Shank's Mare

by Ikku Jippensha

  'What are you talking about?' said Mokkai. 'We offered you the rice. It's your own fault if you didn't eat it.'

  To this argument there appeared to be no answer and Yaji was forced to agree to pay half the bill.

  'Ha-ha-ha!' laughed Kita. 'That was fun. Come on, Yaji, let's be going.'

  'I've eaten so much I can't walk,' groaned Yaji. 'Just lend a hand and pull me up.'

  'You haven't got any spirit in you,' said Kita. 'There, stand up.'

  'Pull harder,' said Yaji. 'I feel as if I was going to be sick.'

  'How dirty! Come on.' Kita managed to pull Yaji to his feet, and they went into the temple grounds again and walked on without knowing where they were going, till suddenly they came upon the teahouse where they had left the ladder.

  'Wait a bit,' said Yaji when he saw the teahouse. 'There's that ladder again. We oughtn't to have come this way. Let's go back.'

  'So it is,' said Kita. 'If we try to pass there they'll be bound to see us and ask us to take it away. It's a nuisance going back though. What shall we do?'

  While they were standing there considering, one of the horses from the Ukon racecourse, led by a groom, came along.

  'I know what we'll do,' said Kita. 'We'll hide behind the horse so that they won't see us from the teahouse when we pass.'

  'That's a good idea,' said Yaji.

  They waited till the horse came up to them and then got to the other side of it so as to conceal themselves, but unfortunately when the horse came in front of the teahouse it stopped, and they had to wait there behind the horse till it could be induced to go on again.

  'Gee-up! Gee-up!' cried the groom. 'What are you stopping here for. It's getting late.'

  The horse refused to move, however, and suddenly let out a stream which splashed on to Yaji and Kita and made them all wet.

  'Oh! Oh!' said Yaji. 'Now we've got in another mess.'

  'What a stink!' said Kita. 'Look out, Yaji, it's all running your way.' 'Look what the beast's done to me,' moaned Yaji.

  Just as he was trying to get out of the way, the girl standing at the door of the teahouse, having a quick eye, caught sight of him.

  'This is the house,' she called. 'Please come in.'

  'There, she's seen us,' cried Kita.

  'What a bother!' said Yaji.

  Just as they were making a dash for it the landlord came bustling out.

  'Hi, hi!' he called. 'You've left your ladder here. Hi, hi!'

  Paying no attention to his cries the two ran on in the dark till their breath was gone. At last they came to Semban-dōri, and from there, by asking the way, they got to the Mibu Temple, where, at a little teahouse, they were directed to an inn.

  On the next day they saw the sights at Shimabara and crossing the Tambakaidō came to the great bridge across the River Yodo. There they got on a boat going down the river and went to Osaka.

  BOOK EIGHT

  FIRST PART

  N the flourishing port of Osaka, the like of which is not to be found in the broad seas, lie rows upon rows of ships, from all parts of the country, at anchor at the mouths of the Rivers Kizu and Aji, so prosperous is the city and so many the articles in which it deals. In the spring when the flowers are blooming, there are endless parties being poled up the River Yodo to Mount Tempo or to the Sakura Shrine, or being towed along to the sound of the samisen, while the cup passes from hand to hand. In the summer again, they go to Matsu-ga-saki on the River Yodo, or to the Namba-shinchi-matsu, to hunt fireflies and swell their bellies with bean tea. In autumn they go to the Ukamusé to eat or to the hot baths of Tsuki, and in winter they have the snow-scenes of Tokibunechō. Then at every season there are the unfading flowers of the pleasure-quarter and the gaiety of the theatres in Dōtombōri, where it would seem that special performances are always being given, so great are the crowds.

  It was to see such scenes as these that Yajirobei and Kitahachi, round-eyed so that they shouldn't miss anything, arrived at the Hachikenya at Osaka by the boat which had brought them from Fushimi. It was already twilight when they landed and knowing nothing of the place they wandered on and on, again and again asking their way to Naga-machi, till at last, at Nihonbashi, they met an inn tout with whom they quickly came to terms and who led them to the Fundōkawachiya in Naga-machi.

  'Guests have come,' he called out at the entrance.

  'Welcome, welcome,' said the clerk. 'How many of you may there be?'

  'There's forty-seven of us altogether,' said Yaji.

