Japanese lyrics

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JAPANESE LYRICS

^''i A*©- ^oi

^S? ^4? li?

JAPANESE LYRICS

TRANSLATED BY

LAFCADIO HEARN

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

dtie Kiteri^ilie ^it0 Cambribge

^9^5

COPYRIGHT, 1894 AND 1895, BY LAFCADIO HEARl

COPYRIGHT, 1896, 1897, 1904, AND 1905, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY

COPYRIGHT, 19x5, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Published April igij

Seki wa yoi toko,
Asahi wo ukete ;
O-Yama arashlga
Soyo-soyoto !

Song of Mionoseki.

[Seki is a goodly place ^ facing the morning sun. T'here, from
the holy mountains^ the winds blow softly ^ softly^ — soyo-
soyoto.]

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

Scattered through the pages of Lafcadio Mearri s writ'
ings are many 'Japanese lyrics. So graceful are these little
poems y so characteristic , in their swift , sure impressionism^
of Oriental art, that it has seemed worth while to bring
them together within the compass of a single volume.

It is perhaps unnecessary to analyze here the distinctive
features of Japanese poetry. The reader will understand
that as the poets relied for their effect largely upon the oppor-
tunities for subtle and intricate double meanings afforded by
the peculiar structure of the Japanese language , it is scarcely
possible to do them justice in an alien tongue. But these
translations, though faithful to the original, have the innate
feeling for beauty, the instinctive sense of the right word,
the perfect phrase, common to everything that came from
HearrHs pen.

To preserve the volume from the appearance of undue
weightiness the interpretive notes with which the poems are
accompanied have been reduced to the smallest possible com-
pass. Indeed, in many cases the elaborate plays upon words
are too involved to be susceptible of explanation.

In their limitation of a poem to the presentation of a

[vii]

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

single impression and in their ability to present that impres-
sion with the utmost vividness and with the sternest economy
of words y these ^Japanese poets are strangely akin to the
Imagists, the youngest of the modern schools. And for
this reason it has seemed peculiarly appropriate that their
work should be included in the New Poetry Series.

CONTENTS

Insect Poems i

Lullabies and Children's Verse ii

Love Songs and Lyrics 21

Goblin Poetry 29

The River of Heaven 55

Notes 8i

JAPANESE LYRICS
INSECT POEMS

.;J:APANESE LYRICS

Nugi-kakuru

Haori sugata no

Kocho kana !

Torisashi no

Sao no jama suru,

Kocho kana !

Tsurigane ni

Tomarite nemuru

Kocho kana!

to5

Neru-uchi mo
Asobu-yume wo ya —
Kusa no cho!

Oki, oki yo!
Waga tomo ni sen,
Neru-kocho !

Kago no tori
Cho wo urayamu
Metsuki kana!

Cho tonde —
Kaze naki hi to mo
Miezari ki!

[ 2 ]

INSECT POEMS

Like a woman slipping off her haori"^ — that
is the appearance of a butterfly.

Ah, the butterfly keeps getting in the way of
the bird-catcher's pole I

Perched upon the temple-belly the butterfly
sleeps:

Even while sleeping, its dream is of play
ah, the butterfly of the grass I

Wake up ! wake up! — / will make thee my
comrade, thou sleeping butterfly.

Ah, the sad expression in the eyes of that caged i
bird! — envying the butterfly !

Even though it did not appear to be a windy
day, the fluttering of the butterflies — /

[3]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Rakkwa eda ni
Kaeru to mireba —
Kocho kana!

Chiru-hana ni —
Karusa arasoii
Kocho kana !

Chocho ya !
Onna no michi no
Ato ya saki!

Chocho ya!
Hana-nusubito wo
Tsukete-yuku !

Aki no cho
Tomo nakereba ya;
Hito ni tsuku.

Owarete mo,
Isoganu furi no
Chocho kana !

Ch5 wa mina
Jiu-shichi-hachi no
Sugata kana!

[4]

INSECT POEMS

When I saw the fallen flower return to the
branch — lo ! it was only a butterfly!^

How the butterfly strives to compete in light-
ness with the falling flowers I

See that butterfly on the woman! s path^ — now
fluttering behind her, now before I

Ha I the butterfly ! — it is following the person ^'
who stole the flowers !

\ Poor autumn butterfly I — when left without "^

a comrade, it follows after man I

\ Ah, the butterfly ! Even when chased ^ it never

has the air of being in a hurry,

f As for butterflies, they all have the appear-

ance of being about seventeen or eighteen years old?

[5]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Cho tobu ya —
Kono yo no urami
Naki yo ni!

Cho tobu ya,
Kono yo ni nozomi
Nai yo ni!

Nami no hana ni
Tomari kanetaru,
Kocho kana !

Mutsumashi ya! —
Umare-kawaraba
Nobe no cho.

•>4V'*

Nadeshiko ni

Chocho shiroshi —

Tare no kon?

Ichi-nichi no
Tsuma to miekeri —
Cho futatsu.

Kite wa maii,

Futari shidzuka no

Kocho kana!

[6]

INSECT POEMS

How the butterfly sports, — just as if there
were no enmity in this world!

Ah, the butterfly! — it sports about as if it
had nothing more to desire in this present state of
existence.

Having found it difficult indeed to perch upon
the lyfoam-^ blossoms of the waves, — alas for the ^
butterfly !

If [in our next existence) we be reborn as but-
terflies upon the moor, then perchance we may be
happy together!

On the pink-flower there is a white butterfly :
whose spirit, I wonder ?

The one-day wife has at last appeared — a
pair of butterflies !

Approaching they dance; but when the two
meet at last they are very quiet, the butterflies!

[7]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Cho wo ou
Kokoro-mochitashi
Itsumademo !

%*

Yuku e naki:
Ari no sumai ya !
Go-getsu ame.

Hito koe wa.
Tsuki ga naitaka
Hototogisu !

