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Show Notes for episode 92 of our Podcast – The Descent of Ninigi.
Story Notes
The grandchild of Amaterasu was known as Ninigi, or Amatsuhikohohoninigi for his full name. This boy was a child through the sun kami’s son Masayaakatsukatsuhayahi Amanooshihomimi and his wife Takuhatachihime
A meeting is held by Ninigi’s grandfather Takamimusubi (grandfather on his mothers side) as they wish to instate Ninigi as the ruler of Japan, however, they wish to try and find a way to subdue the evil kami which still reside on the land, and so the kamiAmenohohi is sent down.
Three years pass with no word from Amenohohi as he decided to gain the favour of Ōkuninushi who currently ruled over Japan and so it is decided his son Ohoseihi will be sent. However, he followed in the footsteps of his father and made no report back up to Heaven.
Takamimusubi again causes a meeting to occour again asking who they could send down to subdue Japan. This time Amewakahiko is chosen, and he is gifted a deer bow and arrows before he leaves.
This kami decides to marry Shitateruhime and remain in Japan, again making no report up to Heaven and so Takamusubi sends down the pheasant Nanaki to see what is going on.
Amewakahiko seeing the pheasant shoots at the bird as it rests in a tree, the arrow flying straight through its chest to land in Heaven infront of Takamimusubi. This kami, seeing blood upon the arrow thinks it to mean Amewakahiko is fighting the evil kami down in Japan as he was tasked to do, and so he decides to throw it back down to Japan. The arrows hits Amewakahiko killing him immediately, and the laments of his wife reach up to Heaven and his body is placed into a mortuary house in Heaven.
His friend at the time Ajisukitakahikone goes to Heaven to give his condolences but is mistaken for his dead friend, and so angered by this he takes up his sword and cuts down his friends mortuary house, with it falling to Japan and becoming Moyama.
And as they say, third time is the charm, with Takamusubi calling another meeting with Futsunushi being decided as the person who will go down to Japan. Takemikadzuchi also comes forth from his home in the Rock Cave Amaterasu once hid in saying he will also accompany him. And so they go together.
The two of them approach Ōkuninushi stating that Takemimusubi wishes to send down his grandson to rule over Japan and wonder if he will allow this to happen.
Ōkuninushi replies saying he will first need to ask his son Kotoshironushi, with his son finally replying that his father should allow this to be done. And so Kotoshironushi withdraws from the world (ie. dies), and his father follows, gifting the spear that he subdued the land with to the two kami saying it should be given to Ninigi. And with that Ōkuninushi ‘withdraws,’ implying he departed for Yomi.
And so with that Futsunushi and Takemikadzuchi subdue all of Japan ready for the arrival of Ninigi.
There are so alternative writings in the nihongi which state that the only kami who refused to submit was the Star-Kami Kagase-wo (this interestingly is the only star kami mentioned in Japanese mythology) and so Takehadzuchi comes down to subdue the Star Kami.
Once this is all done the kami return up to Heaven to make their report with Ninigi descending down soon after arriving on the peak of Takachiho in Kyushu.
The Sacred Treasures
There are alternative writings here, so many in fact I have decided just to mention one of them, saying that it was to be Amaterasu’s son who was to come down and rule Japan, however during these events Ninigi had been born and so his asked his mother to send Ninigi instead. She consented and gives his the three Sacred Treasures to descend to Japan, with an entourage consisting of Ameno Koyane, Futodama, Ameno Uzume, Ishikoridome and Tamayanooya.
A little confusingly here in the nihongi, it then say after this Ninigi went from The Floating Bridge of Heaven, finally giving us a location of it being on the twin summits of Kushibi, eventually making his way to Japan where he came across Konohananosakuyahime.
She was the daughter of the kami Ohoyamatsumi and Ninigi favouring her, made her his wife. After their first night together she became pregnant, but Ninigi was unable to believe it was his child after only one night. And so Konohananosakuyahime constructed a doorless house and went to live inside.
She then makes a declaration saying that if this is Ninigi’s child fire cannot hurt them, if it isn’t then it shall perish in fire, and so she sets fire to the house. The children survive the fire and she gives birth to three boys, Honosusori, Hikohohodemi and finally Honoakari.
It is then said that after a long time Ninigi finally passed away and was buried in his misasagiin Hiuga, Kyushu.
References
Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
Chamberlain, B. H. (1932) “Translation of the Kojiki.” Kobe: J.L. Thompson & Co.
Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 91 of our Podcast – Blind Bankers of Edo.
Story Notes
During the Edo Period, also known as the Tokugawa Period, there was a surprising amount of professions that were available to the blind or visually impaired. From acupuncture, to playing the koto, to even performing in kabuki and creating historical documents; the blind definitely were a big part of the Edo Period society. They even took a main role in reciting and creating the Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the Genpei War between the Clans of the Taira and Minamoto.
We see this group of people also being the retainers of shoguns, daimyo and wealthy families throughout their lives.
In the Edo Period a guild came into being known as the tōdō or tōdō-za (meaning in a sense ‘Our Way Guild) which was created to help with the economic and political activities of the blind and visually impaired. Where the headquarters of the guild itself were based in Kyoto, a large chuck of the guild did find themselves living in the city of Edo.
But we are here today to look into the Blind Bankers that formed a part of this guild, just to dip our feet into this topic until we come back and look at them in its entirety.
So looking at the members of the Guild who turned into the moneylending business, first of all, it is a rather surprising turn of events that such a thing could even have occurred. As we know, and even to this day, Japan is still rather hierarchical in their thinking. There was in the past, and still to a degree today a group of people known as the hinin, which could translate as ‘non-human,’ people who fulfilled the roles of begging, street performances as the burial of executed people.
The blind were never classed as part of the hinin which therefore allowed them to in theory have some form of better role within society, though of course the prospect of moneylending was still seen as something reserved for the merchant class. So the question remains, how did they manage to get this role?
Tale of the Heike
In a way it all stems back to the initial creation of the members which performed the Tale of the Heike. The blind or visually impaired people had strong connections to the royal court and major clans such as the Minamoto, and they also cooked up a legend about how the first blind lute players were taught by a 9th century blind Imperial Prince, the Prince Saneyasu. So they were trying to link themselves to a high lineage. All of these things allowed them to ultimately ‘rise’ above their station as it could have been seen back then.
During the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, of course the Emperor of Japan has become nothing more than a figurehead for Japan, but due to their associations with previous high ranking houses and their constant connection to the Imperial Family; who claimed descent from the Sun kamithe Blind Guild somehow managed to argue successfully that they were answering to a higher power and authority in Japan. And it was this connection which allowed them to become exempt from the caste system still happening in Japan at the time. This allowed them to become bankers, but it even garnered them the bonus of immunity from any government debt amnesty.
So what exactly is meant by this?
In terms of the Blind Bankers Guild, at times the government would turn around during monetary disputes and wash their hands of the problem, in essence telling the parties involved they had to figure it out themselves. And if the parties involved included one of a higher rank, of course they would ultimately be the victor in the dispute even if they were in the wrong. The interesting thing here, like we said, was the immunity this guild had to debt amnesty, which meant that if you were in debt to this guild you had to pay and they would do anything to get their money back.
We have records stating that members of the guild would stand outside the homes of those that owed them money, throwing obscenities at you and telling everyone how you had a debt you would not pay back.
And it worked, with Japan being very linked still to honour and shame, the shame of being admonished publicly would always ensure they paid back what they owed. A good tactic, but of course one that wasn’t going to get the Blind Bankers many friends over the years. However, it was known that all money lending guilds would resort to such tactics, though it seemed it affected the Blind Bankers the most in terms of their bad image.
A group of blind men by Hokusai.
So why did people begin to need loans in the first place? Well, many of the warrior class were moved in the 17th century into urban areas and with currency being in short supply, coupled with a higher demands for good, monetary loans became a necessity for many people.
They became an extraordinarily powerful guild over the course of the Edo Period, to the point where the shogunate calm to be alarmed as they noticed they had begin to act more like a bank, lending out not just their own money but the money of others which had been deposited with them. So in 1712 the shogunate limited them somewhat in the loans they could give. One such rule was to not allow loans to be given to rōnin or townspeople who were falsely stating they wanted to have a loan to use the money to achieve a higher rank in society. In the 1770’s the problem had continued to rise to the point the Shogunate arrested some of the more notorious loan sharks, even sentencing some to banishment or death.
1778 sees some of the worst of it when it was learnt that a retainer by the name of Mori Chūemon and his son had fled Edo as they had no means of repaying what they owed to the Blind Bankers. This led to a string of arrests and the discovery that the normal interest rate of 30% was not always being followed. For some it was 60% and for some poor few it was 100%.
Such was the money making of this guild, many members became exceedingly rich, however, it did serve to tarnish the image of the blind or visually impaired community as a whole.
Some writing came to be published saying things such as ‘audacious and selfish, and especially cruel, thinking of nothing but how to trick and exploit people,’ as well as, ‘split a blind man’s chest and gold falls out.’
Such was the bad image now of this group of people, medical texts started to appear saying blindness was caused by immoral and immodest behaviour.
And so with an increasingly bad image, the guild finally found itself disbanded by the government during the Meiji Restoration.
Show Notes for episode 90 of our Podcast – Jesus in Japan.
Story Notes
The podcasts return has aligned with Christmas Day, so why not talk a little about Jesus. For there are some that believe Jesus didn’t die on the cross, but in fact made his way to Japan to live out the rest of his life and later died.
This supposed grave can be found in the village of Shingō, Aomori Prefecture, but what exactly is the story of how Christ came to be in Japan?
According to the tale, Jesus has already once been to Japan when he was aged 21, wanting to collect divine knowledge and eventually returned to Judea, via Morocco, at the age of 31 to tell of his know knowledge and teach the people. Of course he would later find himself crucified upon the cross, but at the site of his grave in Aomori it will tell you that his brother Isukiri was actual the one who was placed upon the cross.
He took his brother Jesus’ place allowing Christ to return to Japan via Siberia, with him he took a lock of his mothers hair and one of the ears of his brother Isukiri. This tale finishes with Christ settling down in Shingō village where he would live to the age of 106. Here he took the name of Toraitarō Daitenkū, marrying a woman called Miyuko in the village and having 3 daughters.
He spent the rest of his days with his wife helping the needy and was aid to have had the name of “long nosed-goblin” due to his distinctive nose. After his passing his body was left exposed on the hilltop for 4 years before finally being interred.
At the site there are actually two graves, one for the body of Christ and the other for Isukiri’s ear.
So where did this story come from? Well, it appears to be a relatively recent one as it only dates from 1934. A man known as Toya Banzan had been hired to conduct a survey of the region, and this man was fascinated by apocryphal documents known as the Takeuchi Manuscripts. The documents created by a Takeuchi Kyomaro who had founded a new Shintō style religion which claimed to show the secret histories of Japan which included tales of Buddha, Confucius, Mencius and Moses all having trained while in Japan. Though most people saw them as a hoax, he still stood by them and his beliefs.
Eventually in 1935 Toya invited Takeuchi to join him in surveying the area where he miraculously discovered the tomb of Christ, exclaiming “I knew it was here!”
Now the villagers were said to be surprised, they had never heard of his grave being here before, and the residents seem to have wanted to part of it. The grave was even forgotten for a time after World War 2.
Documents detailing all of these stories of Christs journey to Japan were coincidently lost during World War 2 and only modern transcriptions remain, one of them signed with ‘Jesus Christ, father of Christmas,’
Interest in the site resurfaced in the 1970’s and nowadays the village holds a Christ Festival in the summer each year though the ceremony is in a Shintō style. The site does continue to be maintained though, villagers and other locals saying that even before it was declared to be the tomb of Christ they respected and maintained the area believing it to have been some form of ancestor to their village. And so they maintain the grave out of historical respect.
Show Notes for episode 89 of our Podcast – The Golden Tea Room.
Story Notes
The Golden Tea Room, or as it is known Japanese, the 黄金の茶室, Ōgon no chashitsu was not a permanent structure that people could visit to should they wish to go and experience a tea ceremony. In fact this was a portable tea room dating to the late 16th century of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period and is was constructed for use by Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Historically he had risen from peasenthood under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga becoming one of his retainers. Such was Toyotomi’s power later on in life he is known seen as the second Great Unifer of Japan.
Now sadly the original tea room has been lost to the passage of time, but there does exist many replicas which have survived to this day.
When we look at the first mentioning of the tea room historically we find it mentioned in the year of Tenshō 14, or the year 1586, when the room was brought to the Kyoto Imperial Palace so that he may host the then Emperor Ōgimachi and it is thought it was likely built just shortly before this date, specifically for the Emperor to be his first host and following this he began to giving tours of the tea room as well as exhibiting for people to see his most precious meibutsuki, or special tea utensils.
Hideyoshi Toyotomi
We see it again mentioned in Shiyue 1, Tenshō 15 (November 1, 1587) located at the Kitano Tenmangū Shrine in Kyoto where it was used for the Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony.
We still have records concerning the sign boards which were posted around Kyoto at the time advertising this event, preserved in the records of the Matsuya Kaiki Tea Ceremony Records stored by the Matsuya Genzaburō family and go as follows:
Item: In the Kitano grove, weather permitting, from the first day of the tenth month and continuing for ten days, His Lord, in connection with his presence at a Grand Chanoyu, will assemble every single one of his meibutsu (名物; famed items for chanoyu use), in order to let chanoyu devotees view them.
Item: All chanoyu devotees, including also warriors’ attendants, townspeople, farmers, and those of lower station, regardless, should bring a kettle, a well bucket, a drinking bowl, and tea — no offense will be taken if substituted by kogashi (powdered roasted rice) — and take part.
Item: As for the room (zashiki) [that each participant is to set up], since it will be in a pine grove, a floorspace of two tatami will be suitable. However, wabi people may simply spread mat-covers or rice-hull bags. Participants may arrange themselves as they please.
Item: This invitation is not limited to Japan but extends to everyone who sets his heart on chanoyu (suki), even to people on the continent.
Item: In order that he may show the treasures to participants from distant countries, His Lord is extending the duration so that it is not limited to the first day of the tenth month.
Item: His Lord has made these arrangements for the benefit of wabi people. Any among such people who fail to attend will be prohibited hereafter from preparing even kogashi, and anyone who visits such a person will suffer the same punishment.
Item: His Lord has declared that he will prepare tea personally for all wabi people, not only those attending from distant places.
Later the tea room found its way to Hizen Nagoya Castle in the fifth month of Bunroku 1 (1592), the location from which Hideyoshi launched the 1592/1598 Japanese invasion of Korea and the tea room continued to follow wherever Hideyoshi went and therefore most likely continued with him on his later journeys to Fushimi Castle and the Jurakudai Residence in Kyoto before it was ultimately lost. Though we have no record as to why is stopped being used, or even if it was destroyed.
So it appears this tea room was unfortunately short lived like we have said there are a number of reconstructions that you can still go and look at. Travelling around Japan you could find reconstructions in Fushimi Castle, Osaka Castle, the gold-leaf company of Hakuza in Kanazawa, Chōfuku-ji Temple in Toyama and the Museum of Art in Shizuoka.
Fushimi Castle Reconstruction
It is also possible to see a reconstruction of the golden tea utensils in the Kyoto City Archaeological Museum.
But there is also another reconstruction made by the goldsmith Ishikawa Kōichi III using the historical accounts of an eyewitness, though I am unsure which eyewitness this was. From this he reconstructed a room 8ft 2in in height, 8ft 10in in width with a diameter of 8ft 4in. The construction was made out of cypruss wood that was 200 years old, with a total amount of 15,000 sheets of 23K gold leaf totally 26.10 kilograms all of which was applied by hand. He also recreated al the utensils in pure gold.
So lets finally look at some of the accounts of those who visited the hall and is appearance, some of which were by Jesuit Missionaries from the time, one of which being Ōtomo Sōrin a man we have not mentioned for a very long time, first seen in the Samurai Weatherman episode in our first year of the show.
Kyoto Archeological Museum Replicas
The room measured 3 tatami mats in size, around 9.4 by 18.8 ft and resembles a standars tea ceremony room, with flat walls and sliding shoji doors. There was also the inlusion of a tokonamo alcove in the construction. Gold leaf covered every surface including the doors. Silk gossamer was placed on the sliding doors lattice work. The tatami was also elaborate, covered in crimson felt or fabric and all utensils were gold or gilded, save for the whisk and the cloth.
References
Ludwig, Theodore M. Tea in Japan: Essays on the History of Chanoyu.
Murase, Miyeko. Turning Point: Oribe and the Arts of Sixteenth-century Japan.
Pitelka, Morgan. Japanese Tea Culture: Art, History and Practice.
Rikyū Daijiten (利休大辞典; Rikyū Encyclopedia), pp. 75-77 entry “Kitano ōchanoyu no junbi” (Preparations for the Kitano Grand Tea Gathering).
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
And notes alongside this creature in the book I was using also led us down a rabbit hole and now we have something for a future main episode surrounding a man known as Minister Kibi due to the inclusion of a go board in the background of the creatures illustration (but that is for a later date).
However, let us dive into the short tale surrounding the Demon Candlestick, the full tale of which can be found in the Wakan Sansai Zue.
In Japanese this creature is called the Tōdaiki. It wasn’t always a candlestick, in fact it was a first a man known as Minister Karu (軽大臣). He was sent to China as an envoy, however there he found himself poisoned by one of the Ministers there. Following this, the poisoner colours the mans body and places a candlestick upon his head which transformed him into this poor creature.
The story goes on to say that his son eventually came to find him, a man by the name of Chancellor Hitsu (弼宰相) and when his father sees his son it is said he bit his finger and composed a poem which went as follows:
I am from Japan; we share the same family name. 我元日本華京客 汝是一家同姓人 (私は元々日本より来た。同じ姓を持つおまえとは同族の者である）
A vow from a previous life made us father and child. Across the sea and mountains, my life has changed terribly. 為子為爺前世契 隔山隔海変生辛 (子となり親となった前世の契りは、海山を隔てても変わることはない）
For years have I cried in this weed-choked place; all I can think about are my previous parents. 経年流涙蓬蒿宿 遂日馳思蘭菊親 (こんな粗末な家で涙を流しながら年月過ごし、立派な家に住む日本の親に思いを馳せる日々）
I have been transformed into a candle-stick demon in this foreign village, but I only want to return home. 形破他郷作灯鬼 争帰旧里寄斯身 (他郷でこの姿を燈台鬼に変えられてしまったが、どうにかして故郷へ帰り身を寄せたい)
Following all of this his son then attempts to take his father home, however, he passes away before reaching the island of Iwo Jima. And so Minister Karu found himself buried on an island known as Kikaigashima (Demon Realm Island).
To this day you can find a shrine in his memory at the base of Mount Inamuradake on Iwo Jima.
Show Notes for bonus episode 22 of our Podcast – A Dead Secret.
Story Notes
A long time ago, in the province of Tamba, there lived a rich merchant named Inamuraya Gensuké. He had a daughter called O-Sono. As she was very clever and pretty, he thought it would be a pity to let her grow up with only such teaching as the country-teachers could give her: so he sent her, in care of some trusty attendants, to Kyōto, that she might be trained in the polite accomplishments taught to the ladies of the capital. After she had thus been educated, she was married to a friend of her father’s family—a merchant named Nagaraya;—and she lived happily with him for nearly four years. They had one child,—a boy. But O-Sono fell ill and died, in the fourth year after her marriage.
On the night after the funeral of O-Sono, her little son said that his mamma had come back, and was in the room upstairs. She had smiled at him, but would not talk to him: so he became afraid, and ran away. Then some of the family went upstairs to the room which had been O-Sono’s; and they were startled to see, by the light of a small lamp which had been kindled before a shrine in that room, the figure of the dead mother. She appeared as if standing in front of a tansu, or chest of drawers, that still contained her ornaments and her wearing-apparel. Her head and shoulders could be very distinctly seen; but from the waist downwards the figure thinned into invisibility;—it was like an imperfect reflection of her, and transparent as a shadow on water.
Then the folk were afraid, and left the room. Below they consulted together; and the mother of O-Sono’s husband said: “A woman is fond of her small things; and O-Sono was much attached to her belongings. Perhaps she has come back to look at them. Many dead persons will do that,—unless the things be given to the parish-temple. If we present O-Sono’s robes and girdles to the temple, her spirit will probably find rest.”
It was agreed that this should be done as soon as possible. So on the following morning the drawers were emptied; and all of O-Sono’s ornaments and dresses were taken to the temple. But she came back the next night, and looked at the tansu as before. And she came back also on the night following, and the night after that, and every night;—and the house became a house of fear.
The mother of O-Sono’s husband then went to the parish-temple, and told the chief priest all that had happened, and asked for ghostly counsel. The temple was a Zen temple; and the head-priest was a learned old man, known as Daigen Oshō. He said: “There must be something about which she is anxious, in or near that tansu.”—“But we emptied all the drawers,” replied the woman;—“there is nothing in the tansu.”—“Well,” said Daigen Oshō, “to-night I shall go to your house, and keep watch in that room, and see what can be done. You must give orders that no person shall enter the room while I am watching, unless I call.”
After sundown, Daigen Oshō went to the house, and found the room made ready for him. He remained there alone, reading the sûtras; and nothing appeared until after the Hour of the Rat.[1] Then the figure of O-Sono suddenly outlined itself in front of the tansu. Her face had a wistful look; and she kept her eyes fixed upon the tansu.
The priest uttered the holy formula prescribed in such cases, and then, addressing the figure by the kaimyō of O-Sono, said:—“I have come here in order to help you. Perhaps in that tansu there is something about which you have reason to feel anxious. Shall I try to find it for you?” The shadow appeared to give assent by a slight motion of the head; and the priest, rising, opened the top drawer. It was empty. Successively he opened the second, the third, and the fourth drawer;—he searched carefully behind them and beneath them;—he carefully examined the interior of the chest. He found nothing. But the figure remained gazing as wistfully as before. “What can she want?” thought the priest. Suddenly it occurred to him that there might be something hidden under the paper with which the drawers were lined. He removed the lining of the first drawer:—nothing! He removed the lining of the second and third drawers:—still nothing. But under the lining of the lowermost drawer he found—a letter. “Is this the thing about which you have been troubled?” he asked. The shadow of the woman turned toward him,—her faint gaze fixed upon the letter. “Shall I burn it for you?” he asked. She bowed before him. “It shall be burned in the temple this very morning,” he promised;—“and no one shall read it, except myself.” The figure smiled and vanished.
Dawn was breaking as the priest descended the stairs, to find the family waiting anxiously below. “Do not be anxious,” he said to them: “She will not appear again.” And she never did.
The letter was burned. It was a love-letter written to O-Sono in the time of her studies at Kyōto. But the priest alone knew what was in it; and the secret died with him.
In the reign of the Emperor Go-Fukakusa there lived a celebrated Regent, Saimyoji Tokiyori. When thirty years of age this Regent retired to a monastery for several years, and not infrequently his peace of mind was sadly disturbed by stories of peasants who suffered at the hands of tyrannical officials. Now Tokiyori loved above everything the welfare of his people, and after giving the matter careful consideration he determined to disguise himself, travel from place to place, and discover in an intimate way the heart of the poorer people, and later on to do all in his power to suppress malpractice on the part of various officials.
Tokiyori accordingly set out upon his excellent mission, and finally came to Sano, in the province of Kozuki. Now it was the time of winter, and a heavy snowstorm caused the royal wanderer to lose his way. After wearily tramping about for several hours in the hope of finding shelter, he was about to make the best of the matter by sleeping under a tree when, to his joy, he noticed a small thatched cottage nestling under a hill at no great distance. To this cottage he went, and explained to the woman who greeted him that he had lost his way and would be much indebted to her if she would afford him shelter for the night. The good woman explained that as her husband was away from home, it would be disloyal as his wife to give shelter to a stranger. Tokiyori not only took this reply in good part, but he greatly rejoiced, in spite of a night in the snow, to find such a virtuous woman. But he had not gone far from the cottage when he heard a man calling to him. Tokiyori stood still, and presently he saw some one beckoning him. The man explained that he was the husband of the woman the ex-Regent had just left, and cordially invited one whom he took to be a wandering priest to return with him and accept such humble hospitality as was available.
When Tokiyori was sitting in the little cottage simple fare was spread before him, and as he had eaten nothing since the morning he did full justice to the meal. But the fact that millet and not rice was provided clearly conveyed to the observant Tokiyori that here was poverty indeed, but with it all a generosity that went straight to his heart. Nor was this all, for, the meal finished, they gathered round the fire that was fast dying out for want of fuel. The good man of the house turned to the fuel-box. Alas! it was empty. Without a moment’s hesitation he went out into the garden, heavily covered with snow, and brought back with him three pots of dwarf trees, pine, plum, and cherry. Now in Japan dwarf trees are held in high esteem; much time and care is bestowed upon them, and their age and unique beauty have made them dear to the people of Nippon. In spite of Tokiyori’s remonstrance his host broke up these little trees, and thus made a cheerful blaze.
It was this incident, scarcely to be fully appreciated by a Westerner, that caused Tokiyori to question his host, whose very possession of these valuable trees strongly suggested that this generous man was not a farmer by birth, but had taken to this calling by force of circumstance. The ex-Regent’s conjecture proved to be correct, and his host, with some reluctance, finally explained that he was a samurai by the name of Sano Genzalmon Tsuneyo. He had been forced to take up farming owing to the dishonesty of one of his relatives.
Tokiyori readily recalled the name of this samurai before him, and suggested that he should make an appeal for redress. Sano explained that as the good and just Regent had died (so he thought), and as his successor was very young, he considered it was worse than useless to present a petition. But, nevertheless, he went on to explain to his interested listener that should there come a call to arms he would be the first to make an appearance at Kamakura. It was this thought of some day being of use to his country that had sweetened the days of his poverty.
The conversation, so rapidly suggested in this story, was in reality a lengthy one, and by the time it was concluded already a new day had begun. And when the storm-doors had been opened it was to reveal sunlight streaming over a world of snow. Before taking his departure Tokiyori warmly thanked his host and hostess for their hospitality. When this kindly visitor had gone Sano suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to inquire the name of his guest.
Now it happened that in the following spring a call to arms was instituted by the Government at Kamakura. No sooner had Sano heard the joyful news than he set out to obey the summons. His armour was shabby in the extreme, his halberd covered with rust, and his horse was in a very poor condition. He presented a sorry figure among the resplendent knights he found in Kamakura. Many of these knights made uncomplimentary remarks concerning him, but Sano bore this insolence without a word. While he stood, a forlorn figure, among the sparkling ranks of samurai about him, a herald approached riding on a magnificent horse, and carrying a banner bearing the house-crest of the Regent. With a loud, clear voice he bade the knight wearing the shabbiest armour to appear before his master. Sano obeyed the summons with a heavy heart. He thought that the Regent was about to rebuke him for appearing in such a gaily decked company clad in such miserable accoutrements.
This humble knight was surprised by the cordial welcome he received, and still more surprised when a servant pushed aside the screens of an adjoining room and revealed the Regent Saimyoji Tokiyori, who was none other than the priest who had taken shelter in his little home. Nor had Tokiyori forgotten the burning of the dwarf pine, plum, and cherry-trees. Out of that sacrifice, readily given without a thought of gain, came the thirty villages of which Sano had been robbed. This was only Sano’s due, and in addition the grateful Tokiyori had the happy idea of presenting this faithful knight with the village of Matsu-idu, Umeda, and Sakurai, matsu, ume, and sakura being the Japanese names for pine, plum, and cherry.
Sumikko no Heather
Today Heather has found for us a humourous little senryū. We hope you enjoy.
Show Notes for episode 84 of our Podcast – The Tale of Priest Zōga.
Story Notes
This is the tale of Priest Zōga (蔵賀), a man who we known lived from 917-1003. This particular tale concerning him can be found in several different documents, these being theKonjaku Monogatari Shu, Uji shūi, Senjūshō and Hosshinshū.
It is said that this priest was born in Kyoto, but his parents soon moved. Whilst moving, their wet nurse who was carrying their baby dropped him from the palanquin as she was tired and fell asleep. The baby rolled away and when it was discovered he was missing they returned for him, fearing he had been killed.
Luckily they found him smiling happily, with not a spot of mud or dirt on him.
Later that night his parent dreamt of their child on an expensive couch sat atop mud, with four boys at each corner of the couch chanting out Buddhist Scriptures.
This child is born of the Buddha’s mouth,
Wherefore we keep him from all harm.
At the age of five he decided he was going to go to Mount Hiei and there he would master the Lotus Sutra. At first his mother opposed until again she had a dream.
In this dream she saw him grow up to be a good and mature monk with a sutra in his hand; a monk standing beside him saying it was his destiny to enter into religion.
And so at the age of 11 he finally found a distinguished master upon Mount Hiei and in just a few years he was known for his piety and learning.
One day though, on his return from Ise Shrine, he came back naked. Much to the surprise of everyone. A dream, in which he heard a voice saying ‘Forgot ones body,’ made him do so; though it caused many to now think he had gone mad.
In another later instance of strangeness, during a triumphal procession he chose to ride upon a bony ox, with a dried salmon at his waist instead of a sword.
Eventually he wished to live quietly alone upon Tōnomine, however he was refused by the abbot until he once again made people think he was mad. This time he did so by having the man who collected his food for him stop, so that he could do it himself. However, he collected his food in a dirty box and would share out his dinner with workmen using twigs as chopsticks. The abbot was happy to be rid of him after this event.
When he went to live peacefully upon Tōnomine he found the summit too full of demons and so he moved into the valley. He had become so revered now, he was made one of the personal healers in the Emperors staff and so was often called upon even by the nobles. However he always got out of the capital as quick as he could, should he decide to answer their summons. All the while doing his best to act like a mad man.
One such occasion in which he answered a summons was to attend the Sanjō Empress’s ordination. The Empress had invited him to preside over the ceremony so she could enter into religion.
Zōga arrived, his eyes fierce, though some thought he look a little unwell.
He proceeded with the ceremony, cutting the Empress’s hair, the Empress’s hair placed through the curtain separating her from the priest.
After he stood up and addressed the Empress crassly, asking her why she had asked for him. Was it perhaps because she had heard he had a big penis? Though he admitted it was larger than most, he did say at that moment it was quite soft.
Everyone was left speechless but still he continued.
He proceeded to say he had diarrhoea quite badly and so right there and then on the veranda.
By the age of 80 he came to the understanding that he was to die within 10 days. He had his disciples write verses concerning paradise, and he himself wrote a one which went as follows:
Eighty years of patience,
With age slowly wrinkling me
Into an old man!
What a joy at last to find
The jellyfish’s bones!
On the day of his death he declared it to all and called for a go board to be brought to him. After the board has been set he swiftly swiped all the pieces of the board. When asked why he merely said he just wanted to try the game as he had seen other play it.
Following this he asked for some stirrup guards. When he got them he tied them around his neck, opened his arms and dance though it was painful for him.
He did this because he again wanted to try it as he once saw a man do it himself for fun.
And so after this he retired to an inner room where he sat facing west and chanted the Lotus Sutra until he passed in Nirvana.
Japanese Saying
Today a japanese saying for you all. Something akin to making sure you fill your stomach so you enjoy the scenery around you without being distracted by a grumbling stomach.
Show Notes for bonus episode 21 of our Podcast – Night Moving.
Story Notes
This was a strange things I came across in my feed one day, and I knew it was something that was worth talking about on our show.
In Chiba, you can find a man by the name of Naoki Iwabuchi. He works in what looks like a very normal office, dressed as most people in Japan do when they work, in a black suit.
But his job is not like most others. His job is to cater to Night Moving, known in Japan as ‘yonigeya‘. The act of helping people disappear.
There is a term in Japan for those who have dispeared in the country, this bring ‘jouhatsu-sha‘ or in English ‘evaporated people,’ which is quite a poetic term for them. Now many people in Japan do chose to disapear due to problems such as debt but there are some who need to flee from domestic violence or even stalking and so turn to those who can help them in disappearing. And so those specialised in Night Moving are called upon.
It is by no means an easy job, and so Naoki states he carries with him a special briefcase which can fold out into a shield covered in a layer of armour. And additionally he always carried with him a baton-like device for extra added protection.
Naoki always finds himself assuming the worst will happen, as there is no knowing how each job will play out. He states there is never a day that goes by without some form of trouble.
As for his clientele, 90% of them are women, 10% men. And he has seen over the last 16 years of his work that he has had more and more cases of women subjected to domestic abuse and in need of Night Moving. In addition, he has seen it increase even more since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The service however does come with a price. Unfortunately it is not something Naoki can offer for free due to the risks involved and that amount of planning that it can require. Difficult cases may also need additional help from people disguised as window washers or tatami salesmen waiting close by in the area. And due to this the costs can range from $2000 to $20,000.
Those that can disappear can often find it easy to remain hidden in Japan and even hide in plainsight. This being due to it being normal to wear a mask in Japan and in the fact that if you use an ATM without the transaction being flagged as used by a missing person. Privacy is very highly valused in Japan.
The police will not even become involved unless something else such as a crime or an accident occours.
Show Notes for episode 82 of our Podcast – Eugenics in Japan.
Story Notes
It seems that in almost every country at some point the idea of eugenics has been spread through the country and even utilised with that country. So we are going to take a look at how Eugenics was undertaken in Japan in the past.
Now I came across this as there was an article that came to light January 2023 and it reminded me of the topic of eugenics in Japan. It was something I came across before Covid-19 struck the world and then it fell off my radar for a while.
This article relates how the Japanese court have now ordered the government to pay damages to those who underwent forced sterilization during the time when eugenics was carried out in the country. So let’s have a look at its history.
The idea first came to Japan through Yamanouchi Shige, a man trained under John Merle Coulter. He was searching for a way to make the Japanese race genetically surpass that of the west.
John Merle Coulter
Eventually the idea of eugenics came to Japan under the disguise of ‘nationalism and empire building.’ And it appears there were two types of eugenics. Positive and Negative.
Positive Eugenism was promoted by a man known as Ikeda Shigenori and was designed for ‘the improvement of circumstances of sexual reproduction and thus incorporates advances in sanitation, nutrition and physical education into strategies to shape the reproductive choices and decisions of individual and families.’ The opposing Negative Eugenism was promoted by Hisomu Nagai and was designed for ‘the prevention of sexual reproduction, through induced abortion or sterilization among people deemed unfit.’
In regards to what was deemed unfit, it was those who were classified as alcoholics, lepers, mentally ill, physically disabled as well as criminals.
Shigenori later went on to publish the Yūsei-undō ( 優生運動 – Eugenics Movement Magazine) in 1926 and 2 years later promoted December 21st as blood purity day.
Later was see in the early 1930’s ‘eugenic marriage’ questionnaires being put out for public consumption and there were those who thought this would help ensure the fitness of a married couple as well as making sure class differences could be avoided.
In 1938 the Race Eugenics Protection Law was initially rejected, however, the National Eugenics Law was created in 1940 and went into effect. This law allowing compulsory steralization for ‘inherited mental disease.’ Apparently 454 people were sterilized between 1940 and 1945.
In particular this law (in Article 1) was designed ‘to prevent birth of inferior descendants from the eugenic point of view, and to protect life and health of mother, as well.” This reflected the Japanese Government’s worry not only about over-population and the predicament of mothers and pregnant women in the post-war baby boom, but also the “deterioration” in quality of offspring.
There were many additional articles included in this law. Article 3 permitted somebodies partner to have their partner sterilized by a physician if they gave consent on their behalf
According to the terms of the Article:
‘anyone could be voluntarily sterilized if: (1) he/she or the partner had hereditary “psychopathia,” “bodily disease” or “malformation,” or the partner “has mental disease or feeble-mindedness”; (2) he/she or the partner’s relative within the fourth degree of kinship had hereditary “mental disease,” “feeble-mindedness,” “psychopathia,” “bodily disease,” or “malformation”; (3) he/she or the partner was “suffering from leprosy, which is liable to carry infection to the descendants”; (4) she was a mother whose life was “endangered by conception or by delivery”; or (5) she was a “mother actually having several children” whose health condition was “feared to be seriously affected by each occasion of delivery.’
However, there were Articles (4 and 12) which allowed involuntary sterilization which was performed without the patients consent.
Article 4 said a physician could perform sterilization after consulting the Eugenic Protection Commission when someone was suffering from a disease deemed hereditary at the time.
These were the following:
‘schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, epilepsy, “remarkable abnormal sexual desire,” “remarkable criminal inclination,” Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, albinism, achromatopsia, deafness, haemophilia, “rupture of hand,” “rupture of foot.’
Luckily (if you could call it that) after the application the Eugenic Protection Commission would inform the patient who could then object and apply for a review of the matter within two weeks.
Unfortunately if you fell under the list of people from Article 12 with certain disabilities no notification needed to be given and so it could be performed against the patient will if the commission deemed it necessary.
The guidelines at the time stated:
‘It is permissible to restrain the patient’s body, to administer an anaesthetic, or to deceive the patient, etc.’
This allowed the authorization of forcible and deceitful sterilization, which was the common way of practice.
According to the statistics submitted from everything undertaken, between 1949 and 1994, 16,520 sterilizations were performed mostly without the patients consent. Out of all of these most were performed on women. In total 11,356 were carried out on women and 5,164 on men.
When we look closer into the types of people who has these surgeries performed on them most were inmates from psychiatric hospitals and most of them were deceived into having the surgery.
It is said one woman was given surgery and not informed what it was for, after discovering the truth, her mental health then deteriorated greatly. In this particular case it had been her parents who had given consent for the surgery to be undertaken.
At times people were pretty much forced into being sterilized as it was a prerequisite to being allowed into an institution. And as parents or guardians wanted their relatives in the institute they had no choice but to agree. If they were not sterilized upon entering they had to be sterilized prior to release otherwise they could never leave, otherwise they would be moved to the ‘mixed’ section of the institution.
When women were sterilized often a hysterectomy was performed instead of the tying of the fallopian tubes as a way to not cause a ‘loss of femininity.’
This law lasted all the way until 1996 when the Mother’s Body Protection Law was established on Jun 18th.
For many years there were advocates who have protested about what occurred but public attention was never really gained. It wasn’t until the report of sterilization in Sweden came to light in August 1997 that more interest was gained and talks of compensation began.
Recently the Kumamoto District Court found the 1948 law unconstitutional and awarded a total of ¥22 million ($170,000) in compensation to two different plaintiffs, Kazumi Watanabe, 78, and a 76-year-old woman who underwent forced sterilization. However compensation has been question by some as they believed a flat rate for all those who underwent this procedure is unjust and it should be based on a case by case basis.
Otsubo, Sumiko (April 2005). “Between Two Worlds: Yamanouchi Shigeo and Eugenics in Early Twentieth-Century Japan”. Annals of Science. 62 (2): 205–231.
Show Notes for episode 81 of our Podcast – A Troubled Stomach.
Story Notes
Now this is a tale which can be found in the konjaku monogatari shū, a tale revolving around a man known as Fujiwara no Tamemori from the Province of Echizen. A Province he was made Governor of in 1029AD.
The story relates how whilst Governor in Echizen (though he did live in Kyoto) he had failed to give his rice stipend to the Palace Guard. Now in response all six groups of guards came to his house, and made themselves comfortable outside his home, refusing to let anyone in or out.
The day was hot, and all were sweating very much and eventually a senior retainer from the home open the front gate of the property and stated that Tamemori wished to speak with them.
Knowing it was hot, he made the suggestion he could talk to them through a screen if they came inside in small parties and so at first the Left and Right Inner Guards entered into the property.
They were relieved and thought his offer was rather kind, and so they entered, not only to drink, but to tell them the reason why they were camped outside the man’s home.
When they entered they found the area ready for them. Long mats laid on the floor, with several tables all facing one another. And so all the men sat down. Upon the tables they found dried and salted sea bream, salty salmon, salted horse mackerel and more sea bream this time pickled in miso. In addition to this they found bowls piled high with ripened plums.
In came Kanetoki from the province of Owari and Atsuyuki from Shimōsa. Both were followed by the most senior of members of the Inner Guards.
Wine was ordered, but was very slow to arrive. And so all the men began to feast on the salty food and plums.
Tamemori, it was then announced was suffering from some stomach trouble and would soon come to talk with them once they had finished their food.
The wine was first given to Kanetoki and Atsuyuki, and due to the heat they had sat in for many hours their thirst was very high. And they had three cups of the wine which was rather cloudy and sour. But they drank regardless due to their thirst. Once it was quenched they passed on the cup to the next man waiting.
It was then that Tamemori appeared behind the screen to talk with the men.
He addressed them saying he never thought his failure of generosity would set them against him, and that his land had been in drought. He had given what he could, but now he had nothing left to give them. Even his staff were now going hungry due to the rice stipend that had already been taken.
The men all listened to his dilemma, Kanetoki and Atsuyori replying that, though they understood his problem, his failure to supply rice meant they also now had no food. And the men were growing rather angry at their situation. And that is why they had arrived this day, to tell him of their predicament.
However, all the while they had spoke, the stomachs of all the men had been making unsettling sounds. Some tapped their batons on the table to try and cover the sound, other tried various tactics to also distract from their sudden problem.
The Governor from behind his partition could hear it all, and he could make out that all the men were now doubling over with terrible cramps.
Kanetoki suddenly stood up asking to be excused before bolting away, all the other men quickly following in his footsteps. They all suddenly had terrible diarrhea and some went before they could get their trousers off. Others made it to the edge of where they were sitting before they couldn’t hold it any longer. And other just went where they had been sat.
But all the men were laughing as it happened to them. All of them laughed and said they had no complaint. They knew Tamemori would try something when they visited and they had been so greedy with the food and wine they deserved what was happening to them.
The men left, laughing, the retainer who had initially asked them to enter now asking for the next set of men. When they men who were waiting saw the state of those who had entered, they all broke out into laugher and retreated back to wear they had come from.
This tale was enjoyed by all those at court, as Tamemori had always been an old scamp and had a knack at making people laugh.
And the guards never returned to his house again to make any demands.
More than seven hundred years ago, at Dan-no-ura, in the Straits of Shimonoséki, was fought the last battle of the long contest between the Heiké, or Taira clan, and the Genji, or Minamoto clan. There the Heiké perished utterly, with their women and children, and their infant emperor likewise—now remembered as Antoku Tennō. And that sea and shore have been haunted for seven hundred years… Elsewhere I told you about the strange crabs found there, called Heiké crabs, which have human faces on their backs, and are said to be the spirits of the Heiké warriors. But there are many strange things to be seen and heard along that coast. On dark nights thousands of ghostly fires hover about the beach, or flit above the waves,—pale lights which the fishermen call Onibi, or demon-fires; and, whenever the winds are up, a sound of great shouting comes from that sea, like a clamor of battle.
In former years the Heiké were much more restless than they now are. They would rise about ships passing in the night, and try to sink them; and at all times they would watch for swimmers, to pull them down. It was in order to appease those dead that the Buddhist temple, Amidaji, was built at Akamagaséki. A cemetery also was made close by, near the beach; and within it were set up monuments inscribed with the names of the drowned emperor and of his great vassals; and Buddhist services were regularly performed there, on behalf of the spirits of them. After the temple had been built, and the tombs erected, the Heiké gave less trouble than before; but they continued to do queer things at intervals,—proving that they had not found the perfect peace.
Some centuries ago there lived at Akamagaséki a blind man named Hōïchi, who was famed for his skill in recitation and in playing upon the biwa. From childhood he had been trained to recite and to play; and while yet a lad he had surpassed his teachers. As a professional biwa-hōshi he became famous chiefly by his recitations of the history of the Heiké and the Genji; and it is said that when he sang the song of the battle of Dan-no-ura “even the goblins [kijin] could not refrain from tears.”
Amidaji
At the outset of his career, Hōïchi was very poor; but he found a good friend to help him. The priest of the Amidaji was fond of poetry and music; and he often invited Hōïchi to the temple, to play and recite. Afterwards, being much impressed by the wonderful skill of the lad, the priest proposed that Hōïchi should make the temple his home; and this offer was gratefully accepted. Hōïchi was given a room in the temple-building; and, in return for food and lodging, he was required only to gratify the priest with a musical performance on certain evenings, when otherwise disengaged.
One summer night the priest was called away, to perform a Buddhist service at the house of a dead parishioner; and he went there with his acolyte, leaving Hōïchi alone in the temple. It was a hot night; and the blind man sought to cool himself on the verandah before his sleeping-room. The verandah overlooked a small garden in the rear of the Amidaji. There Hōïchi waited for the priest’s return, and tried to relieve his solitude by practicing upon his biwa. Midnight passed; and the priest did not appear. But the atmosphere was still too warm for comfort within doors; and Hōïchi remained outside. At last he heard steps approaching from the back gate. Somebody crossed the garden, advanced to the verandah, and halted directly in front of him—but it was not the priest. A deep voice called the blind man’s name—abruptly and unceremoniously, in the manner of a samurai summoning an inferior:—
“Hōïchi!”
Hōïchi was too much startled, for the moment, to respond; and the voice called again, in a tone of harsh command,—
“Hōïchi!”
“Hai!” answered the blind man, frightened by the menace in the voice,—“I am blind!—I cannot know who calls!”
“There is nothing to fear,” the stranger exclaimed, speaking more gently. “I am stopping near this temple, and have been sent to you with a message. My present lord, a person of exceedingly high rank, is now staying in Akamagaséki, with many noble attendants. He wished to view the scene of the battle of Dan-no-ura; and to-day he visited that place. Having heard of your skill in reciting the story of the battle, he now desires to hear your performance: so you will take your biwa and come with me at once to the house where the august assembly is waiting.”
In those times, the order of a samurai was not to be lightly disobeyed. Hōïchi donned his sandals, took his biwa, and went away with the stranger, who guided him deftly, but obliged him to walk very fast. The hand that guided was iron; and the clank of the warrior’s stride proved him fully armed,—probably some palace-guard on duty. Hōïchi’s first alarm was over: he began to imagine himself in good luck;—for, remembering the retainer’s assurance about a “person of exceedingly high rank,” he thought that the lord who wished to hear the recitation could not be less than a daimyō of the first class. Presently the samurai halted; and Hōïchi became aware that they had arrived at a large gateway;—and he wondered, for he could not remember any large gate in that part of the town, except the main gate of the Amidaji. “Kaimon!” the samurai called,—and there was a sound of unbarring; and the twain passed on. They traversed a space of garden, and halted again before some entrance; and the retainer cried in a loud voice, “Within there! I have brought Hōïchi.” Then came sounds of feet hurrying, and screens sliding, and rain-doors opening, and voices of women in converse. By the language of the women Hōïchi knew them to be domestics in some noble household; but he could not imagine to what place he had been conducted. Little time was allowed him for conjecture. After he had been helped to mount several stone steps, upon the last of which he was told to leave his sandals, a woman’s hand guided him along interminable reaches of polished planking, and round pillared angles too many to remember, and over widths amazing of matted floor,—into the middle of some vast apartment. There he thought that many great people were assembled: the sound of the rustling of silk was like the sound of leaves in a forest. He heard also a great humming of voices,—talking in undertones; and the speech was the speech of courts.
Hōïchi was told to put himself at ease, and he found a kneeling-cushion ready for him. After having taken his place upon it, and tuned his instrument, the voice of a woman—whom he divined to be the Rōjo, or matron in charge of the female service—addressed him, saying,—
“It is now required that the history of the Heiké be recited, to the accompaniment of the biwa.”
Now the entire recital would have required a time of many nights: therefore Hōïchi ventured a question:—
“As the whole of the story is not soon told, what portion is it augustly desired that I now recite?”
The woman’s voice made answer:—
“Recite the story of the battle at Dan-no-ura,—for the pity of it is the most deep.”
Then Hōïchi lifted up his voice, and chanted the chant of the fight on the bitter sea,—wonderfully making his biwa to sound like the straining of oars and the rushing of ships, the whirr and the hissing of arrows, the shouting and trampling of men, the crashing of steel upon helmets, the plunging of slain in the flood. And to left and right of him, in the pauses of his playing, he could hear voices murmuring praise: “How marvelous an artist!”—“Never in our own province was playing heard like this!”—“Not in all the empire is there another singer like Hōïchi!” Then fresh courage came to him, and he played and sang yet better than before; and a hush of wonder deepened about him. But when at last he came to tell the fate of the fair and helpless,—the piteous perishing of the women and children,—and the death-leap of Nii-no-Ama, with the imperial infant in her arms,—then all the listeners uttered together one long, long shuddering cry of anguish; and thereafter they wept and wailed so loudly and so wildly that the blind man was frightened by the violence and grief that he had made. For much time the sobbing and the wailing continued. But gradually the sounds of lamentation died away; and again, in the great stillness that followed, Hōïchi heard the voice of the woman whom he supposed to be the Rōjo.
She said:—
“Although we had been assured that you were a very skillful player upon the biwa, and without an equal in recitative, we did not know that any one could be so skillful as you have proved yourself to-night. Our lord has been pleased to say that he intends to bestow upon you a fitting reward. But he desires that you shall perform before him once every night for the next six nights—after which time he will probably make his august return-journey. To-morrow night, therefore, you are to come here at the same hour. The retainer who to-night conducted you will be sent for you… There is another matter about which I have been ordered to inform you. It is required that you shall speak to no one of your visits here, during the time of our lord’s august sojourn at Akamagaséki. As he is traveling incognito,he commands that no mention of these things be made… You are now free to go back to your temple.”
After Hōïchi had duly expressed his thanks, a woman’s hand conducted him to the entrance of the house, where the same retainer, who had before guided him, was waiting to take him home. The retainer led him to the verandah at the rear of the temple, and there bade him farewell.
It was almost dawn when Hōïchi returned; but his absence from the temple had not been observed,—as the priest, coming back at a very late hour, had supposed him asleep. During the day Hōïchi was able to take some rest; and he said nothing about his strange adventure. In the middle of the following night the samurai again came for him, and led him to the august assembly, where he gave another recitation with the same success that had attended his previous performance. But during this second visit his absence from the temple was accidentally discovered; and after his return in the morning he was summoned to the presence of the priest, who said to him, in a tone of kindly reproach:—
“We have been very anxious about you, friend Hōïchi. To go out, blind and alone, at so late an hour, is dangerous. Why did you go without telling us? I could have ordered a servant to accompany you. And where have you been?”
Hōïchi answered, evasively,—
“Pardon me kind friend! I had to attend to some private business; and I could not arrange the matter at any other hour.”
The priest was surprised, rather than pained, by Hōïchi’s reticence: he felt it to be unnatural, and suspected something wrong. He feared that the blind lad had been bewitched or deluded by some evil spirits. He did not ask any more questions; but he privately instructed the men-servants of the temple to keep watch upon Hōïchi’s movements, and to follow him in case that he should again leave the temple after dark.
On the very next night, Hōïchi was seen to leave the temple; and the servants immediately lighted their lanterns, and followed after him. But it was a rainy night, and very dark; and before the temple-folks could get to the roadway, Hōïchi had disappeared. Evidently he had walked very fast,—a strange thing, considering his blindness; for the road was in a bad condition. The men hurried through the streets, making inquiries at every house which Hōïchi was accustomed to visit; but nobody could give them any news of him. At last, as they were returning to the temple by way of the shore, they were startled by the sound of a biwa, furiously played, in the cemetery of the Amidaji. Except for some ghostly fires—such as usually flitted there on dark nights—all was blackness in that direction. But the men at once hastened to the cemetery; and there, by the help of their lanterns, they discovered Hōïchi,—sitting alone in the rain before the memorial tomb of Antoku Tennō, making his biwa resound, and loudly chanting the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura. And behind him, and about him, and everywhere above the tombs, the fires of the dead were burning, like candles. Never before had so great a host of Oni-bi appeared in the sight of mortal man…
“Hōïchi San!—Hōïchi San!” the servants cried,—“you are bewitched!… Hōïchi San!”
But the blind man did not seem to hear. Strenuously he made his biwa to rattle and ring and clang;—more and more wildly he chanted the chant of the battle of Dan-no-ura. They caught hold of him;—they shouted into his ear,—
“Hōïchi San!—Hōïchi San!—come home with us at once!”
Reprovingly he spoke to them:—
“To interrupt me in such a manner, before this august assembly, will not be tolerated.”
Whereat, in spite of the weirdness of the thing, the servants could not help laughing. Sure that he had been bewitched, they now seized him, and pulled him up on his feet, and by main force hurried him back to the temple,—where he was immediately relieved of his wet clothes, by order of the priest. Then the priest insisted upon a full explanation of his friend’s astonishing behavior.
Hōïchi long hesitated to speak. But at last, finding that his conduct had really alarmed and angered the good priest, he decided to abandon his reserve; and he related everything that had happened from the time of first visit of the samurai.
The priest said:—
“Hōïchi, my poor friend, you are now in great danger! How unfortunate that you did not tell me all this before! Your wonderful skill in music has indeed brought you into strange trouble. By this time you must be aware that you have not been visiting any house whatever, but have been passing your nights in the cemetery, among the tombs of the Heiké;—and it was before the memorial-tomb of Antoku Tennō that our people to-night found you, sitting in the rain. All that you have been imagining was illusion—except the calling of the dead. By once obeying them, you have put yourself in their power. If you obey them again, after what has already occurred, they will tear you in pieces. But they would have destroyed you, sooner or later, in any event… Now I shall not be able to remain with you to-night: I am called away to perform another service. But, before I go, it will be necessary to protect your body by writing holy texts upon it.”
Heart Sutra
Before sundown the priest and his acolyte stripped Hōïchi: then, with their writing-brushes, they traced upon his breast and back, head and face and neck, limbs and hands and feet,—even upon the soles of his feet, and upon all parts of his body,—the text of the holy sûtra called Hannya-Shin-Kyō. When this had been done, the priest instructed Hōïchi, saying:—
“To-night, as soon as I go away, you must seat yourself on the verandah, and wait. You will be called. But, whatever may happen, do not answer, and do not move. Say nothing and sit still—as if meditating. If you stir, or make any noise, you will be torn asunder. Do not get frightened; and do not think of calling for help—because no help could save you. If you do exactly as I tell you, the danger will pass, and you will have nothing more to fear.”
After dark the priest and the acolyte went away; and Hōïchi seated himself on the verandah, according to the instructions given him. He laid his biwa on the planking beside him, and, assuming the attitude of meditation, remained quite still,—taking care not to cough, or to breathe audibly. For hours he stayed thus.
Then, from the roadway, he heard the steps coming. They passed the gate, crossed the garden, approached the verandah, stopped—directly in front of him.
“Hōïchi!” the deep voice called. But the blind man held his breath, and sat motionless.
“Hōïchi!” grimly called the voice a second time. Then a third time—savagely:—
“Hōïchi!”
Hōïchi remained as still as a stone,—and the voice grumbled:—
“No answer!—that won’t do!… Must see where the fellow is.”…
There was a noise of heavy feet mounting upon the verandah. The feet approached deliberately,—halted beside him. Then, for long minutes,—during which Hōïchi felt his whole body shake to the beating of his heart,—there was dead silence.
At last the gruff voice muttered close to him:—
“Here is the biwa; but of the biwa-player I see—only two ears!… So that explains why he did not answer: he had no mouth to answer with—there is nothing left of him but his ears… Now to my lord those ears I will take—in proof that the august commands have been obeyed, so far as was possible”…
At that instant Hōïchi felt his ears gripped by fingers of iron, and torn off! Great as the pain was, he gave no cry. The heavy footfalls receded along the verandah,—descended into the garden,—passed out to the roadway,—ceased. From either side of his head, the blind man felt a thick warm trickling; but he dared not lift his hands…
Before sunrise the priest came back. He hastened at once to the verandah in the rear, stepped and slipped upon something clammy, and uttered a cry of horror;—for he saw, by the light of his lantern, that the clamminess was blood. But he perceived Hōïchi sitting there, in the attitude of meditation—with the blood still oozing from his wounds.
“My poor Hōïchi!” cried the startled priest,—“what is this?… You have been hurt?”
At the sound of his friend’s voice, the blind man felt safe. He burst out sobbing, and tearfully told his adventure of the night.
“Poor, poor Hōïchi!” the priest exclaimed,—“all my fault!—my very grievous fault!… Everywhere upon your body the holy texts had been written—except upon your ears! I trusted my acolyte to do that part of the work; and it was very, very wrong of me not to have made sure that he had done it!… Well, the matter cannot now be helped;—we can only try to heal your hurts as soon as possible… Cheer up, friend!—the danger is now well over. You will never again be troubled by those visitors.”
With the aid of a good doctor, Hōïchi soon recovered from his injuries. The story of his strange adventure spread far and wide, and soon made him famous. Many noble persons went to Akamagaséki to hear him recite; and large presents of money were given to him,—so that he became a wealthy man… But from the time of his adventure, he was known only by the appellation of Mimi-nashi-Hōïchi: “Hōïchi-the-Earless.”
Sumikko no Heather
For today Heather found an interesting senryu that goes as follows:
棚釣ってわざとあたまをぶって見る
Putting up a shelf, and bumping his head on purpose.
Sujin had an addition two concubines and another six children.
Reign
Emperor Sujin ascended the throne in 97BC. This was after being made heir to the throne in the ’28th year, Spring, 1st month, 5th day’ of his fathers reign. He is said to have been 19 years old at the time.
Plague
It is said a plague occured during his reign killing many people.
Suijin request punishment from the kami and fearing the power of Amaterasu and Ohokunidama (Ōkuninushi) seperates their worship with Amaterasu worshipped in Kasanui in Yamato and Ohokunidama was entrusted into the care of Nunakinobime.
Through divination he communes with Miwa no Ohomonomishu (Ōkuninushi).
Kojiki Version
In the Kojiki the kami says that if he appoints Ohotataneko as chief of his shrine then the plague will pass, after having this man found and finding out he was a descendant of Ōkuninushi he is made High Prirest of this kami on Mount Mimoro.
He then has a man called Igakashikowo to make offerings and to worship the kami of earth which helped to firther abate the plague affecting the land.
Nihongi Version
In the Nihongi the kami states that if the kami were worshipped correctly then the plague would pass. This did not happen and so after being contacted again he is told to locate Ohotataneko and make him head of his shrine. This would cause the plague to abate but would also make the lands over the sea give submission.
Ohotataneko is found and he relates how he is the son of Ōkuninushi.
The Sacred Regalia
According to a tale from the Jinnō Shōtōki, in the 6th year of his reign he summoned the kami Ishikoridome to create a new Sacred Mirror and a desendant of Amenomahitotsu to make a new Sacred Sword. These were made in Uda, Yamato.
He takes the replicas to place them in his hall for divine protection. The originals being entrusted to Toyosukiiribime who built a sacred enclosure in Kasanui in Yamato to worship them in.
Later Toyosukiiribime was instructed by Amaterasu to journey the provinces with the Sword and Mirror.
Kami of Sumizaka and Ohozaka
The Emperor orders Igakashikowo to worship with red-coloured shields and spears the kami of Sumisaka in Uda and with black-coloured shields and spears the kami of Ohosaka. Offerings of cloth were also made to the hills and rivers. And finally the entirety of the plague disappated.
On his way, at Herazaka, Ohobiko finds a girl who sings a song which goes as follows:
Now then! Oh Prince Mimakiiri! Oh Prince Mimakiiri! Ignorant that they, to steal and slay one’s life, cross backwards and forwards by the back-door, cross backwards and forwards by the front door and spy,— Oh, Prince Mimakiiri!
The girl then vanishes when questioned and so he returns to tell the tale to the Empeor. The Emperor believes this means his half-brother Takehaniyasuhiko plots against him and so Ohobiko is tasked to raise an army to stop him.
Hikokunibuku joins him and they set sacred jars at the Pass of Wani before departing. In Yamashiro Province, on the banks of the Wakara River they find Takehaniyasu waiting for them.
Hikokunibuku begs the other side to fire first (this is because it was the custom for each side to let fly an “initial arrow.” The arrow was considered “specially important and was shot off reverently with prayers to the Kami.) Takehaniyasu shoots first and misses, Hikokunubuku returning fire and killing Takehaniyasu with his shot causing his army to rout and flee.
The army is hunted down and killed and the two return to give a report to the Emperor.
Nihongi Version
When Ohobiko relates this tale to the Emperor, Yamatotohimomosobime understands the songs meaning and that Takehaniyasu means to attack him. She further says she saw his wife Atabime takes soil from Mount Kagu and turns it upside in her neckerchief saying that it represented the land of Yamato.
Takehaniyasu and Atahime then arrive with their armies, coming from two directions. Atahime through Ohosaka and Takehaniyasu through Yamashiro.
Isaserihiko (Kibitsuhiko) intercepts Atahime, defeating and killing her and her men.
Ohohiko and Hikokunifuku head to Yamashiro after setting sacred jars. Again Takehaniyasu shoots first and misses, and Hikokunifuku shoots and kills Takehaniyasu.
Yamatotohimomosobime later kills herself with chopsticks.
Choosing an Heir
In the 48th year of his reign, he orders his sons Toyokiiribiko and Ikume (Emperor Suinin) to have a divine dream as he does not known who to choose as sucessor. Toyokiiribiko dreams he faces east of Mount Mimoro, flourishing a spear eight times and swinging a sword eight times. Ikume says he stood atop Mount Mimoro and placed a cord around all four corners of the land to drive away sparrows eating grain.
And so it is decided that Toyokiiribiko will rule over the Eastern land and Ikume was made crown prince.
Sacred Treasures
In the 60th year of his reign the Emperor wished to see sacred treasures brought to earth by the kami Takehiratori which were being held in the Izumo Shrine and Takemorosumi is sent to collect them.
At this time a man known as Izumo Furune was in charge of their care, but he was in Tsukushi when Takemorosumi arrived for the items. And so Furune’s younger brother Ihiirine entrusted them to his brother Umashikarahisa and his son Ukatsukunu to take them to the Emperor.
After Furune return he was angry at his brother and so invites him to the Yamiya pools to see the mo plants there. There Furune killed his brother in anger. Umashikarahisa and Ukatsukunu make report of this to the court and Furune is then killed by Kibitsuhiko and Takenumakahawake.
End of his Reign
With the plague over the Emperor creates a new census (the first having been done in his 12th year), as well as beginning tax on men for animal skins and game and on women for textiles.
Pools were constructed to give the people water in areas that were scarse.
Show Notes for episode 78 of our Podcast – The Song the Sea God Sang.
Story Notes
The Song the Sea God Sang is said to be a critique on the connections that exist between humans and the kamui (gods of the Ainu). For this particular story it revolves around Repun Kamui the Sea God, though the identity of the kamui is not evident at first through the telling of the story.
However in the tale we see this kamui taking the form of a killer whale.
This kamui has twelve brother and twelve sisters. 6 tall brother, 6 tall sisters, 6 small brothers, 6 small sisters. Every day they would go out to sea and everyday Repun Kamui would carve knife sheathes.
In the mornings all would depart aside from the Sea God, the brothers with quivers on their backs. And at night they would return empty handed. In the evening they ate, the sisters cooking and the brothers making more arrows.
Eventually, one day, Repun Kamui took his golden bow and his golden arrow and went to see what his brothers and sisters were doing. The tall sisters ahd joined hands to make a ring, with the small sisters chasing whales into it.
The brothers took their bows, firing the arrows above and below the whales.
Repun Kamui saw a mother and child whale seperate in the ocean, and taking his bow he shot them both dead with one arrow. He threw one half of the whale into the sister’s ring and took the other whale and a half to the humans.
In the village of Otashut he left it on the beach and then returned home. But he was immediately visited by a sea-wren. The wren compained that the humans would not apprecitate what had been given, and would hack at it and destroy it.
However, Repun Kamui replied saying that he decided to give this gift to the humans, but now it is theirs and not his, and so they may do with it as they please.
He returned to his home, and saw the brothers and sisters complaining about the whale he had thrown to them. And so he turned his attention back to the humans.
Repun Kamui saw them, and their leader, all of whom were happy and leaping with joy at the bounty that had been given to them. The nispa (leader) was there, wearing six robes, holding a sacred sword high in the air. And all, including him raised their voices in worship.
Repun Kamui could see the wren had been wrong, and after a few days the Sea God saw upon in window sill a golden dish overfolowing with salmon, sake and ritual chopsticks (decorated with inau).
‘On behalf of the people of Otashut. In a spirit of reverence I offer this ritual sake.’ So said a messanger to the Sea God.
Repun Kamui learned that the village had been suffering from a famine, and this whale had saved them from starvation. And so the people were forever grateful to him.
And so the Sea God accepted the offerings and went back to carving his knife sheathes.
Another few days passed before the brothers and sisters finally returned. Upon seeing the home, and the offerings which has been made they prostrated themselves. The Sea God then decorated the house with the inau and invited kamui from near and far for a feast.
When the party was in full swing Repun Kamui rose to tell his tale of how he had helped the humans. The kamui proased him for this efforts and returned to their feast.
Again a few days passed before the feast came to a close and the assembled deity all took home some of the inau.
And so it is said that ever since this act from Repun Kamui that whenever people make sake they sent it with inau to the Sea God and to the brothers and sisters.
And Repun Kamui’s mind was at peace, knowing the people lived without trouble.
This is another story by Yei Theodora Ozaki, a woman who sorely deserves her own episode on our show some time soon!
Long, long ago there lived a man called Sentaro. His surname meant “Millionaire,” but although he was not so rich as all that, he was still very far removed from being poor. He had inherited a small fortune from his father and lived on this, spending his time carelessly, without any serious thoughts of work, till he was about thirty-two years of age.
One day, without any reason whatsoever, the thought of death and sickness came to him. The idea of falling ill or dying made him very wretched.
“I should like to live,” he said to himself, “till I am five or six hundred years old at least, free from all sickness. The ordinary span of a man’s life is very short.”
He wondered whether it were possible, by living simply and frugally henceforth, to prolong his life as long as he wished.
He knew there were many stories in ancient history of emperors who had lived a thousand years, and there was a Princess of Yamato, who, it was said, lived to the age of five hundred. This was the latest story of a very long life record.
Sentaro had often heard the tale of the Chinese King named Shin-no-Shiko. He was one of the most able and powerful rulers in Chinese history. He built all the large palaces, and also the famous great wall of China. He had everything in the world he could wish for, but in spite of all his happiness and the luxury and the splendor of his Court, the wisdom of his councilors and the glory of his reign, he was miserable because he knew that one day he must die and leave it all.
When Shin-no-Shiko went to bed at night, when he rose in the morning, as he went through his day, the thought of death was always with him. He could not get away from it. Ah—if only he could find the “Elixir of Life,” he would be happy.
