Chapter III: Part 3

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The next list will appear at first sight more heterogeneous than it really is. It contains a larger variety of appellations than the previous list; but nearly all of the _yobina_ refer to some good quality which the parents trust that the child will display, or to some future happiness which they hope that she will deserve. To the latter category belong such names of felicitation as _Miyo_ and _Masayo_.

MISCELLANEOUS NAMES EXPRESSING PERSONAL QUALITIES, OR PARENTAL HOPES

_O-Atsu_ "The Generous,"--liberal.
_O-Chika_ "Closely Dear."
_O-Chika_ "Thousand Rejoicings."
_O-Cho_ "The Long,"--probably in reference to life.
_O-Dai_ "Great."
_O-Den_ "Transmission,"--bequest from ancestors, tradition.
_O-E_ "Fortunate."
_O-Ei_ "Prosperity."
_O-En_ "Charm."
_O-En_ "Prolongation,"--of life.
_O-Etsu_ "Surpassing."
_O-Etsu_ "The Playful,"--merry, joyous.
_O-Fuku_ "Good Luck."
_O-Gen_ "Source,"--spring, fountain.
_O-Haya_ "The Quick,"--light, nimble.
_O-Hide_ "Superior."
_Hideyo_ "Superior Generations."
_O-Hiro_ "The Broad."
_O-Hisa_ "The Long." (?)
_Isamu_ "The Vigorous,"--spirited, robust.
_O-Jin_ "Superexcellent."
_Kameyo_ "Generations-of-the-Tortoise."
_O-Kane_[50] "The Doubly-Accomplished."

[50] From the strange verb _kaneru_, signifying, to do two
things at the same time.

_Kaoru_ "The Fragrant."
_O-Kata_ "Worthy Person."
_O-Katsu_ "The Victorious."
_O-Kei_ "Delight."
_O-Kei_ "The Respectful."
_O-Ken_ "The Humble."
_O-Kichi_ "The Fortunate."
_O-Kimi_ "The Sovereign,"--peerless.
_O-Kiwa_ "The Distinguished."
_O-Kiyo_ } {"The Clear,"--in the sense of
_Kiyoshi_ } { bright, beautiful.
_O-Kuru_ "She-who-Comes" (?).[51]

[51] One is reminded of, "O whistle, and I'll come to you,
my lad"--but no Japanese female name could have the
implied signification. More probably the reference is
to household obedience.

_O-Maru_ "The Round,"--plump.
_O-Masa_ "The Genteel."
_Masayo_ "Generations-of-the-Just."
_O-Masu_ "Increase."
_O-Mie_ "Triple Branch."
_O-Miki_ "Stem."
_O-Mio_ "Triple Cord."
_O-Mitsu_ "Abundance."
_O-Miwa_ "The Far-seeing."
_O-Miwa_ "Three Spokes" (?).[52]

[52] Such is the meaning of the characters. I cannot
understand the name. A Buddhist explanation suggests
itself; but there are few, if any, Buddhist _yobina_.

_O-Miyo_ "Beautiful Generations."
_Miyuki_[53] "Deep Snow."

[53] This beautiful name refers to the silence and calm
following a heavy snowfall. But, even for the Japanese,
it is an aesthetic name also--suggesting both
tranquillity and beauty.

_O-Moto_ "Origin."
_O-Naka_ "Friendship."
_O-Rai_ "Trust."
_O-Raku_[54] "Pleasure."

[54] The name seems curious, in view of the common proverb,
_Raku wa ku no tane_,--"Pleasure is the seed of pain."

_O-Sachi_ "Bliss."
_O-Sai_ "The Talented."
_Sakae_ "Prosperity."
_O-Saku_ "The Blooming."
_O-Sei_ "The Refined,"--in the sense of "clear."
_O-Sei_ "Force."
_O-Sen_ "Sennin,"--wood-fairy.
_O-Shige_ "Exuberant."
_O-Shime_ "The Total,"--_summum bonum_.
_O-Shin_ "The Fresh."
_O-Shin_ "Truth."
_O-Shina_ "Goods,"--possessions.
_Shirushi_ "Proof,"--evidence.
_O-Shizu_ "The Humble."
_O-Sho_ "Truth."
_O-Shun_ "Excellence."
_O-Suki_ "The Beloved,"--_Aimee_.
_O-Suke_ "The Helper."
_O-Sumi_ "The Refined,"--in the sense of "sifted."
_O-Sute_ "The Forsaken,"--foundling.[55]

[55] Not necessarily a real foundling. Sometimes the name
may be explained by a curious old custom. In a certain
family several children in succession die shortly after
birth. It is decided, according to traditional usage,
that the next child born must be exposed. A girl is the
next child born;--she is carried by a servant to some
lonely place in the fields, or elsewhere, and left
there. Then a peasant, or other person, hired for the
occasion (it is necessary that he should be of no kin
to the family), promptly appears, pretends to find the
babe, and carries it back to the parental home. "See
this pretty foundling," he says to the father of the
girl,--"will you not take care of it?" The child is
received, and named "Sute," the foundling. By this
innocent artifice, it was formerly (and perhaps in some
places is still) supposed that those unseen influences,
which had caused the death of the other children, might
be thwarted.

_O-Tae_ "The Exquisite."
_O-Taka_ "The Honorable."
_O-Taka_ "The Tall."
_Takara_ "Treasure,"--precious object.
_O-Tama_ "Jewel."
_Tamae_ "Jewel-branch."
_Tokiwa_[56] "Eternally Constant."

[56] Lit., "Everlasting-Rock,"--but the ethical meaning is
"Constancy-everlasting-as-the-Rocks." "Tokiwa" is a
name famous both in history and tradition; for it was
the name of the mother of Yoshitsune. Her touching
story,--and especially the episode of her flight
through the deep snow with her boys,--has been a source
of inspiration to generations of artists.

_O-Tomi_ "Riches."
_O-Toshi_ "The Deft,"--skilful.
_O-Tsuma_ "The Wife."
_O-Yori_ "The Trustworthy."
_O-Waka_ "The Young."

Place-names, or geographical names, are common; but they are particularly difficult to explain. A child may be called after a place because born there, or because the parental home was there, or because of beliefs belonging to the old Chinese philosophy regarding direction and position, or because of traditional custom, or because of ideas connected with the religion of Shinto.

PLACE-NAMES

_O-Fuji_ [Mount] "Fuji."
_O-Hama_ "Coast."
_O-Ichi_ "Market,"--fair.
_O-Iyo_ "Iyo,"--province of Iyo, in Shikoku.
_O-Kawa_ (rare) "River."
_O-Kishi_ "Beach,"--shore.
_O-Kita_ "North."
_O-Kiwa_ "Border."
_O-Kuni_ "Province."
_O-Kyo_ "Capital,"--metropolis,--Kyoto.
_O-Machi_ "Town."
_Matsue_ "Matsue,"--chief city of Izumo.
_O-Mina_[57] "South."

