Mito

“ Keiki and Midzuano are the hands of old Mito. Without them he cannot strike. I will seek to hold Midzuano.”
“Owari will hold Keiki if the Mito men do not overwhelm us!” I responded.
“Old Mito will either strike at once, or draw in his claws and wait for another opening. Announce that Iyeyoshi has been wounded by a Mito man. That will rally to us the greater number of the three hundred thousand samurais who have flocked to Yedo.”
“Wounded?—And slain?” I said.
“Only wounded. The city must be kept in doubt until sanction of Iyesada’s accession has been received from the Mikado. ”

“ Mito’s lips were sealed, at least.
It needed only a cursory examination of the body to determine how he had met his death. His face was drawn, as though he had seen the blow descending and was powerless to avoid it. On his 184skull was a deep gash, made by some heavy implement. The weapon, too, was lying there—Burke discovered it—a broken leaf of an automobile spring, used by some one to force tires over rims. ”

“ The pamphlet commences by stating by way of “contents” that the Regent sent Manabay Simosa no kami to Miako to seize Takatskasa, the highest officer of the empire, [316] the Kwanbakku and his son Daifu dono, and Awata, a young relative of the Emperor, and at the time the head of the Buddhists—and that these high officers were all put into confinement, and that all this trouble had its origin at Mito. The source of the Tokungawa—i.e., the line of Iyeyas, or the government by the family of Iyeyas—is very clear, but this work will show how Mito tried to make it impure. ”

“ They did not attempt to give practical effect to their discoveries; the era was essentially academical. But this galaxy of scholars projected into the future a light which burned with growing force in each succeeding generation and ultimately burst into a flame which consumed feudalism and the shōgunate,” fused the nation into one, and restored the governing authority to the emperor. Of course the Mito men were not alone in this matter: many students subsequently trod in their footsteps and many others sought to stem the tendency ”

“ Besides the Kojiki and Nihongi already mentioned, the most important standard history is the Dai Nihonshi This huge work in one hundred volumes was compiled at the end of the seventeenth century by a whole company of Japanese and Chinese men of learning, under the general superintendence of the second Prince of Mito, who was a munificent patron of literature. ”

“ Think of the nobleman, Watanabé Oboru,16 who, by means of the Japanese interpreter of Dutch, Takano Choyéi, is thrilled with the story of Jesus of Nazareth who helped and healed and spake as no other man spake, teaching with an authority above that of the masters Confucius or Buddha. Think of the daimiō of Mito,17 who, proud in lineage, learned and scholarly, and surrounded by a host of educated men, is yet unsatisfied with what the wise of his own country could give him, and gathers around him the relics unearthed from the old persecutions. ”

“ Miton hastened to dispatch him, for he felt his strength failing him. However, he would receive aid from no quarter save Heaven. His shield was riven, his left arm, laid open with a terrible gash, hung powerless by his side, and every blow he dealt his enemy cost him five in return.
Mita had no eyes for any but the Count of Rennes. She lived with his life, she suffered for his wounds, and she would have fallen dead had he perished. How she blamed her cruel commands, and how she hated the King of Morocco! In truth few men’s deaths have been as fervently prayed for as his was. ”

“ On account of the youth of the shōgun he was created regent. He was a man of great resolution and unscrupulous in the measures by which he attempted to carry out the policy to which he was committed. By his enemies he was called the “swaggering prime minister (bakko genro) .” Assured that the foreign treaties could not be abrogated without dangerous collisions with foreign nations, he sought to crush the opposition which assailed them. The daimyō of Mito, who had been the head of the anti-foreign party at Yedo, he compelled to resign and confined him to his private palace in his province. ”

“ Mitaine had great difficulty in crawling back to Miton’s tent. She dressed her wound with a celebrated ointment, which is still in great use—the “Balm of Miton-Mitaine”—and was able to present herself the same evening before Roland.
The Count of Mans listened to what his squire had to tell.
“This is good news you bring me, little one; and, with the aid of Heaven, I will find a way thereby to rid the world of this traitor Ganelon.”
“What!” said Mitaine; “will you not alter your line of march?”
“Remember this: he who finds a snake in his path has two alternatives to choose between. ”

