me (K. loc. cit), or in view of
the envoy to lay 178, 'like a messenger, swift as a stone flying
through the air, would I tell my thoughts*, or, better still,
reading ishitafu as ishitohu ( = isM fumu), * this is what I say.
THE LONG LAYS
203
climbing the rocky hills, and swiftly mounting them to reach
my love '.
The appellation yachiiioko is credited with a signification
which may be best understood after reference to those portions
of the Kojiki which Mr. Chamberlain, with, perhaps, excessive
prudery in some instances, has clothed with the decent vesture
of Latin.
179
In pleasant Hdtsnse,
a land remote secluded,
my lord his wooing
his wooing would he
urge —
within our homeplace
my mother sleepeth she
from doorway furthest,
my father sleepeth he
to doorway nearest —
and if my side he leaveth
my mother knoweth
and if the house he leaveth
my father knoweth —
now dark as pardanth
berry
to-day night yieldeth
and as we loved not must
we
our love still must we
hide.^
* This lay, like the last, but in a less degree, resembles the
Kojiki lay, of which a translation is there given in the notes.
180
That woman's lover
a-riding on his horse
towards Yamdshiro,
Yamashiro, land of moun-
tains,
I met, and sorrow'd
my lord should go afoot —
and thereon musing
until my heart was vex'd,
I took my mirror.
fine shining mirror given
by her who nursed me,
and put therewith my
kerchiefs
with dragon-fly wings,
and told my lord to take
them
and buy him steed there-
with.
204
MANY6SHIU
^ A sort of KprjSefjivov or rica or scarf, or wimple,
reminded of * Shule Agra ' —
* I sold my rock, I sold my reel,
to buy my love a sword of steel.'
One is
181
Fine pearls to gather
they say the waves roll in
there —
my lord will wend him,
to Kii's land will wend him,
fine pearls to gather
they say the waves roll in
there,
and so hath cross'd he
Se's hill, the hill of Imo,
to Kii faring :
* Oh, when will he return
me',
I haunt the spear-ways
the evening oracle ask-
ing—
' My lady sister,
' What is gathered from the talk of passers-by.
' Attributed to a girl whose lover is sent to Kii on some
duty (from City-Eoyal) to whom the ' evening oracle ' gives
consolation, saying her lover is delayed only by gathering
pearls for her. Imo and Se are both hills in Kii. Imo-se
mean husband and wife ; lit. younger sister and elder brother.
Awabi pearls (Venus's ear) are meant, or beads of awabi —
mother-of-pearl.
the gallant thou awaitest
fine shells would gather
roird in by the waves of
ocean,
fine pearls would gather
the surging waves bear
in,
and so delayeth —
should he bide long, for
thee
'twill be davs seven,
be few thy days of waiting
two days 'twill be,
so saitli he,' saith the
oracle ^
and biddeth
patient/ ^
me
be
A rush too tender,
of Okinaga's Wochi
by Sanukata
182
within steep -hilled Tsu-
kuma —
a rush too tender
THE LONG LAYS
205
thou little rush of Wochi,
with anxious dread thou
filFst me ! ^
to reap for weaving hats,
a rush too tender
to spread upon the floors — •
O rush unreaped,
^ The rush too young to be reaped symbolizes a young maid
not yet arrived at a marriageable age. She must not therefore
be disturbed — but what if some other suitor should reap the
rush ! The lay is a tatohe or exemplary lay— one of the only
two clwlm of that category, the other is lay 176.
183
With awe and rever-
ence
I dare these words in-
dite—
in Fujihara
fair City-Royal stately,
where years unnum-
ber'd
lords many, princes many,
have served with glad-
ness
their mighty Prince ex-
alted—
as very Heaven
the Palace they regarded,
and on his Highness
in humble hope they
leaned them,
trusting that ever
the under-heaven ruling
like full -orbed moon
my lord would the realm
illumine ^ —
when came forth spring,
my dread Lord, whose
high mem'ry
men's hearts ay keep
would stand the pine-
trees under ^
that crown the brow,
the brow of Uyetsuki,
and view the land —
when fell the showers of
autumn,
on the hagi bushes
grew lush about his
halls,
their heavy blossoms
with dewy burden bend-
ing,
his sad eyes lingered,
and when the snows of
winter
the mornings whiten'd
his bow of white-wood
took he,
206
manyOshiu
wide-rooted white-wood,
in mighty hand to bare it
the chase to follow —
a long day through of
spring time
of misty spring time
one loved to look on him,
unsated ever,
with mirror-bright eyes
unsated
with gaze on him,
and oh what stout hope
was there !
so fair a time
might last for endless
ages
when — tears but fill,
tears fill my blinded eyes,
for as I look tow'rds
my Prince's lofty shrine
with white cloths
draped,
I see the train of mourn-
ers,
gentles and servants
who serve the sunbright
palace
in whitest garb wend,
to his high rest to bear
him —
surroundeth me, and fail-
eth
my heart with sorrow,
as Kinohe's track I gaze
from
(green-hilled Kinohe ^)
on ivied Ihare gazing
I see the mourners
my lord to his last rest
bearing,
such is my misery
I know not where to turn
me,
I mourn for him,
but nought my mourning
helpeth,
I weep for him,
but find no goal of tears,
the very pine-trees
which felt his princely
sleeve's touch
can give no answer
to any words of sorrow,
yet ever will I
lift up to yonder grove
my wistful eyes
as though to heaven I
lifted
my eyes in reverent
memory.
is it a vision Upon Ihare
or real, this sad sight 1 [the place of rocks where
a night cloud-darkened
ivy
THE LONG LAYS
207
abundant groweth] and of my lord bethink
a white cloud see I hover-
me !
14
mg
^ Perhaps that he would attain completeness like that of the
full moon, i. e. that the Miko would become Mikado.
^ The m. k. here {tohotsu hito), read with matsu (pine tree) as
homophonous with matsu (expect), suggests the feeling with
which a household might await the return of its lord or some
member thereof.
^ This is a poetized change of the meaning of the m. k. A
truer rendering would be — of hemp-robe minding.
* There are several m. k. in the uta of which I have not
been able to incorporate the value. In the envoy a white
cloud seen hovering on the peak of Ihare is wistfully suggested
as emblematic of the Miko's soul. So in the Nihongi (N. II.
253) we have a * first ' lay made by the Queen-Kegnant Saimei
(Kwogyoku 642-61) on the death of her favourite grandson
Prince Takeru, at the age of eight.
On Womure's peak
in the land of Imaki
were drifting cloud
but seen in pure whiteness
my tears I should dry !
It is not clear of what miho the death was lamented in the
above elegy. Possibly, as the mention of Kinohe suggests, it
may have been Prince Takechi (lay 24), in which case the author
of the lay would be Hitomaro. It is quite in his style.
184
Within the broad
bounds
of wide Yamato's land
on Kinohe
a lonely fane is builded,
and there secluded
in shrine remote he lieth,
oh, how befell him,
our Prince, a fate so
early ! —
who every daybreak
and everv even summoned
his men who gathered,
like flights of birds at
daybreak,
to do his bidding —
208
manyOshiu
'tis vainly now his ser-
vants
await his words,
alert their stout hearts are,
but cloud-wise drift
they,
unknowing where to turn
them,
distraught with sorrow,
with tear-drench'd sleeves
fall'n prostrate
in misery still unended !
* The lay (probably by Hitomaro) is an elegy on the death of
Prince Takechi (lays 24 and 183). No more will he summon
his men to make ready the morn for hunting or hawking.
185
My lord of Minu
— 0 gi^assy land of
Minu —
to west a stable
hathbuildedforhis horses,
to east a stable
hathbuildedforhis horses,
and well his horses
are fed with fresh cut grass.
and well his horses
with fresh drawn draughts
are watered —
why hinny they then,
his dappled steeds why
hinny 1
well fed, well watered are
they ! ^
^ They hinny and neigh not for their food, of which they
have plenty, but after their dead master. The stable to
east and the stable to west denote a man of wealth able to
maintain a number of horses. The envoy, which contains
a curious m. k. (see text), refers to the unwonted hinnying of
the steeds as a proof of their almost human feeling of regret
for their master. The envoy (omitting the difficult m. k.) is
subjoined : —
Yon dappled greys
how strange their hinny soundeth !
have they then hearts —
thus strangely hinnying
those dappled greys that hinny?
THE LONG LAYS
209
186
Among the folk who
under the low white
clouds dwell
are far and wide spread,
under the great blue cloud
dwell
the land o'erhangeth,
under the infinite canopy
of the clouds of heaven,
are none but I to mourn
him —
for I alone,
belike, did love him.^
^ The text of this lay is doubtful. The Kogi separates the
lay from the next, to which in most editions it serves as an
introduction, and reads it with lay 188. The lay was, no doubt,
intended as a reproach to men who had not sufficiently honoured
the memory of their lord. * White clouds ' are the lower clouds
seen white against the blue expanse above them, regarded as
a vast blue cloud. Such seems to be the best explanation of
this difficult text.
187
All earth and heaven
cannot contain the grief
. wherewith my soul
is like to sicken, my heart
to break with sorrow
that daily groweth as pass
the months and days
by-
though time there be not
any
grief is not with me,
this long-moon^ month his
memory
most mournful shall be,
and years and years a
thousand
shall last that sorrow,
for years a thousand
thousand
still unforgotten
this month of misery
shall be,
this long-moon month
when from the world he
faded —
oh, what the misery !
I know not how to bear it,
month after month
I know not how to bear
it,
nor help is any,
DICEINS. II
210
manyOshiu
nor solace for me any —
the solemn hillways
I climb and where his
shrine lieth,
morn after morn
the tomb's wide-builded
portal
I leave to weep,
and th ere retreat each even
to mourn, to mourn for
him.2
' The ninth month, when the husband died. The last por-
tion of the text is identical with the opening of lay 156.
^ It was the custom for the relatives to mourn the dead for
a week at the grave itself. The tomb was built near a cliff, or
was fenced in with stone, or approached by a covered passage
in which — or in huts erected for the purpose — they remained
during the time of mourning, which often lasted much longer
than a week or eight days.
188
My jetty tresses,
as black as pardanth-berry,
lie all dishevelled,
sweet sleep I cannot win
me,
with thoughts of sorrow
still to and fro I toss me
like seaborne ship
tossed —
my sleepless nights of
grief,
oh, I have lost their
count ! ^
^ To be read with lay 186. It is a replica of the latter
portion of 156.
189
In the upper waters
of Hdtsuse's stream se-
cluded
cormorants many
dive at the keepers'
bidding,
in the lower waters
at their keepers' bidding
dive they,
in the upper waters
fine fish the birds are let,
in the lower waters
fine trout are let to
swallow —
THE LONG LAYS
211
and fine my love too,
oh, would she still were
with me,
but now a bowshot
apart she lieth from me,
and ever heavy
my heart is, full of her,
with restless sorrow
my heart is ever bur-
dened—
a hempen mantle
by some hap torn may yet
be deftly joined,
a bead-lace snapped, too,
may
be pieced together,
but we twain, dear, thus
parted
we nevermore may meet^
^ The lay is a lament on the death of a wife or mistress.
The whole of the first part is merely introductory to Jcuhashi
in the text — here rendered * fine '. Jcuhashi also means * to
cause to, or let, swallow ', as the cormorant is allowed to swallow
and made afterwards to disgorge, his prey. For * join *, * piece ',
and * meet ', the same word afu is used in the text.
190
Among the mountains most excellent
of hill- engirdled Hdtsuse to gaze on is the moun-
green-wooded Osaka tain —
stands forth a noble alas, 'tis lone and deso-
mountain, late ! ^
» Cf. N. I. 346
^The mountains of Hatsuse
they stand out —
excellent mountains
the mountains of Hatsuse ! '
The Kogi cites the above, and . assumes that it served as
a model for the present lay, which is taken to have been
composed in honour of some promising youth who died early
and whose fate is somehow symbolized in the allusion to
Osaka — possibly he was buried there.
P a
212
manyOshiu
191
The seas and mountains but man
are seas and mountains is but a flower-thing
ever, that perisheth —
the high hills change- in this passing world
less, such mortal man is !
the seas are everlasting —
192
In dread obeisance
to his dread Lord and
Sovran
Yamato left he
in the Land of Rich Ripe
Ears,
from the haven faring,
Mitsu's fair haven, west-
wards,
and oars unnumber d,
stout oars were mann^,
and forthwith
across the blue plain
the tall sh ip maketh way —
in the calm of morning
are heard the shouts of
sailors,
in the evening stillness
the splash of oars is heard, ^
so fares my lord.
while I withholy offerings
the gods beseech
for safe and swift home-
coming—
alas my heart !
as leaves in autumn wither
on Tsukushi's hillsides,
hath faded and passed
away,
my lord hath passed away.
Oh, false these tidings,
oh, true they cannot be !
for he did promise
his life's thread should be
lasting —
so vow'd my lord and
promis'd ! ^
* As the ship went on its way it would anchor every evening
and start every morning.
^ The husband goes to Tsukushi (in the extreme West) and
dies there. The wife remains behind in City-Koyal. There
are several m. k. left untranslated.
THE LONG LAYS
213
193
Along the spear-ways
hath he wended, climbing
painfully
the wooded hill steeps,
and cross'd the wastes
and moorlands,
the rivers waded,
and reach'd the whaley
sea
at Kami passage,
(the blest god's ferry 'tis)
where the wind it blow-
eth
but bloweth not too
lightly,
where toss the billows
but toss they not too
softly,
where waves incessant
the further way do bar
him —
whom rememb'ring
the boiling waters dared
he
to cross with feet too
venturous?^
* In this lay the fate of the drowned man mentioned in the
next is, possibly, anticipated. For whose sake was it he rashly
waded through the torrent ; i. e. was he hastening home to his
family ?
194
Anigh the sea-flood,
— unheard the cries of
birds are
at daybreak there ^ —
the great hills far behind
him,
on sea-wrack pillowed,
his form unvestur'd even
by scanty mantle
with dragon-fly wings
well furnished,
there lieth he
upon the pebbly seashore
of the whaley sea,
in loneliness there lieth
as were he sleeping
and of the world all care
less —
yet once have haply,
have father, mother,
haply,
his parents loved him,
and fair young wife was
his,
but no word ever
again from him shall
reach them,
his name or homeplace
214 manyOshiu
'tis vain to seek, no answer a sight of sorrow,
from those lips cometh, 'tis piteous to behold it ;
speechless as puling in- but so the world's way is.^
fant's —
^ The birds that start their whirring flight on the hill-passes
are meant.
^ Compare the preceding lay.
195
A Lay by Tsuki no Omi on finding a corpse lying on
the strand of Kamishima off the coast of Bingo. ^
Either the lay is made up of lays 193 and 194, or they
are taken from it. The differences are merely verbal. There
are four envoys, of which two are worth translation.
(2)
(3)
Within his home
Upon the sea-strand
his household folk await
alone in death he lieth,
him —
' To-day, to-day
alas, in loneliness
he'll come, he'll come,'
the rough sea-shore em-
she crieth —
bracing,
his wife, her woe unknow-
there lieth he, stark and
ing!
lifeless !
^ An error for Bitchiu, anciently Kibi no Michi no Naka
{Midmost Abundant Millet). Kamishima is mentioned in a
short lay (Book XV of the text) as the port whence a mission
sailed to Shinra (Korea) [in some year not stated]. There is
a Tsuki no Omi (or Obito) Afumi, mentioned as living in 2 Wado
(709), who is alluded to in Book L The script signifies Chief
of the Department of Taxes {tsuU = taxes consisting of made
articles as distinct from natural productions), but the official
title may have degenerated into a mere name.
THE LONG LAYS
215
196
As sailor trusteth
to his tall ship I trusted
ere this moon ended
my lord to welcome home,
and waited wistfully —
when came the sceptred
runner
and said ' Like autumn,
my lord like leaves of
autumn
hath passed away \
such words he spoke, elu-
sive
as dancing fireflies —
the gods of earth and
heaven
with tears beseech I,
or standing or yet sitting^
alike all hopeless,
I am as one distracted
in thick mists wan-
d'ring
in sighing fathom-deeply
through empty hours,
and there is none to tell
me
where he be —
as clouds in heaven
my steps uncertain bear
me,
hither, thither,
Hke wounded deer I
wander,
and I shall die,
I know not where to seek
him,
in loneliness,
of him I love bereaved,
I can but weep and wail!
The tall reeds towards
I watch the wild geese
winging,
with every wing-beat
of my lord I do bethink
me
his shafts well-feathered
bearing !
^ A common phrase equivalent to * continually '. The lay is
by a wife on the death of her husband — she cannot even follow
him to the other world, being but a woman : in the envoy, as
she watches the flight of the wild geese, she thinks of her
husband as a hunter with his quiver full of arrows furnished
with feathers from their wings.
216
manyOshiu
197
Come, children, heark-
en!
far o*er the plain of Toba
with fine pines studded
your eyes send where your
father
his last rest taketh,
as further from him,
from country and from
homeplace,
the way doth lead us —
oh, gods of earth and
heaven,
why cruel are ye,
I ask ye, why so cruel,
on painful journey
unhusbanded to send me
and part me further from
him.^
* The wife is returning to City-Eoyal from Toba in Hitachi,
where her husband has died and is buried.
Book XV, Part I
1-98
As even latens
in the reedy bottoms
whirring,
as morning breaketh
in the middle waters swim
they,
the flights of wild fowl
in pairing couples throng-
and wings o'erlapping
ward off the chilly hoar-
frost
with coats of feathers,
those fowl that pair
together,
in love together —
as flood that passeth
and Cometh never back,
as wind that bloweth
and none see it returning,
so fleeting is
this traceless world of
ours,
whereof poor denzens
we twain are somewhile
parted —
of wonted vestment
with sleeve unmated,
lonely
how may I welcome sleep
find ! 1
THE LONG LAYS
217 «>
' In 8 Tempyo (736) an embassy was sent to Shiraki (part of
Korea). The members composed lays and answer-lays on the
hardships of parting and various other subjects, both at depar-
ture and during the voyage. Amongst these were the present
choka and the next, both said to have been composed during
the voyage as part of a sort of album of verses. Of the author
only the name is known, Tajihi no Taifu, who complains of
his separation from his wife, and contrasts their position with
that of the proverbial and exemplary wild-fowl who answer
poetically to western turtle-doves. The lay is partly Buddhisti
in tone, partly an imitation of the Shihking, The translation is
slighlty abbreviated.
199
As mirror shining
my dear each morning
holdeth
in her fair hand
is Mitsu's^ strand, whence
launched
the tall ship float eth,
and stout oars many are
manned,
and o'er the sea-plain
tow'rds distant Kara fare
we —
by Minume ^ oaring,
that standeth o'er against
us,
the tide await we,
and drift adown the fair-
way
to open ocean,
where high the
waves surge,
across the waters
our bark we row until that
Awade's * isle
(lone isle its name and
loveless)
we sight, and darkness
on cloudy sea-marge
falleth,
as night still deepeneth,
our further course un-
knowing,
Akashi ^ see we,
(and now my heart
grow'th lighter
in the Bay of Bright-
ness),
as there awhile we tarry
and wave-rocked slum-
ber—
white thence seawards gazing
watch I
218
MANY6SHIU
the fisher-lasses
from crowded boats a-row
their lines still casting,
and as the day grow'th
brighter
and the tide 'gins flow-
ing
the screaming wild-fowl
view I
to reed-marsh hast'ning,
and in the calm of morning
the shouting hear
of sailors making ready,
and fishers launching
their boats across the
breakers —
the grebes, too, watch I
swim pairing on the
waters
as Iheshima ^
in the cloudy distance
loometh
(men call Home Island
well-named me-seemed
the island),
and fain to comfort
my weary heart I longed
there swiftly faring
upon those shores to gaze,
but further oaring
our tall ship we affronted
huge ocean-billows
that rose and curled and
toppled,
wherefore the island
we passed, and elsewhere
gazed we
as onwards fared we
to the hollow bay of
Tama ^,
where time we tarried,
and on the wild shore
gazing
my thoughts to home-
land
turn'd and tears fell from
me —
there I bethought me
awabi pearls to gather,
such as do deck
the sea-god's sacred arms,
and gift-wise send them
by runner to my home-
place,
but found no runner —
wherefore 'twas vain to
gather,
and there unglean d I left
them!
' This lay is a sort of Icaido Jcudari or * journey-song * — word-
plays on the place-names conveying or illustrating the senti-
ments.
* Mitsu is in Settsu — mi, fine ; tsu, port.
THE LONG LAYS
219
' In Settsu.
* Awade (ahade — not meet, i. e. one's love).
^ In Harima. Usually written Eed Kocks (ahi-isM)^ but
akasM also means the brightening of daybreak.
^ In Harima ; ihe = home, homeplace.
■^ In Hizen ; tamay jewel, suggests the awabi pearls men-
tioned below. One of the two envoys intimates that on the
return home in the autumn [wasure-gai^ forget, i. e. forget-me-
not (?), shells — a kind of clam so called) will be gathered as
gifts for wife and homefolk.
Book XV, Part II
200
Elegy on the Death of Yukino Murazhi Yakamori.^
My lord my brother,
towards Tsukushi, Kara
fronting,
the furthest frontier
of our dread Sovereign's
realm,
he hath departed —
or lack hishousefolk piety,
or fail disloyal
month after month agone
is,
to-day, to-raorrow,
' oh ! will he come 1 ' his
housefolk
day after day cry —
ah, Kara^ never reached
he,
far from Yamato,
to their lord's mat left far from his folk and home-
lonely,^ place
I know not — 'Autumn', on rocky height
to her who nursed him he lieth in loneliness,
said he, in a grave rock-builded
* shall yet be with you on a wild- waste isle he
when home again shall lodgeth
see me ' ; for whom still yearn his
but gone is autumn, housefolk.
220 MANYOSHIU
Iliata's moor where be their lord, I
his lodging is, alas ! know not,
to his folk who ask, oh, what to say I know
me not.
^ The author of the lay seems to have been a member of the
mission mentioned under lay 199. Of Yakamori himself
nothing is known ; he was employed doubtless in the suite of
the embassy. I take waga se in the text to be a title of address,
* my brother ', not my husband. Yakamori died suddenly of
the pest in Iki island, and was buried there. Iki lies between
Hizen and Tsushima, and was a place of call for ships going to
China or Korea.
^ To fail in respect to the mat of an absent member of a
household was a serious offence in ancient Japan, causing
disaster to the absent person. See K. p. 300 : * respect my mat
while I am absent. '
^ In Iki. Shiraki in Kara was regarded as a frontier land of
Tsukushi, the extreme west of Japan, and as a part of the
Mikado's realm.
In Book XIX is a short lay beginning Kmhi wo mizhi — * Nor
comb is used, nor house swept out, for the lord thereof hath de-
parted on a grass-pillow journey, wherefore his folk would ensure
him safe return.' On this Sengaku says: * After the master
of a household had left on a journey, it was the custom not to
sweep the house-place for three days, and not to use a comb
for the hair.' In the Go Kansho (Chinese Hist, of the After
Han) it is said : ^ When the Japanese go on a journey they
choose a man whom they tabu in their interest. He must
abstain from flesh, and remain continent until the return of
the traveller. In the event of a safe return he is rewarded,
otherwise he may be slain, for he must have broken his tabu.'
In 758 the very ships bearing embassies to Korea or China —
two are named, the Harima and Hayatori — were raised to
the junior rank of the lower fifth order to ensure safety. I owe
this reference to Mr. Minakata.
'
THE LONG LAYS
221
201
Their humble hope was
their lord's weal might
endure
while heaven and earth
last,
but far their lord hath
wandered
from pleasant home-
land
across the tossing waters,
and days and months
pass
until the wild geese under
the skies scream
loudly ^ —
what time his mother who
nursed him,
and wife left desolate,
their long robes all be-
drenched
with dews of morning,
their hanging sleeves, too,
moist
with mists of evening,
along the ways fare,
watching
for his home-coming
safe after weary wayfare —
alas ! men still
must fill the world with
weeping,
nor wife nor mother
scarce hope again to see
him,
ah ! far from homeland
beyond the furthest clouds
a hut reed-roofed
on autumn moor o'er-
strewn
with hagi-blossoms
his only lodging giveth,
on some hill-side
where chill the dew and
rime fall
their lord his lodging
findeth —
Fair wife and children,
how longingly they wait
for father, husband !
whom yon far island
hideth
from loving eyes for ever —
On that lone hill-side
with leaves of autumn
ruddy
for ay he resteth
whom still they yearn to
see,
a fate how piteous theirs ! ^
^ Autumn-time.
^ An elegy on the death — as yet unknown to his family —
of a member of the mission mentioned under lay 197. Of the
222 many6shiu
author nothing is known beyond the name of Fujiwi no
Murazhi Ko Oyu. Oyu seems to be a title of address — Elder or
Venerable ; Ko perhaps is an additional honour-word.
202
The dread way perilous by trial of deer's shoulder-
of the great god of the sea blade
with pain and travail in fire-flame cast —
towards the West he ^ how vain the dream, was
wended, answer,
and sick inquired the path how empty, '-^
if Kara- wards unscath'd on further course to ven-
he might fare further — ture,
the lord of the fisher- from Iki westwards ven-
folk there ture !
wise answer sought he
* The subject of the lay is, perhaps, Yakamori, a member of
the embassy mentioned in lay 197. He died in Yuki (Iki) ;
during his sickness he is represented as having sought the aid of
divination. The authorship is attributed to one Musaba, who
flourished in Hoji (757-65). A quibble may be hidden in
^ Kara ', China or Korea, whose homophon {kara) means bitter-
ness, misery.
^ Literally, * a mere dream ', ' a road in the air '.
Book XVI, Part I
203
The 16th Book opens with a curious preface, followed by
two tanka. The preface is as follows : —
There was formerly a damsel called Sakura no Ko (Lady
Cherryblossom), who was wooed by two gentles. These
young nobles were deadly rivals, each anxious to challenge
the other even to death. The damsel was much affected at
this state of things, and said : ' From ancient times to this
THE LONG LAYS
223
day it has never been heard or seen that a maid should
follow two men to their homes. There is, therefore, nothing
left me but the necessity of dying to avoid the interruption
of tranquillity by the rival claims of these two gentlemen.'
Then she entered a grove and hanged herself upon a
tree ; whereupon the rival suitors, distracted with grief,
composed the following tanka: —
Haru saraba
kazashi ni semu to
aga mohishi
sakura no hana ha
chiri nikeru ka mo.
When Spring appeared
I thought with spray
cherry
my head to deck ;
but the cherry-spray
beloved,
alas, hath faded, fallen !
of
Imo ga na ni
kakaseru sakura
hana sakaba,
tsune ni ya kohimu
iya toshi no ha ni.
Both the above turn
Cherry-blossom. There
The vernal blossom,
the spray her name that
beareth,
each year in bloom,
renew'd each year in beauty
flower, face, I hoped to gaze
on.
upon the lady's name, Sakura —
follow three other short lays
(tanka) y preceded by a story of three men who loved one
maid, named Kadzura no Ko — to her destruction, for to
save trouble she drowned herself. Thereupon each of the
lovers composed a tanha^ and may have been happy ever
afterwards.
The present lay is likewise prefaced by. an illustrative
story in Chinese (highly amusing, but most seriously
intended), of which a somewhat condensed translation
follows : —
' Long ago there lived an ancient named Takatori. One
spring he climbed a hill to look at the country. There he
suddenly came upon a bevy of nine damsels engaged in
making broth. They were peerless in their many charms,
and in their flower-like forms unparalleled. The damsels
saw him, and, calling to him, said, laughing :
224 MANYOSHIU
* Come here, old grandfather, and blow up the fire for us
under the pot ! '
The old man nodded assent, and went up to them ; where-
upon the damsels began to smile and push about alluringly,
crying:
* Who has called such an old fellow as this ? '
Then Takatori cried :
* You do not know that it is a holy man you have called
to you : the way you behave to him is altogether wrong.
But I will make atonement for you by composing a lay/
So he indited the following lay and its hanka.
The Kogi learnedly comments upon the name Takatori,-^
should it be so written, or thus — Taketori ? The conclu-
sion is that Takatori as a name is better, and Taketori
preferable rather as the designation of a bamboo-gatherer '.
In a further long note the Kogi explains the subject of
the lay. The damsels are called senjo — semi-celestial or
fairy-like beings — more literally, mountain-recluse- women ;
but there is nothing to show that they are such. The lay
is characterized as tedious and inferior to the lay of
Urashima (lay 105), which is of older date, as well as to the
lays of Hitdmaro and Akahito, and as showing little of the
true spirit of the divine age. It is, in fact, of Chinese
origin, and in it the ancient warns the damsels and the
world generally to profit by his example. He, too, has
been young and handsome, well dressed, courted by society,
and admired by women ; but now he is old and ugly — just
as those who now laugh at him will in their turn become,
and be scorned by the young gallants of the Court as they
scorn him.^
While yet my mother, fine yufu mantle
whonurs'd me still a babe, of red-sewn plainstufF
mj cherish'd form wearing,
in shoulder - girdle car- when grown to child-
ried, hood
while still an infant finefrock of spotted hem p-
I crawled upon the mats, cloth
with sleeves
nish'd —
the little maids would
seek me
of equal summers,
their jetty tresses hanging
upon their shoulders,
by pretty comb confined,
and elder damsels
with locks uplifted bound
in girlish knot,
their tresses loosely over
THE LONG LAYS
fine-fur
225
in
smooth and shining
grass-cloth
and over-vestments
of hempen fine-stuff
woven —
of village mayors
the daughters even
woo'd I,
such was my fortune, .
and fine footgear they
gave me
of pattem'd stuff
their shoulders flowing and parti-colour'd too,
like little girls, would
seek me
in robes arrayed
with spreading purple
patterns,
and mantles dyed
with true alder-dye of
Wori
in Suminoye,
and boots to wear
well-sewn and jetty black,
the long rains even
fending,
of Asuka s famous fashion-
ing,
thus stocking'd, booted,
I paced about the garden,
and maidens under
and girdles of fine brocade their mother's eye heard
true Koma hand-work
entwin'd with threads of
scarlet
woundround andround,
and frocks worn mani-
fold-
damsels, spinsters,
of hempen yarn, and eke
young wealthy maidens
wearers of silken fabrics,
fair maids arrayed
whispers
of my youth and bloom,
and fine things they, too,
gave me,
fine blue silk girdles
to make my vestment gay,
and narrow girdles
of outland Kara fashion —
as slim I was then
as any wasp that soareth
DICKINS. II
226
MANY6SHIU
on tiled roof lofty
of sea-god's fane to perch
him,
so dressed I finely,
bright mirror Tore me,
and eke behind me hang-
ing,
that on my beauty
I might the better feast
me —
what time spring suns
shone,
along the moorstde wan-
dering,
the very pheasants
their notes of admira-
tion
seem'd to utter,
in time of autumn,
when up the hillslopes
clomb I,
the very clouds seem'd
to swim in admiration,
and thence returning
to sunbright City-Koyal,
the fine court ladies,
and eke the young court
gallants,
with admiration
turn'd back to gaze, and
ask,
who might I be 1 —
'twas so in long past
days —
what ahandsome fellow !
the pretty maidens whis-
per'd —
with scornful look
to-day they point their
finger
at me and ask,
why, who is this,
who passeth, ugly wretch
he!—
so was it too
in days long past and gone
that men of wisdom
to after generations
held up as mirror
the story of the grandsire
and the car the son
brought back ^ !
^ There are many difficulties in this curious lay, of which
various solutions have been offered. On the whole I have
followed the Kogi in my version, which, however, in the details
of dress in particular, is to some extent conjectural.
^ The story alluded to is that of Genkoku or Yuen Kuh.
His grandfather being old and useless, his parents resolved to get
rid of him. Yuen Kuh remonstrated, but was finally compelled
to construct a chair or car of some kind and to carry away the
grandfather and abandon him in a waste place. Yuen Khu
II THE LONG LAYS 227
brought back the chair and was reproached by his father, who
said, *Why bring back that useless thing.' But Yuen Khu
answered, * Not so useless, I thought I might not have time to
make another when you are old enough to abandon like grand-
father, so I brought it back with me for future use. The
father was greatly struck by this answer, and hurrying to the
waste place brought back the old man and tended him carefully
ever after. (Pishi, Yuen Kien Luihan 1703, cclxxi, fol. 13 b,
cited by Minakata Kumagusu, N. and Q, Aug. 8, 1903.)
There are two envoys on the disadvantages of growing old,
white hairs and loss of beauty, and nine short lays addressed by
the nine damsels to the Ancient. The justice of his rebuke is
acknowledged, a rebuke none had made before, without yea or
I nay they submit to his reproof, in death or in life they will
keep it in mind, they require no further argimaent, they do not
need to arrive at the full bloom of their beauty to understand
the justice of his remarks, they would be, as it were, tinctured
with new moral life, they bow before his wisdom as the grass
bends to the breeze.
204
[A Wife's] Love for her Husband.
No word there cometh 'tis plain to all,
by flow'r-spray bearing in all my bones that
runner acheth,
from him, my lord, and heart and bowels
my ruddy comely lord — with cruel tortures wring-
and I sick-hearted eth —
must bide in lonely sorrow, now death is near,
to the gods all-mighty swift death upon me lieth,
let none my woe impute, was it my husband
nor call the wise-men, at last who cometh, called
nor trial of burning blade- me,
bone or did I hear
let them essay, my mother's voice who
it is my love that paineth, nursed me 1
Q 2
228 MANYCSHIU
on all the cross-ways Ah, what avail eth
the ev'ning oracle who or diviner's crackled blade-
asketh, bone
or the seer's art trieth, or evening oracle —
for that upon me cometh, 'tis for a glance of him
death cometh imminent.^ I love my soul doth
hunger !
* The lay represents the distress of a dying wife who would
fain see her long-absent husband ere death fell upon her. It
is not the act of the gods but her love that is killing her. The
relatives of a sick person consulted the road-oracle and the
diviner on behalf of the moribund, and as they stood by the
pillow sought to revive the sufferer by words of affection.
Book XVI, Part II
205
A Fair One's Complaint.
My food I swallow and naught can cure me
but it hath no savour for save full oblivion
me, of my ruddy lord and
I wander idly lover ! ^
but peace to me none
cometh,
* Attributed to a mistress of Sawi no Ohokimi whose guard
at the Palace kept him from her side. One night, thus deserted,
she dreamed he was with her, but suddenly awaking and
finding herself alone, exhaled her disappointment in tears and
the above lay. Sawi (a descendant in the sixth generation of
the Mikado Bidatsu (572-85) was moved by her grief and pro-
cured relief from the Court office which interfered with his
duty as a lover.
THE LONG LAYS 229
206
My heart as pure O well it were I met thee,
as are the waters bubbling and with thee, dear,
— refreshing waters — I would my bead-lace
from Oshitaru's moor, thridden
— fair Oshitaru — ^ with manyawhite pearl
as pure in love of thee, against thy hat rush-
where never sound woven,
comes 2 I would exchange,
of the evil world I'd the bead-lace round my
meet thee, neck worn
where never sound against the hat thou
comes wearest.
^ The m. k. is umasakewo, sweet rice-sake, applied to Oshi-
taru because of the homophon taru, to drop, as the sake does
from one tub into another in the course of production.
^ That is, of men's ill-natured talk.
207
A Noto Lay.
To muddy bottom why blubber, blubber !
of steep Kumaki's ^ pool dost think thy tears
hath dropp'd the fellow will float thee up again
his fine Korean axe — thy fine Korean axe !
* In Noto — a peninsula on the NW. coast of the main
island, south of the island of Sado.
208
In steep Kumaki's 111 try to win him peace
dram-shop yonder hear I there,
a poor fellow yon poor fellow
soundly rated, soundly rated.^
^ Such appears to be the meaning of this effusion, probably
given as an example of the Noto style.
230 MANYOSHIU
209
On Tsukuwe's island with bitter salt
where K^shima's peak up- Ipound and pound it up —
riseth
shells of shitatami in vessel place I
I gather and bear away, the savoury mess and offer,
the shells break open on standing table
and scoop the pulp there- my lady mother offer,
out, and she the dainty
in running water will to my father offer,
the flesh I wash and scour, my lady mother offer ^.
^ There is a word-play of no interest. Noto is the Jutland of
Japan. Its name is (said to be) derived from the Ainu nottu,
a peninsula. The province is the rainiest in Japan. (Cham-
berlain and Mason's Guide, 5th ed., p. 404.) The conclusion
of the uta is conjecturally rendered. Shitatami are a species of
clam.
210
The Hart's Lament.
Her well-belov'd one, for mats good store to
her dear lord and spouse, win him,
long years together skins piled on skins ^ —
in wedded weal had spent so piled the ridges
when forthright fared he of Hdguri's lofty hill are —
to Kara land to hunt there where in the hare-
the royal tiger, month ^,
the king of beasts to hunt and in the month of
there, growing ^,
to take him living, folk go to gather
take many a tiger living, for royal use fresh
and skins good store simples —
I
THE LONG LAYS
231
and there beneath,
twain ichihi* trees I stood,
upon the cadence
of that far distant hill,
where thickly rank'd
the tall-trunked hi trees
cluster,
there bows full many
bore on their backs the
archers,
there arrows many,
grooved whistling arrows
bore they,
and while I watched
there
beneath those clustering
trees
the deer watching —
lo ! came a hart and stood
there
his eyes all tearful,
and spoke to me and said
he—
* now must I die,
yet dead shall service
render,
the Sovran's canopy ^
my horns shall ornament,
my ears due vessel
provide for royal ink.
my very eyes
shall serve as glittering
mirrors ®,
my hoofs shall furnish
bow-ends for right good
bows,
its hair my body
to make the roy albrushes ''j
my skin, too, purvey
for royal case fine leather,
his cooks shall mince-
meat
of all my flesh provide,
and of my liver
like mincemeat shall pre-
pare,
tripes too I furnish
with salt well mixed for
savour,
and so my course run
when all of me is spent
in service loyal,
as an eightfold cherry
blossom,
as a sevenfold cherry
blossom,
due meed of praise shall
mine be,
shall mine due meed of
praise be/*
^ Up to this point we have an introduction — a sort of pro-
longed m. k.— to the piling of the folds or ridges of Heguri.
Even dead, cries the hart, I continue my loyal service as eveiy
part of me is turned to royal use. In N. I. 291 is the story of
232 MANYCSHIU
a man who passed a night on the moor of Toga between two
deer, male and female. The male related a dream in which he
saw his body whitened as by a mist. His mate explained to
him that this meant that he would be shot, and his body
smeared with white salt.
"^ The fourth month.
^ The fifth month.
* I cannot discover what tree is meant — perhaps Chamae-
cyparis.
^ The point above the spread was of horn, probably sculp-
tured.
* The reference seems to be to the brightness and largeness
of the eyes.
^ Pen-brushes.
^ It is hard to die, but in rendering such service to the
Sovran the hart will be worthy of the praise awarded to many-
whorled cherry-blossoms, which, regarded as a rarity, were
hailed as auspicious omens.
211
The Crab's Elegy.
By wave-worn Nan'ha due service I must render,
in Woye's creek my home and so to Asuka ^
I had me builded, this very day must go,
and lived a life secluded 6kina ^ passing
among the reeds — — though on my legs I
when royal order called cannot
me, stand e'en a moment —
but why I know not, and so the moor of Tsuku ^
'tis not that I am clever, reach
or sing divinely, — though builder none
that I am call'd, belike, I —
or flute or harp and the middle eastern
play pleasingly, belike, gate
whate'er the reason approach at last
THE LONG LAYS
233
the royal will there wait-
ing—
so must huge horses
foot-fetter bear and halter,
and bulls be led
by cords rove through
their muzzles,
and the elms innum'rous
upon the far hills grow-
ing ^
with hi trees studded
their countless branches
lose,
and all their vigour
be reft of, in the sun
dried* —
so in yon mortar
there in the court-place
is store of salt well
pounded,
salt fine, first-dripped
from my own Woye pans
by wave-worn Nd-
niha —
next are the potters
bidden
fresh jars to furnish,
and fresh-made jars are
furnished
upon the morrow,
and I am salted, pickled
up to my eyes,
and so my service render-
ing
from stamm'ring Kara ^ my meed of praise I earn
brought, me ^.
^ There is a play on Asuka (asu = morrow), of which the
value is given in the word * very ' of the next line.
^ Okina is here a place-name : oJci means to stand erect which
the crab cannot do.
^ Tsukunu, in the text, is the moor (nu or no) of Tsuku, but
tsulcu = construct, build.
* i. e. exposed to dry in the sun.