[57] Abbreviation of _Minami_.

_O-Mine_ "Peak."
_O-Miya_ "Temple" [_Shinto_].[58]

[58] I must confess that in classing this name as a
place-name, I am only making a guess. It seems to me
that the name probably refers to the _ichi no miya_, or
chief Shinto temple of some province.

_O-Mon_[59] "Gate."

[59] I fancy that this name, like that of O-Seki, must
have originated in the custom of naming children after
the place, or neighborhood, where the family lived. But
here again, I am guessing.

_O-Mura_ "Village."
_O-Nami_[60] "Wave."

[60] This classification also is a guess. I could learn
nothing about the name, except the curious fact that it
is said to be unlucky.

_Naniwa_ "Naniwa,"--ancient name of Osaka.
_O-Nishi_ "West."
_O-Rin_ "Park."
_O-Saki_ "Cape."
_O-Sato_ "Native Place,"--village,--also, home.
_O-Sawa_ "Marsh."
_O-Seki_ "Toll-Gate,"--barrier.
_Shigeki_ "Thickwood,"--forest.
_O-Shima_ "Island."
_O-Sono_ "Flower-garden."
_O-Taki_ "Cataract,"--or Waterfall.
_O-Tani_ "Valley."
_O-Tsuka_ "Milestone."
_O-Yama_ "Mountain."

The next list is a curious medley, so far as regards the quality of the _yobina_ comprised in it. Some are really aesthetic and pleasing; others industrial only; while a few might be taken for nicknames of the most disagreeable kind.

NAMES OF OBJECTS AND OF OCCUPATIONS ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO WOMEN

_Ayako_ or } "Damask-pattern."
_O-Aya_[61] }

[61] _Aya-Nishiki_,--the famous figured damask brocade of
Kyoto,--is probably referred to.

_O-Fumi_ "Woman's Letter."
_O-Fusa_ "Tassel."
_O-Ito_ "Thread."
_O-Kama_[62] "Rice-Sickle."

[62] _O-Kama_ (Sickle) is a familiar peasant-name. _O-Kama_
(caldron, or iron cooking-pot), and several other
ugly names in this list are servants' names. Servants
in old time not only trained their children to become
servants, but gave them particular names referring
to their future labors.

_O-Kama_ "Caldron."
_Kazashi_ "Hair-pin."
_O-Kinu_ "Cloth-of-Silk."
_O-Koto_ "Harp."
_O-Nabe_ "Pot,"--or cooking-vessel.
_O-Nui_ "Embroidery."
_O-Shime_ "Clasp,"--ornamental fastening.
_O-Some_ "The Dyer."
_O-Taru_ "Cask,"--barrel.

The following list consists entirely of material nouns used as names. There are several _yobina_ among them of which I cannot find the emblematical meaning. Generally speaking, the _yobina_ which signify precious substances, such as silver and gold, are aesthetic names; and those which signify common hard substances, such as stone, rock, iron, are intended to suggest firmness or strength of character. But the name "Rock" is also sometimes used as a symbol of the wish for long life, or long continuance of the family line. The curious name _Suna_ has nothing, however, to do with individual "grit": it is half-moral and half-aesthetic. Fine sand--especially colored sand--is much prized in this fairy-land of landscape-gardening, where it is used to cover spaces that must always be kept spotless and beautiful, and never trodden,--except by the gardener.

MATERIAL NOUNS USED AS NAMES

_O-Gin_ "Silver."
_O-Ishi_ "Stone."
_O-Iwa_ "Rock."
_O-Kane_ "Bronze."
_O-Kaze_[63] "Air,"--perhaps Wind.

[63] I cannot find any explanation of this curious name.

_O-Kin_ "Gold."
_O-Ruri_[64]} "Emerald,"--emeraldine?
_Ruriko_ }

[64] The Japanese name does not give the same quality
of aesthetic sensation as the name Esmeralda. The _ruri_
is not usually green, but blue; and the term "ruri-iro"
(emerald color) commonly signifies a dark violet.

_O-Ryu_ "Fine Metal."
_O-Sato_ "Sugar."
_O-Seki_ "Stone."
_O-Shiwo_ "Salt."
_O-Suna_ "Sand."
_O-Suzu_ "Tin."
_O-Tane_ "Seed."
_O-Tetsu_ "Iron."

The following five _yobina_ are aesthetic names,--although literally signifying things belonging to intellectual work. Four of them, at least, refer to calligraphy,--the matchless calligraphy of the Far East,--rather than to anything that we should call "_literary_ beauty."

LITERARY NAMES

_O-Bun_ "Composition."
_O-Fude_ "Writing-Brush."
_O-Fumi_ "Letter."
_O-Kaku_ "Writing."
_O-Uta_ "Poem."

Names relating to number are very common, but also very interesting. They may be loosely divided into two sub-classes,--names indicating the order or the time of birth, and names of felicitation. Such _yobina_ as _Ichi_, _San_, _Roku_, _Hachi_ usually refer to the order of birth; but sometimes they record the date of birth. For example, I know a person called O-Roku, who received this name, not because she was the sixth child born in the family, but because she entered this world upon the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth Meiji. It will be observed that the numbers Two, Five, and Nine are not represented in the list: the mere idea of such names as _O-Ni_, _O-Go_, or _O-Ku_ seems to a Japanese absurd. I do not know exactly why,--unless it be that they suggest unpleasant puns. The place of _O-Ni_ is well supplied, however, by the name _O-Tsugi_ ("Next"), which will be found in a subsequent list. Names signifying numbers ranging from eighty to a thousand, and upward, are names of felicitation. They express the wish that the bearer may live to a prodigious age, or that her posterity may flourish through the centuries.

NUMERALS AND WORDS RELATING TO NUMBER

_O-Ichi_ "One."
_O-San_ "Three."
_O-Mitsu_ "Three."
_O-Yotsu_ "Four."
_O-Roku_ "Six."
_O-Shichi_ "Seven."
_O-Hachi_ "Eight."
_O-Ju_ "Ten."
_O-Iso_ "Fifty."[65]

[65] Such a name may record the fact that the girl was a
first-born child, and the father fifty years old at
the time of her birth.

_O-Yaso_ "Eighty."
_O-Hyaku_ "Hundred."[66]

[66] The "O" before this trisyllable seems contrary to rule;
but _Hyaku_ is pronounced almost like a dissyllable.

