Bakemono Yashiki (The Haunted House) Part 1

Bakemono Yas.h.i.+ki (The Haunted House).

by James S. De Benneville.

PREFACE

In 1590 A.D. the Ho[u]jo[u] were overthrown at Odawara by the Taiko[u]

Hideyos.h.i.+, and the provinces once under their sway were intrusted to his second in command, Tokugawa Iyeyasu. This latter, on removing to the castle of Chiyoda near Edo, at first paid main attention to strengthening his position in the military sense. From his fief in To[u]to[u]mi and Suruga he had brought with him a band of noted captains, devoted to his service through years of hardest warfare. He placed them around his castle ward, from East to South in a great sweeping arc of detached fortresses, extending from s.h.i.+mo[u]sa province to that of Sagami. Koga was the chief stronghold on the North, against what was left of the Uesugi power. The most devoted of his captains, Honda Tadakatsu, was established at Kawagoe. Odawara, under an O[u]kubo, as always, blocked the way from the Hakone and As.h.i.+gara pa.s.ses. In the hands of Iyeyasu and his captains, the formidable garrison here established was not likely to offer opportunity of a second "Odawara conference," during which dalliance with compromise and surrender would bring sudden attack and disaster. At this period there is no sign that in his personal service Prince Iyeyasu made changes from the system common to the great military Houses of the time. The castle ward and attendance always were divided up among the immediate va.s.sals of the lord. The basis was strictly military, not domestic. Even the beautiful _kami-s.h.i.+mo_ (X), or b.u.t.terfly hempen cloth garb of ceremonial attendance was an obvious reminder of the armour worn in the field.

Great statesman and warrior that he was, the Taiko[u] Hideyos.h.i.+ must have realised the difficulties confronting his House. The formidable power he had created in the North was no small part of them. On several occasions he sought a quarrel with Iyeyasu; sought to humiliate him in small ways, to lower his prestige and provoke an outbreak. Such was the trifling incident of the lavish donation required of Iyeyasu to the Hachiman shrine at Kamakura. But Hideyos.h.i.+, as with Elizabeth of England, looked rather to the balance of cost against result, always with possibility of failure in view. When he died in 1598, and left Tokugawa Iyeyasu practically regent of the land, his expectation can be judged to be, either that the loyal members of the council of regency would at least balance the Tokugawa power for their own sakes, or that the majority of his son Hideyori, then a mere infant, would witness no question of supremacy. In the one event the glory and prestige of his House would stand. In the second case the safety of his posterity would be a.s.sured. With his experience, and belief in the over-riding power of n.o.bunaga and himself, the first was as likely to happen as the second; and the influence of the Toyotomi House was the means necessary to insure to Iyeyasu the position already secured, against the jealousy of the other lords. Time showed that he granted a perspicuity and energy to the members of his council which Iyeyasu alone possessed.

With Sekigahara (1600) the situation was definitely changed. In 1603 Iyeyasu was made Sho[u]gun, and the first steps were to organize the Eastern capital at Edo on an Imperial scale. The modest proportions of the Chiyoda castle of Ho[u]jo[u] times--the present inner keep--had already grown to the outer moat. Around these precincts were thrown the va.s.sals of the Sho[u]gun. The distribution at first was without much method, beyond the establishment of greater lords in close proximity to the person of the Sho[u]gun. This feature was accentuated in the time of the third Sho[u]gun Iyemitsu. Immediately allied Houses and va.s.sals occupied the castle ward between the inner and outer moats, from the Hitotsubas.h.i.+ gate on the North, sweeping East and South to the Hanzo[u]

gate on the West. The Nis.h.i.+maru, or western inclosure of the castle, faced this Hanzo[u] Gomon. From this gate to a line drawn diagonally north eastward from the Kanda-bas.h.i.+ Gomon to the Sujikae Gomon, the section of the circle was devoted to the _yas.h.i.+ki_ (mansions) of the _hatamoto_ or minor lords in immediate va.s.salage of the Sho[u]gun's service. Kanda, Bancho[u], Ko[u]jimachi (within the outer moat), the larger parts of Asakusa, s.h.i.+taya, Hongo[u], Kois.h.i.+kawa, Us.h.i.+gome (Ichigaya), Yotsuya, Akasaka, Azabu, and s.h.i.+ba, were occupied by _yas.h.i.+ki_ of _hatamoto_ and _daimyo[u]_--with an ample proportion of temple land. It would seem that there was little left for commercial Edo. Such was the case. The scattered towns of Kanda, Tayasu, Ko[u]jicho[u], several score of villages on the city outskirts, are found in this quarter. The townsmen's houses were crowded into the made ground between the outer moat of the castle and the _yas.h.i.+ki_ which lined the Sumida River between s.h.i.+ba and the Edogawa. In 1624 the reclaimed ground extended almost to the present line of the river. The deepening of the beds of the Kanda and Edo Rivers had drained the marshes. The use of the waters of the Kandagawa for the castle moat had made dry land of the large marsh just to the south of the present Ueno district. Thus Hongo[u], in its more particular sense, became a building site.

