_
XLIII[160]
The roaring torrent scatters far and near
Its silv'ry drops:--Oh!
XLIII[160]
The roaring torrent scatters far and near
Its silv'ry drops:--Oh!
Epiphanius Wilson - Japanese Literature
nor efforts can avail:--
Nought can I do, poor solitary child!
Nought can I do but make my bitter wail,
And pace the room with cries and gestures wild,
Ceaselessly weeping, till my snowy sleeve
Is wet with tears. Who knows? Perchance, again
Wafted, they're borne upon the sighs I heave,
On 'Arima's far distant heights to rain.
_Sakanouhe_.
ON THE POET'S SON FURUBI
Sev'n are the treasures mortals most do prize,
But I regard them not:--
One only jewel could delight mine eyes--
The child that I begot.
My darling boy, who with the morning sun
Began his joyous day;
Nor ever left me, but with child-like fun
Would make me help him play;
Who'd take my hand when eve its shadows spread,
Saying, "I'm sleepy grown;
'Twixt thee and mother I would lay my head:--
Oh! leave me not alone! "
Then with his pretty prattle in mine ears,
I'd lie awake and scan
The good and evil of the coming years,
And see the child a man.
And, as the seaman trusts his bark, I'd trust
That nought could harm the boy:--
Alas! I wist not that the whirling gust
Would shipwreck all my joy!
Then with despairing, helpless hands I grasp'd
The sacred mirror's[147] sphere;
And round my shoulder I my garments clasp'd,
And prayed with many a tear:--
"'Tis yours, great gods, that dwell in heav'n on high,
Great gods of earth! 'tis yours
To heed, or heed not, a poor father's cry,
Who worships and implores! "
Alas! vain pray'rs, that more no more avail!
He languished day by day,
Till e'en his infant speech began to fail,
And life soon ebbed away.
Stagg'ring with grief I strike my sobbing breast,
And wildly dance and groan:--
Ah! such is life! the child that I caress'd
Far from mine arms hath flown.
SHORT STANZA ON THE SAME OCCASION
So young, so young! he cannot know the way:--
On Hades' porter I'll a bribe bestow,
That on his shoulders the dear infant may
Be safely carried to the realms below.
_Attributed to Okura. _
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 144: Died A. D. 671. ]
[Footnote 145: Viz. , with the departed and deified Mikado. ]
[Footnote 146: The Milky Way. ]
[Footnote 147: The part played by the mirror in the devotions of the
Japanese is carried back by them to a tale in their mythology which
relates the disappearance into a cavern of the Sun-goddess Amaterasu,
and the manner in which she was enticed forth by being led to believe
that her reflection in a mirror that was shown to her was another
deity more lovely than herself. ]
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS
VIEW FROM MOUNT KAGO
_Composed by the Mikado Zhiyomei_
Countless are the mountain-chains
Tow'ring o'er Cipango's plains;
But fairest is Mount Kago's peak,
Whose heav'nward soaring heights I seek,
And gaze on all my realms beneath--
Gaze on the land where vapors wreath
O'er many a cot; gaze on the sea,
Where cry the sea-gulls merrily.
Yes! 'tis a very pleasant land,
Fill'd with joys on either hand,
Sweeter than aught beneath the sky,
Dear islands of the dragon-fly! [148]
THE MIKADO'S BOW[149]
When the dawn is shining,
He takes it up and fondles it with pride;
When the day's declining,
He lays it by his pillow's side.
Hark to the twanging of the string!
This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!
Now to the morning chase they ride,
Now to the chase again at eventide:
Hark to the twanging of the string!
This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!
_Hashibito_.
SPRING AND AUTUMN
When winter turns to spring,
Birds that were songless make their songs resound,
Flow'rs that were flow'rless cover all the ground;
Yet 'tis no perfect thing:--
I cannot walk, so tangled is each hill;
So thick the herbs I cannot pluck my fill.
But in the autumn-tide
I cull the scarlet leaves and love them dear,
And let the green leaves stay, with many a tear,
All on the fair hill-side:--
No time so sweet as that. Away! Away!
Autumn's the time I fain would keep alway.
_Ohogimi. _
SPRING
When winter turns to spring,
The dews of morn in pearly radiance lie,
The mists of eve rise circling to the sky,
And Kaminabi's thickets ring
With the sweet notes the nightingale doth sing.
_Anon. _
RECOLLECTIONS OF MY CHILDREN
Ne'er a melon can I eat,
But calls to mind my children dear;
Ne'er a chestnut crisp and sweet,
But makes the lov'd ones seem more near.
Whence did they come, my life to cheer?
Before mine eyes they seem to sweep,
So that I may not even sleep.
What use to me the gold and silver hoard?
What use to me the gems most rich and rare?
Brighter by far--aye! bright beyond compare--
The joys my children to my heart afford!
_Yamagami-no Okura. _
THE BROOK OF HATSUSE
Pure is Hatsuse mountain-brook--
So pure it mirrors all the clouds of heaven;
Yet here no fishermen for shelter look
When sailing home at even:--
'Tis that there are no sandy reaches,
Nor sheltering beaches,
Where the frail craft might find some shelt'ring nook.
Ah, well-a-day! we have no sandy reaches:--
But heed that not;
Nor shelving beaches:--
But heed that not!
Come a-jostling and a-hustling
O'er our billows gayly bustling:--
Come, all ye boats, and anchor in this spot!
_Anon. _
LINES TO A FRIEND
Japan is not a land where men need pray,
For 'tis itself divine:--
Yet do I lift my voice in prayer and say:--
"May ev'ry joy be thine!
And may I too, if thou those joys attain,
Live on to see thee blest! "
Such the fond prayer, that, like the restless main,
Will rise within my breast.
_Hitomaro. _
A VERY ANCIENT ODE
Mountains and ocean-waves
Around me lie;
Forever the mountain-chains
Tower to the sky;
Fixed is the ocean
Immutably:--
Man is a thing of nought,
Born but to die!
_Anon. _
THE BRIDGE TO HEAVEN[150]
Oh! that that ancient bridge,
Hanging 'twixt heaven and earth, were longer still!
Oh! that yon tow'ring mountain-ridge
So boldly tow'ring, tow'red more boldly still!
Then from the moon on high
I'd fetch some drops of the life-giving stream--
A gift that might beseem
Our Lord, the King, to make him live for aye!
_Anon. _
ODE TO THE CUCKOO
Nightingales built the nest
Where, as a lonely guest,
First thy young head did rest,
Cuckoo, so dear!
Strange to the father-bird,
Strange to the mother-bird,
Sounded the note they heard,
Tender and clear.
Fleeing thy native bow'rs,
Bright with the silv'ry flow'rs,
Oft in the summer hours
Hither thou fliest;
Light'st on some orange tall,
Scatt'ring the blossoms all,
And, while around they fall,
Ceaselessly criest.
Through, through the livelong day
Soundeth thy roundelay,
Never its accents may
Pall on mine ear:--
Come, take a bribe of me!
Ne'er to far regions flee;
Dwell on mine orange-tree,
Cuckoo, so dear!
