Japanese legends in F. Hadland Davis’s English retellings (1912)
The Maiden of Unai
The Maiden of Unai lives at Ashinoya and is pursued by Mubara and Chinu, whose appearance, gifts and persistence seem equally matched. Her parents try to resolve the situation through an archery contest. Both arrows strike the same water-bird, leaving the choice unresolved. The maiden dies in the river and both suitors perish with her. Their graves are placed together, but only Mubara receives weapons. A later episode follows a traveller who hears fighting and lends his sword to an apparition; Davis infers that Chinu has defeated his rival after death. Quoted poems, translated by B. H. Chamberlain, set the tragedy within a tradition of remembrance. The entry keeps the courtship, contest and haunting together as one connected account.
Also known as Mubara and Chinu
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In the sources
A contest without a winner
DocumentedThe parents’ proposed test fails when both suitors hit the same bird.
A rivalry beyond burial
DocumentedThe unequal provision of grave weapons leads into the traveller’s encounter and loan of a sword.
Context & interpretation
The story’s coercive courtship and deaths are described as tragedy, not romantic ideals. The ghost’s identification and final outcome are Davis’s stated inference within the narrative, not independent testimony. This entry follows Davis’s historical English retelling, rather than establishing a universal Japanese belief or an independently verified event.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths and Legends of Japan
The Maiden of UnaiOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: F. Hadland Davis, Myths & Legends of Japan (London: George G. Harrap, 1912), printed p. 313
Actual scanned prose page and complete named story inspected in the public Reader. Printed pagination checked visually; plate-placement numbers are not used as prose citations.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0339
- Original scan leaf
- 369
- Recorded leaf number
- 369
- Current Reader position
- 338
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths and Legends of Japan
neither could claim to be the better marksmanOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: F. Hadland Davis, Myths & Legends of Japan (London: George G. Harrap, 1912), printed p. 314
Actual scanned prose page and complete named story inspected in the public Reader. Printed pagination checked visually; plate-placement numbers are not used as prose citations.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0340
- Original scan leaf
- 370
- Recorded leaf number
- 370
- Current Reader position
- 339
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 3
Myths and Legends of Japan
So we may inferOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: F. Hadland Davis, Myths & Legends of Japan (London: George G. Harrap, 1912), printed p. 315
Actual scanned prose page and complete named story inspected in the public Reader. Printed pagination checked visually; plate-placement numbers are not used as prose citations.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0342
- Original scan leaf
- 373
- Recorded leaf number
- 373
- Current Reader position
- 341
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 4
Myths and Legends of Japan
repeat her storyOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: F. Hadland Davis, Myths & Legends of Japan (London: George G. Harrap, 1912), printed p. 316
Actual scanned prose page and complete named story inspected in the public Reader. Printed pagination checked visually; plate-placement numbers are not used as prose citations.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0343
- Original scan leaf
- 374
- Recorded leaf number
- 374
- Current Reader position
- 342
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed