Kochi

“ The tradition among the Koyis is that, when the Pāndava brothers were in exile, Bhīma, whom they call Bhīmador, went hunting in the jungle, and met a wild woman of the woods, whom he fell in love with and married. The fruit of this union was the Koyi people. The tradition further states that this wild woman was not a human being.24 “A Koi,” the Rev. J. Cain continues, “whom Mr. Alexander met in a [57] village about two miles from Dummagudem, caused him to infer that the Kois think heaven to be a great fort, and in it plenty of rice to eat for those who enter it ”

“ The Kojiki-den is not only valuable for its prodigious learning; it was a vigorous blow aimed at the supremacy of the Chinese school of ethics and philosophy. No opportunity is lost of girding at everything Chinese, and of exalting the old Japanese customs, religion, and language, in a spirit of ardent and undiscriminating patriotism. The Kojiki-den had no small share in producing the reaction against Chinese ideas and institutions which has become so pronounced a characteristic of modern Japan. ”

“ The Koch or Rajbansi, from which the name of the state is derived, are a widely spread tribe, evidently of aboriginal descent, found throughout all northern Bengal, from Purnea district to the Assam valley. They are akin to the Indo-Chinese races of the north-east frontier; but they have now become largely hinduized, especially in their own home, where the appellation “Koch” has come to be used as a term of reproach. Their total number in all India was returned in 1901 as nearly 21⁄2 millions. ”

“ Te Kooti, without a moment's hesitation, replied, "In India the pakeha rules justly; here the governments have not treated the Maoris fairly: one government has promised one thing and one another, and they have all broken faith."
When I stated to him that since the formation of the colony one law and one sovereign reigned from one end of New Zealand to the other, and that that applied to the King Country as well as to any other part of the island, he replied, "That may be so. But," he continued, "you have your queen, and Tawhiao is our king. Whatever Tawhiao says, we must do." ”

“ Now that the Kojiki is in English and all may read it, we can clearly see who and what were the Japanese in the ages before letters and Chinese civilization; for these stories of the kami are but legendary and mythical accounts of men and women. One could scarcely recognize in the islanders of eleven or twelve hundred years ago, the polished, brilliant, and interesting people of to-day. Yet truth compels us to say that social morals in Dai Nippon, even with telegraphs and railways, are still more like those of ancient days than readers of rhapsodies by summer tourists might suppose. ”

“ But when he had satisfied his thirst, and wished to raise himself up, he couldn't lift his head, because someone held his beard fast in the water. 'Who's there? let me go!' cried King Kojata, but there was no answer; only an awful face looked up from the bottom of the well with two great green eyes, glowing like emeralds, and a wide mouth reaching from ear to ear showing two rows of gleaming white teeth, and the King's beard was held, not by mortal hands, but by two claws. At last a hoarse voice sounded from the depths. ”

“ They are a well-built, brave but quiet people who carry on a trade with British districts, and have never given the government much trouble. There is little doubt that the Kohistanis are, like the Kafirs of Kafiristan, the remnants of old races driven by Mahommedan invasions from the valleys and plains into the higher mountains. The majority have been converted to Islam within the last 200 years. The total population is about 16,000.
An important district also known as Kohistan lies to the north of Kabul in Afghanistan, extending to the Hindu Kush. ”

“ Capper leaned far over the desk, and began in an eager whisper:
"General, remember Cook—that chap in Rangoon—the polo player?" The other looked blank. "Haven't forgotten him, General? How he lived in Burma two years, mingling with the English, until one day somebody discovered his name was Koch and that he was a mighty unhealthy chap to have about the fortifications. ”

“ From the "Kojiki" therefore, Japan's oldest book, we get our clearest vision of the earlier barbaric ages and the earliest spirit of the Japanese.
The "Nihongi," on the contrary, while almost as old as the "Kojiki," is a wholly Chinese work. It reviews the same traditions as the "Kojiki," but polishes them all, revises them to fit the newly acquired Chinese ideas. In short, it gives such an amazing Chinese twist to everything the "Kojiki" had told, that no student of human nature is likely to neglect the opportunity of comparing these two books. ”

“ This king of the pepper country is probably meant for the rajah of Travancore. The great river of the text is merely a sound, which reaches along the coast from Cochin to beyond Coulan, a distance of above 90 miles, forming a long range of low islands on the sea-coast, and receiving numerous small rivers from the southern gauts.--E.]
The king of Cochin has small power in comparison with the other sovereigns of India as he is unable to send above 70,000 men into the field. He has a great number of gentlemen, some of whom are called Amochi [145] and others Nairs. ”

“ Kochō is a beautiful person who kills herself because of false accusations and cruel treatment. Her would-be avenger long seeks in vain for the author of the wrong. But at last the dead woman's hairpin turns into a butterfly, and serves as a guide to vengeance by hovering above the place where the villain is hiding. ”

“ Home-life did not exist for the Kochs; every evening, when no set form of entertainment was offered, Felix and Marianna, Deb and Richard, sat in the big restaurant in Lindenstrasse; sat there for two or three hours, drinking coffee or syrups, eating sweet cloying cakes; while the men roared their politics or slammed the domino-cubes on the table, and slowly obliterated their womenfolk in clouds of foul smoke. The group about the Kochs was always a large one, and included the younger brothers who had been hastily sent for from neighbouring towns on rumour of Deb’s enormous dowry. ”

“ Before long he came to a well filled to the brim with water clear as crystal, and on the bosom of which a golden jug was floating. King Kojata at once tried to seize the vessel, but though he endeavoured to grasp it with his right hand, and then with his left, the wretched thing always eluded his efforts and refused to let itself be caught. First with one hand, and then with two, did the King try to seize it, but like a fish the goblet always slipped through his fingers and bobbed to the ground only to reappear at some other place, and mock the King. ”