_Anon. _
THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TSUKUBA
When my lord, who fain would look on
Great Tsukuba, double-crested,
To the highlands of Hitachi
Bent his steps, then I, his servant,
Panting with the heats of summer,
Down my brow the sweat-drops dripping,
Breathlessly toil'd onward, upward,
Tangled roots of timber clutching.
"There, my lord! behold the prospect! "
Cried I, when we scaled the summit.
And the gracious goddess gave us
Smiling welcome, while her consort
Condescended to admit us
Into these, his sacred precincts,
O'er Tsukuba, double-crested,
Where the clouds do have their dwelling.
And the rain forever raineth,
Shedding his divine refulgence,
And revealing to our vision
Ev'ry landmark that in darkness
And in shapeless gloom was shrouded;--
Till for joy our belts we loosen'd,
Casting off constraint, and sported.
Danker now than in the dulcet
Spring-time grew the summer grasses;
Yet to-day our bliss was boundless.
_Anon. _
COUPLET
When the great men of old pass'd by this way,
Could e'en their pleasures vie with ours to-day?
_Anon. _
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 148: One of the ancient names of Japan, given to the country
on account of a supposed resemblance in shape to that insect. The
dragon-flies of Japan are various and very beautiful. ]
[Footnote 149: The Mikado referred to is Zhiyomei, who died in A. D.
641. ]
[Footnote 150: The poet alludes to the so-called Ama-no-Ukihashi, or
"floating bridge of heaven"--the bridge by which, according to the
Japanese mythology, the gods passed up and down in the days of old. ]
SHORT STANZAS
I
Spring, spring has come, while yet the landscape bears
Its fleecy burden of unmelted snow!
Now may the zephyr gently 'gin to blow,
To melt the nightingale's sweet frozen tears.
_Anon. _
II
Amid the branches of the silv'ry bowers
The nightingale doth sing: perchance he knows
That spring hath come, and takes the later snows
For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers. [151]
_Sosei. _
III
Too lightly woven must the garments be--
Garments of mist--that clothe the coming spring:--
In wild disorder see them fluttering
Soon as the zephyr breathes adown the lea.
_Yukihara. _
IV
Heedless that now the mists of spring do rise,
Why fly the wild geese northward? --Can it be
Their native home is fairer to their eyes,
Though no sweet flowers blossom on its lea?
_Ise_.
V
If earth but ceased to offer to my sight
The beauteous cherry-trees when blossoming,
Ah! then indeed, with peaceful, pure delight,
My heart might revel in the joys of spring!
_Narihira. _
VI
Tell me, doth any know the dark recess
Where dwell the winds that scatter the spring flow'rs?
Hide it not from me! By the heav'nly pow'rs,
I'll search them out to upbraid their wickedness!
_Sosei. _
VII
No man so callous but he heaves a sigh
When o'er his head the withered cherry-flowers
Come flutt'ring down. --Who knows? the spring's soft show'rs
May be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky.
_Kuronushi. _
VIII
Whom would your cries, with artful calumny,
Accuse of scatt'ring the pale cherry-flow'rs?
'Tis your own pinions flitting through these bow'rs
That raise the gust which makes them fall and die!
_Sosei. _
IX
In blossoms the wistaria-tree to-day
Breaks forth, that sweep the wavelets of my lake:--
When will the mountain cuckoo come and make
The garden vocal with his first sweet lay?
_Attributed to Hitomaro. _
X
Oh, lotus leaf! I dreamt that the wide earth
Held nought more pure than thee--held nought more true:--
Why, then, when on thee rolls a drop of dew,
Pretend that 'tis a gem of priceless worth? [152]
_Henzeu. _
XI
Can I be dreaming? 'Twas but yesterday
We planted out each tender shoot again;[153]
And now the autumn breeze sighs o'er the plain,
Where fields of yellow rice confess its sway.
_Anon. _
XII
A thousand thoughts of tender, vague regret,
Crowd on my soul, what time I stand and gaze
On the soft-shining autumn moon; and yet
Not to me only speaks her silv'ry haze.
_Chisato. _
XIII
What bark impelled by autumn's fresh'ning gale
Comes speeding t'ward me? --'Tis the wild geese arriv'n
Across the fathomless expanse of Heav'n,
And lifting up their voices for a sail!
_Anon. _
XIV
_Autumn_
The silv'ry dewdrops that in autumn light
Upon the moors, must surely jewels be;
For there they hang all over hill and lea,
Strung on the threads the spiders weave so tight.
_Asayasu. _
XV
_Autumn_
The trees and herbage, as the year doth wane,
For gold and russet leave their former hue--
All but the wave-toss'd flow'rets of the main,
That never yet chill autumn's empire knew.
_Yasuhide. _
XVI
_Autumn_
The dews are all of one pale silv'ry white:--
Then tell me, if thou canst, oh! tell me why
These silv'ry dews so marvellously dye
The autumn leaves a myriad colors bright?
_Toshiyuki. _
XVII
_Autumn_
The warp is hoar-frost and the woof is dew--
Too frail, alas! the warp and woof to be:--
For scarce the woods their damask robes endue,
When, torn and soiled, they flutter o'er the lea.
_Sekiwo. _
XVIII
_Autumn_
E'en when on earth the thund'ring gods held sway
Was such a sight beheld? --Calm Tatsta's flood,
Stain'd, as by Chinese art, with hues of blood,
Rolls o'er Yamato's peaceful fields away.
_Narihira. _
XIX
_Winter_
When falls the snow, lo! ev'ry herb and tree,
That in seclusion through the wintry hours
Long time had been held fast, breaks forth in flow'rs
That ne'er in spring were known upon the lea.
_Tsurayuki. _
XX
_Winter_
When from the skies, that wintry gloom enshrouds,
The blossoms fall and flutter round my head,
Methinks the spring e'en now his light must shed
O'er heavenly lands that lie beyond the clouds.
_Fukayabu. _
XXI
_Congratulations_
A thousand years of happy life be thine!
Live on, my lord, till what are pebbles now,
By age united, to great rocks shall grow,
Whose venerable sides the moss doth line!
_Anon. _
XXII
_Congratulations_[154]
Of all the days and months that hurry by
Nor leave a trace, how long the weary tale!
And yet how few the springs when in the vale
On the dear flow'rets I may feast mine eye!
_Okikaze. _
XXIII
_Congratulations_
If ever mortal in the days of yore
By Heav'n a thousand years of life was lent,
I wot not; but if never seen before,
Be thou the man to make the precedent.
_Sosei. _
XXIV
_Parting_
Mine oft-reiterated pray'rs in vain
The parting guest would stay: Oh, cherry-flow'rs!
Pour down your petals, that from out these bow'rs
He ne'er may find the homeward path again!
_Anon. _
XXV
_Travelling_
With roseate hues that pierce th' autumnal haze
The spreading dawn lights up Akashi's shore;
But the fair ship, alas! is seen no more:--
An island veils it from my loving gaze.
