No More Learning

From the twelfth century to the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate
in the seventeenth century, the empire passed through its Middle or
“Dark Age. During these five centuries, although numerous writ-
ings for political and religious (see page 8178) purposes appeared,
but little work of importance for the history of Japanese literature
was produced. Some collections of verse may be excepted from this
judgment. Two bits of prose writing, the Hōjōki(1212 ? ) of Chomei
(see pages 8170, 8171), and the “Tsure-zure gusa' (1345 ? ) of Yoshida
Kenko' (see pages 8171, 8172), have qualities that make them espe-
cially noteworthy. The “Höjõki,'— the meditations of a hermit priest
in a mountain hut, written near the beginning of the thirteenth
century, — simple, fluent, vivacious, and yet forcible in style, - are
esteemed as preserving for the language an excellence like that of
the Makura no Sōshi. And the Tsure zure gusa' or Weeds of
Idleness,' short essays composed in the fourteenth century, is the last
notable example of the form and speech that gave to the classic
age its commanding position in the development of pure Japanese
literature. The Weeds of Idleness, moreover, has the distinction
of opening the way for the literary speech that came into full devel-
opment in the seventeenth century, and has since been the language
of the literature of Japan. In these essays, Chinese words were set
into Japanese forms of speech without doing violence to Japanese
modes of expression. The "Tsure-zure gusa' has thereby the double
merit of embodying the highest literary excellence of a past age, and
the beginnings of a new linguistic development.
Further, the mediæval centuries are of importance to the literature
of Japan from the development in them of a form of musical drama
called the No no Utai (see pages 8173, 8174); originating in the an-
cient sacred dances and temple amusements cared for by the priests,
- the only men of letters of the time. These lyric plays are dateless
and anonymous, but they have considerable literary worth. Accom-
panying the severer sacred drama and serving as interludes for them,
many comedies, kyōgen, written in the ordinary colloquial of the day,
were produced. These comic writings possess small literary but much
linguistic value.
The next noteworthy event in Japan's literary history was the re-
vival, under the early Tokugawa Shõguns, of the study of the ancient
imperial records, and of the writings of the classic age.
The great
first Tokugawa Shogun, leyasu, at the beginning of the seventeenth
century subjected and quieted the warring clans of the country.
age of peace, to last for the next two hundred and fifty years, was


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8150
JAPANESE LITERATURE
a
then entered upon. One of the most important results of the liter-
ary revival that accompanied these happy days for the State was the
full maturing of a standard language for literature. What Yoshida
Kenko had begun in 'Tsure-zure gusa'— the amalgamation of a
Chinese vocabulary with purely Japanese forms of speech — was
well carried forward by the Mito school of historians towards the
opening of the eighteenth century (the "Age of Genroku,” 1688–1703);
and as the century advanced, was perfected by the accomplished
critics, novelists, and dramatists of the times. To such critics as
Keichiu (1640–1701), Mabuchi (1700-1769), Motoori (1730-1800: see page
8184), and Hirata (1776-1843), Japanese literature is indebted for elab-
orate critical commentaries upon the Kojiki,' the Manyoshū, and
the ancient Shinto ritual; and from them the writers of after days
received models in composition and style. The novelists, especially
Bakin (1767-1840: see pages 8183, 8184), and Ikku (1763-1831), created
much-prized works in fiction; Bakin, master of a style almost classical
in quality, and Ikku, notwithstanding an objectionable coarseness of
subjects, displaying great literary skill. In the Tokugawa period
appeared, among many others, two remarkable dramatists: Takeda
Izumo (1690-1756: see pages 8179 to 8182), and Chikamatsu Monza-
yemon (1652–1724),— the latter showing such minute analysis of the
motives of human character and action that he has been called the
Japanese Shakespeare.
With mention of the work of these writers this mere sketch of the
course of Japanese literature may close. Within the last half-century
the life of the Japanese people as a whole has been subjected to a
radical revolution. This secluded nation has opened its borders to
free intercourse with the rest of the world. The recent history of
Japanese literature, interesting though it be, is yet in largest meas-
ure but a story of the importation and adaptation of Western thought
to Japanese uses. For present purposes it need not come under con-
sideration.
We may take a glance, in passing, at the literature of Japan in
general considered. As a whole, it has been for the greater part
Chinese in language and script. As distinctly Japanese, this liter-
ature has had in fact only one period of dominance and high excel.
lence, – that lying between the eighth and the thirteenth centuries.
The eighteenth-century literary revival was not a return to either
the kana writing or to the native language of the classics; it was at
the best an extension of the Chinese vocabulary, and the amalgama-
tion of Chinese ideographs with the kana script in sentences that
were Japanese in idiom and in construction. The Japanese literature
of modern times has consequently been a composite of Chinese
and Japanese words and writing. Chinese literature as affected by


