Shank's Mare
Page 41
Page 222.—hayamé.
Medicine for easing the pains of labour.
Page 224-—the three countries.
Japan, China and India specifically, but used in the sense of the world,—the only world known to feudal Japan.
Page 227.—the book of Istimo.
The Shrine of Izumo, which ranks next in importance to the Grand Shrine of Ise, is dedicated to the god Ōnamuji, who is supposed to keep a record of all marriages. The temporary connections formed on the road while travelling, however, are not recorded in the Book of Izumo.
Page 227.—Satsuma sweet-potato.
The sweet-potato was first introduced into the rest of Japan from Satsuma Province and is still called the Satsuma-potato.
Page 228.—Chujō Island.
This was a pleasure quarter near Fushimi.
Page 228.—Dōtombōri.
This is still the entertainment quarter of Osaka.
Page 229.—Okesa and Matsuzaka.
The names of two tunes or chants.
Page 230.—'The roll is mine.'
This refers to an alleged incident in the life of Yoshitsune, when he sought to get access to a manuscript dealing with the art of war and only succeeded by dint of making love to the owner's daughter and getting her to steal it.
Page 235.—Shirokoi.
' Shiruko' is a food prepared from peas, and the joke here is that the like-sounding 'Shirokoi' stands for 'Shiro, come,' 'shiro' (white) being the name given to white dogs.
Page 235.—a new pot.
In Japanese 'shibin,'urinal.
Page 238.—a hovel in the river bed.
Owing to the steepness of their fall a large number of the rivers in Japan are dry for many months of the year. The dry beds were greatly resorted to by beggars, who built their hovels under the bridges.
Page 243.—the day of the rat.
Years, days and hours were all counted in feudal Japan as belonging to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac, the order of which is:— Rat (né), bull (ushi), tiger (tora), hare (u), dragon (tatsu), serpent (mi), horse (uma), goat (hitsuji), monkey (saru), cock (tori), dog (inu), boar (i). These were combined with ten 'celestial signs' borrowed from China, thus making cycles of sixty days or years.
Page 244.—Saburo Yoshihidé.
Kita means that he would not stop even if he were the lowest of retainers, such as Saburo Yoshihidé.
Page 247.—getting through the holes.
Those able to get through the holes are supposed to obtain easy entrance into paradise.
Page 248.—Ya-en-sa.
Meaningless cries of encouragement.
Page 254.—Namu Amida Butsu.
This is the prayer of many of the Buddhist sects. 'Namu' is from the Sanskrit, a word meaning 'reverence,' 'honour.' The whole prayer is practically equivalent to 'Save me Amida Buddha.'Amida is the Sanskrit Amitabha. The Great Buddha at Kamakura is a representation of Amida.
Page 255.—Atsumori's burial place.
Atsumori was a youth of seventeen who fought on the side of the Heike in the great clan struggle between them and the Genji. After the Heike were routed at Ichi-no-tani at Suma he was making his way to a ship when a Genji warrior challenged him. He turned back to fight and was defeated and slain.
Page 260.—' Kachin.'
'Kachin' is a dialect word for 'mochi,' rice-cake; 'yachin,'with which Yaji rimes it, means 'rent.'
Page 264.—Praying to Kompira.
This is a favourite deity originally Buddhist but later taken over as a Shinto god.
Page 265.—Namu Kimyō Chōrai.
'Namu' and 'Kimyo' are practically synonymous, with the meaning already given. 'Chōrai' means humble ceremony, here prostration at the feet of the god. This prayer is used for all Buddhist divinities.
Page 265.—cold water penance.
This is a favourite penance among all Buddhist devotees.
Page 269.—the famous saké of Kamogawa.
This and the other names mentioned in this paragraph are mostly names of places. But Kamamoto is the name of a maker of face-powder and the Teikinōrai is the name of a book.
Page 269.—stolen journey.
Stolen because they had run away without paying their bills.
Page 269.—Gojo Bridge, where of old Ushiwakamaru fought with Benkei.
