al
mist which creates the most beautiful illusions. Some toads are good
spirits,--friends of holy men; and in Japanese art a famous Rishi
called "Gama-Sennin" (Toad Rishi) is usually represented with a white
toad resting upon his shoulder, or squatting beside him. Some toads
are evil goblins, and create phantasms for the purpose of luring men
to destruction. A typical story about a creature of this class will be
found in my "Kott[=o]," entitled "The Story of Chug[=o]r[=o]."

M['e] wa kagami,
Kuchi wa tarai no
Hodo ni aku:
Gama mo k['e]sh[=o] no
Mono to kos[=o] shir['e].

[_The eye of it, widely open, like a (round) mirror; the mouth
of it opening like a wash-basin--by these things you may know
that the Toad is a goblin-thing (or, that the Toad is a toilet
article)._[32]]

[Footnote 32: There are two Japanese words, _kesh[=o]_, which in
_kana_ are written alike and pronounced alike, though represented
by very different Chinese characters. As written in _kana_, the
term _kesh[=o]-no-mono_ may signify either "toilet articles" or "a
monstrous being," "a goblin."]

IV. SHINKIR[=O]

The term _Shinkir[=o]_ is used in the meaning of "mirage," and also as
another name for H[=o]rai, the Elf-land of Far Eastern fable. Various
beings in Japanese myth are credited with power to delude mortals
by creating a mirage of H[=o]rai. In old pictures one may see a toad
represented in the act of exhaling from its mouth a vapor that shapes
the apparition of H[=o]rai.

But the creature especially wont to produce this illusion is the
_Hamaguri_,--a Japanese mollusk much resembling a clam. Opening its
shell, it sends into the air a purplish misty breath; and that mist
takes form and defines, in tints of mother-of-pearl, the luminous
vision of H[=o]rai and the palace of the Dragon-King.

Hamaguri no
Kuchi aku toki ya,
Shinkir[=o]!
Yo ni shirar['e] ken
Tatsu-no-miya-him['e]!

[_When the hamaguri opens its mouth--lo! Shinkir[=o]
appears!... Then all can clearly see the Maiden-Princess of
the Dragon-Palace._]

Shinkir[=o]--
Tatsu no miyako no
Hinagata[33] wo
Shio-hi no oki ni
Misuru hamaguri!

[_Lo! in the offing at ebb-tide, the hamaguri makes visible
the miniature image of Shinkir[=o]--the Dragon-Capital!_]

[Footnote 33: _Hinagata_ means especially "a model," "a miniature
copy," "a drawn plan," etc.]

V. ROKURO-KUBI

The etymological meani