Page:Japanese Peasant Songs.djvu/34

The Country Headman—II
(A variation of 4a)

Kuma Rokuchōshi hayashi

4b

Inaka shōya dono Jōka kembutsu Miyare yoisa Asa asa asa no Hakama o Ushiro dakō Mae hikkaragete Gombo zuto yara Yamaimo zuto yara Shakkuri shakkuri Shasha meku tokoro ō Ara ma shōshina Torage[1] no inu ga Shōya don Shōya don Shōya don Uchikamo sh’te Hoe-mawaru Yoiya sa, koi sasa!

A country headman In the castle town sightseeing. Look, look At the hemp, the hempen Skirt High in back Tucked up in front Gobō[2] in straw wrapping Mountain potato ditto Shakkuri shakkuri![3] Strutting along Oh my! what a sight! Ferocious dogs The headman The headman The headman About to bite Are barking all around Yoiya sa, koi sasa!

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Burdock root, a common vegetable in rural Japan. Gobō is standard Japanese, gombo, Kuma dialect.

‘He views’ is understood.

The recording of a geisha singing this song adds after this line: Bikkuri, shakkuri. These lines have a humorous effect in Japanese, adding to the parody of the self-important visitor gaping at the sights of Hitoyoshi.

Or: shōshina.

As sung in Suye the word torage is usually rendered Taragi, the name of a town near the village. What Taragi dogs would be doing in the castle town of Hitoyoshi ten miles or more away worries no one. This is a good example in Japanese of the same linguistic process that in English made Johnny cake out of journey cake.

Shortened form of shōya dono. The ‘n’ is lengthened in singing.

Or: yūte, or: chūte.

1. See song 4a, note 16.
2. See song 4a, note 12.
3. Humorous onomatopoeia to describe the headman’s gait.