Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan Read online

  [28] Why six Jizo instead of five or three or any other number, the reader may ask. I myself asked the question many times before receiving any satisfactory reply. Perhaps the following legend affords the most satisfactory explanation:

  According to the Book Taijo-Hoshi-mingyo-nenbutsu-den, Jizo-Bosatsu was a woman ten thousand ko (kalpas) before this era, and became filled with desire to convert all living beings of the Six Worlds and the Four Births. And by virtue of the Supernatural Powers she multiplied herself and simultaneously appeared in all the Rokussho or Six States of Sentient Existence at once, namely in the Jigoku, Gaki, Chikusho, Shura, Ningen, Tenjo, and converted the dwellers thereof. (A friend insists that in order to have done this Jizo must first have become a man.)

  Among the many names of Jizo, such as 'The Never Slumbering,' 'The Dragon-Praiser,' 'The Shining King,' 'Diamond-of-Pity,' I find the significant appellation of 'The Countless Bodied.'

  [29] Since this sketch was written, I have seen the Bon-odori in many different parts of Japan; but I have never witnessed exactly the same kind of dance. Indeed, I would judge from my experiences in Izumo, in Oki, in Tottori, in Hoki, in Bingo, and elsewhere, that the Bonodori is not danced in the same way in any two provinces. Not only do the motions and gestures vary according to locality, but also the airs of the songs sung—and this even when the words are the same. In some places the measure is slow and solemn; in others it is rapid and merry, and characterised by a queer jerky swing, impossible to describe. But everywhere both the motion and the melody are curious and pleasing enough to fascinate the spectator for hours. Certainly these primitive dances are of far greater interest than the performances of geisha. Although Buddhism may have utilised them and influenced them, they are beyond doubt incomparably older than Buddhism.

  [30] Thick solid sliding shutters of unpainted wood, which in Japanese houses serve both as shutters and doors.

  [31] Tanabiku.

  [32] Ama-terasu-oho-mi-Kami literally signifies 'the Heaven-Shining Great- August-Divinity.' (See Professor Chamberlain's translation of the Kojiki.)

  [33] 'The gods who do harm are to be appeased, so that they may not punish those who have offended them.' Such are the words of the great Shinto teacher, Hirata, as translated by Mr. Satow in his article, ~ The Revival of Pure Shintau.

  [34] Machi, a stiff piece of pasteboard or other material sewn into the waist of the hakama at the back, so as to keep the folds of the garment perpendicular and neat-looking.

  [35] Kush-no-ki-Matsuhira-Inari-Daimyojin.

  [36] From an English composition by one of my Japanese pupils.

  [37] Rin, one tenth of one cent. A small round copper coin with a square hole in the middle.

  [38] An inn where soba is sold.

  [39] According to the mythology of the Kojiki the Moon-Deity is a male divinity. But the common people know nothing of the Kojiki, written in an archaic Japanese which only the learned can read; and they address the moon as O-Tsuki-San, or 'Lady Moon,' just as the old Greek idyllists did.

  [40] The most ancient book extant in the archaic tongue of Japan. It is the most sacred scripture of Shinto. It has been admirably translated, with copious notes and commentaries, by Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain, of Tokyo.

  [41] The genealogy of the family is published in a curious little book with which I was presented at Kitzuki. Senke Takanori is the eighty- first Pontiff Governor (formerly called Kokuzo) of Kitzuki. His lineage is traced back through sixty-five generations of Kokuzo and sixteen generations of earthly deities to Ama-terasu and her brother Susanoo-no- mikoto.

  [42] In Sanscrit pretas. The gaki are the famished ghosts of that Circle of Torment in hell whereof the penance is hunger; and the mouths of some are 'smaller than the points of needles.'

  [43] Mionoseki.

  [44] Now solidly united with the mainland. Many extraordinary changes, of rare interest to the physiographer and geologist, have actually taken place along the coast of Izumo and in the neighbourhood of the great lake. Even now, each year some change occurs. I have seen several very strange ones.

  [45] The Hakuja, or White Serpent, is also the servant of Benten, 01 Ben- zai-ten, Goddess of Love, of Beauty, of Eloquence, and of the Sea. 'The Hakuja has the face of an ancient man, with white eyebrows and wears upon its head a crown.' Both goddess and serpent can be identified with ancient Indian mythological beings, and Buddhism first introduced both into Japan. Among the people, especially perhaps in Izumo, certain divinities of Buddhism are often identified, or rather confused, with certain Kami, in popular worship and parlance.