With elaboration of the outer defences went elaboration of the immediate service on the Sho[u]gun. There was no sudden change. The military forms of the camp stiffened into the etiquette of the palace. The _Sho[u]inban_ or service of the audience chamber, the _Ko[u]sho[u]gumi_ or immediate attendants, these were the most closely attached to the Sho[u]gun's person. To be added to these are the O[u]bangumi or palace guard, the _Kojuningumi_ and the Kachigumi which preceded and surrounded the prince on his outside appearances. These "sections" formed the Go Banshu[u], the _honoured_ bodyguard. In the time of Iyemitsu a sixth _k.u.mi_ or section was formed, to organize the service of the women attendants of the palace, of the _oku_ or private apartments in distinction from the _omote_ or public (men's) apartments, to which the Go Banshu[u] were attached. Given the name of _s.h.i.+nban_ (New) this _k.u.mi_ was annexed to the Banshu[u]. This aroused instant protest. The then lords of the Go Ban inherited their position through the merits of men who had fought on the b.l.o.o.d.y fields of war. Now "luck, not service,"

was to be the condition of deserving. The protest was made in form, and regarded. Iyemitsu gave order that the s.h.i.+nbangumi retain its name, but without connection with the Banshu[u].

At this point the confusion of terms is to be explained. All through the rule of the first three Sho[u]gun a gradual sifting had been taking place. Into Edo were crowding the _daimyo[u]_ who sought proximity to the great man of the land. Then came the order of compulsory residence, issued by Iyemitsu himself; seconded by the mighty lords of Sendai and Satsuma, who laid hands on sword hilts, and made formal statement that he who balked nourished a treacherous heart. The support of one of them was at least unexpected. The acquiescence of both cut off all opposition. Most of the ground now within the outer moat was devoted to the greater lords in immediate service on the Tokugawa House. The _hatamoto_ were removed to the outer sites in Kois.h.i.+kawa, Us.h.i.+gome, Yotsuya; to the Bancho[u], the only closer ward they retained; or across the river to Honjo[u] and f.u.kagawa. Those in immediate service were placed nearest to the palace. From the beginning the favoured residence site had been just outside the Hanzo[u] and Tayasu Gomon, across the inner moat from the palace. Hence the district got the name of Bancho[u]. _Go Ban_ ([go ban]) in popular usage was confused with ([go ban])--"five" instead of "honoured." In course of time the constant removals to this district made it so crowded, its ways so intricate, that one who lived in the Bancho[u] (Ban ward) was not expected to know the locality; a wide departure from the original checker board design on which it had been laid out, and hence the characters [bancho[u]]

(Bancho[u]) used at one time. This, however, was when Edo had expanded from its original 808 _cho[u]_ (20200 acres) to 2350 _cho[u]_ (58750 acres). The original Bancho[u] included all the ground of Iidamachi, and extended to the Ko[u]jimachi road. Ko[u]jimachi (the _mura_ or village) was then in the Bancho[u], and known as _samurai ko[u]jimachi_ [ko[u]jimachi] (by-way), not the present [ko[u]ji] (yeast). In the time of the third Sho[u]gun the Bancho[u] was as yet a lonely place--to the west of the city and on its outskirts. The filling in process, under the Government pressure for ground, was just under way. Daimyo[u]-ko[u]ji, between the inner and outer moats, through the heart of which runs the railway spur from s.h.i.+mbas.h.i.+ to To[u]kyo[u] station, was being created by elimination of the minor lords. At the close of Kwanei (1624 A.D.) all the Daimyo[u]-koji was very solid ground; an achievement of no little note when the distance from the Sumidagawa is considered. At Iyeyasu's advent to Edo the sh.o.r.e line ran close to the inner moat of the castle. The monastery of Zo[u]jo[u]ji then situated close to the site of the present Watagaru gate, was converted by him into the great establishment at s.h.i.+ba; and placed as close to the waters of the bay as the present Seikenji of Okitsu in Suruga--its fore-bear in the material and ecclesiastical sense.