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JAPANESE LITERATURE
8151
Japanese writers is at the present day rapidly decreasing in mass
and in value.
Looked at as literature only, literature in Japan is exceedingly
voluminous. It exists as extensive libraries of history, State records,
and private historical digests; as regulations of court ceremonial;
as codifications and commentaries upon civil and other law; as state-
ments and expositions of doctrine and ritual for Shinto and Buddhism
in religion, and of the ethics of Confucianism; as treatises upon Chi-
nese philosophies; as biographies, records of travel, and works in fic-
tion; as disquisitions on art; as general encyclopædias of topography,
zoology, botany, and other departments of natural phenomena; as
dramatic works; as records of folk-lore; and though last, by no means
the least in mass, as poetry and comment upon the poems. The art
of printing, as block-printing, was brought to Japan as early as the
eighth century. Printing from movable types was known at the end
of the fourteenth century. In the seventeenth century the use of the
press became general, and large quantities of the manuscripts hoarded
for centuries reappeared as printed books, increasing in numbers until
in recent times they have become one of the common possessions of
the people throughout the empire.
II. - CONTENT AND VALUE
TURNING now from the history of Japanese literature, let us look
for a moment at its content. How shall we characterize this? What
is its value ?
At the outset it must be acknowledged that in general the liter-
ature of Japan does not abound in matter of direct or living interest
to Western readers. It had its springs in conditions and circum-
stances very different from those of the literature of the Occident.
Its references to custom, to historic events, to personages and places
of tradition, introduce the European and American reader into an
environment almost wholly unfamiliar. Its motives for action, its
praise and censure of conduct, are governed by standards which in
many ways are unlike those dominant in the life of far-away peoples.
Then its modes of expression have scarcely anything in common with
the ways of speech to which the mind of the West has become
habituated, and which the Western mind enjoys. In fact, the Occi-
dental reader, generally speaking, has neither the requisite mental
habit and intelligence, nor the peculiar mood, needed for an appre-
ciative interest in the literature of the Japanese.
It would be injustice however to much that is of real value, to turn
this judgment into a sweeping condemnation. Japanese literature is
strange and alien; it is to the dweller in the West, as a rule, dull and


## p. 8152 (#352) ###########################################

8152
JAPANESE LITERATURE
unmeaning; its speech is painstakingly minute, dwelling upon details
that in European speech are passed with hardly a touch, - the ver-
boseness dragging its way through sentences that seem at times inter-
minable. And then, in much that must be accepted as literature
proper, as the belles-lettres of the Japanese, there is a free display of
thought and act forbidden in recent centuries by the moral standard
of the approved literature of the West. But this literature holds the
records of a peculiar and extensive mythology and folk-lore; it shows
the origin and development of a unique system of government; it
exhibits the elaboration of a social order of remarkable stability, and
the operation of society under a system of ceremonial etiquette in the
highest degree complex and refined. In this literature the ethnologist,
the psychologist, the student of comparative religion, the art critic, the
historian, and often the general reader, can find much pleasant enter-
tainment and profitable study. There is in it, notwithstanding a mass
of dull, prolix, and profitless matter, a considerable contribution to the
world's means of diversion and stores of knowledge. The reader, it
must be said, will look in vain into Japanese literature for intellect-
ual creativeness or invention. The Japanese mind is characteristically
neither original nor adventurous. In Japanese history, no philosophy
or science has been started or been much advanced. From a remote
past the people of this empire have been learners and followers of
nations endowed as pioneers and discoverers. Their genius for the
most part has lain in the appropriation and refinement of the gains
first made by others. Accepting their monarchy as a direct descent
of heavenly power into the lower world, the Japanese from ancient
times have subordinated themselves to it under the sway of the twin
chief virtues of the Confucian ethics, loyalty and filial piety. Under
the influence of these principles a social order was developed, marked
by a devotion to emperor, lord, parent, and to all superiors in the
relations of man with man, that showed a self-abnegation such as
has probably never been seen among any other people. Accompany-
ing this universal social systematization was a ceremonial refine-
ment, a graceful complexity of etiquette, developed with consummate
excellence, and dominating even the humblest parts of the civil and
domestic organism. As results of their social discipline, the Japanese
as a people long ago accepted life as they were born to it, without
disturbing impatience or restless ambitions; they achieved great con-
tentment with but small means for self-gratification; and they were
prepared to yield life itself with a readiness almost unknown among
self-assertive peoples. The learning of Japan — that is, the religion
really directing the people; Buddhism; the principles and much of the
detail of their law; whatever might be classed as science and philoso-
phy – was received from abroad. Among the Japanese these things


