Sodé suri-ō no mo
Tashō no en yo,
Mashité futari ga
Fukai naka.
Allusion is here made to the old Buddhist proverb: Sodé no furi-awasé mo tashō no en,—"Even the touching of sleeves in passing is caused by some affinity operating from former lives."
Kwahō[3] this life must be,—this dwelling with one so tender;
—I am reaping now the reward of deeds in a former birth!
[3] The Buddhist word "Kwahō" is commonly used instead of other synonyms for Karma (such as ingwa, innen, etc.), to signify the good, rather than the bad results of action in previous lives. But it is sometimes used in both meanings. Here there seems to be an allusion to the proverbial expression, Kwahō no yoi hito (lit.: a person of good Kwahō), meaning a fortunate individual.
Many songs of this class refer to the customary vow which lovers make to belong to each other for more lives than one,—a vow perhaps originally inspired by the Buddhist aphorism,—
Oya-ko wa, is-sé;
Fūfu wa, ni-sé;
Shujū wa, san-zé.
"The relation of parent and child is for one life; that of wife and husband, for two lives; that of master and servant, for three lives." Although the tender relation is thus limited to the time of two lives, the vow—(as Japanese dramas testify, and as the letters of those who kill themselves for love bear witness)—is often passionately made for seven. The following selections show a considerable variety of tone,—ranging from the pathetic to the satirical,—in the treatment of this topic:
I have cut my hair for his sake; but the deeper relation between us
Cannot be cut in this, nor yet in another life.[4]
Kami wa kitté mo
Ni-sé made kaketa
Fukai enishi wa
Kiru mono ka?