^ On the same principle that the Kussians call the Germans
niemetsu*
^ Even the crab (like stag, horse, bull, elm tree, &c.) renders
his due service (as food) to the Mikado (see K. App. XLII, where
the crab is mentioned as part of the feast), and finds his reward
in the fulfilment of that duty. This lay and the preceding one
skilfully combine devotion to the Mikado with a touch of
Buddhist respect for life, and, perhaps, some sense of humour.
I add here the translation of a tanJcttf unconnected with the pre-
234 MANYOSHIU
sent lay, but exemplary in its way as dealing with one of the
Three Startling Things :—
To meet a wandering
green-greyish ghost of mortal
in the darkness
of a rainy night 'tis fearsome,
past all forgetting fearsome.
The other two 'startling' things are the sudden rustling of
quail, roused on a rainy night when cutting chigaya or tsuhana
(Imperata arundinacea) on the little moor of Sasara, and the
meeting far inland a governor's yellow painted house-boat
moving as though on a sea-way. (The latter, perhaps, implies
a reference to some occasion of such a boat being conveyed
over land.)
Book XVII, Part I
The 17th Book opens with ten lays by retainers of the
Dazaisui (Commandant of the Tsukushi garrison) on his
departure for City-Royal in 2 Tempyd (730) to receive his
investiture as a Dainagon.
Then comes a short lay by Yakamochi, dated 10 Tempy6
(738), motived by the contemplation of the Milky Way
(River of Heaven) on Tanabata night (7th of 7th moon).
* This night will the Weaving Woman (or, it may be,
the Herdman) cross the River of Heaven in a frail bark
while the clouds drift across the mirror-bright expanse of
the moonlit sky — [but the clouds hide the view, and also
the Weaving Woman's beauty].'
Next are given six short lays, also by Yakamochi, on
the beauty of Plum-blossoms, composed by order of the
Sovran on the 9th of the 11th moon of 12 Tempy6 (Dec. 3,
740).
These are followed by Lay 212, made in praise of the
new City-Royal of Kuni on the Plain of Mika. The date
is the second moon of 13 Tempyd (Feb.-March, 741). The
author is the Chief of the Stables (Uma no Tsukasa no
Kami), Sakahi-be no Sukune Oyamaro, of whom nothing is
known, beyond his lengthy name.
THE LONG LAYS 235
212
In Yamashiro the upper waters
now standeth City-Eoyal, o'erpassed by bridges
where in the spring- hanging,
time the lower waters
the land is whelmed in o'erpassed by bridges
blossom, floating,
and in the autumn 0 long attend there,
in glow of ruddy leaf ry, for a thousand thousand
where round about years,
flow'thldzumi's river gird- the servants of the Sov-
ling, ran.i
^ In many of the lays in this and the following books some
abbreviation has been thought advisable, chiefly by omission
or shortening of repetitions and common forms of expression.
A number of tanha follow, succeeded by others intro-
duced by a Chinese preface, stating the occasion of their
composition, which is worth translating.
* In the new year's month of 18 Tempy6 (747) a heavy
fall of snow occurred at the Palace, covering the ground to
the depth of several inches. The Sadaijin Tachibana Kyo
got together the Dainagon Fujihara no Toyonari and all
the magnates and pages of the Court, and, leading them
to the Royal apartments, caused the snow to be swept up.
Afterwards a banquet was given in the Great Hall, to
which the Daijin, the Sangi, and the magnates were invited,
and also a banquet was given in the smaller South Hall,
to which the Ky6 and lords were invited, and each guest
was commanded by the Mikado to compose a stanza in
commemoration of the event. The first of these, by the
Sadaijin Tachibana, was to the following effect : —
Dread Lord and Sovran
until my head is white
as new-fall'n snow
to serve thee ever truly
shall be my grace and joy.*
236
manyOshiu
213
Elegy by Yakamochi on the Death of a Younger
Brother.^
My Lord and Sovran
laid his commands upon
me
on distant frontier
his royal peace to guard
him,
and with me went'st
thou
to climb the pass of Nara,
— green-oaked Nara —
reaching Idzumi's clear
waters
where our horses
we stayed awhile and
parted —
' Bide thee brother/
I said, 'in health and
happiness
till my home-coming/
and from that day of
parting
the ways I wended
till many a hill and river
us twain divided —
so passed the time too
tardy,
and I yearned for
him,
when came a sceptred
runner
from City-Royal,
and happy tidings hoped I
he brought to cheer
me,
alas, what word he bring-
eth,
— or vain was it,
or false the word he
brought me —
my noble brother,
my lord, my brother,
how
how hath it happed
thus,
thou leav'st me — was thy
time come —
about the homeplace
when hagi blooms are
blowing
in the garden breezes
of autumn, when the
reed-haulms
are heaviest laden,
O nevermore thou'lt wan-
der
in morning hour,
iu evening hour no more
THE LONG LAYS
237
no more thou It wander,
alas, o'er Saho's tree-tops
thy funeral fumes
in
wreathing coils are
floating —
oh, sad the tale he bring-
eth!
1 The date is Sept. 18, 746. In N. II. 423 we read of the
cremation of the Queen-Eegnant Jito in 694, the earliest
instance of that practice recorded in the Chronicles.
214
A Lay by Yakamochi on the occasion of a sudden
illness threatening death.^
In leal obeisance
to my dread Lord and
Sovran,
across the mountains
with hi trees thickly
wooded
to heaven-distant
frontier-land I wended —
and scarce recovered
my lady mother,
how to and fro she tosseth
Kke ship at sea,
rack'd with sore anxiety
lest nevermore
she may behold her son,
and lone and desolate
my lady wife, too, see I
in doorway watching
from the pains of toilsome from morning until even,
travel,
in mortal fashion
ere many months were
gone
to sudden ill
I yielded, and lay helpless
on bed of sickness —
and as the days in misery
pass slowly by
I think of her who nurs'd
me,
her sleeves reversed '^,
and ordering the alcove
as night descendeth,
and all the dark hours
thorough
for her husband yearn-
her jetty tresses scattered
around her flung dis-
heveird—
my children, too.
238 MANYCSHIU
both boys and girls, I see part me from City-
them, Royal —
I see them wandering consumed my heart is,
and all the while still I perish fill'd with long-
weeping, ii^gs,
while yet no word my days allotted
may sceptred runner but sorrow bring, un-
carry, holpen
along the far ways I weep, a warrior weep I.
^ Written by Yakamochi on the 20th of the 2nd month
of 19 Tempyo (April 5, 747) (in Etchiu), probably at the Govern-
ment tachi or Residence. Keichiu points out that the opening
of the lay resembles that of Okura's elegy on the death of his
wife. See lay 61.
^ Watching for his return, her sleeves still folded back as in
sleep. Some commentators (but wrongly) pretend that there
is an allusion to a common belief that on rolling back the
sleeves desired visions may be obtained in dreams. She tends
his mat, too, in accordance with ancient custom.
There are two envoys, one comparing life to the blossom
that withers and is blown away, the other lamenting the absence
of the wife who is far away at the mansion in City-Royal.
215
On the 29th of the 2nd moon of 20 Tempy6 (April 2,
748), Ohotomo no Sukune Yakamochi, Governor of Etchiu,
presents to the Secretary of Echizen, Ohotomo no Sukune
Ikenushi two short lays of complaint. Yakamochi is con-
fined to his house by sickness, and with the lays sends the
subjoined letter written in pure Chinese. This is the
beginning of a correspondence of which portions may be
given, illustrative of the quaintnesses of old-time Chinese in
the hands of old-time Japanese. They are, if not the oldest,
among the oldest, examples extant of familiar Chinese
correspondence in ancient Japan. It must be remembered
that no syllabary had yet been invented, and written
THE LONG LAYS 239
documents were necessarily composed in Chinese : the style,
as far as I can judge, is by no means of inferior quality.
The text, however, is corrupt and obscure.
* Falling unexpectedly ill, and with the process of time my
malady becoming more tedious, although by prayer to all
the gods I obtain some relief, yet weak am I and emaciated,
and all the strength is gone from my flaccid sinews, so that
I am not yet in a condition to return thanks [for recovery]
and depend more and more upon your afi'ection. Now on
these spring mornings are the gardens at this season full
of the perfume and abundance of the new blossoms, and on
these spring evenings the nightingale fills the groves with
his music, and 'tis the season to rejoice with harp and wine.
But I cannot bear even the motion of a litter, much less
the labour of leaning upon a staff, and must remain
lonely within my curtain-screen [sick-room]. All I can
do is to venture to offer you some petty verses which I fear
will unloose somewhat your jaws [make you smile, i.e.
ridicule them] : —
All in blossom The nightingale sings
are the cherry trees of amid the spring-time blos-
springtime, soms
oh, would the power and scattereth them— ^
were mine a spray to gather oh, when shall we together
wherewith my head to gather garlands on the hill-
deck me ! sides ! '
Ikenushi's answer, dated April 4, 748 : —
* You have deigned to afford me the unexpected pleasure
[unexpected = undeserved] of your fragrant writing. Your
cultivation of letters is like that of a garden above the
clouds. And you present me with two Japanese lays —verily
a brocade upon the forest of literature. I chant them, I
sing them, and so remove melancholy from my soul. The
mornings of spring are full of the harmony of Nature —
verily they are pleasant ! On spring evenings the landscape
giveth just the delight you so well portray. How dazzling,
dazzling are the pink hues of the peach blossoms ! How
the butterflies frolic and dance among them I And the
240 many6shiu
green willows how they sway, sway ! Lovely is the note
of the nightingale hidden among the recesses of its foliage.
Ah, delightful ! Friendship, limpid as water itself, brings
us near together. Knowing each other's thoughts, we need
not measure our words. [We can speak without restraint.]
How gladsome! How fine! Men of taste understand
each other without words. We are parted, like two orchids
at a distance from each other [what the two plants are is
not to be made out]. Wine and song we do not require.
But should we not enjoy the charms of Nature 1 things
that have form [birds] and things that have colour
[flowers] would put us to shame [for they enjoy their
world]. Such a mood I do not admire, and not liking to
be silent, I have, so to speak, put this rough Wistaria cloth
on your brocade and present these verses to you as matters
perhaps for talk and laughter. [The foregoing is completely
Chinese in tone as in language.]
From 'mid these hiU- Yon nightingale
slopes he cometh singing, rending,
a cherry flow'r spray send I, the Kerria blossoms —
at least to gladden alas, ere thou hast touched
thy eyes I send the blossoms, them,
that less the time be irksome, the Kerria blooms will
scatter ! '
Yakamochi's answer to Ikenushi (April 5, 748), with one
long lay and three short lays: —
* Your generosity deigns to favour my mean self ; your
unlimited grace extends itself to my poor wit ; I sink
under the burden of your offering [of two lays] ; no words
can convey my gratitude. I must confess that in my
young days I did not tread the halls of learning ; the
scrawl [sea- weed] of my perverse [ill- written] letter shows
a lack of all grace ; I never, in my student days, passed
the gate of the Mountain and Persimmon [mountain (yama)
denotes Ydmabe no Akdhito, Persimmon {kaki) Kakino-
moto no Hit(5maro, accepted as facile principes among the
poets of the Many6shiu], so that, in resorting to poetic
expression, I am lost in a tangled thicket of words. You
THE LONG LAYS
241
deign to say you have put your rough Wistaria stuff on
my fine brocade, but what I am sending you is but a pebble
to your pearl. But I have a bad, vulgar turn of mind ;
I cannot keep silent, but must send some columns of words
[I cannot keep my hands off versifying]. I shall only
make you laugh ; but here are my lines : —
Yakamochi to Ikenushi.
In dread obeisance
to our high Lord and
Sovran,
to distant Koshi
o'er many a mountain-pass
I fared, the frontier
in watchand ward to keep,
when suddenly
— this world of men is
ever
a world of change —
tho* warrior leal I be
on couch of sickness
I lie for days agone
and still I lie there
in pain and sadness,
and know not any ease
of mind or body —
o'er tnany a wooded hill
with hi trees studded
the length'ning spear-
w^ays
have brought me hither,
where never is any runner
of welcome words
to carry interchange,
DICKIHS. II
and all my span of days
is fuU of misery,
nor help for me is any,
remote, secluded,
I can but muse and wail,
nor any solace
my heavy heart here find-
eth—
now fair spring-time
doth show its cherry-
blossom,
and I would gather
the sprays with happy
comrade
to deck our heads,
and now the nightingale,
too,
fills all the moorside
withcrowded songwhich I
alas, may hear not ! —
and girls in merry bevies
wild herbs to gather
roam o'er the heaths and
hillsides,
their red skirts drench-
ing
242 MANYOSHIU
in the fragrant rains of your lines, my friend,
spring, are sweet to me who read
but all this joyance in them your love,
is hid from me, the while the livelong night I sleep
the pleasant season not,
doth pass away and and long for you all
vanish — day! ^ '
^ The last portion of the text is a little obscure.
There are three tanJca.
In the first Yakamochi expresses his longing to view the
spring blossoms with Ikenushi.
In the second he desires to enjoy the beauty of the
Yamabuki (Kerria japonica), and hear the song of the
nightingale.
In the third he regrets that he is still too weak to go
out with his friend and enjoy the flush of flowers on the
hillsides; but his friend is none the less the lord of his
heart, despite his feebleness.
Book XVII, Paet II
There follows a heptasyllabic Chinese ode on
Country Eambles. The date is 3rd of 3rd month
(April 6, 748). Ikenushi accompanies his poem with
the following Chinese preface : —
' Festal is the third day of the third month. 'Tis late
spring, and fair to see is the landscape. One's face glows
in the reflected colour of the peach-blossoms. Pink indeed
is their hue ; with the green of the willow contrasts the tint
of the fresh moss. Hand in hand we gaze upon the distant
view of river waters, and lagoons, and banks. In search of
wine we come to a country inn, and, with music to help us
attain a pleasant mood ; the fragrance of friendship brings
souls together. But, alas! to-day one thing lacks in the
joyance [the presence of Yakamochi]. Your starry virtue
is not with us ! And in this void must I hammer out my
rhymes alone, or refrain from conveying to you the pleasure
THE LONG LAYS 243
of my ramble. So I try my brush and send you the
four-rhymed verses herewith.'
[The above letter, like the others written in Chinese, is
wholly Chinese in thought, form, and diction, imitative of
the Chinese style, and full of allusions to the classics.]
[Among the difficulties Ikenushi complains of are even
the rhymes and tones, which are quite unknown both to
Japanese and Japano-Chinese verse.]
Ikenushi's Chinese verses may be thus rendered : —
Delightful are these latter days of spring and worthy of
all praise.
The clear air, the luminous sheen, invite a ramble ; the
willow-planted dikes look upon the waters and lend beauty
and variety to the scene ;
the valley of peach-trees, haunt of fairies, cometh down
to the sea, whereto floateth the bark of the immortals ;
the cloud-chased cup, aromatic with cassia, is filled with
the three pure wines; 'tis winged, and as it flieth round
urgeth men to pour out their soul in the nine sorts of
verse ;
drink freely, till our mere selves be forgotten ; drink
freely, till the spirit of the wine possesses us and no part
escapes its power.
The above poem is dated the 4th day of the 3rd month
(April 7, 748). An answer from Yakamochi has been lost
— as well, it would seem, as some further correspondence
between the two friends on the 5th of April, 748. Ikenushi
sends a Japanese Lay with two envoys to Yakamochi, accom-
panied with a preface in Chinese : —
'Yesterday I opened out to you my scanty thought,
to-day I weary your eyes and ears. Again have you honoured
me with an epistle [lost], and now, against all rules — I am
worthy of death, fully worthy of death, I say it most
respectfully — I submit to you [a Japanese Lay and two
envoys thereto]. Not unnoticing the inferior and insigni-
ficant, you favour me with your excellent words, sending
me verses bright as a halo, fine as the virtue of the stars.
R 2,
244 MANYOSHIU
Your genius is transcendent, your wisdom is like that of
the ancients who took pleasure in running waters ; your
benevolence that of the sages who delighted in the hills
[i. e. your love of Nature]. You are like a gem full of dazzle
and colour ; like Han, who was a lake of wisdom ; like Riku,
a sea of learning (see Giles's Chin. Biogr. Diet., Nos. 1402,
1613). Self -set within the Palace of Poesy and Literature,
your mind travelleth swiftly towards matters that are not
ordinary, yet setteth forth your feelings in common modes.
While walking seven paces you compose a chapter, and
within one sheet you can include a crowd of essays. Excel-
lent are you in dispersing the gloom of a sad heart ; the
piled-up sorrows of lovers you would remove with ease !
Your verses surpass even those of Yamabe (Akahito)
Kakinomoto (Hitomaro). In its very details your style is
as delicate as the strokes of an engraving of a dragon [or —
you use the brush and the ocean of ink with a delicacy
such as would suffice to draw the fine lines of a picture of
a dragon. The ocean of ink implies the amount of literary
labour.] Faultless, indeed, are you in your compositions.
Now I recognize my good fortune [in receiving your verses],
and humbly venture to add some in reply, by me, Ikenushi.'
216
In dread obeisance, 'tis true, on bed of sick-
to heaven-distant march- ness,
land alone, my brother,
hast thou journey'd, and full of woesome
wild hill and waste affront- thoughts,
ing, but such the way is
a liegeman true, and, folk say, ever hath
what cause of grief then been,
hast thou ? of this world of mean-
shall royal runners ness —
from City-Koyal cease ? but hark ! what say our
confined thou liest, neighbours
I
THE LONG LAYS
245
may cheer tliee, friend,
how all about the hill-
sides
the sprays of cherry
are heavy with snowy
blossom
mid which the warblers ^
make their unceasing
music,
while girls in bevies
roam o'er the hills and
moors
to pluck the violets.
their white sleeves daintily
folded,
their smocks of scarlet
above the wet grass lifted^
and wait you brother
in heartfelt sympathy —
so I bid thee be cheerful,
and this remember,
thou surely yet shalt
share in
the revels of the spring-
time !
^ Lit. ' face bird,' i. e. beautiful bird (or kahoyo-dori), applied to
hawfinch, kingfisher, pheasant, &c. The m. k. are mostly
neglected in this version. There are two envoys, with the first
of which a branch of Kerria appears to have been sent, Ikenushi
declares that as he watches the blossoms of the Kerria unfold
greater groweth his affection for his friend ; in the second he
regrets that he can do so little to aid or soothe him — he is, as
it were, outside the pale of power to do so.
There follows ' A Chinese poem with two envoys,'
by Yakamochi in answer to Ikenushi, with a Chinese
letter dated the 5th of the 3rd month (April 8, 748).
The letter is subjoined : —
' Last night ^ your messenger came, to my delight, bringing
with him your ode on a ramble to see the cherry-blooms
in late spring.
This morning 2, by another messenger, I receive your
invitation to a country ramble. A glance at your graceful
composition ^ has chased away my gloom. Twice I have
recited your lines, and my melancholy is gone. Without
this help from you my heart could not have been soothed,
1 trow. Of himself your humble servant can do nothing
246 MANYOSHIU
in the way of verse making ; his dull soul hath, alas ! no
sparkle in it. If I hold the paper until the brush rots, or
sit opposite the ink-stone until I forget thirst*, I can
compose nothing of any value. It is said that style is
natural and cannot be acquired ; so how can I hope to find
proper words and hammer out fitting rhymes ? However,
even village children know the saying of the ancients ^ :
" It cannot be that a man has any power and does not use
it, that he has any speech, and does not answer ". Hence
I put together my poor lines and respectfully submit them
to your ridicule. But for me to attempt to write anything
comparable in diction or rhyme with your graceful pro-
ductions is as if I were to seek to impose a common pebble
upon you as a rare gem. No minstrel in truth am I ; rather
my puny efforts resemble the scribblings of little children.
My humble attempt is presented in a postscript to these : —
Lovely is the land and delightful in the waning spring ;
at this festal time the wind, as it listeth, sweepeth lightly
by; the swallows come with clay in bill, glad to build
their homes under the eaves;
the wild geese fly away, with reeds ^ in bill, afar off to
mid-ocean :
you tell me you chant new songs with old friends ; after
due purification you drink, passing the cup floating in the
clear stream :
oh 1 gladly would I join in this feast and flow, but alas !
I know so deep hath disease gnawed me, I may not shuffle
to your revel.' [The text is certainly corrupt, and the
translation therefore in some measure conjectural.]
' The 4th of the 3rd month (April 7).
^ The 5th of the 3rd month (April 8). One interchange of
correspondence is missing.
' Lit. ' easy, graceful as [the movements of] floating sea-weed
(or river- weed).'
'• That is, he is so slow in composition.
^ From the Book of Odes, of which Mo (Mao) is the reputed
editor (second century b.c).
THE LONG LAYS
247
^ To rest upon in the course of their migration. There are
two envoys. In the first Yakamochi thanks Ikenushi for send-
ing him a spray of Kerria, which adds to his pleasure in
hearing of the blossoming bush. This is an old lay found in
the Tenth Book and adopted by Yakamochi, akihagi (bush-
clover of autumn) being replaced by yamdbuki (Kerria of spring).
Yakamochi — and most of the poets of the time probably— often
enough saved themselves trouble after this fashion. In the
second envoy Yakamochi hopes Ikenushi will not love him
less without, than he, Yakamochi, loves his friend within the
fence — to see even in a dream only would be a joy.
217
Yakamochi to his Wife.^
Together dwelt we,
my lady wife and I,
and ever more loving
we grew in years together:
and as we gazed on
the earliest flowers of
spring-time
in soul and body
she seemed to grow more
lovely
with their new beauty,
my winsome one far from
me —
when in obeisance
to my dread Lord and
Sovran
the passes shaggy
with thickly clustered hi
trees,
the wild waste moor-
lands
to frontier heaven-distant,
on royal service
I crossed and parted from
thee —
and since that parting
have come and gone
months many,
and spring's fair blos-
soms
have shown and passed
and perished,
and thou, sweet wife,
not once my eyes hast
gladdened,
and sore my sorrow
beyond what words can
tell is,
my sleeves of fine-
stuffs
each night have I rolled
back,
248
manyOshiu
not one forgetting, ^
to see thee in my dream-
ings
but I would see thee,
in very self would see
thee,
the while my misery
a thousandfold increaseth,
I would so distant
thou wert not from me,
dear,
and I would seek thee
and make thine arm my
pillow,
and so embracing
the livelong night be
with thee,
but far the spear-ways,
too far the spear-ways are
alas, dividing,
as though by barrier-gate,
thyself from me, dear,
yet howsoever be it
a happier time shall
a happier time be ours,
when cuckoo cometh
in his own blithe month
singing,
— O would 'twere here —
when all the hills are
blooming
with whitening hare-
bush 3,
around me gazing gladly,
o'er Omi's waters,
the track to City-Koyal,
— well-founded Nara —
to our own homeplace,
dear,
like nuye bird,
to ease its grief impatient,
I shall be hastenino;
as filled with love and
longing,
to see thee standing
in our own doorway
listening
to the evening oracle *,
the road still watching
for me
who spurn the ways to
meet thee !
1 Dated 20th of the 3rd month, 20 Tempyo (April 21, 748).
The translation is slightly abbreviated.
"^ If you turn back your sleeve at night, you may see the one
you love best in a dream — is a Japanese belief.
^ Deutzia scabra — a common hedge bush in Japan.
* Listening to scraps of passing talk as presaging future
events. There are four envoys echoing various sentiments in
the lay.
THE LONG LAYS
249
218
A Lay by Yakamochi in Praise of Mount Futakami
in Etchiu.^
High-peaked Futa-
kami ^
Imidzu s river girdleth,
when spring-time blos-
soms
in all their wealth are
blooming,
when autumn leaferv
on all the hillsides glow-
eth,
at either season
delightful 'tis to view,
for gods fit dw^elling,
most excellent the moun-
tain
and fair to gaze on
is twin-peaked Futa-
kami ! —
where the wooded
cadence
upon the champaign fall-
eth,
Shibutani riseth,
the lofty headland where
in the calm of morning
the white waves beat the
shore-sand,
in the calm of evening
the flowing tide loud
surgeth —
an endless joy
from ancient days till
these
hath this fair scene been,
and often as men view it
more lovely still they hold
it!
^ On the last day of the 3rd month (May 1, 748), Yaka-
mochi composed this lay to relieve his mind oppressed by his
long illness. It is preceded by two short lays in which the
poet complains that he has not yet heard the voice of the
cuckoo, owing perhaps to the rarity of orange-bushes in
Etchiu.
^ There is here an untranslatable m. k. in the text — tama-
Jcushige, ' fine comb-casket/ applied to Futa (fata = lid) of Futa
Kami, Twain Gods or Twain Heights. Shibutani is one of the
hills of the group ending in a sea-cliff. There are two envo5's,
one praising the surf-beaten strand of Shibutani, the other
expressing the poet's delight that the time for hearing the voice
of the cuckoo has come.
250
MANY6SHIU
On the 16th of the hare-bush month (May 18, 748)
Yakamochi, in a short lay, expresses his delight at hearing
the cuckoo (hototogisu) crying during the night.
At a banquet offered to Yakamochi at the Residence of
the Chief Secretary, Hada no Imiki Yachishima, on the
occasion of an oflS.cial journey to the City-Royal from his
government, two short lays are chanted.
In the first the guest is assured by the host that he will
be remembered as long and as often as the waves roll
in from the ocean upon the shores of the Bay of Nago.
In the second Yakamochi declares that he wishes his
friend were a jewel he could wear on his arm, and thus
never be parted from him.
Then follows a long lay.
219
A Lay made by Yakamochi on the occasion of a
Water-party on the Fuse Lagoon in Etchiu.^
Comrades, brothers,
to-day we'll take our
pleasure,
and ride together
to see the white waves
surging
upon the pebbles
'neath Shibutani s head-
land,
and further faring
beyond far Matsudaye,
Unahi's river
reach, where we'll watch
together
the cormorants tossing
upon the heaving waters,
a scene too pleasant
to weary our eyes ever —
forthwith on Fuse
our boat we'll launch and
oar us
midmost the waters,
and as we row, enjoying
the varied beauty
of shore and lake and hill,
the v^hirr of wild-duck
we'll hearken in the air,
upon the tree-tops
we'll mark the vernal
blossoms
and vow more fair
a scene man nowhere seeth
THE LONG LAYS
251
than nigh Futakami — here, friends, we'll come
whose clinging ivy together
no crueller wer't to strip while the years us hold
from here,
its mother-rock and take our pleasure here
thanusto part from scenes amid these hills and
so fair as these : waters 1
^ May 26, 748. Yakamochi appears to have recovered.
The lay seems to be addressed to Ikenushi. It is full of m. k.
conceits and m. k. prefatial introductions to names, words, or
syllables, of which only a partial imitation is possible.
220
A Lay by Ikenushi in answer to the last.^
The clustering flowers
of fuji now be scattered,
but harebush-blossoms
in all the hedges show,
along the moorsides,
along the mountain slopes
with hi trees shaggy
the cuckoo's note resound-
eth—
my heart it yieldeth
to these gay influences;
so, friend, I pray thee,
— I love thee well thou
knowest —
with me together
ride forth to see the land
and watch the shore-
birds,
where flow Imidzu's
waters
with the sea-flood ming-
ling,
upon the salty marshes
their food a-picking
while shines the morning
sun,
and watch the turning
of the flowing tide that
riseth,
to the sea-fowl listening
who call their mates the
while,
from scene so pleasant
to Shibutani fare we,
where roll the white
waves
252
MANY6SHIU
upon the pebbles flinging
sea-tresses precious
whereof good store we'll
gather
for weaving chaplets —
upon fair Fuse's waters :
our skiff next launch we,
the stout oars let us man,
with bright sleeves flut-
t'ring
row forth amid the waters
towards Wofu's head-
land
with fallen blossoms shin-
ing,
where the reed-ducks
gather
upon the shore-sands
under,
across the ripples
we'll row, and still un-
sated,
or standing, sitting,
the beauty of the scene
own,
or be it autumn
when all the hills are
glowing,
or spring-time be it
when all the hills are
shining —
as thou may'st will it,
mv friend, our pleasm^e
take we,
and feast our eyes on
the scene so fair before us
might we for ever gaze
on !
* The date is given as 26th of the 4th month (May 28, 748).
A short lay by Yakamochi follows, presented at an
entertainment given by Ikenushi at his residence on the
day mentioned in the argument of the last lay (May 28,
748), expressing regret at his approaching departure, which
would entail an absence of many days.
Four furvb uta (old lays — i. e. made previously to and
not expressly for the occasion, and more or less appropriate
— slightly adapted, probably) succeed.
In the second, Suke Uchino Kura no Imiki Nahamaro
expresses his regret that his friend will be in City-Royal
during the pleasant 5th month, when the cuckoos voice
is heard in the land, which they will not enjoy the music
of together.
The third is Yakamochi's answer bidding his friends
comfort themselves with threading chaplets of orange-
THE LONG LAYS
253
fruits (small oranges are meant), which belong also to the
5th month.
In the fourth, Ishikaha no Asomi Mitohoshi complains
that [in the northern clime of Etchiu] one may have to
wait a month or more for the orange-fruit to be fit for
threading into chaplets, therefore he will take the flowers
also and inweave them with such of the golden fruits as he
may find full enough among them.
To these Yakamochi answers that his departure is
close at hand, and during the interval it were well they
saw as much of each other as possible, that their friendship
may be the more lasting afterwards (May 28, 748).
221
In Praise of Mount Tachi in Arakaha.^
In Koshi country,
the heaven-distant land —
its very name
doth tell of its remote-
ness—
the hills are many,
and countless are the
rivers,
but 'tis on Tachi,
on Tachi's hill engirdled
by Nihi' s waters,
the god his seat hath
chosen,
where summer-through
lieth
fair snow upon the
peak —
where Katakahi ^
with clear flow encircleth
the lofty steeps,
where every morn and
even
the coiling mists rise,
so in men thoughts of
wonder
rise at the scene,
and as the years their
course run,
and folk fare thither
and o'er the scene their
eyes send,
for a myriad years
of Tachi shall they speak
still
to men who never
have yet beheld its beauty,
and so its story
its name and fame shall
men hear
with joy and admiration.
254
MANYOSHIU
^ Tateyama (Tachi)_in Etchiu, some 9,500 feet high. The date
of the lay (by Yakamochi) is May 29, 748. The two envoys are
partial echoes. A most interesting account by Mr. K. Atkinson
of Tateyama and its adjoining peaks (Yatsugatake, * Eight- or
Many-peaked Kange'), will be found in the T, A. S.J.j vol. viii,
1879.
^ The Katakahi river.
222
Answer-Lay by Ikenushi in Praise of Mount Tachi.^
Eastward towereth it
towards where the bright
sun riseth, ^
Tachi, high hill,
in majesty divine,
the white cloud-masses
it pierceth into heaven,
nor difference knoweth
of winter or of summer,
for bright snow ever
its lofty peak enshroudeth,
and so the mountain
hath from the world's
beginning
to men revealed
its craggy loneliness,
its dread and awfulness,
increasing ever
the wonder of its beauty,
its peak sublime.
its valleys deep and sombre,
its roar and murmur
of clear coursing waters,
where with the sun's
rise
creep wreathing coils of
mist,
and with the sunset
long lines of cloud float
hovering —
my heart like drifting
cloud, too,
sways hither thither,
my wonder faileth not
as coihng mists fail,
the murmur of the waters
is ever clear —
for years a myriad may
be heard that limpid
music.
* The date of the lay is May 30, 748.
'^ This seems to be the real value of the passage asdhisashi
so-gahi ni miyuru, though the m. k. asahisashi is ao used as to
indicate the back (so) being turned eastwards.
THE LONG LAYS
255
^ From this point the similies are difficult to manage, but
the version is believed to be fairly correct.
* The poet's heart yields to the beauty of the scene, which
cannot be forgotten : the murmur (oto) of the river shall carry
the clear fame of Tachi to remote generations of men.
223
Yakamochi to Ikenushi.^
The solemn larch trees ^
that cluster on Futakami ^
whose leafery ever,
whose tall trunks ay
endure —
so may thy years, friend,
ay green endure and
vigorous,
with whom each morn-
ing
have I exchanged fair
greeting,
and every evening
have wandered hand in
hand locked
by Imidzu's waters,
and when the winds were
blowing
from Eastland boister-
ous,
watched with thee in the
haven
the white waves leap-
ing,
and heard the shore-fowl
calUng
across the sea-sands,
and reed-reapers their
skiffs 4
oar o'er the waters,
and in the scene delightful
have shared thy plea-
sure—
but now amid our joyance
in leal obeisance
to our dread Lord and
Sovran
for City-Eoj^al
I set me forth on service
and part from thee,
friend,
for I must wend me,
faring
along the spear-ways,
and climb the passes where
the clouds hang hover-
ing,
256 MANYOSHIU
and tread the craggy the month when cuckoo-
steeps bird
and fare far from thee — singe th blithely,
the while what weary for then might fragrant
days posy ^
I must endure, be made for me
and as these things I by day by night to feast
ponder on,
I would it were who fare, alas ! without
thee.
^ The lay is one of regret by Yakamochi at his approaching
departure from Etchiu in obedience to a summons from City-
Eoyal. The date is given as the 30th of the 4th month of 20
Tempyo ( May 31, 748).
^ Abies tsuga.
' Here occurs a punning m. k. turning upon the real mean-
ing of FutsL—futa = two.
^ This appears to be the meaning, or at least a possible
meaning of the text.
* The Kusudama is meant. This was a kind of amulet made
of small aromatic bags bound up ball-wise with artificial flowers
and decked with pendants or tassels of coloured silks. It was
hung on pillows, or over screens, or in the neighbourhood of
the women's apartments in the Palace, to ward off all sorts of
evil influences. Kusudama is a contraction of Kusuri dama —
i. e. medicinal ball. Perhaps it was a sort of aromatic pro-
phylactic or antiseptic device. An illustration is given in the
Kotoba no Inzum% sub voce.
The Kusudama was used on the 5th day of the 5th month
(one of the Five Sekku or great Festivals— 7th of the 1st
month injitsu; 3rd of 3rd month, joki; 5th of 5th month,
tango; 7th of 7th month, tanahata; and 9th of 9th month,
choyo, Brinkley),and part of Yakamochi's complaint is that he
has to leave before the month when the cuckoo sings — the 5th
month — on the 5th day of which the Kusudama would be
available to protect him on his journey.
THE LONG LAYS
257
224
Answer-Lay by Ikenushi.^
Eemote as heaven and full of sorrow,
from well-laid City-Eoyal such grief I cannot bear,
the land it lieth,
yet while we communed
brother
all thought of sorrow
each chased far from the
other —
now thou, obeisant
to our dread Lord and
Sovran,
on thy high oflSce
and as my eyes do wander
o'er all the land
I hear the note resounding
of cuckoo plaining
mid the harebush ^
flower'd hills,
and like the mists
in gloomy coils arising
my mind unsure is
as forth I sally
must fare to City-Boyal, in silent awe and prayerful
the gaiters donning upon Tonami ^
of young reeds made, right offerings to make
wherewith and pray for thee, friend,
do wayfarers fend them my comely lord, that thee
against rough paths and attend good fortune
weather, in all thy wayfarings.
at day-break hour
when flights on flights of
birds
do allwhere hurtle
departest thou and leavest
me
behind in sorrow,
who pine for thee, my
brother,
far from me faring,
for full of woe am I,
and when the months
shall come
and the wild pink's
flow'r
shall bloom in fullest
beauty,
its season knowing,
I may on thy face gaze,
brother,
and, brother, thou on
mine gaze.*
^ Addressed to Yakamochi by Ikenushi in answer to lay 223
with two tanka on the 2nd of the 5th month (June 2, 748).
OICKIKS, IX
258
manyOshiu
^ Deutzia scabra.
' Tonami is in Etchiu.
* At the time of the flowering of the wild pink he hopes to
welcome his friend back to Koshi. Of the two envoys one is
worth translating : —
My lord, my brother,
whom I with all my heart love
each morn yon pink
I watch, in hope awaiting
the flower that it prom*seth.
225
A Lay of Rejoicing by Yakamochi, on being assured
in a Dream of the finding of a favourite Hawk
which had strayed.^
Eemote as heaven
the land of snowy Koshi,
the furthest frontier
(as well its name doth
tell us 2)
of our Sovran's realm,
where the mountains
tower,
where the streams are
bright and sparkling,
and vast the moors are,
and thick the jungle
groweth,
and trouts the beck
fiU,
when summer's glory's
highest,
where the cormorant
keepers
(those island birds) the
waters
of the running river
do oar their skiffs against,
their brazier-flaming
decoy flares lifting high,
when rimy, dewy
autumn-time had come,
and moors and valleys
with flights of wild-fowl
echoed,
my men I gathered,
and many a hawk they
brought there,
but my swart falcon,
with outspread gable tail ^
and pretty silvered
bells upon his legs,
or morning birds
THE LONG LAYS
259
by hundreds started,
missed he ?
or evening birds
by hundreds started,
missed he ?
his bird missed never —
easy to fly, and sure
to wrist to come,
beside him bird 'twere
hard
to find were worthy
of any place, for peerless
my bird I boasted,
and in my pride I laugh'd,
proud of my falcon —
what time that dolt and
dotard —
nought said he to me —
on a rainy day and cloudy
my birdie taketh
to fly upon his quarry,
nor aught he said
but that a hawking went
he—*
so Mishima's moor
Futakami's hill affronting
he let him fly from,
and soaring mid the
clouds
was lost my birdie,
to win him back I knew
not,
nor how discover
where e'er his flight had
ta*en him,
each day more burning
the grief grew in my
heart,
and deeper sighed I,
and pondered long if
might I
by nets of fowler
on this side spread and
that
of the mountain slopes,
and watchers posted nigh,
yet win my birdie —
so placed I nets and men,
and shining mirror
and bands of cloth took
with me,
and hung before
the altar of the god,
his help invoking —
and there I prayed, when
lo!
to me a virgin
came in a vision, saying —
' the bird thou lovest,
thy noble falcon o'er
Matsudaye's strand
hath hied him in his
flight, ^^
past Himi's bay,
where herring-fish abound,
round Tako's island
S 2
260 MANYOSHIU
to wheel him, hunting and he may come to thee,
ever, at most days seven,
and nigh Furuye, so grieve not, gentle
where thick the reed- Sir' —
ducks gather, thus spake she softly,
fore-yester-day that virgin in my dream,
and yesterday he was, [and dream and sorrow
two days hut wait thou vanished].
^ In a Chinese note appended to this curious lay, probably by
Yakamochi himself, we read : —
' In the canton of Furuye in the county of Imidzu [in Yaka-
mochi's government of Koshi], a three years old hawk was
caught, extremely fine in form and feather, and a capital striker
of pheasants.
On a certain occasion, a man acting as falconer, named
Yamada no Fumihito Kimimaro, made trial of the bird and
lost him. It was contrary to his orders to fly the hawk on the
moorland. The bird soared up into the sky and was lost in
the clouds. The man tried to get him back with a tainted rat
as lure, but to no avail. A new device was then tried, fowlers*
nets being spread in different places and closely watched, but
again without result. Meanwhile prayers were offered up [by
Yakamochi himself ?] in the shrine of the deity of that place in
the hope of being heard. There appeared in a vision to the
suppliant a beautiful damsel, who said, **Sir, do not let your
distress overcome you, you shall ere long regain your truant
bird." Whereupon he awoke and was glad, and to dispel his
annoyance and express his gratitude, composed the above lay
on the 26th day of the 9th month.'
There are four envoys, but they are not more than echoes
of the principal lay.
^ Koshi, the name of Yakamochi's province (or rather of a more
extensive tract of country), is said to have reference to the crossing
{koshi) of the hilly country between it and Nara (City-Koyal).
^ Or * roof-shaped *. There were thirteen kinds of tail among
hawks. * Koof-shaped ' probably means wedge or fan-shaped.
^ This seems to be the sense of the text — the old hawker
merely said he was going to hawk, but not that he was taking
his master's favourite bird.
THE LONG LAYS
261
Book XVIII, Part I
226
In praise of the Cuckoo.-
Midmost the land
the sun-descended Sovran
divine in majesty
high throned in power
ruleth,
countless the hills are
the spacious realm en-
girdle,
and the myriad birds,
there
come singing in the
spring-time,
and 'mongst them
glorious
the cuckoo bird he sing-
eth,
v^hen the harebush
blossoms
do all the wide land
whiten,
singing loudly
until the sweet-flag
flowers
are bound in posies,^
from dawn until the even
and all the night thro'
his note is heard and
moveth
the hearts of all men,
the hearts of aU men
moveth
and never a time is
the wondrous bird men
hail not
his long-drawn note
a-listening.
Yet rogue he is, too,
yon cuckoo bird, a rogue,
for everywhere
the orange blooms he
rendeth,
with all his might while
singing.
^ Composed by Yakamochi while lying alone ^within the
screen '. The date is May 31, 749.