  Since this sketch was written, I have had opportunity of seeing a Ryu-ja within a few hours after its capture. It was between two and three feet long, and about one inch in diameter at its thickest girth The upper part of the body was a very dark brown, and the belly yellowish white; toward the tail there were some beautiful yellowish mottlings. The body was not cylindrical, but curiously four-sided—like those elaborately woven whip-lashes which have four edges. The tail was flat and triangular, like that of certain fish. A Japanese teacher, Mr. Watanabe, of the Normal School of Matsue, identified the little creature as a hydrophid of the species called Pela-mis bicalor. It is so seldom seen, however, that I think the foregoing superficial description of it may not be without interest to some readers.

  [46] Ippyo, one hyo 2 1/2 hyo make one koku = 5.13 bushels. The word hyo means also the bag made to contain one hyo.

  [47] Either at Kitzuki or at Sada it is possible sometimes to buy a serpent. On many a 'household-god-shelf' in Matsue the little serpent may be seen. I saw one that had become brittle and black with age, but was excellently preserved by some process of which I did not learn the nature. It had been admirably posed in a tiny wire cage, made to fit exactly into a small shrine of white wood, and must have been, when alive, about two feet four inches in length. A little lamp was lighted daily before it, and some Shinto formula recited by the poor family to whom it belonged.

  [48] Translated by Professor Chamberlain the 'Deity Master-of-the-Great- Land'-one of the most ancient divinities of Japan, but in popular worship confounded with Daikoku, God of Wealth. His son, Koto-shiro- nushi-no-Kami, is similarly confounded with Ebisu, or Yebisu, the patron of honest labour. The origin of the Shinto custom of clapping the hands in prayer is said by some Japanese writers to have been a sign given by Koto-shiro-nushi-no-Kami.

  Both deities are represented by Japanese art in a variety of ways, Some of the twin images of them sold at Kitzuki are extremely pretty as well as curious.

  [49] Very large donations are made to this temple by wealthy men. The wooden tablets without the Haiden, on which are recorded the number of gifts and the names of the donors, mention several recent presents of 1000 yen, or dollars; and donations of 500 yen are not uncommon. The gift of a high civil official is rarely less than 50 yen.

  [50] Taku is the Japanese name for the paper mulberry.

  [51] See the curious legend in Professor Chamberlain's translation of the Kojiki.

  [52] From a remote period there have been two Kokuzo in theory, although but one incumbent. Two branches of the same family claim ancestral right to the office,—the rival houses of Senke and Kitajima. The government has decided always in favour of the former; but the head of the Kitajima family has usually been appointed Vice-Kokuzo. A Kitajima to-day holds the lesser office. The term Kokuzo is not, correctly speaking, a spiritual, but rather a temporal title. The Kokuzo has always been the emperor's deputy to Kitzuki,—the person appointed to worship the deity in the emperor's stead; but the real spiritual title of such a deputy is that still borne by the present Guji,—'Mitsuye-Shiro.'

  [53] Haliotis tuberculata, or 'sea-ear.' The curious shell is pierced with a row of holes, which vary in number with the age and size of the animal it shields.

  [54] Literally, 'ten hiro,' or Japanese fathoms.

  [55] The fire-drill used at the Shinto temples of Ise is far more complicated in construction, and certainly represen
ts a much more advanced stage of mechanical knowledge than the Kitzuki fire-drill indicates.

  [56] During a subsequent visit to Kitzuki I learned that the koto-ita is used only as a sort of primitive 'tuning' instrument: it gives the right tone for the true chant which I did not hear during my first visit. The true chant, an ancient Shinto hymn, is always preceded by the performance above described.

  [57] The tempest of the Kokuzo.

  [58] That is, according to Motoori, the commentator. Or more briefly: 'No or yes?' This is, according to Professor Chamberlain, a mere fanciful etymology; but it is accepted by Shinto faith, and for that reason only is here given.

  [59] The title of Kokuzo indeed, still exists, but it is now merely honorary, having no official duties connected with it. It is actually borne by Baron Senke, the father of Senke Takanori, residing in the capital. The active religious duties of the Mitsuye-shiro now devolve upon the Guji.

