The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-29

counting his services to the kugawa houss.
The Shotgun reients, and the old lord
draws moral aud gradually introduces
the subject of his fifteen months anger
WITH Iada-Aki. The Shotgun promises 20
MAKE 1t up on the first convenient oppor-
tunity, which occurs at q great food ct
fedo soon aftersard. yemitsu. wishing
TO see Ii his heroes are eqnai to those 81
his grandfather's day, calls tor some knigh.
TO swim his horse across the foaning.
racing hood of the Sumida-gawa, the river
of Tokyo (Yedo). Since no one da-es. lse
rides forward to essay it himself, when
Just at that moment Tada-Aki arrives. aid,
followed bv his old esquire. swims across
the river and back again. before the She
gun and all the population OF Yedo.
The Shotgun was very much affected.
and IN his turn could hardly refrain from
weeping. II have nothing valuable here
to offer You; your loyalty viii be rewarded
later on. In the meantime take this fan. y
The fan. presumably of paper consisted OF
q round red ball, intended to represent the
sun, with black background, but a few
days afterward Tada-Aki received, as u
1000 koku {of rice) q year TO his income.
At the present day this would mean from
$4,000 to $lo0, 600 year, according to the
rice market, and would have meant much
more wealth go years ago. The descrip-
ton of Tada-Aki's preparation for hara-
kiri is perhaps the most notable passage in
this book.
PREPARING FOB HARA-KrRr.
I'm the meanwhile Tada-aki having
given strict orders that no one was TO
approach the room that he occupied, the
preparations necessary for the dire act
which he had resolved to commit had To
be made by himself. Deliberately did the
knight rise from his seat, kindle light
and set fire to two burners that stood in
front of the picture of Amiba- Then, after
spreading two red rugs, intended to pre-
vent the blood from injuring the mats, h-
put on a SUIT of white clothes, and over
these his hempen dress of ceremony, after
which, sitting down with his face toward
the Shogun's castle. and placing his
dirk by his side ready for use,
he soliloquized thus: Though from the
depth of my heart I am conscious Of no
occult cause have been destined to offend
my lord. Well, it is said, "When the
water is very clear no fish are found; when
the heart is upright friends are few" |
have done my very best to serve my mas
ter. but since the beginning of the year.
without any real cause for it, he has
looked upon me with aversion. To live
when my life is no longer a source OF
pleasure to my lord would be breach of
loyalty, and so will die. And thus from
the land of shades shall my plea for for
giveness reach my masters ears. In re-
ception of large emoiuments and vet un-
able to serve the house which has bestowed
them, such Is the unhappy lot Of Abe
Tada-aki.'
HE paused and was about to commit
the last dread act, when the sliding-doors
of the drawing-room were suddenly thrown
back and in rushed Hirata Dan-emon. See
ing in an instant what was contemplated,
Dan-emon grasped his masters arm. and
wrenching the dirk from his hand ex-
claimed: Are You mad that you thus at
tempt to commit suicide2'"
1.-THE CAPTIVE OF Low"
Infinitely more charming to read than
the translations by the Englishmen is the
translation by the American, Edward
Greery. of 1.-THE Captive of Love-" His
English is pathetic and quaint with the
introduction of the honorincs that make
japanese conversation like walking on
stills. There is a wall Of honorable
father" honorable mother" honorable
brother" and honorable sister,, running
through the book, and il is full Of poeticai
japanese expressions, such as under the
shadow of the tall grass" changed her
world" for death, attaining the great
western lotus terrace" for paradise.
The book brings out in strong colors the
their husbands accorded them the consii-
Grafton of European women on the adop-
ton of out of date German costumes. But
il brings out more than anything else how
ruthlessly the Japanese Imagination works
out the idea of the Greek "Ate''-"Thc
sins Of the fathers shall be visited on the
children
Two Samurai brothers and huntsman
have incurred the wrath of heaven. The
ofiense against honor is put on a par with
the offense against religion. They cannot
escape the curse, and their families suffer
like themselves. The huntsman, by num-
bling prayers like the priest, has lured the
sacred deer of five colors into bowshot and
slain it. Sir Ihara Tarogo Takeyasu and
Sir Ihara Jiro-Jiro Takekira, the two Sam
urai instead of committing hara-kiri like
honorable gentlemen when their Lord
Eitta-Y oshisada with only nifty men were
defeated and slain by 5000 Ashikaoa To-
tanners, iied., Destiny follows all three 70
the bitter end. The elder Samurai, who
entered the service of another lord as fol-
lower, marries Hachisuba, the mistress of
Saikei, the worthless priest, son Of the
huntsman. He is poisoned by her acr;-
dentally letting a lizard drop into the cis-
tern from which his teapot was filed il,
the dusk. Hachisuba has her head nearly
cut off by his brother, Takekira, who mis-
takes her for the priest Saikei, whose mis-
tress she had been. He, having confessed
the murder, has to commit hara-kiri.
The huntsman's wife died the very day
that he got home with the dead deer of the
five colors Nine wears after he died of "A
sort of hydrophobia. His son, though he
became priest. was foredoomed to a
violent death. Every man into whose
hands the skin of the deer passed came to
miserable end. The priest soon begirs
his career of evil, and having obtained al,
OK by fraud. sells it TO Takekira for all
the money he has saved. Takekira j.
called away to visit his elder brother, amt
while he is away, the fraud having been
discovered. the police arrest his family,
with q brutality characteristic of their
profession, killing the mother with ill.,
treatment, and cording the wrist Of the
daughter as well as the son, then torturing
both children TO discover the whereabouts
of the father. After many adventures
Saikei, the rogue of priest, son OF the
huntsman. is killed by Taye. the daughter
of the Takea Kiya, on whom he has
brought SO many misfortunes.
Some of Bakin's foot notes are very re-
freshing, such as his serious dissertation
on the various kinds of thunder, animals
and thunder birds. which cause thunder,
though he quotes the book "Sain-rai-ki"
tRecord of Thunder). to show that 1t may
have difTerdnt origin.
s.The earth is full of sulphur and salt
peter, which rise in the form of mist, and.
uniting in the sky. become q yapor that
possesses the properties of gunpowder.
When this nears the intense heat Of ti8e
sun it explodes, like natural gas, and the
terrible sound is heard by ell the world.
The shock. striking animals and birds
wandering in the clouds, hurls them to tn
ground Therefore, thunder, lightning