_Attributed to Hitomaro. _
XXVI
_Travelling_
Miyako-bird! if not in vain men give
Thy pleasing name, my question deign to hear:--
And has she pass'd away, my darling dear,
Or doth she still for Narihira live?
_Narihira. _
* * * * *
XXVIII
_Love_
The barest ledge of rock, if but a seed
Alight upon it, lets the pine-tree grow:--
If, then, thy love for me be love indeed,
We'll come together, dear; it must be so!
_Anon. _
XXIX
_Love_
There is on earth a thing more bootless still
Than to write figures on a running stream:--
And that thing is (believe me if you will)
To dream of one who ne'er of you doth dream.
_Anon. _
* * * * *
XXXI
_Love_
Since that first night when, bath'd in hopeless tears,
I sank asleep, and he I love did seem
To visit me, I welcome ev'ry dream,
Sure that they come as heav'n-sent messengers.
_Komachi. _
XXXII
_Love_
Methinks my tenderness the grass must be,
Clothing some mountain desolate and lone;
For though it daily grows luxuriantly,
To ev'ry mortal eye 'tis still unknown.
_Yoshiki. _
XXXIII
_Love_
Upon the causeway through the land of dreams
Surely the dews must plentifully light:--
For when I've wandered up and down all night,
My sleeve's so wet that nought will dry its streams.
_Tsurayuki. _
XXXIV
_Love_
Fast fall the silv'ry dews, albeit not yet
'Tis autumn weather; for each drop's a tear,
Shed till the pillow of my hand is wet,
As I wake from dreaming of my dear.
_Anon. _
XXXV
_Love_
I ask'd my soul where springs th' ill-omened seed
That bears the herb of dull forgetfulness;[155]
And answer straightway came:--Th' accursed weed
Grows in that heart which knows no tenderness.
_Sosei. _
XXXVI
_Elegies_[156]
So frail our life, perchance to-morrow's sun
May never rise for me. Ah! well-a-day!
Till comes the twilight of the sad to-day,
I'll mourn for thee, O thou beloved one!
_Tsurayuki. _
XXXVII
_Elegies_
The perfume is the same, the same the hue
As that which erst my senses did delight:--
But he who planted the fair avenue
Is here no more, alas! to please my sight!
_Tsurayuki. _
XXXVIII
_Elegies_
One thing, alas! more fleeting have I seen
Than wither'd leaves driv'n by the autumn gust:--
Yea, evanescent as the whirling dust
Is man's brief passage o'er this mortal scene!
_Chisato. _
XXXIX
Softly the dews upon my forehead light:--
From off the oars, perchance, as feather'd spray,
They drop, while some fair skiff bends on her way
Across the Heav'nly Stream[157] on starlit night.
_Anon. _
XL
What though the waters of that antique rill
That flows along the heath, no more are cold;
Those who remember what it was of old
Go forth to draw them in their buckets still.
_Anon. _
XLI[158]
Old Age is not a friend I wish to meet;
And if some day to see me he should come,
I'd lock the door as he walk'd up the street,
And cry, "Most honored sir! I'm not at home! "
_Anon_.
XLII[159]
Yes, I am old; but yet with doleful stour
I will not choose to rail 'gainst Fate's decree.
An' I had not grown old, then ne'er for me
Had dawned the day that brings this golden hour.
_Toshiyuki.
_
XLIII[160]
The roaring torrent scatters far and near
Its silv'ry drops:--Oh! let me pick them up!
For when of grief I drain some day the cup,
Each will do service as a bitter tear.
_Yukihira. _
XLIV
_Composed on beholding the cascade of Otoha on Mount Hiye_
Long years, methinks, of sorrow and of care
Must have pass'd over the old fountain-head
Of the cascade; for, like a silv'ry thread,
It rolls adown, nor shows one jet-black hair.
_Tadamine. _
XLV
If e'en that grot where thou didst seek release
From worldly strife in lonesome mountain glen
Should find thee sometimes sorrowful, ah! then
Where mayest thou farther flee to search for peace?
_Mitsune. _
XLVI[161]
So close thy friendly roof, so near the spring,
That though not yet dull winter hath gone hence,
The wind that bloweth o'er our parting fence
From thee to me the first gay flow'rs doth bring.
_Fukayabu. _
XLVII
If to this frame of mine in spring's first hour,
When o'er the moor the lightsome mists do curl,
Might but be lent the shape of some fair flower,
Haply thou 'dst deign to pluck me, cruel girl!
_Okikaze. _
XLVIII
"Love me, sweet girl! thy love is all I ask! "
"Love thee? " she laughing cries; "I love thee not! "
"Why, then I'll cease to love thee on the spot,
Since loving thee is such a thankless task! "
_Anon. _
XLIX
A youth once lov'd me, and his love I spurn'd.
But see the vengeance of the pow'rs above
On cold indiff'rence:--now 'tis I that love,
And my fond love, alas! is not returned.
_Anon. _
L
Beneath love's heavy weight my falt'ring soul
Plods, like the packman, o'er life's dusty road.
Oh! that some friendly hand would find a pole
To ease my shoulders of their grievous load!
_Anon. _
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 151: The plum-tree, cherry-tree, etc. , are in Japan
cultivated, not for their fruit, but for their blossoms. Together with
the wistaria, the lotus, the iris, the lespedeza, and a few others,
these take the place which is occupied in the West by the rose, the
lily, the violet, etc. ]
[Footnote 152: The lotus is the Buddhist emblem of purity, and the
lotus growing out of the bud is a frequent metaphor for the heart that
remains unsullied by contact with the world. ]
[Footnote 153: The transplanting of the rice occupies the whole rural
population during the month of June, when men and women may all be
seen working in the fields, knee-deep in water. The crops are gathered
in October. ]
[Footnote 154: This ode was composed on beholding a screen presented
to the Empress by Prince Sadayasu at the festival held in honor of her
fiftieth birthday, whereon was painted a man seated beneath the
falling cherry blossoms and watching them flutter down. ]
[Footnote 155: The "Herb of Forgetfulness" answers in the poetical
diction of the Japanese to the classical waters Lethe. ]
[Footnote 156: It is the young poet Ki-no-Tomonori who is mourned in
this stanza. ]
[Footnote 157: The Milky Way. ]
[Footnote 158: This stanza is remarkable for being (so far as the
present writer is aware) the only instance in Japanese literature of
that direct impersonation of an abstract idea which is so very
strongly marked a characteristic of Western thoughts and modes of
expression. ]
[Footnote 159: Composed on the occasion of a feast at the palace. ]
[Footnote 160: One of a number of stanzas composed by a party of
courtiers who visited the cascade of Nunobiki, near the site of the
modern treaty-port of Kobe. ]
[Footnote 161: This stanza was composed and sent to the owner of the
neighboring house on the last day of winter, when the wind had blown
some snow across from it into the poet's dwelling. ]
* * * * *
THE DRAMA OF JAPAN
[_Selected Plays, translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain_]
NAKAMITSU
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
MITSUNAKA, Lord of the Horse to the Emperor Murakami.
BIJIYAU, Son of Mitsunaka, and still a boy.
