Ugetsu Monogatari or Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Routledge Revivals)

by Ueda Akinari

  54 ‘You have deserted your family,’ etc. Nanji ie wo idete, etc.: the orthodox Chinese Confucian point of view. A man who followed the Buddhist religion was thought to forsake home, family, and state - the institutions that the sage emperors, Yao and Shun, represented.

  55 ‘I began, without shrinking from him’ Saigyō iyoyo [I, 5a] osoruru iro mo naku.

  56 Long ago Emporer Honda of our imperial line,’ etc. Kōchō no mukashi Honda no tennō, etc. better known as Ōjin, the 15 th emperor of Japan. Cf. Aston, Nihongi, I, 272-7; and NKBT, vol. 67, pp. 380-9.

  57 ‘Prince Ōsasagi: Ōsazaki, in the wood-block text; Nintoku, 16th in the imperial line.

  58 ‘Had no choice but to ascend the throne’ Yangoto nakute ani no miko mi-kurai ni tsukase tamō: as described in the Nihon shoki, cited above.

  59 Kudara: the Korean kingdom of Paikche. See Aston, Nihongi, I, 261-3; NKBT, vol. 67, pp. 372-6. This marked the traditional beginning of Confucianism in Japan.

  60 ‘I have heard people say,’ etc. Mata Shū no hajime, etc.: cf. de Bary, ed., Sources of Chinese Tradition (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960), p. 111.

  61 ‘Brought peace to the people of the empire’ Tenka no tami wo yasuku [I,5b] su.

  62 ‘But The Book of Mencius, alone, has yet to reach Japan,’ etc. Kano Mōji no sho bakari imada Nihon ni kitarazu, etc.: as found in the 1661 Japanese ed. of Wu tsa tsu, 4, 52a, and also in the Ming printed edition. The passage was deleted from later Japanese reprints of this encyclopedic work. The full text reads, ‘The Japanese value Confucian books and believe in Buddhism. They will pay high prices for all of the Chinese classics, except for The Book of Mencius. They say that ships carrying this book will capsize and sink. How strange this is!’

  63 ‘This is because,’ etc.: Waga kuni wa, etc.: cf. Hōgen monogatari, p. 391.

  64 Verse: cf. the Shih ching, or the Chinese classic of poetry, Waley, trans., The Book of Songs (London: Allen & Unwin, 1937), p. 202.

  65 ‘Ties of blood’ Kotsu niku no ai: metaphor derived from the Chinese classic, Li chi (The Book of Rites).

  66 ‘After the Emperor Toba died,’ etc. Ichi in kamigakure tamaite: cf. Hōgen monogatari, p. 352.

  Toba (1103-56), the 74th sovereign of Japan; reigned 1107-23. After his grandfather's death in 1129, he became in effect the ruler of the nation, though he himself six years earlier had abdicated the throne. Around this time the retired monarch (usually known as the in, or cloistered emperor) held actual power, and the reigning emperor (often but a child) served as a mere figurehead. See Varley, Imperial Restoration, p. 39.

  67 ‘While his body still lay in state,’ etc. Mogari no miya ni mihadae [I, 6a]: mogari no miya, in ancient Japan the place of temporary interment; also known as araki no miya. See Man'yōshū, NKBT, vol. 4, pp. 96-7 (no. 167), and NGSK, p. 34.

  68 ‘Hoisting banners and twanging bows’ Mihata nabikase yuzue furi-tate: cf. Man'yōshū, where ‘banners swayed’ with the sound of ‘the bowstring's clang,’ NKBT, vol. 4, pp. IO8-9 (no. 199); and NGSK, p. 40. The wood-block text reads yusue.

  69 ‘That which lies under heaven is like a holy vessel’ Tenka wa jinki nari: according to the Taoist philosopher, Lao-tzu, a nation is a spiritual entity, and anyone who acts on it may harm it; he who tries to hold on to it may lose it. In politics, to do nothing is often the wisest course. See Wing-tsit Chan, trans., The Way of Lao Tzu (Tao-te ching) (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1963), p. 29.

