Part IV.

 List of Illustrations

"Of what is she dreaming? Of long nights lit with orange lanterns, Of wine-cups and compliments and kisses of the two-sword men."

Headpiece—Part I

Tailpiece—Part I

Headpiece—Part II

"Out of the rings and the bubbles, The curls and the swirls of the water, Out of the crystalline shower of drops shattered in play, Her body and her thoughts arose."

"The cranes have come back to the temple, The winds are flapping the flags about, Through a flute of reeds I will blow a song."

Tailpiece—Part II

Headpiece—Part III

"Then in her heart they grew, The snows of changeless winter, Stirred by the bitter winds of unsatisfied desire."

Tailpiece—Part III

Headpiece—Part IV

Headpiece—Part IV

"The green and violet peacocks Through the golden dusk Stately, nostalgically, Parade."

[11]

[11]

 Preface

At the earliest period concerning which we have any accurate information, about the sixth century A. D., Japanese poetry already contained the germ of its later development. The poems of this early date were composed of a first line of five syllables, followed by a second of seven, followed by a third of five, and so on, always ending with a line of seven syllables followed by another of equal number. Thus the whole poem, of whatever length (a poem of as many as forty-nine lines was scarce, even at that day) always was composed of 

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