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wriggling up trom the pitch black Lake of Blood and climbedvigorously in a l ine up the thin, shining spider 's thread. l f hedid not do something soon, the thread would break and hewould fall back down.

So Kandata raised his voice and wai led, "Listen yousinnersl The spider 's thread is minel Who said you couldclimb it? Cet down, get downl"

It was at that very moment. The spider's thread, whichhad held perfectly unti l then, suddenly snapped in the veryplace where Kandata clung to it. Naturally there was noth-ing he could do. In a f lash, he was spinning l ike a too in thewinc. fall ing headlong back into the black abyss.

Arcerwards, only the diminished thread spun by the spi-cier oi paradise remained, glimmenng in the midcle oi thesky ,,vithout moon or stars.

3. Buddha siood by the edge oi the Lorus Pond inParadise and saw everything from siart to f in ish. WhenKancjata had finally fallen back inro rhe Lake oi Blood like asione, he sadly continued his leisurely walk. The unchari-tabie heart ol Kandata, who thought only of his own escapefrom Hell, had leC to his just punishment and he hacj beencasi back into Hell. Yet to Buddha it must have seemeo aterrible fa[e.

The flowers in the Lotus Pond of Paradise, however,showed no concern ior such matters. The lotus f lowers.white as pearls, moved their pelals softly around the ieer oiBuodha, and an indescrrbably sweet fragrance flowed cease-lessly f rom their p ist i ls into the surrounding air . l t wasapproaching midday in Paradise.

1 9 1 8Translated bA Seililvl. Lippit

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I

Never in this world has there been such a man as the CrandLord of Horikawa-and never wil l there be another. Rumorhas it thac before his birth, Daiitoku-ivlyo-o: appeared toher ladyshio, his mother, in a cjream. From birth he was amost extraordinary man. Everytning he did was beyond ourexpectat ions. To ment ion just a few exampies, the gran-deur and bcld design of h is mansion ai Fior ikawa are farbeyond our mediocre conceptions. Some say that his char-acter and ccnducr parallel those oF the Firsi Ernperor or theEmperor Yang of China. But this comparison may well bel ikened to the bl ind man's descr ipt ion oi the elephant. For i twas far from his intention to enjoy a monopoly of all gloryand luxury. He was a man of grear stature who would rathershare pleasures with all the peopie under his rule.

Only so great a ruler could have been able to passunhurt lhrough the nocturnal procession oi spirits in front ofthe lmperiai Palace. Moreover, it was undoubtedly his author-itative command that exorcised the nightly hauntings of thespirit oi the late Minister of the Left from his mansion, thegardens oi which were a famed imitation oi the picturesque

5 Daiitoru-Mvo-o is a deiry with :hreg faces ancl s,x arms who rides a larg?whrte ox.

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scenery oi Shiogama. Indeed, Hor ikawa had such greatin i luence tha t a l l the peop le o l Kyoto , young and o ld ,respected him as highly as if he were a Buddha incarnate.

once on his way home from a prum-brossom exhibit arlhe lmperial couft, one of the bulls pull ing his cart broke awayand injured an old man who happened to be passing by. lt isrumored mat even in such an accident the old man, ciaspinghis hands together in reverence, expressed his gratitude iorhaving been knocked over by the Crand Lord's bull.

Thus his l i fe was fuil of memorabre anecdotes that mightwell be handed down ro posierity. At a certain rmoeriatbanquer he made a gift of thiny white horses. once whenthe construciion work oi the main bridge was snaggeci, heoiiered his favorite boy attendant as a human pil lar ro oro-pitiate the wrath of the god. years ago he had a chinesepriest, who had introduced the medical art oi a celebratedChinese physic ian, lance a carbuncle on his hic. l r is imoos-sible to enumerate ai l such anecdotes. But of a i r these mres,none inspires such overpowering horror as the history oi thehei l screen, which is now among the Lorci 's fami ly t rea-sures. Even the Crand Lord, whose presence oi minci hadnever been shaken, seemed to have been extraordinarilyshocked. Furthermore, his attendants were all fr ighrenedout of their wits. Having served him for more than twentyyears, I hacj never witnessed such a terrif,Ting spectacie.

But beiore te l l ing you the story, I have to te l l yorabout Yoshihide, who made rhe ghostry painr ing of Her i onf h p < r r o o n

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il

Now as for Yoshihide, some people sti l l remember him. Hew a s s u c h a c e l e b r a t e d m a s t e r o f p a i n t i n g t h a t n ocontemporary could equal him. When what I am going torelate happened, he must have been well past his fift iethyear. He was stunted in growth, and was a sinister-lookingold man, al l skin and bone. When he came to the CranoLord's mansion, he would often wear a clove-dyed huntingsult and son cap. He was extremely mean in nature, and hisnot iceably red l ips, unusual ly youthful ior h is age, remindedone oi an uncanny animal- l ike mind. Some said that he haogot his red l ios because of hrs habi t of l ick ing his paintbrush,al though I c ioubt i i th is were t rue. Some slanderous peoplesaid that he was like a monkey in appearance and behavior.and nicknamed him "Saruhide" (monke-v-hide).

This Saruhide had an only daughrer, who was f i r teenyears old, and was serving as a lady's maid at the CranoLord's mansion. Ouite unl ike her father, she was a charm-ing girl and of extraordinary beaury. Having lost her motherin her very ear ly years, she was precoctous, ano more-over, intel l igent and observant beyono her age. Thus shewon lhe gooci graces oi her ladyship, and was a favoritewith the aitendants.

About that t ime, a tame monkey was presented to theLord from the Province of Tanba, west oi Tokyo. The Lord'syoung son, who was at h is most mischievous age, nick_named the animal "Yoshihide."

This name only added to the ridiculousness of the already-comical animal, and everyone in the mansion laughed athim. lf that had been all, things would have fared well withhim. But as i [ was, whenever the monkey cl imbed up thepine-tree in the garden or soi led the mat of the young

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Lord's room, indeed, whatever he did ' they shou[ed his

name and leased him.One day Yoshihide's daughter' Yuzuki' was passing along

the long corridor, carrying in her hand a spray of pink winter

pium biossoms with a note a[tached to it ' when she saw the

monkey running toward her from beyond the sliding door'

He seemed injured and had no desire to climb up the pil lar

with his usual agii iry. ln ail l ikelihood he had sprained one oi

hrs legs. Then whom should she see, but the Young Lord

runnirig aner him swinging a switch in his hand' shouling'"Srop iange:' ine rhiefl Slopl Stopl" At the sight of this' she

hesitated a moment. Jusi then the monke:/ came runnlng

over, and, giving a cry' clung to the bofiom of her skirt '

Suddenly, she couid no longer find it in her heart io resiraln

her piry. Holding the spray of pium blossom tn one hand'

shesr ,vungopentnes leeveofher .mauve-co |orec i robewi ihthe other, and gently took up the monkey'

"l beg your pardon, my lord," she said in a slvee[ volce'

making a respectful bow beiore [he Young Lord' "He is oniy

a beast, please pardon him' my lord'""Why do you prolect h im?" Looking displeased' the

Young Lorci stamped his fee[ nvo or three times' "The rnon-

key is a tangerine thiei, I tell you'i"He is only a beast' my lord," she repeareo'

Then wrth an lnnocent bu[ sad smile' she made so coid

as to say, "To hear the words Yoshihide called out makes

m e q u i t e u p s e t , a s i f m y f a t h e r w e r e b e i n g c h a s t i s e d ' " A tthis remarK, naughty child that he was' he gave in'

"l see," the Young Lord said reluctantly' "Since you piead

for your father's sat<e, t ' tt give him a special pardon'"

Then throwing away his switch, he lurned and went

back toward the sliding door through which he had come'

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l i l

From [hat t ime on the girl and the monkey became fasrfr iends. She t ied a beaut i iu l cr imson r ibbon around theanimal 's neck, and also hung from i t a l i i t le gold bel l thatthe princess had given her. The animal on his part would onno account leave her presence. Once when the girl was laidup with a s l ight cold, the l i t r le monkey sat at her bedside,and with apparent concern, he watched over her, gnawingon his nai is.

