Shank's Mare Read online

  Footnote

  * In Japanese these names would be reversed, —Jippensha Ikku, Shigeta Sadakazu, —the family name coming first and the personal name last.

  HIZAKURIGÉ

  Preface to Original Edition

  PREFACE

  " T is not far between the barriers, since fifty-three stages are all our country." Thus wrote Sankoku, the poet, and I have heard that it was from this poem that the stages of the Tōkaidō came to be fixed at fifty-three.

  Again, it is the song of the carriers about the Hakoné hills that softens the hearts of the labour-masters, and it is the song of the postboys about the sparrows in the bamboos that awakens pity in the hearts of cut-throats.

  Drinking in the virtue of these songs—along with something else—while turning over the leaves of the road-books on the journey to the capital; —using the staves of the carriers as my pen, and inspired by the music of their cries, here have I written a record of the fifty-three stages of the Tōkaidō.

  You will find many bad jokes and much that is worthless in the book, which is moreover overburdened with many poems where sound and sense conflict. Along with this there is much of the one-night love-traffic of the roads, —in fact there is as great a variety of objects and everything is as mixed together as the goods in the shop of a general dealer.

  This much by way of a preface. Now we will start on our journey.

  BOOK ONE

  BOOK ONE

  HE breeze murmuring through the pines on a beautiful spring day sounds like one singing to the harp of how the pine trees at the gate bring wealth, freedom and happiness. Then truly the highways seem like the hair of the head. Not a single hair is disturbed, —a sign of the glorious times in which we live, when the reputation of our warlike heroes survives only in the pictures of cock-crowing Adzuma; —when our bows and swords—even those made of wood—are hung up as an offering to the god of the thousand swift-brandishing weapons; —when the great exploits of the land rich in harbours, —the deeds of the Golden Age, —seem to pass before our eyes. Now is the time to visit all the celebrated places in the country and fill our heads with what we have seen, so that when we become old and bald we shall have something to talk about over the teacups. Let us accept the invitation of these bosom friends and go with them on their long long journey. Let us join this dissipated Yajirobei and his hanger-on Kitahachi, with their money kept warm in the loin-cloths round their navels; with their light footgear and their many shells of ointment, which will keep their feet from getting sore for thousands of miles; and their cotton robes dappled like the flesh of a clam. Let us go with them through foot-worn Yamato, welcomed by the divine wind that blows from the Grand Shrine of Isé, with the flowers of the capital and the plum-blossoms of Naniwa at the end of our journey.

  Here they are already at Takinawa, which reminds them of the epigram

  We remember we've forgotten

  When we get to Takinawa.

  But they have nothing to forget. Theirs is the easy life of the bachelor. No more than the rats are they required to waste money on rent, and as all the property they have is tied up in a bundle they have no anxiety about that. It is true that they had to make a small offering of rice at the family temple, and besides that pay a hundred coppers to get a travelling permit. Moreover, instead of paying what they owed to the landlord, they had to get their papers to pass the barriers. However, they made some money by selling to a second-hand dealer what they had of value, leaving the rubbish in the house for the next tenant to return thanks for. The stone weight for the pickle tub and the knife for scraping the pots and pans they left next door, and the house opposite got the torn sunshades and the oil jar. Nothing is left, but there is still the difficulty of paying the rice bill and the sake bill. They are very sorry to go away without paying them, but then as the old poem says

  Whether in this life or the next we cheat

  In either case our punishment we'll meet.

  This made them burst into laughter; after which Yajirobei began humming,

  It is not right

  To fly by night

  To escape the dun,

  The Edo dun;

  But what can be done

  Save tuck up your skirts

  And cut and run.

  So get you gone,

  You Edo dun!

  The water is deep and the river wide;

  You can rave all you like on the other side.

  Thus amusing themselves they quickly passed Shinagawa and Suzu-ga-mori, and reached Ōmori.

  At Ōmori straw-plaiting is the great industry and each house sells articles made of it.

  'To get us food please buy our ware'

  The children cry when travellers pass there.

  Then they crossed the Rokugō ferry and went into the Mannenya to have a meal.

  'Good morning,' said the maid.

