=o]ka_ dealing
with fancies too gruesome for Western nerves,--such as that of the
_Obum['e]dori_,--also those treating of merely local tradition.
The subjects chosen represent national rather than provincial
folklore,--old beliefs (mostly of Chinese origin) once prevalent
throughout the country, and often referred to in its popular
literature.

I. KITSUN['E]-BI

The Will-o'-the-wisp is called _kitsun['e]-bi_ ("fox-fire"), because
the goblin-fox was formerly supposed to create it. In old Japanese
pictures it is represented as a tongue of pale red flame, hovering
in darkness, and shedding no radiance upon the surfaces over which it
glides.

To understand some of the following _ky[=o]ka_ on the subject, the
reader should know that certain superstitions about the magical power
of the fox have given rise to several queer folk-sayings,--one of
which relates to marrying a stranger. Formerly a good citizen was
expected to marry within his own community, not outside of it; and the
man who dared to ignore traditional custom in this regard would have
found it difficult to appease the communal indignation. Even to-day
the villager who, after a long absence from his birthplace, returns
with a strange bride, is likely to hear unpleasant things said,--such
as: "_Wakaranai-mono we hippat['e]-kita!... Doko no uma no hon['e] da
ka?_" ("Goodness knows what kind of a thing he has dragged here after
him! Where did he pick up that old horse-bone?") The expression _uma
no hon['e]_, "old horse-bone," requires explanation.

A goblin-fox has the power to assume many shapes; but, for the purpose
of deceiving _men_, he usually takes the form of a pretty woman. When
he wants to create a charming phantom of this kind, he picks up an old
horse-bone or cow-bone, and holds it in his mouth. Presently the bone
becomes luminous; and the figure of a woman defines about it,--the
figure of a courtesan or singing-girl.... So the village query about
the man who marries a strange wife, "What old horse-bone has he picked
up?" signifies really, "What wanton has bewitched him?" It further
implies the suspicion that the stranger may be of outcast blood: a
certain class of women of pleasure having been chiefly recruited, from
ancient time, among the daughters of ['E]ta and other pariah-people.

Hi tomoshit['e]
Kitsun['e] no kwas['e]shi,
Asobim['e][26] wa--
Izuka no uma no
Hon['e] ni ya aruran!

[Footnote 26: _Asobim['e]_, a courtesan: lit.