The Emperor at last called a meeting of his courtiers and asked them all if they could not find for him the “Elixir of Life” of which he had so often read and heard.
One old courtier, Jofuku by name, said that far away across the seas there was a country called Horaizan, and that certain hermits lived there who possessed the secret of the “Elixir of Life.” Whoever drank of this wonderful draught lived forever.
The Emperor ordered Jofuku to set out for the land of Horaizan, to find the hermits, and to bring him back a phial of the magic elixir. He gave Jofuku one of his best junks, fitted it out for him, and loaded it with great quantities of treasures and precious stones for Jofuku to take as presents to the hermits.
Jofuku sailed for the land of Horaizan, but he never returned to the waiting Emperor; but ever since that time Mount Fuji has been said to be the fabled Horaizan and the home of hermits who had the secret of the elixir, and Jofuku has been worshiped as their patron god.
Now Sentaro determined to set out to find the hermits, and if he could, to become one, so that he might obtain the water of perpetual life. He remembered that as a child he had been told that not only did these hermits live on Mount Fuji, but that they were said to inhabit all the very high peaks.
So he left his old home to the care of his relatives, and started out on his quest. He traveled through all the mountainous regions of the land, climbing to the tops of the highest peaks, but never a hermit did he find.
At last, after wandering in an unknown region for many days, he met a hunter.
“Can you tell me,” asked Sentaro, “where the hermits live who have the Elixir of Life?”
“No.” said the hunter; “I can’t tell you where such hermits live, but there is a notorious robber living in these parts. It is said that he is chief of a band of two hundred followers.”
This odd answer irritated Sentaro very much, and he thought how foolish it was to waste more time in looking for the hermits in this way, so he decided to go at once to the shrine of Jofuku, who is worshiped as the patron god of the hermits in the south of Japan.
Sentaro reached the shrine and prayed for seven days, entreating Jofuku to show him the way to a hermit who could give him what he wanted so much to find.
At midnight of the seventh day, as Sentaro knelt in the temple, the door of the innermost shrine flew open, and Jofuku appeared in a luminous cloud, and calling to Sentaro to come nearer, spoke thus:
“Your desire is a very selfish one and cannot be easily granted. You think that you would like to become a hermit so as to find the Elixir of Life. Do you know how hard a hermit’s life is? A hermit is only allowed to eat fruit and berries and the bark of pine trees; a hermit must cut himself off from the world so that his heart may become as pure as gold and free from every earthly desire. Gradually after following these strict rules, the hermit ceases to feel hunger or cold or heat, and his body becomes so light that he can ride on a crane or a carp, and can walk on water without getting his feet wet.”
“You, Sentaro, are fond of good living and of every comfort. You are not even like an ordinary man, for you are exceptionally idle, and more sensitive to heat and cold than most people. You would never be able to go barefoot or to wear only one thin dress in the winter time! Do you think that you would ever have the patience or the endurance to live a hermit’s life?”
“In answer to your prayer, however, I will help you in another way. I will send you to the country of Perpetual Life, where death never comes—where the people live forever!”
The Crane taking Sentaro out over the sea.
Saying this, Jofuku put into Sentaro’s hand a little crane made of paper, telling him to sit on its back and it would carry him there.
Sentaro obeyed wonderingly. The crane grew large enough for him to ride on it with comfort. It then spread its wings, rose high in the air, and flew away over the mountains right out to sea.
Sentaro was at first quite frightened; but by degrees he grew accustomed to the swift flight through the air. On and on they went for thousands of miles. The bird never stopped for rest or food, but as it was a paper bird it doubtless did not require any nourishment, and strange to say, neither did Sentaro.
After several days they reached an island. The crane flew some distance inland and then alighted.
As soon as Sentaro got down from the bird’s back, the crane folded up of its own accord and flew into his pocket.
Now Sentaro began to look about him wonderingly, curious to see what the country of Perpetual Life was like. He walked first round about the country and then through the town. Everything was, of course, quite strange, and different from his own land. But both the land and the people seemed prosperous, so he decided that it would be good for him to stay there and took up lodgings at one of the hotels.
The proprietor was a kind man, and when Sentaro told him that he was a stranger and had come to live there, he promised to arrange everything that was necessary with the governor of the city concerning Sentaro’s sojourn there. He even found a house for his guest, and in this way Sentaro obtained his great wish and became a resident in the country of Perpetual Life.
Within the memory of all the islanders no man had ever died there, and sickness was a thing unknown. Priests had come over from India and China and told them of a beautiful country called Paradise, where happiness and bliss and contentment fill all men’s hearts, but its gates could only be reached by dying. This tradition was handed down for ages from generation to generation—but none knew exactly what death was except that it led to Paradise.
Quite unlike Sentaro and other ordinary people, instead of having a great dread of death, they all, both rich and poor, longed for it as something good and desirable. They were all tired of their long, long lives, and longed to go to the happy land of contentment called Paradise of which the priests had told them centuries ago.
All this Sentaro soon found out by talking to the islanders. He found himself, according to his ideas, in the land of Topsyturvydom. Everything was upside down. He had wished to escape from dying. He had come to the land of Perpetual Life with great relief and joy, only to find that the inhabitants themselves, doomed never to die, would consider it bliss to find death.
What he had hitherto considered poison these people ate as good food, and all the things to which he had been accustomed as food they rejected. Whenever any merchants from other countries arrived, the rich people rushed to them eager to buy poisons. These they swallowed eagerly, hoping for death to come so that they might go to Paradise.
But what were deadly poisons in other lands were without effect in this strange place, and people who swallowed them with the hope of dying, only found that in a short time they felt better in health instead of worse.
Vainly they tried to imagine what death could be like. The wealthy would have given all their money and all their goods if they could but shorten their lives to two or three hundred years even. Without any change to live on forever seemed to this people wearisome and sad.
In the chemist shops there was a drug which was in constant demand, because after using it for a hundred years, it was supposed to turn the hair slightly gray and to bring about disorders of the stomach.
Sentaro was astonished to find that the poisonous globe-fish was served up in restaurants as a delectable dish, and hawkers in the streets went about selling sauces made of Spanish flies. He never saw any one ill after eating these horrible things, nor did he ever see any one with as much as a cold.
Sentaro was delighted. He said to himself that he would never grow tired of living, and that he considered it profane to wish for death. He was the only happy man on the island. For his part he wished to live thousands of years and to enjoy life. He set himself up in business, and for the present never even dreamed of going back to his native land.
As years went by, however, things did not go as smoothly as at first. He had heavy losses in business, and several times some affairs went wrong with his neighbors. This caused him great annoyance.
Time passed like the flight of an arrow for him, for he was busy from morning till night. Three hundred years went by in this monotonous way, and then at last he began to grow tired of life in this country, and he longed to see his own land and his old home. However long he lived here, life would always be the same, so was it not foolish and wearisome to stay on here forever?
Sentaro, in his wish to escape from the country of Perpetual Life, recollected Jofuku, who had helped him before when he was wishing to escape from death—and he prayed to the saint to bring him back to his own land again.
No sooner did he pray than the paper crane popped out of his pocket. Sentaro was amazed to see that it had remained undamaged after all these years. Once more the bird grew and grew till it was large enough for him to mount it. As he did so, the bird spread its wings and flew, swiftly out across the sea in the direction of Japan.
Such was the willfulness of the man’s nature that he looked back and regretted all he had left behind. He tried to stop the bird in vain. The crane held on its way for thousands of miles across the ocean.
Sentaro almost killed by the shark.
Then a storm came on, and the wonderful paper crane got damp, crumpled up, and fell into the sea. Sentaro fell with it. Very much frightened at the thought of being drowned, he cried out loudly to Jofuku to save him. He looked round, but there was no ship in sight. He swallowed a quantity of sea-water, which only increased his miserable plight. While he was thus struggling to keep himself afloat, he saw a monstrous shark swimming towards him. As it came nearer it opened its huge mouth ready to devour him. Sentaro was all but paralyzed with fear now that he felt his end so near, and screamed out as loudly as ever he could to Jofuku to come and rescue him.
Lo, and behold, Sentaro was awakened by his own screams, to find that during his long prayer he had fallen asleep before the shrine, and that all his extraordinary and frightful adventures had been only a wild dream. He was in a cold perspiration with fright, and utterly bewildered.
Suddenly a bright light came towards him, and in the light stood a messenger. The messenger held a book in his hand, and spoke to Sentaro:
“I am sent to you by Jofuku, who in answer to your prayer, has permitted you in a dream to see the land of Perpetual Life. But you grew weary of living there, and begged to be allowed to return to your native land so that you might die. Jofuku, so that he might try you, allowed you to drop into the sea, and then sent a shark to swallow you up. Your desire for death was not real, for even at that moment you cried out loudly and shouted for help.”
“It is also vain for you to wish to become a hermit, or to find the Elixir of Life. These things are not for such as you—your life is not austere enough. It is best for you to go back to your paternal home, and to live a good and industrious life. Never neglect to keep the anniversaries of your ancestors, and make it your duty to provide for your children’s future. Thus will you live to a good old age and be happy, but give up the vain desire to escape death, for no man can do that, and by this time you have surely found out that even when selfish desires are granted they do not bring happiness.”
“In this book I give you there are many precepts good for you to know—if you study them, you will be guided in the way I have pointed out to you.”
The angel disappeared as soon as he had finished speaking, and Sentaro took the lesson to heart. With the book in his hand he returned to his old home, and giving up all his old vain wishes, tried to live a good and useful life and to observe the lessons taught him in the book, and he and his house prospered henceforth.
Poem Notes
The author for this little senryu is listed as 十五夜 (Juugoya) which means 15th night, or the full moon. So, it seems our senryu poet will have to remain anonymous at this time until we find out the real name behind them.
改札へ係ゆるゆるやって来る
The ticket collector comes to the wicket slowly.
References
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Show Notes for episode 76 of our Podcast – A Cautionary Buddhist Tale.
Story Notes
This particular tale comes from the Uji shui monogatari and centers around the character of Fujiwara no Toshiyuki. A man who died in either 901 or 907AD.
Toshiyuki was a celebrated caligrapher and many people asked him to make copies of the Lotus Sutra for them. In total he had made 200 copies until he suddenly died.
In death he found himself being taken to court as complaints had been raised against him. Toshiyuki saw two hundred warriors in death who wished to seek vengence on him. In his life he had enjoyed fish and women and so was unpure when he wrote the Sutras.
Due to this they did not work for the people he made them for. And so they insisted he be brought to court in the afterlife; even though it was not actually his time to die.
The warriors wanted to cut him into 200 pieces and each keep a piece for themselves. With each piece remaining concious.
They crossed an inky river which turned out to be the ink from his Sutras as unpure copies were never accepted into the Palace of the Dragon King who protected the Buddhist’s Teachings.
A man came to drag him by the neck to speed up his arrival at court, all the while Toshiuki desperate to find a way out of his problem.
The man who was dragging him spoke to him quietly saying that he should make a vow to make a copy of the Sutra of Golden Light right before dropping him infront of the King of Hell, Emma. Here he heard from the baliffs that his sutras were unclean and that those he gave them to wanted their revenge.
And so he told the court he had a made a vow to make a copy of the Sutra of Golden Light, but that he had been taken to death before he could fulfil that vow. And so they checked the Register of Deeds to find that he had indeed said it.
Toshiyuki was then sent back to the land of the living.
He awoke to find he had been dead for two days with his wife and children having been in mourning. When recovered he collected paper to write down the Sutra but soon he became distracted by his old ways and eventually died without completing his vow.
And so one night after Toshiyuki had died, the poet Ki no Tomonori had a dream where Toshiyuki came to him saying he died without fulfilling the vow and now found himself tortured in hell.
And so Ki no Tomonori was instructed to take the paper he had bought the Miidera where the monks there could make the Sutra and finished the dedication. When he arrived at the temple, the monk related how he had had the same dream
And so the monk made the Sutra and the dedication and when the two of them dreamed again they were told by Toshiyuki that their act had greatly lightened the suffering he was going through.
Show Notes for episode 75 of our Podcast – The 1,000,000円 Question.
Story Notes
The government in Japan has increased it’s incentives to get people moving out of the capital and surrounding districts to help with the overcrowding they are seeing in Tokyo; one of the biggest cities in the world.
This is also aiming to help revitalise the rural area which have come into decline as more and more people move to the big cities.
Previously they were offering 300,000円 for those with children to move out of the city (or surrounding areas of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba), however this is now going to be raise to 1,000,00円 to further encourage people to leave the capital.
Of course, this does come with some caveats, one of them being you must remain there for at least five years otherwise you are required to return the money.
Money is also going to be given to help ease the cost of moving out to these new areas. And this all comes off the back of the increase in remote working which should allow those in the capital to move out and maintain their current jobs.
For those wishing to change their jobs when they move, they must work in a small or medium sized company, or failing that start up a new business in the area they move to so that they may receive the money.
Would you move out of Tokyo or the city you live in for 1,000,000円 Question. Let us know!
Show Notes for episode 74 of our Podcast – Protectors.
Story Notes
Today we finish of Women’s History month. Yes, we know it took us a while.
(But as future Thomas writes here, we were in a very bad place with my mental health, I even used soley wikipedia for my research for this episode which I do not like to do. But I did not have the mental energy to do research with my books and through journals, I hope you all understand).
Regardless of that I have come across three women today I wanted to talk about. Three of them all onna-bugeishi, or female warriors who would fight alongside Samurai. And interestingly they all find themselves with connections to Oda Nobunaga.
Now this term we have used before, but when I searched using this term for my research it appears to have been replaced with Onna-musha (女武者), and I am unsure of the reason why.
Myōki
Takeda Shingen
So let us dive into the first of our three women today. A woman by the name of Myōki (妙喜) or Myokini (妙喜尼) and she lived during the Sengoku Period. She is the one I have the smallest amount of information on for todays episode.
She was the daughter of Tōyama Naokage and wife to Suwabe Sadakatsu. And Myōki is best known for events surrounding Hio Castle, situated in Musashi Province.
Now her husband was the Lord of Hio Castle at the time it was attacked and put under siege in December 1569 at the direction of the Takeda Clan, led at this time by Takeda Shingen. A year before the Takeda had attacked Hachigata Castle but had been repelled and eventually decided to attack the castle of Hio. And this is where our small history for Myōki comes into play.
The castle was being attacked and usually it would have been her husband, the Lord of the castle, who would have led the charge into protecting their home; but Myōki was the one to do so instead.
Now the reason for this? Her husband was very drunk and unable to lead the charge. Myōki had no choice but to take on the mantle of leader for this unexpected attack. It is said she left with her maids carrying sake, summoned the soldiers, armed herself and headed to the castle door. She led the command on the battle field until her husband eventually woke up.
The connection here to Nobunaga is that he would send his armies to fight Takeda Shingen who would die not many years after attacking Hio Castle, dying of disease in 1573. This being an attack on the Takeda Shingen that Yasuke, the African Samurai, was not allowed to participate in.
Lady Otsuya
Remains of Iwamura Castle
Now our next woman of note was known as Lady Otsuya (おつやの方 Otsuya no Kata), a woman said to have possessed unmatched beauty. Now she was the aunt of Oda Nobunaga married to Tōyama Kagetō. She is best known for having conspired against her nephew and the Oda Clan.
She with her husband, were the rules of Iwamura Castle. This castle was the highest in Japan, atop a 717meter peak and is said to have been known as the Misty Castle as it was often hidden in a blanket of fog.
Now we have talked before how we want to do episodes on battles of our show, so for today we are just looking into the aspects these women played in the battles they lived through. The year was 1572, and again we see Takeda Shingen here attacking another castle. However, Lady Otsuya and her husband were ready to make a defence.
The attack was led by one of the Twenty Four Generals of Shingen (武田二十四将, Takeda Nijūshi-shō), a man by the name of Akiyama Nobutomo. Mere days after the siege started, Lady Otsuya’s husband fell ill and passed away. But Otsuya continued on. Though her husband had once been a subordinate of the Takeda, Otsuya as the aunt of Nobunaga was hostile to the Takeda Clan. She fought them off for months until March 6th 1573 when an agreement was made.
A peace treaty was made, Otsuya’s aopted son Katsunaga taken as hostage by the Takeda, with Otsuya being made to marry Nobutomo, the man who had led the siege. All of these events led to a decline in the Oda-Takeda relationship.
A few days later Nobubaga would find out the Takeda troops led by his aunt had attacked the Oda Clan he decided his counterattack. This led to the Battle of Mikatagahara where Shingen defeated the Oda Clan, before he later died of disease. This led to Iwamura being a field of battle from 1572 to 1575, and when Shingen’s son, Katusyori, was ultimately defeated (his head sent in an ornate box to Nobunaga as we mentioned in our Yasuke episodes), the castle was attacked by Oda’s forces in 1575. For half a year Lady Otsuya defended the castle, and then left to make respoce to Oda’s plea for peace.
However, it was a lie, he reneged on his words and had her and her new husband crucified as traitors December 23rd 1575. But she didn”t go quietly, cursing her nephew, saying if he killed her family his punishment would be doubled. And of course, he would be killed seven years later during the Honno-ji Incident.
Maeda Matsu
Maeda Matsu
And so we turn to our final person for today, a woman known as Maeda Matsu (前田まつ) or Omatsu no Kata (お松の方) who lived from 1547-1617. The wife of Maeda Toshiie she was known for her intelligence, skilled in both martial arts and literature.
It is said she was adopted by her future husband father when she was 12 after her mother remarried, and that her love to her husband was genuine and not merely a marriage for political gain or convenience as was the norm at the time.
She had many children, nine daughter and two sons. And she was lifelong friends with Nene (Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s wife) and Ōmandokoro (Hideyoshi’s mother). Together they had a lot of political power.
For Maeda Matsu, her connection to Nobunaga goes as follows. Nobunaga as we have said before was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, and he in turn was killed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, her friends husband.
At first her clan and Hideyoshi fought in the Battle of Shizugatake (Her clan fighting under the direction of Shibata Katsuie). But as she was close friend with Nene together they advanced the battlefield to ask for mercy for the Maeda Clan. Hideyoshi was happy for her to ask for her husband to be spared. The battle eventually came to a close, Katsuie realising defeat was imminent he committed seppuku after killing his wife (his wife having been the sister of Nobunaga) before setting his house on fire.
Maede Matsu and her husband made it out alive due to their plea to Hideyoshi and her husband would then go on to be one of Hideyoshi’s generals.
She does not appear to have been a women with much fear, in 1584 Suemori Castle was threatened by Sass Marimasa. Yet her husband was hesitant to go and help, not wanting to risk his life in battle and lose his wealth.
Maeda Matsu said in reply “how about bringing your gold and silver along by poking through them with your spear?”
He was outraged at her words, but took her words as a challenge and was reinvigorated to go into battle.
Another tale says she said to him:
“If fortune fails you at Suemori Castle, do not intend on returning home alive. Everyone here, including myself, shall set this castle ablaze and bring our families here to perish.”
Hideyoshi would made her husband part of his Council of Five Elders, a group whose job it was to support his son Toyotomi Hideyori until he was old enough to rule. Matsu was given the role of a nanny and so became a retainer of the Toyotomi Clan.
Later during the Daigo Flower Viewing, she was treated as an honored guest, however Yodo-dono (Nobunaga’s niece) and Kyōgoku Tatsuko were ready to fight over the cushioned seat next to Nene.
Matsu however calmly slid onto it and replied:
“In order of whom is the oldest amongst us, I should be right here,” and so the event proceeded without incident.
In 1598, Hideyoshi died, leaving Hideyori in Toshiie’s care, but again Toshiie died soon after. Following his death Matsu decided to become a Buddhist nun and changed her name to Hōshun-In.
Following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Toyotomi clan power and war followed. The five regent she had appointed to rule in Hideyori’s place began fighting for power. When Toshiie died, the situation worsened and a war was bound to happen. Nene, went to the Imperial Palace after her husband’s death. Hideyoshi’s son and successor was very young and could not rule in his place, giving Yodo-dono all the political prestige left by Hideyoshi. However, the situation would not be easily controlled, so Ishida Mitsunari under the influence of Hideyori’s mother, Yodo-dono, went to war against Tokugawa Ieyasu.
In 1600, Toshimasa sided with the Western army, supported Ishida Mitsunari during the Sekigahara Campaign and had evidently plotted to assassinate Tokugawa Ieyasu beforehand. Her brother Maeda Toshinaga (Matsu’s first son) sided with Eastern army of Tokugawa Ieyasu after Hosokawa Tadaoki convinced him. Matsu’s seventh daughter, Maeda Chiyo, was the wife of Hosokawa Tadataka (son of Hosokawa Tadaoki) of the Eastern Army, and Matsu’s fourth daughter, Gō, who was adopted by Hideyoshi, was the wife of Ukita Hideie of the Western Army. Matsu’s other daughters and relatives were part of one of the two armies
At the time of the Battle of Sekigahara, Toshinaga role was primarily to contain the forces of Uesugi Kagekatsu and Niwa Nagashige, and at the same time, to keep the forces of his younger brother, Maeda Toshimasa from joining the western army. Because of Toshimasa sided with Mitsunari, the Maeda family was accused of revolt against Tokugawa Ieyasu and being close to the Toyotomi clan, ran the risk of being annihilated by the Tokugawa clan. Matsu was voluntarily taken as a hostage to the capital of Edo, to ensure the survival of the Maeda clan.
Matsu would spend 14 years as a prisoner at in the castle in Edo. She struggled to maintain a friendly relationship with the members of the Tokugawa family, due to her determination, however Ieyasu spared the Maeda clan from being annihilated and offered high social status to Matsu’s children.
After the defeat and extinction of the Toyotomi clan in the Siege of Osaka in 1615, she finally gained her freedom. Matsu eventually died in Kanazawa Castle becoming a figure of great respect for her heroic deeds.
Show Notes for episode 73C of our Podcast – The Road to being Geisha.
Story Notes
When life began as a maiko all of Mineko’s time disappeared. Her schedule seemed a little grueling. And don’t forget she is only 15 still at this time. Her days would begin at 6 in the morning and not finish until 2 or 3 am. There were times she would even fall asleep with her eyes open whilst standing, taking naps whenever she could, wherever she could.
Confined to the local area for her job, she learned of the outside world from those she went to entertain. She would get to know entire families as people would use the ochiya as a place for family reunions or places to celebrate the birth of a new grandchild. Mineko said many Geisha and maiko would often fight playfully over who would get to hold the babies.
During her time she came into contact with Dr. Tetsuzo Tanigawa, a man known for his distinguished philosophy at the time. She found him fascinating, and found she could ask him many questions that he would attentively listen to an answer with happiness. That night she even cancelled all her other appointments (feigning illness) to stay longer with him so they could talk. From then on, whenever he came to Gion she gave all her time to being with him so they could talk.
Dr. Tetsuzo Tanigawa
One conversation involved art, Mineko asking how one should look at a piece of art, as she herself wanted to recognize beauty in all artforms.
His answers was simple, but meaningful, with him saying ‘you have only to see what you see and feel what you feel.’
Of course, not all encounters went well. One time, she entered into an appointment to find a very drunk geiko already there. She dug into Mineko in front of the patrons, asking her with her Older Sister Yaeko was so bad. And that Mineko better not turn out like her. Patrons even came to Mineko’s defense, until eventually the drunken geiko was taken out. But before she did, she stated she was smoking. Mineko deferring to her said she would get her an ashtray but she was stopped. The geiko grabbed her hand and put the cigarette out in her hand. She had to ice it and bandage it later.
Her busy schedule continued and eventually her body came down with appendicitis and she had to have an operation to have it removed. Time was then spent being sent bouquet upon bouquet of flowers until she couldn’t bear the smell anymore. And so mange was sent instead as a get well wish.
Jealousy is a disease. And it was one that filled many others in Gion, as they saw Mineko rising to be the most popular of all the girls at the time. One group convinced a patron to push Mineko over and drag her around a room whilst they group of girls laughed at her. So enraged Mineko went to the kitchen, came back with a knife and held it to the patrons throat, chastising her, telling him how he has ruined her honor and pride. Other times people would call the okiya where she lived and redirect her appointments, other would put pins in the hems of her kimono. People would steal her fans, her accessories.
But there was a light, the other geiko, those already successful in their career gave her the kindness she deserved. They loved how popular she was, and for the whole 5 years as a maiko she ranked first almost every week in popularity. So popular she could only stay for five minutes sometimes at some appointments before having to go to the next. The patron, however, was billed for the full hour. So popular she was, her schedule was full for a year and a half. She worked solid for five years, with never a day off.
Mineko was very clever in forming a plan to change the jealously and hate others had for her. She would start asking around for certain other maiko to help her with her appointments. Giving these girl extra time to be seen by patrons, and also allowing them to earn more money. Slowly their hatred changed, but of course such a tactic could only last as long as she remained number one. This worked for the girls.
But men were a differing matter. Let’s look at one incident.
It was the 5th of January, Mineko had bought an arrow from a Shrine, a talisman to ward of evil spirits. A man came and just started to fondle her, and so she grabbed him tightly, slamming the arrow into his hand. He tried to get away but she held on tight, giving him an ultimatum.
Either swear to never do this again to anyone, looking at the scar which would now form as a reminder of his promise. Or the two of them could go to the police station. He agreed to never touch anyone like this again and ran off.
Her dance teacher tested her one day, in a way to make her realize she should never stop dancing. She loved it too much after all and now found herself even more motivated. This made her sleep even less at night, sometimes for only one hour. She positioned all the mirrors she could find in her room, so she could see every move she made, to be able to make them as good as she possibly could.
Time passed and we find ourselves in October 1967, it was the time for Mineko’s mizuage the time to denote her transitions from childhood to womanhood. This involved a change in hair style, and would happen five times in total. By now Mineko was 17.
In 1969 Mineko was to undergo the erikae ceremony. This is a change of collar colour from red to white, to show they are transitioning to being a geiko. But the powers at be asked everyone to wait an extra year as the World Expo was coming to Osaka. And it was during this time in 1970 she met Prince Charles. He asked Mineko for her fan, and signed it with his name. An act Mineko says in her autobiography which was quite rude. She told him to keep the fan, as a gift from her. But he seemed confused, in the end she took it back saying she would dispose of it as she could not take something with another patrons name of to another appointment. It had been a fan she had loved, and she felt that he had defaced it by signing it without even asking her.
Mineko was overworking herself too much, her tonsils became infected which was leading to her left kidney failing. Her tonsils were taken out and she used pads of paper to communicate. During this time she received out of season flowers when she was healing at home.
But she feared her feelings, as if the attempted rape made all those years ago was keeping her from feeling how she truly felt about the one who sent the flowers.
Shintaro Katsu
The man’s stage name was Shintaro Katsu and they had met when she was 15. His real name was Toshio, and he was the biggest movie star in Japan at the time. She didn’t like him at first, she thought him unsavory.
But she found out he could play the shamisen and things changed, Mineko saying she would only come to his appointments if he played. And he did.
When he was 18 he kissed her, but he was repentant after Mineko chastised him.
They repaired the relationship,
Eventually Toshio said to play the shamisen as she asked, could she put on finger on his knee. Eventually, it became, three, then, five, then the whole hand.
Eventually he confessed his love for her, even though he was married.
She said she did not feel the same way.
He said he would divorce as they did not love one another.
She said she didn’t not want that to happen.
Either way Toshio said he would keep trying to gained her love.
She set him a task, to show he was serious about it.
As Ono no Komachi once tasked Officer Fukasuka to visit her for one hundred night. She said he had to visit her okiya every night for 3 years to show his seriousness.
And he did. Over these three years, she did grow feeling for him, which leads us full circle to the flowers sent whilst she was ill . He couldn’t visit her in person as part of these three years. The flowers were his way to still visit her. Mineko had agreed to introduce Mama Masako to him. That night, Mineko was a nervous wreck, blushing and shaking the whole time. Seeing someone as her boyfriend had her shaken.
A year after the expo October 1st came around and it was time for the erikae and she finally became a geiko. Now an adult she decided she wanted to live alone and so paying people to decorate a place for her she moved in. Of course, she had never lived alone before, and after inviting a friend round for tea was confused when the stove wouldn’t light. She had never done it before and her friend showed her how to do it. Mineko notes in her autobiography it felt like magic. She ordered rice and was shocked it wasn’t put in her rice container, not realising after it was delivered she had to do it. When she went grocery shopping she paid and left, the owner running after her to give her change. She was learning a lot about the real world now. When she was in the okiya she never handled money, and she didn’t have any concept of how much things cost.
But after all of this, the three years Toshio had had to visit her was up, and he asked to meet her. Together they decided they should arrange to be together and so getting permission to Mama Masako, and with Toshio agreeing to divorce his wife they receive her blessing. That night they stayed together.
Now as a geiko she has a little more time, and so when Toshiop was in brazil on business she met him in America. Once alone Toshio broke down, saying his wife refused to divorce him, and so they continued their relationship in secret to all but their closest friends. Eventually in June 1972 she moved back into the okiya to give herself more time to dance. And she was there for the last few months of Big John’s life. The dog passing away 6th October 1972.
In May 6th 1973 she went home, the third time she had done so since her career began. Her father was dying and he was so proud of everything she had done. He gifted to her a shibori obi, one that he had made himself. She was to give it to her husband one day and she promised to do so. Her father died 3 days later aged 76.
Later that year she was announced as a master dancer at the school she had dance for all those years.
In May 1975 Queen Elizabeth II visited with the Duke of Edinburgh. Mineko was sat next to the Queen and though she tried to engage conversation the Queen never spoke back. The Queen didn’t even touched the food she was given, with Mineko thought was absolutely rude and she could not understand why she would do that. The Duke however gave her permission to talk to him directly, though people called Mineko the next day to see what she had said to the Duke that day. Apparently he and the Queen had slept in separate beds that night much to the confusion and stress to the security detail.
For years she thought Toshio would divorce he did not. March 1976 was the final straw. She was to meet him in Tokyo, but after he called that a meeting was running over she met with a friend to go out to Roppongi. Returning to the hotel, she was take to a different floor to where she had first gone, the first time being the room she was to stay with Toshio. Strangly everything of hers was in the exact same spot they had been in in the other room. It didn’t make sense. And so she asked a bellboy later she had forgotten her room key, and so tricked him into letting her into the room she had originally been in. As it tutnredd out Toshios wife was also there, and he had had Mineko moved out so his wife didn’t get wind of her being there. He has lied to Mineko about the situation, and so it was over for her.
But now Mineko was growing tired, she could see this Geisha world was not something which wanted to change with the times. Girls still did not get a full education, they never earnt enough to independent on their own. And so as more girls came to her, asking to be her Younger Sisters she turned them away causing the okiya to start to loose money. She had ideas to improve this, to reovate the building. But as it turned out they didn’t own it, and when she tried to get a loan to buy it should found out because the building was so old it couldn’t be reovated. And so she opened a nightclub called Hollyhock.
It was a means to an end, she wanted to try and get a four story building, a club on the first floor, a beauty treatment and hair dressers on the second, the thrid for living, the fourth for tenants. It should have been enough to live off. All that left was to find new home for the geiko in their house. To find them a way to carry on.
But her retirement was decided when Mama Sakaguchi passed away. Mineko says it was like a light went out in Gion, and she couldn’t continue now. She passed away March 18th 1980. And so Mineko announced her retirement for July 25th a few months after her passing. 70 other geiko left after her retirement. And sadly, as with most things in Japan, the system didn’t improve or change for those that remained.
Mama Masako agreed for the okiya to be demolished and in its stead they built a three story building. On the ground floor was the New Hollyhock club, on the third floor they lived, with plans to make the second into the beauty centre Mineko envisioned.
To end out story here, Mineko needed a hairdresser for her shop, and was introduced to one in Tokyo. But here she met Junichiro, an artist, and he instantly fell for her. They married 23 days later. And she could finally give the shibori obi, her father had made and gifted to her to her husband.
Mineko sold her building, Junichiro was a budding artist and so her left took a new direction. Her mother died in 1987. Mineko had a beautiful daughter called Kosuke. Sour Puss passed away in 1996 and Mama Masako followed her in 1998.
Yaeko retired, giving her money to her son Mamoru to build her a home. But he spent it all. When she moved in with him, she lived in a room the size of a cupboard and her daughter-in-law finally kicked her out. And Yaeko also sadly developed Alzeihmers Syndrome. Mineko isn’t even sure where she is living now.
Show Notes for bonus 20 of our Podcast – Pearl Diving in Japan.
Story Notes
Pearl Diving in Japan is carried out by a group of women known as Ama or to us Diving Women. Their jobs consisted of catching seafood to sell, but over time these women had grown famous for collecting pearls from the ocean as well.
The vast majority are women, but that doesn’t mean to say a few men haven’t taken up the role over the years either. And the word Ama itself can be rendered in different way using Kanji. One can mean Sea Woman 海女, one could read Sea Man 海士, another Sea Person 海人. There is also another alternative reading of Ama from Okinawa which could be read as uminchu 海人.
The men would concentrate more on gathering fish, with the women collecting shellfish and seaweed.
Now there is a fascinating book I found from 1965 that goes into so much detail about the Ama and that is where I am drawing a lot of information from for today. The book from 1965 states there was around 18,000 ama in Japan at the time, but these days in one generation there are only around 60 or 70.
The Wajinden
It is believed they have been around for 2000 years, and one of the oldest reference we have for them comes from the Gishi Wajinden, or ‘An Account of the People of Wa’. Wa being the old name China gave to Japan thought to have been written around 268BC.
Now we have the first record of pearl divers from around 927AD, during the Heian Period and these women were known as divers who would collect seafood as well as honored with the role of collecting abalone to be taken to shrines for the Emperor.
It was only in the 20th century that these women actually took up the use of a diving uniform and prior to this would only wear a loincloth and swim topless. However they have continued to continue other traditions of their trade as they continue to dive without the use of scuba gear or air tanks.
So when did they start training or learning to become an ama diver. Well, girls could have been as young as 12 or 13 when they began their training from an older ama diver and they were trained to expect a lot for their job at sea. The ocean of course can be a harsh place and they would have had to endure freezing waters and of course the pressure of the ocean as it increased as they dived deeper. These women also developed a unique breathing practice that they used when they resurfaced. Letting out a long whistle.
A modern ama diver.
Now a book from 1965 lists a few different diving patterns to the ama divers, these being called the Koisodo, Nakaisodo and Ooisodo. The first, the Koisodo, those with this role walked the shorelines and would dive to only around 2 to 4 metres, attaching to themselved via a rope a washtub they they could fill up with their catches after a dive. This role was usually done by those in training.
The Nakaisodo were those with more experience. Trained from being a Koisodo they tended to be around 15 to 20 years old. They could dive from 4 to 7 metres and would be a board a boat with other ama divers. These divers would also use a washtub to collect their harvests.
Finally the Ooisoso were they most well trained of the ama. They usually would dive anywhere between 10 and 25 metres. Some of these divers, for instance those of Kyushu Island would wear a weighted belt of lead to help them sink faster as they would need to best use the oxygen they had. They also would hold a kaigane with them (a small blade). The book goes on to say they would usually do 50 dives in a morning and another 50 in the afternoon, and when resting could rest on their washtub or return to the boat to warm up as they had a fire pit in the centre.
But we know these people to be famous for pearl diving in Japan, so when exactly did that begin? Well it appears that in its original form, it was very rare for ama divers to actually collect pearl. It was a real rarity for them to do so, they didn’t actively seek them out.
Mikimoto Kōkichi
It was only as late as 1893 that their fame as pearl collectors became something they did and it was all thanks to a man known as Mikimoto Kōkichi. So in essence it is only the last hundred years or so that this group of people have become associated with pearl diving activities.
This man both discovered and began the production of the cultured pearl establishing the Mikimoto Pearl Diving Island in Toba, it was here he recruited ama divers to be able to grow his business; even taking it internationally. The ama divers here are seen by many as a tourist attraction now, which I feel is a little disheartening for me. It feels almost like their traditional job has been turned into some form of gimmick, but perhaps that is the cynic in me.
As for Mikimoto-san it would be possibly interesting to talk about him at a later date, but if you want to buy some of his pearl you can head to the Mikimoto Pearl shop in Ginza the next time you are in Tokyo.
But the ama divers, it is a tale which may not last for much longer, as we have said numbers who take up this job continue to fall so who knows how much longer these impressive people will be around for.
Now I will leave off with two things. There is a ukiyo-e print, by Hokusai. The title is The Dream of the Fishermans Wife, but also goes by the name of Girl Diver and Octopi. And this print is included in a three volume book from 1814 of shunga erotica as it depicts an ama diver sexually entwined with two octopuses.
And finally, though we have no poetry corner in our bonus episodes. There is a poem on the ama divers. We can find it in the man’yōshū, Book 5, Poem 865.
君を待つ 松浦の浦の 娘子らは 常世の国の 海人娘子かも
kimi o matsu matsu’ura no ura no wotomera wa tokoyo no kuni no ama wotome kamo
Awaiting My Lord, On the shore of Pine Tree Bay, The maidens, Paradise ‘s Diving girls do seem to be!
Gakuran, Michael (5 November 2013). “Ama – The Pearl Diving Mermaids of Japan (Warning: Nudity)”. Gakuranman.
Martinez, D. P. (2004).“Identity and Ritual in a Japanese Village.” University of Hawaii Press.
Rahn, H.; Yokoyama, T. (1965). “Physiology of Breath-Hold Diving and the Ama of Japan”. United States: National Academy of Sciences – National Research Council.
TV, Tern. “Japan’s last female ‘Ama’ pearl-divers”. www.bbc.com.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 73B of our Podcast – Becoming Maiko.
Story Notes
We continue today the tale of Mineko, as she comes ever closer to becoming a fully fledged Geisha. But it is not going to be an easy time for her.
On January 9th one of her nephews came to the okiya. His name was Masayuki and he and Mineko had started becoming friends. But six days later the heard the he had gone missing. They all raced home, except for Yaeko his mother as she was at an appointment. They found a group of policemen waiting for them.
It appeared to them, based on fingernail scratches on the embankment around Mineko’s old home that her nephew had fallen into the canal. They assumed he had drowned. That night heartbroken she returned home to find her sister in a rage.
“It should have been you that died, not my son.” he sister said, “you worthless piece of nothing!”
Her hatred for Mineko only deepened after this. Yaeko decided to ignore the rules of the okiya now, bringing her other son to live there. She didn’t want to find a place for her and her son so she moved him in to her room despite all objections from Madam Oima. She even started sneaking her boyfriend into the okiya at night to stay there even though it was forbidden. She thought now she could do whatever she wanted.
Situations worsened for a while until it came to a head one night when her other nephew Mamoru tried to rape her. He was 15 and she was 12. Luckily her sister Kuniko came in at the moment and threw the boy across the room. Everyone was in a rage and demanded Yaeko and her son leave immediately. It took them two weeks to do so as they said they had nowhere to go. For those two weeks, Mineko stayed at the house of Miss Sakaguchi, another older woman who was also kind of in charge of the okiya. After two weeks Sour Puss managed to find a home for Yaeko and her son and they left. But so the okiya didn’t lose face, Madam Oima agreed to maintain Yaeko’s career.
Sakaguchi implemented more punishments on Yaeko. He could not dance for years, she could not enter any building they owned, she could not approached Mineko, and she would no longer be her Big Sister or mentor.
The Cover of Mineko’s Book.
She moved back in to the okiya when she was almost 14 and Yaeko’s debt had finally been paid off. However, in true vulgar fashion, Yaeko presented a gift of an amethyst obi, knowing full well how it was an ostentatious display. Everyone knew how expensive it has been, so how could she have afforded it if she had been paying back her debts?
Mineko around this time decided to break one of the okiyas rules, and luckily no one ever found out. She was forbidden to undertake activities which would cause her harm, but none the less she secretly joined a basketball team, telling Sour Puss she was merely going to a flower arranging class.
In November 1964 Madam Oima becomes ill and is confined to her bed. Mineko’s fifteenth birthday passed, and she spent as much time as she could with Madam Oima.
On December 13th she was told she was to have a sudden exam the next day after tomorrow. Madam Oima looked like her old self in that instant, smiling and singing. And even Sour Puss looked excited, it was one of the exams to start off her life as a maiko, an apprentice geisha. Sour Puss cancelled all her plans for the next three days to help Mineko prepare, and they invited other girls round so they could all practice together.
December 15th arrived, it was exam day. Sour Puss woke her early so they could be on time, and off they went. Mineko took the stage, before her were more than she had expected. Many women there. She was asked to perform The Story of a Butterfly and A Cole Blossoms and so she began.
Mineko being a perfectionist made one slight error in the dance and stopped asking if she could begin again. Those before her said they had even noticed the mistake was so minor, and that it was ok for her to merely continue and finish the exam. After Mineko was convinced she had failed and was worried it would affect the already ill Madam Oima. In the end she need not have worried she passed in 1st place that day.
It was during this that she realized how hard Sour Puss had worked all these years to help her, how excited she was when she had passed the exam. And it was the first time now she ever called her Mother after being adopted into the okiya.
Decisions were made, it was December 15 and she was to become a maiko in February 15th and make her debut March 26th. She would become a maiko a year earlier than usual and so would start taking classes before finishing secondary school. It was going to be a busy year.
One of the decisions to be made was which ochaya she would be apprenticed to and Fusanoya tea house was the one chosen even though typically they would have gone to the Mankiku tea shop. (These places not to be confused with normal teashops. Provides a wider range of traditional food and entertainment to guests, oftentimes in the company of geisha.)
A Miyako Odori
On January 26th after coming home from a dance lesson, Mineko went to tell Madam Oima of her day. And as if she had been waiting to see her one last time, she passed away in front of her. Mineko helped with the cremation picking up her cremated bones with chopsticks to place them in an urn. And one week after, one her first memorial service Mineko realized Madam Oima was no longer there, she cried with Madam Sakaguchi and afterwards Miss Sakaguchi applied Mineko’ s makeup ready for a photoshoot to happen that day. A shoot to show who would be taking part in the Miyako Odori that year. 49 days after her death they buried her in Iwasaki gravesite at Otani Cemetery.
Moving to February 1965 rehearsals for the Miyako Odori began as did her maiko apprenticeship (as she was not a true maiko she was known as a minarai) and her training at the ochaya. Sakaguchi helped her dress, painting her face in the traditional Geisha white and when she turned to leave she stopped in confusion. The streets were packed, and all the people had come to see her debut. They had been waiting years for this moment. Her delay in leaving the okiya that day made her late to the ochaya for her first lesson, much to the annoyance to the man in charge.
Elia Kazan
That same evening she went to her first ozashiki. An ozashiki being a geisha gathering of sort with guests, often in the ochaya. There guest of honor was Elia Kazan, an American director. Mineko was amazed to have met him, as he was the only American director she knew of. After Elia heard she was to be a dancer he asked her to perform, which was something never done.
After much discussion with someone who could play the music she danced to Imperial Horse Cart. Everyone was delighted with the performance. It had been hard to choose this dance. The one playing the music knew all the songs maiko danced to, but Mineko knew none of them. This dance was one she had learnt from her dance lessons, and they were both luckily they both knew how to do Imperial Horse Cart.
The following day she went to entertain at the Tsuruya Restaurant and was accompanied by the owner of the Fusanoya teashop. She entered, supposed to bow and offer sake, but she was instantly distracted by a wall of beautiful dolls exclaiming how beautiful they were. No-one found the breach of etiquette offensive and would often laugh about the event in the future.
One night Mineko receives a call asking her to go to the Tomiyo Ochaya, there she was ushered into a banquet room full of other girls. Before arriving a girl had already been chosen from the group by President of the Kimono Dealers Association. Choosing that girl to be the model for their annual posters, hung in all kimono and accessory stall around the country. But upon seeing Mineko he went against his choice and chose her instead. The following day, every girl ignored her. She was still only fifteen at this point. And Mineko wanted everyone to like her.
And so March 26th, 1965 arrives and it was time for her maiko debut. Known as a Misedashi.
Waking up at 6 she took a bath and went for her hair doing. Sakaguchi came at nine to put on her makeup. Applying the white make up she left three strips unpainted on the back of her neck. A custom when Geisha or maiko where formal kimono. In total she believes everything she wore that day, from the kimono to the hair ornaments amounted to £50,000.
That day they would make rounds to pay respects to people. In total they went to thirty-seven places each time thanking people and asking them for their support. Half way through they stopped to perform a ritual known as osakazuki. It was time for Mineko and Yaeko to formalize their bond, even though Yaeko has been banned from being close to her. Still this ritual needed to happen as part of being a maiko. She was no longer her Older Sister, in charge of teaching her, but no-one had been told this. So everyone could save face. But at the very least Yaeko was given a seat of inferior position and could not sit next to Mineko.
Mineko relates in his autobiography that the rest of the misedahi ritual was a blur. Having visited so many places over the course of several days. She complained, wanting to know when she was able to rest, but Kuniko could only say she didn’t know.
Jiro Ushio
Her first request as a maiko came and she was to attend an ozashiki at Ichirikitei. The most famous of ochaya in all of Gion. Sadly Yaeko was there when she arrived. And all Yaeko did was ridicule her sister in front of all the other patrons. People still thought Yaeko was acting as her Older Sister and no one could understand why Yaeko was treating her in such an awful way. She said Mineko was not a nice person, and that she was only here because powerful people were behind her. When Yaeko was told she said she protect Mineko, she said no.
Luckily it was soon time for Mineko to go to her next appointment in the same place, and it was then she met Jiro Ushio, the CEO of Ushio Electric. (After a quick search online it appears he is still alive, and in 2020 stepped down as CEO. Her meeting with him vastly improved her evening. They talked and Ushio said he would love to be considered a friend and a fan of hers.
But the evening ended on a low for Mineko. She still has duties to do for her Older Sister, which including cleaning up her dressing table. And so that night she went to Yaekos home to do the duty. She entered to find a maid cleaning the house. And it turned out it was Mineko actual mother. Before they had chance to talk Yaeko appeared saying this was the woman who murdered her child.
Mineko left then and never went back.
Poem Notes
The poem today we have for you is a senryū, penned by someone known as Mokuryū. Now this name translates as ‘Silent Dragon’ and so it is likely to have been a pen name.
The senryū today goes as follows:
二三票芸者の腕も数に入れ
Ni-san-pyou geishano ude mo kazu ni ire
Two or three votes included by the geisha’s cleverness.
The meaning behind this poem is something along the lines of, a man in parliment wanted to stay in power, and so asks a Geisha he likes to vote for him, and to also ask some of the Geisha she knows to vote for him.
Show Notes for episode 73A of our Podcast – Adopted into the Geisha World.
Story Notes
Our story now looks into the life of the woman called. Mineko Iwasaki, a woman who was actually interviewed for the book Memoirs of a Geisha. Her original name was Masako Tanaka
Still alive she is now 72 years of age.
After the publication of Memoirs of a Geisha she wanted to create an autobiography to contrast it. When her book finally came out she was 53 years old.
This woman has an impressive lineage, claiming descent from the Fujiwara Clan, founded all the way back in 668AD by Fujiwara no Kamatari, descended from him one her ancestors Fujiwara no Tanaka married Emperor Saga, and together they had Prince Sumu/Sumeru.
He was given the name of Tanakaminamoto and from him Mineko’s family is descended. In the Meiji Era, Mineko’s great-grandfather had grown tired of the infighting of the aristocracy and wanted to leave. Emperor Meiji himself asked him to stay in the nobility but her great-grandfather declined. The Emperor allowed him to keep the name, but now their family shortens their name to Tanaka.
Mineko Iwasaki (2008).
Her story starts for us when she was three, hiding in a cupboard while her parents talks to Madam Oima. She was here to ask if Masako’s sister Tomiko wished to become a geiko. This is term Mineko says in her autobiography that those with this role would often use over Geisha. Where Geisha would mean artist, Geiko means more along the lines of Woman of Art.
Oima seeing movement from the cupboard asks who it could be and so Masako meets Oima for the first time. Oima is apparently in awe of her beautiful hair, black eyes and small red lips. And so Madam Oima, the owner of the Iwasaki Okiya in Gion (An Okiya being a lodging/drinking house where geisha and maiko are affiliated during their careers.) said that she had been searching for her successor, and perhaps she had just laid eyes on her.
Her father said no, but would ask Tomiko if she wanted to join. At this point it should be said he had already given up 4 of his other daughters due to financial straits and he didn’t want to give away Masako. One day Tomiko left school, went away and never returned. Masako was saddened by this by Madam Oima only used this to turn all her attention to getting hold of Masako. She pursued the family for months, all the while her father declining to give her up.
One May day Masako remembers a woman coming to their home, a woman who sacred her so much she hid in the cupboard again. With her came 2 boys who she left at their home after screaming in hatred to her parents.. The woman would return every month to give the boys candy, all the while Masako would hid in the cupboard until she left.
Later in time, her father said he was going to visit Madam Oima and asked if she wanted to come along. And so she agreed. It was there Masako saw Tomiko again, she had started her training in Madam Oima’s house it turned out. And she also met another sister of hers Kuniko. Masako was of course confused, and to top it off the angry woman who had left the two boys at their house appeared as well.
Scared Masako cried on their journey back home.
Moving on, Madam Oima comes again a little later to pay her a visit. Months later her father takes to her see Madam Oima in Gion. They hear of her sisters good progress and this is where Masako meets another woman also called Masako for the first time.
Interestingly she gave her a nickname there and then due to her sour face. And so she called her Sour Puss.
Masako went for a walk with her sister and a dog she came to call Big John. But after when she returned to her father and they headed home, he was not himself. Masako could sense something was different, and wrong. She overheard that night her parents saying they could not let their daughter go.
Later Masako asked to spend one night at the Okiya in Gion, as a child she thought in doing so it would stop the angry lady from being mean to her parents. But she wouldn’t understand the truth for a long time. And so that night she went to spend her first night there taking her favorite pillow and blanket with her.
When they were there they all sat down for a meal, Masako reprimanding Sour Puss for beginning to eat before Madam Oima had started or even said itadakimasu. Madam Oima kept telling everyone they should listen to little Masako, and also that they could only talk to her if she talked to them first. She was putting great honor on the child and she didn’t understand why as she was so young.
These visits the continued, one day became, two , then a few nights a week. Eventually a few months after turning 5 years old she moved in to the building for good.
Instantly she was treated like the successor to the house. People giving her great respect. After a few days clothes started being made for her. Madam Oima did everything to make her happy, but one day she was startled with a revelation and accused Madam Oima of being a liar.
The angry woman, the one who has left the boys with her parents. Her name was Yaeko, and she was a sister that she never knew she had. Those boys were niece and nephew.
One day Madam Oima announces Masako is now to be called Mineko. Masako refuses to even listen to anyone when they use her new name until one day her father is called for. But once he suggests she can come home and she doesn’t have to stay in Gion anymore she changes her mind. And allows people to start calling her Mineko.
Mineko aged 7.
Mineko would begin her lesson to become a maiko on the 6th of June after her fifth birthday and as her classes drew near it was time for her to choose someone to act as her Older Sister. It was decided, to her disappointment that her sister Yaeko would take this role. Despite one of the woman in charge saying she mad many more minus’ than plus’s to her name.
June 6th came. It was 1954. Her first task was to clean the lavatory, it was the first thing someone taught to their successor. She would soon meet her teacher for the first time, and was dressed beautifully in a practice kimono of red and green stripes against a white background, with a red obi to finish it off. With that and her new silk bag holding a fan, small towel, snack and toy she headed to meet her teacher, the Grandmistess, Kyomai Inoueryu Iemoto, Yachiyo Inoue IV.
Her first lesson with Inoue was to learn how to properly hold her maiougi (dancing fan), she was reminded to say ‘Yes’ using the Gion pronunciation of ‘hei’ instead of ‘hai.’ And soon after she found herself dancing. The dance she was taught was the Kadomatsu, the first dance taught to new students.
Her lessons only continued to expand. Calligraphy lessons, koto, singing, shamisen. She had dance class every afternoon. Madam Oima slowly became more serious as the work to teach Mineko to be her successor has truly begun. She would accompany Madam Oima on her morning round, visiting the establishments her geiko had performed the night prior, to thank them for their patronage. Mineko was slowly becoming known in the Gion area.
Her dancing continued, in fact, it was the part of the day she was most excited for. Inoue once happy with the dance she had learnt beginning to teach her a new one and we see Mineko performing in front of people for the first time late in the summer. Unfortunately she made a mistake in the performance and afterwards blamed the other girls she performed with. It was only when Inoue said she need not worry over the mistake she had made did it finally dawn on her that she had made a mistake. And so the following day she apologized to the girls she had shouted at, admitting the mistake she had made. It was tradition to thank Inoue the day after performing. She again told Mineko not to worry about the mistake. But Mineko knew better, Inoue was apparently the kind of woman who would make you realize mistakes were not permissible by telling you not to worry about them.
The following year aged 6 she began school. She was shy, so much so that the teacher would play with her to get her to open up more at school, even the principle would do the same. One day after school she went to the home of someone she did become friends with, Hikari, but on her return to her home Madam Oima forbid her to go again. This was Minekos first look at predjudice. Hikari was from a group of people known as the burakumim. Polluted, unclean people, butchers or undertakers.
Aged 8 we see her go to Family Court, to be adopted by Madam Oima, she would have to say she wanted it to happen in front of a judge. She was so scared by the decision, her parents were even there, that she threw up. The judge said she would have to come back again when she was sure of what she wanted to happen.
Now turning ten she returned to Family Court in November 1959. She said she wanted to be adopted and said goodbye to her parents. That night was a celebration for Madam Oima and her house, but for Mineko it was heartbreaking. She took a ribbon from her hair and tried to kill herself with it, but it didn’t work. The next morning she hid the bruise on her neck and went to school.
Her dancing that day was a bit of a disaster. She named the dance she would perform -Cherry Blossoms at Night- and she began. But not long after starting the teacher demanded she stop. But in such a way that meant, you must stop immediately and leave. Mineko went straight home, and as she did when she was much younger hid away in a cupboard. In the end it turned out an assistant at the school had taught her this dance, but mixed up the name. It hadn’t been Minekos fault for giving the wrong name of the dance. Madam Oima and other feared the embarrassment would cause Mineko to want to return to her parents and so they had to find a way to get her out of the cupboard.
The next day, for both parties to save face, Madam Oima and Mineko went to the school to apologize. Mineko then performing Cherry Blossoms at Night and Cherry Blossom Viewing before a small gathering.
Her adoption was finally completed on April 15th 1960. There was no fan fare this time. But she did now have to share a room with Sour Puss.
Show Notes for episode 72 of our Podcast – Higuchi Ichiyo.
Story Notes
Today we finally delve into the life of Higuchi Ichiyo, the woman you can see on the 5000円 note.
Ichiyo was born on May 2, 1872. Her name at birth was Natsu, although she also called herself Natsuko. We’ll call her Natsuko for now.
She was from a poor family but her father was a low ranking samurai.
She was educated for the required 6 years for women. At this time, women were only required to get a very basic education because they “only needed enough information to become good wives and mothers.”
It was said that Natsuko was highly intelligent, and her father wanted her to continue her education (and so did Natsuko). He enrolled her in a waka poetry school for girls. This was unusual at the time period, again because what was the point of educating women. (Please be aware I may be heavily rolling my eyes as I write this). However, Natsuko’s father was very proud of his daughter and in fact I read that he even named many business ventures after her.
However this time would not last. Natsuko’s father and brother died from tuberculosis when she was 16 years old. The family was put into poverty as many business ventures had failed. Natsuko’s fiancé also broke their engagement- whether this was his choice or his family’s choice is not quite clear.
Natsuko was placed in the position of being the head of the family. Again, at this time period women were not considered the equal of men so this was highly unusual. But as there was no male family members there was no choice. Why the mother wasn’t the head I am not sure, but it could be that Natsuko’s intelligence and education level was much higher than her mothers. That’s my conjecture.
The family brought in sewing and mending and washing – jobs were extremely limited at this time for women. You had the option of becoming a prostitute or becoming a mistress. If your education level was high enough you may become a teacher. Unlucky for Natsuko, she wasn’t educated in her school long enough to become a teacher there. So, washing and sewing it was. This didn’t bring in enough income, so the family moved often.
Natsuko happened to meet with a friend around this time; this friend was making a living from her novels.
Here Natsuko decided she too would try to make money as a writer. She embarked on writing but it took her well over a year to write something she would even want published.
It’s here that she sought out the help of Nakarai Tosu, and she hoped he would be able to assist her with her writing.
She chose her pen name of Ichiyo. And it’s from this point I will switch to her pen name, and the name she is known for.
Her writings were based on what she was most familiar with – the lives of women. She observed the women of the Yoshiwara district. She also observed about the children who roamed about, the orphans and the children of the prostitutes. The people who were closer to poverty more often than the well to do of the time.
This is when I interrupt myself and my story. So for this podcast I am relying on a few main info sources.
Of course, Wikipedia I always the default one. However I am using both the English and Japanese one. I am also referencing a journal Article from circa 1950, and another amazing article that I highly recommend you go and read after this because honestly it’s what I wish I was able to write. I will include all my references in the show notes.
The reason I am telling you this? Because I have a little seeming conflict between some sources.
For example, the relationship between Ichiyo and Nakarai Tosu.
One source says that she fell in love with him, but he didn’t return her affection and instead tried to treat her as a sister. And that rumors of their relationship (because of course at this time men and women working together were of course “up to no good.) were circulating across friend groups, as well as reaching the teacher of the literature school, where she assisted and received salary. So rather than cause miscommunication, Ichiyo broke off the relationship. And that her subsequent works were heavily influenced by her one sided, unreturned affections.
Now, another source I have says that he was circulating those rumors and she broke off the relationship because of that.
(Regardless, it seems to be a consensus that he was a cad. Very talented but got around.)
Anyway, we now have an adrift Ichiyo. However, she was able to find help through her friend Miyake Kaho. This friend helped her publish her works as well as eventually help her to publish her works in the literary monthly Bungakki.
Her writing caught the attention of many young writers and she began to be sought after for admiration and advice.
But her writing wasn’t bringing in enough money to support her family. At this time, they ended up moving close to the red light district of Yoshiwara. Here is where her family opened up a small shop selling cheap candy and odds and ends. The shop was popular.
However, the family’s shop wasn’t doing well – there was also competition across from their own shop. The shop was closed and the family had to move again. Ichiyo and her family struggled to make ends meet.
It’s around this time though that she wrote one of her most famous works – Takekurabe.
Sadly, she died on November 23, 1896 from tuberculosis.
Ichiyo only wrote for around 4 years, but her works are considered to be a treasured part of work from the Meiji era. She wrote over 20 short stories and somewhere around 4,000 poems. Ichiyo also kept a diary, and I am on the hunt to read it. It’s said that her diary is considered to be as impressive or even more so than her writing.
Here is where we will stop for today – the next time we visit Ichiyo, we will read one of her short stories and talk about the time in her life when she wrote it, as well as hopefully be able to read some passages from the book.
To finish off we have a poem by Ichiyo, one occuring during the unfolding of spring.
春日野に 萌え出る春の 若草の 早くも人を 見初めつるかな
Ah, how swiftly the spring grasses have come out on Kasuga Moor As swiftly as I have come to take notice of you
Show Notes for episode 71 of our Podcast – Hidden Names.
Story Notes
Our first episode during Womens History Month, so I wanted to do an episode on 3 women I have come across in my time making the website and they are women we do not know the names of. I want to talk about the few things we know of their lives and also show the works they are known for. Some of which are famous. And yet for all the fame they garnered, the names of their creators was never written down. Their names have been hidden from the pages of history.
Fujiwara no Shunzei no Musume
So I want to turn at look at first Fujiwara no Shunzei no Musume, or in English, Shunzei’s Daughter. It is likely she may have lived from 1171-1252 and whats more she was not even the daughter of Shunzei, she was in fact his granddaughter, and her father was a Fujiwara no Moriyori.
Her half-uncle was Fujiwara no Teika whom we talked of before, a man who wrote a poem complaining about the Emperor if I remember rightly (Episode 15).
It is believed she was the author of the Mumyōzōshi, a text on literary and poetic criticism, as well as, discussion on prominent literary women.
The preface introduces a woman who is 83 years of age and is in the midst of a trip. Stopping at a house to rest she begins to write down a conversation she is overhearing from a nearby group of women, thus creating the reasoning for the existence of Shunzei’s Daughters book.
She criticises many famous works including the Genji Mongatari and Yoru no Nezame and when it came to poetic criticism she even analyses the many poems from the Man’yōshū, all the while lamenting on the lack of female poetics in these compilations.
Prominent women she then discusses are Ono no Komachi, Murasaki Shikibu (author of the Diary of Lady Murasaki), her daughter Izumi Shikibu as well as Sei Shōnagon, the author of the Pillow Book.
We mentioned her half-uncle Teika, and it turns out that he did respect her talents and sought her out to ask for advice and criticisms. She was rather confident and even admonished her uncles work known as the Shinchokusen Wakashūas he had turned from a former poetic style known as yoen (which means Ethereal Beauty) whilst she herself had stuck to this style.
She even wrote in a letter to Teikas son Fujiwara no Tameie that “if [the book] had not been compiled by Teika, she would have refused to take it into her hands.”
One of her poems, though I have yet to find the Japanese goes as follows:
As the seasons change,
I change my clothes
to clothes dyed the colour of cherry blossoms
which will fade as easily
from the hearts of men.
Michitsuna no Haha by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai.
Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha
And so next we turn to another member of the Fujiwara Clan, this time going by the name of Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha, or the Mother of Michitsuna. We do know she was a daughter to a provincial governor. Later in life she would become the second wife of Fujiwara no Kaneie and together they would have Michitsuna. It is said she had a very strained relationship with her husband and almost became a nun until she was dissuaded to by her family.
She is known for the creation of the Kagerō Nikki, which she began in her early thirties. A journal she wrote which helped to clearly draw out for us the social relations and customs of the Heian Period, and inside she includes her own poems giving life to a woman from this time.
This journal also recorded her unhappy marriage to Kaneie and talks a lot about the relationship she had with her son. This diary covered 20 years of her life from 954-974AD, written in 3 volumes and the divided again by year.
She is considered as one of the Nihon Sandai Bijin (The Three Beauties of Japan), alongside Ono no Komachi and Sotoorihime.
Her poems were rather influential and she is said to have been an established poet, she even made it into the list of the Thirty-Six Medieval Poetry Immortals, a group of people brought together by Fujiwara no Kinto who noted their poetic abilities. And in this list she is one of the top ten.
Sugawara no Takasue no musume
And so we turn to the final person of today, Sugawara no Takasue no musume, the Daughter of Takasue. We know she lived from around 1008 until some time after 1059 and in fact most of her life is known from her diary the Sarashina Nikki.
Born in Kyoto to Sugawara no Takasue, her mother was actually a younger sister to Fujiwara no Michtsuna no Haha who we just talked about. For a few years between the ages of ten to thirteen she lived in Kazusa Province where her father acted a governor there. And it was here she began her diary, at the very young age of twelve.
Copy of the Sarashina Nikki in Teika’s handwriting.
In 1020 they returned to Kyoto living in a large residence until a fire burnt it down in 1023. This house was on Sanjo dori, one of the main streets of Kyoto, and is the street upon which Nijo Castle resides. Then she lived in temporary places. Her older sister died a year later in 1024, and then in 1025 their family fell into financial difficulty.
She stayed with her mother in Kyoto when her father took up his next provincial governship. Years later in 1039 she came to serve as a lady in waiting to Princess Yushi and here she came into contact with Minamoto no Sukemichi, a man of high rank. Here she was able to share a poem with him which would then see it placed into the Shinkokinshu, one the most prestigious of Imperial Poetic Anthologies.
By 1040 we see her married to a man known as Tachibana no Toshimichi and together they had two children. In 1058 her husband dies, and we are unsure for how long she lived after this with her last diary entry being made around a year after his death.
We know as she grew her step mother would read to her the Tale of Genji which acted as a spark to fuel her interests in literary tales, and we see many illusions to it in her works in life.
As we have said she was the author of the Sarashina Nikki, but there are others who believe she may have also authored the Yoru no Nezame, which we mentioned earlier as critiqued by Shunzei’s Daughter.
Her diary is unique in many ways as it is the first of its genre in travel writing.
In it she records her joy at being able to read the Tale of Genji and how she would have loved to live the romances like those described inside the tale. We also see that when her life did not turn out as she had hoped, she blames her addiction to stories, these stories having caused her to live in a fantasy world and neglect her spiritual growth. The diary is also unique in the dreams are an important aspect of her diary with eleven seen within it. Two of which being the appearance of Buddha in the front garden of her home, and one involving memorising the Lotus Sutra.
So we have talked about how their names have been forgotten to us, and for the longest time I thought it was just because, in history we often see women pushed aside and forgotten. And where as that may be the case for lots of women in Japanese history, perhaps here it was not.
I came across a journal from 2001 which made mentioned to kotodama, a belief in which it was thought there was power in words and names. There was a fear that if someone knew your true name then you could be controlled and that is why female writers of the Heian Period did not have their names written down, even in their own writing. Even the writers Murasaki Shikibu and her daughter Izumi are pseudonyms and not their original names.
Poem Notes
Empress Jitō
Todays poem comes from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. A book we have covered many times already. But from the book the poem chosen was the second, that of Empress Jitō.
We won’t delve into her much here, so be sure to check out our page we already have for her.
Her poem from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu goes as follows, and we have a Hokusai print he designed based of the poem.
Today we have a few translations of this poem for you today.
春過ぎて 夏来にけらし 白妙の 衣ほすてふ 天の香具山
haru sugite natsu kinikerashi shirotae no koromo hosu chō ama no Kaguyama
Met Gallery translation:
Spring has passed and summer, it seems, has come garments of white cloth are spread to dry, the clouds are cloaking heavenly Mount Kagu.
Penguin Translation:
Spring has passed, and the white robes of summer are being aired on fragrant Mount Kagu – beloved of the gods.
Morse Translation:
Spring, it deems, has passed, And the summer come again: For the silk-white robes, So ’tis said, are spread to dry On the ‘Mount of Heaven’s Perfume.’
Long, long ago there lived an old man and his wife who supported themselves by cultivating a small plot of land. Their life had been a very happy and peaceful one save for one great sorrow, and this was they had no child. Their only pet was a dog named Shiro, and on him they lavished all the affection of their old age. Indeed, they loved him so much that whenever they had anything nice to eat they denied themselves to give it to Shiro. Now Shiro means “white,” and he was so called because of his color. He was a real Japanese dog, and very like a small wolf in appearance.
