He is
represented carrying a few ears of rice, and is symbolized by a snake
guarding a bale of rice grain. The foxes wait upon him, and do his
bidding. Inasmuch as rice is the most important and necessary product of
Japan, the honours which Inari Sama receives are extraordinary. Almost
every house in the country contains somewhere about the grounds a pretty
little shrine in his honour; and on a certain day of the second month of
the year his feast is celebrated with much beating of drums and other
noises, in which the children take a special delight. "On this day,"
says the O-Satsuyo, a Japanese cyclopaedia, "at Yeddo, where there are
myriads upon myriads of shrines to Inari Sama, there are all sorts of
ceremonies. Long banners with inscriptions are erected, lamps and
lanterns are hung up, and the houses are decked with various dolls and
figures; the sound of flutes and drums is heard, and people dance and
make holiday according to their fancy. In short, it is the most bustling
festival of the Yeddo year."]
VII
THE BADGER'S MONEY
It is a common saying among men that to forget favours received is the
part of a bird or a beast: an ungrateful man will be ill spoken of by
all the world. And yet even birds and beasts will show gratitude; so
that a man who does not requite a favour is worse even than dumb brutes.
Is not this a disgrace?
Once upon a time, in a hut at a place called Namekata, in Hitachi, there
lived an old priest famous neither for learning nor wisdom, but bent
only on passing his days in prayer and meditation.
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