The Nō “dances,” as they are sometimes called, were at first “purely religious performances, intended to propitiate the chief deities of the Shintō religion, and were acted exclusively in connection with their shrines.” But they were afterwards secularized and popularized, as lyric dramas. They are comparatively brief, and occupy only about an hour in performing. They are now given chiefly as special entertainments in high society or court circles to extraordinary guests.[62]

Music, especially in connection with dancing, furnishes another common means of amusement. The chief instruments of the old style are the koto, a kind of lyre; the samisen, already described; the kokyū, a sort of fiddle; lutes, flutes, fifes, drums, etc.; while the violin, organ, and piano are coming into general use. These instruments, moreover, are now being manufactured by the Japanese. Individuals, bands, and orchestras, trained under foreign supervision, furnish music, both instrumental and vocal, for private and public entertainments; and concerts in European style are becoming very popular.

It used to be that no evening entertainment was considered complete without the dancing-girls (geisha),[63] whose presence is never conducive to morality. But a strong effort is now being made, even in non-Christian circles, to banish these evil features of social entertainments. The Occidental mixed dances have not yet met with great favor, except that in the court circle, which is cosmopolitan, quadrilles, waltzes, etc., are encouraged.

The manners and customs, especially in the large cities, are undergoing considerable Occidentalizing, which results at first in an amusing mixture, or a queer hybrid. This is particularly true of social functions in official or high life. It is, of course, true that the great mass of the people, the “lower classes,” are not yet to any great extent affected by the social changes in the world above their reach and ken, and still conduct their social intercourse more Japonico, that is, in the approved methods of their ancestors; but in the life of the middle and upper classes, and especially in official functions, the influence of Occidental manners and customs is quite marked.

Japanese literature is immensely rich in stories of adventure, most interesting historical and biographical incidents, folk-lore, and fairy tales. All of these are quite familiar to the Japanese child, whether boy or girl, whose mind feasts upon, and delights in, the heroic and the marvellous. The youth and the adults, also, are not at all averse to such mental pabulum, and flock, for instance, to the hall of the professional story-teller, who regales them with fact and fiction ingeniously blended. Yoshitsune, Benkei, Momotarō, Kintarō, and others are common heroes of folk-lore and fiction; while “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow,” “The Matsuyama Mirror,” “The Man who Made Trees Bloom,” are examples of hundreds of popular fairy tales. Japanese folk-lore is an instructive and most interesting subject, which must, however, be now dismissed with references.[64]

To an audience of Athenians on Mars Hill, Paul said: “Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are altogether superstitious.” One might likewise stand before an audience of Japanese and say: “Ye men of Nippon, I perceive that in all things ye are altogether superstitious.” For most faithfully and devoutly do the mass of the people still worship their innumerable deities, estimated with the indefinite expression “eight hundred myriads”; and most firmly do they continue to believe in the efficacy of charms and amulets and to hold to inherited superstitious ideas. It is only where the common school and Christianity have had full sway that these “foolish notions” disappear. And while we have not space for a methodical study of Japanese superstitions, we ought at least to present, even in a desultory manner, some illustrations, culled at random from various sources.[65]

The days of each month were named, not only in numerical order, but also according to the animals of the Chinese zodiac. And the latter names were perhaps more important than the numerical ones, because, according to these special names, a day was judged to be either lucky or unlucky for particular events. “Every day has its degree of luck for removal [from one place to another], and, indeed, according to another system, for actions of any kind; for a day is presided over in succession by one of six stars which may make it lucky throughout or only at night, or in the forenoon or the afternoon, or exactly at noon, or absolutely unlucky. There are also special days on which marriages should take place, prayers are granted by the gods, stores should be opened, and signboards put up.” Dr. Griffis informs us in “The Mikado’s Empire,” that “many people of the lower classes would not wash their heads or hair on ‘the day of the horse,’ lest their hair become red.” On the other hand, this “horse day” is sacred to Inari Sama, the rice-god, who employs foxes as his messengers; and “the day of the rat” is sacred to Daikoku, the god of wealth, who, in pictures, is always accompanied by that rodent. As for wedding days, Rev. N. Tamura says: “We think it is very unfortunate to be married on the 16th of January, 20th of February, 4th of March, 18th of April, 6th of May, 7th of June, 10th of July, 11th of August, 9th of September, 3d of October, 25th of November, or 30th of December, also on the grandfather’s or grandmother’s death day.” These dates are probably applicable to only the old calendar. “Seeds will not germinate if planted on certain days” (Griffis).

The hours were named, not only according to the numerical plan, but also according to the heavenly menagerie in the following way:—

1.Hour of the Rat11 P. M.-1 A. M.
2.Hour of the Ox1-3 A. M.
3.Hour of the Tiger3-5 A. M.
4.Hour of the Hare5-7 A. M.
6.Hour of the Dragon7-9 A. M.
6.Hour of the Serpent9-11 A. M.
7.Hour of the Horse11 A. M.-1 P. M.
8.Hour of the Goat1-3 P. M.
9.Hour of the Monkey3-5 P. M.
10.Hour of the Cock5-7 P. M.
11.Hour of the Dog7-9 P. M.
12.Hour of the Boar9-11 P. M.

The “hour of the ox,” by the way, being the time of sound sleep, was sacred to women crossed in love for taking vengeance upon a straw image of the recreant lover at the shrine of Fudō.