Anot h e r s t e , room F R ON T I S P I E C E S ee p 5 4

a n d sh e wa s i n t h e
. .
.
.

p
T he D ra go n P a int e r

Mary Me 35i i i { f
i

e z ifi ii ‘

i i i‘é é}

Ae t he r of
“
T ra i l; wa v
e e
;
!

fi l e “ma l l s ! i f th e Go d s,
,

I i i first t o {and h z r
G ertr u d e M c D ani el

B ost on
Lit t l e , B rown , an d C om pany
1 9 06
“
Anot he r s te p, a nd s he was i n t he room . F aox r rsm r t r . S ee p 5 4
. .
T he D ra go n P a in t e r

By

Mary Mc Ne i l F e n ollosa
”
Au t h or of T r ut h D ext er, T h e B re at h of the Gods ,
”
Ou t of t h e N est : A Fli gh t of ! e rse s ,

etc .

Illu t t d by
s ra e

G ertr u de M c D an iel

B oston
Little Brown and Company
, ,

1 9 06
 BY P . F . C OLLI E R S ON .

Copyr ight , 1 9 06 ,
B Y LI T T LE , BR OW N , AND C OM P AN Y .

A ll ri ghts r eser ved

b
P u li s h e d O t o c b e r, 1 9 06

TH E UN I ! E R S I T Y P R E SS , C A M B R I D GE , U . S . A .
K ANO Y E I T AN
 L I ST O F I LLUS T RA T ION S

A n ot h e r st e p ,
a n d sh e was i n t h e r oom Frontisp iece

“
W i th the soft t u ft of c a m e l h air h e bl u rre d

a
g a i n st the p e ak p al e , u
l m in o u vp
s a or of

n ew c l ud
o

H e walk e d
p u an d d own , som e t i m e s in the
n arrow room , s om e t i m e s i n t h e ga rd e n 1 26

Co m e , D ragon W i fe, h e
’
sa i d ,
‘
c om e b cka to
ou r li t t l e h om e

Um é k o l e an e d
-
o v er i n stan t l y, st ari n g d own
in t o t h e st re a m 1 70

T h en a l i tt l e h a n d , st e al i n g from a n un’
s g ra
y
sl e e v e , sl i pp ed i nt o hi s 2 59
T H E D R A GO N PAI NT E R

H E old folks call it Yeddo To the .

young Tokyo has a pleasant mod

, ,

ern sound and comes glibly B u t

, .

whether young or old those whose home it ,

is know that the great flat city troubled with ,

green hills cle f t by a shining river and Veined

, ,

in living canals is the central spot of all the

,

world .

Storms visit Tokyo with fury often some

, ,

times with destruction Earthquakes cow it ;.

snow falls upon its temple roofs swings in ,

wet dazzling masses from the bamboo plumes

, ,

—
or balances in white strata along green black
pine branches The summer sun scorches
.

the face of Yeddo and summer rain comes

,
,

down in wide bands of light With evening .

the mist creeps up thrown over it like a

,

covering casting a spell of silence through

,
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
which the yellow lantern s of the Hurrying
j inrikishas dance an el fish da n ce and the ,

voices of the singing girls p ierce like fine

-

blades of sound .

But to know the full charm of the great

city one must wake with it at some rebirth
,

of dawn This hour gives to the i maginative

.

in every land a thrill a y earning and a p ang

, ,

of Visual regeneration I n no place is this

.

wonder more deepl y touched with mystery

than in modern Tokyo .

Far off to the east the Sumida R iver lies in

sleep Beyond it temple roo fs black keels
.
,
-

of sunken vessels cut a sky still powdered

thick with stars N othing moves and yet a
.
,

something changes 1 T he darkness shivers as

to a cold touch A palli d haze breathes
.

wanly on the surface of the i mpassive sky .

T he gold deepens swiftly and turns to a faint

rose flush T he stars scamper away like
.

mice .

A cross the moor of gray house eaves the

mist wavers D ay troubles it A p ink light
. .

2
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
rises to t he zenith and the mist shifts and
!
,

slips away i n layers pink and gold and white

, .

N ow far beyond the grayness to the west , ,

the cone of Fuj i flashes into splendor I t .

,

too is pink I ts shape is of a lotos bud

, .
,

and the long fissures that plough a moun

tain side are now but delicate gold veining
on a petal Slowly it seems to open I t
. .

is the chalice of a new day the signal and ,

the pledge of consecration H u sky crows .

awake i n the pine trees and doves under ,

“

the temple eaves The east is red beyond

.

the ri ver and the round red su n insignia

, , ,

of this land soars up like a cry of triumph

, .

O n the glittering road of the Sumida ,

loaded barges covered for the night with

,

huge squares of fringed straw mats begin ,

to nod and preen themselves like a covey

of giganti c river birds Sounds of prayer .

and of silver matin bells come from the

temples where priest an d acolyte greet the
,

Lord Buddha of a new day From tiny .

c hirnn e l ess kitchens of a thousand homes

y
3
 THE DRAGON P AINTER
thin blue feathers of smoke make slow u p
ward progress to be lost in the last echoes
,

of the vanishin g mist Sparrows begin to .

chirp first one then ten then thousands

, , , .

Their voices have the clash and chime of

a myriad small triangles .

The W ooden outer panels (amado ! of

countless dwellings are thrust noisily aside
and stacked into a shallow closet The .

noise reverberates from district to district

in a sharp musketry of sound Maid ser .

vants call cheerily across bamboo fences .

Shoj i next are opened disclosing oft en the

,

d ull green mosquito net hung from corner

to corner of the low ceiled sleepi ng rooms
-
.

Children in brilliant night robes run to the

, ,

verandas to se e the early su n ; cocks strut in

pigmy gardens N ow from along the streets
.
,

rise the calls of fl ower peddlers of venders

'
,

of fish bean curd vegetables and milk

,
-
, , .

Thus the d ay comes to modern Tokyo ,

which the old folks still call Yeddo .

O n such a midsummer dawn not man y ,

 THE DRAGON PAINTER
plants were ranged O ne trembli ng b u d
.

reached out as if it wished to touch him .

The old man shook with the beating of

his own heart H e was an artist Could
. .

he endure another revelation of j oy Yes?

,

his so ul renewed ever as the gods them

,

selves renew their youth was to be given ,

the inner vision N ow to him this was

.
, ,

the first morning Creatio n bore down

.

upon him .

The flower too had begun to tremble

, , .

Kano turned directly to it The filmy .

,

azure angles at the tip were straining to

part held together by j ust one drop of
,

light Even as Kano stared the drop fell

.

heavily plashing on his hand The flower

, .
,

with a little sob opened to him and ques

, ,

t i on e d him of li fe of art of immortality

, , .

The old man covered his face weeping , .

The last of his race was Kano I ndara ; the

last of a mighty li ne of artists Even in .

this material age his fame spread as the

m ists of his own land and his n ame was ,

6
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
known in barbarian countries far across the
sea. Tokyo might fall under the blight of
progress but Kano would hold to the tra
,

d it i on s of his race To live as a true art ist

.
,

—
to die as one this was his care H e
, .

might have claimed high position in the great

A rt Museum recently inaugurated by the
new government and housed in an ab om i
,

nation of pink stucco with Moorish towers

at the four corners H e might e den have
.

been elected president of the new A cademy ,

and have presided over the I talian sculptors

and degenerate French painters imported to
”
instruct and civilize modern Japan Sti ff
“
.

graphite pencils making lines as hard and

,

sharp as those in the faces of foreigners

themselves were to take the place of the
,

so ft charcoal flake whose stroke was of satin

and young leaves H orrible brushes fash
.
,

i on ed of t he hair of s wine pinched in by,

metal bands ; and wielded with a hard taper

ing sti ck of varnished wood were to be ,

thrust into the hands of artists —yes , ,

 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
artists
,
— men who from childhood had
, ,

known the soft pliant Japanese brush almost

as a spirit hand had felt the j oy of the long
stroke down fibrous paper where the very
thickeni ng and thinning of the line the t u rn ,

of the brush here the easing of it there

, ,

made v i sual music — men who had realized

,

the brush as part not only of the body b ut

of the soul such men indeed
,
— such , ,

artists were to be o ff ered a bunch of hog

,

bristles set in foreign tin Why even in the

, .
,

annals of K an o s own family more than one

’

faithful brush had acquired a soul of its own ,

and after the master s death had gone on ’

lamenti ng in his written name But the .

foreigners brushes and their little tubes of

’

ill smellin g gum colored with dead hu e s l

-

Kano shuddered anew at the thought .

N aturally he hated all new forms of gov

e rn m e nt H e regretted and deplored the
.

magnanimity of his Emperor in giving to

his people so soon a modern constitution
, , .

What need had Art of a constitution 7

8
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
A cross the northern end of Yeddo runs
the green welt of a table land M idway at -
.
,

the base of this tucked away from northern

,

winds hidden in green bamboo hedge s Kano

, ,

lived a mute protest against the new B e

, .

side himself of the household were Um e ko

,
-
,

his only chil d and an old family servant Mata

, , .

K an o s garden always the most important

’

part of a Japanese dwelling place ran out ,

in one continuous shallow terrace to the ,

south A stone wall upheld its front edge

.

from the narrow street ; and on top of this

wall stiff hedges grew I n one corner how .
,
‘

ever a hillock had b een raised a Moon

, ,

Viewing Place such as poets and artists

,

have al ways found necessary From its flat .

top old Kano had watched through many

years the rising of the moon ; had seen as ,

now a new dawn possess a new created

,
-

earth —, had t raced the outlines of the stars .

By day he sometimes loved to watch the

little street below delighting in the motion
,

and color of passing groups .

9
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
For the garden itself it was fashioned, ,

chiefly of sand pebbles stones and many

, , ,

varieties of pine the old artist s favorite plant

,
’
.

A small rock bound pond curved about the

-

inner base of the moon Viewing hill dupli -

,

cating in its clear surface the beauties near .

A few splendid c arp t he color themselves of,'

dawn swam lazily about with nos es in the

,

direction of the house whence came they ,

well knew liberal offerings of rice and cake

, .

Kano had his pl u m trees too ; the class i c ,

”
um e loved of all artists poets and decent
, , ,

minded people generally O ne tree a superb .

,

specimen of the kind called Crouching

”
D ragon P lum writhed and twisted near the
-
,

veranda of the chamber of its name child -

Um e ko thrusting one leafy arm almost to

-

’
the paper shoj i of her wall K an o s transient .

flowers were grown for the most part in pots

, ,

and these his daughter Um e ko loved to tend -

.

There were morning glories for the mid -

summer season p eonies and iris for the spring

, ,

and chrysanthemums for autumn O ne for .

1 0
 THE D RAGO N PAIN TER
e ign rose plant pink of bloom in a blue gray
-
, ,
-

j ar had been pruned and trained into a beauty

,

that no western rose bush ever knew -

.

Behind the Kano cottage the rise of ground

for twenty yard s was of a grade scarcely per
c e t ib l e to the eye H ere Mata did the fam
p .

ily washing ; dried daiko n i n wi nter and ,

sweet potato slices i n the summer sun This

-
.

small space she considered her special domain ,

and was at no pains to conceal the fact B e .

yond the hill went upward suddenly with the

,
“

curve of a cresting wave H igher it rose and .

higher bearing a tangled growth of vin es and

,

ferns and bamboo grass higher and higher ,

until it broke in sheer mid air with a coarse

,
-

foam of rock thick shrubs and stony ledges

, , .

Al most at the zenith of the cottage garden it

poised and a great camphor tree centuries
, ,

old soared out into the blue like a g reen

,

balloon .

Behind the camphor tree again and not , ,

visible from the garden below stood a temple ,

of the Shingon sect the most mystic of the ,

I I
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
old esoteric Buddhist forms To the rear of .

this the broad low rectangular buildings of a

, ,

nunnery gray and old as the temple itself

,

brooded among high hedges of the sacred

mochi tree This retreat had been famous
.

for centuries throughout Japan More than .

once a Lad y Abbess had bee n yielded fro m

the I mperial family Formerly the temple
.

had o wned many kok u of rich land had held

feudal sway over rice fields and whole vil
lages deriving princely revenue With the
, .

restoration of the Emperor to temporal power ,

some thirty years before the beginning of this

story most of the land had been confiscated
,

and n ow shrunken like the papal power at

,

R ome the temple claimed in land only those

, , ,

acres bounded by its own hedges and stone

temple walls There were the main building
.

itself silent impressive in towering maj esty ;

, ,

subordinate chapels and dwellings for priests ,

a huge smoke stained refectory the low nun

-

nery in its spreading gardens and down the ,

northern slope of the hill the cemetery a , ,

1 2
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
Night the H alls of the Gods are fragrant
, .

This was the Buddhist kaim yo or priestly in ,

vocation to the spirit of the dead O f the .

more personal part of the young mother her ,

name age and the date of her divine retire

, ,

”
ment these were recorded in the household
,

”
shrine of the Kano cottage where her ih ar ,

stood j ust behind a little lamp of pure vege

,

table oil whose light had never yet been

su ff ered to die Through this shrine and the
.
,

daily loving offices required by it she had ,

never ceased to be a presence in the house .

Even in his passionate desire for a son to in

herit the name and traditions of his race old ,

Kano had not been able to endure the thought

of a second wife who might wish the shrine
removed .

Um e ko and her father were well known at

-

the temple and worshipped often before its

,

golden altars But Mata scorned the cere

.

mony of the older creed She was a Shinshu .

,

a Protestant H er sect discarded mysticism

.

as useless believed in the marriage of pri ests

, ,

1 4s
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
and in the aboli tion of the monastic life and ,

reli ed for salvation onl y on the love and mercy

of A mida the Buddha of Light
, .

Sometimes at twilight a group of shadowy

human figures gray as the doves themselves
, ,

crept out from the nunnery gate crossed the ,

wid e pebbled courtyard of the temple and

,

stood for long moments by the gnarled roots

, ,

of the camphor tree staring out across the

,

beauty of the plain of Yeddo its shining bay

a great mirror to the south and off on the , ,

western horizon where the last light hung

, ,

Fuji a cone of porphyry massive against the

, ,

gold.

For a full hour now Kano had deli ghted

, ,

in the morning glories -

A t intervals he .

stroll ed about the garden to touch separately ,

as if in greeting each beloved plant Except

, .

for the deepeni ng fervor of the su n he would

ha ve kept no note of time The last shred of .

mist had vanished Crows and sparrows were

.

busy with breakfast for their nestlings .

1 5
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
I t was perhaps the clamor of these
, ,

feathered parents that at last awoke old , ,

Mata in her sleeping closet near the kitchen .

She turned drowsily The presence of an

.

unusual light under the shop brought her to

her knees The amado in the further part
.

of the house were undoubtedly open Could .

robbers have come in the night ? A nd were

her master and Miss Um e weltering in
gore ?

She was on her feet now pushing with ,

shaking fingers at the sliding walls She .

peered at first into Um e s room for there in ’

deed lay the core of old Mata s heart A

,
’
.

slender fig u re on the floor stirred slightly and

a sound of soft breathing fill ed the silence .

A ll was well in Um e s room She knocked

’
.

then on K an o s fusuma There was n o re

’
.

spou se Cauti ously sh e parted the m and met

.
,

an incoming flood of morning light The .

walls were opened Through the small square

.

pillars of the veranda she co ul d see as in a ,

frame old Kano standing in the garden b e

,

1 6
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
side the fish pond Even as she gazed in
-
.
,

credulous at her own stupidity in sleeping so

late the temple bell above boomed out six
,

slow strokes Six ! Such a thing had never

.

been known Well she must be growing

.
,

old and worthless She had better fill her.

sleeve with pebbles and cast herself into the

nearest stream She hurried back a tempes
.
,

t u ou s protest in every step .

Miss Um e Um e ko sh e
, called -
.

Ma a a
- -
What has come to us both ? The
D anna San walks about as if he had been
awake for hours A nd not a cup of tea for
.

him ! The honorable fire does not exist

Surely a demon of sleep has bewitched us .

She had entered the girl s room and now ’

, ,

while speaking crossed the narrow space to

,

fli ng wide first the shoji and then the outer

, ,

amado .

Um e moved l azily H er lacquered pillow .

,

with its bright cushion rocked as she stirred , .

”
N o demon has found me Mata S an she , ,

murmured smiling , N o demon unless it

.

2
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
be y ou cruel nurse who have dr agge d m e
, ,

”
back from a heavenly dream .

“
Baku devour your dream ! cried Mata .

I say there is no fire beneath the pot !

Um e sat up now and smoothed slowly the
,

loops of her shining hair The yellow morn

.

ing su n danced into the corners of her room ,

rioted among the hues of her silken bed c ov

e ri n gs ,and paused abashed as it were
, , ,

before the delicate beauty of her face .

A s Mata scolded the girl nestled back

,

among her quilts smiling mischievously

, .

She loved to tease the old dame No .

“
,

”
n urse she protested that cannot be The
, , .

baku feeds on evil dreams alon e and this ,

was n ot evil A h nurse it was so sweet

, ,

a dream
I can give no time to y our honorable
”
fooling cried Mata in pretended anger
, , .

H ave I the arms of a H undred H anded -

Kwannon that I can do all the household

work at once A ttire yourself promptly I ,

entreat : prep are one of the small trays for

1 8
 T HE DRAGO N PAINTER
your august parent and get out two of the
,

pickled plums from the blue j ar .

Um e with an exaggerated sigh of regret

, ,

rose to her feet Q uilt and cushions were

.

pushed into a corner for later airing H er .

toilet was swift and simple To slip the.

bright colored sleeping robe from her and

-

toss it to the heaped u p coverlids don an

-
,

undergarment of thin white linen and a scant

petticoat of blue crepe draw over them a day
,

robe of blue and white cotton and tie all in

,

with a sash of brocaded blue and gold that ,

was the su m of it For washing she had a

.

shal low wooden bas in on the kitchen veranda ,

where cold water splashed incessantly from

bamboo tubes thrust into the hillside H ur .

ri e d l y drying her face and hands on a small

towel that hung from a swinging bamboo

hoop sh e ran into the kitchen to assist the
,

still grumbling Mata .

By thi s time 01 d Kano had again seated

himself at the edge of his veranda The .

sum m er su n grew unpleasantly warm The .

1 9
 T HE D RAGO N PAIN TER
morning glories on their trellises had begun
-

to droop A little later they would hang

.
,

wretched and limp m ere faded scraps of dis ,

solution O verhead the temple bell struck

.

seven Kano shuddered at this foreign mark

.

ing out of hours A melancholy intense as

.
,

had been his former ecstacy began to enfold ,

his sp irit P erhaps he had waited too long

.

for the simple breakfast ; perhaps the recent

glory had drained hi m of vital force A .

hopelessness alike of life and death rose

, ,

abo ut him in a tide .

Um e prostrated herself upon the veranda

near him G ood morning august father
.
, .

Will you deign to enter n ow and partake

”
of food ?

H er vo i ce an d the morning face she lifted

might have won a smile from a stone image .

W hy he thought
”
Kano turned sourly .
, ,

“
in Shaka s name could n t she have been a
’

,
’

son ?

H e rose however shaking off his wooden

, ,

clogs so that they remained upon the path

20
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
the life of the last great Kano futile and ,

perishable as the witherin g flowers on the ir

stems .

H e ate of his fish a nd ri ce i n gloomy

silence Um e s gentle words faile d to bring
.
’

a reply When the breakfast dishes were

.

removed the old man continued listlessly in

his place staring out with unseeing ey es into
,

his garden .

A loud kn ock came to the woo d en en

trance gate near the kitchen Kano heard .

a man s deep tones Mata s thi n voice an

’

,
’

sweri n an enquiry a n d the n the oft mur

g s
,

mur of Um e s words An in stant later

’
.
,

heavy footsteps belonging evidently to a

,

wearer of foreign shoes came around by the ,

side of the house toward the garden Kano .

looked up frowning with annoyance A

, .

fin e looking man of middle age appeared

-
.

K an o s irritation vanished
’
.

”
A ndo Uchida l he cried aloud sprl ngm g ,

to his feet and hurrying to the edge of the

,

veranda A ndo Uchida is it in deed you

.
?
,

22
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TER
H ow stout and strong and prosperous y ou
”
seem ! Welcome !
A little too stout for warm weather ,

laughed A ndo as laboriously he removed hi s

,

foreign shoes and accepted his host s assist ’

ance up the one stone step to the veranda .

”
“
Welcome A nd o Uchida, said Kano ,

again when they had taken seats

, I t is .

quite five years since my eyes last hung up on

your honorable face .

”
“
I s it indeed so long ? said the other .

Time has the wings of a dragon fly -

A ndo had brought with him a roll ap ,

are nt l of papers tied up in yellow cloth

p y , .

This parcel he put carefully behind him on

the matted floor H e then drew from his.

kimono sleeve a pink bordered foreign pocket -

handkerchief and began to mop his damp

,

forehead K an o s politeness could not hide

.
’

entirely a shudder of antipathy H e hurried

, .

into new speech A nd where if it is not

.
,

rude to ask has my friend A ndo soj ourned

,

during the long absence ?

28
 T HE DRAGON PAIN TER
C hie fly
among the mountains of Ki u
”
Shiu answered the other
, .

”
Kiu S hin murmured the artist , I .

wandered there i n youth and have thought

always to return The rocks and cliff s are of.

great beauty I remember well one white

.
,

thin waterfall that flung itself out like a

laugh but never reached a thing so dull as
,

earth Midway it was S plintered upon a sun

.

beam and changed into rainbows pearls an d

, , ,

”
swallows !
I know it excellently well said Uchida , .

I ndeed I have been zealous to preserve it ,

”
chiefly for your sake .

Preserve it ? W hat can you m ean ?

I have become a government inspector of

”
mines explained Uchida in some embar
, ,

ra ssm e nt I thought you kn e w There

“
. .

”
is a rich coal deposit near that waterfall .

“
An do ! A ndo ! groaned the old man ,

“
you were once an art i st ! The foreigners
are tainting us all .

I love art still said A ndo but I m ake , ,

“

2 45
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
a better engineer A nd I beseech you to
.

overlook my vulgarity I am getting rich .

Kano groaned again O h this foreign .

,

influence ! I t is the curse of modern Japan !

Love of money is starting a dry rot in
the land of the gods Success materi al .
,

p ower m on ey
, all of th em ill u si ons
, ,

miasma of the soul blinding men to reality !

,

Surely my karma was evil that I needed

”
to be reborn into this age of death !
A ndo looked sympathetic and a little con
trite Since we are indeed hopelessly of the
.
“

present ventured he may it not be as well

, ,
“

to let the foreigners teach us their methods

”
of success ?

Success cried Kano almost angrily , .

What do they succeed in except the gross

est materi al gains ? There is no humanity in
t hem . Love of beauty dies in the womb .

”
Shall we strive to become as dead things ?

T he love of beauty will never perish in

this land said A ndo more earnestly than he
,

had yet sp oken A Japanese loves Art as

.

25
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
he loves life O ur rich merchants become
.

the best patrons of the artists .

”
“
P atrons of the artists echoed Kano , ,

wearily . You voice your own degradation ,

friend A ndo I n the great days who dared

.
,

to speak of patronage to us Emperors were .

artists and artists Emperors ! I t was to us

”
that all men bowed .

“
Yes yes that is honorably true A ndo
, , ,

hastened to admit A nd so would they

.

in this age bow to you if you would but,

”
allow it .

I am not worthy of homage said ,

Kano his head falling forward on his breast

, .

N one knows this better than I and yet I ,

am the gr eatest among them Show me one .

of our young artists who can stand like F u d o

in the flame of his own creative thought !
There is none !
“
What yo u say is unfortunately true
of the present Tokyo painters perhaps ,

equally of Kioto and other large cities ,

but H ere A ndo paused as if to arouse

26
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
expectancy Kano d i d not look up
. But .
,

insisted the other may it not be possible ,

that in some place far from the clamor of

modern progress in some remote mountain
,

—
pass maybe
,

Kano looked up n ow sharply enough .

A pathy and indifference flared up like straws

in a sudden flame of passion H e made a .

”
fierce gesture N ot that not that !
. he ,

cried . I cannot bear it ! D o not seek to

give false life to a hope already dead I am .

an old man I have hoped and prayed too

.

long I must go down to my grave without

.

an heir — even an adopted hei r

, for there ,

is no disciple worthy to succeed

D ear friend believe that I would not will
,

i ngly add to a grief like this I assure .

you A ndo was beginning when his ,

words were cut short by the entrance of

U m e ko-
She bore a tray with cups a tiny
.
,

steaming tea pot and a dish heaped with

-
,

cakes in the forms and tints of morning

glories This offering she placed near Uchida ;
.