After th is t ime, s i range as i t might sound, no one wouldlease the l itt le monkey as theyr used to. On the contrary,lhey all took to petting him. At last e,.,en the Litt le Lordhimsel f came to toss him a persimmon or a chesinut. Oncewhen he caught a samurai in the very act of k icking theanimal, he is said [o have been extremely incenseC. Thisnews reaching his ears, the Lord is saici to have glven gr.a_cious orders that the giri should be brougnr beiore his pres_ence lvith the l itt le monkey in her- arms. With reference tothis incident, he must also have heard how it was that shehad come to make a pet of the animal."You are a good and duti iul daughter-. I am well pleasedwith your conduct," the Lord said, and presented her with ascarlet robe as a reward. The monkey, mimicking her deier_enlial obetsance in expressing her gratitude, raised the robeto his forehead, to the immense amusennent and oleasureof the Lord. lt should be recalled that the Lord took the sirlinto his good graces because he had been impressed wirhher fi l ial piery which led her to make a pet oi the monkey.and not because he was an admirer oi the charms oi thegeni te sex, as rumor had i t . There were some just i f iablegrounds for the rumor, but about these subjects I may havethe opportunit_v of talking in more detaii later on. For now.

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ler, me say only that the Lord was nol a personage to fall inlove wiih such a lowly girl as a painter's daughter, no ma[-ter how charming she was.

Highly honored, the girlwithdrew from the Lord's presence.Being a naturally wise and intell igent girl, she did nothing toincur lhe jealousy of her gossipy fellow maids. On the con-trary, this honor won their favor and populariry for bothherself and the monkey. She was, above ail, received intosuch parricular favor by the princess that she was hardlye'rer found away from the latter's presence and she neverfaiied to share lhe lalter's company in her excursion carriage.

Now setting aside the girl lor the time being, let me tellyou about her father, Yoshihide. Al thougn Yoshihide themonkey came to be loved by everyone, Yoshihide the painterwas as much hared by everyone as before, and they contin-ued to call him "Saruhide" behind his back.

It was not only che residenrs of the manston who felt thisway. The Abbor of Yokawa hated Yoshihide as i i he were ade'ri l . At the mere menlion of his name. he would turn blackwith anger and abhorrence. Some say that this was becauseYoshihide pain[ed a caricalure depicting the Abbot's con-duct. However, lhis was a mere rumor current among Inecommon people and may have had no foundation in fact.Anyhow, he was unpopular with everybociy who knew hirn.lf there were any who did not speak i i l oi him, they wereonly two or lhree of his fellow painters or lhose who knewhis paintings bul knew nothing of his characler.

Really he was not only mean [o look at, but he had suchshocking habits that they made him a repellent nuisance [oal l people. For th is he had no one but himsel f to blame.

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I V

Now let me mention his objectionable habits. He was stingy,harsh, shameless, lazy, and avar ic ious. And worst of a l l , hewas so haughry and arrogant that "his being the greatestpainter in the whole of Japan" was hanging from the tip ofhis nose. lf his arrogance had been limited to painting, hewould not have been so objectionable. But in fact, he wasso conceited that he had a profound contemot for all cus_toms and practices in l i fe.

Here is an eprsode about him told by a man who haobeen uncier his apprenticeship for many years. One day afamous medium in the mansion of a certain lord fell into atrance under the curse of a spirir, and she delivered a hor_rible oracle. Turning a deaf ear lo the oracle, he made acareful sketch oi her ghastly face with brush and ink whichhe found at hand. ln his eyes, the curse by an evi l spir i t mayhave been nothing more than child's play.

This being his narure, he would, in pictur ing a heavenlymaiden, paint the face oi a harlot, and in picturing the godof f i re, the t igure oi a v i l la in. He commit ted many suchsacrilegious acts. When he was brought to task, he declaredwith provoking indirierence: "lt 's ridiculous lor you to saylha[ the gods and Buddhas I have painted should ever beable to punish their painter." This so amazed al l h is appren_tices that many of them took leave oi him immediately infearful anticipation oi terrible consequences. After all, hewas arrogance incarnate who thought himself the greatestman under the sun.

Accordingiy, one can understand how highly he esteemedhimseli as a painter. However, his brushwork and coloringswere so completely different from those of other painterslhat many oi his contemporaries, who were on bad terms

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with him, would speak of h im as a char latan. They claimecithat famous paintings by Kawanari, Kanaoka,6 and othermaster art ists oi the pasl were of such elegance i t wasrumored one could almost smell the delicate fragrance of

[he plum blossoms on moonl i t n ights and hear the court ieron the screen playing his flute. But all paintings by Yoshihidehave lhe reputation of being unpleasanl and uncanny. For

example, take his painting represen[ing the five phases oi

the transmigration of souls which he had painted on lhegale of the Ryugai Temple. lf you pass under the gate late

at night, you can almost hear the s igning and sobbing oi

the celescial maidens. Some say they even smeileci the oiien-

sive odor of the rotting bodies. The crand Lorcj's coun ladies.whose l ikenesses Yoshihide painted a[ [he Lord's commano'all feil i l l as if their souls had left lhem and ciied within three

.vears. Those who disparage his paintings say tha[ all this is

because they are works oi his black an.Yet, as I told you, he was an extremeiy cross-grained

crank, and was boastful of his very perversiry. Once when

the Cranci Lord saici to him, "You seem io have a sirongpartiality for the ugly," he replied, with a grin on his red l ips,"Yes, my Lord. l t is an unaccompl isheC anis i who cannotperceive beauty in ugl iness." Even admit i ing he was Inegreatest painter in rhe whole country, how could he e'rerhave been so presumptuous as to make such a haught-vremark in the presence of the Crand Lord? His aoprenticessecretly nicknamed him "Chira-Eiju" to slancier his arrogance'"Chira-Ei ju ' is , I presume you know, a vainglor ious long-

nosed goblin that f lew over to Japan in olden [imes.However , even Yosh ih ide- th is perverse scoundre l

6 Kudara Kawanari 1782-853) and Koseno Kanacka' ere celecraied catn;-ers oi the early Helan oerloo.

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beyond description-had just one tencjer qualiry showingthat he was not altoge[her lacking in human kindness.

V

Il was that he cared for his only daughter, who was a Lady-in-Waiting, with a love bordering on madness. She was agirl oi very sweet disposition, and devoted to her father. Onthe part oi Yoshihide, increCible as ir may sound, he dotedon his daugnter to the point of infatuat ion, and would lavishmoney uocn her k imono, harrpins, and whatnots for heradcrnment. a l thougn he ne'rer contr ibutei h is t i thes or miteslo any Bucchrsi temple.

But al l h is love for his daughrer was bl ind, and wi ld. Henever gave a thought to finding her. a good husband. Or.the contrarv, i i anyone had attempted to make anlr advanceslo her, he would have hacj no scruples in hiring street ras-cals to waylay him. Even when she was summoned to be achambermaid at the gracious command of the Crand Lord,he was so dispieased that he looked as sour as vinegar evenwhen he was brought beiore the very presence of the CrancLord. The rumor that the Crand Lord, enamored oi the girl 'sbeauty, summoned her to his service in the face of her father'sstrong disacoroval may have originated in the imagination oilhose who were acquainted with such circumstances.

Rumor aside, whal is cenain is that yoshihide, out of hisindulgent love for his daughter, had an irresistible desirelhal she be released from her service. Once when he painteda picture oi a cherub at the Crand Lord's command, hemade a masterful l i fe-sketch of the latter's favorite page.

Highly grar i f ied, rhe Crand Lord said to the painrer,"Yoshihide, I am pleased to grant any request of yours."

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"l f i t p leases your lordship," Yoshihide was audaciousenough to say, "Allow me [o request that my daughter bereleased from your service."

Leaving olher households aside, who else in the worldcould ever have made such a presumptuous request of theCrand Lord of Horikawa with regard to his favorile Lady-in-Waiting, no matter how dearly he may have loved her?With an air of some displeasure, the magnanimous CrandLord remained silent for a while, staring Yoshihide hard inthe face.

