Saka

“ T hese tribes in the years 140-130 poured into Bactria, over- whelmed the Greek Kingdom there and continued into the country known as Seistan, then called, from its conquerors, Sakastene. Another branch of the Saka horde settled in Taxila in the Panjab and Mathura on the Jumna, where Saka princes ruled for more than a century under the Parthian power. These Saka tribes seem to have been originally connected with the Parthians. Another section of the Sakas at a later date pushed on southward and occupied the peninsula of Surashtra, founding a Saka dynasty which lasted for centuries. ”

“ His province, Saka, is very extensive, and he states with some pride that his power stretches to Sangsang in the east, to the Nevu-la in the south, to the Marium-la in the west, and northwards some days’ journey beyond Kamba Tsenam’s tent.
The illustrious gentlemen were much amused with my 361 costume. “You are a Sahib,” they said; “you were for six weeks the guest of the Tashi Lama; you employ one caravan after another, and leave a quantity of money behind you, and yet are dressed more shabbily than any of your servants.” ”

“ The years are called Saka.
The Fuslee Era, from the near coincidence of its dates with those of the Hegira, seems to have been imposed on the natives of India by their Mahometan conquerors. It is principally used in revenue transactions, and is pretty generally known over India. There are several eras of this name; but the most common is that which is reckoned from the year 590 A.D. At Madras the commencement of the Fuslee year is fixed on the 12th of July. In Bengal it begins in September, or with the full moon preceding the autumnal equinox. ”

“ EXEUNT Totmai and Haru R.
Mimosa. Trouble has crossed the threshold—the gods permit the evil spells of Sakara. She, the wise woman, is jealous; she belongs to the Imperial house, and thinks exalted thoughts of the noble Society for the Preservation of Ancient Excellencies. There was anger in her heart when she heard of the festival for the Englishman. Listen, O Yuki! Let us take presents in our hands and with humble courtesies visit Sakara. ”

“ With his blowpipe ready the Sakai penetrates into the forest, creeping softly among the tall grasses and bushes. No rustling, no crackling of dry leaves denounces the presence of the man who advances cautiously under the broad green roof, casting keen and restless glances [205] towards the branches of the trees. His ear catches the faintest flapping of wings. From time to time he utters a cry like that of a bird or a monkey, and quickly a feathered biped, moved by curiosity descends from a higher to a lower bough ”

“ All that matters is that Sakaeland is now at peace under the strong firm governance which—so long as men are men, not angels—can alone ensure that each man reap what he has sown. The Shaman hold, cleansed of its foul traces, is manned by clean-visaged Sakae bowmen, and straight-mouthed, honest-eyed Henga dispenses simple, unbiassed, soldierly justice in the open sunlight before the gate of the dark passage where John Wrexham and his sappers laboured under the glowing trapdoor. ”

“ The Sakai is enthusiastic over his poisons, so much is he engrossed in the science that it takes with him the post of a besetting. Like a maniac which always speaks of his strange fancies, so this poor savage speaks all day long of his poisons, and studies their qualities. ”

“ The Sakai who has taken refuge in the hilly part of the forest in order to escape from the influences of Civilization which may now be said to beset him on all sides, still preserves and defends the original purity of his race. ”

“ My five Sakais divided their presents with each other, putting away some for the dear ones at home, and I often noticed that in the midst of the bewilderment which those simple souls must have experienced at being surrounded by people and things so totally new to them, they never seemed to forget for a moment the beloved persons they had left behind in the jungle. ”

“ I went to Sakai, of course,—and bought a sword, and saw the grave of the eleven samurai of Tosa who had to commit seppuku for killing some foreigners,—and told them I wished they could come back again to kill a few more who are writing extraordinary lies about Japan at this present moment. I would rather live a month in Ōsaka than ten years free of rent in Tōkyō. ”

“ Considering we were complete strangers not knowing their tongue, and come in from Heaven alone knows where, I must say the Sakae were extraordinarily friendly. Never did we meet with a trace of enmity or jealousy among all Kyrlos’s people. This I attribute to Aryenis’s impossibly exaggerated account of our doings in the gate, for the Sakae consider personal valour as the greatest of passports to position. Money they count not at all, and birth but little; while they have [212] but small respect even for an hereditary chief until he has proven himself a man. ”