27
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
and then retiring a few steps bowed to the
, ,

fl oor drawing her breath inaudibly as a token

,

of welcome and respect Being merely a .

woman old Kano did not think of presenting

,

her She left the room noiselessly as she had

.

come A ndo watched every movement with

.

ad m iration and a certain weighing of possi

b ilit i e s in his shrewd face H e nodded as if .

to himself and leaned toward Kano , .

Was that not Kano Um e ko y our -

,

daughter
Yes said the old man grun ; but she
, ,

”
is not a son .

Fortunately for the eyes of men she is

not, smiled A ndo That is the most .

beautiful woman I have ever seen and I ,

have see n many She welcomed me at the .

gate .

Kano e ngage d i n p ouring tea made n o

, ,

reply
A lso if current speech be true she has
, ,

”
great talent persisted the visitor , O ne can .

se e genius burning like a soft light behind her

28
 T H E DR A G O N P A I N T E R
”
“
P oor child mocked the artist whose
, ,

quick ears had caught the whisper P oor .

Nippon rather and poor old Kano who has

, , ,

n o better heir than this frail girl O h A ndo .

, ,

I have clamored to the gods ! I have made

pilgrimages and given gifts — but there is no
,

one to inherit my name and the traditions of

my race N owhere can I find a D ragon
.

P ainter !
Ando pu t his hand out quickly behind him ,

seized the long roll tied in yellow cloth and ,

began to unfasten it .

Kan o was panting with the vehemence of

his own spee ch H e poured another little
.

cup of tea and drained it H e began now .

to watch A ndo and found himself annoyed

,
”

by the deliberation of his friend s motions ’

.

Strange strange , A ndo was mur

muring A n instant later came the whisper
.
,

very very strange

,

”
Why do you repeat it ? cried Kan o irri ,

tably . There was nothing strange in what

I said .

30
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
T he parcel was now untied A ndo held a .

roll of papers outward Examine these .

,

”
Kano I ndara he said impressively
, If I .

do not greatly mistake the gods at last have, , ,

”
heard your prayer .

Kano went backward as if from fire No ! .

I cannot — I must not hope ! Too long

,

have I searched N ot a schoolboy who

thought he could draw an outline in the sand
with his toe but I have fawned on him I .

dare not look A ndo to day I am shaken as

.
,
-

if with an ague of the soul I I — could .

not bear another disappointment H e did .

indeed seem piteously weak and old H e hid .

his face in long lean twitching fingers

, ,
.

A ndo was sincerely affected This is to .

”
be no disappointment said he gentl y , I ,
.

pray you listen patiently to my clumsy

,

”
speech .

I will strive to listen calmly said Kano , ,

in a broken voice But fir st honorably

.

secrete the papers once again They tanta .

”
lize my sight .

31
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Uchida put them down on the floor beside
him and threw the cloth carelessly above .

H e was more moved than he cared to show .

H e strove now to speak simply directly and , ,

with convincing earnestness Kano had set .

t l e d into his old attitude of dej ection .

O ne morn ing not more than si x weeks

,

ago began Uchida the engineering party

, ,
“

which I command had climbed some splin

t ere d peaks of the Kiu Shiu range to a spot

quite close i ndeed to that thin waterfall

, ,

which you remember

O ne might forget his friends and relatives ,

”
but not a waterfall like that ! interrupted
Kano .

Suddenly a storm blown down appar ,

ently from a clear sky caught up the moun,

tain and our little group of men i n a great

”
blackness .

The mountain deities were angered at

your presumption nodded Kano well pleased
, , .

”
I t may be admitted the other
, A t any .

rate the win d s n ow hurried in from the se a

, .

32
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
R ound cloud vapors split sidewise on the
wedges of the rocks Voices screamed in .

the fissures We clung to the scrub pines

.
-

and the sa sa grass for safety

-

I can see it all I can feel it whispered .

,

old Kano .

We wished to descend but knew no way .

I shouted for aid The others shouted many .

times Then from the very midst of tumult

.

came a youth half god half beast with

, , ,

wild eyes peering at us and hair that tossed ,

like the angry clouds .

”
Y es yes urged Kano s training for
, , ,

ward .

W e scrambled toward him and he shrank ,

back into the mist We called beseeching .

,

help The workmen thought him a young

.

sennin and falli ng o n their knees began to

, ,

pray The n the youth approached us more

.

deliberately and when we asked for guid

, ,

ance led us by a secluded path down into

,

”
a mountain village .

And you think you th ink that this ,

33
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
”
marvellous youth began Kan o eagerl y ; then, ,

broke off with a gesture of despair I must .

”
not believe I must not believe he muttered
, , .

A ndo s hand was once more o n the roll of

’

papers H e went on smoothly

. We ques .

t i on e d of him in the village H e is a found .

ling. N one knows his parentage From .

childhood he has made pictures upon rocks ,

and sand beds and the i nner bark of trees

, .

H e wanders for days together among the

peaks and declares that he is searching for
,

his mate a D ragon Princess withheld from

, ,

him by enchantment N aturally the village .

people think him mad But they are kind .

to him They give him food and clothing

.
,

and sometimes sheets of paper like these ,

”
here . With aff ected unconcern he raised
the long roll Yes they give him paper
.
, ,

with real i nk and brushes Then he leaps .

up the mountain side and paints and paints

for ho u rs like a demon But as soon as he
, .

has eased his soul of a sketch he lets the

”
fir st gust of wind blow it away .

34
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Kano was n ow shivering i n his place O n .

his wri nkled face a light dawn ed Shall I .

believe O h Ando indeed I could not

, ,

bear it n ow U nroll those drawings before 1

”
go mad !
Uchida deliberately spread out the fir st .

I t was a scene of mountain storm painted ,

as in an elemental fury I nky pine branches

.

slashed and hurled upward downward and , ,

across a tortured gray sky A cloud rack .

-

tore the vo i d li ke a Valkyrie s cry made visi

’

ble O ne huge talon of lightning clutched at

.
-

the flying scud .

Kano gave a glan ce covered his face and

, ,

began to sob Uchida blew his nose on the

.

p ink bordered foreign handkerchief After a

-
.

long while the old man whispered What ,

name shall I use in my prayer ?

”
H e is called said A ndo by the name
, ,

’
of Tatsu .
’
Tatsu the D ragon P ainter
, .

35
 II

H E sounds and s ights of the great

capital were dear to Ando Uchida I n .

five years of busy exile among remote

mountains he felt that he had earned as it ,

were indulgence for a n interval of leisurely

,

enj oyment .

H is initial visit to old Kano had been made

not so much to renew an illustrious acquaint
ance as to relieve his own mind of its e x c it
,

ing news and his hands of a parcel which at

, ,

every stage of the j ourney had been an in cu

,

bus Ando knew the paintings to be u n

.

us u al H e had hoped for and received from

.

Kano the highest confirmation of this belief .

A t that time now a week ago he had been

, ,

pleased and Kano irradiated A lready he

, .

was cursing himself for his pains and crying ,

alou d that had he dreamed the conseque n ces

, ,

36
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
lage saying that the M ad P ainter had started
,

at once upon his j ourney taking not even a ,

change of clothes By what route he would.

travel or on what date arrive only the gods ,

could tell .

K an o s rapture i n these tidings was assailed

’

at once by a swarm of black conj ectures

, .

Might the boy not lose himself b y the way

I f he attempted to ride upon the hideous for
e ign trains he was certain to be inj ured if on
the other hand he did not come by train
, ,

weeks even months might be cons u med in

, ,

the j ourney Again should he essay to come

.
,

by boat ! Then there were dangers of wind

and storm Visions of Tatsu drowned ; of
.

Tatsu heaped under a wreck of burning cars

starved to death in a solitary forest ; set upon ,

robbed and slain by footpads all spun

, ,

black silhouettes in a revolving lantern

through K an o s frenzied imaginatio n I t was
’
.

at this point that Uchida had hid himself and ,

assumed a false n ame .

I n another week the gentle Um e began to

38
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
gro w pale and silent under the small tyran
nies of her father Mata openly declared her
.

belief that it was a demon now on the way to

them since he had power to change the place
,

into a cave of torment even before arrival .

A fter Uchida s defection old Kano remained

’

constantly at home Many hours at a time .

he stood upon the moon viewing hillock of -

his garden staring up then down the street

, , ,

up and down up and down until it was

, ,

weariness to watch him Within the rooms .

he was merely one curved e ar bent in the ,

direction of the entrance gate H is nervous .

ness communicated itself to the women of the

house They too were listening More than
.
, , .

one inn ocent visitor had been thrown into

panic by the sight of three strained faces at
the gate and three pairs of shining eyes set
,

instantly u pon them .

O ne twilight hour late in A ugust Tatsu , ,

came Af ter an eager day of watching old

.
,

Kano had j ust begun to tell himself that hope

was over T atsu had certainl y been killed
. .

39
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
The i hai might as well be set up and prayers ,

o ff ered for the dead man s soul Um e ko ’

.
-

wearied by the heat and the incessant strain

, ,

lay prone upon her matted floor listening ,

to the chirp of a bell cricket that hung in a

tiny bamboo cage near by The clear notes .

of the refrain struck regularly with the

,

sound of a fairy bell had begun to help and

,

soothe her Mata sat dozing on the kitchen

.

step.

A loud sudden knock shattered in an i n

,

stant this precarious calm Kano went .

through the house like a storm Mata being . ,

nearest flung the panel of the gate aside

, .

There stood a creature with tattered blue

robe j ust to the knees bare feet bare head
, , ,

with wild tossin g locks of hair and eyes that

, ,

gleamed with a panther s light ’

.

I s it —
is it Tatsu screamed the old
man hurling his voice before him
, .

”
I t i s a madman declared the servant
, ,

and flattened herself against the hedge .

Um e said nothing at all A fter one look .

40
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
into the stranger s face she had with drawn
’

herself unseen into the shadowy rooms, .

”
I am Tatsu of Kiu Shiu announced ,

the apparition in a voice of strange depth

,

and sweetn ess I s this the home of Kano

.

I ndara ?

Yes yes I am Kano I ndara said the

, , ,

artist almost grovellin g on the stones

, Eu .

ter dear sir I beseech Y ou must be weary

, , . .

A ccompany me in this direction august ,

y outh Mata bring tea to the guest room

.
,
-
.

Tatsu followed his tempestuous host in

silen ce A s they gamed the room Kano
.

motioned him to a cushion and prepared to ,

take a seat opposite Tatsu suddenly san k .

to his knees bowing again and again st ifli y

, , ,

i n a manner long forgotte n in fashionable

Yeddo .

Di scard the ceremony of bowing I en ,

”
treat said Kano
, .

W hy 7 I s it not a custom here ?

Yes to a lesser extent But between

, .

”
us dear youth it is unnecessary
, ,
.
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
Why should it be unnecessary between
”
us ? persisted the unsmiling guest .

Because we are artists therefore brothers , ,

explained Kan o i n an encour aging voice

, .

Tatsu fro wned Who are you and why

.
,

have you sent for me

D o you inquire who I am 7 said Kano ,

scarcely believing his ears .

I t is what I asked
I am Kano I ndara The old man folded
.

his arms proudly waiting for the e ff ect

, .

Tatsu moved impatiently u pon his velvet

cushion . O f course I knew that I t was .

the name on the scrap of paper that guided

me here .

I s it possible that you do not yet know

the meaning of the name of Kano ? asked
the artist incredulously
, A thin red tin .

gled to his cheek the hurt of childish

,

vanity .

There i s one of that n ame in my vil lage ,

said Tatsu H e is a scavenger and oft e n

.
,

”
gives me fine large sheets of paper .

41 2
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
O ld K an o s lip trembled
’
I am n ot of
.

his sort Men call me an artist

. .

O h an artist ! D oes that mean a painter

,

”
of dragons like me
,
?

A mong other things of earth and air I

”
have atte m pted to paint dragons said Kano , .

I paint nothing else declared Tatsu and

, ,

seemed to lose interest in the conversation .

Kano looked hard into his face You say .

that you paint noth ing else he challenged .

A re not these all of them your work ,

”
the creations of your fancy ? H e reached
out for the roll that Uchida had brought .

H is hands trembled I n his nervous excite

.

ment the papers fell scattering broadcast

,

over the floor .

T at su s dark face flashed into light My

’
“
.

pictures ! M y pictures ! he cried aloud ,

like a child .They always blow off down

the mountain !
Kano picked up a study at random It .

was of a mountain tarn lying quiet in the

su n
. T rees in a windless silence sprang
43
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
straight upward from the brink Beyon d .

and above these a few tall peaks stood thin

an d pale cutting a sk that was empty of
, y
all but light .

”
Where is the dragon here ? challenged
the old man .

A sleep under the lake .

”
A nd where here ? he asked qu i ckly in ,

order to hide his d i sc om fit ure The second .

p icture was a scene of heavy rain descending

upon a village O h I perceive for my self
.
, ,

he hurried on before Tatsu could reply .

The dragon lies ful l length half sleep ,

”
ing on the soaking cloud
, .

T at su s lip curled but he remai ned s i lent

’

, .

The old man s hands rattled among the

’

edges of the papers A h here Master

.
, ,

P ainter are you overthrown

, he cried tri
u m hant l y lifting the pain ting of a tall girl
p ,

who swayed against a cloudy background .

The lines of the thin gray robe blew lightly

to one side The whole figure had the poise
.

an d lightness of a vision ; y et in the face an

44
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
G ood b y l echoed the other
-
What .
“

”
do you mean ? What are you sayin g ?

The face of a horrible possibility j eered at

him H is heart pounded the lean ribs and
.

stood still Tatsu was upon his feet I n an

. .

instant more he would be gone forever .

Tatsu wait ! almost screamed the old

,

man .Surely you cannot mean to re

turn when you have but now arrived ! Be
seated I insist ! There is much to talk
.

about .

“
I have nothing to talk about When a .

thing is to be done then it is best to do it ,

quickly G ood b y l H e wheeled toward

.
-

the deepening night the torn and soiled ,

blue robe clinging to him as to the figure of

a primeval god .

“
Tatsu ! Tatsu ! cried the other in an
agony of fear Stop I command !
.

Tatsu turned scowling Then he laughed

, . .

N o no I did not mean the word com

, ,

mand I entreat you Tatsu because you

.
’

, ,

are young and I am old ; because I need

46
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
you D ear youth you must b e hungered
.
,

and very weary R emain at least until our

.

”
meal is served .

I desire no food of yours said Tatsu , .

Why did you summo n me when you had

nothing to reveal ? Y ou are no artist !
A nd I pine already for the mountains
, ,

Then Tatsu if I am no artist stay and

, , ,

teach me how to paint Yes yes you shall .

, ,

honorably teach me I shall receive reproof .

thankfully I nee d you Tatsu I have no

.
, .

son. Stay and be my son .

The short scornful laugh came again

, .

Your son What could you do with a son

like me You love to dwell in square cages ,

and wear smooth shiny clothes You eat .

tasteless foods and sleep like a cocoon that is

rolled My life is upon the mountains ;
.

my food the wild grapes and the berries that

grow upon them The pheasants and the .

mountain lions are my fri ends I stifle in .

these lowlands I cannot stay . I must .

breathe the mountains and there among ,

47
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
the peaks some some day I shallday —
touch her sleeve the sleeve of the D ragon ,

Maiden whom I seek Let me go old man ! .

,

I have no business in this place

I n extremes of desperation one clutches at
the semblance of a straw A last wild hope .
,

had flashed to K ano s mind Come nearer ’

.
,

Tatsu San he whispered forcing hi s face in

, ,

to the distortion of a smile Lean nearer . .

The real motive of my summons has not

”
been spoken .

Compelled by the strange look and man

ner of his host Tatsu retraced a few steps
, .

The old voice wheedled through the dusk .

I n this very house under my mortal con ,

trol the D ragon Maiden whom you seek

,

is hidden .

Tatsu staggered back then threw h imself ,

’
to the floor searching the speaker s face for
,

truth . Could you lie to me of such a thing

”
as this ? he asked .

N o Tatsu by the spirits of my ancestors

, , ,

I have such a maiden here S oon I shall .

48
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
show you O nly you must be patient and
.

”
very quiet that sh e may manifest herself
, .

I shall be quiet Kano I ndara , .

Kano shivering now with excitement and

,

relief clapped hands loudly and called on

,

’
Mata s name The old dame entered skirt
.
,

”
ing warily the vicinity of the madman .

Mata fix your eyes on me only while

,

I am speakin g began her master , Say to .

the D ragon Maid whom we keep in the

chamber by the great plum tree that I Kano ,

I ndara command her to appear The cos

, .

tume must be worn and let her enter sing ,

ing These are my instructions A ssist the

. .

maiden to obey them G o .

H is piercing look froze the questions on her

”
tongue And Mata he called again stop
.
, ,

ping her at the threshold bring at once ,

some heated sak e the best and follow it

, ,

closely with the evening meal .

”
K ashikom arim ashit a murmured the ser ,

vant dutifully But within t he safety of her

, .

kitchen she exploded into execrations mut ,

4 49
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
tering prophecies of evil with lamentations ,

that a Mad Thing from the mountains had

broken into the serenity of their lives .

Tatsu who had listened eagerly to the

,

commands now flung back his head and

,

drew a long breath My life being spent

among wild creatures he murmured as if to
,

himsel f little skil l have I in j udging the

,
“

ways of men H ow shall I believe that in

.

this desert of houses a true D ragon Maiden

”
can be found ? A gain he turned flashing
eyes upon his host I mistrust you .
,

Kano I ndara ! Your thin face peers like

a fox from its hole I f you deceive me
.
,

yet must I remain for should she ,

come $3

You shall soon perceive for yourself dear ,

”
D ragon Youth .

Mata entered with hot sak e G o ! We .

shall serve ourselves said Kano much to , ,

her relief .

I seldom drink observed Tatsu as the

, ,

old man fill ed his cup O nce i t m ade of .

50
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
me a fool But I will take a little now for I
.
,

am very weary with the long day .

I ndeed it m u st be so ; but good wine

,

”
refreshes the body and the mind alike ,

replied the other I t was hard to pour the

.

sak e with such shaking hands harder still to

,

keep hi s eyes from the beautiful sullen face

so near him and yet he forced the wrinkled
,

eyelids to conceal his dawning j oy I n .

T at su s strange submission the artist felt

’

that the n ew glory of the Kano name was

being born .

51
 OR a long interval the two men sat
in silence Kano leaned forward
.

from time to time filling the small ,

cup which Tats u — half in revery it seemed

had once more drained The old servant .

now and again crept in on soundless feet to

replace with a freshly heated bottle of sak e
the one grown cold So still was the place
.

that the caged cricket hanging from the

’
eaves of Um e s distant room beat time like
an el fin metronome .

Two of the four walls of the guest room -

were of shoji a lattice covered with t ransl u

,

cent rice paper These opened directly upon

-
.

the garden The third wall a solid one of

.
,

smoke bl u e plaster held the niche called tok

-
,
“

onoma where pictures are hung and flower

,

vases set .The remaining wall opening ,

52
 T HE DRAGON PAIN TER
'

I n one hand was held an ope n ed fan of

s ilver .

Tatsu gave a co nvulsive start then checked ,

himself H e could not believe the vision

.

real
. N ot even in his despairing dreams
had the D ragon Maid appeared so ex
quisit o A s he gazed one white clad foot
.
,
-

slid a few inches toward him on the shining

floor A nother step and she was i n the room
.
, .

The fusuma behind her closed as n o i selessly

as they had opened T atsu shivered a
.

little an d stared on With equal inten sity

, .

the old man watched the face of Tatsu .

The figure had begun to sway slightly at , ,

full length like long b ands of perpen dicular

,

rain across the face of a mountain A sing .

ing voice began rich passion ate and low

, , , ,

matching with varyin g intonation the marvel

lous postures of fan and throat and body A t .

first low in sound almost husky it flowered

, ,

to a note long held and graduall y deepening

in power I t gathered up shadows from the
.

heart and turn ed them i nto light .

54
 T H E D RAGO N PAIN TE R
Um e ko danced (or so she would have
-

told you ! only to ful fil her father s com ’

man d ; yet before she had reached the room

, ,

she k n ew that it would be such a dance as

neither she nor the old artist had dreamed of .

That first glimpse of T at su s face at the gate ’

had registered for her a notch upon the R e

volving Wheel of Life H is first spoken word .

had aroused in her strange mystic memories

from stranger hiding places Karma entered .

with her into the little guest room where -

sh e was to da n ce a n d charged the very air

with revelati on The words of the old

.

classic poem she had in her ignorance b e

lie ved famili ar she knew that she was now
,

for the first time really to sing .

N ot for one life but for the blossoming

of a thousand lives shall I seek my lover
, ,

”
shall I regain his love she sang N o longer
-

, .

was it Um e ko at all but in actual truth the

-
,

D ragon Maid held from her lover by a j e al

,

ous god seeking him through fire and storm

,

and sea peering for him into the courts of

,

55
 T H E DRAGON PAINTER
emperors the shrines of the astonished god s
, ,

the very portals of the under world -

.

A nd Tatsu listened without sou n d or

motion ; onl y his eyes burned like beacons
in a windless night Kano wriggled himself
.

backward on the matting that the triumph

of his face might not be seen N ow and .

again he leaned forward stealthily and filled

’
T at su s cup .

The unaccustomed fl u i d was already p our

’
ing in a fiery torrent through the boy s
vivid brain H is hands slipped within the
.
,

tattered blue sleeves grasp ed tightly each

,

the elbow of the other arm H is ecstacy .

was a drug enveloping his senses ; again it

,

was a fir e that threatened the very altar of

his soul . Through it all he as Um e ko ,
-
,

realized fulfilment H ere in this desert of

.

men s huts he had gained what all the tower

’

ing mountains had not been able to besto w .

H ere was his bride made manifest his mate

, , ,

the D ragon Maid found at last through cen

,

t u ri e s of barren searching ! Surely if he ,

56
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
should spring now to his feet catch her to ,

him and call upon his mountain gods for

aid they would be hurled together to some
,

paradise of love where only he and sh e and

love would be alive ! H e trembled and
caught in his breath with a sob Kano .

glided a few feet nearer and str u ck the ,

matting sharply with his hand .

Suddenly the dance was over Um e ko .

-

quivering now in every limb sank to the ,

floor She bo wed first to the guest of

.

honor then to her father Touching her

,
.

wet eyes with a silken sleeve she moved

backward to the rear of the room where she
seated herself upright motionless as the ,

wall itself between the two tall candles

, .

T at su s eyes never left her face O ld Kano

’
.
,

in the background rocked to and fro and, , ,

after a short pause of waiting clapped his ,

hands for Mata .

“
H ai i e i e i e i e ! came the thin voice long
- - - -
,

drawn out from the kitchen She entered

, .

with a tray of steaming food placing it b e ,

57
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
fore T atsu A second tray was brought
.

for the master and a fresh bottle of wine

, .

Um e ko sat motionless against the silver

-

fusuma an ivory image crowned and robed

, ,

in shimmering gray .

The odor of good food attracted T at su s ’

senses if n ot his eyes H e ate greed ily .

,

hastily n ot seeing what he ate H is man

, .

ners were those of an untutored moun tain

peasant .

D ragon Maid purred Kano weari , ,

ness has come upon you R etire I pray .

, ,

”
and deign to rest .

”
N o l said Tatsu loudly She shall not , .

”
leave this room .

My concern i s for the august maiden

who has found favor in your sight replied ,

Kano with a deprecating gesture

, H ere .
,

Tatsu let me fill your cup

, .

Tatsu thre w his cup face down to the floor ,

an d put his lean brown hand upon it , I .

drink no more until m y cup of troth with the

”
maiden yon der .

58
 T HE DRAGO N PAINTE R
’
Um e ko s startled eyes flew to his She
-
.

trembled and the blood slowly ebbed from

,

her face leaving i t pale and luminous with a

,

sort of wonder .

Go said Kano again and in a daze , , ,

the gi rl rose and vanished from the room .

Tatsu had hurled himself toward her but ,

it was too late H e turne d angrily to his

.

host. She is mine ! Why did you send

her away ?

G ently gentl y cooed the other

, , In .

this incarnation she is called my daughter .

”
I believe it not ! cried Tatsu H ow .

came she under bondage to you ? H ave I

not sought her through a thousan d lives ?

She is mine
Even so i n this l ife I am her father and
, ,

”
it is my command that she will obey .

Tatsu rocked and writhed in his place .

”
She i s a good daughter p ursued the ,

other amiably
, She has never yet failed in
.

docility and respect W ithout my consent you.

”
shall not touch her not eve n her sleeve,
.

59
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
I have sought her through a thousand
lives I W l ll slay him who tries to keep her
.

from me raved the boy .

To kill her father would scarcely be a

fortunate beginning said Kano tranquilly
, , .

