Page:A History of Japanese Literature (Aston).djvu/225

Rh. And the spring air

. Is genial, while

(Here the chorus strikes in with a canticle which is chanted as the indispensable accompaniment of every regular Japanese wedding, and is one of the best known passages in Japanese literature. Figures representing the two old folks under the fir-tree with brooms in their hands are, on such occasions, set out on a sort of tray. This is a favourite subject of the Japanese artist.)

. I hear the sound of the bell of Onoye, in Takasago.