“ It was a daily wonder to me that an old cripple among a nation of rather primitive fighting men should have retained such a vivid interest in life. Once or twice we were interrupted by visitors—old grey-headed village headmen, who rode in seeking news, and appeared kindly anxious to greet me. It seemed that Paulos’s statements as to his people’s feeling in my regard were not exaggerated, for the Sakae are very transparent, and make no pretence of dissimulating likes or dislikes. ”

“ The Sakata gawa rises in the range of mountains which separates Uzen from Rikuzen, and flowing due west between the departments of Mogami and Akumi on the north and Murayama and Tagawa on the south, enters the Sea of Japan at Sakata. ”

“ At Sakai, the largest port in the three provinces of Settsu, Izumi, and Kawachi, whence vessels sail to other provinces, lives Amakawaya Gihei, well thought-of by his townsmen and without a spot upon his reputation. He has amassed wealth; and though he looks a man of moderate means, he is in reality rich. He is tying heavy boxes in his shop, and the skipper of a large vessel addresses him. ”

“ Play-acting of doctor or funeral exalted lady would have liked.
Sakara. Fear not, O little Ito; all good comes to the friends of Sakara! Keep close mouth (child starts) lest.... Here hangs honorable sword, fear nothing, O little Ito (child draws nearer) , the words on excellent blade, “There’s naught ’twixt heaven and earth a man need fear who carries this single blade!” Soon, O little Ito, manhood will come, strong, powerful manhood, and Sakara will fasten this sword herself to girdle of wise Ito. ”

“ Altogether the figure of the Sakai does not reveal any large amount of vigour perhaps because he is usually thin and is what might be termed pot-bellied, owing to the sort of food he eats and the cold he suffers during the night, but he is much more robust and taller (the average height of an adult is a little past one metre and a half) [7] than the other tribes and races around him who are in close reports with civilization. ”

“ Osaka, at the head of a bay of the same name on the south side of Niphon, is in lat. 34° 58' N. long. 135° 5' E. Sakay, or Sakai, on the eastside of the same bay, is about fifteen miles directly south from Osaka. ”

“ I was named Sakae, which in the hierographic Chinese characters represents fire burning on a stand. The idea of illumination will perhaps [Pg 12] suggest itself to you at once, and indeed, it means glory or thrift. And my well-wishing parents named me so, that I might thrive and be a glory to my family. So I was bound to be good, wasn’t I? A bad boy with a good name would be very much like a monkey with a silk hat on.
Now begins my walking. Now and then mamma or grandma would train me, taking my hands and singing ”

“ Yet in spite of this kind of reasoning and the clemency shown towards children (which would make a pedagogue of the educational rod system commit suicide) the Sakais are honest and respectful to their parents and the old; they are affectionate in their family and, poor savages! are still a long way off from such a degree of civilization as to cut up a cross wife or a troublesome lover into pieces and send them in a mysterious valise to take a sea-bath or in a butcher's sack to take a fresh water one in a convenient river. ”

“ The colour left Okawa’s lips. Sakai’s face, too, seemed to go a shade paler. Swiftly as a rat Okawa scurried, but Sakai ran him down near the place he had once squashed the snake. The patch stopped there. Okawa stood waiting with the strength of one at bay.
“Stab me if you dare.” Peeling off his coat, Okawa threw it on the grass and in the manner of all bluffers he bared his breast and extended both arms.
“You think I won’t stab you?” Sakai’s voice sounded strangely calm and collected. The gleam of cold steel rent the air. ”

“ The Sakais like music but nearly always the notes are accompanied by a dancing movement, sometimes lightly as if to mark the time, but at others they kick their legs about so furiously, at the same time twisting and writhing their bodies in such a strange series of contortions that an uninitiated looker-on would surely receive the impression that they were suffering from spasmodic pains in the stomach, whereas in reality they are only imitating the wriggling of a serpent. ”