The same rapid development of the town took place on the eastern side of the river. Honjo[u] and f.u.kagawa became covered by the _yas.h.i.+ki_ sites, interspersed with the numerous and extensive temple grounds. Iyeyasu was as liberal to the material comforts of his ghostly advisers, as he was strict in their supervision. One fifth of Edo was ecclesiastical. One eighth of it, perhaps, was given over to the needed handicrafts and tradesmen of the Kyo[u]bas.h.i.+ and Nihonbas.h.i.+ wards along the river, with a moiety of central Honjo[u]--and to the fencing rooms. The balance of the city site was covered by the _yas.h.i.+ki_. Thus matters remained until the Meiji period swept away feudalism, and subst.i.tuted for the military town the modern capital of a living nation. So much for the Edo with which we have to deal, apart from its strange legends and superst.i.tions, its malevolent and haunting influences, working ill to the invaders, daring to encroach upon the palace itself and attack the beloved of the Sho[u]gun and his heir, only to be quelled by the divine majesty of his look--as expounded in such tangle of verities as the Honjo[u]-Nana-fus.h.i.+gi (seven marvels of Honjo[u]), the Azabu Nana-fus.h.i.+gi, the f.u.kagawa Nana-fus.h.i.+gi, the Bancho[u] Nana-fus.h.i.+gi, the Ok.u.mura Kiroku, the temple scrolls and traditions, and many kindred volumes.

In reference to the Bancho[u]: the stories outlined in the present volume date from the period of the puppet shows and strolling reciters, men who cast these tales into their present lines, thus reducing popular tradition to the form in which it could be used by the _ko[u]dans.h.i.+_ or lecturers on history, or by those diving into the old tales and scandals connected with the _yas.h.i.+ki_ of Edo town. In the present volume main reliance for the detail has been placed on the following _ko[u]dan_:--

"The Bancho[u] Nana-fus.h.i.+gi" of Matsubayas.h.i.+ Hakuen.

"The Bancho[u] Sarayas.h.i.+ki" of Momogawa Jo[u]en.

"The Bancho[u] Sarayas.h.i.+ki" of Byo[u]haku Hakuchi, in the "Kwaidan-shu[u]" published by the Hakubunkwan.

"The Bancho[u] Sarayas.h.i.+ki" of Ho[u]gyu[u]sha To[u]ko.

"Yui Sho[u]setsu" of Ko[u]ganei Koshu[u].

These references could be extended. The story of the Sarayas.h.i.+ki figures in most of the collections of wonder tales. The Gidayu of the "Banshu[u]

Sarayas.h.i.+ki" by Tamenaga Taro[u]bei and Asada Itcho[u] finds no application. It deals with Himeji in Harima. As for the stories from an esoteric point of view, as ill.u.s.trations of the period they have a value--to be continued in those more historical, and which deal with the lives and deeds of men of greater note and influence in this early Tokugawa court. The present volume instances the second cla.s.s of wonder tales referred to in the preface to the Yotsuya Kwaidan.

O[u]marudani, 14th November, 1916.

PART I

TALES OF THE EDO BANCHO[U]

WHO AOYAMA SHU[U]ZEN WAS.

CHAPTER I

THE _Chu[u]gen_ ROKUZO

Rokuzo the _chu[u]gen_ sighed as he faced the long slope leading to the Kudanzaka. Pleasant had been his journey to this point. From his master's _yas.h.i.+ki_ in Ichigaya to the shop of the sandal maker Sukebei in lower Kanda it had been one long and easy descent. Sukebei had gratified Rokuzo with the desired and well established commission or "squeeze." Orders for sandals in the _yas.h.i.+ki_ of a n.o.bleman were no small item. Rokuzo was easily satisfied. Though of a scant thirty years in age he had not the vice of women, the exactions of whom were the prime source of rascality in the sphere of _chu[u]gen_, as well as in the glittering train of the palace. At the turn of the road ahead Rokuzo could eye the ma.s.sive walls of the moat, which hid the fortress and seraglio built up by the skilful hands of Kasuga no Tsubone in her earnest efforts to overcome the woman hating propensities of the San-dai-ke, the third prince of the Tokugawa line, Iyemitsu Ko[u]. Rokuzo was a _chu[u]gen_, servant in attendance on his master Endo[u] Saburo[u]zaemon, _hatamoto_ or immediate va.s.sal of the commander-in-chief, the Sho[u]gun or real ruler in the land of Nippon since the long past days of Taira Kiyomori.