Hototogisu

Nakitsuru kata wo

Nagamureba, —
Tada ariake no
Tsuki zo nokoreru.

Hototogisu

Chi ni naku koe wa

Ariake no

Tsuki yori hokani
Kiku hito mo nashi.

[8]

INSECT POEMS

Would that I might airways have the desire of
chasing butterflies!

Now the poor creature has nowhere to go! . . .
Alas for the dwellings of the ants in this rain of
the ^Uj month!

A solitary voice! Did the Moon cry? 'Twas
but the hototogisu^

When I gaze towards the place where I heard
the hototogisu cry, lo ! there is naught save the wan
morning moon.

Save only the morning moon, none heard the
heart' s-blood cry of the hototogisu.

[9]

LULLABIES

AND

CHILDREN'S VERSE

JAPANESE LYRICS

Nenneko,
O-yama no
Usagi no ko.
Naze mata
O-mimi ga
Nagai e yara ?
Okkasan no
O-naka ni
Oru toku ni,
Biwa no ha,
Sasa no ha,
Tabeta sona;
Sore de
O-mimi ga
Nagai e sona.

[ 12 ]

LULLABIES AND CHILDREN'S VERSE

Sleep, babjy sleep! Why are the honorable
ears of the Child of the Hare of the honorable moun-
tain so long ? 'T is because when he dwelt within
her honored womb, his mamma ate the leaves of the
loquat, the leaves of the bamboo-grass. That is why
his honorable ears are so long.

[ >3]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Nono-San,

or
0-Tsuki-San
Ikutsu ?
"Jiu-san, —
Kokonotsu."
Sore wa mada
Wakai yo,
Wakai ye mo
Dori

Akai iro no
Obi to,
Shiro iro no
Obi to

Koshi ni shanto
Musun de.
Uma ni yaru ?

" lyaiya ! "
Ushi ni yaru ?
"lyaiya!"

[ H]

LULLABIES AND CHILDREN'S VERSE

Nono-San,
Little Lady Moon,
How old are you ?
" Thirteen days, —
Thirteen and nine J'
That is still young.
And the reason must be
For that bright red obiy
So nicely tied,^
And that nice white girdle
About your hips.
Will you give it to the horse?

''Oh, no, noT
Will you give it to the cow ?

''Oh, no, no!''

[ ^5]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Tobi, tobi, maute mise !
Ashita no ba ni
Karasu ni kakushite
Nezumi yaru.

Ato no karasu saki ine,
Ware ga iye ga yakeru ken,
Hayo inde midzu kake,
Midzu ga nakya yarozo,
Amattara ko ni yare,
Ko ga nakya modose.

Hotaru koe midzu nomasho ;
Achi no midzu wa nigaizo ;
Kochi no midzu wa amaizo.

Cho-cho, ch5-cho, na no ha ni tomare ;
Na no ha ga iyenara, te ni tomare.

Daidaimushi, daidaimushi, tsuno chitto dashare
Ame kaze fuku kara tsuno chitto dashare !

[ i6 ]

LULLABIES AND CHILDREN'S VERSE

Kite, kite, let me see you dance, and to-mor-
row evening, when the crows do not know, I will give
you a rat.

O tardy crow, hasten forward! Your house
is all on fire. Hurry to throw water upon it. If
there be no water, I will give you. If you have too
much, give it to your child. If you have no childy
then give it back to me.

Come, firefly, I will give you water to drink.
The water of that place is bitter ; the water here is
sweet.

Butterfly, little butterfly, light upon them leaf.
But if thou dost not like the na leaf, light, I pray
thee, upon my hand.

Snail, snail, put out your horns a little: it
rains and the wind is blowing, so put out your horns ^
just for a little while.

[ 17 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Wakakereba
Nichi-yuki shiraji :

Mahi wa semu,
Shitabe no tsukahi
Ohite-tohorase.

[ ^8 ]

LULLABIES AND CHILDREN'S VERSE

As he is so young, he cannot know the way.
. . . T^othemessenger of the Underworld I will give
a bribe y and entreat him, saying : " Do thou kindly
take the little one upon thy back along the roadJ'^

[ ^9]

LOVE SONGS

AND

LYRICS

JAPANESE LYRICS

Ka-mi-yo ko-no-ka-ta
Ka-wa-ra-nu mo-no wa :
Mi-dzu no na-ga-re to
Ko-i no mi-chi.

Eko suru tote
Hotoke no mae ye
Futari mukaite,
Konabe date.

Adana e-gao ni
Mayowanu mono wa
Ki-Butsu, — kana-Butsu,
Ishi-botoke !

Asu ari to
Omo kokoro no

Ada-zakura :
Yo wa ni arashi no
Fukanu monokawa?

Kawaru uki-yo ni
Kawaranu mono wa
Kawarumai to no
Koi no michi.

[ 22]

LOVE SONGS AND LYRICS

Things never changed since the Time of the Gods
The flowing of water y the Way of Love,

"Even while praying together in front of the tablets

ancestraly
Lovers find chance to murmur prayers never meant

for the deadn

He who was never bewitched by the charming smile

of a woman,
A wooden Buddha is he — a Buddha of bronze or

stone !

Thinking to - morrow remains ^ thou heart's frail

flower-of -cherry ?
How knowest whether this night the tempest will

not come ?

All things change y we are told, in this world of

change and sorrow ;
But love's way never changes of promising never to

change,

[^3]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Oya no iken de
Akirameta no wo
Mata mo rin-ye de
Omoi-dasu.

Kaai, kaai to
Naku mushi yori mo
Nakanu hotaru ga
Mi wo kogasu.
Nanno ingwa de
Jitsu naki hito ni
Shin wo akashite, —
Aa kuyashi !

Wasuraruru
Mi naran to omo

Kokoro koso
Wasure nu yori mo
Omoi nari-kere.