Your hope lies in safer paths dear youth, .

There are certain social conventions attached

even to a D ragon Maid N ow if y ou will
.

cal m yourself and listen to reason

Tats u sprang to his feet and struck himself
Violently upon the brow The hot wine was
.

making a whirlpool of his brain R eason !

.
“

con vention ! safety ! I hate them all ! O h ,

you little men of cities ! Farmyard fowls

and swine running always to one st y follow
, ,

ing al ways one lead , doing things in the

one way that other base creatures have marked
out
Kano laughed aloud H is whole life had
.

been a protest against conventionality and ,

this impassioned denunciation came from a

n e w world . The sound maddened Tatsu .

H e leaped to the veranda now a mere ledge

,

60
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Kano glanced at the burning eyes the
,

quivering face and twitching muscles with a

smil e The intensity of ardor touched him
. .

H e drew a short sigh the look of compla ,

c e n c y left his for an instant and he began , ,

deliberately A s you may have gathered

,

from my letter I am without a son

, .

Tatsu nodded shortly .

Worse than this among all my disciples

,

here in Yeddo there has appeared none

worthy to inherit the name and traditions of
my race N ow dear youth when I first saw
.
, ,

these paintings of yours the hope stirred in ,

”
me that you might be that one .

D o you mean that I should paint things

as paltry as your own ?

N o not exactly though even from my

, ,

poor work you might gain some valuable l es

”
sons of technique .

“
I know n ot that word sai d Tatsu , .

When I must paint I paint What has , .

all this to do with the D ragon Maiden

Softly softly ; we are coming to that
,

62
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
now sai d Kano
, I f after trial I should
.
, ,

find you really worthy of adoption nothing ,

could be more appropriate than for you to

become the husband of my daughter .

Tatsu dug hi s nails into the matting of the

floor . Suitable appropriate husband !
he groaned aloud Farmyard cackle.
,

all of it O h to be j oined in the manner of

.
,

such earthlings to a D ragon Maid like this !

O ld man cannot even you feel the horror of
,

it ? N0 your eyes blink like a pig that has

,

eaten You cannot see She should be

. .

made mine among storm and wind and mist

on some high mountain peak where the gods ,

would lean to us and great straining forests

,

”
roar out our marriage hymn !
There is indeed something about it that
appeal s to me I t would make a fin e subj ect
for a painting
O h oh , gasped T atsu and clutched
, ,

at his throat When will you give her to

.

me Kano I ndara
,
? Shall it be to night ? -

—
T o n ight ? A re you raving ! cried the ”

63
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
astonished Kano I t would be at the very
least a month .

Tats u rose a nd staggered to the veranda .

A month ! he whispered to the stars .

Shall I live at all ? G ood night old man -

,

of clay he called suddenly and with a light

, ,

step was down upon the garden path .

Kano hurried to him Stop stop young .

, ,

sir ,he called half choked now with laughter , , .

“
D o not go in this rude way You are m y .

guest The women are even now preparing

.

”
your bed .

“
I lie n ot on beds j eered Tatsu through ,

the darkness Vile things they are like

.
,

the ooze that smears the bottom o f a lake I .

climb this hillside for my couch To mor .

-

row with the su n I shall return I

, ,

The voice trailing away through silence

,

and the night had a tone of supernatural,

sweetness When it had quite faded Kan o

.

stared on for a long time into the fragrant

, ,

solitude Stars were out now by thousands

.
,

a gold mosaic set into a high purple dome .

64
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
Off to the south a wide blur of artificial light
hung above the city the visible expression as
, ,

it were of the low human roar of li fe audi

, , ,

ble even in this sheltered nook To the north .

,

almost i t seemed within touch of his hands ,

the temple cliff rose black formidable and , ,

impressive a gigantic wall of silence The

, .

camphor tree overhead was thrown out darkly

against the stars like its own shadow The
, .

vel vety boom of the temple bell striking nine , ,

held in its echoes the color and the softness

of the h our .

Kano turning at last from the veranda

, ,

slowly re entered the guest room and seated

- -
,

himself upon one of the cushions that had

aroused T at su s scorn A dead cat
’
for.
,

sooth ! Well to old bones a dead cat might

be better than no cushion ! Mata had come
in very softly I prayed the gods for him
.
,

Kano was muttering aloud and I thank ,

them that he is here To morrow I shall .

-

make o ff ering at the temple Yet I have .

thanks too that there is but one of him

, ,
.

5 65
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
A h Mata
, you ,My hot bath is it ready ,
?

An d friend Mata do you recall a soothing

, ,

d raught you on ce prepared for me at a time

of great mental strain — there was I think , , ,

something I wished to do with a picture and ,

the picture would not allow it I should like .

”
a draught like that to night -
.

K ashikom ari m ashit a I recall it said .

,

old Mata grimly and I shall make it strong

, , ,

for you have something worse than pictures

”
to deal with now .

Thanks I was sure y ou would remem

.

”
ber smiled the old man and Mata disarmed
, , ,

of her cynicism could say no more

, .

Um e remained in her chamber She had .

not been seen sin ce the dance A ll her fu .

suma and shoji were closed Mata in leaving .

,

her master looked tentatively toward this

,

room but after an i mperceptible pause kept

,

on down the central passageway of the house

to the bathroom at the far end The place
, .

smelled of steam of charcoal fumes and cedar

, , ,

wood With two long thi n iron

. fire ,

66
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
sticks Mata poked from the top the heap
, , ,

of darkening coals in the cylindrical furnace

that was built into one end of the tub For .

the protection of the bather this was su r

rounded with a wooden lattice which being ,

always wet when the furnace was in use ,

never charred The tub itself was of sugi

.

wood After years of service it still gave out

.

unfailingly its aromatic breath and felt soft ,

to the touch like young leaves Sighing

, .

heavily the old servant bared her arm and

,

leaned over to stir the water to draw down

,

by long elliptical swirls of motion the heated

,

upper layers into cold strata at the bottom .

She then wiped her arm on her apron and

went to the threshold of the guest room to -

inform the waiting occupant I n te n min

.

utes more without fail the water will be at

, ,

”
right heat for your augustness .

N ow in the kitchen a great searching

, ,

among j ars and boxes on high shelves told of

preparation for the occasional brew A gain .

sh e thought of calling Um e Um e could

.

67
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
reach the highest shelf without standing on an
inverted rice pot or the even more precarious
-
,

fish cleaning bench A nd again for a reason

-
.
,

not quite plain to herself Mata decided not to ,

call She threw a fresh handful of twigs and

.

dried ferns to the sleeping ashes of the bra

zier set a copper skill et deep into the answer
,

ing flame and began dropping dried bits of

,

herbs into the simmering water I nstantly .

the air was changed — was tinged and inter

,

penetrated with hurrying spicy fumes with , ,

hints of a bitter bark of j ellied gum s of resin

, , ,

and a compelling odor which should have

been sweet but was on ly nauseating The
, .

steam assumed new colors as it rose Each .

sprite of aromatic perfume when released

plunged into noiseless tumult with oppos
ing fumes . The kitchen was a crucible ,

and the old dame a mediae val alchemist .

The flames and smoke striving upward as ,

if to reach her bending face m ade it glow ,

with the hue of the copper kettle a wrin ,

kled copper etched deep with lines of life of

, ,

68
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
All ,that was good he said heartily F ive .

years of aches have I le ft in the tub ! Within

his chamber the ando n was already lighted and ,

the long s ilken bed cushions spread Mata

,
-
.

assisted him to slip down carefully between

the mattress and the thin coverlid She .

patted and arranged him as sh e would a

child and then went to fetch the draught
, .

Mata thou art a treasure he said as sh e

, , ,

knelt beside him the bowl outstretched H e

, .

drained the last drop and the old friends ex

,

changed smiles of answering satisfaction B e .

fore leaving him sh e trimmed and lowered

the andon so that its yellow light would be a
mere glimmer i n the darkness .

She moved n ow deliberately to Ume s

fu suma tapping lightl y on the lacquered
,

”
frame Miss Um e ! O J o San l she called
.
“
.

N othing answered .

Mata parted the fusum a an i nch The .

Japanese matted floor even in darkness gives

, ,

out a sort of ghostly phosphorescent glow

, .

Thus i n the unlit space M ata co ul d p erceive

,

70
 T HE DRAGON PAINTER
that the girl lay at full length her D ragon ,

R obe changed to an ordinary house dress her ,

long hair unbound her face turned downward

,

and hidden on an outstretched arm I t was .

n ot a pose of grief neither did it hint of

,

slumber .

H onorable Young Lady of the H ouse ,

said Mata n ow more severely I came to an

, ,

n ounce your bath The august father having

.

already entered and withdrawn it is your turn , .

This time Um e answered her not however , , ,

changing her position I do not care to .

take the bath to n ight You enter I pray

-
.
, ,

without further waiting I I should like .

to be left alone nurse I myself will unroll

, .

”
the bed and light the andon .

M ata leaned n earer H er voice was a the .

at ri c al whisper I s it that you are outraged

.
,

my Um e ko at your father s strange demand

-
,
’

upon you ? I was myself angered H e would .

scarcely have do n e so much for a P rince of the

Blood ,
-
and to make you appear before so
cru d e an d ign orant a th ing as that
71
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Um e sat upright N o I am angered
.
,

at nothing I only wish to be alone A h

. .
,

nurse you have always spoiled me

, give ,

”
me my way .

Mata went off gr u mbling She wished that .

Um e had shown a more natural indignation .

The hot bath however notwithstanding

, ,

K an o s five lost years of pain presumably in

’

solution brought her c ase of body as did the

, ,

soothing potion ease of mind , .

Al l night long the old folks heavily slept ;

and all night long little Um e ko drifted in a -

soft slow rising flood of consciousness that

,

was neither sleep nor waking though wrought ,

of the intertwining strands of each A gain .

sh e saw the dark face in the gateway I t was .

a mere picture in a frame set for an artist s ,

’

j oy Then it seemed a summons calling her

.
,

to unfamiliar paths a prophecy a clew

, , .

Again she heard his voice an echo m ade ,

of all these things and more She tried to

, .

force herself to think of him merely as an

artist would think ; how the lines of the
72
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
shoulders and the throat flowed upward like ,

dark flame to the altar of his face H ow the

,
.

hair grew in flame upon his brow how the ,

dark eyes fearless and innocent with the look

,

of primeval youth indeed held a strange

, ,

human pain of searching The mere remem .

bered pictures of him rose and fell with her

as sea flowers or lo ng river grass but when
-
,

there came remembered shiver of his words ,

I drink no more until my cup of troth with

”
the maiden yonder ! then all drifting ceased
illusion was at an end With a gasp sh e felt
.

h erself falling straight down through a swirl

ing vortex of sensation to the very sand bed
,
-

of the stream N ow she was sitting upright

.

(the sand bed had suddenly become the floor of

-

her little room ! her hands pressing a heart that

,

was trying to escape her young eyes straining

,

through the darkness to see ah — she ,

could see nothing at all for the shining

She liste n ed now with bated breath think ,

ing that by some unconscious cry sh e might

have aroused the others N o Kano breathed .
,

73
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
on softly regularly in the next room ; while
, ,

from the kitchen wing came u nfaltering the

beat of Mata s nasal metronome
’
.

I n one such startled interval of waking her

caged cricket had given out its plaintive cry .

A ll at once it seemed to Um e ko an unbearable

-

thing for any spark of life to be so prisoned .

She longed to set him free but even though

,

she opened wide her shoj i the outer night

,

doors the amado stretched a relentless opaque

, ,

wall along the four sides of the house

, .

She lay quiet now for a long time I .

“

will return with the su n he had said S h e

, .

wished that the cricket were indeed outside ,

and could tell her of the first dawn stirring -

.

I t was very close and dark in the little room .

She had not lighted the andon after all I t .

could not be so dark outside W ith very .

cautious fin gers she began now to separate

the shoj i that opened on the garden side A
breath of exquisite night air rushed in to her
from the lattices above the amado I t would .

be a difli c u lt matter to push even one of

74
 T HE DRAGO N PAINTE R
these aside without waking the house Yet .
,

there were two things in her favor ; the n u

usually heavy sleep of her companions and
the fact that the amado had a starting point
in their long grooves from a shallow closet
very near her room So instead of having to
.

remove the Whole chain each clasping by a,

metal hand its neighbor she had but to

, ,

unbar the initial panel coax it noiselessly

,

apart j ust far enough to emi t a not too bulky

form and then the night would be hers
, .

There had been in the girl s life so little ’

need of cunning or of strategy that her inno

cent adventure now brought a disturbing
sense of crime She had unlatched the first
.

amado in safety and had her white arms

,

b raced to push it to one side when suddenly , ,

sh e thought , I am acting like a thief !

P erhaps I am feeling like a thief ! This is a
”
terrible thing and must displease the gods .

H er hands dropped limply she must not ,

continue with this deed Somewhere near .

her feet the cricket gave out an importunate

75
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
ch irp She stooped to him feeling about for
.
,

the little residence with tender groping hands , .

She must give him freedom though sh e dared ,

not take it for herself Yet it would be sweet

.

to breathe the world for its own sake once

more before he and the su n — returned .

T h e amado went back as if of itself In .

an instant Um e s face was among the dew

’

wet leaves of the plum tree O h it was .

,

sweet The night smelled of silence and the

stars She threw back her head to drink
.

it like a liquid She lifted t h e insect in its cage

. .

By holding it high against a star of special

,

brightness sh e could se e the tiny bit of life

,

gazing at her through i t s bars She opened the .

door of the cage and set it among the twigs of

,

the plum Then barefooted ungirdled with

.
, ,

hair unbound sh e stepped down upon the

,

stone beneath the tree and then to the garden ,

path .

76
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
the hillock the house the thick hedge lines
, ,
-

square at the corners with black bars hard as

wood against the purple night ; there were
the winding paths and little courts of open
gravel She could have p ut her hand out say
.
,

ing H ere on this point should be the tall

, , ,

stone lantern here in this sheltered curve a

, ,

fern Both lantern and fern would have been

in place ; and yet despite these evidences of
,

the usual all that once made the sunlit gar

,

den space an individual spot was in this dim , , ,

ghostly air transformed The S pirit of the

, .

whole had taken on weird meaning I t was .

’
as if Mata s face looked suddenly upon her
with the old abbot s eyes Fantastic possi ’

b ili t i es crouched ready to spring from every

,

shadow The low shrubs held themselves i n

.

attitudes of flight This was a world in which

.

she had no part She knew herself a paradox

.
,

the violator of a mood but the enchantment

held her .

She had reached now the edge of the pond .

I t was a surface of polishe d lacquer darker ,

78
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
than the night and powdered thick with the
,

gold of reflected stars Leaning over she .

,

marvelled at the silhouette of her own slim

figure I t did not seem to have an actual
.

place among these frail phantasmagoria A s .

sh e stared on sh e noticed that the end of the

pond farthest from her to the west quivered , ,

and turned gray She looked quickly upward

.

and around Yes there to the east was the

.
,

answering blur of light D awn had begun . .

She ran now to the top of the moon viewing -

hill The earth was wider here ; the dawn

.

more at home Below her where the city

.

used to be was no city only a white fog sea ,

-

without an island The cliff black at the

.
,

base rising gradually into thinner gray drove

, ,

through the air like the edge of a coming world .

A chill breeze swept out from the hollow ,

breathing of waking grasses and of dew The .

girl shivered but it was with ecstacy

, I .

climb this hillside for my couch to night ! ,

-

W as he too waking watching feeling himself

, ,

intr u der upon a soundless ritual There was

?

w
( 9
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
a hissing noise as of a fawn hurrying down a
tangled slope The hedge near the cliff end
.

of the garden dipped and squeaked and shook

indignant plumes after a figure that had dese
crated its green guardianship and was now ,

striding ruthlessly across the enclosure .

Um e heard and saw ; then wrung her hands

in terror I t was he of course
.
, the D ragon
,

P ainter ; and he would speak with her What .

c ould sh e do ? Family honor must be main

t ai n e d and so sh e could not cry for help
, .

Why had her heart tormented her to go into

the night Why had she not thought of this
?

possibility ? Because of it life happiness

, , ,

everything might be wrecked even before they

,

had dared to think of happiness by name

Tatsu had reached her Leaning close he
.

se t his eyes to her face as one who drinks

deep and silently .

I must not remain O h sir let me

.
, ,

pass sh e whispered .

H e did not speak or try to touch her .

A second gust of wind came from the cliff ,

80
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
blowing against his hand a long tress of her
hair I t was warm and perfumed and had
.
,

the clinging tenderness of youth H e shiv .

ered now as she was doing and stood looking

, ,

down at his hand Um e made a swift mo

.

tion as if to pass him ; but he threw out the

barrier of an arm .

I have been calling you all the night .

N ow at last you have come Why did you

, , .

never answer me upon the mountains

I ndeed I could not I was not permitted
, . .

A s you must se e for yourself lord in this , ,

”
incarnation I am but a mortal maiden .

”
“
I do not se e it for myself said Tatsu , ,

with a low triumphant laugh

, I see some .

”
thing different ! Suddenly he reached for
ward caught the long ends of her hair and
,

held them out to left and right the full width ,

of his arms They stood for a moment in i n

.

tense silence gazing each into the face of the

,

other The rim of the dawn behind them

.

cut with its flat gold disc straight down to

, , ,

”
the h eart of the world You a mortal ! .

81
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
said the boy agam exultantly
, W hy even .
,

now your face i s the white breast of a gr eat

,

sea bird your hair its shining wings and your

-
, , ,

soul a message that the gods have sent to

me ! O h I know you for W hat you are
, ,

m y D ragon Maid my bride !, H ave I not

sought you all these years tracing your face ,

on rocks and sand beds of my hills hanging

-

my prayers to every blossoming tree Come ,

you are mine at last ; here i s your master !

We will escape together while the stupid old
ones sleep ! Come soul of my so ul to our
, ,

mountains !
H e would have seized her but a quick pas , ,

si on at e gesture of repulsion kept him back .

I am the child of Kano I ndara she said , .

H e too has power of the gods and I obey

, , ,

him O h sir believe that you as I are

, , , ,

subj ect to his will for if you set yourself

,

against him
Kano I ndara concerns me not at all ,

cried Tatsu half an grily

, I t is with you
.
,

with you alone I speak ,

82
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Um e poised at the very tip of the h ill .

Look sir , the plum tree sh e whispered

, , ,

pointing So sudden was the change in voice

.

and manner that the other tripped and was

caught by it That longest leafy branch
.
,

touches the very wall of my room sh e went ,

on creeping always a little down the hill

,
.

“
I f you again will write such things to me ,

trusting your missive to that branch I shall ,

receive it and will answer O h it i s a bold

, .
, ,

u nheard of thing for a girl to do

-
but I shall ,

answer .

I should like better that you meet me

”
here each morning at this hour said Tatsu , .

The girl looked about her swiftly gave a ,

little cry and clasped her hands together

, .

See lord the day comes fast Mata m y

, , .
,

old nurse may already be astir I saw a

, .

flock of sparrows fly down suddenly to the

kitchen door A nd there above u s on the
.
, ,

great camphor tree the su n has smitten with,

a fist of gold
Tatsu gazed up and when hi s eyes returned
,

83
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
to earth he found himself companionless .

H e threw himself down a miserable heap

, ,

clasping his knees upon the hill N o longer .

was the rosy dawn for him H e found no .

timid beauty in the encroaching day H is

!
.

sullen look fastened itself upon the amado

beneath the plum tree The panels were now
.

tightly closed T he house itself soundless

.
,

and gray in the fast brightening space mocked ,

him with impassivity .

A little later when the neighborhood re

,

verberated to the slamming of amado and the

sharp rattle of paper dusters against taut shoj i
panes when fragrant faggot smoke went up
from every cottage and the street cries of
,

itineran t venders signalled domestic buying

for the day Mata discovered the wild man in
,

the garden and roused her sleeping master

,

with the news She went too to Um e s

.
, ,
’

room and was reassured to see the girl appar

,

ently in slumber within a neat bed the andon ,

burning temperately in its corner and the ,

whole place eloquent of innocence and peace .

84
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
drew a sigh of relief as he saw Tatsu take up
a plum and then accept from the servant s
, ,
’

hands a cup of steaming tea These th ings

, .

promised well for future docility .

I t could not be said that the meal was

convivial Um e k o had received orders from
.
-

her father not to appear T at su s eyes even .

’

as he ate roamed ever along the corridors of

,

the house o ut to the garden and pried at

, ,

the closed edges of the fusuma This rest .

lessness brought to the host new apprehen

sion Such tension could not last Tatsu
. .

must be enticed from the house .

After some hesitation and a spasmodic

clearing of the throat the old man asked , ,

“
Will you accompany me young sir upon , ,

”
a short walk to the city ?

“
Why should I go to the city ?

—
A h e r domo ! it is as you know , ,

the centre of the universe and has many ,

“

wonderful sights —great temples theatres

, , ,

wide shops for selling clothes

I care nothing for these things .

86
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
There are gardens too ; and a broad , ,

shining river Shall we not go to the au tumn

.

flowering garden of the H undred Corners ?

To such a place as that I woul d go alone ,

— or with her said the boy his disconcert

, ,

i ng gaze fixed on the other s face When ’

“
.

is the D ragon M aiden to appear ?

Kano looked down upon the matting H e .

cleared his throat again drained a fresh cup ,

of tea an d answered slowly Since she and

, ,

I are of the city not the mountains

, and
must abide in some degree by the city 8 social
laws you will not see her any more at all
, ,

unless it be arranged that you become her

husband .

“
And then if I become what you say
, ,

”
how soon ? the other panted .

I shall need to speak with the women

of my house concerning this said Kano in ,

a troubled voice H e too though Tats u

.
,

must not dream it chafed at convention ,

.

H e longed to set the m arriage for next

week — next day indeed
, and h ave the
, ,

87
 ‘

THE D R A GON PAINTER

waiting over Kano hated of all things to
.
, ,

wait Something might befall this untrained

.

citizen at any hour then where would the

,
-

fu ture of the Kano name be found ?

H e had scarcely noted how the boy

crouched and quivered in his place as an ,

animal about to spri ng This indecision .

was a goad a barb Yet he was helpless !

, .

The memory of Um e s whispered words ’

came back : H e too has power of the, ,

gods. Believe sir that you as I are

, , , ,

subj ect to his will H ow could it be per

.

m i t t e d of the gods that two beings like

themselves fle d ged of divinity touched
, ,

with ethereal fire were under bondage to

,

this wrinkled fox !

Tatsu flung himself sidewise upon the
floor and m ade as if to rise ; then in a dull
, ,

reaction settled back into his place

,
You .

say she is not to come before me in this

” 4

house to day -?

N0 nor on other days until your

, ,

marriage .

88
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
silence at the u nwelcomed comradeship K ano ,

hard put to it to match his steps with the

boy s long swinging mountain stride
’

, .

What am I to do with this wild falcon

”
for a month ? thought Kano half in despair , ,

yet smiling also at the humor

, , H e must .

be clothed , but how ? I would sooner

sheathe a mountain cat in silks ! The one
hope of existence during this interval is to
get him engrossed in painting ; but where is
he to paint I dare not keep him i n the
?

house with Um e nor with old Mata neither

, , ,

for she might poison him I f only A ndo .

Uchida had n ot gone away leaving no ,

address
Meantime i n the Kano home Mata and
, ,

Um e moved abo u t in diff erent planes of

consciousness The elder was still irritated
.

by the morning s eve n t She considered it a

’
.

personal indignity a family outrage that her

, ,

master should walk the streets of Yeddo with

a vagabond possessing neither hat n or shoes ,

and only half a ki mono .

90
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Each tended as usual her allotted house , ,

hold tasks There was no change in the

.

outer performance of the hours b u t Mata ,

remained alert disturbed and the girl tran

, ,

quilly oblivious The old face searching .

with keen eyes the young noted with

troubled frown the frequent smile the inter ,

vals of listless dreaming the sudden starts as , ,

by the prick of memory still n e w and d ipped ,

in honey There seemed to be in Um e ko

.
-

a gentle yearning for a human presence ,

though to speak tr u ly Mata could not be

, ,

certain that she was either heard or seen for

fully one half of the time The hour had .

almost reached the shadowless one of noon .

Um e ko s work was done She had taken up

-
’
.

her painting only to put it listlessly to one

,

side The pretty embroidery frame met the

.

sam e indignity She sat now on the kitchen

.

ledge while Mata made the fire and washed

,

the rice toying idly with a white pebble

,

chosen for its bea u ty from thousands on the

garden path Something in the childlike at
.

91
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
the placid irresponsible face brought
t it u d e , , ,

the old servant s impatience to a climax

’
.

She deliberately hurled a dart .

I suppose you know Miss Um e that , ,

your father may act u ally adopt this goblin

from Kiu Shiu
A h do you mean Sir Tatsu
“
,
? Y es I ,

know H e my father has al ways longed to

.
, ,

”
have a son .

A son is desirable when the price is not

too great said the old dame nodding
, ,

sagely You are old enough to realize also

.
,

Miss Kano Um e ko what is the meaning of

-

adoption into a family where there is a

”
daughter of marriageable age .

Um e s face drooped over u ntil the pebble

’

caught a rosy glow The old servant .

chuckled Eh young mistress you know

.
“
, ,

”
what I mean ? You are thinking of it ?

I am trying very hard not to think of it ,

said Um e .

Ma a a ! A nd I have little wonder for

- -

that fact ! Y our father will sacrifice you

92
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
O ne must not think of personal happi
ness, it is wicked D oes not even your.

old mumbling abbot on the hill tell you so

much ? A nd now of all times do not start
, ,

the dreaming You will be sacrificed to art

.
,

s aid Mata gloomily

, .

D o I look like my mother Mata San ,

The old dame wiped her eyes on her sleeve

that she might se e more clearly Something .

in the girl s pure upraised face caught at her

’

”
heart and the tears came afresh
, Wait .
,

she whispered stay where you are and you ,

shall see your mother s face S he went into

’
.

her tiny chamber and from her treasures

,

brought out a metal mirror given her by the

young wife Uta k o
, Look
-
close sh e
.
, ,

said placing it in U m e s hand

, That is the .

bride of nineteen years ago N ever have you .

looked so like her as at this hour

Kano came back alone tired dusty and , , ,

discouraged Tatsu had escaped him he said

.
, ,

at the first glimpse of the S umida R iver .

94
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
There was no tell n when he might return ,

whether he would ever return To at .

tempt control of Tatsu was like caging a

sto rm in bamboo bars Mata s eyes narrowed
.
’

at this recital Yet I fervently thank the

.

gods for him said the speaker sharply in

, , ,

defiance of her look .

R estored to comparative serenity Kano , ,

later in the afternoon sent for his daughter

, ,

and condescended to unfold to her those

plans in which sh e played a vital part .

Um e ko my child you have always been

-
, ,

a good and obedient daughter I shall expect

no opposition from you now he began in , ,

the manner of a patriarch .

Um e bowed respectfully Thank you .

,

dear father What has arisen that you think

.

”
I may wish to oppose ?

I did not say that I expected you to

oppose anything I said on the contrary
.
, ,

it was something I expected you not to

oppose.

I await respectfully the words which shall

95
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
tell me what it is I am not to oppose said ,

Um e k o quite i nnocently with another bow

-

, , .

Kano put on his horn rimmed spectacles -

.

There was something about his daughter n ot

altogether reassuring H is prearranged sen .

ten oes began to slip away like sand , .

I will S peak briefly I wish you to b e .

c om e the wife of the D ragon P ainter that we ,

may secure him to the race of Kano H e has .

no name of his own H e is the greatest .

painter since Sesshu The speaker waved

his hands A ll had been said
. .

I n the deep following silence each knew

,

that old Mata s ear felt like a hand at the

’

, ,

crevice of the shoji .

‘
Father are you sure ,have you yet ,

spoken to to him Um e ko faltere d at

— -
,
”
-

last . Would he augustly condescend

“

Condescend echoed the old man with a

laugh W hy he demanded it last n ight
.
, ,

even in the first hour of meeting H e was .

angered that I did not give you up at once .

H e says you are his already O h he is strange .

,

96
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
D o you give yourself so tamely to a dan
”
e rou s wild creature from the hills ? Mata
g
demanded of the girl .

“
Yes yes she ll marry him said Kano
, ,
’

, ,

before her words could come The date .

,

the earliest possible hour ! Will two weeks

be too soon ?

Two weeks shrieked the old dame and ,

staggered backward I s it of the sc av e n

.

”
ger s daughter that you speak
’
?

Four weeks then a m ont h

, I t cannot
, .

be more I tell you woman for a longer time

.
, ,

than this I cannot keep the youth at bay .

”
I s a month decent in convention s eyes ?
’

Mata began to sob loudly in her upraised

sleeve .

I se e that it is at least permissible said ,

Kano grimly , What a weak set of social

.

idiots we are after all Tatsu is right to

, .

scorn us ! Well well a month from this, ,

date deep in the golden heart of autumn

, ,

”
will the wedding be .

I f the day be propitious and the stars in

98
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
harmony supplemented Mata
, She shall .

not be married in the teeth of evil for tu ne if ,

I have to murder the D ragon P ainter with my

fish knife
-

O h go ; have the stars arranged to suit

,

”
you H ere s money for it !
. H e fumbled
’

in hi s belt for a purse of coin threw it to the ,

mats and over the old dame s stooping back

, ,
’

motioned Um e ko permission to withdraw-

.

The girl went swiftly thankful for the release , .

A good child — a daughter to thank the,

”
gods for chuckled Kano as she left
, , .

Mata looked sharply about then leaned to ,

her master s ear You are blind ; you are

’

an earth rat Kano I ndara This is not the

-

, .

usual submission of a silly girl Um e is think .

ing things we know nothing of D id you not .

see that her face was as a bean curd in its -

whiteness ? She kept so still only because ,

sh e was shaking in all directions at once .

There look at her now ! She is fleeing to

,

the garden with the uncertain step of one

”
drunk with deep foreboding !
99
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
Bah ! you are an old raven croaking in a
fog ! G o back to your pots I can manage .

my own child
You have never yet managed her or your
”
self either was the spoiled old servant s part
,
’

ing shaft.

Kano sat watching the slender errant figure ,

in the garden Yes she had taken it calmly

.
, ,

—more calmly than he could have hoped .

H ow beautiful wa s the poise even at this dis ,

tance of the delicate throat and the head

, , ,

with its wide crown of inky hair ! Each mo

tion of the slow strolling form in its clinging
-

robes was a separate loveliness .

Kano drew a long sigh H e could not .

blind himself to T at su s savagery This wa s

’
.

not the sort of husband that Um e had a right

to expect from her father s choice a youth ’

not only penniless and without family name

, ,

but i n himself unusual strange with look , , ,

voice gesture colorin g each a clear contrast

, ,

to the men that Um e ko had seen He -

.

could not bear the thought of her unhap

1 00
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
thou the dear one of my life
, ,
—the dead
young mother who has never really died !
H e folded his hands now and bowed his
,

head The small flame leaned to him N amu

. .
“

”
A mida Butsu N amu A mida Butsu mur
, ,

mured the old man .

O ut by the hill a butterfly snow white

, , ,

rested a moment on the young girl s hair ’

.

She was again looking at the cliff and did ,

not notice it
.

1 02
 V
ND O UC HIDA from his green secl u
,

sion among the bam b oo groves of

Meguro sent from time to time a
, , ,

scout into the city First an ordinary hotel

.

k ot su k ai or man servant was employed

-
This .

experiment proved costly as well as futile .

The k ot su kai demanded large payment ; and

then the creature s questions to Mata were of
’

a nature so crude and undiplomatic that they

aroused instant suspicion causing indeed the
, , ,

threat of a dipper of scalding water .

The next messenger was an insect ped

d l er K at su o Takanaka by name
,
I t was the .

part of this youth to search daily among the

bamboo stems and hillside grasses of Meguro
for the musical suz u mushi the hataori and
-
, ,

the ki rigiri su These he incarcerated in fairy

.

cages of plaited straw threaded the cages into

,

1 03
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
gr eat hornets nests tha t dangled from the two
’

ends of his creaking shoulder pole and started -

,

toward the city in a perfect storm of insect

music The n oise moved with him like a
.

cloud I t formed as it were a penumbra of

.
, ,

fine shrilling and could be heard for many

,

streets in advance This itinerant merchant

.

was commissioned to haunt the Kano gate

until impatience or curiosity should fling it
wide for him Then after having coaxed old
.
,

Mata into making a purchase he was to engage ,

her in conversation and extract all the do ,

m est i c information he could Unfortunately .

for the acquisition of paltry news it was ,

Um e ko not Mata who came out to pur

-

, ,

chase The seller watching those slim white

.
, ,

fingers as they fluttered among his cages the ,

delicate ear bent to mark some special chime ,

forgot the words of A ndo Uchida other ,

wise M r S Yetan of C hiku z e n forgot every

, . .
, ,

thing indeed but the beauty of the girlish

, ,

face near hi m .

H e left the house in a dream more dense

1 04
 T H E D R A GO N P A I N T E R
the Kano gate at noon within a few days ,

after T at s u s arrival Mata opened to his

’
.

call Being herself a P rotestant opposed to

.
,

the ancient orders and their methods she gave ,

him but a chilly welcome H er interest was .

aroused however in spite of herself by the fact

, , ,

that he neither chanted his refrain of suppli

cation nor ex tended the round wooden bowl .

I shall not entreat alms of money in this

place he said as if in answer to her look of
, ,

surprise I am weary and ask but to rest for

, ,

a while in the pleasant shade of your roof .

With out waiting for Mata s rej oinder ’

Um e k o who had heard the words of the

-

priest now came swiftly to the veranda

, .

O ur home is honored holy youth by your , ,

”
coming she said to hi m
, Enter now I .
“
,

pray into the main guest room where I and

,
-

my father may serve you .

The priest refused this homage (much to

Mata s inward satisfaction ! saying that he de
’

sired only the stone ledge of the kitchen e n

trance and a cup of cold water .

1 06
 T HE DRAGON PAINTE R
A fter his first swift upward look he dared
not raise his eyes again The sweetness of .

her young voice thrilled and troubled him .

But for his promise to Uch ida he would have

fled at once as from temptation Um e k o
, .
-

seei ng his embarrassment withdrew but not , ,

until she had made an imperious gesture to

old M ata commanding her to serve him with
,

rice and tea .

A fter a short struggle with himself the

priest decided to accept the o ffer of foo d .

O ld Mata he kne w was to be his source of

, ,

information The old dame served him in

.

conscious silence H er lips were compressed

.

to wrinkled metal The visitor more accus

.
,

t om e d to old women than to young smiled ,

at the rigid countenance knowing that a ,

loquacity requiring so obvious a latch is the

more easily freed H e planned his first ques
.

tion with some care .

I s this not the home of an artist Kano ,

”
by name ?
Mata tossed her gray hair O f the only .

1 07
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
Kano she replied and shut her lips with a
, ,

snap .

The only Kano the only Kano mused , ,

the acolyte over his tea .

“
So I said young sir I s it that your
, .

hearing is honorably non existent -

Then I presume he is without a son ,

said the priest as if to himself and stirred the ,

surmise into his rice with the two long wooden

chopsticks Mata had provided .

The old dame s muscles worked but she

’

kept silence .

Um e ko now in her little chamber across

-

the narro w passage with a bit of bright ,

colored sewing on her knees could hear each ,

word of the dialogue Mata s shrill voice .

’

a n d the priest s deep tones each carried well

’
.

The girl smiled to hersel f realizing as she did ,

the conflict between love of gossip and dis

approval of Shingon prl e st s that now made a
paltry battlefield of the old d ame s mind ’
.

The former was almost sure to win The .

priest m ust have thought this too for he , ,

1 08
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
Mata had a momentary convulsion upo n
the kitchen floor and was still , .

The priest kept gravity upon his mouth ,

bu t needed lowered lids to hide the t w1 nkl e s

in his eyes True religion is the greatest
.

boon he dr oned sententiously

, Would .

that your poor master had reached en

light e n m e n t
Um e ko in her room forgot her sewing
-
,

and leaned a delicate ear closer to the shoj i .

O ld Mata s wall of reserve we nt down

’

with a crash H e believes as you b e

.

lieve sh e cried out shrilly All your .

“

Shingon chants and invocations and miracles

he has faith in I s t hat not what you call
.

enlightenment ? H e and Miss Um e worshi p

together almost daily at the great temple
above us on the hill The two finest stone .

lanterns there are given in the name of my

master s dead young wife
’
H er i hai i s in .

this house and an altar and they are well

, ,

tended I assure you ! My master is a true

,

believer poor man and what has his belief

, ,

1 1 0
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
brought him Ma a a ! all this mummery
? - -

”
and servi ce and what has come of it ?

I perce i ve with regret that you are not

”
of the Shingon sect remarked the priest , .

Me ? I should say not ! snorted Mata .

I am a Protestant a good Shinshu woman

, ,

that s what I am and I tell you so to your

’

face ! When I pray I kno w what I a m ,

praying for I trust to my own good deeds

.

and the intercessio n of A mida Butsu N o .

”
muttering and mummery for me !
”
A h ! said the priest a most alluri ng ,

note of interest now audible in his voice ,

your master has so zealously importuned

”
the gods and you say with no result
, ,
?
,

”
A y a res u lt has come answered the old
, ,

dame sullenly
, W ithin this week the gods
.
“

or the demons — have heard my master ,

”
for a wild thing from the hills is with us !
“
Wild thing ? D o you mean a man ?

A semblance of a man though none ,

such will you se e in the streets of a respect

”
able town .

1 1 1
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
B utdoes your master began the
priest in some perplexity
,

Mata cut him short Because he can .

smear ink onpaper with a brush my master ,

dotes on him and says he will adopt him !

The woman s fierce sincerity transmitted
’

vague alarm Slipping his hands within his

.

gray sleeves the acolyte began fin gering his

,

short rosary as he asked I s the wild man ,

”
now under this very roof ?

“
N ot under a roof when he can escape it ,

you may be sur e ! H e comes to us only

when driven by hunger of the stomach or
the eyes D oubtless at this moment he wal
.

lows among the ferns and sa sa grass of the -

mountain side or lies face down in the ceme

,

t ery near my mistress grave H e is mad

’
.
,

my master is mad and Miss Um e if she

, ,

really gives herself in marriage to the moun

”
tain lion madder than all the rest !
,

That beautiful maiden whom I saw will

”
be given to such a one ? asked the priest ,

in a startled way .

1 1 2
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
are advisable I am convinced that this
.

house is bewitched that the D ragon P ainter ,

has a train of elementals in attendance .

Now if we could only drive him forever

,

from the place H ave you by any chance.

, ,

a powder or an amulet or a magic invocation

, ,

”
you could give me ?

”
“
N o no ! I dare not ! said the other
, ,

in an agitated voice H e reached out for .

his bowl and with a single leap was down

, ,

u pon the earth Mata caught him by his .

”
flying skirts See here sh e entreated I
.
, ,
“

will make it worth your while young sir , ,

I will give donations to your temple

I dare not I have no instructions to
.

meddle with such things Let me n ow give .

the h ouse a blessing and withdraw But I , .

”
can tell you for your comfort he added , ,

seeing the disappointment in her wrinkled

face if as you assure me this is a house
,
“
, ,

of faith no presence entirely evil could dwell

,

”
within it .

H e got away before sh e could repeat her

1 1 4
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
importunities ; and the old dame returned
to the kitchen muttering anathemas against
,

the mystic powers she had j ust attempted

to invoke.

O n the priest s return A ndo questioned

’

him eagerly H e gained almost with the

.
,

first words certainty of his own freedom

, .

With Tatsu safely arriv ed and the betrothal ,

to Kano Um e ko an outspoke n aff air then

-

had the time come for him A ndo Uchida

— to reassume the pleasant r ole of friend
and benefactor .

H e moved into Yeddo before nightfall .

H i s first visit was of course to Kano

, , .

Elaborately he explained to the sympa

thetic old man how he had been summon ed
by telegram mto a distant province to at
tend the supp osed death bed of a relative
-

how that relative had by a miracle re c ov

, ,

”
ered. So now he remarked in conclusion
, ,

I am agai n at your service and shall take ,

the part not only of n akod o in the coming

1 1 5
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
marriage but of temporary father and social
,

”
sponsor to our unsophisticated bridegroom .

Certainly nothing could have been more

’
opportune than Uchida s reappearance or ,

more welcome than his proposed assistance .

Mata indeed hastened to give a whole koku

, ,

of rice to the poor in thank o ffering that one -

sensible person besides herself was n ow i m

plicated in the wedding preparations .

Uchida j ustified many times over her

, ,

belief in him I n the district near the Kano

.

home he rented in T at su s name a small

’

, ,

cottage paying for it by the month in

, ,

advance .With Mata s assistance not to ’

mention a small colony of hirelings the ,

floors were fitted with new mats the wood ,

work of the walls the posts and veranda

, ,

floors polished to a mirror like brightness -

,

and even the tiny garden set with new turf .

a nd flowering
plants Tatsu .was lured down
from the mountain side and persuaded to re
main at night and part at least of each day
, , ,

in this little haven of c om m g j oy .

1 1 6
 T H E DR AGON PAINTER
Uchida the wise said
, Wait I t was
, ,
“

Mata who finally precipitated the crisis O ne .

rainy morning being already in an ill humor

,

over some trifl ing household aff air sh e was ,

startled and annoyed by the sudden vision

of T at su s head thrust noiselessly into her
’

kitchen R udely sh e had slammed t h e shoji

.

together calling out to him that he had

,

better be off doing the one thing he was

fit to do rather than to be skulking around
,

her special domain Tatsu had as rudely .

, ,

reopened the shoj i panels tearing a large ,

hole in the translucent paper H e had .

“

come merely for a glimpse of the D ragon

”
Maid he told the angry dame
, I n a few .

days more she was to be his wi fe and ,

this maddening convention of keeping him

always from her was eating out his Vitals
with red fire so declared Tatsu and let
, ,

the consuming passion blaze in his sunken

eyes.

But Mata undismayed stood up in scorn

, ,

ful silence She was gathering herself to

.

1 1 8
 T H E DR AGON PAINTE R
gether like a storm and in an instant more
,

had hurled upon him the full terror of he r

vocabulary She called him a barbari an a
.
,

mountain goat a Tengu — better mated

, ,

to a fox spirit or a she d emon than to a -

decent girl like her young mistress She .

denounced her erstwhile beloved master as a

blind old dotard and the idolized Um e she
, ,

declared a weak and yiel ding idiot T at su s .

’

attempts at retort were swept away with a

hiss For a while he raged like a flame upon
.

the doorstep but he was no match for his

,

vigorous opponent I t was something to

.

realize his own defeat G asping he turned

.
,

to the friendly rain and would have darted

from the gate when with a swoop like a fal
,

con Mata was bodily u pon him H e threw

, .

his right arm upward as if to escape a blow ,

but the old dame did not belabor him She .

was trying to thrust something hard and

strange into his other hand H e glanced .

toward it The last indignity of an um

.

brell a !“
O p en it m ad m an ! sh e cried
,

1 1 9
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
shrilly after hi m , and hold yo u r robe u p
it is one of your new silk ones
Tatsu had never used an umbrella in his
life N ow he opened it eagerly A nything
. .

to escape that frightful voice ! In the windy

street he clutched at his fluttering skirts as
he had seen other men do and with a last
, ,

terrified backward glance ran breathlessly

,

toward the haven of his temporary home .

The little house was empty Tatsu was .

thankful for so much The rooms were

.

already pro haun ted by dreams of Um e ko

- — .

Tats u felt the peace of it sink deep into

his soul I nstinctively his wandering feet
.

led him into the little painting roo m A s .

usual the elaborate display of artist materials

,

chilled him After his recent exasperation

.

he longed to c ase his heart of a sketch but ,

obstinacy held him back H e sat down in

.

the centre of the space A bevy of small

.
,

squeaking sounds seemed to enclose him .

I t took him some moments to recognize

them as the irritating rustling of his silke n
1 20
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
and smelled of foreign soap For an instant.

he tore at it angrily and was minded to de

,

stroy it but the sense of familiarity held him

, .

H e wrapped it about him slowly and with ,

bent head again seated himself upon the floor

, .

The rain n ow fell in quivering wir es of

dull light The world was strung with them
.

like a harp and upon them the wind played

,

a monotonous refrain Against the wall near

.

Tatsu stood a light framework of wood with

the silk already stretched and dried for paint
ing At his other hand a brush slanted side
.

wise from a bowl of liquid ink The boy s .

’

pulses leaped toward these things even while

his lips curled in disdain at the shallow
decoy . So they expect to trap me these
“
,

geese and j ailers who have temporary dom

”
i n an c e over my life thought he in scorn
, , .

N o even though he now desired it of him

,

self he would not p aint ! Let him but gain

,

—
his bride then n othing should have power
to sting or fret him But oh these endless
.
, ,

days and hours of waiting ! They corrode d

1 22
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
his very thought as acid corrodes new metal .

H e felt the eating of it now .

A spasm of pain and anger distorted his

face H e gave a cry caught up suddenly
.
,

the thick hak e brush and hurled it across the

,

room toward the upright frame of silk I t .

struck the surface midway a little to the ,

l e ft ; pressed and worked against it as though

held by a ghost and t hen falling dragged
, , ,

lessening echoes of stain .

’
T at su s mirthless laugh rang out against
the sound of dripping rain The childish .

outburst had been of some relief H e looked .

defiantly toward the white rectangle he had

j ust defaced D efaced The boy caught in his
.
?

breath H e thrust his head forward leaning on

.
,

one hand to stare That bold and u npre m ed i

.

t at e d stroke had become a shadowed peak ; the

trailing marks of ink a splendid slope H ad .

he not seen just such a one in Kiu Shiu had — ,

he not scaled it crying aloud upon it s sum

,

mit to the gods to yield him there his bride ?

Trembling now and weak he crawled on

, ,

1 23
 THE DR AGON PAINTE R
hands and knees toward the frame H e had .

forgotten Kano Uchida Mata ,

— forgotten , ,

even Um e ko Fingers not h i s own lifted

-
.

the fallen br u sh The wonderful cold wind

.

of a dawning frenzy swept clean his soul .

H e shivered ; then a sirocco of fir e followed

the void of the wind The spot where his .

random blow had struck still gleamed tran

S pare n t j et H e dragged the blackened
.

brush through a vessel of clear water then ,

brandished it like the m adman Mata thought

him With the soft tuft of camel hair he
.

blurred against the peak pale luminous vapor ,

of new cloud Turning twisting sidewise

.
, ,

this way then that the yielding implement

, , ,

he se emed to carve upon the silk broad silver

pl anes of rock until there rose up a self
,

revealing Vision the granite cli ff from which

,

a thin white waterfall leaps out

, .

But this one swift achievement onl y whet

ted the famished appetite to more creative
ardor Sketch after sketch he m ade some to
.
,

tear at once into strips others to fling care ,

1 24
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
le ssly aside to any corner where they might
chance to fall others again to be stored cun
, , ,

n in l y upon some remote shelf to which old

g
Kano and Uchida and Mata could not reach ,

but whence he Tatsu the D ragon P ainter

, , ,

should in a few days more withdraw them

, ,

and show them to his bride The purple dusk .

brimmed his tiny garden and yet he could ,

not stop A rt had seized him by the throat

.
,

and shook him as a prey Uchida peering

, .
,

at him from between the fusuma perceived ,

the glory and turned away in silence ; nor for

that day nor the next would he allow any one
to approach the frenzied boy The elder man .

had himself in youth fared along the valleys

, ,

of art and knew the signals on the peaks

, .

Tatsu unconscious that the house was not

,

still empty painted on Sometimes he sobbed

, . .

Again an ague of beauty caught him and he ,

needed to hurl himself full length upon the

mats until the ecstacy was past Just as the .

daylight went he saw upon the one great,

glimmering square of silk as yet immaculate ,

1 25
 T H E D R AG O N P A I N T E R
a dream of Um e k o the D ragon Maiden who
-

, ,

had danced before him This was an appari.

tion too holy to be limned in artificial light .

When the su n came next day he kn ew well

, ,

what there was for him to do H e placed the .

frame upright where the first pink beam would

,

fin d it Brushes water vessels and paints were

.
, ,

placed in readiness wit h such n eatness and

,

precision that old K an o s heart would have ’

lau ghed in pleasure That night the shoj i and

.

amado were not closed Tatsu did n ot sleep

. .

I t was a night of consecration H e walked .

up and down sometimes in the narrow room

,

sometimes in the garden O ften he prayed . .

A gain he sat in the soft darkness before the ,

ghostly glimmer of the silk tracing upon it ,

visions of ethereal light When at last the .

, ,

dawn came in Tatsu bowed to the east with

, ,

his usual prayer of thankful piety then with , ,

the exaltation still upon him lift ed the silver ,

thread of a brush and drew his first conscious

outline of the woman soon to be his wife .

1 26
 VI
H R O U GH all these busy days
Um e ko moved as one but little in
-

t erest e d Kano and Uchida noticed

.

nothing unusual To them she was merely

.

the conventional n on enit y of maidenhood

that Japanese etiquette demanded I t n ever .

entered their heads that she would n ot have

agreed with equal readiness to any other
husband of their choosing .