“ When Taka-mi-musubi no Mikoto was sending down the Heavenly Grandchild Ho-no-ninigi no Mikoto to the Central Land of Reed-Plains, she commanded the eighty myriads of Gods, saying:—"In the Central Land of Reed-Plains, the rocks, tree-stems and herbage have still the power of speech. At night, they make a clamour like that of flames of fire; in the day-time they swarm up like the flies in the fifth month, etc., etc." ”

“ In one writing it is said:—"The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto stood in the midst of the mist of Heaven, and said:—'We wish to find a country.' So they thrust down the jewel-spear of Heaven, and groped about till they found the island of Ono-goro. Then they drew back the spear and rejoiced, saying:—'Good! there is a country!'"
In one writing it is said:—"The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto sat in the Plain of High Heaven, and said:—'There must surely be a country.' So with the jewel spear of Heaven they scraped together the island of Ono-goro." ”

“ Even in the Nihongi there is a case in which a sword is called Futsu no mitama. The Kiujiki calls the mirror of the Sun-Goddess her mitama. The Shinto Miōmoku (1699) says that Futsu no mitama is the sword of the great deity of Kashima, and speaks of the Toyo-uka no mitama (the Food-spirit) as being, or residing in, a stone. Hirata himself calls a stone idol the mitama of the God, and speaks of the Sun-Goddess's mitama as going backward and forward between Ise and the sky. The unspiritual vulgar naturally find it hard to distinguish between the spirit of the God and its concrete representative. ”

“ Hau!”
“Where will he wake, Ngcenika?” asked Eustace, in a voice which he strove to render unconcerned.
“Kwa, Zinyoka,” (At the Home of the Serpents) replied the hag with a brutal laugh.
“And where is that?”
“Where is it? Ha, ha!” mocked the witch-doctress. “Thou art a magician, too, Ixeshane. Wouldst thou indeed like to know?”
“Perhaps.”
“Invoke thy magic then, and see if it will tell thee. But better not. For they who look upon the Home of the Serpents are seen no more in life. Thou hast seen the last of yon white man, Ixeshane; thou and these standing around here. Ha, ha! ”

“ It is the belief that the spirit of Mita, the daughter, is always hovering over the spot, and that her heart forever grieves for her father and lover. When she sees anyone drawing near the place, she hurries from her home, which is near at hand, though no one knows exactly where, and, bending over the ground, hurries along and flirts a piece of her garment over the whole length of the path and blots it out, so that grass grows where a few minutes before was only the hard earth, packed by the moccasins of her father. ”

“ The unavoidable assumption that an anthropomorphic God can act at a distance from his own abode in Heaven or elsewhere really involves the doctrine of spiritism, though time and thought are required for its development. It is clearly not the Sun-Goddess herself who lives in Ise. Her true place is in Heaven; but she is present in some way on earth, as is proved by her answering the prayers which are addressed to her at her shrine. The explanation which is ultimately forthcoming is that it is the Mitama, or spirit, of the Goddess which resides there. ”

“ The sun god also illumined the world, and his rays penetrated every quarter: he saw all things, and read the thoughts of men; nothing could be concealed from Shamash. One of his names was Mitra, like the god who was linked with Varuna in the Indian Rigveda. These twin deities, Mitra and Varuna, measured out the span of human life. They were the source of all heavenly gifts: they regulated sun and moon, the winds and waters, and the seasons. ”

“ The norito or rituals contain no reference to the immortality of the soul.
Shintai.—The mitama is represented in the shrine by a concrete object termed the Shintai or ‘God-body.’ It may be a mirror, a sword, a tablet with the god’s name, a pillow, a spear, etc. A round stone, which is cheap and durable, is a very common Shintai. The god is sometimes represented as attaching himself to the Shintai, and may be even considered identical with it by the ignorant. The mitama and shintai are frequently confounded. ”

“ He is an incarnation of the sun goddess, the deity who rules the universe, gods and men included; once a year all the gods wait upon him and spend a month at his court. During that month, the name of which means "without gods," no one frequents the temples, for they are believed to be deserted. The Mikado receives from his people and assumes in his official proclamations and decrees the title of "manifest or incarnate deity," and he claims a general authority over the gods of Japan. ”

