338 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



I will not attempt to render this in verse ; approximately it 

 may be Englished as follows : 



Takasago, ye married ones, have sailed now 



From the bay of lone estate, 

 The moon of love has risen with the tide of joy 

 And casts its silver beams upon the waters of your lives. 

 The shadow of Awaji's Island steals across the rippling bay, 

 And now the waters are all enshadowed, e'en to Suminoye — 

 Let peace and joy remain, for ye are one! 



I have endeavored to ingraft the hidden meaning, or imi, into 

 the above. Literally the ode would signify but little to us. The 

 chant being finished, the few friends and relatives now offer their 

 congratulations. In the evening there are a general reception 

 and congratulations and good wishes all around. Among the 

 merchant classes it is customary for the nakodo to take the bride 

 around among her new neighbors the day after the wedding. The 

 costume of both bride and groom at the wedding is ordinary 

 " full dress/' of a somber hue, but it must bear the family crest. 

 Naturally, the details of marriage etiquette differ somewhat ac- 

 cording to the social standing of the contracting parties, but the 

 wedding itself always remains the same. 



An interesting description of a sumptuous marriage and feast 

 is contained in the following story, which also goes to show that 

 the Japanese fox — that wary beast — also takes a keen interest in 

 weddings : 



THE KEVENGE OF THE FOX.* 



About fifty years ago, when the Shogun Tokugawa was at the 

 head of the feudal chiefs, there was a prince in the province of 

 Mikawa, whose prime minister was a man of great renown for 

 his wisdom. This minister had lost his wife in the early years of 

 wedlock, after the birth of a little daughter. The child grew to 

 maidenhood, and often wandered far into the woods that sur- 

 rounded the grounds adjoining the homestead, searching for wild 

 flowers. The thousand sweet odors and the graceful blossoming 

 plants filled her with intense enjoyment. One day she strolled 

 deeper into the odorous shade of the thick forest than was her 

 custom, and discovered a large hole, which she knew was the den 

 of a fox. With childlike whim and thoughtlessness she began to 

 throw little stones into the opening ; but when the shadows of the 

 great trees grew longer and longer, she suddenly remembered 

 that the hour was late, and with a flutter of the heart hastened 

 homeward to her father. 



* Originally translated into German by F. Wanington Eastlake, Ph. D., and read before 

 the Gesellschaft fur Volkerkunde in Ost-Asien. 