  'What?' said the clerk. 'Forty-seven? Here, San, San, there are a lot of people coming. Turn out the room at the back and clean it out thoroughly. Bring some water for the gentlemen to wash their feet. It doesn't matter if it's tepid. Put some cold water in. By the way, these forty-seven people, —are they a long way after you?'

  'They started before us, but they only got as far as Kamakura. We're going to the Amagawaya at Sakai in Senshū.

  'Eh?' said the clerk. 'What's that? Then there are only two of you after all. Here, Tsun, Tsun, there are only two of them. Put them in the small room where the other guest is.'

  'Will your honours please come this way?' said Tsun, the maid.

  Having washed their feet they followed the maid, and although it was the best inn in the place and contained about seventy or eighty mats, they were shown into a small room, of only six mats. Another person was already in the room.

  'I hope you won't mind sharing a room,' apologised the clerk.

  'Come in, come in,' said the other guest, who was a Tamba man, and they went in with an apology.

  'We're staying here two or three days,' said Yaji to the clerk,'as we want to see all the sights of the town.'

  'Yes, yes,' said the clerk. 'Please make yourselves at home,' and he went off to the kitchen.

  'And where be you gentlemen from?' asked the Tamba man.

  'Oh, we're from Edo,' said Kita. 'And you?'

  'I'm from Sasayama in Tamba,' replied the man,'and I'm going to Mount Kōya. I'm very pleased to share a room with you.'

  'Well, we're all comrades when we're on the road,' said Yaji. 'Very glad to make your acquaintance.'

  Then the maid came in with supper and there was more talk, which I will not repeat.

  After they had had supper and a bath a blind woman shampooer, heavily pock-marked and of a very unpleasant appearance, came creeping into the room.

  'Shall I rub your honours down?' she asked.

  'Oh, you're the shampooer, are you?' said Yaji. 'A woman, eh? What do you say, Kita?'

  'Just give me a rub,' said Kita.

  'You gentlemen are from Edo, aren't you?' said the shampooer. 'I like gentlemen from Edo, they're so honest, and they speak in such a nice way.'

  'Can't you see at all?' asked Kita. 'If you could you'd see what handsome fellows are stopping at this house.'

  'I'm sure you are,' said the shampooer.

  'You should see me,' said Yaji. 'I'm much handsomer than he is. See if you can guess which of us is younger. If you guess right we'll let you shampoo us both.'

  'Oh, I can do that easily,' said the shampooer.

  'That's interesting,' said Kita. 'How old do you think I am?'

  'Wait a minute,' said the shampooer. 'You're about twenty-three or twenty-four.'

  'That's smart,' said Kita. 'And ain't I a handsome fellow?'

  'Oh, yes,' said the shampooer. 'You've got some features.'

  'It would be rather awkward if I hadn't,' said Kita.

  'Your eyes are very bright,' said the woman,'and your nose...'

  'Is it high or a snub?' asked Kita.

  'I hope you won't mind my saying that it's like the nose on a lion's mask.'

  'Ha-ha-ha!' laughed the Tamba man. 'That's good, that's good.'

  'Well, what about me?' asked Yaji.

  'Oh, you're much older,' said the woman. 'I should think you're about forty, and your complexion is very dark and your nose is very flat, and your face is covered with whiskers.'

  'Wonderful, w
onderful!' cried Kita.

  'And you're as fat as a pig,' added the woman.

  'No, no,' said Yaji. 'I'm really a very distinguished-looking fellow.'

  'It ain't true,' said Kita. 'Here, she's won. Let her rub you down.'

  'Well, we made an agreement, so we've got to stick to it,' said Yaji. 'Come along.'

  'Ho-ho-ho!' laughed the woman, and she went round behind Yaji and began to shampoo him.

  Just then a girl came in selling cakes.

  'Good evening,' she said. 'Won't you buy some of my cakes?'

  'Halloa!' said Kita. 'Everybody's coming in. They look good. Do you want to sell me some?'

  'Yes, yes,' said the girl. 'I wanted to sell you some so much that I ran all the way here.'

  'Eh!' said Yaji. 'You're flattering.'

  'No, no. We really love you so madly we don't know what to do,' said the girl. 'So please buy some of my cakes. I'll get you some tea.' She put down the boxes of cakes and went off to the kitchen.

  'She's a bold-faced chatterer,' said Kita.