Ushiwakamaru was the name of Yoshitsune in his boyhood. Benkei was a robber priest who was trying to collect a thousand swords and lay in wait on the bridge to rob people of their swords. He met his match in Ushiwakamaru, however, and after a fierce fight was driven off. On the following day there was another encounter, when Benkei owned himself defeated and vowed allegiance to the youth who had defeated him. He remained faithful to Yoshitsune through all his fortunes till he died fighting for him.
Page 269.—Kadodé Hachiman.
A shrine dedicated to Hachiman, the god of war.
Page 270.—kappa.
An imaginary animal supposed to live in the rivers.
Page 272.—purple hoods on their heads.
Miyagawachō was a pleasure quarter. One suggestion is that the men were actors who took women's parts.
Page 273.—the famous Sangoro.
A well known actor of the time. Also Arakichi and Tomokichi.
Page 273.—box-opener.
The boxes in the Japanese theatre are squares separated by a very low rail. The audience sit on cushions on the floor.
Page 273.—Uji.
Uji, near Nara, is famous for its tea.
Page 275.—Flowery-way.
This is the 'hana-michi,'a raised gangway running from the stage to the back of the theatre, along which the actors sometimes make their entrance.
Page 283.—We make bean-sauce in a storehouse.
The storehouse ('anagura') is a pit dug in the ground to keep provisions in.
Page 288.—the ladder was to show that he was going up to the capital.
The Japanese also speak of going up to the capital.
Page 288.—that he had no money.
Both 'money' and 'bell' are 'kane' in Japanese, and both the bell-clapper and the beggar-priest were to intimate that the son had no 'kané,' money.
Page 289.—interludes.
These are comic pieces enacted between the No dramas.
Page 289.—Mugen.
Mugen is a temple dedicated to Kwannon at Nishiyama in Tōtōmi Province. He who strikes the bell of Mugen is supposed to get rich in this life but to be doomed to eternal punishment in the next. In the theatres a washbasin is introduced instead of a bell.
Page 289.—Ume-ga-é (plum-branch).
This is the name of a girl in the pleasure quarter with whom Genta is in love. Genta is Kajiwara Genta Kagesué, who fought at the battle of the Uji River, contending with one of his comrades who should cross the river first.
Page 293.—when copper goes up in price.
Copper here stands for the smaller coins of copper. On exchange, when the value of the copper coins goes up, gold falls. Here the joke turns on the popular name for the male organs,—golden spheres.
Page 293.—go on to the temple.
To arrange for the funeral, funerals being always carried out under Buddhist rites in those times.
Page 293.—For a maiden born in the capital.
Yaji is parodying a poem.
Page 300.—I cooked this trout for you with all my liver.
The puns in the original are as silly as those substituted and are hardly worth explaining.
Page 301.—Kuyadō.
The priest's account of the origin of the name is a joke. The order, which is a branch of the Jōdō sect of Buddhism, was founded by Kuya Shōnin. The priests were not required to shave their heads, could marry, and could wear laymen's dress. They went about selling tea-whisks. Ikku, however, represents them as dressed in priests' robes.
Page 302.—a 'meshimori.'
Yaji takes this word in the meaning of maid at an inn, i.e. girl who serves the rice ('meshi'). T
he 'sakamori' was a sake feast.
Page 303.—the Satsuma game.
See previous note.
Page 306.—Tambakaidō.
The road to Tamba Province.
Page 309.—forty-seven people.
This is another reference to the Forty-seven Rōnin. The Amagawaya at Sakai was where there lived a retainer of the nobleman whose death the ronin were determined to avenge. The retainer assisted the ronin in getting armour. 'Amagawa' means the Milky Way and 'ya' is house. The Milky Way House was the sign of the shop kept by the retainer.
Page 310.—Mount Kōya.
A celebrated mountain in Kishū on which a monastery was founded by Kōbō Daishi, the great Buddhist preacher who lived in the ninth century. Mount Kōya is a favourite place for burials.
Page 311.—nose on a lion's mask.
That is anything but a high nose.