Mata knew her idol and nursling er .

H ints of character and of deep se a -

had risen now and again to the surface of the

girl s placid life There were currents under
’
.

neath that t he fat her did not suspect O nce

h

.
,

during her childhood a pet bird had been ih

,

j ured in a fit of anger by old Kan o Um e .

ko with her ashen face under perfect control

, ,

had killed the su ff ering creature and carrie d

1 27
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
it wrapped in white paper to her own room
, , .

The father ashamed now and filled with gen

, ,

u i n e remorse had stormed u and down the

p ,

garden paths reviling himself for an impatient

,

ogre and promising more restraint in future

, .

Mata silent for once had crept to her child

, ,

mistress close shut walls heard the last sob

’
-

bing words of a Buddhist prayer for the dead ,

and burst through the shoj i in scant time to

catch back the stroke of a dagger from the
girl s slim upraised throat
’

, H er terrified .

screams summoned Kano and the neighbors

as well A priest hurried down from the
.

temple on the hill I n time the culprit was

.

reduced to a condition of tearful penitence ,

and gave her promise never again to attem pt

so cowardly and wicked a thing as self
destruction unless it were for some noble
,

and impersonal end .

The good old priest to comfort her , ,

ch anted a sutra over the bier of her lost play

mate and bestowed upon it a high sounding
,
-

Buddh i st kaim yo which Kan o carved in his ,

1 28
 TH E D RAGO N PAIN TE R
o nces and achieve a shining and substantial
,

success .

But even had the key of art been thrust

into the old dame s groping hand and even
’

had her master guided her there was a n inner ,

chamber of Um e s heart which they could not

’

have found Um e herself had not known of

.

it until that fir st instant when now three ,

weeks ago a strange young face hung abo u t

, ,

with shadows had peered into her father s

,
’

gate With the first sound of his voice she

.
,

had entered in had knelt before a shrine

,

whereon wrapped in fire a Secret lay Ever

, , .

since sh e had needed to guard that shrine ,

not indeed for fear that the light would fal

, ,

ter but rather that it might not leap up and

, ,

lay waste her being A s one guards a flame .

,

so Um e k o with silence and prayer and self

-
,

enforced tranquillity guarded the sacred spark ,

from winds of passion Each day at dawn .

,

and again at twilight of each day it flamed ,

high and was hard to conquer for with dawn ,

a letter was hers held i n the night wet -

1 30
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
branches of her dragon plum and each night -
,

when Mata and her father thought her sleep

ing an answer was written and committed to
, ,

the keeping of the tree .

When Tatsu did not paint or rest from ,

sheer exhaustion he was writing Um e

, .
,

bending above his words shivering at times , ,

or weeping marvelled that the tissue had not

,

charred beneath the thoughts burned into it .

T at su s phrases were like his paintings u n

’

usual vital almost demoniac in force shot

, , ,

through and through at times with the bolt

of an almost unbearable beauty H er own .

words answered his as the tree tops answer

,
-

storm with music Verse alone could ease

, .

the girl of her ecstacy and each recorded ,

and triumphed in the demolition of yet

another day A nother stone b eloved thrust
.
“
, ,

down from the dungeon wall that severs us

v ift l y the heap of wedding garments
grew There were delicate kimonos as thin
.
,

and gray as mist with sunset colored inner

,
-

robes of silk ; gowns of li nen a nd cotton “

1 31
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
for indoor wear ; bath and sleeping robes
with great designs of flowers birds or land , ,

scapes ; silken bed quilts and bright floor

-
.

cushions ; great sashes crusted like bark

with patternings of gold dainty toilet acces
s ori es of hairpins girdles collarettes shop
, , ,

ping bags purses j ewel cases

-
, , and new
-
,

sandals of various sorts each W ith velvet ,

thongs of some delicate hue .

The sewing was of course done at home

, , .

Mata would have trusted this sacred rite to

no domination but her own She worked .

incessantly planning cutting scolding

, , , ,

hurrying off to the shopping district for

some forgotten item conferrin g with A ndo
,

Uchida about the details of T at su s outfit ’

then returning flushed with success and i m

,

portance to new home triumphs

,
.

Um e sewed steadily all day H er painting .

material s had been put meekly aside and as , ,

a further precaution at old Mata s hands ’

hidden under the kitchen flooring Toward .

the last it was found necessary to employ an

1 32
 THE DRAG O N PAIN TE R
but can she be happy That i s what I ?

wish to know The creature she is being .

forced to marry i s more like a mountain l i on -

than a man
—
Ma a a ! I s he dangerous
- ? W ill he
”
bite her ? questioned the other hopefull y , .

A mida alone knows what he will do with

”
her croaked Mata in a sepulchral voice
, , .

The subj ect was one not to be readily re

l in q u i sh e d The facts being honorably as you
.

”
relate began the hired seamstress her n eedle
, ,

held carefully against the light for threading ,

how i s it that t he august father of the illu s

”
trio n s young lady permits such a marriage ?

Mata s eyes gleamed sharp and bright as

’

the needle Because he is as mad as the

.

wild man and all for pictures

, T hey would
strip their own skins off if that made better
parchment Miss Um e has been influenced
.

by them and now is to be sacrificed A las !

, .

the evil day and Mata wiped away some

genuine tears on the hem of a night robe -

sh e had finished .

1 34
 T H E D R A GO N PA I N T E R

O kin od oku Sama my spirit is poisoned ,

by your grief murmured the other sympa

, ,

thetically Yet in your place I should

.
, ,

find great comfort in the outfit of your

mistress N ever even in the sewing halls of
.
,

princes could more beautiful silks be gath

,

”
ered. She looked about slowly with the air ,

of a professional who sees something really

worthy of regard .

Mata s face cleared

’
Since the gods .

allow it I should not complain sh e ad

, ,

m itt e d I ndeed Mr Uchida and 1 are

.
, .

doing well by the young couple in the mat

ter of silks and house furnishings A nd .

whisper this not no one but he and I

dream from what source these splendid fab
rics come !
M ata had thrust a poisoned arrow of curi
osit
y into her listener and knew it Some , .

day perhaps the very day before the wed

,

ding she might reveal it For the present

, .
,

as she said n o one but herself and Uchida

,

knew .

1 35
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
More than once during sewing hours ,

Um e ko herself had wondered how her father

-

was able to give her silks of such beauty and

variety . With the u n t hrif l: of the true
artist Kano was always poor The old man
,
.

would have been as surprised and far angrier

than his daughter had he known that T at su s
,
’

pictures stolen craftily by the confederates

, ,

Uchida and M ata and sold in Yokohama for

,

about a tenth of their true value were the ,

source of this sudden affluence Tatsu re .

mained ignorant also But provided they

, .
,

took no image of Um e s face he would not ,

have cared at all N e w garments new mats

.
, ,

dainty household furnishings were showered ,

u pon him too ; but they might have been

,

autumn leaves for all the interest he showed

, .

To gain his D ragon M aid to know that

,

in this life she was irrevocably his —that ,

was T at su s one conscious thought

’
.

The wed d ing day came at last Um e ko .

-

had written no letter on the eve of it but all ,

night long she felt that he was near her ,

1 36
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
coolies There were boxes of cakes fruit
.
,

and eggs ; and j inrikishas piled with a med

ley of gifts Even Kano was impressed
. .

Uchida rubbed his two fat hands together

and laughed at everything Um e ko watch .
-

ing the moving shadows pass under her

father s gate roof closed her eyes quickl y
’
-
,

and caught her breath The next gift from

.

the Kano home was to be herself .

By this time autumn was upon the year .

A few early chrysanthemums opened small

golden suns in the garden D odan bushes .

a n d maples hinted at a crimson splendor soon

to follow The icho trees stood like pyramids

.

of gold ; and suzuki grass upon the hillsides

brushed a cloudless blue sky with silken
fingers I n the garden autumn insects sang
.
,
.

Um e ko s k irigiri su which some weeks before

-
’

, ,

sh e had released from its c age had as if in , ,

gratitude made a home among the lichens of

the big plum tree Um e believed that sh e al
.

ways knew its voice from among the rest no ,

matter how full the chorus of silver chimin g .

1 38
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
She had gone back to her room and sat now , ,

in the centre of it staring toward the garden

, .

N oon had crept upon it devouring all shadow , .

H er eyes saw little but the golden bl ur A .

fusuma opened softly and t wo women Mata , ,

and the attendan t seamstress came m incing ,

and smirking toward her each with an armful ,

of white silk Um e rose like an automaton

.
’

T hey began her toilet talking the while in ,

low voices They robed her in white with a

.

thin lining edge of crimson and threw over

-

her shining hair a veil of tissue Some one .

outside c alled that the bride s kuruma was at ’

the gate O ld Kano entered the room smil

.
,

ing H is steps creaked and rustled with new

.

silk Um e turned for one fleeting glimpse of

.

her plum tree I t seemed to stir and wave

.

green leaves t oward her With head down .

bent the girl followed her father thro u gh the

,

house .

Mata helped them into the two new shin ,

ing j inrikishas a dragon crest blazoned on

,
-

the one for Um e s u se She scolded the ’

1 39
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
kuruma men in her shrill voice giving a ,

dozen instructions in one sentence and pre ,

tending anger at their answering j ests O n .

the doorstep stood the little seamstress ready

to cast a handful of dried peas When Kano .

and Um e ko were off Mata scrambled ex

-
,

c it e d l into her own vehicle H er human

y .

steed turning round for an impudent and

,

good natur ed stare drawled out an unprint

-
,

able remark The seamstress shrieked

.

”
“
sayonara and pelted space with the peas .

A fterward she ran on foot down the slope of

the hill and j oined the smiling crowd of
lookers on Soon it was over The peddler
-
. .

picked up his pack and the children their

,

toys G ates opened or slid aside in panels

.

to receive their owners The j angling of .

s m al l gate bells made the hillside merry

-

for an instant then busy silence again took

,

possession .

N o one at all was left in the Kano home .

The little cottage of Um e s birth of her short ’

, ,

happy life and dawning fame drew itself ,

1 40
 I! days were gone The marriage was
.

a thing accomplished yet old Kano ,

sat
, lean dispiri ted drowned appar
, ,

ently in depths of fathomless despair in the ,

centre of his corner room Mata busy about

.
,

her household tasks sometimes passed across

,

the matting or flaunted a dusting cloth withi n

,
-

a partly opened shoji A t such moments her

.

look and gesture were eloquent of disdain .

H er patience long tried by the kindly irri

,

table master was about at an end Surely a

, .

spoiled old man child like the crouching fig

-

ure yonder would exhaust the forbearance

of J i z o S ama himself !
Six days ago he had been happy indeed , ,

too happy ! for he and Uchida had drunk

themselves into a condition of giggling bliss ,

and had needed to be taken away bodily

1 42
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
from the bridal bower hoisted into a d ouble ,

j inrikisha and driven off ignominiously still

, ,

e m b ra c m still pledging with tears an eter

g ,

n it y of brotherhood Y es on that day Kano

.
,

had hailed the earth as one broad enamelled ,

sak e cup the air a new infusion of heavenly

-

, ,

brew But now .

Mata ! the thin voice came are you ,

certain that this is but the sixth day of my

”
son s wedding
’
?

I t is but the sixth day indeed since your , ,

daughter s sacrifice to a barbarian if that is

’

”
what you mean returned Mata with a bel
, ,

l iger e nt flo ur ish of her paper duster .

“
That is what I meant said the other , ,

passively Then the week is not to be fin

.

i she d until to morrow at noon

-
Twenty four .
-

hours of torture to me ! I suppose th at the

ingrates will count time to the last shadow
O h Mata Mata you once were a faithful
, , ,

servant ! Why did you let me make that

foolish promise of giving them an entire
week A day would have been ample ,

1 43
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
then Tatsu and I could have begun to
paint.

A ra ! said Mata uttering a sound more

,

forcible than respectful H ad it been a

.

decent person thus married to my young

mistress instead of a mountain sprite they
, ,

”
should have had a month together !
K a n o groaned under the s u ggestion .

Then heartless woman at the end of

, ,

the month you would have been without

a master ; for surely my suff erings would ,

in a month have shrunk me to an insect

,

gaki chirping from a tree .

I t is to me a matter of honorable amaze

ment that in one week you are not ah e ad y '

”
a gaki with your incessant complaints re
, ,

t ort e d the old dame still unrelenting

, .

I f I could be sure he i s painting all this

”
interminable time, said Kano to himself ,

wringing the nervous hands together .

You may be augustly sure he is n ot ,

chuckled the cruel Mata .

T he ol d man got hastily to h i s feet .

1 44
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
N ext day exactly a t the hour of noon the
, ,

culprits tapped upon K an o s wooden gate ’

.

D uring the morning the old man had been

in a condition of feverish excitement but ,

now that the agony of waiting had forever

ceased he assumed a pose of indifference
, .

Tatsu entered first as a husband should

, .

I n mounting the stone which served as step

to the railless veranda he shook off care , ,

lessly his wooden shoes Um e ko lift ed them

, .
-
,

dusted the velvet thongs and placed them ,

with mathematical precision side by side upon

the flat stone She then entered placin g her
.
,

small lacquered clogs beside those of her

husband .

Kano from the tail of his eye marked

, ,

with approval these tokens of wifely s ub m i s

sion From a small aperture in the kitchen
.

shoji however (a peephole commanding a

,

full view of the house ! dour mutterings ,

might have been heard and a whispered ,

lament that she should have lived to s ee

“

her young mistress wipe a T engu s shoes ! ’

1 46
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
When the various genu fle c t i on s and phrases
of ceremonial greeting were at last aecom
p l i sh ed the ,old artist broke forth Well , ,

well son Tatsu how many paintings in all

, ,

”
this time ?

Tatsu looked up startled first at the ques ,

t i on er then at his wife

, She gave a little
.
,

convulsive giggle and bent her shining eyes

,

to the floor .

I have not painted said Tatsu bluntly

, , .

“
N ot painted I mpossible ! What then
?

have you done with all the golden hours of

these interminable days ?

A sullen look crept into the boy s face ’

.

Again he turned questioning eyes upon his

wife From the troubled silence her sweet
.

voice reached like a caress : D ear father ,

the autumn days though golden have held , ,

”
u nusual heat .

H eat What are cold and heat to a true

artist ? D id he not paint in A ugust ? I am
old yet I have been painting !
,

Again fell the silence .

1 47
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
I said that I had been painting rep eate d ,

the old man angrily , .

Um e ko recovered herself with a start

-
I .

— —
am er we are truly overj oyed to hear it .

Shall you d el gn to honor us with a sight of

your illustrious work ?

“
N o I shall not deign snapp ed the old
,

man I t is his work that you now are con

.

cerned with H ere he pointed to the scowl

.

ing Tatsu Why have you not influenced

.
“

him as you should ? H e must paint ! I t is

”
what you married him for .

U m e k o caught her breath

-
A flush of .

embarrassment dyed her face and she threw ,

a half frightened look towards Tatsu A n

-
.

swe ri ng her father s unrelenting frown sh e

’

murmured timidly To morrow if the gods

, ,
-

”
11 my dear husband shall paint
, .

T at su s steady gaze drew her Your eyes

’
.
,

k —
Um e o I s it true that for this to make
-
.

me paint — you consented to become my

wife
Um e tried in vain to res i st the look he
1 48
 T HE DRAGO N PAINTE R
and his hearing Tatsu sprang to his feet , ,

went to his wife caught her up rudely by one

,

arm an d crushed her against his side while

, ,

he blazed defiant scorn upon Kano Come .

”
D ragon Wife he said in a voic e that echoed
, ,

throu gh the space ; come back to our little

home N o stupid old ones there no prattle
.
,

”
about painting O nly you and I and love
. .

N ow in Japan nothing is m ore indelicate ,

mor e unpardonable or more insulting to the ,

listener than any reference to the personal

love between man and wife A t T at su s .
’

terrible speech Um e ko unconscious of fur

,
-

ther cause of off ense hid her face against his ,

sleeve and clu ng to him that her trembling

, ,

might not cast her to the floor Kano at .

,

first was unable to speak H e gr ew slowly

, .

the hue of death H is brief words when .

,

at last they came were in convulsive spasms ,

of sound G o to your rooms

.
— both A re , .

you mad indeed —this immodesty this disre

, , ,

.
—
spect to me Mata was right a Tengu a bar , ,

”
barian G o go ere I rise to slay you both !
.
, ,

1 50
C om e , D rago n W i fe
’

, he sa i d , c om e b ck t
a o ou r l i tt le h om e .

P ag e 1 5 0 .
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
hold hatred against us ! Tatsu has been
without kindred he knows not yet the
,

sacred duties of fil ial love We will go .

from your presence n ow until your j ust

anger against us shall have cooled Wit h .

the night we shall return and plead for

mercy and forgiveness N o no do n ot .
, ,

speak again j ust yet We are going now

, .
, ,

now O h my dear father the agony and

.
, ,

the shame of it ! Sayonara until the twi ,

”
light She hurried back to Tatsu seized
.
,

his clenched hand with her small icy fin gers , ,

and almost dragged him from the room .

Kano sat as she had left him motionless , ,

now as the white j ade vase within the toko

,

noma H is anger crimson blinding at the

.
, ,

fir st possession had heated by now i nto a

,

slow white rage A ll at once he began to

, .

tremble H e struck himself violently upon

.

one kn ee crying aloud So thus love in fl u

, ,

en c e s h i m ! Ara ! My D ragon P ainter !

O ther methods may be tried Such words .

and looks before me me Kano I ndara ! , ,

1 52
 THE DR AGON PAINTER
And U m e s eyes set upon him as in blind
ing worship Could I have seen aright H e
.
?

caught my child up like a common street

wench a thing of sale and barter A nd she
, .
,

sh e did not scorn but trembled and clung

,

to him I s the whole world on its head

.
? I
will teach them I will teach them , .

H ave my young mistress and her august

”
spouse already taken leave ? asked Mata at
a crack of the door .

“
Either they or some demon changelings ,

answered the old man rocking to and fro ,

upon the mats .

The old servant had of course heard , ,

everything Feigning now for her own

.
,

p u rposes a soothing air of ignorance she

, ,

glided into the room lifted the tiny tea pot ,

-
,

shook it from side to side and then cocked ,

her; bright eyes upon her master The tea .

”
pot . I t is honorably empty Shall I fill it ? .

Yes yes ; replenish it at once I need

, .

hot tea Shameless incredible ; he has

.
, ,

indeed the manners of a wild boar

, .

1 53
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
Ma a a !
- -
exclaimed the old woman .

”
N ow of whom can my master be speaking ?

You know very well of whom I am

speaking goblin ! D o you not always listen
,

at the shoji G o fill the pot

,

Mata glided from the room with the quick

ness of light and in an instant had returned .

R eplacing the smoking vessel and maintain

ing a face of decorous interest sh e aske d , ,

hypocritically And was my poor M iss Um e

,

mortified
M ort ified ? echoed the artist with an
angry laugh ; she admired him ! She clung
to him as a creature tamed by enchant
ment My daughter ! N ever did I e xpect
.

to look upon so gross a sight ! Why ,

hi ata

Yes dear master purred the old d ame

, ,

encouragingly as sh e seated herself on the

floor near the tea pot -
O ne moment while
.
,

I brew you a cup of fresh sweet tea I t is

, .

good to quiet the honorable nerves 1 can .

scarcely believe what you tell me of our Um e

1 54
 T HE DRAGO N PAINTE R
That would take a long schooling .

H e is the greatest artist since Sesshu !

cried the old man vehemently , .

Mata bowed over to the tea pot You -

.

”
recognize artists master I recognize fools
, .

”
D o you call my son a fool ?

I f that wild man is still to be considered

your son then have I called your son a fool
, ,

answered Mata imperturbably , .

The new flush left the old man s face as ’

quickly a s it had come Mata Mata he .

“
, ,

groaned too S pent now for further vehe

,

mence you are an old e at

,
“ —an old she ,

cat You cannot dream what it is to be an

.

artist ! What one will endure for art ; what

one will sacrifice and j oy in the giving ! ,

Why woman if with one s S hed blood wit h

, ,
’

the barter of one s soul a single supreme visio n

’

could be realized no true artist would hesi,

tate Yes if even wife child and kindred

.
, , ,

were to b e joined in a common destruction

for art s sake the artist must not hesitate
’

, .

A t the thought of on e s parents the anecs ’

1 56
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
tors of one s house it might be admissible
’

to pause but at nothing else n othing else

, , ,

whatever ! Life is a mere bubble on the

stream of art fame is a bubble riches hap
,
-

p i n e ss D
, eath itself Would that I could
tear these old limbs into a bleedin g frenzy as
I paint if by doing so one little line may
,

swerve the nearer to perfection ! O ften

have I thought of this and prayed for the
opportunity but s u ch madness does not
,

benefit O nly the torn a nguish of a soul

.

may sometimes help A nd with old souls .

,

like old trees they do not bleed but are

, ,

snapped to earth and lie there rotting H e

, .
,

Tatsu the son of my adoption ,could with

,

one strong sweep of his arm make the gods

stare and he spends his hours fondling
,

the perishable object of a woman while I , ,

who would give all all give my own , ,

child that he loves I remain impotent !

,

Alas ! So topsy turvy a world are we born

-

”
in !
H e bowed his head in a misery so abj ect
1 57
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
that Mata forbore to jibe She tried to speak
.

again to comfort him but he motioned her

, ,

away and sat scarcely moving in his place

, , ,

until the night brought Tatsu and his young

wife home again .

1 58
 T HE DRAGON PAIN TE R
this room drew old Kano aside and urged
, ,

that more tact and delicacy be used in leading

Tatsu back to a desire for creative work .

She herself sh e hinted with deprecating

,

sweetness might do much if only allowed to

,

follow her own l ov1 ng i nstincts But Kano .

had lost confidence in his daughter and bluntly

t old her so Tatsu had been adopted and
.

married in order to make him paint and paint ,

he S hould ! A lso it was Um e ko s duty to -

’

influence hi m in whatever way and method

her fath er thought best Let her succeed
.
,

that was her sole responsibility So blustered.

Kano to himself and Mata and not even the,

malicious twinkle of the old servant s eye ’

pointed the way to wisdom .

N aturally Um e ko did not succeed Tatsu

-
.

merely laughed at her flagrant e ff orts at d u

p li c it y
. H e felt no need of painting no de ,

sire to paint H e had wo n the D ragon

.

M aiden . Life could give him no more !

There was no anger or resentment in his feel
i ng toward Kano or even the old scourge
,

1 60
 T H E D RA G O N P AI N T E R
Mata N o he was too happy ! To lie dream
.
,

ing on the fragrant matted floor near Um e , ,

where he could li sten to her soft breathing and

at times pull her closer by a silken sleeve ,

this was enough for Tatsu N othing had .

power to arouse in him a sense of duty of ,

obligation to himself or to his adopted father

, .

H e would not argue about it and could ,

scarcely be said to listen H e lived and moved .

and breathed in love as in a fourth dimension .

To the old man s frequent remonstrances he

’

would turn a gentle deprecating face H e had

, .

promised Um e ko never agal u to speak rudely

-

to their father Besides why S hould he

.
,

The o u ter world was all so beautiful and sad

and unimport ant A sunset cloud or a bird
.
,

swinging from a hagi spray could bring sharp ,

swift tears to his eyes Beauty could move .

him but not old K an o s genuine sufferings

,
’
.

Yet the old man bleating from the arid rocks

, ,

of age was doubtless a pathetic spectacle and

, ,

must be listened to kindly .

F in ding the boy thus obdurate Kano ,

11 1 61
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
turned the full force of his discontent on
Um e ko She endured in silence the in c e s
-
.

sant railing Each new device urged by the

.

distracted Kano she carried out with scru pu

lous care though even with the performance
,

of it S he knew hopelessness to be involved .

For hours she remained away from home ,

hidden in a neighbor s h ouse or in the temple ’

on the hill it b e ing K an o s thought that per

,
’

haps in this temporary loss of his idol Tatsu

, ,

might seek solace in the paint room But .

Tatsu raging against the conditions which

,

made such tyranny possible stormed on such , ,

occasions through the little house and up and

, ,

down the garden pelting the terrified gold fish

,
-

in their caves stripping leaves and tips fro m

,

K an o s favorite pine S hrubs or standing long

’
-

, ,

intervals of time on the crest of the moon ,

viewing hillock from which he could com ,

mand vistas of the street below .

There s your j ewel of a painter old Mata

’

indoors would say

, Look at him master .
, ,

a n oble fig u re indeed standing on one leg

, ,

1 62
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
her father had bade her use and urgi n g hi m ,

to rouse himself and paint as she was doing , .