  'Let us have two trays, please,' said Yaji.

  'I say, Yaji,' said Kita. 'Look at that girl. She used to be as slender as a willow and now she's like a mortar. Somebody's been pounding her. And isn't it strange that all the teahouses on the road should have dried up flowers in the alcoves. Look at that scroll. What is it?'

  'That's carp going up a waterfall,' said Yaji.

  'Is it?' said Kita. 'I thought they were eating vermicelli.'

  'You'd better eat your food instead of talking nonsense,' said Yaji. 'The soup's getting cold.'

  'Halloa!' cried Kita. 'I never knew they'd brought it.'

  They quickly gulped down the beans and rice set before them.

  'Well, we've cleaned up that dish,' said Yaji.

  'Let's go a bit further and have something tasty,' suggested Kita.

  They paid for their meal and were just starting off when they saw a daimyō's procession coming from the opposite direction. The running footmen in front were an old man of sixty and a boy of fourteen or fifteen. Both of them were inn servants.

  'Down, down!' cried one of the footmen. 'Off, those with headgear.'

  'Those with the head covered don't have to squat down, it seems,' said Kita.

  'Why?' asked Yaji.

  'Because he said off with them!' answered Kita.

  'Postboy, hold that horse's mouth,' called out the footman.

  'How's he going to hold the mouth of the horse?' said Kita. 'He-he-he!'

  'That man behind is not bending low enough,' went on the footman.

  'Does he mean me?' asked Yaji. 'Of course I'm not low enough. You couldn't expect it of one who's as tall as Kumonryō on Atago Hill.'

  'Don't make fun of them,' said Kita, 'or you'll get 'em angry.'

  'Look,' said Yaji. 'Aren't those fine fellows? See how regularly their clothes are folded and how they keep in line. I know what they're like. They're like an airing of clothes in Yoshichō.'

  'Halloa!' said Kita. 'Look at the helmets of those fellows with the bows. They look as though their heads were swollen.'

  'And look at the length of their cloaks,' cried Yaji. ' You can see their whatyoumaycallems peeping out.'

  'He's a fine fellow—the lord,' said Kita. ' I expect he's a great man with the maids.'

  'There you go meddling with things you don't know anything about,' replied Yaji. ' You don't suppose people of that sort would stoop so low, do you?'

  'Why not?' said Kita. 'There you are. Look at him. See how erect he is. Come on, we can go on now he's gone.'

  They got up and went on, and at the end of the town met two postboys.

  'Won't you ride, gentlemen,' they cried. 'We're on our way back.'

  'We'll ride if it's cheap,' said Yaji.

  'Just for a tip,' cried the postboys. ' Two hundred coppers.'

  Having settled the price, Yaji and Kita got on the horses and rode along, the horses' bells ringing shan-shan-shan and the horses whinnying hin-hin-hin.

  Then another postboy came past from the opposite direction.

  'Halloa, you beast,' he said. 'You are early.'

  'Go and eat dirt,' replied
the other postboy.

  'Ugh!' replied the first. 'Suck it.'

  The only salutations of these kind of people when they passed each other seemed to be abuse.

  'Here, Iga,' said the postboy of the horse Yaji was riding on, 'that fellow you were drinking with yesterday, that was Bōshū of the upper stage, wasn't it?'

  This kind of people never call each other by their names but only by the name of the provinces they come from.

  'Last night,' said Kita's postboy, as he spat in the road, 'the wife of that chap Bōshū was doing a job for herself outside the master's back door. The noise of it made me feel quite ill. She don't care where she does it, thinks I. I'll go out and give her one; for you see, I'd just had enough to make me feel like giving somebody one. So I lifted up my fist and was just going to give her one when she gives a jump. "Here, what are you doing?" she says. "What am I doing?" I says. "Do you think we're dogs' dirt?" I says, "Shut up," I says, and I give her one."You rascal," she says, and she give me a shove that nearly sent me over, she's that big and strong. "Eh, what's that you're jawing about?" I says, and I give her a slap on the side of the face that sent her up against the stable wall and made her fall down. So I seized hold of her and as she was still jawing I shoved two or three pieces of rice-cake I'd bought for the master's kid into her mouth and while she was munching that I beat her. Then she said she wanted some more and I was feeling round for some and picked up a lump of horsedung by mistake and shoved it into her mouth and made her feel so bad that she got angry with me. So I had to promise at last that I'd give her a pair of clogs. What a bother!'

