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Page 33
THE MIRROR MAIDEN
In the period of the Ashikaga Sh[=o]gunate the shrine of
Ogawachi-My[=o]jin, at Minami-Is�, fell into decay; and the daimy[=o]
of the district, the Lord Kitahatak�, found himself unable, by reason
of war and other circumstances, to provide for the reparation of the
building. Then the Shint[=o] priest in charge, Matsumura Hy[=o]go,
sought help at Ky[=o]to from the great daimy[=o] Hosokawa, who was
known to have influence with the Sh[=o]gun. The Lord Hosokawa received
the priest kindly, and promised to speak to the Sh[=o]gun about the
condition of Ogawachi-My[=o]jin. But he said that, in any event, a
grant for the restoration of the temple could not be made without
due investigation and considerable delay; and he advised Matsumura to
remain in the capital while the matter was being arranged. Matsumura
therefore brought his family to Ky[=o]to, and rented a house in the
old Ky[=o]goku quarter.
This house, although handsome and spacious, had been long unoccupied.
It was said to be an unlucky house. On the northeast side of it there
was a well; and several former tenants had drowned themselves in
that well, without any known cause. But Matsumura, being a Shint[=o]
priest, had no fear of evil spirits; and he soon made himself very
comfortable in his new home.
* * * * *
In the summer of that year there was a great drought. For months no
rain had fallen in the Five Home-Provinces; the river-beds dried
up, the wells failed; and even in the capital there was a dearth of
water. But the well in Matsumura's garden remained nearly full; and
the water--which was very cold and clear, with a faint bluish
tinge--seemed to be supplied by a spring. During the hot season many
people came from all parts of the city to beg for water; and Matsumura
allowed them to draw as much as they pleased. Nevertheless the supply
did not appear to be diminished.
But one morning the dead body of a young servant, who had been sent
from a neighboring residence to fetch water, was found floating in
the well. No cause for a suicide could be imagined; and Matsumura,
remembering many unpleasant stories about the well, began to suspect
some invisible malevolence. He went to examine the well, with the
intention of having a fence built around it; and while standing there
alone he was startled by a sudden motion in the water, as of something
alive. The motion soon ceased; and then he perceived, clearly
reflected in the still surface, the figure of a young woman,
apparently about nineteen or twenty years of age. She seemed to be
occupied with her toilet: he distinctly saw her touching her lips
with _b�ni_[67] At first her face was visible in profile only; but
presently she turned towards him and smiled. Immediately he felt a
strange shock at his heart, and a dizziness came upon him like the
dizziness of wine, and everything became dark, except that smiling
face,--white and beautiful as moonlight, and always seeming to grow
more beautiful, and to be drawing him down--down--down into the
darkness. But with a desperate effort he recovered his will and closed
his eyes. When he opened them again, the face was gone, and the light
had returned; and he found himself leaning down over the curb of the
well. A moment more of that dizziness,--a moment more of that dazzling
lure,--and he would never again have looked upon the sun...
[Footnote 67: A kind of rouge, now used only to color the lips.]
Returning to the house, he gave orders to his people not to approach
the well under any circumstances, or allow any person to draw water
from it. And the next day he had a strong fence built round the well.
* * * * *
About a week after the fence had been built, the long drought was
broken by a great rain-storm, accompanied by wind and lightning and
thunder,--thunder so tremendous that the whole city shook to the
rolling of it, as if shaken by an earthquake. For three days and three
nights the downpour and the lightnings and the thunder continued; and
the Kamogawa rose as it had never risen before, carrying away many
bridges. During the third night of the storm, at the Hour of the Ox,
there was heard a knocking at the door of the priest's dwelling, and
the voice of a woman pleading for admittance. But Matsumura, warned by
his experience at the well, forbade his servants to answer the appeal.
He went himself to the entrance, and asked,--
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