United States or Finland ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Behind the camphor tree, again, and not visible from the garden below, stood a temple of the "Shingon" sect, the most mystic of the old esoteric Buddhist forms. To the rear of this the broad, low, rectangular buildings of a nunnery, gray and old as the temple itself brooded among high hedges of the sacred mochi tree. This retreat had been famous for centuries throughout Japan.
He does not wear much clothing, for the truth is that all his property consists of an old, ragged wrapper, a fan, and a wallet. He is as round as a pudding, and as fat as if rolled out of dough. His body is like a lump of mochi pastry, and his limbs like dango dumplings. He has lop ears that hang down over his shoulders, a tremendous double chin, and a round belly.
About twenty years ago, the old fort was turned into an Indian prison, and to it were taken some of the worst and apparently most irreclaimable members of Indian tribes. This included Mochi, the Indian squaw who seemed to regard murder as a high art and a great virtue, "Rising Bull," "Medicine Water," "Big Mocassin" and other red ruffians who had proved themselves beyond all hope of reformation.
The hungry one bought all, and reproached the mochiya because there were no more, and offered, nevertheless, to share the mochi with his comrades. Whereupon the first to whom the offer was made answered somewhat after this manner: 'I-your-servant mochi-for this-world-in no-use-have. Sake alone this- life-in if-there-be, nothing-beside-desirable-is.
'They are much smaller this year, he would observe, 'than they were last year. The priests would reply: 'Oh, you are honourably mistaken; they are in truth very much larger. 'The colour is not so white this year as it was last year; and the rice-flour is not finely ground. For all these imaginary faults of the mochi the priests would offer elaborate explanations or apologies.
But sake is the most soporific of wines; and by midnight only three of the men remained on deck. One of these had not taken any sake at all, but still desired to eat. Happily for him there climbed on board a night-walking mochiya with a box of mochi, which are cakes of rice-flour sweetened with native sugar.
But they were not awed; so, bidding them thank and kiss him, she bore them off to bed, her eyes still full of tears. Wargrave sent a servant to fetch his orderly and the detachment mochi, or cobbler, to skin the panther, the news of the death of which soon spread.
Good lambes-wooll haue we for their lambe skins, and for their miniuer, large minerals in our coffers. Mechanicall men they call vs, and not amisse, for most of vs being Mochi, yt is, cuckolds & whooremasters, fetch our antiquitie from the temple of Mocha, where Mahomet is hung vp. Three parts of the world, America, Affrike and Asia, are of this our mechanike religion.
IYAJI. What are you doing there? KIDAHACHI. I did intend to go on ahead; but I became afraid, and so I concluded to stop here and wait for you. Do not think that you are going to dupe me? KIDAHACHI. That is a queer way to talk! I have some nice mochi here which I bought for you. IYAJI. Horse-dung cannot be eaten! KIDAHACHI. Don't be suspicious! I am really Kidahachi.
Word Of The Day