Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/383

 V

days later, after some adventures and great toil, Katsugorō, his wife, and servant arrived at Hakoné. There they found a good hiding-place in an unfrequented and lonely place. Fudesuké disguised himself as a beggar, and wandered about the neighbouring district to gather information about Kōzuké's movements. Hatsuhana, for her part, went every morning and evening to the waterfall of Shirataki at Tōno-sawa, and for a penance stood right below the column of icy water for some time, fervently praying to the god Gongen to cure her husband's lameness.

In the Amida-ji temple, which stood at the eastern foot of the Hakoné mountains, were the mausolea of the ancestors of Hōjō Ujimasa. One day, towards the end of autumn, in honour of the five hundredth anniversary of the demise of Hōjō Tokimasa, religious services were held in the magnificent temple on a grand scale, and liberal alms were given away. Paupers and beggars thronged 307