2 On the 5th of the 5th month, one of the Go Sekku (Five
Chief Feasts). Conf. lay 223, notes.
262
many6shiu
227
By Yakamoclii, congratulating the Sovran on his
Eescript celebrating a fortunate find of gold in
Michinoku.^
Age after age
hath vanished since from
heaven
on the Eeedy Moorland,
on the Land of Kich grain
ears
in godlike majesty
to rule the land descended
the primal Sovran,^
whom generations fol-
lowed
of sun-descended
Sovrans in long lineage
to bear sway o'er
all the land's four faces,
where broad the rivers,
and fertile are the uplands,
where bounteous tribute
and treasure inexhaustible
are ever offered,
yet maugre all this wealth
our mighty Sovran,
his people's aid inviting,
himself well-purposed
to achieve a task auspi-
cious,^
in his great heart
good store of gold desired,
and sorely sorrowed
for that such store still
faird him —
what time in cock-crow
Eastland,
in Michinoku,
on Woda's hill, came
tidings
how gold there lay,
and thus the Sovran's
heart
was cleared of grief,
and divinely he bethought
him, —
* the gods of Heaven,
and the gods of Earth
have holpen,
and all the spirits
of My great ancestors,
that such a fortune,
unknown to former ages.
My age befalleth,
token that all the land
shall henceforth flour-
ish * —
then all his loyal lieges,
in suite of service
from ancient men to
maidens,
THE LONG LAYS
263
to heart's desire
in gracious-wise endow'd
he,
wherefore did men
their Sovran bless and
honour * —
and I, Ohotomo,
great gladness in my
heart knew * —
our far-off ancestor,
primal, divine,
Takamimusubi's prog'ny,
the Grand Commander^
(such name and title bore
he)
his Sovran served,
we too, so serve our
Sovran,
serve him at sea,
our sodden corpses leaving
to the salt sea leaving,
our Sovran serve by land,
our corpses leaving
amid the wild-waste
bushes,
rejoiced to die
in our dread Sovran's
cause,
ne'er lookinof back
from the border of the
battle.
for such our boast is ! —
that name heroic, famous,
we still do bear
from ancient days to these
days,
adown the ages,
Ohotomo and Saheki ^
son from father
th' ancestral fame receiv-
ing,
unflecked transmitting,
in duty to our Sovran
achieved and loyal,
in hand strong bow of
whitewood,
sword borne on thigh,
stand we on guard at
dawn,
on guard at even
the Eoyal Palace guard-
ing
of our dread Sovran —
than we could men be
truer ? "^
our duty ever
in loyalty achieving,
rejoice we ever,
our Sovran's best obey-
ing,
to be his faithful servants.
^ Date June 13, 749. In the 2nd month of the 1st year of
Tempyo Shoho (749) gold was first brought to the capital from
Michinoku (the north-eastern half of the main island oppo-
264 MANYCSHIU
site Koshi on the west), whereupon due offerings and thanks
were presented at all the shrines in the five home provinces
and the seven circuits by special command of the Mikado
(Shomu, 724-48 or '49). The amount of gold was nine hun-
dred ryo. In the 4th month the Mikado went in state to
the temple of Todai, and stood before the Hall of the Eusana
Buddha (Dainichi Nyorai Tathagata), and ordered the Sadai-
jin Tachibana no Sukune Moroye (a supposed compiler of the
Manyoshiu) to speak before the Buddha, and these were his
words : —
* My Sovran Lord biddeth me speak these words before the
Eusana Buddha. In this great Eealm of Yamato from the
beginnings of Heaven and Earth (i.e. from their separation)
hath gold been received from men and lands, but a lack of
gold being anticipated, it hath been heard from the Warden of
Michinoku in the Eastland, Kudara no Ohokimi, that gold
existeth in that land in the county of Woda, which welcome
tidings was received with great joy and gratitude for the bounty
of the Buddha, wherefore in the name of all the servants of
His Majesty, from the highest to the lowest, I have received
His Majesty's commands humbly to make reverent acknow-
ledgement before the Eusana Buddha.'
A rescript of similar tenor was addressed to the nobles and
vassals of the kingdom, and the lay of Yakamochi was largely
founded upon the language of this rescript, ending with a glori-
fication of his own clan (Ohotomo), and lastly of himself. An
extract from it is subjoined : —
' For the purpose of making an image of the Eusana Buddha
the gods of heaven and the gods of earth have been reverently
adored (different ideographs represent the two orders of gods)
and the souls of the Sovrans in their succession have been
invoked, and it is the Eoyal Will that the efforts of all the
people be enlisted, that so calamities may be averted and
damages be warded off, and the happiness of the people risk no
peril, but gold is lacking and the Eoyal Heart is grieved,' &c.
'^ Ninigi no mikoto.
^ What the Uask auspicious ' was, is stated in note 1.
* Yakamochi here alludes to the favour bestowed upon himself
by the Mikado, who had raised him from the lower division of
the lower-fifth rank to the lower division of the upper-fifth
rank.
THE LONG LAYS
265
^ Otomo (Ohotomo) or Grand Guard. The divine ancestor of
the clan was Ama no Oshi-hi no Mikoto (N. I. 86), one of
the eight deities proceeding from two of the original three gods
of Japanese mythology (F. — Synopsis der Gottergenealogie
in Nihongi),
^ Of the Saheki-be (or guild) the ancestors were yemishi or
aborigines— possibly the word is Ainu (N. L 212). The
Saheki were made Chiefs of the Right Guard when the Otomo
were placed in command of the Left Guard in the time of the
Mikado Yuryaku (457-79).
' A plagiarism from lay 67.
There are three envoys, echoes of the principal lay. From a
note appended (by Yakamochi ?) to the last of these, we learn the
date of the lays to be the 12th of the 5th month of 1 Tempyo
Kempo Shoho — June 2, 749. The lay, the text of which is
not free from obscurities and difficulties, is in effect an impas-
sioned presentment of the antiquity and divinity of the
Ohotomo house, connected with the discovery of gold by the
bounty of the Sovran bestowed upon that occasion, in which
Yakamochi, a member, real or pretended, of the Ohotomo
house, participated. In the eighth century the predominance
of the Fujihara clan was assured, but no clan could show so
high an origin as that claimed by the Ohotomo and Saheki
families. The first half of the lay is an exordium to the name
Ohotomo, the rest is a panegyric of the clan.
Book XVIII, Part II
228
A Lay [by Yakamochi?] in anticipation of a Eoyal
Progress to the Summer Palace at Y6shinii.i
Thy sun-descended
ancestor^, most dread, en-
throned,
o'er all Yamato
with power divine who
ruled
first deigned to choose
in Y6shinu his palace,
and oft hast thou^ Sire,
Yoshinu s palace hon-
oured,
and may thy lieges,
266 MANYOSHIU
in his degree and name while flow the streams
each and rivers
serve thee there while tower the hills and
mountains.
^ The date is May 4, 749.
^ The Mikado Ojin (270-310). In the fifteenth year of his
reign (288), in winter, he visited the Palace at Yoshinu, where
the Kunisuhito (or Kudzu) — local chieftains — offered him sake
and songs. These folk lived on berries and boiled frogs.
From this time they often came to court, bringing presents of
chestnuts, mushrooms, and trout. (N. I. 264.)
^ The Mikado Shomu.
There are two envoys — mere echoes. (The constant change
of residence by the early mikados was due to tabu of theii* pre-
decessor's palace through death. Hence this lay indirectly
wishes long life to the reigning sovran.)
229
By Yakamochi in praise of awabi pearls which he
would send to his wife at Citj-Eojal.
Susu's^ fishers alas! still parted
mid ocean's awful waste our sleeves are, dear, and
row forth and dive still
for our couch is lonely,
fine white pearls of for elsewhere now thou
awabi 2 — sleepest,^
0 would that hundreds ^^^ ^^^ neglectest
were mine of shining ^^ bind thy morning
pearls, tresses,
pearls, pearls five hun- ^^'^ ^^P ^J counting
(jpgji that pass since we were
to send to City-Royal P^^^^^
for thee, left desolate P^^^^^ ^ould I send
my lady-wife, beloved — ^^^^
THE LONG LAYS
267
in trust thou might'st
and sweet-flag flowers
some solace this pleasant fifth-moon
find in entwining month
the gift with orange bios- while cuckoo still is sing-
soms,
mg.
^ Susu is in Noto. The date of the lay is June 5, 749.
^ Venus's ear (Haliotis), in which pearl-like concretions are
not uncommon ; or from which pearly jewels were made.
^ "When the husband was away the conjugal alcove was
deserted, and the desolate wife forbore to dress her hair.
In (N. I. 323) the following story is told :—
* In the autumn of 425 the Mikado Ingyo hunted in the island
of Awaji. Deer, monkeys, and wild boar filled the mountains
and valleys like dust-clouds, springing up like flames of fire,
and dispersing like flies. Yet not a single beast was caught.
Izanagi (the island-god), on being appealed to, said, " I intended
no beast should be caught. Find a pearl which exists at the
bottom of the sea of Akashi and offer it to me, then ye shall
catch all the beasts.*' . . . But for a long time no one could
reach the bottom of that sea. At last a fisherman named Osashi
got to the bottom and reported that he had found there a huge
sea-ear (awabi) in a shining place. He was sent down again
and came up with the sea-ear in his arms, but died as soon as
he emerged above the waves. Then the sea-ear was split open
and a great i>earl was found in its belly, in size like a peach.'
There are four envoys, each a partial echo.
230
A Eemonstrance addressed to the Secretary Wohari
no Woguhi.^
Since Ohonanniji^
and Sukunabik6na
the world did fashion
have men of every age
as law accepted
of this fleeting world of
ours
the tie so tender
that bindeth child and
parent,
268
manyOshiu
the bond uniteth
to husband, wife and
children —
in this fair season
when chisa ^ herb full
flowereth
thy wife so comely
between her smiles and
tears
will morn and even
her sad complaint de-
liver—
' are all my days
to be thus void of joyanceT
the gods she asketh,
the gods of earth and
heaven,
for time as happy
as days of blossomy spring
she hoped, but farther
such happy time recedeth,
so saith thy wife.
for word from thee still
waiting,
deserted, desolate,
the while that Sdburu,
that girl who hither,
thither,
like foam that drifbeth
upon Imidzu swollen
by snow late melted
under the warm south
wind,
loosely drifteth,
that girl, that Sdburu,
bindeth,
as with a bond
to her she bindeth thee,
like niho wild-fowl,
with her paired, forth
thou wanderest
towards depths as deep
as Nago's flood allured —
beyond all help thou
seemest.
* Wohari no Woguhi. Nothing more is known than that
he was * fumihito ' (registrar or secretary) to the government
of Etchiu. The lay is preceded by a few short sentences in
Chinese, declaratory of marital rights and duties, followed by
the comments of the author of the Kogi. The substance of
the whole is subjoined : —
There are seven valid reasons for a letter of divorce— barren-
ness (the wife having attained the age of fifty without children),
adultery, disobedience to husband's parents, loquacity, theft,
jealousy, incurable disease. As a preliminary, the wife's rela-
tives must be notified, otherwise the husband is liable to
banishment for a year and a half.
THE LONG LAYS 269
There are three pleas in bar. 1. Good behaviour of the wife
during the last illness of her husband's parents. 2. Eise in
rank of the wife after marriage. 3. Absence of any home to
which the wife can be sent. See an excellent paper by Mr.
Kuchler on Marriage in Japan (T. A. S. J. 13). How far in early
Japan this Chinese marriage code was adopted or enforced it is
not easy to say.
In 7 Wado (715) a rescript ordered instances of filial piety
and conjugal good behaviour to be posted on gates of towns
and villages.
The beginnings of law and the foundations of duty lie in the
observance of the precepts of the ancients. The righteousness
of the husband is nothing less than the continuance of natural
feeling — a treasure for the whole household — how, then,
should it be possible to abandon old customs and adopt new
ones (abandon what is familiar and adopt what is strange).
In illustration of what is said above, the following pieces have
been composed, so that men may repent being led away to
neglect the morality of the sages of old.
The lay is by Yakamochi, and is dated 15th of 5th month
(June 5, 749).
^ Ohonamuji is one of the progeny of Susanowo. Sukuna-
bikona is one of the eight gods proceeding from Takamimu-
subi and Kamumusubi, two of the three primal gods of Japanese
mythology.
'Ohonamuji and Siikunabikona, with united strength and
one heart, constructed the sub-celestial world ... the people
enjoy [the means the gods invented for their comfort and
protection] universally until the present day.* N. I. 54 sqq.
See also K. 67, n. 18, and Aston, Shinto.
^ The text here is obscure, also at the close of the lay, of
which the rendering is conjectural. There are four envoys,
of which the last is satirical. It describes the arrival of the
deserted wife at her husband's residence, where the girl Saburu
(an uJcareme, floating girl or courtesan) is entertained on a
* swift' horse (that is, on a government horse), yet without
bells (which government horses carried to give notice to the
post-relays, so that fresh horses might be in readiness), thus
causing a great excitement in the village where Woguhi's
infatuation was, of course, well known.
270
manyOshiu
231*
By Yakamochi in praise of the Orange tree.
With reverence
I dare my verse indite —
in a day long past
when ruled yon ancient
Sovran,
didTdzhimaMori^
pass o'er to the Land
Eternal
and the eight [flagged]
spears ^
thence brought he to our
land
men say, and likewise
of the tree that never
fadeth
the fruit fine fragrant
to wide Yamato brought
he—
and in his wisdom
that ancient Sovran
planted
throughout the land *
the tree that never fadeth,
which with the spring-
time
abundant shoots display-
eth,
and with the lush
month,^
when flieth cuckoo sing-
ing,
first blossoms showeth,
fair gifts wherewith may
maidens
their bright sleeves
deck,
or the fragrant flowers
resting
may on the bush wilt
until the fruits shall ripen
all fit for threading ^
in armlets for fair
damsels,
one tireth never
to see upon their arms —
when autumn cometh
and chill rains fall in
showers,
and when the hillslopes
with ruddy treetops glow
and all their leaves
lose,
the orange bush display-
eth
its fruit full ripen'd
in all its golden glory,
when fair snow falleth
and all the land is wintry,
though hoar-frost show-
eth
the leaves nor wilt nor
wither,
THE LONG LAYS 271
their green tint ever most excellent
keep, and flourish ever, the orange-bush, ay
so hath it been famous
from the days of the god& for ruddy fruit, flower
till these "^ — fragrant !
* Dated June 14, 749. The orange-bush is praised for its
beauty in spring and summer and autumn and winter.
The flowers are fragrant gifts for maids when plucked, when
left on the tree they wilt, but then the fruit comes ready for
armlets ; a small-fruited variety of the Citrus no doubt is
meant.
^ In (N. I. 259) we read that in the year 61, in the reign of
the Mikado Suinin (b. c. 29-a. d. 70), Tazhima Mori was sent to
the Eternal Land (China) to get the fragrant fruit that grows
[ripens ?] out of season, the tachibana. Tazhima is said to have
been a descendant of a king of Silla (in Korea). An older
name than tachibana for the orange is given by Mr. Chamber-
lain (K. 198) — sagari-M, which might mean * hanging-tree ',
referring perhaps to the manner in which the fruit hangs upon
the branches. More probably tachi is tsucM (common in god-
names), a laudatory prefix. One of the sJiisei (Four Families)
derived its name from the orange-bush. By the * Land Eternal '
Korea may be meant, or more probably China. In the former
case the orange would have been introduced from China
through Korea.
^ The real meaning of the expression is unknown, but see
K. 198. Possibly some reference is intended to the fact that
the character JioJco forms part of the character tachibana. The
Kogi seems to differentiate a spray with the leaves on from one
with the leaves off and bearing the fruit only, the latter being
called the hoico spray, from some fancied resemblance between
a spear with its broad head and the bare branch tipped with
fruit.
^ The anxiety of the Mikado was to provide a fresh source of
food. In a Nihongi lay (N. I. 259) the abundance of orange-
trees seems to be referred to—' Its branches beneath, men had
all plundered ; its branches above, birds perching had withered.'
See also K. 248.
272
manyOshiu
" Satsuhif lush, i. e. 5th month.
® The fruits were comparatively small.
' An exaggeration of course — from the reign of Suinin ; vide
supra.
232
By Yakamochi on a Pink he had planted in his
garden.^
To furthest march-land,
obeisant to my Sovran,
on royal service
have I the wild hills
crossed,
to snowy Koshi,
and now for five long
years
on fine-sleev'd arm ^
I may not sleep, nor know
companioned slumber,
with still unloosed girdle^
on lone bed tossing —
my heart to comfort some-
what
a wild pink brought I
to plant my garden mid-
most,
and from the moorside
a summer lily brought I
to flower beside it,
and so as lover-flowers
to bloom together,
and day by day I watch
them
our bond recalling —
did I not so seek solace,
my sorrow soft'ning,
so far from thee I could
not
one little day bide here.
The fair pink flow'r
each time I look upon it
I think of thee, dear,
and in its beauty vision
the sweetness of thy
smile !
> Dated July 16, 749.
^ This seems to be the meaning
The sign of fidelity.
his own (or his wife's) arm.
The m. k. are not fully rendered.
1
THE LONG LAYS
273
233
A Lay, made by Yakamochi upon the Eeturn of
a Friend.^
To City-Eoyal,
achieved thy loyal service,
thy count to render
the spear-ways thou
wendedst,
o'er craggy steeps
and many a moorland
waste,
and now a year gone
to us, my lord, returnest —
many the days were
thy presence cheer'd us
not,
and all unquiet
my anxious heart to
solace,
in cuckoo month
when lush is all the
greenery,
with sweet-flag flowers
and willow-sprays fair
garlands
I wove to deck me,
and drank my fill of sake,
but 'twas in vain,
my grief for thee deep-
rooted
as rush of Nago,
where scream the wild-
fowl ever
while roars Imidzu
snow-swollen down the
vale,
would not be eased,
and now thy duty ended,
so long awaited,
at last thou comest to us
with thy fair smilings
like moorland lily's smil-
ings,
and from this day forth
my mirror-bright eyes
would on thee
unchanged by days dwell
gladly !
^ In 20 Tempyo (748) Kume no Ason Hironaha went offi-
cially to City-Royal where he remained some time, and returned
to Etchiu on the 27th of the intercalary fifth month of the suc-
ceeding year (July 19, 749), on which occasion Yakamochi
entertained him at the Hall of Wardens (in the prefecture
of Etchiu), and presented the above congratulatory lay with
two hanka.
DICKINS. II
274
manyOshiu
There are two envoys — the first is, ' How glad I am to see
thee again as I saw thee last autumn, thou who art newly
come from City-Eoyal ' ; the second is, * Now thou greetest
again mine eyes, I know that despite the time of absence I
have never ceased to Ions for thee.'
234
By Yakamochi on seeing a cloud on the mountain-top
promising rain in a time of drought ^.
Wherever under
the lofty skies men own
our Sovran's sway,
wherever horse - hoof
trampleth,
or ship is anchor d,
the chiefest of the
tributes,
the myriad tributes
from ancient days till
these
the land hath given,
doth he a-perishing —
for days on days
no rain from heaven hath
fallen,
and uplands, lowlands,
with every morning show
but crops a- wilting,
(most sad it is to see)
for water crying
like child for milk
mother —
of
I search the heavens
the skies for rain beseech-
ing,
and on the hill -top
above the clustering hi
trees
a drifting cloud
espy, that hither spread-
eth,
a white cloud shining
towards the sea-god's
fane,
oh, God, give rain, be-
seech thee !
* A drought began on June 26, 749, which threatened the
ruin of the rice crop. On the evening of July 8, Yakamochi
discerned the first signs of coming rain.
There is one envoy, a partial echo.
THE LONG LAYS
275
235
By Yakamochi on
From time remotest
of that great primal god-
dess
in heaven who shineth
hath Heaven s river parted
those lovers twain —
across the waters sighing,
while vainly longing
her fluttering sleeves she
waveth
with longings vain she
waveth,
for there no ferry
across the waters beareth,
were but a bridge there
full swiftly would he seek
her,
and hand hand holding
Tanabata night.
the lovers twain, embracing
and love devising,
their weary hearts would
comfort,
but how so be it,
until autumnal days glow
must wait the damsel
with him to have sweet
converse —
a mere mortal
this wondrous theme re-
membering,
with each revolving
year that each year follow-
eth
as in high heaven
I contemplate the Kiver
will I renew the story.
Book XIX ^
236
Paet I
A Lay by Yakamochi in praise of his white-mottled
Hawk.2
O'er many a hill-pass
with hi trees thickly
wooded
to far-off Koshi ^
I came through change of
vears
to bide here lonely,
but as in City-Eoyal
so in these wilds
our Sovran Lord he
ruletli —
still sad my heart is *,
nor mav I here devise with
kin, nor glance of
T 2
276
manyOshiu
kin my eyes may gladden,
my life is weary,
my soul is filled with
sorrow,
wherefore some solace
I thought to find a-
hawking —
so towards Ihase
where now the hagi^
bloometh
this ruddy autumn,
I ride and rein there,
the while the moor
my men do beat for wild-
fowl,
and as I hear
the tinkling of my hawk's
bells,
his silvery bells,
around the welkin gaze I
with joy reviving,
and chased is all annoy
by that sweet music —
and in thy sleeping-
chamber ^,
twin-pillowed chamber,
a perch I put together,
and feed him there,
my bonnie dappled falcon
I feed, my dappled falcon !
^ In this and the following Book the lays are often difficult
to make out in detail.
2 The date is April 18, 750.
^ The m. k. is, ' separated by many a steep \
* As he is everywhere under the aegis of his Sovran, he ought
to be equally happy everywhere — still he longs for companion-
ship and consoles himself with hawking.
® Lespedeza.
^ His wife's (whom he has now left at City-Koyal).
237
On the Pleasures of Cormorant-fishing.^
Now new year coming alive with darting trout-
spring showeth all its lets,
blossom, where the isle-bird^
and the wild-wood hills keepers
resound with streamy decoy flares in their
roar prows
of Sdkita's river ^ oar o'er the waters
THE LONG LAYS
277
their cormorants a-plj- the parting gift thou
ing, gav'st me,
and so the vestment lo, all its border
thou gav'st me, dear, at is wet with river water,
parting as I watch the cormorants
of deep-dved* scarlet,
fishing ! ^
^ The date of this lay, probably by Yakamochi, seems to be
the 8th of the third month (April 19), 750.
^ Sakita is a river in Etchiu.
^ The cormorants are called isle-birds.
^ Literally, * eight (many) liquor-dyed ' — brushed many times
with the dye-brush (dyeing is not done by dipping in Japan).
^ There are two envoys — the first dwells on the joy of watch-
ing the reflection of the scarlet garment she has given him in
the bright waters of the river ; the second, on the pleasure
of watching the crowd of cormorants diving after trout in the
stream.
238
On the Impermanence of this World. ^
Since the beginning
of earth was and of
heaven,
it hath been ever
to mankind plain and
certain
that this our world is
a world impermanent —
as on the heavens
thou gazest shalt thou
note there
the moon now waxing
the moon now waning
ever,
the wooded hill-slopes
all gay in spring with
blossom,
when cometh autumn
with dew and rimv chill-
»/
ness,
thou' It see aglow
with ruddy fallen leaf-
age—
and so it is, too.
278
MANYOSHIU
with men-folk, poor mor-
tals,
the cheek soon loseth
the comely tints of youth-
hood^
and jetty tresses
their pardanth black for
grey change,
the smile of morning
at e'en is turn'd to tears,
like wind that bloweth
and no man ever seeth,
like water flowing
delayeth ne'er an instant,
all passeth, changeth —
the fleeting show lament-
ing
I cannot stay my tears.
1 By Yakamochi, April 20, 750.
entirely Buddhist.
The note of the lay is
239
In Emulation of Ancestors.^
Our fathers ever
to fathers' duty faithful,
our mothers ever
to mothers' duty faithful,
the days before them
with anxious care con-
sider,
that their sons, true
liegemen,
no empty service render-
ing,
stout bow in hand,
bow of white- wood,
may well-proved archei's
bear them,
as skilful marksmen
a thousand yards shoot
true,
or, trusty blade
upon strong thigh well-
girded,
the wild-wood hills
cross,
the ridged hills, achiev-
ing
with heart ay constant
their duty bravely,
and name behind them
leaving
for after times to honour!
* The date seems to be the 9th of the 3rd month (April 20) of
750. The lay is after the manner of Omi Okura, but the author
seems to be Yakamochi. The curious m. k. in the text applied
to ' father ' and to ' mother ' are explained in the notes to the
text.
THE LONG LAYS
279
The myriad flowers,
they lend their various
beauty
to every season,
to every year-time give
appropriate music,
the birds of bush and
forest,
and eye and ear
of man alike are charmed
by song of bird
and form and hue of
flower,
but mid the rivalry,
while sad I feel and
weary,
for all is fleeting,
birds music, flower's
beauty 2,
as hare-month com-
eth^
and lush the bushes show,
e'en night-imprison'd
the bird he singeth ever*,
who, as our fathers
have handed down to us
240
Cackoo-bird and Blossoms.^
from time remotest,
girls
belike the oflfspring true
of nightingale is ^ —
he singeth, singeth till
what time the
weave ^
sweet-flag and orange
chaplets,
from redd'ning day-
break
till all the day is over,
above the hill-tops
in endless ridges rising '^,
the wild- wood hill-
tops,
he flieth singing ever,
the black night tho-
rough
until the bird affronteth
the moon of morning,
flying hither, flying
thither ^,
he singeth ever,
and who shall ever tire
of that resounding music?
' By Yakamochi.
(May 1) 750.
Dated the 15th of the third month
^ The text is here obscure : I have given what I believe to be
the implied meaning — a Buddhist interpolated reflection on the
misery of the world.
280 MANY6SHIU
^ The month of the u bush (Deutzia scabra) — the fourth
month.
* The Jiototogisu (Cuculus poliocephalus) sings by night as
well as by day, especially on moonlight nights.
'^ In a tanJca of the ninth Book (111) this belief is referred to.
' Among the children of the nightingale (uguhisu) is the cuckoo
(hototogisu) solitary of his kind, his note resembleth not that
of his father nor that of his mother.*
^ In early autumn.
^ So may be rendered yatsu wo.
^ Of the hototogisu Blakiston and Prayer (T. A. S. J.), say
this cuckoo ' is smaller [than the common cuckoo], its note is
exactly ho-tuk-tuk, very rapid in flight and restless, and very
active on moonlight nights.' I may perhaps here cite a verse
of Logan's ' Address to the Cuckoo ', to show that West and
East are not altogether divided in their poetic thought : —
Sweet bird thy bower is ever green,
Thy sky is ever clear;
There is no sorrow in thy song.
Nor winter in thy year.
241
Lmes from a Daughter to her Mother.^
As orange-flower upon the clouds
in cuckoo-month that that on the wooded hills
bloometh lie,
sweet is mj mother for woesome seemeth
to me her loving daughter, to me the world, full woe-
but morn and even some,
these many days I may to me with sorrow
not and longing heavy-
her one word hear, hearted —
for heaven-distant bide I till on thy face
in far-off marchland I look, to me more pre-
and gaze indifferently cious
THE LONG LAYS
281
than pearl that fisher their verdure keep, my
in Nago's waters find- mother,
eth, keep halesome for me,
as oak and pine tree mother !
^ By Yakamochi, at his wife's request, dated May 5, 750.
242
A Lay by Yakamochi addressed to Ikenushi lamenting
their separation in the cuckoo season.^
My friend, my brother,
wont were we, hand in hand,
as broke the morning
to view the hills together,
as fell the ev'ning
to watch the skies to-
gether,
ah ! pleasant was it
with thee the gladd'ning
hills,
the endless ridges
see wreath'd in coils of
mist,
the valley bottoms
red with camellia glories —
now yon blithe season
for far art thou friend,
thou art far removed from
me,
and still I love thee
and fain I would the bird
flew
o'er high Tonami
and every morning sang
thee,
amid the pine trees,
his song so joyous sang
thee,
and every ev'ning
beneath the moon still
sang thee,
till yon time cometh
is past of bright spring- ^^^^ maidens sweet-flag
days, fl^^v'^s
and cuckoo cometh inweave for garlands \
to fill the air with music, ^^^g ^^^^ *he night
alone to hear him through sleepless ^
the heart with sadness ^^"^ g^^^ ^^^^ surcease
filleth !
any
282
MANYOSHIU
^ Dated May 13, 750. Ikenushi, who had been with his
friend in Etchiu, has gone to Echizen — more to the west and
perhaps colder, hence the cuckoo would appear there later.
"^ Early autumn.
^ In sympathy with Yakamochi's own feelings. This lay
may be compared with lay 226.
243
In Praise of the Cuckoo-Bird.^
When Cometh summer
upon the heels of spring,
and hills and vallevs
with cuckoo's note are
echoing,
the livelong night
through
the air with music filling,
how sweet to listen
to the cuckoo's earliest
note,
and listen, listening
until the time shall come
when sweet-flag flowers
the girls with orange
blossoms
for wreaths inweave,
for all the time he singeth
through all the land still
echoing
the music's joy increase th.
1 By Yakamochi. Dated May 15, 750.
244
In Praise of the Yamabuki Bush.
With love of thee, dear,
my very being is filled,
and now spring yield-
eth
more full of love it grow-
eth—
upon the blossoms
of the wild-wood yama-
buki,
on gathered spray
or on the bush unbroken
to feast my eyes,
and so my sorrowing spirit
to comfort somewhat.
THE LONG LAYS
283
I take the bush and
plant it
within my garden,
sweet bush of hill and
valley,
and every morning
the dewy fragance smell-
ing,
still more, my dear,
still more I think of thee,
and yearn for thee still
more !
^ The date may be that of the last lay. The yamdbuki is the
well-known Kerria Japonica. The idea of the lay seems to be,
that though the poet tries to console himself for the absence of
his wife with the beauty and fragrance of the Kerria, the very
means he employs deepen his longings for her presence.
245
A Water-party on Lake Fuse.^
Come friends 2 dispel we so endless may our love
what gloomy thoughts^
oppress us,
our hearts unburden
on Fuse's waters oaring
past Wofu s bay,
where Taruhime's head-
land
mid coiling mists shows
festoons of fuji * flowers,
and where far under
in waves white-crested
endless
the clear flood breaketh
be-
yet shall the pleasure
of this one dav content
us I
still many a year
when Spring is rich with
blossom,
with glory Autumn,
we still will ride these
waters
on Fuse s beauties feast-
ing.
Fuse is in Imidzu in Etchiu. The lay is
^ By Yakamochi
dated May 16, 750.
2 Or 'friend'.
^ More literally, * crowded as shadow-deep foliage.*
* The Wistaria. The lay is slightly abbreviated by shorten
ing of common forms.
284 MANYOSHIU
246
With a Present of Cormorants \
From City-Royal and, friend, I bid thee
remote all places one are, thy lusty fellows summon,
and as the years pass pole up the Shlkura ^
the pains of life sum up and nets in the deep pools
away from homeland, cast thou,
wherefore, to ease thy while with these cormo-
sorrow — rants
of firstling cuckoo in the swifter stream thou
the song let thy heart fishest,
gladden, for so, dear comrade,
and with the fifth month shall fly the months and
let chaplets fair be days by
woven and the hours ne'er hang
of orange and sweet-flag heavy,
flowers —
^ By Yakamochi to Ikenushi. Dated May 18, 750.
^ A river in Echizen.
There are two envoys — the latter one hopes that Ikenushi
may catch good store of finny trout with the cormorants sent
him, and that he will not fail to present some to the donor.
247
Cuckoo and the Fuji flowers.^
In little hand held and willow-branch eye-
all in the morning's radi- brows
ance that arch with every
by some fair damsel smiling
with cheek of peachy hue the casket is,
THE LONG LAYS
285
ber shining mirror hold-
eth
the closed lid under —
and 'tis on Lidlord^ moun-
tain,
the t wain-peaked hill,
or mid the shadows
of deep green valleys
echoeth
the note of cuckoo,
or nigh the dim moorside
the moonbeams under
he darteth hither, thither
amid the clust'ring
festoons of fuji flowers,
with quick wings
scatt'ring
abroad the purple blossoms
whereof I gather
a bloomy spray, and set it
in my sleeve set it,
and if it staineth let it
my shining sleeve with
purple !
* By Yakamochi. Dated May 19, 750. Fuji is Wistaria.
"^ The first eleven lines of the text lead through the hue of the
peach flower and the grace of the willow-branch (Chinese ideas)
to the beauty of the damsel, who at her morning toilet holds her
mirror, of whose case the lid (futa) is implied in the name of
the hill Futakami (Twin Peaks or Twin Gods). The word-
fancy is untranslatable, and an imitation is all that is attempted
of the original. The envoy is no more than an echo.
248
A Lay of Jealousy of the Cuckoo's early song in a
neighbour's garden.^
Within thy borders
a hollow dell there is
behind mine lieth,
where mid the alder
bushes
every morning
the cuckoo singeth
blithely,
and every evening
mid the fuji
singeth —
flowers
but in my garden,
though orange blossom
showeth
nor vet is withered,
still Cometh not the
cuckoo
286 MANY6SHIU
his lay to sing me, why doth cuckoo yonder
my fate bewail I will tell you
not'-^, the tale he will not tell
yet why, I ask me, me ?
^ By Yakamochi. Dated June 2, 750. He envies the good
fortune of his neighbour and friend, the Hangwan (literally
^judicial officer'), Kume no Asomi Hironaha.
^ For the cuckoo is hardly due, ev«n although already he is
singing in the neighbouring garden.
249
Why singeth not Cuckoo.^
Though nigh the every evening searching
valleys, for him the valleys,
though nigh the wild- to catch his music long-
woods are, ing,
no cuckoo singeth, but still no song he sing-
I go forth every morning eth !
to listen for him,
* By Hironaha (248). Dated June 3, 750. The envoy in-
quire th why the cuckoo cometh not to pipe amid the wild-woods,
for long since hath the fuji bush flowered.
Book XIX, Paut II
250
A hapless Maiden.^
A wondrous story of Chinu one, the other
of ancient days men tell, of Unahi scion,
how twain young gal- in deadly quarrel joined
lants, them
THE LONG LAYS
287
about a damsel
whom either wooed to
wife,
oh ! sad the story
to hear, is the story —
fair as spring blossoms,
as autumn glory fine
was she to look at,
a very pearl of maidens,
and in the flower
the very flower of youth,
yet
these gallants' case
bewailing, far from home
she
seawards went she,
where flowing tide and
ebbing
the fine sea tresses
roll in both morn and even,
and frail as these
her life too scanty was,
her little day
away like dew and rime
passed —
ere death a nook she chose
her
where shall her tomb
be,
and that to future ages
her woe be known
her fine comb ^ there she
planted,
and as the years passed
a leafy box-bush grew
there
her grave-mound over-
shadowing !
^ By Yakamochi, after older lays. Dated the 6th of the fifth
month (June 15) 750, The subject of the lay is the story
variously told by Tanobe no Sakimaro and Takahashi no Muraji
Mushimaro in the ninth book (see lays 122, 124, and 125).
It was rather the girl's distraction of necessary choice than
her preference for one of her two suitors that is here viewed as
having driven her to suicide. The version is slightly abbre-
viated.
'^ When Izanagi fled from the Eight Ugly Females of Yomi
he threw down his many-toothed comb, so tabuing the spot —
which forthwith became changed into bamboo-shoots. See
Mr. Aston's Nihongi (I. 25), where Lang's Custom and Myth
is quoted, pp. 88, 92, *A common incident is the throwing
behind of a comb, which turns into a thicket ' ; cf. also
Campbell's Tales of the West Highlands. The first combj
no doubt, was in its way as great a discovery or invention as
the first wheel, and was honoured accordingly.
288
MANYOSHIU
251
An Elegy. ^
Since earth and heaven
long long ago were parted
ay faithful service
to their dread Lord have
render d
his lieges render d,
of whom myself obeisant
from City-Eoyal
beyond the hills and
rivers
have journey'd hither
to rule far Koshi's march-
land —
though friendly greet-
ings
may clouds and winds
bear 'tween us
for many a day
I have not seen thyself,
for love of whom
my heart is ever pant-
ing,
and now a runner
along the spear-ways
cometh,
Cometh bearing
to me these fateful tid-
ings
*Him whom thou lovest,
Sir,
him hath befallen
a desolating woe —
for the world is ever
of grief and misery full,
the flowers that blow
soon wither and wilt and
fall,
and all our life
is but a fleeting show —
thy friend's good
mother
who nursed him he be-
waileth,
at unawares
her life-thread hath been
sunder'd,
and she hath perished,
whom all men loved to
look on 2,
like morning mist
from our world hath she
vanished,
all prostrate lying
like helpless sea-tress
wave-tossed
upon the shore,
for life is like a river,
its flow nought stop-
peth ' —
THE LONG LAYS
289
or false these tidings be
or vain I know not
as startling sound they
to me
as twang of bow-string
touched far-off in the
night-time ^
by archer's finger,
and as I listen sadly
I cannot stop my tears !
So hath been ever
this fleeting world of ours,
as all men know —
wherefore let heart not
fail
and sorrow be borne
bravely.
^ By Yakamochi. Dated July 6, 750. The subject is the
death of the mother of Toyonari, eldest son of Mukomaro,
a scion of the Minami house (one of the Four Great Families)
of the Fujihara clan. Parts of the lay seem almost ' common
form '.
"^ See the text ; lit. * of seeing whom one was never tired.*
^ The curious prefatial simile in the text is here somewhat
amplified ; it is applied as a verbal decoration to oto^ literally
* sound ', secondarily * tidings ', ^ word *.
252
A Lay of Complaint from City-Eoyal.^
To me more precious
than fairest pearl that
lieth
in casket treasured
of the great god of the
sea
art thou my daughter,
but the way of the world
obeying,
thy husband following
to distant march-land
farest thou —
from me to part thee
more cruel 'tis than ivy
to strip from tree-
trunk —
thy face to look on,
with its pretty pencilled
eyebrows
like sea-waves ^ arch-
ing
great ships a-tossing,
oh, I would ever
DICKIK8. II
290
manyOshiu
but may not on that face
gaze,
for so I love thee
but 'tis a hope too
empty,—
and I grow older daily !
^ To Sakanohe no Oho Iratsume, the wife of Yakamochi,
from her mother Sakanohe no Iratsume. The Oho Iratsume
had gone down to Etchiu in the spring. The date is the
autumn of 750 (Oct. 8).
^ Drawn on the foreheads of the nobles and ladies of the
Court after the eyebrows had been shaved off.
253
An Elegy on the Death of a Mistress.^
Of earth and heaven
the gods for sure exist
not^—
so fair my mistress
away from me is taken,
sweet Narihata,
lady of the sounding
loom
(as thunder sounding,
the voice of the gods in
heaven) ^ —
with whom life's ways,
her hand in mine, to
wander
I hoped my lot were,
but so 'twas not to be.
fate hath us parted,
and now no help I find me
forlorn and lonely —
upon my shoulders cast I
bands sacrificial
and to the high gods
offered
fine hempen cloth -stuffs,
and earnestly I prayed
them
to spare my mistress,
but ne'er again about me
her sleeve shall wind,
the coils of fume e'en now
are wreathing o'er her
pyrei
^ Authorship unknown. In a footnote the subject of the
lay is said to be an ukareme (* light woman ') of Etchiu, named
Kamafunari.
* For though he had sorely besought their aid his love died.
The rendering is an attempt to give the value of the m. k.
epithetical of nari (thunder).
THE LONG LAYS
291
^ Part of the name Narihata and also of the name Kamafu-
nari. The hcmka is worth giving : —
utsutsu ni to
bmohiteshi ka mo
ime nomi ni
tamoto makinu to
mireba subenashi.
I thought I held her
close in a fond embrace
alas, 'twas not so —
'twas but a dream delusive
and the embrace was empty.
254
A Lay addressed to Hironari on his Departure for
China.i
From City-Eoyal,
Nara's well-founded city
in wide Yamato
whose hills shine under
heaven,
to wave-beat Naniha
my lord he goeth down,
from Suminoye
to fare across the sea-
plain,
to the distant Westland 2
his Sovran's will to carry —
with awe and reverence
the Presence of the high
god
of Suminoye ^
upon the prow I pray for,
upon the stern
like Presence do I pray
for,
that all the headlands
my lord may round in
safety,
by storms unharassed,
unvexed by gales or seas,
all prosperously
the Westland shores at-
taining
may soon his homeland
gladden.
* In 734 Taijhi no Mabito Hironari (compare various lays
in fifth, eighth, and ninth books) was sent as an envoy to China.
The author of the lay does not appear to be certainly known, but
in a doubtful postnote the lay, together with its envoy and six
short lays precedent, is stated to have been preserved (tsuiahe-
yomeru) by a second secretary of the Koshi province, named
Takayasu no Kurahito Kanemaro.
