211 



making heavenly music in the air. The priests could see them, 

 but the ordinary people could only hear their music '. 



§ 8. Tomyo-dake, Eumauo Gongen at Nogami, Kwomyoji at 

 Kamakxira and Zenkwoji at ilTagauo. 



Sometimes a mountain peak is called after a dragon-lantern, 

 as e.g. the Tomyo-dake (i)^ 55 ^), or "Light-Peak", in Kawachi 

 province, Ishikawa district (the present Minami Kawachi district), 

 where such a light appeared at Kokidera, a Buddhist temple, the 

 guardian-god of which was the Shinto mountain-deity Iwabune 

 Myojin ^. 



In the last night of the year, at the hour of the ox(l — 3 a.m.), 

 a dragon-lantern used to be seen near the shrine of Kumano 

 Gongen at Nogami village, Suwo province, while at the same 

 time another "sacred light" {shinhwa, f$ ^JC) came flying, swift 

 like an arrow, from the neighbouring "Dragon-mouth Mountain". 

 While worshipping these lights the villagers entered upon the 

 New year ». 



Another' dragon-lantern was said to arise yearly from the sea 

 to the clouds in the vicinity of Kwomyoji (3fe B^ ^)j the "Shrine 

 of Brilliant Light" in Kamakura in two nights during the temple 

 festival which lasted ten days *. And from the lith to the 16th 

 of the 7th month a similar light flew up from the Saikawa, a 

 river in Shinano province, and, jumping from tree top to tree 

 top it alighted on the south-western gable ofthe main building 

 of Zenkwoji, the famous Buddhist sanctuary at Nagano ^. 



§ 9. The light of Yotsukura. 



A celebrated dragon-lantern was that of Yotsukura, a village 

 on the coast of Hitachi province. It is described as a glittering 

 fire ball, fully one shaku in diameter, and spreading a very clear 

 light. Fishermen explained this (as well as all other so-called 

 dragon-lanterns) to be a mass of flying insects born upon the 

 water, which dispersed and disappeared as soon as they heard 

 people approaching. Therefore they never appeared in storm and 

 rain (because they were afraid of noise). "Sometimes", they said, 

 "these insects cluster into one mass, which is seen hanging on 



1 Yuho meisho ryaku, Ch. V, p. 16. 



2 Ibidem, Ch. IV, p. 59. 



3 Shokoku rijindan, Ch. Ill, Section VI, pp. 928 seq. 



4 Ibidem. 5 Honcho zokugenshi, Ch. Ill, p. 8. 



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