NAKAMITSU, retainer of Mitsunaka.
KAUZHIYU, son of Nakamitsu, and foster-brother of Bijiyau.
WESHIN, Abbot of the great monastery on Mount Hiyei, near Kiyauto
(Miaco).
The Chorus.
Scene. --The Temple of Chiynuzanzhi, and my Lord Mitsunaka's palace in
Kiyauto.
Time. --Early in the Tenth Century.
NAKAMITSU
PART I
Scene I. --Near the Monastery of Chiynuzanzhi
_Enter Nakamitsu. _
NAKAMITSU. --I am Nakamitsu, a man of the Fujihara clan, and retainer
of Mitsunaka, Lord of Tada in the land of Setsushiu. Now you must know
that my lord hath an only son, and him hath he sent to a certain
monastery amid the mountains named Chiynuzanzhi, while I, too, have a
son called Kauzhiyu, who is gone as page to young my lord. But young
my lord doth not condescend to apply his mind unto study, loving
rather nothing so well as to spend from morn to night in quarrelling
and disturbance. Wherefore, thinking doubtless to disinherit young my
lord, my lord already this many a time, hath sent his messengers to
the temple with summons to return home to Kiyauto. Nevertheless, as he
cometh not, me hath he now sent on the same errand.
[_The above words are supposed to be spoken during the journey, and
Nakamitsu now arrives at the monastery[162]. _]
Prithee! is any within?
KAUZHIYU. --Who is it that deigneth to ask admittance?
NAKAMITSU. --What! Is that Kauzhiyu? Tell young my lord that I have
come to fetch him home.
KAUZHIYU. --Your commands shall be obeyed. [_He goes to his master's
apartment. _] How shall I dare address my lord? Nakamitsu is come to
fetch my lord.
BIJIYAU. --Call him hither.
KAUZHIYU. --Your commands shall be obeyed. [_He returns to the outer
hall and addresses his father. _] Condescend to come this way.
[_They go to Bijiyau's apartment. _
NAKAMITSU. --It is long since I was last here.
BIJIYAU. --And what is it that hath now brought thee?
NAKAMITSU. --'Tis that my lord, your father, hath sent me to bid your
lordship follow me home without delay.
BIJIYAU. --Shall I, then, go without saying anything to the priests, my
preceptors?
NAKAMITSU. --Yes; if the priests be told, they will surely wish to see
your lordship on the way, whereas, my lord, your father's commands
were, that I alone was to escort you.
BIJIYAU. --Then we will away.
NAKAMITSU. --Kauzhiyu! thou, too, shalt accompany thy master.
KAUZHIYU. --Your commands shall be obeyed.
[_They depart from the temple, and arrive at Mitsunaka's palace. _
NAKAMITSU. --How shall I dare address my lord? I have brought hither
his lordship Bijiyau.
MITSUNAKA. --Well, Bijiyau! my only reason for sending thee up to the
monastery was to help thy learning; and I would fain begin, by hearing
thee read aloud from the Scriptures.
And with these words, and bidding him read on,
He lays on ebon desk before his son
The sacred text, in golden letters writ.
BIJIYAU. --But how may he who never bent his wit
To make the pencil trace Asaka's[163] line
Spell out one letter of the book divine?
In vain, in vain his sire's behest he hears:--
Nought may he do but choke with idle tears.
MITSUNAKA. --Ah! surely 'tis that, being my child, he respecteth the
Scriptures too deeply, and chooseth not to read them except for
purposes of devotion. What of verse-making, then?
BIJIYAU. --I cannot make any.
MITSUNAKA. --And music? [_Bijiyau makes no answer. _
MITSUNAKA. --What! no reply? Hast lost thy tongue, young fool?
CHORUS. --Whom, then, to profit wentest thou to school?
And can it be that e'en a father's word,
Like snow that falling melts, is scarcely heard,
But 'tis unheeded? Ah! 'twill drive me wild
To point thee out to strangers as my child!
No sooner said, than out the scabbard flies
His trusty sword, and with fierce flashing eyes
Forward he darts; but rushing in between,
Good Nakamitsu checks the bloody scene--
Firm, though respectful, stays his master's arm,
And saves the lad from perilous alarm.
NAKAMITSU. --Good my lord, deign to be merciful this once!
MITSUNAKA. --Why stayed'st thou my hand? Haste thou now and slay
Bijiyau with this my sword.
NAKAMITSU. --Your commands shall be obeyed. [_He retires into another
apartment. _] What is this horror unutterable? 'Tis no mere passing fit
of anger. What shall I do? --Ah! I have it! I have it! I will take upon
myself to contrive some plan for his escape. Kauzhiyu, Kauzhiyu, art
thou there?
KAUZHIYU. --Behold me at thy service.
NAKAMITSU. --Where is my lord Bijiyau?
KAUZHIYU. --All my prayers have been unavailing to make him leave this
spot.
NAKAMITSU. --But why will he not seek refuge somewhere? Here am I come
from my lord, his father, as a messenger of death! [_Bijiyau shows
himself. _
BIJIYAU. --That I am alive here at this moment is thy doing. But
through the lattice I heard my father's words to thee just now.
Little imports it an' I die or live,
But 'tis for thee I cannot choose but grieve
If thou do vex thy lord: to avert his ire
Strike off my head, and show it to my sire!
NAKAMITSU. --My lord, deign to be calm! I will take upon myself to
contrive some plan for your escape. --What! say you a messenger hath
come? My heart sinks within me. --What! another messenger?
[_These are messengers from Mitsunaka to ask whether his orders be not
yet carried into execution_.
NAKAMITSU. --Alas! each joy, each grief we see unfurl'd
Rewards some action in a former world.
KAUZHIYU. --In ages past thou sinned;
BIJIYAU. --And to-day
CHORUS. --Comes retribution! think not then to say
'Tis others' fault, nor foolishly upbraid
The lot thyself for thine own self hast made.
Say not the world's askew! with idle prate
Of never-ending grief the hour grows late.
Strike off my head! with many a tear he cries,
And might, in sooth, draw tears from any eyes. [164]
NAKAMITSU. --Ah! young my lord, were I but of like age with thee, how
readily would I not redeem thy life at the cost of mine own! Alas!
that so easy a sacrifice should not be possible!
KAUZHIYU. --Father, I would make bold to speak a word unto thee.
NAKAMITSU. --What may it be?
KAUZHIYU. --'Tis, father, that the words thou hast just spoken have
found a lodgment in mine ears. Thy charge, truly, is Mitsunaka; but
Mitsunaka's son is mine. This, if any, is a great occasion, and my
years point to me as of right the chief actor in it. Be quick! be
quick! strike off my head, and show it to Mitsunaka[165] as the head
of my lord Bijiyau!
NAKAMITSU. --Thou'st spoken truly, Nakamitsu cries,
And the long sword from out his scabbard flies,
What time he strides behind his boy.
BIJIYAU. --But no!
The youthful lord on such stupendous woe
May never gaze unmov'd; with bitter wail
The father's sleeve he clasps. Nought may 't avail,
He weeping cries, e'en should the deed be done,
For I will slay myself if falls thy son.