  [60] As late as 1890 I was told by a foreign resident, who had travelled much in the interior of the country, that in certain districts many old people may be met with who still believe that to see the face of the emperor is 'to become a Buddha'; that is, to die.

  [61] Hideyoshi, as is well known, was not of princely extraction

  [62] The Kojiki dates back, as a Written work, only to A.D. 722. But its legends and records are known to have existed in the form of oral literature from a much more ancient time.

  [63] In certain provinces of Japan Buddhism practically absorbed Shinto in other centuries, but in Izumo Shinto absorbed Buddhism; and now that Shinto is supported by the State there is a visible tendency to eliminate from its cult certain elements of Buddhist origin.

  [64] Such are the names given to the water-vessels or cisterns at which Shinto worshippers must wash their hands and rinse their mouths ere praying to the Kami. A mitarashi or o-chozubachi is placed before every Shinto temple. The pilgrim to Shin-Kukedo-San should perform this ceremonial ablution at the little rock-spring above described, before entering the sacred cave. Here even the gods of the cave are said to wash after having passed through the seawater.

  [65] August Fire-Lady'; or, 'the August Sun-Lady,' Amaterasu-oho-mi-Kami.

  [66] Mionoseki

  [67] Zashiki, the best and largest room of a Japanese dwelling—the guest- room of a private house, or the banquet-room of a public inn.

  [68] Fourteenth of August.

  [69] In the pretty little seaside hotel Inaba-ya, where I lived during my stay in Kitzuki, the kind old hostess begged her guests with almost tearful earnestness not to leave the house during the Minige.

  [70] There are ten rin to one sen, and ten mon to one rin, on one hundred to one sen. The majority of the cheap toys sold at the matsuri cost from two to nine rin. The rin is a circular copper coin with a square hole in the middle for stringing purposes.

  [71] Why the monkey is so respectfully mentioned in polite speech, I do not exactly know; but I think that the symbolical relation of the monkey, both to Buddhism and to Shinto, may perhaps account for the use of the prefix 'O' (honourable) before its name.

  [72] As many fine dolls really are. The superior class of O-Hina-San, such as figure in the beautiful displays of the O-Hina-no-Matsuri at rich homes, are heirlooms. Dolls are not given to children to break; and Japanese children seldom break them. I saw at a Doll's Festival in the house of the Governor of Izumo, dolls one hundred years old-charming figurines in ancient court costume.

  [73] Not to be confounded with Koshin, the God of Roads.

  [74] Celtis Wilidenowiana. Sometimes, but rarely, a pine or other tree is substituted for the enoki.

  [75] 'Literally, 'The Dance of the Fruitful Year.'

  [76] First,—unto the Taisha-Sama of Izunio;

  Second,—to Irokami-Sama of Niigata;

  Third,—unto Kompira-Sama of Sanuki;

  Fourth,—unto Zenkoji-Sama of Shinano;

  Fifth,—to O-Yakushi-San of Ichibata;

  Sixth,—to O-Jizo-Sama of Rokkakudo;

  Seventh,—to O-Ebisu-Sama of Nana-ura;

  Eighth,—unto Hachiman-Sama of Yawata;

  Ninth,—unto everyholy shrine of Koya;

  Tenth,—to the Ujigami-Sama of our village.'

  Japanese readers will appreciate the ingenious manner in which the numeral at the beginning of each phrase is repeated in the name of the sacred place sung of.

  [77] This deity is seldom called by his full name, which has been shortened by common usage from Susano-o-no-mikoto.

  [78] A kichinyado is an inn at which the traveller is charged only the price of the wood used for fuel in cooking his rice.

  [79] The thick fine straw mats, fitted upon the floor of every Japanese room, are always six feet long by three feet broad. The largest room in the ordinary middle-class house is a room of eight mats. A room of one hundred mats is something worth seeing.

  [80] The kubi-oke was a lacquered tray with a high rim and a high cover. The name signifies 'head-box.' It was the ancient custom to place the head of a decapitated person upon a kubi-oke before conveying the ghastly trophy into the palace of the prince desirous of seeing it.

  [81] Yama-no-mono ('mountain-folk,'—so called from their settlement on the hills above Tokoji),—a pariah-class whose special calling is the washing of the dead and the making of graves.