•ifjC"

Hi kurureba
Sasoeshi mono wo —

Akanuma no
Makomo no kure no
Hitori-ne zo uki !

[ 24]

LOVE SONGS AND LYRICS

Father and mother forbade ^ and so I gave up my

lover; —
Tet still, with the whirl of the Wheel^ the thought

of him comes and goes.

Numberless insects there are that call from dawn

to evening.
Crying, "/ love! I love!'' — but the Firefly's

silent passion.
Making its body burn, is deeper than all their longing.
Even such is my love . . . yet I cannot think

through what ingwa ^
I opened my heart — alas! — to a being not sincere !

To wish to be forgotten by the beloved is a
soul-task harder far than trying not to forget, Q

At the coming of twilight I invited him to
return with me — / Now to sleep alone in the
shadow of the rushes of Akanuma — ah ! what
misery unspeakable /" ^°

[25]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Koshi o-son gojin wo ou ;
Ryokuju namida wo tarete rakin wo hitataru ;
Komon hitotabi irite fukaki koto umi no gotoshi ;
Kore yori shoro kore rojin.

Tadzunetsuru,
Hana ka tote koso.

Hi wo kurase,
Akenu ni otoru
Akane sasuran ?

Izuru hi no
Honomeku iro wo

Waga sode ni
Tsutsumaba asu mo
Kimiya tomaran.

Omae shindara tera ewa yaranu !
Yaete konishite sake de nomu.

[26]

LOVE SONGS AND LYRICS

Closely, closely the youthful prince now follows
after the gem-bright maid ; —

The tears of the fair one^fallingy have mois-
tened all her robes.

But the august lord, having once become en-
amored of her — the depth of his longing is like the
depth of the sea.

Therefore it is only I that am left for lorn, —
only I that am left to wander alone.

Being on my way to pay a visit, I found that
which I took to be a flower : therefore here I spend
the day. . . . Why, in the time before dawn, the
dawn-blush tint should glow — that, indeed, I know
not. "

If with my sleeve I hide the faint fair color
of the dawning sun, — then, perhaps, in the morn-
ing my lord will remain.

Dear, shouldst thou die, grave shall hold thee

never !
I thy body's ashes, mixed with wine, will drink.

[^7]

GOBLIN POETRY

JAPANESE LYRICS

Hi tomoshite
Kitsune no kwaseshi,

Asobime wa —
Izuka no uma no
Hone ni ya aruran !

Kitsune-bi no
Moyuru ni tsukete,

Waga tama no
Kiyuru yo nari
Kokoro-hoso-michi !

Ko-ya, sore to ?
Ayame mo wakanu

Rikombyo :
Izure wo tsuma to
Hiku zo wazuraii !

Futatsu naki
Inochi nagara mo

Kakegae no
Karada no miyuru —
Kage no wazurai !

r 30 ]

GOBLIN POETRY

— Ah the wanton [lighting her lantern^ ! —
so a fox-fire '^ is kindled in the time of fox-trans-
formation! . . . Perhaps she is really nothing
more than an old horse -bone ^^ from somewhere
or other, . . .

Because of that Fox-fire burning there ^ the very
soul of me is like to be extinguished in this narrow
path.

Which one is this ? — which one is that ? Be-
tween the two shapes of the Rikombyo^^ it is not
possible to distinguish. To find out which is the real
wife — that will be an affliction of spirit indeed!

Two lives there certainly are not ; — never-
theless an extra body is visible ^ by reason of the
Shadow-Sickness,

[31 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Naga-tabi no
Oto wo shitaite

Mi futatsu ni
Naru wa onna no
Saru rikombyo.

Miru kage mo
Naki wazurai no

Rikombyo, —
Omoi no hoka ni
Futatsu miru kage !

Rikombyo
Hito ni kakushite

Oku-zashiki,
Omote y deasanu
Kage no wazurai.

Mi wa koko ni ;
Tama wa otoko ni

Soine suru ; —
Kokoro mo shiraga
Haha ga kaiho.

[32 ]

GOBLIN POETRY

Yearning after her far-journeying husband,
the woman has thus become two bodies y by reason' of
her ghostly sickness.

Though [it was said that), because of her
ghostly sickness, there was not even a shadow of her
left to be seen, — yet, contrary to expectation, there
are two shadows of her to be seen I

Afflicted with the Rikombyo, she hides away
from people in the back room, and never approaches
the front of the house, — because of her Shadow-
disease.

Here her body lies but her soul is far away,
asleep in the arms of a man ; — and the white-haired
mother, little knowing her daughter s heart, is nurs-
ing [only the body),

[ 33]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Tamakushige
Futatsu no sugata

Misenuru wa,
Awase-kagami no
Kage no wazurai.

•iff

Me wa kagami,
Kuchi wa tarai no

Hodo ni aku :
Gama mo k6sho no
Mono to koso shire.

Hamaguri no
Kuchi aku toki ya,

Shinkiro !
Yo ni shirare ken
Tatsu-no-miya-hime !

Shinkiro —
Tatsu no miyako no

Hinagata wo
Shio-hi no oki ni
Misuru hamaguri !

[34]

GOBLIN POETRY

If^ when seated before her toilet-stand, she
sees two faces reflected in her mirror, — that might
be caused by the mirror doubling itself under the
influence of the Shadow-Sickness .^"^

The eye of it, widely open, like a {round)
mirror; the mouth of it opening like a wash-basin
— by these things you may know that the Toad is
a toilet article, ^^

When the hamaguri^'^ opens its mouth — lo I
Shinkiro appears / . . . Then all can clearly see the
Maiden-Princess of the Dragon-Palace.

Lo ! in the offing at ebb-tide, the hamaguri
makes visible the miniature image of Shinkiro — the
Dragon- Capital I

[ 35 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Nemidare no
Nagaki kami woba

Furi-wakete,
Chi hiro ni nobasu
Rokuro-Kubi kana !

