'THE STORY OF PRINCESS HASE' JAPNESE FAIRY TALES

THE STORY OF PRINCESS HASE

A STORY OF OLD JAPAN.


Many, many years ago there lived in Nara, the ancient Capital of
Japan, a wise State minister, by name Prince Toyonari Fujiwara. His
wife was a noble, good, and beautiful woman called Princess Murasaki
(Violet). They had been married by their respective families
according to Japanese custom when very young, and had lived together
happily ever since. They had, however, one cause for great sorrow,
for as the years went by no child was born to them. This made them
very unhappy, for they both longed to see a child of their own who
would grow up to gladden their old age, carry on the family name,
and keep up the ancestral rites when they were dead. The Prince and
his lovely wife, after long consultation and much thought,
determined to make a pilgrimage to the temple of Hase-no-Kwannon
(Goddess of Mercy at Hase), for they believed, according to the
beautiful tradition of their religion, that the Mother of Mercy,
Kwannon, comes to answer the prayers of mortals in the form that
they need the most. Surely after all these years of prayer she would
come to them in the form of a beloved child in answer to their
special pilgrimage, for that was the greatest need of their two
lives. Everything else they had that this life could give them, but
it was all as nothing because the cry of their hearts was
unsatisfied.

So the Prince Toyonari and his wife went to the temple of Kwannon at
Hase and stayed there for a long time, both daily offering incense
and praying to Kwannon, the Heavenly Mother, to grant them the
desire of their whole lives. And their prayer was answered.

A daughter was born at last to the Princess Murasaki, and great was
the joy of her heart. On presenting the child to her husband, they
both decided to call her Hase-Hime, or the Princess of Hase, because
she was the gift of the Kwannon at that place. They both reared her
with great care and tenderness, and the child grew in strength and
beauty.

When the little girl was five years old her mother fell dangerously
ill and all the doctors and their medicines could not save her. A
little before she breathed her last she called her daughter to her,
and gently stroking her head, said:

"Hase-Hime, do you know that your mother cannot live any longer?
Though I die, you must grow up a good girl. Do your best not to give
trouble to your nurse or any other of your family. Perhaps your
father will marry again and some one will fill my place as your
mother. If so do not grieve for me, but look upon your father's
second wife as your true mother, and be obedient and filial to both
her and your father. Remember when you are grown up to be submissive
to those who are your superiors, and to be kind to all those who are
under you. Don't forget this. I die with the hope that you will grow
up a model woman."

Hase-Hime listened in an attitude of respect while her mother spoke,
and promised to do all that she was told. There is a proverb which
says "As the soul is at three so it is at one hundred," and so Hase-
Hime grew up as her mother had wished, a good and obedient little
Princess, though she was now too young to understand how great was
the loss of her mother.

Not long after the death of his first wife, Prince Toyonari married
again, a lady of noble birth named Princess Terute. Very different
in character, alas! to the good and wise Princess Murasaki, this
woman had a cruel, bad heart. She did not love her step-daughter at
all, and was often very unkind to the little motherless girl, saving
to herself:

"This is not my child! this is not my child!"

But Hase-Hime bore every unkindness with patience, and even waited
upon her step-mother kindly and obeyed her in every way and never
gave any trouble, just as she had been trained by her own good
mother, so that the Lady Terute had no cause for complaint against
her.

The little Princess was very diligent, and her favorite studies were
music and poetry. She would spend several hours practicing every
day, and her father had the most proficient of masters he could find
to teach her the koto (Japanese harp), the art of writing letters
and verse. When she was twelve years of age she could play so
beautifully that she and her step-mother were summoned to the Palace
to perform before the Emperor.

It was the Festival of the Cherry Flowers, and there were great
festivities at the Court. The Emperor threw himself into the
enjoyment of the season, and commanded that Princess Hase should
perform before him on the koto, and that her mother Princess Terute
should accompany her on the flute.

The Emperor sat on a raised dais, before which was hung a curtain of
finely-sliced bamboo and purple tassels, so that His Majesty might
see all and not be seen, for no ordinary subject was allowed to
looked upon his sacred face.

Hase-Hime was a skilled musician though so young, and often
astonished her masters by her wonderful memory and talent. On this
momentous occasion she played well. But Princess Terute, her step-
mother, who was a lazy woman and never took the trouble to practice
daily, broke down in her accompaniment and had to request one of the
Court ladies to take her place. This was a great disgrace, and she
was furiously jealous to think that she had failed where her step-
daughter succeeded; and to make matters worse the Emperor sent many
beautiful gifts to the little Princess to reward her for playing so
well at the Palace.