“ Well, the Sakai inflicts no suffering upon his foe. The terrible poisons with which he tinges his fatal arrows cause almost immediate death, and his sole motive for killing is to rid himself of one whom he thinks will do him harm, but should his enemy run away before he can hit him he would neither follow nor lay an ambush for him. He might almost take as his motto the celebrated line by Niccolini:
Ripassi l'Alpi e tornerà fratello. ”

“ At this moment, arrived two samurai, the worse for drink, who leapt into Miyuki's boat without a preliminary, "By your leave." With churlish rudeness they desired her to supply them with saké, demanding that she serve them with her own hands and entertain them with music while they drank. To all appearance a refusal would excite them to resort to any violent deed. So Asaka implored them not to press their demands on the shrinking girl, but her polite entreaties only had the result of driving them to greater length in rudeness. At this Asojirō cotdd no longer contain himself. ”

“ The first was the envoy himself, a dark man clad in a short black surcoat and black steel cap. He appeared to be unarmed, and carried an unshod white arrow in his hand.
Behind him walked two others, both mail-clad with the same black steel caps, but armed. The custom of Sakae truce meetings is that each man carries his sword, but that bows may not be brought within arrow-shot of the speaking place. ”

“ So Paulos sends you to war in his mail, does he? You could not carry a better man’s arms if you searched the whole land. One of the bravest, and there be many brave men in our country. And from what I have heard you also have some claim to be counted in their number. Kyrlos wrote me a full account.”
The Sakae had a very straightforward manner of talking, and seemed to say exactly what they thought. It was clear that their long residence in Asia had not tinged them with Asiatic indirectness of speech. ”

“ Ōsaka, a city very famous for the extent of its commerce and the wealth of its inhabitants, lies about thirteen Japanese water-leagues from Hiōgo, which, on account of the shallowness of the water, we make in small boats, leaving our barge at Hiōgo till our return. From Ōsaka we go again by land, over the great island Nippon, as far as Yedo, the emperor’s residence, where we arrive in about fourteen days or more. The road from Ōsaka to Yedo is by the Japanese called Tōkaidō, that is, the east sea or coast way. ”

“ There are booths for the sale of cheap soap, cutlery, sandals, glass, jewellery, and candles. The tea-houses are doing an enormous trade, and the naturally contented people look supremely happy.
We left Kioto to pay a flying visit to Osaka on our way to Kobe. Each town seems prettier than the last, and Osaka is no exception. Our chief object in going there was to visit the Arsenal, and according to the special instructions of the Minister of War, we were most courteously received by the chief, Colonel Ota, and given tea at his official residence before being conducted over the arsenal. ”

“ CHAPTER X. The Sakai woman​—​Conjugal fidelity​—​A life of labour​—​Betrothals and nuptials​—​Love among the Sakais​—​Divorcement​—​No kissing​—​Chastity​—​Bigamy​—​Maternity and its excesses​—​Aged before the time​—​Fashion and coquetry.
Woman, who has been compared to nearly every sort of animal that flies, creeps, swims or runs by poets and others of chivalrous sentiments, amongst the Sakais is simply a woman. ”

“ Here the company embarked in small boats for Ōsaka. As they passed along they saw at a distance the imperial city of Sakai, three or four Japanese miles south from Ōsaka. The description of Ōsaka, and of the journey thence to Miyako, is thus given by Kämpfer:
“Ōsaka, one of the five imperial cities, is agreeably seated in the province of Settsu, in a fruitful plain, and on the banks of a navigable river. At the east end is a strong castle; and at the western end, two strong, [Pg 50] stately guard-houses, which separate it from its suburbs. ”

“ To their credit, be it said, they are really working very hard to attain their ideal. One has only to visit Osaka, the Manchester of the Mikado’s Empire, to realize the amazing progress made by the Japanese in the last quarter of the century. This city, which has a population of about half a million souls, is situated midway between Kioto and Kobe, about thirty miles distant, which respectively contain 340,000 and 150,000 inhabitants. About six and a half miles further on is yet another industrial centre, Sakai, with a population of 50,000. ”