"No, lcan' i grant that ," he spat oul , and lef t abrupt ly.There may have been some four or f ive such occasions-Now it seemed to me that each time his Lorciship looked atYoshihide with less favor and with growing coldness in hiseyes. This must have caused his daughter lo worry over nerfather. When she retired lo her room, she was often foundsobbing, bit ing the sleeve oi her kimono. Thereafter rumorspread atl the more that lhe Crand Lord was enamored oithe girl. Some say that the whole history oi the hell screenmay be lraced to her refusal to comply with rhe CrandLord's wishes. However, I do not believe ihat this coulcihave been lrue.

I t seems in our eyes that his Lordship c i ic i not a l low thegiri to be dismissed irom his service because he took pity

on her fami iy c i rcumstances, and he graciously considereCto keep her in his mansion and ler her l ive in ease andcomiort rather than send her back to her cross, obst inaieiather. Undoubtedly he had made a "favorite" of such acharming and sweel-tempered girl. However, it is a far-fetched distortion of fact to altribute all this to the amo-rous mot ives of h is Lordship. No, I dare say that i t is anenl i re iy unfounded l ie.

Be that as it mav, it was at the time when his Lordship

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had come to look upon Yoshihide with considerable disfavorlhat he summoned him to his mansion and commanded himto paint on a screen a picture of Hell.

V I

The hell screen was a consummate work oi art, presentingbefore our eyes a vivid and graphic ponrayal oi the terriblescenes of Hel l .

Firs i of a l l in i ts design, his paint ing of Hel l was qui tedinerent from those of other artists. In a corner of the firstleaf oi the screen on a reduced scale were painted the tenKings of Hei l and their households, whi le al l the resi con_sisted oi terrible flames oi f ire roaring and eddying aroundthe Mountain oi Swords and the Foresi of Lances, lvhich,[oo, seemeC ready to biaze up and meit away into flames.Accordingly, except for the yellow and blue patches of thechinese-designed cosrumes of the infernal officials, wher-ever one might look, all was in blazing flames, black smokeswirl ing around and sparks shooting up l ike burning golddust fanneC in a holocaust oi f ire.

This brushwork alone was sufficient to siartle the humaneye. The cr iminals wr i th ing in agony amidst the consumingHell-f ire were nor l ike those represented in ordinarv pic-tures of Hell. For here in the portrayal of sinners was setforth a whole array oi people in al l walks of l i fe, f romnobles and dignitaries to beggars and ourcasts; courtiersin dignified cour[ dress, coquettish wives of samurai in elabo-rate costumes, priests praying over the rosaries hangingfrom their necks, samurai students on high wooden clogs,girls in gaudy gala dress, fortune-[ellers clad in the robesof Shinto pr iests- there were an endless number of them

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Therein peopie of a l l descr iptrons, tor tured by bul l -headechel l -hounds amidst b lazing f lames and raging smoke' werefleeing in all directions l ike so many aulumn leaves sca[-tered by a blast of wind. There were women, who appearedto be shr ine mediums, wi th their hair caught in forks andtheir l imbs drawn in and bent l ike spiders ' legs. There weremen, evident ly governors, suspended upside down withlheir hearts pierced with halberts. Some were being floggedwith iron rocis. Some were being crushed under l iving rocks-Some were being pecked by weird birds and olhers werehaving their throats torn out by poisonous dragons. Therewere so many var iet ies oi tor ture sui iereC by s inners ofnumerous categor ies.

The mosi outsianciing oi all the horrors, howe\"er, wasan ox-carriage fail ing in mid-air grazing the tops oi thesword trees thal had branches pointed l ike animais' fangs,through which heaps oi bodies of dead souls were spitted.In this carriage, with its bamboo blinds biown upward by rhebiasi oi Heil, a couru lady as gorgeously dressed as an ennpressor a princess was writhing in agony, her black hair sireamingamidst f lames and her white neck ben[ upward. This figureof ihe agonizing court lady in the ox-carriage consumed byflames was the mosi ghosily representation of rhe [housandand one toruures in the burning Hell. The multt iarious hor-rors in the whole piclure were focused on lhis one charac-ter. lt was a masieruork oi such divine inspiration lhat noone could have looked at her without hearing in his ears lheagonized cries of the condemned souls in pandemonium.

lr was for this work, his consuming desire to paint rhispicture, that the terr ib le incidenl occurred. I f i t had notbeen for this event, how could even Yoshihide have suc-ceeied in painting that graphic picture oi the toftures andagonies in Hel l? So he coutd complete the picture, h is l i fe

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had to come to a miserable end. lndeed, it was to this vervHel l in his picture that Yoshihide, the grearest painrer inJapan, had condemned himsei f .

I am afraid that in my hurry to tell you about this strangehell screen, I have reversed the order oi my story. Now mystory wii l return to Yoshihide, who was commanded to paintthe picture of Heil by the Crand Lord.

v t l

For five or six monrhs after that yoshihide devoted himselflo patnttng the picture on the screen without making even asingle courtesy cal l at the mansion. lsn ' t i t s i range that,with all his indulgent love for his daughter, once he took topainring a picture, he had no thought of even seeing her.To borrow the worcis oi his apprentices, he became like aman possessed by a fox. The rumor current at the time hadir that he had been abie to gain fame and reputation becausehe oifered vows to Reynard the god oi Cood Fonune."For posi t ive prooi ," some said, "steai a look at h imwhen he is at work, and you can see the shadv spirits oifoxes thronging all around him."

Once he took up his brush, he forgot everyrhing but hiswork. Night and day he confined himseif ro his studio, hardlycoming out during the day. His absorption in his work wasmost extraordinary when he was painting the hell screen.

Shut up in his studio with the shutters aiways drawn, hewould mix his secret colors, and dressing up his apprenticesin var ious gala costumes or in s imple c lothes, he wouldpaint them with great care.

But ihese singular oddi t ies were usual wi th him. l t woulonol have taken [he hell screen to drive him to such exrreme

hqutq.gqwa

eccentr ic i t ies. Whi le he was working on the paint ing of h is"F ive Phases o i the Transmigra t ion o f Sou ls , " he oncecame across rotting corpses in a streel. Then calmly sitt ingdown in f ront o i the malodorous corpses, f rom which ordi-nary men would have lurned their eyes aside, he madeaccurale sketches, at h is ease, oi the rot t ing faces andl imbs, exact to a s ingle hair . I am afraid that what I havetold you does nol convey lo you a clear idea of his ex-t reme absorp t ion . I canno l , a t th is t ime, te l l you thepanrculars, but I wi l l te l l you some of the notable ins[ances.

Once one of his boy apprentices had been mixing colorswhen he said abrupt ly, "Now lwant lo have a resi . Forsome days I 've had some bad dreams."

"lndeecj, sir?" The apprentice answered formally withoutinter'rupting his work. This was nol unusual with his masier.

"By the way," the artisi said. making a rather modesirecues[, " l want you to s i t at my bedside whi le I 'm rest ing."

"All r ight, sir," the apprentice replied, as he expectecithar i r would be no trouble at a l l , a l thougn he thought i tsirange that his master should worry over his bad dreams.

"Come along with me into my inner room. Even i f anyother apprent ice should come, don' t ler h im come in," themaster ordered hesimringly, sri l l looking worried. His innerroom meant his studio.

On that occasion, as usual , h is studio was closely shutup, dim lights burning as if i t were night. Around the sides oithe room was sel up the screen, on which only the roughsketch was cjone in charcoal. Entering there, the arlist wentto sleep calmly as if he were dead [ired. But he had notbeen asleep hal f an hour when an indescr ibably strangevoice came to the a0prent ice's ears.

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V I I I

At f irst it was oniy a voice. But presentry it began to formdisconnected words rike the moans of a drowning man un-der water. "What?

Do you tell me to come? . . . Where to?. . . Come where? . . . Who is it that says, ,Come

to Hell.Come to the burning Heil. ' whoever is this? who courd ir bebut . . .? "

The apprentice forgot about mixing colors, and took afurt ive look at h is master 's iace. The wrinkleci face haolurnec pale, oozing rarge drops oi perspiration. His mouthwas wice open as if gasping for breath, rvith his soarse teethshowing benveen dry rips. The thing, moving briskry in hismouth as i f oul led by a s;r ing or a wire, was his tonsueDisconnecied words, oi course, came out of h is .noi tn"H'm, i t 's you. lexpecied i t might be you . . Have youcome [o meer me? . . . So, come. Corne to Hel l . In Hei l mvdaughter is waiting for me.

