Chorus. From those bright spheres,
Lent for a moment, this sweet maid appears:
Here in Japan she lights (heav'n left behind),
To teach the art of dancing to mankind.
II.
Chorus. Wher'er we gaze, the circling mists are twining:
Perchance e'en now the moon her tendrils fair[1]
Celestial blossoms bear.
Those flow'rets tell us that the spring is shining,—
Those fresh-blown flow'rets in the maiden's hair.
Fairy. Blest hour beyond compare!
Fisherman.[2] Heaven hath its joys, but there is beauty here.
Blow, blow, ye winds! that the white cloud-belts driv'n
Around my path may bar my homeward way.
Not yet would I return to heav'n,
But here on Mio's pine-clad shore I'd stray,
Or where the moon in bright unclouded glory
Shines on Kiyomi's lea,
And where on Fujiyama's summit hoary
The snows look on the sea,
While breaks the morning merrily!
But of these three, beyond compare,
The wave-wash'd shore of Mio is most fair
When through the pines the breath of spring is playing.
What barrier rises 'twixt the heav'n and earth?
Here, too, on earth th' immortal gods came straying,
And gave our monarchs birth,
Fairy. Who, in this Empire of the Rising Sun,
While myriad ages run,
Shall ever rule their bright dominions,
- ↑ The inhabitants of the Far East see a cinnamon-tree in the moon, instead of our traditional "man." A Japanese poetess has gracefully suggested that the particular brilliancy of the autumn moon may come from the dying tints of its foliage.
- ↑ In the following song, as frequently elsewhere, the Chorus acts as the mouthpiece of the chief personage present on the scene. It should likewise be noted that the lyric passages contain a great number of allusions to, and more or less exact quotations from, the earlier poetry. It has not been thought necessary to embarrass the English reader with perpetual explanatory references. By an educated Japanese none would be required.
