to save me.”  Then the six heroes bade the woman lead them to the ogre’s cave, where a hundred devils were mounting guard and waiting upon him.  The woman, having gone in first, told the fiend of their coming; and he, thinking to slay and eat them, called them to him; so they entered the cave, which reeked with the smell of the flesh and blood of men, and they saw Shudendoji, a huge monster with the face of a little child.  The six men offered him the wine which they had received from the mountain god, and he, laughing in his heart, drank and made merry, so that little by little the fumes of the wine got into his head, and he fell asleep.  The heroes, themselves feigning sleep, watched for a moment when the devils were all off their guard to put on their armour and steal one by one into the demon’s chamber.  Then Yorimitsu, seeing that all was still, drew his sword, and cut off Shudendoji’s head, which sprung up and bit at his head; luckily, however, Yorimitsu had put on two helmets, the one over the other, so he was not hurt.  When all the devils had been slain, the heroes and the woman returned to Kioto carrying with them the head of Shudendoji, which was laid before the Emperor; and the fame of their action was spread abroad under heaven.

This Shudendoji is the ogre represented in the Nakamura dance.  The Ichimura dance represents the seven gods of wealth; and the Morita dance represents a large ape, and is emblematical of drinking wine.

As soon as the sun begins to rise in the heaven, sign-boards all glistening with paintings and gold are displayed, and the playgoers flock in crowds to the theatre.  The farmers and country-folk hurry over their breakfast, and the women and children, who have got up in the middle of the night to paint and adorn themselves, come from all the points of the compass to throng the gallery, which is hung with curtains as bright as the rainbow in the departing clouds.  The place soon becomes so crowded that the heads of the spectators are like the scales on a dragon’s back.  When the play begins, if the subject be tragic the spectators are so affected that they weep till they have to wring their sleeves dry.  If the piece be comic they laugh till their chins are out of joint.  The tricks and stratagems of the drama baffle description, and the actors are as graceful as the flight of the swallow.  The triumph of persecuted virtue and the punishment of wickedness invariably crown the story.  When a favourite actor makes his appearance, his entry is hailed with cheers.  Fun and diversion are the order of the day, and rich and poor alike forget the cares which they have left behind them at home; and yet it is not all idle amusement, for there is a moral taught, and a practical sermon preached in every play.