The apprentice was petri i ied with fear, a chirr running arlover his whole frame, as hrs eyes seemed io catch sighl oian obscure, weird phantom coming down close by the screen.He put his hand on yoshihide at once, and with ai l h is miehrtried to shake him out oi rhe clutch of rhe nightmare. Birt,in a [ rance, his master ccnr inued to tark to himserf anowould not wake up. So the aoprentice was bold enough tosplash the water in fhe paiette onto his master,s face." l ' l l be wai t ing for you, so come by this carr iage.Take this carriage to Heil." These worcis, strangled in histhroat, had scarcely come out in the form of a groan whenYoshihide sprang up ail oi a sudden as though he had beensluck with a needle. The evil spirits in his nightmare mustst i l l have been hanging heaviry upon his eyer ids. For amomenr he stared into space with his mouth sti l l wide open.

t l .KULUqUwU

Then returning to himsel f , he ordered cuniy, " l t 's a l l r ighrnow. Go away, wil l you?"

lf the apprentice had made any expostulation, he wouldsureiy have been sharply rebuked. So he hurriedly left hismasler's room. When he came out into lhe outdoor sun-shine, he felt relieved as if he had awakened from his ownnightmare.

But that was not the worst . A month later anotherapprentice was called into his studio. Yoshihide, who hadbeen bi t ing his brush, turned to him and said, " l must askyou to strip yourself bare." As the artisi hacj given this kindoi order once in a whi le, the aporent ice immediately tookoi f h is c lothes.

" l would l ike to see someone bound in chains and so.I 'm sorry, but wil l you do as I tell you for a whiie?" Yoshihidesaid coldly, with a very strange frown on his iace, and with-out any air of being sorry for him. The aocrentice was bynature a young man oi such burly physique that he couidhave wielcied a sword more adroitly than a brush. Never-theless, he was astonished beyonci measure, and in his laterreierence to the occasion, he repeatedly remarked, "Then Iwas afraid that the masier had gone mad and that he wasgoing to k i l l me." Yoshihic ie fe l t impar ienr ar his hesirar ion.Producing i ron chains f rom somewhere, he sprang on hisback, and peremptoriiy wrenching his arms, he bouncj thenntightly. Then he gave a sudden pull at one end oi the chainwith such cruel force that the apprentice was thrown plumoon the floor by the sudden impacr oi the strong pull and theunendurable gr ip of the chain.

4B 49

Hel lScreen

I X

The apprent ice at that t ime rooked just l ike a wine keerolled over on its side. All his l imbs were so cruelly benr anifwisted that he could move nothing but his head. The arrestoi the circularion of his blood under the tension of the chainturned the coior oi h is skin, h is face, chest and l imbs l iv id inno time. However, yoshihide gave no heed to his pain inthe least , and walking about his chained body he mademany sketcnes. lt is quite needless to teil you what dreadiullorture the aoprentice suiiered under the tight bondage.

lf nothing had happened at the moment, his sunerinssmight have continued. Fortunatery-it mignt rather be moieapprooriate to say unionunately-after a while, a slenderundularing sirip of somerhing thar looked like black oil f loweofrom behind a jar piaced in the corner oi the room. At first irmoved siowly l ike some viscous substance, but beiore lone icwas glici ing smoorhly. In rhe end ir f loweci, gleaming, righr-upto the tip of the nose of the apprentice. lvno, overcome withfright, drew in his breath and screameci, "A

snakel A snakel"The aporenrice tord me thar he had fert as if ail the

blood in his body would f reeze at once. The snake wasactually on the point oi touching with irs cold tongue theflesh of his neck inro which the chain was biting. nt thisunexpecieo occurrence, the coid-bioodec yoshihide musihave been s[aftled. Hurriedly casting away his brush, heDenl down, and carching the snake by the tail, he dangledit heaci downward. Suspended, the snake lifted its heaoinocoi led i tsel f around i ts own body, but could nor reachYoshihide's hand.

"Co to hell, you damned snakei you've marred a goodstroke." In exasperation, yoshihide dropped the snake inrothe jar in the corner oi the room, and reluctanrlv undid the

chain that bound the apprent ice's body. But he did norhingmore than to unchain the poor apprent ice wi thout evenofiering a single word of apology or sympathy. For him, hisfailure in that one stroke musi have been a matter of greaterregrel lhan to have his apprent ice bi t ten by the snake.Later I was told that he kept the snake for the expresspurpose of making sketches of it.

From these episodes alone, you wil l be able to form agood idea of Yoshihide's mad and sinister absorpt ion. But inconclusion lel me tell you another story oi how a thirteen tofour teen-year -o ld appren i i ce met w i rh such a dreadfu lexcenence that i t near ly cosi h im his l i ie dur ing the paint ingoi the hell screen. He was a fair-complexioned boy with ag i r l i s h f a c e . O n e n i g h r h e h a p p e n e C t o b e c a l l e d r oYoshihide's room, when in ihe lampl ighc he saw his masierfeeiing a strange bird a piece of raw meai which lay in thepalm oi h is hand. The birc i was the size oi a house cat. l ihaci big, round, amber-colored eyes and ear-shaoed feath-ers jut t ing out f rom both s ides of i ts head, and lookedexiraordinarily l ike a cat.

Y

Yoshihide by nature hatei any externai interierence in what-ever he did. As was the case with the snake. he did no[ le[his apprentices know what he planned to do. Sometimes onhis desk were placed human skulls, anci at other times silver'bowls or lacquered tableware. The surprising things he selout on his desk varied according to what he was painting.Nobody could e,rer f ind out where he kept these things. Forone lhing, such circumsiances must have lenl force to therumor widely ai loat at that t ime [hat he was under the

Heu Screen

divine protection of the creat coddess of Fortune. so whenthe apprent ice caught s ight of the strange creature, hethought that it must aiso be one of the moders for his pic-ture of Heil on the screen, and asked, "What

do you wish,sir?" bowing respectfully before his master."Look'

how tame it is!" the painter said, ricking his redl ips, as i i he had not heard the quest ion."What's

the name of this creature, sir? I 've never seenone like this." with these words, the appreniice stared acthe cat-l ike bird with ears sticking out as i i i t were some-rhing sinister.

"What? Never seen anything l ike this? Thar,s the rrouble

with town-bred forks. They ought to know berter. rr 's a birdcalled a horned owr. A huntsman from Kurama gave it tome a few ciays ago. I assure you there aren't many as tameas this.

So sa-ving, he s lowly raised his hanc and stroked thefeathers on the back oi the horned owr which had justeaten up the fooo. Jusi at that momeni the bird, wi i r r ashr i l l menacing screech, suddenly f lew up i rom the desk,and with the tarons oi both feet outs i rerched pouncedupon the aoprenr ice. At that instant had he not raisedhis s leeve to hide his face, he wourd have been badrvwoundeci . screaming in f r ighr, he t r ied i ranr ical ly to dr iu.away the horned owl. But the bird, taking advantage oihis unguarded moments, cont inued to c l ick i ts beak anopeck at h im. The boy, forgett ing the presence of h is mas_ter, had to run up and down the room in confusion, stand_ing up to defend himsel f , and si t t ing down to dr ive i laway. The bird fo i lowed him crosery and dur ing unguardedmomen[s wourd dart at h is eyes. The f ierce f rapping of i tswlngs evoked uncanny sensar ions, l ike the smel l of ia l lenreaves, the spray oi a waterfal l , or the odor oi soured

5 1

monkey-w ine . The apprent ice fe l t so he lp less tha t thedim oi l l ight looked l ike misty moonl ight , and his master 'svery room an ominous, ghast ly val ley in the depths oi theremole mountains.

However, it was not only the horned owl's attacks thatovenarhelmed the apprentice with terror. What sent the horrorof despair into his hearr was the sighr of Yoshihide. All thiswhile his master had been coolly wa[ching this tragic uproarand had been leisurely sketching, on a piece of paper whichhe had deliberately unrolled, this ghastly scene of the girl ishboy toftured and disfigured by the sinisrer birci. When thepoor boy out of the corner of his eye caught sight of whathis master was doing, a shudder oi deathly horror ran throughhis whole frame, and he expected every moment that hewas going ro be kil led by him.