  2 Joro: a courtesan.

  3 Illicium religiosum

  4 Literally: 'without shadow' or 'shadowless.'

  5 Umi-yama-no-on.

  6 Kusaba-no-kage

  7 Or 'him.' This is a free rendering. The word 'nushi' simply refers to the owner of the house.

  [82] Professor Chamberlain disputes this etymology for excellent reasons. But in Izumo itself the etymology is still accepted, and will be accepted, doubtless, until the results of foreign scholarship in the study of the archaic texts is more generally known.

  [83] Planeca Japonica.

  [84] So absolutely has Shinto in Izumo monopolised the Karashishi, or stone lions, of Buddhist origin, that it is rare in the province to find a pair before any Buddhist temple. There is even a Shinto myth about their introduction into Japan from India, by the Fox-God!

  [85] Such offerings are called Gwan-hodoki. Gwan wo hodoki, 'to make a vow.'

  [86] A pilgrim whose prayer has been heard usually plants a single nobori as a token. Sometimes you may see nobori of five colours (goshiki),— black, yellow, red, blue, and white—of which one hundred or one thousand have been planted by one person. But this is done only in pursuance of some very special vow.

  [87] 'On being asked if there were any other love charm, the Newt replied, making a ring with two of his toes—"Only this." The sign signifies, "Money."'

  [88] "Eight clouds arise. The eightfold (or, manifold) fence of Idzumo makes an eightfold (or, manifold) fence for the spouses to retire within. Oh! that eightfold fence!' This is said to be the oldest song in the Japanese language. It has been differently translated by the great scholars and commentators. The above version and text are from Professor B. H. Chamberlain's translation of the Kojiki (pp.60-64).

  [89] The white fox is a favourite subject with Japanese artists. Some very beautiful kakemono representing white foxes were on display at the Tokyo exhibition of 1890. Phosphorescent foxes often appear in the old coloured prints, now so rare and precious, made by artists whose names have become world-famous. Occasionally foxes are represented wandering about at night, with lambent tongues of dim fire—kitsune-bi—above their heads. The end of the fox's tail, both in sculpture and drawing, is ordinarily decorated with the symbolic jewel (tama) of old Buddhist art. I have in my possession one kakemono representing a white fox with a luminous jewel in its tail. I purchased it at the Matsue temple of Inari—'O-Shiroyama-no-Inari-Sama.' The art of the kakemono is clumsy; but the conception possesses curious interest.

  [90] The Japanese candle has a large hollow paper wick. It is usually placed upon an iron point which enters into the orifice of the wick at the flat end.

  [91
] See Professor Chamberlain's Things Japanese, under the title 'Demoniacal Possession.'

  [92] Translated by Walter Dening.

  [93] The word shizoku is simply the Chinese for samurai. But the term now means little more than 'gentleman' in England.

  [94] The fox-messenger travels unseen. But if caught in a trap, or injured, his magic fails him, and he becomes visible.

  [95] There are no less than eleven principal kinds of Japanese names. The jitsumyo, or 'true name,' corresponds to our Christian name. On this intricate and interesting topic the reader should consult Professor B. H. Chamberlain's excellent little book, Things Japanese, pp. 250-5.

  [96] That I may be wedded to Takaki-Toki, I humbly pray.—A youth of eighteen.'

  [97] The gengebana (also called renge-so, and in Izumo miakobana) is an herb planted only for fertilizing purposes. Its flowers are extremely small, but so numerous that in their blossoming season miles of fields are coloured by them a beautiful lilaceous blue. A gentleman who wished to marry a joro despite the advice of his friends, was gently chided by them with the above little verse, which, freely translated, signifies: 'Take it not into thy hand: the flowers of the gengebans are fair to view only when left all together in the field.'

  [98] Toyo-uke-bime-no-Kami, or Uka-no-mi-tana ('who has also eight other names), is a female divinity, according to the Kojiki and its commentators. Moreover, the greatest of all Shinto scholars, Hirata, as cited by Satow, says there is really no such god as Inari-San at all— that the very name is an error. But the common people have created the God Inari: therefore he must be presumed to exist—if only for folklorists; and I speak of him as a male deity because I see him so represented in pictures and carvings. As to his mythological existence, his great and wealthy temple at Kyoto is impressive testimony.

  [99] The Will-o'-the-Wisp is called Kitsune-bi, or 'fox-fire.'