CHAPTER II.
THE LAST HOJO.
Being a cunning and artful reader, you have long since guessed thatthe pattern maid whose benign influence was destined to reform thebrutish No-Kami, was no other than O'Tei, while the paragon Daimio wasNara.
The Shinto virgins, as unjust and purblind as young gorgons may beexpected to prove, were quite wrong as to O'Tei, who was no flirt. Shedid all credit to her rearing, for, when summoned to leave theconventual seclusion of the forest and assume the garb andresponsibilities of her rank, she dutifully murmured, "Let my father'swill be done," and accepted the husband of his choice. She had neverbeen told--for the holy bonzes knew little about the subject--that inmany marriages there are but two cheerful days--the first and thelast--and marched straight upon her fate without a tremor.
The elder Hojo, though a crafty and long-headed statesman, made a sadmistake while arranging the affairs of his son. The air palace hebuilt was complete and imposing, beautiful to the eye, but, as themuscular and practical Tomoye had foreseen, its foundations were ofthe weakest. He forgot that old Nara, as lord in waiting, was likelyto be deeply attached to the person as well as to the position of theMikado; that he, like the rest of the Kuges, would probably treasureup the insults which were freely showered on his master, with a viewto future vengeance.
Thanks to the uncompromising tactics of the despot, the reigningMikado (there were three in exile) was a boy, a _roi faineant_, apuppet; but he was hedged about with the intangible and mysticattributes of the Mikadoate, and the buffets he received reverberatedalong the line of Kuges into the hearts of the lower class. To possessthe person of the Emperor was doubtless pleasing to the possessor--atrump card--but those who did not possess him felt his thraldombitterly. That his daughter should wed the heir of the all-powerfulHojo was satisfactory and flattering to Nara. So long as the tyrantlived against whom it was hopeless to struggle, he would mask hisgame; but after his death, what then? He was expected to assume thefunctions of chief adviser, and keep the successor straight--was, infact, to tighten the bonds about his master's limbs, for the behoof ofthe execrated family.
This was whimsical--illogically planned--and Hojo a fool for hispains, When he contemplated the folly of the man he hated in hisheart, the grim visage of the cautious Nara was puckered intounaccustomed smiles. The advice he would give in the future--so thewily lord decided--must depend on the attitude of his son-in-law, andbe guided by the course of events for the benefit of the imperialprisoner. In his mind's eye (if Hojo could only have guessed it!) hebeheld with secret exultation the brutish No-Kami sinking lower andlower by sure degrees into debauchery, until the moment should arrivewhen the ruler would become the ruled. And then--and then! Well, timemust show what then. Sufficient for the day is its labour.
Just as a Nimrod of the chase may fly safely over tremendous obstaclesand be undone by a ditch at last, so was it with old Hojo. He salliedforth one day to put down an insignificant riot in never tranquilSatsuma, and received there his quietus. As already related, thefaithful Tomoye died with him, and No-Kami--juvenile, inexperienced,and cruel--was called to reign in his stead. And now, no longerrestrained in the smallest degree by respect for a severe mother orfear of a fiery father, the new despot, surrounded by parasites, gavefree rein to all his vices.
The unaccustomed period of peace came to an abrupt conclusion. Theyoung Mikado having been goaded one day to remonstrate with his newjailor, the latter raised his fan and slapped the august cheek. TheKuges flew to arms to avenge their outraged lord, but No-Kami, withthe aureole of his father's prestige still about him, was too much forthem. The nobles who dwelt in the palace bore but little of the stampof warriors. The astute Nara, whilst hating the young man, saw thatnow, while the aureole remained unfaded, it was not yet the time tostrike. He assumed therefore, with much parade of zeal, the _role_ ofmediator between his master and his son-in-law. At first in vain.
An unorganised band of patriots took the field, who were speedilyrouted and slain; and No-Kami, like the tyrant that he was,ungenerously pursued his advantage. Thanks to Nara's intervention, herefrained from deposing the Mikado; but he made up for this act ofclemency by committing outrageous deeds. Banishment and confiscationwere the order of the day. The estates of those who had dared tounsheath the _katana_ were distributed among the minions of thedespot. All over Japan, those who loved their country heard withgroans of the annihilation of the loyalists, and the pitiful conditionof the Emperors. There was a puppet Mikado at Ki[^y]oto, and a nominalShogun at Kamakura, but they were both under the tutelage of Hojo.