2 China.
^ Protector of sailors and travellers by sea. The fore Pre-
U 2
292
manyOshiu
sence would be propitiative, the after one protective. I am
not quite certain that images — perhaps only symbols— are in-
tended. Before Buddhism, images seem to have been unknown.
255
A Lay made on the way up to City-Royal, by Royal
Command, to be chanted at a State Banquet.^
From that far time
land de-
of
when on our
scended
from the clouds
heaven
in fam'd celestial rock-
boat,2
well-oared at prow,
well-oared at stem, belike,
the swift god Nigi,
and had wide vision
of all the lands below
thenceforth fair cleans'd
and under ordered sway
brought —
age after age,
in sequence still unbroken
each sun-successor
hath ruled the land and
now
our gracious Sovran
to rule his people cometh,
to rule his servants
with gentle sway and
ordered,
nor doth his favour
his people leave ungraced,
all prosperous
a time unknown of old
report his lieges —
so on the rolls may ever
the scribes the story
of royal hands enfolded
in happy peace tell,
of the wide land all where
tranquil,
while earth and heaven
while sun and moon en-
dure,
for a m3n:iad ages
under a sway unbroken —
our Lord and Sovran,
in peace and power who
ruleth,
this time of Autumn
the land bedecked with
blossoms
he seeth rejoicing,
and so this day
with noble feast regale th
and sake flowing freely.
Date and authorship are not stated.
The * rock-boat ' in which Nigi-hayahi voyaged down from
THE LONG LAYS 293
heaven to a land * suitable for the extension of the Heavenly
Task, so that its glory should fill the universe . . . doubtless
the centre of the world ', i. e. Japan. See N. I. 110.
Book XIX, Part III
256
A Eoyal Lay (or Lay composed by Eoyal Order) on
the occasion of the Departure of a Mission to
China ^ to be chanted at a Banquet to be given
to the Mission at Naniha.
Land of Yamato may these four ^ ships
shining the bright sky fare
nnder ! fare forth in equal com-
o'er thy seas faring pany/
'tis but a landward jour- their passage over
^^y» oar swiftly back to home-
in thy ships sleeping land,
'tis but an alcove's rest, then once more will We
so blest the land is, a royal banquet hold
the god-protected land and pledge the festive
is ! 2— cup ! «
^ The Mikado (Queen-Regnant) is Koken (749-70), but the
honour was conferred upon the mission at the instance of
Shomu (abdicated 748). The chief of the mission was a member
of the Fujihara clan, the Asomi Kiyokaha. Date and author-
ship are unknown. I have ventured to use the personal pro-
noun in the invocation to Yamato, though personification is
unknown in Japanese literature, or nearly so.
^ So favoured and well-ordered that travel is no hardship.
® One for the envoy, one for his associates, one for their
suite, and one for their secretaries, &c.
* That the vessels might not be separated from each other
during the voyage.
294 MANYOSHIU
^ There is an envoy, apparently by the Mikado, worth giving: —
Yotsu fune for safe return
haya kaheri-koto of these four ships to homeland,
shiraga tsuke white paper amulets
mo no suso ni upon my robe's hem fastening,
ihahite matamu. the great gods will I pray.
* White paper offerings ' (shiraga— sTiira-lcami) seems the best
explanation. These, like the more modern gohei, represented
the offerings of white cloth made to the gods from very early
times. Shiraga is by some commentators taken to signify white
(i. e. bright) tresses. But we find the expression in a tarika in
the third book by Sakanohe : ' yama no \ saMM no yeda ni \ shi-
raga tsuhu I yufu . . .', * on the branches of the wild Cleyera
I will hang shiraga with yufu . . .', where shiraga clearly refers
to offerings of paper attached to a spray of the paper mulberry.
257
On the occasion of the Promulgation of a Eescript.^
As long as larches, come wearing wreaths
as larches on the wild- inwoven
wood hills with shining treasure
succeed each other, from orange-bush gath-
as long as pine-trunk ered growing
lasteth, on Shimayama 2,
from well-laid Nara with girdles loosened
may our divine Lord rule, come they
o'er all the land and happy faces
in peace and power rule, for years a thousand
who now high banquet to wish their Lord good
to all his lieges offereth fortune,
who in their com- a scene right fair to gaze
panics on !
* By Yakamochi. The date is about 752.
^ Described as a knoll upon an island in a pond within the
* Forbidden Precinct ' — the Koyal Palace.
THE LONG LAYS
295
Book XX, Part I
258
On the Departure of a Sakimori ordered on Frontier
Service.^
The land of Tsukushi,
where long ago strange
fires
gleamed on the waters 2,
our Sovran's farthest
camp is
the realm defending
against the foe defend-
ing—
many the lands are
to our dread Lord obei-
sant
and many their men be,
but cock-crow Eastland
the bravest war-men fur-
nisheth
to fight ay ready
nor ever a glance behind
cast,
in battle fierce
in storm and stress of
combat
their guerdon earning —
so at his Sovran's bidding,
his mother who nursed
him
his young wife's arms he
leaveth
and home forsaketh,
the days and months of
absence
in sadness counting,
and so to Naniha fareth,
where ay the marsh-
reeds
their plumy blossoms
scatter,
there tall ship lieth
in the haven's calm of
morning,
there set the oars are
and mann'd by sturdy
rowers
to their oars bending
till nigh the stout oars
snap,
and forth he fareth
the rising tide affronting,
the billows riding
upon the track to West-
land —
oh, may he safely
and swiftly reach his goal,
his Sovran's bidding
in loyal hero-wise
fulfil, and finlly
his duty all accomplished,
unscath'd, a welcome
again find in liis home-
land—
296 MANYCSHIU
so prayeth she, setting about her pillow flinging,*
by her couch full jars of sake as slow the days sum
her shining sleeves and in her love shewaiteth,
ay turning diligently,^ his fair young wife ^ she
her jetty tresses waiteth !
^ Eight short lays, composed on the departure of a masurawo
(or a number of masurawo) to join the Tsukushi garrison as a
sahimori or frontier soldier, were presented by the Kotori
(Buryoshi or Military Commissioner) of Sagami, on March 25,
755. The Kotori (kototori) was a member of the Fujihara
clan, the Asomi Sukunamaro. Of the eight lays three were
approved. The next day Yakamochi {Hyobusho suke\ then
a high official in the War Department, composed the present
long lay which may be either generalized or taken as relating to
an unnamed individual, as is often the case in the Manyoshiu.
^ Shiranu-hi, unknown flares. See lay 61.
' Reversal of garments was supposed to bring out happy
visions. See also lay 61.
* Wives, when their lords were absent, remained secluded
and neglected their person.
^ Or wives, if the subject of the lay be taken as collective,
and the word in the text {tsumara) literally rendered.
[Near my residence, Wakayama, is the shrine of a Buddhist
saint, Myodo. When I was a boy folk prayed, putting on their
garments reversed — an easy thing with Japanese dress— and
slept in the shrine, with the happy result of beholding in their
dreams the person they desired to see. In mediaeval days in
Europe the chevalier would leave his worn shirt with his dame de
ccewr, *who slept in it with the hope of dreaming of her absent
lover. The reversal of the Japanese garment would turn out
the inherent soul, who then appeared in the dream. Note from
Mr. Minakata.]
. 259
In Praise of Ndniha.^
From time remotest and now Her Majesty ^
at wave-worn Nd-niha (I speak with awe and
have ruled our Sovrans ^ reverence)
as long tradition telleth, as spring-time cometh
THE LONG LAYS
297
with all its swaying
greenery
and wealth of blossom
the glory of the hill-sides,
and sparkling rivers
the glory of the cham-
paign,
upon the world
so beautiful and blooming
with pleasure gazeth
her royal heart refresh-
ing—
to Ndniha
come tribute-bearing
barges
in the calm of morning,
from every land they
come
w^ithin our borders
the Sovran's sway obey-
ing,
the water-ways throng
they,^
and in the calm of evening
with tide a-flowing
men down the waters pole
them —
and by the sea-marge
where scream the whirling
wild-fowl
'tis good to gaze on
the broad plain of the
sea-flood
and the white waves
breaking
and the fisher boats a-
tossing
upon the waters,
for royal fare purveying —
spacious the scene is,
and rich in all abundance,
and well decreed 'twas
in the foretime of the
world ^
there should be stablish'd
Mnihal^
^ Yakamochi, then Assistant Councillor of the War Depart-
ment, was sent to Naniha in the spring of 755 to prepare for
the advent of the Court in the following year. In anticipation
of this removal nineteen lays were composed [by various
hands ?] and apparently submitted to the Queen-Regnant Koken
by the Kotori of Kadzusa Namuda no Murazhi Samimaro on the
9th of the 2nd month of 7 Tempyo Shoho (March 27, 755). Of
these thirteen were approved, and among them the present long
lay and its two envoys (of no importance). The date is 13th of
2nd month (April 1, 755).
2 The allusion is to Nintoku (278-99). Naniha is first men-
tioned in the Nihongi under b.c. 633. He is said to have
298 MANYOSHIU
improved the Ozaka river for navigation chiefly by regulating
its affluents. See N. I. 281.
' K6ken(?)
* Hori-ye, channels appertaining to improvements mentioned
in note 2.
^ That is, under Nintoku.
® The translation is slightly abbreviated. The title might
more literally be rendered * Thoughts '.
260 1
Of Ashigara ^ I haste, and there will
the lofty pass I climb, halt me,
nor cast a glance back, and pray the gods
for nought deterreth preserve my homefolk
me, ever,
not Fuha's ^ pass as they for me
which yet brave men do the gods' grace will in-
dread, voke
towards Tsukushi's that home once more
cape me gladden.*
^ By Shidzuribe no Karamaro (of whom nothing is known).
Shidzuribe (originally guild of Shidzu clothiers) is here a mere
name. On royal service he cares nothing for the dangers of
the road. This lay is written in the Eastland dialect, on which
account the Kogi expresses satisfaction that it was not among
the six rejected lays mentioned under 259. There is no dai
or argument prefixed to this lay.
"^ Ashigara is the well-known pass in the Hakone district.
^ Fuha was in the neighbourhood of Ashigara, but cannot be
exactly located.
* The epithets and epithetical phrases of the text are only
partially rendered, and the conclusion is far from clear.
THE LONG LAYS
299
Book XX, Part II
261
The Lament of a Sakimori dispatched to Tsukushi
on Frontier Service.^
In dread obeisance
to my high Lord and
Sovran
from wife I part me,
in choking accents
we speak awhile, then
forth
I go, but hard
though bitter be the part- the parting is (though easy
mg
my hero-heart
is stirred to loyal service —
in trim of wayfarer
upon the threshold stand I
and she who nursed me
would comfort me,
my mother who nursed me
would comfort me,
my sweet young wife a
space too
detaineth me,
' oh ever for thy safety
shall I be praying,
home come thou soon' she
sayeth,
with her fine sleeve
from her eyes the tears
wiping —
^ By Yakamochi, dated April 7, 755. The lay represents
the feelings of an officer {saTcimori) summoned to serve in the
garrison at Dazaifu in the extreme west (Tsukushi).
The translation is somewhat abbreviated through curtailment
of common-form details. The lay is a curious proof of the
unwillingness of the valorous masurawo of the eighth century
to leave the pleasures of the capital and the delights of home.
birds* early flights are)
oft looking back,
the w^ay still longer seem-
eth,
the hills still higher
I climb till I reach Nd,niha
where ever surging
amid the reeds the waves
are,
and there ship take I,
and westwards in the
morning
o'er calm seas oaring
amid the rising mists
and plaining wild-fowl,
I muse upon my home,
and weep and sob
until the very arrows
are on my back resounding.
800
MANYOSHIU
262
Another Lament of a Sakimori ordered on Frontier
Service.^
In dread obeisance
crowd trembling round
to my high Lord and
me,
Sovran
and sad their lamentation
on frontier service
as spring-birds plaining,
must I to furthest W est-
their shining sleeves the
land
tears
from home and kin
of grief bedrenching
fare —
as their hands I hold, and
sad is my lady-mother,
find so
her robe's hem lifting
so hard the parting —
her son she stroketh
fain would they stay me
fondly,
but my dread Lord com-
my lord my father
mandeth,
he standeth by, and trick-
I must obey him.
ling
and forth upon the spear-
I see the tears
ways
adown his hoary beard
my feet do bear me,
fall,
o'er the hills and moun-
* like as the deer
tains
no son but thee have I,
the track I follow,
my only son,
and times a thousand
for him to leave us', crieth
thousand
he,
towards homeland turn
' for long long years
me.
never to see each other,
and as I fare still farther
my heart it breaketh,'
my pain increaseth.
so with sad interchange
and heavier grief oppress-
of sorrow part we —
eth
the while my wife and
my mind and spirit —
children
I am but man and mortal,
THE LONG LAYS 301
the term unknowing my dear father ever,
of my days by the gods my dear mother
appointed, in happiness keep ever
and o'er sea faring till I return
across the fearful waters, and once more see the
still shipway making homeplace —
around the capes and with morn my bark
^^^^^^^y is launched on N^nihas
on voyage perilous ^^^^^^^^
thus as I wander forth, ^^^ ^^^ ^f ^^^^
the god implore I, ^^^ ^^^^>^ ^^^ forthi fare,
high god of Summoye, ^^ ^^^^ f^^^^j^ ^^^^ ^^^
in weal and health keep homefolk
^ By Yakamochi, dated April 9, 755. The lay, with its
four envoys, are four selected out of twelve presented by
the Vice- Warden of the garrison of Kozuke an Ohofumihito
of the junior sixth rank, Kozukenuno Kimi Suruga, of whom
we have nothing beyond a bare mention in the ZoJcki under
date 2 Shoho (751). It will be noticed that the parents are
considered before wife and children. There are four envoys,
of which I give three : —
(1) * Oh, could I but send a token to my homefolk by the
clouds that are ever passing to and fro in the sky ! '
(2) * I pick up pearl-shells to send home, though the waves
breaking on the strand ever drench me with their brine ' (i. e. his
sleeves are wet with tears as he thinks of home).
(3) * When my bark is safely beached under the protection of
some island, would I could let my homefolk know of me, but
alas I can but long for home nor send there any tidings of me.'
Book XX, Part III
263
Laus Gentis Ohotomo.^
In that far foretime and He descended
when oped bright Hea- on Takachiho's peak,
ven s door, and god-like Sovrans
302
manyOshiu
o^er all theso broad lands
ruled —
in the forefront set He,
great Ohokume set He,
and bow of wax-tree'^
in his great hands He put,
and store of arrows
in mighty hand He grasped
(such as the gods use
in chasing of the deer),
and full-fraught quiver
upon his shoulders
charp^ed He,
o'er hills and rivers
o'er craggy steeps
the hero forced his way
and all the land oped,
its mighty gods appeased,
its men rebellious
compelled to due obei-
sance,
so was the realm
cleansed,
so was leal service ren-
dered—
in after time
stout - pillared palace
reared
anigh Unobi
midmost Yamato's land,
full-eared Yamato,
on Kashi's wooded plain,
Iharebiko *,
and the royal line
from age to age enduring
the land still ruleth
in straight descent from
Heaven,
to whom ay loyal
and pure of heart and
faithful
have the descendants
of that ancestral Sire,
to son from father,
from son to son again,
leal service given,
by their dread Lord's
side fighting,
in uttermost loyalty,
their Sire's service ren-
dering,
and who that lealty
gave handed down the
story,
and who that story
hear still their mirror
make it —
a name so pure
let those who bear it
honour,
nor any stain
to rest upon it suffer,
ye scions of Ohotomo
live rich in noble service
right well to that proud
name answer I *
THE LONG LAYS 803
^ By Yakamochi, July 19, 756, who in this his last choka may
be vindicating the honour of the great Ohotomo clan, to which
he belongs, from the aspersions of Afumi no Mabito Mibune,
who had insulted a member of the clan, the Warden of Idzumo,
Ohotomo no Kojihi. They had both been placed under arrest
for some breach of Court duty, and took the opportunity to
quarrel with each other, but what about, even the circumstantial
Zol'ki does not inform us.
' Am a no Oshihi, the ancestor of the Ohotomo family,
who on the rock-door of Heaven being opened by Hikoho no
Ninigi thrust asunder the many-piled clouds and descended
upon Mt. Takachiho in Hiuga, taking with him Ohokume
(Great Troop) the ancestor of the Kume-be. See N. I. 87. Ama
no Oshihi = ' celestial pusher-out of the sun ' ; the legend is,
in truth, founded on the name. Or Ohokume may simply be
* the host *. The adoption of this meaning would entail corre-
sponding changes in the translation, without however altering
its spirit or tenor. I use * He * as referring to the god, and
* he ' to Ohokume.
* Rhus succedanea, vegetable wax-bush. But the tree or
shrub cannot be absolutely identified.
* Jimmu.
' Grand Guard, hereditary defenders of the Royal Palace
and Person.
There are two envoys asserting the faithful service of the
Ohotomo family from its founder forth.
264
Final Envoy.^
*Tis New Year's Day may blessings shower
that ushereth in fair countless
spring — as the snowflakes now
upon our Dawnland a-falling I
^ By Yakamochi, dated New Year's Day (Feb. 2), 759. The
last lay of the Manyoshiu.
End of the Long Lays of the * Many6shiu\
304
KOJIKI AND NIHONGI
A Lay from the Kojiki.^
Princess Suseri to Yachihoko no Kami.
Divine Augustness my Lord embrace me,
ten thousand spears who within the pictured cur-
leadest,
of our great land
who art the Lord and
Master,
a man thou art, Lord,
and hast on every head-
land
of every island,
thou hast on every head-
land
o'er each strand tower-
eth,
a wife thou hast, as tender
tain
in softness, fineness ;
of warm couch-coverlet
the softness under,
of white-cloth coverlet
the rustlings under,
my bosom, soft as snow,
as snow just melting,
caress with arms as white
as bleachen bark cord,
caress me, and embrace
me,
thy fine arms round me
as fresh spring herbs are, thy limbs with mine en-
but I am but a woman twining —
no man but thee. Lord, and you, you servants,
but thee none spouse may my lord bring richest
call ; sake.
^ K. App. VL
A Lay from the Nihongi.'^
Prince Magari to Princess Kasuga.
In Yashima
no wife to love I found me,
in Kdsuga,
of blossomy spring-time
minding,
I heard there dwelt
a maiden passing fair
whose door I opened,
that fair maid's door I
opened,
and there I entered,
and foot to foot
and head to head em-
braced her,
my arms embracing
her, her arms embracing
MEDIAEVAL SHOET LAYS
305
me, we lay there,
and. so we slumbered
sweetly
till that the cock crew,
and from the moorland
border
the pheasant screamed
and dawn of day an-
nounced, sweet,
ere half my tale,
my tale of love was told
thee 2.
^ Nihongi, Ihida*s edition, sub. ann. 513.
* 0 Cressida ! but that the busy day,
waked by the lark, hath roused the ribald crows,
and dreaming night will hide our joys no longer,
I would not from thee.
Compare lay 178, note 1.
SOME MEDIAEVAL SHORT LAYS
The tanha of the Kokinshiu (10th century) and Hiya-
kiinin Isshiu (13 th century) may be described as miniature
sonnets, consisting of a tercet and a couplet, forming together
a quintain. The tercet, more or less rigorously, is a proem
or introduction or statement ; the couplet a conclusion,
moral, answer, echo, summary or exposition — itself often
again suggestive — of what the tercet suggests.
Tanka (Short Lays) from the Kohinshiu \
Of City-Eoyal,
of Nara City-Eoyal
alas ! remaineth
nought but the note of
cuckoo
who still his song there
singeth.
II
Upon high Td-tsuta,
the nightingale he waileth
amid the mists
of early spring-time, when
the blasts the blossoms
scatter.
See supra^ Preface to the Kokinshiu,
OICKINS II
306
KOKINSHIU
m
While still the snow lies
the days of spring are
shining,
and now are melting
the nightingale's frorne
tears
in liquid notes of music. .
IV
All overwhelming
is the wealth of cherry
blossoms
that hideth from me,
the heart of spring that
hideth —
I see but cherry blossom.
The cherry blossoms
are like this world too
fleeting,
scarce had I seen them
in all their glory blowing,
when 'fore the spring-
winds fell they.
VI
Those leaves in autumn
by windy tempests
driven !
more evanescent
the days of mortal man are
who in this fleet world
bideth.
VII
The blasts that scatter
the flowers of the spring,
where dwell they 1
who knoweth where
let him their lair reveal
me
and I will go and curse
them.
VIII
The showers of spring-
time
are showers of tears of
sorrow f
that spring - flowers
fall-
is there a man who weeps
not
the falling blossoms
watching !
IX
The mists of spring-
time
the wild-geese see, yet
hasten
to wing their way
hence —
to their own home, though
flow'rless,
'tis that they love to hie
them.
MEDIAEVAL SHOET LAYS
307
Tanka from the Hiyahunin Isshiu.
that soundeth not my
x
The hoar frosts whit'n-
ing
the Magpies' Bridge I
gaze 01)
now tell me darkness
is nigh to shining day-
break—
is it the lover-stars'
bridge ?
XI
In this fair spring-time
to gather sallets for thee
I wandered forth —
see, see, upon my vest-
ment
white snowis fallen, fallen.
XII
All o'er the forecourt
the wind the blossoms
scatters —
if not of winter,
the snows of passing years
there
that snowy flower-fall
seemeth.
XIII
As deep my misery
as Ndniwa's waters are,
whose deepest depths
by bamboo perch are
marked
sorrow.
XIV
Thine arm as pillow
were 't but for a spring-
dream's space
I dare not take me,
alas, I dare not ! ever
my name on men's lips
would be.
XV
How bright the moon-
beams
shine thro' the rifts the
clouds show,
the clouds of autumn
across the heavens driven
by the winds blow 'neath
the sky.
XVI
The thatch is ragged
my watcher's hut that
roofeth
in the autumn rice-
fields,
the dew that falleth
drencheth,
my garment's sleeve it
drencheth.
X 2
308
HIYAKUNIN ISSHIU
XVII
Now spring is ending
and summer time is com-
ing.
0 heavenly Kagu —
thy slopes are bright
with vestments
there set i' th' sun to
whiten.
XVIII
O mountain pheasant
long are the feathers
trail' st thou
on the wooded hill-
side—
as long the nights seem
to me
on lonely couch sleep
seeking.
XIX
On Tago's strand
I wend me forth and gaze
on
the peak of Fuji —
and the firstling snows of
autumn
I see on Fuji sparkling.
XX
Deep mid the moun-
tains
through the ruddy spoil
of autumn
his way he maketh —
the stag whose belling
tells me
what time it is of sad-
ness !
XXI
I search high heaven,
and now above Mikasa
in the land of Kd-suga
I know the moon is shin-
ing,
yon moon I see now
rising,
[in a far-off land now
rising].
XXII
The tint of flower,
alas, how soon it fadeth !
how soon, too, beauty
the rain and storm of
time,
as pass the years by,
wither.
XXIII
From high Tsukubane
rise Mina's roaring waters
in wide Hitachi,
in pools not deeper
gathering
than is my love for thee,
dear!
EPIGRAMS
309
Hokkii.
HokJcu or haikai are half-stanzas (tanka) the initial
tercet of a complete quintain, consisting of seventeen
syllables arranged in three lines, the terminal couplet being
omitted, and, in substance, left to the intelligence of the
reader. They suggest rather than state a thought or fancy,
and often require a world of explanation to be intelligible.
They are titles of unwritten poems, rather than themselves
poems. But, when understood, they are found to contain,
or at least to suggest, an incredible amount of meaning
within the narrowest compass of language. The subjoined
texts are taken verbatim from Professor Chamberlain's ad-
mirable paper on ' Bashd and the Japanese Poetical Epi-
gram', T. A.S.J,, XXX. pt. ii, and the translations are based on
those there given. The examples chosen are such as seem
to require the least explanation — most of them need none.
XXIV
Naga-naga to
hawa hito suji ya
yuki no hara.
XXV
Hito ha chiru
totsu hito ha chiru
haze no ue,
XXVI
Magusa ou
hito no shiori no
natsu no hana.
In long, long line the
river's flow
traileth o*er the moorland
snow.
{i. e. making the desolation
more visible.)
A single leaf that flutters
down,
just a leaf the wind hath
blown.
Bundle on his shoulder bear-
ing,
thro' the summer tall grass
faring
yonder peasant with his load
marketh me the hidden road.
810
HOKKU
XXVII
Samukereha
nerarezu neneba
nao samushi.
XXVIII
Yo nifuru wa
sara ni shigure no
yodori Jean a.
XXIX
Hana ni asohu
abu na kiu so
tomo suzume.
XXX
Kare eda ni
harasu no tomarikeri
aki no kure.
XXXI
Tsuyu 910 yo no
tsuyu no yo nagara
sarinagara.
XXXII
Natsu-gusa ya
tsuwa-mono-domo no
yume no ato.
XXXIII
Yo no akete
hana ni hiraku ya
Jddomon.
Shivering I cannot sleep,
sleepless warm I cannot
keep.
Like a shelter from a shower
is this world of half an hour.
Sparrow, sparrow, spare the
bees
busy with the flowers, please.
Books in row, on a branch
all dead,
autumn come and summer
fled.
{A picture of desolation,)
Just a dewdrop, nothing
more
yet a world ours is, if poor.
{i. e. jpoor as it is, it is yet
something J this world
of ours.)
Nought but summer grasses
tall'
fallen warriors' dreams recall.
(The vanity of glory,)
Opening like the morning
flower
wide the gates of Paradise
tower.
EPIGEAMS
311
XXXIV
Oranda no
moji ga yohotari
ama isu hari.
XXXV
Yuki no asa
ni no ji ni no ji no
geta no ato.
XXXVI
Ik-ka mina
tsue ni shiraga no
liaka-mairi.
XXXVII
Meigetsu ni
hana ka to miete
wata-hatake.
On the vault of heaven their
flight
Dutch-wise do the wild-
geese write.
(i. e. the string of wild-geese
against the sky look like
the cross-writing of the
Butch.)
Twos and twos across the
snow
show where early clogs do go.
{i. e. the marks like the
Chinese characters for
two, two, left in the
snow hy the two cross-
pieces of the clogs.)
All the housefolk at the
graves
white-haired leaning on
their staves.
{Their turn is near.)
Groves of cherry blossom
seeming
field with fleecy cotton
teeming.
XXXVIII
Yasu-yasu to
idete izayou
tsuki no kumo.
Softly, softly, falters through
yonder clouds the
white hue.
moons
312
HOKKU
XXXIX
Nagaki hi wo
saezuri-taramu
Jiihari kana,
XL
Mtzu-ahura
nakute neru yo ya
mado no tsuki.
XLI
Shiri-hito ni
awaji awaji to
hana-mi kana.
XLII
Nuke-gara ni
narabite shinuru
Aki no semi.
XLIII
Nani tori no
kono ato naku zo
hototogisu,
XLIV
Hana no yume
kikitaki chd ni
koe mo 7iashi.
All the day through sings
the lark,
singing still when day is
dark.
Lampless on my couch re-
clining,
is not the moon for me still
shining ?
Friends, away ; keep, friends,
away;
while I gaze on the flowers
gay.
(Let me have undisturbed
enjoyment.)
Cicada by its shedden shell
dead in autumn-time — ah,
well!
(Death and emptiness — the
sadfiess of autumn.)
When awav, what bird will
sing,
cuckoo, tell me, what will
sing ?
(In praise of the cuckoo)
I wish the butterfly would
tell
what dream of flowers it
dreams so well.
EPIGEAMS
313
XLV
Hyaku nari ya
tsuru hito-sujt no
kokoro yori,
XLVI
Osoki hi no
tsumorite tdki
mukashi,
XLVII
Uguisu no
koe tdki hi mo
kure ni keri.
XLVIII
Sumidare ya
aru yo hisoka ni
matsti no tsuki.
XLIX
Anfia tsutau
hoshi no hikari ya
naku chidori.
Koi-shinaba
waga tsuka de nake
hototogisu.
Many tendrils bind one vine,
many wills one heart incline.
Oh, the past of distant days,
slowly summing tale of
days!
O'er the spring's sweet day
and long,
closed the nightingale's far
song.
Mid summer-night showers
through the pines
furtively the moon it shines.
The stars that wend the
skies along
shed their light on a sea-
gull's wing.
(So even the poet may hope.)
If I die, fly, cuckoo, fly,
fly to sing my tomb anigh.
314 TAKETOKI MONOGATARI
THE STOEY OF THE OLD BAMBOO
WICKER-WORKER
INTRODUCTION
The Taketori Monogatari is not merely a romance, nor
is it simply a tale or mdrchen. It is a novel, the earliest
work of fiction in Japanese or in any Ural-Altaic tongue,
a novel, too, with a distinct Buddhist purpose, written in
a romantic strain and embellished with wonder-stories.
The principal personage of the novel is not the * taketori ',
the bamboo-hewer and wicker- worker, the story is not told
by him, nor is it, strictly speaking, of him ; the personage
of the story is its heroine, Kaguyahime, the Lady of Light,
and the object of it is the Buddhist one, with a Taouist
tinge, of showing how a fault may be expiated by resistance
to temptation. The Moon-maiden, exiled on earth from
her bright home — for the shadow of a thought of love 'tis
hinted — by her shrewdness and steadfastness in meeting
the importunities and resisting the advances of mortal
lovers, including the Mikado himself, yet without harsh-
ness, in other words by her native wit and womanly
(Tcix^poo-vz/r;, redeems her fault, and, cleansed from the stain
attaching even to a blameless sojourn in the lower world,
is ready, when the appointed time comes, for the company
of angels who descend on a cloud to escort her through the
sky to her homeland, the moon.
The maiden is revealed to the Wicker-worker in the
hollow of a bamboo, and brought up by him and his good
wife with the aid of gold found night after night in the
bamboos he gathers and splits for his trade. The fame of
her beauty is noised through the land, and she is sought
in marriage by a number of noble suitors, five of whom, by
a process of natural selection, prove themselves worthier,
or rather, less unworthy, than the rest, and are told that he
amongst them who shall bring the maiden the rarest and
costliest treasure shall win her hand. Two of them offer
INTRODUCTION 315
counterfeits, one of which is detected by the maiden herself,
while the other is revealed through the unjust action of the
suitor. The third suitor endeavours to accomplish the task
by the lavish expenditure of money, but is defrauded by
his agent ; the fourth is honest but stupid ^ ; and the fifth,
through ignorance of the Way of Buddha, commits an
impious action, and retires from the world in disgrace.
So far Kaguya has undergone her proof with compara-
tive ease. But now the Mikado himself seeks her; she
must avoid his importunity, yet without failing in her
duty as a loyal dweller in his land. The story is extremely
well told, one is almost tempted to believe that the Quests
are later additions. The maiden never fails for a moment
either in Buddhist rectitude or in earthly loyalty, and well
earns the pardon of her offence. During her abode on
earth she has learnt the virtue of filial piety — a Confu-
cianist touch — and it is with increasing grief that in the
last year of her stay in this lower world she watches,
month after month, the waxing and waning of the moon,
for she knows that when the mid eighth moon shall come
and the orb shall be at its fullest, she must leave her
earthly home and again become a denizen of Moonland.
At the moment of quitting her foster-parents the sight of
their misery almost overcomes her, but a celestial Robe
of Feathers is cast over her shoulders, and all remembrance
of earthly things is taken away from her. She leaves a
letter of adieu for the Wicker-worker, and of humble fare-^
well and loyal excuse with a bamboo-bottle of Elixir for the
Mikado, who had sent a host of men-at-arms to protect her,
but in vain, against the Moon-folk. But the Mikado will
not touch the Elixir — what is long life to him without the
radiant maiden, of whose beauty he alone among mortals
outside the Wicker- worker's home, has been favoured with
a glimpse. He orders a company of men-at-arms to carry
the Elixir to the highest peak of the 'mountain which
soars nearest to heaven' — to Fujisan, where it is to be
burnt with fire. The Elixir is borne there accordingly,
^ But see note to the Fourth Task.
316 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOEKER
and burnt as commanded, and * men say that the smoke of
that burning still drifteth among the clouds of heaven '.
Japanese literature begins with the Kojiki or Record of
Ancient Matters, which appeared in a.d. 712. During the
eighth and ninth centuries various works were produced,
none of which, if we except the Anthology, have any claim
to admiration on literary grounds. But in the next century
the Japanese mind seems to have taken a fresh flight, or
rather to have awakened to a consciousness of its powers,
and the remarkable series of Tnonogatari or romances, of
which the Tale of Taketori is at once the earliest example
and the type, gave a lustre hitherto unknown to the prose
literature of Japan.
Among these early romances, unsurpassed, probably un-
equalled, in literary quality, by the later fiction of Japan,
the Genji Monogatari holds the chief place in the estima-
tion of most modern native critics, who scarcely condescend
to notice the Wicker- worker^s simple and tender story, to
the charm of which, however, the Shinto writers of the
eighteenth century were fully alive. To European readers,
however, the record of Genji's love-adventures soon becomes
wearisome, despite the clever dialogues upon the virtues and
failings of women, regarded as ministers to men's sensuous
or aesthetic pleasures, that relieve the monotony of the
narrative — dialogues, by the way, that wear a strangely
modern air, and might, with a few necessary changes, be
transported bodily into a drawing-room novel of nineteenth-
century London, if we may trust Mr. (now Baron) Suyema-
tsu's partial translation.
In the sense in which Shakespeare is said to have had
little invention, the nameless author of the Taketori lacked
originality. Most of the materials of his story are drawn
from Chinese or Sinico-Indian sources. It could hardly
have been otherwise, for even as early as the tenth century
the legends and traditions of his country had been either
replaced by Chinese myths or recast in a Chinese mould,
and, excepting in the rituals of Shintd, and some of the
songs quoted in the Kojiki and Nihongi or collected in
the Anthology, all vestiges of the unwritten literature of
INTRODUCTION 317
primitive Japan seem to have been lost. But 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 either of the Middle Kingdom
or of the Dragon-Fly Land. The tags of word-plays that
close the tale of each Quest answer simply to the ' whereby
you may see ' of the Hundred Merry Tales, while the story
of the Fifth Quest, despite its air of farce, is redeemed by
its illustration of a world-wide piece of folk-lore. Perhaps,
indeed, the Moon-maiden's story stood originally alone, the
work of some pious but not too orthodox Buddhist, not
disdainful of Confucianism, who shaped a Taouist legend
into an allegory exemplifying the great doctrine of ingwa,
or Cause and Eifect, in the maiden's recovery of her celestial
home through subdual of the very feeling the indulgence
of which had led her to exile, despite the circumstance
that a Mikado sought to inspire, and a father to foster,
the tender sentiment. In such a story the narratives of
the Quests may have been afterwards interpolated, partly
to display more fully the maiden's constancy and purity,
partly by way of gentle satire upon the taste for love-
adventures which all the early romances show to have
characterized the comparatively peaceful ages, when neither
Hei nor Gen had yet raised the stormy din of factious
arms.
To render literally an Oriental text involves the efface -
ment of whatever charm the original may possess. I have
therefore sought to give an English dress to the ideas,
rather than to the mere language of the teller of this
old-world story. But I have desired, at the same time,
to preserve in the version as much as possible of the
spirit, as distinct from the structure, of the unsinicized
tongue of early Japan; and with this object have re-
produced, to some extent, the loosely composite para-
graph and sentence characteristic of Japanese prose, and
abhorred of Chinese writers, who delight in a terse and
antithetic, but bald and artificial style, that too com-
monly sacrifices wit to an obscure brevity, and loses all
318 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOEKEE
naturalness in the strain after mere symmetry of literary
form. I have endeavoured, also, to retain the impersonality
which so markedly differentiates Turanian^ from Aryan
speech ; but I have usually found this possible only so far
as it resulted from avoidance of metaphorical forms of
expression. Of the numerous word-plays that decorate
the text I have not attempted any explanation unless
needed to give some definite meaning to the passages where
they occur. The * honorifics ' in Japanese have often little
more than a pronominal value, and I have not been careful
to translate them when not used to emphasize respect.
The word ' mi ' is the honorific commonly employed in the
text in relation to the Mikado, and is usually rendered ' impe-
rial' or 'august', expressions to which I have preferred
the simpler * royal '. In his preface, Tanaka Daishiu (the
Sinico-Japanese pronunciation of the characters with which
his name Ohohide is written) says that if you read the Take-
tori over lightly, it will seem quite easy to understand ; but
if you want to ' taste ' it, you will find it no easy matter
thoroughly to comprehend the story, not only because the
style is antique and concise, but because by dint of frequent
copying the text is not unfrequently corrupt. I have
experienced to the full the justice of these remarks, and
am less certain now of the accuracy of many passages in
my translation than I was at the beginning of my task ;
it was only after prolonged study of the text that I found
I did not always fully ' taste ' it.
The date of the Taketori is usually placed between the
nengo Daidd (a.d. 806-10) and Yengi (a.d. 901-23). Moto-
wori inclines to a date later even than Yengi. But in Gengi
Monogatari the illustrations to the then existing MSS. of
Taketori are said to be the work of Kose no Ahimi (S6ken)^,
* On this peculiar feature of Turanian languages the reader
is referred to some excellent observations by Mr. Lowell in his
Ghoson^ or Land of Morning Calm (Korea). Mr. Aston, too,
has some admirable remarks on the subject in a paper on the
Korean and Japanese languages, which will be found in the
J. It. A. S., vol xi. pt. ii.
* Ahimi and Soken are one and the same person. In Ander-
INTEODUCTION 319
the writing being that of Kwanshi. But this declaration
is not regarded as authoritative — Gengi Monogatari being
merely fiction. In the Kakaisho ^ j^ ^ Kose no Kanaoka
and Kose no Ahimi are said to be the same person, but in
the KSmeiroku, ^ ^ ^, Ahimi (S6ken) is said to have
been his son, and Kanaoka to have flourished under
Nimmyd (latter two-thirds of ninth century). About
Kwanshi nothing certain is known. He is said to have
been born in a.d. 877, and thus would be thirteen when
Kanaoka died (a.d. 898 j. This would fairly agree with
S6ken being the son of Kanaoka, and would go to cor-
roborate the ascription of the Taketori to the early part
of the tenth century, but somewhat earlier than the date
mentioned by Motowori.
\ The authorship of the Taketori, which is far from being
a mere compilation, is sometimes given to Minamoto Jun
(or Shitagafu), who is also credited with having had a hand
in preparing a commentary on the Manyoshiu under Impe-
rial order published in 5 Tenryaku (a.d. 952)^. But
Minamoto Jun is also said to have written the Utsubo Mono-
gatari and the Ochikubo Monogatari, the style of both
which romances is quite different from that of the Taketori.
The final result of Japanese learning on the subject of date
and authorship is that the Taketori was written about
the beginning of the tenth century — a hundred years later
than the establishment of the Court at Kiy6to — and that
it is more likely that Sdken (or Ahimi), the son of the
celebrated painter Kose no Kanaoka, was the author than
Minamoto Shitagafu, if either of them were.
Of the monogatari — thing-tellings — stories, or narratives,
or miscellanies, which are considered classical, twenty-seven
(inclusive of the Taketori) are mentioned, with brief but
accurate analyses, in the Cfunsho ichiran (' Complete View
son's Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese Paintings in the British
Museum (1886) they are wrongly referred to as separate indi-
viduals.
^ He is the author of the famous Wamyo ruijiushOj a sort of
encyclopaedia of ancient ' Things Japanese '.
320 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WORKER
of the Host of Writings '), by Ozaki Masayoshi (died 1828),
the preface to which is dated 1801. Those which are
nearly contemporaneous with the TaJcetori, or which seem
to have been composed within a century or a century and
a half of its date, are the Ise Monogatari or ' Tales of Ise '
(tenth century), fanciful love adventures of a courtier
named Narihira ; Utsuho Monogatari (utsubo = hollow place,
or quiver), a collection of tales of which the first is the best
known; Ochikubo Monogatari (^ ce\la.T story', tenth cen-
tury); Yamato Monogatari (Yamato tales, tenth century) ;
the famous Genji Monogatari by the Fujihara princess,
Murasaki no Shikibu, in fifty-four books (eleventh century) ;
Sumiyoshi Monogatari, a ' step-mother story ' of doubtful
date and authenticity ^ ; Tsutsumi Chiunagon Monogatari
(story by the Chiunagon or Councillor who lived by the
Dike [of the Kamo river, Kyoto], tenth century); and
the curious Torikakebaya, ' would I could change them ' —
the story of a father who has two children — a son who is
feminine in his ways, and a daughter who is masculine in
her's — and does not know how to educate them *.