KAUZHIYU.
Nought can I do, poor solitary child!
Nought can I do but make my bitter wail,
And pace the room with cries and gestures wild,
Ceaselessly weeping, till my snowy sleeve
Is wet with tears. Who knows? Perchance, again
Wafted, they're borne upon the sighs I heave,
On 'Arima's far distant heights to rain.
_Sakanouhe_.
ON THE POET'S SON FURUBI
Sev'n are the treasures mortals most do prize,
But I regard them not:--
One only jewel could delight mine eyes--
The child that I begot.
My darling boy, who with the morning sun
Began his joyous day;
Nor ever left me, but with child-like fun
Would make me help him play;
Who'd take my hand when eve its shadows spread,
Saying, "I'm sleepy grown;
'Twixt thee and mother I would lay my head:--
Oh! leave me not alone! "
Then with his pretty prattle in mine ears,
I'd lie awake and scan
The good and evil of the coming years,
And see the child a man.
And, as the seaman trusts his bark, I'd trust
That nought could harm the boy:--
Alas! I wist not that the whirling gust
Would shipwreck all my joy!
Then with despairing, helpless hands I grasp'd
The sacred mirror's[147] sphere;
And round my shoulder I my garments clasp'd,
And prayed with many a tear:--
"'Tis yours, great gods, that dwell in heav'n on high,
Great gods of earth! 'tis yours
To heed, or heed not, a poor father's cry,
Who worships and implores! "
Alas! vain pray'rs, that more no more avail!
He languished day by day,
Till e'en his infant speech began to fail,
And life soon ebbed away.
Stagg'ring with grief I strike my sobbing breast,
And wildly dance and groan:--
Ah! such is life! the child that I caress'd
Far from mine arms hath flown.
SHORT STANZA ON THE SAME OCCASION
So young, so young! he cannot know the way:--
On Hades' porter I'll a bribe bestow,
That on his shoulders the dear infant may
Be safely carried to the realms below.
_Attributed to Okura. _
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 144: Died A. D. 671. ]
[Footnote 145: Viz. , with the departed and deified Mikado. ]
[Footnote 146: The Milky Way. ]
[Footnote 147: The part played by the mirror in the devotions of the
Japanese is carried back by them to a tale in their mythology which
relates the disappearance into a cavern of the Sun-goddess Amaterasu,
and the manner in which she was enticed forth by being led to believe
that her reflection in a mirror that was shown to her was another
deity more lovely than herself. ]
MISCELLANEOUS POEMS
VIEW FROM MOUNT KAGO
_Composed by the Mikado Zhiyomei_
Countless are the mountain-chains
Tow'ring o'er Cipango's plains;
But fairest is Mount Kago's peak,
Whose heav'nward soaring heights I seek,
And gaze on all my realms beneath--
Gaze on the land where vapors wreath
O'er many a cot; gaze on the sea,
Where cry the sea-gulls merrily.
Yes! 'tis a very pleasant land,
Fill'd with joys on either hand,
Sweeter than aught beneath the sky,
Dear islands of the dragon-fly! [148]
THE MIKADO'S BOW[149]
When the dawn is shining,
He takes it up and fondles it with pride;
When the day's declining,
He lays it by his pillow's side.
Hark to the twanging of the string!
This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!
Now to the morning chase they ride,
Now to the chase again at eventide:
Hark to the twanging of the string!
This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!
_Hashibito_.
SPRING AND AUTUMN
When winter turns to spring,
Birds that were songless make their songs resound,
Flow'rs that were flow'rless cover all the ground;
Yet 'tis no perfect thing:--
I cannot walk, so tangled is each hill;
So thick the herbs I cannot pluck my fill.
But in the autumn-tide
I cull the scarlet leaves and love them dear,
And let the green leaves stay, with many a tear,
All on the fair hill-side:--
No time so sweet as that. Away! Away!
Autumn's the time I fain would keep alway.
_Ohogimi. _
SPRING
When winter turns to spring,
The dews of morn in pearly radiance lie,
The mists of eve rise circling to the sky,
And Kaminabi's thickets ring
With the sweet notes the nightingale doth sing.
_Anon. _
RECOLLECTIONS OF MY CHILDREN
Ne'er a melon can I eat,
But calls to mind my children dear;
Ne'er a chestnut crisp and sweet,
But makes the lov'd ones seem more near.
Whence did they come, my life to cheer?
Before mine eyes they seem to sweep,
So that I may not even sleep.
What use to me the gold and silver hoard?
What use to me the gems most rich and rare?
Brighter by far--aye! bright beyond compare--
The joys my children to my heart afford!
_Yamagami-no Okura. _
THE BROOK OF HATSUSE
Pure is Hatsuse mountain-brook--
So pure it mirrors all the clouds of heaven;
Yet here no fishermen for shelter look
When sailing home at even:--
'Tis that there are no sandy reaches,
Nor sheltering beaches,
Where the frail craft might find some shelt'ring nook.
Ah, well-a-day! we have no sandy reaches:--
But heed that not;
Nor shelving beaches:--
But heed that not!
Come a-jostling and a-hustling
O'er our billows gayly bustling:--
Come, all ye boats, and anchor in this spot!
_Anon. _
LINES TO A FRIEND
Japan is not a land where men need pray,
For 'tis itself divine:--
Yet do I lift my voice in prayer and say:--
"May ev'ry joy be thine!
And may I too, if thou those joys attain,
Live on to see thee blest! "
Such the fond prayer, that, like the restless main,
Will rise within my breast.
_Hitomaro. _
A VERY ANCIENT ODE
Mountains and ocean-waves
Around me lie;
Forever the mountain-chains
Tower to the sky;
Fixed is the ocean
Immutably:--
Man is a thing of nought,
Born but to die!
_Anon. _
THE BRIDGE TO HEAVEN[150]
Oh! that that ancient bridge,
Hanging 'twixt heaven and earth, were longer still!
Oh! that yon tow'ring mountain-ridge
So boldly tow'ring, tow'red more boldly still!
Then from the moon on high
I'd fetch some drops of the life-giving stream--
A gift that might beseem
Our Lord, the King, to make him live for aye!
_Anon. _
ODE TO THE CUCKOO
Nightingales built the nest
Where, as a lonely guest,
First thy young head did rest,
Cuckoo, so dear!
Strange to the father-bird,
Strange to the mother-bird,
Sounded the note they heard,
Tender and clear.
Fleeing thy native bow'rs,
Bright with the silv'ry flow'rs,
Oft in the summer hours
Hither thou fliest;
Light'st on some orange tall,
Scatt'ring the blossoms all,
And, while around they fall,
Ceaselessly criest.
Through, through the livelong day
Soundeth thy roundelay,
Never its accents may
Pall on mine ear:--
Come, take a bribe of me!
Ne'er to far regions flee;
Dwell on mine orange-tree,
Cuckoo, so dear!
