Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

“ Then he beheld upon it the goddess Mihashirano, who spoke to him.
“Sakino,” she said, “long have I passed to and fro in the Isles of Many Blades, and watched by field and moor and hillside to see the life-giving seeds which Amaterasu bestowed upon you. Well nourished have they been and watched so that you have had much rice and barley. Now, wherefore have I not a shrine built in my honor, where men may come to bring thanks, and where I may dwell in peace?
“Go thou to the Mikado and request that he build for me a temple at Miyajima; then will I protect the Mikado’s land forever and ever.” ”

“ The children loved the graceful bamboo, and named her Silver Mist; but the big bamboo looked down upon her with scorn.
“You bend and bow to every breeze. Have you no pride? It is not fitting that a bamboo should show fear. I stand straight and strong and bow to no one,” he said.
“You are going to be of some great use in the world, I am sure,” said the humble bamboo. “I am only fit to trim the houses for the New Year’s feast. But you will become a beam in some great house or, maybe, even in a palace.” ”

“ With one sweep of his paw he tore open the lid, when instead of the dainty morsel he had expected, out leaped Shippeitaro! The noble dog sprang upon the beast and shook him as a cat shakes a rat, while the other beasts stood still in amazement. Drawing his sword the young warrior dashed to Shippeitaro’s aid and to such good purpose that in a few moments the phantom cats were no more.
“Brave dog!” cried Wakiki. “You have delivered a whole village by your courage! Let us return and tell the people what has happened, that all men may do you honor.” ”

“ Yet not all—for lo! there gleamed through the gloom a tiny light, as bright as the light of day. It was the little light of the poor woman, which with its spark seemed to light the whole great temple, and all the people wondered. Then they looked with care to see whence came the little light and when they found it was the gift of so humble a soul they marveled again. But the priest of the temple, who was old and good and very wise, said, “Do not marvel! In the sight of the All Knowing One, the poor gift of a good heart is more worthy than all the splendor of the rich and proud.” ”

“ One day when he was tending the flower he heard a strange sound. He listened and there seemed to come from the grave a whispering voice. It said to him, “O Kazuma, I am sent to guard the spirit of your honorable father. Long have you remembered your parent when your brother had forgotten him. You have planted for him the sacred asters of remembrance, and here they have bloomed in purple beauty. All these things I have noticed and I am well pleased with your filial piety. So, fear me not, faithful son. To you I shall be a spirit of kindness so long as you live. ”

“ Know, gentle Samurai, that there is within the forest a ruined temple. This shrine, once the home of sacred things, is now the abode of horrors too terrible for words. Each year a mountain spirit, a demon whom no one has ever seen, demands from us a victim, upon pain of destroying the whole village. The victim is placed in a cage and carried to the temple just at sunset. There she is left and no one knows what is her fate, for in the morning not a trace of her remains. It must always be the fairest maiden of the village who is offered up and this year, alas, it is my daughter’s turn ”

“ In the east arose a star, which grew and grew until the whole mountain-side seemed light; and then there appeared a snow-white elephant with six huge tusks. Upon his back was a rider, and as the figures neared the temple, the priest and the temple boy threw themselves upon the ground, praying aloud to the Fugen Bosatsu.
But the hunter had no prayer within his soul. This thing seemed to him not holy but accursed, and, springing in front of the priest, he set a shaft, drew his bow to the full, and sent his arrow straight to the heart of the Buddha. ”

“ O Nitta San was a great warrior. He fought for Go-Daigo the emperor and was his faithful general. Many a battle he fought and won, though the men of the Hojo Clan were many and strong and fought well. But when he reached the headland of the pines, the soul of O Nitta San was heavy within him.
“The men of the Hojo guard the sea with ships, they watch the hills with archers,” he said to his head man. “They are as many as the waves of the sea. Our fate is in the hands of the gods!” ”

“ Being a good woman as well as polite, she bowed to it very reverently, and said, “My good Lord Jizu, have you seen a dumpling pass this way?”
“As if it had wings, it flew past me,” said Jizu, smiling upon her most sweetly.
“Then I must hurry to catch it,” said the old woman.
But Jizu shook his head, “You must not think of that,” he said, “there is an Oni below there who is most wicked. He does not like old women at all, and he will surely be cruel to you if he does not eat you.”
“But I must have my dumpling,” said Sanja. “He’ll not eat me. I’m too tough. ”

“ At last it was noticed that each evening a dark cloud moved across the heavens and hung over the palace. From it shone two fiery orbs, gleaming fiercely. The priests prayed and threatened, but the brooding demon remained. At last a young warrior whose name was Yorimasa came forward and said, “Let me slay this horrid beast who, with his black breath and fiery eyes, threatens the life of our beloved emperor. If I fail I can but die and my life is the Mikado’s in any case. Let me go!”
“FROM IT SHONE TWO FIERY ORBS, GLEAMING FIERCELY”
“Go, and the gods go with you!” ”

“ For a wildwood fox, search far and near,
And the princess’s ills will disappear.”
“A fox’s liver,” cried the young warrior joyously. “My beloved, now shall you be saved!” He repeated the song of the sunrise to the mother of the princess and she told the emperor. Then he sent far and wide to all the great hunters of the hills.
“Bring us the liver of a fox,” he commanded, “a clean and healthy fox. Do this as quickly as possible, for my daughter is sick unto death.”
The hunters sought on every hill and in every valley, through every tangled wildwood and over every moor, but they found no fox. ”

“ Amaterasu, the sun goddess, loved the earth. So long had she shone upon it with her gracious light that it was to her as a beloved child and she wished for it all good things. When she found growing from the body of Ukimochi, whom Susanoo had slain in wrath, a mulberry tree, and also a silkworm, rice grains, barley and beans she said to herself,
“Behold, the gods make good to grow out of evil. From death comes life. ”