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JAPANESE LITERATURE
8153
gained elaboration, and in most of their relations received refinement
with the lapse of the centuries. Hardly any of the industries, and
we may say none of the fine arts, were originated by this people.
The Japanese however have carried such interests, their arts espe-
cially, to degrees of excellence that have drawn to them universal
admiration. Of all this and of much else, Japanese literature bears
good record, and therefore has noteworthy interest and value to the
peoples of remote lands.
In one department of letters, however, it may be said that the
Japanese have wrought from a beginning, and have produced results
that are specifically their own. Their poetry had its origin in a pre-
historic age, and it has had a culture down to the present day distinct-
ively individual and unique. Much Chinese poetry has been written
in Japan, and by Japanese writers; but unlike prose, Japanese verse
has never been subjected to Chinese ways of thought and expression.
With but little variation the oldest native song is still the model for
Japanese poetry. In form it is an alternation of verses of five and
seven syllables (naga uta: see page 8178); in expression it is exceed-
ingly compact and limited. There are a few poems, like the legend
of Urashima Taro' (see page 8157), having some length; but the
versification most in favor consists of only three or five of the fixed
five and seven syllable measures. The standard model is the tanka,
a five-verse composition, containing in all thirty-one syllables; like
the most ancient song just referred to, the song of the god Susano-o,
sung at the building of a bridal palace for the gods. “When this
Great Deity first built the palace of Suga,” says the Kojiki, clouds
rose up thence. Then he made an august song. That song said:-
(Yakumo tatsu;
Izumo yae gaki;
Tsuma gomi ni
Yae gaki tsukuru:
Sono yae gaki wo! ) »
Or in somewhat free translation:-
«Many clouds appear:
Eightfold clouds a barrier raise
Round the wedded pair.
Manifold the clouds stand guard;
Oh that eightfold barrier-ward ! »
(
In the construction of Japanese verse there are certain special oddi-
ties, such as redundant expletives, and phrases called pillow-words )
and introductions. These expressions are purely conventional orna-
ments or euphonisms. Much of the superior merit of this verse-writing


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8154
JAPANESE LITERATURE
depends also upon a serious use of puns and of other word-plays.
The subject-matter of the poetry is almost always some simple and
serene emotion in reference to person or nature. Its quality is dain-
tiness, and its mood is meditation. Poetic imagination, as known in
the West, has no place in Japanese verse; instead, the verse is given
over to lyric fancies. It is conventional, suggestive, impressionist,
like Japanese painting. It is not a chosen means for sounding and
recording the depths of profound spiritual experience. It has never
been the vehicle of an epic. Japanese poetry however is well worth
study. It is the one original product of the Japanese mind. ”
It must be said that as a whole, Japanese literature does not take
a place among the great achievements of the human intellect. Yet
its limitations came almost of necessity. The people of this empire -
from time immemorial isolated in the farthest East; dependent for
their letters, laws, philosophy, religious faith, ethics, science, indus-
trial and fine art, upon their neighbors of the continent; also hitherto
denied by nature the creative or inventive genius - as a matter of
course have been unable to go far or to rise to any great height in
literary achievement. What they may hereafter do, no one can fore-
tell. To-day they are living in an environment unlike any they have
ever before known. Japan is now in intimate intercourse with the
whole world. The Japanese people are now appropriating with mar-
velous speed the civilization of Europe and America. What may be
called a world-consciousness and culture is becoming dominant among
them. To what heights they may reach, actuated by this power, to
what grand goal they may yet move, the future only can show.
Clanfhear Beauley
са
.


## p. 8155 (#355) ###########################################

JAPANESE LITERATURE
8155
ARCHAIC WRITINGS
700-900 A. D.
WHY UNIVERSAL DARKNESS ONCE REIGNED
[From the Kojiki,” compiled in 711-12 by Yasumaro, a high official of the
Imperial Court. The Kojiki? (Records of Ancient Matters) is the sacred book
of Shintoism, and thus practically the Bible of Japan. Translated by Basil
Hall Chamberlain. ]
A
S The Great and Grand Goddess Amaterasu (Sun goddess] sat
in her sacred work-room, seeing to the weaving of the
Grand Garments of the Gods, her brother Haya-Susano-o
made a hole in the roof, and dropped down through it a Heav-
enly Piebald Horse which he had flayed backwards; at whose
aspect the maidens weaving the Heavenly Garments were so
much alarmed that they died.
At this sight was the
Great and Grand Goddess Amaterasu so much terrified that,
closing behind her the door of the Rocky Abode of Heaven, she
made it fast and disappeared. Then was the whole High Plain
of Heaven darkened, and darkened was the Middle Land of
Reed-Plains [i. e. , Japan], in such wise that perpetual night pre-
vailed. And the clamor of the myriad evil spirits was like unto
the buzzing of flies in the fifth moon, and all manner of calami-
ties did everywhere arise. Therefore did the eight myriad Gods
assemble in a Divine Assembly on the banks of the river Ame-
noyasu, and bid the God Omoikane devise a plan. And Her
Grandeur Ame-no-Uzume, binding up her sleeve with the Hear-
enly Moss from Mount Ame-no-Kagu, and braiding the Heavenly
Masaki in her hair, and bearing in her hands the leaves of
the bamboo-grass from Mount Ame-no-Kagu, did set a platform
before the door of the Heavenly Abode, and stamp on it until it
resounded. Then did the High Plain of Heaven tremble, and
the eight myriad Gods did laugh in chorus. Then the Great and
Grand Goddess Amaterasu was filled with amazement, and setting
ajar the door of the Rocky Abode of Heaven, spake thus from
the inside: "Methought that my retirement would darken the
Plain of Heaven, and that darkened would be the whole Middle
Land of Reed-Plains. How then cometh it to pass that Ame-
no-Uzume thus frolics, and that all the eight myriad Gods do
laugh ? ” To which Ame-no-Uzume replied: "If we laugh and
rejoice, 'tis because there is here a Goddess more illustrious