_Anon. _
THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TSUKUBA
When my lord, who fain would look on
Great Tsukuba, double-crested,
To the highlands of Hitachi
Bent his steps, then I, his servant,
Panting with the heats of summer,
Down my brow the sweat-drops dripping,
Breathlessly toil'd onward, upward,
Tangled roots of timber clutching.
"There, my lord! behold the prospect! "
Cried I, when we scaled the summit.
And the gracious goddess gave us
Smiling welcome, while her consort
Condescended to admit us
Into these, his sacred precincts,
O'er Tsukuba, double-crested,
Where the clouds do have their dwelling.
And the rain forever raineth,
Shedding his divine refulgence,
And revealing to our vision
Ev'ry landmark that in darkness
And in shapeless gloom was shrouded;--
Till for joy our belts we loosen'd,
Casting off constraint, and sported.
Danker now than in the dulcet
Spring-time grew the summer grasses;
Yet to-day our bliss was boundless.
_Anon. _
COUPLET
When the great men of old pass'd by this way,
Could e'en their pleasures vie with ours to-day?
_Anon. _
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 148: One of the ancient names of Japan, given to the country
on account of a supposed resemblance in shape to that insect. The
dragon-flies of Japan are various and very beautiful. ]
[Footnote 149: The Mikado referred to is Zhiyomei, who died in A. D.
641. ]
[Footnote 150: The poet alludes to the so-called Ama-no-Ukihashi, or
"floating bridge of heaven"--the bridge by which, according to the
Japanese mythology, the gods passed up and down in the days of old. ]
SHORT STANZAS
I
Spring, spring has come, while yet the landscape bears
Its fleecy burden of unmelted snow!
Now may the zephyr gently 'gin to blow,
To melt the nightingale's sweet frozen tears.
_Anon. _
II
Amid the branches of the silv'ry bowers
The nightingale doth sing: perchance he knows
That spring hath come, and takes the later snows
For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers. [151]
_Sosei. _
III
Too lightly woven must the garments be--
Garments of mist--that clothe the coming spring:--
In wild disorder see them fluttering
Soon as the zephyr breathes adown the lea.
_Yukihara. _
IV
Heedless that now the mists of spring do rise,
Why fly the wild geese northward? --Can it be
Their native home is fairer to their eyes,
Though no sweet flowers blossom on its lea?
_Ise_.
V
If earth but ceased to offer to my sight
The beauteous cherry-trees when blossoming,
Ah! then indeed, with peaceful, pure delight,
My heart might revel in the joys of spring!
_Narihira. _
VI
Tell me, doth any know the dark recess
Where dwell the winds that scatter the spring flow'rs?
Hide it not from me! By the heav'nly pow'rs,
I'll search them out to upbraid their wickedness!
_Sosei. _
VII
No man so callous but he heaves a sigh
When o'er his head the withered cherry-flowers
Come flutt'ring down. --Who knows? the spring's soft show'rs
May be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky.
_Kuronushi. _
VIII
Whom would your cries, with artful calumny,
Accuse of scatt'ring the pale cherry-flow'rs?
'Tis your own pinions flitting through these bow'rs
That raise the gust which makes them fall and die!
_Sosei. _
IX
In blossoms the wistaria-tree to-day
Breaks forth, that sweep the wavelets of my lake:--
When will the mountain cuckoo come and make
The garden vocal with his first sweet lay?
_Attributed to Hitomaro. _
X
Oh, lotus leaf! I dreamt that the wide earth
Held nought more pure than thee--held nought more true:--
Why, then, when on thee rolls a drop of dew,
Pretend that 'tis a gem of priceless worth? [152]
_Henzeu. _
XI
Can I be dreaming? 'Twas but yesterday
We planted out each tender shoot again;[153]
And now the autumn breeze sighs o'er the plain,
Where fields of yellow rice confess its sway.
_Anon. _
XII
A thousand thoughts of tender, vague regret,
Crowd on my soul, what time I stand and gaze
On the soft-shining autumn moon; and yet
Not to me only speaks her silv'ry haze.
_Chisato. _
XIII
What bark impelled by autumn's fresh'ning gale
Comes speeding t'ward me? --'Tis the wild geese arriv'n
Across the fathomless expanse of Heav'n,
And lifting up their voices for a sail!
_Anon. _
XIV
_Autumn_
The silv'ry dewdrops that in autumn light
Upon the moors, must surely jewels be;
For there they hang all over hill and lea,
Strung on the threads the spiders weave so tight.
_Asayasu. _
XV
_Autumn_
The trees and herbage, as the year doth wane,
For gold and russet leave their former hue--
All but the wave-toss'd flow'rets of the main,
That never yet chill autumn's empire knew.
_Yasuhide. _
XVI
_Autumn_
The dews are all of one pale silv'ry white:--
Then tell me, if thou canst, oh! tell me why
These silv'ry dews so marvellously dye
The autumn leaves a myriad colors bright?
_Toshiyuki. _
XVII
_Autumn_
The warp is hoar-frost and the woof is dew--
Too frail, alas! the warp and woof to be:--
For scarce the woods their damask robes endue,
When, torn and soiled, they flutter o'er the lea.
_Sekiwo. _
XVIII
_Autumn_
E'en when on earth the thund'ring gods held sway
Was such a sight beheld? --Calm Tatsta's flood,
Stain'd, as by Chinese art, with hues of blood,
Rolls o'er Yamato's peaceful fields away.
_Narihira. _
XIX
_Winter_
When falls the snow, lo! ev'ry herb and tree,
That in seclusion through the wintry hours
Long time had been held fast, breaks forth in flow'rs
That ne'er in spring were known upon the lea.
_Tsurayuki. _
XX
_Winter_
When from the skies, that wintry gloom enshrouds,
The blossoms fall and flutter round my head,
Methinks the spring e'en now his light must shed
O'er heavenly lands that lie beyond the clouds.
_Fukayabu. _
XXI
_Congratulations_
A thousand years of happy life be thine!
Live on, my lord, till what are pebbles now,
By age united, to great rocks shall grow,
Whose venerable sides the moss doth line!
_Anon. _
XXII
_Congratulations_[154]
Of all the days and months that hurry by
Nor leave a trace, how long the weary tale!
And yet how few the springs when in the vale
On the dear flow'rets I may feast mine eye!
_Okikaze. _
XXIII
_Congratulations_
If ever mortal in the days of yore
By Heav'n a thousand years of life was lent,
I wot not; but if never seen before,
Be thou the man to make the precedent.
_Sosei. _
XXIV
_Parting_
Mine oft-reiterated pray'rs in vain
The parting guest would stay: Oh, cherry-flow'rs!
Pour down your petals, that from out these bow'rs
He ne'er may find the homeward path again!
_Anon. _
XXV
_Travelling_
With roseate hues that pierce th' autumnal haze
The spreading dawn lights up Akashi's shore;
But the fair ship, alas! is seen no more:--
An island veils it from my loving gaze.
_Attributed to Hitomaro. _
XXVI
_Travelling_
Miyako-bird! if not in vain men give
Thy pleasing name, my question deign to hear:--
And has she pass'd away, my darling dear,
Or doth she still for Narihira live?