  While they were amusing themselves by listening to this story they arrived on the outskirts of Kanagawa, and alighting from their horses continued their journey on foot. At Kanagawa the teahouses are all two-storied, with balustrades and flying galleries, giving a view over the sea.

  The teahouse girls were standing at the gates calling, ' Come in and rest. Try our cold dishes heated up again. Cold broiled fish. Try our thick vermicelli. Our macaroni is the biggest. Come in and rest.' Thinking that they would have a little refreshment the two entered one of the teahouses.

  'I say, Kita,' said Yaji, ' look how beautiful it is.'

  'Aha!' said Kita. 'Quite a fine girl. What have they got to eat?'

  After looking round to see what they had, Kitahachi ordered some fish and some sake. The girl wiped her hands on her apron and after warming some mackerel brought it to them with a sake bottle.

  'Sorry to have kept you waiting,' she said.

  'It's sure to taste nice as you've grilled it,' said Yaji.

  But the girl only gave a forced laugh and went out to the front to tout for some more guests.

  'Come in and rest,' she called. 'There's plenty of room at the back.'

  'Of course there is,' said Kita. 'It runs all the way to Awa and Kazusa.'

  Leaving the teahouse they went along joking and talking at the tops of their voices and amusing themselves with one thing and another, till they caught up, at the end of the stage, with a boy of twelve or thirteen who was going to Isé.

  'Please give me a copper, masters,' called the boy.

  'Of course, of course,' said Yaji. 'Where do you come from?'

  'I come from Ōshū,' said the boy.

  'Whereabouts in Ōshū?' asked Kita.

  'It's written on my hat,' said the boy.

  'Chōmatsu, village of Hatayama, district of Shinobu, Ōshū,' read Yaji. 'Hatayama, eh? I've been there. Is Master Yojirōbei in good health?'

  'I don't know anybody called Yojirōbei,' said the boy. 'But Master Yotarō lives next door to us.'

  'Yes, yes,' said Yaji. 'That's him. And there should be an old gentleman named Nontarō living with him.'

  'There is an old man,' said the boy.

  'And Master Yotarō's wife is certainly a woman,' continued Yaji.

  'Yes, Mistress Katsu's a woman,' said the boy. 'Your honour knows all about it.'

  'I don't know how it is now,' said Yaji, 'but at that time the headman of the village was Denzaburō Kumano. His wife ran away after having had a love affair with a horse that her husband kept.'

  'Your honour knows all about it,' said the boy. 'She went off with Master Horser as your honour says.'

  'Wonderful! Wonderful!' cried Kita.

  'Here, boy!' called Yaji. 'Why do you lag behind? Are you tired?'

  'I'm so hungry I don't know what to do,' said the boy.

  'Shall I buy you some rice-cake?' asked Yaji. 'Come along.'

  He bought the boy five or six rice-cakes in great elation.

  'There you are, my boy,' he said. 'You see I know all about your village.'

  Then the companion of the boy, also a lad of some fourteen or fifteen, came running after them.

  'Here, Chōmatsu, Chōmatsu!' he called.

  'Come along,' said Chōmatsu.

  'Give me some rice-cake,' said the boy.

  'Get that man in front to buy you some,' said Chōmatsu. 'All you've got to do is to say "Yes" to everything he asks you about your part of the country.'

  'I'll get him to give me some too,' said the boy. He ran after Yaji and caught him up. 'Please buy me some rice-cake too,' he said.

  'Where do you come from?' asked Yaji, and he looked at the writing on his hat. 'Aha!' he said, 'you are from Ōshū too. Imura, Shimosaka, eh? Look here, is there an old man named Yomosaku in your village?'

  'Buy me the rice-cake first,' said the boy, 'or I shan't play up to you.'

  'Get out,' said Yaji. 'Ha-ha-ha!'

  'He-he-he! He had you that time,' laughed Kita.