Rokuzo had no great lady in charge of his domestic arrangements, one whose obsession it was to overcome his dislike of man's natural mate.

Nor had he such mate to administer reproof for his decided liking for the sherry-like rice wine called _sake_. Sukebei had rigidly performed his part in the matter of the "squeeze"; but Rokuzo considered him decidedly stingy in administration of the wine bottle--or bottles.

Willingly would he have sacrificed the commission for an amplitude of the wine. But even _chu[u]gen_ had their formulae of courtesy, and such reflection on his host would have been too gross. With a sigh therefore he had set out from the shop of the sandal maker, eyeing the wine shops pa.s.sed from time to time, but not fortunate enough to chance upon any acquaintance whose services he could call upon in facing him over a gla.s.s. Rokuzo had the virtue of not drinking alone.

Kanda village once pa.s.sed, the _yas.h.i.+ki_ walls hemmed in the highway which ran through a district now one of the busiest quarters of the city. This sloping ground was popularly known as Ichimenhara, to indicate its uniformity of surface. There was not a hint of the great university, the long street of book-stores close packed side by side for blocks. Their site was covered by the waters of the marsh, almost lake, of the Kanda River, then being slowly drained into the castle moats. The top of the hill reached, at what is now South Jimbocho[u], the shops and houses of the one village hereabouts, Tayasu-mura, offered a last chance for diversion. The steep slope of the Kudan hill was now before Rokuzo, and beyond he had to pa.s.s through the lonely wood which harboured a temple to the war G.o.d Hachiman, and which covered the site of the present Sho[u]konsha or shrine to the spirits of the soldiers killed in Nippon's wars. This road ran through the San-Bancho[u], then a lonely quarter in which stood isolated from each other _yas.h.i.+ki_ of the _hatamoto_. The district was filling up, under press of the needs of the castle service for s.p.a.ce immediately round about. But the process was a slow one, and the district one much suspected by the lower cla.s.ses.

Rokuzo was not fat. He was short, thick necked, st.u.r.dy with a barrel-like roundness, and, owing to his drinking propensities, endowed with legs the thinness of which found the conveyance of the upper ma.s.siveness no mean task. Hence he stopped at the foot of the hill to wipe the sweat from his face. He eyed with envy a low caste being, a _heimin_ and labourer. Clad in a breech-clout the fellow swung rapidly down the hill with his load of charcoal balanced at each end of the carrying pole. It was etiquette, not modesty, which confined Rokuzo to the livery of his master. He was compelled to a coat which, light and thin as it was, cut off all the breeze from his muscular shoulders.

Well! Up the hill he must get. The rolling down was a matter of the past. The _yas.h.i.+ki_, the house officer (_kyu[u]nin_) to whom report was to be made, lay beyond. About to make the start a voice spoke in his ear. Though soft and gentle it would have had no particular attraction for the now thirsty Rokuzo. But apart from thirst Rokuzo was of the thoroughly good natured kind. He was surprised at the beauty of the face on which his eyes rested; still more so at the size of the bundle she was trying to carry, and which plainly was far beyond her strength. The rashness of benevolence overcame the not too energetic Rokuzo. Sigh as he did over the conveyance of his carca.s.s up the steep hill, he sighed still more at thought of this fragile creature attempting to carry such a burden.

She followed his eyes to the bundle. "Alas! Honoured Sir, what is to be done? The _furos.h.i.+ki_ is far beyond one's poor strength. Though the distance is not great--only to Go Bancho[u]--yet it could as well be a pilgrimage to Ise. Surely the hills of Hakone and Iga are no steeper than this Kudanzaka." She sighed; and apart from a weariness of voice there was a suspicion of moisture in her eyes. The more Rokuzo looked at her, the greater waxed his pity and benevolence. Barely of eighteen years she was a beautiful girl; not a servant, yet not one of the secluded and guarded daughters of a n.o.ble House. Perhaps she was the young wife of some soldier, and he was surprised at her being unattended. She noted this, and readily explained the fact. There were purchases yet to make, close by in Tayasu. Here a servant was to be at hand, but wearied by waiting the woman had made off. "To offer a wage, good sir, seems impolite; yet the way being the same deign to grant the favour of your strength." In the pet.i.tion her face was wreathed in admiring smiles at Rokuzo's fine figure of a man. A light in the eyes, captious and coquettish, the furtive glances at his broad shoulders and stout neck, betrayed him into the indiscretion of volunteering a service promptly accepted. This done, the lady, without losing sight of display of her charm of manner, was all business.