“ It was the first time that I had found among the Kosekin the slightest desire to know where I had come from. Hitherto all had been content with the knowledge that I was a foreigner. Now, however, I found in the Kohen Gadol and Layelah a curiosity that was most eager and intense. They questioned me about my country, about the great world beyond the mountains, about the way in which I had come here, about the manners and customs of my countrymen. They were eager to know about those great nations of which I spoke, who loved light and life; about men who loved themselves better than others ”

“ A Japanese writer derives the term Kokorai from words selected out of a passage in the Chinese classics referring to the high mountains. The first character Ko, in Kokorai, means high, and it was under the shadows of the lofty Ever White Mountains that this vigorous nation had its cradle and its home in youth. Here, too, its warriors nourished their strength until their clouds of horsemen burst upon the frontiers of the Chinese empire, and into the old kingdom of Chō-sen. The people of this young state were rich in horses and cattle, but less given to agriculture. ”

“ The very term "ai-koku-shin" is a new creation, almost as new as the thing. This word is an incidental proof of the general correctness of the contention of this chapter that true nationality is a recent product in Japan. The term, literally translated, is "love-country heart"; but the point for us to notice particularly is the term for country, "koku"; this word has never before meant the country as a whole, but only the territory of a clan. If I wish to ask a Japanese what part of Japan is his native home, I must use this word. ”

“ Each of the clans have one great Rajah, supposed to be the main branch of the original stock, to whom, although those immediately beyond his own villages owe him no allegiance, great respect is shown by all, and acknowledgment of the superior title given, although in power and wealth he may be much poorer than others of the tribe.
“No regular courts are held among the Kookis, but complaints are always heard before the Rajah, assisted by his muntries, whenever they may be made. Heinous crimes are very infrequent among these people. ”

“ The Kokay, or Kowokay, can hardly be called officers of state. The name means high families (Ch., Kau kia) , and includes the male representative lines of some of the families of distinction in ancient times, such as Nobu nanga, Ashikango, Yoritomo, Arima, etc. It seems a matter of policy to keep them under the eye of the court, giving each an allowance from the state of territory from 500 to 1,000 koku per annum. They are looked upon as men of high rank but little power, being neither Daimios nor Koongays, but between the two. ”

“ Soichi knew that a single word from him would end his persecution, but at the same time it might be the ruin of all his father had tried to do, and he held his tongue. And, because he thought he dealt with unresisting putty, Kokan went from bad to worse. The taunt that had been but a joke at first became a thing of venom, and his easy, indifferent contempt began to grow into something almost hatred.
How little beyond their noses most boys can see! Kokan came to believe there was no flint at all in Soichi, for try as he would, he could not strike fire. ”

“ Before leaving I had a copy of Murray’s Guide sent to the Kokuzō, who was more than pleased to see the picture of the great temple reproduced and to hear what was said about it. Before I went away, he gave me another singular entertainment, such as he alone could do—for he is King of Kizuki. (By the way, the old reverence for the Kokuzō is not dead. Folks do not believe now that whoever he looks at immediately becomes unable to move; but as I and my companion followed him to the great shrine, the pilgrims fell down and worshipped him as he passed.) ”

“ There is a delicate pun here,—a play on the word Koishi, which, as pronounced, though not as written, may mean either "a small stone," or "longing to see." In the bed of the phantom river, Sai-no-Kawa, the ghosts of children are obliged to pile up little stones, the weight of which increases so as to tax their strength to the utmost. There is a reference here also to a verse in the Buddhist wasan of Jizō, describing the crying of the children for their parents: "Chichi koishi! haha koishi!" ”

“ Probably in no portion of the earth are the people and the land more like each other or apparently better acquainted with each other. Nowhere are thought and speech more reflective of the features of the landscape. Even after ten centuries, the Japanese are, in temperament, what the Kojiki reveals them to have been in their early simplicity. ”

“ Koxinga was really one of the most noted characters of the Orient at that time. He was the son of a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, and seldom has China had a man to compare with him in courage, enterprise and ability. At the age of twenty-two, he held one of the highest military commands in his country. With his courage and natural ability it was his purpose to carve out a kingdom for himself. Being as shrewd as he was bold, Koxinga made the acquaintance of a Dominican friar in Amoy, whom he converted into an ambassador and sent to Manila. ”

“ They're very nice people, the Kochs; people whom it is worth while to be on good terms with—so warm-hearted and unpretentious, and yet with their hundreds of thousands behind them. There isn't a smarter business man in New York City than Washington I. Koch, nor a more honest, nor a more open-handed. Look at that stained glass window he gave the congregation. And then, at the same time, he's a man of ideas, a well-informed man; and best of all, he's a pious Jew.”
“Well, I'll tell you what I'll do,” said Elias ”

“ In open country place the army in a convenient place with rising ground in the right rear; so that while in front lies death, behind there is safety.
Such is war in flat country.
Kōtei, by observing these things, gained the victory over four Emperors. As a rule, the soldiers prefer high ground to low. They prefer sunny places to those the sun does not reach.
If the health of the troops be considered, and they are encamped on high and sunny ground, diseases will be avoided, and victory made certain.
If there be rising ground, encamp on its sunny side and in front of it ”

“ He then said that the Maoris did not want that war, but the pakehas would fight, and the Maoris fought them. I remarked [Pg 338] that it was now time for the two races to be as one, and that all the troubles of the past should be forgotten, and that the King Country should be opened by roads and railways. "I do not object," said Te Kooti, "to roads and railways; but," he continued, "we must hold the lands; it will not do for the natives to lose everything." ”