The postscript to Daishiu's Commentary, a good instance
of old Japanese work of this kind, is to the following
effect : —
In preparing the commentary, Daishiu has consulted
many books, noting omissions and faults, explaining doubts
and difiiculties, either with the help of the works of other
scholars or by his own scholarship only, trusting to careful
investigation and exercising sound judgement, leaving
scarcely any point unnoticed. To those who are not fully
acquainted with the monogatari the present volumes will
facilitate the path to an elegant knowledge of its beauties,
and serve as a help to polite learning. In these respects
their value is very great. The author showed me the
draft of his commentary and I gave him also some help.
* Excellently translated by Mr. Parlett, T. A, S. J., vol. xxix.
* Further details on the Monogatari will be found in Dr.
Aston'aHist of Jap, Lit, 1899, and in Dr. Florenz's GeschichtCy
1905.
INTEODUCTION 321
As to the past as delineated in the Monogatari I can
only refer the reader to the learning of the author, which
is sufficiently attested in the commentary and prolegomena,
nor need I add anything more.
By the retired Suzuki Akira (Motowori Ohohira), a man
of Owari, pupil of Motowori Norinaga, known as Suzuya
no 6, he died, aged 74, in 8 Tempo (1838).
This postscript is dated 1823 (?).
On the last page of the last volume the * block-store * is
mentioned, Paulownia Garden in Owari, and the date of
publication is given as 2 Tempo (1831) : —
From the Jimmei-jisho (Diet, of Japanese Nat. Biogr.,
1886), I summarize the following account of the Com-
mentator:— Tanaka Daishiu (Ohohide) was a wagakusha
(scholar in native learning). He was known as Getsu-
man (Moon's fullness), also as Jinya 6 (the Venerable of
the Bean-moor). Born in Hida, he became a pupil of the
celebrated Motowori. He was a fine musician and took
pupils, teaching them to play on the flute, the flat-harp,
and the five-stringed lute. He died, aged 72, in 1853.
His edition of the Taketori in six volumes, one introductory
and five of text and commentary, was his magnwni opus,
but he was the author of other works, among which his
edition of the Tosa Nikhi deserves mention.
SICKIKS U
THE STORY OF THE OLD BAMBOO
WICKEE-WORKERi
BOOK I
The Coming 2 of the Lady of Light ^
Kaguyahime no ohitachi.
It is now a long time since there lived a man who
was known as Taketori no Okina, the old bamboo-
gatherer. He went among the hills and wastes and
gathered bamboos, and used them for ten thousand
purposes. Now the name folk called him by was
^ Lit. bamboo-gatherer, taketori, but a basket-maker or wicker-
worker who gathers his own material is meant. The story is
commonly referred to under the title Taketori Monogatati, but
the full title is Taketori no Okina no monogatari, the Story of the
Old Man the Bamboo-Gatherer. The old man who is the
hero of the two hundred and third naga-uta of the Manyd-
sMu is called Takatori no Okina. The form Takatori probably
signifies a real proper name, taketori merely a worker in
bamboo.
Taketori, the good-wife, and Kaguya are, of course, purely
fictitious personages ; the five suitors may, very possibly, have
been intended as humorous caricatures of Court personages of
the day. The last three of them, indeed, are said to have been
historic persons.
^ Literally, *the growing-up.'
' Kaguya is always written ^ ^ — Illumer of Darkness.
But originally the name probably meant the Jii me (sun-
bright, or royal lady, at first a daughter of the Mikado, later
a maid of the royal blood, finally — as here — part of a name)
of Kagu or Kago, possibly the hill Kaguyama — Deer Hill, the
subject of an oft-quoted stanza, said to have been composed by
COMING OF THE LADY OF LIGHT 323
Sanugi no Miyatsuko Maro\ Among the bamboos
he was gathering on a certain day there was one of
which the stem shone brightly. The old man was
astonished and went up to it and looked at it and
saw that the brightness came from the inside. So he
looked again and beheld a being of great beauty but
only a span high. Then he said [to himself] : —
' Early and late do I work daily among these
bamboos where I find this child. Surely I may
claim her for my own.'
Then he took her in his hands and carried her
home, and gave her to his wife to be nurtured.
Beyond all description was the beauty of the babe,
but of so tender a growth was she that she was put
into a hand-basket to be brought up.
the Empress Jito (a.d. 690-6) on beholding the mountain
bathed in a flood of summer sunlight [some say moonlight]
Haru sugite Now spring is ending
natsu M ni Jcerashi and summer-time is coming
shirotdhe no 0 heavenly Kagu —
Jcoromo hosu tefii thy slopes are bright with
Ama no Kagu yama. vestments
there set i' th' sun to whiten.
In this verse, one of the Hiydku Nin ItsusMu {* A Century of
Poems by a Century of Poets ', thirteenth century), the writer
suggests, doubtless, the heavenly counterpart of the Deer Hill
which rises above the ancient City-Royal, Nara. Mount Kagu
is mentioned both in the KojiJd and Nihongi. Or, lastly, Kaguya
may denote the moon, the orb of night.
^ Or Saruki or Sadaki. Sanuki or Sanugi is the north-
eastern province of lyo or Shikoku, now the Ken (prefec-
ture) of Kagawa. Miyatsuko (conf. Manyoshiu, Introduction,
§ x) is here merely part of the whole proper name. Of marOy
the personal name, the meaning or value is not certainly
known. Saito Hikomaro in his Kata-MsasM says ^maro was
originally a humility-name of the first person, afterwards one
of intimacy, and lastly of esteem '. It seems to have been a
y 2
324 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOEKER
The ancient continued to gather bamboos, and
after finding the child he went on gathering them,
and as he split them, night after night he came upon
a bamboo in whose hollow he found gold. So in time
he became a man of great substance.
The child was carefully nurtured and grew apace,
so that after only three months she had attained her
full stature. Then her foster-parents thought it was
time to put her hair up \ and her hair was put up
and she began to wear a maid's kirtle. But she was
not brought outside the curtain 2, her parents doted
upon her and tended her most affectionately, so that
her beauty of face and form was without peer in the
world, and in the house there was not a dark corner,
common name in the Nara period, and this perhaps throws
back the authorship of Tdketori nearer to the Daido (806-10)
than Yengi period (901-23).
^ Anciently the hair of both sexes was allowed to fall in
long tresses behind either shoulder. At the age of thirteen or
fourteen these were ' lifted ' and fastened in a sort of knot on
the crown or side of the head. The custom is alluded to in
a tarika of the Anthology (Book XVI, Part I) : —
Tachibana no Whom I my love made
tera no nagaya ni within the long-roof d cham-
waga ineshi bers
unahi baJcari ha of the Flower-Shower tem-
kami agetsuramu Jca, pie —
a tender maiden left I,
her locks she will be lifting ?
The long-roofed chambers are the guest-rooms of the tera or
convent. The name ' flower-shower ' is more apt than orange-
bush, though so written, if the story be accepted as given in
the Kogi, that the tera was so named in honour of a miraculous
shower of lotus-flowers marking the completion of a pious task,
the exposition of a Buddhist sutra (shomokei ?).
' The curtain before the toko or bed-place ; in other words,
she remained within her foster-mother's care, unbetrothed.
COMING OF THE LADY OF LIGHT 325
for her radiance filled the home.^ Never was the
ancient ill or vexed that a sight of the child did not
cure him and comfort his trouble.
For a long time the ancient went on gathering
bamboos, and became a man of very great substance.
When the child was quite grown up, Imbe no
Akita of Mimuroto ^ was asked to give her a
^ The brightness that illumined the hollow of the bamboo
proceeded from the maid.
' Here Imube (Imbe) no Akita is probably a mere name.
Imube anciently was the guild, union, or artificial clan of shinto
shrine ritual servants. Originally the imu hito (abstainer) was
a person vicariously under tabu, to whose default was attri-
buted the ills of his principal (Conf. N. I. 42). In the Nihongi
we read that the old name Mtashi for salt was tabu, because the
Queen-Consort's father had died through an intrigue of a man
named Kitashi. There were imu Jcotoha such as hami-naga,
long hair (Buddhist monk), somegami, dyed paper (a sutra),
JcusaUraku, a sort of fungus (flesh), ase, sweat (blood). At the
date of the Taketori the imube system had not been supplanted
by the later magic, onyodo, |^ |^ |^. In the Antho-
logy, Mimuro and Mimoro occur as names of hills ; a hill
named Mimuroto and two places named Mimoro are also men-
tioned. It may mean the place of three muro or shrines, or
underground dwellings. In the ManyosMu, Book II, Part I,
will be found a tanka : —
Tamakushi^e
Mimuro no yama no
sanelmdzura
sanezuba tsuM ni
arihatemashi mo.
The application of the m. k. iamakushige to mi is untrans-
latable ; so is the word-play in lines three and four. The first
two lines are also prefatial to sanekadzura — thus the word-
jugglery becomes complicated. The whole is said to express
reluctance to leave one's mistress before dawn, despite the
danger of quitting her in daylight — "tis intolerable that I
should not continue to remain with her.'
326 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WORKEE
name, and lie named her Nayotake no Kaguya-
hime — the Lady of Light, the Bending Bamboo.
And a great feast was held and the guests enjoyed
themselves in ten thousand ways. Dames and
gentles came without distinction, and noble was the
revelry.^
^ The manifestation of Kaguyahime is connected with various
Buddhist stories, several of which are given by Daishiu. In
a little-known sutra, Kwo-dai-hd-roka'kU'Zenjiu himitsu darani
(Vipula-mahamam-vimana-supratushtita guhya-dharawi-sutra,
see Bunyiu's Catalogue of the Tripi^aka), the 'Sutra of the
Dharani (charms or magic formulas) of the Pavilion of Bound-
less Treasure ', we read : * The Bosatsu (Bodhisattva= candidate
for Buddhaship, Eit. 26) Kongashiu, Vadjrapani or Diamond
club-holder (Eit. 159), and Makasatsu (Makabodhi?) said to
Shaka Muni (Sakyamuni) —
** Tell us, your Holiness (seson), what is the reason and source
of all the nyorai (Tathagata, perfect Buddhas, Eit. 141) in this
temple (Horokaku)?"
Shaka answered —
*' Looking far down the vista of kalpas (a Tcdlpa is the life-
period of a physical universe) we see that in this world
(Djambu dvlpa, the triangular inhabited world, being one of the
four continents of the universe) the masses of men needed not
to plant the grains, for these grew of themselves, destroyed
not each other, and accumulated no wealth, but they knew not
Buddha. In that land rose a high mountain, the Precious
Mountain (Eatnaghiri in Behar, Eit. 103), anigh which dwelt
three Sennin (Kichis, or Immortals through asceticism, Eit.
103), who were perfect in the ways of Buddha, so that they saw
the deva of the pure dwelling (heaven), and imparted the highest
wisdom (saniadhi) to men. . . . After a time these three holy
men were absorbed into the earth, and there grew there three
bamboos with roots of the seven treasures, and stem and leaves
of gold, and the branches tipped with pearls, fragrant and pure
beyond compare. . . . After ten months each stem opened of
itself and disclosed in its hollow a male child of great beauty.
Each boy sat at the foot of his bamboo, and after seven days
attained perfect intelligence, showing the thirty-two beauties
COMING OP THE LADY OF LIGHT 327
and eighty excellencies (of a Buddha), together with absolute
composure, whereupon each bamboo became changed into a
tall and beautiful storied pavilion." '
Another legend is as follows : —
* In the garden of the King of Kayarei (?) grew a flourishing
Dai-tree (Amra, mango-tree ?). In that land dwelt a Koji (upa-
saka, Buddhist layman), who was a honshi (a brahmatchari, ascetic
brahman), wealthy and of eminent wisdom, and so esteemed of
the king that he made him a chief minister. The king gave
him an amra fruit to eat, which the bonshi found so good he
desired to have a tree of that kind. His wish was granted,
but the fruit was found bitter, but became sweet when the tree
was manured with milk and butter. Then a branch shot up
from a swelling and produced a crown of leaves with a pool of
water in the centre amid the blossoms, midmost which the
bonshi found a beautiful girl-child, whom he took and reared.
Her name was Daijo, the Amra Maid (see the Amradarika-
sutra).
When she was fifteen the fame of her beauty was noised
abroad, and seven kings wooed her.
The bonshi thereupon placed the girl in a tower, and said to
the king —
" The maid is no child of mine, I found her in a Dai-blossom,
whether of celestial origin or born of an evil demon I know
not. If I give her to one of you I shall incur the wrath of
the rest, so ye must settle the matter among yourselves."
This they could not do, but one of them. King Heisa
(Bimbisara — a King of Magadha, who gave a park to Shaka,
and was murdered by his son Adjatas'atru, b. c. 551), mounted
the tower and remained the night there.
In due time the girl bore a man-child of extreme beauty,
who held in his hand a pin and a medicine bag, and became
a famous physician (Eit. Djaraka).*
There are variants of the above stories, and other similar
ones cited by Daishiu.
In the KojiM (K. 258) we find the curious story of Ama no
Hiboko (Celestial Sun Spear), and the woman who, under the
influence of the sun's rays, gave birth to a red jewel which
became a beautiful girl, who finally married Ama no Hiboko.
See also the Ked Arrow story (K. 146). Both these are phallic
stories, as are, apparently, so many in the Kojiki,
328 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKEE
BOOK II
The Wooing of the Maid
Tsumadohi
The gentles of that time, of high and low degree,
distracted by the fame of the loveliness of Kaguya-
hime, were at their wits' end how to win her or even
gain a glimpse of her. They wandered there about
the house-fence and lingered near the door, but found
it vain to attempt to get so much as a glance at
her. So they could not sleep at night, and they
went out in the black darkness and made holes in
the fence, and peeped through here and there until
they became nearly mad. Whereby you may see
how men came to say of folk a-wooing that they
* went a-creeping by night ' \
Beside themselves at this failure [or treated as if
they were not there at all and of no account] they
wandered about the fence still, but nothing ever saw
they, and though they made to speak to the house-
folk no answer ever won they.
They never left the neighbourhood, and while
dark grew light and light grew dark many of them
thronged the purlieus.
Then, after a time, the duller folk thought it was
useless to wander longer thereabout, and they de-
parted and came no more. But others are more to
be mentioned, for their passion diminished not, and
five these were, who came daily and nightly, and their
longing to gain the maid ceased not.
Their names and styles were these. One was the
miko Ishidzukuri, another the miko Kuramochi,
* Ydbahl (wooing)— ?/o hdhi = night-creep — is really only a
lengthened form of ydbUy call.
THE WOOING OF THE MAID 329
a third the Sadaijin Abe no Miushi, a fourth the
Dainagon Ohotomo no Miyuki, and the last was
the Chiunagon Isonokami no Marotada.^
Now among the multitude of women if men hear
of one even a little more lovely than the rest they
are consumed with desire to behold her, and so it
was that these five lords, in their passion to gaze
upon the beauty of Kaguyahime, would touch no
food, but inflamed by a continual longing went to
where she dwelt, and loitered and wandered about
the house, yet all to no purpose, and wrote letters to
her but got no answer, and addressed moving verses
to her whereto she deigned not to reply.
All their labour was profitless they deemed, yet still
they pressed their suit, unheeding alike the snows and
frosts of winter and the thunderous heats of summer.^
At last they summoned the ancient, and bowing
them before him and rubbing their hands like sup-
pliants begged him to give his daughter to one of
them, but he said : —
' No child of my blood is the maid, and indeed she
may not be constrained by me/
^ These names will be explained later on.
^ Minadzuki — the 6th month, part of July and August
under the old calendar. The name — a contraction of kami-
nashi-tsuki — signifies ' godless month ', because during the month
all the myriads of gods were believed to be absent from the
world, holding council in the bed of the Kiver of Heaven (the
Milky Way or at Kidzuki in Idzumo ; confer Aston, Shinto) to
determine the fortunes of men during the ensuing year. The
legend, if not of Chinese origin, is more or less sinicized, and
embodies perhaps some memory of the time when the ancestors
of the Chinese dwelt about the sources of the Yellow Eiver, the
river which they supposed to be the continuation on earth of
the celestial stream. Another possible derivation would be
haminaridzukij * thunder-month '.
330 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOEKER
And so the months and the days passed by.^
At last the suitors returned to their homes. They
were full of grief, they offered up prayers to the
gods and petitions to the Buddha (or holy men) and
so sought to win ease of their woe, but no ease
could they win. Then again they bethought them,
Could the maid for ever refuse to mate with a man ?
and again they pressed their suit, and again sought
her dwelling and let it be seen more clearly than
ever, by their continuing to haunt the place, how
bent they were upon winning the maid.
The ancient saw this, and said to Kaguyahime : —
*My child, my Buddha, thou camest to us after
a miraculous fashion, but from babe to maidhood
have I bred thee, and that in no unfatherly way,
wherefore I pray thee listen to what the old man
would say.'
Kaguyahime answered : —
* I know not if I came to you, father, after a mira-
culous fashion that I should not listen to whatever
you may deign to say to me, but this I know that ye
are my dear parents.'
* Oh, daughter,* cried the ancient, ' what delightful
words you speak. But I am over three score years
and ten, and know not whether I shall outlive this
day or its morrow. 'Tis the way of this world of
ours that the maid should meet the youth and the
youth the maid, for so indeed shall thereafter the
home increase, and how might the fashion of the
world be other.'
But Kaguyahime answered : —
* Why should I do so T
'Because miraculous as your coming to us was,*
^ "Ore 8rj fxrjvts re koI rjixipai €^€Tik€vvTOj Odys. 14. 293.
THE WOOING OF THE MAID 331
said the ancient, 'in form and manner you are a
woman and well might you remain as you are as
long as my days endure. But for years and months
have these lords sought you, wherefore I pray you
to consider their petition and give yourself to one
of them.'
* But I am not fair to look upon,' cried the maiden,
* and, unknowing the truth of their love, were I to
give myself to one of fickle heart should I not
bitterly repent me of it later. Good gentlemen they
be doubtless, but ill it were methinks to mate with
any of them without proof of his sincerity/
The ancient replied :—
' The same anxiety is mine, daughter, but tell me
with what manner of man would you care to mate ;
not ungentle lords have they surely shown them-
selves, in like measure, to be/
* Just to discover the depths of their passion,' said
the maid, * is no great thing to desire. They have
all shown like devotion, and I would somehow find
out which among them are the more and which the
less excellent. So tell these five lords, father, that
I will follow him amongst them who shall prove the
truth of his love by bringing me the most precious
thing in the world.'
' 'Tis well,' replied the old man.
As the day darkened the suitors assembled as
usual ^ one playing on the flute, another reciting
* The rivalry of suitors is a common story-motive all the
world over. In the Buddhist tale of the Amra Maid (p. 327,
n. 1) a company of royal wooers is brought upon the scene. In
the ManyosMu are several instances of the rivalry ; among the
most interesting of which are the lays numbered 5 in the
first book, and 122 and 125 (and the story from the Yamato
332 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WORKEE
verses, a third singing ditties, while the remaining
pair whistled with their lips or clattered with their
fans, and so was music made, when the ancient came
out to them and said : —
* I have told my daughter how very grateful we
should be to your lordships for thus honouring my
poor dwelling these months and years, and I added
that I knew not whether I should overlive the day
or its morrow, and begged her to consider your suit
and make answer to it, to which she replied that she
knew not how true your love for her might be, — such
was her explanation, — and which was the more and
which the less true lover she knew not, and to discover
this she promised to follow him who should bring
her the most' precious thing in the world, and^ so
prove his love. This was the determination she had
come to, and it seemed good and such as your lord-
ships would not be displeased with/
' It is good,' they answered, whereupon the ancient
went in to Kaguyahime and told her what the lords
had said.
Then Kaguyahime announced her will to the
ancient as follows : —
'Tell the miko Ishidzukuri to bring me from
India the holy stone bowl of the Buddha ; the miko
Kuramochi to break off and bring me a spray of the
tree that hath roots of silver and trunk of gold and
Tales appended thereto) in the ninth book. Another curious
example is the confused but interesting story of the White
Hare of Inaba told in the KojiJci (K. p. 68), where as many as
eighty (i. e. all the) deities wished to marry the Princess of
Yakami in Inaba and made Ohonamuchi carry their bag as
their attendant when journeying there, but despite all their
wooing the lady said, ' I will not listen to your words. I mean
to marry the bag-bearer *.
THE WOOING OF THE MAID 333
beareth jewels as fruits, and groweth in the isle of
Horai midmost the Eastern Sea ; the next one to
bring me from Morokoshi a fur robe made of the pelt
of the salamander ; the Dainagon Ohotomo to pre-
sent me with the five-coloured jewel that lieth in
the head of the dragon ; and tell the Chiunagon Iso
that from him I require a birth- easing shell brought
by the swallow across the seas/ ^
* These be tasks hard indeed/ cried the ancient,
* such treasures are not to be found in our land/
But the maiden answered : —
* Why so hard?'
And, whatever he might think to say, the ancient
had to go out and tell the lords what her will was.
They heard him and answered : —
' The lady deigns simply to say straightway that
we should do well to depart hence/ So they de-
departed sorrowfully.
^ The last three of the suitors may have been real personages.
If so, the fact would go to prove that the story was composed
in the eighth or ninth century.
334 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WORKEE
BOOK III
The First Task
The Quest of the Holy Stone Bowl of
Buddha ^
Hotoke no mi ishi no hachi
More than life itself did the miko ^ Ishidzukuri ^
desire to gaze upon the beauty of Kaguyahime, yet
as he bethought him how hard a task it were to win
a thing that was to be found only in India, being a man
of crafty mind, and reflecting too how vain it were to
fare hundreds of thousands of leagues upon the chance
^ Daishiu expends a good deal of Buddhist learning upon the
Stone Bowl, most of which is but of little interest. A Buddhist
monk, following the example of the Buddha himself, always
received alms in a bowl or dish, never otherwise. In the Uji-
shui (eleventh century) of Minamoto no Takakuni, in ch. clxix,
will be found the curious story of the monk Jakusho. He
was present with a number of Chinese monks at an imperial
banquet (in China) who all made their bowls fly about in the
air to receive food. He could not do so, and sought to
excuse himself by saying that such was not the custom in
Japan. Nevertheless he implored the Buddhist saints and the
Shinto gods not to let a Japanese monk be put to shame. His
prayer was heard, his bowl flew faster than any and came back
to him filled with food.
^ The ' miko ' were originally * princes of the nearest kinship '
to the Sovran ; the * kimi ' were more remotely related to him
(Asakawa, p. 67). In later times the title became part of a
name merely.
' The miko, who as such would need no Tcahane, may have
been named after his nurse, a common practice in ancient
Japan, who, in that case, will have belonged to the family
(originally he or tomo or artificial clan) having the kabane or
style of stone- workers (makers of stone coffins). The fraud of
the miko is, perhaps, suggested in the name.
I
QUEST OF THE HOLY BOWL 335
of discovering a bowl that was the only one in that
vast land, he let it be known to the ancient's house-
hold that he had that day started upon the quest, and
after three years had passed presented himself at the
maiden's abode, bearing a bowl which he had dis-
covered standing on an altar to Bindzuru^, in a
temple among the hills of Tohochi in Yamato. The
^ Bindzuru is Pindola, one of the sixteen Kakan or Arhats
(Eitel, 12) who remain in this world to keep perfect the faith
of the Buddha.
In the Butsuzo dzui (illustrated account of Buddhist images)
he is the first mentioned, under the name Hatsuratasha (Bha-
dravaja — an early disciple), and is represented as an old man
seated by the edge of a precipice overlooking the sea, and
holding in his right hand a fly-flapper of feathers (to keep the
flies off the Buddha), and in the left palm-leaves with sacred
texts written on them. There exist traditions relative to this
saint which convert him into a sort of Wandering Jew. He
offended Shaka and was condemned to live for ever, thus losing
his chance through successive deaths and rebirths of attaining
Nirvana. Another (Chinese) legend relates that he was buried
as a slave, and on the grave being reopened was found to be
alive. Yuming (first century a.d.) says * this slave is always
wandering, where he is now no one knows, he never stays in
one place ; I have myself never seen him*. See some interesting
notes by my friend Minakata Kumagusu in N. ^' §., Aug. 12
and 26, 1899, and April 28, 1900; also in Nature, 1895, 'The
Story of the Wandering Jew.'
The saint is always treated as apart from all others, and his
image placed on a rock outside the tera or monastery. He is
known as the Helper and those who are afflicted in any part
stroke the same part on his image and recover. Hence his
images are usually much worn down. They are painted red,
and it may be that Bindzuru is not merely a corruption of
Pindola but a humorous rendering of heni-zuru, rubbed with
red, i. e. red-stained.
According to a Chinese work (commentary on the Water
Classic, Suikyo, written about a.d. 500) Varuna, the Indian
Neptune, may be represented by Bindzuru.
336 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEK-WOEKER
bowl was black with the soot of lamps, but the
miko had wrapped it in a covering of brocade and
attached the bowl to a spray of artificial blossoms ^.
On being shown the bowl Kaguyahime could not
hide her astonishment, but as she looked closer she
saw a scroll lying therein, which she took and opened,
and read this stanza : —
O'er seas and mountains
well-nigh my life hath failed me
in quest obedient —
'tis tears of blood hath cost me^
the bowl I bring you, lady.
Again the maiden regarded the bowl, to see if it
shone with any light ^, but not so much as the gleam
of a firefly could she perceive. So she gave back the
bowl with this stanza : —
A sparkle scanty
as morning dew-drop showeth
here vainly seek I —
but to the Hill of Darkness*
thy Quest, belike, hath ta'en thee!
The miko, on the bowl being returned to him, cast
it away, and wrote a stanza in reply : —
* It was a pretty custom in old Japan to accompany a gift
with a spray of wild plum, or peach or cherry, in flower. To
this day a present to a geisha is called hana, flower. See mb
voce * tamadzusa ' (List m. k., vol. texts).
* The last two Hnes of the text — ishi no hachi no \ namida
nagare ha — may be read ishi no ha chi , . ., i. e. Hhis stone
[bowl] has run with tears of blood.*
' Daishiu tells us that a true Buddha Bowl is of an azure
colour and gives out light. So s'arira, or relics of a cremated
saint, are often supposed to emit flashes of light.
* Ogura, in the district where the Bowl had been found.
Ogura probably means Little Grange, but by a word-play is
QUEST OF THE HOLY BOWL 337
Thy beauty, lady,
a hill of shining light is,^
hath dimm'd its sparkle —
let bowl and honour go,
if but I still may woo thee!
But Kaguyahime deigned not to make any
answer. Nor would she listen to anything that
the miko got to be said to her, and so, at last,
wearied of importunity, he departed. Whereby you
may see how men came to say of a man who doeth
that which bringeth him to shame, * he hath thrown
away his bowl ' 2.
here taken as ' lesser darkness *, ' obscurity '. In two tanka of
the Anthology the hill is mentioned : —
As even falleth On Ohoi's waters
upon the hill of Ogura the fisher-barks are showing
the stag's shrill cry their shining flares —
this night is all unheard, wherein the hill of Ogura
in sleep, belike, he resteth. a name is, nothing more.
^ Shirayama, opposite in situation as in (borrowed) meaning
to Ogurayama. Originally, probably, it was Shiroyama or
Castle Hill. The intrinsic brilliance of the Bowl is obscured
by the radiance of Kaguyahime's beauty ; as the stars are made
invisible by moonlight, says Daishiu.
^ Hachi, bowl, is written with the syllabic characters of
Jiaji, shame, the cM being ' nigoried ' into ji.
DICKINS II
338 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOEKER
BOOK IV
The Second Task
The Quest of the Jewelled Spray of Mount
HoRAii
JEdrai no tama no yeda.
As the miko Kuramochi ^ was a man clever in
expedients he let it be known at Court that he
was going to take the baths in Tsukushi ^ and so
took leave, but to the household of Kaguyahime he
intimated that he was starting on the Quest of the
Jewelled Spray and therefore went down * to Naniha
^ Horai, in Chinese Phenglai, is one of the Three Isles of the
Genii which were supposed to exist in the ocean east of China.
A legend, probably of a Taouist cast, relates that Sufuh or
Hsiifuh (Japanese — Jofuku)or Siishe, a magician of Tshi (Shan-
tung), was sent during the reign of Hsihwang, the founder of the
Chinese Empire, with a band of youths and maidens in search
of these Blessed Isles, where grows the magic die plant, and
wells forth the fount of sweet wine which bestows immor-
tality upon the drinker. It is upon the seeds of the che and
upon the gems that bestrew the island-meads that the genii
subsist. With the islands is connected the name of the mystic
Sungwuki (fourth century e.g.), who is said to have conducted
a previous expedition there. Taouist story identifies him with
the genie who dwells in the moon, gettchiu no sennin. Perhaps
Eatnaghiri was the original of Mt. Horai — possibly Fujiyama.
See Mayers' Chinese Beader's Manual, Nos. 641-47 ;* also Book I,
note 8, ante,
^ The name is written Kurumamochi, * keepers of the royal
carriages' (Jcuruma), Possibly, guardians of the royal gran-
aries (Jcura). If Kuramochi was a real personage, his name,
like that of Ishidzukuri must have been taken from the kabane
of his nurse's family.
* Kiushiu, or the west part of Kiushiu, the Isle of the Nine
Territories. One may render it Westland.
* By the river Yodogawa.
QUEST OF THE JEWELLED SPEAY 339
•with all his people. Then he declared that he desired
to travel quite privately, and took few folk with
him, only his body-servants, and all the rest of those
who had accompanied him went back to City-Koyal.
Lastly, he made as though he had gone on the
Quest, but after three days he secretly took boat
and returned also to City-Eoyal. There all arrange-
ments had been made beforehand, and the master
craftsman, Uchimaro, with his assistants, six men in
all, had been impressed and lodged in a place difficult
of access and surrounded by a triple-fence. The miko
shut himself up with the craftsmen, and used the
revenues of sixteen villages \ whereof he was lord, to
provide for the making of the spray. The spray was
made exactly as Kaguyahime had described that of
H6rai. With great cleverness the miko succeeded
in conveying the spray secretly to Naniha. There he
took boat and returned to City-Eoyal and sent word
thereof to his mansion and appeared in the guise
of a wayworn and wearied traveller. Many [of his
people] went to meet him, and they put the spray
into a Chinese coffer and covered the coffer with a
[silken] cloth and bore it with them. ' An unheard-
of wonder' they shouted, ' the miko Kuramochi hath
gotten the Udonge ^ flower and bringeth it to City-
Eoyal.^ Now Kaguyahime heard of this thing and
her heart wellnigh broke as she thought to herself
that she would, perforce, have to yield herself to
the miko.
^ The text here is very obscure, probably corrupt. I have
done my best with it.
=^ The Udumbara, or Ficus glomerata. The flowers, which
almost require a botanist to detect them, as in all figs — ' flower-
less fruit ' as the Chinese commonly call them to this day —
are fabled to appear but once in a thousand years.
Z 2
340 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKER
In due course a knocking was heard at the gate of
the maiden's abode, and it was announced that the
miko Kuramochi had arrived.
* I have come in my wayfarer's garb,' he declared,
adding : —
*At the risk of my life have I won this spray.
I beg that it may be presented to Kaguyahime.'
The ancient thereupon took the jew^elled spray and
carried it within.
A scroll was attached to the spray whereon a
quintain was written : —
Though vainly risk'd I
my very life risk'd vainly
this jewelled Spray
on Hdrai's tree unplucked
how could I leave and see thee.
While Kaguyahime was wondering at these lines
the ancient entered her chamber hastily, and said : —
'The miko hath brought you the spray you
commanded of him, 'tis just such as you described,
failing in no particular, and whatever you do you
cannot say this or that [you must make up your
mind to accept him]. He has come in his wayfarer's
dress without even resting at his own mansion, and
delay you must not, daughter, to accept his suit.'
Kaguyahime answered nothing, but sat there with
her chin on her hand, sad and sorrowful.
Thinking that no opposition would now be made,
the miko began to mount the steps that led to the
porch-floor. The ancient, who thought the miko's
request reasonable, said to Kaguyahime : —
* Never in this land hath such a jewelled spray as
this been seen. How can you now refuse to see him,
daughter ; moreover, 'tis a goodly man.'
' QUEST OF THE JEWELLED SPKAY 341
The maiden answered :—
* It was a great grief to me to seem to refuse so
obstinately to listen to what my father said, where-
fore I spoke of getting for me some precious thing
that were difficult to win, but I am disappointed not a
little that it has been gotten so easily/
For a space the ancient was silent, arranging the
chamber the while. Then he [went out and] said to
the miko : —
*Your servant would fain know what manner
of place it may be where groweth this tree — how
wonderful a thing it is, and lovely and pleasant
to behold ! ' And the miko answered : * The year
before yester-year, on the tenth of the second month
(kisaragi), we took ship at Naniwa and fared out
into the open sea, not knowing what track to follow ;
but I thought to myself, What were the profit of life,
if I might not attain the desire of my heart ? So
pressed we onwards, blown whither the wind listed.
If we perished even, what mattered it; while we
lived we would make what way we could over the
sea-plain, and perchance thus might we somehow
reach the mountain men called Horai. So resolved,
we fared further and further over the heaving
waters, until far behind us lay the shores of our
own land. And as we wandered thus afar, now deep
in the trough of the sea — we saw its very bottom
belike ; now blown by the gale, we came upon strange
lands, where creatures like demons fell upon us and
were like to have slain us ; now, knowing neither
whence we had come nor whither we tended, we
were almost swallowed up by the sea ; now, failing
of food we were driven to live upon roots ; now,
again, indescribably terrible beings came forth and
342 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKER
would have devoured us ; or we had to sustain our
bodies by eating of the spoil of the sea. Beneath
strange skies were we, and no human creature was
there to give us succour ; to many diseases fell we
prey as we drifted along knowing not whitherwards,
and so tossed we over the sea-plain, letting our ship
drift; before the wind for five hundred days. Then,
about the hour of the dragon, four hours ere noon,
saw we a high hill looming faintly over the unknown
watery waste. Long we gazed at it, and marvelled
at the majesty of the mountain rising out of the sea.
Lofty it was and fair of form, and doubting not it
was the mountain we were seeking, our hearts were
filled with awe. We plied the oar, and coasted it
for two days or three, and then we saw a woman,
arrayed Hke an angel, come forth out of the hills,
bearing a silver vessel, which she filled with water at
a fount. So we landed and accosted her, saying :
** How call men this mountain *? '* and she said, " 'Tis
Mount Horai," whereat our hearts were filled with
joy. " And you who tell us this, who then are youl "
we inquired. "My name is H6kanruri \'' she answered,
and thereupon suddenly was lost among the foot-hills.
On scanning the mountain we saw no man could
climb its slopes, so steep were they, and we wandered
about the foot thereof, where grew trees bearing
blooms the world cannot show the like of. There
we found a stream flowing down from the mountain,
the waters whereof were rainbow-hued, yellow as
gold, white as silver, blue as precious ruri ; and the
stream was spanned by bridges built up of divers
gems, and by it grew trees laden with dazzling jewels,
^ Hokanruri, a Buddist compound = treasure-crowned ruri
stone.
QUEST OF THE JEWELLED SPEAY 343
and from one of these I broke off the spray which
I make bold now to offer to the Lady Kaguya. An
evil deed, I fear me, but how could I do otherwise than
achieve the task laid upon me 1 Delightful beyond
all words is yonder mountain, in all the world there
existeth not its like. After I had broken off the
branch, my heart failed within me and I hasted on
board, and we sped before a fair wind and after
some four hundred days we came to Naniwa, whence
but yesterday, so great, belike, was my desire, I set
out for City-Eoyal, and now have I hasted here
without even changing my wayfarer's vestments, all
soddened with sea-water though they be/
The miko's story moved the ancient to tears as he
listened, and he made a quintain: —
For years and years
bamboos in this world of darkness,
mid wastes and mountains
have I long hewed, but never
so sad a time-joint known.^
When the miko heard these lines he said, * Now
is the bitterness of dolorous days gone, now do I
know peace in my heart.' And he made a quintain
in answer: —
My sleeves with tears wet
this day are dried, this day still'd
lie all my fears low —
• a thousand thousand sorrows
behind me fade forgotten.
Just at this moment a company of men entered the
fore-court. Six men filed in, and one at their head
* The internode (fusM) of a bamboo, by a word-play, suggests
a passage in life.
344 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEK-WOEKEE
bore a bamboo in the split end whereof was held a
scroll. He said : —
* Ayabe no Uchimaro, takumi (architect, or designer,
or foreman) of the tsukumodohoro (construction) office
says : We have broken our hearts with labour and
for over a thousand days have exhausted our strength
in making a jewelled spray as commanded, but no
wage has been bestowed upon us and we desire to
receive it for the support of our families/
He then presented the scroll.
The ancient, Taketori no Okina, doubted what
these words might mean. But the miko became as
one beside himself and looked as if his very liver had
perished within him.
When Kaguyahime heard of these things she
commanded that the scroll should be accepted, where-
upon it was received and opened and read. And on
it was written what follows : —
' His lordship the miko shut himself up in the
same place with a number of mean craftsmen for
more than a thousand days and caused a fine jewelled
spray to be made, promising that he would confer pro-
motion.^ We have heard that the Lady Kaguyahime
is about to espouse his lordship and that the spray
was her great desire, therefore we have come to this
mansion thinking that here we should receive our due.'
On hearing of this request the Lady's face which
had been clouded with anxiety broke into a smile,
and she called for the ancient and said to him : —
*So you thought this a true Jewelled Spray of
H6rai — wretched counterfeit as it is, take it and
return it to its forger.*
The ancient answered : —
This appears to be the meaning of the text.
QUEST OF THE JEWELLED SPKAY 345
* As we have just heard that it is certainly false, of
course it must be returned/ nodding his head in
assent as he spoke.
Then Kaguyahime, the load now lifted from her
heart, composed this quintain : —
The tale I hearkened,
or true or false I wondered,
mere words it was,^
as false as are the jewels
this sorry spray adorn.
And with it was the jewelled spray delivered to
the miko.
The ancient, remembering what he had said
about the spray, closed his eyes and could not utter
a word.
The miko stood there awhile, half inclined to go,
half to stay. At last, as day was darkening, he slunk
off and disappeared.
Then Kaguyahime summoned the craftsmen who
had caused this trouble, and said : —
* I am much pleased with you men,' commanding
that they should be liberally paid. They were
greatly delighted, and went away, saying that
they knew they would be thus treated. ^
But the miko Kuramochi caused the craftsmen to
be punished, and beaten on their return until the
blood flowed. The wage they had received from
^ In the text there is a play upon M, 'leaf or 'leaves',
fancifully used by Tsurayuki in his preface to the KohinsliiUy
of which a translation follows this section of the present work,
to signify * words ' or * language ', lioto no ha,
'^ The craftsmen only knew that the spray was destined for
Kaguyahime — that it was a fraud on the part of the miko
they were unaware.
346 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKEK
the Lady Kaguyahime profited them nothing, they
were despoiled of the whole of it, and so fled away
and disappeared. ^
This shame was the greatest that ever fell upon
the miko during the whole of his life. It was not
only that he did not win the Lady, but he felt that
men looked down upon him, and he sought a retreat
amid the depths of the hills. The retainers and
servants of the Court divided themselves into
bands and sought for the miko in all directions,
but whether he were dead or not they could not
discover. He concealed himself so well, even from
his body-servants, that for years nothing was seen
of him.
Whereby it may be understood how men came to
say *tamazakaru' ^ of one parted from his wits, like
the miko Kuramochi.
BOOK V
. The Third Task
The Quest of the Robe of Salamander Fur
Hinedzumi no kahagoromo
The TJdaijin Abe no Miushi ^ was a lord of great
wealth and ample household. In that year [of the
^ To complain, with whatever justice, of the act of a superior
was a crime in old Japan. Conf. Viscount Hayashi's remarkable
book, For His People.
^ By word-play tama-zakaru may mean * precious ' or * gem-
blossom ', in allusion to the tama no yeda (Jewelled Spray), or
* parted from one's wits '.
^ Or Sadaizhin Abe no Murazhi. Daizhin or Oho-omi is
Great Minister, Sadaizhin, Left or Superior, Udaizhin, Right or
I
QUEST OF THE EOBE 347
wooing] he wrote a letter to one W6kei ^ who had
come by ship "from the land of Morokoshi 2, wherein
he required him to buy for the Udaijin a E-obe of
Salamander rur,^ and among his housefolk he chose
a trusty retainer named Onono Fusamori and charged
him with the letter.
Ono bore the letter accordingly to Wokei and
gave it to him, together with gold. Wokei read the
letter and answered : —
' The E/obe of Salamander Fur is not to be found
in my country. I have heard of, but never yet seen
such a thing. If it exists anywhere in the world
I will do my best to bring it to this country. It will,
however, be a hard job. Still, to India, by some
chance, such a robe may have been brought, and it
may be possible to procure it through the great
merchants * who trade there. If not, your retainer
can bring back the gold you have sent.'
