Tales of Old Japan - Maybe You Like It

fisherman is so transported with joy, that he fancies himself in heaven,
and wishes to detain the fairy to dwell with him for ever. A song follows
in praise of the scenery and of the Peerless Mountain capped with the
snows of spring. When her dance is concluded, the fairy, wafted away by
the sea-breeze, floats past the pine-grove to Ukishima and Mount
Ashidaka, over Mount Fuji, till she is seen dimly like a cloud in the distant
sky, and vanishes into thin air.
The last of the Nô was The Little Smith, the scene of which is laid in
the reign of the Emperor Ichijô (A.D. 987—1011). A noble of the court
enters, and proclaims himself to be Tachibana Michinari. He has been
commanded by the Emperor, who has seen a dream of good omen on the
previous night, to order a sword of the smith Munéchika of Sanjô. He
calls Munéchika, who comes out, and, after receiving the order, expresses
the difficulty he is in, having at that time no fitting mate to help
him; he cannot forge a blade alone. The excuse is not admitted; the smith
pleads hard to be saved from the shame of a failure. Driven to a compliance,
there is nothing left for it but to appeal to the gods for aid. He
prays to the patron god of his family, Inari Sama. 51 A man suddenly appears,
and calls the smith; this man is the god Inari Sama in disguise. The
smith asks who is his visitor, and how does he know him by name. The
stranger answers, "Thou hast been ordered to make a blade for the Emperor."
"This is passing strange," says the smith. "I received the order but
a moment since; how comest thou to know of it?" "Heaven has a voice
which is heard upon the earth. Walls have ears, and stones tell tales. 52
There are no secrets in the world. The flash of the blade ordered by him
who is above the clouds (the Emperor) is quickly seen. By the grace of
the Emperor the sword shall be quickly made." Here follows the praise
of certain famous blades, and an account of the part they played in history,
with special reference to the sword which forms one of the regalia.
The sword which the Emperor has sent for shall be inferior to none of
these; the smith may set his heart at rest. The smith, awe-struck, expresses
his wonder, and asks again who is addressing him. He is bidden
to go and deck out his anvil, and a supernatural power will help him.
The visitor disappears in a cloud. The smith prepares his anvil, at the
four corners of which he places images of the gods, while above it he
stretches the straw rope and paper pendants hung up in temples to shut
out foul or ill-omened influences. He prays for strength to make the
51.The note at the end of the Story of the Grateful Foxes contains an account of Inari
Sama, and explains how the foxes minister to him.
52.This is a literal translation of a Japanese proverb.
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