Page 315.—Shūgetsu Myōkwō Shinnyō.
This is the Buddhist name given to the wife after she was dead.
Page 316.—Emperor Nintoku.
The Emperor Nintoku reigned from 313 to 399.
Page 319.—Come and hear the Shirokiya.
Ikku has mixed up the names of the jōruri which the man is calling out. Benkei did not commit suicide, but fell in battle.
Page 321.—An ode from the Dōjōjt.
The Dōjōji is here the name of a 'jōruri' concerning the temple.
Page 321.—blackened teeth.
The married women blackened their teeth in feudal times.
Page 321.—Yamazukushi.
A song made up of the names of celebrated mountains, beginning with Mount Fuji.
Page 325.—I'm going to turn priest.
That is renounce the world.
Page 328.—Yuki silk kimono.
Yuki is the name of a place in Shimosa Province where the silk is made. Hachijō is one of the islands of the Bōnin group. 'Tōzan' is the name of a design originally hailing from China.
Page 330.—to feel Kiyomori's pulse.
This is stated to be an expression taken from a song. Kiyomori was the great statesman of the twelfth century.
Page 332.—sticks on the divining board.
There are fifty sticks and six divining boards. Half of the latter have indentations and represent the negative or female principle, and the other three are unmarked and represent the positive or male principle.
Page 332.—the Book tells us.
This is the fortune-teller's bible,—the Eki-kyō.
Page 332.—Kwanei Era.
From 1624 to 1644.
Page 334.—southern Gompachi.
Gompachi is the name given to buffoons, but it seems here to be used with reference to the celebrated robber Shirai Gompachi, whose story is told in Mitford's 'Tales of Old Japan.'
Page 334.—Yoriya aikori yo aikori yo.
This is a meaningless chorus, like 'Hi-tiddlety-hi-ty.'
Page 346.—the old man with the lantern pounds the rice.
Pounding the rice has here apparently the meaning of sitting down on the ground by accident.
Page 351.—Shōtoku Taishi.
Described as the Constantine of Japanese Buddhism. He founded the temple about the year 600.
Page 353.—lifted one of the doors from its grooves.
The door would be a framework covered with paper and sliding in grooves, with the name of the shop and an advertisement of the goods sold painted on the paper. 'Zenzai-mochi' is a kind of rice-cake and 'Sango-dango ' a kind of dumpling.
Page 356.—Manzairakuja.
A meaningless expression.
Page 359.—I'll hold the spills.
It is customary to use paper rolled into spills in drawing lots in this way.
Page 359.—burdock and eggs.
These are considered aphrodisiacs; also Sanzo and Koshiyoshi pills.
Page 362.—pulling out the shutters to keep out the rain.
The shutters slide in grooves and are slid into a sort of box in the daytime and pulled out at night or when there is a violent rainstorm, so as to prevent the paper windows from getting wet.
Page 367.—Musashi.
The name of the province in which Edo stood.
Page 367.—says the poem.
The poem appears in the 'Zoku Kokinshiu,' a continuation of the ' Kokinshiu/ the anthology compiled by Ki-no-Tsurayaki, the author of the 'Tosa Nikki.'
Page 367-—flowering grasses.
Specifically the 'obana,' tail flower (Miscanthus sinensis).
Page 367.—pleasure quarter.
Specifically Nakano-chō, a street in the Yoshiwara district.
Page 367.—Edo.
Edo was founded by Ieyasu and became the capital of the Toku-gawas when they attained the Shogunate.
Page 367.—Tochimenya.
Ikku's names all have a humorous tinge. 'Tochimenya' means 'acornface,' and lower down 'Hanamizu 'is ' nose water.'
Page 367.—Fuchū.
The old name for Shizuoka, the capital of Suruga Province, the 'short' form for which is Sunshu. Mount Fuji is in Suruga Province.
Page 368.—thus spitting out.
In the original 'Kaku Ashikubo no cha naru koto wo haki-chirashi.' The commentators explain that Ashikubo is the centre of the tea-produc' ing district of Shizuoka prefecture, which is famous for its tea. The joke seems to lie in the use of the word 'cha' (tea) as a term of contempt.