  70 ‘Takatō, in Matsuyama,’ etc.: the name of the official in Matsuyama at whose house Sutoku was confined; Hōgen monogatari, pp. 393-4.

  71 ‘Meeting no human being’ Mairi-tsukōru mono mo nashi [I, 6b].

  72 ‘The five Mahayana sutras’ Gobu no Daijōgyō: the principle holy books of the Northern branch of Buddhism, as revered especially in the Tendai sect. Sutoku was supposed to have devoted three years to the task of copying them, a feat mentioned in both the Hōgen monogatari and the Gempei seisuiki. See Wilson, Hōgen, pp. 96-7, 157-8.

  73 ‘Desolate, stony shore’ Ariso: see Man'yōshū, NKBT, vol. 4, pp. 100-1 (no. 181), and NGSK, p. 70.

  74 ‘Verse: cf. Hōgen monogatari, p. 394; Wilson, Hōgen, p. 85.

  75 Shōnagon Shinzei: (1106?-59) the popular name for Fujiwara Mich-inori, one of the principal participants in the events of 1156 and 1159-60. He served under five emperors - Toba, Sutoku, Konoe, Goshirakawa, and Nijō - and he was the leader of an influential faction at court. Shinzei urged administrative measures to restore the authority of the throne, and most notably, after Sutoku's revolt in 1156 he recommended that certain of the participants be given capital punishment, in spite of three-century's suspension of such measures. Although the position of shōnagon, or ‘minor counsellor,’ designated a functionary who was only supposed to handle rescripts and memorials on insignificant matters, Shinzei used his closeness to the emperor to gain great power.

  76 ‘Curse’ Juso: in the wood-block text, shuso; found not in Hōgen mono-gatari but in Shiramine-dera engi, another of Akinari's sources. Cf. text in Gunsho ruijū, vol. 15 (Tokyo: Keizai Zasshisha, 1901), p. 644.

  77 ‘Copied the sutras’ Utsushinuru o-kyō naru wo [I, 7a].

  78 ‘Law under which our relationship should have been considered’ Shitashiki wo hakaru beki nori: according to the Chinese law code of the T'ang dynasty (after which Japanese legal institutions of Saigyō’s day had been modelled), persons related to the reigning emperor in the fifth degree or closer might receive lightened punishments for their crimes.

  79 ‘Bad ends’ Madō: literally, ‘the way of Mara,’ an evil deity in India, who murders people, destroys property, assumes monstrous forms, and inspires wicked men.

  80 ‘Cut my finger and wrote an oath in blood’ Yubi wo yaburi chi wo mote gammon wo utsushi: cf. Gempei seisuiki, in Kōchū Nihon bungaku taikei, vol. 15 (Tokyo: Kokumin Tosho, 1927), pp. 275-81, and especially p. 277, where he was said to have cut his tongue. See also Wilson, Hōgen, p. 158.

  81 ‘Sea at Shido’ Shido no umi: Shito in the wood-block text. This is puzzling, because Sutoku had no connections with the town of Shido or the nearby sea. The Shiramine-dera engi, p. 644, however, states that Sutoku placed the sutras in a box ‘to present to the Palace of the Dragon,’ and cast them in the sea at Shiito. Flames then arose from the water, and a youth emerged, performed a dance, and received the sutras. Likely, Shiito was confused with the town of Shido, near Yashima, where the Taira forces met with defeat in 1185.

  82 ‘That is why the Heiji Rising broke out’ Hata Heiji no midare zo idekinuru: as suggested in Hōgen monogatari, p. 394. Heiji is the era name for the period from the 20th day 4th month of 1159 to the IOth day Ist month of 1160.

  83 Nobuyori: Fujiwara Nobuyori (1133-59). He rose to the position of chūnagon or ‘middle counsellor,’ and found favour with Goshirakawa, who himself had abdicated in 1158 and became a cloistered emperor. Shōnagon Shinzei, however, blocked him from advancing further. In 1159 Nobuyori sought the backing of Minamoto Yoshitomo (see note 84) and rose up against Goshirakawa, Shōnagon Shinzei, and their Taira supporters in an unsuccessful revolt known at the Heiji Rising, which Taira Kiyomori (see note 91) put down in 116O. Nobuyori was beheaded by the river bank at Rokujō (see note 94).

