16 Shadowings 



One evening, while he was reciting the Sutra, 

 drowsiness overcame him; and he fell asleep 

 leaning upon his kyosoku. 1 Then he dreamed; 

 and in his dream a voice told him that, in order 

 to see Fugen-Bosatsu, he must go to the house 

 of a certain courtesan, known as the " Yujo-no- 

 Choja," 2 who lived in the town of Kanzaki. 

 Immediately upon awakening he resolved to go 

 to Kanzaki ; and, making all possible haste, he 

 reached the town by the evening of the next 

 day. 



When he entered the house of the yujo, he 

 found many persons already there assembled 

 mostly young men of the capital, who had been 

 attracted to Kanzaki by the fame of the woman's 



when that preacher, applying himself to this Dharma- 

 paryaya, forgets, be it but a single word or syllable, then 

 will I mount the white elephant t with six tusks, and show 

 my face to that preacher, and repeat this entire Dharma- 

 parySya." But these promises refer to "the end of 

 time." 



1 The Kyosoku is a kind of padded arm-rest, or arm- 

 stool, upon which the priest leans one arm while reading. 

 The use of such an arm-rest is not confined, however, to 

 the Buddhist clergy. 



2 A yuj5, in old days, was a singing-girl as well as a 

 courtesan. The term " Yujo-no-Choja," in this case, 

 would mean simply " the first (or best) of yujo." 



