Go-Daigo was glad, and he greatly rewarded O Nitta San who was proud and of a good heart fighting for the emperor.
He offered much rice and millet to Kompira, god of the sea, but never, so long as he lived, did he smile when the sun-crested waves sparkled and broke into diamonds before him, for he murmured to himself, “Oh, Kompira, God of the Sea, deal gently with my offering, be kind to the Soul of the Samurai.”
Footnotes
[13] An archway placed before certain shrines in Japan; originally a perch for sacred fowl heralding the approach of day.
[14] Loyalty.
[15] In Japan, a title given to the sword.
THE DREAM OF THE GOLDEN BOX
Hojo Tokimasa had two daughters. Musako, the elder, was as beautiful as the eight beauties of Omi. Her hair was as black as polished ebony, her eyes were deep and dark and full of fire, her skin was smooth as ivory. She was clever, too, as well as beautiful. But her sister Ume was the favorite of her father.
Ume was sweet and gentle and her father thought to marry her well, though she had not her sister’s beauty.
One night, Ume dreamed a good-luck dream, that a bird brought her a golden box, and she told her sister, while she arranged the elder’s ebon locks in the early morning.