  While he was talking he winked at Yaji and quietly took five or six cakes out of the box and hid them behind him. Thereupon the shampooer seized hold of them and shoved them into her sleeve without Kita seeing. Yaji also followed Kita's example and took three or four cakes out of the box. Just then he heard a noise from the kitchen, so he quickly closed the box and put it back in the place where it was before, while he hid the cakes behind him. Again the shampooer seized hold of them and shoved them into her sleeve without Yaji knowing anything about it. Then the cake girl came back from the kitchen with some tea.

  'Please have some tea,' she said.

  'It's very kind of you to take so much trouble,' said Yaji. 'After that we must buy some cakes. How much are these?' He took one out of the box.

  'They're four coppers each,' said the girl. 'But those are not so nice. Try some of these.'

  Yaji and Kita and the countryman each took some and began to eat.

  'Wait a minute,' said Kita. 'We'd better count how many we're eating.'

  'That's all right,' said the girl. 'Eat as many as you like. I won't charge you for them, eh, Tako?'

  'No, no,' said the shampooer. 'Shall I rub the other gentleman down?'

  'What, have you finished me already?' said Yaji.

  'Will the other gentleman come and sit here?' said the shampooer.

  'There you are,' said Kita. 'Is that all right?'

  'Won't you have another cake?' asked the cake girl.

  'You've given us quite a feast, Nabé,' said the shampooer. 'They are such kind gentlemen. Just turn the other side will you?'

  'What, have you finished that side already?' said Kita. 'You are quick.'

  'We've eaten a lot of cakes,' said the countryman. 'How much is it?'

  'For the three of you it's two hundred and forty-eight coppers,' said the girl.

  'What?' said Yaji. 'It's impossible. How could we have eaten so many? How many have you had, Kita?'

  'Let's see, how many was it?' said Kita.

  'I've eaten five of those at four coppers,' said the countryman. 'So there's twenty coppers for you.'

  'What, do you think we're going to pay for all the others?' said Kita. 'Why it comes to more than the inn bill will.'

  'It can't be helped,' said the girl. 'You've eaten them. Ho-ho-ho!'

  'There ain't any ho-ho-ho about it at all,' said Yaji. 'I call it disgraceful.'

  Yaji went on grumbling, but as there was no help for it, he had to pay the money. By this time the shampooer had finished.

  'How much is it?' asked Kita.

  'It's a hundred coppers for the two,' said the shampooer.

  'What, fifty each?' cried Yaji. 'That's dear.'

  But again he had to pay the money, and the woman went away.

  'It doesn't do to be off one's guard with these Westcountry girls,' said Yaji,'but I had that cake girl. If she was a tiger I was Kwōjin. She had a fool of a face anyway. She didn't know I had some of her best cakes hidden here.'

  He put his hand behind him to feel for the cakes he had taken, but they were not there. Kita also looked for the cakes he had taken, but they also had gone. Then a girl came in from the kitchen, bringing the teapot and some tea cups.

  'Please enjoy yourselves and have a little tea,' she said.

  'Those cakes would come in just right now,' said Kita when she had gone. 'I wonder where they are.'

  'It was the shampooer,' said the countryman. 'She took them. Ha-ha-ha! But I've got something better here.' He opened his basket and took out a small box. 'It's sugar candy,' he said. 'I got it at a shop in Doshō-machi. Just pass one of those small cups.'

  'Thank you, thank you,' said Kita. 'Have some, Yaji. Take a lot.'

  'No, no,' said the countryman. 'You mustn't take such a lot. Just pass it over,' and he put it away again very quickly.

  Then the maid came in to spread the beds and while she was clearing up another woman looked in at the door and threw the pillows down. Yaji and Kita were surprised to see that it was the shampooer.

  'I say,' said Yaji to the maid,'isn't that woman who came in the blind shampooer?'

  'Yes,' said the maid.

  'How is it she can see?' asked Kita.

  'Well, when guests come,' said the girl,'she thinks they wouldn't like it if she could see, so the pretends she's blind. But at other times she helps in the kitchen.'

  'Then that's how she was able to guess what we looked like,' said Yaji.

  'Ah,' said Kita,'and that accounts for her taking those cakes I sneaked.'

  'Ho-ho-ho!' said the girl. 'Those cakes you stole must be those she gave to me,' and she pulled them out of her sleeve to show them and then went off laughing.