_O-Yao_ "Eight Hundred."
_O-Sen_ "Thousand."
_O-Michi_ "Three Thousand."
_O-Man_ "Ten Thousand."
_O-Chiyo_ "Thousand Generations."
_Yachiyo_ "Eight Thousand Generations."
_O-Shige_ "Two-fold."
_O-Yae_ "Eight-fold."
_O-Kazu_ "Great Number."
_O-Mina_ "All."
_O-Han_ "Half."[67]

[67] "Better half?"--the reader may query. But I believe
that this name originated in the old custom of taking
a single character of the father's name--sometimes
also a character of the mother's name--to compose
the child's name with. Perhaps in this case the name
of the girl's father was HANyemon, or HANbei.

_O-Iku_ "How Many?" (?)

OTHER NAMES RELATING TO ORDER OF BIRTH

_O-Hatsu_ "Beginning,"--first-born.
_O-Tsugi_ "Next,"--the second.
_O-Naka_ "Midmost."
_O-Tome_ "Stop,"--cease.
_O-Sue_ "Last."

Some few of the next group of names are probably aesthetic. But such names are sometimes given only in reference to the time or season of birth; and the reason for any particular _yobina_ of this class is difficult to decide without personal inquiry.

NAMES RELATING TO TIME AND SEASON

_O-Haru_ "Spring."
_O-Natsu_ "Summer."
_O-Aki_ "Autumn."
_O-Fuyu_ "Winter."

_O-Asa_ "Morning."
_O-Cho_ "Dawn."
_O-Yoi_ "Evening."
_O-Sayo_ "Night."

_O-Ima_ "Now."
_O-Toki_ "Time,"--opportunity.
_O-Toshi_ "Year [of Plenty]."

Names of animals--real or mythical--form another class of _yobina_. A name of this kind generally represents the hope that the child will develop some quality or capacity symbolized by the creature after which it has been called. Names such as "Dragon," "Tiger," "Bear," etc., are intended in most cases to represent moral rather than other qualities. The moral symbolism of the _Koi_ (Carp) is too well-known to require explanation here. The names _Kame_ and _Tsuru_ refer to longevity. _Koma_, curious as the fact may seem, is a name of endearment.

NAMES OF BIRDS, FISHES, ANIMALS, ETC.

_Chidori_ "Sanderling."
_O-Kame_ "Tortoise."
_O-Koi_ "Carp."[68]

[68] _Cyprinus carpio._

_O-Koma_ "Filly,"--or pony.
_O-Kuma_ "Bear."
_O-Ryo_ "Dragon."
_O-Shika_ "Deer."
_O-Tai_ "Bream."[69]

[69] _Chrysophris cardinalis._

_O-Taka_ "Hawk."
_O-Tako_ "Cuttlefish." (?)
_O-Tatsu_ "Dragon."
_O-Tora_ "Tiger."
_O-Tori_ "Bird."
_O-Tsuru_ "Stork."[70]

[70] Sometimes this name is shortened into _O-Tsu_. In
Tokyo at the present time it is the custom to drop
the honorific "O" before such abbreviations, and to
add to the name the suffix "chan,"--as in the case
of children's names. Thus a young woman may be
caressingly addressed as "Tsu-chan" (for O-Tsuru),
"Ya-chan" (for O-Yasu), etc.

_O-Washi_ "Eagle."

Even _yobina_ which are the names of flowers or fruits, plants or trees, are in most cases names of moral or felicitous, rather than of aesthetic meaning. The plumflower is an emblem of feminine virtue; the chrysanthemum, of longevity; the pine, both of longevity and constancy; the bamboo, of fidelity; the cedar, of moral rectitude; the willow, of docility and gentleness, as well as of physical grace. The symbolism of the lotos and of the cherryflower are probably familiar. But such names as _Hana_ ("Blossom ") and _Ben_ ("Petal") are aesthetic in the true sense; and the Lily remains in Japan, as elsewhere, an emblem of feminine grace.

FLOWER-NAMES

_Ayame_ "Iris."[71]

[71] _Iris setosa, or Iris sibrisia._

_Azami_ "Thistle-Flower."
_O-Ben_ "Petal."
_O-Fuji_ "Wistaria."[72]

[72] _Wistaria chinensis._

_O-Hana_ "Blossom."
_O-Kiku_ "Chrysanthemum."
_O-Ran_ "Orchid."
_O-Ren_ "Lotos."
_Sakurako_ "Cherryblossom."
_O-Ume_ "Plumflower."
_O-Yuri_ "Lily."

NAMES OF PLANTS, FRUITS, AND TREES

_O-Ine_ "Rice-in-the-blade."
_Kaede_ "Maple-leaf."
_O-Kaya_ "Rush."[73]

[73] _Imperata arundinacea._

_O-Kaya_ "Yew."[74]

[74] _Torreya nucifera._

_O-Kuri_ "Chestnut."
_O-Kuwa_ "Mulberry."
_O-Maki_ "Fir."[75]

[75] _Podocarpus chinensis._

_O-Mame_ "Bean."
_O-Momo_ "Peach,"--the fruit.[76]

[76] Yet this name may possibly have been written with
the wrong character. There is another _yobina_,
"Momo" signifying "hundred,"--as in the phrase
_momo yo_, "for a hundred ages."

_O-Nara_ "Oak."
_O-Ryu_ "Willow."
_Sanae_ "Sprouting-Rice."
_O-Sane_ "Fruit-seed."
_O-Shino_ "Slender Bamboo."
_O-Suge_ "Reed."[77]

[77] _Scirpus maritimus._

_O-Sugi_ "Cedar."[78]

[78] _Cryptomeria Japonica._

_O-Take_ "Bamboo."
_O-Tsuta_ "Ivy."[79]

[79] _Cissus Thunbergii._

_O-Yae_ "Double-Blossom."[80]

[80] A flower-name certainly; but the _yae_ here is probably
an abbreviation of _yae-zakura_, the double-flower of a
particular species of cherry-tree.

_O-Yone_ "Rice-in-grain."
_Wakana_ "Young _Na_."[81]

[81] _Brassica chinensis._

Names signifying light or color seem to us the most aesthetic of all _yobina_; and they probably seem so to the Japanese. Nevertheless the relative purport even of these names cannot be divined at sight. Colors have moral and other values in the old nature-philosophy; and an appellation that to the Western mind suggests only luminosity or beauty may actually refer to moral or social distinction,--to the hope that the girl so named will become "illustrious."

NAMES SIGNIFYING BRIGHTNESS

_O-Mika_ "New Moon."[82]

[82] _Mika_ is an abbreviation of Mikazuki, "the moon of the
third night" [of the old lunar month].

_O-Mitsu_ "Light."
_O-Shimo_ "Frost."
_O-Teru_ "The Shining."
_O-Tsuki_ "Moon."
_O-Tsuya_ "The Glossy,"--lustrous.
_O-Tsuyu_ "Dew."
_O-Yuki_ "Snow."

