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            Old-World Japan

       Legends of the Land of the
       Gods + + Re-told by Frank
      Rinder + With Illustrations
          by T. H. Robinson


     "The spirit of Japan is as the
  fragrance of the wild cherry-blossom
           in the dawn of the
              rising sun"


          London: George Allen
         156 Charing Cross Road
                  1895




  Old-World Japan

  [Illustration: Publisher's device]




  Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
  At the Ballantyne Press




Preface


History and mythology, fact and fable, are closely interwoven in the
texture of Japanese life and thought; indeed, it is within relatively
recent years only that exact comparative criticism has been able, with
some degree of accuracy, to divide the one from the other. The
accounts of the God-period contained in the Kojiki and the
Nihongi--"Records of Ancient Matters" compiled in the eighth century
of the Christian era--profess to outline the events of the vast cycles
of years from the time of Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami's birth in the
Plain of High Heaven, "when the earth, young and like unto floating
oil, drifted about medusa-like," to the death of the Empress Suiko,
A.D. 628.

The first six tales in this little volume are founded on some of the
most significant and picturesque incidents of this God-period. The
opening legend gives a brief relation of the birth of several of the
great Shinto deities, of the creation of Japan and of the world, of
the Orpheus-like descent of Izanagi to Hades, and of his subsequent
fight with the demons.

That Chinese civilisation has exercised a profound influence on that
of Japan, cannot be doubted. A scholar of repute has indicated that
evidence of this is to be found even in writings so early as the
Kojiki and the Nihongi. To give a single instance only: the curved
jewels, of which the remarkable necklace of Ama-terasu was made, have
never been found in Japan, whereas the stones are not uncommon in
China.

This is not the place critically to consider the wealth of myth,
legend, fable, and folk-tale to be found scattered throughout Japanese
literature, and represented in Japanese art: suffice it to say, that
to the student and the lover of primitive romance, there are here
vast fields practically unexplored.

The tales contained in this volume have been selected with a view
rather to their beauty and charm of incident and colour, than with the
aim to represent adequately the many-sided subject of Japanese lore.
Moreover, those only have been chosen which are not familiar to the
English-reading public. Several of the classic names of Japan have
been interpolated in the text. It remains to say that, in order not to
weary the reader, it has been found necessary to abbreviate the
many-syllabled Japanese names.

The sources from which I have drawn are too numerous to particularise.
To Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain, whose intimate and scholarly
knowledge of all matters Japanese is well known, my thanks are
especially due, as also the expression of my indebtedness to other
writers in English, from Mr. A. B. Mitford to Mr. Lafcadio Hearn,
whose volumes on "Unfamiliar Japan" appeared last year. The careful
text of Dr. David Brauns, and the studies of F. A. Junker von
Langegg, have also been of great service. The works of numerous French
writers on Japanese art have likewise been consulted with advantage.

                                                   FRANK RINDER.




Contents


                                              PAGE
    THE BIRTH-TIME OF THE GODS                   1

    THE SUN-GODDESS                             15

    THE HEAVENLY MESSENGERS                     25

    PRINCE RUDDY-PLENTY                         35

    THE PALACE OF THE OCEAN-BED                 45

    AUTUMN AND SPRING                           57

    THE STAR-LOVERS                             67

    THE ISLAND OF ETERNAL YOUTH                 77

    RAI-TARO, THE SON OF THE THUNDER-GOD        87

    THE SOULS OF THE CHILDREN                   97

    THE MOON-MAIDEN                            103

    THE GREAT FIR TREE OF TAKASAGO             113

    THE WILLOW OF MUKOCHIMA                    121

    THE CHILD OF THE FOREST                    129

    THE VISION OF TSUNU                        141

    PRINCESS FIRE-FLY                          151

    THE SPARROW'S WEDDING                      161

    THE LOVE OF THE SNOW-WHITE FOX             171

    NEDZUMI                                    181

    KOMA AND GON                               189




List of Illustrations


                                                                PAGE
    Heading to "The Birth-Time of the Gods"                        3

      _When he had so said, he plunged his jewelled spear
          into the seething mass below_                            5

    Heading to "The Sun-Goddess"                                  17

      _Ama-terasu gazed into the mirror, and wondered greatly
          when she saw therein a goddess of exceeding beauty_     21

    Heading to "The Heavenly Messengers"                          27

      _As the Young Prince alighted on the sea-shore, a
          beautiful earth-spirit, Princess Under-Shining,
          stood before him_                                       29

    Heading to "Prince Ruddy-Plenty"                              37

      _But the fair Uzume went fearlessly up to the giant,
          and said: "Who is it that thus impedes our descent
          from heaven?"_                                          39

    Heading to "The Palace of the Ocean-Bed"                      47

      _Suddenly she saw the reflection of Prince Fire-Fade
          in the water_                                           51

    Heading to "Autumn and Spring"                                59

      _One after the other returned sorrowfully home, for
          none found favour in her eyes_                          63

    Heading to "The Star Lovers"                                  69

      _The lovers were wont, standing on the banks of the
          celestial stream, to waft across it sweet and
          tender messages_                                        71

    Heading to "The Island of Eternal Youth"                      79

      _Soon he came to its shores, and landed as one in a
          dream_                                                  83

    Heading to "Rai-Taro, the Son of the Thunder-God"             89

      _The birth of Rai-taro_                                     93

    Heading to "The Souls of the Children"                        99

    Heading to "The Moon-Maiden"                                 105

      _At one moment she skimmed the surface of the sea, the
          next her tiny feet touched the topmost branches of
          the tall pine trees_                                   109

