| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: speaking to a young lady whom one does not know.
(2) An apparition with a smooth, totally featureless face, called a
"nopperabo," is a stock part of the Japanese pantheon of ghosts and demons.
[2] Soba is a preparation of buckwheat, somewhat resembling vermicelli.
(3) An exclamation of annoyed alarm.
(4) Well!
ROKURO-KUBI
[1] The period of Eikyo lasted from 1429 to 1441.
[2] The upper robe of a Buddhist priest is thus called.
(1) Present-day Yamanashi Prefecture.
(2) A term for itinerant priests.
 Kwaidan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Moby Dick by Herman Melville: the masterless ocean overruns the globe.
Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures
glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously
hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure. Consider also the
devilish brilliance and beauty of many of its most remorseless
tribes, as the dainty embellished shape of many species of sharks.
Consider, once more, the universal cannibalism of the sea; all whose
creatures prey upon each other, carrying on eternal war since the
world began.
Consider all this; and then turn to this green, gentle, and most
docile earth; consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you
 Moby Dick |