THE STORY OF PRINCESS HASE. A STORY OF
OLD JAPAN.Many, many years ago there lived in Nara, the ancient Capital of
Japan, a wise State minister, by name Prince Toyonari Fujiwara. His
wife was a noble, good, and beautiful woman called Princess
Murasaki (Violet). They had been married by their respective
families according to Japanese custom when very young, and had
lived together happily ever since. They had, however, one cause for
great sorrow, for as the years went by no child was born to them.
This made them very unhappy, for they both longed to see a child of
their own who would grow up to gladden their old age, carry on the
family name, and keep up the ancestral rites when they were dead.
The Prince and his lovely wife, after long consultation and much
thought, determined to