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8156
JAPANESE LITERATURE
than thou. ” And as she spake, their Grandeurs Ame-no-Koyane
and Futotama brought out the mirror, and respectfully showed
the same to the Great and Grand Goddess Amaterasu, who, ever
more and more amazed, gradually came forth from the door to
gaze upon it; whereupon the God Ame-no-Tajikarao, who had
been lying in ambush, took her by the hand and drew her out.
And so when the Great and Grand Goddess Amaterasu
had come forth, light was restored both to the High Plain of
Heaven and to the Middle Land of Reed-Plains.
WHY THE SUN AND THE MOON DO NOT SHINE TOGETHER
[From the Nihongi) (Chronicles of Japan): a rendering and amplification
in Chinese of the (Kojiki,' completed under the direction of Prince Toneri
and Ono Yasumaro in 720. The Nihongi) is the popular embodiment of
ancient tradition. This extract was translated by B. H. Chamberlain. )
O*
NE account says that the Great Heaven-Shining Deity, being
in heaven, said, “I hear that in the Central Land of
“
Reed-Plains (Japan] there is a Food-Possessing Deity.
Do thou thine Augustness Moon-Night-Possessor go and see. ”
His Augustness the Moon-Night-Possessor, having received these
orders, descended and arrived at the place where the Food-Pos-
sessing Deity was. The Food-Possessing Deity forthwith, on turn-
ing her head towards the land, produced rice from her mouth;
again on turning to the sea, she also produced from her mouth
things broad of fin and things narrow of fin; again on turning
to the mountains, she also produced from her mouth things
rough of hair and things soft of hair. Having collected together
all these things, she offered them to the Moon-God as a feast on
a hundred tables. At this time his Augustness the Moon-Night-
Possessor, being angry and coloring up, said, “How filthy! how
vulgar! What! shalt thou dare to feed me with things spat out
from thy mouth ? ” and with these words he drew his sabre and
slew her. Afterwards he made his report to the Sun-Goddess.
When he told her all the particulars, the Heaven-Shining Great
Deity was very angry, and said, “Thou art a wicked Deity, whom
it is not right for me to see;” and forth with she and his August-
»
ness the Moon-Night-Possessor dwelt separately day and night.
((


## p. 8157 (#357) ###########################################

JAPANESE LITERATURE
8157
URASHIMA TARO
[From the Manyōshū,' a collection of ancient verse compiled about 760,
by Prince Moroe and the poet Yakamochi. This poem, relating the adventures
of “the Japanese Rip Van Winkle,» is supposed to be much older than the
eighth century. Translation of W. G. Aston. )
WE
HEN the days of spring were hazy,
I went forth upon the beach of Suminoe;
And as I watched the fishing-boats rock to and fro
I bethought me of the tale of old:
[How] the son of Urashima of Midzunoe,
Proud of his skill in catching the katsuwo and tai,
For seven days not even coming home,
Rowed on beyond the bounds of the ocean,
Where with a daughter of the god of the sea
He chanced to meet as he rowed onwards.
When with mutual endearments their love had been
crowned,
They plighted their troths, and went to the immortal
land,
Where hand in hand both entered
Into a stately mansion, within the precinct
Of the palace of the god of the sea,
There to remain for everlasting,
Never growing old, nor ever dying.
But this was the speech which was addressed to his
spouse
By the foolish man of this world :-
«For a little while I would return home,
And speak to my father and my mother;
To-morrow I will come back. ”
When he had said so, this was the speech of his spouse:
« If thou art to return again to the immortal land
And live with me as now,
Open not this casket at all. "
Much did she impress this on him;
But he, having returned to Suminoe,
Though he looked for his house,
No house could he see:
Though he looked for his native village,
No village could he see.
“This is strange,” said he; thereupon this was his thought:
“In the space of three years since I came forth from my
home,


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8158
JAPANESE LITERATURE
Can the house have vanished without even the fence being
left ?
If I opened this casket and saw the result,
Should my house exist as before ? »
Opening a little the jewel-casket,
A white cloud came forth from it
And spread away towards the immortal land.
He ran, he shouted, he waved his sleeves,
He rolled upon the earth, and ground his feet together.
Meanwhile, of a sudden, his vigor decayed and departed:
His body that had been young grew wrinkled;
His hair, too, that had been black grew white;
Also his breath became feebler night by night;
Afterwards, at last his life departed:
And of the son of Urashima of Midzunoe,
The dwelling-place I can see.
In the immortal land
He might have continued to dwell,
But of his own natural disposition:
How foolish was he, this wight!
A MAIDEN'S LAMENT
[From the Manyūshū): written by Lady Sakanõe, 700-750, daughter of a
prime minister and wife of the Viceroy of the Island of Shikoku. Her writ-
ings are much praised. This poem, together with the five poems following,
all from the Manyoshū,' are translations by B. H. Chamberlain
admirable work «The Classical Poetry of the Japanese. ']
parts of his
F
ULL oft he sware with accents true and tender,
Though years roll by, my love shall ne'er wax old! ”
And so to him my heart I did surrender,
Clear as a mirror of pure burnished gold;
And from that day, unlike the seaweed bending
To every wave raised by the autumn gust,
Firm stood my heart, on him alone depending,
As the bold seaman in his ship doth trust.
Is it some cruel god that hath bereft me ?
Or hath some mortal stolen away his heart?
No word, no letter since the day he left me;
Nor more he cometh, ne'er again to part!