Rokuzo had much to learn, and he was not one to profit much by his lessons. If he was virtuous, he was by nature a very Simple Simon. A greater liking for women might by contact have sharpened wits rather dulled by drinking. As it was, anyone in the _yas.h.i.+ki_, who wished to s.h.i.+ft some unpleasant obligation, found in Rokuzo the one to be impressed by the most specious excuse, and the one whose kindness of heart undertook and carried out the purpose of avoidance by a.s.sumption of the task. Instead of concocting some pretext to carry off Sukebei, or one, or all, of his apprentices to the neighbouring street and a grog shop, his inexperience and diffidence had carried him away still thirsty. Instead of b.u.mping into some pa.s.sing fellow _chu[u]gen_ on the street, and wiping out the insult with wine, he had idled along, leaving to every man his share of the roadway, and to the thirsty with burdens more than their share. Hence this uncongenial company of thirst and a woman. She had halted at a grocer's shop, and his eyes were soon agog at sight of her investments--mushrooms, not of much weight, but in bulk forming almost a mound; the dried sliced gourd called _kambyoku_, of which she seemed very fond; marrow, _to[u]gan_ (gourd-melon),[1] the new and expensive potato (_imo_), for money was no object in her purchases.

A second shop close by caught her eye. Here were added to the pile the long string beans, doubtless to roast in the pod for an afternoon's amus.e.m.e.nt and repast, _kabocha_ or squashes, large stalks of _daikon_ (radish) two feet in length, _go[u]bo[u]_ or burdock, and a huge watermelon. The list is too long to quote except for the report of a produce exchange. Indeed it was rather a case of what she did not buy, on a scale to furnish forth a _yas.h.i.+ki_. Then she made her way to a confection and fruit shop just opposite the scene of her last purchases.

Pears were coming into season--weighty in measure and on the stomach.

But the lady was not frightened. She bought for yesterday, to-day, and to-morrows, in fruit and cakes of all kinds. Conveyed by the divers attendants her goods lay piled up at the last source of supply. Puzzled, she regarded the huge ma.s.s; then took eye measure of the shoulders of Rokuzo. They inspired confidence. She laid a gentle and admiring hand on his ma.s.siveness. She looked into his face with enticing smile. There was a silvery little laugh in her voice. Concealing their grins the shop attendants fled to their different haunts. Here they smothered cries and roars of coa.r.s.e merriment; and one man nearly smothered himself by sticking his head in the brine cask. This _chu[u]gen_ was no servant of the lady. He was a volunteer conveyancer caught by a pretty face. They knew her.

Rokuzo had more than st.u.r.dy shoulders. He stuck to his bargain. Plainly something must be done; and the lady did it. In a trice she haled him to a draper's shop. "A five-fold _furos.h.i.+ki_--at once." The draper gaped not; he obeyed. The cloth was produced, and his several apprentices were engaged in sewing together one of those square package cloths, so convenient in the conveyance of scattered parcels. It was a portentous product, a very sheet. Obsequiously offered and accepted, the draper watched his customers depart with curious eyes. It was not the first of its kind bought by the lady. He hoped it would not be the last; for his own sake and that of his fellow traders. The money at least was always good. The girl must be popular and rich. A number of _chu[u]gen_ were employed in her service. Never did she bring the same man. Then the purchases were piled into one bundle. At this both Rokuzo and the dispenser of sweets were skilled hands. The lady looked anxiously up and down the road. She tripped into this place and that. Finally she came back to the bundle, looking as if about to cry. Of the servant's return there was no sign. Stolidly the shop-keeper maintained his pose. His shop could not be left to itself; the lady could not wait. Outside was the blazing sun of the sixth month (July), then at its hottest period of the hour of the ape (after 3 P.M.). She looked at Rokuzo. He twisted uneasily.