There was also now another reason why Princess Terute hated her
step-daughter, for she had had the good fortune to have a son born
to her, and in her inmost heart she kept saying:

"If only Hase-Hime were not here, my son would have all the love of
his father."

And never having learned to control herself, she allowed this wicked
thought to grow into the awful desire of taking her step-daughter's
life.

So one day she secretly ordered some poison and poisoned some sweet
wine. This poisoned wine she put into a bottle. Into another similar
bottle she poured some good wine. It was the occasion of the Boys'
Festival on the fifth of May, and Hase-Hime was playing with her
little brother. All his toys of warriors and heroes were spread out
and she was telling him wonderful stories about each of them. They
were both enjoying themselves and laughing merrily with their
attendants when his mother entered with the two bottles of wine and
some delicious cakes.

"You are both so good and happy." said the wicked Princess Terute
with a smile, "that I have brought you some sweet wine as a reward--
and here are some nice cakes for my good children."

And she filled two cups from the different bottles.

Hase-Hime, never dreaming of the dreadful part her step-mother was
acting, took one of the cups of wine and gave to her little step
brother the other that had been poured out for him.

The wicked woman had carefully marked the poisoned bottle, but on
coming into the room she had grown nervous, and pouring out the wine
hurriedly had unconsciously given the poisoned cup to her own child.
All this time she was anxiously watching the little Princess, but to
her amazement no change whatever took place in the young girl's
face. Suddenly the little boy screamed and threw himself on the
floor, doubled up with pain. His mother flew to him, taking the
precaution to upset the two tiny jars of wine which she had brought
into the room, and lifted him up. The attendants rushed for the
doctor, but nothing could save the child--he died within the hour in
his mother's arms. Doctors did not know much in those ancient times,
and it was thought that the wine had disagreed with the boy, causing
convulsions of which he died.

Thus was the wicked woman punished in losing her own child when she
had tried to do away with her step-daughter; but instead of blaming
herself she began to hate Hase-Hime more than ever in the bitterness
and wretchedness of her own heart, and she eagerly watched for an
opportunity to do her harm, which was, however, long in coming.

When Hase-Hime was thirteen years of age, she had already become
mentioned as a poetess of some merit. This was an accomplishment
very much cultivated by the women of old Japan and one held in high
esteem.

It was the rainy season at Nara, and floods were reported every day
as doing damage in the neighborhood. The river Tatsuta, which flowed
through the Imperial Palace grounds, was swollen to the top of its
banks, and the roaring of the torrents of water rushing along a
narrow bed so disturbed the Emperor's rest day and night, that a
serious nervous disorder was the result. An Imperial Edict was sent
forth to all the Buddhist temples commanding the priests to offer up
continuous prayers to Heaven to stop the noise of the flood. But
this was of no avail.

Then it was whispered in Court circles that the Princess Hase, the
daughter of Prince Toyonari Fujiwara, second minister at Court, was
the most gifted poetess of the day, though still so young, and her
masters confirmed the report. Long ago, a beautiful and gifted
maiden-poetess had moved Heaven by praying in verse, had brought
down rain upon a land famished with drought--so said the ancient
biographers of the poetess Ono-no-Komachi. If the Princess Hase were
to write a poem and offer it in prayer, might it not stop the noise
of the rushing river and remove the cause of the Imperial illness?
What the Court said at last reached the ears of the Emperor himself,
and he sent an order to the minister Prince Toyonari to this effect.

Great indeed was Hase-Hime's fear and astonishment when her father
sent for her and told her what was required of her. Heavy, indeed,
was the duty that was laid on her young shoulders--that of saving
the Emperor's life by the merit of her verse.

At last the day came and her poem was finished. It was written on a
leaflet of paper heavily flecked with gold-dust. With her father and
attendants and some of the Court officials, she proceeded to the
bank of the roaring torrent and raising up her heart to Heaven, she
read the poem she had composed, aloud, lifting it heavenwards in her
two hands.

Strange indeed it seemed to all those standing round. The waters
ceased their roaring, and the river was quiet in direct answer to
her prayer. After this the Emperor soon recovered his health.

His Majesty was highly pleased, and sent for her to the Palace and
rewarded her with the rank of Chinjo--that of Lieutenant-General--to
distinguish her. From that time she was called Chinjo-hime, or the
Lieutenant-General Princess, and respected and loved by all.

There was only one person who was not pleased at Hase-Hime's
success. That one was her stepmother. Forever brooding over the
death of her own child whom she had killed when trying to poison her
step-daughter, she had the mortification of seeing her rise to power
and honor, marked by Imperial favor and the admiration of the whole
Court. Her envy and jealousy burned in her heart like fire. Many
were the lies she carried to her husband about Hase-Hime, but all to
no purpose. He would listen to none of her tales, telling her
sharply that she was quite mistaken.