X I

As a matrer of fact, it was possible that his masier mighthave planned to kil l him. For he had deliberarely called theaporentice that night to carry out his diabolical scheme toset lhe horned owl on the handsome boy and paint h imrunnlng about in [error. So che instant the boy saw what hismasier's design was, he involunhrily hid his face in both ofhis sleeves, and alter a wild, indescribable scream, he col-lapsed at the foot oi the sliding-door in the corner of theroom. Just at that moment, something tumbled down witha loud crash. Then all oi a sudden me horned owl's f lappingof its wings became more violent than ever, and yoshihide.giving a staftled cry, seemed to have risen to his feet. Ter-rif ied out of his wits, the apprentice raised his head to seewhal was the matter. The room had turned oitch dark. and

neu >creen

from the darkness his master's harsh irritated voice call inefor an apprentice fell upon hrs ears.

Presently there was a distant response by one of hisapprentices, who hurriedly came in with a l ight. The sootylight showed that the rushlight-stand had been knockeddown and that a pool of spilt oil had formed on the mats,where the horned owl was found tossing about in pain,f lapping only one of i rs wings. Yoshihide, hal f ra is ing himsel f ,mumbled something understandable to no mortal-and withgood reason. A black snake had coiled irself t ighrly aroundthe body of the horned owl from its neck to its wings. Thisfierce i ight had apparently siarued when rhe apprentice over-lurned the jar as he suddenly crouched, and the horned owrtried to clutch and peck ar the snake rvhich had slid out.The nnro apprentices, exchanging glances in open-mouthedamazement, watched this bizarre scene for a while beforethey bowed humbly to their masier and crept out of theroom. No one knows what became oi the horned owl anothe snake after that.

There were many other instances oi this kind. As I toldyou beiore, it was at the beginning of fall that he was orderedby the Crand Lord to paint the picture oi Hell on the screenFrom then on to the end oi the winter, the aoprentices wereunder constant danger from their master's mysterious behav_ior. Toward the end of the winter yoshihide came to somedeadlock in his work on the screen. He became gloomierthan ever and noticeably harsher in speech. He could makeno progress in the rough sketch, of which he had completedeighty percent. He appeared so dissatisfied rhar he might nothave hesitated even to blot out the rough sketch.

No one could tell what the trouble was with the pictureon the screen. Nei ther did anyone care to f ind out. Theapprent ices, who had learned at b i t ter cost f rom oast

53

expenence, took every possible measure to keep away fromlheir master, as though they were in the same cage wirh aUger or a wolf.

Accordingiy, for the time being there had been no occur_rence worthy oi a speciar mention. At that deserves noriceis that Yoshihide, the obstinare ord man, somehow becameso sirangeiy maudlin that he was sometimes found weepingwhen there was no one near. One day when one of theaoorentices went out into the garden, he founcj his master_,wi th his eyres fu l l o i tears, tooking vacant ly inro the sky,which indicarec rhar spring *ut no-r u rore *iri i . .;."Nri;.ashamed and embarrassed than his masier, the aoprenticecrect away from his presence wirhout savtng a woro. ls rcnor sirange that the arrogant ord man who toor up roadsidec0rpses as moders for hrs sketches shourd weep tike a chirdbecause he courd no[ f ind a suitabie subject to paint on thescrpon?

While Yoshihide was so totally absorbed in painring the .picture on the screen somehow or. othe, hrs daughter- g.aduatybecame so gloomy that it was often evident to us thar shewas trying to hord back he. tears. As she was a modest fair-complexioned girr with a quiet and composed face, she rookedall the more ronery and disconsorate, wirh ner tearrut eylsovershadowed by her heavy eyelashes. At f i rs i var iousguesses were made, such as "She

is always absorbed in herlhoughts, missing her father and morher," "She is love_sick," and so on. However, in the course oi t ime the rumorbegan to spread that the crand Lord was trying to force herlo submit to his desire. From that t ime on, people stopped

Hell Screen

talking about the girl as if they had completely forgottenabout her affair.

I t was just about th is t ime that late one night I waspassing by the corr idor alone when suddenly thJ monkeyYoshihide came bounding up ro me and persistentry puiledme by rhe hem of my skirr. lf I remember rightly, ir *., umild nighr barhed in such meilow moonright as one mighthave felt was raden with the iragrance of sweet prum bris-soms. ln the moonright r courd see the monkey bar ing hiswhite teeth, with wrinkres on the tip of his nose, and scrJam-ing wi ld ly as i f he had gone mad. I fe l t somewhar uncannv.yet even r,rore I was angry at having mv nerv skirr puiled ac,and at i irsi I wantei to give him a kick anci pass by. But onreilection, I thoughr oi the insiance of the samurai who haorncurred the dispreasure of the young Lord by chastising themonkey. Moreover, the monkeyr's behavior suggesteci thatsomethrng out oi the ordinary might have happened. So Iwalked aimlessry for a dozen yards roward the direciion inwhich he pul led me.

I took a turn arounci the corridor anci came as far as theside, which opened onto the broad vista oi rhe pond, whichgleamed a pale white in the darkness beyond the graceiu.branches oi pine. At that momenr my ears were arresredby the sounds oia coniused fight in some near-by room. Arlaround it was as sti lr as a graveyard, and in a iaini l ight tharwas haii moonlight and hari haze, norhing was to be hearobut the spiashing oi the fish. lt was onro this sti l lness tharthe raucous sounds intruded. Inst inct ivery I stopped anowenr siearthiry up to the outside of the sriding-doors readyto deal them a blow if they proved to be noters.

5 5

Akutaqawa

x i l l

The monkey Yoshihide must have been impatient with mya c t i o n s . W h i n i n g a s p i t i i u l l y a s i f h i s n e c k w e r e b e i n gstrangled, he scampered around my legs a couple of t imesand then suddenly bounded up on my shoulders. lnst inc-l ively I turned my head aside to dodge being clawed, whilelhe monkey clung to the sleeve of my robe so as not to slipdown. On the spur oi the moment, I involuntariiy staggeredback a iew steps and bumped against the sliding door. ThenI had not a moment to hesitate. I abruptly threw open thedoor and was aboul to rush into the inner paft oi the roombeyrond the reach of the moonlight. Then to my alarm, mysignt was barred by a young woman who came dashing outof the room as if projected by a spring. ln her impetuosityshe very nearly bumped into me and tumbled down outsidethe room. lcould not te l l why, but she knel t down there andlookeC up into my face, out of breath, shuddering all overas i i she were sti l l seeing something frighriul.

I need not take the trouble to tell you that she wasYoshihide's daughter. But that night she looked so extraor-dinarily attrac[ive that her image was indelibly branded uponmy eyes as if she were a changed being. Her eyes weresparkling brignily, her cheeks in a rosy glow. Her- disheveledskrn and undergarment added to her youthiui b loom anirresistible charm quite unlike her usual innocence. Was thisreaily the pain[er's daughter who was so delicate and mod-est in every way? Support ing mysei f againsi the door, Iwatched the beautiful girl in the moonlight. Then suddenlyaware of the flurried footsteps of a man receding into thecjark, I pointed in their direction and asked, "Who is it?"

The gir l , b i r ing her l ips, only shook her- head si lent ly. Sheappeared to feel deep chagrin.

Hel lScreen

So stooping down, I put my mouth to her earand asked,"Who was it?" in a low voice. But sti l l she shook her headagain and made no answer. With the tips of her eyelashes fultof tears, she was biting her l ips harder than ever.

On account oi my inborn stupidi ty, I can understanonothing but what is as clear as day. So not knowing what [osay, I remained rooted to the spot, as if I were intent onl istening to the thumping of the gir l 's heart . For one thing, Icould not f ind it in my heart to question her any more.

I don' t know how long I wai ted thus. However, shutt ingthe door which I had left open, I looked back toward thegirl who seemed to have recovered a l ictle from her agita-t ion, and as genr ly as possible said to her, "Now go backlo your room."

TroubleC with an uneasiness of mind for having seensome[h ing wh ich I shou ld no I have seen, and fee l ingashamed-of whom I did not know-l began to walk backto where I had come irom. But I had not walked ten siepsbefore somecne behind me timidly pulled me by the hem ofmy skin. In surprise, I looked back. Who do you think it was?