The happiest hour of the day both for the old man and his dog was when the man returned from his work in the field, and having finished his frugal supper of rice and vegetables, would take what he had saved from the meal out to the little veranda that ran round the cottage. Sure enough, Shiro was waiting for his master and the evening tid-bit. Then the old man said “Chin, chin!” and Shiro sat up and begged, and his master gave him the food. Next door to this good old couple there lived another old man and his wife who were both wicked and cruel, and who hated their good neighbors and the dog Shiro with all their might. Whenever Shiro happened to look into their kitchen they at once kicked him or threw something at him, sometimes even wounding him.
One day Shiro was heard barking for a long time in the field at the back of his master’s house. The old man, thinking that perhaps some birds were attacking the corn, hurried out to see what was the matter. As soon as Shiro saw his master he ran to meet him, wagging his tail, and, seizing the end of his kimono, dragged him under a large yenoki tree. Here he began to dig very industriously with his paws, yelping with joy all the time. The old man, unable to understand what it all meant, stood looking on in bewilderment. But Shiro went on barking and digging with all his might.
The old man digging for gold.
The thought that something might be hidden beneath the tree, and that the dog had scented it, at last struck the old man. He ran back to the house, fetched his spade and began to dig the ground at that spot. What was his astonishment when, after digging for some time, he came upon a heap of old and valuable coins, and the deeper he dug the more gold coins did he find. So intent was the old man on his work that he never saw the cross face of his neighbor peering at him through the bamboo hedge. At last all the gold coins lay shining on the ground. Shiro sat by erect with pride and looking fondly at his master as if to say, “You see, though only a dog, I can make some return for all the kindness you show me.”
The old man ran in to call his wife, and together they carried home the treasure. Thus in one day the poor old man became rich. His gratitude to the faithful dog knew no bounds, and he loved and petted him more than ever, if that were possible.
The cross old neighbor, attracted by Shiro’s barking, had been an unseen and envious witness of the finding of the treasure. He began to think that he, too, would like to find a fortune. So a few days later he called at the old man’s house and very ceremoniously asked permission to borrow Shiro for a short time.
Shiro’s master thought this a strange request, because he knew quite well that not only did his neighbor not love his pet dog, but that he never lost an opportunity of striking and tormenting him whenever the dog crossed his path. But the good old man was too kind-hearted to refuse his neighbor, so he consented to lend the dog on condition that he should be taken great care of.
The wicked old man returned to his home with an evil smile on his face, and told his wife how he had succeeded in his crafty intentions. He then took his spade and hastened to his own field, forcing the unwilling Shiro to follow him. As soon as he reached a yenoki tree, he said to the dog, threateningly:
“If there were gold coins under your master’s tree, there must also be gold coins under my tree. You must find them for me! Where are they? Where? Where?”
And catching hold of Shiro’s neck he held the dog’s head to the ground, so that Shiro began to scratch and dig in order to free himself from the horrid old man’s grasp.
The old man was very pleased when he saw the dog begin to scratch and dig, for he at once supposed that some gold coins lay buried under his tree as well as under his neighbor’s, and that the dog had scented them as before; so pushing Shiro away he began to dig himself, but there was nothing to be found. As he went on digging a foul smell was noticeable, and he at last came upon a refuse heap.
The old man’s disgust can be imagined. This soon gave way to anger. He had seen his neighbor’s good fortune, and hoping for the same luck himself, he had borrowed the dog Shiro; and now, just as he seemed on the point of finding what he sought, only a horrid smelling refuse heap had rewarded him for a morning’s digging. Instead of blaming his own greed for his disappointment, he blamed the poor dog. He seized his spade, and with all his strength struck Shiro and killed him on the spot. He then threw the dog’s body into the hole which he had dug in the hope of finding a treasure of gold coins, and covered it over with the earth. Then he returned to the house, telling no one, not even his wife, what he had done.
After waiting several days, as the dog Shiro did not return, his master began to grow anxious. Day after day went by and the good old man waited in vain. Then he went to his neighbor and asked him to give him back his dog. Without any shame or hesitation, the wicked neighbor answered that he had killed Shiro because of his bad behavior. At this dreadful news Shiro’s master wept many sad and bitter tears. Great indeed, was his woeful surprise, but he was too good and gentle to reproach his bad neighbor. Learning that Shiro was buried under the yenoki tree in the field, he asked the old man to give him the tree, in remembrance of his poor dog Shiro.
Even the cross old neighbor could not refuse such a simple request, so he consented to give the old man the tree under which Shiro lay buried. Shiro’s master then cut the tree down and carried it home. Out of the trunk he made a mortar. In this his wife put some rice, and he began to pound it with the intention of making a festival to the memory of his dog Shiro.
A strange thing happened! His wife put the rice into the mortar, and no sooner had he begun to pound it to make the cakes, than it began to increase in quantity gradually till it was about five times the original amount, and the cakes were turned out of the mortar as if an invisible hand were at work.
When the old man and his wife saw this, they understood that it was a reward to them from Shiro for their faithful love to him. They tasted the cakes and found them nicer than any other food. So from this time they never troubled about food, for they lived upon the cakes with which the mortar never ceased to supply them.
The greedy neighbor, hearing of this new piece of good luck, was filled with envy as before, and called on the old man and asked leave to borrow the wonderful mortar for a short time, pretending that he, too, sorrowed for the death of Shiro, and wished to make cakes for a festival to the dog’s memory.
The old man did not in the least wish to lend it to his cruel neighbor, but he was too kind to refuse. So the envious man carried home the mortar, but he never brought it back.
Several days passed, and Shiro’s master waited in vain for the mortar, so he went to call on the borrower, and asked him to be good enough to return the mortar if he had finished with it. He found him sitting by a big fire made of pieces of wood. On the ground lay what looked very much like pieces of a broken mortar. In answer to the old man’s inquiry, the wicked neighbor answered haughtily:
“Have you come to ask me for your mortar? I broke it to pieces, and now I am making a fire of the wood, for when I tried to pound cakes in it only some horrid smelling stuff came out.”
The good old man said:
The tree bursting into bloom.
“I am very sorry for that. It is a great pity you did not ask me for the cakes if you wanted them. I would have given you as many as ever you wanted. Now please give me the ashes of the mortar, as I wish to keep them in remembrance of my dog.”
The neighbor consented at once, and the old man carried home a basket full of ashes.
Not long after this the old man accidentally scattered some of the ashes made by the burning of the mortar on the trees of his garden. A wonderful thing happened!
It was late in autumn and all the trees had shed their leaves, but no sooner did the ashes touch their branches than the cherry trees, the plum trees, and all other blossoming shrubs burst into bloom, so that the old man’s garden was suddenly transformed into a beautiful picture of spring. The old man’s delight knew no bounds, and he carefully preserved the remaining ashes.
The story of the old man’s garden spread far and wide, and people from far and near came to see the wonderful sight.
One day, soon after this, the old man heard some one knocking at his door, and going to the porch to see who it was he was surprised to see a Knight standing there. This Knight told him that he was a retainer of a great Daimio (Earl); that one of the favorite cherry trees in this nobleman’s garden had withered, and that though every one in his service had tried all manner of means to revive it, none took effect. The Knight was sore perplexed when he saw what great displeasure the loss of his favorite cherry tree caused the Daimio. At this point, fortunately, they had heard that there was a wonderful old man who could make withered trees to blossom, and that his Lord had sent him to ask the old man to come to him.
“And,” added the Knight, “I shall be very much obliged if you will come at once.”
The good old man was greatly surprised at what he heard, but respectfully followed the Knight to the nobleman’s Palace.
The Daimio, who had been impatiently awaiting the old man’s coming, as soon as he saw him asked him at once:
“Are you the old man who can make withered trees flower even out of season?”
The old man made an obeisance, and replied:
“I am that old man!”
Then the Daimio said:
“You must make that dead cherry tree in my garden blossom again by means of your famous ashes. I shall look on.”
Then they all went into the garden—the Daimio and his retainers and the ladies-in waiting, who carried the Daimio’s sword.
The old man now tucked up his kimono and made ready to climb the tree. Saying “Excuse me,” he took the pot of ashes which he had brought with him, and began to climb the tree, every one watching his movements with great interest.
At last he climbed to the spot where the tree divided into two great branches, and taking up his position here, the old man sat down and scattered the ashes right and left all over the branches and twigs.
Wonderful, indeed, was the result! The withered tree at once burst into full bloom! The Daimio was so transported with joy that he looked as if he would go mad. He rose to his feet and spread out his fan, calling the old man down from the tree. He himself gave the old man a wine cup filled with the best sake, and rewarded him with much silver and gold and many other precious things. The Daimio ordered that henceforth the old man should call himself by the name of Hana-Saka-Jijii, or “The Old Man who makes the Trees to Blossom,” and that henceforth all were to recognize him by this name, and he sent him home with great honor.
The wicked neighbor, as before, heard of the good old man’s fortune, and of all that had so auspiciously befallen him, and he could not suppress all the envy and jealousy that filled his heart. He called to mind how he had failed in his attempt to find the gold coins, and then in making the magic cakes; this time surely he must succeed if he imitated the old man, who made withered trees to flower simply by sprinkling ashes on them. This would be the simplest task of all.
So he set to work and gathered together all the ashes which remained in the fire-place from the burning of the wonderful mortar. Then he set out in the hope of finding some great man to employ him, calling out loudly as he went along:
“Here comes the wonderful man who can make withered trees blossom! Here comes the old man who can make dead trees blossom!”
The Daimio in his Palace heard this cry, and said:
“That must be the Hana-Saka-Jijii passing. I have nothing to do to-day. Let him try his art again; it will amuse me to look on.”
So the retainers went out and brought in the impostor before their Lord. The satisfaction of the false old man can now be imagined.
But the Daimio looking at him, thought it strange that he was not at all like the old man he had seen before, so he asked him:
“Are you the man whom I named Hana-Saka-Jijii?”
And the envious neighbor answered with a lie:
“Yes, my Lord!”
“That is strange!” said the Daimio. “I thought there was only one Hana-Saka-Jijii in the world! Has he now some disciples?”
“I am the true Hana-Saka-Jijii. The one who came to you before was only my disciple!” replied the old man again.
“Then you must be more skillful than the other. Try what you can do and let me see!”
The evil neighbour is imprisoned.
The envious neighbor, with the Daimio and his Court following, then went into the garden, and approaching a dead tree, took out a handful of the ashes which he carried with him, and scattered them over the tree.
But not only did the tree not burst into flower, but not even a bud came forth. Thinking that he had not used enough ashes, the old man took handfuls and again sprinkled them over the withered tree. But all to no effect. After trying several times, the ashes were blown into the Daimio’s eyes. This made him very angry, and he ordered his retainers to arrest the false Hana-Saka-Jijii at once and put him in prison for an impostor. From this imprisonment the wicked old man was never freed. Thus did he meet with punishment at last for all his evil doings.
The good old man, however, with the treasure of gold coins which Shiro had found for him, and with all the gold and the silver which the Daimio had showered on him, became a rich and prosperous man in his old age, and lived a long and happy life, beloved and respected by all.
Today we have something new from Heather, a Karuta Challenge of sorts. These are the first three poems from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by Emperor Tenji, Empress Jitō and Kakinomoto no Hitomaro.
Instructions:
I will read the following three poems at the end of part 1. Next week at part 2, I will read the first two lines of one poem based of the most voted one over on Spotify. You will then need to complete the poem. We will then discuss different translations and the author.
There are three levels of difficulty.
Easy: use the chart and read romanji
Medium: use the chart and read the hirigana
Hard: recite from memory
Poem 1
Poem 2
Poem 3
Hiragana:
あき の た の かりお の いお の とま を あらみ わが ころもで は つゆ に ぬれつつ
Hiragana:
はる すぎて なつ きにけらし しろたえ の ころも ほす ちょう あま の かぐやま
Hiragana:
あしびき の やまどり の を の しだりお の ながながし よ を ひとり かも ねん
Romanji: Aki no ta no Kario no io no Toma wo arami Waga korotode ha Tsuyu ni neretsutsu
Romanji: Haru sugite Natsu kinikerashi Shirotae no Koromo hosu chou Ame no kaguyama
Romanji: Ashibiki no Yamadori no wo no Shidario no Naganagashi yo wo Hitori kamo nen
References
MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
Ozaki, Y.T. (1903) “The Japanese Fairy Book”. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for bonus 19 of our Podcast – Forgotten Pantomime – Gigaku.
Story Notes
Today we talk of an almost forgotten part of Japanese History. Japanese pantomime. Known as Gigaku.
Now as for its origins it looks like it was an import from Korea during the Nara Period around 612AD. It was brought over by someone known as Mimiashi who brought it to Korea after learning it in China. I have found other sources saying it was imported in the 20th year of Empress Suiko‘s reign, which also would fall into the year 612. It is said Mimaji (as other sources name him) arrived in Sakurai where he proceeded to teach Gigaku to the Japanese youth.
This form of performance relied upon the use of mask, much like ancient Greek theatre also did, and it is actually from the masks that we know most of what we do to this day.
Aside from the masks we can glean little parts of Gigaku’s history from a musical treatise from the 13th Century written by a Koma Chikazane as well as in the shinzei kogaku-emaki scroll which is an illustrated scroll of music.
So what can we divulge about this forgotten pantomime. Well we known the instruments used would have been mixtures of flutes, drums known as tsuzumi drums (hourglass shaped drums) and well as the use of cymbals. The performances themselves at times may have been religious in nature in some way, or been some form of mystery play, but we know they were also farcical in nature as well as performed as a danced form of drama which would have been performed as a form of miming accompanied by music. And of course like I mentioned, masks formed a big part of the act, and these masks were known as Gigaku-men.
Looking at the masks, 23 of which can be seen in the Shōsō Museum in Nara, they were made of camphor wood and are brightly coloured. They completely covered the head and were carved with comical expressions and some even included a moveable jaw. I also have seen some online said to be housed in the Tokyo National Museum but I am unsure if they are currently on display. These particular masks I will include in the show notes for everyone (though there were 3 masks I could not find pictures of. I guess I will just have to go to the museum in Nara at some point in the future!). To expand upon these masks, many show Indian Divinities such as Brahma, Garuda and Vajradhara.
Let us quickly look at the masks then, what did they look like, and what were their names.
Chidō (治道)”Govern the way” – This mask has been suggested as precursor of the depiction of Tengu masks. It was a red headed mask with a wide mouth, long nose, wide bulging eyes, dark brows and sometimes contained few whiskers on the chin.
Shishi (師子)”Lion” – A lion mask with a movable jaw, ear, eyes. The mask contained tiny ears applied to a large circular face, a red tongue and snout, white teeth that could also be brown, red, or green.
Shishiko (師子児)”Lion tamers” – Usually two tamers accompany each lion.
Gokō (呉公)”Duke of Wu.”
Kongō (金剛)”Vajra-yakṣa” – A topknotted wrestler with wide-eyes and flexed eyebrows, open-mouthed. Serves the Lord of Wu.
Karura (迦楼羅)”Garuḍa.”
Kuron (崑崙)”Kunlun (black man).”
Gojo (呉女)”Wu woman” or “Chinese maiden.”
Rikishi (力士)”Wrestler” or “Strong Man” Topknotted wrestler like Kongo, but closed-mouthed.
Baramon (波羅門)”Brāhmaṇa” priests.
Taikofu (太弧父)”Old widower.”
Taikoji (太弧児)”Old widower’s child.”
Suikoō (酔胡王)”Drunken Persian king” or “Drunken Hu barbarian.”
Suikojū (酔胡従)”Drunken Persian’s followers” – about 6 to 8 of them accompany the drunken Persian king.
The musical manuscript sadly only provides a small ray of light on Gigaku showing us a basic melodic contour as well as showing the placement of main drum strokes. And in addition to this it states the netori or tuning of instruments signaled the start of the performance followed by a prelude of instruments.
After this prelude there was a parade of some kind showing off the whole cast, including the dancers and instrumentalists. Some believe the mask known as the Chidō (治道) likelt took position at the front of the parade as it is listed first in asset ledgers (known as Shizaichō – 資材帳) from temple which house these masks. Following this a lion danced (called the Shishimai) was performed as well as solo dances by those wearing the masks known as the Duke of Wu, Wrestler, Birdman Karura, and Brahman Priest.
The Shinzei kogaku-zu shows a depiction of the lion dance. On it we see one of the dancers leading a huge lions head represented by two men on a rope with musician following behind. The Gigaku form or the lion dance apparently had two forms, the Shishi (Lion) and the Shishiko (Lion Cub).
Interestingly the shishi-mai may be the only surviving remnant of Gigaku performed still during certain religious ceremonies.
This art form last until the Edo Period where it sadly died out although I have seen other sources say it lasted only until the 14th century and peaked during the first half of the 8th century. This form of performance began to die out as Bugaku (a form of dance) began to take over as the official entertainment of the Imperial Palace. Gigaku did continue to be performed in areas far from the capital but even here eventually came to not be performed anymore.
And this is why I find it so strange we know so little about it. It existed for so long, yet we remember so little about it.
References
Araki, James T. (1964).“The Balad-Drama of Medieval Japan”. Publications of the Center for Japanese and Korean Studies: University of California Press.
Show Notes for bonus 18 of our Podcast – The Horse Slaying Sword.
Story Notes
Today a look into the sword which was known as the ‘zanbato.’ Was this sword real? Or is it merely the stuff of legend? Well lets look into that today.
Now first lets look at the make-up of its Kanji. 斬馬刀
Consisting of 3 Kanji these have the base meanings of ‘cut/behead,’ ‘horse,’ and ‘blade.’ (More specifically it is the Kanji for katana.)
So we can bring these together and translate it into English as the Horse Cuting Sword, Horse beheading Sword or such like.
Now looking into the history, it is strange. We first see the word Zanbato written in Japanese sources in a publication relating to Chinese military tactics. This sword did in fact exist in China, known there as the Zhanmadao (which consisted of the same Kanji) and was used as an anti-cavalry weapon, to slice at a horses legs.
They were effective as they were a giant two handed weapon which could total to a length of 2 metres making it easy to stay out of the reach of a charging horse and still allow you to strike at its legs.
But back to Japan. So the Japanese had a word for this sword, but we have never been able to find one in Japan and books written concerning swords used in Japans history make no mention of them being used either. China and Japan were known to have good trade connections during this time (we are talking the years between 960–1279 during the Song Dynasty.)
Perhaps then they were never used in Japan. Perhaps they may have only heard of them and thought they never needed them in Japan.
Or perhaps they took the idea and adapted it (and that is my current theory). During the 14th century, which would have started a mere 21 years after the Song Dynasty ended, Japan started to use the Odachi.
Now this sword was also created to be used at times as an anti cavalry weapon, and they put the Chinese Zhanmadao. The longest one we know to have ever been made measure a staggering 377cm and was created by a Norimitsu Osafune.
And the sword exists still to this day, housed in Yahiko jinja Niigata Prefecture. Some other news articles have said it is housed in the Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama instead. So I think we are going to have to ask the Professor to check on this one for us as to its whereabouts.
I also found some strange conspiricy videos online claiming what if this sword was once weilded by an 8th Samurai and if you could kill them you could get to keep the sword for yourself. But I am going to gloss over that.
So perhaps the zanbato didn’t really exist in Japan, perhaps it helped inspire the Odachi which has very similar uses and also has a gigantic size.
But at the very least it does have a legacy, whether they were real or not.
The idea of the Zanbato has made it down to the modern day and you can often find it used for the names of swords in video games and Japanese anime. So if you ever play a game, watch an anime, and they have overly large swords. Perhaps this legend of the Zanbato is the cause for it.
So a few notable examples before we sign off for today. Sephiroth from Final Fantasy with his extremely long sword could be a zanbato blade. The main character from Bleach, Kurosaki Ichigo weilds a giant zanbato style blade. In Sword Art online, the enemies known as the Gleameyes are said to have zanbato style sword. And in Naruto, four of the seven Sword of the Mist are zanbatos.
But my most favourite one of all is this. In the video game Dark Souls, there is a large zanbato style sword, known as the Murakumo. And this reason I love this so much is because, Murakumo is a alternative name for the Sacred Sword of Japan.
Show Notes for bonus 17 of our Podcast – Frolicking Animals. (Chōjū-giga)
Story Notes
We return to Kyoto as we often do on our show, this time to a temple known as Kōzan-ji. It is not really a centralised temple in Kyoto, located in the north-west outskirts of the city. Settled more in the wilderness it is a rather beautiful temple and it is one I hope I can visit when I go next to Kyoto; hopefully with Heather.
Now the temple was once the location of a collection of important picture scrolls, now housed in the Kyoto and Tokyo National Museums. And reproductions can be seen at the temple should you visit.
These scrolls are known as the Chōjū-giga (鳥獣戯画, literally “Animal Caricatures”) or sometimes as Scrolls of Frolocking Animals.
Looking into the authorship of these scrolls, we find that once it was thought a Toba Sōjō was the author of them, or at least some of them; this man living from 1053-1140; but we will see why shortly that this is unlikely.
So what are these scrolls? Well they are four scrolls, using ink but with not text. In size they are not too large, 31cm high and only 1 metres long. We also have several small fragments of them from private collections and it is likely that these private fragments also formed part of the original.
These 4 scrolls of the Chōjū-giga have no special name attributed to them and are simply labelled as scrolls A through D. And what is fascinating about them is that they are unique, they show animals with human characteristics, and no other scrolls have been found that do this. They are a good example of the use of monochrome wash, known in Japan as Hakubyō, and the use of only ink and its fluid link were a prefigure to the rise of ink monochrome as a major mode of later Buddhist paintings.
Looking at the first scroll to give you all some idea of what they portrayed we see rabbits, frogs and monkeys all frolicking as if they were in fact human. We see rabbits and monkeys bathing and swimming in a lake and further along on the scroll we are shown rabbits and frogs making bows and arrows. Events not explained are shown, with rabbits and foxes bringing pots and boxes to a gathering of some sort.
Celebrations are shown with frogs dancing, rabbits shown walking passed monks with their cattle. And we can also see a monkey being chased by a rabbit with a large stick. Perhaps the monkey stole something from the rabbit? We are even shown a funeral with a frog praying infront of a frog shaped Budai (a semi-historic Chinese monk) as well as animal in wrestling matches. It is very fascinating to look at.
Scroll B contains a continuous landscape with animals in pure enjoyment with lions also shown roaring and scratching their backs. C brings together a collection of games and contests between monks and laymen; this includes a tug of war wth people using their heads and additionally shows a group of monkeys attacking an ox cart. And to finish it off D shows clerics undertaking rituals as well as amusements and smoking their pipes.
A quote from George Sansom from his book Japan: short cultural history from 1931 says:
The work belongs to the decline of the Fujiwara period, but it expresses in one of its best aspects the artistic spirit of their age. The artist is a delightful draughtsman. His pictures of animals disporting [themselves] in the garb of monks are alive with satirical fun. They are a true fruit of the native wit; they owe nothing to China beyond a vague debt to her older artistic tradition; and they bear witness to that reaction against the solemnities of Buddhist art which we have noticed.
So when it comes to the dating of these scrolls it is likely that scrolls A and B come from the end of the 12th century. With C and D dating to the Kamakura Period which lasted from 1185-1333AD. Now this shows why is it unlikely Toba Sōjō created these scrolls having been born in 1053. And more specifically, whereas they contain no text, scrolls C includes the date of 1253 upon it. Recent studies as well have suggested that more than one artist may have work on the scrolls.
References
Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
Sansom, George Bailey (1931). “Japan, A Short Cultural History”. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
Show Notes for bonus episode 16 of our Podcast – The Crucifixion of Sogoro.
Story Notes
The Crucifixion of Sogoro occoured to the man known as Sakura Sōgorō (佐倉 惣五郎) also known as Kiuchi Sōgorō (木内 惣五郎) was a peasant living in the village of Kozu, now close to modern day Narita. At the time this was in the Sakura Domain in Shimōsa Province. He was killed by crucifixion September 24th 1653. After this he returned as an onryo.
Sōgorō’s village was ruled by the hatamotoHotta Masanobu (堀田 正信), a very greedy ruler who took most of everyones rice as tax, though the area was a fertile land. This led to everyone being on the brink of poverty.
As the head of the village (shōya), Sōgorō decided to go over the lord’s head and send a petition (jikiso) straight to the shogun concerning the greediness of Masanobu. He crept to a bridge they knew the shogun would cross and managed to get the petition into the palanquin of the shogun. The shogun at the time was Tokugawa Ietsuna.
The shogun after reading the petition requested Hotta to consider the villagers request.
Masanobu rounded up Sōgorō and his family, saying he would do as the petition said, but as Sōgorō had gone over his head Sōgorō would have to pay.
He crucified Sōgorō and his wife, and made them watch their 4 children be beheaded (their children being aged 11, 9, 6, 3), with Masanobu leaving Sōgorō and his wife hanging for three days before finishing them. The crucifixion perhaps occured between 1645-1652.
He cursed Masanobu as he died and soon after apparitions of him and his wife then began haunting Masanobu and his family. Masanobu’s wife died, and the spirits made him so crazed Hotta killed a maidservant thinking it a phantom. Then he saw Sōgorō in the shoguns castle in Edo and attaked it. Unfortunately it was actually another nobleman, so Masanobu lost his titles and holdings.
There are many versions of how the tale ends with one saying Masanobu realised how evil he was. If Sōgorō would stop his terror he would venerate him in a shrine. The hauntings wanes, and so Masanobu built a shrine using a vast sum of money leading to Sōgorō becoming a patron saint of the peasantry.
The shogun feeling sorry for Masanobu restored his holdings.
A kabuki play was later written concerning Sōgorō called Sakura gimin den.
Show Notes for bonus episode 15 of our Podcast – The Courtesan’s Abyss.
Story Notes
The story of The Courtesan’s Abyss take places in a gorge/waterfall located in Yamanashi Prefecture. In Japanese it goes by the name of Oiran Buchi.
The area is known from an event from around the 1570’s (Sengoku Period) involving the Takeda Clan at the time.
During the Sengoku Period, to help fuel their battles and other exploits, the Takeda gained much of their money from a secret mine located in the Kurokawa Kinzan Mountain. Other exploits the money went to involved giving money to shrines, as well as burying amounts hidden in the foothills.
The gold mining peaked during Takeda Shingen, a strategy genius who used the gold to build a large spy network, adept at using female ninja ‘ku-no-ichi‘. These women posed as anything from, holy women, to servants, to prostitutes who gained intel from his rivals.
For the mining they employed many men and in addition they also made use of 55 courtesans who would entertain the men on their downtime.
Eventually the mine began to run dry and so decisions were made to close the mine. However, wishing to keep the mine a secret it was decided that the 55 courtesan’s would need to be gotten ridden of as they may have learnt of the mine from entertaining the men. (Or even from their skills as ku-no-ichi if that is what they were.)
And so a platform was constructed, suspended over the gorge here, with the 55 women placed on the stage being told they were to practise for a thank you party for the coming night. As they continued their practise, Takeda men destroyed the supports of the platform, causing all the women to fall to their deaths. Their bodies were eventualy retrieved from the bend in the gorge. It is inclued as a Yokai in certain literature.
Show Notes for episode 67 of our Podcast – The Song the Marsh Demon Sang.
Story Notes
The Song the Marsh Demon Sang involves the kamui Okikirmui and Apehuchi, an important kamui in charge of the fire and hearth.
One day the Marsh Demon poked his eyes out from under his marsh and watch two men walking through his marsh. One as beautiful as a god, the other completely unpleasant.
Passing infront of the Marsh Demon without realising the unpleasant one remarked how foul this marsh was. And so enraged the Marsh Demon leaped out.
The beautiful one saw the demon approached and ran away, but the other was too slow and was eaten head first by the Marsh Demon.
The other man fled, and so the creature chased after. Eventually the man fled into a village where Apehuchi resided. She was dressed insix red robes tied with a red sash, brandishing a red metal cane. Demanding to know why he came to this village, she bid him to leave.
He chased the man around and around the village, Apehuchi pursuing him and raining down upon him flames. The beautiful man the demon realised was putting a wormwood arrow into a wormwood bow and just as the creature reached the man, ready to swallow him whole; he was shot in the neck with the arrow.
And the world went dark.
When the demon awoke again he heard the man giving orders to the villagers. To cut up his body, the carry it away and burn it to ash. It was then he realised the man was Okikirmui, and that the sickly man had actually been the excrement of this man, fashioned into the shape of a human.
Okikirmui had tricked him into pursuing him, feeling that this evil creature dwelt too close to the humans village.
And so the demon died. The cunning of one man had defeated him.
And so the demon claimed he died a pointless death. a horrible death. And that for the humans there was no danger now.
Show Notes for episode 66C of our Podcast – Tattooing – The Suikoden.
Ensei from the Suikoden
Story Notes
So lets us bring to a close our episodes on the history of tattoos.
We have mentioned throughout the popularity of the heroes from the Suikoden so I feel it makes sense to bring it all to an end with some of people who are portrayed in tattoos.
So these heroes from this tale, there are various depictions of them in artwork and it is from these that tattoo artists have been able to see the designs upon these characters bodies so that they may recreate them. At times it is the tattoos that these characters have that people have placed upon their bodies, and at other times it is the character itself.
Bokukō
Bokukō, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Bokukō, one of his more famous depictions involves him in battle with his friends whilst they fight against Roshungi. He was a wealthy foreigner in the tale and they try to force him to join their clan. After a series of events and Roshungi refusing to join they fight.
This fight shows Bokukō tatoos upon his entire back, a giant dragon in water covering his entire back.
Chōjun and Chō-ō
Chōjun was a man who at the start of his tale would rob passengers of their coin, but he would eventually find himself as the owner of a fish market. It is said he later joins a clan known as Ryosanpaku after fighting Riki, one of its members. Defeating him after the two of them fall into water it is said this Chōjun’s tattoos gave him incredible aquatic skill. With the abllity to cover great distances whilst in water, as well as the ability to submerge for seven days and nights without any difficulty what so ever.
That tattoos which cover his body are a mixture of pine branches, sakura, vine leaves, a snake as well as flames. I am not sure how such tattoos equate to great abilities in water, so I hope someone can enlighten me.
Now in the tale Chōjun is unfortunately killed, but that is when his brother Chō-ō comes into play. After Chōjun is killed he immediately possesses his brother body to enact his revenge. Possessing him immediately after his death allows him to return to the place of his death quickly where his murderer Hotentei still resided. The possessed Chō-ō then fights and kills his brothers murderer.
This particular event in the tale is what can be seen portrayed in art, and therefore gives us a good depiction of the tattoos he had. Upon his left arm were pine branches, maple leave and a hawk. The hawk itself chasing a monkey which is tattooed on his stomach. In the artwork too is seen a koi carp going up stream to symbolise the brothers pursuing their enemeies even after death. And this can also be included in tattoos to signify this character.
Chōjun, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Chō-ō, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Chōsei
Chōsei, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Chōsei and his wife Boyasha are interesting. Inn owners who would poison their customers, stealing their items and cutting them up to sell their meat at market; they don”t sound like the best of people. But one day they poison a man known as Rochishin. However, after realising he is a man of importance they give him an antidote and actually become good friends with him. Soon after, after another man recounts a similar experience at their inn, they are invited to join the clan Rochishin is a part of, their inn even becoming the base of operations for the clan.
Depicted in artwork at the top of mountains searching for his next victims we can see his body tattoo being that of a monkey. The monkey itself being Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. The monkey is seen wearing a kimono and is calling on all his troops to assists him to defeat all the wrongdoers of the world.
Ensei
Ensei, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Moving on to Ensei a man for who it is said that their is nothing he cannot do, and their was nothing beying his skill. Hired as an apprentice of Roshungi, who was a tattoo artist. Roshungi takes it upon himself to tattoo the boys body with degisn of peonies and young dogs.
Genshōgo
Genshōgo, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Genshōgo was a man who during the working hours was a fisherman, and in his down time was a salt thief. One of his major exploits was stealing from the Emperor during his birthday party. The most well portrayed event of his life however was his fight against General Ko, a man who tried to disarm his clan.
Shown in this art piece with his back exposed, we see a designs of a leopard amongst flames. In the background of the underwater artpiece there is also portrayed rocks and two koi swimming together; this two elements are also combined in tattoos symbolising this character.
Rishun
Rishun, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
This man was a captain, and owner of two ships with the strange ability to remain underwater for long period of time. Sporting tattoos of the Gods of Wind and Thunder Fujin and Raijin he is also seen with a creature reminiscent of a boar tattooed upon his body.
Rochishin
Rochishin, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Rochishin was a failed monk, who was later expelled from his temple and even the entire mountain it sat upon Rochishin would turn towards crime and become a thief, forming a gang that would later join the Ryosanpaku bandits. Artwork shows him splitting the trunk of apine tree with his staff his body is covered in sakura.
Setsuei
Setsuei, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
A medicine merchant who is shown in artwork fighting against Bokushun, a man who would later become his best friend. The artwork gives a clear depiction of his entire back tattoo with a design of a dragon emerging from water, a landscape of houses shown in the background.
Shishin
Shishin, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
This is the man who I believe we mentioned in our first tattoo episode. He was the who had the nine dragon tattoos over his body. To have a tattoo of this man on you would be to pay him great tribute, but it is said that should one actually have the entire body suit of nine dragon placed upon themselves then they would infact become Shishin himself. As if he were to be reborn.
Shuki
Shuki, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Shuki was an inn owner whose job it was to note rich travellers so his clan could later rob them, his method of information delivery consisted of shooting an arrow with a note to his clans base. We often see him portrayed in art with his bow, and the tattoos you would see on his body are that of a Nekomata (a fire spewing cat phantom) as well as the Kirin (the strange creature perhaps inspired by giraffes that we talked of in the second tattoo episode).
Tokō
Tokō, Utagawa Kuniyoshi
To have a tattoo of this man, you are likely to have him portrayed as he goes to crush his enemy with a giant temple bell he is holding aloft above his head, but if you wish to take a step away from having such an event shown on your body, then the tattoos he is said to have is that of a dragon mixed in with marine animals.
Poem Notes
Priest Nōin in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
Priest Nōin (能因) also known as Tachibana no Nagayasu (橘永愷) before entering into religion and changing his name, lived from 988 to around 1051AD.
He entered into religion after graduating from the Imperial University aged 25, where he began religion as apoet and ascetic finally settling in Settsu in Kosobe. It is said he visited lots of places with poetic connections and is the author of a famous treatise relating to this, the Nōin Utamakura, from the mid Heian Period.
65 of his poems can be found in official waka anthologies and he is known to also have a private collection of poetry.
Show Notes for episode 66B of our Podcast – Tattooing – Animal Imagery.
Story Notes
E66B Tattooing: Animal Imagery
Well today I must start off by saying the Dragon which I was calling Yamato no Orochi is Yamata no Orochi. I completely misread the name and have been doing so for years!
So lets look this week into the imagery that one might see in Japanese tattoos.
Of course, there are depictions of animals, people and also supernatural creatures. So let us dive into the animal side first and look at the descriptions of the different creatures so you have a better idea of what you maybe seeing upon someone with tattoos.
Now, it seems right to talk first of koi for Japanese tattoos. Often we will see them tattooed trying to swim upstream, this acting as a symbol of perseverance. Legends about this (as Heather told us on the Pokemon episode) of how a koi going upstream that crosses the dragon gate will transform into a dragon and become eternally happy. Other tattoos may even show koi having reached the dragon gate and have begun their transformation, these creatures known as koiryu. When it comes to colours, we can see higoi (red), magoi (black) or nishikigoi (living jewels).
Koi can often be depicted alongside people, one of them being Kintaro. Again we have talked of him, and his journey to defeat the oni. In tattoos we can see him fighting a koi, and this tattoo is actually names a koitaro.
Benkei and the CarpKintaro and Carp.
Other koi can be paired alongside Benkei, who was a warrior monk. This tattoo depicts him upon the back of a giant carp when he is still a child. The story goes that as child he saw his mother abducted by a giant carp and so swore revenge on the fish, when it returned one day he jumped on its back to kill it; and only after doing so did he realize the fish he was now on was the ghost of his mother.
Hawks are important in Japan as symbols of prosperity. If one should dream of a hawk and aubergine flying over Mount Fuji on New Years Eve you will have a very prosperous year. In tattoos hawks can be seen perched on rocks and branches, searching for their prey in a soaring pose.
Tanuki and even goldfish deserve a mentioning here. For goldfish, they were the poorer equivalent of the koi mentioned above. Tattoos of the lower classes, whereas koi were more for those with money. Symbolizing abundance and happiness. For the tanuki their tattoos were to show joy, friendship and a desire for fun.
Tigers can also be seen in tattoos, symbols of the forces of nature and the wild instinct of man which one must learn to contain. They can also be portrayed as appearing through bamboo canes, as they were thought as the only animal capable of walking through bamboo forest. This depiction was to symbolize the weak giving shelter to the powerful.
The giant catfish (Namazu)
The catfish, is often seen as a symbol of earthquake, in fact there is one known as the namazu which was so big, that every time it moved would cause earthquake to happen. To stop this the god Kashima would sit on it with a large rock to control it. Tattoos of this catfish are symbols of a yearning to be free.
So now let us look at the supernatural creature side of things.
I think the first one we may have mentioned before in our Pokémon episode and that is the Hōō or the Phoenix. Now should you come across this creature the main things to be looking out for would be an animal with the neck of a pheasant, comb like that of a rooster and it would also have long feathers like that of a peacock.
Should the tattoo be colored then the feather would consist of black, white, red, green and yellow which symbolize benevolence, purity, education, wisdom and gentleness. You may also see it alongside the paulownia trees as this we the only tree that it would make its nest in.
They are symbolic of the imperial family, namely the empress and so can be combined with a dragon alongside to represent the Emperor, used to symbolize completeness or a sense of ying and yang. Alternatively they can be paired together to symbolize the mounts for the messengers of the sennin (or Immortal Hermits).
Keeping on from the mentioning of dragons, they were symbols of wind, fire, and water. In fact we saw this in a way with the tattoos we talked of in the last episode, being the favored tattoos of firefighters. They did have heavenly origins, and I found out that they were even enemies of the sun and moon, with eclipses happening when dragons tried to devour them.
Appearance wise, they bring together a lot of different animals. Head of a camel, horns from a stag, eyes of a hare and ears from a bull. They have the crest of a phoenix, body made from a snake, but scales from that of a carp. Their feet are those of a tiger, but they have claws of an eagle. A lot of the time they would have four legs, but if they have wings then they would only have two and additionally have the tail of a phoenix.
But did any of you know that Dragons have fears? They fear centipedes, silk dyed in five colors as well as iron.
Now if you are looking at a dragon tattoo, count the claws they have. Japanese dragons have three claws, in China you would see four or five.
Dragons will likely be shown flying inside and around cloud that look a little like fungi shaped clouds. This is in fact deliberate, they represent the mushroom known as the reishi, a mushroom of immortality and eternal youth.
Spiral clouds would show to you the dragon alongside it is full of either water or fire, ready to be used.
If they hold flaming pearls, this is the item which holds all their power, and they are known as Buddha pearls.
A Vajra
When we see Dragon with sword designed with a vajra hilt this kind of depiction is called a Kurikara Ryu.
Stories relating to dragons can also be represented, one in particular known as the Muge Hoju no Tama. The Dragon King Ryujin had stolen a jewel which could control the tide as it was being taken to the Emperor. After many twists in the tale a fisherwoman figures out how to get the jewel back into the hands of the Emperor. Knowing Dragons do not touch dead flesh, she pierces her side and places the jewel inside of her. Her lifeless body then rises to the surface so the jewel may return to the Emperor.
Now if you are a Dragon that has fire, in a tattoo where would you show the fire coming out from?
Apparently the only two places you can show fire coming from is either the jewel it holds, or coming out from its shoulders as this is where it carries fire.
If you see someone with a tattoo made of nine dragon, this relates to the Suikoden we talked of last episode. his dragon was the tattoo of Shi Jin, a martial arts expert who lived as an outlaw.
Additionally there is a subset of this, this being the dragon-snake. The first being simply, the snake as we know it, or hebi in Japanese. Here these tattoos would serve as as imagery as an evil attacker or to symbolise the feminine side (though in a negative context). The other dragon snake would be the one in which we have discussed before, that of Yamata no Orochi. Tattoos for this epic event in Shinto Mythology would at times cover an entire persons arm or even a full body suit would be created to show the fight between the Dragon and the God Susano-o.
Moving on to a creature which is made up of the body of a lion, scaly skin of a fish, and deer horns and hooves. This would be a kirin. People think it is a corrupted version of a giraffe hence the name kirin (giraffe in Japanese) but that is not concrete. These creatures and tattoos of them would serve to symbolize good luck or a positive event. Flames may also be included around the creature to symbolize serenity, which it has in such abundance that it flows out of the creature.
We turn now to the Shishi or the Lion. Traditionally this is one of the two lions you seen guarding the entrance of temples in Japan. The shishi is denoted as the King of Beast and when depicted in tattoos you will see it next to a peony, known as the Queen of Flowers; this kind of tatoo is known as a karashishi-botan. Their skin is said to be stronger than the best helmet, and so you can see it tattooed onto pregnant women’s stomachs to protect the unborn child during pregnancy.
Saying Notes
しょうがない Shyo-u ga nai
-It can’t be helped
OR
There is no ginger (pun)
Header Image: Dragon by Hokusai.
References:
Moriarty, Y. (2021) “Japanese Tattoos: Meanings, Shapes and Motifs.” Barcelona: Promopress.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 66A of our Podcast – Tattooing a History.
Story Notes
Now first off I want to say there was an unfortunate death in my family recently, hence the break in episodes. But we are here now. And I am much better than I was.
But now today we look into the history of tattooing in Japan. And first, as usual I have to ask you Heather what you already know about this topic, aside from the 7th Bonus we did a while back about the doctor who collected the tattooed skins of many members of the Yakuza.
Now diving into this topic the is not just the history behind tattooing, but also the symbolism and designs behind them. So today I want to look into the history and next week finish it off with a dive into the meanings and designs behind the tattoos.
We start our history with a book from China known as the Hou Han-shu (History of the Later Han) where they describe the people of Japan as a group of islanders who took great pride in dedicating time to cover their body in decorations.
Now the Yakuza still hold the image for people with tattoos in Japan, which again gives it the idea that it denote someone of a criminal lifestyle, or at least people who are less reputable. So lets look first at the tattooing of criminals.
There are different terms for the art of tattooing in Japan, one of them known as Irezumi (Inserting Ink), this term has changed in meaning over time and originally was used to denote those who had been punished due to past transgressions and crimes. These took the form of tattoos on their faces holding symbols of their crimes so others knew what they had done. The arms could also be included in this form of punishment, with bands and geometric designs being placed upon the skins to show the crime committed and also the sentence to be served.
Additionally it would also be placed onto those of lower status, not because of crimes committed, but to denote them as people to avoid. These people were known as the Hinin (pariahs), and held jobs considered unclean or tainted such as Tanners, Butchers, Executioners and Gravediggers. These warrant more exploration and might make an interesting bonus episode. Finally we find this particular practice falling into disuse after 1720 when the then shogun abolished the practice and now to distance themselves from this age old practice, tattoo artist began to call themselves Horoshi. Now a bit more about that shortly.
And so turning away from the treatment of criminals, we look into the ‘bodysuit’ as it is known in Japan, the art of covering ones entire body in tattoos, and here we see that it can find its origins as a symbol of love. Some of this could be rather simple in design and was known as irebokuro, consisting of a collection of black dots, which symbolized doken or symbols of love. These often being seen in people from, and who frequented the old pleasure quarters of Japan and had fallen in love with their suitors. It seems this practice wasn’t seen as overly taboo and even made it way to Tokyo where the upper classes began to follow this fashion.
Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners, 1888
Of course as time passes, fashions change and the dots developed into using Kanji, Geisha known to have tattooed upon themselves the names of their favorite clients. The term irebokuro then becoming known as kishobori (Offering Tattoo). This practice expanded to not just be used by Geisha, prostitutes and their clients but also into the clergy. There is even one account of a monk known as Sansaburo who had the kanji for love alongside the name of a monk of higher status to him showing it was even used by homosexual lovers.
We just talked about how artist began to call themselves Horoshi, so lets look into that now. This word comes from the verb horu in Japanese meaning to carve, and irezumi found itself replaced with horimono meaning carved object. So why this particular choice? Well as it turns out, they specifically chose if to relate to those who created the many wood blocks that were then used to make ukiyo-e art, and additionally even some people who made these wood blocks took up tattooing.
So why was that?
Well, of course we had the artists who made the designs for their art, think Hokusai and his 36 Views of Mount Fuji, but he only made the art, he didn’t create the wood block print to make his designs he thought up. These carvers, seldom found the renown of the artists. And so they found that they could increase their trade and fame through tattooing. As ukiyo-e boomed in Edo, and artistic freedom abounded, more and more people were wanted the designs made by artists placed upon their bodies. And who better to do that, then those who literally carved the wood. They took their expertise and placed in onto human skin.
One particularly publication, which included art by Hokusai, that sparked this want for tattooing was the Suikoden, a book recounting a famous 14th century tale from China. Inside it was filled with artistic depictions of the characters from the book, and the people of Edo wanted what they saw. And why was this you ask? Well each of the 108 characters in this book, were covered in tattoos. Each unique to the man and women in question.
Kawanabe Kyosai, Ghost
But what of the other tatoos we think of when it comes to Japan? What of the yokai, the yurei and all things supernatural? Well we have two people who helped with this. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Kawanabe Kyosai. The two of them were a little obsessed with death and even created situations which brought them close to it so they may better create their art. Kyosai, in a very bizarre and disturbing turn of events watched over his wife after her death. He kept watch over her to watch her decompose, so he may see the moment when he ghost left her body. Rumors even circulated he killed his wife himself so he may see the ghost of her to fuel his art.
So we have talked of criminals, we have talked of lovers, but what of the others out there who wished to have tattoos. And what was their reasoning behind it?
We can first look at the samurai, I myself never associate Samurai with having tattoos, but for myself I was always taught tattooing in Japan was taboo and also had been. However, we are getting a very different picture of that today. Samurai would at times be tattooed with the clan they were a part of, and should they go into battle, they could have the date of it tattooed on them; assuming they would never return. There are tales, that those who survived then committed ritual suicide so that they honored their death date they had just received as a tattoo.
When the period of war in Japan drew to a close, and there was a time of peace, of course group of thieves and the like grew up in the big cities of Kyoto for example.
Gangs would use their tattoos to intimidate. There was a practice known as musen yukyo which can translate to ‘Going for a walk with empty pockets,’ in essence they would enter an establishment and demand stuff for free; their tattoos like I said used to intimidate.
But it wasn’t all bad. There was also a group of people known as the otokodate that grew up, acting as saviors of the poor. They would often have tattooed on themselves the imagery from those mentioned in the Suidoken, seeing themselves as the same as those age old heroes who helped the unfortunate. The poor loved them, and supported them so much their influence spread to Edo where it also began to be imitated, those that did it here called themselves Edokko. Again these took the imagery from the Suidoken using it as a reference point, and as most were those who carried litters around the capital often worked bare-chested and have no aversion to showing to those around them who they were and the tattoos that covered their bodies. Their tattoos also differed in that, happy to show them off they used them to show their profession. Professional gamblers would have dice or cards tattooed , fishermen would have fish, Geisha it is said even had plectrums tattooed on themselves; to denote the samisen that they could play. So too did firefighter have bodysuits, the symbol of their profession upon their bodies, but also imagery of dragons and water. The pain of the dragon tattoo would afford them protection from any fire they had to attend to as the dragon was the only animal that could survive fire.
However, it all couldn’t last. Those in charge in essence didn’t like the popularity of tattooing, and so criminalized it in 1804. In fact we could probably say it is the governments fault people to this day see tattooing as a symbol of criminality, or at least tabboo; but I hope perhaps that will change. It went from something that anyone had, both good people and bad, to being something that could be punished under the law should give or receive a tattoo. In fact it wasn’t until 1948, the ban was lifted except to those under the age of 18.
The prohibition of tattooing only served to give it more mystery. European Royalty came all the way to Japan to be tattooed by tattoo masters. Ironically the government allowed foreigners to enter to encourage tourism, though locals who got tattoos would still be punished as would those giving the tattoos. Foreigners could escape punishment by just leaving the country. King George V of England even came to Japan for a tattoo which was met with astonishment by those back home, the Duke of Winsor apparently saddened he had not been able to go and get one for himself.
And so edge closer to the 20th century. It appears that people began to take on alias as tattoo artists. We mentioned how their occupation came from the verb hori to carve, and so tattoo artist started to use this at their start of their alias name for example Horiuno I.
Finishing up with a quick look at this master. He worked into his seventies, and his work was so highly regarded that eventually his clients began to show off their tattoos in the Sanja Matsuri Festival every year. And it still continues to this day, you can go and see people showing off their tattoos, and looking at some pictures online the tattoos look amazing. Again this makes me hope people will continue to change their opinion on tattoos in Japan.
Horiuno I found himself arrested at one point for his work on a back tattoo for his apprentice Horibun I which brough the two close together. Before this Horiuno had tatooed Yakuza members, but after would only tattoo honest men who wanted tattoos; his thinking being Yakuza only wanted tattoos to look tough and intimidating instead of others who appreciate it as an art style. These men and others have now created their own dynasties, passing on their names to their sons of apprentices so the art of tattooing in Japan continues to this day. And to get an idea of how long an apprenticeship can be. For Horiuno I it took 20 years.
Poem Notes
Today we have for you an annonymous Senryu poem.
宙を飛ぶかごかき腕に雲に龍
The palaquin bearers, Flying in the air, Have clouds and dragons On their arms.
Palaquin bearers usually had tattooing on their backs and arms, to give themselves lightness and speed. These bearers had dragons and clouds tattooed on them. It is superstitious perhaps but also, or therefore, human.
Header Image: Tattooed Firefighter by Kunichika Toyoharu.
References
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Moriarty, Y. (2021) “Japanese Tattoos: Meanings, Shapes and Motifs.” Barcelona: Promopress.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Long, long ago in the province of Tango there lived on the shore of Japan in the little fishing village of Mizu-no-ye a young fisherman named Urashima Taro. His father had been a fisherman before him, and his skill had more than doubly descended to his son, for Urashima was the most skillful fisher in all that country side, and could catch more Bonito and Tai in a day than his comrades could in a week.
But in the little fishing village, more than for being a clever fisher of the sea was he known for his kind heart. In his whole life he had never hurt anything, either great or small, and when a boy, his companions had always laughed at him, for he would never join with them in teasing animals, but always tried to keep them from this cruel sport.
One soft summer twilight he was going home at the end of a day’s fishing when he came upon a group of children. They were all screaming and talking at the tops of their voices, and seemed to be in a state of great excitement about something, and on his going up to them to see what was the matter he saw that they were tormenting a tortoise. First one boy pulled it this way, then another boy pulled it that way, while a third child beat it with a stick, and the fourth hammered its shell with a stone.
Now Urashima felt very sorry for the poor tortoise and made up his mind to rescue it. He spoke to the boys:
“Look here, boys, you are treating that poor tortoise so badly that it will soon die!”
The boys, who were all of an age when children seem to delight in being cruel to animals, took no notice of Urashima’s gentle reproof, but went on teasing it as before. One of the older boys answered:
“Who cares whether it lives or dies? We do not. Here, boys, go on, go on!”
Urashima encountering the children – Jinjō shōgaku kokugo tokuhon (the 3rd edition of Kokutei tokuhon) (1928)
And they began to treat the poor tortoise more cruelly than ever. Urashima waited a moment, turning over in his mind what would be the best way to deal with the boys. He would try to persuade them to give the tortoise up to him, so he smiled at them and said:
“I am sure you are all good, kind boys! Now won’t you give me the tortoise? I should like to have it so much!”
“No, we won’t give you the tortoise,” said one of the boys. “Why should we? We caught it ourselves.”
“What you say is true,” said Urashima, “but I do not ask you to give it to me for nothing. I will give you some money for it—in other words, the Ojisan (Uncle) will buy it of you. Won’t that do for you, my boys?” He held up the money to them, strung on a piece of string through a hole in the center of each coin. “Look, boys, you can buy anything you like with this money. You can do much more with this money than you can with that poor tortoise. See what good boys you are to listen to me”
The boys were not bad boys at all, they were only mischievous, and as Urashima spoke they were won by his kind smile and gentle words and began “to be of his spirit,” as they say in Japan. Gradually they all came up to him, the ringleader of the little band holding out the tortoise to him.
“Very well, Ojisan, we will give you the tortoise if you will give us the money!” And Urashima took the tortoise and gave the money to the boys, who, calling to each other, scampered away and were soon out of sight.
Then Urashima stroked the tortoise’s back, saying as he did so:
“Oh, you poor thing! Poor thing!—there, there! you are safe now! They say that a stork lives for a thousand years, but the tortoise for ten thousand years. You have the longest life of any creature in this world, and you were in great danger of having that precious life cut short by those cruel boys. Luckily I was passing by and saved you, and so life is still yours. Now I am going to take you back to your home, the sea, at once. Do not let yourself be caught again, for there might be no one to save you next time!”
All the time that the kind fisherman was speaking he was walking quickly to the shore and out upon the rocks; then putting the tortoise into the water he watched the animal disappear, and turned homewards himself, for he was tired and the sun had set.
The next morning Urashima went out as usual in his boat. The weather was fine and the sea and sky were both blue and soft in the tender haze of the summer morning. Urashima got into his boat and dreamily pushed out to sea, throwing his line as he did so. He soon passed the other fishing boats and left them behind him till they were lost to sight in the distance, and his boat drifted further and further out upon the blue waters. Somehow, he knew not why, he felt unusually happy that morning; and he could not help wishing that, like the tortoise he set free the day before, he had thousands of years to live instead of his own short span of human life.
He was suddenly startled from his reverie by hearing his own name called:
“Urashima, Urashima!”
Clear as a bell and soft as the summer wind the name floated over the sea.
He stood up and looked in every direction, thinking that one of the other boats had overtaken him, but gaze as he might over the wide expanse of water, near or far there was no sign of a boat, so the voice could not have come from any human being.
Startled, and wondering who or what it was that had called him so clearly, he looked in all directions round about him and saw that without his knowing it a tortoise had come to the side of the boat. Urashima saw with surprise that it was the very tortoise he had rescued the day before.
Urashima riding on the turtle —Ogata Gekkō, Gekkō zuihitsu (1887)
“Well, Mr. Tortoise,” said Urashima, “was it you who called my name just now?”
The tortoise nodded its head several times and said:
“Yes, it was I. Yesterday in your honorable shadow (o kage sama de) my life was saved, and I have come to offer you my thanks and to tell you how grateful I am for your kindness to me.”
“Indeed,” said Urashima, “that is very polite of you. Come up into the boat. I would offer you a smoke, but as you are a tortoise doubtless you do not smoke,” and the fisherman laughed at the joke.
“He-he-he-he!” laughed the tortoise; “sake (rice wine) is my favorite refreshment, but I do not care for tobacco.”
“Indeed,” said Urashima, “I regret very much that I have no sake in my boat to offer you, but come up and dry your back in the sun—tortoises always love to do that.”
So the tortoise climbed into the boat, the fisherman helping him, and after an exchange of complimentary speeches the tortoise said:
The fisherman shook his head and replied; “No; year after year the sea has been my home, but though I have often heard of the Dragon King’s realm under the sea I have never yet set eyes on that wonderful place. It must be very far away, if it exists at all!”
“Is that really so? You have never seen the Sea King’s Palace? Then you have missed seeing one of the most wonderful sights in the whole universe. It is far away at the bottom of the sea, but if I take you there we shall soon reach the place. If you would like to see the Sea King’s land I will be your guide.”
“I should like to go there, certainly, and you are very kind to think of taking me, but you must remember that I am only a poor mortal and have not the power of swimming like a sea creature such as you are—”
Before the fisherman could say more the tortoise stopped him, saying:
“What? You need not swim yourself. If you will ride on my back I will take you without any trouble on your part.”
“But,” said Urashima, “how is it possible for me to ride on your small back?”
“It may seem absurd to you, but I assure you that you can do so. Try at once! Just come and get on my back, and see if it is as impossible as you think!”
As the tortoise finished speaking, Urashima looked at its shell, and strange to say he saw that the creature had suddenly grown so big that a man could easily sit on its back.
“This is strange indeed!” said Urashima; “Mr. Tortoise, with your kind permission I will get on your back. Dokoisho!” he exclaimed as he jumped on.
The tortoise, with an unmoved face, as if this strange proceeding were quite an ordinary event, said:
“Now we will set out at our leisure,” and with these words he leapt into the sea with Urashima on his back. Down through the water the tortoise dived. For a long time these two strange companions rode through the sea. Urashima never grew tired, nor his clothes moist with the water. At last, far away in the distance a magnificent gate appeared, and behind the gate, the long, sloping roofs of a palace on the horizon.
“Ya.” exclaimed Urashima. “that looks like the gate of some large palace just appearing! Mr. Tortoise, can you tell what that place is we can now see?”
“That is the great gate of the Rin Gin Palace, the large roof that you see behind the gate is the Sea King’s Palace itself.”
“Then we have at last come to the realm of the Sea King and to his Palace,” said Urashima.
“Yes, indeed,” answered the tortoise, “and don’t you think we have come very quickly?” And while he was speaking the tortoise reached the side of the gate. “And here we are, and you must please walk from here.”
The tortoise now went in front, and speaking to the gatekeeper, said:
“This is Urashima Taro, from the country of Japan. I have had the honor of bringing him as a visitor to this kingdom. Please show him the way.”
Then the gatekeeper, who was a fish, at once led the way through the gate before them.
The red bream, the flounder, the sole, the cuttlefish, and all the chief vassals of the Dragon King of the Sea now came out with courtly bows to welcome the stranger.
“Urashima Sama, Urashima Sama! welcome to the Sea Palace, the home of the Dragon King of the Sea. Thrice welcome are you, having come from such a distant country. And you, Mr. Tortoise, we are greatly indebted to you for all your trouble in bringing Urashima here.” Then, turning again to Urashima, they said, “Please follow us this way,” and from here the whole band of fishes became his guides.
Urashima, being only a poor fisher lad, did not know how to behave in a palace; but, strange though it was all to him, he did not feel ashamed or embarrassed, but followed his kind guides quite calmly where they led to the inner palace. When he reached the portals a beautiful Princess with her attendant maidens came out to welcome him. She was more beautiful than any human being, and was robed in flowing garments of red and soft green like the under side of a wave, and golden threads glimmered through the folds of her gown. Her lovely black hair streamed over her shoulders in the fashion of a king’s daughter many hundreds of years ago, and when she spoke her voice sounded like music over the water. Urashima was lost in wonder while he looked upon her, and he could not speak. Then he remembered that he ought to bow, but before he could make a low obeisance the Princess took him by the hand and led him to a beautiful hall, and to the seat of honor at the upper end, and bade him be seated.
“Urashima Taro, it gives me the highest pleasure to welcome you to my father’s kingdom,” said the Princess. “Yesterday you set free a tortoise, and I have sent for you to thank you for saving my life, for I was that tortoise. Now if you like you shall live here forever in the land of eternal youth, where summer never dies and where sorrow never comes, and I will be your bride if you will, and we will live together happily forever afterwards!”
And as Urashima listened to her sweet words and gazed upon her lovely face his heart was filled with a great wonder and joy, and he answered her, wondering if it was not all a dream:
“Thank you a thousand times for your kind speech. There is nothing I could wish for more than to be permitted to stay here with you in this beautiful land, of which I have often heard, but have never seen to this day. Beyond all words, this is the most wonderful place I have ever seen.”
While he was speaking a train of fishes appeared, all dressed in ceremonial, trailing garments. One by one, silently and with stately steps, they entered the hall, bearing on coral trays delicacies of fish and seaweed, such as no one can dream of, and this wondrous feast was set before the bride and bridegroom. The bridal was celebrated with dazzling splendor, and in the Sea King’s realm there was great rejoicing. As soon as the young pair had pledged themselves in the wedding cup of wine, three times three, music was played, and songs were sung, and fishes with silver scales and golden tails stepped in from the waves and danced. Urashima enjoyed himself with all his heart. Never in his whole life had he sat down to such a marvelous feast.
When the feast was over the Princes asked the bridegroom if he would like to walk through the palace and see all there was to be seen. Then the happy fisherman, following his bride, the Sea King’s daughter, was shown all the wonders of that enchanted land where youth and joy go hand in hand and neither time nor age can touch them. The palace was built of coral and adorned with pearls, and the beauties and wonders of the place were so great that the tongue fails to describe them.
But, to Urashima, more wonderful than the palace was the garden that surrounded it. Here was to be seen at one time the scenery of the four different seasons; the beauties of summer and winter, spring and autumn, were displayed to the wondering visitor at once.
The Autumn Garden
The Winter Garden
First, when he looked to the east, the plum and cherry trees were seen in full bloom, the nightingales sang in the pink avenues, and butterflies flitted from flower to flower.
Looking to the south all the trees were green in the fullness of summer, and the day cicala and the night cricket chirruped loudly.
Looking to the west the autumn maples were ablaze like a sunset sky, and the chrysanthemums were in perfection.
Looking to the north the change made Urashima start, for the ground was silver white with snow, and trees and bamboos were also covered with snow and the pond was thick with ice.
And each day there were new joys and new wonders for Urashima, and so great was his happiness that he forgot everything, even the home he had left behind and his parents and his own country, and three days passed without his even thinking of all he had left behind. Then his mind came back to him and he remembered who he was, and that he did not belong to this wonderful land or the Sea King’s palace, and he said to himself:
“O dear! I must not stay on here, for I have an old father and mother at home. What can have happened to them all this time? How anxious they must have been these days when I did not return as usual. I must go back at once without letting one more day pass.” And he began to prepare for the journey in great haste.
Then he went to his beautiful wife, the Princess, and bowing low before her he said:
“Indeed, I have been very happy with you for a long time, Otohime Sama” (for that was her name), “and you have been kinder to me than any words can tell. But now I must say good-by. I must go back to my old parents.”
Then Otohime Sama began to weep, and said softly and sadly:
“Is it not well with you here, Urashima, that you wish to leave me so soon? Where is the haste? Stay with me yet another day only!”
But Urashima had remembered his old parents, and in Japan the duty to parents is stronger than everything else, stronger even than pleasure or love, and he would not be persuaded, but answered:
“Indeed, I must go. Do not think that I wish to leave you. It is not that. I must go and see my old parents. Let me go for one day and I will come back to you.”
“Then,” said the Princess sorrowfully, “there is nothing to be done. I will send you back to-day to your father and mother, and instead of trying to keep you with me one more day, I shall give you this as a token of our love—please take it back with you;” and she brought him a beautiful lacquer box tied about with a silken cord and tassels of red silk.
Urashima had received so much from the Princess already that he felt some compunction in taking the gift, and said:
“It does not seem right for me to take yet another gift from you after all the many favors I have received at your hands, but because it is your wish I will do so,” and then he added:
“Tell me what is this box?”
“That,” answered the Princess “is the tamate-bako (Box of the Jewel Hand), and it contains something very precious. You must not open this box, whatever happens! If you open it something dreadful will happen to you! Now promise me that you will never open this box!”
And Urashima promised that he would never, never open the box whatever happened.
Then bidding good-by to Otohime Sama he went down to the seashore, the Princess and her attendants following him, and there he found a large tortoise waiting for him.
He quickly mounted the creature’s back and was carried away over the shining sea into the East. He looked back to wave his hand to Otohime Sama till at last he could see her no more, and the land of the Sea King and the roofs of the wonderful palace were lost in the far, far distance. Then, with his face turned eagerly towards his own land, he looked for the rising of the blue hills on the horizon before him.
At last the tortoise carried him into the bay he knew so well, and to the shore from whence he had set out. He stepped on to the shore and looked about him while the tortoise rode away back to the Sea King’s realm.
But what is the strange fear that seizes Urashima as he stands and looks about him? Why does he gaze so fixedly at the people that pass him by, and why do they in turn stand and look at him? The shore is the same and the hills are the same, but the people that he sees walking past him have very different faces to those he had known so well before.
Wondering what it can mean he walks quickly towards his old home. Even that looks different, but a house stands on the spot, and he calls out:
“Father, I have just returned!” and he was about to enter, when he saw a strange man coming out.
“Perhaps my parents have moved while I have been away, and have gone somewhere else,” was the fisherman’s thought. Somehow he began to feel strangely anxious, he could not tell why.
“Excuse me,” said he to the man who was staring at him, “but till within the last few days I have lived in this house. My name is Urashima Taro. Where have my parents gone whom I left here?”
A very bewildered expression came over the face of the man, and, still gazing intently on Urashima’s face, he said:
“What? Are you Urashima Taro?”
“Yes,” said the fisherman, “I am Urashima Taro!”
“Ha, ha!” laughed the man, “you must not make such jokes. It is true that once upon a time a man called Urashima Taro did live in this village, but that is a story three hundred years old. He could not possibly be alive now!”
When Urashima heard these strange words he was frightened, and said:
“Please, please, you must not joke with me, I am greatly perplexed. I am really Urashima Taro, and I certainly have not lived three hundred years. Till four or five days ago I lived on this spot. Tell me what I want to know without more joking, please.”
But the man’s face grew more and more grave, and he answered:
“You may or may not be Urashima Taro, I don’t know. But the Urashima Taro of whom I have heard is a man who lived three hundred years ago. Perhaps you are his spirit come to revisit your old home?”
“Why do you mock me?” said Urashima. “I am no spirit! I am a living man—do you not see my feet;” and “don-don,” he stamped on the ground, first with one foot and then with the other to show the man. (Japanese ghosts have no feet.)
“But Urashima Taro lived three hundred years ago, that is all I know; it is written in the village chronicles, ”persisted the man, who could not believe what the fisherman said.
Urashima was lost in bewilderment and trouble. He stood looking all around him, terribly puzzled, and, indeed, something in the appearance of everything was different to what he remembered before he went away, and the awful feeling came over him that what the man said was perhaps true. He seemed to be in a strange dream. The few days he had spent in the Sea King’s palace beyond the sea had not been days at all: they had been hundreds of years, and in that time his parents had died and all the people he had ever known, and the village had written down his story. There was no use in staying here any longer. He must get back to his beautiful wife beyond the sea.
He made his way back to the beach, carrying in his hand the box which the Princess had given him. But which was the way? He could not find it alone! Suddenly he remembered the box, the tamate-bako.