“ Truly, Nkose, it required all the múti that old Masuka, and the white isanusi, and Lalusini, and all the greatest magicians the world ever saw, could devise to find me a way out of that trap.
But while these thoughts were racing through my mind a confused murmur rose among the group of warriors. A murmur of astonishment, even of a little alarm. Their faces were turned skyward, seeming to look beyond me as I stood; and, lo! the light had grown so dim that scarcely could I distinguish their features, up till now so plainly visible.
“Au!” they cried. “The moon! The moon! It grows black!” ”

“ Therefore did I take Nigi-haya-hi no Mikoto for my Lord, and did service to him. Can it be that there are two seeds of the children of the Heavenly Deity? Why should any one else take the name of Child of the Heavenly Deity and therewith rob people of their dominions? I have pondered this in my heart, but have as yet failed utterly to believe it." The Emperor said:—"There are many other children of the Heavenly Deity. If he whom thou has taken as thy Lord were truly a child of the Heavenly Deity, there would be surely some object which thou couldst show to us by way of proof." ”

“ Some placed snakes round their necks, and by compressing the reptiles’ throats caused themselves to be all but strangled in their constrictions. One man produced a huge serpent as long as himself and as thick as his own arm, and, indeed, this was the most marvellous of all, for where he could have secreted it passed all men’s comprehension. But all the while the old Mosutu sat watching these performances with the same smile of contemptuous pity.
“‘Now, Masuka,’ said the King, as he signed to the izanusi to desist, ‘show thyself a greater magician than these, and thou shalt have thy life. ”

“ Bones, skulls, among which the serpents crawl in and out,” and as if to emphasise his words, a hissing went forth from the reptiles disturbed by this new invasion of their prison house. “Ha, ha, ha!” he laughed. “Wise witch-doctress, thou canst ‘smell out’ their spirits once more in the darkness before thou diest. Thou art a great magician, but the magic of the white men—the magic of Ixeshane—is greater than thine, and it has delivered thee into my hand.
“Hlangani, the valiant—the fighting chief of the Ama Gcaléka—the herald of Sarili—is dead. ”

“ But as I gazed into those burning orbs, something in them brought back the moment when I had dragged old Masuka from beneath the heaps of slain, and when he had pleaded for his life half defiantly while uttering his marvellous divination.
“The slayers advanced a few steps, then halted, and stood watching for a word, a sign, from the King. Then I lifted my voice, and cried:
“‘The Black Elephant is good. I asked a boon, and, lo! it was granted. The Great Serpent is merciful. ”

“ By order of Taka-mi-musu-bi no kami, they entrusted the charge of thinking out a plan to Amé-no-koya-né no mikoto, the wisest of the gods. He suggested that an image of the goddess should be made, and artifice be employed to entice her forth. A large rock from near the source of the river having been taken to form an anvil, the god Ishi-kori-domé no mikoto and the blacksmith Ama-tsu-mare no mikoto made a mirror in the shape of the sun with iron taken from the mines in heaven. ”

“ You must exert yourself to the utmost. There’ll be a crowd of people there, and the Prince will come, and ah, we shall be proud of ourselves. Here are your trousers—put them on—That’s it! and here’s your shirt. What’s the matter, Mitenka darling? What is it?”
Mitia with his father’s assistance had donned his knickerbockers, and one sleeve of his shirt, when he suddenly burst out crying.
“I am sleepy, Papa dear,” he whined in a sad, faint little voice.
On his return home yesterday evening he had played for an hour and a half, and on going to bed had dreamt all night long of a gigantic violin. ”

“ They were like such, as they flitted from tree to tree—two evil-looking Makalaka—with their glistening bodies naked save for a skin mútya and a collar of wooden beads, with their smooth, shaven heads and broad noses and glistening eyeballs. And now each gripped more tightly an assegai and a native axe, as nearer and nearer, like gliding demons, they stole noiselessly upon the prostrate and exhausted white man. ”