" Atama naki
Bakemono nari'' — to

Rokuro-Kubi,
Mite odorokan
Onoga karada wo.

Tsuka-no-ma ni
Hari wo tsutawaru,

Rokuro-Kubi
Keta-keta warau —
Kao no kowasa yo!

Roku shaku no
Byobu ni nobiru

Rokuro-Kubi
Mite wa, go shaku no
Mi wo chijimi-keri !

[ 36 ]

GOBLIN POETRY

Oh / . . . Shaking loose her long hair disheveled
by sleepy the Rokuro-Kubi '^ stretches her neck to
the length of a thousand fathoms I

Will not the Rokuro-Kubiy viewing with as-
tonishment^^ her own body [left behind) cry outy
" Ohy what a headless goblin have you become T'

Swiftly gliding along the roof-beam^ the Ro-
kuro-Kubi laughs with the sound of ^^ keta-keta'*
— oh! the fearfulness of her face I

Beholding the Rokuro-Kubi rise up above the
six-foot screen, any five-foot person would have
become shortened by fear,

[37]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Yuki-Onna —
Yoso kushi mo

Atsu kori;
Sasu-kogai ya
Kori naruran.

Honrai wa
Ku naru mono ka,

Yuki-Onna?
Yoku-yoku mireba
Ichi-butsu mo nashi !

Yo-akereba
Kiete yuku e wa

Shirayuki no
Onna to mishi mo
Yanagi nari-keri!

'■tii'

Yuki-Onna
Mite wa yasathiku,

Matsu wo ori
Nama-dake hishigu
Chikara ari-keri!

[ 38]

GOBLIN POETRY

As for the Snow- Woman, ^° — even her best
comb, if I mistake not, is made of thick ice ; and
her hair-pin, too, is probably made of ice.

Was she, then, a delusion from the very first,
that Snow-Woman, — a thing that vanishes into
empty space ? When I look carefully all about me,
not one trace of her is to be seen !

Having vanished at daybreak [that Snow-
Woman), none could say whither she had gone. But
what had seemed to be a snow-white woman became
indeed a willow-tree I

Though the Snow-Woman appears to sight
slender and gentle, yet, to snap the pine-trees asunder
and to crush the live bamboos, she must have had
strength,

[39]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Samukesa ni
Zotto wa suredo

Yuki-Onna, —
Yuki ore no naki
Yanagi-goshi ka mo!

».??

Erimoto ye
Mizu kakeraruru

Kokochi seri,
"Hishaku kase" cho
Fune no kowane ni.

Yurei ni
Kasu-hishaku yori

Ichi-hayaku
Onore ga koshi mo
Nukeru sencho.

Yurei wa
Ki naru Izumi no

Hito nagara,
Ao-umibara ni
Nadote itsuran ?

[40]

GOBLIN POETRY

Though the Snow-Woman makes one shiver
by her coldness, — ah, the willowy grace of her form
charms us in spite of the cold.''''

As if the nape of our necks had been sprin-
kled with cold water, — so we felt while listening
to the voice of the ship-ghost, saying: — *^ Lend me
a dipper!''''''

The loins of the captain himself were knocked
out very much more quickly than the bottom of the
dipper that was to be given to the ghost.

Since any ghost must be an inhabitant of the
Yellow Springs, ""^ how should a ghost appear on the
Blue Sea-Plain?

[41 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Sono sugata,
Ikari wo ot'e,

Tsuki-matoii
Fune no hesaki ya
Tomomori no rei !

Tsumi fukaki
Umi ni shidzumishi,
Yurei no
"Ukaman" tote ya !
Fune ni sugareru.

Ukaman to
Fune wo shitaeru

Yurei wa,
Shidzumishi hito no
Omoi naruran.

Urameshiki
Sugata wa sugoki

Yurei no,
Kaji wo jama suru
Fune no Tomomori.

[42 ]

GOBLIN POETRY

T^hat Shape y carrying the anchor on its back,
and following after the ship — now at the how and
now at the stern — ah, the ghost of TomomoriJ^^

Crying, " Now perchance I shall be saved I "
the ghost that sank into the deep Sea of Sin clings
to the passing ship I ^5

The ghosts following after our ship in their
efforts to rise again [or, "/^ be save d''^ might per-
haps be the [last vengeful) thoughts ^^ of drowned
men.

With vengeful aspect, the grisly ghost of
Tomomori (rises) at the stern of the ship to hinder
the play of her rudder,

[43]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Ochi-irite,
Uwo no ejiki to

Nari ni ken ; —
Funa-yurei mo
Nama-kusaki kaze.

Shiwo-hi ni wa
Seizoroe shite,

Heikegani
Ukiyo no sama wo
Yoko ni niramitsu.

Saikai ni
Shizumi-nuredomo,

Heikegani
Kora no iro mo
Yahari aka-hata.

Make-ikusa
Munen to mune ni

Hasami ken ; —
Kao mo makka ni
Naru Heikegani.

[44]

GOBLIN POETRY

Having perished in the sea, [those Heike)
would probably have become food for fishes, ( Any-
how, whenever) the ship following ghosts (^appear),
the wind has a smell of raw fish !

Marshaled [on the beach) at the ebb of the
tide, the Heike-crabs ^^ obliquely glare at the appa^
rition of this miserable world.

Though [the Heike) long ago sank and per-
ished in the Western Sea, the Heike-crabs still dis-
play upon their upper shells the color of the Red
Standard,

Because of the pain of defeat, claws have
grown on their breasts, I think ; — even the faces
of the Heike-crabs have become crimson [with anger
and shame) .

[45]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Mikata mina
Oshi-tsubusareshi

Heikegani
Ikon wo mune ni
Hasami mochikeri.

Tokonoma ni
Ikeshi tachiki mo

Taore-keri ;
Yanari ni yama no
Ugoku kakemono!

