* * * * *

Matsumura was able to profit by this premonition.  He removed his people and his belongings to another district the next day; and almost immediately afterwards another storm arose, even more violent than the first, causing a flood which swept away the house in which he had been residing.

Some time later, by favor of the Lord Hosokawa, Matsumura was enabled to obtain an audience of the Sh[=o]gun Yoshimasa, to whom he presented the mirror, together with a written account of its wonderful history.  Then the prediction of the Spirit of the Mirror was fulfilled; for the Sh[=o]gun, greatly pleased with this strange gift, not only bestowed costly presents upon Matsumura, but also made an ample grant of money for the rebuilding of the Temple of Ogawachi-My[=o]jin.

THE STORY OF IT[=O] NORISUK[’E]

In the town of Uji, in the province of Yamashiro, there lived, about six hundred years ago, a young samurai named It[=o] Tat[’e]waki Norisuk[’e], whose ancestors were of the H[’e][:i]k[’e] clan.  It[=o] was of handsome person and amiable character, a good scholar and apt at arms.  But his family were poor; and he had no patron among the military nobility,—­so that his prospects were small.  He lived in a very quiet way, devoting himself to the study of literature, and having (says the Japanese story-teller) “only the Moon and the Wind for friends.”

One autumn evening, as he was taking a solitary walk in the neighborhood of the hill called Kotobikiyama, he happened to overtake a young girl who was following the same path.  She was richly dressed, and seemed to be about eleven or twelve years old.  It[=o] greeted her, and said, “The sun will soon be setting, damsel, and this is rather a lonesome place.  May I ask if you have lost your way?” She looked up at him with a bright smile, and answered deprecatingly:  “Nay!  I am a miya-dzukai,[72] serving in this neighborhood; and I have only a little way to go.”

[Footnote 72:  August-residence servant.]

By her use of the term miya-dzukai, It[=o] knew that the girl must be in the service of persons of rank; and her statement surprised him, because he had never heard of any family of distinction residing in that vicinity.  But he only said:  “I am returning to Uji, where my home is.  Perhaps you will allow me to accompany you on the way, as this is a very lonesome place.”  She thanked him gracefully, seeming pleased by his offer; and they walked on together, chatting as they went.  She talked about the weather, the flowers, the butterflies, and the birds; about a visit that she had once made to Uji, about the famous sights of the capital, where she had been born;—­and the moments passed pleasantly for It[=o], as he listened to her fresh prattle.  Presently, at a turn in the road, they entered a hamlet, densely shadowed by a grove of young trees.