“The Princess told me when she gave me the box never to open it—that it contained a very precious thing. But now that I have no home, now that I have lost everything that was dear to me here, and my heart grows thin with sadness, at such a time, if I open the box, surely I shall find something that will help me, something that will show me the way back to my beautiful Princess over the sea. There is nothing else for me to do now. Yes, yes, I will open the box and look in!”
And so his heart consented to this act of disobedience, and he tried to persuade himself that he was doing the right thing in breaking his promise.
Slowly, very slowly, he untied the red silk cord, slowly and wonderingly he lifted the lid of the precious box. And what did he find? Strange to say only a beautiful little purple cloud rose out of the box in three soft wisps. For an instant it covered his face and wavered over him as if loath to go, and then it floated away like vapor over the sea.
Urashima, who had been till that moment like a strong and handsome youth of twenty-four, suddenly became very, very old. His back doubled up with age, his hair turned snowy white, his face wrinkled and he fell down dead on the beach.
Poor Urashima! because of his disobedience he could never return to the Sea King’s realm or the lovely Princess beyond the sea.
Little children, never be disobedient to those who are wiser than you for disobedience was the beginning of all the miseries and sorrows of life.
Header Image: Urashima saving the turtle. Bodleian Library.
References
Ozaki, Y.T. (1903) “The Japanese Fairy Book”. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for bonus 14 of our Podcast – Proverbs Pt.2
Proverb Notes
Todays Bonus episode was a short one, one to showcase a few new proverbs we have come across during our research into Japanese History. So lets get into it.
出る杭は打たれる。
Deru kui wa utareru.
Literally: The stake that sticks up gets hammered down.
Meaning: If you stand out, you will be subject to criticism. If you stand out you will be forced back in line.
知らぬが仏。
Shiranu ga hotoke.
Literally: Not knowing is Buddha.
Meaning: Ignorance is bliss. / What you don’t know can’t hurt you.
見ぬが花。
Minu ga hana.
Literally: Not seeing is a flower.
Meaning: Reality can’t compete with imagination.
花は桜木人は武士
Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi.
Literally: Of flowers, the cherry blossom; of men, the warrior.
Meaning: As the cherry blossom is considered foremost among flowers, so the warrior is foremost among men.
For this one there is a little history behind it. We can find the origins of this proverb in the Medieval Period with it also renderred by others as
‘Among blossoms the cherry blossoms, among men the warrior.’
The association with cherry blossoms and Samurai was established by the kabuki theatre which also helped to popularise the proverb; this occuring during the mid Edo Period.
The proverb’s theme is echoed in a poem attributed to the priest Ikkyū in the Mottomo no sōshi dating from 1634.
“Among men the samurai [is best]; among pillars, cypress wood; among fish, the sea bream; among robes, magenta; and among cherry blossoms, those of Yoshino”.
We also see this proverb appearing in the Kanadehon Chushingura from 1748 and later we see this proverb evoked in the Japanese military as a motivation following the outbreak of World War II.
案ずるより産むが易しい。
Anzuru yori umu ga yasashii.
Literally: Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.
Show Notes for episode 64 of our Podcast – To Hell and Back.
Story Notes
Listeners discretion advised for this episode. It is gory, and graphic, and due to the age of the document translated, sexist.
Now you may recall this from Yasuke, but I mentioned a tale known as The Tale of the Fuji Cave, or Fuji no hitoana sōshi 富士の人穴草子 as it is known in Japanese. The story of a man journey into hell.
Two of our earliest texts which include the tale date to the 1603 and 1607, but we is know that it dkd exist in some written form from at least 1527, because the Kyoto courtier Yamashina Tokitsugu 山科言継 (1507–1579) records in a diary entry from that year that he presented a copy to a “new lady of the Handmaid’s Office,” at her request.
And so the story begins on the morning of the third day of the fourth month of 1201.
At this time the shōgun Yoriie summoned Wada no Heida Tanenaga and spoke:
“Heida, there are people who aways talking about the Fuji cave. I want you to explore, I want you to find it, and tell me what mysteries you find.”
Heida took in his master’s words. “My lord your request leaves me at a loss. Yet to disobey you would be to invite wrath down from the heavens. So for you I’ll give my one and only life.”
And so Heida went to see his uncle Yoshimori. He explained the task at hand given to him and feared he may never see anyone ever again should he not return. His uncle wept at the news, there was nothing he could do to help his nephew. It was the order from the shogun after all. And so he wishes him luck and that he hoped he would find glory and eentually return to them.
Heida stood to go, his eyes welling with tears. His cousin Asaina no Saburō Yoshihide saw the tears in his eyes and taking up his great sword, the sword known as Teimaru, he drew it two or three inches from its sheath and glared at Heida.
“You stupid fool!” exclaimed the cousin.”What a discgeace to weep Infront of a samurai. You make our family look like cowards, and if that is what you are extend your neck so I may behead you.
Heida replied he was no coward and no cave or lair, no matter what creature may hide inside would deter him.
His cousin them wished him well, telling him to make the family proud and that he was sad he could not join him on the mission to come. But it was one given to him alone.
“Be sure to preserve the family honor and make us all proud,” were his cousins last words to Hieda before he left.
“I shall be gone merely a week,” he declared as he left. Ready go enter the cave.
19th century edition of a 1627 copy of The Tale of the Fuji Cave
He hadn’t gone far into the cave before he saw snakes with mouths of red writhing in front of him. But he had to push passed, the shogun had ordered it, and so jumping through them he continued. Further in still he came across a frightening stench but still he pressed on.
Next he came across a woman, not more than 17 or 18 years of age, dresses in a robe of 12 layers she held the 32 marks of feminine beauty. All the while sitting there next to a silver loom and golden shuttle (again the gold and silver together here. She demanded to know who had come into her home and so the man replied. Her voice rung out like a heavenly bird.
“I am Wada no Heida Tanenaga of the Moira Clan, here at the behest of the shogun.”
“I do not care whose orders you follow. Just know if you try to pass here I shall kill you.”
He decided her words were to be listened to. There was no use in being killed this day. And so he returned to tell the shogun of what had occured, but not before she told him one last thing.
“Now you are merely 18. But when you become 31. That spring will see you die fighting Izumi no Kosaburō Chikahira of Shinano Province.
And so the Shogun listened to the tale, but was much troubles that the deepest recesses of the cave had not been explored and so he said he would gift 400 Cho of land to anyone who may venture in again. At first noone came forward, after all, what good was this land if you died trying to get it.
But eventually someone stepped forward, Nitta no Shiro Tadatsuna. The gift of land would round his estates up to 2000 Cho, allowing him to leave one thousand each for his sons on his death. And so he went to the shogun to declare he would enter into the Fuji Cave
The land given over to Nitta approached his boys with the news. Both wishes their father wouldn’t go. It didn’t even matter to them if the Shogun had gifted them 1,000,000 Cho. It wouldn’t be enough if it meant the death of their father.
Nitta tried to placate his sons “if I am to die, then surely I will see a sign before it happens. And if it were to kcxour, then please do not mourn for me, just remain loyal to one another and serve this family and the Shogun well.
And so assuming as he left the other samurai now must hate him for taking the offer from the shogun. He sertt forth to the Fuji Cave, and his potential death.
But unlike the previous man, the Shogun gave to Nitta a retainer by the name of Kudo Saemon no Suke, and Nitta had him carry a bundle of torches for the journey. A declaration was made, to return in seven days time, and they ventures forth.
They went forth, but there were no snakes as previously reported, the was no foul stench, and even further in, no woman sitting at a loom. And so they went deeper than the previous man had gone before.
Brandishing his sword as they went, suddeny they saw the moon above them, a forest of blue, yellow, red, white and black spreading before them. A small stream lay beyond, footprints in the bed showing someone had recently passed by. And over the river they saw 9 8-ridges palaces with rooves made of Cyprus.
Entering into the palace they found it wonderful. Water dripped around them, it’s sound like a lute playing the ge-ke-shu-jo or the Salvation of all Sentient Beings’. Night and day were undeterminable except for the opening and closing of lotus blossoms. Brocade was all around in reds and blues, gold’s and silvers. And when the men spoke it echoed like bells all around them.
Nitta became overjoyed, it was a although they had entered into the Pure Land. And exploring north-east they found an island upon a lake, a palace upon it glistening like gold. 89 bridges joined the island to the shire, each bridge with 89 bells. The first bell chimed the Lotus Sutra, all the other ringing out the sylabbles of the Lotus. The final bell rang out with a separate prayer and soon Nitta noticed in the lake an 8 petalled lotus in the water which he approached to see closer
And when he did a voice from inside the island palaces chimed in asking who it was who visited their abode. It was a snake with eyes akin to the sun and moon, twenty fathoms in length sixteen horns feasted upon its head, a head with 108 eyes.
The snake announced who they were, the Asama Bodhisattva of Fuji. They declared the luck of the Shogun had now run out, now that Nitta had found them. But then in a strange turn they said, with shame, that 3 times daily their body was wracked with pain. And so they asked to eat Nittas sword.
Nitta obliged, handing it over, and after the snake asked for his short sword too. The snake thanked him and then declared he would now show him the Six Realms.
The snake said, “people say paradise is wonderful, but none have seen it. People say hell is frightening, yet none have returned to speak if it. And so I will show you hell and send you back.” And so transforming himself into an 18 year old boy he took him on a tour of hell.
Fiest he would take him to Sai no Kawara, the Childrens Riverbed Hell. As they approached he told them of the 6 magistrates of hell. Hakone Gongen, Izu Gongen, Hakusan Gongen, Mishima Gongen, Tateyama Gongen, and finally the snake himself as the last. They were the magistrates of the 136 hell’s and so it was best Nitta not disregard them.
They looked upon the Children’s Riverbed Hell. Children all younger than 10 holding hands together and stricken with grief. Nitta demanded to know what the meaning of all of this was, to which he was told.
“These are the children who died without compensating their mothers for all the lain they caused for them whilst in the womb. They will differ here for 9000 years. A fire swept through the expanse then, consuming the children. Who were the restored to their former selves by demons they arise once more. Such was there torment to repeat until their nine thousand years ended
And turning the the west, Nitta looked upon the Samzu river. Here an old woman stripped people of their robes, each robe linked to a sin they had caused. Those that had no robe had their skin removed instead. The skin left on the boughs of a tree to later be turned into feather gowns.
They crossed said river to arrive at the Mountain of Death, here when the dead receive memorials to their passing the soriirts would come here to report upon it. As they receive their memorial, creatures would arrive to record news of the memorial, writing down good deeds they would hear of the deceased, to writ it in their good book, these good deeds enabling some sinners here to finally leave and enter into the Pure Land
To their side, people were being flogged by demons, these people made to carry a heavy stone. Their sin the snake said, for having overburdened their horses in life for more profit. Not for 18,000 years they would suffer what they did to their horses.
The snake warned Nitta to tell all when he returned to never over burden their horses again!
Next Nitta saw people empaled on swords, made to climb the mountain of swords. These were the people Nitta was told, to never repaid their obligations to their masters and family in life.
To the west he could see people made to walk through towers of fire and water. The demons affixing iron shackles to their wrists and ankles. And in another place close by they pounded nails into the people. These were the punishments for the judiciary officials the snake said. One should always avoid being a judge it is said.
The snake Bodhisattva then led him east to the Crossroads of the Six Realms where the Bodhisattva Jizo stood. Sinners before him cried to be saved but he ignored their please, demons grabbing the sinners saying they would be dripped into the Hell of No Respite.
Nitta demanded to know of Jizo, to which the snake answered.
“Jizo will not help those who only ever wanted fame and fortune, and those who never chang his name. Make sure to tell all in the human wotld about this upon your return. If there are those wanted to go to the Pure Lands, each day they should chant Jozis name 100, 200 times at dawn! Now I must tell you. The six realms are made up of Hell, Hungry Ghosts, Animals, Ashura, Humans and Heaven. Let us go to the Animals first. And so Nitta was led to a place with 3 snakes. Two were fables, the other male, the females sucking on the males eyes and mouth.
Nitta wanted to know what this meant and the snake replied. In life this man had had two wives and they had both been enraged, and so they will remain here for 7,300 years.
Nitta saw people who had spoken badly about their family and masters while they lived. Their tongue stretched for twelve feet and filled with nails. A woman who had cheated on her husband was being sawn in half. A woman who had tried to improve her looks in life was having her face peeled of its flesh.
Nitta saw a sinner being pulled toward him by thirty sets of iron chains. Looking closely, he saw that it was a disheveled nun. This is the nun Usui from the Akatsuka estate he was told. She delighted at others misfortunes and in life served herself the best of foods and other nothing but gruel. And so she is going to be pushed down to the bottom of a boiling pot.
“It is a shame,” the snake said, “that women’s thoughts are all evil. Many more women that me fall down to hell. It is a shame.”
He saw other sinners hunted by packs of dogs, this punishment for those who didn’t like farming, but envied those who grew their own things. Another man, a priest from Sodeshi was being beaten with iron cudgels, he fate to then be placed for eternity in a box and never to reach the Pure Lands. He had spent temple money on his family instead and had failed to abstain from forbidden food.
Woman were having tongues pulled, punishment for making false claims against their servants. Another man, who looked like he had been the master of people in real life was pulling weights down upon servants, the punishment for those who do not honor their contracts. Here the snake told Nitta to tell those in the world above that if they agree to something, it must be done. And that it was also a great crime to not return a contract once they time of it had ended.
And then looking to the sky Nitta saw a most beautiful woman in an ornate carriage she was being ked to the Pure Lands and Nitta wished to know why. The snake spoke up saying it was all her good deeds in life. Helping others. Feeding others.
Tell the human world the snake said that should you show wholehearted compassion to everyone and everything then you will surely go to the Pure Lands upon your passing. But then Nitta saw more sinners, some bound by an iron cable, demons torturing them, these people having killed all manner of living things. And then yet more, men with rocks weighing them down upon their chests, punishment for selfishly eating whatever they pleased in life, including baby birds.
A priest was seen, hunt mercilessly upside down, demons taking strips of flesh from his head. This man had only pretended to be holy, but his heart had always been full of filth and frees. He never prayed or offered incense and so this was his punishment. Another demon was stabbing a dinner in the eyes, the punishment for stealing from others in life.
The snake spoke a warning then to Nitta to never speak badly if those who know the sutras no matter how small the part is they know, it would just cause you to fall into the Hell of no Respite
Others who stole in life were bound shivering in the Crimson and Great Crimson Lotus Hells. For 30,000years they were to remain bound in the ice.
Next he saw a woman with hair reaching 300 hundred yards in length. This woman it is said when alive wanted 1000 news strands of hair for everyone she lost. And so now she would spend 9000years ha ing her forehead burned with iron round weights.
The snake then went on a rant about women stating it was a sin for them not to bear a child, and even a sin for her to not bear another after her first. And then to top it off the snake said to not have ones period was also very bad…….
He saw a demon taking off a man’s arms and legs, punishment for cutting down grasses and trees for no reason.
The Hungry Ghosts
But after all of this. They moved on finally to a new Hell. Going to the Hell of the Hungry Ghosts. These sinners here had bellies the size of oceans, wafer thin necks and mheads as large as mountains. These ghost perpetually hungry had food before them, but Everytime they went to take it. It burst into flame. These people had been wealthy when alive, but bad never shared their food or riches. So now they would be hungry eternally.
And so the snake told Nitta to tell the human world, “no matter rich or poor, you will find wealth if you clean your home, prepare good food, and fees others and yourself.
Some of the Hungry Ghosts gave birth before Nitta and they devoured their mother, the lunshment for those who sold their children to feed themselves and for those who abandoned their own children.
Hourneying onwards they reached a new crossroads again finding Jizo before them with a man and woman before them. They were the lucky ones, they were to head to the Pure Lands and recieve a golden hall, having spent their lives taking holy orders and praying for their lives to come.
Looking again to the Animal Realm Nitta could see birds and beast that had Ben spliced together. This was the punishment for those who had been overly attached to their parents as well as those too attached to their children
In the Ashura Realm he saw flames rising all around, men locked in endless combat. This was for those who had fallen in battle. Here to fight for the next 2,300 years.
Finally after seeing all of the hells the snake took him to the court of Enma (he who judges if a soul goes to heaven or hell) and also to see the Ten Kings of Hell. Here the Ten Kings dwelt in a golden palace. Here people could face the records of their lives, good deeds written in gold tablets, bad in those of iron. Simmers were forced to gaze upon their sins and those that denied them would have themselves weighed in the scale of karma.
Those that still protested were shown a Johari Mirror and so they could say no more. They would throw themselves to the floor imploring Buddha to save them. Those begging, who had children in the land of the living would then be put to the side.the others dropped straight down into the Hell of No Respite
The snake spoke up, “it is wise to read the sutras, and recite the nenbutsu. Do not hate or envy others and show compassion. The Ten Kings will Revere those who do.”
The others that had been put to the side were now harassed by Demons.
“Listen here sinners,” they said “if you receive no prayer upon the 7th. 14th. 35th. 49th or 100th day after you died then you will go to the Hell of Repiste.”
To this the Ten Kings wept, imploring the demons to wait until the 3rd year. And so it was agreed, these people would have 3 years to wait and hope someone prayed for them.
And so that was it for the most part, the snake saying he had been shown most of hell. But upon his return he was not to talk of what he had seen, not to anyone until three years and three months had passed. If he did so, he would end up in hell, and so would the shogun.
He returned then to the Shogun and after gathering a crowd of Nobles asked to know what he had seen. Nitta explained he could not speak of the, as it would cause the Shogun harm, but still the Shogun insisted. He would risk the harm to come.
And so Nitta regaled them all with the tales of what he had seen. All were amazed by the tale, utterly spell bound. And so as he finished his tale, the snake spoke out.
“You told the tale when you should not.” And so Nitta’s life was taken from him. And all those who heard the voice of the snake, were frightened to their core.
Nitta body was taken back to his family where he was then cremated and mourned over.
Where did the retainer go?
Poem Notes
To perhaps give us a break from all this Hell we saw today, Heather found a senryu for us about the ocean.
腹の立つ時見るための海
The sea Something to look at When we are angry
Header Image: Buddhist Hell, from Pixabay.
References
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Kimbrough, R.K. (2006) “Translation: The Tale of the Fuji Cave.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. [Online Only] pp.1-22.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 63 of our Podcast – Turtle Folklore.
Story Notes
There are four divine beasts in Chinese culture, and it’s from this that Japanese culture derives some of the basis for its own turtle folklore
The four divine beasts are the dragon, bird, and tiger. Each of these guards a direction. The turtle is stated to guard the north. The four divine beasts were more popular before the rise Buddhism, but you can see some of their depiction in art and crafts.
Turtles are looked at very favourably in Asian culture, as their long lives are a symbol of longevity. Not just longevity, but also good luck as well.
The pattern of the turtle’s shell is also a popular motif, and you will see it depicted on fans and kimono. Often times, you’ll see the turtle and crane together on a kimono as well, since cranes are also a symbol of long life. The pattern is a hexagon, often with another hexagon inside.
Turtle Folklore has seen them used as symbols for heaven in earth in art, with the turtle’s shell depicting earth on the bottom, and heaven on top. Or if you see the turtle in conjunction with the crane, the crane represents heaven and the turtle the earth.
There’s also many turtles depicted at shrines, such as the Reiki or “spirit turtle”.
Urashima Taro
Probably the most popular folktale about turtles is Urashima Taro, BUT we are going to save that for a bonus episode. Today, I’m going to paraphrase a folktale I found during my wanderings online. I’ll include the website, but unfortunately it looks like it hasn’t been updated in a while.
There once was a turtle who saw a crane flying high in the sky. He envied the crane his flight and wished he might do the same. The crane landed close to the turtle and the turtle said
“Oh, it must be so wonderful to be able to fly around and see everything from up high. I wish I could do that too!”
The crane said “oh, but you can! Please, take hold of my feather. This one is magic. I can take you into the sky but you must never let go, or you will fall.”
So the turtle, happily grabbed onto the feather with his teeth and up they soared into the blue sky.
The turtle was delighted! He could see everything. Rivers, mountains, rice paddies, villages… He wanted to share all he saw with the crane but kept a firm grasp on the feather.
The crane flew a little lower to the ground so the turtle could see into a village. Well, some children happened to see the strange sight of a crane and a turtle flying and began to make fun of the turtle.
The turtle, much embarrassed opened his mouth to defend himself. BUT! Once he opened his mouth, down down he came to the earth with a crash.
The crane, very worried about his new friend flew down and landed beside the turtle.
“Oh turtle, are you okay!”
“Yes, yes, I have seen so many wonderful sights! I am so happy”
But, with the impact from the fall the turtles shell had many cracks. And that’s how it happened that the turtle shell today still shows the same pattern as the one who flew and fell from the sky.
Poem Notes
The two poems today are jisei which I don’t think we have done for a while. I found one by Kobayashi Issa who we have mentiponed before, but we also have a new poet known as Baisei. Now I tried to find something about him, but I could not, the book he is mentioned in does not have his full name so I can’t find anything about him save what the book tells me which is he died in 1745. Issa died in 1827.
Kobayashi Issa
Baisei:
Island of Eternity a turtle dries its shell out in the first sun rays of the year.
Issa:
What matter if I live on – a tortoise lives a hundred times as long.
Show Notes for episode 62 of our Podcast – The Exploits of Okuninushi.
Story Notes
Now we haven’t been here since Episode 44, a long time ago now, but we will be continuing on with the story of Shinto.
And so we left it off last time with Susano-o having defeated the Dragon Yamata no Orochi, then taking Kushinadahime they had their son Ohonamochi before he left for the land of Yomi. (Though some alternative Nihongi writings say he was a descendant of Susano-o and not his son, and so too the Kojiki lists him as a descendant of this kami.)
So I guess in some regard he save the woman and then left her in the overworld alone? It does not really explain whether he took her with him or not.
But now that we have seen the end of Susano-o’s story in the formation of Japan we continue on with Ohonamochi. Now he also goes by many, many other names. One of them is Okuninuchi in some writings, particularly the Kojiki and so continuing on from out story we find that we find he had 80 brother who had given over their lands to him. Now there may be some alternative version of the Nihongi perhaps that talks of the birth of his brothers, however we won’t be dwelling too much on that thought.
Right now I am taking this part of the story from the Kojiki, until the story matches up with the Nihongi, as we have stated before some aspects are mentioned in one text and not the other. Or at other times, one event in one book can occur much later in the other.
Now there was a problem for all of them, all 80 of them wished to marry Yagimihime, from modern east Tottori Prefecture. One day, all were out together, and Okuninushi was mad to be the one to bear their satchel. He did not see what occurred, however, his brother came across a naked hare and so they told him if he wanted to get better he should bathe in brine and lay down exposing itself to the winds high on a mountain peak.
And so the hare did so, thinking if would make him better after his fur had been stripped from him. But sadly this did not occur, his skin blistered in the winds and he was wracked with pain.
Eventually Okuninushi came across him, asking him what was the matter, and how he had lost his fur.
And so the hare regaled his tale. He had been upon Okigashima and wished to cross the water to Keta-no-Saki, a point of land now in Tottori Prefecture, in the district called Inaba. So if you have ever heard of the Inaba Hare, well you’re about to learn its tale.
In his tale he said he tricked a sea beast. He said he wanted to see who had more siblings, he or the sea beast. And so he instructed him to gather all his siblings and form a line so he could count them as he jumped across their backs. Now before he reached the last one the hare made the mistake of crying out that he had tricked them and so the final beast grabbed hold of him stripping him of his fur. And that was when Okuninushi’s brother came along and gave him a false remedy. And it was why now he was wracked with pain.
Okuninushi then helped the hare, giving him a way to end his pain and so in the end, the grateful hare said that Okunushi would be the one to marry Yagimihime in the end and in the end that is what occurred.
The other brothers grew furious, they wanted to see their brother dead for marrying the one they all wanted. They went with their brother to Tema-yama in Tottori saying that there was a red boar here they would send down the mountain and that he needed to catch it or he would die. Now of course, this was a trick, and so his brothers finding a boar shaped boulder, heated it in fire and rolled it down the mountain to him. And so Okuninushi was killed.
His mother, was distraught. And so went up to heaven (I guess this answers the question about whether she went to Yomi or not). She beseeched Kami-mu-musuhi for help and so they sent down the kami Kisa-gai-hime and Umu-gai-hime to restore her son to her. They scraped him from the boulder and smearing his mother milk over him brought him back to life.
They tricked him again, forcing him into a tree they had split open, and then used to crush him. His mother again distraught found him and returned him to life. His mother beseeched him to flee, lest his brother kill him again and so he left for Ki where Oyabiko resided.
Oyabiko gave advice saying he should visit Susano-o in the Land of Roots, and seek council from him.
Now this is what the Kojiki says, the Land of Roots being separate from Yomi, known in Japanese as the Ne-no-kuni. I really don’t fully understand the separation between Yomi and Ne-no-kuni myself, and some people have stated they are not too separate from one another. However, there is no clear consensus.
But anyway, Okuninushi goes to the Land of Roots and there comes across Suseribime, upon seeing one another they pledged themselves to one another before Suseribime returned into her home to tell her father Suano-o a handsome kami had arrived. Immediately Susano-o threw him into a chamber of snakes.
Suseribime helped her new husband, gifting him a scarf and instructing him to wave it 3 times in front of the snakes when they try to bite him. And so he emerged unscathed. Next he was thrown into a pit of wasps and snakes, again using the scarf he was saved and survived.
And so the third challenge came. Susano-o shot an arrow into a moor and asked him to retrieve it, but upon entering he lit the whole place on fire, but he came out unscathed after a mouse came to him and told him he could hide in a void below the ground.
He returned the arrow to his father-in-law and was finally invited into there home. Eventually Susano-o slept, and so they tied his hair to the rafters and pulled a stone across the door. Okuninushi and Suseribime fleeing back to the land above with his father-in-law’s sword, bow and arrows. Susano-o awoke and eventually pursued after freeing himself from his home, chasing them to the gentle slope which joined the land above to Yomi (here again we see Ne-no-kuni and Yomi being used interchangeably).
Upon the slopes, he told Okuninushi to used the sword and bow to smite his brothers. And he did, he chased his brother and he smote them, sweeping them away in river rapids. And so Okuninushi could finally work on creating his domain.
Now Okuninushi’s first wife went with them, but in the end she feared Suseribime, and so she left, abandoning their child Ki-no-mata wedged in a tree fork.
Okuninushi went on to make Nuna-kawa-hime fall in love with him, and it worked, but soon after Suseribime was consumed with jealousy. Okuninushi then quickly became bother by her jealous behavious and decided to move away from the area of Izumo to Yamato instead. And so taking his new wife him, he left and they then lived in peace.
But he didn’t stop there, he would later take another four wives for himself, all of these giving many many sons, daughters and generational descendants. These new wives were known as Ta-kiri-bime, Kamu-ya-tata-hime, To-tori, and Iko-chi-ni.
One day, after all of these marriages, a kami came across the oceans whilst he was back in Izumo. He was robed in the skin of a goose, and his boat was made of a seedpod. The new kami did not respond when asked who they were, but after some investigation it was discovered they were a child of Kami-musu-hi by the name of Sukunabiko. And upon the discovery Okuninushi was instructed to make this of this kami as if he was his brother and together they formed the land into its final form.
And after this, Sukunabiko, depart to the Everworld (the place where the cockerels came from to coax Amaterasu from the Rock Cave) and so ultimately did not help in the final forming of the lands.
Okuninushi lamented the loss of his new brother, but a kami responded to his laments and cry for help. The kami Ōmononushi came forward saying he would help finalise the land with him, if he would worship him. And so Okuninushi did so. Now I must say, everything I had told thus far today comes form the Kojiki.
Okuninushi in the Nihongi is mentioned, but the events do differ, and they are in what consists of the ‘another tales states that’ section of the Nihongi. So lets have a look into them now.
The Nihongi states the he alongside Sukunabiko (the new adopted brother from before) and together they worked together to finish more parts of the world, but ultimately it was let unfinished before Sukunabiko left for the Everworld. And additionally, they found many ways to heal diseases. And they also devised ways to stop the calamities brought about by wild animals.
As Okuninushi then wandered Japan, upon finding areas that the two of them had not finished forming, he took it upon himself to finish the job until all places were finished by his hand alone, and then after that he deemed himself ruler of this land. Omononushi then came forth from the ocean to say he could only have completed his task because he had allowed him to, and so Okuninushi built for him a shrine.
Header Image: Okuninushi and Sukunabiko.
Poem Notes
Today was a lovely little Senryu from Heather, readying us for the Turtle Folklore Episode next week.
かめ淋し鶴に別れて九千年
The tortoise, parting from the crane, is lonely for nine thousand years.
References
Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 61 of our Podcast – Golden Week.
Story Notes
Today Heather brought us the history of Golden Week so lets get into it.
Golden week got its start in 1948. The Japanese government established a “public holiday law” designating 9 official holidays as well as stating that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next Monday will be a compensatory holiday called a furikae kyujitsu.
It’s made up of four holidays:
**Showa day – April 29th
Originally celebrated as the birthday of the Emperor Hirohito, but after his death in 1989 became Greenery day. Then in 2007, this changed over to Showa Day to celebrate and reflect on the life of the emperor and all that occurred during this time in Japan’s history.
**Constitution day – May 3 Started in 1948, to celebrate the new constitution ratified after World War II.
**Greenery day – May 4
Originally just another day, but the government designated this a national holiday since it was sandwiched in the middle of two holidays. From 1989 to 2006 it was a kokumin no kyujitsu (national holiday). In 2007 it was officially made a public holiday, and it could be said to honor the Showa emperor as he had a great love for plants. It’s a chance to go outside, appreciate nature and its beauty, and to reflect on the benefits of nature.
**Childrens day – May 5
I’ve seen this holiday stated as originally just for boys, but then also for children. In 1948, the Japanese government established it as “Kodomo no Hi” to celebrate the happiness of all children. There is a Chinese legend that if a carp can swim upstream, it can become a mighty dragon (The Pokemon Magikarp was based off this Myth). It’s a symbol of kids growing up well.
For this holiday, you have probably seen the carp streamers in pictures or images of Japan. Families who have children fly these streamers outside a carp for each child (although I have also seen it stated that the carp are just for boys, but it may depend on the family or even the location!) – and put up samurai dolls or samurai armor -those presumably are for the boys, as a companion to Hina Matsuri. Helmets seem to be quite popular, and you can even fold origami helmets.
Children’s day is the oldest holiday in the group, and it has its origins from the Dragon Boat Festival – based on the Chinese calendar. The Japanese was called Tango no sekku. This holiday was known from about the time of the Nara period, possibly even before. Popular food eaten is Chimaki (rice cake wrapped by bamboo leaf and steamed) and kashiwa mochi (red bean and rice cake wrapped by kashiwa leaf)
And to my surprise, there’s 4 other “festival days” that go with it – Hina Matsuri (girls day), Tanabata (we’ve talked about before!), Kiku no sekku (which is a holiday I’ve not heard before and neither has the professor) or Chrysanthemum festival, and New Years.
The origin of the name ”Golden week” comes from Hideo Matsuyama, a director of the film group Daiei. Around 1951, the film maker Bunroku Shishi saw record sales for his film. Apparently, the national holidays were a very popular time to go see movies. Matsuyama san, looking towards the radio’s well known phrase “golden time” took the gold and ran with it, making the name “golden week.”
He apparently also named a “Silver Week” in fall, but it’s never quite caught on in the same way.
Golden week is a HUGE travel holiday, with many people traveling throughout Japan and overseas as well. Of course, the past couple of years have been exceptions, although travel was up this year – still nothing to the levels of 2019. Here’s hoping that 2022 will allow us to be able to travel more again!
Why does Golden week seem like more of a travel holiday than Obon or Oshogatsu? Both of these other major holidays are generally considered a time to return back to your family or spend time with family. Golden week is the longest holiday in which you can “do as you like” without the obligations. The weather is also generally mild, which makes it perfect for hiking and exploring too. It’s also the first holiday for college and University students, giving a great opportunity to travel with new friends. However, as a caveat, not all places get the full “golden week.” Some companies only allow off for the official holidays, and don’t give the extra days off. Students in elementary through high school also have to go in on April 30 – May 2, unless it falls on the weekend.
But for everyone – getting those precious days off is truly worth more than gold.
Poem Notes
Matsuo Bashō
Now I tried to find a poem on Golden Week for today but I sadly could not. But I did come across one one relaxation, so I am going to take that is theme enough for today. This one is set in the Fall and concerns moon viewing dating to 1685. The poet today Matsuo Basho.
雲折々人をやすむる月見哉
kumo oriori hito o yasumuru tsukimi kana
The clouds, from time to time Allow folk to relax When moon-viewing.
Show Notes for episode 60E of our Podcast – War and Betrayal – Honnō-ji Incident
Story Notes
We jump to late autumn when Yasuke is in attendance to Nobunaga. A messanger arrives at Azuchi castle bringing a message from General Hideyoshi. His siege at Tottori Castle against the Mori (the Clan who helped Yasuke and the Jesuits get through the ocean pirate territory) was not going as planned and so Nobunaga dispatched his top Generals Akechi Mitsuhide and Takayama Ukon to go and reinforce Hideyoshi.
But Yasuke for now was to remain on standby with the other Samurai. Nobunaga’s armies were expanding and taking over his enemies as the months rolled by, but still Yasuke remained cloistered and bound to Azuchi Castle.
News finally arrived saying the Tottori siege has once more turned in favour of Nobunaga’s troops in by early November. Yasuke was to head south for Iga with Nobunaga and the Samurai pages. War was calling, though they did arrive a little late.
Now we have talked of the Iga clan briefly before in passing, the clan known for their Ninja prowess.
And when Yasuke and the others arrived to find their enemies already dead. Iga Province was engulfed in flames, after only a week of Nobunaga’s forces arriving in Iga. The battle missed they inspected the area, the men in charge here clamering to give a better banquet than the last for their visiting Lord and his retinue.
But one day on inspection, Yasuke looking down at one of the headless corpses of the felled Iga suddenly found the world exploding around him. Men were obliterated in the explosion, Yasuke rising to find the what he had thought as corpses now rising from the dead. The ninja had tricked them, lying in wait, and so they attacked. Fighting through the smoke, Yasuke made his way to Nobunaga and his son Nobukatsu and together they fought off the remaining Ninja until none were left.
And so after this short battle, they all returned to Azuchi Castle.
During the winter Nobunaga visited one of the Jesuit seminaries just outside his castle, a surprise visit to see what they were up to. And so they met Father Organtino again (who we have previously mentioned) and gave them a tour. They were shown around and when the time for Mass came Nobunaga excused himself to return to his castle, with Yasuke at the invitation of Organtino staying for the service before returning home himself.
New Year finally came, with Lords flocking to the castle to pay their respects, the whole castle was to be cleaned, New Year meant a great cleaning of every area and home, Yasuke’s included.
A celebration was planned for the first day of the New Year. A tour of the castle was to be given, included a golden pavilion Nobunaga had had built for the Imperial Family to visit. A most impressive feat when the Imperial Family had never visited anywhere outside of Kyoto in his life. But during the tour, there was a landslide. Nobunaga and Yasuke were safe at the front of the procession, but at the back 50 plus men went down with the landslide. Many having to be sent for healing. It was a bad start to the new year.
Two weeks into the New Year the traditional bonfire commenced with Nobuanaga’s own twist added in. Another horse event. Yasuke with the Samurai pages were the first to enter into the arena, the Matsubara horse ground constructed close by to the Jesuit seminary. It is nice to think that perhaps Yasuke took more of a part in this event unlike the previous now that he had spent much more time on horseback due to being a part of Nobunaga’s retinue.
By March 1582 war came again, this time from the Northern Takeda Clan. The Clan and its territories was disintegrating, and after one of the loyal Takeda retainers defected to the Oda Clan, Nobunaga saw it as time to send his son Nobutada there to crush them once and for all.
For now Yasuke remained at the castle again, but all those from the North who defied the Oda. Well, Yasuke did get to see them. Their severed heads displayed below Azuchi castle for all to see. Each labelled with who they were, hair combed to look nice, rouge added to cheeks to give them colour. Once the heads spoiled they were carted off and burned. Traditionally they would have been sent back to their family, but in this instance the distance was too great.
And so on March 28th, 1582 Yasuke finally left Azuchi castle once more with Nobunaga, heading nothing to join the war against the Takeda. One more final push to destroy those that remained, even though most had already fallen under the attack of Nobunaga’s son.
The further north they went, the colder it became, until snow lay all around them. Yasuke and the rest of the army were in a place called Iida when the final ruler of the Takeda, Katsuyori was revealed to them to have been defeated. His head, and his sons Nobukatsu arriving in an ornate box. (It should be said here that Nobukatsu was technically Nobunaga’s grandson, via adoption).
They continued north until they passed the castle of Takatō, eventually reaching a town known as Suwa where they halted. Only one building remained which Nobunaga made his headquarters, with his first order to disposed of all the dead laying in the streets of the town. Yasuke and everyone remained here for 2 weeks, the local lords who had turned against the old leaders flocking here to give their respects over to Nobunaga.
Rumours began to swirl as they remained in Suwa, that Yasuke may have received a lordship of his own. In fact, the Jesuit Mexia reported a rumours from the time at Azuchi that ‘Nobunaga would make him a Tono,’ a lord of his own. Over the days Nobunaga gave out lands and power to his new followers, promoting other people he had known for years. But for Yasuke, no new title of power was given over to him.
And so, with work against the Takeda all but finished now. Nobunaga decided he wanted a holiday. He sent his armies home, and keeping only a few hundred men, including Yasuke they headed back south to Mount Fuji for Nobunaga’s holiday. This area was under the authority of Tokugawa Ieyasu and he would ensure Nobunaga had the best vacation he had ever had. Every night Nobunaga stayed at a newly constructed pavilion with teahouse included.
But sadly the tea house was too small for Yasuke, and so he often ate elsewhere.
As the days passed and they left Fuji, they made their way to Hitoana, a cave where it is said the goddess of Mount Fuji lived. Here another pavilion awaited them and then Ieyasu told them a tale of the cave.
The Story was known as Fuji no hitoana sōshi 富士の人穴草子, The Tale of the Fuji Cave and I manage to find a journal telling its tale online. So I will keep that for a future episode, perhaps even the bonus or main episode to follow on from our tale of Yasuke. But let us just say it is a story about a Samurai who ventures on down to hell.
And so eventually the holiday for Nobunaga, Yasuke and his men finally drew to its inevitably close after journeying to the coast, and they made their way back to Azuchi Castle.
He tasked Akechi Mitsuhide, one of his trusted generals, upon their return to gather and prepare for a 3 day banquet but just before Tokugawa Ieyasu arrived, Nobunaga had all the food thrown away, telling Akechi it was unfit. And so another meal had to be prepared, much to the embarrassment to Akechi.
Nobunaga’s rage was quickly forgotten after receiving word again regarding the Mori Clan and Tottori castle, they had prepared one last counter attack against Nobunaga’s general Hideyoshi. And so Nobunaga tasked Akechi to return to his castle to prepare for war again.
Nobunaga, Yasuke and 30 others left for Kyoto, to spend the night at Honnō-ji Temple before heading to besiege the Mori Clan again.
But this night, most of them would die, in what would become known as the Honnō-ji Incident. It was June 1st, 1582, and as the Hour of the Tiger arrived. Yasuke and the others were attacked in Honnō-ji temple. They had been betrayed. The humiliated general Akechi Mitsuhide had brought his armies to bring an end to Nobunaga. Yasuke ran to his lord finding him and Mori Ranmaru in a secluded courtyard behind his quarters. Gun fire broke out all around them, Yasuke holding onto Nobunaga’s sword until he called for it. Nobunaga fought with bow until it snapped, and then he asked Yasuke for his sword.
It was time for Yasuke to fight side by side with his Lord. Now don’t forget Nobunaga had brought 30 men with him, Akechi had brought several thousand. It was a battle they could not win. They fought, no doubt Yasuke losing track of how many he had killed, but there was no end to Akechi’s forces.
They had retreated inside, and it had helped to keep the men at bay. This room they could defend, at least for now. Nobunaga has taken a spear to the shoulder, and who knows what injuries Yasuke has sustained. The temple was set a light by Akechi’s men, and Nobunaga took an arrow into his leg. By now there were less than ten of his men left. Nobunaga ordered all to hold as long as they could, so it would give him time to commit seppuku, ritual suicide. He asked Yasuke and Ranmaru to remain with him for this act.
He placed the sword to his belly, instructing Yasuke that his head and sword was to be taken to his son Nobutada, it could not fall to the enemy. Nobunaga’s last ever order was to Yasuke, and to him alone.
Nobunaga carried out seppuku, Ranmaru finishing it by slicing of the Lords head, before he himself committed seppuku, this time the act of beheading falling to Yasuke. The head of Nobunaga bundled up, and his Lords sword in hand, it was time for him to leave. Yasuke fought his way out and emerged out of the burning temple. Yasuke ran towards Nijo Castle where Nobutada resided, and gaining entry he presented the head to him.
But Nijo Castle would soon fall as Yasuke looked on. Nobutada soon committing seppuku himself. His head and that of his fathers buried under a walkway to then be devoured in flame. Akechi’s forces broke in, Yasuke fought until he was brought down by 4 men, all holding him down with all their strength. Another samurai demanded he surrender his sword and his did so, but they did not kill him. They dragged him out of Nijo into the streets of Kyoto for an audience with Akechi.
Akechi looked at him stating ‘this man is not Japanese and has no honour; otherwise, he would already be dead.’ And so he demanded his retainer take the ‘black beast’ as he called him to the Temple of the Southern Barbarians. The same church Yasuke had been in the day before he had come into the service of Nobunaga.
In the mission his wounds were cared for, Father Frois, the interpreter who first welcomed Yasuke here, pressing him for news on what the hell had just happened. Two days later Akechi’s forces lay waste to Azuchi, burning the castle and everything down’ Yasuke’s home included.
This coup was not embraced by the people, Nobunaga had been brining peace to the country that hadn’t been seen in 100 years. And it was only a week later that Akechi Mitsuhide was killed, speared by nothing more than a bandit on the road side.
Months passed, Yasuke still at the mission. Still technically a Samurai, but one with no master. A ronin. No-one was asking for him as the dealt with the fallout from this coup, Nobunaga’s successor finally being chosen. His 2 year old grandson. But of course, he held no power. Power now would be held by Hideyoshi, Nobunaga’s most trusted general when he was alive. Eventually Yasuke was sent back to where he started, the port city of Nagasaki.
And after the autumn of 1582 we don’t really know what became of Yasuke.
There are stories here and there, stories of African’s in Japan that may or may not be him.
But I feel they are for another day, when we have taken in the story of Yasuke we have been telling.
I don’t want to blur the lines of what we know was Yasuke and what only may have been him.
So they will come in the future. And episode for all the men who may or may not have been this great man.
Poem Notes
Ōshikochi Mitsune by Kikuchi Yōsai.
Today we have a poem from Ōshikochi Mitsune, a waka poet from the Heian Period.
The poem comes from a book dating to 1908 where they call his poem ‘The Quest.’ So far we only have the English and we will continue to research and try to find the Japanese. We hope you enjoy the poem.
Ye who would leave the fretting world, and go Far up among the Hills to seek release From Sorrow ‘mid the Silence and the Snow, What will ye do it there ye find no Peace?
Header Image: Meiji Era Print of the Honnō-ji Incident.
References
Lockley, T & Girard, G. (2019) African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legenedary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan. Tokyo: Tuttle-Mori Angency Inc.
R. Keller Kimbrough. (2006) Japanese Journal of Religious Studies [Online only: 1–22] Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
Shotaro, K. & Peake, C.M.A (1908) “Sword and blossom poems from the Japanese. Volume III.” Tokyo: T. Hasegawa.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 60D of our Podcast – To Become Samurai.
Story Notes
E60D To Become Samurai
After, Yasuke waited a while for another summons. Nobunaga all focused on the umazoroe (horse racing event) to come. And so Yasuke waited… and waited. Now separate from the Jesuits he had spent so long with. In essence, at least for now he had gone from the head of security for Alessandro to nothing more than someone nothing more than an afterthought.
But after three days of patient waiting, he was given his first orders. To take part in the military parade to happen the next day as part of the umazoroe. Finally, Nobunaga had recognized him being a part of his retinue now.
The arena for the event had been built from scratch only beginning mere weeks ago, and crowds now surrounded in entirely, jostling no doubt to get a view of the events to come. A pavilion had been erected also for the 106th Emperor of Japan to witness the event. The Emperor Ōgimachi.
The procession filled the arena. First Nobunaga’s chief vassals, then warriors monks, next came Akechi Mitsuhide, his chief general. After that we would have seen came Nobunaga three sons who we mentioned in the previous Yasuke episode, and finally after that, 50 retainers of Nobunaga; Yasuke included amongst them. They together made one round of the arena, then falling to the side for the rest of the event to unfold.
Yasuke watching the whole time the sheer military precision of it al. Next after this, 4 men came in carrying the throne gifted to Nobunaga by the Jesuits a few days prior, and then came Nobunaga on his horse Daikoku.
And so Yasuke watched the show, his horse guided away so he may sit in the stall on tatami to watch the 6 hours of the main event. Acrobatics on horseback, people swapping rides mid gallop as well as increasingly difficult horseback archery. All no doubt a show full of wonder and amazement to all watching, including Yasuke. At the end Nobunaga led the mounted soldiers past the imperial pavilion for inspection.
And one week later the whole show was repeated upon Imperial Request.
Azuchi Castle
And so days after the second show, Yasuke followed Nobunaga to his clan capital located at Azuchi. Time wise we are now in early May 1581. Nobunaga requested that Yasuke was to ride alongside him as they made their way out of Kyoto, to later skirt around the shores of Lake Biwa.
Eventually they made their arrival to Azuchi castle, this being the first of its style which we now call the style of a ‘typical Japanese castle.’
For the entire journey to Azuchi, Nobunaga had still not elaborated on what Yasuke’s position was to be. And after arriving to Azuchi all were dismissed Yasuke included to go to their private quarters. Some had rooms to themselves, those Nobunaga favored. But for now Yasuke was to share a room, a room in constant use, filled by those on constant rotation to watch the castle during the night and day.
Still Yasuke did not know his purpose. For the next few weeks nothing change for Yasuke, though he eventually was given his own room so he may rest better and not be disturbed by the changing of the guard. Eventually one week later, Yasuke was called to work.
He was finally given his weapons again to hold, and was tasked to watch over Nobunaga as he went about his public business. No doubt Yasuke was the ideal choice as protector, due to his prowess but also the awe it would instill in those in Nobunaga’s presence.
The Nobunaga and Yasuke relationship developed over time. During hunting trips and the like, where formality was lost and they could talk freely. Yasuke, Nobunaga, and his samurai pages all growing a little closer; Yasuke learning new sparring techniques from the Japanese, and the Japanese learning from Yasuke. Together they helped one another become even more formidable. Nobunaga all the while learning from Yasuke about the world and most importantly to him, warfare.
And so we move again to a month later, Yasuke and Nobunaga walking the upper levels of the castle together, eventually Nobunaga taking Yasuke into a modest house, a home whose roof was higher than usual. Nobunaga stated this was to be Yasuke’s home, Nobunaga having had it built especially for him and his height. At the back was a sword, holding the Oda Crest upon it.
The sword was his, the home was his. Nobunaga declaring him to be his samurai before leaving him in his new home. Yasuke was at a loss, having things he had never had before. And what was more, he now had two servants of his own and his own wage.
Now we do not know what rank of Samurai Yasuke held, but it is likely to have been one known as hatamoto. This rank acting as page to the lord. Travelling with him, and handling jobs such as finance, transport, communication and trade in regard to their lord’s needs.
Yasuke’s role had changed. He was not security now, but he was more of a consultant. One Jesuit writing “Nobunaga never tired of talking to him.” Working alongside the two dozen or so other pages to Nobunaga, these young men Yasuke learning often engaging in sexual relationships and other older Samurai. But that is entirely another topic for another day. Modern Japan very much still ignores the idea of the LGBT community, but historically it was practiced, quite openly, with no-one batting an eye.
Now some has cited that Yasuke may also have engaged in this practice and this may also aide in showing why he had such a quick rise in power. However, as of right now, it is mere academic conjecture. But an interesting one none the less.
In June, Yasuke sees a side of Nobunaga he had yet to see. He would learn why his people, though they loved him; feared him so much. It was on a day Yasuke and the other samurai had gone with Nobunaga on an outing, preparing to stay in Nagahama. However, Nobunaga changed his mind making the distance of 30 leagues back to Azuchi in one day. But, no-one would have thought it possible to make this distance so quickly and so he arrived back to Azuchi and nothing was ready for him.
Sumō yūrakuzu byōbu, depicting a dark-skinned sumo wrestler, drawn in 1605
Yasuke witnessed Nobunaga’s fury, servants caught unaware were bound and taken for execution. His female domestics who were not at home but at a nearby temple were rounded up with the abbot and brought to Nobunaga. Sitting and watching, Nobunaga oversaw the beheading of all the women and finally the abbot.
But one week later, he threw a sumo contest for visiting lords. Yasuke took part making easy work on his opponent, and so more were added into the ring. It wasn’t until 4 went against him at once that Yasuke eventually was thrown from the ring and defeated.
By August Allesandro visit Azuchi, planning on heading to Nagasaki once more to leave for Rome. He came to Nobunaga to ask as a necessary courtesy to leave Japan. Nobunaga saying his people should carry on with their good work so far. Yasuke and Allesandro saw one another for the last time that day.
Kotozawa Notes
Today Heather brings to us a new Kotozawa.
目からうろこが落ちる
めからうろこがおちる
Scales were removed from eyes.
Now this is a kotozawa that also has an English equivalent and we can find it from a reference from the Bible: Paul, or as he used to be known, Saul getting his vision restored: “Like the scales fell from his eyes.” The phrase in English can often mean a revelation, or suddenly being able to understand or “see” after being deceived.
In Japanese, the phrase is more light – to receive enlightenment or be surprised, but the meaning isn’t “heavy”.
Header Image:Samurai in Armour, hand-coloured albumen silver print by Kusakabe Kimbei, c. 1870s–90s; in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
References
Lockley, T & Girard, G. (2019) African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legenedary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan. Tokyo: Tuttle-Mori Angency Inc.
R. Keller Kimbrough. (2006) Japanese Journal of Religious Studies [Online only: 1–22] Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
Show Notes for bonus 13 of our Podcast – Jimmu’s Successors.
Story Notes
Here follows the events, as detailed in the nihongi,of Jimmu’s Successors. These are the reigns of the 2nd to 9th Emperors of Japan. There are a few extra pieces of information from other sources as well. More information pertaining to them can be found on their individual pages.
1st year, Spring, 1st Month, 8th Day: Ascends to the throne with his capital at Katsuragi residing in the Palace of Takaoka. He also gives the Empress (Himetatara) the title of Kodaigō (Great Empress)
2nd year, Spring, 1st Month. Isuzuyori is appointed Empress.
Two alternative versions say this was:
Kahamatahime, daughter of Agatanushi of Shiki.
Itorihime, daughter of Ohohimoro, Agatanushi of Kasuga.
She bore him a son, the future Emperor Annei.
4th year, Summer, 4th Month Kamiyawimimi dies, buried on the Northern side of Mt. Unebi.
1st year, Spring, 1st month, 7th day Kōan takes the throne.
Autumn, 8th month, 1st day. He gives the Empress the title Kodaigo.
2nd year, Winter, 10th month. Capital moved to Muro, residing in the Palace of Akitsushima.
26th year, Spring, 2nd month, 14th day, Oshihime is made Empress.
Two alternative versions say this was:
Nagahime, daughter of Haye, Agatanushi of Shiki.
Isakahime, daughter of Isahiko, Agatanushi of Tohochi.
The Empress gives birth to Emperor Kōrei.
38th year, Autumn, 8th month, 146th day. He buries his father.
76th year, Spring, 1st month, 5th day Kōrei is made heir.
102nd year, Spring, 1st month, 9th day the Emperor dies.
Kōan died aged 137 though the Jinnō Shōtōki says he died aged 120. In total he is said to have ruled for 123 years in the Kojiki and not 101/102 as in other sources.
His misasagi is located in Tamade.
He was buried in his misasagi in Autumn, 9th month, 132nd the same year he died.
36th year, Spring, 1st month, 1st day. Kōgen is made heir.
76th year, Spring, 2nd month, 8th day – The Emperor dies.
The Jinnō Shōtōki gives some additional information concerning his reign stating that the Chinese Emperor Ch’in sought out the The Elixir of Life in Japan during his reign. In response they asked for copies of the book of Five Kings and Three Emperors which were then sent to Japan.
Kōrei died aged 128 though the Jinnō Shōtōki says he died aged 110. In total he is said to have ruled for 106 years in the Kojiki and not 76 years as in other sources.
His misasagi is located on Mumazaka in Kataoka.
He was buried in his misasagi in the 6th year, Autumn, 9th month, 6th day of his sons reign.
22nd year, Spring, 1st month, 14th day – Kwaika is made heir.
57th year, Autumn, 9th month, 2nd day – The Emperor dies.
Kōgen died aged 116 though the Jinnō Shōtōki says he died aged 117 and the kojiki says he died aged 57. In total he is said to have ruled for 57 years.
His misasagi is located on Tsurugi Lake.
He was buried in his misasagi on the “5th year, Spring, 2nd month, 6th day” of his sons reign.
Show Notes for episode 60C of our Podcast – Meeting Nobunaga
Story Notes
We left off with them all entering finally into Kyoto for their fated meeting with Oda Nobunaga. But I failed to mention that as they neared Kyoto their small procession had grown and grown so when they finally entered into the city they have blossomed into a cohort of several hundred people.
But today was not a normal day in Kyoto, not only has Yasuke and the others come to the city, but so had many others from the surrounding region. Country people not accustomed to city life, and especially not accustomed to seeing Europeans, Chinese and Africans. They were all here for umazoroe, a horse event organized by Nobunaga.
Now having so many people so unaccustomed to foreigners took all those visiting Kyoto by surprise. In a way, Yasuke created awe in the people. In Japan there was no negative imagery associated with such a skin colour, in fact, certain images of Buddha portrayed him with dark skin.
In fact, there are several types of artwork depicting dark skinned people from Japan at the time, with the Portuguese merchant Jorge Alvarez noting the Japanese would ‘travel fifteen leagues to see black men and would entertain them for three or four days.’ These people were indeed a rare occurrence in Japan, but one that held respect here.
But all of this respect, caught Allesandro off guard. He would have prepared some form of crowd control, even hoping to use Yasuke to bring in more people in wonderment. But, Yasuke’s presence make all his crowd controlling plans impossible. Much like a battle plan which never survives the start of the fighting, such was his plan equally scuppered as the few hundreds that had been around them was doubling with every few blocks they walked.
A fever took the crowd, a need to see Yasuke, evolving into a practical riot in the very streets of Kyoto.
Now, unfortunately, Allesandro had left the horses before entering into Kyoto as he thought walking as a procession would be more dramatic.
Unfortunately, this now meant Yasuke was running as best as he could away from the crowds as they followed him, desperate to see him, or even get a hold of him. In fact, the whole procession by now had all been separated by the crowd. No-one was in charge now, Yasuke, Allesandro following Takayama Ukon’s soldiers as they pressed through the still growing crowd. Trying as best they could to reach their church in the centre of Kyoto.
They reached a small shrine, Yasuke bulldozing through one of the weak fences at the back to escaped the crowds which continued to follow him. He was very much the centre of attention. A perhaps Allesandro was grateful for that.
After all the running, and I suppose fleeing, the church came into view. Dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, Mary, it was now four year old and built in the Japanese style to make potential converts more comfortable with the change of faith. The people within the church saw Yasuke and his small group approaching and as they squeezed in through a side entrance, all doors were barred shut to finally allow Yasuke and the others to rest.
The crowds outside surrounded the church, shutters were quickly closed as rock began to pelt against the church and into the enclosure. People scrambled to barricade the other entrances to the church. The outer walls even began to buckle and splinter under the weight of people, crowds outside chanting to be let in and for Yasuke to be let out.
Who knows what would have happened, Yasuke had his weapons, but the Jesuit’s were forbidden to use them. If the crowds had gotten in, it may not have ended well for any of them. But, as quickly as the crowds had been trying to break in, now they were fleeing. Cavalry and foot soldiers were now marching slowly down the street. Warriors of Oda Nobunaga.
The soldiers arrived, Father Organtino addressing one of the warriors asking how they may serve.
The reply was simple, Oda Nobunaga would see him. And much to their elation they replied saying, yes of course Allesandro has been granted an audience.
But they were cut short. It wasn’t Allesandro who would be seeing Nobunaga today.
He wanted Yasuke, to meet the man who had disturbed the peace of Kyoto this day.
Nobunaga was only five minutes away. Headquartered at Honno-ji Temple. Yasuke was re-dressed into suitable attire, and with Father Organtino, who was a longtime acquaintance of Nobunaga they headed to their meeting. And what was more, Yasuke had to leave his weapons at the church. He was unarmed, no doubt for the first time in a long time.
Yasuke bowed, was asked to shuffle closer to Nobunaga, and after Organtino stated Yasuke could speak Japanese Nobunaga tested this out at once, asking for his name and if he was comfortable.
Luckily, Yasuke has learnt his Japanese in the form of the more polite courtly form, and so Nobunaga found his reply acceptable and the correct level of politeness.
Now Nobunaga, asked Yasuke to stand so that he may rub at his skin. He did after all, doubt the color to be real. Rubbing it obviously did nothing and so a brush and water was called for. Nobunaga even used them himself, having Yasuke take his shirt off to brush all over his body. Finally, amazed and satisfied he truly did have dark skin, he nodded called for food and drink. Yasuke was to be the guest of honour here.
Oda Nobutaka
Nobunaga called for his three sons Nobutada, Nobukatsu and Nobutaka to come to see this man, so they may learn and see of the people that lived outside of Japan. A feast began as Nobunaga then began to question Yasuke on various topics.
Now some of Yasuke’s answers here are interesting. And kind of hail back to the first episode when we introduced Yasuke. He talked of his homeland, farther away then even India, pointing it out on a globe Nobunaga had been gifted by the Jesuits. But his home, when he talked of it, he apparently talked of how he had been taken form his homeland before the coming of age ceremony for boys. When they would be given their facial scaring. Which as we talked about, then would mean he came from the Dinka Peoples. Reading back on my notes for that episode, I am unsure why I wrote that they drew on these tattoos. It was in fact scarification. Apologies for that, but it is interesting here to find more evidence, concrete evidence perhaps, on where Yasuke did actually come from.
Festivities grew less formal, Yasuke dancing a little with other warriors, and even after one woman inquired how strong he was, Nobunaga demanded he try to pick her up with only one arm. To show his strength, with one arm he instead picked up two women. In fact, a member of the gathering Ota Gyuichi later recorded Yasuke’s ‘formidable strength surpassed that of ten men.’
Everything drew to a close, and so Nobunaga ended by gifting Yasuke ten strings of copper coins, weighing over 80 pounds. This would have been a small fortune back during this time.
Days later Allesandro had his own meeting with Nobunaga, without Yasuke. Many gifts were given to Nobunaga and the final gifts that was offered was Yasuke and Nobunaga agreed.
Yasuke was to become a novelty and weapon bearer for his immediate entourage.
But there was more to come. Yasuke still would be moving up in the world. But we are not there yet.
Song Notes
For the longest of time we always talked of Heather singing for us the Sakura Song, and so here it is for you all. First talked of all the way back in Episode 33 (check out those show notes for the little history behind the song).
桜桜 弥生の空は 見渡す限り 霞か雲か 匂いぞ 出ずる いざや いざや 見に行かん
Sakura sakura yayoi no sora ha miwatasu kagiri kasumi ka kumo ka nioi zo izuru isaya izaya mini yukan
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Across the spring sky, As far as the eye can see. Is it mist, or clouds? Fragrant in the air. Come now, come now, Let’s go and see them!
Header Image: Oda Nobunaga by Kunichika Toyoharu.
References
Lockley, T & Girard, G. (2019) African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legenedary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan. Tokyo: Tuttle-Mori Angency Inc.
Show Notes for episode 60B of our Podcast – The Road to Kyoto
Story Notes
EP60B The Road to Kyoto
We carry on from where we left off. With Yasuke and Allesandro finishing up their meeting with Lord Arima. And so it was time for the two of them to return home, through the territory which was full of anti-Catholic people. And don’t forget, they had to leave from the castle which was under siege.
Now where one meeting did end we move on to another. If you remember the Jesuit and his entourage did not dock in Nagasaki as they felt the lord there, Omura Sumitada was not giving them as much as they should. And now he was feeling the pressure.
In the past he had not agreed to marry off his daughter to a Jesuit chosen man, he did not wish to force his daughter to do so. But, he still needed the Jesuit’s and their guns. And so he ventured over to the mission building in Kuchinotsu with an offer he hoped could not be refused.
He wanted to give them Nagasaki, not just the city, but all the land surrounding it.
Yasuke remained there in the meeting no doubt, but saw the Lord leaving empty handed. Allesandro not accepting the offer and gift straightaway.
He needed time to think it over. Now this thinking took several months before he made his decision.
In these months, they said farewell to the ship that had brought them, and the children that they had boarded on to the ship.
Like I said before Allesandro was not against slavery if it helped his cause and so he and Yasuke watched the board filled with children most of which were less than 10 years of age. From what I can tell these children were known as suteko, ‘thrown away children’ and the Jesuits believed they would now sail on to good Christian households where their souls would be saved.
Now as time went on, Yasuke began to work with the local military the Lord had left to devise defensive strategies for Allesandro, which included contingency and emergency escape plans. Later Yasuke would have it easier when Allesandro hired a Catholic militia, but right now. He and the small group of soldiers was all Yasuke had.
Over the next 9 months he spent time in Kuchinotsu and another place known as Kazusa, another seaport where the Lord had given the Jesuits several buildings. In fact he had given them here a Buddhist temple which they then converted into the first Catholic seminary in all of Japan.
Allesandro devised the entire thing, bringing in new acolytes to following their teachings. He would rise early, Yasuke always up before him scouting the perimeter before overseeing the preparation of his morning meals to ensure no poison was added into it. Like I have said, most days, at least for now for Yasuke were days of checking Allesandros food, walking the perimeter or standing guard during the Jesuits many, many meetings and prayers.
And so life continued that way until we find ourself at Christmas 1579. The printing press would not arrived in japan until 1590 and so Allesandro used many different plays to teach the local people of the stories of the bible.
So on Christmas day we find Yasuke dressed as Balthazar, who was according to the Catholics was the dark skinned Magi who gave the gift of myrrh to Jesus.
Life continued as before. Yasuke on guard, as Allesandro began to journey more and more around Kyushu, visiting other mission buildings as well as the other minor lords of the area. Though they had taken a long journey by boat to Japan, still they did so now as traveling by road in mountainous Japan was impractical, especially when factoring in the lords in the area who were against Catholicism.
And so, as 1579 drew to a close, Allesandro and Yasuke received word from the mission in Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga had suffered an embarrassing defeat, a man whom the mission relied on for protection. Perhaps they would have to make time eventually to make their way to Kyoto in the future.
But either way, by now a year had passed and there had been no deaths in the Jesuit ranks, and here I want to go back to the strange beliefs the Allesandro held. This one goes into race. Let us not forget he completely has entrusted his life to an African man. But Allesandro held firm to the belief that Africans were incapable of understanding Christianity. They were strangers to all human refinement, lacking culture, talent and intelligence. And yet still we find him trusting his life to a man from this place.
Yasuke was becoming proficient in the Japanese language, no doubt through standing guard during Allesandro’s lesson in Japanese. Unfortunately, unlike Yasuke Allesandro never quite got a hang of the language.
As spring dawned in 1580 they moved to Nagasaki, now in complete control of the Jesuits after lord Otomo had offered it to them. In fact they had passed a law stating only Catholics could reside within the city. Here Yasuke gained the new role of training the local militia, these including refugees from around the area as well as the ronin, warriors who no longer had a master.
Yasuke now dwelled in the new mission building, located in a well-fortified position on a promontory. I am sure Yasuke felt a little at ease here, and that as long as they were here protecting Allesandro would be much easier than it had been at Kuchinotsu. And here he remained until September of 1580. Watching the port town of Nagasaki grow and grow as more joined the catholic faith.
Otomo Sorin
But again it was time to move on. Yasuke would be heading east, to the lands owned by Otomo Sorin on Kyushu, and from there they would head to the mainland and make their way to Kyoto. Closer to Oda Nobunaga.
Yasuke had his work cut out for him here in Lord Sorin’s domain known as Bungo Province. He has the largest and most powerful lands on Kyushu and his ex-wife was very unhappy after he left her to marry in the Christian fashion. This wife, now known as Otomo Nata Jezebel, shaved her head, tried to kill herself, was put on suicide watch and threatened to take her daughters into the wilderness to die as punishment for the Lord leaving her. Now to make things worse, she was quite against Christianity, but also remained very powerful even after the Lord left her. She was a priestess of the war god Hachiman and retained many followers, including no doubt having access to ninja which dwelled in the area.
In fact during their stay in Bungo, the house of the daughter of his new wife caught fire (no others buildings did) and she barely made it out alive. Allesandro giving her a rosary in solace. So Yasuke once again was going to have to be on high alert. Now not just for soldiers, but ninja and the grand priestess.
But Allesandro as ever was undaunted. He has things to accomplish in Bungo. First he wanted to build another seminary, this one right under the protection of the Lords Castle. Second, to gather young Japanese nobles for pilgrimage to Europe. And finally, to find money to fund his trip to Kyoto and meet with Oda Nobunaga in person. Yasuke was closer than ever to meeting the most powerful men in Japan.
And now Yasuke found himself with a new threat. To get to Kyoto it would be another two week of travel, some by sea. A sea not just full of, but in essence controlled, by pirates. Of course, if one could pay a toll then you would be allowed to sail safely. Now they did pay, earning the protection of the pirate known as Lord Murakami of Noshima. Who, in fact, was the most powerful of all the pirates.
By now March of the next years has rolled around as Yasuke finds himself boarding a ship for Kyoto. Now of course Yasuke was vary, after all five years prior these pirates had been allies to the Mori Clan, who were heavily anti-Catholic. But it all worked out, and the pirates were to be trusted. As they travelled, they stopped off at islands along the way. Yasuke and the others sleeping in small forts or even pirate bases. And eventually, after all of the sailing they reached the city of Sakai, known to Europeans as the ‘Venice of Japan.’