No-Kami, as Nara hoped and expected, flushed with easy victory, anddrunk with blood, resigned himself for a while to luxury, andneglected public business. A horde of rapacious bravos and licensedbandits sucked the lifeblood and paralysed the energies of the people.The weight of taxes, that ever crushes the spirit of the Asiaticpeasant, grew heavier, day by day, until existence became intolerable.How was an end to be put to this nightmare? That was the questionwhich all were fearfully whispering, and to which there seemed nosolution.
No-Kami, if self-indulgent and ruthless, was no zany. He knew that hisposition was to be maintained by fear and a strong hand, and thatenervation meant destruction. Bundles of bamboo, when bound together,will dam a stream, though each separate stem is but a feeble wand. Theinsurrection of effeminate Kuges had been precipitate and foolish. Ifthe whole country were to rise like one man, he would, as he wasaware, be swept like rice chaff into the sea. In the mutual jealousyof the Daimios lay his chief safeguard. While plunging each inseparate discomfort, union at all costs must be prevented. Attempts atconspiracy among the nobles, or at combinations among the lowerclasses, must be frustrated, and to that end he gave strict orders toofficials and tax-collectors to allow of no public meetings. Thepeople were to pay what was demanded of them, humbly and dutifully, asbest they could, but on no account were to be permitted to holdgatherings. Even the great festivals of the year were for a while tobe discontinued.
Over and above these precautions, the tyrant surrounded his personwith a picked body-guard of Samurai, or two-sword men; hedged hisfortress with bristling defences; and recalled his brother, thebrilliant Sampei, from his career of victory abroad.
Urged possibly by a spirit of contrariness, a contempt for the societyof his prisoner and the Kuges--perhaps by a sense of freedom frompersonal danger there--the favourite abode of No-Kami was his castleof Tsu, four days' journey from the capital, over precipitous hills.Here he loved to dwell, surrounded by his brawling warriors;sojourning from time to time, when business called him to Ki[^y]oto,at a small but superb villa, called the Golden House, which stoodsecluded in a park on the outskirts of the sacred city.
The castle of Tsu was one of the strongest in Japan (the outline ofits foundations still remains to attest to its vast area), andcovered, within the square space of the outer moat, sufficient groundto accommodate an army. This outer moat, upon which many a shallopfloated, was wide and deep and sluggish on three sides, masked by aluxuriant crop of lotos; while the fourth wall was washed by arapidly-running river, the Iwatagawa, which a couple of miles awaybrawled into the sea. Out of the water rose a platform of greatstones, with a fringe of gnarled and rusty pines, through which werevisible battlements of earth crowned by a low parapet. At each cornerwas a huge four-storied building, fitted with four wide roofs ofsculptured copper; the walls of whitewashed plaster within frameworksof unpainted wood. Inside this outer defence was a recreation anddrill-ground of sufficient extent to allow of room for jousts andspectators, as well as trees and vegetable gardens, and a village ofwooden huts for soldiery and camp followers. Dwellings of a betterclass were clustered like seashells about the second or inner moat,which enclosed a second wall.
Within the inner square was a space of considerable size, in thecentre of which uprose the castle, a four-sided tower three hundredfeet in height, tapering towards the top. By reason of its many roofsor
verandahs of burnished and sculptured bronze, it seemed more like acluster of many towers, the centre one the loftiest; and a picturesqueobject it was, for owing to the prevalence of earthquakes, all thewalls above the foundation platform were of whitened mud and plaster,enclosed like the corner buildings within frames of timber; while themiddle roof reared its head with overhanging eaves to a sharp point,crowned on the apex by a great fish, fashioned of pure gold.
This fortress was, barring miracle or treachery, justly reputedimpregnable. Both moats were crossed by drawbridges, as an extracaution against surprise. The outer entrance was approached round acorner, so that the gate with its side postern was doubly commandedfrom above. Even if the outer wall were stormed, the inner one frownedon the intruder with manifold engines, while the ground about it couldbe rendered untenable by missiles from the summit of the tower.
A bowshot from the outer moat, westward from the river bank, the townof Tsu, with straggling suburbs, meandered, low and grey, like a longserpent. All Japanese towns are of one colour, walls and roofs alike,of wood unpainted and weatherworn, rendered a shade more silvery byclusters of pale lichen; but Tsu was more monotonously gloomy inaspect than most, by reason of damp and misery. The country closearound, with the exception of two low hills, was flat and sedgy,broken by marshes and shallow rivulets. Away, hazy, melting into blue,could be discerned the encircling peaks of the range, beyond which isKi[^y]oto. Grand mountains these, rugged and austere, with many abeetling crag. Mikuni Yama; Outake San; and away to the south-eastAsama Yama, the majestic chief volcano of Japan.