COLOR-NAMES

_O-Ai_ "Indigo."
_O-Aka_ "Red."
_O-Iro_ "Color."
_O-Kon_ "Deep Blue."
_O-Kuro_ "Dark,"--lit., "Black."
_Midori_[83] "Green."
_Murasaki_[83] "Purple."

[83] _Midori_ and _Murasaki_, especially the latter,
should properly be classed with aristocratic _yobina_;
and both are very rare. I could find neither in the
collection of aristocratic names which was made for me
from the records of the Peeresses' School; but I
discovered a "Midori" in a list of middle-class names.
Color-names being remarkably few among _yobina_, I
thought it better in this instance to group the whole of
them together, independently of class-distinctions.

_O-Shiro_ "White."

The following and final group of female names contains several queer puzzles. Japanese girls are sometimes named after the family crest; and heraldry might explain one or two of these _yobina_. But why a girl should be called a ship, I am not sure of being able to guess. Perhaps some reader may be reminded of Nietzsche's "Little Brig called Angeline":--

"Angeline--they call me so--
Now a ship, one time a maid,
(Ah, and evermore a maid!)
Love the steersman, to and fro,
Turns the wheel so finely made."

But such a fancy would not enter into a Japanese mind. I find, however, in a list of family crests, two varieties of design representing a ship, twenty representing an arrow, and two representing a bow.

NAMES DIFFICULT TO CLASSIFY OR EXPLAIN

_O-Fuku_[84] "Raiment,"--clothing.

[84] Possibly this name belongs to the same class as _O-Nui_
("Embroidery"), _O-Some_ ("The Dyer"); but I am not
sure.

_O-Fune_ "Ship,"--or Boat.
_O-Hina_[85] "Doll,"--a paper doll?

[85] Probably a name of caress. The word _hina_ is applied
especially to the little paper dolls made by hand for
amusement,--representing young ladies with elaborate
coiffure; and it is also given to the old-fashioned
dolls representing courtly personages in full
ceremonial costume. The true doll--doll-baby--is
called _ningyo_.

_O-Kono_ "This."
_O-Nao_ "Still More."
_O-Nari_ "Thunder-peal."
_O-Nibo_ "Palanquin" (?).
_O-Rai_ "Thunder."
_O-Rui_ "Sort,"--kind, species.
_O-Suzu_[86] "Little Bell."

[86] Perhaps this name is given because of the sweet sound
of the _suzu_,--a tiny metal ball, with a little stone or
other hard object inside, to make the ringing.--It is a
pretty Japanese custom to put one of these little _suzu_
in the silk charm-bag (_mamori-bukero_) which is attached
to a child's girdle. The _suzu_ rings with every motion
that the child makes,--somewhat like one of those tiny
bells which we attach to the neck of a pet kitten.

_Suzue_ "Branch-of-Little-Bells."
_O-Tada_ "The Only."
_Tamaki_ "Armlet,"--bracelet.
_O-Tami_ "Folk,"--common people.
_O-Toshi_ "Arrowhead,"--or barb.
_O-Tsui_ "Pair,"--match.
_O-Tsuna_ "Rope,"--bond.
_O-Yumi_ "Bow,"--weapon.

Before passing on to the subject of aristocratic names, I must mention an old rule for Japanese names,--a curious rule that might help to account for sundry puzzles in the preceding lists. This rule formerly applied to all personal names,--masculine or feminine. It cannot be fully explained in the present paper; for a satisfactory explanation would occupy at least fifty pages. But, stated in the briefest possible way, the rule is that the first or "head-character" of a personal name should be made to "accord" (in the Chinese philosophic sense) with the supposed _Sei_, or astrologically-determined nature, of the person to whom the name is given;--the required accordance being decided, not by the meaning, but by the sound of the Chinese written character. Some vague idea of the difficulties of the subject may be obtained from the accompanying table. (Page 143.)

PHONETIC RELATION OF THE FIVE ELEMENTAL-NATURES TO THE JAPANESE
SYLLABARY

a, i, u, e, o.
-----------------------
I.--WOOD-NATURE { ka, ki, ku, ke, ko. }
{ ga, gi, gu, ge, go. }
-----------------------
{ sa, shi, su, se, so. }
{ za, ji, zu, ze, zo. }
-----------------------
II.--FIRE-NATURE { ta, chi, tsu, te, to. }
{ da, ji, dzu, de, do. }
-----------------------
na, ni, nu, ne, no.
III.--EARTH-NATURE -----------------------
{ ha, hi, fu, he, ho. }
{ ba, bi, bu, be, bo. }
{ pa, pi, pu, pe, po. }
-----------------------
IV.--METAL-NATURE ma, mi, mu, me, mo.
-----------------------
ya, i, yu, ye, yo.
-----------------------
ra, ri, ru, re, ro.
V.--WATER-NATURE -----------------------
wa, i, u, ye, wo.]

************************************************************
* *
* Transcriber Note: Explanation of Table *
* *
* In the table above, there were lines connecting the *
* five elements of nature with the lines of Japanese *
* syllabary: *
* *
* The Wood element was associated with the *
* ka/ga lines, *
* *
* the Fire element was associated with the *
* ta/da, na, and ra lines, *
* *
* the Earth element was associated with the *
* a, ka/ga, ya, and wa lines, *
* *
* the Metal element was associated with the *
* sa/za lines, and *
* *
* the Water element was associated with the *
* ha/ba/pa, and ma lines. *
* *
************************************************************

III

FOR examples of contemporary aristocratic names I consulted the reports of the _Kwazoku-Jogakko_ (Peeresses' School), published between the nineteenth and twenty-seventh years of Meiji (1886-1895). The Kwazoku-Jogakko admits other students besides daughters of the nobility; but for present purposes the names of the latter only--to the number of one hundred and forty-seven--have been selected.