Takayama Ukon
Here Yasuke and the others were welcomed by a group of warriors send by Nobunaga’s most senior generals. A man by the name of Takayama Ukon. And so they move on to the estate of Konishi Ryusa, the first one here to have converted to Catholicism; here they could rest a while. They were to leave the next day to Osaka, a grand procession to lead the way, but plans went awry. People clambered to see Yasuke.
The crowds grew, the soldiers attempting to control the throng, in fact we know the guards were taunted and jostled, a roof collapsed as too many people stood on it to see Yasuke, and people fell through paper doors and windows as they lost their footing in the crowds. In the end Yasuke was forced to mount a horse to more easily push his way through the unruly crowds.
Easter week ended as they near Kyoto, Yasuke and the entourage being entertained now by Takayama Ukon who we have just mentioned. He was very devout in his Catholicism, who genuinely cared for the religion and not just the guns which came with it.
Easter Sunday festivities drew to a close with a messenger arriving for Lord Ukon and after reading he addressed Yasuke and the others saying.
Fathers and Brothers in Christ. We have been done great honour. Lord Nobunaga has requested us to proceed with all haste to his presence. You will be seen within mere days.’
And so on March 27th, 1581. Yasuke, with Allesandro and a large retinue of Jesuits, powerful people from Nagasaki, Bungo, Omura, Arima and Sakai, twenty-five choir boys, all with banners and icon of their religion raised high, they entered finally into Kyoto to meet finally with Oda Nobunaga.
Poem Notes
A poem we have talked of before but never discussed or anyalsed. A poem in the theme of frogs, composed by Basho during a poetry competition.
古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音
furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto
Breaking the silence of an ancient pond, a frog jumped into water – A deep resonance
Header Image: An 18th-century Chinese painting depicting a naval battle between wokou pirates and the Chinese.
References
Lockley, T & Girard, G. (2019) African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legenedary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan. Tokyo: Tuttle-Mori Angency Inc.
Yuasa, N. (1966) “The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and other Travel Sketches.“ London: Penguin.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 60A of our Podcast – Yasuke arriving in Japan
Updates on Last Week Episode
One of our listeners chimed in about us saying perhaps the Knights were Samurai, reminding us that Samurai didn’t come into existence in the 12th century, however, the story of the Bamboo Cutter was written around the 9th/10th century and so predates the Samurai. Similarly it also predates the daimyo and shugo titles held in Japan.
So as to what term has been changed to Knight, we are still not sure of. There are however some terms I came across which existed during this time such as Kokushi which could be the term here that was translated into Knight. We will have to ask the Professor for his thoughts here.
Story Notes
So today we are going to talk about Yasuke, the first African to have gained the title of Samurai in Japan.
Around this time he is likely to have been a relatively young man, in his young twenties, one source I used saying no more than 23. Being at least six foot two from the records we have he towered over everyone, and at this point of his life, half of it had been spent as a soldier. It’s said he brandished an short curved Arab dagger, as well as a tall spear gathered from India. So he was definitely going to be a sight to behold in Japan.
Now he arrived Japan July, 1579 travelling on a top of the line Portuguese ship known as a Nao. At this point in time, Yasuke was sailing on one of the largest vessels in the world. Some 500 tons, they were built for moving product, not for their speed. And thy lacked grace in appearance,
Yasuke at this time was the protector of the Jesuit missionary known as Alessandro Valignano.
Alessandro Valignano
In essence, if you were to boil it down to one thing. They were here to bring Christianity, though Japan saw it as a very foreign thing. Too strange almost to adopt, there were those who adopted Christianity over time in Japan.
But for the most part, Japan wanted guns, and if bringing guns to trade allowed the Jesuit missionaries to stay and perhaps convert a few of the Japanese, they didn’t mind doing it at all. I do want to talk about Christianity and how it affected Japan during this time, but we are here for Yasuke today. Of course, there were still exceptions to the rules, where the Lords may have taken in Christianity to get access to guns. The local populace did, at times seem happy to adopt the religion.
Yasuke has been travelling now for over 2 years before reaching Japan. Starting in Goa when he began to work for the Jesuits, from there he travelled to Melaka, then Macao and finally to Japan. So he was very accustomed to life on a ship by now. However he had it better than those employed by the captains of the ships he had previously travelled in. Having access to better food and drink from supplies brought by the missionaries. For most crew members on these ships at the time, we are talking food such as hard tack biscuits, given out monthly IF they hadn’t already spoiled. And if that wasn’t bad enough, rat meat was often main courses for sailors at the time as food waned and the rats multiplied on board. Not the best of jobs.
The language of the mariner at the time was Portuguese and so it is highly likely that Yasuke would have learnt some in his time at sea.
And so they near the coast of Japan, planning on docking at Nagasaki until a vessel approached them with another Jesuit on board. This man, Brother Ambrosius Fernandes, instructed them to dock in the next domain, at the port of Kuchinotsu, instead of Nagasaki. The local Lord of Nagasaki at the time, Omura Sumitada, had not been accommodating enough in the Jesuit’s opinion and so they should go elsewhere. The was another Lord who so desperately wanted their guns, and he would no doubt give in to any of their requests and demands to get them. And so, one more day at sea was needed before Yasuke could walk on land once more.
In fact the plan for Yasuke and Allesandro was to reside here for several years, giving Yasuke and Allesandro a much needed break from the ocean.
Arima Harunobu
So they finally docked and Yasuke could set foot on dry land, the area being under the control of Arima Harunobu. A man who had enemies on all sides. Especially those to the north of him, who had chosen to go to war with those who had gained favour in the eyes of the Europeans as well as gaining hold of their guns and agreeing to abandon centuries of Buddhism and Shintoism to convert their beliefs over to Christianity.
The Lord was their to welcome Allesandro and Yasuke to his small town. Likely at the time having little more than 60 houses here. A much less grand place to the nearby Nagasaki.
Now, before hired by Allesandro, his old bosses had preferred their security to be hidden in the shadows so their enemy would not know they had protection. But Allesandro was very different, having Yasuke wield his dagger and spear for all to see and there is the high liklyhood as well his skin color would have also been a deciding factor in hiring him, as another means that people would always be aware of his presence. Even though he had hired Yasuke as a shock and awe type of element to his retinue, Allesandro was not the best of people
For instance, this Jesuit was a prolific writer, but as he did not agree with the ‘lower classes’ at no point in his entire writing does he mention Yasuke. And he was a fan of turning a blind eye to things such as slaves trading and gunrunning if it meant he could save more souls on behalf of the Pope. The first Jesuits had come over 30 years before Alessandro to begin their work at converting Japan to Christianity and by this point when Yasuke arrive Kuchinotsu had been a Christian domain for years.
Yasuke new he would have to be more alert in Japan to ensure Allesandro stayed safe. The previous year the Jesuit’s had unfortunately backed a loosing side in the Battle of Mimigawa, barely escaping with their lives. And so the Jesuits were still very much seen as the enemy by many Lord in neighbouring domains. And if they managed to get a hold of and kill Allesandro they no doubt would have. So Yasuke was definitely going to have his work cut out for himself.
Now, the Lord here came to greet them as I said. But I just want to say, he had to sneak to the port to meet them. At this point in time, his own castle is under siege, but such was his desire to meet Allesandro when he arrived to put him in his good graces, he snuck out at night time. And would later have to sneak back into his own castle. Also, it should be said, he is only twelve! And additionally, to add to the bizarre nature of him wanting Christianity he had at first been heavily anti-Catholic, led a rebellion against his catholic father and forced 15,000 of his father subjects to give up Christianity. So it is very likely he welcomed the religion back with open arms because of the trade and guns the Jesuits could offer him in the fight against his enemies.
Now many locals, they are seeing Yasuke for the first time. A man of color, and so many made erroneous assumptions of where he had come from. The land of Tenjiku. This word made up from the Kanji for Heaven and Bamboo, was a term used for India back during this time. Yasuke and the others were led to the mission building where Lord Arima made his farewell, leaving with them a small group for body guards and servants, though I doubt Yasuke though the extra guards were needed. However, that was all the Lord could offer to them for now as he had to return to the siege he was currently under.
Now Yasuke, is having to learn a new culture, a new language, and even come to terms with new architecture. The mission building would have been housed in a temple, the old relic of Buddha replaced with Christian ones. But Yasuke had come from a place where buildings were sturdy. Made of stone or brick, here the buildings were of wood, and paper thin wall literally made of paper and so the idea of defending the man who served was going to be on an going stress.
And to add to it, Allesandro decided soon after arriving and resting in the mission that they were to go to see Lord Arima in his own castle. Though it was under siege. If the Lord could sneak in and out, then there was no reason they couldn’t too. And so Yasuke would have to follow and protect Allesandro as best he could.
And so sadly Yasuke find himself on a boat once more, heading to Hinoe Castle and after disembarking closer to the castle they were now in territory filled with heavily anti-catholic people. Yasuke was definately going to have to keen himself alert for any danger to come. But some of the Lords men were waiting for them, and so, though the route was difficult, through a mountain, fording a river, and then another mountain, but they made it safely to the castle.
Yasuke remained on guard during a meeting between Allesandro and Lord Arima, in which the Lord agreed to be baptised as it was the only was Allesandro was going to order for him some cannons from Goa to aide in his fight against his enemies. But the baptism could only go ahead Yasuke overheard, if he agreed to break it off with his mistress and marry in a Christian Ceremony, a Jesuit preferred wife.
Now I want to leave it there for now, at least for his time in Japan.
I want to look into where we believe Yasuke came from, when he was taken in his youth.
There are a few varying theories. So I want to go through them.
We have a French account from Francois Solier dating to 1627 in a book called the Histoire ecclésiastique des isles et royaumes du Japon stating Yasuke came from Mozambique. However this account was written long after the fact and is likely an assumption as we have not other documents or accounts backing up this statement.
There are other accounts that states the first Africans to arrive in Japan were also from Mozambique, but none do talk of Yasuke. In 2013 there was an investigating stating he was a Makua with the name of Yasufe, a name derived from a Mozambican name of Issufo, but this investigation did not necessarily meet journalistic standards and may not hold much weight to it. The Makua people, additionally, did not have much contact with the Portuguese in Mozambique until 1585, some six years after Yasuke arrived in Japan.
Yao Chief
He could also have been a part of the Yao People, again around the area of Mozambique and neighbouring countries who were around this time coming into contact with the Portuguese. Interestingly, in Japan a common suffix to male names is suke, and if you combine it with Yao, you end up with Yao-suke.
Now, other believe he could originate from Ethopia, from the Habesha people. A man by the name of Thomas Lockley suggested that this theory is most convincing as members of this group who were not Jewiish, Christian, or non-Muslim were called Cafre by the Portuguese; and they were well‐built and skilled soldiers much like what Yasuke was. From this theory his original name might be the Ethiopian Yisake or the Portuguese Isaque, derived from Isaac. Yasufe was also used as a surname in Ethiopia adding to the theory of him coming from this country.
And finally, it is stated by some that he was of the Dinka from South Sudan. When talked of, Yasuke was always connected to his extreme height and extremely dark skin color. The Dinka people are among the tallest in Africa, and have darker skin than the Ethiopians, Eritreans, or Somalis. However, adult Dinka men had a ritual custom of drawing decorative patterns on their faces by tattooing, but no account of Yasuke having a face pattern was recorded.
Now I could not find an answer to when they became men, so thought Yasuke was never mentioned as having marking on his face, perhaps he was taken before this coming of age rite had been enacted on him.
“So to speak, armor, saddle, armor, saddle, three set of armor and saddle. Total number of the set of armor and saddle is six set of armor and saddle.” Quote The Professor.
Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. He was very poor and sad also, for no child had Heaven sent to cheer his old age, and in his heart there was no hope of rest from work till he died and was laid in the quiet grave. Every morning he went forth into the woods and hills wherever the bamboo reared its lithe green plumes against the sky. When he had made his choice, he would cut down these feathers of the forest, and splitting them lengthwise, or cutting them into joints, would carry the bamboo wood home and make it into various articles for the household, and he and his old wife gained a small livelihood by selling them.
One morning as usual he had gone out to his work, and having found a nice clump of bamboos, had set to work to cut some of them down. Suddenly the green grove of bamboos was flooded with a bright soft light, as if the full moon had risen over the spot. Looking round in astonishment, he saw that the brilliance was streaming from one bamboo. The old man, full of wonder, dropped his ax and went towards the light. On nearer approach he saw that this soft splendor came from a hollow in the green bamboo stem, and still more wonderful to behold, in the midst of the brilliance stood a tiny human being, only three inches in height, and exquisitely beautiful in appearance.
“You must be sent to be my child, for I find you here among the bamboos where lies my daily work,” said the old man, and taking the little creature in his hand he took it home to his wife to bring up. The tiny girl was so exceedingly beautiful and so small, that the old woman put her into a basket to safeguard her from the least possibility of being hurt in any way.
The old couple were now very happy, for it had been a lifelong regret that they had no children of their own, and with joy they now expended all the love of their old age on the little child who had come to them in so marvelous a manner.
Discovering Kaguyahime, The Met Museum.
From this time on, the old man often found gold in the notches of the bamboos when he hewed them down and cut them up; not only gold, but precious stones also, so that by degrees he became rich. He built himself a fine house, and was no longer known as the poor bamboo woodcutter, but as a wealthy man.
Three months passed quickly away, and in that time the bamboo child had, wonderful to say, become a full-grown girl, so her foster-parents did up her hair and dressed her in beautiful kimonos. She was of such wondrous beauty that they placed her behind the screens like a princess, and allowed no one to see her, waiting upon her themselves. It seemed as if she were made of light, for the house was filled with a soft shining, so that even in the dark of night it was like daytime. Her presence seemed to have a benign influence on those there. Whenever the old man felt sad, he had only to look upon his foster-daughter and his sorrow vanished, and he became as happy as when he was a youth.
At last the day came for the naming of their new-found child, so the old couple called in a celebrated name-giver, and he gave her the name of Princess Moonlight, because her body gave forth so much soft bright light that she might have been a daughter of the Moon God.
For three days the festival was kept up with song and dance and music. All the friends and relations of the old couple were present, and great was their enjoyment of the festivities held to celebrate the naming of Princess Moonlight. Everyone who saw her declared that there never had been seen any one so lovely; all the beauties throughout the length and breadth of the land would grow pale beside her, so they said. The fame of the Princess’s loveliness spread far and wide, and many were the suitors who desired to win her hand, or even so much as to see her.
Suitors from far and near posted themselves outside the house, and made little holes in the fence, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Princess as she went from one room to the other along the veranda. They stayed there day and night, sacrificing even their sleep for a chance of seeing her, but all in vain. Then they approached the house, and tried to speak to the old man and his wife or some of the servants, but not even this was granted them.
Still, in spite of all this disappointment they stayed on day after day, and night after night, and counted it as nothing, so great was their desire to see the Princess.
At last, however, most of the men, seeing how hopeless their quest was, lost heart and hope both, and returned to their homes. All except five Knights, whose ardor and determination, instead of waning, seemed to wax greater with obstacles. These five men even went without their meals, and took snatches of whatever they could get brought to them, so that they might always stand outside the dwelling. They stood there in all weathers, in sunshine and in rain.
Sometimes they wrote letters to the Princess, but no answer was vouchsafed to them. Then when letters failed to draw any reply, they wrote poems to her telling her of the hopeless love which kept them from sleep, from food, from rest, and even from their homes. Still Princes Moonlight gave no sign of having received their verses.
In this hopeless state the winter passed. The snow and frost and the cold winds gradually gave place to the gentle warmth of spring. Then the summer came, and the sun burned white and scorching in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, and still these faithful Knights kept watch and waited. At the end of these long months they called out to the old bamboo-cutter and entreated him to have some mercy upon them and to show them the Princess, but he answered only that as he was not her real father he could not insist on her obeying him against her wishes.
The five Knights on receiving this stern answer returned to their several homes, and pondered over the best means of touching the proud Princess’s heart, even so much as to grant them a hearing. They took their rosaries in hand and knelt before their household shrines, and burned precious incense, praying to Buddha to give them their heart’s desire. Thus several days passed, but even so they could not rest in their homes.
So again they set out for the bamboo-cutter’s house. This time the old man came out to see them, and they asked him to let them know if it was the Princess’s resolution never to see any man whatsoever, and they implored him to speak for them and to tell her the greatness of their love, and how long they had waited through the cold of winter and the heat of summer, sleepless and roofless through all weathers, without food and without rest, in the ardent hope of winning her, and they were willing to consider this long vigil as pleasure if she would but give them one chance of pleading their cause with her.
The old man lent a willing ear to their tale of love, for in his inmost heart he felt sorry for these faithful suitors and would have liked to see his lovely foster-daughter married to one of them. So he went in to Princess Moonlight and said reverently:
“Although you have always seemed to me to be a heavenly being, yet I have had the trouble of bringing you up as my own child and you have been glad of the protection of my roof. Will you refuse to do as I wish?”
Then Princess Moonlight replied that there was nothing she would not do for him, that she honored and loved him as her own father, and that as for herself she could not remember the time before she came to earth.
The old man listened with great joy as she spoke these dutiful words. Then he told her how anxious he was to see her safely and happily married before he died.
“I am an old man, over seventy years of age, and my end may come any time now. It is necessary and right that you should see these five suitors and choose one of them.”
“Oh, why,” said the Princess in distress, “must I do this? I have no wish to marry now.”
“I found you,” answered the old man, “many years ago, when you were a little creature three inches high, in the midst of a great white light. The light streamed from the bamboo in which you were hid and led me to you. So I have always thought that you were more than mortal woman. While I am alive it is right for you to remain as you are if you wish to do so, but some day I shall cease to be and who will take care of you then? Therefore I pray you to meet these five brave men one at a time and make up your mind to marry one of them!”
Then the Princess answered that she felt sure that she was not as beautiful as perhaps report made her out to be, and that even if she consented to marry any one of them, not really knowing her before, his heart might change afterwards. So as she did not feel sure of them, even though her father told her they were worthy Knights, she did not feel it wise to see them.
“All you say is very reasonable,” said the old man, “but what kind of men will you consent to see? I do not call these five men who have waited on you for months, light-hearted. They have stood outside this house through the winter and the summer, often denying themselves food and sleep so that they may win you. What more can you demand?”
Then Princess Moonlight said she must make further trial of their love before she would grant their request to interview her. The five warriors were to prove their love by each bringing her from distant countries something that she desired to possess.
That same evening the suitors arrived and began to play their flutes in turn, and to sing their self-composed songs telling of their great and tireless love. The bamboo-cutter went out to them and offered them his sympathy for all they had endured and all the patience they had shown in their desire to win his foster-daughter. Then he gave them her message, that she would consent to marry whosoever was successful in bringing her what she wanted. This was to test them.
The five all accepted the trial, and thought it an excellent plan, for it would prevent jealousy between them.
Princess Moonlight then sent word to the First Knight that she requested him to bring her the stone bowl which had belonged to Buddha in India.
“The Immortal Island of Penglai”, by Chinese artist Yuan Jiang (1708)
The Second Knight was asked to go to the Mountain of Horai (Penglai), said to be situated in the Eastern Sea, and to bring her a branch of the wonderful tree that grew on its summit. The roots of this tree were of silver, the trunk of gold, and the branches bore as fruit white jewels.
The Third Knight was told to go to China and search for the fire-rat and to bring her its skin.
The Fourth Knight was told to search for the dragon that carried on its head the stone radiating five colors and to bring the stone to her.
The Fifth Knight was to find the swallow which carried a shell in its stomach and to bring the shell to her.
The old man thought these very hard tasks and hesitated to carry the messages, but the Princess would make no other conditions. So her commands were issued word for word to the five men who, when they heard what was required of them, were all disheartened and disgusted at what seemed to them the impossibility of the tasks given them and returned to their own homes in despair.
But after a time, when they thought of the Princess, the love in their hearts revived for her, and they resolved to make an attempt to get what she desired of them.
The First Knight sent word to the Princess that he was starting out that day on the quest of Buddha’s bowl, and he hoped soon to bring it to her. But he had not the courage to go all the way to India, for in those days traveling was very difficult and full of danger, so he went to one of the temples in Kyoto and took a stone bowl from the altar there, paying the priest a large sum of money for it. He then wrapped it in a cloth of gold and, waiting quietly for three years, returned and carried it to the old man.
Princess Moonlight wondered that the Knight should have returned so soon. She took the bowl from its gold wrapping, expecting it to make the room full of light, but it did not shine at all, so she knew that it was a sham thing and not the true bowl of Buddha. She returned it at once and refused to see him. The Knight threw the bowl away and returned to his home in despair. He gave up now all hopes of ever winning the Princess.
The Second Knight told his parents that he needed change of air for his health, for he was ashamed to tell them that love for the Princess Moonlight was the real cause of his leaving them. He then left his home, at the same time sending word to the Princess that he was setting out for Mount Horai in the hope of getting her a branch of the gold and silver tree which she so much wished to have. He only allowed his servants to accompany him half-way, and then sent them back. He reached the seashore and embarked on a small ship, and after sailing away for three days he landed and employed several carpenters to build him a house contrived in such a way that no one could get access to it. He then shut himself up with six skilled jewelers, and endeavored to make such a gold and silver branch as he thought would satisfy the Princess as having come from the wonderful tree growing on Mount Horai. Every one whom he had asked declared that Mount Horai belonged to the land of fable and not to fact.
When the branch was finished, he took his journey home and tried to make himself look as if he were wearied and worn out with travel. He put the jeweled branch into a lacquer box and carried it to the bamboo-cutter, begging him to present it to the Princess.
The old man was quite deceived by the travel-stained appearance of the Knight, and thought that he had only just returned from his long journey with the branch. So he tried to persuade the Princess to consent to see the man. But she remained silent and looked very sad. The old man began to take out the branch and praised it as a wonderful treasure to be found nowhere in the whole land. Then he spoke of the Knight, how handsome and how brave he was to have undertaken a journey to so remote a place as the Mount of Horai.
Princess Moonlight took the branch in her hand and looked at it carefully. She then told her foster-parent that she knew it was impossible for the man to have obtained a branch from the gold and silver tree growing on Mount Horai so quickly or so easily, and she was sorry to say she believed it artificial.
The old man then went out to the expectant Knight, who had now approached the house, and asked where he had found the branch. Then the man did not scruple to make up a long story.
“Two years ago I took a ship and started in search of Mount Horai. After going before the wind for some time I reached the far Eastern Sea. Then a great storm arose and I was tossed about for many days, losing all count of the points of the compass, and finally we were blown ashore on an unknown island. Here I found the place inhabited by demons who at one time threatened to kill and eat me. However, I managed to make friends with these horrible creatures, and they helped me and my sailors to repair the boat, and I set sail again. Our food gave out, and we suffered much from sickness on board. At last, on the five-hundredth day from the day of starting, I saw far off on the horizon what looked like the peak of a mountain. On nearer approach, this proved to be an island, in the center of which rose a high mountain. I landed, and after wandering about for two or three days, I saw a shining being coming towards me on the beach, holding in his hands a golden bowl. I went up to him and asked him if I had, by good chance, found the island of Mount Horai, and he answered:”
“‘Yes, this is Mount Horai!’”
“With much difficulty I climbed to the summit, here stood the golden tree growing with silver roots in the ground. The wonders of that strange land are many, and if I began to tell you about them I could never stop. In spite of my wish to stay there long, on breaking off the branch I hurried back. With utmost speed it has taken me four hundred days to get back, and, as you see, my clothes are still damp from exposure on the long sea voyage. I have not even waited to change my raiment, so anxious was I to bring the branch to the Princess quickly.”
Just at this moment the six jewelers, who had been employed on the making of the branch, but not yet paid by the Knight, arrived at the house and sent in a petition to the Princess to be paid for their labor. They said that they had worked for over a thousand days making the branch of gold, with its silver twigs and its jeweled fruit, that was now presented to her by the Knight, but as yet they had received nothing in payment. So this Knight’s deception was thus found out, and the Princess, glad of an escape from one more importunate suitor, was only too pleased to send back the branch. She called in the workmen and had them paid liberally, and they went away happy. But on the way home they were overtaken by the disappointed man, who beat them till they were nearly dead, for letting out the secret, and they barely escaped with their lives. The Knight then returned home, raging in his heart; and in despair of ever winning the Princess gave up society and retired to a solitary life among the mountains.
Now the Third Knight had a friend in China, so he wrote to him to get the skin of the fire-rat. The virtue of any part of this animal was that no fire could harm it. He promised his friend any amount of money he liked to ask if only he could get him the desired article. As soon as the news came that the ship on which his friend had sailed home had come into port, he rode seven days on horseback to meet him. He handed his friend a large sum of money, and received the fire-rat’s skin. When he reached home he put it carefully in a box and sent it in to the Princess while he waited outside for her answer.
The bamboo-cutter took the box from the Knight and, as usual, carried it in to her and tried to coax her to see the Knight at once, but Princess Moonlight refused, saying that she must first put the skin to test by putting it into the fire. If it were the real thing it would not burn. So she took off the crape wrapper and opened the box, and then threw the skin into the fire. The skin crackled and burnt up at once, and the Princess knew that this man also had not fulfilled his word. So the Third Knight failed also.
Now the Fourth Knight was no more enterprising than the rest. Instead of starting out on the quest of the dragon bearing on its head the five-color-radiating jewel, he called all his servants together and gave them the order to seek for it far and wide in Japan and in China, and he strictly forbade any of them to return till they had found it.
His numerous retainers and servants started out in different directions, with no intention, however, of obeying what they considered an impossible order. They simply took a holiday, went to pleasant country places together, and grumbled at their master’s unreasonableness.
The Knight meanwhile, thinking that his retainers could not fail to find the jewel, repaired to his house, and fitted it up beautifully for the reception of the Princess, he felt so sure of winning her.
One year passed away in weary waiting, and still his men did not return with the dragon-jewel. The Knight became desperate. He could wait no longer, so taking with him only two men he hired a ship and commanded the captain to go in search of the dragon; the captain and the sailors refused to undertake what they said was an absurd search, but the Knight compelled them at last to put out to sea.
When they had been but a few days out they encountered a great storm which lasted so long that, by the time its fury abated, the Knight had determined to give up the hunt of the dragon. They were at last blown on shore, for navigation was primitive in those days. Worn out with his travels and anxiety, the fourth suitor gave himself up to rest. He had caught a very heavy cold, and had to go to bed with a swollen face.
The governor of the place, hearing of his plight, sent messengers with a letter inviting him to his house. While he was there thinking over all his troubles, his love for the Princess turned to anger, and he blamed her for all the hardships he had undergone. He thought that it was quite probable she had wished to kill him so that she might be rid of him, and in order to carry out her wish had sent him upon his impossible quest.
At this point all the servants he had sent out to find the jewel came to see him, and were surprised to find praise instead of displeasure awaiting them. Their master told them that he was heartily sick of adventure, and said that he never intended to go near the Princess’s house again in the future.
Like all the rest, the Fifth Knight failed in his quest—he could not find the swallow’s shell.
By this time the fame of Princess Moonlight’s beauty had reached the ears of the Emperor, and he sent one of the Court ladies to see if she were really as lovely as report said; if so he would summon her to the Palace and make her one of the ladies-in-waiting.
When the Court lady arrived, in spite of her father’s entreaties, Princess Moonlight refused to see her. The Imperial messenger insisted, saying it was the Emperor’s order. Then Princess Moonlight told the old man that if she was forced to go to the Palace in obedience to the Emperor’s order, she would vanish from the earth.
When the Emperor was told of her persistence in refusing to obey his summons, and that if pressed to obey she would disappear altogether from sight, he determined to go and see her. So he planned to go on a hunting excursion in the neighborhood of the bamboo-cutter’s house, and see the Princess himself. He sent word to the old man of his intention, and he received consent to the scheme. The next day the Emperor set out with his retinue, which he soon managed to outride. He found the bamboo-cutter’s house and dismounted. He then entered the house and went straight to where the Princess was sitting with her attendant maidens.
Never had he seen any one so wonderfully beautiful, and he could not but look at her, for she was more lovely than any human being as she shone in her own soft radiance. When Princess Moonlight became aware that a stranger was looking at her she tried to escape from the room, but the Emperor caught her and begged her to listen to what he had to say. Her only answer was to hide her face in her sleeves.
The Emperor fell deeply in love with her, and begged her to come to the Court, where he would give her a position of honor and everything she could wish for. He was about to send for one of the Imperial palanquins to take her back with him at once, saying that her grace and beauty should adorn a Court, and not be hidden in a bamboo-cutter’s cottage.
But the Princess stopped him. She said that if she were forced to go to the Palace she would turn at once into a shadow, and even as she spoke she began to lose her form. Her figure faded from his sight while he looked.
The Emperor then promised to leave her free if only she would resume her former shape, which she did.
It was now time for him to return, for his retinue would be wondering what had happened to their Royal master when they missed him for so long. So he bade her good-by, and left the house with a sad heart. Princess Moonlight was for him the most beautiful woman in the world; all others were dark beside her, and he thought of her night and day. His Majesty now spent much of his time in writing poems, telling her of his love and devotion, and sent them to her, and though she refused to see him again she answered with many verses of her own composing, which told him gently and kindly that she could never marry any one on this earth. These little songs always gave him pleasure.
At this time her foster-parents noticed that night after night the Princess would sit on her balcony and gaze for hours at the moon, in a spirit of the deepest dejection, ending always in a burst of tears. One night the old man found her thus weeping as if her heart were broken, and he besought her to tell him the reason of her sorrow.
With many tears she told him that he had guessed rightly when he supposed her not to belong to this world—that she had in truth come from the moon, and that her time on earth would soon be over. On the fifteenth day of that very month of August her friends from the moon would come to fetch her, and she would have to return. Her parents were both there, but having spent a lifetime on the earth she had forgotten them, and also the moon-world to which she belonged. It made her weep, she said, to think of leaving her kind foster-parents, and the home where she had been happy for so long.
When her attendants heard this they were very sad, and could not eat or drink for sadness at the thought that the Princess was so soon to leave them.
The Emperor, as soon as the news was carried to him, sent messengers to the house to find out if the report were true or not.
The old bamboo-cutter went out to meet the Imperial messengers. The last few days of sorrow had told upon the old man; he had aged greatly, and looked much more than his seventy years. Weeping bitterly, he told them that the report was only too true, but he intended, however, to make prisoners of the envoys from the moon, and to do all he could to prevent the Princess from being carried back.
The men returned and told His Majesty all that had passed. On the fifteenth day of that month the Emperor sent a guard of two thousand warriors to watch the house. One thousand stationed themselves on the roof, another thousand kept watch round all the entrances of the house. All were well trained archers, with bows and arrows. The bamboo-cutter and his wife hid Princess Moonlight in an inner room.
Celestial Beings.
The old man gave orders that no one was to sleep that night, all in the house were to keep a strict watch, and be ready to protect the Princess. With these precautions, and the help of the Emperor’s men-at-arms, he hoped to withstand the moon-messengers, but the Princess told him that all these measures to keep her would be useless, and that when her people came for her nothing whatever could prevent them from carrying out their purpose. Even the Emperors men would be powerless. Then she added with tears that she was very, very sorry to leave him and his wife, whom she had learned to love as her parents, that if she could do as she liked she would stay with them in their old age, and try to make some return for all the love and kindness they had showered upon her during all her earthly life.
The night wore on! The yellow harvest moon rose high in the heavens, flooding the world asleep with her golden light. Silence reigned over the pine and the bamboo forests, and on the roof where the thousand men-at-arms waited.
Then the night grew gray towards the dawn and all hoped that the danger was over—that Princess Moonlight would not have to leave them after all. Then suddenly the watchers saw a cloud form round the moon—and while they looked this cloud began to roll earthwards. Nearer and nearer it came, and every one saw with dismay that its course lay towards the house.
In a short time the sky was entirely obscured, till at last the cloud lay over the dwelling only ten feet off the ground. In the midst of the cloud there stood a flying chariot, and in the chariot a band of luminous beings. One amongst them who looked like a king and appeared to be the chief stepped out of the chariot, and, poised in air, called to the old man to come out.
“The time has come,” he said, “for Princess Moonlight to return to the moon from whence she came. She committed a grave fault, and as a punishment was sent to live down here for a time. We know what good care you have taken of the Princess, and we have rewarded you for this and have sent you wealth and prosperity. We put the gold in the bamboos for you to find.”
“I have brought up this Princess for twenty years and never once has she done a wrong thing, therefore the lady you are seeking cannot be this one,” said the old man. “I pray you to look elsewhere.”
Then the messenger called aloud, saying:
“Princess Moonlight, come out from this lowly dwelling. Rest not here another moment.”
At these words the screens of the Princess’s room slid open of their own accord, revealing the Princess shining in her own radiance, bright and wonderful and full of beauty.
The messenger led her forth and placed her in the chariot. She looked back, and saw with pity the deep sorrow of the old man. She spoke to him many comforting words, and told him that it was not her will to leave him and that he must always think of her when looking at the moon.
The bamboo-cutter implored to be allowed to accompany her, but this was not allowed. The Princess took off her embroidered outer garment and gave it to him as a keepsake.
One of the moon beings in the chariot held a wonderful coat of wings, another had a phial full of the Elixir of Life which was given the Princess to drink. She swallowed a little and was about to give the rest to the old man, but she was prevented from doing so.
The robe of wings was about to be put upon her shoulders, but she said:
“Wait a little. I must not forget my good friend the Emperor. I must write him once more to say good-by while still in this human form.”
In spite of the impatience of the messengers and charioteers she kept them waiting while she wrote. She placed the phial of the Elixir of Life with the letter, and, giving them to the old man, she asked him to deliver them to the Emperor.
Then the chariot began to roll heavenwards towards the moon, and as they all gazed with tearful eyes at the receding Princess, the dawn broke, and in the rosy light of day the moon-chariot and all in it were lost amongst the fleecy clouds that were now wafted across the sky on the wings of the morning wind.
Princess Moonlight’s letter was carried to the Palace. His Majesty was afraid to touch the Elixir of Life, so he sent it with the letter to the top of the most sacred mountain in the land. Mount Fuji, and there the Royal emissaries burnt it on the summit at sunrise. So to this day people say there is smoke to be seen rising from the top of Mount Fuji to the clouds.
Game Notes
Heather knows of a Japanese game that goes as follows, perhaps you may enjoy teaching it to your children?
にらめっこ しましょ わらうと まけよ あっぷっぷ
Niramekko shimashou Warauto makeyo Appuppu
Let’s play the staring game If you laugh you lose! Appupuu (nonsense word to indicate start of the game)
How to play:
Cover your face (I’ve also seen people turn back to back)
Say the chant
Uncover face or turn
Make the craziest face you can!
Whoever laughs last or doesn’t laugh is the winner!!
Show Notes for bonus episode 12 of our Podcast – The Vampire Cat.
Story Notes
B12 Vampire Cat of Nabeshima
This is an old tale, from 1871 by A.B.Mitford. Due to the age of the tale it is now out of copyright and so we have the entire original story here for you to enjoy. It is the story of the Vampire Cat, or locally known in Japan as the Bakeneko.
There is a tradition in the Nabéshima family that, many years ago, the Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been kept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of rare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset, when they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being followed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired to her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start, and became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in her delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so fair a dame, the darling of her prince’s heart, to die suddenly, bitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave under the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her form, began to bewitch the Prince.
But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little thought that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled him was an impish and foul beast that had slain his mistress and assumed her shape in order to drain out his life’s blood. Day by day, as time went on, the Prince’s strength dwindled away; the colour of his face was changed, and became pale and livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly sickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly alarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed various remedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the more serious did his illness appear, and no treatment was of any avail. But most of all did he suffer in the night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and disturbed by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors nightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over him; but, strange to say, towards ten o’clock on the very first night that the watch was set, the guard were seized with a sudden and unaccountable drowsiness, which they could not resist, until one by one every man had fallen asleep. Then the false O Toyo came in and harassed the Prince until morning. The following night the same thing occurred, and the Prince was subjected to the imp’s tyranny, while his guards slept helplessly around him. Night after night this was repeated, until at last three of the Prince’s councillors determined themselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could overcome this mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no better than the others, and by ten o’clock were fast asleep. The next day the three councillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya Buzen, said—
“This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men should thus be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that is upon my lord and upon his guard must be the work of witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts are of no avail, let us seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the temple called Miyo-in, and beseech him to put up prayers for the recovery of my lord.”
And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had said, they went to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite litanies that the Prince might be restored to health.
So it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of Miyo-in, offered up prayers nightly for the Prince. One night, at the ninth hour (midnight), when he had finished his religious exercises and was preparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied that he heard a noise outside in the garden, as if some one were washing himself at the well. Deeming this passing strange, he looked down from the window; and there in the moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some twenty-four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the figure of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my lord the Prince. Ruiten looked on with admiration; and the young man, when he had made an end of his prayer, was going away; but the priest stopped him, calling out to him—
“Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say to you.”
“At your reverence’s service. What may you please to want?”
“Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little talk.”
“By your reverence’s leave;” and with this he went upstairs.
Then Ruiten said—
“Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man, should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this temple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray what is your name?”
“My name, sir, is Ito Soda, and I am serving in the infantry of Nabéshima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to assist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of sufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but to pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may regain his health.”
When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of Ito Soda, and said—
“Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness this is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from horrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very wonderful.”
“Yes,” replied Soda, after a moment’s reflection, “this certainly must be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with the Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this drowsiness and detect the goblin.”
At last the priest said, “I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you and of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain your wish.”
“Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour.”
“Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the councillor’s house.”
“Thank you, sir, and farewell.” And so they parted.
On the following evening Itô Sôda returned to the temple Miyp-in, and having found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen: then the priest, leaving Soda outside, went in to converse with the councillor, and inquire after the Prince’s health.
“And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I have been offering up prayers for him?”
“Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of keeping a guard awake after ten o’clock, we cannot catch a sight of the goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble.”
“I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have something to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect the goblin; and I have brought him with me.”
“Indeed! who is the man?”
“Well, he is one of my lord’s foot-soldiers, named Ito Soda, a faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be permitted to sit up with my lord.”
“Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a common soldier,” replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment’s reflection; “still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the office of watching over my lord.”
“It is true that he is but a common soldier,” urged the priest; “but why not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let him mount guard?”
“It would be time enough to promote him after my lord’s recovery. But come, let me see this Itô Sôda, that I may know what manner of man he is: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and perhaps we may grant his request.” “I will bring him in forthwith,” replied Ruiten, who thereupon went out to fetch the young man.
When he returned, the priest presented Ito Soda to the councillor, who looked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and gentle appearance, said—
“So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my lord’s room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors, and we will see what can be done for you.”
When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his object. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for Itô Sôda, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers that very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall, having made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred gentlemen who were on duty in the prince’s bed-room.
Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards around him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation and pleasant conceits. But, as ten o’clock approached, they began to doze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one another awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. Itô Sôda all this while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and, though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that there was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for which he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil paper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats, he sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in the sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh, so that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper which he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood, which might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.
So Itô Sôda remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince’s room were drawn open, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew nearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some twenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when she saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile, and was going up to the Prince’s bedside, when she perceived that in one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to startle her, but she went up to Soda and said—
“I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?”
“My name is Itô Sôda, and this is the first night that I have been on guard.”
“A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty watchman.”
“There is nothing to boast about. I’m asleep myself, fast and sound.”
“What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood.”
“Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the pain of it has kept me awake.”
“What wondrous loyalty!” said the lady.
“Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master? Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about?”
Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, “How fares it with my lord to-night?” But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made no reply. But Sôda was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O Toyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form of O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come again that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the watchfulness of Ito Soda; for whenever she drew near to the sick man, thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind her, and there she saw Ito Soda glaring at her; so she had no help for it but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.
At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and opened their eyes, saw that Ito Soda had kept awake by stabbing himself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home crestfallen.
That morning Ito Soda went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him all that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all loud in their praises of Ito Soda’s behaviour, and ordered him to keep watch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting Ito Soda, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she returned to her own apartments.
Now as since Soda had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet nights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in the palace, and Soda was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the meanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept away; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck Soda as very strange, so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while, and said—
“Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?”
“I will go to the creature’s room, as if nothing were the matter, and try to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you to order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her.”
Having agreed upon this plan, Soda went at nightfall to O Toyo’s apartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the Prince. When she saw him arrive, she said—
“What message have you brought me from my lord?”
“Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;” and as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at her; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring fiercely at Soda, said—
“How dare you behave like this to one of your lord’s ladies? I will have you dismissed;” and she tried to strike Soda with the halberd. But Soda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the beast made good its escape.
So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great hunt, and the beast was killed.
But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Itô Sôda was richly rewarded.
Header Image: Assortment of Bakeneko, by Kuniyoshi
References
Freeman-Mitford, A. B. Tales of Old Japan. London: Macmillan, 1871, 1890.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 58 of our Podcast – The Yokai behind Pokemon.
Story Notes
Pokemon is a world wide phenomenon which was first thought up around 1989 by Pokemon executive director Satoshi Tajiri when the Game Boy was released. And the item behind Pokemon came from a popular hobby of Tajiri’s which was insect collecting. This developed and ultimately became the game of Pokemon we know of today. A game where you are tasked with going and trying to collect all of the different Pokemon in the area you live in.
However, I wanna look into the inspiration of some Pokemon today and not into the history of Pokemon or the man behind it. They I feel will one day be covered by us, honestly the more episodes we do, the more we realise we want to talk about and finding time to do it all.
Now there are some which I wanted to include, but I didn’t want to have to chop them down to their barebones and so I shall briefly mention them so we may come and give them an episode to themselves later in our show.
So these first three are called Vulpix, Ninetails and Zorua, and they are based off the Kitsune, or Japanese Fox.
So when we look at Vulpix we see it has only 6 tails, and when it evolves into Ninetails, it has… ninetails….
This links to the Kitsune in that these creatures can grow up to ninetails in total. And they can act as a way to show how old, wise and powerful they are.
Kitsune additionally, much like other Yokai such as the Tanuki are known as shapesifters, almost always taking on the guise of a woman. However, when they do so they often find it difficult to hide their true selves, as they cannot transform their tail. And we can see this evidently in the anime with the Pokemon Zorua when they transform into certain characters from the show.
But that is the taster for Kitsune. There are witches associated with them, there are Fox-Weddings, and many many tales surrounding them. But they deserved time to themselves, so for now I just wanted to say the most obvious things that relate to their Pokemon link.
So listeners, please be patient until the Kitsune episode.
Now this next one is known as Castform, and it can take several appearances depending on the weather at the time, from sun, to rain, to snow. It is thought they are based off the teru teru bōzu, which are a kind of handmade doll constructed from white paper or cloth often hung outside of a persons window from string. You apparently can find this more often on the houses of farmers.
These items are said to hold the magical powers of bringing good weather and even being able to stop or at least prevent for a time a rainy day from occouring. The name here being constructed of teru, which is a verb describing sunshine and bōzu meaning monk. So Shine Shine Monk is the translation of these items. These items became popular in the Edo Period when children wanting good weather would make them the day before chanting to them, fine weather priest, please let the weather be good tomorrow.
If the teru reru bōzu should fail, they would then have a sake libation poured over them and then be thrown in the river to be washed away.
There are also those who would hang them upside down, as a way of praying and hoping for rain.
Now for this next cat Pokemon called Meowth, I suggest you head on back to Episode 40 and the Folklore of Cats as this one relates to the Maneki Neko for one, but also another Yokai cat that we didn’t talk about on that episode so we will mention it now.
First as a reminder, the Maneki Neko is the good luck cat, with art work for Meowth showing it with its raised beckoning hand and coin in the centre of its forehead. These cats dolls which you can buy if you remember come in various colours to signify different things.
Red is for relationship success and illness prevention, black keeps evil at bay, gold is for money, green for health, blue for academic success and even pink for help with love.
But the other Yokai it could link to is that of the Bake Neko, sometimes called the Monster Cat or Vampire Cat. They say that if a cat lives long enough they can transform into mischievous creatures, and can even gain the ability to control the bodies of the dead. Where I can say I don’t think Meowth ever did that, he is definitely a trickster type Pokémon with his association with Team Rocket, but another link to this Yokai is that the Bake Neko were also capable of human speech much like Meowth is. There is even a famous tale known as the Nabeshima no Bakeneko Sōdō, at times translated as the Vampire Cat of Nabeshima. But that is a longish tale which wil have its own Bonus Episode. We have a lot more Yokai and the Pokemon they inspired to get through.
So onwards we go.
Well, actually one last thing. Though not a Yokai in the slightest. There was once one the internet a famous cat known as Long Cat. Now sadly, I didn’t release until doing the research, Long Cat, who was known as Nobiko, has now passed away. They died last year in September at the age of 18, but I am pretty sure that the Gigantamax Version of Meowth is based off of Long Cat.
Turning our attention now to the next two, known as Growlithe and Arcanine. They are though based off the Koma Inu, the strange little lion statues that you can find at the entrance to temples in Japan. Entries for these two Pokemon state they are loyal, brave, trustworthy and are very protective of their territory. Much like the purpose of the Koma Inu is in protecting the inner shrine of many Shinto Shrines.
We can find their origins back in the Nara period (710–794, at least in Japan, they predate this in other areas of Asia. But when they arrived in Japan, like other places they always came in a pair. When you see them at temples one will have its mouth open, and the other will be closed. Back in the Nara Period, each one had a separate name. The opened mouth one being called Shishi (Lion) with the closed mouth one known as Komainu and at times had a single horn atop its head. Over time, they both came to be known as Komainu and shared the same appearance, saved for the difference in mouth which has remained until this day.
Originally they were only used indoors and were known as Jinnai Komainu (Shrine Inside Komainu) but later became to be used outside, the term for them then changing to Sando Komainu (Visiting Road Komainu).
Now we have a wolf type of Pokémon known as Lycanroc. It has three forms depending on the type of day, Day, Midnight and Dusk. Day form is calm, Midnight is vicious, with the Dusk form acting as a midway between the two of them. Now I know the name will make you think werewolf, but it is likely based from the Japanese Yokai known as the Okuri Inu. But in addition to that it also has a resemblance to an extinct species of Japanese wolf.
The Okuri Inu at times can be nice as well as vicious, mimicking the midnight and day forms of the Pokémon.. For instance, they will follow you in the mountains at night, and should you stumble they will pounce and devour you. If you need to you can rest, but don’t look too tired or that again will cause them to attack.
The same creatures, calmer side can be seen from a book entitled the Chiisagata-gun Mindanshū, Collection of Stories from the Chiisata District. This tells the story of a woman from Shioda who was to give birth, heading to her parents house to do so she falls into labour on the way and Okuri-Inu gather around her. The scared woman told them that if they were going to eat her then to do so right then. But instead they protected her from all the other wolves upon the mountain. Finally, with the husband reunited with his wife, he fed them red rice, reserved for auspoicious occasions. The book also details the area of Koumi, stating that Mountains Dogs (Yama-Inu) are either Okuri Inu or Mukae Inu, Okuri Inu protecting, with Mukae Inu attacking, which again links back to the to characteristics of the pokemon.
Next we have Dunsparse, based off the Yokai known as the Tsuchinoko.
This Yokai is a short, thick, snake-like creature. It was poisonous and can sometimes live with its head missing. It is a cryptid (an animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.) and we have reports of it being seen from the Edo Period. One story relates to the city of Kanazawa from 1807. There is a slope there where strange things occur. A man walking by saw something like a kind of pestle, but as thick as a mortar. Completely black, it let of a laugh, made a sound like thunder and disappeared. The man was then ill for a few days afterwards.
There was a Tsuchinoko boom now and then in history, most recently in the first few years of the 21st century. A farmer in Okayama Prefecture said he had found the remains of one, though examined and determined as a tiger keelback snake, the town quickly became identified with the Tsuchinoko and you can even get Tsuchinoko wine now from the area.
This bird known as Ho-oh in Pokemon, is based of the similarly named Hōō from mythology. Or what would at times be called a phoenix in western cultures, though they do differ somewhat.
This one however finds it origins in China and it said to come from the sun, their bodies containing 5 fundamental colours of black, white, red, yellow and green. All of which are seen on this Pokémon. The colours are said to represent the Confucian five virtues. Benevolence, Honesty and Uprightness, Knowledge, Faithfulness and Integrity and Correct Behaviour, Propriety and Good Manners. These birds can only appear in areas blessed with perfect peace, prosperity and happiness. Originating as far back as 8000 years ago.
Now the two here that have been chosen are known as Litwick and Klefki, but there are other Pokemon which link to what I am about the mention. These being creatures known as Haunted Houseware or Tsukumogami. In essence, household items and man made things turned into Yokai.
Tales form the Muromachi Period state that when an object reaches one hundred years it transforms, obtaining a spirit and deceiving people’s hearts, this is called the tsukumogami.
Another tale from a 16th century picture scroll goes as follows, there are tools and other objects that after 100 years change into spirits and deceive people. They are called tsukumogami. At the end of the year families discard old furniture, utensils and such, piling them up at the side of the road. Then at New Years, these household items transform in shape. Angry and the extravagant wealth of families. These tsukumogami should be treated with caution. This again is something with a lot of Lore surrounding it and deserves an episode over to itself. But I at least wanted to introduce the topic here in the episode.
This Pokemon, known as Drowzee, is based off of something known as the Baku.
These creatures are said to eat nightmares. We hear of it from as early as 834AD in poetry from China and here we have it described as something with the nose of an elephant, eyes of a rhino, tale of an ox and legs of a tiger. Mostly different to Drowzee in appearance, but he does eat dreams and have a trunk of sorts. If you suffered migraines, sleeping with the image of a Baku is said to have helped send you off into slumber. And a strange additional note, unsure why this is known about the Baku but its urine can melt iron and turn it into water. Interestingly, this Pokémon could also be based of a Tapir, and even Tapir are known as Baku in Japanese. But whether the name came for the animal or the Yokai first I don’t know.
Lotad, Lombre, Ludicolo are an interesting bunch and relate to something we have already talked of before, so head on back to Episode 43 where we talked about the Kappa. They are mischievous like the Kappa, and though the Kappa would try to steal your shirikodama if you were in water, these Pokémon like to tug on fishing lines from below the water. At least in the case for Lombre.
I feel the second evolution Lombre is the one most resembling a Kappa though, the first looking more like a lilly pad and the final evolution, at least in Alfredo’s opinion, look more like a sombrero wearing Pokémon.
Lickitung, like its name suggests is a Pokémon sporting a massive tongue, with entries about this Pokémon stating it likes to lick dirt off things to make them clean. This relates to the creature known as the Akaname (Filth Licker in English). It had red skin, as Aka means both ‘Red’ and ‘Filth’ in Japanese it particularly liked to lick all of the dirt and scum out of bathtubs.
Turning our attention to Mawile, we find its inspiration coming from the Futakuchi Onna, or Woman with two mouths.
This second mouth is hidden behind the long flowing hair on the back of their head. This other mouth can mumble to itself and the original mouth sometimes feeds constantly to try and satisfy the second one.
They are normal women transformed through bad karma, for giving attention purely to their children instead of also their step children. Should one of their step children die from neglect, 49 days later (the traditional amount of mourning in Japan) the spirit returns to inhabit the mother, giving her the extra mouth and an almost unstoppable hunger. One story states a step mother after 49 dies of her step child dying, was hit in the head with the back of her husband’s axe. The wound wasn’t deep, but eventually after not healing grew teeth and lips and began to chant ‘you must apologise.’
Others state it occurs when someone doesn’t live truthfully, always swallowing and repressing their words until one day the other mouth forms, this mouth unable to lie.
Froslass is a Pokémon inspired by the Yuki Onna or Snow Woman. This Yokai is the personification of cold, dwelling in mountains where she would freeze to death unwary travelers.
Entries for this Pokémon also agree with this as it says this Pokémon freezes foes with an icy breath nearly -60 degrees F.
One tale of the Yuki Onna states that two men caught in a terrible snow storm who seek shelter for the night. The younger of them Minokichi, awakens to see a maiden take the life from his older friend by blowing cold white smoke onto his face. Seeing Minokichi she says if he ever tell anyone of this she will kill him and then she disappears. Next year, he meets a woman called O-Yuki. They fall in love, marry and have ten children. One night, thinking of the past he tells his wife of his encounter with the Yuki-onna and so his wife reveals herself to have been that very creature, saying if it were not for there children sleeping close by she would have killed him there and then, and with that she then disappears into a white mist, dissipating through a smoke hole in the roof.
Whiscash is an intresting Pokémon as it is based of a Yokai that a previously didn’t know of until researching this episode. The creature in question being the Onamazu.
Entries for this Pokemon state, if a foe approaches it, it thrashes about and triggers a massive earthquake and this directly relates to the Namazu or Onamazu, which were giant catfish also capable of causing earthquakes.
They live underground, likely in caves or in the mud causing the earthquake. And our first association between the creature and earthquakes occurred in the area of Lake Biwa (a place we haven’t mentioned in a while).
One myth around the creature says the God Takemikazuchi (one of the sons of the fire god Kagutsuchi, who we have mentioned before). This god restrained a catfish underneath a stone to stop it causing earthquakes, but at times when he lets his guard down, the catfish will thrash about and an earthquake will occur once again.
Gastly, one of my all time favourite Pokémon is thought inspired by the Yokai known as Sogen-bi (Sogen’s Fire).
A 1683 collection of stories called the Shin Otogi Bōko tells of the man known as Sogen a monk who steals money offerings and lamp oil left at his temple, after dying he is punished in hell. His soul returns later as a mysterious blue fireball near the temple. Much like Ghostly who is a floating head wreathed in flame.
Darumaka and Darmanitan gather their inspiration from the Daruma dolls you can find in Japan. Ok, so this one isn’t really a Yokai here but I wanted to include them none the less. The dolls themselves are based off Bodhidharma, who was the founder of Zen Buddhism.
The figurines have no arms or legs, as it is said Bodhidharma meditated facing a wall for nine years causing his arms and legs to fall off through atrophy. Also the figurines cannot blink as other legends say after he fell asleep during his nine year meditation he grew angry and so cut off his eyelids so he may never sleep again. The dolls eyes are blank when you buy them, you chose a goal or wish and paint the left eyes and once the goal is achieved you paint in the right eye.
Entries for Daruma say that when it sleeps, it pulls its limbs into its body reminiscent of Bodhidharma losing his. Its evolution Darmanitan also has a Zen mode it can turn into during battle which looks just like a Daruma Doll.
Next we have Snorunt, and actually it is a pre-evolution of Froslass we talked of earlier. Where she was based off the Yuki-Onna, this Pokémon is linked to the Yuki Warashi (Snow Babies) as well as the Zashiki-warashi as their pokedex entry states, ‘old folklore claims that a house visited by this Pokémon is sure to prosper for many generations to come.’
The Zashiki Warashi were a kind of spirit which when living in your home would bring you great fortune, but should they leave and move on to another home, then your fortunes would swiftly end, and could even lead to your death.
The Snow Babies when depicted, are often portrayed as red-cheeked children clad in the traditional straw-peaked snow jackets. Their jackets have a hood that comes up to a point so that the snow can’t accumulate, much like Snorunt does. The hood ties under the chin, and there are armholes that give freedom of movement.
We do have some stories surrounding these creatures, one of them being from Niigata prefecture.
Long ago there was an old, childless couple. They were very lonely, and wished desperately for a child. One snowy day, in order to distract themselves from their desolation, they went out into the new fallen snow and sculpted a snow child. Pleased with their creation, they went back inside.
That night there was a fierce blizzard. There was a knock and the door, and when they answered it the couple were shocked to see a bright, young child leap into their house. They were too overjoyed to question their good fortune, and welcomed the child into their hearts. They loved their snow baby, and vowed to raise it with affection.
The new family passed a wonderful winter together, but as spring neared the couple noticed that their child got slimmer and slimmer. They were terribly worried, and woke up one morning to find their child gone completely. Their hearts were broken, but there was nothing they could do.
Time passed, and soon it was winter again. On yet another storming snowy night, there was a knock at the door and the couple’s happy snow baby came bounding home again, fat and happy and red-cheeked. The couple realized that this was the spirit of the child they sculpted out of snow, could only stay with them through the winter.
This pattern repeated itself for many years, until one day the snow baby came no more. They never saw their child again. But the couple was content with what happiness the kami allotted them, and forever cherished the sweet memories of their snow baby.
And now the last one Celesteela, she is based of the character of Kaguya Hime from the Folktale of The Bamboo Cutters Daughter.
But that one I will make you wait for until next week, we may have just had a Folktale with the Tongue Cut Sparrow but this one relates to the Folktale of the Bamboo Cutters Daughter and I would love to tell it in full. So I am shuffling the order of episodes to make room for this next week, before we delved into something new. And something I am rather excited to dive into following this Folktale. It’s a part of Japanese History we haven’t really looked into really that much, but it involves Samurai, Oda Nobunaga, and the time of the Jesuit Missionaries.
A nobleman named Abe no Yasuna goes out into the woods on his way to visit a shrine, and finds a hunter trying to kill a white fox. He sets the fox free and continues on his way.
Later, he encounters a beautiful woman – and eventually they fall in love and marry. They have a son name Dojimaru. His name will be Abe no Seimei later in life.
However – one day while out gathering flowers, her young son sees a white tail. In turns out, his mother was the white fox rescued by the nobleman.
She has to leave and return to the woods. She leaves behind these parting words:
恋しくば 尋ね来て見よ 和泉なる 信太の森の うらみ葛の葉
Koishikuba Tazune kite miyo Izumi naru Shinoda no mori no Urami Kuzunoha
If you miss me Try visiting me To the forest of Shinoda in Izumi Look to the place with the kudzu leaves
(Special thanks to the Professor with this translation!)
Nuance here is she doesn’t want to leave, but she has no choice. So, the last line could also be: You may resent me.
A common theme of ghost stories is if the true nature was revealed, the yokai would need to leave and return to their previous home.
Urami could also be interprated as ‘to look at an ocean’ or ‘resentment.’
But there’s no kanji – so the meaning could be many different things. Here was just a couple of examples.
References
Davidson, Z. (2017) “Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan.” Oregon: Mercuria Press.
Foster, M.D. (2015) “The Book of Yokai.” California: University of California Press.
Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Yoda, H & Alt, M. (2008) “Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide” Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd.
Show Notes for episode 57 of our Podcast – A Brief History of Noodles.
Story Notes
E57 A Brief History of Noodles
If you mention Japan and noodles in the same sentence, most people in America would, I assume, think you are talking about ramen. Ramen has become so ingrained in American culture that, along with sushi, that’s may be what most of us thought about when we first thought about going to Japan – either to visit or to live.
And in doing the research for this podcast, that’s the article topic that came up most frequently. Ramen is a hugely popular dish worldwide, and of course in Japan.
And it would be sooo easy to just focus on ramen for this episode. I thought about it – BUT I feel like ramen should have it’s own episode.
There so so many different types of noodles in Japan! And they are all equally delicious in their own way! So, while we are going to mention about ramen because it IS amazing, I want to give some more information about other noodle-y delights as well.
So it could be said that this noodle has origins from the Nara Period, coming to Japan from China. These rice noodles were called soumochi. These noodles were made from rice flour.
But in the Kamakura period, noodles were being made from wheat instead of rice. These wheat based noodles were served at buddhist temples in the Muromachi period. This is probably when we get the name transition to somen.
And while other noodles may be talked about more in other counties, in Japan somen is a popular gift item. In fact – a tradition I’ve heard about is when you move to a new place, you often present your new neighbors with somen.
Chilled somen is eaten in summertime. Dipped in a mentsuyu broth, it’s cooling and refreshing. And also said to be easy and light on the stomach, as appetites may be lower due to the intense heat and humidity.
For a fun experience, nagashi somen is somen noodles sent down a floating bamboo tube. However, unless you buy your own personal home nagashi somen machine, you’ll need to wait till well AFTER the danger of the new corona virus to try this with others.
Soba – or buckwheat noodles as you might know them. A sort of grey-ish noodle that’s eaten hot or cold. These are thought to have come from China during the Jomon period, sometime between 10,000 and 300 BC.
Buckwheat has a lot of nutritional value. But, some people do have allergies to this grain. Oddly enough, it’s not a grass or a wheat like you might think but is actually related to rhubarb.
Soba is eaten on New Year’s Eve in Japan, along with tempura to mark the passing of the years end and to look to the future.
Soba is served hot in dashi stock, or cold with a dipping sauce which usually includes a side of green onions and wasabi.
Soba is made from buckwheat flour and funny enough, I saw that in Hokkaido that buckwheat was submerged in sack in the water and brought out recently to dry out and grind into buckwheat flour. And unfortunately I didn’t have time to look this up but I think we might have to come back to buckwheat in the future.
There are a few possible origin stories for udon – one says possibly a monk named Enni brought over a wheat milling technique from China around 1421 which paved the way for widespread noodle making. Another said that a monk named Kukai introduced the noodles to Sanuki province, or Shikoku, in the Heien Era after studying in China (Thomas knows who this is – I may interrupt here). There’s more, but let’s move on to talking about the noodles themselves.
Made from wheat flour, kneaded, and cut, these are thick and chewy noodles and happen to be one of my absolute favorites. There’s many ways to enjoy them – kitsune udon (light stock with sweet fried tofu) is very popular and cheap! But you can also eat them similar to soba or somen – dipped into a flavorful stock. Yaki udon is also great! And I’ve also seen udon noodles included in okonomiyaki, at least here in Hiroshima prefecture.
I have focused on wheat noodles, but if your definition of noodles includes anything that is long and thin, well then I’ll briefly mention –
Harusame
Harusame are noodles made from different types of starches, including perhaps potato or mung beans. You can hydrate these noodles in hot water, or add them to nabe. They’re used in salads too, among other things.
So let’s end with ramen. Ramen noodles are made from wheat and water – but to be called ramen noodles they have to be made with kansui – alkaline water. If they aren’t made a certain way, they can’t be called ramen. At least, that’s what I have been told!
These noodles are also thought to have come from China, but not that long ago in relative Japanese noodle history.
Like I said, we’ll have another episode just on ramen, but some popular base types you might know are
Shoyu – soy sauce based
Tonkotsu – pork broth based
Shio – a salt based broth
Miso – miso based broth
We’ve also got Hokkaido ramen, made with miso and butter and corn. Speaking of which, pretty much every prefecture, area, and city in Japan has their own style of ramen.
Actually – all the noodles mentioned here have their own regional specialties as well! So perhaps we’ll visit noodles again. Or better yet, just try them all!
So there you have a very very short intro to noodles in Japan! And if you want further information, there are tons and tons of food vloggers, cooking vloggers, articles, tv shows, documentaries, etc about Japanese noodles and I encourage you to check them out! I learn something new all the time.
And if you are wondering – why, yes I did have to eat noodles while writing this research! In fact, today was udon. Which may be my favorite. No, wait. Somen. No, soba. I need further “research” before I can confirm.
Today we read the translation from 1901 by Yei Theodora Ozaki. As it is now in the public domain here is the story in full for you.
Story Notes
E56 The Tongue Cut Sparrow
Long, long ago in Japan there lived an old man and his wife. The old man was a good, kindhearted, hardworking old fellow, but his wife was a regular crosspatch, who spoilt the happiness of her home by her scolding tongue. She was always grumbling about something from morning to night. The old man had for a long time ceased to take any notice of her crossness. He was out most of the day at work in the fields, and as he had no child, for his amusement when he came home, he kept a tame sparrow. He loved the little bird just as much as if she had been his child.
When he came back at night after his hard day’s work in the open air it was his only pleasure to pet the sparrow, to talk to her and to teach her little tricks, which she learned very quickly. The old man would open her cage and let her fly about the room, and they would play together. Then when suppertime came, he always saved some tit-bits from his meal with which to feed his little bird.
Now one day the old man went out to chop wood in the forest, and the old woman stopped at home to wash clothes. The day before, she had made some starch, and now when she came to look for it, it was all gone; the bowl which she had filled full yesterday was quite empty.
While she was wondering who could have used or stolen the starch, down flew the pet sparrow, and bowing her little feathered head — a trick which she had been taught by her master — the pretty bird chirped and said, “It is I who have taken the starch. I thought it was some food put out for me in that basin, and I ate it all. If I have made a mistake I beg you to forgive me! Tweet, tweet, tweet!”
You see from this that the sparrow was a truthful bird, and the old woman ought to have been willing to forgive her at once when she asked her pardon so nicely. But not so. The old woman had never loved the sparrow, and had often quarreled with her husband for keeping what she called a dirty bird about the house, saying that it only made extra work for her. Now she was only too delighted to have some cause of complaint against the pet. She scolded and even cursed the poor little bird for her bad behavior, and not content with using these harsh, unfeeling words, in a fit of rage she seized the sparrow — who all this time had spread out her wings and bowed her head before the old woman, to show how sorry she was — and fetched the scissors and cut off the poor little bird’s tongue.
“I suppose you took my starch with that tongue! Now you may see what it is like to go without it!” And with these dreadful words she drove the bird away, not caring in the least what might happen to it and without the smallest pity for its suffering, so unkind was she!
The old woman, after she had driven the sparrow away, made some more rice paste, grumbling all the time at the trouble, and after starching all her clothes, spread the things on boards to dry in the sun, instead of ironing them as they do in England.
In the evening the old man came home. As usual, on the way back he looked forward to the time when he should reach his gate and see his pet come flying and chirping to meet him, ruffling out her feathers to show her joy, and at last coming to rest on his shoulder. But tonight the old man was very disappointed, for not even the shadow of his dear sparrow was to be seen.
He quickened his steps, hastily drew off his straw sandals, and stepped on to the verandah. Still no sparrow was to be seen. He now felt sure that his wife, in one of her cross tempers, had shut the sparrow up in its cage. So he called her and said anxiously, “Where is Suzume San (Miss Sparrow) today?”
The old woman pretended not to know at first, and answered, “Your sparrow? I am sure I don’t know. Now I come to think of it, I haven’t seen her all the afternoon. I shouldn’t wonder if the ungrateful bird had flown away and left you after all your petting!”
But at last, when the old man gave her no peace, but asked her again and again, insisting that she must know what had happened to his pet, she confessed all. She told him crossly how the sparrow had eaten the rice paste she had specially made for starching her clothes, and how when the sparrow had confessed to what she had done, in great anger she had taken her scissors and cut out her tongue, and how finally she had driven the bird away and forbidden her to return to the house again.
Then the old woman showed her husband the sparrow’s tongue, saying, “Here is the tongue I cut off! Horrid little bird, why did it eat all my starch? “
“How could you be so cruel? Oh! how could you be so cruel?” was all that the old man could answer. He was too kind-hearted to punish his shrew of a wife, but he was terribly distressed at what had happened to his poor little sparrow.
“What a dreadful misfortune for my poor Suzume San to lose her tongue!” he said to himself. “She won’t be able to chirp any more, and surely the pain of the cutting of it out in that rough way must have made her ill! Is there nothing to be done?”
The old man shed many tears after his cross wife had gone to sleep. While he wiped away the tears with the sleeve of his cotton robe, a bright thought comforted him: he would go and look for the sparrow on the morrow. Having decided this he was able to go to sleep at last.
The next morning he rose early, as soon as ever the day broke, and snatching a hasty breakfast, started out over the hills and through the woods, stopping at every clump of bamboos to cry, “Where, oh where does my tongue-cut sparrow stay? Where, oh where, does my tongue-cut sparrow stay?”
He never stopped to rest for his noonday meal, and it was far on in the afternoon when he found himself near a large bamboo wood. Bamboo groves are the favorite haunts of sparrows, and there sure enough at the edge of the wood he saw his own dear sparrow waiting to welcome him. He could hardly believe his eyes for joy, and ran forward quickly to greet her. She bowed her little head and went through a number of the tricks her master had taught her, to show her pleasure at seeing her old friend again, and, wonderful to relate, she could talk as of old.
The old man told her how sorry he was for all that had happened, and inquired after her tongue, wondering how she could speak so well without it. Then the sparrow opened her beak and showed him that a new tongue had grown in place of the old one, and begged him not to think any more about the past, for she was quite well now.
Then the old man knew that his sparrow was a fairy, and no common bird. It would be difficult to exaggerate the old man’s rejoicing now. He forgot all his troubles, he forgot even how tired he was, for he had found his lost sparrow, and instead of being ill and without a tongue as he had feared and expected to find her, she was well and happy and with a new tongue, and without a sign of the ill treatment she had received from his wife. And above all she was a fairy.
The sparrow asked him to follow her, and flying before him she led him to a beautiful house in the heart of the bamboo grove. The old man was utterly astonished when he entered the house to find what a beautiful place it was. It was built of the whitest wood, the soft cream-colored mats which took the place of carpets were the finest he had ever seen, and the cushions that the sparrow brought out for him to sit on were made of the finest silk and crape. Beautiful vases and lacquer boxes adorned the tokonoma [alcove] of every room.
The sparrow led the old man to the place of honor, and then, taking her place at a humble distance, she thanked him with many polite bows for all the kindness he had shown her for many long years.
Then the Lady Sparrow, as we will now call her, introduced all her family to the old man. This done, her daughters, robed in dainty crape gowns, brought in on beautiful old-fashioned trays a feast of all kinds of delicious foods, till the old man began to think he must be dreaming. In the middle of the dinner some of the sparrow’s daughters performed a wonderful dance, called the suzume-odori or the “sparrow’s dance,” to amuse the guest.
Never had the old man enjoyed himself so much. The hours flew by too quickly in this lovely spot, with all these fairy sparrows to wait upon him and to feast him and to dance before him.
But the night came on and the darkness reminded him that he had a long way to go and must think about taking his leave and return home. He thanked his kind hostess for her splendid entertainment, and begged her for his sake to forget all she had suffered at the hands of his cross old wife. He told the Lady Sparrow that it was a great comfort and happiness to him to find her in such a beautiful home and to know that she wanted for nothing. It was his anxiety to know how she fared and what had really happened to her that had led him to seek her. Now he knew that all was well he could return home with a light heart. If ever she wanted him for anything she had only to send for him and he would come at once.
The Lady Sparrow begged him to stay and rest several days and enjoy the change, but the old man said that he must return to his old wife — who would probably be cross at his not coming home at the usual time — and to his work, and therefore, much as he wished to do so, he could not accept her kind invitation. But now that he knew where the Lady Sparrow lived he would come to see her whenever he had the time.
When the Lady Sparrow saw that she could not persuade the old man to stay longer, she gave an order to some of her servants, and they at once brought in two boxes, one large and the other small. These were placed before the old man, and the Lady Sparrow asked him to choose whichever he liked for a present, which she wished to give him.
The old man could not refuse this kind proposal, and he chose the smaller box, saying, “I am now too old and feeble to carry the big and heavy box. As you are so kind as to say that I may take whichever I like, I will choose the small one, which will be easier for me to carry.”
Then the sparrows all helped him put it on his back and went to the gate to see him off, bidding him good-bye with many bows and entreating him to come again whenever he had the time. Thus the old man and his pet sparrow separated quite happily, the sparrow showing not the least ill-will for all the unkindness she had suffered at the hands of the old wife. Indeed, she only felt sorrow for the old man who had to put up with it all his life.
When the old man reached home he found his wife even crosser than usual, for it was late on in the night and she had been waiting up for him for a long time. “Where have you been all this time?” she asked in a big voice. “Why do you come back so late?”
The old man tried to pacify her by showing her the box of presents he had brought back with him, and then he told her of all that had happened to him, and how wonderfully he had been entertained at the sparrow’s house.
“Now let us see what is in the box,” said the old man, not giving her time to grumble again. “You must help me open it.” And they both sat down before the box and opened it.
To their utter astonishment they found the box filled to the brim with gold and silver coins and many other precious things. The mats of their little cottage fairly glittered as they took out the things one by one and put them down and handled them over and over again. The old man was overjoyed at the sight of the riches that were now his. Beyond his brightest expectations was the sparrow’s gift, which would enable him to give up work and live in ease and comfort the rest of his days.
He said, “Thanks to my good little sparrow! Thanks to my good little sparrow!” many times.
But the old woman, after the first moments of surprise and satisfaction at the sight of the gold and silver were over, could not suppress the greed of her wicked nature. She now began to reproach the old man for not having brought home the big box of presents, for in the innocence of his heart he had told her how he had refused the large box of presents which the sparrows had offered him, preferring the smaller one because it was light and easy to carry home.
“You silly old man,” said she, “why did you not bring the large box? Just think what we have lost. We might have had twice as much silver and gold as this. You are certainly an old fool!” she screamed, and then went to bed as angry as she could be.
The old man now wished that he had said nothing about the big box, but it was too late; the greedy old woman, not contented with the good luck which had so unexpectedly befallen them and which she so little deserved, made up her mind, if possible, to get more.
Early the next morning she got up a made the old man describe the way to the sparrow’s house. When he saw what was in her mind he tried to keep her from going, but it was useless. She would not listen to one word he said. It is strange that the old woman did not feel ashamed of going to see the sparrow after the cruel way she had treated her in cutting off her tongue in a fit of rage. But her greed to get the big box made her forget everything else. It did not even enter her thoughts that the sparrows might be angry with her — as, indeed, they were — and might punish her for what she had done.
Ever since the Lady Sparrow had returned home in the sad plight in which they had first found her, weeping and bleeding from the mouth, her whole family and relations had done little else but speak of the cruelty of the old woman. “How could she,” they asked each other, “inflict such a heavy punishment for such a trifling offence as that of eating some rice paste by mistake?” They all loved the old man who was so kind and good and patient under all his troubles, but the old woman they hated, and they determined, if ever they had the chance, to punish her as she deserved. They had not long to wait.
After walking for some hours the old woman had at last found the bamboo grove which she had made her husband carefully describe, and now she stood before it crying out, “Where is the tongue-cut sparrow’s house? Where is the tongue-cut sparrow’s house?”
At last she saw the eaves of the house peeping out from amongst the bamboo foliage. She hastened to the door and knocked loudly.
When the servants told the Lady Sparrow that her old mistress was at the door asking to see her, she was somewhat surprised at the unexpected visit, after all that had taken place, and she wondered not a little at the boldness of the old woman in venturing to come to the house. The Lady Sparrow, however, was a polite bird, and so she went out to greet the old woman, remembering that she had once been her mistress.
The old woman intended, however, to waste no time in words, she went right to the point, without the least shame, and said, “You need not trouble to entertain me as you did my old man. I have come myself to get the box which he so stupidly left behind. I shall soon take my leave if you will give me the big box. That is all I want!”
The Lady Sparrow at once consented, and told her servants to bring out the big box. The old woman eagerly seized it and hoisted it on her back, and without even stopping to thank the Lady Sparrow began to hurry homewards.
The box was so heavy that she could not walk fast, much less run, as she would have liked to do, so anxious was she to get home and see what was inside the box, but she had often to sit down and rest herself by the way. While she was staggering along under the heavy load, her desire to open the box became too great to be resisted. She could wait no longer, for she supposed this big box to be full of gold and silver and precious jewels like the small one her husband had received.
At last this greedy and selfish old woman put down the box by the wayside and opened it carefully, expecting to gloat her eyes on a mine of wealth. What she saw, however, so terrified her that she nearly lost her senses. As soon as she lifted the lid, a number of horrible and frightful looking demons bounced out of the box and surrounded her as if they intended to kill her. Not even in nightmares had she ever seen such horrible creatures as her much-coveted box contained. A demon with one huge eye right in the middle of its forehead came and glared at her, monsters with gaping mouths looked as if they would devour her, a huge snake coiled and hissed about her, and a big frog hopped and croaked towards her.
The old woman had never been so frightened in her life, and ran from the spot as fast as her quaking legs would carry her, glad to escape alive. When she reached home she fell to the floor and told her husband with tears all that had happened to her, and how she had been nearly killed by the demons in the box.
Then she began to blame the sparrow, but the old man stopped her at once, saying, “Don’t blame the sparrow, it is your wickedness which has at last met with its reward. I only hope this may be a lesson to you in the future!”
The old woman said nothing more, and from that day she repented of her cross, unkind ways, and by degrees became a good old woman, so that her husband hardly knew her to be the same person, and they spent their last days together happily, free from want or care, spending carefully the treasure the old man had received from his pet, the tongue-cut sparrow.
Header Image: Sparrow resting on Tree, from pixabay.
Poem Notes
Today’s poem can be found on one of Utagawa Hiroshige‘s Bird and Flower Prints. Though unsigned, we know the poem was originally composed by Takarai Kikaku. This man living from 1661-1707 was a poet who was amongst the top disciples of Matsuo Bashō. Today’s English translation is by John. T. Carpenter.
山の端に 乙鳥をかへす 入日かな 宝井其角
Yama no ha ni tsubame o kaesu irihi kana
The setting sun— over the mountain ridge sends the swallows home.
Show Notes for episode 55 of our Podcast – The Life and Poems of Manzei.
Story Notes
E55 Life and Poems of Manzei
Now the poems we will talk of today come from the man’yōshū, a large poetry collection of 20 volumes and more than 4,500 waka poems. The document in question was divided into three genres. “Zoka” songs at banquets and trips, “Somonka” songs about love between men and women, and “Banka” songs to mourn the death of people. Ōtomo Yakamochi took a large role in the compilation of it and we have talked a little about him before on episodes 19 and 49 of the show.
Now these poems by Manzei (沙弥満誓) are found in here like I just said. But there are some who would call them his lost poetic sequence, and we will get into that after we have talked about Manzei.
This was an interesting topic for me, as he was a man who some books I had mentioned him off hand making me feel he was well known and I should know who he was, others stated there is nothing known about him except when he lived. And that irked me, so I was determined to see if there was anything out there. And there was, eventually I came across an article.
Manzei was his religious name, and before this he was called Kasa Maro and we first find him in a document from 704 when he received a title known as Junior Fifth-rank Lower-grade. (Don’t ask me what that means, I still have yet to find something useful to me which really goes into detail about these court ranks and they seem very complex. Here’s hoping I find something soon)
Two years later in 706 we see him named the Governor of Mino Province (now Southern Gifu Prefecture), a post which he received again in 708. Here, presumably he governed rather well, undertaking the construction of the Kiso highway.
By 717 he had been promoted again to Junior Fourth-rank Upper-grade and gained the titles of Inspector General of Owari, Mikawa and Shinano Province. All in all he was doing very well for himself politically.
And in 720 he was raised to the prominent position of Udaiben, Great Controller of the Right. This administrative position was charged with the supervision of four ministries: Military, Justice, Treasury and the Imperial Household. So it was a very powerful position for a man who has started out as a small provincial governor.
But here we seem to have hit the peak of his career. We have a gap in his life, and we have a fall from grace it seems.
In 721 the retired Empress Genmei fell ill, and three days after in perhaps desperation to make her better the throne made an order for ‘a hundred consecrated men and women’ to be dedicated to religion so they may pray for the recovery of Empress Genmei. Kasa Maro contacted the throne asking for permission to also enter into religion to do the same for the Empress and they said yes.
I am unsure here if that meant he was part of the 100 people or if he saw it an opportunity to change his job and was in theory and extra person to the original 100.
However, their prayers were unanswered, Genmei died within the year. She died and the throne needed someone to blame, and so they turned to those of religion stating ‘the monks and nuns in the capital mischievously preach the remission of sin even though their own knowledge is as shallow as their understanding is trivial; meanwhile they neglect their monastic vows… they start by feigning the practise of religion, and end up clasping unto themselves lecherous abominations.’
And this may have acted as one of the reason for what happened next for Manzei and his fall from grace. In 723 he was posted to Kyushu to supervise the construction of Tsukushi Kanzeonji, and here he actually came into contact with Ōtomo Tabito and his poetry circle. He being the father of Ōtomo Yakamochi, one of the compilers of the man’yōshū. And it is here in Kyushu he spent the rest of his life and died.
Now why do I say this was a fall from grace?
Well here is why. Kyushu was seen in old Japan as a place of exile, no matter how much the role you were given on the island was sugar coated, made to seem like a great role to take. Everyone new Kyushu meant exile, one that was impossible to return from. Ōtomo Tabito being one of the rare few who got back into the capitals good graces and could return. Going to Kyushu meant you would remain there until you passed on into death.
But the thing is, we don’t really know why has was sent into this exile, and why did he ask to go into religion when he had such a prominent position in Japan as Great Controller of the Right. Two years went by from him asking to go into religion to his exile. That would have been enough time for someone to have thought up a great end to his life, one that suited a man who had done something wrong to feel he had to flee into religion. And what was more, with the prayers of those failing to heal Empress Genmei, that could have only added fuel to the fire to have him shipped off into exile. All in all we don’t know what occurred, but as a man who constructed the Kiso Highway it would make sense they chose for him a position in exile involving an engineering project, this one in question being he undertaking of Kanzeonji in Tsukushi (Kyushu) like we have said.
Even if he didn’t flee into religion, it could have been he was forced to some degree by his enemies, this was a period of time after all in Japan where all those of power had enemies. And in doing so there is the thought that it was to ensure he had no descendants due to the celibacy his religious vows entailed. So in essence any potential family line and power would have died out with him. But this also did not occur, he sired at least one son and by 866AD three men claimed to be fifth generational descendants of him. But also this would echo back to the state crying out that the men and women of religion were breaking vows and falling into debauchery when they were blamed for the death of the Empress.
And this is really everything we have to say about Manzei, a man who we know many things about, but of the one thing we need to truly understand to make sense of his fall from grace, we annoyingly known nothing have.
Looking at his poems in the man’yōshū, it was like they were cannibalized to some extend, broken and shifted around to fit into the man’yōshū in the areas which best went with the theme of the specific poem. In fact several others within the man’yōshū have been discovered to have under gone this. A three poem sequence on the death of Shōtoku Taisha for instance.
Manzei’s poems were placed into Books 3, 4 and 5 of the man’yōshū, but luckily in doing so they did not alter the order in which they were written allowing for an easy reconstruction. And associated notes next to the poems also aided in the reconstruction of them as well as detailing some of the information we know of Manzei’s life. We can even narrow down the poems creation to between 723 and 730 showing that all of them were written after his exile, and I feel the first poem in his 7 poem sequence will be evident of that.
Only these seven poems in the man’yōshū are known by his. If he did others they have not survived.
But now let us turn our attention to his poems. Heather as usual will read the Japanese but I think perhaps today I can read the English (unfortunately the journal I found did not have the original Japanese script). We have both read the same article for this episode so there will be none of me trying to figure out the meaning in English.
ShiranuiTsukushi no wata waMi ni tsuketeImada wa kinedoAtataka ni miyu
Although I have yet to wear The white-quilted silk padding From Tsukushi next my person It seems to me as if it would be warm.
Yo no naka wo Nani ni tatoemu Asabiraki Kogi’inshi fune no Ato nake gotoshi
To what shall one compare this life? It is like the trackless wake Of a boat that is sculled away At the break of dawn
Tobusa tate Ashigarayama ni Funaki kiri Ki ni kiri yukitsu Atara funaki wo
Erecting the treetop [on the stump] Hewing the boat beams, We went to hew them into timbers On Mt. Ashigara: Oh! The precious boat beams!
Miezu tomo Tare koizarame Yama no ha ni Isayou tsuki wo Yoso ni mite shika
Even though it is invisible, Who would not love to see On the mountain top The hesitating moon: Oh! That I could catch even a glimpse of it!
Masokagami Mi’akanu kimi ni Okurete ya Ashita yūbe ni Sabitsutsu oramu
Left behind by you, Whom one tries not to see mirror-plain, Shall I then morning and evening be cast down continually?
Nubatama no Kurokami kawari Shirakete mo Itaki koi ni wa Au toku arikeri
Even though my black hair, Black-as-berries, Changes and turns white, Alas! There are times when I encounter heart-rending love!
Aoyanagi Ume to no hane wo Orikazashi Nomite no nochi wa Chirinu tomo yoshi
After we have drunk, Breaking off and wearing in our hair Branches of green willow And flowering plum, It matters not if the blossoms scatter.
Header Image: Edo Period Copy of the man’yōshū.
References
Miller, R.A. (1981) “The Lost poetic Sequence of the Priest Manzei”. Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 36, No.2, pp.259-274133-172.
Steven D. Carter, Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology.
1000 Poems from the Manyoshu: The Complete Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai Translation
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for bonus episode 11 of our Podcast – Santa Kuro.
Story Notes
Santa Kurō
Looking around to find a topic themed around Christmas for the end of the year I stumbled upon the short tale of Santa Kurō (三太九郎) and we first find this tale all the way back in 1900 from someone known as Shindō Nobuyoshi, and they even included a picture of Santa inside the book, which you can see in the show notes. As we know, Japan is a country with heavy Shinto roots as well as Buddhism which came to the country at a later date. And so this tale of Santa, set in Japan is quite the contrast to how Japan treats the time of Christmas in there own country now.
And we talked about that last year, in place of a traditional Turkey dinner, they have been taught Christmas is about eating KFC and strawberry cake. Japan does Christmas, but they do it in their own very unique way which does not scream Christmas to the rest of the world.
And so to start the short tale.
In Nagano Prefecture, there was a home, and in this home lived the Hayashi family. Three members made up this family, Mother, Father and Mineichi their son. In contrast to the large majority of Japan this was a very Christian family, not following the Shinto or Buddhist belief that almost everyone else in their country followed.
Now outside it is stormy, with snow falling all around, the Hayashi’s remaining inside, talking by the warmth of their fire to fight of the winter chill. Suddenly this all changes when their dogs enters the home, dropping at hat at the feet of Mineichi.
Father, being very wise understand from this that someone must be in need of help, their dog Buchi bringing the hat to them so that they may know to go and give aide to the one in need. And so readying his sled, he with his son go into the storm outside, following Buchi to the one in need.
The snow falls all around them, piling up on all sides as they follow Buchi until their come to a stranded traveller. The poor wretch lays unconscious as snow begins to cover him, and so in an act of kindness they gather the stranger onto their sled and take him back to their home to warm him up.
Mother sees the man and grows frantic, pilling more and more bundles of straw onto the fire to make it as hot as possible to thaw out this man and save his life. Slowly, the man warms, and not all is lost as the Mother has managed to save his life. And eventually, the man opens his eyes.
He reveals himself to the family, a 50 year old man by the name of Iguchi Gohei, he resided in one of the distant villages. He is understandably grateful for the families kind act, but when the family reveal their Christian belief to him he grows vary of them, and even begins to fear that their beliefs would start to wear down his Spiritual faith to Shinto.
However, despite this his stays with them, to regather his strength. And after a total of three days he is strong enough once more to return home.
Now winter continues, and eventually spring returned to Japan and life for the family is going amazingly well. Mineichi returns to school and his studies, Mother tends to her silkworms, and Father tills their fields. But, the luck the family were having did not last and Father fell gravely ill, and none knew the cause of it. He continued to grow worse, a doctor came, the a pastor, and once more a doctor after that. But none could help. It was a mystery what ailed him.
The illness lingered, all through Spring, Summer, and into some of the autumn until Father found himself well again. It was almost like a miracle had occurred, everyone shedding tears such was their happiness at his returning health.
But the happiness did not remain for long, Fathers illness had ensured the fields had not been cared for this year. And so the family would have no money or food for the coming Winter. And what bothered the family even more, was that their son would go without any Christmas presents this year.
Christmas Eve arrived, and Mineichi goes to bed, expecting nothing to come of the day tomorrow. But before Mother and Father retire for the night, a tap tap tapping came at their door.
Gohei, the man they had saved the previous Winter had appeared, not with reindeer, but with a troop of 45 strong young men. All were laden money, books and clothing, gifts for all the family for saving his life.
Mineichi, luckily slept through all the commotion, Mother and Father helping Gohei and his men with the items, arranging them in their home and around the bed of their son.
And so on Christmas morning Mineichi awoke to presents all around him. The excited little boy running to his mother to wake up and see the gifts. But she was too tired from the ordeal of last night and so Father got up instead.
And upon the gifts were a message which Mineichi asked his dad to read.
‘I offer you these gifts for following God’s teachings and for helping your father save the life of that traveller. Well done my boy.
Show Notes for episode 54C of our Podcast – Reigns End.
Story Notes
Emperor Jimmu with the kite.
So answering our little query we gave ourselves last week. The Emperor Jimmu would be 100% divine.
Today we finish our look into the Emperor Jimmu and so we pick up where we left off.
On the battlefield, against Naga-tsune-hiko and his men. Now Jimmu up until this point has been unable to defeat him, and in previous battles like we have said he even caused the Emperors brother to die from the wound sustained by an arrow.
So will the Emperor ever manage to defeat him? Let’s continue with the tale.
As we left off, Naga-tsune-hiko stood undefeated when suddenly the sky became overcast and hail began to fall in droves, and from above a wonderous bird, a kite of gold came to perch atop the Emperor’s bow. It is said that the kite was so bright, so very dazzling in splendour that it caused the enemy to become bewildered and even dazzled, greatly affecting their fighting prowess on the battlefield. And so the battle raged on, but still not much headway was made until Naga-tsune-hiko then sent a messenger to Emperor Jimmu.
“I cannot understand,” he said, “why should you be the Heavenly Child to conquer and steal the lands of everyone already here. After all, you are not the first Heavenly Child to dwell here, there are others. And one of them I even serve and treat as my lord. He goes by the name of Nigi-haya-hi and he is even wed to my sister Mi-kashiki-ya-bime. I have pondered in my heart why you come to take dominion of our lands, when you are not the first Heavenly Child.”
The Emperor had not expected such a message, after all he had been instructed by the sun-kami herself. And so he asked for proof, “I this person is in fact a Heavenly Child” he said, “then there would so some proof. So please provide it now.”
And so he did, bringing forth a heavenly arrow and quiver to show up to the Emperor. Emperor Jimmu in kind also did the same, showing his own heavenly bow and quiver. Showing once and for all the Naga-tsune-hiko that he too was also of Heavenly descent. But Naga-tsune-hiko did not wish to allow the Emperor to become his Lord, he already served another and would not give in and wanted to continue in his intentions of trying to kill the Emperor.
However, Naga-tsune-hiko’s Lord Nigi-haya-hi could see his vassal would never give in, and so decided to put him to death himself. And after he brought the remaining army to the Emperor and agreed to serve him for which the Emperor was very grateful for. Finally the murderer of his brother had been killed, even if it had not been accomplished by the Emperor or his men. (If you know some of the great clans of Japan, it is said that the descendants of this Heavenly Child was the Mononobe Clan).
After all this fighting it is said there were still others in the surrounding area that needed to be quelled. These people in these old texts are collectively called the Tsuchi-gumo. And we will give an episode in this concept eventually as the meaning of the word has greatly changed over time. Where it once meant, outcasts or ‘other’ is turned into a type of Japanese Yokai.
But back to the story, one description says (bear in mind this is a very old translation here from 1896) when they saw these people they had short bodies, with long arms and legs, and that they were of the same class as the pygmies.
The Emperor sent his men to attack the Tsuchi-gumo, entangling them in nets before slaying them all.
And after this, after all this time, the Emperor made a decree.
“Six years it has been since we began our expedition to subdue the East, and with the aid of Takamagahara (Heaven) we have accomplished our task. Of course, the other lands, those in the frontier still have not come under our rule, but where we are now is free. And so here we should make a vast and spacious capital. Let us clear the mountains and forests to build a palace, let us help the people as they live in nests or caves. Let us bring them laws and justice. And I should also, to thanks the kami of Heaven, have children to continue the Imperial Line.”
With the palace being erected it is then said the Emperor, “sought afresh” a wife.
(I am unsure what happened to the previous wife, now I think about it after her brief mention we never see her again). She went by the name of Hime-tatara-i-suzu-hime, and she also was descended from heavenly kami to some degree.
Married they went on to have two children, Kami-ya-wi-mimi and Kami-nunagaha-mimi. And Jimmu now found himself finally decreed as the Emperor of Japan on 11th February 660BC (A date only officially selected in 1873). And on the same day, Michi no Omi, was given a ‘secret item’ by the Emperor which allowed him to use magic to dissipate any lingering evil kami in the area.
He gave numerous gifts now to all those who had aided him through the years, a house to Michi no Omi, a village to Ukeshi the Younger as well as numerous other things. It is even said he gave gifts to the Yatagarasu for its help, and that his descendants were the Tonomori Be. A kind of guild who were guardians of palaces or shrines.
(Don’t ask me how he had human descendants, but if dragons can do it, why not birds?)
As the Emperor grew older, he chose Kami-nanagaha-mimi as Crown Prince. Who would go on to be the second Emperor Suizei.
And eventually he succumbed to old age, dying in his palace at the age of 127, having reigned for 76 years. And he was lain to rest in his tomb north-east of Mount Unebi.
And thus ends the tale of Emperor Jimmu.
Tongue Twister
Today Heather found for us a new Tongue Twister, or Hayaguchi.
赤巻紙青巻紙黄巻紙
Aka maki gami Ao maki gami Ki maki gami
Red wrapping paper Blue wrapping paper Yellow wrapping paper
References
Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
Ponsonby, F. (1959) “The Imperial House of Japan.” Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 54B of our Podcast – Divine Crow.
Story Notes
Yatagarasu
Reading through my notes and the books again to double check everything before todays episode I came across a mistake from the last episode so lets quickly rectify that.
We talked about Naga-sune-hiko and how he attacked Emperor Jimmu and his forces, and even caused the death of the Emperors brother. This was all correct, however, when I later say the Emperors forces managed to destroy Naga-sune-hiko and his men is not mentioned in the tale. I got a little confused with all the reading. So, for now, Naga-sune-hiko and his people have not been killed and live to fight another day.
So on with the show.
Now as you will recall the Emperor and his men fell into a deep sleep after seeing the bear in the mountains, however they were saved by Takakuriji and the heavenly sword that was brought to him so we will continue on from that moment.
The Emperor decreed they would make their way inwards into the land, trying to traverse through the mountains of which they sadly had to admit defeat, finding no easy way through them. And so that night as he slept another Divine message came from above, this time to the Emperor.
The sun kami spoke to her heavenly descendant stating that she would help guide him onwards and send down to him the bird known as the Yatagarasu. And so he awoke, and saw the Yatagarasu appear from on high to lead them onwards, much to the Emperor happiness.
Now there was a man known as Hi no Omi (Minister of the Sun) who was ancestor to the Otomo House; the Imperial Guard. It was he who led the troops in following the Yatagarasu until they reached a village called Ukechi. Due to the loyalty of Hi no Omi in following the bird, he gave him the new name of Michi no Omi (Minister of the Road). (This talk of his minister is purely mentioned in the Nihongi and not the Kojiki).
Now here they stayed, the Emperor learning of the name of the rulers of the area of Uda. These being Ukeshi the Elder and Ukeshi the Younger. The Emperor summoned them to him. Only the Younger of the two comes, but he brings with him a tale of his brother.
And that he is preparing the attack the Emperor and his men. When he learned the Heavenly child was coming, his raised an army, which he then hid from him, building a banquet hall his plan was to bring the Emperor to him to this hall and attack him after his arrival. And so, the Emperor knowing now of the treachery to come, send Michi no Omi to the Elder brother, forcing him to admit to what he was going to do. And so forcing the Elder brother into the banqueting hall he as crushed to death, and then beheaded, the blood from the act flooding the area up the ankle.
In the aftermath, the remaining Younger brother threw a banquet in which much meat and sake was drunk, and many songs were sung.
After such an extravagant feast the Emperor wished to then inspect the nearby area of Yoshino, and so headed onwards to there where upon his arrival he saw a well in which inside a kami jumped out. Their name was Wihikari in the Nihongi and Ihika in the Kojiki, and they were a local kami of the area.
Soon after, at little way aways a kami came forth from a rock, calling themselves the child of Iha-oshi-wake, they themselves called Iha-oshi-waku-no-ko.
And then they came across one more person who was fishing. The Nihongi does not give their name, but the Kojiki gives him the name of Nie-motsu-no-ko. The Nihongi stating they were the child of Nihe-motsu. Ancestor of the Cormorant Keeper of Ata. (Cormorants were and still are used by fisher men to catch fish).
Now the Emperor proceeded to climb to the top of Mount Takakura, and from their he could see his enemies, a group of 80 bandits, an army of women, an army of men and the armies of Shiki the Elder. Together they would need to be subdued by the Emperor to unify the area. And so that night as he slept, again a divine message came to him from Amaterasu.
She instructed him to make platters from earth gathered from Mount Kagu as well as to make sacred jars. And using them make sacrifices to the kami above. Should he do this then his enemies will be defeated. And funnily enough, as he awoke the next morning Ukeshi the Younger approached the Emperor with the exact same idea. The only problem was, getting through the enemy to gather the items they needed.
And so Ukeshi the Younger was instructed to go, along with Shihi-netsu-hiko. One disguised himself as an old man, the other as an old woman and so off they trotted to Mount Kagu, approaching the enemy as they did so. Fortunately for them, the disguised worked and so they were free to pass and quickly moved to get the items they needed before returned to the Emperor. The platters were made, as were the jars and so next the Emperor moved to make Ame for the platters and sake for the jars with one goal in mind.
If he was to make the ame he said ‘without water’ then it would show he would be successful in the fights to come.
If he was to place the jars of sake in the river, and all the fish rise to the top drunk and be taken down river, again it would show he would be successful.
And I am sure you know the results. The ame and sake did just what the Emperor hoped.
A few weeks passes and then the Emperor moves to attack, first he attacked the eighty bandits of Mount Kunimi and defeated them, but still some remained. Emperor Jimmu then instructed Michi no Omi to invite the remained band to a banquet where they could capture them. However, none were captured and all were killed, after getting the remaining bandits drunk they were slaughtered. (Not to dissimilar to what Ukeshi the Elder was planning on doing himself to the Emperor when he invited him to his banquet).
After they turned their attentions to Shiki the Elder and Shiki the Younger, the Emperor sending the Yatagarasu to summon Shiki the Elder to him. But the Elder refused, even aiming his bow as the creature before it fled to find his younger brother. Again the Yatagarasu said he was being summoned by Emperor Jimmu. After the Younger met with the Emperor his was sent back to his Elder brother to give him a message, in essence to jin them willingly or else be attacked. And at the same time, the same messaged were sent to two other brother, Kuraji the Elder and Kuraji the Younger.
The Elder still refused to change his mind as so Shihi-netsu-hiko formed a battle plan. They would send their weakest troops towards the Elder, who would then think the Emperor was sending his best men to attack him. This would cause the Elder to send out also his best troops, and whilst this was happening the Emperors best men would then skirt around the back of the Elders army. And that is exactly what happened. With the Elder being attack both from the front and behind, he and his forces were quickly crushed and defeated.
Next the Emperor found himself again fighting Naga-sune-hiko (the man from last week who killed the Emperors brother and which I accidently said was killed), but still the Emperor found that he could not defeat this man. Then suddenly the sky became overcast and hail began to fall in droves, and from above a wonderous bird, a kite of gold came to perch atop the Emperor’s bow.
And that is where I shall leave the tale for today. On a slight cliff hanger.
Next week will be our conclusion to the tale of the first Emperor of Japan.
Poem Notes
Higuchi Ichiyo
Thomas gave me a challenge to find a poem by an author we haven’t talked about before.
And I rose to the challenge!
Higuchi Ichiyo was born on May 2, 1872. She was an author and a poet, writing in the classical Japanese style. While she was more famous for her short stories, she wrote several poems as well. She wrote an anthology of poems titles Ichiyo’s Waka Analogy, which contains over 3000 poems.
And if you live in Japan, you have probably seen her quite frequently, as she is on the 5000 Yen Bill.
And this is where I will stop for today, because we’ll have an upcoming podcast about her to complete our Japan bills series.
春日野に 萌え出る春の 若草の 早くも人を 見初めつるかな
Ah, how swiftly the spring grasses have come out on Kasuga Moor As swiftly as I have come to take notice of you
References
Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
Carter, S. (2019) ”How to Read a Japanese Poem”. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ponsonby, F. (1959) “The Imperial House of Japan.” Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 54A of our Podcast – The First Emperor.
Story Notes
Emperor Jimmu
Today we are going to talk about Jimmu Tenno 神武天皇, or to the Western world, the Emperor Jimmu.
Now he is going to act as we have said as the first in our chronological telling of the stories of the Emperors which we will tell over the coming months and years as the show progresses.
So who is this Emperor descended from?
Well, he is the great-grandson of Ninigi 瓊瓊杵尊. This being the grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, who sent Ninigi down to Earth so that he may rule. But Ninigi’s particular tale is for another day, we will eventually arrive at his story once we finish up our Shinto stories that we are telling chronologically.
Now we know of his heavenly origins, but if you wish to know of his parents, his mother was known as Tamayori-hime 玉依毘売命/玉依姫尊, and she was a dragon of the sea. His father being, Ugayafukiaezu 鵜葺草葺不合命. And Jimmu was one of their several children, the last of four infact. It should be noted as well that Tamayori was also the aunt of Jimmu’s father.
But enough of lineage perhaps, Emperor Jimmu is also kind of not his name, more of a post humous name given to him much later in time. He was born with the name of Kamu-yamato-iware-biko 神倭伊波礼琵古命, which based off one translation I have could be read as Boulder Hamlet Lad of Sacred Yamato. This name is used in both the Kojiki and Nihongi, documents we have talked of before in that they are very useful as they were written as chronicles of the first Emperors reigns. In the Kojiki also we find other names used for Emperor Jimmu, these being Waka-mi-ke-nu, Toyo-mi-ke-nu and Hikohohodemi
Now I will be bringing together both these sources as one talks of events glossed over by the other, and there is another book I have I will use from 1959.
So let’s begin.
We know that, according to the records, he was a man of great intelligence and resolute will, and though he was not the first son born to his parents, in fact he weas the fourth and last, he was still chosen as their heir to his father and so at the age of fifteen it was decreed that he would take the throne. Born in 711BC.
During this time he is said to have met and married a woman, from the Province of Hyuga, known as Ahira-tsu-hime 吾平津媛 and together the two of them had two sons, Prince Tagishimimi 手研耳命 and Prince Kisumimi 岐須美美命.
And then we kind of jump at little in time from the age of 15 to 45 when Emperor Jimmu then wished to bring all of Japan under his rule and unite the people, stating that ‘the remote regions do not yet enjoy the blessings of Imperial Rule,’ and also saying that since their heavenly ancestors first came to Earth it had been 1, 792, 470 years. So he guess it was about time everyone needed to be united. He says he had heard from the ‘Ancient of the Sea’ by the name of Shuho tsutsu no oji that there was land to the east and so that is where he wished to make his capital.
And so it is said they travelled east to being this unification, leaving from the island of Kyushu where they had lived until not, to move to the other islands to bring out Emperors Jimmu’s task. This they began in 667BC, his brothers Itsuse, Inai and Mikeirino.
Now they didn’t leave Kyushu right away travelling from Hyuga Province, to the north east of the island where a giant feast was thrown in their honor. The banquet was given by Usatsuhiko and Usatsuhime, Emperor Jimmu decreeing that Usatsuhime would be wed to his attendant minister Ama no tane. (From them it is said the Nakatomi Clan would later come into being).
From their they then moved north, still on the island of Kyushu where they then spent a whole year.
Now finally after this year they set of again, finally landing in the island of Honshu, in the land of Aki (modern day Hiroshima Prefecture). Here they stayed for seven years inside a palace they erected here. Sadly we do not know the exact location of where this palace was, however, with these first Emperors reigns it may even be that it never existed as these reigns are definitely more mythological than factual.
After all this time, they moved eastwards to the land of Kibi, which now would straddle Hiroshima and Okayama Prefectures. They stopped again, this time for 8 years, building and residing in yet another palace here. (The years they stayed that I have detailed are based on the Kojiki, the Nihongi gives different times. Also the event I am about to now tell you happens in the Nihongi before the travels I have told you thus far.)
After all this time, they sailed onwards passing through what is now the Hoyo Straits, which separates Shikoku from Kyushu and it is here we see a new person joining our tale.
They found him in the sea, fishing alongside a turtle and bestowed upon him the name of Sao-ne-tsu-hiko in the Kojiki and Utsuhiko in the Nihongi. He revealed he was a kami of the earth, one who generates wind and waves by flapping his robes. He agreed to serve and follow Emperor Jimmu and so they pulled him aboard their ship. This kami agreed to also act as their guide.
Sailing onwards they stopped in the area of Shira-kata-no-tsu, somewhere between modern day Osaka Bay and the Ikoma Mountains where they decided they would rest for a while after the sailing they had just undertaken. But here the Emperor, his brother, and his people were attacked by Naga-sune-hiko from a place known as Tomi, which is now modern day Nara. Naga-sune-hiko had marshalled his forces stating ‘the object of the children of the heavenly kami is surely to rob me of my lands.
Now the battling was fierce, and the Emperor brother Itsuse was injured, taking an arrow to the hand (or elbow in the Nihongi), shot from Naga-tsune-hiko. Itsuse angered by this, said they could not continue to fight in the position they were in, for they were fighting with the sun in their eyes. And this was not they was someone descended from the Sun themselves should have to fight, and so finding a way he managed to get around to the back of the attacking forces and from their they managed to destroy them.
Sadly Itsuse then died of his hand wound and was buried on Mount Kama in the city of Wakayama.
With that, after the burial of his brother more sailing ensued after the battle but the seas and the winds were against them, his two brother crying out in alarm at the fact. His first brother Inai cried out he was a descendant of the heavenly kami, asking why they harass him by land and sea? And so he brandished his sword and jumped into the ocean to drowned, transforming into the kami Sabi-mochi.
His other brother Mikeirino then cried that his mother and aunt were sea kami, why do they raise great bellows against them. And so he fled, treading on the waves to go to Tokoyo, the Everworld. (We mentioned this briefly before as a land full of immortals and golden orange orchards. The island where Omoikane gathered cockerels to help get Amaterasu to come out of the Rock Cave.)
Now the Emperor having lost all of his brothers moved onwards to the Kii Peninsula (so we are staying in kind of the same area for now). Here we see a rather strange event where Emperor Jimmu then sees a bear going in and out of the mountain and suddenly from the sight of it he fell down and fainted, his men also all doing the same. The Nihongi here does differ slightly and says the fainting was due to poisonous vapours belched further by the gods. (And I assume that it means the kami still dwelling on earth, as it would seem strange for those in Takamagahara (Heaven) to put Emperor Jimmu in danger.
Now luckily for them they were saved by a man known as Taka-kura-ji who came to the place where they had all fallen, and offering up a broadsword that was sharp enough to cut through anything in one go caused the Emperor and his men to reawaken. The name of the blade was Saji-futsu.
The Emperor startled by this stood up and took the sword in his hand. And swiping it caused all the evil and unruly kami in this area were cut down.
But, where he the sword come from, he wished to know and so asked Taka-kura-ji for his tale.
He told him he had had a dream in which his saw some of the kami of Heaven. He saw Amaterasu and her husband Takamimusuhi together talking to Takemikazuchi (one of the children of the fire God Kagutsuchi we have previously talked about) stating that he needed to go down to earth to help Jimmu. They could sense things were not safe for him at that moment, and as this kami had already made this land pledge submission he should go and remind them of this fact. He said in essence he wouldn’t be going but that he could send down his broadsword which this piece of land would submit to. And so the kami addressed Taka-kura-ji saying to find this sword in his storehouse when he awoke.
Poem Notes
Today is our final Senryu for the time being, and in a rare tun of events we do know who wrote this particular one. Someone known as Chouroku.
口止めをして弟をいい子にし
Kuchidome o shite otouto o ii ko ni shi
Closing the younger brother’s mouth makes him a good boy.
References
Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Ponsonby, F. (1959) “The Imperial House of Japan.” Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
A time ago the priest of a Buddhist Temple at Tatebayashi, in the province of Pekin, found an old iron boiler amongst a lot of lumber, one of the kind of tea-kettles formerly used on great occasions.
It looked as if it had been ill-used, it was so old and battered. But the priest was a thrifty man, and a lover of old-fashioned things; so he was looking to see what he could make use of amongst the lumber that his predecessor had left behind him. He cleaned the old kettle, and, filling it with water, set it on the fire to boil. To his great amazement it seemed to move, and the head, tail, and four legs of a badger seemed to grow out of it, before he could say the ever-ready prayer of his sect.
It then jumped from the fire and tried to escape; but the priest calling to the neophyte to come and aid him, they beat the badger down with brooms and caught it, and put it into a box. Now there was a dealer in old metal in the village who was known to the priest, and the neophyte was sent to bring him to the temple, but nothing was to be said about the tricks of the pot. When the box was opened to show the dealer, it seemed to be the same old rusty, dirty thing it was before the priest cleaned it, so the dealer would not give more than about ten cents for it. The priest, however, after some attempts to obtain more for such a heavy kettle, closed the bargain, glad to be rid of it.
The dealer found it heavier to carry than he at first thought, but he managed to get it home. The same night he was awoke from his sound sleep by noises that seemed to come from the corner where he had placed the tea-kettle, but they ceased when he sat up to watch.
Fancying there might be a thief, he was cautious; and presently, in place of the pot, he saw a great badger dancing about, in a way that astonished him, skipping from place to place and balancing itself in the strangest attitudes until the poor man was quite frightened.
Early the next morning he went to a friend, another old-metal dealer, and told him about the badger’s tricks. This old man had heard when a child about the story of a tea-kettle that was bewitched, and he thought that perhaps the one bought from the priest might be the same. He advised his friend, therefore, to exhibit the kettle as a curiosity, for, if the badger’s good will and confidence could be gained, it would bring its possessor a fortune. He also advised that no prayers should be said, or religious ceremony observed, near the place where the tea-kettle was, as such would annoy the badger and inter-fere with the exhibition. The dealer took his friend’s advice, and, erecting a temporary building, succeeded in getting the badger to show off his tricks in public.
When the tea-kettle was placed on the stage it would not move till there was a crowded audience; then, assured that every one had paid his entrance fee, it would gradually develop head, limbs, and tail, and go through the funniest performances on a tight-rope, with umbrella, fans, etc., dancing and tumbling, finally disappearing suddenly, and here the old rusty tea-kettle would be seen back on the stage again.
The dealer became a very rich man, but he feared he had incurred the wrath of Nin-rai-oama (Buddhist divinity), and he therefore made presents of money to the temples that the priests might pray for him, and avert the punishment he feared he had incurred; for, by giving up a portion of his wealth, he hoped to enjoy the remainder for many years, and be sure of a happy hereafter free of trouble.
The priest who had sold the tea-kettle was a clever man, and had no difficulty in obtaining enough money to build a fine new temple, the dealer believing he was thus making the road easy for himself in the next world. There was a special place built for the tea-kettle. It was canonized, and named ” Great Enlightened Spirit of Bum-buku ;” and is still to be seen.
The Sparrows Wedding
In the days of old, there lived in the forest at the back of an old shrine, not far from the pathway, a sparrow called Chiyo-suke. He had been for a long time looking about for a suitable wife for his eldest boy Chiyo-taro, being anxious that he should settle down and become more steady and industrious.
As usual, he had formerly arranged with a neighbour a match between his daughter and Chiyo-taro, but the girl had died, and the boy was now, as his father thought, free. Such was not the case, however, because one day, when Chiyo-taro went to visit the shrine of his tutelary saint, he met the daughter of Suzu-yemon, and was so much charmed by her pretty face and modest ways that he fell in love with her directly, and, boy-like, suddenly decided that he would have her or none for his future wife.
When he went home he took the first opportunity to confide his wish to his mother, and, as she had heard the story of Suzu-yemon, all about his being caught and his tongue cut by the cruel old woman, and also how kind and dutiful his daughter Osuzu always was to her friends, she promised to help him. Chiyo-suke was sorry his son had not made a grander match, but, as there was nothing to be said against the character of Osuzu and her family, he, with a little coaxing, consented.
The next thing to be done was to find some elderly woman, who was intimate with both families and a good match-maker, to act as a go-between in such cases, and who was smart and clever in finding out everybody’s business. Now there is rarely much trouble in finding out such a one, for, if they manage well, they are sure to receive nice presents from all parties, and they generally try. hard to earn them. Dressing herself in her best clothes, and asking that one of Chiyo-suke’s maidservants might attend upon her to make a little more show, the match-maker paid a visit to Osuzu’s family.
The good folk guessed the object of the visit to be an offer of marriage for their daughter, but as in duty bound, according to olden custom, they cleverly avoided appearing to know it, and evaded every attempt to bring round the chat to that subject. After many pipes of tobacco had been whiffed, and tiny cups of tea sipped, they at length admitted that Osuzu was not as yet betrothed, but they were in no hurry, there was plenty of time, and her pretty face and cleverness would get her a rich husband by-and-by.
The match-maker hinted that Chyo-suke’s son would be a very good match. He was rich, handsome, and clever, not; any worse than other young men, and so forth. She pressed her point, and finally obtained the consent of Osuzu’s friends to return to Chiyo-suke and arrange for a formal meeting of the two families. Elated with her success, she commenced in earnest, and the result waa that in a few days the middlemen or witnesses were appointed.
The bridal gifts were chosen by the bridegroom, amongst other things a beautiful girdle, a bundle of white fibre, fish, wine, etc. In return the bride’s family sent him a complete dress of ceremony, wine, etc., and on the day of the wedding her bridal outfit would be sent to her future home. A lucky day was now chosen for Osuzu to leave her old home, to go to her future one. Chiyo-taro’s friends and neighbours met at his house on the evening of the happy day with their paper lanterns, which they lighted to go to meet the bride and her friends.
When the chair in which Osuzu was carried arrived at her new home, she was lifted out of it and carried into the house with a great fuss, for it is not lucky to allow the bride to walk in for the first time lest she should touch with her feet certain places, and that would be a bad omen. She was first taken to the Buddha shelf, the family shrine, and to the Shelf of the Gods and other places, to kneel before them and pray to be admitted into the family, and for prosperity to her new home-she still wearing her beautiful new silk dresses and the veil of floss silk over her head. Then she was led to the best room, where a grand feast was spread out, and seated beside Chiyo-taro.
They drank wine from the same cup, whilst the friends clapped their hands and congratulated them. She was then led to a side room, and her robes were changed for a beautiful bright-coloured crepe dress and a gold brocade girdle. During the feast her robes were changed several times, to exhibit to admiring friends the extent of her wardrobe, and by the time daylight was dawning every one had feasted so heartily that they were nearly all asleep.
This was said to be the grandest wedding known in the forest for many long years. Chiyo-taro was a good, kind, husband, and he and Osuzu were happy and prospered, living to old age.
Poem Notes
Today from Heather we have an annonymous Senryu.
清書書に知らぬ字のある親の顔
In the fair copy there’s a character he doesn’t know ー the father’s face.
References
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Pfoundes, C. (1878) “The Bewitched Tea-Kettle”. The Folk Lore Record, Vol.1, pp.118-119.
Pfoundes, C. (1878) “The Sparrow’s Wedding”. The Folk Lore Record, Vol.1, pp.131-133.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 52 of our Podcast – The Love of Asagao.
Story Notes
This story originally came from 1913 and so is available free of copyright and so we can include the story in full for you here today.
E52 The Love of Asagao
“The morning glory Her leaves and bells has bound My bucket-handle round. I would not break the bands Of those soft hands. The bucket and the well to her I left: Lend me some water, for I come bereft.” From the Japanese. (Trans. by Sir Edwin Arnold.)
Komagawa Miyagi a retainer of one of the daimyōs, came to a suburb of Kyōto. As it happened to be a warm summer evening he hired a boat, and, forgetting all his worries, he watched many bright-robed little ladies catching fireflies. In the air and on the grass these bright insects shone, so that the laughing ladies had many opportunities of catching these living jewels and placing them for a moment in their hair, upon poised finger, or against a silk flower on a kimono.
While Komagawa watched this pretty scene he saw that one of the ladies was in difficulty with her boat. Komagawa at once came to her assistance, and there and then fell desperately in love with her. They lingered together in a cool recess on the river, and no longer troubled about fireflies, for both were eager to express their love.
In order to pledge their vows these two lovers, according to an ancient custom, exchanged fans. On Miyuki’s fan there was a painting of a convolvulus. Komagawa wrote a poem about this lovely flower upon his own fan before presenting it to the woman he loved. So it was that their fans and their vows were exchanged, and the convolvulus, in picture and in verse, became the pledge of their troth.
Eventually the lovers separated, to meet again a few days later at Akasha, where it chanced that their ships touched each other. When they had exchanged many a fair and loving word they returned to their respective homes.
When Miyuki reached her home, radiant with thoughts of her true love, she discovered that her parents had already arranged a marriage for her with some one the poor little woman had never seen.
Miyuki heard this piece of news with an aching heart. She knew that children must obey their parents, and when she was lying down on her futon she did her utmost to comply with her parents’ wish. But the struggle proved useless, for the form of her lover kept on coming back to her, and the river and the gleaming fireflies. So she arose, crept out of the house, and walked towards a certain town, hoping to find Komagawa, only to discover on her arrival that he had departed, no one knew whither.
This bitter disappointment much affected Miyuki, and she wept for many days; Her salt tears flowed so persistently that she soon became quite blind, as helpless a creature as “a bird without feathers or a fish without fins.”
Miyuki, after she had given way to grief for some time, discovered that if she did not wish to starve she must do something to earn a living. She made up her mind to make use of her excellent voice and to sing in streets or in tea-houses. Her voice, combined with her beautiful and pathetic face, won instant recognition. People wept over her plaintive singing without knowing why. She loved to sing the little poem about the convolvulus Komagawa had written on his fan, so the people who heard her called her Asagao (“Convolvulus”).
The blind maiden was led from place to place by her friend Asaka (“Slight Fragrance “), till some one killed her, and Asagao was left alone to tap out her dark journeys without a loving hand to guide her. There was only one thought that consoled Asagao, and that was that she might, in her wanderings, eventually meet her lover.
When a few years had passed by it chanced that Komagawa, accompanied by Iwashiro Takita, was sent on business by his Daimyō. While on their journey they happened to enter a certain tea-house. Iwashiro Takita was sullen and morose, and sat in gloomy silence, not deigning to notice his surroundings. Komagawa, on the other hand, looked about him, and saw on a screen the very poem he had written about the convolvulus, the poem he had so lovingly inscribed for Asagao. While pondering the matter in his mind the master of the tea-house entered the apartment. Komagawa questioned him concerning this little love-poem, and the master of the tea-house told the following story:
“It is a very sad story,” said he. “The poem was sung by a poor blind lady. She ran away from her home because she could not marry the man her parents had chosen for her. She was unable to consent to the union because she already had a lover, and this lover she sought up and down the country, ever singing this little poem about the convolvulus, in the hope that some day she might have the good fortune to meet him. Honourable sir, at this very moment she is in my tea-garden!”
Komagawa could scarcely conceal his joy when he requested that the master of the tea-house would bring in the blind woman.
In another moment Asagao stood before him. He saw in her delicate face an added beauty, the beauty of a hope, of a love kept bright and clear through the long, sorrowful years of waiting.
Asagao touched the samisen. Very gently she sang:
“Down fell the shower of silver rain and wet the poor Convolvulus, The sweet dew on the leaves and flowers being taken away by the jealous sun.”
Komagawa listened intently, longing to speak, longing to reveal his love, yet keeping silent because his ill-bred companion still remained in the room. He watched her dark eyes fixed upon him, but they were without expression, for they could not see. Still the samisen tinkled, and still the voice sounded sweet and low and unspeakably pathetic in the apartment. With an aching heart and without a word of love he dismissed her with the usual fee. She walked out of the room as if conscious of a new, acute sorrow. There was something in her patron’s voice that was extremely tender, something that moved her deeply, and it made her heart ache and yearn without knowing why.
The next day Komagawa gave the master of the tea-house a fan, saying: “Give this fan and money to Asagao. She will understand.” With these words Komagawa and his companion proceeded on their journey.
When Asagao had received the fan she felt it eagerly with her small white fingers. “Who has given me this fan and money?” she inquired. “Oh, tell me what the fan is like. Has it a drawing of a convolvulus?”
The master of the tea-house looked at her gently, “He to whom you sang last night gave you this fan,” said he. “There is a drawing of a convolvulus upon it.”
Asagao gave a cry of joy. “Last night,” she said softly, “I was with my lover again! And now, and now….”
At this very moment a servant from Asagao’s old home arrived, asserting that he had been sent by her parents to bring her back again. But Asagao, true to her old love, determined to fight down all opposition.
Now it happened that the master of this tea-house had once been employed by Asagao’s father. He had committed a great wrong in that capacity, a wrong worthy of death; but Asagao’s father had taken pity upon him. He had dismissed him with money, which had enabled the wrongdoer to set up in business for himself. During this crisis the master of the tea-house thought oven the kindness that had been shown him, and resolved to commit seppuku in order that his old master’s child might receive her sight again by means of this brave man’s liver.
So the master of the tea-house killed himself, and Asagao received her sight. That very night, though there was a fierce tempest raging, she set out in search of her lover, accompanied by a faithful little band of servants. All night the maiden journeyed over rough and rugged roads. She scarcely noticed the heavy rain or her bleeding feet. She was urged on by a joyous love, by the fond hope of finding her lover again.
As she climbed a mountain, now bathed in sunlight, she fancied she heard a voice calling her name. She looked about her and discovered Komagawa. Peace came to her then. All the weariness of long search and almost endless waiting were over for ever, and in a little while the lovers were married. The convolvulus, or morning glory, is a flower that only blooms for a few hours; but Asagao’s love had the beauty of the convolvulus combined with the strength and long life of the pine. In their happy union they had remained true to the pledge of love upon their fans, and out of blindness and much suffering Asagao could hold up her fair head to the dew and sunshine of her lover’s sheltering arms.
Proverb Notes
Today Heather found an interesting little Proverb for us.
ボールドに向くと先生欠伸をし
When the teacher turns to the blackboard, he yawns.
References
Blyth, R.H. (1949) “Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses”. Japan: Hokuseido Press.
Davis, F. H. (1992) “Myths and Legends of Japan.” New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 51 of our Podcast – Kintaro the Golden Boy.
Story Notes
EP51 Kintaro the Golden Boy
Long, long ago there lived in Kyoto a brave soldier named Kintoki. Now he fell in love with a beautiful lady and married her. Not long after this, through the malice of some of his friends, he fell into disgrace at Court and was dismissed. This misfortune so preyed upon his mind that he did not long survive his dismissal—he died, leaving behind him his beautiful young wife to face the world alone. Fearing her husband’s enemies, she fled to the Ashigara Mountains as soon as her husband was dead, and there in the lonely forests where no one ever came except woodcutters, a little boy was born to her. She called him Kintaro or the Golden Boy. Now the remarkable thing about this child was his great strength, and as he grew older he grew stronger and stronger, so that by the time he was eight years of age he was able to cut down trees as quickly as the woodcutters. Then his mother gave him a large ax, and he used to go out in the forest and help the woodcutters, who called him “Wonder-child,” and his mother the “Old Nurse of the Mountains,” for they did not know her high rank. Another favorite pastime of Kintaro’s was to smash up rocks and stones. You can imagine how strong he was!
Quite unlike other boys, Kintaro, grew up all alone in the mountain wilds, and as he had no companions he made friends with all the animals and learned to understand them and to speak their strange talk. By degrees they all grew quite tame and looked upon Kintaro as their master, and he used them as his servants and messengers. But his special retainers were the bear, the deer, the monkey and the hare.
The bear often brought her cubs for Kintaro to romp with, and when she came to take them home Kintaro would get on her back and have a ride to her cave. He was very fond of the deer too, and would often put his arms round the creature’s neck to show that its long horns did not frighten him. Great was the fun they all had together.
One day, as usual, Kintaro went up into the mountains, followed by the bear, the deer, the monkey, and the hare. After walking for some time up hill and down dale and over rough roads, they suddenly came out upon a wide and grassy plain covered with pretty wild flowers.
Here, indeed, was a nice place where they could all have a good romp together. The deer rubbed his horns against a tree for pleasure, the monkey scratched his back, the hare smoothed his long ears, and the bear gave a grunt of satisfaction.
Kintaro said, “Here is a place for a good game. What do you all say to a wrestling match?”
The bear being the biggest and the oldest, answered for the others:
“That will be great fun,” said she. “I am the strongest animal, so I will make the platform for the wrestlers;” and she set to work with a will to dig up the earth and to pat it into shape.
“All right,” said Kintaro, “I will look on while you all wrestle with each other. I shall give a prize to the one who wins in each round.”
“What fun! we shall all try to get the prize,” said the bear.
The deer, the monkey and the hare set to work to help the bear raise the platform on which they were all to wrestle. When this was finished, Kintaro cried out:
“Now begin! the monkey and the hare shall open the sports and the deer shall be umpire. Now, Mr. Deer, you are to be umpire!”
“He, he!” answered the deer. “I will be umpire. Now, Mr. Monkey and Mr. Hare, if you are both ready, please walk out and take your places on the platform.”
Then the monkey and the hare both hopped out, quickly and nimbly, to the wrestling platform. The deer, as umpire, stood between the two and called out:
“Red-back! Red-back!” (this to the monkey, who has a red back in Japan). “Are you ready?”
Then he turned to the hare:
“Long-ears! Long-ears! are you ready?”
Both the little wrestlers faced each other while the deer raised a leaf on high as signal. When he dropped the leaf the monkey and the hare rushed upon each other, crying “Yoisho, yoisho!”
While the monkey and the hare wrestled, the deer called out encouragingly or shouted warnings to each of them as the hare or the monkey pushed each other near the edge of the platform and were in danger of falling over.
“Red-back! Red-back! stand your ground!” called out the deer.
“Long-ears! Long-ears! be strong, be strong—don’t let the monkey beat you!” grunted the bear.
So the monkey and the hare, encouraged by their friends, tried their very hardest to beat each other. The hare at last gained on the monkey. The monkey seemed to trip up, and the hare giving him a good push sent him flying off the platform with a bound.
The poor monkey sat up rubbing his back, and his face was very long as he screamed angrily. “Oh, oh! how my back hurts—my back hurts me!”
Seeing the monkey in this plight on the ground, the deer holding his leaf on high said:
“This round is finished—the hare has won.”
Kintaro then opened his luncheon box and taking out a rice-dumpling, gave it to the hare saying:
“Here is your prize, and you have earned, it well!”
Now the monkey got up looking very cross, and as they say in Japan “his stomach stood up,” for he felt that he had not been fairly beaten. So he said to Kintaro and the others who were standing by:
“I have not been fairly beaten. My foot slipped and I tumbled. Please give me another chance and let the hare wrestle with me for another round.”
Then Kintaro consenting, the hare and the monkey began to wrestle again. Now, as every one knows, the monkey is a cunning animal by nature, and he made up his mind to get the best of the hare this time if it were possible. To do this, he thought that the best and surest way would be to get hold of the hare’s long ear. This he soon managed to do. The hare was quite thrown off his guard by the pain of having his long ear pulled so hard, and the monkey seizing his opportunity at last, caught hold of one of the hare’s legs and sent him sprawling in the middle of the dais. The monkey was now the victor and received, a rice-dumpling from Kintaro, which pleased him so much that he quite forgot his sore back.
The deer now came up and asked the hare if he felt ready for another round, and if so whether he would try a round with him, and the hare consenting, they both stood up to wrestle. The bear came forward as umpire.
The deer with long horns and the hare with long ears, it must have been an amusing sight to those who watched this queer match. Suddenly the deer went down on one of his knees, and the bear with the leaf on high declared him beaten. In this way, sometimes the one, sometimes the other, conquering, the little party amused themselves till they were tired.
At last Kintaro got up and said:
“This is enough for to-day. What a nice place we have found for wrestling; let us come again to-morrow. Now, we will all go home. Come along!” So saying, Kintaro led the way while the animals followed.
After walking some little distance they came out on the banks of a river flowing through a valley. Kintaro and his four furry friends stood and looked about for some means of crossing. Bridge there was none. The river rushed “don, don” on its way. All the animals looked serious, wondering how they could cross the stream and get home that evening.
Kintaro, however, said:
“Wait a moment. I will make a good bridge for you all in a few minutes.”
The bear, the deer, the monkey and the hare looked at him to see what he would do now.
Kintaro went from one tree to another that grew along the river bank. At last he stopped in front of a very large tree that was growing at the water’s edge. He took hold of the trunk and pulled it with all his might, once, twice, thrice! At the third pull, so great was Kintaro’s strength that the roots gave way, and “meri, meri” (crash, crash), over fell the tree, forming an excellent bridge across the stream.
“There,” said Kintaro, “what do you think of my bridge? It is quite safe, so follow me,” and he stepped across first. The four animals followed. Never had they seen any one so strong before, and they all exclaimed:
“How strong he is! how strong he is!”
While all this was going on by the river a woodcutter, who happened to be standing on a rock overlooking the stream, had seen all that passed beneath him. He watched with great surprise Kintaro and his animal companions. He rubbed his eyes to be sure that he was not dreaming when he saw this boy pull over a tree by the roots and throw it across the stream to form a bridge.
The woodcutter, for such he seemed to be by his dress, marveled at all he saw, and said to himself:
“This is no ordinary child. Whose son can he be? I will find out before this day is done.”
He hastened after the strange party and crossed the bridge behind them. Kintaro knew nothing of all this, and little guessed that he was being followed. On reaching the other side of the river he and the animals separated, they to their lairs in the woods and he to his mother, who was waiting for him.
As soon as he entered the cottage, which stood like a matchbox in the heart of the pine-woods, he went to greet his mother, saying:
“Okkasan (mother), here I am!”
“O, Kimbo!” said his mother with a bright smile, glad to see her boy home safe after the long day. “How late you are to-day. I feared that something had happened to you. Where have you been all the time?”
“I took my four friends, the bear, the deer, the monkey, and the hare, up into the hills, and there I made them try a wrestling match, to see which was the strongest. We all enjoyed the sport, and are going to the same place to-morrow to have another match.”
“Now tell me who is the strongest of all?” asked his mother, pretending not to know.
“Oh, mother,” said Kintaro, “don’t you know that I am the strongest? There was no need for me to wrestle with any of them.”
“But next to you then, who is the strongest?”
“The bear comes next to me in strength,” answered Kintaro.
“And after the bear?” asked his mother again.
“Next to the bear it is not easy to say which is the strongest, for the deer, the monkey, and the hare all seem to be as strong as each other,” said Kintaro.
Suddenly Kintaro and his mother were startled by a voice from outside.
“Listen to me, little boy! Next time you go, take this old man with you to the wrestling match. He would like to join the sport too!”
It was the old woodcutter who had followed Kintaro from the river. He slipped off his clogs and entered the cottage. Yama-uba and her son were both taken by surprise. They looked at the intruder wonderingly and saw that he was some one they had never seen before.
“Who are you?” they both exclaimed.
Then the woodcutter laughed and said:
“It does not matter who I am yet, but let us see who has the strongest arm—this boy or myself?”
Then Kintaro, who had lived all his life in the forest, answered the old man without any ceremony, saying:
“We will have a try if you wish it, but you must not be angry whoever is beaten.”
Then Kintaro and the woodcutter both put out their right arms and grasped each other’s hands. For a long time Kintaro and the old man wrestled together in this way, each trying to bend the other’s arm, but the old man was very strong, and the strange pair were evenly matched. At last the old man desisted, declaring it a drawn game.
“You are, indeed, a very strong child. There are few men who can boast of the strength of my right arm!” said the woodcutter. “I saw you first on the banks of the river a few hours ago, when you pulled up that large tree to make a bridge across the torrent. Hardly able to believe what I saw I followed you home. Your strength of arm, which I have just tried, proves what I saw this afternoon. When you are full-grown you will surely be the strongest man in all Japan. It is a pity that you are hidden away in these wild mountains.”
Then he turned to Kintaro’s mother:
“And you, mother, have you no thought of taking your child to the Capital, and of teaching him to carry a sword as befits a samurai (a Japanese knight)?”
“You are very kind to take so much interest in my son.” replied the mother; “but he is as you see, wild and uneducated, and I fear it would be very difficult to do as you say. Because of his great strength as an infant I hid him away in this part of the country, for he hurt every one that came near him. I have often wished that I could, one day, see my boy a knight wearing two swords, but as we have no influential friend to introduce us at the Capital, I fear my hope will never come true.”
“You need not trouble yourself about that. To tell you the truth I am no woodcutter! I am one of the great generals of Japan. My name is Sadamitsu, and I am a vassal of the powerful Lord Minamoto-no-Raiko. He ordered me to go round the country and look for boys who give promise of remarkable strength, so that they may be trained as soldiers for his army. I thought that I could best do this by assuming the disguise of a woodcutter. By good fortune, I have thus unexpectedly come across your son. Now if you really wish him to be a samurai (a knight), I will take him and present him to the Lord Raiko as a candidate for his service. What do you say to this?”
As the kind general gradually unfolded his plan the mother’s heart was filled with a great joy. She saw that here was a wonderful chance of the one wish of her life being fulfilled—that of seeing Kintaro a samurai before she died.
