[110] These syllables, forming a sort of special chorus,
are simply onomatopes; intended to represent the
sound of sandalled feet running at utmost speed.
Therewith the damsel, pursuing, quickly, quickly followed after
him;--with all speed she followed after him. Having passed
through Tanabe and passed through Minabe, she pursued him over
the Komatsu moor,--
_Over the Komatsu moor._
Then the Yamabushi, fleeing, came as he fled to the river of
Amoda, and cried to the boatman of the river of Amoda,--"O good
boatman, good sir boatman, behind me comes a maid
pursuing!--pray do not take her across, good boatman,--
"_Good sir boatman!_"
_DEBOKU, DEBOKU, DEBOKU, DENDEN!_[111]
[111] These onomatopes, chanted by all the dancers
together in chorus, with appropriate gesture,
represent the sound of the ferryman's single oar,
or scull, working upon its wooden peg. The
syllables have no meaning in themselves.
Then the damsel, pursuing, came to the river of Amoda and
called to the boatman, "Bring hither the boat!--take me over in
the boat!"--"No, I will not bring the boat; I will not take you
over: my boat is forbidden to carry women!--
"_Forbidden to carry women!_"
"If you do not take me over, I will cross!--if you do not take
me over, I will cross!--there is a way to cross the river of
Amoda!" Taking off her sandals and holding them aloft, she
entered the water, and at once turned into a dragon with twelve
horns fully grown,--
_With twelve horns fully grown._
Then the Yamabushi, fleeing, reached the temple Dojoji, and
cried to the priests of the temple Dojoji:--"O good priests,
behind me a damsel comes pursuing!--hide me, I beseech you,
good sir priests!--
"_Good sir priests!_"
Then the priests, after holding consultation, took down from its
place the big bell of the temple; and under it they hid him,--
_Under it they hid him_.
Then the dragon-maid, pursuing, followed him to the temple
Dojoji. For a moment she stood in the gate of the temple: she
saw that bell, and viewed it with suspicion. She thought:--"I
must wrap myself about it once." She thought:--"I must wrap
myself about it twice!" At the third wrapping, the bell was
melted, and began to flow like boiling water,--
_Like boiling water_.
So is told the story of the Wrapping of the Bell. Many damsels
dwell by the seashore of Japan;--but who among them, like the
daughter of the Choja, will become a dragon?--
_Become a dragon?_
This is all the Song of the Wrapping of the Bell!--this is all
the Song,--
_All the song!_[112]
[112] This legend forms the subject of several Japanese
dramas, both ancient and modern. The original
story is that a Buddhist priest, called Anchin,
having rashly excited the affection of a maiden
named Kiyohime, and being, by reason of his vows,
unable to wed her, sought safety from her advances
in flight. Kiyohime, by the violence of her
frustrated passion, therewith became transformed
into a fiery dragon; and in that shape she
pursued the priest to the temple called Dojoji,
in Kumano (modern Kishu), where he tried to hide
himself under the great temple-bell. But the
dragon coiled herself round the bell, which at
once became red-hot, so that the body of the
priest was totally consumed.
In this rude ballad Kiyohime figures only as the
daughter of an inn-keeper,--the _Choja_, or rich
man of his village; while the priest Anchin is
changed into a Yamabushi. The Yamabushi are, or at
least were, wandering priests of the strange sect
called Shugendo,--itinerant exorcists and
diviners, professing both Shinto and Buddhism. Of
late years their practices have been prohibited by
law; and a real Yamabushi is now seldom to be met
with.
The temple Dojoji is still a famous place of
pilgrimage. It is situated not far from Gobo, on
the western coast of Kishu. The incident of Anchin
and the dragon is said to have occurred in the
early part of the tenth century.
I shall give only one specimen of the true street-ballad,--the kind of
ballad commonly sung by wandering samisen-players. It is written in an
irregular measure, varying from twelve to sixteen syllables in length;
the greater number of lines having thirteen syllables. I do not know the
date of its composition; but I am told by aged persons who remember
hearing it sung when they were children, that it was popular in the
period of Tenpo (1830-1843). It is not divided into stanzas; but there
are pauses at irregular intervals,--marked by the refrain, _Yanrei!_