Saka-bashira
Tateshi wa tazo ya?

Kokoro ni mo
Fushi aru hito no
Shiwaza naruran.

Hidayama wo
Kiri-kite tateshi

Saka-bashira —
Nanno takumi no
Shiwaza naruran?

[46]

GOBLIN POETRY

All the [Heike) party having been utterly
crushedy claws have grown upon the breasts of the
Heik'e-crabs because of the resentment in their hearts.

Even the live tree set in the alcove has fallen
down ; and the mountains in the hanging picture
tremble to the quaking made by the Tanari I ^^

Who set the house-pillar upside-down ? Surely
that must have been the work of a man with a knot
in his heart J^^

That house-pillar hewn in the mountains of
Hida, and thence brought here and erected upside-
down — what carpenter s work can it be ? ^^^

[47]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Ue shita wo
Chigaete tateshi

Hashira ni wa
Sakasama-goto no
Urei aranan.

Kabe ni mimi
Arite, kike to ka?

Sakashima ni
Tateshi hashira ni
Yanari suru oto!
*%

Uri-iye no
Aruji wo toeba,

Oto arite :
Ware me ga kuchi wo
Aku saka-bashira.

Omoikiya !
Sakasa-bashira no

Hashira-kake
Kakinishit uta mo
Yamai ari to wa !

[48]

GOBLIN POETRY

As for that house-pillar mistakenly planted
upside-down^ it will certainly cause adversity and

sorrow.

O Ears that he in the wall I ^^ listen y will ye ?
to the groaning and the creaking of the house-post
that was planted upside-down !

When I inquired for the master of the house
that was for sale, there came to me only a strange
sound by way of reply ^ — the sound of the upside-
down house-post opening its eyes and mouth! (i.e.
its knots and cracks.)

Who could have thought it I — even the poem
inscribed upon the pillar-tablet ^ attached to the pil-
lar which was planted upside-down^ has taken the
same (ghostly) sickness.'^^

[49]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Nanige naki
Ishi no Jizo no

Sugata sae,
Yo wa osoroshiki
Mikage to zo naki.

Ita hitoe
Shita wa Jigoku ni,

Sumizome no
Bozu no umi ni
Deru mo ayashina !

Hegasan to
Rokuji-no-fuda wo,

Yurei mo
Nam'mai da to
Kazoete zo miru.

Tada ichi no
Kami no o-fuda wa

Sasuga ni mo
Norike naku to mo
Hegashi kanekeri.

[50]

GOBLIN POETRY

T^ hough the stone yizo looks as if nothing
were the matter with it, they say that at night it
assumes an awful aspect?^

Since there is but the thickness of a single
plank [between the voyager and the sea), and un-
derneath is Hell, V is indeed a weird thing that a
black-robed priest should rise from the sea !'^^

Even the ghost that would remove the charms^^
written with six characters actually tries to count
them, repeating : " How many sheets are there ? " 37

Of the august written - charms of the god
{which were pasted upon the walls of the house) y not
even one could by any effort be pulled off, though the
rice-paste with which they had been fastened was
all gone.

[51 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Yo-arashi ni
Chishiho itadaku

Furu tsubaki,
Hota-hota ochiru
Hana no nama-kubi.

%«

Kusa mo ki mo
Nemureru koro no

Sayo kaze ni,
Mehana no ugoku
Furu-tsubaki kana !

Tomoshibi no
Kage ayashige ni

Miyenuru wa
Abura shiborishi
Furu-tsubaki ka-mo?

[ 52 ]

GOBLIN POETRY

When by the night-storm is shaken the blood-
crowned and ancient tsubaki-tree,^^ then one by one
fall the gory heads of the Jlowers, {with the sound
of^ hota-hota!

When even' the grass and the trees are sleep-
ing under the faint wind of the night, — then do the
eyes and the noses (or^^ the buds and the flowers '*)
of the old tsubaki-tree move I

As for (the reason why) the light of that lamp
appears to be a Weirdness, — perhaps the oil was
expressed from (the nuts of) the ancient tsubaki?^'^

[53]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

JAPANESE LYRICS

The following group of poems are all from the Manyoshu^
or " Gathering of a Myriad Leaves/* a vast collection of
poems composed before the middle of the eighth century.
They represent the old classic poetry at its purest, free from
alien influence ; and they offer us many suggestions as to
the condition of Japanese life and thought twelve hundred
years ago. The legend to which they refer is as follows : —

The great god of the firmament had a lovely daughter,
Tanabata-tsume, who passed her days in weaving garments
for her august parent. She rejoiced in her work, and thought
that there was no greater pleasure than the pleasure of weav-
ing. But one day, as she sat before her loom at the door
of her heavenly dwelling, she saw a handsome peasant lad
pass by, leading an ox, and she fell in love with him. Her
august father, divining her secret wish, gave her the youth
for a husband. But the wedded lovers became too fond of
each other, and neglected their duty to the god of the firma-
ment ; the sound of the shuttle was no longer heard, and the
ox wandered, unheeded, over the plains of heaven. There-
fore the great god was displeased, and he separated the pair.
They were sentenced to live thereafter apart, with the Celestial %
River ^° between them ; but it was permitted them to see each
other once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon.
On that night — providing the skies be clear — the birds
of heaven make, with their bodies and wings, a bridge over
the stream ; and by means of that bridge the lovers can meet.
But if there be rain, the River of Heaven rises, and becomes
so wide that the bridge cannot be formed. So the husband
and wife cannot always meet, even on the seventh night of

[ 56 ] J

1

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

the seventh month; it may happen, by reason of bad weather,
that they cannot meet for three or four years at a time. But
their love remains immortally young and eternally patient;
and they continue to fulfil their respective duties each day
without fault, — happy in their hope of being able to meet
on the seventh night of the next seventh month.