Bowing her head to the ground, she replied:
“I will then entrust my son to you if you really mean what you say.”
Kintaro had all this time been sitting by his mother’s side listening to what they said. When his mother finished speaking, he exclaimed:
“Oh, joy! joy! I am to go with the general and one day I shall be a samurai!”
Thus Kintaro’s fate was settled, and the general decided to start for the Capital at once, taking Kintaro with him. It need hardly be said that Yama-uba was sad at parting with her boy, for he was all that was left to her. But she hid her grief with a strong face, as they say in Japan. She knew that it was for her boy’s good that he should leave her now, and she must not discourage him just as he was setting out. Kintaro promised never to forget her, and said that as soon as he was a knight wearing two swords he would build her a home and take care of her in her old age.
All the animals, those he had tamed to serve him, the bear, the deer, the monkey, and the hare, as soon as they found out that he was going away, came to ask if they might attend him as usual. When they learned that he was going away for good they followed him to the foot of the mountain to see him off.
“Kimbo,” said his mother, “mind and be a good boy.”
“Mr. Kintaro,” said the faithful animals, “we wish you good health on your travels.”
Then they all climbed a tree to see the last of him, and from that height they watched him and his shadow gradually grow smaller and smaller, till he was lost to sight.
The general Sadamitsu went on his way rejoicing at having so unexpectedly found such a prodigy as Kintaro.
Having arrived at their destination the general took Kintaro at once to his Lord, Minamoto-no-Raiko, and told him all about Kintaro and how he had found the child. Lord Raiko was delighted with the story, and having commanded Kintaro to be brought to him, made him one of his vassals at once.
Lord Raiko’s army was famous for its band called “The Four Braves.” These warriors were chosen by himself from amongst the bravest and strongest of his soldiers, and the small and well-picked band was distinguished throughout the whole of Japan for the dauntless courage of its men.
When Kintaro grew up to be a man his master made him the Chief of the Four Braves. He was by far the strongest of them all. Soon after this event, news was brought to the city that a cannibal monster had taken up his abode not far away and that people were stricken with fear. Lord Raiko ordered Kintaro to the rescue. He immediately started off, delighted at the prospect of trying his sword.
Surprising the monster in its den, he made short work of cutting off its great head, which he carried back in triumph to his master.
Kintaro now rose to be the greatest hero of his country, and great was the power and honor and wealth that came to him. He now kept his promise and built a comfortable home for his old mother, who lived happily with him in the Capital to the end of her days.
Is not this the story of a great hero?
Poem Notes
Minamoto no Sanetomo
Minamoto no Sanetomo (源 実朝) was born September 12, 1192 and died February 12, 1219.
He was the third and last shogun of the Minamoto Clan during the Kamakura Shogunate.
His older brother was 2nd shogun, but was stripped of the title due to accusations of plotting against the Hojo clan, and he was eventually assassinated. Sanetomo was then declared the third shogun. However, it seems that he was ruler in name only, as his mother maintained the power. She also used Sanetomo to fight against her father, the head of the Hojo clan. To cope with the helplessness of his fate, he therefore put his efforts into writing waka poetry.
Taught by Teika, who is also included in the Ogura hyakunin isshu, and who also praised his poetry highly. He eventually wrote at least 700 poems, publishing in his private collection titled Kinkai Wakashu, as well as inclusion in Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
In 1219 he was killed by his nephew after returning from a ceremony to honor his new role as Udaijin. The poem I am reading for you today is describing a port in Kamakura.
よのなかは つねにもがもな なぎさこぐ あまのおぶねの つなでかなしも
Yo no naka wa tsune ni mogamo na nagisa kogu ama no obune no tsunade kanashi mo
That such mobing sights would never change – fishermen rowing their small boats pulling them on to shore.
References
Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
Ozaki, Y.T. (1903) “The Japanese Fairy Book”. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd.
Suzuki, H. et al. (1997) ”Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu”. Tokyo: Bun’eidō.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 50 of our Podcast – Worlds Oldest Companies.
Story Notes
EP50 World’s Oldest Companies
In the world there exists 67 companies which have existed since before 1300AD, and out of those 67. 34% of them are located in Japan. So today let’s dive into some of them shall we?
Kongo Gumi
We start off with the oldest company. This one not just the oldest in Japan, but the oldest in the world. A company that has been around since 578AD.
Now this company, headquartered in Osaka and founded by Shigemitsu Kongō traces its origins not to the Japanese, but to Korean immigrants to came to Japan at the behest of Prince Shotoku to help in the construction of the temple of Shitenno-ji. And we know of every one of those who were a descendant of this family due to a 3 meter long scroll from the 17th century, tracing back the lineage of the family heads of this family and company.
Now they specialised in the building of Buddhist temples, but by 2006 they were falling on hard times and went into liquidation, being bought by Takamatsu Construction Group. In essence, they still exist to this day, however, whether people believe they should still hold the title of worlds oldest company after liquidating is something you will need to decide for yourself.
Kongo Gumi
Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan
Our second company today is the world’s oldest hotel. You can find it located in Hayakawa, Yamanashi Prefecture and dates all the way back to 705AD for its founding by a Fujiwara no Mahito according to their website. The onsen took the name of Keiun as it was founded in the Keiun Era and gathers its water from the nearby Hakuho Springs. Its is still run by the same family, and its now on its 52nd generational descendant from Fujiwara Mahito.
Such was its fame that even Tokugawa Ieyasu is said to have stayed here during his life.
The hotel has tried to remain traditional during its existence, and even after a major renovation in 1997 it maintained its traditional architecture. And in 2005, they added hot spring baths into every room in the hotel.
Now I tried to figure out who this Mahito was, some references said that he was the son of an aide with the surname Fujiwara to Emperor Tenji. However, I am not entirely sure about this. So if anyone can help me please do.
The aide to Emperor Tenji was Fujiwara no Kamatari. He had sons, but no Mahito, though he did have a son called Fuhito. One syllable difference. Fuhito did live during the correct time so could have founded this hotel, however right now I can’t be sure.
Of Mahito I can find no record, only this Fuhito, so is there an error somewhere in the histories? Maybe we’ll never know, or maybe I am over thinking this. I leave it to you to decide.
Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan
Gendai Shigyo
This company was founded all the way back in 771 and is the oldest ceremonial paper goods store in Japan. From what I could gather from the Japanese it seems that this company created Mizuhiki (explain what this is, add a pic in show notes) which up until the Meiji Era was not popular with the general public and was more for the imperial family and nobles. But now that also make other ceremonial paper goods including those for festivals.
Tanaka-Iga
Sadly not much to say for this one. Based in Kyoto, this company was founded in 885 and is the oldest company to Buddhist religious items.
Ichimonjiya Wasuke (Ichiwa)
Looking now at confectionary, we find ourselves in Kyoto, at the Ichiwa store. If you are wanting an idea of whereabouts it is, it’s about a 20 minute walk from Kinkakuji.
Founded around 1000 years ago the store is known for selling Wagashi, a kind of plant based confection made of mochi, anko or fruits; often served with tea. The store is rather small, currently run by the 24th descendant of its founder. And in addition to a small number of benches and stool to enjoy your confectionary at, you can look down over a garden at the back of the store designed in around the 17th century by a Kobori Enshu.
The primary specialty of this place is aburi-mochi. This is mochi grilled over charcoal, doused in a sweet miso sauce.
Ichimonjiya Wasuke
Sudo Honke
Now if you’re in Japan, one of the famous drinks is the sake. And if you are wanting to find the oldest company who makes it, turn your attention to Sudo Honke. A company which has been around since at least 1141. The exact origins are lost to us, but we have this date from a talisman the family still had showing they were making sake during 1141. You can find them located in Ibaraki Prefecture and their website states that they originally started out as a Samurai family who chose a mission to revitalize the economy of the area and so they began to brew sake.
They make around 180 kilolitres of sake annually, using the best rice and only the water pumped from a local well.
They have never had to use any other water aside from this source.
This did come into jeopardy after the 2011 earthquake however, no damage was done to the buildings, however they soon had to test the well for radiation contamination due to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster. Luckily the tests came back negative and the company is now doing what it can to get their sales back on track after a big drop in sales following the earthquake.
That’s all I can really say for now, as the current head of the company has said they have various memos, receipts and paperwork stored dating back to the Edo Period for their brewery. However, none of it has been sorted through yet, and so if there is more history to tell for this company. We don’t know it yet.
Tsuen Tea
Now we turn our attention to Japan’s oldest Tea Shop and a lot of their history can be garnered from the plaques they have on display around their store. It has been around since about 1160 founded by a man known as Furukawa Unai who during his lifetime served as a vassal to Minamoto no Yorimasa. And in addition to enjoying tea, Furukawa was also said to have been a rather excellent martial artist. After he was allowed to retire, he changed his name to being Taikei-an Tsuen Masahisa, which is where the name of the store came from. And he sets up his store on the East side of the Uji Bridge. He did return to service in 1180 to fight alongside Yorimasa in the battle of Uji, where he sadly died and there was even a play made about him telling the story of his life.
The location of the tea shop was a prime location for all people to travel through, and it is even now that prominent people such as Tokogawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi even had tea served to them here.
His descendant carried on serving tea here to various travellers and changed their family name to being merely Tsuen. Now jumping to the seventh generational descendant we find that this man had strong connections to a Zen monk known as Ikkyu, and they are said to have been inseparable. When this 7th Generation Tsuen died, Ikkyu apparently came straight to the tea shop where he presented them with a piece of calligraphy which went as follows, “one cup of tea, one coin, one’s time is a bubble.”
The 8th Generation Tsuen served as Chief tea master to the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, which goes to show I suppose the fame and prestige their Tea Shop had gathered over the years.
The 10th and 11th Generation Tsûen’s served as masters of the crossing at Uji Bridge. They earned the trust of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during his lifetime, and were even permitted to provide the lord with tea, using water from the Uji River. It is said the buckets they used to gather the water still survive to this day.
Outside of the store are many tea jars spanning back hundreds of years in age. And additionally there is a statue of the first Tsuen, which was gifted to the store by the priest Ikkyu.
And to finish everything off, how about I tell you the kinds of tea you can get there?
matcha – ground green tea
gyokuro – shaded green tea
sencha – whole tea leaves infused in hot water
karigane – contains also twigs of the tea tree
hōjicha – roasted green tea
genmaicha – mixed low – level green tea and roasted brown rice.
Tsuen Tea
Kikuoka
The company of Kikuoka can be found in the city of Nara, close to the old capital of Kyoto. The current instalment of this shop deals in traditional Japanese/Chinese medicine and has been around since 1184. Currently it is run by the 24th generation of the same family. It appears the Kikuoka family was originally from Fujiwara, and that their family had a long desire to care for the sick people of Japan.
They have made various attempts at catering for English speaker should you wish to go and procure some medicine by providing in house a giant glossary in both Japanese and English should you require it, but they do also recommend booking before hands if you need a consultation as the wait may be long if you don’t do so. Or if you don’t need any medicine and just wish to see the ancient store, you can go and have a free cup of herbal tea.
Kikuoka
Ito Tekko
Founded in 1189, Ito Tekko has claim to being the oldest metalworking company in the Japan, located in the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. According to their website, they were founded by a man known as Ito Sukeemon who served Minamoto no Yoritomo. Minamoto no Yoritomo was the man who established the bakufu system, or as we know of it abroad the system of Shoguns who held power over the country more so than the Emperor.
The company remained very much the same until the Meiji Era where as times were changing and Japan was modernising they changed the products they made to also include weaving machines and brewing machines, and similarly on the 800th year since their founding, so the first year in the era of Heisei they again change, making the difficult decision to modernise again and move into making electromagnetic flow meters to measure the water flows of water and sewage systems.
Kotabe Foundry
Founded back between 1190 and 1199 this currently is being run by Shouemon Kotabe, a 37th generation descendant from the founder of the company. You can find them in Ibaraki Prefecture on the foothills of the Tsubaku Mountain. As a foundry company they are well versed in the making of fire bells, rainwater bowls, as well as the bells for the temples of Japan. The location allows them access to sand and clay used in the making of the moulds needed.
And from what little information I could find out about Kotabe, it appears that they are the only company in Japan permitted to place the emblem of the chrysanthemum on their product, this being the symbol of the Japanese Royal Family.
Show Notes for bonus episode 10 of our Podcast – Ninja Magician.
Story Notes
Kashin Koji (果心居士) was said to have been a magician born in 1524 who also went by the name of Shippo Gyoja (Pilgrim of the Seven Treasures). His ancestry is unfortunately not known and we can often find this man as portrayed wearing robes with white hair.
During his childhood he grew up on Mount Koya where he studied Shingon esoteric Buddhism, however, he soon found himself exiled after his interest in magic began.
After that he is said to have become a wander and would perform magic shows for people after deciding to live in the area near Lake Sarusawa.
Such tricks involved throwing leaves into lakes which would transform into fish, as well as being able to make people believe they were holding go stones in their hands when they weren’t.
His powers grew and he eventuallly found himself performing and scamming those of very high rank.
It is said Kashin had in his possession a hell scroll, which would move, as it was so skillfully carved. Oda Nobunaga wished to have this scroll, and after negotiations (and making an attempt on Kashin’s life) he finally bought the scroll for 100 ryo. However when Kashin gave over the scroll, the magic had been lost and it no longer moved. Kashin said this was because it was a priceless item, and no longer moved as it was now only worth what had been paid for it.
Nobunaga was disappointed, but he let him go.
Kashin causing the flood.
By 1582 we find he was arrested for vagrancy, but was allowed out to entertain a dinner party for Akechi Mitsuhide.
Here Kashin managed to escape, using his magic on a folding screen showing a lake with a boat. He caused the water to flood into the party, and taking the boat he escaped. After this, the room he caused to magicially flood was completely dry.
He later comes into contact with Toyotomi Hideyoshi and he reads him his fortune. Unfortunately, due to it being an embarassing one, he is forced to flee by turning into a mouse as Toyotomi tries to kill him with his own hands.
We are unsure about the end of his life. Some say he was assassinated in 1584, but a book called Koro Chawa says he met with Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1612 where Ieyasu asked the man his age and he said he was 88.
References
Yoda, H & Alt, M. (2012) “Ninja Attack: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai and Outlaws” Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 49 of our Podcast – The Sacred Regalia.
Story Notes
EP49 Sacred Regalia
Today I wanted to try and piece together the history of the Sacred Regalia in Japan. Where as England has their crown jewels for example, in Japan they have these Regalia, or the Sanshu no Jingi as they’re known in Japan.
These items consists of the Sword Kusanagi, the Mirror Yata no Kagami and a Jewel known as Yasakami no Magatama. These days it is said the original mirror is kept in the Ise Grand Shrine, with the original Sword being housed in the Atsuta Shrine. The Jewel is held inside the Royal Palace. This Jewel is kept alongside a replica sword in the Kenji no Ma (or Room of the Sword and Seal) and upon the coronation of a new Emperor the Jewel and Sword are used for a kind of ‘transfer’ ceremony of the item from one Emperor to another. This ceremony known as the Kenji Togyo no Gi. Now, saying that, a news article I read included pictures of the sword and jewel in boxes being carried onto a Shinkansen. Now considering the ceremony happened in Tokyo where the apparent items used are held, I am a little confused where they were actually brought from as they according to the rest of the research I did, they are in the Palace where the ceremony occurred.
Conjectural images of the Sacred Regalia.
There is also a replica mirror held in the palace, in the Kashikodokoro, one of the three palace shrines.
Now the sword we have already brought into our little show, having been found inside the tail of the Dragon Yamato no Orochi. Then handed over by Susano-o who found it to his sister the sun kamiAmaterasu.
As for its appearance, we may be able to turn to an account from the Edo Period when repairs were carried out at the Atsuta Shrine including replacement of the outer wooden box housing the sword. At the time there was a priest called Matsuoka Masanao who said he and a few other priests saw the Sword and this is his description of it:
“a stone box was inside a wooden box of length 150 cm, with red clay stuffed into the gap between them. Inside the stone box was a hollowed log of a camphor tree, acting as another box, with an interior lined with gold. Above that was placed a sword. Red clay was also stuffed between the stone box and the camphor tree box. The sword was about 82 cm long. Its blade resembled a calamus leaf. The middle of the sword had a thickness from the grip about 18cm with an appearance like a fish spine. The sword was fashioned in a white metallic color, and well maintained.”
And in a strange turn of events, kind of like the curse of Egyptian mummies, afterward the grand priest found himself banished with all the other priests save for Matsuoka dying of strange diseases.
But where did the Jewel and Mirror come from? According to the tales, the Jewel was giving to Amaterasu by the kami of Heaven (Takamagahara) and the mirror was actually a mirror we have come across before. This being the mirror that was used to coax Amaterasu out the Rock Cave when she fled and brought darkness to everything.
A man known as Daniel Clarence Holtom stated all the was back in 1928 that out of the 3 Sacred Regalia the mirror is now the only one to exist in its original form and the claim has received a lot of support over time.
Now eventually all of these items were gifted down to a man known as Ninigi, his full name is much longer, so I will leave it at Ninigi. He was a descendant of Amaterasu and she gifted these items to him with the decree of subduing all of Japan so that he and his descendants could rule over it.
Emperor Suijin (10th Emperor 97-30BC)
The Emperor Suijin had a big problem to deal with during his reign, the problem being widespread pestilence in Japan.
Until this point the Regalia had been held safe in the Palace, but the Emperor fearing the pollution of these items instructed numerous copies of the Mirror and Sword to be made.
The Mirror and Sword were then moved to Kasanui in Yamato and one of his daughters known as Toyotsukiiri-hime was entrusted with their worship.
Emperor Suinin (11th Emperor – 29BC-70AD)
A small note on the Sacred Regalia during the reign of Emperor Suinin, he again has the Regalia moved. This time giving them a home in the Naiku Shrine (or Inner Shrine) at the Grand Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture. He charges his daughter, Yamato-hime with the worshipping of these objects.
Emperor Keiko (12th Emperor 71-130AD)
Yamato Takeru
Now the Regalia in question here merely relates to the Sword.
Now this man, during this life he held many exploits, and I will give him an episode to himself, however one such exploit included him using the Sacred Sword. Approaching his aunt, Yamato-hime who we just mentioned from the reign of Emperor Suinin, still in charge at these times with the worship of the sacred regalia, he asks to borrow the sword.
His next job in his several exploits, was to deal with people known as the Emishi (some believe this to be a term for the Ainu). On his way he comes across a chieftain who attempts to kill him in a grass fire. Yamato Takeru, uses to sword, mowing down the grass around him to escape before then killing the chieftain. He then continues on with his exploit. (I find the fact he mows down grass interesting, and I feel perhaps this tale may have been used as a way to elaborate on why the sword is called Kusanagi, as it translates to ‘Grass Mower’).
After his subsequent death during this final expedition, the sword then finds itself houses in the Atsuta shrine in Aichi Prefecture.
6th Century
I am unsure as to an actual date for this, only finding that it occurred in the 6th century, which could mean it occurred under the reign of several different Emperor. Records say that the sword was stolen in the 6th Century by a monk who came from Silla (this being in modern day Korea). However, his ship allegedly sank and the sword eventually washed up on shore at Ise, where it was recovered by Shinto Priests.
Emperor Go-Suzaku (69th Emperor – 1036-1045)
A rather big jump now, from the 12th to the 69th Emperor Go-Suzaku. A jump of some 1000 years.
It is said that in 1040, the compartment which contained the Sacred Mirror was burned in a fire, however, whether the mirror was merely damaged or entirely lost is not said.
Emperor Antoku (81st Emperor – 1180-1183)
Another jump now, from the 70th to the 81st Emperor..
A short lived Emperor, who sadly died at the age of six.
In fact Antoku was named crown prince at at the very early age of one month old. But did not actually ascend until the ripe old age of two, all power held by his grandfather, a man known as Taira no Kiyomori.
Now in his final year of life, and as Emperor ended at the battle of Dan no Ura.
Battle of Dan no Ura. Tosa Mitsunobu
This was the culmination of a feud between the Minamoto and Taira Clans. The Minamoto Clan decree Go-Toba as Emperor, causing their to be two at once. And so Minamoto no Yoshinaka entered the capital of Kyoto causing the Taira Clan with Emperor Antoku to flee with the Sacred Treasures.
The Battle of Dan no Ura, was a naval battle, and the Taira clan here found themselves defeated. And so the Empress Dowager, Taira no Tokiko, at the time jumps into the ocean to her death with the Sacred Regalia, however the Jewel and Mirror were saved. This also ended the young Emperors life, aged, six. The sword was lost here. However, these apparently were the copies of the original Regalia made over 1000 years ago now under the orders of Emperor Suinin.
Due to these events, the following Emperor Go-Toba had a kind of unofficial ceremony in that the handing over of the sacred treasures from the previous emperor to the new did not occur.
Emperor Go-Hanazono (101st Emperor – 1428-1464)
We’re making a big jump here, some 300 years almost, until I found mention of the Sacred Regalia again.
It appears that during his reign, two people attempted to over throw the Emperor, these known as Kusunoki Jiro and Hino Arimitsu. They decreed that a different person, Takayoshi-O was the Emperor, he being a grandson of the 98th Emperor Go-Kameyama (according to the family tree in the book I have)
Now they make an attempt to overthrow the Emperor, entering into his Palace. Fortunately the Emperor escaped, but these uprisers managed to get hold of the Regalia and flee to Enryaku-ji. Here they were mostly defeated by the bakufu, and Takayahi-O and Hino Arimitsu were made to commit seppuku. During this the sword was dropped and recovered, but some other members of the party managed to carry off the Jewel. They then set up Takayoshi-O’s sons Takahide-O and Tadayoshi-O as then next in line, according to their own wishes.
Another attempt was made to recover the Jewel in 1457 by Taro Sayemon. He kills these two princes and get hold of the Jewel, but he is then counter attacked and loses it again. The next year, looking again for others they can call Emperor, they choose Takamasa-O, the third brother but he was killed by someone known as Kodera Tobyoei, and finally the Regalia was restored to the Emperor in Kyoto.
Emperor Naruhito
Now reaching the modern day we turn to Emperor Naruhito, who ushered in the new age called Reiwa, to replace that of Heisei.
News articles did talk a little about the regalia in association with him stating that during his inauguration two boxes were presented to him. One said to house the Sword and the other the Jewel. As we mentioned before, the mirror was not brought as it does not appear to be required. And this all leads into the rights and passage of coronation rules, customs and regulations, which I will delve into at a later point and hopefully be able to bring it to you in a future episode.
Poem Notes
Otomo no Yakamochi
Well, we’ve touched on botany in the podcast, but only briefly dabbled in entomology. Let’s dive further into a new topic of biology as we talk about one of the sounds of the Japanese summer, the cicada. I found a really interesting article about cicada in Japan, and I’m including the link in the show notes. From this link, I encountered the man’yōshū– which we’ve briefly talked about before.
But – instead of finding the poem with the semi, I happened to find one about “higurashi” Higurashi are called evening cicadas, and is one of the over 30 species of cicada that can be found in Japan. Their songs can sound early in the morning or later in the evening, but it appears that they are most active in the autumn. An interesting fact, well for us at any rate, is that the kanji can be said to be taken from the miscanthus. This Basho despised plant is one of the habitats for this species of cicada.
The poet is named Otomo no Yakamochi, who we have spoke of before, in Episode 19 – our culinary episode about curry. One of the 36 Poet Immortals.
隠りのみ居ればいぶせみ慰むと出で立ち聞けば来鳴くひぐらし
komori nomi oreba ibuse mi nagusamu to idetachi kikeba kinaku higurashi
Google Sensei had this to say: If you’re in the hiding place, I’m in a hurry, if you’re comforting, you’ll hear me when you stand. I’m including it because… it’s just entertaining.
Now, I did try to do some translation work myself, but since this poem dates back to around the 700s, my dictionary had some difficulties. I did ask the professor for the parts I had troubles with but… (awaiting reply)
I’ve got two different translations from two different sources.
Tired of sitting indoors all day long, I seek the garden for colace, only to hear The shrill chirps of the cicadas.
Here is the second one from wakapoetry.net:
Shut indoors and Sunk in misery, I wonder what would console me; Going outside, I listen and, The evening cicadas come calling…
I prefer the chirping poem – because as I am sure Thomas can attest, while the cicada is definitely one of the sounds of summer, it can be amongst the most deafening.
But we do have a third version for you. One devised by the Professor.
Just being locked and staying in my room depress me, thus to refresh myself I went out and listened to a cicadas coming and chirping.
Show Notes for episode 48 of our Podcast – Iroha and Dragonflies.
Story Notes
So if I was to ask you what a pangram was, what example could you give?
If you are an English speaker you may already know of one, even if you didn’t realise such a thing was called a pangram.
‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,’ would be such a pangram.
And so a pangram is a sentence in which it manages to use every letter from a given alphabet at least once. Pangram being a Greek word which means ‘every letter.’
Now in my research I bought a book on Shūgendo, the folkloristic belief system that has links to the man we have covered called En the Pilgrim.
Now, this episode does not concern him, or even this faith. But it was in reading this book that I found a Buddhist Monk know as Kūkai. I recognised the name and did a quick search online, and in doing so I saw mention of him composing a poem known as Iroha. Or at least, being attested to having written this poem.
And that is what I wanted to talk about today, I will leave Kūkai for another day.
Now not only is Iroha a poem and a pangram, it is more famous as it is a perfect pangram using each syllable only once without repeating, unlike the ‘fox’ sentence mentioned above which re-uses some letters such as ‘e’ and ‘o’.
The composition of the poem, now that is something of interest, in that it’s original form wasn’t written using hiragana or katakana, nor did it use kanji in the strictest sense. In fact this poem, used something known as man’yōgana. Now in the simplest of explanations, man’yōgana was the use of Chinese kanji, but the difference here was that they stripped them of their meanings and used them instead purely for their sounds. In fact these man’yōgana symbols that were used eventually devolved to become the syllabary/kana system known as katakana and hiragana today.
So where can we find this pangram first written? Well for that we would need to turn our attention to a document known as the Konkōmyōsaishōōkyō Ongi (金光明最勝王経音義, ‘Readings of Golden Light Sutra’) where it was written in its man’yōgana form (see below)
The poem it appears, was written to look neat and tidy it seems. Each line it written with 7 morae, or sounds, with the final line consisting of 5 for a total of 47 morae.
However, the poem would not be read in such a way and did follow the general rules of 7-5 syllables when it came to writing Japanese poetry and so would have been read differently to how it appear on paper (see below)
Now what I want to do is read the poem for Heather now, and see what she hears, not the English, but the sounds themselves. I want to see if she notices any sounds missing, or sounds she doesn’t recognise.
Iro ha nihoheto Chirinuru wo Wa ke yo tare Tsune naramu Uwi no okuyama Kefu koete Asaki yume mishi Wehi me sesu
If you have been learning Japanese or already know the language then you might have noticed the sounds of ‘we’ and ‘wi’ in there. These characters are now seldom seen except in proper names, and we find now they are not used in the hiragana system, but linger on in katakana through the use of two katakana symbols instead of the original singular symbol.
And moving onto the sounds that you may have noticed that were missing. There is no ‘n’ character, and from what I found during the research it’s that this symbol did not exist until the early 20th century. Before it was not distinguished from the sound of ‘mu.’
Also you might have noticed, there are no g, z, d, b, or p sounds in the poem. Now from what I can tell, the sounds likely did exist back then, and they were used sporadically, however the use of portraying these sounds, I am unsure if they existed and I couldn’t quite figure out the answer, the Iroha poem was written in the 10th century and the 11th century Tale of Genji was written in hiragana so there potentially was already a system in place to show these extra sounds. Now, to get these other sounds you would need to use dashes or circles known as dakuten and handakuten and add them to existing hiragana and katakana symbols to change their sound. K becomes G, S becomes Z, T becomes D and H can become B and P.
I also found that there is a ‘hidden message’ in the poem, according to Komatsu Hideo who discovered it. Taking the last syllable of each line of the original poem it creates a sentence reading, toka nakute shisu, which means ‘die without wrong-doing. And it is thought this is a form of eulogy to Kukai, which supports the notion he did not in fact write the poem, but it was written after his death.
Now is there a legacy for this poem? Well there seems to be, Iroha when written in katakana can be used as a way to entitle something as meaning ‘the basics.’
Trains used to use it, I meant first class, Ro was second, Ha, third.
Nikko in Tochigo has a road called Irohazaka, named after the poem due to the amount of corners there is on the road.
And also, music octaves are named I ro ha ni ho he to, following the first seven syllable of the poem.
Now with all that out of the way, I feel it is time to read the English translation I came across for the poem.
Even the blossoming flowers Will eventually scatter Who in our world Is unchanging? The deep mountains of karma We cross them today And we shall not have superficial dreams Nor be deluded.
Song Notes
Today’s song is called Aka Tonbo.
I encountered this song while doing research into Doyo, or children’s songs. I didn’t look deeply into the song at the time, just thought it was lovely and wanted to return to it someday. I remembered it when chatting with Thomas about the podcast and how we had to adjust our plans. The idea I had quickly changed and I recalled this song, tucked away for a different day.
We often think of children’s songs as light, or with simple meaning. I must confess that is what I assumed, as I had just listened to the song a couple of times, but without the English translation (my current struggle is to understand songs – still so much I don’t know about Japanese, but I’m getting closer everyday!)
Rofu Miki
As I went to look up the song I found – there’s a story.
In 1989, NHK did a survey to find the most popular “Hometown song” or Furu Sato. This song, Aka tonbo, was rated as the most popular.
Now, I did ask the professor and he recalled a comedic song about red dragonflies, which I can assure you are not the same thing. (He’s a bit of a jokester, that one. 🙂
Okay, let’s talk about the people behind the song.
Rofu Miki was a Japanese poet. Born in 1889 and died in 1964, we are touching again into modern Japanese history. Rofu san wrote for the Red Bird magazine, or Akai Tori, amongst others. He wrote this poem as a reminiscence about his childhood.
The melody was written by Yosaku Yomada, a classical Japanese composer, born in 1886 and died in 1965. He published his own collection of songs - 100 children’s songs by Yosaku Yomada. Aka tonbo uses a scale called yonanuki chō-onkai a form of pentatonic scale.
Yosaku Yomada
We are going to come back to these men, as they really need their own podcast.
I’m going to sing the first two lines of the song, and I’ll include the link to a soprano on youtube for you to listen to this song by a professional artist. It’s such a lovely song, and it has musical accompaniment.
ゆうやけこやけの赤トンボ おわれて見たのはいつの日か
The translation from the professor is: Red dragonfly at sunset I am remembering the red dragonfly that I saw while I was being carried on her back.
The red dragon basically helped him to remember the day he saw a dragonfly while being carried in childhood.
The concept of this song is called “Tsuioku” 追憶 – remembering childhood with abstract emotion, not happy, not sad, not positive not negative. A feeling similar to reminiscence.
And for those of you wishing to see more of the japanese lyrics, we have them here for you.
夕焼、小焼の、 あかとんぼ、 負われて見たのは、 いつの日か。
山の畑の、 桑の実を、 小籠（こかご）に、つんだは、 まぼろしか。
十五で、姐（ねえ）やは、 嫁にゆき、 お里の、たよりも、 たえはてた。
夕やけ、小やけの、 赤とんぼ。 とまっているよ、 竿の先。
References
Abe, R. (1999). The Weaving of Mantra: Kûkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. Columbia University Press
Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
Maybe you think about the rolls served with avocado, mayonnaise, fried seafood… Maybe you think about the cute little egg omelettes or raw fish like tuna served on top of small amount of rice. Something you would dip in your soy sauce with wasabi (or not!)
Depending on where you get your sushi, you might picture something different.
You might picture a bar with a chef, making and serving sushi in front of you. Maybe you get your sushi from a conveyor belt. Maybe you pick up a plastic container at the grocery store.
But the sushi that we eat today – is a more recent invention. Especially if you eat your sushi with mayonnaise inside (and no judgement here – the professor, who is Japanese, loves American sushi. He often gets California rolls. There is no sushi judgement here, only appreciation! You do your sushi as you like, or not at all! Only sushi love here)
Let’s talk a little bit about the origins of sushi – and a quick note, I’ve pulled from several sources BUT food origin history can sometimes be debated and updates can change based on new findings, so take this information with a grain of salt. And maybe perhaps a bit of vinegar.
Sushi could be said to have origins dating back to the BC times – perhaps around Southeast asia. People in this region would preserve fish by pickling in a mixture of salt and rice for a long time, sometimes months. With this process, only the fish was eaten and the rice was tossed out having served its purpose as a pickling agent.
Okay, let’s stop here and talk about pickling. Pickling is a way to preserve foods for a long time. Pickling causes good bacteria to form which munches away on the food itself, causing lovely fermentation. This fermentation creates lactobacillus and other bacteria, something that can help with gut health – keeping your internal parts moving along in a healthy way. Also, some vitamins from the vegetables and fish are preserved, which is important as we’ll see later.
Now back to sushi. Well, it looks like sushi made its way to Japan around the 700s, as its first mention seems to be in a tax book called the Yoro code.
The sushi eaten around this time was called “Narezushi” and “Kusarezushi.”
There’s also a mention of sushi around the 12th century – in the Konjaku Monogatarishū. Around the time of the shogunate. And it’s around the time of the shogunate that vinegar was added to sushi. The vinegar, which enhanced the fish’s flavor, allowed for a shorter preservation time which also meant the rice could be eaten. The rice had previously been tossed out, which was mottanai (or wasteful) Oh, and cooking methods also changed during this time – but let’s save that for another podcast.
Because the rice could be preserved, more rice could be eaten!
Which takes us to… the Edo period! Let’s get introduced to Hayazushi. This technique used vinegar to shorten fermentation time. This sushi was also pressed using heavy weights then sliced up. And these pieces are MUCH bigger than we are used to seeing today, closer to onigiri size or palm size (depending on the size of your palm I guess!). I know this style of sliced sushi is sold in the grocery stores in Japan and in places like Sushiro.
It’s also during the Edo period that Nigirizushi was born! I bet you’ve heard of this one. It’s around today and you may have had it or at least seen it on a sushi menu, depending on where you go. This came from Yohei Hanaya, and consisted of fish – preserved with vinegar or cooked – then placed on top of vinegared rice. So, the sushi that we think of today was more like the sushi during the Edo period.
Sushi Cart (own photography)
Also sushi in the Edo period was served via wooden carts called kiosks that could be carried on the shoulders and set down allowing the vendor to sell anywhere. The original fast food place!
Oh, I mentioned earlier about vitamins? Well, the pickled vegetables gave some much needed vitamins to prevent “beriberi” – nicknamed “Edo disease” since many dwellers of Tokyo seemed to suffer it. My guess is that if you live in the city, your access to fresh fruit and vegetables during this time was more difficult, so those pickled vegetables were truly almost medicinal.
But – there aren’t food kiosks for sushi in Japan – well, unless you go to a place that HAS kiosks or food carts but in a lot of Japan these aren’t around. How did sushi get to restaurants?
During the 1920s, the great Earthquake in Tokyo happened. So many buildings were leveled, and required a restoration of the city. Land prices were cheap to encourage this rebuilding, and the sushi kiosk owners opened restaurants. Thus, the sushiya was born!
OH, the fish! What kinds of fish were used for sushi? Well, historically fish like mackerel were used for sushi – fish that had few or maybe a skotch parasites but fish that could be safer to eat. Fish like salmon were not used because they had too many parasites (This was told to me by the professor) But of course if you go now, there’s salmon as far as the eye can see. How did that happen?
The answer is TECHNOLOGY! Modern refrigeration gave us the technique of deep freezing the fish to kill parasites. (Okay, well a human figured it out but… I digress). If you eat sushi now, more than likely (I would guess around a 90some percent chance) that you are eating previously frozen fish. And that’s a good thing, because when you eat sushi you would prefer if your sushi didn’t eat you – by way of parasites. It’s still fresh, it’s just safety fresh! Although – some parasites can happen, such as the recent story of the lady in Tokyo. Just… look it up. If you are worried about sushi – the amount consumed, at least here in Japan, should help reassure you that the danger, while present, is on the minimal side. (But according to guidelines, if you are immuno-compromised, pregnant, a child, elderly… etc check with you doctor if you are worried. Or just check anyway, I’m not a medical expert so take my advice with a little vinegar. Preferably rice vinegar although I am partial to an apple cider vinegar too).
So now we are in the 20th century. How did sushi get around the world? Well, I’m just going to focus on the US and UK today to keep things short (haha), plus I want to research this more myself!
This dish came to the US in the earlyish (or pre) 20th century with Japanese immigrants during the Meiji period. There’s a whole history there too – but that’s another podcast. But it’s during the 1960s that sushi gained popularity and more restaurants were built in several cities, allowing more people to experience this culinary delight.
In the UK, it was in the 1950s with a visit from the Japanese prince to Queen Elizabeth II.
Types of sushi – there are soooo many. Not just that but there is also popular sushi in each country. And – here’s a little happy thought for you. If you eat “American” style sushi for example – yes, it’s still sushi. Modern sushi, while having roots in Japan, has truly become a global food. And even in Japan we’ve got hamburger on sushi rice, beef on sushi rice, and fried chicken. So, depending on where you go sushi has become an interesting and innovative form of culinary expression.
Now, personally I’ve never been to a high end restaurant. I am sure the experience is VASTLY different and it’s one I hope to experience someday. In fact, I’m gonna share with you a website I used during my research and one I’d like to explore – once I can ever get to Tokyo (sad noises). Sushi University! Thomas, you and I might need to add this to our list which is now probably several pages long.
I’m including a list of different types of sushi, and I’m sure we will mention it during the podcast.
So there you go! A brief history of this food. Very brief, lightly detailed, a small nibble that hopefully leaves you hungry for more. Or just hungry.
Enjoy this dish as you like!
Proverb Notes
落花枝にかえらず、破鏡再び照らさず らっかえだにかえらず、はっきょうふたたびてらさず
Rakka eda ni kaerazu, hakyou futatabi terasazu
Fallen blossom doesn’t return to the branch, a broken mirror can not be made to shine
What’s done is done; “There’s no use crying over spilled milk”
Notes from the website we found this proverb (see references below):
The ra in rakka is the kanji for otosu (to drop/let fall), but can also be read as ochi (the punchline of a joke) and is also the ra in rakugo (traditional funny story telling).
Hakyou is a compound of yaburu (to tear/break) and kagami (mirror)
Futatabi means again/once more
Terasu is a verb meaning to shine on/illuminate (eg: teriagaru to clear up after rain), and -zu is a negative ending similar to -nai. Interestingly the kanji is also used for shyness
Show Notes for bonus episode 9 of our Podcast – Momiji Meat.
Story Notes
B9 Momiji Meat
All the way back in Episode 16 we heard of a poem from Sarumaru Taifu that went as follows. (From the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.)
奥山に 紅葉踏みわけ 鳴く鹿の 声きく時ぞ 秋はかなしき Okuyama nimomoji mirebanaku shika nokoe kiku toki zoaki wa kanashiki In the deep mountains making a path through the fallen leaves, the plaintive belling of the stag- how forlorn the autumn feels.
But we will come back to that in a moment. As my research led me to a strange Yokai known as Momonjii. These creature is made from dense fog and strong winds which join together when the hour is late and turn into these being.
It is said that any who would come across Momonji after he manifests would fall ill.
But this led me to a strange titbit of information from the Edo Period. During this time period the eating of land animals became taboo and so people had to think of creative ways to get people to be able to eat these kinds of food using a kind of code.
The wild boar was redubbed yama-kujira (mountian whale), with their meat called botan (peony). Horse meat became dubbed sakura (cherry blossom) and venison became momiji (maple). It is said that the naming of venison was a nod to the old poem we started off this post with.
Another way in which the poem could be translated goes as following.
Deep in the mountains, I hear cries of the stag searching for its mate amidst the momiji – How sad autumn feels to me!
Now doesn’t the idea of venison being momiji give this poem an entirely new vision in your minds? The stag who is walking through the momiji could be the stag walking through herds of other deer trying to find his mate, and not just through a forest of maple!
Feature Image: Hokusai, One Hundred Poets. (Plate 5, based of the above poems.)
References
MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: over Publications, Inc.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 46 of our Podcast – The Peony Lantern.
Story Notes
I
EP46 The Peony Lantern
There once lived in the district of Ushigome, in Yedo, a hatamoto called Iijima Heizayemon, whose only daughter, Tsuyu, was beautiful as her name, which signifies “Morning Dew.” Iijima took a second wife when his daughter was about sixteen; and, finding that O-Tsuyu could not be happy with her mother-in-law, he had a pretty villa built for the girl at Yanagijima, as a separate residence, and gave her an excellent maidservant, called O-Yone, to wait upon her.
O-Tsuyu lived happily enough in her new home until one day when the family physician, Yamamoto Shijo, paid her a visit in company with a young samurai named Hagiwara Shinzaburo, who resided in the Nedzu quarter. Shinzaburo was an unusually handsome lad, and very gentle; and the two young people fell in love with each other at sight. Even before the brief visit was over, they contrived,—unheard by the old doctor,—to pledge themselves to each other for life. And, at parting, O-Tsuyu whispered to the youth,—”Remember! If you do not come to see me again, I shall certainly die!”
Shinzaburo never forgot those words; and he was only too eager to see more of O-Tsuyu. But etiquette forbade him to make the visit alone: he was obliged to wait for some other chance to accompany the doctor, who had promised to take him to the villa a second time. Unfortunately the old man did not keep this promise. He had perceived the sudden affection of O-Tsuyu; and he feared that her father would hold him responsible for any serious results. Iijima Heizayemon had a reputation for cutting off heads. And the more Shijo thought about the possible consequences of his introduction of Shinzaburo at the Iijima villa, the more he became afraid. Therefore he purposely abstained from calling upon his young friend.
Months passed; and O-Tsuyu, little imagining the true cause of Shinzaburo’s neglect, believed that her love had been scorned. Then she pined away, and died. Soon afterwards, the faithful servant O-Yone also died, through grief at the loss of her mistress; and the two were buried side by side in the cemetery of Shin-Banzui-In,—a temple which still stands in the neighborhood of Dango-Zaka, where the famous chrysanthemum-shows are yearly held.
II
Shinzaburo knew nothing of what had happened; but his disappointment and his anxiety had resulted in a prolonged illness. He was slowly recovering, but still very weak, when he unexpectedly received another visit from Yamamoto Shijo. The old man made a number of plausible excuses for his apparent neglect. Shinzaburo said to him:—”I have been sick ever since the beginning of spring;—even now I cannot eat anything…. Was it not rather unkind of you never to call? I thought that we were to make another visit together to the house of the Lady Iijima; and I wanted to take to her some little present as a return for our kind reception. Of course I could not go by myself.”
Shijo gravely responded,—”I am very sorry to tell you that the young lady is dead!”
“Dead!” repeated Shinzaburo, turning white,—”did you say that she is dead?”
The doctor remained silent for a moment, as if collecting himself: then he resumed, in the quick light tone of a man resolved not to take trouble seriously:—
“My great mistake was in having introduced you to her; for it seems that she fell in love with you at once. I am afraid that you must have said something to encourage this affection—when you were in that little room together. At all events, I saw how she felt towards you; and then I became uneasy,—fearing that her father might come to hear of the matter, and lay the whole blame upon me. So—to be quite frank with you,—I decided that it would be better not to call upon you; and I purposely stayed away for a long time. But, only a few days ago, happening to visit Iijima’s house, I heard, to my great surprise, that his daughter had died, and that her servant O-Yone had also died. Then, remembering all that had taken place, I knew that the young lady must have died of love for you…. [Laughing] Ah, you are really a sinful fellow! Yes, you are! [Laughing] Isn’t it a sin to have been born so handsome that the girls die for love of you? [Seriously] Well, we must leave the dead to the dead. It is no use to talk further about the matter;—all that you now can do for her is to repeat the Nembutsu…. Good-bye.”
And the old man retired hastily,—anxious to avoid further converse about the painful event for which he felt himself to have been unwittingly responsible.
III
Shinzaburo long remained stupefied with grief by the news of O- Tsuyu’s death. But as soon as he found himself again able to think clearly, he inscribed the dead girl’s name upon a mortuary tablet, and placed the tablet in the Buddhist shrine of his house, and set offerings before it, and recited prayers. Every day thereafter he presented offerings, and repeated the Nembutsu; and the memory of O-Tsuyu was never absent from his thought.
Nothing occurred to change the monotony of his solitude before the time of the Bon,—the great Festival of the Dead,—which begins upon the thirteenth day of the seventh month. Then he decorated his house, and prepared everything for the festival;— hanging out the lanterns that guide the returning spirits, and setting the food of ghosts on the shoryodana, or Shelf of Souls. And on the first evening of the Ban, after sun-down, he kindled a small lamp before the tablet of O-Tsuyu, and lighted the lanterns.
The night was clear, with a great moon,—and windless, and very warm. Shinzaburo sought the coolness of his veranda. Clad only in a light summer-robe, he sat there thinking, dreaming, sorrowing; —sometimes fanning himself; sometimes making a little smoke to drive the mosquitoes away. Everything was quiet. It was a lonesome neighborhood, and there were few passers-by. He could hear only the soft rushing of a neighboring stream, and the shrilling of night-insects.
But all at once this stillness was broken by a sound of women’s geta approaching—kara-kon, kara-kon;—and the sound drew nearer and nearer, quickly, till it reached the live-hedge surrounding the garden. Then Shinzaburö, feeling curious, stood on tiptoe, so as to look Over the hedge; and he saw two women passing. One, who was carrying a beautiful lantern decorated with peony-flowers, appeared to be a servant;—the other was a slender girl of about seventeen, wearing a long-sleeved robe embroidered with designs of autumn-blossoms. Almost at the same instant both women turned their faces toward Shinzaburo;—and to his utter astonishment, he recognized O-Tsuyu and her servant O- Yone.
They stopped immediately; and the girl cried out,—”Oh, how strange!… Hagiwara Sama!”
Shinzaburo simultaneously called to the maid:—”O-Yone! Ah, you are O-Yone!—I remember you very well.”
“Hagiwara Sama!” exclaimed O-Yone in a tone of supreme amazement. “Never could I have believed it possible!… Sir, we were told that you had died.”
“How extraordinary!” cried Shinzaburo. “Why, I was told that both of you were dead!”
“Ah, what a hateful story!” returned O-Yone. “Why repeat such unlucky words?… Who told you?”
“Please to come in,” said Shinzaburo;—”here we can talk better. The garden-gate is open.”
So they entered, and exchanged greeting; and when Shinzaburo had made them comfortable, he said:—
“I trust that you will pardon my discourtesy in not having called upon you for so long a time. But Shijo, the doctor, about a month ago, told me that you had both died.”
“So it was he who told you?” exclaimed O-Yone. “It was very wicked of him to say such a thing. Well, it was also Shijo who told us that you were dead. I think that he wanted to deceive you,—which was not a difficult thing to do, because you are so confiding and trustful. Possibly my mistress betrayed her liking for you in some words which found their way to her father’s ears; and, in that case, O-Kuni—the new wife—might have planned to make the doctor tell you that we were dead, so as to bring about a separation. Anyhow, when my mistress heard that you had died, she wanted to cut off her hair immediately, and to become a nun. But I was able to prevent her from cutting off her hair; and I persuaded her at last to become a nun only in her heart. Afterwards her father wished her to marry a certain young man; and she refused. Then there was a great deal of trouble,—chiefly caused by O-Kuni;—and we went away from the villa, and found a very small house in Yanaka-no-Sasaki. There we are now just barely able to live, by doing a little private work…. My mistress has been constantly repeating the Nembutsu for your sake. To-day, being the first day of the Bon, we went to visit the temples; and we were on our way home—thus late—when this strange meeting happened.”
“Oh, how extraordinary!” cried Shinzaburo. “Can it be true?-or is it only a dream? Here I, too, have been constantly reciting the Nembutsu before a tablet with her name upon it! Look!” And he showed them O-Tsuyu’s tablet in its place upon the Shelf of Souls.
“We are more than grateful for your kind remembrance,” returned O-Yone, smiling…. “Now as for my mistress,”—she continued, turning towards O-Tsuyu, who had all the while remained demure and silent, half-hiding her face with her sleeve,—”as for my mistress, she actually says that she would not mind being disowned by her father for the time of seven existences, or even being killed by him, for your sake! Come! will you not allow her to stay here to-night?”
Shinzaburo turned pale for joy. He answered in a voice trembling with emotion:—”Please remain; but do not speak loud—because there is a troublesome fellow living close by,—a ninsomi called Hakuodo Yusai, who tells peoples fortunes by looking at their faces. He is inclined to be curious; and it is better that he should not know.”
The two women remained that night in the house of the young samurai, and returned to their own home a little before daybreak. And after that night they came every nighht for seven nights,— whether the weather were foul or fair,—always at the same hour. And Shinzaburo became more and more attached to the girl; and the twain were fettered, each to each, by that bond of illusion which is stronger than bands of iron.
IV
Now there was a man called Tomozo, who lived in a small cottage adjoining Shinzaburo’s residence, Tomozo and his wife O-Mine were both employed by Shinzaburo as servants. Both seemed to be devoted to their young master; and by his help they were able to live in comparative comfort.
One night, at a very late hour, Tomozo heard the voice of a woman in his master’s apartment; and this made him uneasy. He feared that Shinzaburo, being very gentle and affectionate, might be made the dupe of some cunning wanton,—in which event the domestics would be the first to suffer. He therefore resolved to watch; and on the following night he stole on tiptoe to Shinzaburo’s dwelling, and looked through a chink in one of the sliding shutters. By the glow of a night-lantern within the sleeping-room, he was able to perceive that his master and a strange woman were talking together under the mosquito-net. At first he could not see the woman distinctly. Her back was turned to him;—he only observed that she was very slim, and that she appeared to be very young,—judging from the fashion of her dress and hair. Putting his ear to the chink, he could hear the conversation plainly. The woman said:—
“And if I should be disowned by my father, would you then let me come and live with you?”
Shinzaburo answered:—
“Most assuredly I would—nay, I should be glad of the chance. But there is no reason to fear that you will ever be disowned by your father; for you are his only daughter, and he loves you very much. What I do fear is that some day we shall be cruelly separated.”
She responded softly:—
“Never, never could I even think of accepting any other man for my husband. Even if our secret were to become known, and my father were to kill me for what I have done, still—after death itself—I could never cease to think of you. And I am now quite sure that you yourself would not be able to live very long without me.”… Then clinging closely to him, with her lips at his neck, she caressed him; and he returned her caresses.
Tomozo wondered as he listened,—because the language of the woman was not the language of a common woman, but the language of a lady of rank. Then he determined at all hazards to get one glimpse of her face; and he crept round the house, backwards and forwards, peering through every crack and chink. And at last he was able to see;—but therewith an icy trembling seized him; and the hair of his head stood up.
For the face was the face of a woman long dead,—and the fingers caressing were fingers of naked bone,—and of the body below the waist there was not anything: it melted off into thinnest trailing shadow. Where the eyes of the lover deluded saw youth and grace and beauty, there appeared to the eyes of the watcher horror only, and the emptiness of death. Simultaneously another woman’s figure, and a weirder, rose up from within the chamber, and swiftly made toward the watcher, as if discerning his presence. Then, in uttermost terror, he fled to the dwelling of Hakuodo Yusai, and, knocking frantically at the doors, succeeded in arousing him.
V
Hakuodo Yusai, the ninsomi, was a very old man; but in his time he had travelled much, and he had heard and seen so many things that he could not be easily surprised. Yet the story of the terrified Tomozo both alarmed and amazed him. He had read in ancient Chinese books of love between the living and the dead; but he had never believed it possible. Now, however, he felt convinced that the statement of Tomozo was not a falsehood, and that something very strange was really going on in the house of Hagiwara. Should the truth prove to be what Tomozo imagined, then the young samurai was a doomed man.
“If the woman be a ghost,”—said Yusai to the frightened servant, “—if the woman be a ghost, your master must die very soon,— unless something extraordinary can be done to save him. And if the woman be a ghost, the signs of death will appear upon his face. For the spirit of the living is yoki, and pure;—the spirit of the dead is inki, and unclean: the one is Positive, the other Negative. He whose bride is a ghost cannot live. Even though in his blood there existed the force of a life of one hundred years, that force must quickly perish…. Still, I shall do all that I can to save Hagiwara Sama. And in the meantime, Tomozo, say nothing to any other person,—not even to your wife,—about this matter. At sunrise I shall call upon your master.”
When questioned next morning by Yusai, Shinzaburo at first attempted to deny that any women had been visiting the house; but finding this artless policy of no avail, and perceiving that the old man’s purpose was altogether unselfish, he was finally persuaded to acknowledge what had really occurred, and to give his reasons for wishing to keep the matter a secret. As for the lady Iijima, he intended, he said, to make her his wife as soon as possible.
“Oh, madness!” cried Yusai,—losing all patience in the intensity of his alarm. “Know, sir, that the people who have been coming here, night after night, are dead! Some frightful delusion is upon you!… Why, the simple fact that you long supposed O-Tsuyu to be dead, and repeated the Nembutsu for her, and made offerings before her tablet, is itself the proof!… The lips of the dead have touched you!—the hands of the dead have caressed you!… Even at this moment I see in your face the signs of death—and you will not believe!… Listen to me now, sir,—I beg of you,— if you wish to save yourself: otherwise you have less than twenty days to live. They told you—those people—that they were residing in the district of Shitaya, in Yanaka-no-Sasaki. Did you ever visit them at that place? No!—of course you did not! Then go to-day,—as soon as you can,—to Yanaka-no-Sasaki, and try to find their home!…”
And having uttered this counsel with the most vehement earnestness, Hakuodo Yusai abruptly took his departure.
Shinzaburo, startled though not convinced, resolved after a moment’s reflection to follow the advice of the ninsomi, and to go to Shitaya. It was yet early in the morning when he reached the quarter of Yanaka-no-Sasaki, and began his search for the dwelling of O-Tsuyu. He went through every street and side- street, read all the names inscribed at the various entrances, and made inquiries whenever an opportunity presented itself. But he could not find anything resembling the little house mentioned by O-Yone; and none of the people whom he questioned knew of any house in the quarter inhabited by two single women. Feeling at last certain that further research would be useless, he turned homeward by the shortest way, which happened to lead through the grounds of the temple Shin-Banzui-In.
Suddenly his attention was attracted by two new tombs, placed side by side, at the rear of the temple. One was a common tomb, such as might have been erected for a person of humble rank: the other was a large and handsome monument; and hanging before it was a beautiful peony-lantern, which had probably been left there at the time of the Festival of the Dead. Shinzaburo remembered that the peony-lantern carried by O-Yone was exactly similar; and the coincidence impressed him as strange. He looked again at the tombs; but the tombs explained nothing. Neither bore any personal name,—only the Buddhist kaimyo, or posthumous appellation. Then he determined to seek information at the temple. An acolyte stated, in reply to his questions, that the large tomb had been recently erected for the daughter of Iijima Heizayemon, the hatamoto of Ushigome; and that the small tomb next to it was that of her servant O-Yone, who had died of grief soon after the young lady’s funeral.
Immediately to Shinzaburö’s memory there recurred, with another and sinister meaning, the words of O-Yone:—”We went away, and found a very small house in Yanaka-no-Sasaki. There we are now just barely able to live—by doing a little private work….” Here was indeed the very small house,—and in Yanaka-no-Sasaki. But the little private work…?
Terror-stricken, the samurai hastened with all speed to the house of Yusai, and begged for his counsel and assistance. But Yusai declared himself unable to be of any aid in such a case. All that he could do was to send Shinzaburo to the high-priest Ryoseki, of Shin-Banzui-In, with a letter praying for immediate religious help.
VII
The high-priest Ryoseki was a learned and a holy man. By spiritual vision he was able to know the secret of any sorrow, and the nature of the karma that had caused it. He heard unmoved the story of Shinzaburo, and said to him:—
“A very great danger now threatens you, because of an error committed in one of your former states of existence. The karma that binds you to the dead is very strong; but if I tried to explain its character, you would not be able to understand. I shall therefore tell you only this,—that the dead person has no desire to injure you out of hate, feels no enmity towards you: she is influenced, on the contrary, by the most passionate affection for you. Probably the girl has been in love with you from a time long preceding your present life,—from a time of not less than three or four past existences; and it would seem that, although necessarily changing her form and condition at each succeeding birth, she has not been able to cease from following after you. Therefore it will not be an easy thing to escape from her influence…. But now I am going to lend you this powerful mamoni. It is a pure gold image of that Buddha called the Sea- Sounding Tathagata—Kai-On-Nyorai,—because his preaching of the Law sounds through the world like the sound of the sea. And this little image is especially a shiryo-yoke,—which protects the living from the dead. This you must wear, in its covering, next to your body,—under the girdle…. Besides, I shall presently perform in the temple, a segaki-service for the repose of the troubled spirit…. And here is a holy sutra, called Ubo-Darani- Kyo, or “Treasure-Raining Sutra” you must be careful to recite it every night in your house—without fail…. Furthermore I shall give you this package of o-fuda;—you must paste one of them over every opening of your house,—no matter how small. If you do this, the power of the holy texts will prevent the dead from entering. But—whatever may happen—do not fail to recite the sutra.”
Shinzaburo humbly thanked the high-priest; and then, taking with him the image, the sutra, and the bundle of sacred texts, he made all haste to reach his home before the hour of sunset.
VIII
With Yusai’s advice and help, Shinzaburo was able before dark to fix the holy texts over all the apertures of his dwelling. Then the ninsomi returned to his own house,—leaving the youth alone. Night came, warm and clear. Shinzaburo made fast the doors, bound the precious amulet about his waist, entered his mosquito-net, and by the glow of a night-lantern began to recite the Ubo- Darani-Kyo. For a long time he chanted the words, comprehending little of their meaning;—then he tried to obtain some rest. But his mind was still too much disturbed by the strange events of the day. Midnight passed; and no sleep came to him. At last he heard the boom of the great temple-bell of Dentsu-In announcing the eighth hour.
It ceased; and Shinzaburo suddenly heard the sound of geta approaching from the old direction,—but this time more slowly: karan-koron, karan-koron! At once a cold sweat broke over his forehead. Opening the sutra hastily, with trembling hand, he began again to recite it aloud. The steps came nearer and nearer,—reached the live hedge,—stopped! Then, strange to say, Shinzaburo felt unable to remain under his mosquito-net: something stronger even than his fear impelled him to look; and, instead of continuing to recite the Ubo-Darani-Kyo, he foolishly approached the shutters, and through a chink peered out into the night. Before the house he saw O-Tsuyu standing, and O-Yone with the peony-lantern; and both of them were gazing at the Buddhist texts pasted above the entrance. Never before—not even in what time she lived—had O-Tsuyu appeared so beautiful; and Shinzaburo felt his heart drawn towards her with a power almost resistless. But the terror of death and the terror of the unknown restrained; and there went on within him such a struggle between his love and his fear that he became as one suffering in the body the pains of the Sho-netsu hell.
Presently he heard the voice of the maid-servant, saying:—
“My dear mistress, there is no way to enter. The heart of Hagiwara Sama must have changed. For the promise that he made last night has been broken; and the doors have been made fast to keep us out…. We cannot go in to-night…. It will be wiser for you to make up your mind not to think any more about him, because his feeling towards you has certainly changed. It is evident that he does not want to see you. So it will be better not to give yourself any more trouble for the sake of a man whose heart is so unkind.”
But the girl answered, weeping:—
“Oh, to think that this could happen after the pledges which we made to each other!… Often I was told that the heart of a man changes as quickly as the sky of autumn;—yet surely the heart of Hagiwara Sama cannot be so cruel that he should really intend to exclude me in this way!… Dear Yone, please find some means of taking me to him…. Unless you do, I will never, never go home again.”
Thus she continued to plead, veiling her face with her long sleeves,—and very beautiful she looked, and very touching; but the fear of death was strong upon her lover.
O-Yone at last made answer,—”My dear young lady, why will you trouble your mind about a man who seems to be so cruel?… Well, let us see if there be no way to enter at the back of the house: come with me!”
And taking O-Tsuyu by the hand, she led her away toward the rear of the dwelling; and there the two disappeared as suddenly as the light disappears when the flame of a lamp is blown out.
IX
Night after night the shadows came at the Hour of the Ox; and nightly Shinzaburo heard the weeping of O-Tsuyu. Yet he believed himself saved,—little imagining that his doom had already been decided by the character of his dependents.
Tomozo had promised Yusai never to speak to any other person—not even to O-Mine—of the strange events that were taking place. But Tomozo was not long suffered by the haunters to rest in peace. Night after night O-Yone entered into his dwelling, and roused him from his sleep, and asked him to remove the o-fuda placed over one very small window at the back of his master’s house. And Tomozo, out of fear, as often promised her to take away the o- fuda before the next sundown; but never by day could he make up his mind to remove it,—believing that evil was intended to Shinzaburo. At last, in a night of storm, O-Yone startled him from slumber with a cry of reproach, and stooped above his pillow, and said to him: “Have a care how you trifle with us! If, by to-morrow night, you do not take away that text, you shall learn how I can hate!” And she made her face so frightful as she spoke that Tomozo nearly died of terror.
O-Mine, the wife of Tomozo, had never till then known of these visits: even to her husband they had seemed like bad dreams. But on this particular night it chanced that, waking suddenly, she heard the voice of a woman talking to Tomozo. Almost in the same moment the talk-ing ceased; and when O-Mine looked about her, she saw, by the light of the night-lamp, only her husband,— shuddering and white with fear. The stranger was gone; the doors were fast: it seemed impossible that anybody could have entered. Nevertheless the jealousy of the wife had been aroused; and she began to chide and to question Tomozo in such a manner that he thought himself obliged to betray the secret, and to explain the terrible dilemma in which he had been placed.
Then the passion of O-Mine yielded to wonder and alarm; but she was a subtle woman, and she devised immediately a plan to save her husband by the sacrifice of her master. And she gave Tomozo a cunning counsel,—telling him to make conditions with the dead.
They came again on the following night at the Hour of the Ox; and O-Mine hid herself on hearing the sound of their coming,—karan- koron, karan-koron! But Tomozo went out to meet them in the dark, and even found courage to say to them what his wife had told him to say:—
“It is true that I deserve your blame;—but I had no wish to cause you anger. The reason that the o-fuda has not been taken away is that my wife and I are able to live only by the help of Hagiwara Sama, and that we cannot expose him to any danger without bringing misfortune upon ourselves. But if we could obtain the sum of a hundred ryo in gold, we should be able to please you, because we should then need no help from anybody. Therefore if you will give us a hundred ryo, I can take the o- fuda away without being afraid of losing our only means of support.”
When he had uttered these words, O-Yone and O-Tsuyu looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then O-Yoné said:—
“Mistress, I told you that it was not right to trouble this man, —as we have no just cause of ill will against him. But it is certainly useless to fret yourself about Hagiwara Sama, because his heart has changed towards you. Now once again, my dear young lady, let me beg you not to think any more about him!”
But O-Tsuyu, weeping, made answer:—
“Dear Yone, whatever may happen, I cannot possibly keep myself from thinking about him! You know that you can get a hundred ryo to have the o-fuda taken off…. Only once more, I pray, dear Yone!—only once more bring me face to face with Hagiwara Sama, —I beseech you!” And hiding her face with her sleeve, she thus continued to plead.
“Oh! why will you ask me to do these things?” responded O-Yone. “You know very well that I have no money. But since you will persist in this whim of yours, in spite of all that I can say, I suppose that I must try to find the money somehow, and to bring it here to-morrow night….” Then, turning to the faithless Tomozo, she said:—”Tomozo, I must tell you that Hagiwara Sama now wears upon his body a mamoni called by the name of Kai-On- Nyorai, and that so long as he wears it we cannot approach him. So you will have to get that mamori away from him, by some means or other, as well as to remove the o-fuda.”
Tomozo feebly made answer:—
“That also I can do, if you will promise to bring me the hundred ryo.”
“Well, mistress,” said O-Yone, “you will wait,—will you not,— until to-morrow night?”
“Oh, dear Yone!” sobbed the other,—”have we to go back to-night again without seeing Hagiwara Sama? Ah! it is cruel!”
And the shadow of the mistress, weeping, was led away by the shadow of the maid.
x
Another day went, and another night came, and the dead came with it. But this time no lamentation was heard without the house of Hagiwara; for the faithless servant found his reward at the Hour of the Ox, and removed the o-fuda. Moreover he had been able, while his master was at the bath, to steal from its case the golden mamori, and to substitute for it an image of copper; and he had buried the Kai-On-Nyorai in a desolate field. So the visitants found nothing to oppose their entering. Veiling their faces with their sleeves they rose and passed, like a streaming of vapor, into the little window from over which the holy text had been torn away. But what happened thereafter within the house Tomozo never knew.
The sun was high before he ventured again to approach his master’s dwelling, and to knock upon the sliding-doors. For the first time in years he obtained no response; and the silence made him afraid. Repeatedly he called, and received no answer. Then, aided by O-Mine, he succeeded in effecting an entrance and making his way alone to the sleeping-room, where he called again in vain. He rolled back the rumbling shutters to admit the light; but still within the house there was no stir. At last he dared to lift a corner of the mosquito-net. But no sooner had he looked beneath than he fled from the house, with a cry of horror.
Shinzaburo was dead—hideously dead;—and his face was the face of a man who had died in the uttermost agony of fear;—and lying beside him in the bed were the bones of a woman! And the bones of the arms, and the bones of the hands, clung fast about his neck.
Xl
Hakuodo Yusai, the fortune-teller, went to view the corpse at the prayer of the faithless Tomozo. The old man was terrified and astonished at the spectacle, but looked about him with a keen eye. He soon perceived that the o-fuda had been taken from the little window at the back of the house; and on searching the body of Shinzaburo, he discovered that the golden mamori had been taken from its wrapping, and a copper image of Fudo put in place of it. He suspected Tomozo of the theft; but the whole occurrence was so very extraordinary that he thought it prudent to consult with the priest Ryoseki before taking further action. Therefore, after having made a careful examination of the premises, he betook himself to the temple Shin-Banzui-In, as quickly as his aged limbs could bear him.
Ryoseki, without waiting to hear the purpose of the old man’s visit, at once invited him into a private apartment.
“You know that you are always welcome here,” said Ryoseki. “Please seat yourself at ease…. Well, I am sorry to tell you that Hagiwara Sama is dead.”
Yusai wonderingly exclaimed:—”Yes, he is dead;—but how did you learn of it?”
