in the native Japanese style. It has been followed by many imitations, but has had no equal.'
The Japanese language as usually written is a combination of ideographic and phonetic characters, but Tsurayuki opens his diary by announcing that he intends to write it only in phonetics. As these were comparatively simple to learn, while a knowledge of the ideographs involved a profound study of the classical Chinese language, the former became known as the women's language' and the latter as the men's language'. Tsurayuki, therefore, in order to justify his use of phonetics only, writes the diary in the character of a woman and mentions himself only in the third person, which adds considerably to the difficulties of the translator. He also calls himself by many different names, such as yuku hito (the traveler), funagimi (the passenger), but oftenest simply aru hito (a certain personage). To assist the English reader, I have put in inverted commas such of these names as are supposed to indicate the writer himself.
It is not known why he decided to dispense with ideographs and to use phonetics only, which at the time had been in use for barely a hundred years; possibly it was for the sake of simplicity, and to enable the less educated to read his work. The Japanese commentators say that his rather cowardly dread of meeting the pirates and his excessive grief for his dead child would have been inconsistent with anything but a female writer. On the other hand, Tsurayuki may have emphasized these two features so as to give an artistic finish to a diary which is supposed to be written by a woman.
With regard to the numerous verses quoted, they are all, with the exception of the two 'boat songs', written in the classical tanka meter, which was limited to 5 lines and 31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7). The making of verses has always been one of the polite accomplishments in Japan, and Tsurayuki seldom misses an opportunity of composing. In the translation I have retained the original meter, and introduced a rhyme in the last couplet to emphasize the caesura between the third and fourth lines of the Japanese. It is a wellnigh hopeless task to attempt a translation of Japanese verses, which, while retaining the meter, is true to the original both in spirit and in letter, and it would not be fair to the illustrious poet to judge his work by the English version as given here. Perhaps I may paraphrase Tsurayuki as follows: 'People who read it will say to themselves that this kind of stuff is very poor. But the translator produced it with a good deal of difficulty, so they should stop whispering such cruel things about it.'
Owing to the change of calendar the dates as given in the diary are apt to lead one astray, and I have therefore given the corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar for each entry.
The accompanying sketch of the route taken by Ki no Tsurayuki is only approximately correct, for it is not possible at this date to identify with certainty all the places named in the diary. Most of those marked on the sketch were taken from an excellent map of Japan in the possession of the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty, which I was permitted to consult, and only one or two in addition to the four unnamed stopping-places are conjectures.
I should like to record here my grateful thanks to Mr. Choichi Fujino and to Major H. Haraguchi for their kind assistance in some of the more difficult passages.
W.N. P
Oitaru wo, chichi to se-yo.
(Japanese Proverb.)
That which is old should be treated with the respect due to a father.
THE TOSA DIARY
It is generally a man who writes what is called a Diary, but now a woman will see what she can do.1
A. D. 935.
28 JAN. One year on the twenty-first day of the twelfth month a certain personage' left home at the Hour of the Dog (8.0 p.m.), which was the beginning of this modest record. He had just completed the usual period of four or five years as Governor of a Province; everything had been wound up, documents, &c., had been handed over, and now he was about to go down to the place of embarkation; for he was to travel on shipboard. All sorts of people, both friends and strangers, came to see him off, including many who had served him faithfully during the past years, and who sorrowed at the thought of losing him that day. There was endless bustle and confusion; and so with one thing and another the night drew on.
29 JAN. 22nd day—He prayed for a calm voyage to the Land of Izumi. Fujiwara no Tokisanē came to turn his horse's head',2 although he was to travel by sea. Upper, middle, and lower classes all drank too heavily, and, wonderful to relate, there they were on the edge of the salt sea itself all useless and incompetent!3
30 JAN. 23rd day.—A certain man, called Yagi no Yasunori, although he was of too high rank to have been one of his regular attendants in the Province, openly made him a farewell present. Perhaps he had not made a very good Governor; but still, the country-folk usually on an occasion like this just said good-bye, and then disappeared; and here was a kind heart which was not ashamed to come back again. This word of praise for him is not due to the present he brought!
31 JAN. 24th day.—The Chief Priest made him a farewell present; and accordingly everybody, high and low, even the very boys, got so intoxicated, that those who did not know how to write one word found that their feet had playfully trodden the word ten' in the sand.4
1 FEB. 25th day.—A written invitation arrived from Government House,5 asking him to go and call. He accordingly went to call; and, what with one thing and another, all day and all night passed away pleasantly, till at last the day broke.
2 FEB. 26th day.—Still at Government House, where the entertainment grew boisterous; the host and even the servants became uproarious. With loud voices Chinese poems were declaimed; and the host, the visitor and the other guests recited Japanese verses. The Chinese poems are not recorded here;6 but the following is the Japanese verse composed by the Governor, as host:
From the Capital
Far across the sea I came,
Came to see my Lord;
But alas! 'twas all in vain,
For we now must part again.
Whereupon the former Governor' composed this in reply:
I, too, traveled far
O'er the stormy road of waves
White with crested foam;
Scare, I think, another man
Would have faced the risks we ran!
There were also verses composed by many others, but they were quite worthless. Having recited these, the late and the present Governors descended together; the present and the late hosts went forth hand in hand, in good fellowship and the best of spirits.
3 FEB. 27th day.—They started from Ōtsu and began to row to Urato. His little daughter,7 who had been born in the Capital, had died a short time previously in the Province very suddenly; and now, when, as we see, he was departing in haste, what was he to say! All his love was changed to grief, for he will now