  Thus laughing and joking it was not long before they came to Hodogaya, where on both sides of the way the decoys were waiting, with their faces plastered with powder, just as if they were wearing masks, and all with blue aprons of the same pattern. It is said, indeed, that in. ancient times this place was called Katabira.

  Then they heard the lazy voice of a postboy singing:

  Mount Fuji has a cave wherein a horse may shelter;

  Will you not shelter me within your arms' embrace?

  'Stop here, postboy,' called one of the teahouse girls.

  'No, no,' said the postboy. 'Master's going to the Musashiya. But even the horse would stop for the sake of your face.'

  'Hin-hin,' whinnied the horse.

  After him came two or three more travellers.

  'Stop here,' said the girl, seizing hold of one of them.

  'Here, here!' said the traveller. 'You'll twist my arm off.'

  'That won't matter,' said the girl. 'Stop here.'

  'Don't be a fool,' said the traveller. 'If I lost my arm how should I be able to eat?'

  'That would be all the better for us,' said the girl.

  'Don't be troublesome. Let go,' said the man.

  He broke loose from the girl and went on. After him came a travelling priest.

  'Stop here,' said the girl.

  The priest looked at her attentively.

  'No,' he said. 'I think I'll go a little further.'

  After him came a party of countrymen.

  'Stop here,' cried the girl.

  'I don't say we mightn't if it's cheap,' said one of them.

  'Our charge is two hundred coppers each,' said the girl.

  'Oh, oh!' said the countryman. 'We couldn't pay as much as that. We don't mind if the bath's a bit coldish, and we never have the rice-bowl refilled because we never eat more than six or seven cups of rice and soup each. And then for to-morrow's lunch we only want this basket stuffed as full as it will hold. That's all we want. We'll pay a hundred and sixty each.'

  'If that's what you want you'd better go somewhere else,' said the girl.

  'Well, we'll go on if you won't take us,' said the countryman, and they went on.

  Laughing, Yaji and Kita went on till they reached Shina-no-zaka, when they found, to their surprise, that they had already reached the border of Musashi province.

  Already the sun was nearing the western mountai
ns, and as they intended to get as far as Totsuka that night they pushed on quickly.

  'Wait a bit, Kita,' called Yaji. 'I've got something I want to talk to you about. Look here, they're sure to be always bothering us to take a girl at ail the places we stop at. I've got a plan to prevent that. As I'm older than you I'll be the father, and as you're in the twenties you can be the son. Then at every place we stop at we can pretend to be father and son.'

  'That's a good idea,' said Kita. ' It would be just the thing to keep them from bothering us. Must I call you father?'

  'Yes, yes,' said Yaji. 'You must act like a son, you know, and do everything I tell you.'

  'All right,' said Kita. 'But if there's a nice girl you mustn't try and keep her from your son.'

  'Don't talk nonsense,' said Yaji. 'Halloa, here we are at Totsuka. Shall we go to the Sasaya?'

  'Father,' said Kita.

  'What is it?'

  'There are no girls here asking us to walk in.'

  'No more there are,' said Yaji. ' There must be someone of importance stopping here, as all the inns have notices posted up.'

  'That house over there looks all right,' suggested Kita.

  'Here, my girl,' called Yaji. 'Can't you put us up for the night?'

  'There isn't an inn in Totsuka that's not engaged to-night,' replied the girl.

  'Oh lor! ' said Yaji. 'I guessed so.'

  They searched the town but found that all the inns were full up and there was nowhere for them to stop. At last, at the very end of the town, they found an inn which seemed not to have been taken.

  'Can you put us up for the night?' asked Yaji.

  'Two of you, are there?' said the landlord. 'Yes, certainly. All the inns at this stage are taken to-night. Mine's the only one not engaged.'

  'Such a clean place too,' said Yaji. 'I'm surprised they didn't engage this one also.'

  'It's only just been built,' explained the landlord. 'Here, Nabé, where's the hot water?'

  Then a maid came running with hot water and their baggage was taken into a room.

  'Here, Yaji,' cried Kita,—'I mean father—shall I put your sandals with mine?'

  'Yes, and just give my leggings a rub down,' replied Yaji.