JAPANESE LYRICS

Amanogawa
Ai-muki tachite,

Waga koishi
Kimi kimasu nari
Himo-toki makena!

Hisakata no
Ama no kawase ni,

Fune ukete,
Koyoi ka kimi ga

Agari kimasan ?

Kaze kumo wa
Futatsu no kishi ni

Kayoedomo,
Waga toho-tsuma no
Koto zo kayowanu !
$"'$

Tsubute ni mo
Nage koshitsu-beki,

Amanogawa
Hedatereba ka mo,
Amata sube-naki !

[58]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

He is coming, my long-desired lord, whom I
have been waiting to meet here, on the hanks of the
River of Heaven. , . . The moment of loosening
my girdle is nigh ! ^^

Over the Rapids of the Everlasting Heaven,
floating in his boat, my lord will doubtless deign to
come to me this very night.

Though winds and clouds to either bank may
freely come or go, between myself and my far-away
spouse no message whatever may pass.

To the opposite bank one might easily fling a
pebble ; yet, being separated from him by the River
of Heaven^ alas! to hope for a meeting (except in
autumn^ is utterly useless,

[59]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Aki-kaze no
Fukinishi hi yori

"Itsushika'' to — ;
Waga machi koishi
Kimi zo kimaseru.

Amanogawa
Ito kawa-nami wa

Tatanedomo,
Samorai gatashi —
Chikaki kono se wo.

Sode furaba
Mi mo kawashitsu-beku

Chika-keredo,
Wataru sube nashi,
Aki nishi araneba.

KageroT no
Honoka ni miete

Wakarenaba ; —
Motonaya koi'n
Aii-toki made wa !

[60]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

From the day that the autumn wind began to
blow [I kept saying to myself), ^' Ah! when shall
we meet?'' — but now my beloved, for whom I
waited and longed, has come indeed I

though the waters of the River of Heaven
have not greatly risen, [yet to cross) this near
stream and to wait upon (my lord and lover) re-
mains impossible.

Though she is so near that the waving of her
{long) sleeves can be distinctly seen, yet there is no
way to cross the stream before the season of autumn.

When we were separated, I had seen her for
a moment only, — and dimly as one sees a flying
midge ; now I must vainly long for her as before,
until time of our next meeting I

[6i]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Hikoboshi no
Tsuma mukae-bune

Kogizurashi, —
Ama-no-Kawara ni
Kiri no tateru wa.

Kasumi tatsu
Ama-no-Kawara ni,

Kimi matsu to, —
Ikayo hodo ni
Mono-suso nurenu.

Amanogawa,
Mi-tsu no nami oto

Sawagu-nari :
Waga matsu-kimi no
Funade-surashi mo.

Tanabata no
Sode maku yoi np

Akatoki wa,
Kawase no tazu wa
Nakazu to mo yoshi.

[ 62 ]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

Methinks that Hikoboshi must be rowing his
boat to meet his wife^ — for a mist [as of oar-
spray) is rising over the course of the Heavenly
Stream.

While awaiting my lord on the misty shore
of the River oj Heaven y the ski?'ts of my robe have
somehow become wet.

On the River of Heaven, at the place of the
august ferry, the sound of the water has become
loud: perhaps my long-awaited lord will soon be
coming in his boat.

As T^anabata [slumbers) with her long sleeves
rolled up, until the reddening of the dawn, do not,
O storks of the river-shallows, awaken her by your
cries.

[63]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Amanogawa
Kiri-tachi-wataru :

Kyo, kyo, to —
Waga matsu-koishi
Funade-surashi !

Amanogawa,
Yasu no watari ni,

Fune ukete ; —
Waga tachi-matsu to
Imo ni tsuge koso.

O-sora yo
Kayo ware sura,

Na ga yue ni,
Amanokawa-ji no
Nazumite zo koshi.

Yachihoko no
Kami no mi-yo yori

Tomoshi-zuma ; —
Hito-shiri ni keri
Tsugiteshi omoeba.

[64]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

[She sees that) a mist is spreading across the
River of Heaven. ..." To-day, to-day,'' she
thinks, ''my long-awaited lord will probably come
over in his boat''

By the ferry of Tasu, on the River of Hea-
ven, the boat is floating : I pray you tell my be-
loved that I stand here and wait.

Though I [being a Star-god) can pass freely
to and fro, through the great sky, — yet to cross
over the River of Heaven, for your sake, was
weary work indeed!

From the august Age of the God-of- Eight-
Thousand- Spears, she had been my spouse in secret
only ; yet now, because of my constant longing for
her, our relation has become known to men,

[65 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Ame tsuchi to
Wakareshi toki yo

Onoga tsuma ;
Shika zo te ni aru
Aki matsu are wa.

Waga koru
Niho no omo wa

Koyoi" mo ka
Ama-no-kawara ni
Ishi-makura makan.

Amanogawa.
Mikomori-gusa no

Aki-kaze ni
Nabikafu mireba,
Toki kitarurashi.

Waga seko ni
Ura-koi oreba,

Amanogawa
Yo-fune kogi-toyomu
Kaji no 'to kikoyu.

[ 66]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

From the time when heaven and earth were
parted^ she has been my own wife ; — yet, to be with -^
her, I must always wait till autumn.

With my beloved, of the ruddy-tinted cheeks,
this night indeed will I descend into the. bed oj the
River of Heaven, to sleep on a pillow of stone.

When I see the water-grasses of the River of
Heaven bend in the autumn wind [I think to f?iy-
self) : ** The time ( for our meeting) seems to have

come J'

When I feel in my heart a sudden longing for
my husband, then on the River of Heaven the sound
of the rowing of the night-boat is heard, and the
plash of the oar resounds.

[67]

JAPANESE LYRICS

To-zuma to
Tamakura kawashi

Netaru yo wa,
Tori-gane na naki
Akeba aku to mo !

