sat,
and separated from it by a narrow courtyard, was a covered stage,
approached from the greenroom by a long gallery at an angle of
forty-five degrees. Half-a-dozen musicians, clothed in dresses of
ceremony, marched slowly down the gallery, and, having squatted down
on the stage, bowed gravely. The performances then began. There was no
scenery, nor stage appliances; the descriptions of the chorus or of
the actors took their place. The dialogue and choruses are given in a
nasal recitative, accompanied by the mouth-organ, flute, drum, and
other classical instruments, and are utterly unintelligible. The
ancient poetry is full of puns and plays upon words, and it was with
no little difficulty that, with the assistance of a man of letters, I
prepared beforehand the arguments of the different pieces.

The first play was entitled _Hachiman of the Bow_. Hachiman is the
name under which the Emperor Ojin (A.C. 270-312) was deified as the
God of War. He is specially worshipped on account of his miraculous
birth; his mother, the Empress Jingo, having, by the virtue of a magic
stone which she wore at her girdle, borne him in her womb for three
years, during which she made war upon and conquered the Coreans. The
time of the plot is laid in the reign of the Emperor Uda the Second
(A.D. 1275-1289). In the second month of the year pilgrims are
flocking to the temple of Hachiman at Mount Otoko, between Osaka and
Kioto. All this is explained by the chorus. A worshipper steps forth,
sent by the Emperor, and delivers a congratulatory oration upon the
peace and prosperity of the land. The chorus follows in the same
strain: they sing the praises of Hachiman and of the reigning Emperor.
An old man enters, bearing something which appears to be a bow in a
brocade bag. On being asked who he is, the old man answers that he is
an aged servant of the shrine, and that he wishes to present his
mulberry-wood bow to the Emperor; being too humble to draw near to his
Majesty he has waited for this festival, hoping that an opportunity
might present itself. He explains that with this bow, and with certain
arrows made of the Artemisia, the heavenly gods pacified the world. On
being asked to show his bow, he refuses; it is a mystic protector of
the country, which in old days was overshadowed by the mulberry-tree.
The peace which prevails in the land is likened to a calm at sea. The
Emperor is the ship, and his subjects the water. The old man dwells
upon th