  84 Yoshitomo: Minamoto Yoshitomo (1123-60); eldest son of Tameyoshi (see note 85), and the only member of his family who did not support Sutoku's cause in 1156. Rather, he joined the forces that backed Goshirakawa, and he was responsible for the death of his own father and brothers. Later he fell out with Taira Kiyomori and conspired with Fujiwara Nobuyori.

  85 Tameyoshi: Minamoto Tameyoshi (1O96-1156); leader of the Minamoto family and Sutoku's staunchest supporter. He was captured in defence of the Shirakawa Palace (see note 88) and beheaded by his own son, Yoshitomo.

  86 Tametomo: Minamoto Tametomo (1139-70); the youngest of Tameyoshi's sons; famous in popular literature as an archetypal tragic hero. He was renowned for his skill as an archer and for his legendary exploits, which were celebrated in Taki
zawa Bakin's Chinsetsu yumihari-luki.

  87 Tadamasa: Taira Tadamasa (d. 1156); a member of the Taira family who supported Sutoku. He was slain by his own nephew, Kiyomori.

  88 ‘Shirakawa Palace’ Shirakawa no miya: built earlier by the emperor Shirakawa (IO53-1129) and used by Sutoku's supporters as their base.

  89 ‘Mt Nyoigatake’ Nioigamine: a mountain lying between Kyoto and Ōtsu. I have used the modern name.

  90 ‘Yoshitomo's malicious plotting’ Yoshitomo ga kadamashiki tabakari ni [I,7b].

  91 ‘Kiyomori: Taira Kiyomori (1118-81); head of the Taira family. In 1156 he supported Goshirakawa against Sutoku. Later he defeated Minamoto Yoshitomo's forces in 1159-60 and became the most powerful man in the nation. He relegated Goshirakawa to the role of a puppet, and he gave his daughter in marriage to Takakura (the 80th emperor). Antoku (the 81st emperor, see note 118) was his grandson. Kiyomori assumed the traditional prerogatives of the Fujiwara family and the power of the cloistered emperor, but soon after his death his family's fortunes declined.

  92 ‘His own retainer’ Ie no ko: after he and his raggle-taggle band fled east through the winter snows, hoping to regroup and collect a new force.

  93 Uji: southeast of the capital; now the name of a city in Kyoto Prefecture.

  94 ‘River bank at Rokujō’ Rokujō hawara: the traditional execution ground, at the intersection of Rokujō (the sixth east-west street below the imperial palace), and the dry bed of the Kamo River.

  95 ‘Summer of the Oho Era,’ etc. Oho no natsu, etc.: in 1161; actually, Bifukumon'in’s death had taken place late in the previous year.

  96 Chōkan Era: from the 29th day 3rd month of 1163 to the 5th day 6th month of 1165.

  97 Tadamichi: Fujiwara Tadamichi (1O97-1164); son of Tadazane; elder brother of Yorinaga. After his father retired, Tadamichi became the kampaku, or ‘chancellor,’ and the titular head of his family, but during Konoe's reign he and Yorinaga quarrelled over the leadership of the family, and his father made Yorinaga heir. With Lady Bifukumon'in’s assistance, however, Tadamichi won Toba's support, and in 1156 he got rid ofYorinaga. Once more the head of his family, he had his son made kampaku, but at this time the post carried little power.

  Fujiwara Yorinaga (112O-56); also known as aku safu, ‘evil lord of the left,’ and Uji safu, after the place of his residence. Following his and Tadamichi's quarrel over the leadership of their family and which of their respective daughters should be married to Konoe, he supported Sutoku's bid for power in 1156 and persuaded Tameyoshi to join his cause, while Tadamichi similarly urged Kiyomori to support Goshirakawa.

  98 ‘Great king of Evil’ Dai-mad: for this belief and the idea that the war and turmoil of the middle ages stemmed from Sutoku's curse, see the Taiheiki, NKBT, vol. 36, p. 60 (also see note 348).

