. Discovery. Science. 130 DISCOVERY sat silent and still, holding between the palms of his outstretched hands the sacred gohei, while the rest broke out into a subdued Harai addressed to the. Fig. 3. -ruji-SAX Tin; pine-trees abov'E the LAKE OF SHOJI. mountain divinities of Ontake. Soon the face of the medium assumed a livid hue, unearthly gaspings issued from his throat, and the gohei now began to tremble violently in his grasp. His eyes turned upwards in their sockets until only half of the iris was visible, and a series of convulsive jerks at length brought the gohei to a standstill
. Discovery. Science. 130 DISCOVERY sat silent and still, holding between the palms of his outstretched hands the sacred gohei, while the rest broke out into a subdued Harai addressed to the. Fig. 3. -ruji-SAX Tin; pine-trees abov'E the LAKE OF SHOJI. mountain divinities of Ontake. Soon the face of the medium assumed a livid hue, unearthly gaspings issued from his throat, and the gohei now began to tremble violently in his grasp. His eyes turned upwards in their sockets until only half of the iris was visible, and a series of convulsive jerks at length brought the gohei to a standstill above his foreheadâ the god had come down upon it. Thereupon the maeza, bowing low towards the medium until his forehead touched the ground, reverently inquired what might be the " honourable name of the august visitor " whose presence had now replaced the per- sonality of the nakaza. In a hoarse whisper came the answer, " I am Fukan Reijin "âthis being the posthumous title of the canonised mountaineer who, in a dim and distant past, had made the first ascent of Ontake-san, and in whose honour, at that precise moment, a solemn festival commemorating it was being held at the ancient shrine at the mountain foot nearly 10,000 feet below. As soon as the maeza heard the name, he began to prefer the requests of those pilgrims who had boons to crave. They were so simple that one wondered they should have been accompanied with so much reverence and mystery : " What sort of weather shall we be granted on our homeward wav from the holy mountain ? " " What about the health of those we have left at home ? " " Will business prosper during the coming year ? " and so forth. In a low voice the medium pronounced the replies the god saw fit to make, all quite orthodox in their oracular vagueness. When all the questions had been suitably dealt with, the medium lowered the gohei in token that the god had departed from his temporary abode, and th
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