Page 368.—Kanda.
This is one of the wards of the city.
Page 368.—coming of age.
This was the ceremony of cutting the hair and, shaving the head which signified the attainment of manhood. A change of name was very common at that time
Page 368.—natto.
Made from soya beans.
Page 368.—mountain potatoes. The yam (Discorea japonica).
Page 370.—grog shop.
Yaji coins a punning word for an eating house on the analogy of a drinking house.
Page 370.—What have you got.
In the original Yaji here makes a pun. Futsu says she has some soup made of the meat of shell-fish ('mukimi'). Yaji wilfully mishears this as 'nukimi,' which means a drawn sword, and asks how he can eat that. Then he continues the joke by hearing 'karajiru' (shell soup) as 'kirazu,' not able to cut, and concludes that if the sword will not cut there is no danger.
Page 371.—bring out the wine.
The drinking of sake by the bride and bridegroom is part of the Japanese marriage ceremony.
Page 371.—two or three lives.
That is to say each vows to become man and wife again when they are reincarnated.
Page 371.—two fish-cutters.
Samurai above a certain rank wore two swords.
Page 371.—Council of Ministers.
Each daimyō had a Ministry resembling that of the Shōgun.
Page 371.—wedding presents.
The wedding presents exchanged between the families of the bride and the bridegroom are a guarantee that the contract will be carried out.
Page 373.—three and a half lines of divorce.
The legal formula for divorce occupies three and a half lines of Japanese writing. This is divorce by mutual consent, though too often the wife's consent is taken for granted.
Page 373.—hundred 'koku' samurai.
Each samurai was allowed so much rice according to his position. A samurai who received two hundred 'koku' of rice would be of high rank. A 'koku' is equal to about five bushels.
Page 374.—to receive the bride with white faces.
Under the influence of sake the Japanese get very flushed.
Page 374.—the clash of the bearers' sticks.
The sticks of the kago bearers, used to support the kago pole on when changing shoulders.
Page 376.—this time there shall be no mistake.
Kita is here quoting from some 'joruri.'
Page 379-—yai, yai.
The Japanese think a person can be restored to consciousness by shouting at them.
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Page 381.—Shinda ko, etc.
These are all imitations of common street-cries. 'Shinda ko,' mean-ing 'dead child,' is put for 'shin daiko,' new radishes; 'yurensō,'('yurei,' ghost) is for ' hōrensō,' spinach; 'bakegiya' ('baké,' ghost) is for 'wakegi,' onion ; 'sotoba no himono' is literally ' dried fish tablets,' 'sotoba' being the wooden tables set up in commemoration of the dead; 'sekitō' is tombstone, and 'tachi-uri' means that the buyer can purchase any quantity he requires.
Page 382.—the child behaved like a fox.
Imoshichi is quoting from a 'jōruri,' which tells of a fox which changed itself into a woman and was married and had a child. It was through the child's behaviour in eating rats and so on that the real nature of the mother was discovered.
Page 383.—Naniwa.
The ancient poetical name for Osaka.
IKKU'S LAST POEM
Kono yo woba
Dorya o itoma ni
Senko to
Tomo ni tsui ni wa
Hai sayonara
Come leave this world thou dost
not think to make a longer stay
The funeral incense turns to dust thou
forbear to say farewell to day
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
Contents
NOTE TO THE NEW EDITION
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
LIFE OF IKKU JIPPENSHA
HIZAKURIGÉ
PREFACE
BOOK ONE
BOOK TWO
FIRST PART
SECOND PART
BOOK THREE
FIRST PART
SECOND PART
BOOK FOUR
FIRST PART
SECOND PART
BOOK FIVE
FIRST PART
SECOND PART
THIRD PART
BOOK SIX
FIRST PART
SECOND PART
BOOK SEVEN
FIRST PART
SECOND PART
BOOK EIGHT
FIRST PART
SECOND PART