Plate 6.
THE MAIDEN’S TOMB
This illustration, from a Japanese coloured woodcut, shows the figure of the maiden Unai (see p. [35]), who wears a dress resembling that still worn by country maidens, though with the volume of the garment and the size of the patterns both a little more exaggerated than those which are now customary. The designer of the woodcut has put in symbolic and formalized representations of the Mandarin ducks and the flames of hell-fire which were among Unai’s torments.
SCENE
The fields of ONO near the hamlet of IKUTA in Settsu, in the early spring.
[The Priest enters]
PRIEST
Far through the country has my journey lain,
Far through the country has my journey lain,
And to the capital I speed my way.
I, a priest, am from the country, from the Western districts coming.[9]
To the capital, which hitherto my eyes have never seen.