It will be observed that names of three or more syllables are rare among these, and also that the modern aristocratic _yobina_ of two syllables, as pronounced and explained, differ little from ordinary _yobina_. But as written in Chinese they differ greatly from other female names, being in most cases represented by characters of a complex and unfamiliar kind. The use of these more elaborate characters chiefly accounts for the relatively large number of homonyms to be found in the following list:--

PERSONAL NAMES OF LADY STUDENTS OF THE KWAZOKU JOGAKKO

_Aki-ko_ "Autumn."
_Aki-ko_ "The Clear-Minded."
_Aki-ko_ "Dawn."
_Asa-ko_ "Fair Morning."
_Aya-ko_ "Silk Damask."
_Chiharu-ko_ "A Thousand Springs."
_Chika-ko_ "Near,"--close.
_Chitsuru-ko_ "A Thousand Storks."
_Chiyo-ko_ "A Thousand Generations."
_Ei-ko_ "Bell-Chime."
_Etsu-ko_ "Delight."
_Fuji-ko_ "Wistaria."
_Fuku-ko_ "Good-Fortune."
_Fumi-ko_ "A Woman's Letter."
_Fuyo-ko_ "Lotos-flower."
_Fuyu-ko_ "Winter."
_Hana-ko_ "Flower."
_Hana-ko_ "Fair-Blooming."
_Haru-ko_ "The Tranquil."
_Haru-ko_ "Spring,"--the season of flowers.
_Haru-ko_ "The Far-Removed,"--in the sense, perhaps, of
superlative.
_Hatsu-ko_ "The First-born."
_Hide-ko_ "Excelling."
_Hide-ko_ "Surpassing."
_Hiro-ko_ "Magnanimous,"--literally, "broad,"
"large,"--in the sense of beneficence.
_Hiro-ko_ "Wide-Spreading,"--with reference to family
prosperity.
_Hisa-ko_ "Long-lasting."
_Hisa-ko_ "Continuing."
_Hoshi-ko_ "Star."
_Iku-ko_ "The Quick,"--in the sense of living.
_Ima-ko_ "Now."
_Iho-ko_ "Five Hundred,"--probably a name of
felicitation.
_Ito-ko_ "Sewing-Thread."
_Kame-ko_ "Tortoise."
_Kane-ko_ "Going around" (?).[87]

[87] It is possible that this name was made simply by
taking one character of the father's name. The
girl's name otherwise conveys no intelligible
meaning.

_Kane-ko_ "Bell,"--the character indicates a large
suspended bell.
_Kata-ko_ "Condition"?
_Kazu-ko_ "First."
_Kazu-ko_ "Number,"--a great number.
_Kazu-ko_ "The Obedient."
_Kiyo-ko_ "The Pure."
_Ko_[88] "Filial Piety."

[88] The suffix "_ko_" is sometimes dropped for reasons
of euphony, and sometimes for reasons of good
taste--difficult to explain to readers unfamiliar
with the Japanese language--even when the name
consists of only one syllable or of two syllables.

_Ko-ko_ "Stork."
_Koto_ "Harp."
_Kuni-ko_ "Province."
_Kuni_ "Country,"--in the largest sense.
_Kyo-ko_ "Capital,"--metropolis.
_Machi_ "Ten-Thousand Thousand."
_Makoto_ "True-Heart."
_Masa-ko_ "The Trustworthy,"--sure.
_Masa-ko_ "The Upright."
_Masu-ko_ "Increase."
_Mata-ko_ "Completely,"--wholly.
_Matsu-ko_ "Pine-tree."
_Michi-ko_ "Three Thousand."
_Mine_ "Peak."
_Mine-ko_ "Mountain-Range."
_Mitsu-ko_ "Light,"--radiance.
_Miyo-ko_ "Beautiful Generations."
_Moto-ko_ "Origin,"--source.
_Naga-ko_ "Long,"--probably in reference to time.
_Naga-ko_ "Long Life."
_Nami-ko_ "Wave."
_Nao-ko_ "Correct,"--upright.
_Nyo-ko_[89] "Gem-Treasure."

[89] This name is borrowed from the name of the sacred
gem _Nyoihoju_, which figures both in Shinto and in
Buddhist legend. The divinity Jizo is usually
represented holding in one hand this gem, which is
said to have the power of gratifying any desire
that its owner can entertain. Perhaps the _Nyoihoju_
may be identified with the Gem-Treasure _Veluriya_,
mentioned in the Sutra of The Great King of Glory,
chapter i. (See _Sacred Books of the East_, vol.
xi.)

_Nobu-ko_ "Faithful."
_Nobu-ko_ "Abundance,"--plenty.
_Nobu-ko_ "The Prolonger."
_Nori-ko_ "Precept,"--doctrine.
_Nui_ "Embroidery,"--sewing.
_Oki_ "Offing,"--perhaps originally a place-name.[90]

[90] A naval officer named Oki told me that his family
had originally been settled in the Oki Islands
("Islands of the Offing"). This interesting
coincidence suggested to me that the above _yobina_
might have had the same origin.

_Sada-ko_ "The Chaste."
_Sada-ko_ "The Sure,"--trustworthy.
_Sakura-ko_ "Cherry-Blossom."
_Sakae_ "The Prosperous."
_Sato-ko_ "Home."
_Sato-ko_ "The Discriminating."
_Seki-ko_ "Great."
_Setsu-ko_ "The Chaste."
_Shige-ko_ "Flourishing."
_Shige-ko_ "Exuberant,"--in the sense of rich growth.
_Shige-ko_ "Upgrowing."
_Shige-ko_ "Fragrance."
_Shiki-ko_ "Prudence."
_Shima-ko_ "Island."
_Shin-ko_ "The Fresh,"--new.
_Shizu-ko_ "The Quiet,"--calm.
_Shizue_ "Quiet River."
_Sono-ko_ "Garden."
_Sue-ko_ "Last,"--in the sense of youngest.
_Suke-ko_ "The Helper."
_Sumi-ko_ "The Clear,"--spotless, refined.
_Sumi-ko_ "The Veritable,"--real.
_Sumie-ko_ "Clear River."
_Suzu-ko_ "Tin."
_Suzu-ko_ "Little Bell."
_Suzune_ "Sound of Little Bell."
_Taka-ko_ "High,"--lofty, superior.
_Taka-ko_ "Filial Piety."
_Taka-ko_ "Precious."
_Take-ko_ "Bamboo."
_Taki-ko_ "Waterfall."
_Tama-ko_ "Gem,"--jewel.
_Tama-ko_ "Gem,"--written with a different character.
_Tame-ko_ "For the Sake of--"
_Tami-ko_ "People,"--folks.
_Tane-ko_ "Successful."
_Tatsu-ko_ "Attaining."
_Tatsuru-ko_[91] "Many Storks."

[91] So written, but probably pronounced as two syllables
only.

