A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

144 Japanese Miscellany
As yet, however, they are not entirely for-
gotten, — partly because many of them are in-
separably connected with games that cannot be
suddenly superseded, — partly because there are
still alive some millions of delightful grandfathers
and grandmothers who never studied under
organ-playing schoolmasters, and who like to
hear the children repeat the ditties of long ago.
But I suppose that after these charming old peo-
ple have been gathered to their ancestors, most of
the songs which they taught will cease to be sung.
Happily the Japanese folklorists have been exert-
ing themselves to preserve such unwritten litera-
ture ; and their labors have enabled me to attempt
the present paper.
Out of a great number of the old-time child-
songs and nonsense-verses, carefully copied and
translated for me, I have endeavored to make a
fairly representative selection, — grouping all the
examples under six subject-titles, in the following
order —
:
I. —
Songs of Weather and Sky.
II. — Songs about Animals.
111.— Miscellaneous Play-Songs.
IV. — Narrative Songs.