The town of Tsu differed from others in that it displayed none of thespick-and-span cleanliness for which the land of the Rising Sun is asconspicuous as European Holland. The outlying cottages bore the stampof squalor and ague, standing in oozy sludge. So did the people bearthe brand of sorrow, as, listless and inert, they dragged their heavyfeet. As a poor show of enterprise, a few unripe persimmons, which noone desired to buy, were exposed for sale in the mire; while here andthere a tray of sorrel-like leaves were placed to dry (?)--a plantused for dying blue the cotton which is the common garment of thepeasant. There was none of the briskness and gaiety to be seen thatmake rural Japan so cheery. None of the incessant chatter and laughterand pattering of clogs, the rush-and-tumble of naked brown babies, thewhirr of the silk-looms, the busy hammer of the carpenters.
The houses, wide open to the street, displayed the usual raisedplatform of wood, smoothly planed, covered with matting, with_hibachi_ or firebox in the middle; but there was no brilliant glimpsebeyond of the wonderful toy gardens, with rocks and dwarfed trees andstraying tortoises and gaudy flowers and crickets in tiny cages, whichdistinguish a prosperous village. The paper windows or screens beingalways pushed back in their grooves during the day, a rustic Japanesehousehold of the lower class may be said to live in public; for, tillthe screens are replaced, which they usually are at dusk, there may besaid to be no privacy. You have a free view of goodman or matron inthe bath, or at the toilet, or eating, or sleeping, or at work, andunabashed--with innocence sometimes for only garment--they nod to youpleasantly with a cheerful "Ohayo!" as you pass. Tsu was too degraded,steeped to the lips in grinding poverty, to have energy for work orwashing, much less for the homely ornament of a single lily in apot. Almost entirely nude the men, unkempt and frowsy, lolled andslept--such a marvellous variety of attitudes of sleep a sculptormight find there--while the housewife, thin and sallow, naked to thewaist, fumbled feebly over the weaving of cheap hats, or grass sandalsfor man and horse.
Of course the town could boast of a superior quarter, where, in frontof houses of a better kind, were flapping blue cotton awnings, eachone adorned with the dominant daimio's cognisance. Into one of these,apparently the cleanest and the best, we will enter (first removingour clogs and swords), for what is proceeding within should interestus somewhat.
It is evening. The house-platform is raised on stilts as usual, twofeet above ground, and the first room or ante-chamber is open to thestreet. When we rap with fan on the paper screen beyond, some onecries "Enter," and sliding it aside we find ourselves in a large lowroom, whose ceiling of unpolished cryptomeria is supported by pillarsof cherry. Above the dais or recess of honour at the end, a singlepicture hangs, representing the thirty-three Kwannon; under it is agilt image of Buddha; while the monotony of the one wooden wall (theothers are formed by paper screens running in grooves) is broken by awandering spray of maple foliage, painted in autumn tints.
Everything is scrupulously clean and severely simple. You only becomeaware that this is a superior dwelling, by remarking the fineness ofthe mats. In the centre, round a large _hibachi_ of bronze, filledwith charcoal, a group are huddled close, for the all-pervading dampis chilling to the bones. Two well-known elders of the town arethere--Zembei, and Rokubei his friend--the former talking volubly;while a man of middle age, the master of the house, is listening withdubious frown. His wife, Kennui, sits by, his hand in hers; whileapart in a corner, with eyes as bright as a squirrel's, and flushedcheek, stands their eldest daughter Mine. Her mind--some call her aforward damsel--is disturbed, for, impatient and annoyed, she pushesaside a screen, and clatters off into the back garden, to tease with afinger the darting gold-fish that with mosquitoes reign in a pond.
The frowning man is Koshiu, the most important farmer in these parts,broad-shouldered, grave, and grizzled, whose opinions are of weight inthe province.
Zembei--aged, with face like a walnut--has brought unpleasant news;indeed he has often dropped in of late, and each time his tidings areless agreeable. It is the old story, gruesome and too familiar. Therapacious Hojo needs more money--is always demanding more. But it isquite too bad to worry the men of Tsu, his own home, the poorestdistrict in the Empire. Already the starving population have abandonedhope. In a former life they must have been very wicked, to suffer somuch in this.