_Tatsuru-ko_ "Ricefield Stork."
_Teru-ko_ "Beaming,"--luminous.
_Tetsu-ko_ "Iron."
_Toki-ko_ "Time."
_Tome-ko_ "Cessation."
_Tomi-ko_ "Riches."
_Tomo_ "Intelligence."
_Tomo_ "Knowledge."
_Tomo-ko_ "Friendship."
_Toshi-ko_ "The Quickly-Perceiving."
_Toyo-ko_ "Fruitful."
_Tsune_ "Constancy."
_Tsune-ko_ "Ordinary,"--usual, common.
_Tsune-ko_ "Ordinary,"--written with a different
character.
_Tsune-ko_ "Faithful,"--in the sense of wifely fidelity.
_Tsuru-ko_ "Stork."
_Tsuya-ko_ "The Lustrous,"--shining, glossy.
_Ume_ "Female Hare."
_Ume-ko_ "Plum-Blossom."
_Yachi-ko_ "Eight Thousand."
_Yaso-ko_ "Eighty."
_Yasoshi-ko_ "Eighty-four."
_Yasu-ko_ "The Maintainer,"--supporter.
_Yasu-ko_ "The Respectful."
_Yasu-ko_ "The Tranquil-Minded."
_Yone-ko_ "Rice."
_Yori-ko_ "The Trustful."
_Yoshi_ "Eminent,"--celebrated.
_Yoshi-ko_ "Fragrance."
_Yoshi-ko_ "The Good,"--or Gentle.
_Yoshi-ko_ "The Lovable."
_Yoshi-ko_ "The Lady-like,"--gentle in the sense of
refined.
_Yoshi-ko_ "The Joyful."
_Yoshi-ko_ "Congratulation."
_Yoshi-ko_ "The Happy."
_Yoshi-ko_ "Bright and Clear."
_Yuki-ko_ "The Lucky."
_Yuki-ko_ "Snow."
_Yuku-ko_ "Going."
_Yutaka_ "Plenty,"--affluence, superabundance.

IN the first part of this paper I suggested that the custom of giving very poetical names to _geisha_ and to _joro_ might partly account for the unpopularity of purely aesthetic _yobina_. And in the hope of correcting certain foreign misapprehensions, I shall now venture a few remarks about the names of _geisha_.

_Geisha_-names,--like other classes of names,--although full of curious interest, and often in themselves really beautiful, have become hopelessly vulgarized by association with a calling the reverse of respectable. Strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with the subject of the present study,--inasmuch as they are not real personal names, but professional appellations only,--not _yobina_, but _geimyo_.

A large proportion of such names can be distinguished by certain prefixes or suffixes attached to them. They can be known, for example,--

(1) By the prefix _Waka_, signifying "Young";--as in the names
_Wakagusa_, "Young Grass"; _Wakazuru_, "Young Stork";
_Wakamurasaki_, "Young Purple"; _Wakakoma_, "Young Filly".

(2) By the prefix _Ko_, signifying "Little";--as in the names, _Ko-en_,
"Little Charm"; _Ko-hana_, "Little Flower"; _Kozakura_, "Little
Cherry-Tree".

(3) By the suffix _Ryo_, signifying "Dragon" (the Ascending Dragon being
especially a symbol of success);--as _Tama-Ryo_, "Jewel-Dragon";
_Hana-Ryo_, "Flower-Dragon"; _Kin-Ryo_, "Golden-Dragon".

(4) By the suffix _ji_, signifying "to serve", "to administer";--as in
the names _Uta-ji_, _Shinne-ji_, _Katsu-ji_.

(5) By the suffix _suke_, signifying "help";--as in the names
_Tama-suke_, _Koma-suke_.

(6) By the suffix _kichi_, signifying "luck", "fortune";--as
_Uta-kichi_, "Song-Luck"; _Tama-kichi_, "Jewel-Fortune".

(7) By the suffix _giku_ (i. e., _kiku_) signifying "chrysanthemum";--as
_Mitsu-giku_, "Three Chrysanthemums"; _Hina-giku_,
"Doll-Chrysanthemum"; _Ko-giku_, "Little Chrysanthemum".

(8) By the suffix tsuru, signifying "stork" (emblem of longevity);--as
_Koma-tsuru_, "Filly-Stork"; _Ko-tsuru_, "Little Stork"; _Ito-zuru_,
"Thread-Stork".

These forms will serve for illustration; but there are others. _Geimyo_ are written, as a general rule, with only two Chinese characters, and are pronounced as three or as four syllables. _Geimyo_ of five syllables are occasionally to be met with; _geimyo_ of only two syllables are rare--at least among names of dancing girls. And these professional appellations have seldom any moral meaning: they signify things relating to longevity, wealth, pleasure, youth, or luck,--perhaps especially to luck.

* * * * *

Of late years it became a fashion among certain classes of _geisha_ in the capital to assume real names with the genteel suffix _Ko_, and even aristocratic _yobina_. In 1889 some of the Tokyo newspapers demanded legislative measures to check the practice. This incident would seem to afford proof of public feeling upon the subject.

Old Japanese Songs

[Decoration]

THIS New Year's morning I find upon my table two most welcome gifts from a young poet of my literary class. One is a roll of cloth for a new kimono,--cloth such as my Western reader never saw. The brown warp is cotton thread; but the woof is soft white paper string, irregularly speckled with black. When closely examined, the black specklings prove to be Chinese and Japanese characters;--for the paper woof is made out of manuscript,--manuscript of poems,--which has been deftly twisted into fine cord, with the written surface outwards. The general effect of the white, black, and brown in the texture is a warm mouse-grey. In many Izumo homes a similar kind of cloth is manufactured for family use; but this piece was woven especially for me by the mother of my pupil. It will make a most comfortable winter-robe; and when wearing it, I shall be literally clothed with poetry,--even as a divinity might be clothed with the sun.

The other gift is poetry also, but poetry in the original state: a wonderful manuscript collection of Japanese songs gathered from unfamiliar sources, and particularly interesting from the fact that nearly all of them are furnished with refrains. There are hundreds of compositions, old and new,--including several extraordinary ballads, many dancing-songs, and a surprising variety of love-songs. Neither in sentiment nor in construction do any of these resemble the Japanese poetry of which I have already, in previous books, offered specimens in translation. The forms are, in most cases, curiously irregular; but their irregularity is not without a strange charm of its own.

* * * * *

I am going to offer examples of these compositions,--partly because of their unfamiliar emotional quality, and partly because I think that something can be learned from their strange art of construction, The older songs--selected from the antique drama--seem to me particularly worthy of notice. The thought or feeling and its utterance are supremely simple; yet by primitive devices of reiteration and of pause, very remarkable results have been obtained. What strikes me especially noteworthy in the following specimen is the way that the phrase, begun with the third line of the first stanza, and interrupted by a kind of burthen, is repeated and finished in the next stanza. Perhaps the suspension will recall to Western readers the effect of some English ballads with double refrains, or of such quaint forms of French song as the famous--

Au jardin de mon pere--
_Vole, mon coeur, vole!_
Il y a un pommier doux,
_Tout doux!_

But in the Japanese song the reiteration of the broken phrase produces a slow dreamy effect as unlike the effect of the French composition as the movements of a Japanese dance are unlike those of any Western round:--

KANO YUKU WA

(_Probably from the eleventh century_)

Kano yuku wa,
Kari ka?--kugui ka?
Kari naraba,--

(Ref.) _Hareya toto!_
_Hareya toto!_

Kari nara
Nanori zo semashi;--
Nao kugui nari-ya!--

(Ref.) _Toto!_

That which yonder flies,--
Wild goose is it?--swan is it?
Wild goose if it be,--

_Hareya toto!_
_Hareya toto!_

Wild goose if it be,
Its name I soon shall say:
Wild swan if it be,--better still!

