[2] More usually written nugi-kakeru, which means either "to take off and
hang up," or "to begin to take off," -- as in the above poem. More loosely,
but more
effectively, the verses might thus be rendered: "Like a woman
slipping off her haori -- that is the appearance of a
butterfly." One must
have seen the Japanese
garment described, to
appreciate the
comparison. The
haori is a silk upper-dress,-- a kind of sleeved cloak,-- worn by both
sexes; but the poem suggests a woman's haori, which is usually of richer
color or material. The sleeves are wide; and the
lining is usually of
brightly-colored silk, often
beautifully variegated. In
taking off the
haori, the
brilliantlining is displayed,-- and at such an
instant the
fluttering
splendor might well be likened to the appearance of a
butterflyin
motion.
[3] The bird-catcher's pole is smeared with bird-lime; and the verses
suggest that the
insect is preventing the man from using his pole, by
persistently getting in the way of it,-- as the birds might take warning
from
seeing the
butterfly limed. Jama suru means "to hinder" or "prevent."
[4] Even while it is resting, the wings of the
butterfly may be seen to
quiver at moments,-- as if the creature were dreaming of flight.
[5] A little poem by Basho, greatest of all Japanese composers of hokku.
The verses are intended to suggest the
joyous feeling of spring-time.
[6] Literally, "a windless day;" but two negatives in Japanese
poetry do
not
necessarily imply an affirmative, as in English. The meaning is, that
although there is no wind, the fluttering
motion of the butterflies
suggests, to the eyes at least, that a strong
breeze is playing.
[7] Alluding to the Buddhist
proverb: Rakkwa eda ni kaerazu; ha-kyo
futatabi terasazu ("The fallen flower returns not to the branch; the broken
mirror never again reflects.") So says the
proverb -- yet it seemed to me
that I saw a fallen flower return to the branch... No: it was only a
butterfly.
[8] Alluding probably to the light fluttering
motion of falling cherry-petals.
[9] That is to say, the grace of their
motion makes one think of the grace
of young girls, daintily costumed, in robes with long fluttering sleeves...
And old Japanese
proverb declares that even a devil is pretty at eighteen:
Oni mo jiu-hachi azami no hana: "Even a devil at eighteen,
flower-of-the-thistle."
[10] Or perhaps the verses might be more
effectively rendered thus: "Happy
together, do you say? Yes -- if we should be reborn as field-butterflies in
some future life: then we might accord!" This poem was
composed by the
celebrated poet Issa, on the occasion of divorcing his wife.
[11] Or, Tare no tama? [Digitizer's note: Hearn's note calls attention to
an
alternativereading of the ideogram for "spirit" or "soul."]
[12] Literally, "Butterfly-pursing heart I wish to have always;' -- i.e.,
I would that I might always be able to find pleasure in simple things, like
a happy child.
[13] An old popular error,-- probably imported from China.
[14] A name suggested by the
resemblance of the larva's artificial
covering to the mino, or straw-raincoat, worn by Japanese peasants. I am
not sure whether the dictionary rendering, "basket-worm," is quite
correct;-- but the larva
commonly called minomushi does really construct
for itself something much like the covering of the basket-worm.
(2) A very large, white radish. "Daikon"
literally means "big root."
[15] Pyrus spectabilis.
[16] An evil spirit.
(3) A common
female name.
MOSQUITOES
(1) Meiji: The period in which Hearn wrote this book. It lasted from 1868
to 1912, and was a time when Japan plunged head-first into Western-style
modernization. By the "fashions and the changes and the disintegrations of
Meiji" Hearn is lamenting that this process of modernization was destroying
some of the good things in
traditional Japanese culture.
ANTS
(1) Cicadas.
[1] An interesting fact in this
connection is that the Japanese word for
ant, ari, is represented by an ideograph formed of the
character for
"
insect" combined with the
character signifying "moral rectitude,"
"propriety" (giri). So the Chinese
characteractually means "The
Propriety-Insect."
End