After a long pause of dejection, "Maybe my lord knows not of ourwretchedness," suggests the farmer's wife, by way of pouring oil uponthe waters.
"Peace, Kennui!" sighs her spouse. "As well throw stones at the sun,or try to scatter a fog with a fan, as look for humanity from a Hojo!They were ever merciless."
"Too true!" groans Rokubei, the elder. "Thus the matter stands; thoughyou have shown so little interest of late, that perchance I am wastingbreath."
"Ay, that hath he!" chimes in Zembei. "Why is it? You, Koshiu, whosewords were ever of moment, and treated with respect, although fromyour stubborn pride you were never popular, instead of helping us,have been hanging back, content with grumbling complaint. We must actnow, I tell you, and rend the air no more with idle moaning, or elsewe perish all! Gird up your loins, man. Awake! For unless this torrentof greed be stemmed, although less poor than most, you will soon be abeggar like the rest."
"My husband," interrupted Kennui, "is misjudged. He loves the people,and grieves for them, but perceives that resistance is useless--idleremonstrance will but make their plight more pitiful."
"The beetle in combat with the bear!" laughed the farmer drearily."Act, forsooth! All this is idle prate, believe me. What can we do butdie?"
"No idle prate," retorted Zembei. "Listen. By deputation--of which youwould not form one--we humbly prayed and entreated the localcounsellors of my lord:--the leeches--to be more lenient; but theyreplied that they were only tools, exactly performing his bidding.Then, after anxious thought and discussion, gathering together insecret the chiefs of a hundred villages, at peril of our heads, weresolved to draw up and send a solemn petition, signed by all, to mylord's golden dwelling at Ki[^y]oto, imploring justice. Twelve of themost respected elders, chosen from the assembly by lot, undertook thedangerous task. Clad in their grass rain-coats, they sallied forth,and arrived in time at Ki[^y]oto."
"Idiots!" scoffed Koshiu. "Did they pay a long farewell to wives andlittle ones?"
"Arrived at the Golden House, they were received at the gate withblows and contumely."
"What else did they expect?" inquired the fa
rmer--"to be feasted inthe room of honour? Other lords perhaps, dreading public exposure oftheir misdeeds, might, if pushed, hasten to repair a wrong--the Hojosnever; for the Hojos have no shame."
Mine pouted, and rapped the pavement with impatient clog.
"To be sweeping is always to be unjust!" she cried shrilly, from theborder of the pond. "There are good as well as bad in every family."
"Hush, child, hush! Be dutiful!" reproved her mother. "Thou wastbewitched by soft empty speeches and a bold bearing. It was a bad dayfor thee when the lord Sampei came among us!"
"He is good and brave and generous," returned the girl, with burningface, "my lord Sampei!"
Mine cooed out the name that was on every one's lips, with such anexceeding abandonment of tenderness as startled her father intoattention.
"More words less sense!" he remarked testily. "My lord Sampei! whathast thou to do with him or his? My lord Sampei forsooth! Wouldst be aHojo's concubine? Never! I'd see thee dead first."
"The maid speaks not untruly," nodded Rokubei. "Sampei is in allthings, save his name, unlike his brother. Through his mother Masago,the holy Abbess, he has peasant blood in his veins."
"And she," chimed in the girl, "the late lord's concubine, although ofpeasant stock, is worthy to be noble. As good as her son is the AbbessMasago. Cold and severe, no doubt, but just and lovable."
"How the child prates!" cried Madam Koshiu. "The lord Sampei has beenabsent these five years, skull-cracking, and is but just returned.What canst thou know of him? When he sailed, thou wert a little maid,and even than now more foolish."
"From his mother I have heard of him," admitted the blushing girl.
"So this was thy religious fervour, praying so often at the temple!"exclaimed the angry farmer. "Take heed, thou silly wench, or I willpunish thee, and grievously. What! A cur can bark loudly before itsown gate, and I can defend my own. Once for all, no more of the lordSampei, or it will go ill with thee. Banish from thy feather-pate idleworship of thy betters."
The mien of Koshiu was so stern and threatening, that though words ofindignant protest rose to her lips, the girl was silent.
"What if he were prevailed upon to intercede for us?" mused Rokubei."He is as generous as brave--no doubt of that. My lord, after hisbrother's career of victory, could scarce refuse him a favour."