It was the monkey Yoshihide, repeatedly bowing his headlo express his gratitude with his hands on the ground like aman, his goid bel l r inkl ing.

X I V

One day two weeks later, Yoshihide the painter presentedhimself at the Crand Lord's mansion and begged his per-sonal audience. The Lord, to whom access was ordinarilydiff icult, was pleased to grant him an audience, and orderedhim to be immediately brought before his presence, prob-ably because the painter was in the Lord's good graces,

57

although he was a man of humble s ia l ion. The painter, asusual , was wearing a yel low robe anci sof t cap. Wearing amore sul len look than usual , he respectful ly prostrated him-s , p l i i n t h p l n r d ' q n r p q e n . o R r r . a n r i h r r r : i c i n o h i c h p a . i h p" " y . , b . . ' "

said in a hoarse voice:' i v lay i t p lease your Lordsh ip i f l te l l you abou l lhe

picture of Hel l on the screen which you were previouslvn l o r c o r i f n n r r l e r m ^ F ^ ^ ^ ; - t s | r . ^ . , ^ ^ n n l i o r l m r r c o l F f n f h pV r L o J u u L v u r u u r r i l f : L U p d l l l L . l l l d V C d V P l l q ; u l l l y ) t r l l L U L l l L

paini ing night and day, and have very near ly completedthe work. "

"Conpra i r r la r ions ! | am n leased to hear i l . " Howe ' re r ,- " " b '

the Cranci Lorci 's voice Iacked conviciion." N o , m y L o r d . C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s a r e n o i i n o r c i e r ,

"

Yosnihide said, lowering his voice, as i i he v ' rere plagueiwi th c j issat isfact ion. " l t is most ly f in ished, but there is oneth ing I am unab le to pa in t . "

"vVhat! ls there anything you can' i paini?""Yes , my Lord . As a ru le , l canno[ pa in i any th ing bu t

w h a r l h a v e s e e n . O t h e n v i s e , h o w e ' r e r h a r c i l i r 1 r , l a munab le io pa in t to my sa t is fac t ion . Th is amoun[s to thesame thing as my being unable [o painl i t . "

" \ l n ' . r i - h - r v n r r 2 r O f n n ; i n f l - - ] o i l r r n u m O 2 n \ / n t t m i l q . : ' q p ol \ \ r v Y L I I O L y \ J U u r L L v V o i l r L I r L , t , _ V v u r r r u q r I y v u r I r u J L J L v

i t , en?" A scorniul smile creot across ihe Crand Lord's face."Ycu are r ight , my Lord. A few years ago when [here

lvas a big i ire, I coulc see with m-v o\,.vn e-ves a burning heilo i raging f iames. That was why I could paini the pic iure oiF L " ^ / ^ ^ , { ^ ; T , . , ; - - ; - - T F : : m p q V n r r r I n r r i ( L : ^ : - ^ l ^ ^ ^ - ^ , , ^ i ^ . .tne uoo cr lwls i lng _,nrp 15 also acquatnrecwith that p icture."

"How about cr iminals? You haven' t yet seen pr isoners,ha're you?" The Crand Lord lo l lowed with quest ion uponquesi ion as i i he hao not hearci v ' rhal Yoshihide had saic j .

" l ha ' re seen men bound in i ron cha ins . lhave mac iedetai led skelches of those tormenced bv ominous birds. Nor

neLL >creen

would I say that I am not acquainted with cr iminals underlofture, and prisoners . . ." Here yoshihide ga/e an uflcdflr-rygr in. 'Asleep

or awake, they have appeared in my eyesever so of ten. Almost every night and day bul l_headeddemons, horse-headed demons, or three-faced six_armeqdemons harrow and tormenr me, crapping their noiseresshanos and opening their voiceress mourhs. Not those amanxious or unable to paint ."

Yoshihide's words must have been a great surpr ise rothe crand Lord. Aner f ix ing his i r r i rated glare inro yoshihide'sface for a whi le, the Lord soat out, "Then what is i t youcan i painr?" wirh a c i isc ia in iur rook, kni i i ing his e-vecrows.

X V

"l am anxious to painr a nobleman's magni i icenr carr iagefal l ing in mid-air rn the very center oi the screen," yoshihidesaid, anc [hen ior rhe firsi t ime fixed his sharp look iull onthe Lord's iace.

I had once heard lhat when speaking about picrures,the fellow v^rould become as though insane. Cer-tainly therewas some such irightiul look in his e,v,es when he spoke out."Al lo lv

me to desc' ibe the carr iage," rhe painter wenton. " ln ih is vehic le, an eiegant cour i laciy, amidsi ragingf lames, wr i thes in the agony oi pain, wirh her brack-hairhanging loose about her shoulders. Choked with a heavyblack smoke, her iace is turned up toward the roof of thecarriage, with her brow rightly drawn. Around the carriagea score or more of ominous birds fly about, clicking thJirbeaks. . . Oh, how can lever paint such a court lady in fheburning carriage?"

"Hm . . . and? . . . " s i rangely enougn, the Crand Lord

5E 59

Akutaqawa

urged Yoshihide to go on with his talk as i i he were wenpleased.

" l cannot paint i t , " yoshihide said once again as i f in a

trance, his fever ish red l ips t rembl ing. But suddenly hebecame animated and spoke in a bi i lng tone. "please,

myLord, burn a nobleman's carriage beiore my eyes. And ifpossible . . . "

The Crand Lord darkened his face for an instant burlhen suddenly burst into a peal of lauenter."A l l your w ishes sha l l be grunr .d , " rhe Crand Lordoeclared, his voice half-chokeC with his laushrer "There i^no need to ask i i i t can be cione."

His words struck horror into my heart, as i i I felt someprennonition of what was to come. Anyrvay, if almost appearedas i f ihe Crand Lord had been in iecieC wirh yoshihide'smadness. White froth was gathering at the corner of hismoulh, and his eyebrows twitched violenrly."Yes,

I wii l burn a nobleman's carriage." As he paused,his incessant heavy laughter wen[ on. "A charming womanoressed like a court lady shall r ide in rhe carriage. Wrirhingamidst the deadly flames and black smoke, thJ lady in thecarriage wil l die in agony. your suggesrion of f inding such amodel for your picture does you full credit as the greafestpainter in the whole country. I praise you. I praise yo, nigi..,ty."

At the Crand Lord's woros, yoshihicie had rurned pileand had been trying to move his l ips for perhaps a minutewhen he put his hands on the mat ied f loor as i i a l l h ismuscles had relaxed, and said politeiy, "l am most graiefurto you, my Lord," in a voice so low as to be hardly arOint..

This was probably because, with the Crand LorO's words.the horror oi the scheme which he himself had suggestedflashed vividly across his mind. onry this once in ry tire oio tth ink of yoshihide as a pi t i fu l creature.

Hel lScreen

X V I

One night a few days later, according to his promise, thecrand Lord summoned yoshihide to witness rhe burnine ofa nobleman's carriage iight before his eyes. However,

-this

did not take place on the grounds of the crand Lord'smansion of Hor ikawa. l t was burned at h is v i l la in the hi l lysuburbs commonly called the mansion of yukige wher-e hissister had once lived.

This residence had been uninhabi ted for a long r ime,and the spacious gardens had fallen into a siate of diiaoida-tion. ln those days many uncanny rumors were gorng aroundabout the late sister oi the crand Lord. some said thac onmoonless nights her mysterious scarlet-colored skirrs wouldbe seen moving along the corridors without touching thef loor. There is nothing to wonder at in the c i rculai ion orthese rumors, for the whole neighborhood was so loneiyand desolare even in the daytime that after dark even themurmuring of the water running through the gardens acidedal l the more to the dismal gloom, and the herons f ly ingabout in the starl ight might naturally have been tut en io|-ominous birds.

