Song Of Fishermen

(Province of Shimosa,--town of Choshi)

Choshi, a town of some importance, is situated at the mouth of the Tonegawa. It is celebrated for its iwashi-fishery. The iwashi is a fish about the size of the sardine, and is sought chiefly for the sake of its oil. Immense quantities of iwashi are taken off the coast. They are boiled to extract the oil; and the dried residue is sent inland to serve as manure.

Hitotsutose,-- Ichiban bune e tsumi-konde, Kawaguchi oshikomu o-yagoe.

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Futatsutose,-- Futaba no oki kara Togawa made Tsuzuite oshikomu o-yagoe.

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Mitsutose,-- Mina ichido-ni maneki wo age, Kayowase-bune no nigiyakasa

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Yotsutose,-- Yoru-hiru taitemo taki-amaru, San-bai itcho no o-iwashi!

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Itsutsutose,-- Itsu kite mitemo hoshika-ba ni Akima sukima wa sarani nai.

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Mutsutoye,-- Mutsu kara mutsu made kasu-wari ga O-wari ko-wari de te ni oware.

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Nanatsutose,-- Natakaki Tonegawa ichi-men ni Kasu-ya abura wo tsumi-okuru

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Yatsutose,-- Yatebune no okiai wakashu ga, Ban-shuku soroete miya-mairi.

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Kokonotsutose,-- Kono ura mamoru kawa-guchi no Myojin riyaku wo arawasuru.

Kono tai-ryo-bune!

Firstly (or "Number One"),--

The first ship, filled up with fish, squeezes her way through the river-mouth, with a great shouting.

O-yagoe. The chorus-cry or chant of sailors, pulling all together, is called yagoe.

O this ship of great fishing!

Tai-ryo bune, lit.:--"great-fishing," or "great-catching-ship." The adjective refers to the fishing, not to the ship. The real meaning of the refrain is, "this-most-successful-in-fishing of ships."

Secondly,--

From the offing of Futaba even to the Togawa, the ships, fast following, press in, with a great shouting.

O this ship of great fishing!

Perhaps the reference is to a village at the mouth of the river Togawa,--not far from Choshi on the Tonegawa. The two rivers are united by a canal. But the text leaves it uncertain whether river or village is meant.

Thirdly,--

When, all together, we hoist our signal-flags, see how fast the cargo-boats come hurrying!

O this ship of great fishing!

Fourthly,--

Night and day though the boiling be, there is still too much to boil--oh, the heaps of iwashi from the three ships together!

O this ship of great fishing!

Fifthly,--

Whenever you go to look at the place where the dried fish are kept, never do you find any room,--not even a crevice.

O this ship of great fishing!

Hoshika-ba: lit., "the hoshika-place" or "hoshika-room." "Hoshika" is the name given to dried fish prepared for use as fertilizer.

Sixthly,--

From six to six o'clock is cleaning and washing: the great cutting and the small cutting are more than can be done.

O this ship of great fishing!

Seventhly,--

All up and down the famous river Tonegawa we send our loads of oil and fertilizer.

O this ship of great fishing!

Eighthly,--

All the young folk, drawing the Yatai-bune, with ten thousand rejoicings, visit the shrine of the God.

O this ship of great fishing!

Yatai is the name given to the ornamental cars drawn with ropes in a religious procession. Yatai-bune here seems to mean either the model of a boat mounted upon such a car, or a real boat so displayed in a religious procession. I have seen real boats mounted upon festival-cars in a religious procession at Mionoseki.

Ninthly,--

Augustly protecting all this coast, the Deity of the river-mouth shows to us his divine favor.

O this ship of great fishing!

A stranger example of this mnemonic arrangement is furnished by a children's song, composed at least a hundred years ago. Little girls of Yedo used to sing it while playing ball. You can see the same ball-game being played by girls to-day, in almost any quiet street of Tokyo. The ball is kept bounding in a nearly perpendicular line by skilful taps of the hand delivered in time to the measure of a song; and a good player should be able to sing the song through without missing a stroke. If she misses, she must yield the ball to another player. There are many pretty "ball-play songs;" but this old-fashioned and long-forgotten one is a moral curiosity:--

This is the more common form of the game; but there are many other forms. Sometimes two girls play at once with the same ball--striking it alternately as it bounds.

Hitotsu to ya:--

Hito wa ko na hito to iu; On wo shiraneba ko naraji.

Futatsu to ya:--

Fuji yori takaki chichi no on; Tsune-ni omoute wasure-naji.

Mitsu to ya:--

Mizu-umi kaette asashi to wa, Haha no on zo ya omou-beshi.

Yotsu to ya:--

Yoshiya mazushiku kurasu tomo, Sugu-naru michi wo maguru-moji.

Itsutsu to ya:--

Itsumo kokoro no kawaranu wo, Makoto no hito to omou-beshi.

Mutsu to ya:--

Munashiku tsukihi wo kurashi-naba, Nochi no nageki to shirinu-beshi.

Nanatsu to ya:--

Nasaki wa hito no tame narode, Waga mi no tame to omou-beshi.

Yatsu to ya:--

Yaku-nan muryo no wazawai mo Kokoro zen nara nogaru-beshi.

Kokonotsu to ya:--

Kokoro kotoba no sugu-naraba, Kami ya Hotoke mo mamoru-beshi.

To to ya:--

Totoi hito to naru naraba, Koko mono to iwaru-beshi.

This is the first:--

[Only] a person having filial piety is [worthy to be] called a person: If one does not know the goodness of parents, one has not filial piety.

Lit., "A person having filial piety is called a person." The word hito (person), usually indicating either a man or a woman, is often used in the signification of "people" or "Mankind." The full meaning of the sentence is that no unfilial person deserves to be called a human being.

The second:--

Higher than the [mountain] Fuji is the favor of a father: Think of it always;--never forget it.

The third:--

[Compared with a mother's love] the great lake is shallow indeed! [By this saying] the goodness of a mother should be estimated.

The fourth:--

Even though in poverty we have to pass our days, Let us never turn aside from the one straight path.

The fifth:--

The person whose heart never changes with time, A true man or woman that person must be deemed.

The sixth:--

If the time [of the present] be spent in vain, In the time of the future must sorrow be borne.

The seventh:--

That a kindness done is not for the sake of others only, But also for one's own sake, should well be kept in mind.

The eighth:--

Even the sorrow of numberless misfortunes We shall easily escape if the heart be pure.

The ninth:--

If the heart and the speech be kept straight and true, The Gods and the Buddhas will surely guard us well.

The tenth:--

In order to become a person held in honor, As a filial person one must [first] be known.

The reader may think to himself, "How terribly exigent the training that could require the repetition of moral lessons even in a 'ball-play song'!" True,--but it produced perhaps the very sweetest type of woman that this world has ever known.

* * * * *

In some dance-songs the burthen is made by the mere repetition of the last line, or of part of the last line, of each stanza. The following queer ballad exemplifies the practice, and is furthermore remarkable by reason of the curious onomatopoetic choruses introduced at certain passages of the recitative:--