The Yotsuya Kwaidan | Page 4

engaged in the dull routine of bureaucratic office, had a much less dangerous service and etiquette to deal with. In insignificant ease they lived and intrigued in their petty way, under no obligation to take sides in the politics of the truly great. If they fell, it was largely their own fault. Such was the position of those in immediate contact with the working wheels of the Sho[u]gun's Government. The great bugyo[u] (magistrates) were continually shifting. Their court staff was the solid foundation of unyielding precedent in form. The one was a court officer; the others court officers.
Hence the Kwaidan possesses value for the social lesson it conveys. The admittance of a stranger to the ward, his evil bond with the Lady of Tamiya, the previous passion for O'Hana and thereby the entanglement of Kwaiba in the plot; all form a network in which the horror of the story is balanced by the useful lessons to be drawn by the mind of Nippon from its wickedness. Perhaps this belief in the effect of the curse of the suicide acts both in deterring or bringing back the erring husband, and in saving the wife from the extremities of her despair in abandonment. The story of O'Iwa, the belief in her power, to-day has a strong influence on a certain class of the Nipponese mind; especially among the women. If the present writer might have felt momentarily an amused feeling at sight of her worshippers, it was quickly lost at sight of the positive unhappiness expressed in these faces of the abandoned. A visit to the Tamiya Inari is not necessarily either one of idle curiosity or without results. Some exceedingly painful impressions can be brought away in the mind.
It is not entirely in jest therefore that apology is made for the reproduction of the story. It is well in such matters to follow one's predecessors. Moreover, public sentiment is not to be derided nor disregarded. It has a certain title to respect, even when superstition is involved. Hence the statement can be made, that in telling this story of the "Yotsuya Kwaidan" no derogatory motive is involved--to people, class, or person; least of all in reference to the dread Lady of Tamiya.
OMARUDANI--4th July, 1916.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER. PAGE
PROEM 15 I. O'MINO AND DENSUK�� 17 II. KAWAI SAN OF KANDA KU 28 III. TAKAHASHI DAIHACHIRO[U] 35 IV. THE APPEARANCE OF O'IWA SAN 43 V. THE AFFAIR OF THE SHIBA KIRIDO[U]SHI 49 VI. NEGOTIATIONS: THE BUSINESS OF A NAKO[U]DO OR MARRIAGE BROKER 63 VII. I��MON APPEARS 74 VIII. IF OLD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT 86 IX. LOVE KNOTS 93 X. THE PLOT AGAINST O'IWA 99 XI. THE PLOT DEVELOPS 106 XII. KWAIBA'S REVENGE 114 XIII. THE YO[U]TAKA (NIGHT-HAWKS) OF HONJO[U] 123 XIV. THE PUNISHMENT 131 XV. CHO[U]BEI GETS THE NEWS 141 XVI. NEWS REACHES KWAIBA 155 XVII. NEWS OF KWAIBA 162 XVIII. IN THE SHADOW OF THE GO INKYO[U] 173 XIX. TAMIYA YO��MON: WITH NEWS OF KONDO[U] ROKURO[U]BEI AND MYO[U]ZEN THE PRIEST 180 XX. KIBEI DONO 195 XXI. MATTERS ECCLESIASTICAL 212 XXII. THE RITES FOR O'IWA 222 XXIII. THE SANZUGAWA, BRIDGELESS; THE FLOWERLESS ROAD TRAVERSED BY THE DEAD 233 APPENDICES 251
[The pronunciation of the Japanese vowels and consonants follows closely the Italian; in diphthongs and triphthongs each vowel is given full value.
a = a as in father, e = a as in mate, i = e as in meet, o = o as in soap, u = oo as in fool.
g is always hard. In the To[u]kyo[u] district it has the sound ng.
ch has full value, as in church. It is not k; c is only found as ch; i.e. cha, chi, cho, chu.
The vowels also have long (continued) sounds, marked by the accent -.
At times a vowel is elided; or rather but faintly touched by the voice. Thus Suk��shig�� is pronounced Sk��shig��; Suk��naga = Sk��naga; Kuranosuk�� = Kuranosk��. Bu and mu at the end of word lose the vowel sound--Shikibu = Shikib.
Kami used in connection with a man means "lord," Wakasa no Kami = Lord of Wakasa province.
Reprinted from the "Oguri Hangwan."]
(Kami also means "God" or divinized person; including the spirits of the dead. Even a living man can be regarded as a kami, in cases of some very unusual service rendered to the public welfare. Professor Imai recently--at Karuizawa--called attention to the fact that originally kami was written [kami], i.e. "superior." The divine attribute [kami] was introduced with Buddhism.)

PROEM
Reader, pray take not the story of the O'Iwa Inari, the Yotsuya Kwaidan, as a mere fairy tale or novel of the day. The shrine of the Tamiya Inari stands now to attest the truth of the tradition. Let the doubter but witness the faith of the believer in the powers of the fearful lady; and, if doubt still continues to exist, the salutary fear of others