From the saibara ballad, The Well of Asuka: ‘Sweet is the shade, the lapping waters cool, and good the pasture for our weary steeds. By the Well of Asuka, here let us stay.’

The ‘Japanese zithern’; also called wagon. A species of koto.

As opposed to the formal and traditional music imported from China.

See Encyclopédia de la Musique, p. 247. Under the name Nan-lü this mode was frequently used in the Chinese love-dramas of the fourteenth century. It was considered very wild and moving.

Goddess of Beauty.

A poem by Po Chü-i pointing out the advantages of marrying a poor wife.

There is a reference to an old poem which says: ‘I know that to-night my lover will come to me. The spider’s antics prove it clearly’ Omens were drawn from the behaviour of spiders. There is also a pun on hiru ‘day’ and hiru ‘garlic,’ so that an ordinary person would require a few moments’ reflection before understanding the poem.

The irises used for the Tango festival (5th day of 5th month) had to have nine flowers growing on a root.