The Silver Spoon (27 page)

42
The 35th of the fifty-three stations along the Tōkaidō Road. It's in today's Aichi. As every Japanese knows, the kind of misreading of kanji described here is common.

43
Kumazasa (Sasa veitchii)
: a variety of bear bamboo (see note 115 in Episode 1.36), though with much larger leaves.

44
Kōgaibiru
, “hairpin leech”
(Bipalium fuscatum)
. The Japanese name comes from the fact that it looks like a certain type of Edo-period hairpin
and
like a leech, but it is not a true leech. Usually 2 to 5 inches long, this animal grows to be as long as 32 inches. It has a velvety black back and grayish-white belly and is very slimy. It feeds on slugs, earthworms, and snails.

45
Dōji
-
gōshi,
a design with alternating fat and thin stripes; so called because it is said to have been the design of the robe that Shuten Dōji, “Drunken Boy,” wore. For Shuten Dōji, see note 64 in Episode 1.18.

46
Tobi
-
gashira.
Though here given as “a construction crew,”
tobi
originally referred to members of fire companies set up in Edo, in 1720. Later, firemen often doubled as construction workers and mostly formed mini-monopolies in their localities.

47
Also,
hannya
: a nō mask representing a woman's face distorted with grief, jealousy, and anger. Contradictorily,
prajnā
, the original Sanskrit for the word in a Buddhist text, means “wisdom.”

48
A kite made to “fight” by tightening the balancing strings at the center so that it may rock as it flies. It moves swiftly.

49
Abura
-
zemi (Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata)
: a species of cicada—the only one with non-transparent wings. The name “oily cicada” comes from its shirring that resembles the sound of frying something in oil.

50
Minmin
-
zemi (Oncotympana maculaticollis)
: a species of cicada. Its name is onomatopoeic.

51
Hōshi
-
zemi
, also called
tsukutsukubōshi (Meimuna opalifera)
: a species of cicada. The name
hōshi
-
zemi
, “monk cicada,” comes from China.
Tsukutsuku
, in Japanese, is onomatopoeic.

52
Higurashi (Tanna japonensis)
: a species of cicada whose limpid shirring early in the morning and late in the afternoon is prized. Sometimes translated as “clear-tone cicada.”

53
Oshizemi
: a female cicada. It does not sing.

54
Botan
-
kyō: Prunus salicina.

55
U no me taka no me
: an old expression whose meaning is comparable to “hawk-eyed.”

56
Yusura (Prunus tomentosa).

57
Haku'unboku (Styrax obassia): Flora of Japan
(Smithsonian Institution, 1966): “Small tree with horizontally spreading stellate-pubescent branches while young, becoming dark brown . . . ; leaves membranous . . . vivid green and usually glabrous above, densely white stellate-hairy beneath . . . ; the flowers stellate-pubescent; . . . fruit white.” The name “white-cloud-tree” comes from the clusters of white delicate flowers the tree puts on that resemble puffs of white clouds.

58
Chamberlain: “the tea of the lower classes . . . made out of chopped leaves, stalks, and bits of wood taken from the trimmings of the tea-plant; for this beverage is tea, after all, little as its flavour has in common with that of Bohea or [the choicest] Uji.”

59
Nanten (Nandina domestica)
: a shrub with white flowers that turn into red berries.

60
Tōshi
(
Tangzhi
in Chinese): thick paper with designs printed into it. So called because it originated in China.

61
Chinju
(
chunshou
in Chinese): a metaphor for longevity. In
Chuang Tzu
: “In very ancient times there was a tree called Great Camellia. It had 8,000 years worth of springs and 8,000 years worth of autumns.”

62
A tanka attributed to the famous Zen monk Ikkyū (1394–1481).

63
Kongōza,
in which the Lord Buddha entered nirvana.

64
Saru mo ki kara ochiru,
“Even a monkey can fall from a tree.” A proverbial saying cited in the haikai treatise-cum-anthology
Kefukigusa,
published in 1638, it normally means “even those most accomplished can make mistakes.” Naka uses it here in a somewhat different sense.