  99 ‘Entire family and his relatives in high offices’ Ukara yakara koto-gotoku taka- [I, 8a] ki kan'i nu In the wood-block text, kotokotoku.

  100 Shigemori: Taira Shigemori (1138-79); Kiyomori's eldest son. He far exceeded his father in ability and emerged as the most talented leader of his family. A kabuki play, Shigemori kangen, presents him as a representative loyal son who does his best to correct his father's excesses.

  101 ‘Face’ Mi-omote: literally, ‘dragon countenance,’ with Chinese characters of this meaning and the Japanese gloss, mi- (an honourific pre fix) and omote, ‘face,’ used metaphorically for the emperor.

  102 ‘Persimmon-coloured robes’ Koromo wa kaki-iro no: Garments of this colour were worn by several sects of Tantric Buddhists who practiced spells and charms in the mountains.

  103 ‘His highness screeched’ Yobase [I, 8b] tamo.

  104 ‘Signs of the zodiac to revolve once’ Eto ichi-meguri: here meaning not the 60-year cycle but only the twelve signs or branches, listed in Morris, Pillow Book, 11, 204. Saigyō’s visit took place in 1167, and Shige- mori's death occurred in 1179, twelve years later.

  105 Verse: found in Sankashū, p. 233 (no. 1355), as well as in Hōgen monogatari.

  106 ‘Ruler and ruled meet a common fate’ Setsuri mo shuda mo kawaranu mono wo: setsuri, from Sanscrit sudra, the cast of farmers and cultivators. Cf. Hōgen monogatari, p. 348.

  107 ‘Disappeared from sight,’ etc. Kaki-kechitaru gotoku [I, 9a].

  108 ‘The sleep-ending light of the dawn sky’ Ina-no-me no ake yuku sora ni: Ina-no-me no, perhaps meaning ‘the bud of the rice,’ or ‘the eyes of sleep,’ is a pillow-word used with aku, ‘to open,’ as in the Man'yōshū, NKBT, vol. 6, pp. 92-3 (no. 2022). For ake yuku sora, ‘morning sky’ or ‘dawn sky,’ cf. The Tale of Genji, p. 90; and NKBT, vol. 14, p. 196.

  109 ‘Diamond sutra’ Kongōkyō: part of the Daihanyakyō or Kongo hanya paramikyō, which in turn is one of the five Mahayana texts mentioned above (see note 72).

  110 Third year of Jishō: AD 1179. Chishō, in the wood-block text.

  111 Toba: now part of Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.

  112 ‘Temporary capital at Fukuhara’ Fukuhara no kaya no miya: literally, ‘The Palace of Miscanthus,’ established in 1180 in what is now Hyōgo-ku, Kobe, when Kyoto was abandoned to the advancing Minamoto forces. Here Goshirakawa was imprisoned in a tiny wooden cell.

  113 Yoritomo: Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-99); grandson of Tameyoshi and son of Yoshitomo. He was banished to Izu after his father's death, but in 1180 one of Goshirakawa's sons granted him a patent to overthrow Kiyomori. With his younger brother, Yoshitsune, and his cousin, Yosh- inaka, Yoritomo defeated the Taira forces and afterward established the tradition of rule by military families. See Introduction and Varley, Imperial Restoration, pp. 11-12.

  114 Yoshinaka: Minamoto Yoshinaka (1154-84); grandson of Tame yoshi and cousin of Yoritomo. After his father's death in 1156, he was taken to the mountains of Kiso (see note 18), where he grew to manhood. In 1180 he answered the call to arms against Kiyomori, raised troops, and seized Kyoto, forcing the Taira supporters to retreat to the Inland Sea.

  115 ‘The waters of Sanuki, at Shido and Yashima’ Sanuki no umi Shido Yashima: referring to the Inland Sea around the city of Takamatsu, where in the 3rd month of 1185 the Taira forces met with a severe defeat.

  116 ‘Bellies of turtles and fish,’ Kōgyo no hara ni [I, 9b].