"Five years bring about great changes," growled the farmer. "Fiveyears ago Hojo No-Kami was no worse than others of his rank. You willnever persuade me that aught of good is to be found in a Hojo,legitimate or otherwise. Enough of him. Go on with your story of theelders."
"They were received, as I told you, at the outer gate with blows andcurses. Had they not fled, murder would have been done, for a posse ofsamurai rushed out of the guardhouse, like devils, brandishing pikes.Disconcerted, grieved, and bruised, they returned to their inn toconsult. Was the journey to go for nothing? Were they to return likebeaten dogs, without even seeing my lord? Peradventure face to facewith him something might yet be done, and his hard heart softened bytheir dismal catalogue of woe. They plumed their ruffled feathers,therefore, and lay in wait, and when he rode forth citywards, emergedfrom a clump of trees, and kneeling humbly in the dust, presentedtheir petition. He took it, and, grinding his teeth with eyes aflame,turned savagely to his attendants.
"'Remove these wretches!' he thundered, 'who by persistent insolencehave deserved more than death. By-and-by will I pass judgment on them.Torment shall reward their temerity.'"
A silence of dismay followed the elder's narrative. Koshiu was surelyright--his deep hate justified. It seemed that the existing Hojo wasworse than any of his ancestors--and so young too! What a gloomyfuture for unhappy fatherland! What a sunless roll of years!
"The land is ripe for revolt, if we could find a leader we couldtrust," observed Zembei, who had been nursing his knees in silence."The other lords are weary of the Hojo, but unfortunately jealous ofeach other. If they would bury for a time their private feuds, thingsmight yet come right. He who ventures not within the den, will nevertake the cub."
"There is no trusty leader, except the victorious General, himself aHojo!" added the other elder. "Buddha has forgotten us. The case isbeyond mortal settling. There is left for us nothing but to die."
Here was a dismal and unsatisfactory conclusion to the debate, and itseemed that there was no other, for each with dolorous visage eyed hisneighbour, with nothing more to say.
Mine, tossing off her _geta_ on the garden stones, and springing upwith pretty pink feet upon the matted floor, came forward.
"I am but a girl," she said timidly, "and, my father tells me,foolish. Yet from mouths of fools sometimes come words of wisdom. Youcan die, you say. Is not death the last resource, when all else hasfailed, for escaping from earthly woe? Masago, the dear Abbess, isworshipped for miles around. Prejudiced though you are, you havenought to say but praise of her goodness and her piety. Sampei is herson--nay, I will speak--and who should know a son better than hismother? In your grief you are prone to believe evil, and speak harshand unjust words of him you know not. Seek him out, and implore hisintercession with his brother. Seek out the lady O'Tei--an angel cometo earth. She, the chatelaine, is now at the castle yonder. Entreather help as well, and sure betwixt the two that stony heart shallmelt."
Mine blushed like a tea-rose at finding herself thus boldly haranguinga trio of grizzled pates, and flinging herself down by her mother'sside in sudden bashfulness, buried her hot face in her bosom.
"Buddha is not asleep," observed Madame Koshiu, with conviction, asshe stroked her daughter's head. "Verily the child speaks wisely wordsthat are put into her mouth."
"We will follow her counsel," assented the marvelling Zembei, "for thegods--whose names be praised--are with us. Urged by his brother andhis wife, my lord will surely give us the lives of the devoted elders.We--Rokubei and Zembei--will journey ourselves to Ki[^y]oto, and makeanother effort. Learn, O stubborn Koshiu, a lesson from thy child, whohas given us the counsel that we needed."
The farmer shook his head.
"Cursed be the tree of Hojo, root and branch!" he cried. "Its fruit iscrime, its blossom, wickedness. My lord Sampei and my lord No-Kami arescourges both! Go your ways, and do as you think fit. I tell you yourerrand will be vain."