On rhar night ir was pirch dark with no moonlighr. Therushlights showed that the crand Lord, dressed in I briehrgreen garment and a dark violet skift, was seated n.ul. ih.verandah. He was sining cross-legged on a rush mat hemmeowith whire brocade. Before and behind him and at the riehrand left oi him, five or six samurai srood in respectfut anJn-dance upon him. One of them stood out with prominentconspicuousness. A few years before, during rhe'campailnin lhe nonh, he had eaten human flesh to allay his trunger.That gave him such herculean strength that he could tearthe horn of a l ive deer apart. Clad in armor, he stood in full

6 l

t \KuLuquwu

digni ty beneath [he verandah with the t ip oi h is sheatheisword [urned upward. The lur id ghasi l iness oi the scene,turning bright and dark under the l ights which fl ickered inthe night wind, made me wonder whether I was dreamingor awake.

Present ly, a magni i icent carr iage was drawn tnto lhegarden. At i ts commanding appearance in the darkness,wi ih long shafts placed on i ts chassis and i ts gold metal-work and f i t t ings gl i t ter ing l ike so many siars, we fel t a chi i lcome over us, even though i t was scr ing. The inter ior o ilhe carr iage was t ight ly enclosed with blue bl inds, o i whicnthe hems were ennbroidered in rel ie i , so \ ,ve coulc not te i lwhat was inside. Around the carr iage a number oi menials,each with a blazing torch in hand, waiced a: ient iveiy, worry-ing over [he smoke which dr i i ted toward the verandan.Yoshrh ide was on h is knees on the ground fac ing theverandah just in f ront of the Lorcj . DresseC in a cream-coloreC garment and soft cap, he lookeC smal ler and home-l ier than usual , as though he had been siunted uncier theoppressive atmosphere of the starry sky. The man squaltingbehind him, dressed in a s imi lar garment, was presumablyhis apprent ice. As they were some way of f in the dark,e v e n t h e c o l o r s o i t h e i r g a r m e n t s w e r e n o l c l e a r i vdiscernible.

X V I I

The time was very near midnight. Darkness, enveioping thegrove and stream, seemed to l isten silently lo the breathingoi all those present. Meanwhrle the passage oi the gentiewind warted the sooty smeil of the torches toward us. TheCrand Lord had been silently watching fhis extraordinary

Hell Screen

scene for a whi le when he stepped forward and cal leosharply, "Yoshihide. "

Yoshihide seemed to say something in repiy, but whatmy ears could catch sounded like nothing more than a groan."Tonignt

lwi l l set t i re to the carr iage as you wished,, 'the crand Lord said, looking askance at h is at tendants.Then I saw the crand Lord exchange a significant grancewith his artendants. But this might have been onry mylancy.Yoshihide seemed to have raised his head ,.uuir.nrty, Ortdid not say anyrhing.

"There, behold! That is the carriage in which I usuaily

ride. Yoshihide, you know it, do you not? Now accordins toyourwish, lwi l l ser f i re to i t and br ing ro l i fe a blazine hei l cnp : r f h h o f n r a r / n I r /vs , L , , wu,v r L J \ ru r Very e .VeS.

"

The Lord paused once more, and again exchanging sig_nificant looks with his attendants, he proceeded in a oainJotone.

" ln the carr iage is a woman crrminar-bound in chains.lf i t is set aflame, I am sure that she wii l have her fieshroasted anci her bones scorched, and that she wil l writhe indire agony to he. death. No better moder can you have forthe completion of your picture. Do nor miss seeing her snow-white skin burneci and charred. watch closely hei black hairdance up in the infernal sparks ol f ire."

The crand Lord crosed his mouth for rhe third time. r cionot know what came to his mind. Then shaking his shour-ders in silenr raughcer, he said, "The sight wii l be handecdown to posieritv. I wil l also watch it here now. There, raiseihe biinds and let yoshihide see the woman inside."

At his command, one of the menials, holding alof t apine torch in one hand, strode up to the carr iage, andsiretching our his free hand, he quickly raised the blinds.The red blazing l ight from his torch waved wirdrv with a

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crackl ing noise, and sucidenly l i t up the smal l inter ior wi thdazzling brightness, reveaiing a woman cruelly bound in chainson lhe seat. oh, whoever could have mistaken her? Althoughshe was dressed in a gorgeousry embroidered sirken kimonowith a cherry-blossom design, gold hair-pins shining with abr i l l iant g l i t ter in her hair which hung loose abour her shoul-ders, the fact that she was yoshihide's daughter was inunmisiakable e'ridence in her trim, maidenly form, her lovelycharming profi ie oi graceful modesty. I very nearty gave outa cry.

At that moment the samurai who siooc opcosi te meroused himsei i and casi a sharp giance at yosninioe, wirhhrs hand on the hilt oi his s',vord. In amaze.nent. I lookeoioward Yoshihide, who seemed to have been stanlec out cih is wirs. Al though he had been on hrs knees, he insrantrvsorang to his feei , and stretching out his arms. he uncon_sciously attempted to rush toward the carriage.

However, as he was oif in the ciark backgrounc, I couicnor ciiscern his iace ciearly. But thar was the maner oi apassing moment. For all at once, his face which had rurnecsneel-white came vivicily into view through the interveningshadow of rhe night, while his body seemed to have beenlined up into space by some invisible power. Jusi then arthe crand Lord's cornmand, "set f irel" a shower oi torchesihrown in by the meniais bathed the carriage in a irood oilur id l ight and ser i r abiaze in a pi l lar o i raging f lames.

X V I I I

The f i re enveloped the whole chassis rn no' t ime. The instanrthe purple tassels on the roof, fannec by rhe sudden wind,waved upward, volumes of smoke spiraled uo against the

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blackness of the night, and such furious sparks of f ire dancedup in mid-air that the bamboo br inds, the hangings on bornsides, and rhe metal f imings on the roof, Ouisti ig into somany balls of f ire, shor up skyrruard. The bright coi-or of thetongues of the raging fire, which soared up iar into the sky,looked like cerestiar f lames spurting out of the orb of heavenwhich had iailen down to the earth. A momen[ before I haovery nearly cried oul, but now I was so completely stunnedand dumbioundec with mouth agape r courd do nothing butwatch this terrible specracle in a daze. But as for the raiirer-,Yoshihide . . .

St i l l nolv I can remember how the cainter yoshihidelooked at tnat moment. He ariempted to rush roward thecarrage in soi te oi h imserf . But the insianr the f i re blazeouo, he stopced, and with his arms outsiretched as i i mae_netized' he fastened such a sharp gaze uoon rhe burnin-gchassis as to penerrare the raging fl imes and heavy smokewhicn had enveioped the whore carriage. In the frood oil ight thar had barhed his whore body, his ugry wrinkreci facewas broughr into crear view e'ren to the trp of his bearci.

His wide open eyes, his distorted l ips, and the quiveringof his cheeks which consiantrv twitched, ail were raneibreexpressions oi the mixture oi dread, gr-iei, and bewiioer-ment which crowded upon his mind. Neicher a robber- whowas abour to be beheadec nor a heinous cr iminar who wasdraggec berore the judgmen[ seat oi yama courd have worna more painiui or agonized face. At the sight of him, evenrhe samurai oi hercurean streng[h was greaily shocked andrespectfully looked up into lhe Crand Lord's face.

The Crand Lord, however, t ighrly bit ing his l ips, f ixed hisgaze upon the carriage, showing a sinister grin from time tot ime. lnside the carr iage-oh, how could I ever have theheart or courage to convey to you a detaired description oi

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i:uti-t

tit.:t i

rhe girr in the carriage who frashed into mlr sight? Her farr,charming face, which, choked with smoke, fe i l back, andher long al lur ing hair which came loose whi ie she was try ingto shake of i the spreading f i re, as wel l as her beaut i fu lkimono with its cherry-brossom pattern which turned into atambent flame in no time_what a cruel soectacle all thtswas! By and by a gust oi nighr wind blew away the ,rot .toward the other side, and when the sparks of fire sho[ uplike gord dusi above the raging braze, she fainted in sucnconvursive agonies that even the charns whrch bound hermight have burst. Above air others, thrs acrocious ionure otHeil itseif brought into gruesome realiry beiore our. u.ry uy.,senr such a bioodcurdring shudder througn ihe heans oi arrpresent, incluciing the samurai, that our harr siooci cn eno.Then once again we thought thar the mrdnighi wind hadmoaned through the tree-tops. The sound oi the wind hadscarcery passed into the dark sky when somerhing brackboundeci rike a bat wirhout eirhei toucnrng the ground orflying through the arr, and prunged straighr irom the rooi ofIne mansion into the turiousry brazing carnage. Amidsi theburned crimson-racquered rartice *n-i.n was crumbring inpieces' it put its hancis on the warped shourciers of rhe girr,and gave, out of the screens oi black smoKe, a tong andpiercing shriek of intense g.iei rike the tearing oi siik, rhenagain t',vo or lhree si:ccessive screams.. . . . lnvoluntar i ly we gave a unanimous outcry oi s i r rprrse.vtlat was hotciing fasi ro [he ,rlouiJ.r, or rhe ceaci grriwi th the red curtain oi b iazrng f lames benind i t , was themonkey, which went by the nickname of yoshihide at themanston of Horikawa.

