[41] Tsurugi, sword.
[42] A saying of Iyeyasu, the great soldier and lawgiver,—“In the moment of victory, tighten your helmet-strings.”
[43] From the Imperial Rescript to the Army and Navy. See Appendix B.
[44] The word translated here “sincere” is in its primary meaning “red,” hence the symbolism of the bloodstained garment.
[45] To enable his spirit to see the fall of the fortress.
[46] The Japanese code of knightly honor. For further particulars see “Bushidō, or The Soul of Japan,” by Inazo Nitobe, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
[47] Ni-ō, the two kings, Indra and Brahma, who keep guard at the gateways of Buddhist temples, to scare away demons. They are noted for their grimness of expression. Fudō, the “Immovable,” the God of Wisdom, who is represented of stern expression, and surrounded by a halo of flames.
[48] Kachi-guri, dry chestnuts. The word kachi also means victory, hence it is one of the articles given to a departing soldier as a wish for his success.
[49] “Ten thousand years for His Majesty the Emperor!”
[50] A Chinese expression.