Yorozu-yo ni
Tazusawari ite

Ai mi-domo,
Omoi-sugu-beki
Koi naranaku ni,

Waga tame to,
Tanabata-tsume no,

Sono yado ni,
Oreru shirotai
Nuit ken kamo ?

Shirakumo no
I-ho e kakurite

To-kedomo,
Yoi'-sarazu min
Imo ga atari wa.

[68]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

In the night when I am reposing with my
(now) far-away spouse, having exchanged jewel-
pillows^^ with her, let not the cock crow, even
though the day should dawn.

Though for a myriad ages we should remain
hand-in-hand and face to face, our exceeding love
could never come to an end, ( Why then should Hea-
ven deem it necessary to part us ?)

The white cloth which Tanabata has woven
for my sake, in that dwelling of hers, is now, I
think, being made into a robe for me.

Though she be far-away, and hidden from me
by five hundred layers of white cloud, still shall I
turn my gaze each night toward the dwelling-place
of my younger sister [wife) ,

[69]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Aki sareba
Kawagiri tateru

Amanogawa,
Kawa ni muki-ite
Kru yo zo oki!

Hito-tose ni
Nanuka no yo nomi

Au-hito no —
Koi mo tsuki-neba
Sayo zo ake ni keru!

Toshi no koi
Koyoi tsukushite,

Asu yori wa,
Tsune no gotoku ya
Waga koi oran.

Hikoboshi to
Tanabata-tsume to

Koyoi" aii ; —
Ama-no-Kawa to ni
Nami tatsu-na yume !

[ 70 ]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

When autumn comes , and the river ~ mists
spread over the Heavenly Stream^ I turn toward
the river [and long) ; and the nights of my longing
are many !

But once in the whole year, and only upon the
seventh night [of the seventh month), to meet the
beloved person — and lo I The day has dawned be-
fore our mutual love could express [or *' satisfy"^
itself!

The love-longing of one whole year having
ended to-night, every day from to-morrow I must )
again pine for him as before !

Hikoboshi and T anabata-tsume are to meet
each other to-night ; — ye waves of the River of
Heaven, take heed that ye do not rise !

[71 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Aki-kaze no
Fuki tadayowasu

Shirakumo wa,
Tanabata-tsume no
Amatsu hire kamo ?

Shiba-shiba mo
Ai minu kimi wo,

Amanogawa
Funa-de haya seyo
Yo no fukenu ma ni,

Amanogawa
Kiri taphi-watari

Hikoboshi no
Kaji no 'to kikoyu
Yo no fuke-yukeba.

Amanogawa
Kawa 'to sayakeshi :

Hikoboshi no
Haya kogu fune no
Nami no sawagi ka ?

[ 72]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

Oh ! that white cloud driven by the autumn-
wind — can it be the heavenly hire ^'^ ofTanabata-
tsume ?

Because he is my not-often-to-be-met beloved^
hasten to row the boat across the River of Heaven
ere the night be advanced.

Late in the night, a mist spreads over the
River of Heaven ; and the sound of the oar ofHi-
koboshi is heard.

On the River of Heaven a sound of plashing
can be distinctly heard: is it the sound of the rip-
pling made by Hikoboshi quickly rowing his boat ?

[ 73 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Kono yube,
Furikuru ame wa,

Hikoboshi no
Haya kogu fune no
Kai no chiri ka mo.

Waga tama-doko wo

Asu yori wa

Uchi harai,
Kimi to inezute
Hitori ka mo nen !

Kaze fukite,
Kawa-nami tachinu ;

Hiki-fune ni
Watari mo kimase
Yo no fukenu ma ni.

Amanogawa
Nami wa tatsutomo

Waga fune wa
Iza kogi iden
Yo no fukenu ma ni.

[74]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

Perhaps this evening shower is but the spray
{flung down) from the oar of Hikoboshi^ rowing
his boat in haste.

From to-morrow y alas ! after having put my
jewel-bed in order ^ no longer reposing with my lordy
I must sleep alone I

The wind having risen, the waves of the river
have become high; — this night cross over in a tow-
boat y I pray thee, before the hour be late !

Even though the waves of the River of Hea-
ven run high, I must row over quickly, before it
becomes late in the night.

[75]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Inishie ni
Oriteshi hata wo ;

Kono yube
Koromo ni nuite —
Kimi matsu are wo !

Amanogawa
Se wo hayami ka mo ?

Nubatama no
Yo wa fuke ni tsutsu,
Awanu Hikoboshi !

Watashi-mori,
Fune haya watase ;

Hito-tose ni
Futatabi kayo
Kimi naranaku ni !

Aki kaze no
Fukinishi hi yori,

Amanogawa
Kawase ni dedachi ; —
Matsu to tsuge koso !

[ 76]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN

Long ago I finished weaving the material;
andy this evenings having finished sewing the gar-
ment for him — {why must) I still wait for my
lord?

Is it that the current of the River of Heaven
[has become too) rapid? The jet-black night ad-
vances — and Hikoboshi has not come I

Oh, ferryman, make speed across the stream !
— my lord is not one who can come and go twice in
a year I

On the very day that the autumn-wind began
to blow, I set out for the shallows of the River of
Heaven ; — / pray you, tell my lord that I am
waiting here still!

[ 11 ]

JAPANESE LYRICS

Tanabata no
Funanori surashi, —

Maso-kagami,
Kiyoki tsuki-yo ni
Kumo tachi-wataru.

[ 78]

THE RIVER OF HEAVEN •'■

Methinks Tanabata must be coming in her
boat ; for a cloud is even now 'passing across the clear
face of the moon.