## p. 8159 (#359) ###########################################

JAPANESE LITERATURE
8159
In vain I weep, in helpless, hopeless sorrow,
From earliest inorn until the close of day;
In vain, till radiant dawn brings back the morrow,
I sigh the weary, weary nights away.
No need to tell how young I am, and slender –
A little maid that in thy palm could lie:
Still for some message comforting and tender
I pace the room in sad expectancy.
HUSBAND AND WIFE
[Author unknown. ]
WIFE
W"
HILE other women's husbands ride
Along the road in
proud array,
My husband up the rough hillside
On foot must wend his weary way.
The grievous sight with bitter pain
My bosom fills, and many a tear
Steals down my cheek, and I would fain
Do aught to help my husband dear.
Come! take the mirror and the veil,
My mother's parting gifts to me;
In barter they must sure avail
To buy a horse to carry thee!
HUSBAND
An I should purchase me a horse,
Must not my wife still sadly walk ?
No, no! though stony is our course,
We'll trudge along and sweetly talk.
MY CHILDREN
1
[Written by Yamagami no Okura, governor of the province of Chikuzen,
- 700-750. )
HAT use to me the gold and silver hoard ?
What use to me the gems most rich and rare ?
Brighter by far — ay! bright beyond compare -
The joys my children to my heart afford !
W***


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8160
JAPANESE LITERATURE
ELEGY
[Written by a poet named Nibi, of whom nothing is known. ]
THE
HE gulls that twitter on the rush-grown shore
When fall the shades of night,
That o'er the waves in loving pairs do soar
When shines the morning light,-
'Tis said e'en these poor birds delight
To nestle each beneath his darling's wing
That, gently fluttering,
Through the dark hours wards off the hoar-frost's might.
Like to the stream that finds
The downward path it never may retrace,
Like to the shapeless winds,
Poor mortals pass away without a trace:
So she I love has left her place,
And in a corner of my widowed couch,
Wrapped in the robe she wove me, I must crouch
Far from her fond embrace.
TO A FRIEND
(Written by Hitomaru, probably without a peer among Japan's ancient
poets. Hitomaru was not of high rank among nobles, though of imperial
descent. He became a provincial officer, and died in the year 737. ]
JAPA
APAN is not a land where men need pray,
For 'tis itself divine:
Yet do I lift my voice in prayer, and say,
“May every 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.
ODE TO FUJI-YAMA
[The name of the writer of this ode is not known. ]
T"
HERE on the border, where the land of Kai
Doth touch the frontier of Suruga's land,
A beauteous province stretched on either hand,
See Fuji-yama rear his head on high!


## p. 8161 (#361) ###########################################

JAPANESE LITERATURE
8161
The clouds of heaven in reverent wonder pause;
Nor may the birds those giddy heights essay
Where melt thy snows amid thy fires away,
Or thy fierce fires lie quenched beneath thy snows.
What name might fitly tell, what accents sing,
Thine awful, godlike grandeur ? 'Tis thy breast
That holdeth Narusawa's flood at rest,
Thy side whence Fujikawa's waters spring.
Great Fuji-yama, towering to the sky!
A treasure art thou given to mortal man,
A god-protector watching o'er Japan;
On thee forever let me feast mine eye!
SPRING
[These verses and the three following stanzas are taken from the (Kokin-
shū,' B. H. Chamberlain's translation. The Kokinshū (Collection of Songs
Ancient and Modern) was compiled 905–922, by Kino Tsurayuki and others.
Sosei, the writer of these verses on Spring, was a Buddhist abbot living in
the latter part of the ninth century. ]
MID the branches of the silvery 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.
A"
SUMMER
[Written by Henjo, who was a Buddhist bishop and one of the leading
men of his time, 830–890. Prior to his taking the vows of religion Henjo was
prominent in court circles, and was married. The poet Sosei was his son. ]
O
LOTOS-LEAF! I dreamt that the wide earth
[true:
Held naught more pure than thee,— held naught more
Why then, when on thee rolls a drop of dew,
Pretend that 'tis a gem of priceless worth ?
XIV-511