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X I X

But it was onry for a iew seconds that the monkey remaineoin our sight. The instant the sparks shot up rike thousands ofshooring srars inro rhe nighr air, rhe giri togerh.;; i i l ;r.monkey sank to the bottom of the whirl ing black smore.After that, in the midst oi the garden, nothing else was tobe seen but the carriage of fire brazing out with a terrificnorse' A piirar oi f ire might have been a more approoriarepnrase io describe the turburent, horrif ic f lames thai shotup into the dark srarry skv.In ironr oi the pirir oi f ire, yoshrhicie stood siir, rooteoro the ground' what a sirange transiiguration he had under-goner A mysterious radiance, a kind orli issiut ..rtury r',f*.0on the wrinkred iace of voshihrde who had been agonizedby the tortures oi he, unrir a minute beiore. His arms werelrghrly crossed on his chest as i i he had forgotten that hewas in the presence of the crand Lord. No ronger- did hiseyes seem to mirror the image of his daughter,I .g;ni..Odeath' His eyes seemed to dii ignr beyono measure in thebeautiiul coior of the flame unO tt.,. form of tfre womanwrithing in her lasi infernal torrures.

The strangeness was not l imired to the ecsiatic trans_porr with which he warched the death agony oi his beioveddaughter. yoshihide ai that ror .n, reveaied somerhins.that was not human,, .some such myster ious digniry as th:King Lion's wrath which you mignt 'see ln your dreams. r tmay nave been our imagination. But in our eyes, even theflocks of nignt birds, whrch, sta.tred ov tire unexpected fire,screeched and clamored around, ,..ruo to i ly shy oi rhesoft cap oi yoshihide. Even the eyes or the souiless birdsseemed to be aware of a mysteritus dignity which shoneover his head like a haio.

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l f even the birds were l ike that, so much more did wequake within, wi th bared brearh, warching Yoshihide closeiyand intently. Our heans were overuhelmed with awe andreverence, as if we were looking up at a newly made Buci-dhist image at its unveii ing ceremony. The fire and smoke ofthe carr iage which had spread al l around with a roar ingsound and Yoshihide who stood capt ivated and petr i f iedthere by the spectacle inspired our horror-stricken hearts,for the moment, with a mysterious awe and solemniry be-yond all description. However', the Crand Lord, harrowed bythe very horror of the scene, appeared pale as though hewere a changed being. Foam gather ing at hrs mouth, hegaspeci l ike a th i rsry animai, grasping the knee oi h is purple-colored skirt t igntly wrth both hancjs.

X X

The recoft of the Crancj Lord's burning of the carriage spreadfar and wide-heaven only knows who stafted it. The firsiand foremost question that would naturally arise in yourmind would be what led the Crand Lord to burn al iveYoshihide's daughter. A varrery of guesses were made aboutthe cause. Most peopie accepted the rumor that his motivevvas lo carry out his vengeance against his thwarted love.But his real underlying intention must have been his designlo chastise and correci ihe perversiry of Yoshihioe, who wasanxrous lo paint [he screen e'ren if i t involved the burning oia magnii icent carriage and the sacrii ice of human life. Thatwas what I heard from the Crand Lord's mouth.

Since Yoshihide was eager enough to paint the screeneven al the very moment he saw his own daughter burnedto death before his e'res. some reviled him as a devil in

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numan shape wh ich fe r t no scrupre about sacr i f i c ing hrsparenral love for the sake of his art. The Abbot of yoiawawas one oi the staunch supporters oi this view, and used tosay Inar no mafter how accomprished one might be in anybranch of learning or art, one wourd have to be condemneoto Hel l , i f one were not endowed with the f ive cardinarvirtues oi Coniucius-benevolence, justice, courtesy, wis_dom and iideliry.

A month la te r when h is he l l sc reen was comple teo ,Yoshihide took i t immediateiy to the mansion, and presentedit with greai reverence ro the crand Lord. The Abbor, whohaooened to be there at the time, hac giared angr-i iy ar himfrom the flrst. showing a lvry face. However, as the screenwas unroired, the high pr iest musi have been siruck by thetruth or its iniernar horrors, the storms oi f ire ranging fromthe f i rmament to the abyss of Hel l ."woncerfu["

rhe Abbot excraimed in soi te of h imserf ,grving an rnvoluntary tap on his knee. sii i l now I remenrberhow his e.iaculation dre',v a forced smile from the crano Lord.

From that t ime on hardly any one, ai least in the man-sron, spoke i l l of the painter, because sirangely enough,no one, incruding those who harbored the mosr inrer isehat red toward yosh ih ide , cou id see the p ic tu re on thescreen without berng siruck with its mysierious soremniry orbeing viv id ly impressed with i ts ghasrry rear i ry oi rhe exoui-sr te tor tures in a burning Hel l .

However, by that t ime yoshihide hao aiready departedlhis l i ie.

on the nighr of rhe day ioilowing the compretion of hispainting of the screen, he hanged himself by putting a ropeover the beam of his room. yoshrhide, who survived iheuntimely death of his onry beroved daughter, courd no rongerfind it in his heart to l ive on in rhis *oitO.

His body remains bur ied in the corner oi the ruins of h ishouse. However, with the passage of scores oi years, windand rain have worn down the tombstone marking his grave,and overgrowing moss has buried it into oblivion.

t 9 r 8Translated bg Tokashi Kojimo

The Ball

I t was the e ' rening oi November th i rd, in the nineteenrhyearof the vleij i era.7 Akiko, the seventeen-year old daughrerof a prominent fami ly, accompanied her bard father uo thesieps oi the Rokumeikan,s where the eventng's bal l was tobe helci. on either side oi the broad siarnvav i i luminareci bvgasl ight lvere enormous wreaths oi a lmosi ar t i i ic ia l - lcckinschrysanchemums, which formed a hedge rhree rayers deeclThe flowers in the furrhest layer were rose-coiored, rhose oilhe midcle a dark yel low, whi ie the pure whi te petais oi theneares[ f lowers seemed like a profusicn oi iassels. Be.voncthe chrysanthemum array, l iveiy s i ra ins oi orchesirar musicspil led from the ballroom at the top of the stairs, l ike a siehof happiness that could not be restrained.

Foryears Akiko had received lessons in Fr.ench and dance.Yet tonignt's ball wouici be the firsi formal dance she haciever ar iendec. For th is reason she haci responded onlv

7 Novencer' 3 was ihe crnnday oi ine ivreri i Emceror. rvno rergnec frcmi858 - ;912 . one o f i he sou rces Fo r i h i s s i o r y was p ie r re Lo i r ' s ; u ' . ' ' Ba i aYecdo."ifrc;i Jocanertes c'Automne). in whrch :he au:hor descrrbes a::ending 3bal l rn honor of ihe e. .nperor on rhrs daie in Mer j i lg { lggg} . In fac: . i r was- in1887 thar:he ac:uar balr was held. In serilng ihsdare ior ihrs siory. At<uragawafollows Lori's ;exr.

I The Rokurnerkan was a Wesie.n-sivre building consiruc:ed in Tokyo in1883 as a sr:e :o receive visr:rng dignirarrei. Desrgneo rv Josarah condor. it wasthe site of :orrnar balrs and panres for the arisiocracy. ri becarne a svmcor of :hewesrerniza:rcn of Jaoan. bui was crosec in the n:ic-\rerj i per"ioc is oan oi anatronalisi oackiasn againsi ihe absorprion of ioreign cuiiure.

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