At last the step-mother, seizing the opportunity of her husband's
absence, ordered one of her old servants to take the innocent girl
to the Hibari Mountains, the wildest part of the country, and to
kill her there. She invented a dreadful story about the little
Princess, saying that this was the only way to prevent disgrace
falling upon the family--by killing her.

Katoda, her vassal, was bound to obey his mistress. Anyhow, he saw
that it would be the wisest plan to pretend obedience in the absence
of the girl's father, so he placed Hase-Hime in a palanquin and
accompanied her to the most solitary place he could find in the wild
district. The poor child knew there was no good in protesting to her
unkind step-mother at being sent away in this strange manner, so she
went as she was told.

But the old servant knew that the young Princess was quite innocent
of all the things her step-mother had invented to him as reasons for
her outrageous orders, and he determined to save her life. Unless he
killed her, however, he could not return to his cruel task-mistress,
so he decided to stay out in the wilderness. With the help of some
peasants he soon built a little cottage, and having sent secretly
for his wife to come, these two good old people did all in their
power to take care of the now unfortunate Princess. She all the time
trusted in her father, knowing that as soon as he returned home and
found her absent, he would search for her.

Prince Toyonari, after some weeks, came home, and was told by his
wife that his daughter Hime had done something wrong and had run
away for fear of being punished. He was nearly ill with anxiety.
Every one in the house told the same story--that Hase-Hime had
suddenly disappeared, none of them knew why or whither. For fear of
scandal he kept the matter quite and searched everywhere he could
think of, but all to no purpose.

One day, trying to forget his terrible worry, he called all his men
together and told them to make ready for a several days' hunt in the
mountains. They were soon ready and mounted, waiting at the gate for
their lord. He rode hard and fast to the district of the Hibari
Mountains, a great company following him. He was soon far ahead of
every one, and at last found himself in a narrow picturesque valley.

Looking round and admiring the scenery, he noticed a tiny house on
one of the hills quite near, and then he distinctly heard a
beautiful clear voice reading aloud. Seized with curiosity as to who
could be studying so diligently in such a lonely spot, he
dismounted, and leaving his horse to his groom, he walked up the
hillside and approached the cottage. As he drew nearer his surprise
increased, for he could see that the reader was a beautiful girl.
The cottage was wide open and she was sitting facing the view.
Listening attentively, he heard her reading the Buddhist scriptures
with great devotion. More and more curious, he hurried on to the
tiny gate and entered the little garden, and looking up beheld his
lost daughter Hase-Hime. She was so intent on what she was saying
that she neither heard nor saw her father till he spoke.

"Hase-Hime!" he cried, "it is you. my Hase-Hime!"

Taken by surprise, she could hardly realize that it was her own dear
father who was calling her, and for a moment she was utterly bereft
of the power to speak or move.

"My father, my father! It is indeed you--oh, my father!" was all she
could say, and running to him she caught hold of his thick sleeve,
and burying her face burst into a passion of tears.

Her father stroked her dark hair, asking her gently to tell him all
that had happened, but she only wept on, and he wondered if he were
not really dreaming.

Then the faithful old servant Katoda came out, and bowing himself to
the ground before his master, poured out the long tale of wrong,
telling him all that had happened, and how it was that he found his
daughter in such a wild and desolate spot with only two old servants
to take care of her.

The Prince's astonishment and indignation knew no bounds. He gave up
the hunt at once and hurried home with his daughter. One of the
company galloped ahead to inform the household of the glad news, and
the step-mother hearing what had happened, and fearful of meeting
her husband now that her wickedness was discovered, fled from the
house and returned in disgrace to her father's roof, and nothing
more was heard of her.

The old servant Katoda was rewarded with the highest promotion in
his master's service, and lived happily to the end of his days,
devoted to the little Princess, who never forgot that she owed her
life to this faithful retainer. She was no longer troubled by an
unkind step-mother, and her days passed happily and quietly with her
father.

As Prince Toyonari had no son, he adopted a younger son of one of
the Court nobles to be his heir, and to marry his daughter Hase-
Hime, and in a few years the marriage took place. Hase-Hime lived to
a good old age, and all said that she was the wisest, most devout,
and most beautiful mistress that had ever reigned in Prince
Toyonari's ancient house. She had the joy of presenting her son, the
future lord of the family, to her father just before he retired from
active life.

To this day there is preserved a piece of needle-work in one of the
Buddhist temples of Kioto. It is a beautiful piece of tapestry, with
the figure of Buddha embroidered in the silky threads drawn from the
stem of the lotus. This is said to have been the work of the hands
of the good Princess Hase.