  'What a joke!' exclaimed Kita.

  Laughing over the incident they tumbled into bed and the Tamba man was soon fast asleep and snoring. The other two lay talking for some time longer. They could hear the sound of dogs barking in the fields at the back of the inn and the noise of someone splitting bamboo. Then the drum beat for the hour of midnight.

  'What's that rustling sound, Yaji?' asked Kita, lifting his head.

  'I couldn't sleep,' said Yaji,'and I was tumbling about when I found this.'

  From the bedclothes he pulled out a small chip box.

  'Why, isn't that the box the old chap brought out before?' said Kita. 'The one with the sugar candy in, I mean.'

  'Don't speak so loud,' said Yaji. 'It must have dropped out of his wicker-basket. I've had my eye on it for a long time.'

  'Let's have a bit,' suggested Kita.

  'Wait a minute,' said Yaji. The lantern was so far away he could not see very well, but he took the lid off and put some of the contents into his mouth. 'It's hard,' he said.

  'Let's see,' said Kita, snatching the box away. He also put some in his mouth and chewed it.

  'Whatever is it?' he said. 'It's like ashes.'

  'It's not sugar candy,' said Yaji. 'What a strong smell it has.'

  Then he began to feel rather sick and to reach, whereupon the Tamba man opened his eyes at the noise and jumped up astounded when he saw what they were doing.

  'What are you doing?' he cried. 'What are you eating my wife for?'

  'What do you mean by your wife?' asked Yaji. 'What do I mean?' exclaimed the Tamba man. 'It's sacrilege. That is my dear wife. Look on the lid of the box.'

  Yaji jumped up and went over to the lantern with the box. There he saw written on the lid 'Shūgetsu Myokwo Shinnyō.' 'Then the box contains the ashes of your wife?' he asked.

  'What? The ashes?' cried Kita. 'This is dreadful. That's why I feel so queer.'

  'You may feel bad but I feel worse,' said the man. 'I'm carrying those remains from my village to Mount Kōya. It's desecration for you to eat it. You can't be real men. You must be devils or beasts. Whatever shall I do? Whatever shall I do?'

  Here he hid his face in his sleeve and began to cry.

  'What a terrible thing!' said Yaji, although he was s
ecretly rather amused. 'When you opened your wicker-basket it fell out and got tumbled about without anybody knowing what it was. That was your fault. My fault was in mistaking it for sugar candy. So, as there were faults on both sides there's nothing to quarrel about.'

  'No, no,' cried the Tamba man. 'Put it back as it was before. Put it back.'

  Thereupon he began to wail and cry again, till Kitahachi managed to soothe him with many excuses and he became appeased.

  Then, the matter settled, they sank to sleep again, but not for long, for the dawn came to disturb them in their dreams, and the servant came from the kitchen to awaken them. Rising, the three had breakfast together and then the Tamba man departed for Mount Kōya, and Yaji and Kita, who had decided to stop two or three days, prepared to go out to see the sights of Osaka.

  'Good morning. What are you going to see to-day?' asked the clerk. 'If you like I could send a guide with you.'

  'Ah, we should like that,' said Yaji.

  'Very well,' said the clerk, and he called,'Saheiji, Saheiji, just come here a minute.'

  Saheiji came out of the kitchen.

  'Would you gentlemen like me to guide you round?' he asked.

  'Yes, and I'd like to get two pairs of straw sandals,' said Kita.

  'No, no,' said Yaji. 'One pair's enough. I bought a pair of leather-soled sandals in Kyōto. Those straw sandals make you look as if you were up from the country seeing the sights.'

  'It doesn't matter when you're travelling,' said Kita.

  'If you gentlemen are ready we'll start now,' said Saheiji.

  'Come on, let's go,' said Yaji, and they went off with good wishes for a pleasant day from the clerk and the maid.

  'Let's arrange it this way,' said Saheiji. 'You'd better go to the Tennō Temple and the Ikutama Shrine when you go to Sumiyoshi. To-day we'll look at the sights near here.'

  The guide took them along Nagamachi to the shrine at Kōzu. It was at this shrine, in ancient times that the Emperor Nintoku, mounted on the roof, composed an ode. But things have changed since then. Now it is a scene of great prosperity. Inside the temple grounds teahouses abound, and all day long the girls are crying,'Walk in, walk in. Come in and rest, come in and rest.'