_Narihira. _
* * * * *
XXVIII
_Love_
The barest ledge of rock, if but a seed
Alight upon it, lets the pine-tree grow:--
If, then, thy love for me be love indeed,
We'll come together, dear; it must be so!
_Anon. _
XXIX
_Love_
There is on earth a thing more bootless still
Than to write figures on a running stream:--
And that thing is (believe me if you will)
To dream of one who ne'er of you doth dream.
_Anon. _
* * * * *
XXXI
_Love_
Since that first night when, bath'd in hopeless tears,
I sank asleep, and he I love did seem
To visit me, I welcome ev'ry dream,
Sure that they come as heav'n-sent messengers.
_Komachi. _
XXXII
_Love_
Methinks my tenderness the grass must be,
Clothing some mountain desolate and lone;
For though it daily grows luxuriantly,
To ev'ry mortal eye 'tis still unknown.
_Yoshiki. _
XXXIII
_Love_
Upon the causeway through the land of dreams
Surely the dews must plentifully light:--
For when I've wandered up and down all night,
My sleeve's so wet that nought will dry its streams.
_Tsurayuki. _
XXXIV
_Love_
Fast fall the silv'ry dews, albeit not yet
'Tis autumn weather; for each drop's a tear,
Shed till the pillow of my hand is wet,
As I wake from dreaming of my dear.
_Anon. _
XXXV
_Love_
I ask'd my soul where springs th' ill-omened seed
That bears the herb of dull forgetfulness;[155]
And answer straightway came:--Th' accursed weed
Grows in that heart which knows no tenderness.
_Sosei. _
XXXVI
_Elegies_[156]
So frail our life, perchance to-morrow's sun
May never rise for me. Ah! well-a-day!
Till comes the twilight of the sad to-day,
I'll mourn for thee, O thou beloved one!
_Tsurayuki. _
XXXVII
_Elegies_
The perfume is the same, the same the hue
As that which erst my senses did delight:--
But he who planted the fair avenue
Is here no more, alas! to please my sight!
_Tsurayuki. _
XXXVIII
_Elegies_
One thing, alas! more fleeting have I seen
Than wither'd leaves driv'n by the autumn gust:--
Yea, evanescent as the whirling dust
Is man's brief passage o'er this mortal scene!
_Chisato. _
XXXIX
Softly the dews upon my forehead light:--
From off the oars, perchance, as feather'd spray,
They drop, while some fair skiff bends on her way
Across the Heav'nly Stream[157] on starlit night.
_Anon. _
XL
What though the waters of that antique rill
That flows along the heath, no more are cold;
Those who remember what it was of old
Go forth to draw them in their buckets still.
_Anon. _
XLI[158]
Old Age is not a friend I wish to meet;
And if some day to see me he should come,
I'd lock the door as he walk'd up the street,
And cry, "Most honored sir! I'm not at home! "
_Anon_.
XLII[159]
Yes, I am old; but yet with doleful stour
I will not choose to rail 'gainst Fate's decree.
An' I had not grown old, then ne'er for me
Had dawned the day that brings this golden hour.
_Toshiyuki.
_
XLIII[160]
The roaring torrent scatters far and near
Its silv'ry drops:--Oh! let me pick them up!
For when of grief I drain some day the cup,
Each will do service as a bitter tear.
_Yukihira. _
XLIV
_Composed on beholding the cascade of Otoha on Mount Hiye_
Long years, methinks, of sorrow and of care
Must have pass'd over the old fountain-head
Of the cascade; for, like a silv'ry thread,
It rolls adown, nor shows one jet-black hair.
_Tadamine. _
XLV
If e'en that grot where thou didst seek release
From worldly strife in lonesome mountain glen
Should find thee sometimes sorrowful, ah! then
Where mayest thou farther flee to search for peace?
_Mitsune. _
XLVI[161]
So close thy friendly roof, so near the spring,
That though not yet dull winter hath gone hence,
The wind that bloweth o'er our parting fence
From thee to me the first gay flow'rs doth bring.
_Fukayabu. _
XLVII
If to this frame of mine in spring's first hour,
When o'er the moor the lightsome mists do curl,
Might but be lent the shape of some fair flower,
Haply thou 'dst deign to pluck me, cruel girl!
_Okikaze. _
XLVIII
"Love me, sweet girl! thy love is all I ask! "
"Love thee? " she laughing cries; "I love thee not! "
"Why, then I'll cease to love thee on the spot,
Since loving thee is such a thankless task! "
_Anon. _
XLIX
A youth once lov'd me, and his love I spurn'd.
But see the vengeance of the pow'rs above
On cold indiff'rence:--now 'tis I that love,
And my fond love, alas! is not returned.
_Anon. _
L
Beneath love's heavy weight my falt'ring soul
Plods, like the packman, o'er life's dusty road.
Oh! that some friendly hand would find a pole
To ease my shoulders of their grievous load!
_Anon. _
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 151: The plum-tree, cherry-tree, etc. , are in Japan
cultivated, not for their fruit, but for their blossoms. Together with
the wistaria, the lotus, the iris, the lespedeza, and a few others,
these take the place which is occupied in the West by the rose, the
lily, the violet, etc. ]
[Footnote 152: The lotus is the Buddhist emblem of purity, and the
lotus growing out of the bud is a frequent metaphor for the heart that
remains unsullied by contact with the world. ]
[Footnote 153: The transplanting of the rice occupies the whole rural
population during the month of June, when men and women may all be
seen working in the fields, knee-deep in water. The crops are gathered
in October. ]
[Footnote 154: This ode was composed on beholding a screen presented
to the Empress by Prince Sadayasu at the festival held in honor of her
fiftieth birthday, whereon was painted a man seated beneath the
falling cherry blossoms and watching them flutter down. ]
[Footnote 155: The "Herb of Forgetfulness" answers in the poetical
diction of the Japanese to the classical waters Lethe. ]
[Footnote 156: It is the young poet Ki-no-Tomonori who is mourned in
this stanza. ]
[Footnote 157: The Milky Way. ]
[Footnote 158: This stanza is remarkable for being (so far as the
present writer is aware) the only instance in Japanese literature of
that direct impersonation of an abstract idea which is so very
strongly marked a characteristic of Western thoughts and modes of
expression. ]
[Footnote 159: Composed on the occasion of a feast at the palace. ]
[Footnote 160: One of a number of stanzas composed by a party of
courtiers who visited the cascade of Nunobiki, near the site of the
modern treaty-port of Kobe. ]
[Footnote 161: This stanza was composed and sent to the owner of the
neighboring house on the last day of winter, when the wind had blown
some snow across from it into the poet's dwelling. ]
* * * * *
THE DRAMA OF JAPAN
[_Selected Plays, translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain_]
NAKAMITSU
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
MITSUNAKA, Lord of the Horse to the Emperor Murakami.
BIJIYAU, Son of Mitsunaka, and still a boy.
NAKAMITSU, retainer of Mitsunaka.
KAUZHIYU, son of Nakamitsu, and foster-brother of Bijiyau.