His good nature yielded again to the caressing glance. "Come! As boy this Rokuzo has carried many a farmer's frame of gra.s.s from the mountain to s.h.i.+bukawa village. Nay; many a sick man has he shouldered on the hills leading to the healing springs of Ikao and Kusatsu." He ran an eye over the bundle. "Ah! A terrific bundle; one to cause fright. There is nothing else to do." He would have liked to measure strength with this truant servant; doubtless a terrific female. The confectioner puffed and blew, with straining, swelling neck. The _furos.h.i.+ki_ at last was on the shoulders of the unhappy Rokuzo. Fortunately the shops of Nippon have no doors. A most mountainous and monstrous wrestler, a very Daniel Lambert, can be carried forth feet first from such a front. The shop keeper followed the pair with his eyes. He pa.s.sed his hand over the money. Then he looked again. The lady went lightly up the hill. Puffing and blowing at last Rokuzo was compelled to zig-zag on its steepness. Then she followed after his movements, gently encouraging him with words, and a cheerful pleased giggle that was a very goad in his rear. The grocer crossed to consultation with the baker. "Bah! He has a ring in his nose." Said the man of confections--"He is Rokuzo, _chu[u]gen_ of Endo[u] Sama. But the other day it was Isuke, _chu[u]gen_ of Ok.u.mura Sama, who did her service. And so with others. Truly entertainment at Yos.h.i.+wara costs less effort and wage. These cats are all one colour in the dark." The philosophic and cynical shop-keepers, each departed to his own place, arguing more shrewdness in a _chu[u]gen_, and the greater freedom, if less honour, implied in the gains and amus.e.m.e.nts of the townsman. Again and again the baker inspected his coin. There were still houses for women in the Ko[u]jimachi road. This satisfied his doubts.

Encouraged by the lady Rokuzo reached the top of the Kudan hill. In all his experience of burden bearing never before had he shouldered the like. It seemed at times as if the lady herself had floated up on its broad surface, to deposit a weight far beyond her appearance. Perhaps she did; for Rokuzo, blinded by the pouring sweat, hardly knew what occurred. From time to time the sweet voice gave direction. Skirting the castle moat she led him up the short slope of the Gomizaka. A fitting name, thought Rokuzo. There were more than "five flavours" on his back, without counting the nasty taste in a very dry mouth. His journey was almost at an end. At least he had so determined, when suddenly the destination was reached. The lady knocked at the side door of a splendid gate set in a long stretch of wall. So much Rokuzo could see through the damp stream from his brow; and that the surroundings were very rural. A rattling of the bar and he turned eagerly to the gate. Its opening gave a vision of beauty. Clean swept was the ground beneath the splendid pine trees; graceful the curves of the roofs of the villa seen beyond; and still more beautiful, and little more mature than his companion, was the figure of the girl framed in the doorway.

Forgetful of his burden Rokuzo gaged. Forgetful of etiquette the girl stared. She scanned Rokuzo from head to foot. The squat and st.u.r.dy figure of the man, in combination with the huge burden, turned him into some new and useful kind of beast. Astonishment pa.s.sed into a smile; the smile into a mad burst of laughter in which the other girl more discreetly joined. "Ne[e]san (elder sister) the hour is late, but to-day the opportunity of a.s.sistance was slow to appear. With such st.u.r.dy support it was thought well to make ample provision."--"Provision indeed! Merry will be the feast. Truly sister, great has been the good fortune. Honoured Sir, deign to furnish forth the entertainment." Again came the merry peal, this time from both the girls. Rokuzo hardly appreciated such reward of his efforts. He had a strong suspicion that this merriment was directed at him; that the courtesy and gentle voices were on the surface. There was a snappy nasal sneering ring in the laughter, most unpleasant and savouring of derision. However there was certain to be something at the end of the task. Why neglect to take the reward now close to hand? He pa.s.sed through the large gate, opened by the elder maiden to admit the size of his burden. Under her guidance he struggled along past the corner of the house and into the more removed privacy. Of this he could note the carefully kept inner garden, the ma.s.sive old well curb standing in its centre, and the scent and strange beauty of the flowering plants. Attention was attracted by the conduct of his three employers; for another and older girl now made her appearance at the _ro[u]ka_ (verandah). She too gave the same short sharp exclamation of amus.e.m.e.nt at the sight of the porter and his portentous load. She leaped down quickly from the verandah and ran up to peer into his face. Then she went off into the same mad peal of laughter, in which she was joined without stint by her sisters.

Rokuzo was now angry beyond measure; yet as a man and good natured he found it difficult of expression with such beautiful women. All the terms of revilement came to his lips--rude rascals (_burei na yatsu_), scoundrels (_berabo[u]me_), vile beasts (_chikusho[u]me_). These were freely loaded on himself in time of displeasure of master or fellows.

