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188 HONDA THE SAMURAI.
or Mount Fuji, and in pure Japanese, Fuji no yama,
or the Mountain of Fuji; while barbarians improperly
write the name Fusi, pronouncing it as if they
were blowing out a candle !
phew There is no
such sound in Japanese. There is neither fuel nor
fudge in the matter, but all who sound the lordly
mountain's name will pronounce it foo-jee.
Even in regard to the meaning of the name, what
two natives, even scholars, are agreed? Have not
tons of " India " ink made in Japan been rubbed,
and rolls of paper been smeared with brush-pens,
and the earth scratched with sticks, and lefthand
palm tickled with deft forefinger uncounted
times, to prove that Fuji means " Not Two,"
" Peerless," " Rich Scholar," and other things, according
to the Chinese characters used ? In reality,
is not the name pre-historic
? Was it not given by
the Aino aborigines long before writing was known
in eastern Japan ? Does it not mean " Mother of
Fire " ?
Like a true Japanese, forgetting for the nonce his
fiery purpose, Honda Jiro had the usual literary tilt
with a passing acquaintance whom he met in the
inn.
They were on the matting, and discussing such
questions with the mountain right before them, the
outdoor picture making, when seen through the open
sliding partition, one of those unframed wall-pictures
which the Japanese call kakS-mono.
Fu-chiu (Central Citj^), at the foot of Fuji (now
called Shidzuoka, or Peaceful Slope), lay in a region
of tea-plantations. Here the great Ive'yasu lived.