from childhood to boyhood. In ordinary cases, this is done when about five years old, but in the Royal Family, it usually takes place earlier.
8
A carriage drawn by hands. Its use in the Court-yard of the Palace was only allowed to persons of distinction.
9
Cremation was very common in these days.
10
A Court lady, whose name was Yugei, holding an office called "Miôbu."
11
Miyagi is the name of a field which is famous for the Hagi or Lespedeza, a small and pretty shrub, which blooms in the Autumn. In poetry it is associated with deer, and a male and female deer are often compared to a lover and his love, and their young to their children.
12
In Japan there is a great number of "mushi" or insects, which sing in herbage grass, especially in the evenings of Autumn. They are constantly alluded to in poetry.
13
In Japanese poetry, persons connected with the Court, are spoken of as "the people above the clouds."
14
A famous Chinese poem, by Hak-rak-ten. The heroine of the poem was Yô-ki-hi, to whom we have made reference before. The story is, that after death she became a fairy, and the Emperor sent a magician to find her. The works of the poet Peh-lo-tien, as it is pronounced by modern Chinese, were the only poems in vogue at that time. Hence, perhaps, the reason of its being frequently quoted.
15
There were two divisions of the Imperial guard, right and left.
16
The general name for a species of musical instrument resembling the zither, but longer.
17
In these days Imperial Princes were often created founders of new families, and with some given name, the Gen being one most frequently used. These Princes had no longer a claim to the throne.
18
The ceremony of placing a crown or coronet upon the head of a boy. This was an ancient custom observed by the upper and middle classes both in Japan and China, to mark the transition from boyhood to youth.
19
Before the crown was placed upon the head at the Gembuk, the hair was gathered up in a conical form from all sides of the head, and then fastened securely in that form with a knot of silken cords of which the color was always purple.
20
The color of purple typifies, and is emblematical of, love.
21
A body of men who resembled "Gentlemen-at-arms," and a part of whose duty it was to attend to the falcons.
22
A hero of an older fiction, who is represented as the perfect ideal of a gallant.
23
A fast observed when some remarkable or supernatural event took place, or on the anniversary of days of domestic misfortune.
24
A general of the Imperial Guards.
25
Love letters generally are not signed or are signed with a fancy name.
26
Left Master of the Horse.
27
Secretary to the Master of Ceremonies.
28
Deputy-governors of provinces. In those days these functionaries were greatly looked down upon by the Court nobles, and this became one of the causes of the feudal system.
29
The naoshi is an outer attire. It formed part of a loose and unceremonious Court dress.
30
This alludes to a common habit of women, who push back their hair before commencing any task.
31
Some kinds of nuns did not shave their heads, and this remark seems to allude to the common practice of women who often involuntarily smooth their hair before they see people, which practice comes, no doubt, from the idea that the beauty of women often depends on the tidiness of their hair.
32
This means that her soul, which was sinful, would not go at once to its final resting-place, but wander about in unknown paths.
33
A mountain spoken of in Chinese literature. It was said to be in the Eastern Ocean, and people of extraordinary long lives, called Sennin, were supposed to dwell there.
34
In China and Japan handwriting is considered no less an art than painting.
35
An ideal woman patroness of the art of dyeing.
36
The weaver, or star Vega. In the Chinese legend she is personified as a woman always engaged in weaving.
37
In the same legend, it is said that this weaver, who dwells on one side of the Milky Way in the heavens, meets her lover—another star called Hikoboshi, or the bull-driver—once every year, on the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month. He dwelt on the other side of the Milky Way, and their meeting took place on a bridge, made by birds (jays), by the intertwining of their wings. It was this which gave rise to the popular festival, which takes place on this day, both in China and Japan.
38
Little darlings—a kind of pink.
39
The Tokonatz (everlasting summer) is another name for the pink, and it is poetically applied to the lady whom we love.
40
A female divinity in Indian mythology.
41
From the Chinese poet Hak-rak-ten, who was mentioned before. He says in one of his poems: "Once upon a time a certain host invited to his abode a clever match-maker. When the guests were assembled he poured forth wine into a beautiful jar, and said to all present, 'drink not for a moment, but hear what I say about the two choices, daughters of the rich get married soon, but snub their husbands, daughters of the poor get married with difficulty but dearly love their mothers-in-law.'"
42
A soft style of Japanese writing commonly used by ladies.
43
A stiff and formal style of Japanese writing.
44
The fifth of May is one of the five important national festivals. A solemn celebration of this fête used to be performed at Court. It is sometimes called the festival of the "Sweet Flags,"—
45
Another of the five above-mentioned. It was held on the ninth of September, and it was customary on the occasion for rhymes to be given out to those present, wherewith to compose Chinese poems. It was sometimes called the "Chrysanthemum Festival," for the same reason that the celebration of the fifth of May was termed the "Sweet Flag Festival."
46
This is an astrological superstition. It is said that when this God is in any part of the compass, at the time being, it is most unlucky to proceed towards it, and to remain in the same line of its direction.
47
The deputy governor of the province Iyo; he is supposed to be in the province at this time, leaving his young wife and family behind.
48
The father of Kokimi seems to have been holding the office Yemon-no-Kami as well as Chiûnagon.
49
Tataki, or Amma, a sort of shampooing, a very common medical treatment in Japan.
50
Hahaki-gi, the broom-like tree, is said to have been a certain tree growing in the plain of Sonohara, so called from its shape, which, at a distance, looked like a spreading broom, but when one comes near, its appearance was totally changed.
51
Ji and Kôh are the names of certain positions in the game of "Go."