_Toto!_

There are many old lyrics in the above form. Here is another song, of different construction, also from the old drama: there is no refrain, but there is the same peculiar suspension of phrase; and the effect of the quadruple repetition is emotionally impressive:--

Isora ga saki ni
Tai tsuru ama mo,
Tai tsuru ama mo,--

Wagimoko ga tame to,
Tai tsuru ama mo,
Tai tsuru ama mo!

Off the Cape of Isora,
Even the fisherman catching _tai_,[92]
Even the fisherman catching _tai_,--

[Works] for the sake of the woman beloved,--
Even the fisherman catching _tai_,
Even the fisherman catching _tai_!

[92] _Chrysopbris cardinalis_, a kind of
sea-bream,--generally esteemed the best of
Japanese fishes.

But a still more remarkable effect is obtained in the following ancient song by the extraordinary reiteration of an uncompleted phrase, and by a double suspension. I can imagine nothing more purely natural: indeed the realism of these simple utterances has almost the quality of pathos:--

AGEMAKI

(_Old lyrical drama--date uncertain_)

Agemaki[93] wo
Waseda ni yarite ya!
So omou to,
So omou to,
So omou to,
So omou to,
So omou to,--

So omou to,
Nani-mo sezushite,--
Harubi sura,
Harubi sura,
Harubi sura,
Harubi sura,
Harubi sura!

My darling boy!--
Oh! they have sent him to the ricefields!
When I think about him,--
When I think,
When I think,
When I think,
When I think,--

When I think about him!
I--doing nothing at all,--
Even on this spring-day,
Even this spring-day,
Even this spring-day,
Even this spring-day,
Even on this spring-day!--

[93] It was formerly the custom to shave the heads of
boys, leaving only a tuft or lock of hair on either
temple. Such a lock was called _agemaki_, a word
also meaning "tassel"; and eventually the term came
to signify a boy or lad. In these songs it is used
as a term of endearment,--much as an English girl
might speak of her sweetheart as "my dear lad," or
"my darling boy."

Other forms of repetition and of refrain are furnished in the two following lyrics:--

BINDATARA

(_Supposed to have been composed as early as the twelfth century_)

Bindatara wo
Ayugaseba koso,
Ayugaseba koso,
Aikyo zuitare!

_Yareko toto,
Yareko toto!_

With loosened hair,--
Only because of having tossed it,
Only because of having shaken it,--
Oh, sweet she is!

_Yareko toto!
Yareko toto!_

SAMA WA TENNIN

(_Probably from the sixteenth century_)

Sama wa tennin!
_Sore-sore_,
_Tontorori!_

Otome no sugata
Kumo no kayoiji
Chirato mita!
_Tontorori!_

My beloved an angel is![94]
_Sore-sore!_
_Tontorori!_

The maiden's form,
In the passing of clouds,
In a glimpse I saw!
_Tontorori!_

The maiden's form,
In the passage of clouds,
In a glimpse I saw!
_Tontorori!_

[94] Lit., "a Tennin";--that is to say, an inhabitant
of the Buddhist heaven. The Tennin are usually
represented as beautiful maidens.

My next selection is from a love-song of uncertain date, belonging to the Kamakura period (1186-1332). This fragment is chiefly remarkable for its Buddhist allusions, and for its very regular form of stanza:--

Makoto yara,
Kashima no minato ni
Miroku no mifune ga
Tsuite gozarimosu.

_Yono!_
_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_
_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_

Hobashira wa,
Kogane no hobashira;
Ho niwa Hokkekyo no
Go no man-makimono.

_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_
_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_

* * * * *

I know not if 't is true
That to the port of Kashima
The august ship of Miroku[95] has come!

_Yono!_
_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_
_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_

[95] Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva) is the next
great Buddha to come.

As for the mast,
It is a mast of gold;--
The sail is the fifth august roll
Of the Hokkekyo![96]

_Sa iyoe, iyoe!_
_Sa iyoe, iyoe_

[96] Japanese popular name for the Chinese version of
the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra.--Many of the old
Buddhist scriptures were written upon long scrolls,
called _makimono_,--a name also given to pictures
printed upon long rolls of silk or paper.

* * * * *

Otherwise interesting, with its queer refrain, is another song called "Agemaki,"--belonging to one of the curious class of lyrical dramas known as _Saibara_. This may be found fault with as somewhat "free"; but I cannot think it more open to objection than some of our much-admired Elizabethan songs which were probably produced at about the same time:--

AGEMAKI

(_Probably from the sixteenth century_)

Agemaki ya!
_Tonton!_
Hiro bakari ya--
_Tonton!_
Sakarite netaredomo,
Marobi-ainikeri,--
_Tonton!_
Kayori-ainikeri,
_Tonton!_

Oh! my darling boy!
_Tonton!_
Though a fathom[97] apart,
_Tonton!_
Sleeping separated,
By rolling we came together!
_Tonton!_
By slow approaches we came together,
_Tonton!_

[97] Lit., "_hiro_." The _hiro_ is a measure of about
five feet English, and is used to measure breadth
as well as depth.

My next group of selections consists of "local songs"--by which term the collector means songs peculiar to particular districts or provinces. They are old--though less old than the compositions previously cited;--and their interest is chiefly emotional. But several, it will be observed, have curious refrains. Songs of this sort are sung especially at the village-dances--_Bon-odori_ and _Honen-odori_:--

LOVE-SONG

(_Province of Echigo_)

Hana ka?--chocho ka?
Chocho ka?--hana ka?

_Don-don!_

Kite wa chira-chira mayowaseru,
Kite wa chira-chira mayowaseru!

_Taichokane!_
_Sokane don-don!_

Flower is it?--butterfly is it?
Butterfly or flower?

_Don-don!_

When you come thus flickering, I am deluded!--
When you come thus twinkling, I am bewitched!

_Taichokane!_
_Sokane don-don!_

LOVE-SONG

(_Province of Kii,--village of Ogawa_)

Koe wa suredomo
Sugata wa mienu--
Fuka-no no kirigirisu!

Though I hear the voice [_of the beloved_], the form I cannot
see--a _kirigirisu_[98] in the high grass.

[98] _The kirigirisu_ is a kind of grasshopper with a
very musical note. It is very difficult to see it,
even when it is singing close by, for its color is
exactly the color of the grass. The song alludes to
the happy peasant custom of singing while at work
in the fields.

LOVE-SONG

(_Province of Mutsu,--district of Sugaru_)

Washi no kokoro to
Oki kuru fune wa,
Raku ni misetemo,
Ku ga taenu.