Inferior Great Minister ; Murazhi is a Jcdbane, Omi and murashi
were the higher, tomo no miyatsuko and huni no miyatsuko were
the lower ranks of high officials — the former, ministers or
councillors, the latter, administrators. This is, of course, only
a general description (see Asakawa, 67-70, &c.). Abe no Miushi
is said to have been a real personage. In the ZoTcu Nihongij
under third year of Mommu, we read of the death of Abe no
Asomi Miushi. Then the Sadaizhin was Tajiki no Shima no
kami. Mura = district, zhi is the zhi or sM of aruzhi = nushif
master ?
^ Wokei is a purely Chinese name.
^ Morokoshi is an old Japanese name for China, ot uncertain
derivation.
^ Lit. * of fire-rat,' -M-nezumi. Daishiu gives no information
concerning this fur. Perhaps the reference is to the asbestos-
cloth mentioned in Yule's Marco Folo, as a product of the
country lying on the northern frontages of China.
^ Chiyauzhiya (choja), a Buddhist term. A mother, telling
348 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WORKEK
After a time the ship came back ^ from Morokoshi.
When the Udaijin heard that Ono, his retainer, was
ready to start for City-Royal he took a swift horse
and caused it to be sent in haste to meet him, so
that he was able to reach the capital, riding from
Tsukushi, in only seven days.
He brought with him a letter from W6kei, which
the Udaijin unrolled and read as follows : —
' After much labour and sending a man in quest of
the Robe have I succeeded in procuring the same.
Now, as of old, it has been no easy thing to find
a salamander fur. But a good time ago a learned
sage came to this land from India, bringing one
with him. I heard that it was kept at a temple
among the western hills [of China], and after great
difficulty, and with the help of the officials of that
land, I was able to buy the Robe. The money you
sent was not enough to pay the price, so after
consultation with the authorities and with your
messenger I added money of my own and bought the
Robe. So that now you ought to send me fifty gold
ryo. I beg that the money be sent me by return of
the ship [to China], if not the money, that the Robe
be given as a pledge therefor.'
* What does this mean ! ' said the Udaijin to
himself, *the money is but a small matter, it shall
be sent at once, I am very glad W6kei has sent
the Robe.'
Then he turned his face towards the land of
Morokoshi and bowed him humbly.
her son to follow the founder of the Han dynasty (' Liu Pang ',
Mayers' Manual, No. 414), called the latter chdja^ as having the
honesty and sagacity of a merchant prince.
* Perhaps to Hakata in Chikuzen, a favourite resort of
Chinese traders in early times.
QUEST OF THE ROBE 349
On looking at the casket containing the Robe
this was seen to be curiously wrought with flat
inlaid work of different kinds of fine ruri ^ The
Robe itself was of a violet colour, the tips of
the hairs of the fur iridescent with gold, truly
a precious treasure it appeared to be and without its
like in the whole world. Even its fire-proof quality
paled before its rare beauty.
''Tis a splendid gift' cried the Udaijin, 'surely
Kaguyahime will admire the Robe!'
So saying, he cried *ana kashiko!' (how fine?)
He put the Robe back into the casket which he
fastened to a blossomy spray, and after carefully
powdering his face and dressing himself elegantly set
out for the ancient's home, where he deemed he must
certainly be allowed to remain, wherefore he attached
a scroll to the spray, on which was written this
quintain : —
Of this Fur Robe
in quenchless flame of passion
the sleeves are dry —
and thou to-day may est, Lady,
look on the Fur Robe famous I
^ The Chinese preferred jade to jewels, and the Japanese
preferred wavy agate and cornelian. Of the gems prized in the
West very few are found in the Far East, nor do the Chinese
or Japanese know how to cut them. Daishiu says the ruri was
a gem of which ten kinds were found in the Ta Tshin land, by
some supposed to be the Roman Empire, by others the coun-
tries lying south and west of China — Syria ? Persia ? Perhaps
varieties of turquoise or lapis lazuli are covered by the name.
Buri has also been identified with the emerald, and Dr. Wil-
liams, in his Chinese Dictionary, says it is the Sanskrit vaidurya,
one of the sapta ratna or seven treasures of Buddhism (Eitel,
sub voce), which seems to be lapis lazuli, or possibly clear green
jade. Lastly, coloured glass or enamel may be intended.
350 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOKKER
When the Udaijin reached the gate of the fore-
court, the ancient came out and took the Robe and
carried it within to show to Kaguyahime, who, after
looking at it, said : —
*It seems a beautiful fur, indeed, but no one
knoweth for certain whether it be a true salamander
fur or not/
The ancient answered : —
' Looking at the matter this way or that way, we
must first of all invite this lord to enter ; the fur
hath all the look of being an incomparable treasure,
therefore receive it, daughter, nor, I pray thee,
trouble men-folk so/
He then asked the Udaijin to enter, and ancient
and dame now deemed she must accept him.
For long had the ancient bewailed her unmarried
state, and desired to give her to some man worthy
of her, but she had continually refused, yet it was
unreasonable to force her will.^
' If this Robe on being cast into the flames should
not be consumed,' she exclaimed, * then, methinks,
will it be proved to be of true salamander fur, and
if it be an incomparable treasure, as is said, it may
well be put to the test of fire, and so you may tell
this lord/
The ancient agreed, and went out to tell the
Udaijin what she said.
But Abe no Miushi answered : —
* What doubt can there be about the Robe, which
was not to be found even in Morokoshi and cost sucli
^ Daishiu reflects on the contrast between the timidity of
Abe and the boldness of Kuramochi. It will be observed that
the Wicker-worker pleads for each suitor in turn, in his anxiety
to see Kaguyahime married.
QUEST OF THE EOBE 351
a world of labour to discover ? Nevertheless, since
the Lady so willeth, let it be put to the test of fire/
Then the Robe was cast into the flames and was
burnt up in a trice. So was it shown to be nothing
more than a counterfeit.
When the Udaijin saw that the Robe perished
in the fire, his face turned grey as a withered leaf.
Kaguyahime uttered an exclamation of delight, * ana
ureshi ! ' [how delightful !], and composed a quintain
in answer to the one offered by the Udaijin, which
was placed in the casket returned to that lord,
empty of its Robe.
Hadst thou but known
that any flame would burn it
nor leave a vestige —
afar from love's fires would'st thou
yon Robe have better guarded.^
Whereupon the Udaijin departed.
After these things when men inquired whether
Abe the Otodo ^ had gotten the Robe of Salamander
Fur and so won the Lady, they were told that the
Robe had been cast into fire and there perished,
wherefore the Udaijin had not won the Lady.
When men heard this tale they cried ' Ha, abenashi ! ' ,
whereby you may know how men came first to speak
of an adventure that faileth as * abenashi ' \
^ Alluding to the Daijin's stanza, in which he pretends that
the flame of his passion has dried his tear-drenched sleeve.
^ Otodo is oho omi, great minister.
^ Abenashi, ' not- Abe ', or ' Abe is nought ', involves a word*
play — Aie nashi = ahenashi = togenashij unsuccessful.
352 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOKKER
BOOK VI
The Fourth Task
The Quest of the Jewel in the Dragon's
Head
Tatsu no kuhi no tama
The Dainagon Ohotomo no Miyuki ^ called together
the men of his household and said to them : —
* In the head of the Dragon there lieth a jewel
sparkling with the five colours,^ and to him who
winneth me that jewel shall nothing be refused that
he may desire/
His men listened respectfully to their lord's words
and answered : —
' Our lord's words are most gracious, but to win
^ Said to have been a real personage. The Nagon, we read
in the Wamiosho of Minamoto Shitagafu, were oJiohi monomafusu
Jiito — chief speakers, i.e. Eoyal Councillors (N. II. 347, n.)
The Ohotomo, ' Great Clan ' or * Great Guards ', were of higher
lineage than the Mikado himself, for their ancestor was Ama
no Oshihi, a brother of the ancestor of Izanagi and Izanami,
and a grandson of the Great Mid-sky Master, according to the
earliest version of the Sun Legend. There was an Ohotomo
no Miyuki who flourished in the early part of the eighth
century and is identified with the Ohotomo no Kiyofu men-
tioned frequently in the Anthology (q. v.).
The three great clans were, on the accession of Jimmu,
(1) Mononobe, or soldier-caste, who guarded the interior of the
palace. Their ancestor was Umashimade no mikoto. (2)
Ohotomobe, or great guards, whose ancestor was Michi no Omi
no mikoto. (3) Kumebe, or army caste, whose ancestor was Oho-
kume no mikoto. The clans (2) and (3) guarded the exterior of
the palace. The power of all these clans was overthrown by
the Fujihara family in the seventh century.
^ More literally, * with the splendour of the five colours '.
QUEST OF THE JEWEL 353
yonder jewel were no light task, belike. How may-
one draw forth a jewel from the very head of the
Dragon '.
Whereupon the Dainagon exclaimed : —
*As your lord's men you must accomplish what-
ever he bids you do, even at the risk of your lives.
What I desire is not something not to be found in
this land of ours, nor is it something to be sought
in India or China. The Dragon is a creature that
climbs the hills out of our own seas and descends
into the sea from our own hills ^ ; why, therefore,
should ye shirk the task as no light one V
To which his retainers replied : —
* After what our lord says there is no help for it,
hard though the task be. We must not refuse to do
his bidding, and therefore will we undertake the
Quest.'
The Dainagon smiled approvingly, and added : —
* How should you oppose your lord's w^ill and
cast a slur upon his name, seeing that ye are his
men.'
Then he set about making ready to take the jewel
in the Dragon s head. To provide food for his men
he used all that he had in his mansion, silk cloths
^ The Chinese belief was that a kind of hornless dragon in
climbing the hills crumbled them into dust. This was an
explanation of landslips and earthquakes. On descending into
the sea he caused waterspouts, to this day known in Japan as
tatsu no mdkij * dragon-whirls.' The ' New Cut ', imagire, which
was the result of an earthquake in 1499, and connected Hamana
no Mizu-umi (near Hamamatsu) with the sea, was attributed to
the action of a peculiar dragon called horttj but hora is a
gigantic whelk, and as my friend, Mr. Minakata, suggests, the
story may be due to the exposure of fossil-shells as a result of
the earthquake.
DICKINS U A a
354 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WOEKER
and floss and coin ^. And he said : ' Until they return
I will live under tabu, but let them not return
without having won the Jewel/
His men were so told, and they listened and
departed. * We must not return without the J ewel,
he saith/ they cried among themselves, and they
wandered aimlessly wherever their feet bare them,
railing at their lord s whimsy, and, at last, after divid-
ing among them what their lord had provided for the
Quest, they separated, some going to stay in then*
own homes, some wherever they listed.
Now they railed at the Dainagon because he had
commanded them a foolish thing, which neither father
on his children nor lord on his men ought to impose.
Meanwhile the Dainagon bethought him that no
ordinary lodging would be meet to receive the Lady
Kaguya, wherefore he caused a beautiful pavilion to
be erected, well lacquered within and adorned with
designs in gold, silver, and coloured enamel, even the
roof was thatched with parti -coloured silks 2, and the
chambers were furnished in a manner words cannot
describe ; in every room were patterned tapestries
whereon were painted many fair pictures.
All his women, too, he dismissed, for he felt assured
^ Silk cloth was used as a sort of currency in archaic Japan.
In the Konjdku Monogatari (a collection of Japanese, Chinese,
and Indian stories, in sixty volumes, by Minamoto no Taka-
kuni, d. 1077), we read of a servant selling his master's widow
for silk stuffs.
^ Or decorated with bands of silk. A hyperbolical expres-
sion, reminding one of the * tiled with lapis-lazuli {ruri) ', found
as descriptive of a lordly mansion, even in a sober history like
the Continuation of the Nihongi [Zoku Nihongi]. See also
* Streets paved with Jewels ' in the Hojoki (Journal Boyal
Asiatic Society, April, 1905).
be
•t^
o^«'iG edi to
^^^ yM^4o'(«^ Mf^ ff« >%iww(i
a over th^
at, anti
' From an old, probably seventeenth-century, wood-block
representing the storm described in the * Quest of the Dragon-
Jewel '. In the upper air the thunder-god (Chinese) is busy
beating his drums.
.^
>.=x
To face p. 355
t«i»
QUEST OF THE JEWEL 355
of winning the Lady, and the days and the night he
passed alone.
Day and night, too, he awaited the return of the
men he had sent upon the Quest, but years [or, a year]
passed and he got no word of them. At last he felt
wearied at heart, and taking but two of his servants
with him, very privily he went down the river to
Nd-niha, and there made inquiry : —
' Hath any one heard whether tlie Dainagon's men
have gotten the Jewel they took ship to win '? '
But the fisher-folk only laughed and answered : —
' What strange talk is this "? No ship hath gone
forth upon such an errand/
* Cowardly folk these sailors are, to be sure ! ' cried
the Dainagon. * Of bold deeds they know nothing.
I myself will bend the bow, and let fly the shaft, and
slay the dragon, if dragon I meet, and so win the
Jewel that lieth in his head, nor w^ill I longer wait for
those laggard fellows of mine.'
So ship he took and sculled forth over the sea in
this direction and in that, and so was he oared far
beyond distant Tsukushi.
Then, somehow or other, a great wind blew, and
the air grew dark and the ship drave. The ship
drave midmost the ocean, one knew not where, the
wind whirled, and the waves rose and towered over
the boat and were like to swamp it, and the [thunder-]
god roared ^ as he would strike the ship, and the
^ The illustration, a common one in Japanese representa-
tions of the thunder-god, is of Chinese origin. It was believed
that the stroke of the god's hammer caused the 'clap', the
vibration of the drums the * roar ', and the simultaneous com-
bination of both, the * bolt ' which slew men. There is some
truth of observation here, for the simultaneity mentioned
would involve proximity of the electric discharge.
A a 2
356 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOKKER
Dainagon was sick with fear, and cried out 'What
will become of me, never have I been in such dreadful
peril '.
The steersman heard him and said : —
* Times and again have I oared among these waters,
but so fearful a storm as this never have I seen. If
the ship founder not, we shall be struck by the
thunderbolts of the god, if by good hap and the god's
grace we escape those perils we shall be driven far
south amid barbarian seas. Woe worth the day I took
service under so ill-advised a lord ; I never thought
to die such a death as this ! '
He burst into tears as he spoke, but the Dainagon
reproved him, saying : —
* When on shipboard one leans upon the steersman
as upon a great hill. What mean these helpless
words thou speakest ? *
A fit of sickness interrupted the Dainagon, and the
steersman answered : —
* No god am I, what can I do. The winds blow
and the waves roar, and the [thunder-] god, too, will
hurl his thunderbolts upon us, belike, because you are
seeking to slay the dragon — for, be sure, the storm is
the dragon's work, and well it were that no time be
lost in making supplication to the god.'.
* Thou sayest well,' cried the Dainagon. ' Hearken
my prayer, 0 god of seafolk, in my folly and froward-
ness have I sought to slay the Dragon, but now, I
vow, no single hair of him will I dare to ruffle.*
So the Dainagon prayed somewhile, weeping and
calling upon the god a thousand times, when, suddenly
— was it not in answer to his prayer ! — the thunder
began to die down, and the gloom to lift, but still a
mighty wind blew.
QUEST OF THE JEWEL 357
* 'Tis the work of the Dragon, for certain,' cried the
steersman, * the wind that bloweth is a fair wind, 'tis
no foul wind, it bloweth us to our own land.'
But the Dainagon heard him not, he lay senseless
in the bottom of the boat.
For three or four days the ship drave before the
wind ^ and when land was made it was seen to be the
beach of Akashi ^ in Harima. But the Dainagon
thought it was some coast in the far southern sea, and,
gasping for breath, lay motionless in the bottom of
the boat, and still lay there helpless when the
governor of the province, to whom the shipfolk had
sent word of their lord's case, came to condole with him.
They spread mats for him under the pine-trees that
fringed the shore, and laid him upon them. When
he saw that it was to no southern sea coast he had
come, but to a strand of his own country, he struggled
to his feet, looking like one heavy with rheum, his
belly greatly swollen, and his eyes resembling a pair
of sloes stuck in on either side of his face.
A four-hand litter was then provided, in which the
Dainagon was borne, as gently as might be, to his
own mansion. Somehow the men whom he had
ordered upon the Quest heard of their lord's return,
and came to the mansion and said : —
* We did not win the Jewel in the Dragon's head,
as we were commanded, and we ought not to dare to
present ourselves at our lord's mansion, but now our
lord knoweth how terrible the task was imposed upon
* Sailing boats were unknown in Japan at this date and
long afterwards. Even in China they seem to be no older than
about the eleventh century.
* Akashi may mean * to grow, or be clear as dawn '. But
it is written Aka-isM, * bright stone * = white shingle perhaps.
358 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEK-WOEKER
us and we venture to pray that no decree of expulsion
be pronounced against us/
The Dainagon got up and went out to them and
deigned to say these words : —
* Tis well that ye have not won the Jewel. Yonder
Dragon, for certain, is a thunder-god ; in trying to
win the Jewel has risk been caused to men's lives ;
had the dragon been killed I were lost myself, there-
fore well it was it was not gotten. Yonder Kaguya
lady is a great schemer. She purpose th to cheat men
to their death ; go not nigh her, nor linger about her
abode.'
The Dainagon then took what was left of his sub-
stance and divided it among the men — who had not
won the Jewel.
His ladies, whom he had discarded, when they
heard of all these things laughed till their sides
ached, and the crows carried away the silken thatch
of the pavilion built for Kaguyahime to line their
nests with.
There were men who inquired whether the Daina-
gon had won the Jewel and they were told : —
' Nay, he hath not won the Jewel, but he hath
gotten a pair of sloes in his head for eyes.*
'Ana tahegata ! ' they cried, whereby you may know
how men came to say ' Ana tahegata * ^ of a luckless
venture.
^ Ana is interjectional, tahegata, intolerable.
QUEST OP THE SWALLOW-SHELL 359
BOOK VII
The Fifth Task
The Quest of the Swallow-shell that easeth
Birth
Tsubakurame no hoyasugai
The story of this Quest is but poor fooling, nor
does it illustrate any trait of early Japanese life. Its
motive, however, belongs to the folklore of the world.
Western as well as Eastern, and a brief summary
therefore may be given.
The Chiunagon Marotada has to present the Lady
with a cowry shell {koyasugai) brought by a swallow
{tsubakurame) — probably the Hirundo gutturalis,
which according to Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer nests
always in a house, where often a shelf is provided for
its accommodation. He has recourse to his retainers,
who devise various schemes, more or less trivial or
ridiculous, in pursuance of one of which the Chiunagon
endeavours to catch a swallow sitting upon its nest
in the act of wagging its tail. Thus far he is success-
ful, but only to be rewarded by a ball of dung, which
he grasps firmly in his hand, believing that he has
obtained the much desired prize. In being lowered
too hastily from his post of observation, to which he
has been raised in a sort of basket attached to a rope,
he meets with a mishap and falls upon a rice caldron,
from which his retainers drag him still grasping his
supposed prize — the nature of which he then, to his
stupefaction, discovers.
The result was a broken limb and a bed of sickness.
Kaguyahime had pity on him — the only one of the
fiive suitors who excited any emotion in her moonland
360 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEK
bosom — and sent him a stanza of which, with its
answer, paraphrases are subjoined from the pen of
Mr. Minakata : —
Though by mine eyes long time unseen,
memory preserves thee, fresh and green,
as pine-tree shadowing Suminoye's shore,
why have not yet the waves
brought from the ocean caves
the shell which I desire than rubies more ?
The Chiunagon's reply was thus conceived : —
Thy words of light
as jewels bright
welcome as were the longed-for shell —
oh, might that shell a vessel prove
to lift me up to heights of love,
from the sea of grief wherein I dwell !
And more than death itself he dreaded men's
knowledge of his discomfiture.
Whereby, concludes the story of the Quest, it
may be known how the world first came to use the
phrase ' kahi {]cai) ari ! ' ' he has got his shell \^
* The fondness of the swallow for human habitations, the
very exact dates of her annual visits and departures, and the
singular affection of pairing couples shown to each other and
their offspring, were doubtless interesting subjects of man's
contemplation at a very early stage of his history. Hence it is
not surprising that swallow-stories should be common in the
East as in the West, nor that generally the bird should be
regarded with favour and hailed as a harbinger of prosperity,
though Horace, indeed, calls her
infelix avis et Cecropiae domus
aeternum opprobrium.
The name of the common papaveraceous herb Chelidonium
(majus) is a record of the common belief that swallows first
used the juices of that plant to cure disease in their nestlings'
eyes, and so taught the value of the remedy to men — a belief
QUEST OF THE SWALLOW-SHELL 361
not prevalent in the East. In Longfellow's * Evangeline ' it is
a stone they use for that purpose : —
Oft in the barns they climbed to the populous nests on the rafters,
Seeking with eager eyes that wondrous stone which the
swallow
Brings from the shore of the sea to restore the sight of its
fledglings :
Lucky was he who found that stone in the nest of the swallow !
In his Ornithologia, Aldrovandi cites a description of the
swallow-stone by Pliny, and a more detailed one from Anselme
Boece de Boodt. The stone is found in the nest, and is a remedy
for many diseases. According to C. Leonard it facilitates both
conception and birth. A Japanese writer of the eighteenth
century, Kinouchi Shigeakira, mentions four * swallow-stones *;
one the stone-swallow, which is a fossil brachiopod resembling
a swallow with outspread wings ; a second, a flaky mica-schist
which is blown about by the wind so as to resemble a swallow
in flight ; a third, which is a cowry shell, as mentioned in the
Fifth Quest; and a fourth, a stone found in the province of
Hien (written with the character [Men] meaning * swallow ').
The birth-easing qualities of the swallow-shell, are, no doubt,
derived from the medical doctrine of * sympathy ', common in
all lands and ages, and curiously exemplified in the present
day by the system of homoeopathy, a doctrine which caused
aids and remedies to be discovered in things which had some
resemblance, material or other, to what was sought to be
aided or remedied. Cowries, too, served as currency in
ancient China, and many characters relating to wealth or
money contain the element ^ (representing a tortoise shell
with the legs protruding), such as ^ tribute, ]^ sell, ^
treasure.
[I owe this note to the kindness of Mr. Minakata, who has
prepared an exhaustive account of the swallow-stone and shell
myth, which I trust may be published.] The Japanese name
for the swallow is tsuhame (also tsuhaJcura, tsubakurame), ety-
mologically connected, no doubt, with tsubasa, wing, itself
related to tobUf fly (comp. toM, time, and tsuhij moon). The
swallow is not mentioned in the Mani/osMu, nor is the bird,
I think, a subject of Japanese poetry. Kahi-ari may be ren-
dered ' well done ! '
362 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOKKER
BOOK VIII
The Royal Hunt
Mihari no Miyuki
Now the Mikado, hearing of the incomparable
loveliness of Kaguyahime said to the naishi ^ Naka-
tomi no Fusako :—
' Yonder Kaguyahime who hath brought to nought
so many men, for that she will mate with none of
them, go thou and see what manner of woman she
may be/
Fusako heard respectfully and went. When she
arrived at the ancient's dwelling she was most
courteously received and invited to enter, and said to
the dame : —
'His majesty has commanded me to see Kaguya-
hime, the fame of whose great beauty has reached
him/
The dame went, accordingly, to the Lady's chamber
and bade her meet the royal messenger. But
Kaguyahime said: —
* I am not beautiful at all, why should she see me.'
* How can you say such a thing ' ! replied the dame,
* 'tis a lady sent from the Court, you cannot treat her
in this unseemly manner.'
* I will not heed the Mikado's message,' replied
the Lady.
And she maintained her refusal to be seen of the
Lady Fusako. Though living with her foster-parents
as if she were their child, they never sought to
^ Naishi, a sort of ladies-in-waiting or women attendants
upon the Mikado. The Nakatomi were originally the ' vicars
of the Mikado ' (Aston's Shinto).
THE EOYAL HUNT 363
constrain her, and always treated her with great
respect and consideration.
The dame went back to the naishi Fusako, and
said : —
* Unfortunately, the girl is very young and obstin-
ately refuses to be seen of you/
* But how can I return without seeing her ? ' cried
the lady, *His Majesty specially enjoined me to see
the maiden ; who can think of any subject of the
Sovran of this realm not obeying his commands!
She must not conduct herself so foolishly.'
Her reproachful words were repeated to Kaguya-
hime, but all the more would she not listen to them.
' If I am to suffer death for disobedience to the
commands of the Sovran, then let me be put to death.*
So the naishi returned to City-Eoyal and reported
these things. The Mikado heard and exclaimed : —
* This girl is bent upon men's destruction ! ' and
thought to leave things so, but again bethinking
himself, resolved that Kaguyahime's devices ^ should
not be further successful, and commanded that the
old Wicker-worker should himself be ordered to
present himself at Court.
The ancient, accordingly, went up to City-Koyal
and the Mikado directed that he should be told ^ : —
' Thou hast a daughter, one Kaguyahime, let her
be brought hither. We had heard of her beauty of
face and form and sent one of our ladies to see her,
but she refused to be seen. How can she, indeed, dis-
play such impropriety !
The ancient answered humbly : —
^ Those she had used to get rid of the suitors.
^ The conversations with the Mikado were held by inter-
mediary of the naishi.
364 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKER
* It is a great grief to your servant that this girl
doth so resolutely refuse to serve your Majesty, but
I will return and inform her of your Majesty's
will;
* Doth not this girl owe obedience to the ancient
who hath brought her up ! ' exclaimed tlie Mikado,
when the Wicker- worker's words were repeated to
him ; * let him bring her to Court and shall not a
cap of rank be bestowed upon him ! '
The ancient, gladdened by this promise, returned
to his house and spoke to Kaguyahime, saying : —
' Thus and thus hath the Mikado commanded, and
now surely thou wilt obey/
But Kaguyahime still refused, exclaiming : —
* If I be compelled so to serve His Majesty I shall
surely disappear, and your cap of rank will just
mean my death/
*Nay, thou shalt not be constrained,' cried the
ancient, * of what profit were a cap of rank to me
if I lost my daughter, yet tell me, why dost thou
so dislike to serve His Majesty, that such service
would cause thy death 1 '
'My words are no empty words, father,' replied
Kaguyahime, * try me and you will see that they are
true. Have I not already made nought of the hopes
of many noble wooers, and to yield me this day
to what the Mikado demandeth would give rein to
the tongues of slanderers/
The ancient answered : —
* For the things of this world I care neither this
nor that, but thy dear life, daughter, is precious to
me above everything, and straightway will I go up to
City-Eoyal and say that thou canst not by any means
serve His Majesty/
THE EOYAL HUNT 365
Then he went up to Citj-Royal and declared : —
'According to His Majesty's command I have
respectfully sought to bring my daughter to Court,
but she will not consent to serve His Majesty, and
saith she must surely die if she be forced to become
one of his ladies. The girl is not of the blood of
Miyatsuko Maro — long ago he found her among the
hills — neither is she in feeling like to the dwellers in
this world/
The Mikado's command was : —
* The house of Miyatsuko Maro stands at the foot
of the hills. Let a Royal Hunt be ordered and I may,
perchance, get a glimpse of the maiden.*
The ancient on hearing this exclaimed : —
* 'Tis a most excellent device. His Majesty may
see her if the Hunt be ordered without any notice
thereof, for so she may be approached unawares.*
A day was then fixed, but without warning, and in
the course of the Hunt the Mikado entered the ancient's
dwelling, and as he looked he saw that it was filled
with light in the midst whereof stood a lovely being.
* 'Tis she,' he cried, and approached her, but she
fled. He laid his hand upon her sleeve, but she
covered her face. Howbeit the Mikado got a first
glimpse of her and saw that she was beautiful
beyond compare.
* Nay you must not go,' he cried, attempting to
lead her away, but Kaguyahime exclaimed : —
' Were I a born denizen of this land well would I
serve your Majesty, but even your Majesty has no
power to lead me away.'
The Mikado, however, despite her words, again
tried to lead her away and caused his litter to be
brought nearer, when, in a trice she vanished into
366 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEK-WORKEE
thin air. Disappointed and vexed, the Mikado now
understood that the Lady was no common mortal.
' I pray you, Lady," he said, ' take again your
former shape, I will not seek to lead you away. Once
more let me look on your form and I will depart.'
Then Kaguyahime resumed her shape, and the
Mikado could not contain his delight and felt most
grateful to the ancient, whose device ^ had enabled
him to gaze upon such loveliness. Meanwhile the
Wicker-work er entertained right nobly the whole
of the royal retinue.
Deep was the Mikado's disappointment that he
must leave Kaguyahime behind ; it seemed as if he
left his very soul at the ancient s house as he entered
his litter and made ready to go back to City-Royal.
He composed a stanza which was given to her : —
Alone returning
to City-Royal sadly
my soul is weary —
I still look back and long for
cruel Kaguyahime.
And this was her answer : —
For many a year
'neath humble roof o'ergrown
with rough-coiled hop-vine
my home hath been, and wherefore
should I for palace change it.
When the Mikado read these lines he was more
than ever desirous of remaining, and lost all sense of
the need of returning until his servants reminded
him that he could not linger there till dawn broke,
whereupon he was borne away.
On looking at the women who ordinarily served
* The keeping of the day of the Royal Hunt secret.
THE EOYAL HUNT 367
him the Mikado saw that they could not be put by
the side of Kaguyahime. Such was her loveliness
that none could compare with her, with her only
could his heart concern itself, and he passed the days
and the nights alone nor visited the ladies of his
Court, at which they were much displeased.
He deigned to write letters to Kaguyahime which
he caused to be conveyed to her, and to these she
composed replies, and so, forgetting all distinctions of
rank, they corresponded with each other, and ex-
changed verses in which the blossoms of spring and
the glories of autumn were employed as metaphors.^
BOOK IX
The Celestial Kobe of Feathers
Ama no hagoromo
After this manner the Mikado and Kaguyahime
comforted their great hearts for the space of three
years, when from the beginning of spring the maiden
was observed to watch the fair rising of the moon and
to fall sadder than was her wont. Her women chid
her, saying, * Thus to gaze on the face of the moon
breedeth sorrow.' ^ But despite their chidings the
maid went on watching the moon privily, and her
tears flowed abundantly.
When the moon was at its full in the seventh
month 3 still sadder grew her countenance, and the
^ The text might possibly mean, * verses attached to spring
blossoms and autumn sprays.'
^ With how sad steps, O moon, thou climbst the sky,
How silently, and with how wan a face.
(Sir Phihp Sidney.)
' Parts of July and August.
368 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WORKER
women who served her sought the old Wicker-worker
and told him, saying : —
' Kaguyahime ever watcheth the moon in sadness,
but this latter time more sadly than is her wont, and
some sorrow ^ seemeth to lie heavy on her, wherefore
we pray you to look well to her.'
The ancient heard and went to the maiden and said
to her : —
' What aileth thee, child, that after this sad fashion
thou gazest upon the moon's orb, thy life is not
miserable here 1 '
' As I gaze upon the moon,' murmured the Lady,
* my heart faileth me because of the wretchedness of
this world ; what other grief were mine ? '
Again the ancient went to her chamber and saw
that her misery was greater than ever, wherefore he
cried : —
* My Buddha, my Buddha ^ what is thy trouble,
what grieveth thee 1 '
* Nought grieveth me,' she answered, ' but my
heart faileth me.'
' Gaze not so on the moon,' said the ancient, ' it is
such watching of the orb tliat bringeth thee this
sadness.'
' How may I cease to look upon the moon !' said the
Lady; and more and more, as the moon rose, she
went out to gaze upon the orb, and deeper and deeper
grew her sadness. Bat on moonless nights her sorrow
departed from her. As the moon waxed, times and
again she lamented and wept. As those who served
her watched her, they felt assured she nursed some
secret grief, and whispered that it was so among them-
* The approach of the time of her return to Moonland.
^ A term of endearment.
(")
iidofioiqq
4
'-^*%
I Kaguyahime tells her foster-parents of her approaching n
return to Moonland.
To face p. 369
<^)
THE CELESTIAL KOBE 369
selves, but what was the reason of her woe none could
guess, not even her parents. When the eighth month
came and the moon shone at its fullest, Kaguyahime
wept still more sorely, and as she wept sought no
longer to conceal her tears. When her foster-parents
saw her state they very earnestly besought her to tell
them the cause of her grief.
So, at last, weeping bitterly, Kaguyahime said :
'Times and again ^ have I thought to confess to
you why I am troubled, but I knew how I should
distract your heart with grief, and so have I kept
silent till now when I must tell you why I have gone
forth so often to gaze upon the moon's face. I am no
creature of this world, my true home is City-Koyal in
Moonland. Long ago it was decreed that I should
descend upon this earth for a space, but now draweth
nigh the time when I must return. As yonder orb
shall wax to its fullest, a company of beings shall
come down from the sky to bear me away, nor can
I avoid my doom ; and so you know why, since the
first days of spring, day by day have I become more
sorrowful and sad.'
* What thing is this thou tellest me ? ' cried the
ancient. * Did I not find thee in the hollow of a bam-
boo, and did w^e not rear thee from the time when thou
wert small as a rape-seed until thy stature was like
my own. What folk be these who would rob me of
mj own child "? I will die ere they take thee,* he
added, bursting into tears and lamentations.
' Moonland folk are my true father and mother,'
exclaimed Kaguyahime. * For a while only descended
I on this earth, but now have I dwelt with you
many a year. I have no memory of my father and
^ When questioned by the ancient.
DICKIKS H B D
370 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEK-WOEKER
mother who dwell up yonder, and so long have
I lived under your fostering care that I care but
little for the glories of Moonland, and should know
nothing but misery in leaving you. But, alas, I may
not follow my own heart in this matter, and cannot
avoid the parting.' ^
The ancient and his good-wife and Kaguyahime
then wept together. Her women, too, who had served
her all these years, and thus had come to love her
as they watched her growing in goodness and grace,
could not bear the idea of her departure, and gasped
with grief, so as not to care even to swallow a single
cup of warm water, and shed tears in company with
her parents.
The Mikado, hearing of these things, sent a
messenger to the Wicker-worker's house to make
inquiry. The ancient came out to meet the royal
messenger, and wept without end. So utter was his
sorrow his beard had gone grey, his limbs bent under
him, his eyes were dim and bleared. He was but fifty
years old, but the depth of his grief had made him
seem to turn suddenly into an old man.
The royal envoy delivered his message, and said :
'His Majesty would know if it be true that some
great grief hath come upon your house '? '
The ancient, amid his tears, answered : —
' When this moon shall be at its fullest, a company
of folk will come down from Moonland's City-Eoyal,
to carry away our daughter. We are humbly grate-
ful to His Majesty for his inquiry, and would pray
that a company of armed men may be sent on the
night of the full moon to take captive these Moon-
folk, should they dare to make this raid.'
^ The text of this passage is defective.
THE CELESTIAL EOBE 371
The messenger returned to City-Rojal and related
all that he had heard, whereupon the Mikado ex-
claimed : —
* But a glimpse had I of the Lady, yet never will
her image fade from my memory ; how great then
must be the grief of losing her to those who, morning
and evening, are accustomed to see her ! '
So when the day of full moon came, the cap-
tains of the guards were commanded, and the
general Takano no Ohokuni was sent with two
thousand armed men, chosen from the six regiments
of Royal Guards, to defend the Wicker- worker's
dwelling.
The armed men marched down accordingly, and
a thousand men were posted on the earthern ramparts,
and another thousand on the roofs, and to all these
were joined the house-folk who were very many, so
that there was not a crevice left unguarded. On
his back bore every man his bow and arrow-ful
quiver, while within the treasure-chamber assembled
the women to protect the maiden. There the good-
wife held Kaguyahime in a firm embrace, the door of
the chamber was fastened, and the ancient stood on
guard hard by the entrance.
These preparations being made, the ancient cried :
* With ward such as this, shall we yield even to sky-
folk!'
He then called to the men on the roofs, and
shouted : ' If ye see anything no bigger than a drop
of dew fall through the air, shoot and kill.'
' Should so much as a single bat,' was the reply,
^ but come near our defence, we wiU slay it on the spot
and expose the carcase.' ^
^ As the heads of executed criminals were.
B b 2
372 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEK-WOEKER
The ancient was well pleased on hearing these
bold words, but Kaguyahime said : —
* Strict may your ward be and brave your defence,
but ye cannot prevail against these Moonland folk.
Your artillery will not touch them, your bolts and bars
will start at their approach, fight ye ever so stoutly ;
of no avail against them will your utmost prowess be.'
But the ancient retorted : —
* My nails shall become as talons to claw out the eyes
of those who come to take you. I will seize them by
the hair of their heads, and whirl them round and
dash them to the ground. I will tear their clothes off
their backs and put them to shame before the eyes
of the royal troops.'
'Nay, father,' cried Kaguyahime, * shout not so
loudly, it were not seemly that the armed men on the
roofs should hear such words. Alas I must leave
you, as if I had lost all memory of the affection shown
to me while I dwelt with you ; I must soon depart
from you, for that it was decreed that my doom was
to be one of no long exile. Even a little gratitude
for all your goodness to me I cannot show, and great
is my grief now that the hour of quitting you is at
hand ; for months and months have I known 'twas
so ordered, and I prayed my parents above for yet
this year with you but it could not be, and so I must
suffer this sorrow, and you, my parents, will be
distracted with grief for me, and the misery of
knowing this is intolerable. These Moonland folk
are of that fine essence that they know nor old age
nor any sorrow. With them must I fare, yet fain
would I remain, for, alas, I shall not be with you to
watch over you as ye grow old and feeble.^ '
^ This speech is slightly simplified.
'%
U2)
,r-^."
The Descent of the Angelic Company from Heaven to
bear away the Lady of Light to Moonland, and the discom-
fiture of the men-at-arms sent by the Mikado to protect
her.
-ti^
To face p. 373
(12)
THE CELESTIAL EOBE 373
As she spoke, Kaguyaliime fell to weeping.
The ancient's heart, too, was wrung with grief, and
sore with misery he exclaimed : —
'Hold, daughter, glorious beings though these
folk be, they shall not harm thee.'
Now the night was far gone and the middle hour
of the rat [midnight] was come, when a flood of light,
brighter than the sun at noon, fell upon the house,
a glory tenfold that of the full moon, revealing the
tiniest hair-pore on a man's skin. And through the
shining air descended a company of beings borne on
a cloud, and they stood ranked on the cloud as it
hovered some little distance above the gateway.
The armed men, posted within and without the
dwelling, when they saw this prodigy, were struck
with fear and lost all stomach for fighting, neverthe-
less with a great effort they made to fix shaft and
bend bow, but the strength was gone from their
arms and their bodies were bent and paralysed ; and
though some among them there were of a yet bolder
spirit, who with a supreme determination let fly
their arrows, all astray went the shafts, and so their
valour was of no avail, and the defenders could only
gaze at each other foolishly.
In raiment of peerless splendour were the beings
arrayed who stood upon that cloud, surround-
ing a flying car, over which was held a canopy of
gauze, and midmost the company was an angel
of royal bearing, who turned him towards the
ancient's abode, and cried out : —
* Come forth, Miyatsuko Maro ! ' whereupon the
ancient, of late so bold, staggered forth like a drunken
man and fell prostrate on his face.
And the angel said : —
374 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKEK
*Thou art but a simple fellow, yet some slight
merit of works hast thou shown in thy life, and some
guerdon was therefore bestowed on thee, and gold
given thee year after year, so that from a poor man
thou becamest a rich one. To expiate a fault was
Kaguyahime doomed to bide a while in thy wretched
home, but now hath the term of her exile come,
wherefore vain are thy lamentations. I bid thee
deliver the maiden to those who come to carry her
back to her own land.'
' 'Tis strange that my lord speaketh of Kaguya-
hime,' answered the ancient, * as one who hath been
cared for by us for a while only, seeing that the maid
hath bided under our roof these twenty years or
more. Perchance my lord speaketh of another maid
of that name who dwelleth elsewhere ; she who liveth
here is ill at ease, and may not leave her chamber.'
No answer was vouchsafed, but nearer floated the
car borne on the cloud that hovered a little above the
roofs.
* Iza ! Kaguyahime,' commanded the angel, ' how
long wouldest thou tarry in this filthy place ? '
In a trice, the doors of the treasure-chamber flew
open, and the lattices likewise, untouched by any
hand, and Kaguyahime came forth from the arms of
the good-wife, nor could she be held back ; and the
woman lifted up her face and wept sorely.
The ancient fell grovelling on the ground in his
despair, and Kaguyahime drew near to him, saying : —
' My fate constrains me, father, 'tis not my will,
now must I mount to yonder Moonland ; follow me,
father, with your eyes.'