  117 Akamagaseki, at Dannoura: now, Shimonoseki, at the extreme southern tip of Honshū.

  118 ‘Infant emperor, Antoku’ Yōshu: (1178-85) 81st emperor of Japan; reigned 1180-85; son of Takakura by a daughter of Kiyomori. After becoming a prisoner of the Minamoto forces, the mother's life was spared, and she became a nun. Her brief meeting with Goshirakawa years later is a poignant episode in the Heike monogatari and the subject of the no play, Ohara gokō.

  119 ‘Spirit festoons’ Nusa: symbolic offerings to the Japanese gods, traditionally made of braided white paper, cotton cloth, or silk.

  2 Chrysanthemum Tryst

  120 ‘Green, green grows the spring willow,’ etc. Sei sei taru haru no yanagi, etc.: cf the Ming tale, ‘Fan Chü-ch'ing chi shu ssu sheng chiao’ (‘Fan Chü-ch'ing’s Eternal Friendship’), in the Ku chin hsiao shuo, trans., John Lyman Bishop. The Colloquial Short Story in China: A study of the San Yen Collections (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1956), pp. 88-103.

  121 ‘Province of Harima in the town of Kako’ Harima no kuni Kako no umaya: now, the city of Kakogawa, in Hyōgo Prefecture, near Suma and Akashi, midway between Kobe and Himeji.

  122 ‘Except for the books that kept him company’ Tomo to suru fumi no [I, IOa] hoka.

  123 ‘In no way less virtuous than that of Mencius’ Mōshi no misao ni yuzurazu: in the wood-block text, yuzurasu. Her legendary devotion to the sage's upbringing and education is described in such Chinese texts as the Lieh nil chuan and the Meng ch'iu.

  124 ‘I find myself in an awkward situation’ Omoigakenu ayamari shi [I, IOb] idete. Ordinary people were not supposed to take in travellers without reporting it to the local authorities.

  125 ‘Fevers are infectious’ Ombyō wa hito wo ayamatsu mono: of. Bishop, Colloquial
, p. 88.

  126 ‘Life and death depend on heavenly fate’ Shi sei mei ari: following the Ku chin hsiao shuo and also echoing a well-known passage in the Confucian Analects. See de Bary, Sources of Chinese Tradition, p. 29.

  127 ‘Emaciated,’ etc. Omote wa ki ni, hadae kuroku yase: of. Bishop, Colloquial, p. 89, ‘yellow and emaciated,’ and Akinari's Japanese source, Intoku taiheiki, I, 35, ‘Amako Tsunahisa risshin no koto,’ where darkness of skin is combined with thinness to describe grave illness.

  128 ‘Boiled it’ Nite [I, 11a].

  129 ‘Charity’ Intoku: a good deed that one performs secretly and with no thought of reward.

  130 Akana: for this surname and most of those that follow, see Intoku taiheiki, I, 37, ‘Tsunehisa Misawa wo tabakaru koto.’

  131 ‘Village of Matsue, in the province of Izumo’ Izumo no kuni Matsue no sato: now the principal city of Shimane Prefecture, in southwestern Honshu, on the Sea of Japan. Lafcadio Hearn once lived here, perhaps partly explaining why he chose to adapt this tale into English. See Introduction.

  132 ‘Military classics’ Heisho: the Chinese writings on the art of war, which young samurai studied; usually given as the Sun-tzu, Wu-tzu, Ssuma fa, Ch'eng liao-tzu, San liieh, Liu t'ao, and T'ang T'ai-tsung Li Wei-kung wen tuL

  133 ‘Tomita Castle’ Tomita no jō-: Tonda, in the Intoku taiheiki: also called Tsukiyama-jo, or ‘Moon Mountain Castle’; near Matsue, in the town of Hirose, district of Nōgi, in Shimane.

  134 Enya Kamonnosuke: (d. 1486) responsible to the Kyōgoku branch of the Sasaki family for preserving law and order in Izumo. See Varley, Ōnin War, pp. 131, 159.

  135 Sasaki Ujitsuna: elder brother of Sasaki Sadayori, who is remembered chiefly for his later efforts to restore the fortunes of Ashikaga Yoshizumi's son and heir, Yoshiharu, in the early 16th century.