“ All was darkness.
“Demon in human form!” cried the priest. “Is it not enough that you spend your vile life destroying God’s creatures upon the earth? To this sin, must you add that of destroying Buddha himself?”
“Not so,” replied the hunter. “Be not so rash. Judgment of others is far too great a sin for one so holy as yourself. Listen, and I will explain what I have done. I have not destroyed the Buddha. You have been deceived. Do you think it is possible that I could see Fugen Bosatsu? I am a mighty hunter, stained with the blood of living creatures. This is displeasing to the Buddha. ”

“ White as the lily art thou and tender as the carnation,—to what has thy love for me brought thee!” he cried.
But Tsuiu caressed him sweetly and said, “I am happy since my lord has taken me with him. The good-luck god will surely hear our prayers and we shall find a fortunate issue.”
Then was the soul of Shindo lightened and he strode along the highway gladly, and Tsuiu walked beside him, and the breath of the morning was sweet and kind. They walked for many hours and found no rest; but the music of the grass-larks was sweet and the sun was bright. ”

“ Then as he sailed a strange thing chanced; for from the very top of the mountain flew a huge bird, and it flew ahead of Sakino’s boat all the way. This he took as an omen, and he followed the bird closely until it stopped and hovered over a wooded hillside.
“Here we shall build the temple of Mihashiranohime-o-kami, the gentle goddess of the earth’s fruitfulness. We shall raise a temple to do her honor,” he cried. “The torii shall rise up out of the sea; the light-bearing pillars shall guard the entrance, and men shall come from far and near to see the shrine. ”

“ You are a friend as well as a servant. Now serve me once again and appease the wrath of the sea god!” For a moment he lovingly laid the sword against his breast, then “God of the Sea,” he cried aloud, “accept my sacrifice and care for the Soul of the Samurai.” And so saying he cast far from him the sword.
“HE LAID HIS SWORD AGAINST HIS BREAST”
It screamed through the air and smote the water, and a myriad sparkling crystals rose into the air. ”

“ That night Chobei talked long with Tsuiu.
“Gratitude is a sacred duty,” he said. “But for this ronin perhaps we should have been murdered, and now that he has reached this low estate, it is our place to help him, but how?” O Tsuiu San sighed.
“In all these years, my lord,” she said, “we have lived by the favor of the gods, but we have saved nothing. How much should we give Bun-yemon?”
“Not less than twenty-five gold rio, [11] ” said Chobei. “It is a fortune! There is but one way in which we might obtain it. We might sell Iroka.”
“Sell my daughter!” cried Tsuiu. “My lord, my lord!” ”

“ Amaterasu sent Susanoo one day upon an errand, for she wished him to find a goddess named Uke-mochi, who lived in the reedy moors. When Susanoo found her he was tired and hungry, and so he asked her for food. Uke-mochi took food from her mouth to give him and this made him very angry. “Why feed me with foul things? You shall not live!” he cried; and, drawing his sword, he struck her dead.
When he went home and told Amaterasu what he had done, his sister was in a great rage and left her brother in total darkness. She fled to the cave of Ameno and closed the entrance with a huge rock. ”

“ He thought only of the princess and basked in the sunshine of her smile.
So they were married and lived happily, and even the old Sea King grew to like Urashima and blessed him before he died.
Urashima had lived in the Dragon Palace of the Princess of the Sea what seemed to him but a short time when memory came to him again. He thought of his father and mother and of his little brothers and sisters, and he grew sad. The princess watched him and her heart sank.
“He will go from me and not return,” she sighed. “Alas! alas! for mortal love!” ”

“ It was far more dreaded than a porcupine of even the largest spines, and it used to lie in wait near the village of Koya to carry off people and eat them.
No one was safe from the ferocious bird. Little people, playing beneath the pines, happy in childish glee, were but tender morsels for the cruel bird. Women resting under the long racemes of the woodland wistaria, were attacked and dragged screaming to his nest. Even the men working in the rice fields would sometimes hear a cry of agony and see one of their number suddenly rise into the air in the clutches of the monstrous bird. ”

“ Climb to the very topmost branches of this pine and hurl yourself down to earth. So you may return to your true self.”
The hunter awoke and, remembering his dream, said, “It would be better to be dashed to pieces than to remain alive and be a loathsome serpent. I will throw myself down from the tree and may the gods help me.” ”

“ In the far years of the twelfth century the Lord Mikado was cursed with a terrible illness. All Nippon prayed to the gods. Men offered all their richest offerings to appease the wrath of heaven, but it availed them naught. His Majesty grew worse and none of the great men who came to him could divine the cause of his trouble.
Every temple was full of devotees. Each shrine had its worshipers, but Sorrow was the guest at every door. ”

“ Then was all the earth dark, for the sun goddess no longer shed her light upon men. So terrible was it upon earth that at last the other gods met together near the cave, to consult and see what could be done. ”

“ Then the children took courage and ran to the woodcutters and cried, “Pray do not cut down our tree! In all the forest we love it best. It is the Lady Silver Mist and it has been our playmate for many moons.”
“You must dig it up and bear it away if you wish to save its life,” said the chief woodman. “We are sent to this forest to clear it, so that a grand palace may be built upon the hillside where all is so fair and beautiful.” ”

“ Then his heart stood still, for he saw that the mouths of all the cats he had drawn were covered with blood!
“My cats killed the rat goblin!” he cried joyfully; and at that moment he heard steps and turning, saw the headman of the village with several other men entering the temple.
“What does this mean?” asked the headman. “Do you not know that this temple is haunted by a terrible rat goblin? Surely you did not spend the night here?”
“I spent it quite comfortably,” said Kihachi, “and I think the goblin is dead.” ”