Untitled

140
THE WONDERFUL, CITY OF TOKIO.
ignorant Chinese have claimed the honor, but there is no doubt
upon the subject.
In the reign of the Emperor Tenji(668-672
A. D.), a fan-maker, whose name is unknown, lived in
Tamba to the west of Kioto. He was very poor and had a
wife whose tongue rattled like a pilgrim's clapper. One night
after they retired to rest, a kawa-kori (bat) fluttered into the
room and scared his wife, who said, ?
Get up, you lazy fellow,
and kill that oni. If you fail to do so, the baby will not have a
drop of blood in his body in the morning.'
" As she spoke, the bat fluttered into the lamp and nearly
extinguished it. In another minute the creature was lying dead
upon
the floor.
" At daybreak the woman woke her husband, saying, f
up, get up,
Get
and throw that horrible demon into the street.
I dare not touch it.'
" He obeyed, and, as he took the dead bat in his hand, its
wings opened.
r
r
Wife,' he cried,
been looking for,
I have an idea! This is what we have
a fan that will close up and can be carried
in the sleeve.'
" He procured some Hi-no-ki wood, cut it into twenty-five
slats and tied them together with strings, thus making the first
folding-fan. That is the reason those articles are called
Hi-ogi.
'*
The great lords preferred them to the open fans, and, our
samurai adopted them on account of their being portable, leav-
ing the uchiiua (round fan) to women. This soon became a
custom^ and ever since the folding-fan has been used by men
and the round by ladies."
:f
I have seen a fan made of bronze," said Sallie.
" What
was that for ? "
" A very effective weapon was sometimes fashioned in that