THE DREAM OF AKINOSUKÉ

THE DREAM OF AKINOSUKÉ

(1) Present-day Nara Prefecture.

[1] This name “Tokoyo” is indefinite. According to circumstances it

may signify any unknown country,—or that undiscovered country from

whose bourn no traveler returns,—or that Fairyland of far-eastern

fable, the Realm of Hōrai. The term “Kokuō” means the ruler of a

country,—therefore a king. The original phrase, _Tokoyo no Kokuō_,

might be rendered here as “the Ruler of Hōrai,” or “the King of

Fairyland.”

[2] The last phrase, according to old custom, had to be uttered by

both attendants at the same time. All these ceremonial observances can

still be studied on the Japanese stage.

[3] This was the name given to the estrade, or dais, upon which a

feudal prince or ruler sat in state. The term literally signifies

“great seat.”