But he answered : ' Why should I miserably follow
thee with my eyes 1 Let me be dealt with as thou
THE CELESTIAL ROBE 375
wilt ; let me be abandoned, and go thou with this
company of Moon-folk/ And he remained on the
ground, weeping bitterly.
* My father is beside himself with grief, he cannot
hear/ murmured the Lady of Light ; * I will leave
a writing for him, and at times when he shall yearn
for me he shall take it out and read it, and so find
some solace/ Then, shedding tears, she took paper
and wrote these words : —
' Had I been a dweller bom in this land I should
not have caused this sorrow, nor thought of passing
beyond the bounds of earth, as now I must, contrary
to all my desire. And I doff my mantle and ask my
parents to look upon it at times as a memorial of me,
and when the moon is at its full I would they gazed
upon the orb, and from the skies, where now I must
soar out of their sight again, shall my longing travel
down to them.'
Now the angels had brought with them a coffer in
which lay a Robe of Feathers. The coffer also con-
tained a joint of bamboo, filled with the Elixir of
Life. One of the angels took the joint and offered
the Elixir to Kaguyahime. 'Take some,' he said,
* it will clear away the impurities contracted in this
filthy world.' So she took a little, and made to hide
some in her mantle, but the angel stayed her, and
taking out the Robe of Feathers made to throw it
over her shoulders. Kaguyahime prevented him,
paying : —
' Wait yet a little, for those who don that Robe are
changed in nature, and something more would I write
down ere I depart/ and again she began to write.
Thereupon the angel grew impatient, exclaiming :
•' Too much you delay, longer we may not tarry/
376 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKER-WOEKEE
*You speak in ignorance [of my earthly life],'
answered Kaguyahime, as very calmly she finished
her writing, and with dignified composure delivered
the scroll into the hands of the royal ofiicer.
[What she wrote was as follows :]
' Though your Majesty has deigned to send a host
of armed men to prevent the Moonland folk from
carrying me away with them, such a thing could not
be. They have come to bear me with them, and,
alas! I must go. I could not serve your Majesty,
and deep was my sorrow, which your Majesty could
not know the motive of, so that my refusal must
have continued to be regarded as rudeness and
disloyalty —
now is the moment,
the Heavenly Robe of Feathers
fate bids me don —
and as I pass from earth, Sire,
a sad farewell I offer.'
Then, putting the bamboo-jar containing the Elixir,
with the scroll, Kaguyahime committed both to the
chief royal officer by the hands of the angel. As the
royal officer received them, suddenly the Kobe of
Feathers was thrown over the Lady, and in a moment
all thought and feeling for the old Wicker- worker
disappeared, for those who don that Eobe know sor-
row no more ; and she entered the car, and escorted
by the company of angels mounted to the skies.
After her departure, the ancient and his dame shed
tears of blood and could not be comforted. They
read the words she had written for them, but of
what avail was it to partake of the Ehxir, for fife
had become a misery to them; for whose sake, to
what end, should they prolong their days 1 therefore
THE CELESTIAL KOBE 377
they would not take of it, but still lay prostrate
with grief, nor could they rise to their feet.
The royal officers marched back to City-Royal with
their host, and reported in detail how they were
unable to prevent the Moonland folk from carrying
away with them the Lady Kaguyahime.
The Mikado received the letter she had written,
together with the bamboo-jar of Elixir, and was much
affected as he read the missive, so that he could
neither eat nor take any diversion.
He summoned his ministers and his lords, and
inquired of them which mountain towered nearest to
heaven.
One answered : —
' There is a mountain in the land of Suruga, not
remote from City-Eoyal, whereof the peak is nighest
heaven.'
His Majesty on hearing this composed a quintain —
Ne'er more to see her,
on a sea of tears drifting ^
my hfe is borne —
what profiteth this Ehxir,
the span of sad days length'ning,
Then he delivered the letter and the bamboo-jar to
one of his attendant ladies. And he commanded
that Tsuki no Iwagasa^ should be summoned, and
that he should be directed to ascend the peak of
that mountain in the land of Suruga. Also he
explained what was to be done when the peak was
gained, and it was that the scroll and the jar should
be there burnt with fire.
^ A word-play in the text involves the double meaning of
* ne'ermore ' and ' sea of tears *.
2 The name, one meaning of which may be * The Moon's
Eocky Canopy,' is not without significance.
378 THE OLD BAMBOO WICKEE-WORKER
Tsuki no Iwagasa, accordingly, took with him
a company of armed men, and they clomb the moun-
tain as bidden. And the name of that mountain is
Fuji; from its peak, men say, from that day to
this the smoke of that burning drifbeth amid the
clouds of heaven.
End of the Story of the Old Wicker-worJcer,
THE PREFACE TO THE KOKINSHIU,
OR GARNER OF JAPANESE VERSE OLD
AND NEW
Introductory Note by Kaneko Genshin^
This Anthology is a classic universally known. Prefixed
to it is a preface in Japanese. A Chinese preface is added
as a postscript. The Japanese preface is in kana, by
Tsurayuki himself. The Chinese preface is in Diana,
Chinese script, and is the work of Ki no Yoshimochi, a
relative of Tsurayuki. Of both these prefaces the diction
and phrasing are admirable, plan and treatment alike ex-
cellent. Which of the two served as a model to the other
we do not certainly know. But there seems no reason to
suppose that Tsurayuki should have needed any assistance
^ Kaneko Genshin. He is the author of the edition of the
preface used in the preparation of this translation. The full
title of the work is KoMn WaJcashiu Hyoshaku, — liyoshaku
signifies 'commentary*.
The edition is the second, published in 35 Meiji (1903) in
five volumes of about 170 pages each, well printed on both
sides of the paper. The price is yen 4.10 = about 8s. Of the
older editions, the best known is Motowori's TohoJcagamij Dis-
tant (i. e. Imperfect) Keflection of the Kokin.
PEEFACE OF KI NO TSUKAYUKI 379
in composing a preface. The kana preface may have been
required in view of the popularity of the work. It must
be remembered, too, that Tsurayuki was specially interested
in the promotion of native literature, as his preface shows.
The kana (syllabic script), then, was probably the original,
the mana founded upon it. In the oldest MSS. of the
Anthology neither preface is to be found ; such would not
have been fitting in a work to be presented to the Sove-
reign. Both were added, no doubt, after the presentation
had taken place.
TSUEAYUKI'S PEEFACE TO THE KOKINSHIU
Our native poetry ^ springs from the heart ^ of
man as its seed, producing the countless leaves
of language.* Multitudinous are the affairs of men
in this world, what their minds think, what their
eyes see, what their ears hear they must find words to
express. Listening to the nightingale ^ singing amid
^ Of Ki no Tsurayuki we know little more than that he was
a court noble and died in a.d. 946. The preface was written in or
about 922. In addition to the Kohin Anthology, Ki no Tsura-
yuki composed the curious Journal known as Tosa NiJckiy
relating the incidents of his return to Kyoto after four years*
service in the province of Tosa (Shikoku).
^ i. e. Japanese poetry (uta) as distinguished from Chinese
poetry (sM). Poetry voices the thoughts and feelings of men.
^ Literally * heart,' kokoro, intellect and feeling. Or * makes
the heart of man its subject '. It must here be stated that to
give full value to all parts of the text would entail much para-
phrasing, owing to the differences in diction and thought, and
in the connotation of words, natural where clime and time are
so far removed.
^ koto no ha, ' leaves of speech.' This fanciful comparison of
words to leaves, based on the likeness of the expression kotoiba
to koto [no] ha (ba is ha with the voicing mark), seems due to
Tsurayuki.
^ uguhim, Cettia cantans.
380 THE PEEFACE OF KI NO TSUEAYUKI
the blossoms of Spring/ or to the murmur of frogs
among the marshes in Autumn,^ we know that every
Hving thing that Hveth hath its part in the mingled
music of Nature. Our poetry, with effortless ease,^
moveth heaven and earth, draweth sympathy from
invisible demons and deities, softens the relations
between men and women, and refresheth the heart
of the warrior ; from the time of the manifestation of
heaven and earth it hath its origin, but its trans-
mission to our day began in relation to sunbright*
heaven with the work of Shitateruhime ^ and in
relation to the earth, mother of metals, with that of
Susanowo no Mikoto.^
^ The blossoms of the wild cherry (Prunus cerasus) are meant.
^ Thus all organic life, all living nature, is included.
' In the Book of Odes (Shih King) are the following lines : —
to move the heavens and the earth,
to touch the hearts of demons and spirits,
is not that the self -office of song !
* Msakatano, see List m. k. (vol. texts).
** The Under-Shine Goddess — so beautiful that her charms
shone under her vestments. This at least is the usual explana-
tion. Perhaps it was nothing more than a sun-name. She is
also known as Takahime (Lofty Princess). Her progenitor
was Ohokuninushi, Lord of the Great Land, and she married
the wicked God Amewakahiko, Young Celestial Prince. She
was the granddaughter of Susanowo, born of Izanagi and
Izanami, who were descended from Amanotokotachi the last of
the second generation from Amanominakanushi, Lord of the
Centre of Heaven — himself an earlier Sun God. See the myths
in the Kojiki and Nihongi and in Dr. Aston's Shinto,
^ Here in all the texts is interpolated : —
[* In the days of the swift-thousand-brandishing gods (chihaya-
huru, see List m. k.) the metre of verse was not established,
the language was rudimentary and hard to understand. It was
when the human age dawned, from the days of Susanowo,
that the stanza of thirty-one syllables was invented.']
TO THE GAENEK OF JAPANESE VERSE 381
Thus the heart of man came to find expression in
the various modes of speech for its joy in the beauty
of flowers, its wonder at the song of birds, its tender
welcome of the spring mists, its mournful sympathy
with the evanescence of the morning dew. As step
by step from the first movement of the foot distant
journeys are achieved in the course of time, as grain
by grain high mountains are piled up from the mere
dust ^ at their base until their peaks are lost in the
drifting clouds of heaven, so hath the verse of our
land, little by little, become rich and abundant.
The quintain opening with the line Naniha tsu ^ is
the first example of poetry composed by royal com-
mand. In the stanza beginning with Asaka yama ^
we have an instance of a maid's banter ; these two
^ A favourite simile, possibly of Chinese origin.
^ Naniha tsu In Naniha, lo !
saliu ya kono hana now blow the plum-tree's bios-
fayukomori soms,
ima wo harube to for winter-prison'd
saku ya kono hana. Spring that 'scapeth showeth,
this spring-time's blossoms
showeth.
Ascribed to (or to the command of) Ojin — the legendary-
introducer of letters into Japan in a.d. 285.
This is a sohe uta — innuendo song — said to have been
addressed to the Mikado Nintoku (313-99), who for three years
refused to accept the cession of the throne offered by the Prince
Imperial on the death of the Mikado Ojin. The poet points to
the blossoms of spring, and thinks that it is time the winter of
discontent of the followers of Nintoku gave way to a spring-
time of court-life.
^ Asaka yama What heart as shallow
kage sake miyuru as Shallow-Hill's clear fountain
yama no wi in the sunlight sparkling,
asaki hokoro wo what heart of man, so shallow,
aga ' mohanaku ni I can me inspire with love, Sir !
382 THE PEEFACE OF KI NO TSUEAYUKI
pieces are the father and mother of our poetry ^
and still guide the earUest steps of the young student
of verse.
Now Japanese poetry may be arranged under six
categories, just as of Chinese poetry there are six cate-
gories.2 The categories are these : — soke, or satirical
or innuendo verse ; Jcazohe, or descriptive pieces ;
nazorahe, figurative pieces ; tatohe, allusive songs ;
tagadotOy lyrical poems ; and ihaJii, congratulatory
odes.^
In these days men are lost in sensuality, their aim
There is a word-play on the resemblance between Asaka and
asaki, shallow. The first tercet is a preface to asaJci. The
quintain is found in the sixteenth volume of the Manyoshiu.
The story there given is, that a high official sent down to
Michinoku found the affairs of the province in disorder, and at
a banquet sat moody and silent until a waiting-maid (who had
come from City-Koyal) dispelled his vexation by reciting the
stanza. Asaka, it should be added, is a hill in Michinoku.
Upon the lay a story is founded — given in the Yamato Tales —
in which a toneri (court-page) runs off with a nobleman's
daughter destined for the Mikado. He keeps her in the wild
country round Asaka-yama for a considerable time, until one
day catching the reflection of her face in the waters of the
fountain she is horrified at the changes time has made.
Finally, made desperate at the loss of her charms she slays
herself, being sure that no man will care longer to look
upon her.
^ Naniha tsu and Asaka yama represent the extremes of
authorship.
2 Perhaps the three Divisions and three Styles of the Book
of Odes are intended. The six are — Ballads, Eulogies,
Homage Songs, Allusive, Metaphorical, and Descriptive Songs
(Mayers' Chinese Header* s Manual). I owe this suggestion to
the kindness of Professor Giles.
^ Exact equivalents of the names of these categories can
scarcely be given. Kazohe uta are plain songs without meta-
phor or simile.
TO THE GAKNER OF JAPANESE VERSE 383
is mere decoration, therefore their verse is vain and
trivial.^ In those circles where luxury only is culti-
vated, true poetry as is hidden from knowledge as
a log of fossil wood buried deep in the ground ^ ; in
more elegant coteries verse is known, indeed, but is
little better than the bloom of the so-called flower-reed
that never produceth an ear of grain. ^
When we remember how poetry arose we see that
such ought not to be. its condition.
In ancient days the mikados themselves, on blos-
somy spring mornings and moonlit autumn nights,
called together their courtiers, and bade them compose
verses on various subjects. Some would celebrate
their wanderings in difficult places after the blossomy
sprays of Spring, others their unguided rambles in
the darkness of night to gaze upon the orb of the
rising moon of Autumn. These productions the Sovran
would himself examine, and determine which were
excellent and which were poor.
Nor w^ere such the only themes. The tiny pebble*
^ I take the language of the text here as purely critical and
translate accordingly. In the text there is a correspondence
between iro, colour, love, and hana, flower, decoration, imper-
manence.
2 The whole of this passage is not easy to render. Its
meaning, however, must be pretty near to that given. The
* buried log ' may refer to fossilized wood, such as is found in
Sendai, and made into ornaments.
^ Miscanthus sinensis, its florescence produces no appre-
ciable fruit.
* Waga Umi ha Oh, may our Sovran
cM yo ni masMmase for a thousand years hold sway,
sazare ishi no till tiny pebble
iJiaJio to narite to boulder groweth green
IcoTce no musu made ! with the moss of countless
384 THE PEEFACE OF KI NO TSUEAYUKI
and the vast mass of Tsukuba's hill ^ were used as
similes wherewith to honour the Sovran ; when the
heart was overflowing with the happiness of existence
and the pleasure of life, when love of one's fellow-
men could be compared with the eternal fumes of
Fuji 2, when the murmur of the cicada recalled sadly
the memory of an absent friend ^ the pines of
Takasago and Suminoye * the pleasures of life-long
wedded love, Wotoko's hill ^ the vigour of past man-
hood, and when in the ominameshi ^ flower was seen
the symbol of the briefness of the season of girlish
bloom, it was in verse they found relief.
^ TsuTcuhcme no On Tsukuba's hill
Twno mo Jcano mo ni two peaks broad shadows cast,
Jcage ha aredo 'tis so, yet ever
Mmi ga mi Jcage ni is my Lord's protective shadow
masu kage ha nashi I than any shadow ampler !
' Shadow ' is equivalent to grace or favour. The word in the
text, kage, means both light and shadow, the double effect of
light. 0 kage ni is a common modern phrase — with your good
favour, &c. Tsukuba's double peak is a prominent feature of
the Yedo (Tokyo) landscape, and divides with Fujiyama the
admiration of poets, and ukiyo, artists. Dr. Aston has given
translations of the above quintains in his valuable History of
Japanese Literature.
^ See the close of the story of the Old Wicker- worker, ante.
' For an ' autumn ' stanza of the Kokin the song of the cicada
is mentioned combined with the pine tree matsu = matsu, hope
for, expect, and the Davallia fern, shinohu = shindbu (vb.), sup-
port patiently. Such were some of the humours of old Japan.
^ See the No play of Takasago, post,
^ WotOko yama, a hill in Yamashiro ; wotoko means ' man ',
* manhood.'
^ Ominameshi (or ominaheshi) — ladies' food — a valerian
(Patrinia scabiosaefolia). It is one of the seven [salad] herbs of
Autumn. Womina means 'woman,' 'lady.' OtokohesM is P.
villosa. The flower names recall womanhood (omina) and
manhood (otoko).
I
TO THE GAENER OF JAPANESE VERSE 385
Again to verse were they moved when they saw
the ground white with snowy showers of fallen
cherry blossoms on spring mornings; or heard on
autumn evenings the rustle of falling leaves ; or year
after year gazed upon the mirror's reflection of the
doleful ravages of time, shown by grey hairs and
wavy wrinkles; or trembled as they watched the
passing dewdrop quivering on the beaded grass, or
the river s flow flecked with perishing bubbles —
symbols of their own fleeting lives ; or noted the
leaves in all their glory to-day perishing on the
morrow, or what one had admired yesterday regarded
with indifference to-day.
Then, too, their subjects might be the sound of
the waves beating on the base of the pine-hills^,
the solitary drawer of water at the fount in mid-
moorland 2, the contemplation of the fall of the hagi-
leaf in Autumn ^, the count of the times the wood-
cock preens his feathers in the red dawn ^ the
comparison of man's existence to a Jiure^ bamboo-
^ The sadness of the longings of one's heart (for the absent
one) is likened to the sound of the beating of the surf at the foot
of the pine-crowned hills.
^ ' Though the water of the fountain in the shallow well on
the moor may be tepid (through shallowness and exposure to
sun, and therefore unpleasant to drink), yet 'tis a source known
of old, and he who knoweth my heart, will he not come to
draw water of refreshment thence, as those who remember the
source still use it ? '
^ * Alas ! the hagi (bush- clover) loseth its leaf ; 'tis the time
of the belling of the stag who calls his mate.'
* ' I wonder whether he will fail his tryst as often as the snipe
flappeth his wings in the red dawn.' In this and the preceding
notes the references to pieces in the KdkinsMu are explained.
^ Kure-take was a * darkling or clouded ?' bamboo introduced,
perhaps, fromWu (China) ; by word-play, 'sombre passage in life.'
DICKINS. II CO
386 THE PKEFACE OF KI NO TSUKAYUKI
joint floating down a river, the flood of Yoshino as
symbol of man's varied fortunes in the world \ dismay
at tidings of the disappearance of Fuji's fumes or of
the mending of Nagara's bridge — in regard to all
these subjects the making of verses composed their
minds.^
Thus from antiquity was poetry cultivated, but it
was in the Nara period^ that the art flourished.
Of that age Kakinomoto no Hit6maro * was the very
prince of poets ^. Then appeared Yamabe no
Akd^hito, and of the two it were hard to say which
was the greater, which the lesser genius. In
addition to these great poets, a number of men of
talent distinguished themselves in the succeeding
ages ; the line was maintained, and did not come to
an end.
Long before the present compilation was made, the
* The river of Yoshino which, now rapid, now slow, traverses
the hilly tract of Imose yama — imo se, lit., sister and brother,
means also husband and wife.
^ Verse-making consoled them in view of the utmost vicissi-
tudes of the world. That Fuji should cease its fuming, or
the strong Bridge of Nagara (naga = long, long-lasting) fail,
was incredible.
^ Interpolation. [In that rich time will the true heart of
poetry have been first attained.]
* Interpolation. [Of the rank of ' great lord ' (ohokimi)^ more
exactly shosammi, i. e. upper-third rank.]
^ Interpolation. [An instance of similarity of genius between
the Nara Sovran and Hitomaro may be given. The former
saw the tracery of a rich brocade formed by the dead leaves of
the maple floating down the Tatsuta river (a common theme
of Japanese poet and artist), the latter compared the fallen
blossoms of the cherry that whitened the hills of Yoshinu
to the snows of winter. (According to Kaneko this observa-
tion is founded on impossible history.)]
TO THE GAENEE OF JAPANESE VEESE 387
Anthology known as the Manydshiu^ appeared.
Since that time more than ten reigns, more than
a hundred years, have passed. At the present day
in City-Eoyal ^ those who are versed in the learning
of antiquity or sympathize with the spirit of its
verse are very few — they may be counted by twos
and threes.^ Nevertheless, there exist some poets
still ; here and there men of merit are to be found,
with many who do not get beyond mediocrity.
1 cannot, of course, here speak of men of rank and
office, but among others who have produced verse
some may be mentioned.
There is, first of all, S6j6 Henjo, whose manner is
successful, but his work is deficient in truth, like the
picture of a beautiful woman, which excites emotion,
but to no avail. Then we have Arihara Narihira,
very full of feeling but poor in diction ; his poetry
reminds one of a faded flower that yet preserves some
of its perfume. Bunya no Yasuhide, on the other
hand, is an artist in words ; with him form is better
than substance. He is like a pedlar dressed up in
fine silks. The priest of Mt. Uji, Kisen, is obscure,
and his beginnings and tendings do not chime * [his
verses lead up to no climax] ; he is like an autumnal
moon, bright at even, dim at dawn ^.
^ The various meanings of the title Manyo are explained in
the Introduction to the Manyoshiu, § II.
2 Heian— the City of Peace, Kyoto.
^ Six poets are presently named.
* As previously explained, the Japanese language, especially
by its order of words and parts of a clause or sentence, lends
itself to the expression of more or fewer climaxes leading up to
a grand climax.
^ Interpolation. [Too little of his verse is extant to allow of
a complete judgement of it.]
C C 2
388 THE PEEFACE OF KI NO TSURAYUKI
As to Ononokomachi \ she has pathos but lacks
power, like a fair but feeble woman 2. Ohotomo no
Kuronushi, lastly, has a pretty turn for verse, but
his form is poor ; he is like a faggot-bearing boor
resting under a blossomy cherry-tree.
Besides the above, many other versifiers are more
or less known, the list of their names, indeed, would
be as endless as a coil of hazura ^ on a moorside ;
they are as multitudinous as the leaves of a forest of
tbick-foliaged trees, but they intend poetry rather
than accomplish it.
Now in this His Majesty's gracious reign, when
already ninefold had become the return of the four
seasons, and the waves of His universal benevolence
rippled beyond the Eight Islands Awhile the protective
shadow of His broad and large favour had grown more
spacious than that cast by vast Tsukubane's hill, amid
the myriad cares of government He, our Sovran, yet
found leisure, nor neglected the multitude of matters.
Therefore He forgot not antiquity, nor willed that the
great past should be clean lost, but desired that the
memory thereof should be handed on to future gene-
rations. And so it came about that on the eighteenth
^ Interpolation. [Of the old school of the Princess Sotohori
(consort of the Mikado Inkyo (412-53) who wrote many verses
on her husband's infidelity).] Wononokomachi was a beauty of
the ninth century, celebrated for her poetic powers and the
miserable old age to which her pride conducted her. In point
of diction, Mabuchi, the greatest scholar of modern Japan,
places her above all other female writers of verse. See Cham-
berlain's Classical Poetry of the Japanese.
"^ Interpolation. [A woman — and her verse is what might be
expected of her sex.]
' A species of ground-creeper resembling a wild vine.
* The Eight, i. e. All the Islands = Japan.
TO THE GAENER OF JAPANESE VERSE 389
day of the fourth month of the fifth year of Yengi,
(May 25, a.d. 905) He charged the Dainaiki \ Ki no
Tomonori, and the Privy Secretary, Ki no Tsurayuki
[with others], to make a selection of ancient poems
not contained in the Anthology ^ with permission to
add to these a few of their own composition. Some
thousand poems were accordingly arranged in twenty
books ^, to which we have given the title Kokimvaka-
shiu — a Garner or Anthology of Japanese Verse, Old
and New. Various are the themes dealt with ; from
the gathering of plum-blossoms in early Spring for
chaplets, and the Summer song of the cuckoo *, and the
plucking of the ruddy sprays of Autumn, to the con-
templation of Winter's snow; the crane and the tor-
toise, as presages of long reign to His Majesty and
long life to his subjects ; the bush-clover and summer
herbs, symbols of spousal love^; Afusaka (Ozaka)^ hill,
where the prayers of travellers to and from the
Capital are offered to the god of Td,muke ; lastly,
divers themes not drawn from the four seasons of
Spring and Summer and Autumn and Winter.
So is our task ended, and an Anthology compiled
plentiful as the floods fed by the unfailing waters of
the hills, rich in examples as the seashore in grains
of sand ; may its reception meet with none of the
^ Chief Secretary.
2 Seven of the uta in the KoUn are also found in the
IlanyobhiiL
^ In imitation of the Anthology, which is in twenty books.
* In Japanese, the ' hototogisu ', the ' hototo '-cryer, Cuculus
poliocephalus. See lay 141.
^ At the time of the fall of the hagi (Lespedeza) the stag
bells to call his mate.
^ A pass near City-Royal where it was customary to take
leave of officials, accompanied so far on their way to their
390 THE PEEFACE OF KI NO TSURAYUKI
obstructions that bar the stream of Asuka ^, and the
joys it shall afford accumulate, as dust and pebbles
gather together to form a high mountain, into
a boulder of delight 2.
Lastly, as to our own style, any charm it may possess
is but as the passing perfume of a spring blossom,
and to claim for our work the durability of an
autumnal night ^ would expose us to criticism as to
form, while as to substance we are filled with shame ;
yet, whether like a drifting cloud we move or rest,
whether like a belling stag ^ we stand up or lie down
[i. e. always], we rejoice to have been born in an age
when such a task as that we have sought to achieve
has been imposed upon us by royal command.
Hitomaro has passed away — but shall the poetic
art stand still '? * Things change with change of times,
joys and sorrows come and go — but shall not the letter
of these poems be preserved ? For ever the willows
shoot forth their thready branches, the leaves of the
pine-tree never fail, the coils of the creepers wander
endlessly over the moorsides, the sea-fowl cease not
posts. In the Hiyakunin Issliiu ('A Century of Stanzas by
a Century of Poets ') is a verse descriptive of it as a place of
meeting and parting of friends and strangers.
^ A river in Yamato, the bed of which is continually
changing. ^ Common similes found in the Manyoshiu.
^ Here I follow what appears to be the sense of the parallel
passage in the Chinese preface.
^ The conclusion of the preface is conceived after a fashion
supposed to be proper for such compositions — a jumble of
similes, metaphors, allusions, euphemisms, and Chinese ideas,
intended and read rather as decorative matter than for any
definite meaning it may contain, which it is far from easy to
gather with accuracy from the loose and unarticulated con-
struction. The whole text of the preface is more or less corrupt
and correspondingly difficult to render accurately.
THE MIME OF TAKASAGO 391
to imprint their tracts upon the sands of the shore ;
and for ever, we trust, shall men, taking pleasure in
the form and profiting by the content of these poems,
revere the verse of ancient days as the moon in high
heaven, and applaud the age which saw the pro-
duction of this Anthology ^.
End of the Preface to the KoJcmshiu
THE N6, OE mime, of TAKASAGO OR
AHIOHI
INTRODUCTION
The term ' N6 ' is the Japanese sound of the Chinese
character ^| (neng), which signifies * ability '. It does not
appear to be used in the Japanese sense in Chinese litera-
ture. In pure Japanese it is read ' yoku \ well, excellent,
efficacious, able. Captain Brinkley, in his monumental
work on Japan ^, translates N6 as ' accomplishment '. It
' See the third volume. An interesting translation is given
of one of the No no utaM, intituled Ataka (see Yohyohu
Tsuge, vol. iii, p. 68). In Prof. Chamberlain's Classical Poetry
of the Japanese an account of the No will be found, and
spirited versions of four of them ; ' The Kobe of Feathers *
(Hagoromo)f * The Death-Stone * {SessM seM), * Life is a Pream '
(Kantan) and NaTcamitsu. Dr. Aston has described the No
dramas in his History of Japanese Literature (1899) and
translated part of TaTcasago. Perhaps the most interesting
account of these dramas, after that of Captain Brinkley, is
the one given by Mr. Mitford (now Lord Kedesdale) in his
delightful Tales of Old Japan, where (p. 108 sqq., edition of 1901)
he describes the performance of four No before the Duke of
Edinburgh at the Yashiki of the Prince of Kishiu (in 1869
in Yedo, and summarizes the utahi or libretto of each of them
— one was ' The Kobe of Feathers ' mentioned above. The
No no utahi, intituled Urashima, founded on the well-known
story of the ' Fisher-boy of Mizunoye ' (Tsuge, vol. viii) is a good
392 TAKASAGO
is, however, sufficiently well rendered by ' play' or * drama '.
The expression mime is descriptive. In the Kotoha no
Izumi, it is explained as derived from the Sarugake
(sort of comic dance), combined with ydJcyoku (song), a
combination completed under the Ashikaga sh6gunate
by Kwan-ami and his son Se-ami, whence the school of
iTd-wrights known as Kwanse or Kwanze. It is essen-
tially an entertainment composed of music, posture and
gesture, dancing, singing or chanting, reciting and dialogue.
The vocal portion, or ' libretto ', is the utahiy strictly song
as distinct from dialogue, &c., and it is of the utahi of
the N6 of Takasago that a translation is offered in the
following pages.
In the Encyclopaedia Wakan Sansaizuwe ^, vol. xvii, a
clue is given to the origin of the N6 and their utahi, in
the articles Heike-gatari (reciters of the fortunes of the Hei
family), t/dritr^ (' pure emerald singers ' ^ — i. e. of emotional
instance of the Buddhist treatment, in mediaeval times, of
ancient traditions. (Cf. Lay of Urashima, ante p. 136.)
The edition of the No no utahi I have used is the well-known
Yokyoku Tsuge (Mediaeval Dramatic Poems, with notes) in eight
volumes. It is good, but insufficient, and leaves many diffi-
culties unsolved.
^ Japanese and Chinese Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Three
Powers (Heaven, Earth, and Man), published in 105 volumes
in the first decade of the eighteenth century. It is founded
upon the Chinese Book of Nature, and presents a wonder-
fully complete picture of Japanese life and thought in the
middle Tokugawa period. It would be well worth complete
translation.
^ Jorurihime was the name of a mistress of the favourite
hero Yoshitsune, brother of Yoritomo, founder of the hereditary
Shogunate (about 1180). But, for analogous reasons, the same
designation may have been given to the lay and the particular
form of half prose, half poetic drama-story known as Joruri.
Captain Brinkley points out that the loves of Jorurihime were
first sung by a lady of the Court of Nobunaga— or his successor
Hideyoshi, the Taiko. These compositions, therefore, were
posterior to the original No libretti, none of which are later
INTRODUCTION 393
themes), and DengaJcu (country music — i.e. of priestly or
priest-like mimics). Of each of these types of artist a
quaint woodcut is given, and a most interesting account of
them and their functions will be found in Captain Brink-
ley's great work already mentioned ^ Earlier than the
N6 performances, which were mainly Buddhist in character,
were the Kagura ^, or Shintd mimic representations of the
enticement, by dance and song, of the Sun-goddess from
the cave into which, offended by the action of her brother,
who threw the hide of a horse flayed backwards over her
as she worked at her loom, she had retreated, and so cast
the world into darkness.^ It was, speaking broadly, of
the amalgamation by Buddhist priests of these newer and
older forms (Heike-gatari and Dengaku) that the Nd
drama was born — one of the many important results of the
partial confiscation for its own purposes by Buddhism of
the inchoate naturalistic religion, and of the history and
tradition of ancient Japan and, less often, of China. It
was, however, not directly from the Dengaku performances,
but from the * monkey-mimes ' (Sarugaku) which replaced
them at the Kydto Court, that the N6 was immediately
derived.* The dancer and reciter now became an actor,
with stage, greenroom, and scenery. The following brief
account of the N6 as represented under the Ashikaga
shogunate — for, as already mentioned, it was at the Court
of this dynasty of Shdguns (1338-1565) that they attained
than the sixteenth century. Buri in Chinese seems to designate
the lapis-Iazuli, rather than the emerald— or possibly the
turquoise. It is not a Chinese word — it may be of Persian or
Indian origin.
1 Vol. iii, p. 18.
2 Jcami kura, divine seat or stage ; the Shinto shrines were
the abodes, or rather places of manifestation, of the gods.
' Also of the story of the two brother deities, hunter and
fisherman— a very important tradition of historical value —
well told by Dr. Aston in his chapter on the No (Hist. Jap,
Lit), more fully in the Kojiki and Nihongi, and in Dr. Aston's
recently published Shinto. Cf. Introduction, § X.
^ Brinkley, op. cit. vol. iii, p. 26.
394 TAKASAGO
their full development — is based upon extracts kindly made
for me by my friend Mr. Minakata from Mr. Taguchi's
excellent work Nihon Shakwai Jii (Dictionary of [Old]
Japanese Societies and Guilds, 2nd ed. 1901, vol. i, p. 270 sqq.,
and vol. ii, p. 1163 sqq.).
Yuki Jibu Kiyotsugu (1355-1406) was the founder of the
present No. His son Yuki Yajiro Motokiyo (1373-1455)
greatly developed the music, which was further improved
by the latter's nephew, who founded the Kwanze school —
one of the five za (seats) or schools, of which the others
were known as Hdsho, Komparu, Kong6, and Kita, names
in part of a personal, in part of a Buddhist signification.
In a complete No there are six actors (occasionally more) :
(1) shite (act-hand = actor) principal actor, hero (tay4)
or protagonist; (2) his tsure, or companion or assistant;
(3) waki (side-actor), a sort of deuteragonist— his part ful-
filled the ' other side ', so to speak, of the story, but his name
merely implied subordination ; (4) his tsure ; (5) kokata,
child-part often, introduced merely to add pathos or inte-
rest to the play; (6) ahi (interlude-actor), who came on
either to fill the stage during a temporary retirement of
shite or waki (to change masks or costumes), or to act as a
foil to either or both of them. There might also be a
second shite or hero, known then as ato shite (after-actor) —
as the God of Suminoye in Takasago, There were also two
sorts of tsure ; tomo, companion, and tachishiu, attendant.
The utahif or libretto, was mainly the work of Buddhist
priests, and often largely consisted of passages plagiarized
from the works of the poets, as well as from other sources,
including Chinese philosophical treatises. The schools were
rather musical and histrionic than literary. Originally,
perhaps, the shite and ivaki were the only two actors. A
distinct chorus does not appear to have then existed, but
the actors, all or some of them, chanting or reciting together,
took its place ; at a later period some of the musicians
(utakigata) may have assisted, or possibly shrine attendants
may have done so. Mr. Chamberlain represents the chorus
as a separate element, squatting to the right of the audience.
There was an o/jx^o-r/ja and upocrKriviov — a raised and roofed
INTRODUCTION 395
stage some eighteen feet square, with a a-Kr^vr] consisting of
greenroom and anteroom connected with the opxna-rpa by
a bridge or gallery. The spectators sat, or rather squatted
or stood, round three sides of a rectangle, under a sort of
wooden portico. Between this and the opxwTpa was an
open space or pit. The music was a discord of drums,
tambourines, and flutes. Masks were used ^, but not, ap-
parently, by the waJd. Though Buddhist in character, the
N6 were performed originally before Shintd miya or
shrines. They were always more or less didactic — the
precept being often partly Shintoist, partly Buddhist,
partly Confucianist. Thus in the Takasago we find
reverence for the god, honour to the Mikado, and the
Confucianist virtue of wedded love inculcated. The Old
Japanese were bom Shintoists, died Buddhists, and lived,
more or less, as Confucianists. There seems to have been
no scenery, but in remembrance, perhaps, of the Takasago,
which may have been the earliest of those now extant,
three small pine-trees were placed, one on each of the three
open sides of the opxw'^pa, and a pine-tree was represented
upon a curtain behind the Trpoo-KrivLov^, Dr. Aston con-
demns the free use of word-plays and pivot-words — words
used in two senses, one corresponding to what precedes and
one to what follows. I have dealt with this matter in the
Introduction to the Manydshiu. The word-plays are most
frequent in the michiyuki (descriptions of journeys, recited
by the protagonist or one of the actors or chorus), and
bring in, often dexterously and gracefully enough, qualities
of beauty or singularity, or associations ^, historical or
other, involved in or suggested by the names of the places
traversed. They resembled the kaidd-kudari (goings
down of officials from the capital by the sea-roads) of later
^ Singularly like those used by Greek actors.
2 See Chamberlain's Classical Poetry of the Japanese.
^ See Introduction to this volume, section xi. Word-plays
are not over common in the Takasago ; sometimes I have tried
to incorporate their value in the translation, more often this
has not proved possible.
396 TAKASAGO
times, composed in debased naga-uta style. There is a
well-known example in the Taiheiki, and a fairly good one
will be found in the Bridal Journey, described in the joruri
known as Chiushingura, of which a translation (* The Loyal
League') was published many years ago by the present
writer.
In the YokyoJcu Tsilge (Explanation of Songs) are col-
lected 262 1^6 no utahi. The subjects are myths, legends,
stories, traditions, personages historical or other, doctrines,
usages, Buddhist and Chinese themes. Notwithstanding
much repetition, plagiarism, conventionalism, disconnected-
ness, lack of dramatic power, of humour or wit, and super-
abundance of verbal conceit, many of the utahi are charm-
ing productions in their way, less stilted in diction than
similar Chinese literary pieces, and distinguished by a cer-
tain quaintness and simplicity — the very conventionalisms
are artless, — old-worldness and naive didacticism, that are
very attractive. Among them Takasago is, perhaps, the
freshest intone and the least artificial in diction and phrasing.
But the 'Robe of Feathers' (Hagoromo), admirably trans-
lated by Professor Chamberlain in his Classical Poetry of
the Japanese, displays, I think, more delicate fancy and
exquisiteness and grace of language than any other among
these mediaeval dramas.
Though the themes of the utahi are sometimes drawn, as
already mentioned, from Chinese sources, the utahi owe
nothing elsewise to Chinese literature. They are not in-
fluenced by the Chinese drama of the Sung period, and the
more developed drama of later dynasties had not been pro-
duced when the Kwanze playwrights began their labours.
In the TsiXge we find an elaborate introduction to the
work, of which a summary is added : — Song and dance arose
out of the need of expression of human feelings of joy and
grief, one's own or others. Our primitive ancestors found
this expression in hand-clapping, or singing with branches
of trees in their hands, accompanied by simple forms of
music. In time these modes became more refined and
various, and about the end of the Nara period verse was
used at the Court for temple and ritual purposes, and was
INTRODUCTION 397
improved by the application of Chinese and Korean methods.
In these early days such simple lines as the following
satisfied the people : —
'Delightful 'tis to watch the gaieties of the Court on winter
nights when the snow collects on the bamboo branches — '
' O'er Horai's peak have flown a thousand years, a
thousand autumns have come and gone, a myriad years have
'There in the pine-groves still build the cranes their
nests — *
' There disport them the tortoises about the high rocks.'
[The * simplicity ' lies in the absence of verbal embellish-
ments— word-jugglery and pillow- words.]
But men ever desire change. In the Ashikaga period
dance and song were allied ; blind men had previously sung
or chanted the fortunes of the Taira house to the accom-
paniment of the lute ; various forms of the dance were
introduced, and ultimately the sarugaku comedy was
invented out of increased sympathy with popular feelings
and manners.
These plays, intended to please the gods, delighted the
vulgar; the character of the okina (ancient) represented
Daijingu (the Sun-goddess), the thousand years' dance the
god Koin (Togakushi, Tajikara), the white-haired Sambans5
(Sambaso) the Bright Deity of Sumiyoshi. Then came the
N6, due to the talent of Kwan-ami and his son Se-ami, the
themes of which were of every kind, distributed in three
categories ; greater and greater became the influence of
Buddhism, and the rude age was softened, ghost and spirit
Nd were in favour, and a fourth category of subjects, more
religious, popular, and human, came into vogue. The great
Hideyoshi delighted in N6, and caused several new ones
to be composed. Under the Tokugawa government N6
were fashionable, and even the military class, who could
not, without shame, even enter a theatre, took part in these
performances, which were specially celebrated at the instal-
lation of a Kubosama (Shogun).
It is sometimes said that the utaki are more or less
398 TAKASAGO
untranslatable. This does not appear to me to be the case.
If the irregularities of syntax are neglected, the allusions
understood, and the values of the word-jugglery allowed
for, the texts, so far as they are not corrupt, are not par-
ticularly difficult to understand. But to convey to a Western
reader, without illegitimate and destructive paraphrase,
their full meaning, apparent enough to an educated Japa-
nese, is, of course, impossible.
The Persons of the Drama are : —
The shite, or protagonist, an Ancient, being the Mani-
festation or Presence of the Spirit of the Pine-tree of
Sumiyoshi (or Suminoye) in Settsu.