## p. 8162 (#362) ###########################################

8162
JAPANESE LITERATURE
AUTUMN
[By Chisato, Vice-governor of Iyo, etc. ; a prolific writer, - 850-900. ]
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 silvery haze.
WINTER
[Tsurayuki, the writer of these lines, was probably the leading poet of his
day, - 880–950. He compiled the Kokinshū. ? He was also the first master of
Japanese written prose. His preface to the Kokinshū,' and his diary the
«Tosa Nikki, marked the beginning of a new age in Japanese literature. ]
HEN falls the snow, lo! every herb and tree,
That in seclusion through the wintry hours
Long time had been held fast, breaks forth in flowers
That ne'er in spring were known upon the lea.
W"
AGE OF THE PROSE CLASSICS
900-1200 A. D.
THE MAID OF UNAI
[From the "Yamato Monogatari,' 900-1000, translated by B. H. Chamber-
lain. Author of these (Stories of Yamato) (Japan) unknown, but said to have
been, in part at least, the retired Emperor Kwanzan, 983-985. The stories
contain nearly three hundred poems. ]
I
N DAYS of old there dwelt a maiden in the land of Settsu, whose
hand was sought in marriage by two lovers. One, Mubara
by name, was a native of the same country-side; the other,
called Chinu, was a native of the land of Idzumi. The two were
alike in years, alike in face, in figure, and in stature; and whereas
the maiden thought to accept the wooing of him that should the
more dearly love her, lo! it fell out that they both loved her
with the same love. No sooner faded the light of day than both
came to do their courting, and when they sent her gifts the gifts
were quite alike. Of neither could it be said that he excelled
the other, and the girl meanwhile felt sick at heart. Had they
been men of lukewarm devotion, neither would ever have obtained


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8163
the maiden's hand; but it was because both of them, day after
day and month after month, stood before the cottage gate and
made evident their affection in ten thousand different ways, that
the maiden pined with a divided love. Neither lover's gifts were
accepted, and yet both would come and stand, bearing in their
hands gifts. The maiden had a father and a mother, and they
said to her: « Sad is it for us to have to bear the burden of
thine unseemly conduct in thus carelessly, from month to month
and from year to year, causing others to sorrow. If thou wilt
accept the one, after a little time the other's love will cease. ”
The maiden made answer, That likewise was my thought. But
the sameness of the love of both has made me altogether sick at
heart. Alas! what shall I do? ”
Now in olden days the people dwelt in houses raised on plat-
forms built out into the river Ikuta. So the girl's father and
mother, summoning to their presence the two lovers, spake thus:
“Our child is pining with a love divided by the equal ardor of
your worships. But to-day we intend, by whatever means, to fix
her choice. One of you showeth his devotion by coming hither
from a distant home; the other is our neighbor, but his love is
boundless. This one and that are alike worthy of our pitying
regard. ”
Both the lovers heard these words with respectful joy;
and the father and mother continued:- “What we have further in
our minds to say is this: Floating on our river is a water-bird.
Draw your bows at it; and to him that shall strike it will we
have the honor to present our daughter. ” “Well thought! ”
replied the lovers twain; and drawing their bows at the same
instant, one struck the bird in the head and the other in the
tail, so that neither could claim to be the better marksman. Sick
with love, the maiden cried out:
"Enough, enough! Yon swiftly-flowing wave
Shall free my soul from her long anxious strife;
Men call fair Settsu's stream the stream of life,
But in that stream shall be the maiden's grave! ”
and with these words, let herself fall down into the river from
the platform that overlooked it.
While the father and mother, frantic with grief, were raving
and shouting, the two lovers plunged together into the stream.
One caught hold of the maiden's foot and the other of her hand,
and the three sank together and perished in the flood. Terrible


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JAPANESE LITERATURE
was the grief of the girl's father and mother, as, amid tears and
lamentations, they lifted her body out of the water and prepared
to give it burial. The parents of the two lovers likewise came
to the spot, and dug for their sons graves beside the grave of
the maiden. But the father and mother of him that dwelt in the
same country-side raised an outcry, saying, “That he who belongs
to the same land should be buried in the same place, is just.
But how shall it be lawful for an alien to desecrate our soil ? »
So the parents of him that dwelt in Idzumi laded a junk with
Idzumi earth, in which, having brought it to the spot, they laid
their son. And to this day the maiden's grave stands there in
the middle, and the graves of her lovers on either side.
HOW THE SEA WAS CALMED
[From the «Tosa Nikki); W. G. Aston's translation. Tsurayuki traced his
descent to one of the Mikados. He held office his life throughout. This diary
was written in 935, on the return journey from Tosa, a province he had been
governing, to Kyoto the capital. ]
M
EANWHILE a sudden gale sprung up, and in spite of all our
efforts we fell gradually to leeward, and were in great
danger of being sent to the bottom. “This god of Sumi-
yoshi,” said the captain, “is like other gods. What he desires is
not any of the fashionable articles of the day. Give him nusa*
as an offering. ” The captain's advice was taken, and nusa were
offered; but as the wind, instead of ceasing, only blew harder
and harder, and the danger from the storm and sea became
,
more and more imminent, the captain again said, “Because the
august heart of the god is not moved for nusa, neither does the
august ship move: offer to him something in which he will take
greater pleasure. ” In compliance with this advice I thought
what it would be best to offer. “Of eyes I have a pair; then
let me give to the god my mirror, of which I have only one. ”
The mirror was accordingly flung into the sea, to my very great
regret. But no sooner had I done so than the sea itself became
as smooth as a mirror.
* Pieces of silk carried by worshipers as temple offerings.


