P. 506, c. 2—“Gen´ji and Hei´ki.” Names of the rival families Minamoto and Taira. (See page 70 of Text-Book 34.) The emblems of these houses were red and white flags. Some one calls the war “The Japanese War of the Roses.”
P. 506, c. 2—“Watana´bé Tsu´na.” A dependent, or servant.
P. 506, c. 2—“Shu´ten dō´ji.”
P. 506, c. 2—“Sa´ké.” Rice-beer, an exhilarating drink, popular among the Japanese.
P. 506, c. 2—“Kan´da Mi´ō Jin.” Illustrious deity of Kanda. The title given to the first ruler, or mikado, of the Taira family, a wicked, tyrannical man who, even after death, haunted the people until they erected a temple and worshiped him as a deity. In 1868 his image was torn from the temple and hacked to pieces by the mikado’s troops.
P. 507, c. 1—“Ku´gé.” A court noble.
P. 508, c. 1—“Nirvâna.” One of the teachings of Buddhism is that the soul must return again and again to the body, that it must be born, suffer and die innumerable times. If the life be pure, and the doctrine right, each life will be higher than the last; gradually, through self-denial and struggle, the soul becomes purified and reaches Nirvâna, or perfect rest; but if the truth be rejected, the soul sinks deeper in every life before another opportunity is given to raise. Life, not death, is the terror of a Buddhist. For a clear and beautiful description of Nirvâna see “The Light of Asia,” by Matthew Arnold.