(_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.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
[105] Perhaps the reference is to a village at the mouth
of the river Togawa,--not far from Choshi on the
Tonegawa. The two rivers are united by a canal.
But the text leaves it uncertain whether river or
village is meant.
_Thirdly_,--
When, all together, we hoist our signal-flags, see how fast the
cargo-boats come hurrying!
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Fourthly_,--
Night and day though the boiling be, there is still too much to
boil--oh, the heaps of _iwashi_ from the three ships together!
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Fifthly_,--
Whenever you go to look at the place where the dried fish are
kept,[106] never do you find any room,--not even a crevice.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
[106] _Hoshika-ba_: lit., "the hoshika-place" or
"hoshika-room." "Hoshika" is the name given to
dried fish prepared for use as fertilizer.
_Sixthly_,--
From six to six o'clock is cleaning and washing: the great
cutting and the small cutting are more than can be done.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Seventhly_,--
All up and down the famous river Tonegawa we send our loads of
oil and fertilizer.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
_Eighthly_,--
All the young folk, drawing the _Yatai-bune_,[107] with ten
thousand rejoicings, visit the shrine of the God.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
[107] _Yatai_ is the name given to the ornamental cars
drawn with ropes in a religious procession.
_Yatai-bune_ here seems to mean either the model
of a boat mounted upon such a car, or a real boat
so displayed in a religious procession. I have
seen real boats mounted upon festival-cars in a
religious procession at Mionoseki.
_Ninthly_,--
Augustly protecting all this coast, the Deity of the river-mouth
shows to us his divine favor.
_O this ship of great fishing!_
A stranger example of this mnemonic arrangement is furnished by a
children's song, composed at least a hundred years ago. Little girls of
Yedo used to sing it while playing ball. You can see the same ball-game
being played by girls to-day, in almost any quiet street of Tokyo. The
ball is kept bounding in a nearly perpendicular line by skilful taps of
the hand delivered in time to the measure of a song; and a good player
should be able to sing the song through without missing a stroke. If she
misses, she must yield the ball to another player.[108] There are many
pretty "ball-play songs;" but this old-fashioned and long-forgotten one
is a moral curiosity:--
[108] This is the more common form of the game; but there are
many other forms. Sometimes two girls play at once with
the same ball--striking it alternately as it bounds.
_Hitotsu to ya:_--
Hito wa ko na hito to iu;
On wo shiraneba ko naraji.
_Futatsu to ya:_--
Fuji yori takaki chichi no on;
Tsune-ni omoute wasure-naji.
_Mitsu to ya:_--
Mizu-umi kaette asashi to wa,
Haha no on zo ya omou-beshi.
_Yotsu to ya:_--
Yoshiya mazushiku kurasu tomo,
Sugu-naru michi wo maguru-moji.
_Itsutsu to ya:_--
Itsumo kokoro no kawaranu wo,
Makoto no hito to omou-beshi.
_Mutsu to ya:_--
Munashiku tsukihi wo kurashi-naba,
Nochi no nageki to shirinu-beshi.
_Nanatsu to ya:_--
Nasaki wa hito no tame narode,
Waga mi no tame to omou-beshi.
_Yatsu to ya:_--
Yaku-nan muryo no wazawai mo
Kokoro zen nara nogaru-beshi.
_Kokonotsu to ya:_--
Kokoro kotoba no sugu-naraba,
Kami ya Hotoke mo mamoru-beshi.
_To to ya_:--
Totoi hito to naru naraba,
Koko mono to iwaru-beshi.
_This is the first_:--
[Only] a person having filial piety is [worthy to be] called
a person:[109]
If one does not know the goodness of parents, one has not
filial piety.
[109] Lit., "A person having filial piety is called a
person." The word _hito_ (person), usually
indicating either a man or a woman, is often used
in the signification of "people" or "Mankind." The
full meaning of the sentence is that no unfilial
person deserves to be called a human being.
_The second_:--
Higher than the [mountain] Fuji is the favor of a father:
Think of it always;--never forget it.
_The third_:--
[Compared with a mother's love] the great lake is shallow
indeed!
[By this saying] the goodness of a mother should be
estimated.
_The fourth_:--
Even though in poverty we have to pass our days,
Let us never turn aside from the one straight path.
_The fifth:_--
The person whose heart never changes with time,
A true man or woman that person must be deemed.
_The sixth_:--
If the time [of the present] be spent in vain,
In the time of the future must sorrow be borne.
_The seventh_:--
That a kindness done is not for the sake of others only,
But also for one's own sake, should well be kept in mind.
_The eighth_:--
Even the sorrow of numberless misfortunes
We shall easily escape if the heart be pure.
_The ninth_:--
If the heart and the speech be kept straight and true,
The Gods and the Buddhas will surely guard us well.
_The tenth_:--
In order to become a person held in honor,
As a filial person one must [first] be known.
The reader may think to himself, "How terribly exigent the training that
could require the repetition of moral lessons even in a 'ball-play
song'!" True,--but it produced perhaps the very sweetest type of woman
that this world has ever known.
* * * * *
In some dance-songs the burthen is made by the mere repetition of the
last line, or of part of the last line, of each stanza. The following
queer ballad exemplifies the practice, and is furthermore remarkable by
reason of the curious onomatopoetic choruses introduced at certain
passages of the recitative:--