Then the young god would laugh m agn ifi

cent music drowning the last pathetic echo
,

of old K an o s remembered voice Catching

’
.

her anew he would crush her against his

breast fondling her with that tempestuous
,

gentleness th at surely no mere man of earth

could know would d rag u p her faint soul to
,

him through eyes and lips until S he felt her

self but a shred of ecstacy caught in a whirl
wind of immortal love .

S o t h at we b e t oge t h e r,
v
E e n t h e H e l l of t h e B l ood L ak e ,
E v en the Mou n t a i n of S word s,
Me an n ot h i n g to u s a t al l

H e would sing in the words of an old Bud

,

dhi st folk song

-
At such supreme heights
.

of emotion S he knew consciously that K an o s

, ,
’

grief and disappointment were nothing She .

did not really care whether Tatsu ever touched

a brush again — whether indeed the whole ,
, ,

1 64
 THE DRAGO N PAINTE R
visible world fretted itself into dust She .

and Tatsu had found each other ! The rest

meant nothing at all
Such moments were however the isolated, ,

and the exceptional A s the days went

.

by they became less frequent and by a , ,

strange law of contrasts with diminution ex ,

acted a heavier toll The strain of ant ago

.

n i sm s within the little home became almost

unbearable N either Kano nor Tatsu would

.

yield an inch and between them like a white

, ,

flower between stones little Um e ko was ,

-

crushed A new and threatening trouble was

.

that of poverty Tats u would not paint ;

.

Kano in his wretchedness could not

, .

The young wife went often n ow to the

temple on the hill T ats u generally went
.

with her remaining outside in the courtyard

,

or at the edge of the cl iff under the camphor ,

tree while she was praying within H er eu

, .

treaties were all for divine guidance She .

implored of the gods a deeper insight into the

cause of th i s strange trouble now upon them ,

1 65
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
and besought t oo that in her husband Tatsu
, , , ,

should be awakened a recognition of his d u

ties and of the household needs
, Kano .

visited the temple also and spent long hours

, ,

in conference with his personal friend the ,

abbot Even old Mata abandoning for the

.
,

moment her Protestantism and reverting to

the yearning (never entirely stifled ! for mystic
practises went to an old charlatan of a for
,

tune teller and purchased various charms and

-
,

powd ers for driving the demons from the u n

conscious Tatsu Um e ko soon discovered
.
-

this and the fear that Tatsu would be poisoned

,

added to a load of anxiety already formidable .

By the end of O ctober Y e dd o s most golden ,

’

and most perfect month no hours brought ,

happiness to the little bride but those stolen

ones in which she and her husband were wont
to take long walks together sometimes into ,

the country again through the mazes of the

,

grea t capital Even at these times of respite

.

sh e was only too well aware how Kano and

the old nurse sat together at home lament ,

1 66
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
bridges are always crowded Leaving this .

busy heart of things they sauntered north ,

ward fin ding lonelier shores and soon wide

, ,

fields of green until they reached a bank

,

whereon grew a S ingle leaning willow The .

body of this tree bending outward sent its

, ,

long nerveless leaves in a perpetual green

,

rain to the surface of the stream where su d ,

den swarms of minnows like shivers in a ,

glass assailed the deceptive bait The roots

, .

—
of the tree great yellowish twisted ropes ,

of roots clutched air earth and water in , ,

their convolutions A mong them the cur

.

,
—
rent swifter here than in mid stream uttered ,

at times a guttural uncanny sound as of ,

S pectral laughter .

Um e ko stood one slender arm about the

-

trunk looking ou t with mournful eyes upon

, , ,

the passm g r1 ver show O n the farther bank .

grew a continuous wall of cherry trees in yel

lowing leaf and above them glowed the first
,

hint of the coming sunset R i sing against .

the sky a temple roof tilted like the keel of a

,

1 68
 T HE DRAGON PAINTER
sunken vessel cut Sharp l ines into the crim
,

son light .

Tatsu flung hi mself full length upon the

bank H e patted the soil with its springing
.

grasses and felt his heart flow out i n love to

,

it Then he reached up caught at the drift

.
,

ing gauze of U m é s sleeve and made as if to ’

pull her down Um e clasped the tree more

.

tightly .

Tatsu she said I implore you not to

, ,

think always of me Look beloved the thin .

, ,

white sails of the rice boats pass and over -

, ,

yonder children in scarlet petticoats dan ce

,

”
beneath the trees .

I have eyes but for my wi fe said wi lful ,

Tatsu .

Um e k o drew the sleeve away She would

-
.

not meet his smile A las shall I forever .

,

obsc ure beauty

There is no beauty now but in you !
You are the sacred mirror wh i ch reflects for
”
me all loveliness .

D ear lord those words are almost blas

,

1 69
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
h em said Um e in a frightened whisper
p y , , .

Look now beloved the light of the su n

, , ,

S inks down Soo n the great moon will come

.

”
to us .

What care I for a distant moon oh , ,

”
D ragon Maid laughed Tatsu , .

Um e s outstretched arm fell heavily to her

’

”
side. A las ! sh e said again
“
From .

deepest happiness may come the deepest

pai n You dream not of the hurt you give
. .

I give no hurt at all that I cannot more

”
than heal cried Tatsu in his masterful way
, , .

’
But Um e s lips still quivered and she turned ,

her face from him .

I n the silence that followed the water ,

among the willow roots gave out a rush

and gurgle a sound of liquid merriment , ,

”
perhaps the laugh of a Kappa or river
sprite mocking the perplexities of men
, .

Um e k o leaned over i nstantly staring down

-

into the stre am .

H ow deep i t is and strong she whi s , ,

p ered as if to her own thought

, That .

1 70
 T HE DR AGON PAINTE R
which fell in here would be carried very
”
swi ft ly out to se a .

Tatsu smiled dreamily upon her I n his .

delight at her beauty the delicate poise of

,

body with its long gray drifting sleeves

, ,

he did not realize the meaning of her words .

O ne little foot in its lacquered S hoe and

rose velvet thong crushed the grasses at the
-
,

very edge of the bank Suddenly the earth .

beneath her shivered I t parted in a long

.

black fissure and then sank with sob and

, ,

S plash into the hurrying water Um e tot

,
.

t e re d and clung to the tree Tatsu spring .

,

ing up at a single bound caught her back ,

into safety The very branches above them

.

S hook as if in sentient fear Um e felt herself .

pressed , welded against her husband s side ’

in such an agony of strength that his beating

heart seemed to be in her own body She .

heard the breath rasp upward i n his throat

and catch there inarticulate, H e began .

dragging her backward foot by foot At a , .

safe distan ce he suddenly sank —rather fell

1 71
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
— to earth bearing her with him and began ,

moaning over her caressin g and fondling her

,

as a tiger might a rescued cub .

N ever go near that stream again he

said hoarsely as soon as he could speak at all
, .

H ear me Um e ko it is my command
,
-
,

N ever again approach that tree I t is a .

goblin tree Some dead unhappy woman

.
, ,

drowned here in the self death must inhabit -

it and would entice you to destruction O h .

,

Um e my wife
, my wife I saw the black
,

earth grinning beneath your fee t I cannot .

bear it Come away from this place at once ,

— at once ! The river itself may reach out

snares to us .

“
Yes lord I will come she panted try
, , , ,

ing to loosen the rigid arms but I am faint , .

This high bank is safe now .

A nd lord , .
, ,

when you so embrace and crush me my

strength does not return .

Tatsu grudgingly relaxed his hold R est .

”
here then close beside me he said
, I Sh all , .

not trust you even an inch from me

, .

1 72
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
eyes away I think I can walk now she
.
,

said .

Tatsu rose i nstantly and drew her upward ,

by the hands A shudder of remembered

.

horror caught him H e pressed her once .

more tightly to his heart Um e ko Um e .

“ -
,

k o my wife
, my D ragon Wife
, he cried
aloud i n a voice of love and anguish l .

have sought you through the torments of a

thousand lives Shall anything have p ower
.

”
to separate us n ow ?

“
N othing can part us n ow but — death , ,

said Um e ko and glanced for an instant

-

, , ,

backward to the river .

Tatsu winced U se n ot the word !

. It
”
attracts evil .

I t is a word that all must some day use ,

persisted the young wife gently Tell me , .

,

beloved if death indeed should come

,
7

“
I t would be for both I t co uld not be .

for one alone .

”
“
N o no ! she cri e d alou d lifting her
, ,

white face as if in appeal to heaven Do .

1 74
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
not say that lord ! D o n ot think it ! I f I
, ,

the lesser one should be chosen of death

, ,

surely you would live for our father for ,

”
the sake of art !
I would ki ll myself j ust as quickly as I
”
could ! said Tatsu doggedly Wha t com
, .
“

fort would painting be ? I painted because I

”
had you not .

— — —
Because you had me not mused — ,

little Um e ko her eyes fixed strangely upon

-
,

the river
Come said Tatsu rudely did I not
, , ,

forbid you to speak of death ? Too much

has been said Besides the fate of ordinary
.
,

mortals should have n o potency for such as

we W hen our time comes for pause before
.

rebirth we S hall climb together some high

mountain peak lifting our arms and voices to
,

our true parents the gods of storm and wind

, .

They will lean to us beloved they will rush

, ,

downward in a great p assion of j oy catching

!

”
us and straining us to immortality !
By this they were from sight and hearing
1 75
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
of the river and had begun to threa d t he
,

maze of n arrow city streets in which n ow

lamps and tiny electric bulbs and t he bob
bing lanterns of hurrying j i nrikisha men had
begun to twinkle I n the darker alleys the
. .

couple walked side b y side Um e at times .

, ,

even rested a sm all hand on her husband s ’

sleeve I n the broad well lighted thorough

.
,
-

fares he strode on some paces in advance

while Um e followed in decorous humili ty , ,

as a good wife sho u ld Few words passed .

between them The incident at the willow

.

tree had left a gloomy aftermath of thought .

I n the Kano home the simple night meal

of ri ce tea soup and pickled vegetables was
, , ,

already prepared M ata motioned them to

.

their places in the main room where old

Kano was already seated and served them ,

in the gloomy S ilence which was part of

the general strain Throughout the whole.

place reproach hung like a miasma .

T his evening almost for the first time

, ,

T atsu reflected i n full measure the de

, ,

1 76
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
be unbearable A sinister S ilence flooded the
.

house H e hurried back to the main roo m

.

to find that Um e and old Kano were not

there H e began searching the house all
.
,

but the k itchen I nstinctively he avoided .

old Mata s domain knowing it to be the

’

lair of an enemy At last necessity drove .

him to it also H er face leered at him

.

through a parted shoj i H e gave a bound .

in her direction I nstantly S he had slammed

.

the panels together ; and before he could

reopen them had armed herself with a huge ,

glittering fish knife N one of your mountain

-
.

wild cat ways for me S he screamed

-
.

I n spite of wretchedness and alarm the

boy laughed aloud I wish not to hurt .
“

”
you old fool he said
, I desire nothing
, .

”
but to know where my wi fe is .

”
W ith her father snapped the other , .

Yes b u t where
,
— where ? A nd why ,

did sh e go without telling me Where did

?

he take her 7 A nswer quickly I must .

follow them .

1 78
 T HE DRAGON P AI N TE R
I have no answers for you said Mata , .

A nd even if I had you would not get them .

G o go out of my sight you Bearer of

, , ,

D iscord ! S he railed feeling that at last an

,

opportunity for plain speaking had arrived .

This was a happy house until your evil

presence sought it D on t glare at me and
.
’

take postures I care neither for your tall

.

figure nor your flashing eyes You may .

bewitch the others but not old Mata

, Oh ,

D ragon P ainter ! O h D ragon P ainter ! ,

The greatest S ince Sesshu sh e mimicked ,

“
S how me a fe w of the wonderful things you
were to paint us when once you were Kamo s ’

son ! Bah ! you were given my nursling as ,

a wolf is given a young fawn that was all ,

”
you wanted You will never paint !
.

“
Tell me where she is or I ll began the ’

boy raving
,
.

”
N o yOu won t j eered Mata now in a
’

, ,

transport of fury Back back out of

.
, ,

my kitchen and my presence or this knife will

p lu nge it s way into yo u as into a devil fish -
.

1 79
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TER
O h it would be a sight ! I have n o love for
,

”
you !
“
I care not for your love old Baba old , ,

fi end nor for your knife

,
W here did my .

Um e go ? You grin like an old S he ap e ! -

N ever upon my mountains did I se e so

,

”
vicious a beast .

“
Then go back to your mountains ! You
are useless here You will not even pain t
. .

”
G o where you belong !
“
The m ountains — the mountains ! sob
,

bed the bo y under his breath

, Yes I .
,

must go to them or my soul wil l go with

out me ! P erhaps the kindlier spirits of the
”
air will tell me where S he is ! With a last
distracted gesture he fled from the house and
out into the street Mata listened with sat
.

i sfact i on as sh e heard him racing up the slope

toward the hillside I wish it were indeed
.

a Kiu Shiu peak he climbed in stead of a ,

decent Yeddo cliff she muttered to h erself

, ,

as she tied on her apron and began to wash

the supper dishes But alas he will be
.
“
, ,

1 80
 T HE DR AGO N P AIN TE R
such as he had not believed p ossible to
her She clasped his kn ees his feet and b e
.
, ,

sought him with all the strength and

,

pathos of her soul to make at least one more

,

attempt to paint H e now in equal torment

.
, ,

with tears running along his bronzed face ,

confessed to her that the power seemed to

have gone from him Some demon he said
.
, ,

must have stolen it from him while he slept ,

for now the very touch of a brush the look ,

of paint frenzied him

, .

Um e ko went again to her father saying

-

that sh e again had failed The strain was .

now indeed past all human endurance

, , .

The little home became a charged battery

of tragic possibilities Each moment was a
.

separate menace and the hours heaped up

,

a structure alr eady tottering .

A t dawn of the next day Tatsu who , ,

af ter a restless and unhappy night had fall en

into heavy S lumber awoke with a start alone
, , , .

A pink light glowed upon hi s paper shoj i ;

the plum tree now entirely leafless threw a
, ,

1 82
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
splendid shadow silhouette At the eaves
-
.
,

S parrows chattered merrily I t was to be a .

fair day : yet instantly even before he had ,

sprung cruelly awake to his knees he knew

, , ,

that the dread e d Something was upon him .

O n the silken head rest of Um e s pillow -

’

was fastened a long slender envelope such , ,

as Japanese wome n use for letters Tatsu .

recoiled from it as from a ven omous reptile .

Throwing himself face down upon the floor

he groaned aloud praying his mountain god
,

to sweep away from his soul the black m ist

of despair that now crawl ed cold toward it , , .

Why should Um e ko have left him again -

and at such an hour ? Why should she

have pinned to her pillow a S lip of written
paper H e would not read it ! Yes yes
?
, ,

he must he must read instantly P erhaps

,
-
.

the Something Was still to be prevented ! H e

caught the letter up held it as best he could
”

in quivering hands and read ,

Be c u
a se of my u n wo r t hi n ess, O m a st er, m y h eart s
’

b el ove d I
,
hav e b ee n a llow d e to c o m e b e t we en you

1 83
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
an d t he work you were gi ven of t h e gods t o d o . T he
fa ul t i s a ll mi ne , a n d m u st c o me fro m my e v i l d eeds
in p r vi ou l if
a e By s crific of j oy and l ife I n ow
e . sa e

at t mp t t o
e xp i t e i t e I go t o t he l eani ng wi ll ow
a .

wh ere t he w t p e k On t hing only I shall ask

a er s a s . e

of
you t h
, t y ou d m iat t o y o u r m i n d n o t h ou h t o f
a
g
sel f—d t ru c t i on fo t hi would heavi ly b u rden my
es , r s

p oo oul f r off i n t he M i d o l n d Oh li ve my
r s , a e -
a .
, ,

b l ove d t h t I i n p i it m y sti ll b e n e
e ,
a , s r
you I , a ar .

wi ll c o m Y ou hall kn o w t hat I m n a — onl y

e . s a e r, ,

as t he p e t l s of t h p lu m t ree f ll i n the wi n d of spri ng

a e a ,

o m u st m ear th l y d ep ar t fro m m e r w ll
s
y j y
o F . a e e ,

O t hou who a t l ov d s no m ort l was ever l ov d

r e a a e

b efore t hee .

Y ou r erri n
g wi fe

I n his fantasti c night robe with its design -

of a huge fish ungirdled and wild of eyes , ,

Tatsu rushed through the drowsy streets of

Yeddo The few pedestrians catching sight
.
,

of him with d rew with cries of fear into

, , ,

gateways and alleys .

At the leaning will ow he paused threw ,

an arm about it and swayed far over like a ,

drunkard his eyes blinking down upon the

,

1 84
 I!

I S body was found some moments

later by old Kano and a bridge
keeper I t was caught among the
.

pilin gs of a boat landing several hundred feet

-

farther down the tide A thin sluggish .

,

stream of blood followed it like a clue and , ,

when he was dragged up upon the bank ,

gushed out terribly from a wound near his

temple H e had seized in falling Um e ko s
.
, ,
-
’

lacquered geta and his fingers could not be

,

unclasped I n spite of the early hour (across

.

the river the su n still peered through folds of

shimmering mist ! quite a crowd of p eople
gathered .

I t is the newly adopted son of Kano I n

”
dara they whispered one to another
, , He .

is but a few weeks married to K ano s daughter

’

and is called T he D ragon P ainter .

’

1 86
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
The e fficient
river police summoned an -

ambulance and had him taken to the nearest

,

hospital H ere during an entire day every

.
, ,

art was employed to restore him to conscious

ness b u t without success Life indeed re
, .
, ,

mained The flow of blood was stopped and

.
,

the wound bandaged but no S ign of int elli ,

gence awoke .

I t is to be an illness of many weeks and ,

of great peril answered the chief physician

,

that night to Kamo s whispered question ’

.

T he old man turned sorrowfully away and

crept home wondering whether now at this
, ,

extremity the gods would utterly desert him

,
.

Mata prostrated at first by the loss of her

,

nursli ng soon ral lied her practical old wits

, .

She went in secret to the hospital demanded

, , ,

audi ence of the house physician and gave to ,

him all details of the strange S ituation which

had culminated in Um e s desperate act of self ’

renunciation and induced T at su s subsequent

,
’

madness She did not ask for a glimpse of

.

the S ick man I ndeed she made no pretence

.

1 87
 T HE DRAGON PAIN TE R
of kindly feeling toward him for in conclu , ,

sion she said

,
N ow A ugust Sir if with
, , , ,

your great skill in such matters you succeed ,

in giving back to this y oung wild man the

small amount of intelligence he was born with ,

I caution you above all things keep from

, ,

his reach such implements of self destruction -

as ropes knives and poisons O h he is an

, , .
,

untamed beast D octor San H is love for my

, .

poor young mistress was that of a lion and a

demon in one H e will certainly slay himsel f
.

when he has the strength N ot that I care !

.

H is death would bring relief to me for in our ,

little home he is like the spirit of storm caged

in a flower Would I had never seen him or
.
,

felt the influence of his evil karma ! But my

poor old master still dotes on him and with , ,

Miss Um e vanished if this D ragon P ainter

, ,

too should die at once Kano could n ot en

, ,

”
dure the double blow ! The old woman b e
gan to sob in her upraised sleeve apologi zing ,

through her tears for the discourtesy The .

physician comforted her with kind words and ,

1 88
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
of a n ewly adopted son I n truth the old .

man seldo m thought of Um e ko H e was -

.

watching the life that flickered in T at su s ’

prostrate body as a lost starving traveller ,

watches a lantern approaching over the moor .

“
The gods preserve him the gods grant
,
-

his life to the Kano n ame to art and the , ,

”
glory of N ippon so prayed the old man s
,
’

shrivelled lips a hundred times each day .

A fter a stupor of a week fever laid hold of ,

Tatsu bringing delirium delusion and mad

, , ,

raving A t times he believed himself already

.

dead an d in the heavenly isle of H o rai with

,
-

Um e H is gestures his whispered words of

.
,

tenderness brought tears to the eyes of those

,

who listened A gain he lived through that

.

terrible dawn when firs t he had read her letter

of farewell Each word was bitten with acid
.

i nto his mind Again and again he repeated

.

the phrases now dull y as a wearied beast goes

, ,

round a treadmill now with weepin g and in

, ,

convulsions of a grief so fierce that the mer

c i fu l op i ate alone could still it .

1 90
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
The fever slowly began to ebb For him .

the shores of conscious thought lay scorched

and blackened by memory More unwill ingly .

than he had been dragged up from the river s ’

cold embrace was he now held back from

death H is first lucid words were a petition
. .

D o not keep me alive I n the name of .

Kwannon the Merciful to whom my Um e ,

used to pray do not bind me again upon the

,

wheel of life A lthough he fought against

it with all the will power left to him strength ,

brightened in his veins Stung into new an

.

guish he prayed more fervently Let me pass ,

now ! I cannot hear more pain I ll die in .

’

spite of you O h icy men of science you

.
, ,

but gi ve me the means with which to slay

myself ! I warn you at the first chance I
,

”
S hall escape you all !
Mad youth it is my duty to give you
,
“

back your life even though you are to use it

”
as a coward said the chief physician
, .

O nce when his suff ering had passed beyond

the power of all earthly alleviation and it ,

1 91
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
seemed as if each moment would fling the
shuddering victim into the dark land of per
e t u al madness Kano urged that the venera
p ,

ble abbot from the Shingon temple on the

hill be summoned H e came in full regalia
.

of office splendid in crimson and gold

, .

With him were two acolytes y oung and ,

slender figures also in brocade but with hoods

, ,

of a sort of golden gauze drawn forward so as

to conceal the faces within They bore i n .

cense burners sets of the mystic vagra and

, ,

other implements of esoteric ceremony The .

high priest carried only his tall staff of p ol

i sh e d wood tipped with brass and surmounted
, ,

by a glittering s ymbolic design the Wheel

, ,

of the Law the hub of which is a lotos

,

flower .

Tatsu at sight of them tossed angrily o n

, ,

his bed railing aloud in his thin querulous

, , ,

voice and sc offing at any power of theirs to

,

comfort until in spite of himself a strange

, , ,

calm seemed to move about him and encircle

him H e li stened to the chanted words and
.
,

1 92
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
D o not speak of her Y ou can have no .

message .

I have known Kano Um e k o her whole -

”
life long persisted the holy man
,
She is .
“

worthy of a nobler love than this you are

gi vi ng her .

“
There may be love more noble but none ,

—none more terrible than mine wailed ”

,

out the sick man I cannot even die I am .

quickened by the flames that burn me ; fed

by the viper Life that feeds on my despair
, , .

My flesh cankers with a self renewing sore ! -

”
Could I but bathe my wounds in death !
“
P oor suff ering one this flesh is only the
,

petal fallen from a perfected bloom Whether

her tender body or this racked and twitching
,

frame upon your bed all flesh is ill usion , .

Think of your soul and its immortal lives !

Think of your wife s pure soul and for its
’

sake make eff ort to defy and vanquish this

demon of self destruction -
.

“
Was n ot her own deed that of self
”
destruction ? challenged Tatsu his sunken ,

1 9 4k
 TH E DRAG O N PAIN TE R
eyes set in bitter tri umph upon the abbot .

”
I shall but go upon the road she went .

To compare your present motives with

”
your wife s is blasphemy cried the other
’

, .

H er deed held the glory of self sacrifice that -

you might gain enlightenment ; while you ,

railing impotently here giving out affront ,

against the gods are as the wild beast on the

,

mountain that cannot bear the arrow in its

”
side .

“
A nd it is true said Tatsu , I cannot ,

bear the arrow I cannot endure this pain

, .

Show me the way t o death if you have true ,

pity Let me go to her who waits me in the

.

M eid o land -
.

She does not wait you there oh grief de , ,

”
l u d e d boy then said the priest
, The mes .

sage that I brought is this : bound still to

earth b y her great love for you her soul is
n ear you i n this room
,
-
now as I speak , , ,

seeking an entrance to your heart and these ,

”
wild railings hold her from you .

Tatsu half started from his p illow and ,

1 95
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
sank back I believe you not You trick
. .

me as you would a child he moaned , .

The priest knelt slowly by the bed In .

the name of Shaka — whom I worship

, ,

these words of mine are true H ere in this .

,

room at this moment your Um e ko is

, ,
-

”
waiting .

But I want her too whispered the pite,

ous lips N ot only her aerial spirit I want

.

her smile — her little hands to touch me

, ,

the golden echo of her laughter I want my ,

wife I say ! O h you gods demons preta

, , , ,

”
of a thousand hells ! he shrieked spring ,

ing to a sitting posture in his bed and beat ,

ing the air about him with distracted hands .

