The Sympathy of Benten 4 



main) 1 in honor of the Goddess ; vowing at 

 the same time to pass the seventh night in cease- 

 less worship before her shrine. 



Now on the seventh night, the night of his 

 vigil, during the hour when the silence is most 

 deep, he heard at the main gateway of the temple- 

 grounds a voice calling for admittance. Another 

 voice from within answered ; the gate was opened ; 

 and Baishu saw an old man of majestic appear- 

 ance approaching with slow steps. This vener- 

 able person was clad in robes of ceremony ; and 

 he wore upon his snow-white head a black cap 

 (eboshi) of the form indicating high rank. 

 Reaching the little temple of Benten, he knelt 

 down in front of it, as if respectfully awaiting 

 some order. Then the outer door of the temple 

 was opened ; the hanging curtain of bamboo 

 behind it, concealing the inner sanctuary, was 

 rolled half-way up ; and a chigo 2 came forward, 



1 There are many kinds of religious exercises called 

 mairi. The performer of a nanuka-mairi pledges himself 

 to pray at a certain temple every day for seven days in 

 succession. 



2 The term chigo usually means the page of a noble 

 household, especially an Imperial page. The cbigo who 



