A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

Songs of Japanese Children 171
give to the parents ten kwan,^ and to the child five kwan,
and to the grandmamma not less than forty-five kwan." —
" With so much money as forty-five kwan, what will you
do ? " — " Cheap rice I will buy, and load it on a boat. The
boat is of silver ; the oar is of gold. . . Saasa ! [' Hearty
now I '] — row hard till we get to the Capital " I
— " What
presents have you brought us on your return from the
Capital ? " — " Firstly, a hair-pin of tortoise-shell. Secondly,
a mirror. Thirdly, a girdle of sarasa." ^ — " Please sew it,
grandmamma." — " Though I thought to sew it, — though
I thought to sew it, it is too short for a girdle ; it is too
long for a tasuki'^-coxA." — "Then I will offer it up as
a bell-rope for the bell of [the temple of] Yakushi* at
Yamada."
" Kozo, kozo
!
(Game-song.')
Ko hitori goshare !
" Dono ko ga hoshikera ?
" Ano ko ga hoshii wa."
" Nani soete yashinau ?
1 One kwan was equal to a thousanci copper-cash in old times. —
Tlie value of the present given to the grandmother reminds one of the
fact that, in a Japanese family, the early training of the children is
usually left to the grandparents, and especially to the grandmother.
2 Sarasa is a kind of calico, or chintz.
3 Tasuki, a cord used to tie baclt the long sleeves of the Japanese
robe, during worl