foot of Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain. The waves are still, and
there is a great calm; the fishermen are all out plying their trade.
The speaker's name is Hakuriyô, a fisherman living in the pine-grove
of Miwo. The rains are now over, and the sky is serene; the sun rises
bright and red over the pine-trees and rippling sea; while last
night's moon is yet seen faintly in the heaven. Even he, humble fisher
though he be, is softened by the beauty of the nature which surrounds
him. A breeze springs up, the weather will change; clouds and waves
will succeed sunshine and calm; the fishermen must get them home
again. No; it is but the gentle breath of spring, after all; it
scarcely stirs the stout fir-trees, and the waves are hardly heard to
break upon the shore. The men may go forth in safety. The fisherman
then relates how, while he was wondering at the view, flowers began to
rain from the sky, and sweet music filled the air, which was perfumed
by a mystic fragrance. Looking up, he saw hanging on a pine-tree a
fairy's suit of feathers, which he took home, and showed to a friend,
intending to keep it as a relic in his house. A heavenly fairy makes
her appearance, and claims the suit of feathers; but the fisherman
holds to his treasure trove. She urges the impiety of his act--a
mortal has no right to take that which belongs to the fairies. He
declares that he will hand down the feather suit to posterity as one
of the treasures of the country. The fairy bewails her lot; without
her wings how can she return to heaven? She recalls the familiar joys
of heaven, now closed to her; she sees the wild geese and the gulls
flying to the skies, and longs for their power of flight; the tide has
its ebb and its flow, and the sea-breezes blow whither they list: for
her alone there is no power of motion, she must remain on earth. At
last, touched by her plaint, the fisherman consents to return the
feather suit, on condition that the fairy shall dance and play
heavenly music for him. She consents, but must first obtain the