"Many times, in my solitary walks, I have passed through this village
without knowing of the existence of this honorable dwelling. And ever
since entering here, I have been wondering why this noble household
should have chosen so lonesome a place of sojourn.... Now that your
Himégimi-Sama and I have become pledged to each other, it seems to me
a strange thing that I do not yet know the name of her august family."
At this utterance, a shadow passed over the kindly face of the old
woman; and the bride, who had yet hardly spoken, turned pale, and
appeared to become painfully anxious. After some moments of silence,
the aged woman responded:--
"To keep our secret from you much longer would be difficult; and I
think that, under any circumstances, you should be made aware of the
facts, now that you are one of us. Know then, Sir It[=o], that your
bride is the daughter of Shigéhira-Ky[=o], the great and unfortunate
San-mi Chüj[=o]."
At those words--"Shigéhira-Ky[=o], San-mi Chüj[=o]"--the young
samurai felt a chill, as of ice, strike through all his veins.
Shigéhira-Ky[=o], the great Héïké general and statesman, had been dust
for centuries. And It[=o] suddenly understood that everything around
him--the chamber and the lights and the banquet--was a dream of the
past; that the forms before him were not people, but shadows of people
dead.
But in another instant the icy chill had passed; and the charm
returned, and seemed to deepen about him; and he felt no fear. Though
his bride had come to him out of Yomi,--out of the place of the Yellow
Springs of death,--his heart had been wholly won. Who weds a ghost
must become a ghost;--yet he knew himself ready to die, not once, but
many times, rather than betray by word or look one thought that might
bring a shadow of pain to the brow of the beautiful illusion before
him. Of the affection proffered he had no misgiving: the truth had
been told him when any unloving purpose might better have been served
by deception. But these thoughts and emotions passed in a flash,
leaving him resolved to accept the strange situation as it had
presented itself, and to act just as he would have done if chosen, in
the years of Jü-ei, by Shigéhira's daughter.
"Ah, the pity of it!" he exclaimed; "I have heard of the cruel fate of
the august Lord Shigéhira."
"Ay," responded the aged woman, sobbing as she spoke;--"it was indeed
a cruel fate. His horse, you know, was killed by an arrow, and fell
upon him; and when he called for help, those who had lived upon his
bounty deserted him in his need. Then he was taken prisoner, and sent
to Kamakura, where they treated him shamefully, and at last put him
to death.[74] His wife and child--this dear maid here--were then in
hiding; for everywhere the Héïké were being sought out and killed.
When the news of the Lord Shigéhira's death reached us, the pain
proved too great for the mother to bear, so the child was left with
no one to care for her but me,--since her kindred had all perished or
disappeared. She was only five years old. I had been her milk-nurse,
and I did what I could for her. Year after year we wandered from place
to place, traveling in pilgrim-garb.... But these tales of grief are
ill-timed," exclaimed the nurse, wiping away her tears;--"pardon
the foolish heart of an old woman who cannot forget the past. See!
the little maid whom I fostered has now become a Himégimi-Sama
indeed!--were we living in the good days of the Emperor Takakura, what
a destiny might be reserved for her! However, she has obtained the
husband whom she desired; that is the greatest happiness.... But the
hour is late. The bridal-chamber has been prepared; and I must now
leave you to care for each other until morning."
[Footnote 74: Shigéhira, after a brave fight in defense of the
capital,--then held by the Taïra (or Héïké) party,--was surprised and
routed by Yoshitsuné, leader of the Minamoto forces. A soldier named
Iyénaga, who was a skilled archer, shot down Shigéhira's horse; and
Shigéhira fell under the struggling animal. He cried to an attendant
to bring another horse; but the man fled. Shigéhira was then
captured by Iyénaga, and eventually given up to Yoritomo, head of
the Minamoto clan, who caused him to be sent in a cage to Kamakura.
There, after sundry humiliations, he was treated for a time with
consideration,--having been able, by a Chinese poem, to touch even the
cruel heart of Yoritomo. But in the following year he was executed by
request of the Buddhist priests of Nanto, against whom he had formerly
waged war by order of Kiyomori.]
She rose, and sliding back the screens parting the guest-room from
the adjoining chamber, ushered them to their sleeping apartment. Then,
with many words of joy and congratulation, she withdrew; and It[=o]
was left alone with his bride.