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8165
DISCOVERY OF THE ISLE OF IMMORTAL YOUTH, MT. HORAI
[From the “Taketori Monogatari, 850-950; translated by F. Victor Dick-
ins. Authorship unknown, but ascribed to one Minamoto Jun. Materials of
the story taken from Chinese and Indian sources. This extract is part of a
description of the wanderings of a
the wanderings of a Japanese Ulysses. ”]
T***
>>
C
our
HEN the Ancient fell to busying himself with putting the
chamber in order, and after a while went out and accosted
the Prince again, saying, “Your servant would fain know
what manner of place it may be where grows this tree,- how
wonderful a thing it is, and lovely and pleasant to see! ” And
the Prince answered: «The year before yester-year, on the tenth
: «
-
of the second month, we took boat at Naniwa and sculled out
into the ocean, not knowing what track to follow: but I thought
to myself, what would be the profit of continuing life if I might
not attain the desire of my heart; so pressed we onwards, blown
where 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 do call Horai. So resolved, we sculled further and further
over the heaving waters, until far behind us lay the shores of
own land.
And as
we wandered thus, now, deep in the
trough of the sea we saw its very bottom; now, blown by the
gale we came to 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 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 succor; to
many diseases fell we prey as we drifted along, knowing not
whitherwards; and so tossed we over the sea-plain, letting our
boat follow the wind for five hundred days. Then about the
hour of the dragon, four hours ere noon, we a high hill
looming faintly over the watery waste. Long we gazed at it,
and marveled at the majesty of the mountain rising out of the
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 like an angel come forth out of the hills,
saw
sea.


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JAPANESE LITERATURE
bearing a silver vessel which she filled with water. 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. ”
COURT FESTIVALS IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY
[From the Makura no Sōshi, 1000-1050; W. G. Aston's translation. The
author, Sei Shōnagon, was a direct descendant from a Mikado, and was for
some time chief lady-in-waiting to the Empress. With the death of her mis-
tress in the year 1000 she left the court, entered a convent, and there com-
posed this Pillow Book,' a masterpiece in Japanese prose. ]
W"
HAT delightful anniversaries festivals are! Each one brings
its special pleasures, but none to my mind is so enjoyable
as New Year's Day. It is early springtime then, when
the weather is settled, and the morning breaks serenely. A quiet
haze is spread over hill and dale, which the sun disperses when
he rises, and shows the dewdrops sparkling in his rosy beams.
The world seems glad and happy; and in the shining faces of the
neighbors, glowing from the frosty air of morning, content and
peace is plainly written. How pleasant it is to watch them as
they pass, in holiday attire, intent on making their congratula-
tions to their master, and ignorant the while that their very
lightness of heart is an unconscious compliment to themselves.
It is the 7th day of the month when people, tempted by the
fineness of the weather, go out in company to pick the wakana
(wild pot-herbs). The snow is off the ground, and great is the
excitement amongst the ladies of the court, who have so seldom
the opportunity of a country trip. What fun to watch the farm-
ers' wives and daughters, arrayed in all their hoarded finery, and
riding in their wagons (made clean for the occasion), as they
come to see the races in the court-yard of the palace. It is
most diverting to observe their faces from our grated windows.
How prim and proper they appear, all unconscious of the shock
their dignity will get when the wagon jolts across the huge beam
at the bottom of the gate, and knocks their pretty heads together,
disarranging their hair, and worse still, mayhap breaking their
combs. But that is after all a trifle when compared to their alarm
if a horse so much as neighs. On this account the gallants of the
court amuse themselves by slyly goading the horses with spear
and arrow-point, to make them rear and plunge and frighten the
?


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JAPANESE LITERATURE
8167
wenches home in fear and trembling. How silly too the men-
at-arms look, their foolish faces painted with dabs of white here
and there upon their swarthy cheeks, like patches of snow left
on a hillside from a thaw!
Then there is the 15th of the first month, when appointments
for the next four years are made. How eagerly candidates for
office rush here and there through falling snow and sleet, with
their memorials in their hands! Some have the jaunty air and
confidence of youth; but others, more experienced, are weary
and dejected-looking. How the old white-headed suitors crave an
audience of the ladies of the palace, and babble to them of their
fitness for the places they seek! Ah! little do they suspect when
they have turned their backs what mirth they have occasioned!
How the ladies mimic them — whining and drawling!
ON THE CHARACTERS OF WOMEN
[From the (Genji Monogatari,' 1004, translated by Kencho Suyematsu.
This romance of Prince Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of
noble birth and a member of the great family of the Fujiwara, who were at
the time practically rulers of Japan. It is said that not only does the classic
literature of Japan find consummate illustration in this story, but that the
history of the time, especially in its social characteristics, is here most vividly
set forth. ]
“H
ow varied are the characters and the dispositions of women!
Some who are youthful and favored by nature strive al-
most selfishly to keep themselves with the utmost reserve.
If they write harmlessly and innocently, yet at the same time
they are choice in their expressions, which have delicate touches
of bewitching sentiment, this might possibly make us entertain a
suddenly conceived fancy for them; yet they would give us but
slight encouragement.
Among characters differing from the above, some are too
full of sentimental sweetness; whenever occasion offers them
romance they become spoilt. Such would be decidedly better if
they had less sentiment and more sense.
“Others again are singularly earnest — too earnest, indeed -
in the performance of their domestic duty; and such, with their
hair pushed back, devote themselves like household drudges to
household affairs. Man, whose duties generally call him from
home all the day, naturally hears and sees the social movements


