A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

THE
Beside the Sea
I
Buddhist priests had announced that
a Segahi-strvkt, in behalf of all the
drowned folk of Yaidzu, would be held
on the shore at two o'clock in the afternoon.
Yaidzu is an ancient place— (it is mentioned,
under the name of " Yakidzu," in the oldest
chronicles of Japan) ; — and for thousands of
years the fishers of Yaidzu have been regularly
paying their toll of life to the great deep. And
the announcement of the priests reminded me of
something very much older than Buddhism, —
the fancy that the spirits of the drowned move
with the waters forever. According to this
belief, the sea off Yaidzu must be thick with
souls. . . .
Early in the afternoon I went to the shore to
observe preparations ; and 1 found a multitude of
people already there assembled. It was a burn-
255