But somehow now they stayed in his throat. "Rude"--yes; "rascals"--yes.

These words reached to a murmur. But the crowning insult of calling these beautiful women "beasts" stuck in his gorge and he nearly choked.

Said the oldest girl--and she was not over twenty years--"Sister, you are wearied by the heat and your efforts. Deign to enter the bath. All is ready. Come! We will enter it together." Hand in hand the three were about to depart. Rokuzo found speech. He stuttered in his indignation--"Honoured ladies! Heigh there! This bundle--how now? Truly it is as if this Rokuzo had been carrying a child. His back is wet through. It is very unpleasant. Where is the package to be bestowed?

Deign to indicate." At the sharpness of his tone the elder girl turned in surprise. His anger dropped before the attraction of smile and address. Truly these creatures had attention but for the pa.s.sing moment.

"Ah! In joy at the sister's return the burden and its bearer have been completely forgotten. This is to be very rude. Are! Honoured Sir, you are melting away with heat. Place the burden here. At the well yonder is water. Deign to wipe off the sweat which pours from your honoured person."

At once with more than relief he deposited the huge package on the _ro[u]ka_. Pending its disposition Rokuzo devoted himself to his ablutions with decent slowness, to allow the idea of remuneration to filter into the somewhat fat wits of these ladies. At first he was inclined thoroughly to sluice himself inwardly. The water was deliciously cool to the outer person on this hot day. But on approaching the bucket to his mouth there was an indefinable nauseating something about it that made him hesitate. Again he tried to drink. Decidedly it was bad, this water; offensive for drinking. With a sigh he diverted the stream from his gullet to his shoulders. So pleased was Rokuzo with the experience that he repeated it again and again from the inexhaustible coolness of the well. Then with his head towel he began to wipe the nudity of his person, taking in at leisure his surroundings as he did so. Oya! Oya! It was indeed an extraordinarily beautiful place, this which he had entered. The care lavished upon plants and ornamentation was carried to extravagance. The eyes of Rokuzo opened wider and wider.

Here was a splendid cherry tree in the full magnificence of its bloom.

The square of this inner garden was completed by half a dozen plum trees laden with the scented blossoms, although the fruit hung heavy from the branches. At the opposite corner the polished red of the ripe persimmons made the mouth water. Beyond these trees and the house was a large and splendid bed of iris, the curious and variegated bloom counterfeiting some patterned screen. From the _ro[u]ka_ extended a wide trellis heavy with the blossoms of the wisteria. Lotus was in flower in the pond.

Wherever he turned his eyes the affection of these ladies for colour and scent showed itself. Jinjo[u]ki, hibiscus, pyrus spectabilis, chrysanthemum, peonies, ayame or the early iris, all were in mad bloom to please the eye. With growing fright Rokuzo gazed from side to side.

What could be the social condition of these women, thus treated so familiarly by a mere _chu[u]gen_? The gardener surely was an extraordinary genius, such as would serve none but the truly great. This was a suspicious place.

These thoughts were interrupted. Abruptly he approached the part of the house that seemed a sort of kitchen. The huge bundle had disappeared.

The elder sister showed herself. The two younger girls held back diffidently in the rear. All showed amus.e.m.e.nt, but the freshness of the bath had wrought a change in manner, and made them still more lovely than before. Said the elder--"Thanks are due for the kindness shown.

Though ashamed, deign to accept this trifling acknowledgment as porter's wage." She held out to Rokuzo a _hana-furi-kin_. This gold coin, worth a _bu_ (the quarter of a _ryo[u]_) was an extravagant fee.[2] Somewhat strange withal; struck off in the Taiko[u]'s day the savour of disloyalty was compensated by the "raining flowers" stamped in the gold. Rokuzo was still more frightened. Ladies of course were ignorant of values. Plainly these were ladies, of but little contact with the world. As an honest and somewhat simple fellow he would have refused the over-payment. But he was not eloquent in explanation, and the acceptance meant the speedier departure. Prostrate with extended hands he gave thanks. Then he thrust the coin into his bosom and rose in good earnest to depart. Here follows the fall of Rokuzo from the grace of good behaviour.

On her way to a room at the end of the garden pa.s.sed the youngest of the sisters. She was bearing a tray, the burden of which was _sake_ bottles.