My heart and a ship in the offing--either seems to move with
ease; yet in both there is trouble enough.

LOVE-SONG

(_Province of Suwo,--village of Iseki_)

Namida koboshite
Shinku wo kataru,
Kawairashi-sa ga
Mashimasuru!

As she tells me all the pain of her toil, shedding tears,--ever
her sweetness seems to increase.

LOVE-SONG

(_Province of Suruga, village of Gotemba_)

Hana ya, yoku kike!
Sho aru naraba,
Hito ga fusagu ni
Naze hiraku?

O flower, hear me well if thou hast a soul! When any one sorrows
as I am sorrowing, why dost thou bloom?

OLD TOKYO SONG

Iya-na o-kata no
Shinsetsu yori ka
Suita o-kata no
Muri ga yoi.

Better than the kindness of the disliked is the violence of the
beloved.

LOVE-SONG

(_Province of Iwami_)

Kawairashi-sa ya!
Hotaru no mushi wa
Shinobu nawate ni
Hi wo tomosu.

Ah, the darling!... Ever as I steal along the ricefield-path
[_to meet my lover_], the firefly kindles a light to show me
the way.

COMIC SONG

(_Province of Shinano_)

Ano yama kage de
Hikaru wa nanja?--
Tsuki ka, hoshi ka, hotaru no mushi ka?
Tsuki demo naiga;
Hoshi demo naiga;--
Shuto no o-uba no me ga hikaru,--
(Chorus) _Me ga hikaru!_

In the shadow of the mountain
What is it that shines so?
Moon is it, or star?--or is it the firefly-insect?
Neither is it moon,
Nor yet star;--
It is the old woman's Eye;--it is the Eye of my
mother-in-law that shines,--
(Chorus) _It is her Eye that shines!_

KAERI-ODORI[99]

(_Province of Sanuki_)

[99] I am not sure of the real meaning of the name
_Kaeri-Odori_ (lit. "turn-dance" or "return-dance").

Oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!--

(Chorus) _Oh! the cruelty!_

Even tells me to paint a picture on running water!
If ever I paint a picture on running water,
You will count the stars in the night-sky!

_Count the stars in the night-sky!_

--_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable
Garden!_--

_Chan-chan!
Cha-cha!
Yoitomose,
Yoitomose!_

Who cuts the bamboo at the back of the house?--

(Chorus) _Who cuts the bamboo?_--

My sweet lord's own bamboo, the first he planted,--

_The first be planted?_

--_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable Garden!_--

_Chan-chan!
Cha-cha!
Yoitomose,
Yoitomose!_

Oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!--

_Oh! the cruelty!_

Tells me to cut and make a hakama[100] out of rock!
If ever I cut and sew a hakama of rock,
Then you will learn to twist the fine sand into thread,--

_Twist it into thread._

--_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable
Garden!_--

_Chan-chan!
Cha-cha!
Yoitomose,
Yoitomose!
Chan-chan-chan!_

[100] A divided skirt of a peculiar form, worn formerly
by men chiefly, to-day worn by female students
also.

OTERA-ODORI (TEMPLE-DANCE)

(_Province of Iga, village called Uenomachi_)

Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the august gate,
The august gate I find to be of silver, the panels of gold.
Noble indeed is the gate of the honorable temple,--
_The honorable temple!_

Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the garden,
I see young pinetrees flourishing in the four directions:
On the first little branch of one the _shijugara_[101] has
made her nest,--
_Has made her nest_.

Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the water-tank,
I see little flowers of many colors set all about it,
Each one having a different color of its own,--
_A different color._

Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the parlor-room,
I find many kinds of little birds gathered all together,
Each one singing a different song of its own,--
_A different song._

Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the guest-room,
There I see the priest, with a lamp beside him,
Reading behind a folding-screen--oh, how admirable it is!--
_How admirable it is!_

[101] The Manchurian great tit. It is said to bring good
fortune to the owners of the garden in which it
builds a nest,--providing that the nest be not
disturbed and that the brood be protected.

Many kinds of popular songs--and especially the class of songs sung at country-dances--are composed after a mnemonic plan. The stanzas are usually ten in number; and the first syllable of each should correspond in sound to the first syllable of the numeral placed before the verse. Sometimes Chinese numerals are used; sometimes Japanese. But the rule is not always perfectly observed. In the following example it will be observed that the correspondence of the first two syllables in the first verse with the first two syllables of the Japanese word for one (_hitotsu_) is a correspondence of meaning only;--_ichi_ being the Chinese numeral:--

SONG OF FISHERMEN

(_Province of Shimosa,--town of Choshi_)[102]

[102] Choshi, a town of some importance, is situated at
the mouth of the Tonegawa. It is celebrated for
its _iwashi_-fishery. The _iwashi_ is a fish about
the size of the sardine, and is sought chiefly for
the sake of its oil. Immense quantities of
_iwashi_ are taken off the coast. They are boiled
to extract the oil; and the dried residue is sent
inland to serve as manure.

_Hitotsutose_,--
Ichiban bune e tsumi-konde,
Kawaguchi oshikomu o-yagoe.

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Futatsutose_,--
Futaba no oki kara Togawa made
Tsuzuite oshikomu o-yagoe.

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Mitsutose_,--
Mina ichido-ni maneki wo age,
Kayowase-bune no nigiyakasa

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Yotsutose_,--
Yoru-hiru taitemo taki-amaru,
San-bai itcho no o-iwashi!

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Itsutsutose_,--
Itsu kite mitemo hoshika-ba ni
Akima sukima wa sarani nai.

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Mutsutoye_,--
Mutsu kara mutsu made kasu-wari ga
O-wari ko-wari de te ni oware.

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Nanatsutose_,--
Natakaki Tonegawa ichi-men ni
Kasu-ya abura wo tsumi-okuru

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Yatsutose_,--
Yatebune no okiai wakashu ga,
Ban-shuku soroete miya-mairi.

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Kokonotsutose_,--
Kono ura mamoru kawa-guchi no
Myojin riyaku wo arawasuru.

_Kono tai-ryo-bune!_

_Firstly_ (or "Number One"),--

The first ship, filled up with fish, squeezes her way through
the river-mouth, with a great shouting.[103]

[103] _O-yagoe._ The chorus-cry or chant of sailors,
pulling all together, is called yagoe.

_O this ship of great fishing!_[104]

[104] _Tai-ryo bune_, lit.:--"great-fishing," or
"great-catching-ship." The adjective refers to the
fishing, not to the ship. The real meaning of the
refrain is, "this-most-successful-in-fishing of
ships."

_Secondly_,--

From the offing of Futaba even to the Togawa,[105] the ships, fast
following, press in, with a great shouting.