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C
both of public and private life, and notices different things, both
good and bad. Of such things he would not like to talk freely
with strangers, but only with some one closely allied to him.
Indeed, a man may have many things in his mind which cause
him to smile or to grieve. Occasionally something of a political
nature may irritate him beyond endurance. These matters he
would like to talk over with his fair companion, that she might
soothe him and sympathize with him. But a woman as above
described is often unable to understand him, or does not endeavor
to do so; and this only makes him more miserable. At another
time he may brood over his hopes and aspirations; but he has
no hope of solace. She is not only incapable of sharing these
with him, but might carelessly remark, What ails you? ' How
severely would this try the temper of a man!
"If then we clearly see all these, the only suggestion I can
make is that the best thing to do is to choose one who is gentle
and modest, and strive to guide and educate her according to the
best ideal we may think of. This is the best plan; and why
should we not do so ? Our efforts would surely not be all in
vain. But no! A girl whom we thus educate, and who proves
!
to be competent to bear us company, often disappoints us when
she is left alone. She may then show her incapability, and her
occasional actions may be done in such an unbecoming manner
that both good and bad are equally displeasing. Are not all
these against us men ? Remember however that there are some
who may not be very agreeable at ordinary times, yet who flash
occasionally upon us with a potent and almost irresistible charm. ”
Thus Sama-no-Kami, though eloquent, not having come to
one point or another, remained thoughtful for some minutes, and
again resumed.
“After all, as I have once observed, I can only make this sug-
gestion: That we should not too much consider either birth or
beauty, but select one who is gentle and tranquil, and consider
her to be best suited for our last haven of rest. If in addition
she is of fair position, and is blessed with sweetness of temper,
we should be delighted with her, and not trouble ourselves to
search out or notice any trifling deficiency. And the more so
as, if her conscience is clear and pure, calmness and serenity of
features can naturally be looked for.
« There are women who are too diffident and too reserved, and
carry their generosity to such an extent as to pretend not to be


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8169
aware even of such annoyances as afford them just grounds for
of complaint. A time arrives when their sorrows and anxieties
become greater than they can bear. Even then, however, they
cannot resort to plain speaking and complain; but instead thereof
they will fly away to some remote retreat among the mountain
hamlets, or to some secluded spot by the seaside, leaving behind
them some painful letter or despairing verses, and making them-
selves mere sad memories of the past.
«Worse than this, the woman-led astray perhaps by ill advice
«
-
- may even be beguiled into more serious errors. In the depth of
her despairing melancholy she will become a nun. Her conscience
when she takes the fatal vow may be pure and unsullied, and
nothing may seem able to call her back again to the world which
she forsook. But as time rolls on, some household servant or
aged nurse brings her tidings of the lover who has been unable
to cast her out of his heart, and whose tears drop silently when
he hears aught about her. Then when she hears of his affections
still living, and his heart still yearning, and thinks of the use-
lessness of the sacrifice she has made voluntarily, she touches the
hair on her forehead, and she becomes regretful. She may indeed
do her best to persevere in her resolve, but if one single tear
bedews her cheek she is no longer strong in the sanctity of her
Vow. Weakness of this kind would be in the eyes of Buddha
more sinful than those offenses which are committed by those
who never leave the lay circle at all, and she would eventually
wander about in the wrong passage. '
“But there are also women who are too self-confident and
obtrusive. These, if they discover some slight inconsistency in
men, fiercely betray their indignation and behave with arrogance.
A man may show a little inconsistency occasionally, but yet his
affection may remain; then matters will in time become right
again, and they will pass their lives happily together. If there-
fore the woman cannot show a tolerable amount of patience, this
will but add to her unhappiness. She should, above all things,
strive not to give way to excitement; and when she experiences
any unpleasantness, she should speak of it frankly but with
moderation. And if there should be anything worse than unpleas-
antness, she should even then complain of it in such a way as
not to irritate the man. If she guides her conduct on principles
such as these, even her very words, her very demeanor, may in
all probability increase his sympathy and consideration for her.
)
(


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((
One's self-denial, and the restraint which one imposes upon one's
self, often depend on the way in which another behaves to us.
The woman who is too indifferent and too forgiving is also
inconsiderate. Remember, “The unmoored boat floats about. Is
it not so ? ”
To-no-Chiūjio quickly nodded assent, as he said:-"Quite true!
A woman who has no strength of emotion, no passion of sorrow
or of joy, can never be a holder of us. Nay, even jealousy, if
not carried to the extent of undue suspicion, is not undesirable.
If we ourselves are not in fault, and leave the matter alone,
such jealousy may easily be kept within due bounds.
But stop,"
added he suddenly: “some women have to bear, and do bear,
every grief that they may encounter, with unmurmuring and suf-
fering patience. ”
So said Tö-no-Chiūjio, who implied by this allusion that his
sister was a woman so circumstanced.