JAPAN
Parents part and children part.
But of woes the worst,
The parting of lovers while
Love is still athirst.[1]
There was also a large miscellany of dances with accompaniment of street-songs (rika) and popular ballads (zokuyō), the motives of which generally betrayed extreme triviality of conception and the mimetic execution showed little fidelity. Many of them nevertheless found favour at Court and in aristocratic circles, where their frank silliness made a pleasant contrast to the stately measure of the classic dance. The "cloud-land coxcombs," who painted their faces after the manner of women and carried a looking-glass in their sleeves, had no difficulty in appreciating such flights of fancy as—
Ancient rat youthful rattie.
Rats of Saiji's fane,
Gnaw the cassock, gnaw the stole.
Gnaw the vestments well.
Tell the priest, tell the prelate.
Ah! the prelate tell.
Combs ten, combs seven,
Combs I counted yestereve.
Counted one by one.
One by one have vanished, combs.
Count to-day combs none.
To these varieties of dance-motives have to be added two which had wide vogue among all
- ↑ See Appendix, note 60.
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