The tsure, or companion of the Ancient, being a Dame,
the Manifestation or Presence of the Spirit of the Pine-
tree of Takasago in Harima.
The ato shite, or deuteragonist — the part being taken by
the shite — the Manifestation or Presence of the God (repre-
senting the three gods) of Sumiyoshi.
The waki, or side-actor (tritagonist), being Tomonari, the
Warden of the Shintd shrine of Aso in Higo (south-west
of Kiushiu).
The scene of the Prologue is the shore near Aso ; of the
first Act the scene is the strand of Takasago, of the second
Act the scene is the strand of Sumiyoshi. (On the stage
there is no differentiation of scene.)
The chorus would, originally at least, consist of the
actors. At a later period more or fewer of the musicians
and songmen (utahigata) took choral parts. It does not
seem that there was any special chorus. It has, however,
been supposed that the waki was accompanied by two
hafuri (shrine-servants), who acted as chorus.
The performance began with the entry, from behind, of
the shite and his tsure and the wakiy who — in later times
perhaps some of the musicians — would chant the opening
quatrain. Upon the stage a Pine-tree was originally
placed, afterwards represented by a picture on a curtain
of the Tree under which the Spirits of the Trees of Taka-
PEESONS OF THE DRAMA 399
sago and Sumiyoshi were depicted, holding rakes in their
hands and sweeping up the fallen needles.
The dancing or posturing would be part of the duty of
the actors, not of the chorus, the functions of which only
distantly resemble those of the chorus in the Greek Drama.
TAKASAGO
Nd no utahi TaJcasago,
PROLOGUE
Scene. — The Seashore near Aso in Higo,
Chorus. Tomonari.
Chorus, In traveller's trim
now first he fareth forth,
and far the way is,
and many the days before him.
Tomonari. I who speak, Sirs, am Warden of the
shrine of x\so in the land of Higo within the isle of
the Nine Territories ^ and Tomonari is my name.
Never yet have I beheld City-Royal, and so am I
minded to go up to the Capital ; and for that so
good an occasion may not be mine again, I would
fain turn aside a space by the w^ay and gaze upon
the strand of Takasago in the land of Hdrima.
Chorus {describing the journey).
In trim of traveller
this day to start he mindeth
for City-Royal,
for distant City-Royal —
across the surf he
upon the shipway oareth,
* The province of Kiushiu.
400 TAKASAGO
gentle the skies are,
the spring- winds softly blowing — .
what tale of days shall
his bark in the cloudy distance
sail o'er the sea-plain
till Hdrima he reacheth,
and Takasago
at last his keel receiveth,
his keel receiveth !
ACT I
Scene. — The Strand of Takasago overshadowed by an
ancient gnarled and wide-hranched Pine-tree.
ToMONAKi. The Ancient of Suminoye.
The Dame of Takasago.
Ancient and Dame together.
In the Pine-tree
of Takasago murmureth
the gentle spring-wind,
across the darkening air
the deep tones wafting
of the bell of old Onoe 2—
^ On the north shore of the Inland Sea, west of Kobe.
* In Murakami's Harima Meisho-zuwe (Illustrated Descrip-
tion of the Province of Harima, 1863), vol. iii, Onoe {wo no
uhe) is described as a pine-grove in Osada, where the shrines
of two deities Sumiyoshi Myojin (Illustrious God), and Ohara
Dai myojin (Great Illustrious God) exist. Finally there were
three gods of Sumiyoshi, of the upper (or nearer ?) middle (re-
mote ?) and bottom (furthest ?) waters. When Jingu, the Queen-
Kegnant (a.d. 201-69), had completed her conquest of Korea, she
built here the Sumiyoshi shrine and called the place Takasago
(High Dune). Changes in the coastline occurred, and Taka-
sago (which was a little port) disappeared, while Old Takasago
became OnOe. [Possibly the twain trees originally grew near
ACT I 401
Dame. Mid the rocks mist-hidden
the roar of the surf resoundeth ;
Ancient and Dame.
or ebb or flood be
the cadenced music telleth.
Ancient Whom may I friend hail
if mine own ancient comrade
I may not call thee,
0 Tree of Takasago !
with whom sweet converse
to hold of long past years
beneath the snows
of many a winter white hid —
for wont I have been
these shrines, and of their proximity the memory was pre-
served in the story, when Sumiyoshi in Tsu came into exist-
ence.] The Kdkin preface (in this volume) mentions the ahiohi
no matsu, and a writer, Minamotono Toshifuri(?), of the eleventh
century, landed at Takasago, and finding the tree destroyed,
composed a verse. These are the earliest notice of the Twain
Trees in Japanese literature.
There are two sayings about the pine-tree which are worth
giving. One is Matsu to ifu ji wo sakashima yomeba tsurtia to
naru no de ureshiJcaro; if you read the syllabic characters of
ma tsu (matsu, pine) backwards you have tsu ma (tsuma) ' spouse ',
which is, more japonico, a pleasant conceit. The other turns
upon an analysis of the character ;^ (pine-tree) ; matsu to ifu
ji wo waJcachite yomeba Mmi to hoJcu to no futari-zure, if you dis-
sect the character for pine-tree you have ^ lohi, *tree,' and
y^ Mmi, * you.' BoTcu is also the pronunciation of ^^ * I my-
self ', so that the saying means that the analysis of the character
gives the pair of ego and tu. The one saying involves the
notion of spousal love, the other that of friendship.
In Titsingh's Japan will be found an illustration of Takasago
no ura.
Dd
DICKINS II
402 TAKASAGO
or night or mom, or sleeping
on my rude pallet \
like hoary crane's nest whiten' d
with morning moonshine,
or spring-time's rimy sparkle
like moonshine gleaming,
or waking with the daybreak,
in the murmurous music
the winds make in thy leafery
to find new gladness —
so communing with my own heart
my night thoughts give me,
in utterance give me solace.
Ancient and Dame.
What ask the winds
what ask they of the Pine-tree '?
the falling leaves
blown by the shore winds down
upon our garments ^
they give the answer, give they \
the leaves low-fallen
we sweep and heap
beneath the Pine-tree's shadow ;
'tis Takasago
^ He compares his couch with the crane's nest, usually
figured as built amid the Takasago pine branches. The crane,
like the tree, was a symbol of longevity — the tortoise also ;
Pine, Crane, and Tortoise (long haired) with the Ancient Pair
are commonly represented together.
^ There is here an allusion to a dress of the colour of autumn
leafery, but the leaves themselves are also regarded as a sort of
vestment.
" An allusion to the phrase Jcoto noha(' leaves of speech,' see
Kokin preface, ante) for hotoba.
ACT I 403
'tis the Tree of yore Onoe*s ^
doth bide for ever
the waves of Time affronting —
so gather we
the leaves low fallen gather,
while ever the Pine-tree
shall ever live its life days,
and Takasago
its fame preserve for ever,
its fame for ever !
TomonarL Ah, I looked to meet some village-
folk here, and now come forth an Ancient and his
Dame. Good people, I would ask a thing of you.
Ancient. Is it to me you speak, Sir, what would
you know ?
Tomonari. Tell me, which among these trees
I see is the Pine of Takasago ?
Ancient. The Tree it is, Sir, under whose shadow
we sweep and heap the fallen leaves.
Tomonari. The Pine of Takasago and the Pine of
Suminoye, aid no matsu, the Wedded Pines, the
poets name them, the Pines that grow old together ;
yet wide apart lie the strands of Suminoye and
Takasago, how, then, may these Trees be called the
Wedded Pines !
Ancient. 'Tis so. Sir, as you are pleased to say.
In the foreword of * Songs, Old and New ' is it not
written that the story of the Trees of Takasago and
Suminoye witnesseth of spousal love 1 I, this Ancient,
am of Sumiyoshi in the land of Tsu, this Dame is
native-born, read you us the riddle, if you may. Sir.
^ A somewhat bold attempt to represent the word-play in
the text.
D d 2
404 TAKASAGO
TomonarL A miracle 'tis, good sooth ! a wedded
pair I behold you dwelling here together, yet hill
and sea and moorland wide lie between Suminoye
and Takasago ; I cannot read the riddle.
Dame. Not well considered, Sir, would I say
your words are, for though thousands of leagues
of land and water part them, yet between wedded
folk whose thoughts and feelings ay commingle never
long is affection s path.
Ancient. Yet again bethink you, Sir —
Ancient and Dame. Things unquick are the Trees
of Takasago and Sumiyoshi, yet men well call them
the Wedded Pines. But we who speak have sense
and feeling, to this year for many a year hath the
Ancient of Sumiyoshi and the Dame of Takasago
known spousal union, years many as the Tree hath
endured time have they been a Wedded Pair, aioi no
fdfu, who grow old together !
Tomonari. Ah ! fair are your words and pleasant ;
but tell me, tell me, bides there not in these parts
some memory of the ancient story of the Wedded
Pines which grow old together !
Ancient. The sages of old time have told us that
the Wedded Trees were sign and presage of a happy
age.
Dame. The story of Takasago is as old as the
' Garner of Ancient Verse ' ^ that goeth back to the
elder time.
Ancient. And Sumiyoshi ^ betokeneth the joy
of living in this happy Yengi ^ age.
* The Manydshiu,
^ Sumiyoshi = * where (or when) 'tis good to dwell (exist).'
' Yengi means * prolong-joy ', it is the name of a year-period
(a.d. 901-22).
ACT I 405
Dame, The Pine-tree telleth us of tlie countless
leaves of speech —
Ancient, Now, as of yore, the tree flourisheth,
ever green —
Ancient and Dame, And ever doth its unceasing
greenery adorn the age —
Tomonari. Now do I understand and thank you
well, good folk; of doubt my mind is clear as a
cloudless sky in Spring \
Ancient, How soft yon light that falleth on the
western sea !
Tomonari, There lieth Suminoye —
Ancient. On Takasago's shore we stand.
Tomonari, The Pines their greenery blend —
Ancient. 0 time of Spring !
Tomonari, How balmy 'tis !
Chorus ^.
In waveless peace
the four seas lap our shores,
the gentle tide winds
no murmur mid the woods wake,
Oh, fair the age is !
fair yonder Pine-trees* spousal,
dioino
dioinomatsu,
whose happy augury
men note with awe and wonder,
while vainly seek they
meet words their thanks to utter,
^ There is a word-play here on haru, which means Spring,
and also to clear up (as weather).
2 These lines are sung at weddings as an epithalamium. At
such ceremonies, in various ways, the story of the Twain Trees
is represented.
406 TAKASAGO
in such an age
that they do live rejoicing
in their Lord's abundant bounty.
Tomonari. Ah tell me, tell me all the happy
story of the Pine of Takasago !
Chorus. Well ! no souls have tnjs and herbs, men
say, yet never miss they their appointed times of
flower and fruit, they love the warm Hght of Spring,
and first those flowers blow whose buds look to the
midday —
Ancient. Yea ! and this Pine-tree ever flourisheth,
showing bloom and leaf, all heedless of change of
season.
Chorus. Aye ! through Spring and Summer and
Autumn and Winter, under deepest snow, and for a
thousand years it bideth green, yea for ten flower-
cycles of a thousand years its hue endureth.^
Ancient. Such virtue hath the Pine-tree.
Chorus. The pearly dew-drops that hang on its
leaves — leaves of speech belike — do cleanse the heart
of man.
Ancient. All living things that live —
Chorus. Under the protecting shadow of our wide-
isled 2 land do they not flourish 1
A member of the chorus here recites the huse ^ or
^ This passage is poetized prose. There exists a stanza on
the pine-blossom that shows only once in a millennium. The
floral organs of the pine were, of course, not understood in Old
Japan.
^ Written * spread out islands ' — a name for Japan. Possibly
an ancient capital is intended.
^ Or possibly the shite only. The speech is called huse,
which may be rendered as * chief argument ', or ' inner mean-
ing ', or ' precept ' of the piece.
ACT I 407
precept of the piece. Aye ! and as Ch6n6 ^ hath it, all
things, or quick or unquick, are revealed in song ;
herbs and trees and soil and sand, the whispers of the
wind, the babble of the brooks — all contain the soul of
poetry. The sway of the woods in Spring under the
eastern breezes, the chirrup of the cicada among the
dews that moistb.i the unsunn d foliages in Autumn,
are they not forms or models of our native verse 1 In
the universe of things that grow, doth not the Pine
tree surpass all the world of trees ; bright as a full
bevy of court nobles ^, the green leafery defieth a thou-
sand autumns unshowing any change of hue — well
worthy, belike, the Pine-tree is of the badge of rank
bestowed upon it by China's Sovran Shikwo ! * In
barbarian lands, within our own borders, by all the
peoples of earth, is not the Pine-tree held blessed ?
Ancient. Hark ! I hear
the solemn tone of Onoe's bell
by Takasago.
Chorus. Though with the daydawn
the hoar-frost shineth chilly
the Pine-tree ever
unchang'd its leafery showeth,
in the deep green shadow
or morn or evening
the fallen leaves we sweep,
yet ever fall they,
^ A poet who flourished in the reign of the first Ichijo
(987-1101).
2 A play on the character for pine ;jv^, which may be dis-
sected into /\-|^ (80 = many), >^, nobles or princes.
3 Shi Hwangti, the Chinese Emperor, B.C. 259-210, who
bestowed rank upon a Pine-tree that gave him shelter from
a shower of rain.
408 TAKASAGO
for true it is that never
yon leaferj perisheth,
and ages long endureth
the Pine-tree's greenery
as wild moor-creeper endless,
among the trees
that keep their freshness ever
deathless the fame is
of the Pine of Takasago
for ay a symbol,
dioinomatsu,
and sign of wedded joyance.
Chorus,^ Well have ye told the ancient story of
the Pine-trees whose everlasting bloom hath earned
such fame, but, Sir and Dame, tell me how ye be called.
Ancient and Dame. Why should we not tell them,
we are the spirits of the Pine-trees of Takasago and
Suminoye that grow old together. As a wedded pair
do we present ourselves.
Chorus. Now are manifest the wedded spirits.
O wonder ! such then is the mystery of the Pine-trees
that o'ershadow these famous strands.^
Ancient and Dame. Though plants and trees be
things unquick —
Chorus. In this auspicious age —
Ancient and Dame. Or trees or herbs —
Chorus. In this our land
our mighty Sovran ruleth
beneath his sway
'tis good to live ^ for ever,
^ Or perhaps one or more of the musicians or song-men
{utahi gata).
^ i. e. Takasago and Suminoye.
' See note 2, p. 404.
ACT I 409
and Sumivoslii
where fair it is to dwell
our wanderer fain
would seek, and humbly there
the god await —
wherefore 'tis now he clirabeth
on fisher's bark
anigh the sea-marge float eth,
and forth he fareth
by favouring breezes wafted,
across the waters
the evening waters fareth.
Tomonari. From Takasat^o
on fisher s bark I climb
and sail awav
4/
far o'er the waves of ocean
as the pale moon riseth,
under Awaji s shadow
I cleave the waters
'yond roaring Naruwo fariug,
till Sumiyoshi
I reach, fair Sumiyoshi !
ACT II
Scene — The Strand of Sumiyoshi in Settsu.
The God of Sumiyoshi. Chorus.
God of Sumiyoshi (entering) ^
Long 'tis since saw I
the Princess Pine that groweth
^ What the god chants here is said to have been of his own
composition. There is considerable doubt as to the personages
of the remaining dialogue. I take the view that they are the
god and the chorus — the god, as ato-shite, being represented by
the shite with changed dress and mask.
410 TAKASAGO
by Sumiyoslii
nor knoweth, belike, the Sovran
how many an age through
my grace on him hath rested ;
and now for generations
as palace-fence enduring,
to cheer my heart
be the sacred mime enacted,
wherefore the night drums
bring, and beat out their music,
ye servants of the shrine.
Chorus. From the western sea
from where the waves are breaking
upon Aoki ^ —
God of SumiyoshL
Cometh the holy Presence,
in this fair spring-tide
when the Tree Divine full flourisheth,
and still the snows lie
lightly on As'kagata ^ —
Chorus, where men do gather
on the strand rich seaweed harvest —
God of Sumiyoshi.
at foot of the ancient Pine-tree
I will recline me —
Chorus.
with a thousand years' green leafery
his ^ hands full filled be —
* The god came originally from Aokigahara (see Zdkxi KoJcin,
a continuation of * Songs Old and New ').
^ Asakayama is in Settsu. Another hill, so named, is in
Michinoku. See note 3, p. 381.
^ Or *my'. The vagueness is characteristic of Japanese
ACT II 411
God of Sumiyoshi,
and spray of plum-tree gathered
my head adorning —
Chorus,
like latest snows of winter
the blossoms deck liim.
Chorus. To the god of Sumiyoshi, since clear the
moon shineth, let us offer thanks and praise, and for
many an age adore his Presence that deigneth to take
pleasure in this fair abode.
God of Sumiyoshi.
The virgin voices,
how clear is their music
beneath the Pine-tree
of bright-shored Suminoye,
as featly dance they
to the air of the * Blue Sea Wave '
by the blue sea where
the shadow is reflected
of the Princess Pine-tree.
Chorus.
The way of god and Sovran
towards City-Royal
will now be straightway wended ^
this fair spring season —
God of Sumiyoshi.
'Tis the Dance of ' Joyeuse Rentr^e '
Chorus, for years ten thousand
poetry, and often, as here, is not without effect as broadening
the field of suggestion.
^ The meaning of this passage is not quite clear.
412 TAKASAGO
God of Sumiyoshi.
in ritual vestments
Chorus, let arms extended
all ill fend from the land,
and arms fair-folded
embrace all happiness,
and make the folk glad
with the ' Joy of a Thousand Autumns ',
long life give all men
with the * Joy of a Myriad Years ' —
aibinomatsu
among the Wedded Pine-trees
growing old together
may gentle winds for ever
wake music ever haunting
and ever the world enchanting ! ^
^ The last three lines are a slightly paraphrased rendering of
the text. * Blue Sea Wave ', ' Joyeuse Kentree ', * Joy of
a Thousand Autumns ', and ' Joy of a Myriad Years ', are all
titles of Chinese musical pieces.
End of the Mime of Tahasago,
INDEX OF PfllNCIPAL PROPER NAMES
CHINESE AND JAPANESE
Italic type denotes place-names, roman personal names ; italic
figures denote the number of the lay, roman the page, and roman
numerals the page of the Introduction.
Pronounce vowels as in German, but ' u ' as in English ' put ',
never as in 'cut', 'flute,' or 'union'; at end of words, and after
dentals and sibilants, ' u ' is very short. The consonants are sounded
as in English, aspiration well observed. Every letter is pronounced,
there are no diphthongs. Every syllable is open. There is little
accent (as in French), and that on the penultimate unless otherwise
marked. See also Introduction, volume of texts.
Abe no Miushi, 329, 346,
350. 1
Asakagata, 410.
Afumi, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 18, 19, 29.
Asdkura, 1, 105.
Afusaka, 138, 389.
Ashiqara, 121, 260.
Agi, 66.
Ashikaga, 393.
Ago, 142.
Ashiya, 122.
Agone, 137.
Aso, 399.
Aha, 30, 55, 104.
Asuka, 26.
Ahaji, 44, 55, 79, SO, 82, 83, 409.
Asuka, 130, 203, 211.
Ainu, Ivii, Ixiv, 1, 151.
Asukagaha, 23, 26, 39, 152, 174,
Ajifu, 96.
390.
Akahito, xcix, 36, 38, 39
, 41, 47,
Asukahi Masaharu, xxxvi.
73, 75, 76, 79, 81, 82, 83
88, 136,
Awa, see Aha.
215, 386.
Awade (Ahade), 199.
Ahashi, 44, 199, 229, 357.
Aivaji, see Ahagi.
Aki, 12.
Aya, 4.
Aki no Ohokimi, 56.
Ayabe no Uchimaro, 344.
AUdzu, 71, 76.
Ayuchi, 150.
Ahidzugdha, 35.
Akimura, 122.
Bashd, 309.
Akitsu, 10.
Bimbisara, 327.
Akitsicshima, 146.
Bindzuru, 335.
Ama no Hiboko, 327.
Bingo, 195.
Ama no Oshihi, 42, 227, .
263.
Bitchiu, 195.
Amakagu, 2.
Biwa, 9.
Araako, 24.
Buddha, 70.
Amaterasu, 12, 22.
Bunya no Yasuhide, 387.
Ame-wakahito, 19.
Bunyiu Nanjio, 63.
Amra, 327.
Anaho, 151.
Chang Khien, 102.
Aokigahara, 410.
Chika, 68.
Arihara Narihira, 387.
Chikuzen, 68.
Arima, 49.
Chikuzen no Kami, see Omi
Arimaro Kyo, 85.
Okura.
Arisuwe, xl.
Chinkwai (stones), 65.
Asa, 44.
Chinu, 55, 122, 125.
Asaka, 51, 381.
Chdmei, 60a. •
414 INDEX OF PRINCIPAL PROPER NAMES
)
Daijingu, 397.
Daijo, see Amra.
Daishiu, see Tanaka Daishiu.
Dazaifu, 261, 262.
Dewa, 70.
Echigo, 40, 117.
Echiu, 40, 92, 117.
Fuha, 260.
Fuhi Shitabe no Kami, 105.
Fuji, 13, 36, 37, 308, 338.
Fujigaha, 37.
Fujihara, 13, 16, 22, 107, 183.
Fujihara no Asomi, 6.
Fujihara no Toyonari, 212.
Fujihara no Umakahi no Ky6,86.
Fujiwi, 14.
Fujiwi no Murazhi Ko-Oyu, 201,
Fujiyama, see Fuji.
Fujiye, 81.
Fukaye, 65.
Fukuba Yoshishidzu, xxxvi.
Fukuoka Koren, xxxvi.
Funase, 80.
Furu, 45, 89, 90, 118, 225.
Furuhi, 70.
Fuse, 219, 245.
Futagi, 93.
Futakami, 218, 225, 247.
Futana, 30.
Geishiu, 66.
Genkoku, 203.
Gensho, 71, 87.
Hada no Imiki, 218.
Hakahi, 28.
Hakone, 260.
Hamana no Midzu-umi, 353.
Han, Ivii.
Haniyasu, 14, 24.
Hanming, 105.
Harima, 5, 80, 199, 200, 399.
Hasetsukabe, 48.
Hashihito no Murazhi Oyu, 3.
Hdtsuse, 1, 12, 15, 129, 132, 151,
178, 179, 190.
Hatsusebe, 23.
Hayatori, 200.
Heguri-yama, 210.
Heisa, 327.
Heizei, xl.
Higo, 61, 399.
Hikite, 28.
Hikohoshi, 102.
Uimi, 225.
Hinami, 12, 22.
Hinokuma, 19.
Hinomichi, 66.
Hirohata, xxxi, xliv.
Hironari, 100.
Hirose, 24.
Hirume, 22.
Hitachi, 43, 110, 112, 197, 308.
Hitomaro, xcviii, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16,
22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32,
46, 128, 147, 183, 386.
Hiyakusai, 19, 24.
Hiyeda no Are, lix.
Hizen, 61, 199.
Hddzumi, 42, 134, 140.
Hohodemi, 105.
Hokanruri, 342.
Hdki, 68.
Hono Ninigi no Mikoto, 22.
Hono Susori, 105.
Hdraisan, 338.
Hordkaku, 326.
H6sh6 (No school), 394.
Hdyeisan, 37.
Hsihwang, 338.
Hsiifuh, see Siifuh.
Hwainan tsz, xxxix, 102.
Hyades, 105.
Idzumigaha, 13, 212.
Idzumo, 5, 77, 165.
Ihami, 16, 17, 30.
Ihanohime, li.
Ihare, 46, 183.
Iharebiko, 9.
Ihase, 236.
Ihata, 45, 46, 137.
Iheshima, 199.
Ihobe Umakahi no Murazhi, 105.
Ikako, 140.
Ikenushi, Ivi, 215, 216, 220, 222,
224.
Iki (Yuki), 200.
Ikuji, 52.
Ikusa no Ohokimi, 4.
Ikutagaha, 122.
Imagire, 353.
Imube no Akita, 325.
Imidzugaha, 230.
Inami, 5, 80, 81, 82.
Ingyd, 19, 229.
Isayagaha, 54.
Ise, 24, 136, 168, 172.
Ise no Nyogo, 111.
Ishidzukun no Miko, 328, 332,
334.
Ishigdha, 30.
CHINESE AND JAPANESE
41
Isonokami, 90, 118.
Isonokami, 89.
Isonokami Marotada, 329, 333,
359.
Ito, Ivii.
Itsuki no miya, 168.
lyo, 4, 30, 38, 44.
Izanagi, 15, 30, 90, 143, 144, 168,
250.
Izanami, 15, 30, 144, 168.
Izaniha, 38.
Jakusho, 334.
Jimmu, 1.
Jito, 11, 13, 14, 21, 213,
Jomei, 2, 38.
Jorurihime, 392.
Kadzura no Ko, 203.
Kadzusa, 104.
Kafuchi, 10, 11.
Kagami, 20.
Kagu, 14, 33, 308, 322.
Kaguyahime, 314 sqq.
Kahashima, 23, 26.
Kahi, 37.
Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitdmaro,
see Hitdmaro.
Kakumura, 2.
Kamafunari, 253.
Kamako, Ixxix.
Kamakura, 168.
Kamatari Ko, see Fujihara no
Asomi, 6.
Kamehazama, 2.
Kami, 193.
Kammahi, 39.
Kamishima, 195.
Kamiwoka, 21, 39.
Kamo, 30.
Kamo Mabuchi, see Okabe.
Kamo no Kimitari, 33.
Kamochi Masazumi, xxxv, xxxvi,
cv sqq.
Kamoshima, 30.
Kamundbi, 7, 114, 126, 130, 131,
152, 153, 174.
Kanamura, 31, 40, 57, 58, 71, 74,
77, 80, 118.
Kanaoka, 319.
Kaneko Genshin, 378.
Kara, 9, 17, 199, 200, 211.
Karani, 82.
Karasaki, 140.
Kdriji no, 32.
Kara, 19, 27, 57.
Karu, 12, 151.
Karunu, 116.
Kasa no Kanamura, see Kani-
mura.
Kase, 93, 94, 95.
Kashiha nu, 45,
Kashihara, 9.
Kashiko, 91.
Kashima, 116, 207.
Kasuga, 92.
Kasuga, 304.
Kasuka, 49, 84.
Kata-asuha-gaha, 106.
Katakahi-gaha, 221.
Katashi, 19.
Kato Chikage, xliv, cv.
Katsuraki, 55.
Kdtsushika, 47, 124.
Kawachi, Kafuchi, 98, 157.
Kayanarumi, 133.
Keichiu, xxxiv, xKi, xliv, ciii, 43,
57, 92, 109, 138.
Keikd, 45, 61, 141.
Khien Niu, 102.
Khii Ping, xci.
Ki, 57, 90, 181.
Ki no Tomonari, 389.
Ki no Tsurayuki, xxxvii, 378, 379,
389.
Kibi no Michi no Naka, 195.
Kidzuki, 77, 165.
Kidzuki, 329.
Kii, see Ki, also 73.
Kinashi, 151.
Kinohe, 24, 26, 183, 184.
Kirishima, 143.
Kisa, 35.
Kisatani mura, 35.
Kisen, 387.
Kita (No school), 394.
Kitamura Kikin, xxxviii, xlii,
xliv.
Kiyomi, 22.
Kiyomihara, 8, 21, 39,
Kofu, 65.
Kogyoku, 23, 54.
Koin, 397.
Koken, xlii, 256.
Koma, 203.
Komparu (No school), 394.
Kongo (No school), 394.
Konin, 31.
Korea, 151.
Kose, 13.
Kose no Ahimi, 319.
Koshi, 40, 117, 178, 215, 221,
Kotoku, 3.
Kozu, 55.
Kozuke, 262.
416 INDEX OF PKINCIPAL PROPEE NAMES
Kudara^ 24.
Kudara no Ohokimi, 227.
Kuguri, Ml.
Kuhawo, 120.
Kumagori, 66.
Kumaki, 207.
Kumaso, Ixiv.
Kume, Ixviii.
Kume no Ason Hironalia, 233,
248, 249.
Kume no Murazhi Wakame, 90.
Kuni, 51, 92, 93, 94, 95, 212.
Kunisuhito (Kudzu), 228.
Kuramochi, 72, 78.
Kuramochi no Miko, 328, 332, 338.
Kuro, 79.
Kusaha, 98.
Kusakabe, 12, 22, 105.
Kusinagara, 60a.
Kwanze, 392.
Kwazan, 122.
Kyofuku, xli.
Kydto, 37.
Lipeh, xci.
Liu An (Hwainan tsz), xxxix, 102.
Liu Chhen, 105.
Liu Ngan, see Liu An.
Liu Yiii Si, xxxix.
Mabuchi, see Okabe.
Magadha, 327.
Magari, 304.
Makami, 24, 153.
Maldives, 61.
Mama, 47, 124.
Mana wi, 144.
Matsuchi, 89.
Matsudaye, 219, 225.
Matsuho, 80.
Mayumi, 22.
Michinoku, Ivii, 227.
Midzunoye, 105.
Mifune, 71.
Mika, 58, 95, 212.
Mikaki, 114.
Mikane, 8, 167.
Mikasa, 41, 92, 308.
Miminashi, 5.
Mimoro (Mimuro), 7, 39, 114, 130,
133, 134, 153, 325.
Mimuroto, 325.
Mina, 308.
Minakahi, 87.
Minamoto Jun, xliv, ciii, 319.
Minamoto no Takakuni, 334.
Mino, 10, 24.
Minu, 141, 185.
Minume, 44, 83, 97.
Mishima, 225.
Mitashi, 24.
Mitsu, 55, 68, 192, 199.
Miwa, 7.
Miyake, 116.
Miyako, 12.
Mohakitsu, 113.
Mommu, 11, 12, 107.
Morokoshi, 68, 100, 347.
Moroye, see Tachibana no Moroye.
Motowori, XXX, 13, 15, 55, 60, 171.
Munakata Tokuse, 24.
Murasaki no Shikibu, 320.
Muro, 173.
Musaba, 202.
Naga no Miko, 32.
Ndgara, 77.
Nagato, 1, 142.
Nago, 85, 142, 218, 230.
Naka, 30.
Nakachi, 3.
Nakano Ohoye, 5.
Nakatomi, 3.
Nakatomi no Fusako, 362.
Nakatsu, 79.
Nakisumi, 80.
Ndniha, 59, 77, 79, 95, 96, 100, 107,
109, 211, 258, 259, 261, 307, 343,
381.
Naniha no Ko, 92.
Nara, 7, 9, 15, 30, 92, 109, 134, 138,
213, 305.
Narihata, 253.
Narihira, 320.
Nifu, 45.
Nifu, 135.
Nigihayahi, 1, 255.
Nihi, 221.
Nihibari, 112.
Nihitabe, 34.
Ninigi, Ixii, 105.
Nintoku, 259.
Nori no Tsukasa (Isonokami
Asomi), 60a.
Noto, 207, 209, 229.
Nu, 79.
Nukata, 6, 7, 20.
Nuna wi, 144.
Nushima, 82.
Ochi, 23.
Ogurayama, 337. ,
Ohodzu (Ohotsu), 139.
Ohoigaha, 337.
CHINESE AND JAPANESE
417
Ohoishi, 122.
Ohokume, 263,
Ohokuni nushi, 178.
Ohonamuchi, 55, 97, 230.
Ohotomo, Ixvi, 139, 227, 263, 352.
Ohotomo no Kuronashi, 388.
Ohotomo no Kyd, 35, 49, 110,
116.
Ohotomo no Miyuki, 329, 332,
352.
Ohotomo no Sakanohe, 49.
Ohotomo no Sukune Minaka, 48.
Ohotomo no Sukune Namaro, 42.
Ohotsu, 6, 9, 18.
Ohoura, liv.
Ohowada, 9.
Ohoye Sukekuni, xliv.
Ojin, 65, 228.
Okabe, xxxi, xlii, civ, 86, 137.
Okina, 211.
Okinaga, 182.
Okinaga Tarashi (Jing6), 65.
Okiso, 141.
Okisome, 25.
Old Man of the Sea, 105.
Omi, see Afumi.
Omi Okura, ci,60A, 61, 62,' 63, 65,
66, 68, 102.
Orfoe, 400, 403, 407.
Onogoro, 15.
Ononokomachi, 388.
Osaka, 190.
Osaka, see Afusaka.
Osakabe, 46.
Osashi, 229.
Oshitaru, 206.
Otomaro, 89, 90, 91.
Ototachibana, Ivii.
OwaH, see Wohari.
Ozaki Masayoshi, 320.
Pekche, 19.
Fhenglai, see Hdrai.
Pindola, 335.
Pishi, 203.
Pleiades, 105.
Polynesia, 152.
Ratnaghiri, 326, 338.
Rayarei, 327.
Richi, 326.
Richiu, 79.
Rigwan, 49.
Rock Princess, 105.
Rusana Buddha, 227.
Saburu, 230.
DICKBNS. II
Sado, 140.
Sagaraka, 53.
Sahe no Kami, see Sai n. K.
Saheki, Ixvii, 227.
Sahika, 73.
Saho, 15, 49, 84.
Saho Dainagon, see Arimaro Ky6.
Sai no Kami, 45.
Saigu, 168.
Saikyd, 37.
Saimei, 2.
Sakanohe, 42.
Sakanohe, 42, 49, 59, 60, 85, 101.
Sakanohe no Oho Ii-atsume, 42,
252.
Sakate, 134.
Sakura no Ko, 47, 203.
Sakya Muni, 60a.
Sala, 60a.
Sambasd, 397.
Samine, 30.
Sanjo Nishi Suetomo, xxxv.
Sanukata, 182.
Sanuki, 4, 30.
Sanuki no Miyatsuko Maro, 323.
Sapta Ratna, 70.
Sasanami, 29.
Sasara, 45.
Sawi no Ohokimi, 205.
Se,^ 37.
Seiwa, xl, xli.
Sendai, Ivii.
Sengaku, xli, xliv, ciii.
Sennin, 105.
Seta, 24.
Settsu, 44, 55, 83, 120, 199.
Shaka (Sakya Muni), 327.
Shide, 111.
Shidzuku, 112.
Shidzuribe no Karamaro, 260.
Shiga, 9, 29, 140.
Shiki, 24, 31.
Shikishima, 118.
Shikoku, 30.
Shikura, 246.
Shimako, 105.
Shimane, 40.
Shimayama, 257.
Shimdsa, 90, 116.
Shinra, see Silla.
Shiraki, see Silla.
Shirayama, 337.
Shitahi, 120.
Shitateruhime, 380.
Shomei, 73.
Shdmu, 74, 77, 87, 90, 228.
Shotoku Daishi, lii, 38,
£ 6
418 INDEX OF PEINCIPAL PEOPER NAMES
Silla, 19, 49, 65, 198.
Soga, Ixii.
S6j6 Henjo, 387.
Soken, see Kose no Ahimi.
Sotohori, 388.
Sotohori Iratsume, 55.
Sotohoshi, 151.
Siifuh, 338.
Suinin, 5, 231.
Siikunabikona, 85, 230.
Suminoye, 90, 105, 203, 254, 262,
403.
Sumiyoshi, 90, 403.
Suruga, 36, 37, 377.
Susa-no-wo, 85.
Suseri, 304.
Siishe, see Siifuh.
Susu, 229.
Suwe, 104.
Tabihito no Kyo, 42
Tabiudo, see Ohotomo no Kyo.
Tabiudo no Ky6, 85.
Tachibana, 212.
Tachibana Chikage, see Kato
Chikage.
Tachibana no Iratsume, 26.
Tachibana no Sukune Moroye,
ciii, 93, 227.
Tachiyama (Tateyama), 221, 222.
Tagi, 10, 44, 71, 107, 137.
Tago, 36, 308.
Tajihi no Mabito, 30, 55.
Tajihi no Mabito Agatamori, 87.
Tajihi no Mabito Hironari,6(S, 254.
Tajihi no Mabito Kunihito, 43.
Tajihi no Taifu, 198.
Takachiho, 143.
Takahashi no Asomi, 53.
Takahashi no Mushimaro, 57, 86,
124, 125.
Takamato, 31, 84, 103.
Takamimusubi, 227.
Takano no Ohokuni, 371.
Takasago, 384, 391, 400.
Takatori, 203.
Takatsunu, 16.
Takayama, li, 159.
Takechi, 2, 114.
Takechi, 24, 33, 139, 183.
Takechiho, 42.
Taketori, 203, 314, 322.
Tako, 225.
Tama, 199.
Tamana, 104.
Tamatsushima, 73.
Tamba, 105.
Tamuke, 389.
Tanabata me, 102.
Tanabata no Sadaijin, 92.
Tanaka Daishiu, 318 sqq.
Tanakami, 13.
Tanobe no Sakimaro, 92, 93, 95,
97, 120, 121, 122, 123.
Tarashi, see Jing6.
Taruhito, xxxv.
Ta Tshin, 349.
Tdtsuta, 86, 107, 108, 305, 386.
Tayuhi, 40.
Tazhima Mori, 231.
Temmu, 8, 12, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26,
31, 32, 39, 46, 92, 139.
Tenchi (ji), 3, 19, 20, 22, 26.
Toba, 112, 197.
Todai, 227.
Toga, 210.
Togakushi, Tajikara, 397.
Tohochi, 335.
Tokaido, 37, 138.
Tokyo, 37.
Tomi, 60.
Tomonari, 399.
Tonami, 224, 242.
Tortoise Princess, 105.
Tosa, 30, 47, 89, 90.
Toyotomimi (Mumayado), 38.
Tree-blossom Princess, 105.
Tshi, 338.
Tsu, 401, 403.
Tsuki no Iwagasa, 377.
Tsuki no Omi, 195.
Tsuku 211.
Tsukuba, 43, 110, 112, 113, 308,
384.
Tsukuma, 182.
Tsukushi, 55, 61, 65, 86, 200, 258,
338, 348.
Tsukuwe, 209.
Tsunu, 16.
Tsunuga, 40.
Tsushima, 200.
Tsutsugaha, 105.
Tsutsuki, 137.
Tsutsumi Chiunagon, 320.
Uchi, 3.
Vhara, 122.
Uhenomiya, lii.
Uji, 137, 138.
Vjigaha, 13.
Umashimade, 352.
Unahi, 47, 125.
Unahi (Maid of), 122, 125.
Unakami, 116.
CHINESE AND JAPANESE
419
UneU, 5, 9, 14. 27.
Urashima, 105.
Utsu, see Uchi.
Uyetsuki, 183.
Varuna, 335.
Vimalakirtti, 60x.
Wadzuka, 51.
Waikwok, Iviii.
Wakamiya no Ayumaro, 44, 99.
Wak-wak, Iviii.
Wan (King), 13.
Watarahi, 24, 168.
Wazami, 24.
Wochi, 182.
Woda, 227.
Wofu, 245.
Wohari no Woguchi, 230.
Woharida, 150.
Wokabe, see Okabe.
Wokamoto, 2, 38, 54.
Wokei, 347.
Wokura, 107.
Wori, 203.
Woye, 211.
Wozaki Masayoshi, xxxviii.
Yachihoko, 178, 304.
Yakami, 17.
Yakamochi (Ohotomono Sukune)
xli, Ivi, Ixvi, c, 42, 50, 51, 52,
92, 101, 103, 212, 213, 214, 215,
216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 223, 225,
226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232,
233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239,
240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246,
247, 248, 250, 251, 257, 258, 259,
261, 262, 263, 264.
Yakushi Nyorai, 136.
Ydmabe, 136.
Yamabe no Akahito, see Ak4-
hito.
Yamabe no Sukune, 36.
Yamada, 157.
Yamada no Fumihito, 225.
Yamakuma, 46.
Yamanohe no Okura, see Omi
Okura.
Yamashina, 20.
Yamashiro, 51, 53, 93, 180.
Yamate, 90.
Yamato, 1, 11, 39, 40, 41, 44, 51,
68, 118, 200.
Yamatotake, Ixxi, 68.
Yashima, 178, 304.
Yata, li.
Yatsut-i, 34
Yedo, 1, 37.
Yemishi, Ixiv.
Yezo, 151.
Yokohama, 43.
Yoritomo, 392.
Yosa, 105.
Yosami, 30.
Yoshino (u), 8, 10, 11, 35, 71, 74,
76, 88, 134, 135, 228,
Yosbitsune, 392.
Yiian Chao, 105.
Yuen Kuh, see Genkoku.
Yufu, 11.
Yuge, 25.
Yuima, see Vimalakirtti.
Yuki, see Iki.
Yuki Jibu Kiyotsugu, 394.
Yuki Yajiro Motokiyo, 394.
Yukino Murazhi Yakamori, 200.
Yuriyaku, 1, 10, 105.
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