[79]

'•'•• - •'* ' y-^ - ' ': : -JAPANESE LYRICS

Perhaps the legend of Tanabata, as it was understood
by those old poets ^ can make but a faint appeal to West-
ern minds. Nevertheless, in the silence of transparent
nights y before the rising of the moon, the charm of the an-
cient tales sometimes descends upon me, out of the scintil-
lant sky, — to make me forget the monstrous facts of science,
and the stupendous horror of Space. Then I no longer be-
hold the Milky Way as that awful Ring of the Cosmos,
whose hundred million suns are powerless to lighten the
Abyss, but as the very Amanogawa itself, — the River
Celestial. I see the thrill of its shining stream, and the
mists that hover along its verge, and the water-grasses that
bend in the winds of autumn. White Orihime I see at her
starry loom, and the Ox that grazes on the farther shore ;
— and I know that the falling dew is the spray from the
Herdsman's oar. And the heaven seems very near and
warm and human; and the silence about me is filled with
the dream of a love unchanging, immortal, — forever
yearning and forever young, and forever left unsatisfied
by the paternal wisdom of the gods.

THE END

NOTES

NOTES

1. A cloak, lined usually with brightly colored silk.

2. Alluding to the Buddhist proverb : " The fallen flower returns
not to the branch ; the broken mirror never again reflects."

3. That is to say, the grace of their motion makes one think of the
grace of young girls.

4. A creature of which weird things are told ; for it is said to be
a night wanderer from the Land of Darkness. It cries as though
in pain the syllables " ho-to-to-gi-su.^^

5. Because an obi or girdle of very bright color can be worn only
by children.

6. Written more than eleven hundred years ago on the death of
the poet's little son.

7. Literally : " Repeat prayers saying, dead-of-presence-in twain
facing, — small-pan cooking ! " Konabe-date is an idiomatic ex-
pression signifying a lovers' tete-a-tete, the idea suggested being
that of the pleasure experienced by an amorous couple in eating
out of the same dish.

8. The Wheel of Karma, the passage from birth to birth.

9. Deeds in a former existence.

10. A double meaning in the third line of the original may be ren-
dered by reading for of Akanuma — after the time of that happy
relation,

11. The meaning intended may be expressed thus : " Being on my
way to pay a visit, I met with a being lovely as a flower; and

[83]

NOTES

for the sake of that lovejy person, I am passing the day here.
. . . Fair one, wherefor^ that dawn-like blush before the hour
of dawn ? — can it mean/ that you love me ? "

12. The Will-o'-the-Wisp is called fox-fire because the goblin-fox
was supposed to create it.

13. The goblin-fox deceived men by transforming an old horse-bone
into the form of a courtesan.

14. One afflicted with ghost-sickness. It was formerly supposed that
the intense grief or longing of a lover caused the suffering spirit
to create a double, one body going to join the beloved while the
other remained at home.

15. This suggests the ghostly sympathy said to exist between a
mirror and the soul of its possessor.

16. A typical play upon words. The toad was credited with super-
natural powers and the phrase kesho-m-mono may signify goblin-
thing as well as toilet article.

17. A mollusk credited with the power of creating a mirage by ex-
haling a vapor that to deluded mortals takes the form of Shin-
kiro^ the Elf-land of Far Eastern fable.

18. A person whose neck lengthens prodigiously during sleep, so
that the head can wander around seeking what it may devour.
Often the head is completely detachable.

19. A woman may become a Rokuro-Kubi without knowing it.

20. A beautiful phantom whose embrace is death.

21. The original is capable of another reading suggesting that the
grace of her form is like that of willow branches weighed down
by snow.

22. The spirits of the drowned are said to follow after ships calling
for a dipper. This should be given, but first, without the

[84]

NOTES

knowledge of the spirits, the bottom must be knocked out, other-
wise they will use it to fill and sink the ship.

23. The Underworld of the Dead.

24. A famous chieftain of the Heike clan lost in a great sea-fight.
His ghost was addicted to making off with the anchors of ships
moored in his domain.

25. Spirits of the drowned must remain in the water until they can
lure the living to destruction. So his exclamation really means,
" now perchance I shall be able to achieve salvation by drown-
ing somebody."

26. Or " the avenging ghost."

27. A species bearing on their upper shells wrinklings resembling the
outlines of an angry face. They are said to be the transformed
spirits of the defeated Heike warriors.

28. A goblin who makes a practice of shaking houses. It may also
mean the sound of the shaking of a house during an earthquake.

29. A house-post must be set with the same end up as when it was
growing. An "upside-down post" would groan in the night,
open its cracks like mouths and its knots like eyes, and make
itself generally a nuisance until the mistake was corrected.

30. Or, " for what evil design can this deed have been done"?
Takumi may signify either a carpenter or an intrigue.

31. Literally, " upside-down-matter-sorrow," contrariety.

32. Alluding to the proverb, " There are ears in the wall," sug-
gesting the necessity for care even in private conversation.

33. That is, is upside-down — all wrong.

34. Some statues of Jiz5, the Buddhist savior of children's ghosts,
are said to walk at night in various disguises.

[ 8s ]

NOTES

35. The bald body and staring eyes of the cuttlefish, bearing a dis-
torted resemblance to the shaven head of a priest, suggested to
the Japanese the name Priest of the Sea.

36. Japanese houses are protected against the entrance of evil spir-
its by charms written on rice paper and pasted on the door.

37. Or, repeating," Hail to thee, O Buddha Amitabha ! " The idea
of counting is also suggested in this alternate reading by the
fact that the invocation to Amitabha is usually accompanied by
the numbering of beads on a rosary.

38. This tree, which in its old age is supposed to be a favorite haunt
of goblins, bears a heavy crimson flower that drops with an
audible thud often compared with the sound of a human head
falling under the sword.

39. The oil used in Japanese lamps was obtained from the nuts of
the tsubaki.

40. The Milky Way.

41. Lovers, ere parting, were wont to tie each other's inner girdle
(himo) and pledge themselves to leave the knot untouched until
the time of their next meeting.

42. A poetical phrase signifying the use of each other's arms as
pillows.

43. Scarf.

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
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