    Heading to "The Great Fir Tree of Takasago"                  115

    Heading to "The Willow of Mukochima"                         123

    Heading to "The Child of the Forest"                         131

      _Kintaro reigned as prince of the forest, beloved of
          every living creature_                                 135

    Heading to "The Vision of Tsunu"                             143

      _On a plot of mossy grass beyond the thicket, sat two
          maidens of surpassing beauty_                          147

    Heading to "Princess Fire-Fly"                               153

      _But the Princess whispered to herself, "Only he who
          loves me more than life shall call me bride"_          155

    Heading to "The Sparrow's Wedding"                           163

    Heading to "The Love of the Snow-White Fox"                  173

      _With two mighty strokes, he felled his adversaries to
          the ground_                                            177

    Heading to "Nedzumi"                                         183

    Heading to "Koma and Gon"                                    191




The Birth-Time of the Gods


  [Illustration: _The Birth-Time of the Gods_]


Before time was, and while yet the world was uncreated, chaos reigned.
The earth and the waters, the light and the darkness, the stars and
the firmament, were intermingled in a vapoury liquid. All things were
formless and confused. No creature existed; phantom shapes moved as
clouds on the ruffled surface of a sea. It was the birth-time of the
gods. The first deity sprang from an immense bulrush-bud, which rose,
spear-like, in the midst of the boundless disorder. Other gods were
born, but three generations passed before the actual separation of the
atmosphere from the more solid earth. Finally, where the tip of the
bulrush points upward, the Heavenly Spirits appeared.

From this time their kingdom was divided from the lower world where
chaos still prevailed. To the fourth pair of gods it was given to
create the earth. These two beings were the powerful God of the Air,
Izanagi, and the fair Goddess of the Clouds, Izanami. From them sprang
all life.

Now Izanagi and Izanami wandered on the Floating Bridge of Heaven.
This bridge spanned the gulf between heaven and the unformed world; it
was upheld in the air, and it stood secure. The God of the Air spoke
to the Goddess of the Clouds: "There must needs be a kingdom beneath
us, let us visit it." When he had so said, he plunged his jewelled
spear into the seething mass below. The drops that fell from the point
of the spear congealed and became the island of Onogoro. Thereupon
the Earth-Makers descended, and called up a high mountain peak, on
whose summit could rest one end of the Heavenly Bridge, and around
which the whole world should revolve.

  [Illustration: When he had so said, he plunged his jewelled spear
    into the seething mass below.]

The Wisdom of the Heavenly Spirit had decreed that Izanagi should be a
man, and Izanami a woman, and these two deities decided to wed and
dwell together on the earth. But, as befitted their august birth, the
wooing must be solemn. Izanagi skirted the base of the mountain to the
right, Izanami turned to the left. When the Goddess of the Clouds saw
the God of the Air approaching afar off, she cried, enraptured: "Ah,
what a fair and lovely youth!" Then Izanagi exclaimed, "Ah, what a
fair and lovely maiden!" As they met, they clasped hands, and the
marriage was accomplished. But, for some unknown cause, the union did
not prove as happy as the god and goddess had hoped. They continued
their work of creation, but Awaji, the island that rose from the deep,
was little more than a barren waste, and their first-born son, Hiruko,
was a weakling. The Earth-Makers placed him in a little boat woven of
reeds, and left him to the mercy of wind and tide.

In deep grief, Izanagi and Izanami recrossed the Floating Bridge, and
came to the place where the Heavenly Spirits hold eternal audience.
From them they learned that Izanagi should have been the first to
speak, when the gods met round the base of the Pillar of Earth. They
must woo and wed anew. On their return to earth, Izanagi, as before,
went to the right, and Izanami to the left of the mountain, but now,
when they met, Izanagi exclaimed: "Ah, what a fair and lovely maiden!"
and Izanami joyfully responded, "Ah, what a fair and lovely youth!"
They clasped hands once more, and their happiness began. They created
the eight large islands of the Kingdom of Japan; first the luxuriant
Island of the Dragon-fly, the great Yamato; then Tsukushi, the
White-Sun Youth; Iyo, the Lovely Princess, and many more. The rocky
islets of the archipelago were formed by the foam of the rolling
breakers as they dashed on the coast-lines of the islands already
created. Thus China and the remaining lands and continents of the
world came into existence.

Now were born to Izanagi and Izanami, the Ruler of the Rivers, the
Deity of the Mountains, and, later, the God of the Trees, and a
goddess to whom was entrusted the care of tender plants and herbs.

Then Izanagi and Izanami said: "We have created the mighty Kingdom of
the Eight Islands, with mountains, rivers, and trees; yet another
divinity there must be, who shall guard and rule this fair world."

As they spoke, a daughter was born to them. Her beauty was dazzling,
and her regal bearing betokened that her throne should be set high
above the clouds. She was none other than Ama-terasu, The
Heaven-Illuminating Spirit. Izanagi and Izanami rejoiced greatly when
they beheld her face, and exclaimed, "Our daughter shall dwell in the
Blue Plain of High Heaven, and from there she shall direct the
universe." So they led her to the summit of the mountain, and over the
wondrous bridge. The Heavenly Spirits were joyful when they saw
Ama-terasu, and said: "You shall mount into the soft blue of the sky,
your brilliancy shall illumine, and your sweet smile shall gladden,
the Eternal Land, and all the world. Fleecy clouds shall be your
handmaidens, and sparkling dewdrops your messengers of peace."

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