65
Rites in which a few passages from each of the 600 “volumes” that make up the Dai-Hannya (Great Wisdom) Sutra are recited. These rites used to be held frequently—the first and fifteenth days of each month, the first three days of the first month, and so on—and also to offer prayers for national security, for a good harvest, or for fire prevention. The sutra expounds the doctrine of emptiness.

66
A Buddhist utensil used by the leading monk in a service. A brush of long animal hair, it was originally used, in India, to flick away mosquitoes and horseflies.

67
See note 65 in Episode 1.18.

68
Kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo
: a proverbial saying born in the days when travels were difficult. A related saying went,
Tabi wa ui mono tsurai mono,
“Travels are depressing and painful.” The idea is that if you love your child, you must make him experience hardship in the outside world and not spoil him in the comforts of home.

69
See note 31 in Episode 1.12.

70
See note 50 in Episode 1.17.

71
The tubular foldable lantern with a wooden bottom and a wooden lid invented in Odawara, Kanagawa. It was convenient for travelers.

72
JÅ«man
-
oku
-
do
: the number of Buddhist lands between this world and Paradise presided over by the Amida Buddha, thus indicating the great distance you must traverse before reaching Paradise. It also means Paradise.

73
Momenbari
: May correspond to the “darning needle” or “finishing needle.”

74
A popular place for believers that is in the city of Nagano. Papinot: “Established in 670, it at first belonged to the Tendai sect, then passed to the Shingon. Towards 1630, it returned to the Tendai-shÅ« and became a dependency of the great temple Tōei-zan of Ueno (Edo). It is dedicated to Amida, Kwannon and Daiseishi, whose statues according to legend have been miraculously carried there from Korea in the 7th century.” The saying,
Ushi ni hikarete Zenkō
-
ji mairi,
“Led by an ox you go to the Zenkō temple to pay respects,” means accomplishing something nice by sheer luck or unintentionally.

75
The province of Shinano (today's Nagano Prefecture).

76
Daigasa
: A hat or an umbrella put in a bag and carried at the top of a pole in a procession.

77
Eitai
-
kyō
: Arrangement with a temple to have a sutra read on the anniversary of one's death.

78
Kōbō Daishi
(“Great Master for Propagating the Law”), the title given to KÅ«kai (774–835) who established the Shingon (True Word) school of Buddhism in Japan. Counted among Japan's three greatest calligraphers. Hence the saying,
Kōbō mo fude no ayamari,
“Even a Kōbō makes mistakes with his brush,” and, conversely, another saying,
Kōbō fude o erabazu,
“A Kōbō doesn't select his brush”—meaning that someone accomplished can work with any instrument, regardless of its quality.

79
The feminine aspect of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the “Goddess of Mercy.” She is often depicted with a child in her arms.

80
Hongan
: Originally the pledge of Amida or Amitābha, “the Buddha of Infinite Light,” to provide salvation to all people.

81
Jiriki
: salvation through one's own efforts. In certain schools of Buddhism, especially in the Pure Land School. The opposite is
tariki
, Other Reliance, which refers to the salvation through reliance on the Amitābha.

82
Gunpai
: “Military fan,” a fan carried by the commanding officer in a battlefield. Today it is used by the
sumō
referees.

83
See note 28 in Episode 1.11.

84
In the old days public bathhouses had men whose job was to help customers, male or female, wash; in private houses maids and members of the family did the same work.

85
Fugu ni
: Naka here uses an expression that is rarely, if ever, used as applied to the moon.

86
Citrus junos
: a species of lemon whose rind mixed with pepper and salt is prized for its distinct spiciness.

87
Chinju no yashiro
: a shrine built to pacify and guard the land, the country, the castle, etc. It is surrounded by a forest.