mairi,_ or "going to worship at the hour of the ox,"[9] and is
practised by jealous women who wish to be revenged upon their
faithless lovers.

[Footnote 9: The Chinese, and the Japanese following them, divide the
day of twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which has a sign
something like the signs of the Zodiac:--
Midnight until two in the morning is represented by the rat.
2 a.m. " 4 a.m. " " ox.
4 a.m. " 6 a.m. " " tiger.
6 a.m. " 8 a.m. " " hare.
8 a.m. " 10 a.m. " " dragon.
10 a.m. " 12 noon " " snake.
12 noon " 2 p.m. " " horse.
2 p.m. " 4 p.m. " " ram.
4 p.m. " 6 p.m. " " ape.
6 p.m. " 8 p.m. " " cock.
8 p.m. " 10 p.m. " " hog.
10 p.m. " Midnight " " fox.]

When the world is at rest, at two in the morning, the hour of which
the ox is the symbol, the woman rises; she dons a white robe and high
sandals or clogs; her coif is a metal tripod, in which are thrust
three lighted candles; around her neck she hangs a mirror, which falls
upon her bosom; in her left hand she carries a small straw figure, the
effigy of the lover who has abandoned her, and in her right she grasps
a hammer and nails, with which she fastens the figure to one of the
sacred trees that surround the shrine. There she prays for the death
of the traitor, vowing that, if her petition be heard, she will
herself pull out the nails which now offend the god by wounding the