THE DREAM OF AKINOSUKÉ
1 This name ‘Tokoyo’ is indefinite. According to circumstances it may signify any unknown country – or that undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns – or that Fairyland of far-eastern fable, the Realm of Hōrai. The term ‘Kokuō’ means the ruler of a country – therefore a king. The original phrase, Tokoyo no Kokuō, might be rendered here as ‘the Ruler of the Hōrai’, or ‘the King of Fairyland’.
2 The last phrase, according to old custom, had to be uttered by both attendants at the same time. All these ceremonial observances can still be studied on the Japanese stage.
3 This was the name given to the estrade, or dais, upon which a feudal prince or ruler sat in state. The term literally signifies ‘great seat’.
RIKI-BAKA
1 A square piece of cotton-goods, or other woven material, used as a wrapper in which to carry small packages.
THE MIRROR MAIDEN
1 A kind of rouge, now used only to color the lips.
2 This name, though uncommon, is still in use.
3 The Emperor Saimei reigned from 655 to 662 (A. D.); the Emperor Saga from 810 to 842. Kudara was an ancient kingdom in southwestern Korea, frequently mentioned in early Japanese history. A Naishinnō was of Imperial blood. In the ancient court hierarchy there were twenty-five ranks or grades of noble ladies; that of Naishinnō was seventh in order of precedence.
4 For centuries the wives of the emperors and the ladies of the Imperial Court were chosen from the Fujiwara clan. The period called Hōgen lasted from 1156 to 1159: the war referred to is the famous war between the Taira and Minamoto clans.
5 In old-time belief every lake or spring had its invisible guardian, supposed to sometimes take the form of a serpent or dragon. The spirit of a lake or pond was commonly spoken of as Iké-no-Mushi, the Master of the Lake. Here we find the title ‘Master’ given to a dragon living in a well; but the guardian of wells is really the god Suijin.2
THE STORY OF ITŌ NORISUKÉ
1 August-residence servant.
2 A scarcely translatable honorific title compounded of the word himé (princess) and kimi (sovereign, master or mistress, lord or lady, etc.).
3 Shigéhira, after a brave fight in defense of the capital – then held by the Taïra (or Heiké) party – was surprised and routed by Yoshitsuné, leader of the Minamoto forces. A soldier named Iyénaga, who was a skilled archer, shot down Shigéhira’s horse; and Shigéhira fell under the struggling animal. He cried to an attendant to bring another horse; but the man fled. Shigéhira was then captured by Iyénaga, and eventually given up to Yoritomo, head of the Minamoto clan, who caused him to be sent in a cage to Kamakura. There, after sundry humiliations, he was treated for a time with consideration – having been able, by a Chinese poem, to touch even the cruel heart of Yoritomo. But in the following year he was executed by request of the Buddhist priests of Nanto, against whom he had formerly waged war by order of Kiyomori.
4 This was the name given to a pair of metal rods attached to a sword-sheath, and used like chop-sticks. They were sometimes exquisitely ornamented.
5 A kind of palanquin.
APPENDIX: NIGHTMARE-TOUCH
1 I may remark here that in many old Japanese legends and ballads, ghosts are represented as having power to pull off people’s heads. But so far as the origin of the fear of ghosts is concerned, such stories explain nothing – since the experiences that evolved the fear must have been real, not imaginary, experiences.
Japanese Ghost Stories Page 27