These are the memories that whir down

and close about me in a cloud of stingi ng
wasps ! I cannot endure ! I n the name of
Shaka whom you worship strike me dead
, ,

with the staff you hold — then will I bless

,

”
you and believe ! I n a transport of mad
ness he leaned out clutching at the staff
, , ,

clawing down the stiff robes from the abbot s ’

1 96
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
one issue the selfishness of love prevailed .

A ge and despair were to be kept at bay H e .

had no weapons but the hours of comparative

pea ce he spent at T at su s bedside ’
Ful l .

twenty years seemed added to the old man s ’

burden of life H is back was stoop ed far

.

over ; his feet shuffl ed along the wooden cor

ri d ors with the sound of the steps of one too

heavily burdened . H e n ever walked now

without the aid of his friendly bamboo cane .

T he threat of T at su s self destru ction echoed

’
-

always in his ears A way from the actual

.

presence of his idol it gnawed him like a fam

i she d wolf and his mind tormented itself with
,

fantastic and dreadful possibilities O nce.

Tatsu had hidden under his foreign p illow the

china bowl i n which broth was served Kano .

whispered his discovery to the nurse an d when

,

she wondered explained to her with shivering

,

earnestness that it w a s undoubtedly the boy s

’

intention to break it against the iron bed

stead the first moment he was left alone and ,

with a shard sever one of hi s veins Tatsu .

1 98
 T HE DRAGON PAIN TER

g rin n ed like a trapped badger when it was

wrested from him and said th at he would
,

find a way in spite of them all A fter this .

n ot even a medicine bottle was left in the

room and the watch over the invalid was
,

strengthened .

”
But as old Kano remonstrated even
, ,

though we prevent him for a few weeks

m ore how will it be when he can stand and
,

walk —
, when he 1 s stronger than I To
these questions came no answer The second .

convalescence so eagerly prayed for became

, ,

now a source of increasing dread Some .

thing must be done some way to turn his

,

morbid thoughts away from self destruction -

.

The old man climbed oft en now to the , ,

temple on the hill .

The hospital room i n an upper story was

, ,

small with matted floors and a single squ are

, ,

window to the east T he narrow white iron

.

bed was set close to this window so that the ,

i nvalid might gaze out freely Tatsu did not.

ask that it be changed though indeed each , ,

1 99
 T H E D R A GO N P A I N T E R
recurrent dawn brought martyrdom to him .

The sound of sparrows at the eaves the ,

smell of dew the look of the morning mist

,

as it spread great wings above the city ,

hovering for an instant before its flight the ,

glow of the first pink light upon his coverlid ,

each was an iron of memory searing a soul

already faint with pain The attendant often .

marvelled why at this hour Tatsu buried his

, ,

face from sight and emerging into clearer

, ,

day bore the look of one who had met death

,

in a narrow pass .

A t noon when the window showed a square

,

of turquoise blue he grew to watch with

,

some faint pulse of interest t he changi ng

hues of light and the clouds that shifted
,

lazily aside or heaped themselves up into

,

rounded battlements of snow Q uite close .

to the window a single cherry branch sweep ,

ing downward cut space with a thick

, ,

diagonal l in e S ilvery lichens frill e d the

.

upper surface of the bark and at the tip of ,

each leafless twig brown buds , small

2 00
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
M y son my son pleaded the old man
, , ,

I have come a little before time because ,

I have brought
D o n ot call me son i nterrupted the ,

petulant boy I t is wretchedness to look

.
“

upon you She would be here now but for

.
,

you You killed her ! You drove her to

.

”
it !
N o Tatsu you wrong me ! A s I have
, ,

assured you and as her own words say

, ,

sh e made the sacrifice from her own heart .

I t was that her presence obscured your gen

ius my son She was unselfish and noble
, .

beyond all other women She went .

for your sake

For my sake ! j eered the other You .

mean for the sake of the things you want

,

me to paint ! Well I tell you again I will, ,

neither live n or paint ! Yes that touches ,

you . H uman agony is nothing to your

heart of j ade You would catch these tears
.

I shed to mix a new pigment ! You do not

regret her You would think the p rice
.

2 02
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
cheap if only I will paint I hate all pic
, .

tures ! I curse the things I have done !

Would that indeed I had the tongue of a
, ,

dragon that I might lick them from the

,

silk
Tatsu my poor son be less vi olent
, , .

I urge nothing ! The gods must do with

you as they will but here is something,

a letter Fumbling with shaking fingers

3,

, ,

in his long black sleeve he drew out a filmy

, , ,

whit e rectangle The look of it so like to

.
,

on e pinned to a certain pillow in the dawn ,

s e n t a new thrill of misery through the boy .

A letter ! W ho would write me a letter ,

u nless souls in the M ei d o land can write ! -

B ack back
, do not touch me or ere I
, ,

kill myself I will find strength to slay you

first I will drag you with me to the under
.

world as I j ourney in searching for my wife

, ,

and fling your craven soul to devi ls as one ,

would fling offal to a dog ! Speak not to

me of painting nor of her ! ,

At the sight of extra attendants hurrying

2 03
 T H E DR A G O N P A I N T E R
in Tatsu waved them to leave him threw
, ,

himself back stark upon the pillow and

, , ,

closed h i s eyes so tightly that the wrinkles

radiated in black lines from the corners H e .

panted heavil y as from a long race H is

, .

forehead twitched and throbbed with purple

veins .

Flung down cruelly from the exhilaration

which a moment before had been his old ,

Kano seated himself on a chair d irectly in

sight of T at su s bed The n urses stole away
’
.
,

leaving the two men together Each re .

mained motionless except for hurried breath,

ing and the pulsing of distended veins A

, .

crow perched on the cherry branch outside

,

the window tilted a cold inquisitive eye into

, ,

the room .

Tatsu was the first to move The reaction .

of excitement was creeping upon him draw ,

in g the sting from pain H e turned toward .

his vi s itor and began to study with an i m ,

person al curiosity the aspect of the pathetic

,

figure Kano was sitting utterly relaxed at

.
, ,

2 0!
4
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
seem to matter a great deal j ust now what
Tatsu did or thought H e would never
.

paint . That alone was enough blackn ess

to fil l a hell of everlasting night .

”
G ive i t to me insisted the boy leaning
, ,

far out over the bed D id you bring it

.

only to torture me Q uick quick

? it is
, ,

mine
I brought it to give a nd you repulsed
,

me I had found it but this morning in

.
,

your painting room pinned to a silken frame

,

on which you had begun her picture ! She

—
must have put it there before before
I f you have a shred of pity or of love for
”
me give it and go gasped the boy
, , .

Kano rose with slow dignity Yes it is .

“
,

for you and I will give it and leave as you

, ,

ask if I can have your promise

,

Yes ye s I promise everything

, ,
—any ,

thing , I will not strive to slay myself ,

at least until after your return

That is enough said the old man and
, ,

with a sigh held the mi ss i ve out Tatsu .

2 06
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
snatched it through the air The perfume .
.

of plum blossoms was stealing from it .

O nce alone he crushed the delicate tissue

against eyes and lips and throat H e rolled .

upon the bed in agony only to press again ,

to his heart this balm of her written words .

I t seemed to him then that the letter might

, ,

really have come from the M eid o land -

.

Could it be true as the old priest said that

, ,

her soul continually hovered near waiting ,

only for him to give it recognition ? Um e ,

Um e —m y wife ! Come back to me ! he

,
”

cried aloud in an agony so great that it

should drag her backward through that
dark shadow world -
not only the phantom
,

of what she was but Um e ko hersel f with

,
-
,

the flower like body and the smile of light

-

, .

H e opened the missive slowly that not a ,

shred should be torn and spread the thin ,

tissue smoothly on his foreign pillow .

Thi s beloved being the forty ni n

, , th day -
,

the seven times seventh day after my pass

- - -

ing when souls of those departed are given

,

2 07
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
special privilege to return to earth I sp eak ,

thus dumbly to my lord Although the

, , .

fingers tracing now these timid lines are

not p ermitted to touch y ou oh believe , ,

that as you read I wait at the door of

, ,

your heart O thou who art so dear gi ve

.
,

to me I pray a shelter and a habitation

, , .

Then because of my great love I shall be

, ,

one with you bringing you comfort and

,

myself great blessedness O thou who art .

,

still my husband I beseech you to realize

,

that any act on your part of violence and

self destruction will hurl our l i ves apart to
-

the full width of the ten existences ; so that ,

through another thousand years of u n fu l fil

ment we shall be groping in the dark like ,

children who have lost their way calling ,

ever each on the name of the other

, .

“
The birds of the air know when storms ,

ari se where to find their nests Even the

, .

fox has shelter in the hill Shall the soul .

of U m e ko seek and find no shelter

- ? S end
me not forth again in lo n el y travail ! O pe n
2 08
 !

H E N ew Year festival S hogat su had , ,

come and gone : white flowe r buds -

gleamed like pearls on the lichen

covered twisted limbs of the old dragon
,

plum by Um e s chamber ledge when Tatsu ,

and his adopted father entered once more to

gether the little Kano home I f the young .

husband had realized all along what this

, ,

coming ordeal might mean he had given no ,

sign of it Kano and the physicians feared

.

for him The last te st it was to be of sanity

.
, ,

and of endurance The ac tual hour of de

.

parture from the hosp ital fell late in January .

More than once before a day had been de

creed only to be postponed because of a su d
,

den physical weakening mysterious and

apparently without cause on the part of
the patient .

21 0
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
I will return with you as soon as I may ,

Tatsu had assured his father on the day of

reading Um e s letter
’
. I will try to live and ,

even to paint O nly I pray you speak not

.
, ,

the name of her I have lost .

This promise was given willingly enough .

K an o s chief diffi culty now was to hide his

’

growing happiness I t was much to his

.

interest that the subj ect o f Um e be avoided .

E ven a dragon painter from the mountains

must know something of certain primitive
obligations to the dead and for Um e not
,

even an ihai had been set up by that of her

mother in the family shrine When Tatsu .

learned this he would marvel and probably ,

be angry I f by his own con d ition of silence

.

he were debarred from attacking Kano so ,

much the better for Kano .

I t was this disgraceful and unheard of neg -

ligen ce a matter already of common gossip

—
in the neighborhood that added the last
measure of bitterness to old Mata s grief ’
.

Was her master demented through sorrow

21 1
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
t hat he so chall enged public censure and was ,

willing to cast dishonor upon the name of his

only child ? H our after hour i n the lonely
house did the old dame seek to piece together
the broken edges of her shattered faith The .

master had al ways been a religious man over ,

zealous she had tho u ght i n minute ob serv

, ,

au ces Yet now he was willing to neglect

.
,

to ignore the very fundamental principles of

,

social decency P ersonally he had seemed

.

wretched enough a fter Um e s loss The ’

.

kindly neighbors had at first marvelled aloud

at his whitening hair and heavily burdened
frame Mata pleased at the sympathy did
.
, ,

nothing to distract it ; but in her heart she

knew that it was T at su s illness not his ’

’
daughter s death that bore upon old Kano,

like the winter snow upon his pines .

On that most sacred period of mourning ,

the seven times seventh day after

- -
divine
retirement when the spirit is privileged to
,

enter most closely into the hearts of those

that p ray M ata had believed that beyond
, ,

21 2
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
A ll will y et be well ! m ocked the old
dame through clenched teeth watch ing the ,

ben t old figure hurrying from her A s if .

anything could ever again be well with m y ,

young mistress dead and n ot eve n her bod y

,

recovered for burial !

I n spite of her dislike for Tatsu the lonely ,

woman found herself watching with some ,

impatience for the day of his actual return

, .

Successive postponements had fretted her ,

and sharpened curiosity She had n ot seen

.

him since his illness Upon that January

.

noon when his kuruma rolled slowly in under

the gate roof followed by anxious Kano and
-
,

one of the male nurses from the hospital she ,

had turned toward him the old look of resent

ment : but instead of the brief and chilling
,

glance she had thought to use found herself ,

staring gaping in amaze m ent and incredulity

, , .

She did not believe for the first moment

, ,

that the wr eck she saw was Tatsu T his .

bowed and shrunken ghost of su ffering this ,

loose pallid semblance of a man the beau

, ,

21 4
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
tiful defiant compelling dem igod of the
, ,

mountains that had swept down upon them

N o ! s orrow could wreak miracles of the
soul but no such p hysical tran sformation as
,

this !
She contin ued to watch furtively in a sort ,

of terror the tall figure as it was assisted

,

from the kuruma and led shambling through , ,

the house The three moved on to the wing

.

containing Um e s chamber and the painting

’

room Mata heard the fusuma close gently

.
,

the nurse s voice give admonition to keep

’

”
his spirit strong for this last stress heard old ,

Kano falter Farewell my son no one shall

, , ,

disturb you in these rooms and had barely ,

time to regain her presence of mind as the

two men Kano and the nurse entered her
, ,

kitchen The former spoke : Mata your

.
,

young master is to remain unmolested i n , ,

that part of t he house D o not o ffer him .

rice or t e a or anything whatever When he

, , .

needs and desires it he will h imself emerge

and ask for food Above all things do not
.
,

21 5
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
knock u pon his fusuma or call his n ame .

”
These are the physician s orders ’
.

”
Exactly ! corroborated the nurse with a ,

professional air .

K ashikom ari m ashit a ! muttered the old

dame in sullen acq u iescence You need .

not have feared that I should intrude upo n

”
hi m !
For three days an d nights Tatsu rema ined
to himself The anxious listeners heard at
.

times the sound of restless pacing up and

down — the thin sibilant noise of stockinged
, ,

feet sliding on padded straw Again there .

would be a t hu d as of a body fallen or sunken

, ,

heavily to the floor Kano on the second

.
,

d ay pale with apprehension wen t earl y to

, ,

the hospital for a revocation or at least a ,

modification of the instructions The doctor s .

’

mandate was the same D o not go near him , .

Life as well as reason may depend upo n this

, ,

battle with his own despair O nly the gods .

can help him To the gods then Kano

.
, ,

went as well ; climb ing the long steep road ,

21 6
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
H is face young and beautiful i n spite of the
,

centur ies of pain upon it lay back helpless , , ,

on her arm She stared strangely down upon

.

him wondering where the old antipathy had

,

gone and striving (for she was an obstinate

,

old soul was Mata ! consciously to recall it

, ,

but the core of her hate was gone Like a .

true woman she began to make self excuses -

for the change I t may have been because

.

of this poor boy and his unhappy karma that

”
my nursling had to die said she But look , .
,

what love has done to him ! D eath is only

another name for paradise compared with the
agony sunken deep into this young face
She placed him gently at full length upon , ,

the padded floor She chafed the flaccid

.

wrists the temples the veins about his ears

, , ,

and then leaning over blew on the heavy

, ,

”
li d s
. Um e ko my wife my wife he
-

, , ,

whispered and tried to smile

, .

A wave of pity swept from the old dame s ’

mind the last barrier of mistrust Y es .

,

”
M aster here i s Um e s nurse she said in
,
’

21 8
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
soothing tones N ot Um e ko she has
.
-

—
gone away from u s but the poor old nurse ,

who loves her I will serve you for her .

sake . H ere put your head upon this

,

pillow — sh e has often used i t

,
—and n ow ,

lie still until old Mata brings you rice and

tea. She bustled off her hands clattering ,

busily among the c u ps and trays A s she .

worked thankful through her great agita

, ,

tion for the familiar offices she fought

, ,

down one by one those great distending

, , ,

sobs that push so hard a way upward through

wrinkled throats .

Tatsu was still a little dazed H is eyes .

followed her about the room with a plain

tive regard as if not entirely sure that she
,

was real D id you say that you were

.

”
Um e s nurse he asked
’
-

, .

“
Yes D on t you remember me Master
.
’

Tatsu ? I am Mata the old servant and , ,

your Um e s nurse I — I
’
— was not always .

kind to you I fear I opposed your mar

, .

ri a e
g fearing
, for her some such sorrow
21 9
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
as that which came B u t it is past The . .

gods allowed it I will now for her sake

.
, ,

love and serve you — m y true master you ,

shall be from this day because I can see that ,

your heart is gnawed forever by that black

m oth grief as mine is
, , O ld Kano does n ot .

”
grieve he is a m an of stone of mud l she
, ,

cried But I must not speak of h i s sins

.
“
,

yet ; here is the good tea Master and t he , ,

rice. She fed him like a child allowing , ,

at first but a single sip of tea a grain or

, ,

two of rice H e in his weakness was gentle

.
, ,

and obedient like a good child eating all she

, ,

bade him and refraining when she told him

,

that he had enough I t was a n ew T atsu .

that sorrow had given to the Kano home .

But more wonderful than the transforma

tl on i n him was in Mata s thought the com
,
’

p l et e reversal of her own emotions Even in .

the midst of service she stopped to wonder

how so soon it could be sweet to serve
, ,

him , to minister thus to the man she had

called the evil genius of the house I n some
2 20
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
frequent interruptions but gravely with con
, ,

sideration as one i ntent to learn the whole

,

before forming an opinion Even at the .

end he would say nothing but the words ,

Strange strange ; there must be a reason

,

”
that you have not guessed .

But we will get the ihai will we n ot , ,

Master ? Together when you are strong

, ,

”
we will climb the long road to the temple ?

she questioned tremulously .

”
I ndeed we shall said Tatsu with
, ,

his heartrending smile ; for at best the ,

thoughts of Kano I ndara cannot be our

”
thoughts H e let her die
. .

A t this the other burst into such a

passion of tears that she could not speak ,

b u t rocked sobbing to and fro on the mats

, , ,

beside him H e wondered with a feeling

.
,

not far from envy at this open demonstration

,

of distress .

I cannot weep at all he said Then a

, .
,

little later when she had become more calm

, ,

Are your tears for me or for Um e ko -

222
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
For both for both was the sobbing
, ,

answer For her that she had to die

.
, ,

for you that you must live

, .

Both are things to weep for said the boy , ,

and stared out straight before him as one ,

seeing a long road .

Kano returning later and finding the two

,

together marking as he did at once with the

, , ,

quick eye of love how health already cast ,

faint premonitions of a flush upon the boy s ’

thin face had much ado to keep from crying

,

aloud his j oy and gratitude By strong eff ort .

only did he succeed in making his greeting

calm H e used stilted old fashioned phrases
.
,
-

of ceremony to one recently recovered from

dangerous illness and bo wed as to a mere a c ,

quaintance Tatsu returning the bows and

.
,

phrases escaped in a few moments to his

,

room and e m erged no more that day Kano

, .

sighed a little for the young face had been

,

cold and stem N 0 love was to be looked .

for, not yet not yet , .

For a few days Tatsu did nothing but lie

223
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
on the mats ; or wander aimlessly over the , ,

house and garden H e came whenever Mata .

summoned him to meals and ate them with ,

old Kano observing all outer semblances of

,

respect But i t seemed an automaton who

.

sat there eating drinking and then at the

, , , ,

last bowing over to the exact fraction of an

,

inch each time and moving away to its own

, ,

rooms The old artist mindful of certain

.
,

professional warnings from the hospital phy

si c i an s never spoke in T at su s presence of
,
’

paintings or of anything connected with art

, .

Within a fe w days it seemed to him that

Tatsu had begun to watch him keenly as if ,

expecting every instant the broaching of that

, ,

subj ect which he knew was always uppermost

’
in the other s mind But the old man for the .
,

first time in his whole life had begun to u se ,

tact H e never followed Tatsu to his rooms

.
,

n ever intruded into those long conversations

now held many times a day between Mata
, ,

and her young master never even commented

to Mata upon her change of attitude About .

2 2 44
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
old abbot had written upon the lacquered
tablet of wood A dded to it as a sort of
.
,

title was the phrase

, To her who loves
,

”
much .That is true enough thought old
“
,

Kano and touched his eyes an instant with

,

his sleeve .

D u ring the following week T atsu of him ,

self drew out his painting materials and tried

,

to work A n instant later he had hurled t he

.

things from him with a cry had slammed ,

together the walls of his chamber and lay in ,

silence and darkness for many hours At .

the time of the night meal he came forth-

.

Kano to whom sorro w was teaching many

,

things made no comment upon his exclusion ;

,

and even old Mata refrained from searching

his face with her keen eyes .

The next day he made the second attempt .

H is fusuma were Opened and Mata could see ,

how his face blanched to yellow wax how the ,

lips writhed until they were caught back by

strong cruel teeth and how the thin hands
, ,

wavered N otwithstanding th i s inward tor

.

2 26
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
ture he p ersisted A t first the lines of his
, .

brush were feeble H is work looked like .

that of a child .

Through subsequent days of discourage

ment and brave eff ort his power of painting
grew with a slow but normal splendor of
achievement H is fame began to spread
. .

The N ew Kano and The D ragon P ainter

”
of Kiu Shiu the people of the city called
him N ot only his work but his romantic
.
,

miserable story drew sympathy to him and ,

bade fair to make of him a popular idol .

O lder artists wished to pai n t his portrait .

Print makers hung about his house striving

-

to catch at least a glimpse of him which b e ,

ing elaborated might serve as his likeness in

,

the weekl y supplement of some u p to — date -

n ewspaper . Sentimental maidens wrote

poems to him tied them with long shining
, ,

filaments of hair and suspended them to the

,

gate or upon the bamboo hedges of the Kano

,

home .

But against all these petty p ersonal an ,

2 27
 THE DR AGON PAINTER
noyances Tatsu had t h e double guard of
Kano an d old Mat a S an The pri de of the .

”
latte r in this S on of ou r ho us e w as nu
“

bo un d ed O ne would have thought that sh e

.

di scover ed hi m h ad r es cu e d him from death

,

an d tha t it w as now th rough her s ole i n fl u

ence hi s reputa ti on as an a rtist grew N oble .

patron s ca me to the li ttl e cottag e beari ng rolls

of whi t e silk upon whi ch they entrea te d
,

humbly , Tha t th e ill u strious and honor

able y oun g pai nter Kano Tats u wo ul d some
, ,

day when he might not b e a ugus tly in c on

,

v e n i en c ed by so do i ng trace a leaf or a
,

cloud , anythin
g in fac, t th at fancy co ul,d
sugg est so th at it w as th e work of hi s own
,

ini mi table h an d For the cond escens ion they

tr u st ed that he wo ul d allow them to give
a present of money — as large a su m as he
,

”
w as wi lli ng t o n a me .

A s e cond S esshu A s econd S ess hu

old K ano woul d murmur to hi ms e lf in su b ,

du ed e c sta cy . S o di d they lo ad h is s hi p
with sil k fo ur centuri es ago
,

2 28
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TE R
bright images fle cki ng for an i nstant the , ,

immutable surface of a m irror .

A ll methods were essayed the liquid ,

-
,

flowing line of the Chinese classics Tosa s ,

’

nervous shattered lightning strokes of painted

,
-

motion the soft gray reveries of the

, ,

great Kano school of three centuries before ,

when to the contemplative mind all forms of

,

nature whether of the outer universe or in

,

the soul of man were but reflecting mirrors

,

of a single faith ; the heaped u p gold and -

malachite of K orin s decoration sweet real

’

i st i c studies of the Shij o school even down ,

to the horrors of abura yé oil painting as -

,
-
,

i t i s practised in the Yeddo of to day each -

,

had for hi m its special interest and its in spi

ration H e leaned above the treasure chests
.
-

of time choosing from one and then another

, ,

as a wise old j ewel setter chooses gems B e

-
.

cause ambition art existence had come to

, ,

be for him gray webs sp un thin across the

, ,

emptiness of his days because all hope of ,

earthly j oy was gone he had n ow the power ,

2 30
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
to trace with almost superhuman mimicry
,

and skill the shadow pictures of his shadow

,
-

world .

Yet gradually it became not merely a dull

necessity to paint the one barrier th at h eld
,

from him a devastating grief b u t also some ,

thing of a solace The room where Um e s ’

’

ever lighted shrine was kept came more and

-

more to seem the expression of herself This .

the old priest had promised ; Um e s letter ’

had assured him that thus she would be near .

I n the blurred purple hour of dusk when

,

paints must be laid aside and the heart given ,

over to dre aming the l ittle room became her

,

very earthly entity the soft smoke tinted

, ,
-

walls her breathing the elastic matted floor

,

but the remembered echoes of her feet the ,

sliding sliver fusuma her sleeves the butsu ,

dan with its small clear lamp its white

, , ,

wood and its flowers her face

, , .

N ow always he kept the walls t hat u sed to /

separate their chamber and his painting room

removed ; so that a single essence fil led both
2 31
 T HE DR AGO N PAIN TE R
rooms A nd here as he worked silently day
.
,

aft er day it seemed to him that she had

,

learned to come A t first shy undecided in

.
, ,

some far corner of the space she watched him ;

then taking courage would drift n ear She
, , .

leaned now by his shoulder as he worked , .

A lways it was the left shoulder H e could .

feel her breath colder indeed than from

—
a living woman upon his bared throat .