Was there ever any one so obstinate as this sturdy Koshiu?--a man whocould only rail instead of bestowing help. The two elders were aboutto upbraid him for his mulishness, for they, like others, had naughtbut admiration for Sampei, when, raising his hand, he said,--
"Listen, wife and friends. You deem me supine,--my judgment warped bybias. In this you wrong me. I am ready to lay down my life, if needbe, for the common good, but not to fling it uselessly away. Try yourplan first: go to Ki[^y]oto, and fail; then it shall be my turn. Thearrogance of my lord reached its highest point when, some brief whileago, he smote with his fan the face of the revered one. For that sin,vengeance, if tardy, will be complete some day. The horror that flowedover the land warned him of the danger of his folly, of which,for safety's sake, he will never again be guilty. The Hojos aremerciless--you will gain nothing from them but stripes. Here is myplan. I will gird my loins, and journey alone to the capital, and,biding my time in secret, will, with Heaven's help, thrust a copy ofthe petition into the hand of the Mikado himself, as in a litter hetakes the air. Then will he, grieving for us, demand a publicexplanation from my lord as to why the poorest portion of the countryshould be ground down with such heavy burthens. So will my lord, wearywith much admonishing, be stirred to lighten our backs."
The farmer's wife, hearkening to his decision, groaned and wept, forshe felt that the tyrant, even if he gave way under strong pressure,would seek a victim for his wrath--that one the weakest. The elderssaw the situation in the same light. They did not strive, however, tocombat his resolve, for though their friend would probably besacrificed, themselves would be gainers by his deed. If he chose toimmolate himself, why not? They expressed approval, therefore, noddingtopknots in unison, and, rising, d
eparted to their homes, gossiping inwhispers by the way.
What a relief to know that they had been deceived in Koshiu. 'Twas aboldly-devised scheme that, whereby a peasant was to dare in person toaddress the Holy One. Peradventure he would be cut down by the guardsere he could present the paper. Well, well, time would show; and if,in the people's cause, he perished, his name would go down withblessings to posterity.
His decision was a relief, in other ways, as the two friends agreed,pattering side by side in the quiet of the night. It was vastly heroicon their part, considering what had already been undergone by theother elders, to declare that they would cast themselves in thebreach. If my lord Sampei could be induced to interest himself, theywould be the bearers of his missive to his brother, and so gain creditin the town for wondrous' devotion to the people's cause. Not that forthem there would be real danger (they had made up their minds ofthat), for No-Kami, however ferocious, would surely refrain frommaltreating his brother's messengers. And yet now as they walkedalong, it seemed wise to give up the risk. Caution becomes old men.The independent Koshiu was resolved to make a journey on his ownaccount: clearly there was nothing to be gained by everybody going.They would let him go, for obstinate men will have their way. Allthings considered, themselves having gained credit by proposing to go,would stop at home and do honour, by-and-by, to the escaped elders,when released.
This much satisfactorily settled, they gabbled of other things. Onlyto think of that little Mine being so clear-headed. Verily love workswonders. A comely maid, if unduly ambitious, and warm, to boot, oftemper. How her blood mantled at her father's railing. How undauntedwas her defence of the young General. She must love him much to bestung into bearding, for his sake, her sturdy parent. He must have wonher heart before he sailed, and had long since, no doubt, forgottenher.
A silly wench to look so high. A great General might stoop to pluck aflower as he passed, but, loosely caught, it would speedily fall fromhis breast, and he unwitting of the loss. She certainly was pretty;would develop some day, obstinate and headstrong like her father, intoa shrew. Yes, she was young and fair to look upon at present, and,perhaps, were she so brazen as to cast herself at the young man'sfeet, he might deign to raise her for a moment.
Chattering thus, the cronies parted, each trudging his own way by theglimmer of his paper lantern. Could they have delved into the mind ofthe farmer's daughter, and have seen what was passing there, theywould have had genuine cause for wonder.
Mine, as with frowning brow and dejected step she moved among thestones in the garden, struck her palms impatiently together.
"I cannot bear it, and I will not!" she muttered. "Hard and unjust andnarrow is my father! Of these taunts there shall be an end. I gave myheart to _him_ to trample on, and do not regret the gift. His I am orno one's until death. Each day and hour to hear him and his reviledand vilified, is constant torture. I will leave a home that is not tobe endured, and take refuge for the present with the Abbess."
Mine was a true daughter of Koshiu. Once her mind made up, there wasno further indecision. Wrapping a mantle around her, she moved ontiptoe to where her three brothers slept, and then stealing forth intothe night, closed the shutters behind her.
"Adieu, my darlings, perchance for ever!" she murmured tenderly; "forbetter or for worse the die is cast. He will soon visit the temple tosee the mother whom he loves. If he will have me, I am his, to do withaccording to his pleasure; if not, I will remain to pray for himwithin the temple, in the garb of Buddha's handmaid."
The Curse of Koshiu: A Chronicle of Old Japan Page 2