WESHIN, Abbot of the great monastery on Mount Hiyei, near Kiyauto
(Miaco).
The Chorus.
Scene. --The Temple of Chiynuzanzhi, and my Lord Mitsunaka's palace in
Kiyauto.
Time. --Early in the Tenth Century.
NAKAMITSU
PART I
Scene I. --Near the Monastery of Chiynuzanzhi
_Enter Nakamitsu. _
NAKAMITSU. --I am Nakamitsu, a man of the Fujihara clan, and retainer
of Mitsunaka, Lord of Tada in the land of Setsushiu. Now you must know
that my lord hath an only son, and him hath he sent to a certain
monastery amid the mountains named Chiynuzanzhi, while I, too, have a
son called Kauzhiyu, who is gone as page to young my lord. But young
my lord doth not condescend to apply his mind unto study, loving
rather nothing so well as to spend from morn to night in quarrelling
and disturbance. Wherefore, thinking doubtless to disinherit young my
lord, my lord already this many a time, hath sent his messengers to
the temple with summons to return home to Kiyauto. Nevertheless, as he
cometh not, me hath he now sent on the same errand.
[_The above words are supposed to be spoken during the journey, and
Nakamitsu now arrives at the monastery[162]. _]
Prithee! is any within?
KAUZHIYU. --Who is it that deigneth to ask admittance?
NAKAMITSU. --What! Is that Kauzhiyu? Tell young my lord that I have
come to fetch him home.
KAUZHIYU. --Your commands shall be obeyed. [_He goes to his master's
apartment. _] How shall I dare address my lord? Nakamitsu is come to
fetch my lord.
BIJIYAU. --Call him hither.
KAUZHIYU. --Your commands shall be obeyed. [_He returns to the outer
hall and addresses his father. _] Condescend to come this way.
[_They go to Bijiyau's apartment. _
NAKAMITSU. --It is long since I was last here.
BIJIYAU. --And what is it that hath now brought thee?
NAKAMITSU. --'Tis that my lord, your father, hath sent me to bid your
lordship follow me home without delay.
BIJIYAU. --Shall I, then, go without saying anything to the priests, my
preceptors?
NAKAMITSU. --Yes; if the priests be told, they will surely wish to see
your lordship on the way, whereas, my lord, your father's commands
were, that I alone was to escort you.
BIJIYAU. --Then we will away.
NAKAMITSU. --Kauzhiyu! thou, too, shalt accompany thy master.
KAUZHIYU. --Your commands shall be obeyed.
[_They depart from the temple, and arrive at Mitsunaka's palace. _
NAKAMITSU. --How shall I dare address my lord? I have brought hither
his lordship Bijiyau.
MITSUNAKA. --Well, Bijiyau! my only reason for sending thee up to the
monastery was to help thy learning; and I would fain begin, by hearing
thee read aloud from the Scriptures.
And with these words, and bidding him read on,
He lays on ebon desk before his son
The sacred text, in golden letters writ.
BIJIYAU. --But how may he who never bent his wit
To make the pencil trace Asaka's[163] line
Spell out one letter of the book divine?
In vain, in vain his sire's behest he hears:--
Nought may he do but choke with idle tears.
MITSUNAKA. --Ah! surely 'tis that, being my child, he respecteth the
Scriptures too deeply, and chooseth not to read them except for
purposes of devotion. What of verse-making, then?
BIJIYAU. --I cannot make any.
MITSUNAKA. --And music? [_Bijiyau makes no answer. _
MITSUNAKA. --What! no reply? Hast lost thy tongue, young fool?
CHORUS. --Whom, then, to profit wentest thou to school?
And can it be that e'en a father's word,
Like snow that falling melts, is scarcely heard,
But 'tis unheeded? Ah! 'twill drive me wild
To point thee out to strangers as my child!
No sooner said, than out the scabbard flies
His trusty sword, and with fierce flashing eyes
Forward he darts; but rushing in between,
Good Nakamitsu checks the bloody scene--
Firm, though respectful, stays his master's arm,
And saves the lad from perilous alarm.
NAKAMITSU. --Good my lord, deign to be merciful this once!
MITSUNAKA. --Why stayed'st thou my hand? Haste thou now and slay
Bijiyau with this my sword.
NAKAMITSU. --Your commands shall be obeyed. [_He retires into another
apartment. _] What is this horror unutterable? 'Tis no mere passing fit
of anger. What shall I do? --Ah! I have it! I have it! I will take upon
myself to contrive some plan for his escape. Kauzhiyu, Kauzhiyu, art
thou there?
KAUZHIYU. --Behold me at thy service.
NAKAMITSU. --Where is my lord Bijiyau?
KAUZHIYU. --All my prayers have been unavailing to make him leave this
spot.
NAKAMITSU. --But why will he not seek refuge somewhere? Here am I come
from my lord, his father, as a messenger of death! [_Bijiyau shows
himself. _
BIJIYAU. --That I am alive here at this moment is thy doing. But
through the lattice I heard my father's words to thee just now.
Little imports it an' I die or live,
But 'tis for thee I cannot choose but grieve
If thou do vex thy lord: to avert his ire
Strike off my head, and show it to my sire!
NAKAMITSU. --My lord, deign to be calm! I will take upon myself to
contrive some plan for your escape. --What! say you a messenger hath
come? My heart sinks within me. --What! another messenger?
[_These are messengers from Mitsunaka to ask whether his orders be not
yet carried into execution_.
NAKAMITSU. --Alas! each joy, each grief we see unfurl'd
Rewards some action in a former world.
KAUZHIYU. --In ages past thou sinned;
BIJIYAU. --And to-day
CHORUS. --Comes retribution! think not then to say
'Tis others' fault, nor foolishly upbraid
The lot thyself for thine own self hast made.
Say not the world's askew! with idle prate
Of never-ending grief the hour grows late.
Strike off my head! with many a tear he cries,
And might, in sooth, draw tears from any eyes. [164]
NAKAMITSU. --Ah! young my lord, were I but of like age with thee, how
readily would I not redeem thy life at the cost of mine own! Alas!
that so easy a sacrifice should not be possible!
KAUZHIYU. --Father, I would make bold to speak a word unto thee.
NAKAMITSU. --What may it be?
KAUZHIYU. --'Tis, father, that the words thou hast just spoken have
found a lodgment in mine ears. Thy charge, truly, is Mitsunaka; but
Mitsunaka's son is mine. This, if any, is a great occasion, and my
years point to me as of right the chief actor in it. Be quick! be
quick! strike off my head, and show it to Mitsunaka[165] as the head
of my lord Bijiyau!
NAKAMITSU. --Thou'st spoken truly, Nakamitsu cries,
And the long sword from out his scabbard flies,
What time he strides behind his boy.
BIJIYAU. --But no!
The youthful lord on such stupendous woe
May never gaze unmov'd; with bitter wail
The father's sleeve he clasps. Nought may 't avail,
He weeping cries, e'en should the deed be done,
For I will slay myself if falls thy son.
KAUZHIYU.