Sometimes a little hand light as the dust ,

’
upon a moth s wing rested the ghost of a,

moment on his robe O nce he could have

.
,

sworn her cheek had touched h is hair S o .

strong was this i m pression that an ague shiv

ered through him and his heart stopped only
, ,

to beat again with violent strokes When the .

physical tremor was over he arose took up ,

her round metal mirror and went to the ve ,

randa to see by strong li ght whether any

trace of the spirit touch remained N o there .
,

was only as usual the tossed black locks of

, , ,

hair through which sorrow had begun to

weave her silver strands .

2 32
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
death was blurred and vague To himself he
,
.

seemed an unreal thing proj ected like a phan ,

tom light upon the wavering umbra of two

,

contrasting worlds The halves of him body .

,

and animating thought fitted each other ,

loosely and had a strange desire to drift apart

, .

The quiet obedient Tatsu regaining day by

, ,

day the strengt h and beauty that his clean

youth owed him was to the inner Tatsu but
,

a painted shell The real self clouded in

.
,

eternal grief knew clarity and purp ose only

,

before a certain flower set shrine H e b e -

l i e ve d now implicitly that Um e s soul dwelt

’

, ,

n ear him was often with him in this room

, .

A resolve half formed and but partially a d ,

m itt e d to himself for things of the other

,

world are not well to meddle with grew ,

slowly in him to compel by worsh ip and

, ,

never relaxing prayer the presen ce of her

-

self
, her insubstantiate body outlined u pon ,

the ether in pale light or formed in planes of ,

ghostly mist O thers had thus drawn vi sions

.

from the under world and why n ot he - ?

,

2 34
 THE DRAGON PAINTE R
Even n ow she was for him the one fact of the
, ,

ten existences She knew it and he knew it

. .

Why should n ot sight be added to the u n

challenged datum of the mind Living they .
,

had oft en read each other s thoughts They ’

.

held he knew as yet their separate int elli

, , ,

g en c es
, still they could bridge a blessed
duality by love Even now it would have
.

surprised him little to hear the very sound of

her voice echo from the inner shrine to feel a ,

little white hand pass like a cloud across his

upraised brow At such moments he told
.

himself that he was satisfied she was his until ,

death and beyond N o one could separate .

them now !
These were alas the higher peaks of love
, , .

There waited for him as he knew too well , ,

steep hillsides set with swords and valleys ,

terrible with fire .

S o th at we b e t oge t h e r,
E v en th e H e ll of t h e B l ood L ak e,

E v en the M ou n t ai n of S word s,
Me an n ot h i n g to u s at al l !

2 35
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
S o they had sun g So that we be together !
.

A h together
, that was the essen ce of it
, ,

”
that the key ! A nd this is what I want !
r oaned the suff ering man This ghostl y
g .

resignation is a self numbing of the heart -

.

I care not for the ghost the spirit however , ,

pure I want t he wife I have lost

. her ,

smile her voice her little hands to touch

, ,

me ! O h Um e ko my wife my wife
,
-
If
, , ,

as the a bbot said this phase of grief were ,

bestial were unworthy of the woman who

,

had died for him then why did not the ,

listening soul of her shrink H e knew that

it was not repelled whatever the frenzy of ,

his grief I ndee d at such times of agony

.
,

she leaned down closer longing to comfort ,

him . I f it were given her to speak she

would have cried My husband ! ”
, W her “

ever sh e might drift i n the black ocean , ,

in the M e id o land yes even in the smile of

-

, ,

Buddha on his throne sh e yearned for her ,

lover as he for her with a human love ; she ,

stretched out arms of mist to him and ,

2 36
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
gray face and long red hair of a Kappa or , ,

mali cious river sprite This sketch u n fin .

,

i she d for the Kappa was a mere indication of

,

red locks and a tall thin form stood against , ,

a pillar of the tokonoma at j ust the angle

where the soft light of the butsu dan shed a -

pale glow across it Brushes paints and vari

.
, ,

ous small saucers littered the floor Tatsu .

had stopped his work abruptly overcome ,

by the very power of his own delineation .

H e was absent from the h ouse for sev

eral hours The long walk through unseen
.

streets and over unnoticed bridges had given

the boon at least of physical fatigue N ow
, , .
,

perhaps he could get to sleep before the

,

black ants of thought had rediscovered him .

Entering the room quietly he closed the shoji ,

smoothed the bed clothes with an impatient

-

hand and knelt for an instant before the

, , ,

shrine P erhaps after all rest was not to

.
, ,

come The air was sweet and heavy wi th

.

Um e ko The faint perfume of sandalwood

-
.

which living always hung about her gar

, ,

2 38
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
ments flowed in with the odor of the plum
, .

She must be near Um e herself in mor , ,

tal garments I n the next room the ver

.
,

anda hiding in the closet to spring out

,

merrily upon him ! H e groaned and strove

to plunge his mind into prayer .

The unfinished picture stood close at hand .

Suddenly he n oticed it and with a gasp , , ,

stooped to it Something had changed ; the

.

whole vibration of its lines were subtly new .

There was the girl s figure the leaning wil ’

low the man

, content insensate sprawling
, , ,

upon the bank but the Kappa ! Buddha

,

the Merciful could it be true

,
? Where he
had le ft a Kappa waiting until to morrow ,
-

to give the triumph the leering sat isfac ,

tion at the human grief it fed on rose ,

the white form and pitying face of Kwannon

Sama sh e to whom his
, Um e loved to
pray The eyes soft humid with compas
.
, ,

sion looked directly out to his They were

, .

Um e s eyes ! H e caught up one brush after

’

’
the other All had been used and Um e s
.
,

2 39
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
touch was upo n them H er aura permeate d .

them .

H e rushed now to the veranda I n .

leav ing the room s three hours before he had

, ,

n ot taken the usual stone step which led into

the garden under the branches of the plum ,

but had leaped directly from the low floor

ing not caring where he trod H e remem
, .

bered now that the stone had been white in

the moonlight I t was now swept clean of
.

petals as though by the hurried trailing of

,

a woman s dress Was this the way in which

’
.

sh e was to manifest herself ? A nd would

a spirit robe brush surfaces so vehemently
- ?

A nd would a ghostly hand u se brushes and

pigments of ground earth ? -

Unable to endure the room he went again ,

into the night no further this time than the

,

little garden I n the neighborhood dogs

.

were barking fiercely as though in the wake ,

of a presence By sound he followed it and

.
,

it moved up the hill The very garden now

.

was tinged with sandalwood .

2 40
 ITH April came the cherry
flowe rs wistaria
, and peonies ;,

with iris in the bud and shy ,

hedge violets ; wonder of yama buki shrubs

-

that played gold fountains on the hills and ,

the swift bright contagion of young grass

, .

Even from old K an o s moon viewing hillock

’
-

one might see in looking out across the desert

,

of gray city roofs round tops of cherry trees

,

rising like puffs of rosy smoke From out .

the face of the temple cliff lo ng supple ,

fronds of ferns unrolled bending u n certain

,

arms toward the garden The tangled sasa

.

grass r u stled new sleeves of silk and the

great camphor tree air hung in blue seemed
,
-

caught in a j ewell ed mesh of chrysoprase and

gold.

2 42
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
D own in the lower level of the garden ,

too springtime busied itself with beauty

, .

The potted plants once Um e ko s loved ,

-
’

charges had become now quite mysteriously

, ,

to himself T at su s companions and his special

,
’

care A mong the more familiar growths a

.

few foreign bushes had been given place ,

a rose a heliotrope and a small frightened

, , ,

cyclamen Slips of chrysanthemum needed

.

already to be set for the autumn yield .

Tatsu watering and tending them thought

, ,

wi th wi stful sadn ess upo n these plans for

future enj oyment We are all bound .

upon the wheel of life he said to them , .

Would that with me as you the turning , ,

”
were but for a single season !
”
My son the elder man began abruptly
, ,

at a certain noonday meal about the middle

of the month “how is it that you n ever go
,

”
wi th me to the temple on the hill
,
?

Tatsu looked up fro m his rice bowl in -

some surprise The relations between these

.

two though externally kind had never ap

, ,

2 43
 THE DRAGON PAINTER

proac he d
intimacy Kano i ndeed idolized
.

his adopted son with pathetic and undis

guised fervor ; but with Tatsu though other ,

things might have been forgiven the old ,

m an s conti nued disrespect to his daughter s

’ ’

memory hi s refu sal to j oin even in the S i m

,

l e st ceremony of devotion kept both him

p ,

and old Mata chilled and distant The one .

possible explanation —aside from that of ,

wanton cruelty — was a thing so marvellous

, ,

so terrible in implied suggestion that the ,

boy s faint soul could make for it no present

’

h ome ; l et it drift a gre at l u min o u s ,

nebula of hope a little longer on the rim

,

of nothingness .

The answer now to Kamo s question b e ’

t raye d a hint of the more rational animosity .

You had never seemed to desire it A nd .

”
I have m y place of worship here .

“
Y e s I know
, O f course I knew that !
.

the other hurried on in some agitation Then .

he paused as if uncertain how to word the

,

following thought I do wish it ! he

.

2 44
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
Evidently the speaker struggled with a strong
excitement Something in the twitching face
.
,

the eager shifting eyes brought back a vision

, ,

of that meal on the evening that preceded

Um e s death when she and her father had
’

leaned together whispering ignoring him

, , ,

and afterward had left the house giving him ,

n o hint of their errand H e felt with dread

.

a premonition of new bitterness .

I shall be ready at the twilight hour he ,

said and went to his room

, .

That afternoon Tatsu did little painting .

Silent and motionless as one of the frames

against the wall he sat staring for long inter
,

vals ou t upon the garden The sunshine .

gave no pleasure only a blurring of his sight

, .

Beauty was not there for him this day H e , .

was thinking of those hours of O c tober su n

light when the whole earth reeled with j oy
, ,

for Um e ko was of it ! Where was she n ow

-

A nd what had there been in K ano s look ’

and voice to rouse those sleeping demo n s of

despair ? Could any new sorrow await him
2 46
 THE DR AGO N PAIN TER
at the temple N o his present condition
9
,

had at least the negative value of absolute

void From n othing nothing could be taken ;
.
,

and to it nothing be supplied

,

I n spite of this colorless assurance it was

with something of reluctance of shrinki ng , ,

that he prepared to leave the house Few .

words were spoken between the two Catch .

ing up the skirts of narrow silken robes a ,

little higher they tucked the folds into their

,

belts and side by side began the long slow

, ,

climbing of the road .

The city roofs beneath them hurried off to

the edge of the world like ripples left in the
gray sand b ed of a stream Above the plain
-
.

the mist drew in its long horizontal lines of

,

gray.

About half the distance up the steep the

temple bell ab ove them sounded si x slow ,

deliberate strokes First came the sonorous

.

impact of the swinging beam against curved

metal then the boom the echo
,
”
,
— the ,

echoes of that echo to endless repetition ,

2 47
 THE DR AGON PAINTER
sifting in layers through the thinner air upon
them sweeping like vapor low along the hill
,

side with a presence and reality so inten se

that it should have had color or at least per , , ,
‘

fume ; settling i n a fine dew of sound on

quivering ferns and grasses permeating it , ,

would seem with its melodious vibration the

,

very wood of the houses and the trunks of

living trees .

R eaching at last the temple court old ,

Kano took the lead crossed the wide pebbled

,
-

space and halted with his companion at t h e

,

edge of the cliff A cry of wonder came from

.

T at su s lips ; that low inimitable cry of the

’

true artist at some new stab of beauty D eli .

c at e l
y the old man withdrew and hid himself ,

in the shadow of the templ e .

Tatsu stared out alone H e saw the round

, .

bay like a mirror like Um e s mirror ; and

,
’

to the west the peak of Fuj i a porphyry cone ,

again st the sunset splendor N o wonder that .

'

the gray n uns came here at this hour or that ,

sh e the slender is o
, , lated one lingered to drain ,

2 48
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
caught the l ittle hands the autumn leaves , ,

and crushed them to one hot glow crying ,

aloud that nature beauty love were all made

, ,

one in her Such grief he must have given

.

many times .

H e threw his head back as in sudden hurt ,

a gesture becoming habitual to him and drew ,

a long impatient tremulous sigh A s if to

, , .

cast aside black thought he strode over ,

quickly to the maple tree flung an arm ,

around it and leaned over to s tare down into

,

’
his garden with the gray nun s eyes T here .

it was complete though in miniature

, ,

rocks pines the pigmy pool the hillock

, , ,

squatting in one corn er like an old gray ,

garden toad and in another corner scarcely

, ,

of larger size the cottage , .

Kano plucked n ervously at his sleeve .

You lean too far Come Tatsu I have a

.
, ,

”
a place to show you .

Tatsu wheeled with a start T ry as he .

would he shivered and grew faint even yet , ,

at the sound of K an o s voice breaking ab ’

2 50
 THE DRAGO N PAINTER
ru t
p yl
in upon a silence H e gave a nod of .

acquiescence and with downbent head fol

, ,

lowed his guide diagonally across the temple

court past the wide portico where sparrows
,

and pigeons fought for night quarters in the -

carved open m ouths of dragons along the

, ,

side of the main building until to T at su s ,

’

wonder they stopped before a little gate in

,

the nunnery wall .

I thought it was almost death for a man

to enter here exclaimed the boy .

”
For most men it is said Kano producing , ,

a key of hammered brass about nine inches

long . But I desired to go the short path to
the cemetery and it lies this way A s I have
, .

”
told you the abbot was my boyhood s friend
,
’
.

Within the convent yard a sandy space ,

enclosed in long low buildings of unpainted

,

wood —Tatsu saw a few gray figures hurry

,

ing to cover ; and noticed that more than

one bright pai r of eyes peered out at them
through bamboo lattices O ver the whole .

place brooded the spirit of unearthly peace

2 51
 T HE DRAGO N PAIN TER
and sweetness which had been with in the
gift of the holy bishop and his acolytes even
at that time of torment in the hospital cell .

The same faint P resence like a plum tree ,

blossoming in the dark stole through the ,

’
young man s senses luring and distressing
,

him with its infin ite suggestions of lost peace .

A t the farther wall of the court they came

to an answering door This was already u n
.

locked and partially aj ar I t Open ed d irectly

.

upon the highest terrac e of the cemetery

which led down steeply in great curved , ,

irregular steps to a plain The crimson light .

in the west had almost gone H ere to the .

north where rice fiel d s and small huddled

,
-

villages stretched out as far as the eye could

see a band of hard white light still rested on
, ,

the horizon throwing back among the hill

,

side graves a pale metallic sheen , Each .

shaft of granite was thus divided one uprigh t ,

half blue shadow the other a gray green

, ,
-

gleam All looked of equal height A gray

. .

stone Buddha o n his lotos pedestal or the ,

2 52
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
hard upon him W ith it came a keen impres
.

sion of the unreality of the material universe ,

of Buddhist illusion Even these adaman .

tine records of death rising on every side to

,

challenge him eve n these might recombine

,

their particle s before his very eyes — might ,

shiver into mist and float dow n to the plain

to mingle with the smoke of cooking as it rose
from the peasant huts A nything might hap .

pen or nothing !
,

Kano had stopped short before a grave .

For once Tatsu was glad to hear his voice .

“
H ere lie the clean ashes of my young wife ,

Kano Uta ko sa1 d the old man without

-

, ,

preface or explanation .

“ —
I n former days before before my illness
, ,

”
I came here often said the other H is eyes
, .

hung on the written words of the kai m yo .

I f you grieved deeply it must have been ,

great solace that you could come thus to her

”
grave he added wistfully Then as Kano
, .
,

still remained silent he read aloud the beau

,

tiful dai shi A flower having blossomed

,

2 54
 THE DRAGO N PAIN TER
in the night the H alls of the G ods are ,

”
Fragrant .

Kano drew a long sigh For nineteen .

years I have mourned her he went on ,

slowly . A s you kn ow a son was not ,

given to u s She died at Um e s birth I.

’

could not bring myself to replace her even ,

”
in the dear longing for a son .

”
A son ! Tatsu knew well what the old
man meant H e lifted his eyes and stared
.

out mute into the narrowing band of light

, , .

The old man drew his thin form very

straight moved a few feet that he might
,

look squarely into the other s face and said ’

deliberately So did I mourn the young

.

wife whom I loved and so if I know , ,

men will you mourn Kano Tatsu

,
Of , .

such enduring stu ff will be your grief for

”
Um e ko .

I t was s aid The old man s prom ise had.

’

been torn like a leaf not to be mended ,

or recalled — torn and flung at his listener s

,
’

feet Yet such was the simplicity of utter

.

2 55
 THE DRAGON PAIN TER
ance such the nobility of poise the beauty
, ,

of the old face set like a silver wedge

i nto the deepening mist that Tatsu could ,

only give him look for look with no re ,

s e nt m e nt. The young voice had taken on

strangely the ti mbre of the old as in equal ,

soberness he answered
, ,

Such Kano I ndara though I be bur

, ,

d en ed with years as many as your own ,

will be the n ever ceasing longing for my lost

-

”
wife Um e ko
,
-
.

A little sob loosed suddenly upon the,

night sped past them

, What was it ? .

W ho i s there
”
? cried Tatsu sharpl y wheel , ,

ing round .

Kano began to shake —

P erhaps p er .
“

”
haps a night bird he stammered out
-
, .

A bird ! echoed Tatsu That sou n d .

“

was human I t is a woman the Presen ce

.
,

that has hung about me ! P ut down your

arms —
, you cannot keep me back ! ”

”
Be still ! cried out old Kano in the
vo i ce of angry kings N othi ng will happen .
,
 T H E D R A GO N P A I N T E R
now laughing aloud now weeping like , ,

a hysterical gi rl Y ou shall se e in a
.
“

moment ! My d ead wife takes me by the

hand and leads me from y ou j ust a li ttle
‘

way dear Tats u j ust here among the

, ,

shadows N o longer are the shadows for

.

you , joy is for you Yes Uta k o I m .

,
-
,
’

coming The young love springs like n ew

.

lilies from the old Stand still my son ; .

,

”
be hushed that joy may find you
, .

H e faltered backward and was lost Upon .

the hillside came a stillness deeper than any

pre vious interval of pause From it the .

nightingale s low note thrust out a wavering

’

clew The day had gone and a few stars

.
,

dotted the vault of the sky Tatsu thre w .

back his head There was no pain in the

.

gesture n ow ; he was trying to make room

in his soul for an unspeakable visitor The .

arch of heaven had grown trivial Eternity .

was his one boundary The stars twinkled .

in his blood .

H e heard the small human sob again j ust ,

2 58
 T HE DRAGO N PAINTER
Being of modern T oky o most of this adu ,

lation went into newspaper articles O ld men .

envied Kano his dutifu l daughter young me n ,

envi ed Tatsu his beautiful and lovi ng wife .

The print makers indeed perpetrated a series

-
, ,

’
of representations that p ut old K an o s art istic
teeth on edge . First there was Um e at the
willow ; then T atsu in the same place, ,

taking his mad plunge for death s oblivion ; ’

Um e the hooded acolyte kneeling in the s i ck

, ,

chamber at the head of her husband s bed ; ’

Um e the nun standing each day at twilight

, ,

on the edge of the temple cliff to catch

a glimpse of h im she loved and at the last , , ,

Tatsu and Um e rej oined beside the tomb of

Kano Uta ko -
Fortunately these pi ctures
.

were n ever seen by the two most co n cerned .

They went away on a second bridal j ourn ey ,

this time to T at su s native mountains in K i u

’

Shiu While there the good fri end A ndo

.
,

Uchida was to be sought and made a c ,

q u ai nt e d with the stra n ge h i sto ry of the

p revious months .

2 60
 THE DRAGON PAIN TE R
Mata and her old master remained placidly
at home They had n o fears At the ap
. .

pointed date only a week more now the

two would come back as they had promised , ,

to begin the long tranquil life of art and

,

happin ess There were to be great pict u res

.

Kano chuckled and rubbed his lean hands

together as he sat in his lonely room Then
, .

the thought faded for a tenderer thought

,

had come I n a year or more if the gods

.
,

will ed another and a keener blessedness

,

might be theirs .

T o dream quite delicately enough of this ,

the old man shut his eyes O h it was a .

,

dream to make the springtime of the world

stir at the roots of being ! A tear crept
down from the blue veined lids making its
-
,

way through wrinkles those dry river beds,

-

”
of smiles . I f the baby fingers came ,

’
those small fearless fingers that were one s
,

own youth reborn they would press out

,

all fretful lines of age leaving only tender ,

traceries H e lean ed forward liste ning A I

.
,
.

2 61
 THE DRAGON PAINTER
ready he could hear the tiny feet echo along
the rooms could see small shaven heads
, ,

bowing their first good morning to the O J i

San, revered beloved patriarch of the
,

home ! H ow old Mata would idoli ze and

scold and pet them ! A queer old soul was
Mata with faults as all women have but i n
, , ,

the main a treasure ! G ood times were

,

coming for the old folks i n that house ! So

s at Kano dreaming in his empty chamber ;
, ,

and unless we have eternity to spare nod ,

ding beside him on the mats we must bow , ,

murmuring Sayo nara ,

-

E ND
 T he work of a
ge nius . A s tory tha t will live

B y S I D NE Y MC CAL L
Au th or of T ru th D e x te r

l 2 mo . C lot h , 431 page s .

A great A meri c an n o v el , if n ot the Ameri c an n o el v .

N e w Or l ea ns T i mes D emo c ra t.

A no v el t h at h as t h e re al J ap an i n i t as h as n o oth er

no v el e v er wri tt en i n t h e E ngl i sh t ong u e . P h i l a d e lp hi a

P ress .

An a b bi ng l ov
sor e st ory t h at t h rows unu u s al l i gh t up on

t h e i nn er l i fe of J ap an . C hi c a
go R c
e ord - H er a l d .

A p owerf l u st ory wi t h v i vi d d es c ri p t i on s an d a t h rill i ng

and un ex p e ct ed clim ax . B oston H era l d .

S t rik es an u nu u s al n ot e an d wil l li v e b eyond t he

p ass i n g ho u r. S t P a u l P ioneer P ress

. .

A mast erl y d eli neat i on of m en and w omen c ught

a in

t h e swi f t cu r rent of e v en t s . B a l timor e S u n .

Y uki is a ch armi n g ch ara ct eri z at i on d ai nt y, ex q ui si t e,

flowerl ik e, an d fas i n at i ng c . C hi c ago J ou rnal .

L I T T LE , B R OW N , CC .
, P U B LI S H E R S , B OS T ON

’
At al l B ookselle rs
 T he hI ost L ova ble H eroine in hf odern Ficti o n

B j/ S I D N E Y M c c A LL

Au th or of T h e B reath of th e God s
N e w I ll u st rat e d E d iti on , wi th 8 f ull page p i t u re s b y Al i -
c c e
b
B a r e r S t e p h e n s a n d t itl e p ag e vign e tte by -

J e ssi e W i ll ox S m it h c
I Qmo . De c orat e d cl ot h ,

A v
n o el of uni t ed N ort h and S o th u of rar e p ower and

a b b i n g i nt t I t i b t f i t y t h t n t n f
sor eres . s u a r o sa a o o e o

t h n v l whi ch pp
e o e s d l t y a n ith
eare id
asf th e ar o e er s e o e

A t l nt i c (i n cl u d i ng t h
a f om t h p n f t h m t gi ft d
os e r e e o e os e

w itr !
ersw u p ias s t t h i i n
er or t i t i c o
q u li t y d
s m t i c ar s a ,
ra a

p wo n d
er , a h u m n i n t t caom b i n d W
er es d n t h p t e . e o o o e o

s ee it u p s d r v n i f q u ll ed — P hil d lp hi T l g p h
asse ,
e e e a a e a e e ra .

E c p t i n ll y c l v
x e o a n d b il li n t i t h
e er a wh t r ly a ,
as a are r are

f un d wi t h t h
o d li ng q u li t i
ese az z d l i c cy nd g n ui n
a es , e a a e e

s ent i m ent —B rooklyn T i mes .

A fine, s weet an d st rong Am eri c an rom an e c — N ew Y ork

W orld .

I d on t k n ow h ow t o prai se i t
’
en o ugh I c n t c ll
. a
’
re a any

v
n o el c
wh i h h as i n t er est ed me so a b b i ngl y f y
s or or ears .

I t is a ma t ch l es s b ook ! L ou ise C ha n d ler Mou lton .

T he a ut h o r a t on c e t ak es p l a c e a mong t h e f orem os t
v
no eli st s of t h e d ay .
— B oston T r a nscrip t .

L I T T L E , B R OW N , CO .
,
P U B LI S H E R S
2 54 W A S H I N G T ON S T R E E T , B OS T ON