The priest responded:—
“Hagiwara Sama was suffering from the results of an evil karma; and his attendant was a bad man. What happened to Hagiwara Sama was unavoidable;—his destiny had been determined from a time long before his last birth. It will be better for you not to let your mind be troubled by this event.”
Yusai said:—
“I have heard that a priest of pure life may gain power to see into the future for a hundred years; but truly this is the first time in my existence that I have had proof of such power…. Still, there is another matter about which I am very anxious….”
“You mean,” interrupted Ryoseki, “the stealing of the holy mamori, the Kai-On-Nyorai. But you must not give yourself any concern about that. The image has been buried in a field; and it will be found there and returned to me during the eighth month of the coming year. So please do not be anxious about it.”
More and more amazed, the old ninsomi ventured to observe:—
“I have studied the In-Yo, and the science of divination; and I make my living by telling peoples’ fortunes;—but I cannot possibly understand how you know these things.”
Ryoseki answered gravely:—
“Never mind how I happen to know them…. I now want to speak to you about Hagiwara’s funeral. The House of Hagiwara has its own family-cemetery, of course; but to bury him there would not be proper. He must be buried beside O-Tsuyu, the Lady Iijima; for his karma-relation to her was a very deep one. And it is but right that you should erect a tomb for him at your own cost, because you have been indebted to him for many favors.”
Thus it came to pass that Shinzaburo was buried beside O-Tsuyu, in the cemetery of Shin-Banzui-In, in Yanaka-no-Sasaki.
—Here ends the story of the Ghosts in the Romance of the Peony- Lantern.—
Poem Notes
Yosa no Buson
Today we return to Yosa no Buson with a poem themed around todays story. A poem about a peony.
牡丹散りて botan chirite 打ちかさなりぬ uchi kasanarinu 二三片 ni san hen
Scattered peonies Stacking together Five petals
Peonies in Japanese culture may be said to symbolize bravery, as well as wealth, status, and female beauty.
Cover Image: The Peony Lantern by Toyohara Kunichika.
References
The entire book containing this story can be found for free online at gutenburg.org.
Show Notes for episode 45 of our Podcast – Beginning Basho.
Story Notes
古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音
furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto
Breaking the silence of an ancient pond, a frog jumped into water – A deep resonance
EP45 Beginning Basho
We’ve encountered Basho so many times during the podcast, that it felt right to do a more thorough research into his life. Like Hokusai, let’s talk a little bit about Basho’s life for this episode and we’ll want to come back and delve further into Basho’s poetry and works as we grow in our own knowledge and studies.
Basho was born in Iga Province, Ueno City during the Edo period – 1644, but he died in 1694. Only 50 years. 50 short years that profoundly influenced Japanese poetry and culture. He has a long list of published works, numbered well into the 20s so I don’t think we’ll sit here and read out the entire list! And for those who may be wondering the old Province of Iga is now within Mie Prefecture.
Basho is known now as Matsuo Basho, but he was born Matsuo Munefusa. He was born either into a samurai family of minor status or perhaps a family who could claim decent from samurai, depending on your source. Basho it seems was the middle child, with 3 older siblings and 3 younger ones. Even though it seems Basho’s family status was of a higher level, the family was not wealthy. Basho became a servant, or page, around the age of 9 in the Todo family and studied alongside the family’s son named Yoshitada. Yoshitada and Basho studied “hokku,” as haikai was previously known. They even had pen names – Sengin for Yoshitada and Sobo for Basho. Unfortunately Yoshitada, whose health was more delicate, died at the age of 25 in 1666.
It seems that Basho’s service ended – whether by request or by running away – is perhaps up for some debate. However, we do know that he left – perhaps to Kyoto, perhaps to a temple – it seems that the exact records aren’t known.
After a time, Basho traveled to Edo, or as we know it, Tokyo. Now, per my knowledge and what’s been shared with me by the professor, Kyoto, being a very old city is considered more formal and conservative. So Edo must have been new and exciting, with many possiblities. It’s here that Basho met the poet Soin and soon his pen name became Tousei.
It was during this time that Basho began to change his idea of poetry. I love this quote from the author in the preface of the Penguin book “the special value in poetry of the humble and umpretentious imagery of everyday life..”
At some point, feeling dissatisfied with the trappings of they city, Bashou decided to move to Fukugawa. It’s here that we encounter the fateful banana tree, from episode 22:
ばしょう植ゑてまづ憎む荻の二葉哉
bashō uete / mazu nikumu ogi no / futaba kana
by my new banana plant / the first sign of something I loathe— / a miscanthus bud! [1680]
This banana plant was given to Basho by his disciples, and it’s from this plant that the final pen name became Basho.
Basho’s house burned down not too many years after, and he stayed with a friend in Yamanashi prefecture and wrote the collection of poems called Minashi Guri, or the Empty Chesnut.
His discplines built another house for him in 1683, but in 1684 he decided to travel instead. When he travelled he relied entirely on the hospitality of the temples he came across on his journeys and well as the hospitality of his fellow poets.
We’ll cover his journeys another time, but it seems like his travels were based in a sense of trying to find himself, to hone his craft, to get closer to his poetry.
Quoting from the Penguin edition of Journey to the North:
Go to the pine if you want to learn about the pine. Go to the bamboo if you want to learn about the bamboo. And in doing so, you must leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Otherwise you impose yourself on the object and do not learn…. However well phrased your poetry may be, if your feeling is not natural – if the object and yourself are separate – then your poetry is not true poetry but merely your subjective counterfeit.
And while we may think of Basho as a haiku master, he himself thought that his true talent was in linking renga verses. Let’s leave Basho for now, with one final poem. His last, in fact.
旅に病んで夢は枯野をかけ廻る
tabi ni yande / yume wa kareno wo / kake meguru
falling sick on a journey / my dream goes wandering / over a field of dried grass [1694]
Thomas’ Basho tidbits
Mukai Kyorai as we have mentioned before was a disciple of Basho and it is said that the two of the became very close during their lifetime. So close infact Basho would also visit and stay in Mukai’s country cottage when he visited Kyoto. In fact, it was during one of his stays here that Basho wrote one of his diaries known as the Saga Nikki.
References
Barnhill, D.L. (2004) “Basho’s Haiku: Selected Poems of Matsuo Basho.“ Albany: New York University Press.
Carter, S.D. (1991) ”Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology”. California: Stanford University Press.
Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
Yuasa, N. (1966) “The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and other Travel Sketches.“ London: Penguin.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
So finally Susano-o is leaving Heaven, he has caused offence, he caused the sun kami to flee for a time causing the land to fall into darkness, and generally he has proven to be not a very nice kami.
And so he has finally been exiled, and he leaves heaven on high making his was to river known as Hi in the province of Izumo.
Now when he arrives here, he begins to hear weeping in the distance, and this piques his interest and so he ventures to find the source of the distress.
His wandering draw him to an old man, his wife as well as their daughter and it looked to Susano-o that the parents were weeping for their daughter.
“Why ever do you mourn?” Susano-o asked after approaching them, and so the old man spoke up in reply.
Kushinadahime and her parents Ashinadzuchi and Tenadzuchi (by Toyohara Chikanobu)
“My name is Ashinadzuchi, an earth kami, and my wife is called Tenadzuchi. This here is our daughter, Kushinadahime and it is her we weep over. Once we had many daughters, once we had eight. But every years the dragon known as Yamata no Orochi comes forth to devour one. Kushinadahime is out last daughter, and we don’t want to lose her to the dragon.”
Susano-o thought he could save this girl and asked them to hand her over to him, and once they had done so he turned her into a many-toothed comb which he placed into his hair. And so she was hidden from the dragon.
After he had done so he asked the old couple to brew eight giant vats of sake and have them ready for the appearance of Yamata no Orocho. And so they waited, and eventually the dragon appeared before them.
Now, I guess this dragon was a big a like the hydra from the Greek myths, it wasn’t a dragon with one head, but had an eight-forked head.
Now, I know I like to at times talk about the inconsistencies of these myths at times, but the fact that Susano-o seems to only be hearing about this dragon for the first time from Ashinadzuchi, he appears to somehow instantly know that this monsters had eight separate heads.
And another thing I thought about as we have had a few mentions of dragons now. In the Shinto myths, there is no actually original point for these creatures, we don’t know who made them, or why, again unlike Greek or roman myths where even creatures have origin stories. The only kami we have had that is mentioned to create creatures was Ukemochi from Episode 12 but she is only described as making things with find, or rough and fine hair. She makes nothing with scales. But, that is just my mind wandering when I study these myths. If anyone knows more I would love to know.
But back to the story. Yamata no Orochi has appeared.
He was an eight headed beast, with an eight forked tail, with eyes that shone red. Such was its size, trees grew upon its back and its body crawled over eight hills and valleys at once. The dragon apparently had a great liking for sake and so dipped each head into the large vats and drank its fill until it eventually fell asleep. The sake had distracted it from the girl he had come to kill.
And so as the dragon slept, Susano-o took his ten-span sword known as Orochi no Aramasa (‘Serpent’ ‘Rough’ ‘True) and began to behead the creature. He didn’t stop there, and proceeded to cut the rest of its body into small pieces until he reached its tail where he made an interesting discovery.
His ten span sword became dented whilst attacking the tail, and so curious, he opened the tail up to see what had caused such a thing to happen. And inside, he found another sword.
And this sword became known as Kusanagi, or at times Murakumo. These meaning Grass Mower and Assembled Clouds.
Now Susano-o recognised this as a divine sword and so decided it was not for him to keep, and so he gave it to the kami in Heaven. Don’t ask me how he got it to them, as he had just been exiled from there, but none the less it was handed up to those on high.
And so after this he settled in the place known as Suga in Izumo Province, marrying the woman he had saved.
And here he composed a poem.
Yakumo tatsu Izumo yahegaki Tsuma gome ni Yahegaki tsukuru Sono yahegaki o
Many clouds arise On all sides of the manifold fence, To receive within it the spouses They form a manifold fence Ah! A Manifold fence!
And after some time they came together and produced the kami known as Ōkuninushi. To the parents of his wife, he gave the titles of Palace Masters, masters now in the palace of his son Okonamochi.
And so, with the woman saved, a son now born, Susano-o finally proceeded to Yomi to be with his mother.
Now of course, there are several other versions of this tale, even in the Nihongi itself there are a few. Some change the names of the kami, but I think one I want to mention is he finds the mother and father grieving, the mother at the time is pregnant with a girl and they tell Susano-o that every time she gives birth the eight-headed dragon comes to eat their child, and they fear it will soon happen again. She later gives birth and the dragon comes, and just as he is about to eat the child Susano-o jumps in and talks to the creatures. And so Susano-o says to him that he was an awful kami, and that he dare not neglect to give him a feast and so proceeds to pour all of the sake into the creatures eight mouths. And once Yamata no Orochi falls asleep he then chops him into pieces.
Poem notes
Matsuo Bashō
Today we see another poem by Basho, one of our most favourite of poets. This one is known as Basho and the Butterfly.
The Kappa(河童) has had various name throughout it long history including Midzuchi, Kawatarō and Kawa-warawa just to name a few.
Appearance and Interests
When it comes to appearance for this creature which is particular to the island of Kyushu, there is the general consensus of a creature with a sort of depression upon its head full of water from which the creatures power stems. But other part of it can be left to interpretation.
Some would tell you the creature is the size of a 12-13 year old, but others would say even smaller, the size of only a 2-3 years old.
Body wise again it can vary widely, their faces can be ape-like, a times with shaggy hair, others say it could have a tiger like face with a snout, and others still would say it looks like an otter.
Their bodies can be like a tortoise, sometimes they can have wings and scaly bodies.
Webbed feet and hands, a greenish body, the ability to rotate their arm and leg joint freely, as well as a fishy odor also round out the many ways in which these creatures can be depicted. But all agree on the depression holding water on their head.
To sleep they must leave water and remove their waterproof skin called amagawa.
And when it comes to things they enjoy, they are mostly known for their love of cucumbers and sumo wrestling, but at times they have been shown to enjoy eggplants and melons.
But when it comes to their run ins with people, there is something else they enjoy, the shirikodama. (mentioned below)
Similar creatures
There are other Yokai said to be off shoots or at least types of Kappa. The Kawa Akago (川赤子) and Suiko (水虎) being two examples. The first lives high up in mountain streams and resemble human babies, and the second resembles a pangolin with knees as sharp as tiger claws. This one hails from the Sushui River in China.
The Kawa Akago
The Suiko
Worship
Some religions such as Tsugaru, see them as water kami and so they are worshipped. Some agricultural communities see them as suijin, water spirits, and so celebrating them will ensure enough water for the rice fields the coming year.
If you need to appease resident kappa then leaving cucumbers at nearby shrines is a good bet.
Kappa Attack and your best defense
So a kappa has a high chance of attacking you (though some tales show them saving drowning children) and all of these attacks will take place in water or at the water’s edge.
So if you want to avoid this, one superstition is don’t go swimming after eating cucumbers, they’ll smell it and it will draw them to you.
Kappa extracting the shirikodama.
But what is the shirkodama?
Apparently it is a type of life-force, which lives in your colon.
And due to its location, well let’s just say, if the Kappa wants to take it, there is only one place they can go through to try and steal it. So mind your butt while your swimming.
Some others say they don’t always go for the shirikodama and just want your liver, but they will steal go the same way of retrieving it.
If they are not in the mood for your life-force, still please avoid them in the water, they might just drown you because they can.
And if you run into them on land, the prepare to fight them.
Unless you want to repel them away from you. We have a wood block print from 1881 showing just how you can do that by Tsukioka Yoshitaka, and that is to fart in the kappas general direction to get them to go away.
But lets assume you don’t do that and you have to fight them. What’s the best way to do it?
Well first of all they are respectful in a fight, bow to them before fighting, and the creature will do the same. This will cause the fluid to fall out of its head, taking away its power meaning you can fight and win against them.
However winning is not good, if you do so you will waste away and die. Certain parts of japan say kappa claim two people a year through fights.
So perhaps it is best to repel them with the aforementioned method?
Kappa Tales
Our earliest reference comes from the Nihonshoki, in 379 involving a midzuchi.
A strong man declares that he has grown tired of the kappa killing people, and so approaching the river he throws in some calabashes, saying if he can sink them he will leave the creature alone, if he cant then he will kill the kappa.
Another tale relates to Tokyo.
There is a bridge in Tokyo called Kappa Bridge, legends says the very first Kappa Bridge to be built was built by a rain coat merchant who used Kappa as laborer’s.
Our next tale comes from a publication which brought together many folktales from the area of Tono.
There was a pond called Gorobei on the Sawahi River. A person once lived close to the rivers banks and he would often go to collect water from there. One day he wandered off and a kappa came forth trying to drag the persons horse into the water and take it for themselves by tying its reigns around its waist. But the horse was too strong and dragged the dangerous kappa into its stable. The kappa panicked, and tried desperately to find a place to hide. But the only place was under the horses feed bucket. Eventually when the person came to feed the horse he picked up the bucket to find the kappa there. The creature immediately apologized for its bad behavior and said it would stop being a thief, it even wrote a letter of apology which is still kept to this day by the owner of the house.
I did come across a sctory of remarkable similarity to the one above which goes as follows.
In times of old a Kappa once lived in the river of Kawachi, he had the habit of taking a killing numerous villagers and their livestock. One day he tried to steal a horse, but the horse was too strong, dragging the creature into a nearby field and so the villagers came together to tie up the creature. Most cried for the creature to be killed, for all the death it had caused them, but the owner of the horse had a different idea. He wanted the creature to promise to stop his evil acts and so a document was drawn up. But the kappa, though it could speak, said he could not write, and so he signed the document by dipping its hand into some ink and pressing it down onto the page. And from that day the kappa never killed again.
This document was kept at the temples of Kawako-no-miya built on the banks of the river kawachi.
Another tale we came across goes as follows.
A woman once went to use her outhouse, but was scared away after she felt a hairy hand stroke her buttocks. And so she fled telling the local doctor who said he would deal with the problem. He goes to the outhouse and waits for that hairy hand before cutting it off and taking it to his office.
The next day, a kappa comes asking for his hand back, he says if he doesn’t apply medicine soon he will be unable to reattach it. The doctor allows this on the condition that the kappa signs a waver saying he will teach him how to fix bones.
A popular novel by Akutagawa Ryunosuke was written about Kappa in 1927 and went as follows.
A psychiatric patient, called “Number 23”, tells the story of a time he visited the land of the kappa. He had lost his way in the mountains of Hotakadake and was surrounded by a group of the strange creatures, who then showed him around their home. 23 relates how he met with kappa of many occupations. One of them, Geeru, told him that unemployed laborers are gassed and then eaten by the other kappa. He met another kappa called Tokku, a skeptical poet who had committed suicide and appeared to 23 as a ghost by means of necromancy. Tokku, while concerned about being famous after his death, admires writers and philosophers who have killed themselves. On his return to the real world, 23 muses that the kappa were clean and superior to human society and becomes a misanthrope.
Legacy
The Kappa zushi rolls are named after these creatures.
In the modern day now they have lost much of their sinisterness and act as mascot for tourism and even in TV adverts to sell things. One such mascot is called Kapal and he is the kappa mascot for Shiki City.
They have changed a lot over the years.
Song Notes
Kitahara Hakushu
Hakushu Kitahara was a tanka poet. He was born into a sake brewing family in Fukuoka prefecture in 1885. He went to Waseda University to study English literature but didn’t graduate.
He wrote for several literary magazines, but today we are going to focus on his work from the children’s literary magazine Akai Tori. This magazine was published from 1918-1931, and eventually stopped completely in 1936. This magazine’s goal was to create, collect, and elevate children’s literature and songs. They asked several poets of the day to help with their goals. Hakushu Kitahara was one of the poets asked to contribute.
Today, the lyrics of the song is from him. Now, in my research I didn’t see a conclusive link from this song to the literary magazine, but based on the title I feel 90% confident that this song comes from Akai Tori. The song is called Akai tori.
akai tori, kotori naze naze akai akai mi wo tabeta shiroi tori kotori naze naze shiroi shiroi mi wo tabeta aoi tori kotori naze naze aoi aoi mi wo tabeta
Red bird, little red bird Why are you red? I ate a red fruit! White bird, little white bird, Why are you white? I ate a white fruit! Blue bird, blue bird, Why are you blue? I ate a blue fruit!
The lyrics are just cute, and silly and would have made me laugh as a child. Of COURSE eating a blue fruit doesn’t turn you blue! Unless of you went to visit Willy Wonka perhaps. But the cheerful and repetitive verse is easy for children to learn, and also beginning Japanese students too.
We’ll come back to more children’s songs, called doyo again, as there are more Japanese poets who wrote for the Akai Tori, and someday we hope to do an episode on this magazine too!
Cover Image: Kappa by Kitagawa Utamaro.
References
Davis, F. H. (1992) “Myths and Legends of Japan.” New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Foster, M.D. (2015) “The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Crestures of Japanese Folklore.” Californai: University of California Press.
Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
Kunio, Y & Kizen, S, translated by Ronald A. Morse. (2015) “Folk Legeneds from Tono.” London: Rowman & Littlefield.
Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
Wright, D. (2019) “Japanese and English Nursery Rhymes.” Tuttle Publishing.
Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Yoda, H & Alt, M. (2008) “Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide” Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd.
Show Notes for episode 42B of our Podcast – Falling Blossoms.
Story Notes
We want to make you aware of the sensitive topics we will be sharing today. We will do our best to present this information to you as educational, and encourage you to do further research as well. Due to the respect we wish to portray this topic, regarding the show format, Thomas and I discussed and agreed to delay our segment on senryu until next week. Thank you for listening.
Before we start, I realised I added no pictures of the types of trees we mentioned in last weeks show notes. And so we will make a seperate post to showcase all the types of cherries we have mentioned over these last two episodes.
Finally, in the early 1930’s it was time to return some of Ingram’s cherries Japan, and that was the kind known as the Taihaku cherry. Now he wanted to do this because, when he went along the Arakawa river with Seisaku, he had shown him an old scroll, showing a tree Seisaku said had been drawn by his grandfather, but it was one that could no longer be found. Ingram immediately seeing it as one in his garden, knew this had to be one of the first to bring back to Japan. He initially sent some to the Cherry Association in Tokyo, alongside cuttings of another type known as Daikoku.
Sadly they withered away.
Collingwood Ingram
And so he sent another batch of Taihaku to a cherry enthusiast in Kyoto called Masuhiko Kayama. He came from a family who protected the temple of Ninna-ji and Ingram hoped, if the cuttings could be properly grafted they would survive well in the temple grounds. And so Kayama asked for the help of a friend, Toemon Sano, one of many to have held that name over the generations as it was passed on from father to son. A family of cherry enthusiasts known as sakuramori, or cherry guardians. They advised if these new cuttings he was sending were to survive, they should be embedded in diakon radishes for moisture, and that is precisely how it shipped them. But again this failed, Toemon at the time thinking, they came via the equator, meaning the heat caused them shoots to sprout which then died in the cold of Japan. And so they advised they try again, and send them via the Trans-Siberia Railway instead, this time using potatoes not radishes.
And it worked! They arrived, and they were alive. At first they filled the garden with it, and three years later they took cuttings from their new trees and expanded it beyond the home.
This shipment wasn’t seen in the best of light, political changes in Japan were seeing England now as a potential enemy and so the idea of accepting cherries from an Englishman was almost unthinkable.
One man said ‘How does Ingram know Taihaku is extinct here? Our cherry varieties are disappearing, we’ll find it somewhere. Don’t accept [Ingram’s] offer, it is unworthy.”
Sad to say that Seisaku, died before learning of Taihaku’s return home, which Ingram regretted for the rest of his life. And the fourteenth Toemon Sano died in 1934 before the trees first blossomed.
Sad as it was that this happened for Ingram he also saw it as a success story stating in 1948 that ‘from that tiny nucleus of Taihaku trees, tens of thousands of trees have been propagated. From a chance meeting in a provincial town [this tree] was miraculously saved from extinction.
Having lost his friend Funatsu, Ingram gained a new confidant by the name of Masuhiko Kayama and the two of them started writing letters to one another, Kayama also sending more cherry sample from Ninna-ji and Hirano Shrine, some of them using Ingrams potato method and others via Canada in a thermos flask.
We even have a poem by Kayama written to Ingram from 1932 called Song to the Cherries and I would like to read some of it now.
Oh cherries, cherries, my dear cherries Every spring your blossoms are a chain of friendship Between England and Japan You are a speechless diplomat.
Jumping back a little to the time when he was attempting to return Taihaku home, we see Ingram now looking into the idea of hybridising different cherry trees, which was something that didn’t even happen in Japan until after WW2.
One such tree, he later gave the name of Umineko (Black tailed gull) was through natural hybridisation in his garden. He played no role in it, this tree born from the hybridization of a Oshima Cherry and smaller Mame zakura tree.
And so wanting to be the first person to hybridise cherries he called out to John Charles Williams, an expert hybridizer of rhododendrons and hear he learn to expect a difficult road ahead, with failures sure to outweigh successes.
This involved a very delicate process. The female parent he would keep in a greenhouse to avoid unwanted pollination. When the tree came into bud, but before they bloom he would then cut off the stamen, which holds the plants pollen and once the pistils, or female organs were ready to be pollinated he would then take pollen from the tree he wished ot act as the male parent. At times this would take a long time with blossoms blooming at different periods of the year.
For years Ingram has loved the large Sargent cherry from Fuji and the Kanhi-zakura cherry from Taiwan with a deep red if not purple tinted blossom and so he only saw a beautiful child should they be hybridised. It took years after every attempt to see a resuilt, waiting for the trees to grow and have their first bloom. But these two beautiful trees he so loved, only produced a bloom of dirty white and he found himself bitterly disappointed.
And he tried again, he kept the Kanhi-zakura and instead replaced the Sargent with the Mame zakura. The added difficulty here was.
A: He did not have his own kanhi-zakura B: They bloomed in different months. In February and April
And so venturing to Kew Gardens he obtained pollen from the Kanhi-zakura and manage to preserve it until the mame-zakura was ready.
And finally he had the success he wanted.
He called the tree Okame, after the Japanese kami of good fortune. It bloomed in March, between the months its parents bloomed and held tiny blossoms, tinted with pink.
And later he had another success, which he called the Kusar, after hybridising trees from Taiwan and Hokkaido, something which could never have happened in the wild.
But soon the world would change, as WW2 began, Ingram enlisting in one of many Local Defence Volunteer forces to patrol the coast and ensure there was no invasion.
And in Japan as well everything was changing.
The shrine of Yasukuni in Tokyo had been built initially to commemorate those who died in the Boshin War , but soon also encompassed those from all there others wars up to WW1. This shrine glorified the emperor and the dead, to the point that the fallen soldiers were dubbed as kami of war and the Japanese people worshipped them.
Soldiers were taught that if they died, they would live on forever as the cherry trees in the shrines ground. A shrine filled on the whole with the short lived and easy to care for somei-yoshino cherries.
Cherry trees which had a lways been a sign of starting a fresh, of new life. Had gone from meaning ‘living’ to ‘falling.’ And the idea of falling soon became the idea of dying for the Emperor and your country, because you would live on anyway as a cherry tree. A tree which was now a symbol of sacrifice and death for state.
And this all stemmed back to the Meji Restoration, when a country divided by shoguns and provinces was united into a proper state. Until then, people saw themselves as people from the province they came from, they didn’t see themselves as Japanese and so the government needed a way to unite them and first on the lits was reteachig people the Emperor was divine.
But also came the idea of bushi or moral ethics, then came Yamato damashii or Japanese spirit. And finally came the cherry blossom ideology. In fact the 1900 book, Bushido The Soul of Japan stated the cherry was a symbol of Japan, and that it was every ready to depart like at the call of nature.’
So we can see before WW2 and even WW1 blossoms were being given the idea of sacrifice and death.
Another book called Loyalty and Morality by Kiyoshi Hiraizumi he stated
In case of emergency we need to fall like cherry blossoms for the Emperor. We don’t rejoice over the blossoms, we rejoice over the flowers falling.
And this opinion was exemplified by the somei-yoshino which dominated Japan by the 1930’s as they al bloomed and fell at the same time.
So where did this tree come from? As far as we can tell it didn’t exist before 1860, but originated from a nursery in Somei, north of Tokyo. They took only five years to mature, unlike other which took a decade. And it prove to be economical due to the ease of growing it. And so as the Meiji Restoration occurred and the new government wanted cherries to unite the people, this tree had mostly replaced all others in key Tokyo locations, they also planted them in castle ground to link them with the idea of fighting of of great warriors which only darkened their imagery. By the beginning of the 20th century, almost a third of Tokyo’s key area were now purely somei-yoshino.
All celebrations over the coming years ensure the government planted more trees as part of the celebration, new parks would be christened with these trees, the enthronement of new Emperors meant more of them were planted in celebration. And not just in Tokyo, but throughout japan to expand the reach of the somei-yoshino. Even most of the trees sent overseas were of this type.
This new tree unconsciously promoted the idea of the collective. There are complaints even to this day that individuality in japan is not looked upon favourably, and one could even link it to the somei-yoshino cherries. They stopped the sheer variety of blossoms being seen, the flower of the people was being shaped into one uniform image. A uniformity that would do as the country and Emperor wished of them.
There were some who questioned this ideology, but the government had by now outlawed this. Stating that questioning the establishment was a treasonable offence after passing the Maintenance of the Public Order Act in 1925.
WW2 breaks out, and as Japan sees themselves losing the government desperately clings to using cherry blossoms to keep the people wanting to fight. And as the thought of losing was out of the question they began to try and persuade the public and its pilots the kamikaze was their next option. And so they once more pushed the image of the falling blossoms.
Takijiro Onishi
In fact Admiral Takijiro Onishi, the so called inventor of kamikaze even wrote his own poem to give to his pilots which said,
Today, in blossom Tomorrow, scattered by the wind Life is so like a delicate flower How can one expect its fragrance to last for ever?
There are other versions of this poem such as:
Today in flower, Tomorrow scattered by the wind—Such is our blossom life. How can we think its fragrance lasts forever?
The kamikaze squads were grouped with the name of Shikishima, Yamato, Asahi and Yama-zakura. Each name linking to poems by Norinaga Motoori’s poems on cherry blossoms. A man who lived in the 1700’s
Most kamikaze pilots were between 17 and 25. Young people once exempt from war, now conscripted as they needed more people to fight. Young men, symbolising the young blossoms.
Kazuki Kamitsu was one of them. Only 20 years old he writes a poem
For the glory of the Emperor Whats is there to regret? As a young cherry Life is most worthy when falling.
Other wrote to their parents saying:
Dear Parents please congratulate me. I have been given a splendid opportunity to die. This is my last day. The destiny of our homeland hinges on the decisive battle in the sea to the south where I shall fall like a blossom from a radiant cherry tree.
Another wrote:
The cherry blossoms are falling One after another I also want to fall now Leaving the scent In Yamato Country
And later still he writes:
You and I are cherry blossom brothers Blooming together in the military academy garden Having blossomed, we must scatter Let us fall magnificently for our country.
A song sung by the pilots went as follows:
Whats important is the flowers falling If you are a man Just act and fall.
But in the end Japan surrendered, the blossom ideology of the government hadn’t worked.
The somei-yoshino did come back though, Japans cities were now bereft of colour from the bombings of the war. And though they distanced the ideology of the trees of death, they still planted these trees in the thousands likely to their quick growth rate and delicate beauty. In fact this began as early as 1948 and now this variety consist of 9 out of 10 trees in urban areas.
In 1951 we see the first publications of the cherry blossom forecasts appearing by the Meteorological Agency which soon led to the hanami viewing parties which are a big part of Japan to this day.
And so we return to Ingram.
Blossoms had been bombed and lost in japan, his home was unscathed, the blooms he had rescued growing safely in his garden.
He had spent the War in the Volunteer service but he had also watched the blooms thrive, and so in 1948 he had published Ornamental Cherries which detailed all 129 cherry varieties that he had, dedicating it to ‘all who have planted cherry trees, whatever there creed, caste or colour.
By now such was his fame, even the Queen of England had become interested and had cherry trees planted in various owned properties of the Royal Family.
In the 50’s and 60’s Collingwood seems to have lost some of his passion, he was now well into his 70’s, most of his cherry enthusiast friends had now died and he had come to the realisation, that the trees made by man did not live as long as the natural cherry trees. Only living for around 40 or 50 years.
He started to bring together everything he had written over his lifetime to write some autobiographical books. And he even turned his attention back to ornithology.
On November 29th 1979, his wife Florence died aged 97, leaving Ingram alone in a big house. Ingram continued on, reaching his 100th birthday, and to recognise his achievements a botanist called Michael Zander came to his home to map the trees Ingram had started collecting all those years ago. But by now several of the trees were gone due to their short lifespan. Some like the Hokusai, Imose and Taihaku still remained, but others had gone. By now there were 40 or 50 trees, much less than the 120 varieties he had once had.
Spring 1981 would be his last, the Kursar bloomed, then the Yama-zakura, soon followed the Hokusai and Taihaku until finally Ingram died peacefully as the Imose shed its blooms from his garden, May 19th 1981.
We have talked about this document before in episode 9 when we told the tale of the other myth in its texts, that of the Land Pulling Myth. But today, I wanted to tell the second tale.
But before we do that, I wanted to look into the authors who wrote the Izumo Fudoki.
The first was a man known as Miyake no Omi Kanatari who is likely to have been well versed in classical Chinese literature. Aside from that and the fact he compiled the Izumo Fudoki, the only other thing we know is he lived in the local district of Aika. The other was known as Izumo no Omi Hiroshima, he was the district leader of the Ou District and also held the title of kuni no miyatsuko, a job we are not to sure as to what it entailed, but one which was surely of a political nature. We are unsure of the family name of these two men as the ‘no Omi’ denotes them as a leader with ‘Izumo’ and ‘Miyake’ being the areas they were leaders of.
Long long ago, in the province of Izumo, there was a woman walking along one of the many beautiful beaches of the Province. But this particular day would seal her fate as there was a particular wani on the beach also that day.
The wani saw her coming and waited, he waited until she was close enough to attack and then he pulled her into the ocean and ate her.
Her father waits and waits for her to return home that day, after all, she had always returned safely from her walk before, so why should today be any different? But she never returned.
Her father became filled with rage, and asked the gods of Izumo to come to his aid. His daughter had to be avenged.
And they heard his prayers.
Upon the beach he saw one hundred wani appear before him, all encircling one in their particular group. No doubt this was the guilty one Imaro surmised and so these one hundred wani brought this murderer to Imaro so that justice could be served.
Imaro slaughtered this killer, opening up the body to find the shin of a woman inside of its stomach. And so having finished his work, he felt his daughter had been suitably avenged.
So what were these creatures? What are the Wani?
Well in modern Japanese, the crocodile is known pronounced Wani 鰐 but it is unlikely to have been a crocodile as no such creatures existed back then or now in Japan.
Too add to the difficulty of translating this word, we have to look into the Izumo Fudoki. Interestingly, they translate and explain all of the creatures, people and places mentioned within their text.
All except this particular creature. So is it a Yokai? Some creature now known as something else or gone extinct?
We can’t be too sure. But some do think it could have been a killer whale as they are known to hurl themselves onto braches to catch seals.
My personal feeling though, is that it was a random name picked out of a hat for the context of this myth. They gave no explanation as their wasn’t one to give.
References
Carlqvist, A. (2010) “The Land Pulling Myth and Some Aspects of Historical Reality”. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 37, No.2, pp.185-222.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 42A of our Podcast – A Passion for Cherry Blossoms.
Story Notes
In ancient Japan, blossoms were a symbol of new life, new beginnings. But this began to change through in second half of 19th century, accelerating dramatically in the 1930’s. They changed them to be a symbol of death. Propaganda to the Japanese people who never questioned. Classical poems were deliberately misinterpreted, it became normal that the Japanese spirit involved the willingness to die for the emperor, much like the cherry blossoms who quickly died.
And so trees everywhere were replaced to a new breed known as somei-yoshino. Wild trees and varied varieties were being taken down for this tree to fuel this new propaganda of death for the state.
And one man saw the blossoms of Japan being lost, and so he set out to ensure their survived for future generations. He would discover new species, some in his own back yard and already extinct in Japan. He would choose names such as Hokusai, and Asano for new breeds he discovered. He would be one of the first to artificially hybridise the cherry blossoms.
But that is a part of this tale for later, and so we shall start at the very beginning.
Today we talk about Collingwood Ingram, a man who would later become known as Cherry Ingram. He was the wealthy grandson of the founder of the Illustrated London News.
Collingwood Ingram
Born on October 30th 1880 he was unfortunately a sickly child with respiratory problems, and so when his family was in London he didn’t go outside much, a city which at the time was filled with disease and smoke. As he grew up his family cared for several albino birds when he was young, birds which they often took with them as they moved from their London home to the countryside, as well as on their holidays.
Being brought up around birds, and being able to wander the countryside as he had no school ensured that by the age of 11 Collingwood could already distinguish the sound of most birds, and by aged 15 he had written his first unpublished book on birds with illustrations in his own hand. And this would start his fascination with birds for many years to come and lead him to becoming an ornithologist.
Now Collingwoods fascination with Japan began in the 1890’s but we don’t really know why. There was access at the times to books on Japan and that likely played some role, or perhaps even it was there family dogs which were a breed known as Chin’s and were a Japanese breed. Additionally he could have been exposed to the culture, though in perhaps a comically if not derogatory fashion through plays which started to appear in England from Japan as Japan began to open up its borders to the world after decades of being a closed nation. Such shows included the Mikado and the Geisha. Whatever cultivated Collingwood into being fascinated with this country only made him want to visit there himself. And so, when he reached adulthood he decided it was time to go. And he arrived in Japan on the 5th September 1902 in the port of Nagasaki, after taking a long journey there by boat.
After he arrived, he wrote many things about the country, saying he found Japan ‘becoming, [with] tidy cheques of paddy fields, bamboo groves, little villages and usually a clear, swift running stream.’
Now I would have thought after wanting to come here so strongly he would have stayed and explored for a long time, after all he was a wealthy man for the time. However, he only stayed this first time for 15 days. And during his time here he visited places such as Kyoto, Tokyo, Hakone and the island of Enoshima, where a local priests gave him a tour. Collingwood at the time did not know Japanese and so politely nodded along to everything the priest said to him that day.
And as he finally left Japan for the first time he said, “my visit to Japan has been so enchanting that I have no time to do else than stand agape and watch the different vistas pass away without record in my journal. But a brief fortnight has left me with more memory pictures than months of travel elsewhere.
It wouldn’t be for another 5 years until he returned once more to Japan.
The next time he stepped foot in the country would be 20th April, 1907, and this time he brought along with him his wife Florence. Though he had still yet to gain an interest in Cherry Trees, he actually came this time in the hopes of being the first British person to find the eggs of a bird called White’s Thrush and bring them home. In Tokyo he applied for paperwork, but Japan being Japan it took 3 weeks for it to finished. And then he went on a walking tour of Fuji immediately. Eventually, almost luckily as it appears the birds were hard to find, and with local help a nest was found bearing eggs of the White Thrush. When he returned home again to England, his expedition had found him leaving with 74 kinds of birds, numerous bird eggs as well as many writings and illustrations he had done during this expedition.
When WW1 came around he found himself in France, where he continued his study into birds. But after the War he needed to find somehow to go back to a normal life, and realising there was nothing new in the world of ornithology for him he desperately sought a new hobby. And this is when he turned his attention to the plant world.
In 1919 they moved to Kent for a fresh starts. The home had a dilapidated garden he wanted to spruce up, the perfect project for someone who needed a new hobby. But the garden held a secret he hadn’t at first noticed, and these were 2 ornamental cherry trees.
When he saw these trees bloom, he knew what he now wanted, to be the foremost expert on cherry blossoms as well as being the man to collect as many cherry tree varieties as possible and have it become the largest collection of such trees.
But to be an expert, he needed somewhere to start and there were not that many books on Japan at the times. Works he could have had access to were ones such as ‘Things Japanese’ a dictionary about the culture from 1890. Flora Japonica from 1835 by Phillip von Siebold and Bushido: The Soul of Japan from 1900.
So we jump forward a few years to 1925, a mere six years after moving to Kent and he had already become an expert on cherries and boasted a collection of seventy cherry varieties.
‘Notes on Japanese cherries’ was written by him and published in 1925 in the Royal Horticultural Journal, which was a great achievement for him at the time.
But the more trees he sought and bought, the more he found himself buying the same trees time and again. He found out now that cherry trees at the time had not really been properly classified yet, and additionally English sellers would give these cherry trees English names to increase their appeal. Each seller giving their own unique names to them, making it even harder for Ingram to know if he had already bought a particular tree or not. And so he would buy them, hoping he was gaining a new breed, only to find himself disappointed.
And so he then asked for the help of two Japanese cherry experts. Manabu Miyoshi, from Tokyo Imperial University and Gen-ichi Koizumi from Kyoto Imperial University. They would be better suited in helping him figure out if trees he had were the same, as well as identifying trees he had but didn’t know the true names of.
And one such type was of the two cherry trees that lived in his garden from the day he moved in. Even after all these years of research and collection, he still did not known what kind of cherry tree had been here when he arrived.
He knew the two trees were the same, but the same what? And so he sent leaf samples to Miyoshi, only to find out they not have a name. Apparently it was a species never recorded before, at least in Japan. And so Collingwood decided to name the species himself, and this is the species he dubbed Hokusai. (I promise this is an unintentional call back to last episode).
After more research he finally settled on something about the cherries of Japan. From what he could tell as of right now, there were 10 wild species in Japan, and through years of human interaction there were now more than 400 flowering varieties.
As he continued his research, and continued to expend his collection he went far and wide for his cherry trees.
He contacted friends to send or swap saplings with him. Additionally at the time the Yokohama Nursery opened in 1907, and so he could easily import cherry trees from Japan. And not to forget the Botanical Gardens of Kew, which he relied on as well and he was lucky in that regard as he had a friend who worked there who could help him out. Other trees still came from others with links to the New York Botanical Gardens. Collingwood had connections around the world he could draw on to bring together all the cherry varieties in existence.
But, in the early 1920’s he could not get a hold of more cherries in England, and so he knew he had to return to Japan. To find varieties not importable, perhaps not yet known or discovered, And he did so.
In a lucky turn of events, around the time he wanted to return, his garden was visited in 1924 by Duke Takatsumasa, a man with connections to the Imperial Family, and who also knew Ingram through Isai Iijima, a man who all those years ago had helped him get permits so he collect the bird eggs in Japan.
And so with the Dukes help he drew up a list of 4 places he needed to go to look for cherry trees. First, Temples and Shrines in Kyoto, second Tokyo. Third would be the foothills of Mount Fuji and lastly the small city of Nikko north of Tokyo.
And so he headed to Japan again in 1926. This would be his final visit to Japan. He would collect many specimins, even meet with cherry blossom experts, but the country would not take his breath away as it had once done. The industrilaizition of Japan had change it all in his mind.
Ingram wrote while he was there ‘it appears, that the commercialization of Japan has caused the cult of these beautiful trees to wane.’ Cherry gardens which had been cultivated for years by shoguns had now been left abandoned, forgotten, or torn down, cherry trees were disappearing. At least the old breeds it appeared.
Collingwood knew some would still be hanging on in the mountains, but the want to care for them had now gone. And the government was now looking for a symbol of unity, and the easy to grow and maintain somei-yoshino variety was looking more and more appealing over everything else.
Ingram even realised quickly after arriving in Japan that 4 trees in his garden were not available in japan. Cherry blossom varieties had already started to become extinct in the very country that venerates them so highly.
And it was now that Ingram not only wanted more species, but he also wanted to save all of those that were now in decline.
And he wrote at the time ‘it may not be too late to save some from oblivion.”
Collingwood would find himself to be in luck. In Kyoto he found himself renewed, with temples full of blossoms. In Kiyomizu-dera, by the waterfall there, he found a tree he did not yet have (based off the edo-higan type), and so asked for cutting from it to be sent to his home. At the Kyoto Imperial Palace he found one more (an unusual looking Yama-zakura), and at the Hirano Shrine he found yet another 3 (a type of Kiku-zakura, Imose and Taoyame).
Collingwood though did find himself confused by the cherry names here with people saying ‘Kyoto is the ancient capital. There is no need to follow Tokyo customs.’ And so just like in England, he found name choices for blossoms of the same kind varying wildly between Tokyo and Kyoto.
It became apparent as he travelled more that most people didn’t see the threat of losing these blossoms, everyone in japan, especially the government thought, the ones disappearing from the cities would live on in the mountains, and so they need not take any action. They would still be around, even if no longer seen. But Collingwood did not believe that was safe for these trees, that they likely would not survive.
He went to visit Yohsino, once the mecca of Japanese cherry blossoms, only to find a thinly planted group of trees and scraggly specimens. This was due in part to the government, here Shugendo was prevalent, but was now banned by the government and so the area had fallen into decline. And so Collingwood sadly on to meet the head of all cherry lore, Seisaku Funatsu and they took a cherry viewing along the Arakawa River which runs through Tokyo.
Here it was known as the Five Colored Cherry Trees of the Arawaka River.’ And at one time it had been beautiful. Some of the beauty did remain, some trees still bloomed beautifully every year but…
New drainage works, had led to many being cut down, and those that remained were now greatly affected by pollution of the rapidly changing and modernizing city. Sesaku related how he had replaced lost trees with saplings over time, but sadly they kept being stolen and so he had had to stop.
I will say here that you can still see blossoms here to this day, but the book I read says it is a shadow of its former self. And it would be interesting to see how beautiful this area once was.
But going back to the tale, luckily many of these blooms from here and the local area survive now around the world due to Collingwoods help but also two other men known as Takagi Magoemon and Kengo Shimizu. Magoemon once collected specimens from the gardens of the daimyos and other areas, and when the daimyos left and the new government came he prayed for forgiveness and climbed the fences into these now abandoned properties to take cutting of these trees so they would continue to live. And later when the Arakawa area flooded, the local people demanded cherry trees to hold the soil together better for future flooding. Kengo Shimizu was the governor of the area and knew of Magoemons collection, and so many species were replanted into the area.
From the Arakawa River Collingwood now travelled onwards now to Nikko, where he found and collected seeds from the Sargent cherry, and in the small village of Kami Yoshida, he uncovered a previously unknown cherry variety and eventually had cuttings of it delivered to his home. This was the tree he dubbed Asano, after the Samurai from the 47 Ronin.
Overall everything was looking good. Like Collingwood would not only expand his collection greatly but could actually ensure the protection of varieties from going extinct.
And so it was time to tell the people in power in Japan that there blossoms were dying. Though Collingwood may have been averse to giving a speech on it himself, he was asked by Aisaku Hayashi to do so. And this all finally happened in April of 1926.
Reporters’ and photographers came, and 150 of japans most powerful came to listen.
Collingwood then said the following, “Why is it, that your flowering cherries often seem to do better in England than their native country? I would like to confess to a feeling of disappointment with regard to the size and condition of some of the trees growing in your parks and public places. Long before aesthetic Japan became contaminated by the hustle and bustle of the Western races, your people produced, an amazing number of varieties. In recent years not only has there been no attempt whatever made to improve these varieties, but many of them are in serious danger of extinction. Were it not for enthusiasts… you would have permanently lost most varieties. I feel confident that in years to come, the Japanese will have to seek some of their best sorts in Europe and America.’
He then rounded off his speech by telling them of the trees in his garden, now no longer growing in Japan. And that he would reintroduce them to Japan no matter the cost. He just didn’t know how he was going to do it yet.
Sadly, after presenting them with his thought as well as the facts, there was little if no impact, the government had other priorates getting the economy on track. After all, this was after the 1923 Kanto Earth Quake and saving a few trees, when they still had so many other types of cherry blossoms just did not seem important to them in the slightest.
And so he returned home, I suppose hoping that perhaps the government would do something, not matter how small it may have been. But failing that, he at least could still continue to protect the blossoms himself, even if the government of Japan wouldn’t.
Finally, after many months, the cuttings he had asked for, from the species he had seen in Japan finally arrived and he immediately got to work in having them grow in his garden. Some had sadly died on the long journey, but fortunately a great many others had survived. The collection grew and he soon found himself as the trading centre for cherry blossoms, and his collection spread around the world, ensuring cherry blossom thrived even more, though still not in Japan.
And finally, after all of this, after all of the effort to protect these trees, in the early 1930’s it was time to finally start sending these trees back to Japan.
And that is where I want to leave it for today.
Poem Notes
Thomas didn’t realize that Hokusai would send me into a glorious meandering of wonder that would take me places like… wikipedia and google.
Also company sponsored senryu contests that give such gems as “Comparing ages at the class reunion.” And toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper in which you can get the top 20 senryu written on the sheets for the low low price of 350yen. I feel like there’s a joke to be had here, but I can’t find one.
Oh, yeah, and also there’s a manga called senryu girl – about a girl who can only communicate in 5-7-5 syllables. Yup. There’s an anime too. There’s so much on senryu my head is still spinning.
The term senryu came from the name Karai Senryu, who lived from 1718-1790. He was a tenja, or judge of poetry competitions. He published the poem collection Yanagaridu in 1765.
Senryu are haiku, but not all haiku are senryu. Both share the same 5-7-5 pattern, but haiku are generally serious poems written about nature with season words or “kigo” . Senryu on the other hand, are comic/humorous poems that rely on wordplay, and GLORIOUS GLORIOUS PUNS. And sometimes rather adult humor. For this podcast though, we’ll keep things on the more everyone approachable side.
Also, senryu were often composed by amateur’s and there are several senryu contests, such as the Dai-Ichi insurance company Sararimansenryū konkūru. Or office worker’s senryu competition. I’ve included a couple of links where you can read the translated winners since I believe copyright restrictions prevent me from reading them here unless I get permission. To be on the safe side, I’ll just give you the links in case you want to explore more! Oh, and there are even senryu contests in English, too.
I am going to do something a little different – instead of starting from the beginning, let’s work our way back in history for senryu – starting with a very amateur English senryu.
Look for a poem Open “One Hundred Poems” But I choose Basho
I’m poking a bit of fun at myself – quite often I seem to choose from the One Hundred Poems, but lately I seem to gravitate towards Basho or perhaps poets connected by Basho.
I’ve composed one in Japanese too – and that’s even more amateur and I just don’t think I am ready to share that one yet.
That’s the beauty of senryu – anyone can do them, and well, lots of people do! It’s a very approachable form of poetry, and one we need to delve into further.
We’ll continue looking at senryu next week, with a little more history and a senryu in Japanese.
References
Abe, N. (2020) “Cherry Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan’s Blossoms.” London: Penguin Random House.
Carter, S. (2019) ”How to Read a Japanese Poem”. New York: Columbia University Press.
Show Notes for episode 41 of our Podcast – Hokusai.
Story Notes
EP41 Hokusai
Hokusai, is the name he is most well known by, but his given name when he was born in 1760 was Tokitaro. Born some believe in the Warigesui section of the Honjo District in Edo.
People believe his father was a mirror maker known as Nakajima Ise, a man who produced mirrors for the shōgun. And due to the fact that Hokusai was never made an heir, it is possible that his mother was a concubine.
Hokusai began painting around the age of six, and at the age of 12, his father sent him to work in a bookshop and lending library, a popular institution in Japanese cities, where reading books made from wood-cut blocks was a popular entertainment of the middle and upper classes.
And finally at the age of sixteen, he was apprenticed as an engraver and spent three years learning the trade. At during this time he began to produce his own illustrations.
I don’t know much about his early life, but by the age of 18 he had been enrolled in the studio of a Katsukawa Shunshou and it was while he was apprenticed here that he initially wished to make his reputation as a designer of actor prints.
Hokusai
Perhaps we can say he was a little eccentric over his lifetime, moved 93 times in his life. Made a giant Daruma painting. 200 meters squared.
Changes his artist names many times. in fact there are over 30 names he used, and they have become used to established different periods in his life time.
His earliest pieces or work that we still have do come from the time he was apprenticed here, however it is said that he didn’t have any success initially for over a decade and so in the early 1790’s at the age of 35 he left the school he was at to go and learn various other painting techniques and it was in 1796 that he finally began to use the name Hokusai for his art. This was also when he wanted to try and begin to define his own style of art.
These names included Hokusai for prints and paintings, Tatsumasa for certain private collections, Tokitaro for illustrations and commercial fiction, as well as Kako or Sorobeku for other commercial prints and books.
And with his interest in poetry, especially senryu, which is a comical form of Haiku, he created for these poetry circles noncommercial prints and plates for poetry albums, known as kyoka ehon.
It is even said, that during his lifetime he gave public demonstrations of his work, but that was a little later on in his lifetime once his reputation had been firmly established.
By 1804 we see his success, as he had become the foremost illustrator of popular novels, but some of his work wasn’t always easy. One of his jobs, led to a major dispute with a writer who was then replaced. So I suppose Hokusai wasn’t scared to stand his ground.
From the early 1810’s, so he is in his mid-fifties now and still working, we see his style becoming more defined, and more his own with the first of the a series of books he said was ‘for those who wanted to learn drawing in the Hokusai style.’ This book in question was what is known as the Hokusai manga (or Sketches by Hokusai) and was actually helped to be inspired by Bokusen, a man Hokusai would make a lifelong friendship with.
Now Japan, a little like China has a belief in a 60 years cycle, relating to the zodiac. Due to this, Hokusai again changed his name, starting a new kanreki or beginning of a new cycle. And so in 1820 when he turned 61 he changed his name to Iitsu.
And from what I was reading it appear he then had a little break from his career until 1828, after the death of his second wife. Now from what I can tell this was his second wife. During his lifetime he has two sons and three daughters with these women.
One of his daughters, called Katsushika O-e was skillful in bijinga, or beautiful woman art pieces. These pieces had dramatic contrasts between light and dark, sadly we only have a few pieces of her work, and we don’t really know all too much about her.
After the death of his wife it is said that in 1829 his grandson started giving him problems, and to remedy this, in the following year of 1830 he sends him off to Michinoku Province, asking his son in law to take him.
Perhaps that had been an omen of bad news for Hokusai, with 1830 becoming a bad year for him, he wrote at the time “this new year not a penny to spend, no clothes to put on nor anything to eat.” And this year he found himself having to ask for what to complete including a silk painting and a second volume to something called the Shinpen Suikogaden, a Japanese translation of a Chinese Classic. This volume would not be published for another 4 and a half years so overall a bad year for the artist.
So lets look at following year. Had anything become better for Hokusai?
1831 we see an announcement made. Now aged 72, Hokusai’s publisher, Nishinuraya Yohachi, announced the commencement of the 36 Views of Mount Fuji, likely the most well-known collection of art we known of Hokusai.
The advert stated these prints would be ‘designed by old Iitsu, formerly known as Hokusai,’ and the adverts were placed in the backs of popular novels over the coming years to get the word out about them.
Furthermore they were advertised as ‘views of mount Fuji from various locations, printed in shades of blue and possibly numbering a total of one hundred or more designs.’ This announcement of having a series of artwork would ensure that avid collectors would buy all of them to ensure they had a complete set, which would have been good not just for Hokusai but also for his publisher to keep him in business.
Now over a hundred designs is a rather large task to undertake, and as we know not that many were ever made, in the end they were known as the 36 Views of Mont Fuji, and ironically there were 46 in total by the time he had finished.
The reason 36 was used, was that this number historically had always held a kind of cultural significance, and we find it used to group people together in the past. For instance, the 36 Poetic Geniuses or the 36 Women Poetic Geniuses.
Apparently as well the carp fish only has 36 scales which added to the importance of the number 36 to the Japanese.
And it was this artwork where we get to see Hokusai trying to achieve a three dimensional image through the use of layered colors on a two dimensional medium.
Of these designs we can see that 10 of the predate all of the others due to the name stamp upon them. These, including the famous Great Wave, were signed aratame Iitsu, by Hokusai, changing his name to Iitsu, with the rest being signed zen Hokusai Iitsu. By Iitsu, formerly known as Hokusai.
Always adapting and changing he then also began painting kachoga, pictures of birds and flowers, and he changed how it was done. People had often done this in upright designs, whereas Hokusai did it horizontally allowing unconventional close ups of what was being depicted if seen through a telescope. His renewed popularity meant in 1831 he was commissioned to paint a design of 2 carp amongst waterweeds on a series of fan prints.
In 1832 we see another set of prints, though this one is smaller, consisting of only nine. Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are depicted with each city having three prints each. One in Snow, Cherry Blossom and Moon, to depict Winter, Spring and Autumn.
Additionally in 1832, there was a visit to Edo from the King of Ryuku Islands, islands chain south of japan including Okinawa.
This led to a surge in interest in the islands, and so Hokusai adapted art from a Chinese book on these islands, having them published in broadsheets, entitling them the Eight Views of the Ryuku Islands.
All of this seems to have re-inspired and awoken Hokusai to the world of art and we see much more being created by him in the time to come.
He went back to his Hokusai Manga by now there were 12 volumes, with his most recent one attempting to show the more humorous side to him.
In 1834 we see adverts for ‘Remarkable Views of Bridges in All Provinces.’ this being a series of ten pieces. There was later an 11th made, but it is likely that was requested by someone.
And in the same year we see the first polished volume of the 100 Views of Mount Fuji. This would be a much longer series than the 36 Views, but all would be monochromatic, unlike their colorful predecessors.
Volume 2 came out the following year, and this included the first instance of Hokusais’ autobiography where he again announces another change of name, from Iitsu to Gakyorojin Manji, Manji the Old Man Mad with Painting.
Sadly Volume 3 was delayed slightly due to the bankruptcy of his publisher.
And still he did not stop. 1835, he began a three volume book centered around famous warriors. And soon after came his largest collection to date.
This collection was known as One Hundred Poems explained by the wet nurse.
I am particularly interested in these as the one hundred poem in question are those from our favorite poetry book, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
Each poem was given its own print, ‘as interpreted by a wet nurse’ in which Hokusai creates the art by paraphrasing the poem and freely associating single words from them to make the final image.
Only 27 of these were taken to print, but we are fortunate in that copies of his designs have survived meaning would we could recreate the remaining 73 which were never printed.
And so after all of this his publication seemed to stop, no more prints were made or forthcoming.
Some time in his mid 80’s we do know he was invited to the town of Obuse, close to Nagano by a Takai Kozan, during his time here he created works known as Dragon and Phoenix as well as Masculine Waves and Feminine Waves for the ceiling of two festival floats. And additionally he created a phoenix for the ceiling of the temple of Gansho-in.
In 1836 Hokusai returned back to Tokyo after his many, many moves to find it ravaged by famine and so had to sell pictures for measures of rice.
Sadly in 1848 his lodgings burnt down, taking all of the study sketches and painting material he still had with him.
And in the following year, in 1849 Hokusai passed away. You can find his grave in Tokyo, at the temple of Seikyo-ji Temple a mere 10 minute walk from Ueno Station.
If you are interested in seeing some of his artwork, there are many museums around the world which do house them. However, for a more Hokusai experience I would recommend the town of Obuse we just mentioned, a short train ride from Nagano station you can visit the Hokusai Museum, full of his works including one of the festival floats he painted.
And they also have a very good video (with English subtitles) going even more in depth into Hokusai life.
And so I will end with a quote from Hokusai, which I came across at this very museum when I visited with my parents.
“From the age of 6 I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75 I’ll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am 80 you will see real progress. At 90 I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At 100, I shall be a marvelous artist. At 110, everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokusai, but today I sign myself ‘The Old Man Mad About Drawing.”
Poem Notes
Mukai Kyorai
Born in Nagasaki in 1651, his given name was Mukai Kanetoki but later would use the name Mukai Kyorai.
He started to train as a samurai, but changed his profession when 23 to write poetry instead.
He published haiku as well as edited haiku collections from Basho and his students. His published works include The Kyorai sho (translated as Conversations with Kyorai.
More can be said about him, but let’s come back to him for a later date.
I want to talk about a topic theme called “sabi”
Sabi is a noun, taken from the word Sabishii. Based on this word, what do you think the theme is about?
This topic is about loneliness, being forlorn, miserable, sad’
Now, I could have found a typical poem for this topic. However, since Mukai was student of Basho and as we have come to learn, Basho liked to turn some of the more conventional ideas into something else, the poem I have today has a bit lighter meaning.
はなもりや しろきかしらお つきあわせ
hana moriya shiro kikashirao tsuki awase
Blossom Guards Put their white heads together To talk
I also chose this poem because during my research, I encountered the fact that Hokusai really didn’t become popular until he was around 60. In my humble opinion, while the ideal of the beauty of youth is a universally loved and often used theme, that talent, creativity, and accomplishment doesn’t always belong to the realm of the young. In fact, that age brings with it a wealth of experience and wisdom.
That’s not to say that youth isn’t capable of great things either. Truly great things have been done by those who are young too. Rather, it is that you shouldn’t be afraid of growing older. And that just because you’ve grown older, you shouldn’t just sit back on your knowledge and wisdom – you should always learn and grow and you can ALWAYS learn and grow. I want to end with a quote from Hokusai, shared earlier from Thomas “When I am 80 you will see real progress.”
Show Notes for episode 40 of our Podcast – Cat Folklore #1.
Cat Folklore covers so much in Japan, and there is no way we could do it all in one episode for you all, so lets delve into a little part of the Cat Folklore that fills Japan.
Story Notes
The Maneki Neko
Cat Folklore and Supernatural cats, can fall into the term of Yokai understandably. But they can also be classed as Henge (変化 shape-shifters). But we can even class most of the supernatural cats as Strange Cats (Kaibyo 怪猫).
I won’t get into the history of Hello Kitty today, perhaps she deserved something to herself but we will talk about many strange cats, look into folktales of cats, and we will definitely be talking about the Lucky Cat and see how there are actually more than one kind of them.
But first a question, have you ever seen a Japanese family name with the kanji for cat? General belief is that there are no families sing this Kanji in their family names due to the cats supernatural associations.
So let’s dive into the world of cats. We have touched on the before with our first ever bonus episode surrounding the dog Shippeitaro, so if you haven’t given that a listen yet then please do, so what else is there to tell?
Well let’s start by quickly looking at the practice you still see a lot in Japan of cutting off the cats tail. I personally don’t agree with the practice, but it does seem to have it origins in the superstitious past, from a time when cats were mysterious and supernatural.
And to find this answer we turn to Lafcadio Hearn, and his many writings from his time in Japan, they were all compiled and published in 1906 by Elizabeth Bisland and one of them talks about how certain cats, such as Izumo cats are born with long tales. Now due to the mysticism surrounding these animals, it was thought that, should they be able to keep their long tails, then they would grow up to turn into for instance a Nekomata which we will talk about soon.
But when did cats arrive in Japan. They aren’t native at all, well unless you look into strange tales of the Cat Folklore surrounding the Yamaneko, or Mountain Cat, which was as big as a cougars and striped like tigers. But apparently they went extinct sometimes before 300BC, and little is really known of their existence. Cats as we know them as house pets, there is evidence going back all the way to the third century BCE for cats from grave sites at the Karakami Site in Iki. Though at the time, they were in Japan in such low numbers, there wasn’t a viable population for them to breed and survive so these cats were likely traded curiosities and nothing more. Prized by their owners and so buried alongside them.
It isn’t likely until Buddhism was on the rise in Japan around 552 that cats came arrived to stay and we have records from here talking of cats. However, the first definitive record of a cat comes from March 11 889, from a diary known as the Kanpyō Gyoki (寛平御記) which was the diary of Emperor Uda. And he wrote the following
I wish to express my joy of the cat… the color of the fur is peerless, none could find the words to describe it… I affixed a bow about its neck but it did not remain for long… in rebellion it narrows its eyes and extends its needles… when it lies down it curls into a ball like a coin.. You cannot see its feet… when it stands, its cry expresses profound lonliness, like a black dragon floating above the clouds… its color allows it to disappear at night. I am convinced it is superior to all other cats.
So we can see cats were loved even by the highest of people in Japan, and I do enjoy the idea of the Emperor putting a little bow onto his cat.
So we have records of cats, but the actual Kanji can be found from the Asuka Period (538 to 710) when its appears in the word Mikeneko 三毛猫, or Three Colored Furry Beast. And I suppose this could be our first supernatural cat. It is said to have been dangerous with fiery eyes, and incredibly intelligent but also vengeful to those who would betray it. Funnily enough there is little else known about this strange creature, but if you are in Japan you may have heard the term Mikeneko before, as it is now used as the name for Calico Cats which are seen as rather luckily. So this creature has undergone quite the change through the centuries.
Now let’s talk about the Cat Folklore surrounding the Nekomata 猫股, or Forked Cat. Now this cat is portrayed rather well throughout history, in various ways. We can see it portrayed by Toriyama Sekien who we have mentioned before where he shows three cats in various stages of turning into a Nekomata. But we can also find it portrayed in the Hyakkai Zukan and the Bakemono no e where they are shown wearing a geishas robe and playing the shamisen. This is a little tongue in cheek, as we have said before that shamisan are made using a cats skin. But what is a nekomata specifically. Well, legends say that when a cat should reach a certain age they will gain the ability to walk on its hind legs, as well as learn to talk and have its tail spilt into two. So when did we first hear about this creature? Well they turned up in a diary called the Meigetsuki, or Diary of the Clear Moon by Fujiwara Teika, who was our poet from episode 15.
Hyakkai Zukan
Toriyama Sekien
Bakemono no e
He writes that on August 8th 1233 a nekomata came from the mountains and ate multiple people. I am not sure how the became associated with eating human flesh, but is is definitely an idea that lingered as we can see it again in the book Essays in Idleness where they state, deep in the mountains lives the Nekomata, it is said it will feed on humans.
So if you are ever in the mountains and see a standing cat with two tails, I think it would be best to steer clear. But what is more interesting is that, during these original accounts they were seen as a seperate breed of cat, it wasn’t until the Edo Period when it was thought owned cats would grow old and turn into the Nekomata. Over time as well they went from small sizes, to being boar sized in 1685, by 1775 they were as big as a panthers and by 1809 they had become described as over 6 feet long. It is interesting to see how these legends can change over time.
But one last thing, I can’t remember where I read this but, something to think about for the Edo thinking for these cats. During this time, most lamps would be lit using fish oil, something cats would have loved to have had. So it seems that perhaps people saw there cats through the Shoji paper doors, seeing only the shadow of their cat on its hind legs which only led to the idea of their cats undergoing transformation.
So lets us end with a quick Nekomata Tale, from 1660.
There was once a monk from the temple of Gyogan-ji who wandered around singing the praises of the Buddha, and he told me this tale.
One night I was out in the mountains singing until I decided to return home. When I reached a brook I searched for a safe place to cross, and that is then when the Nekomata came out to strike, It grabbed my leg, climbed to my neck and sunk in its teeth. I fell into the brook crying for help, and luckily someone heard me and rushed to find me.
What is going on? They cried. They pulled me from the creek, my possessions and money had been washed away. Having saved me, I and everyone else returned home.
Now lets us turn to the Cat Folklore of the Neko Musume 猫娘 or Cat Daughter. A trope which is rather popular in anime these days, with females characters being part cat with cute cat like ears and at times a tail.
But their origins are less than happy as we trace this kind of creatures to, I don’t like the term but they find their origins from what we once called Freak Shows. I won’t be using that term again, its just to give an idea of what I mean. Carnivals of extradordinary people, if not outright forgeries to entice people into spending their money. In Japan these were known as Misemono 見世物. These shows were often hurriedly produced and crude and finds its way back to the Edo Period, although they may be a little older than that, and actually at times were benefit performances to raise funds for shrines and temples. I suppose the most famous of tall of these kinds of shows was by PT Barnum, who you may know, especially from the film Greatest Showman. Infact, his famous Fiji Mermaid, was created in a Japanese Misemono and found its way to his show.
However, back to the Neko Musume. She was exhibited in the Asakusa District of Edo reaching the height of popularity in 1769. It was said she was exactly how a human cat hybrid would appear (unfortunately there are no pictures of her). Whether this was from a kind of birth defect or even clever prosthetics we will never know, and she had all but faded from fame by the 1780s as Misemono fell into decline.
But that isn’t quite the end for these particular cat. They appeared again in 1800 with tales surfacing about this creatures. And I will briefly go over them now. This one comes from the Ashu no Kijo.
There was once a merchant who had a daughter. His daughter had a rough tongue, and a fondness for licking things. Due to this, the nature of her parentage only came into question and eventually was given the name of Neko Musume.
The second tale surrounding Cat Folklore comes from the Ansei zakki, and was a collection of stories seen as fact at the time of their writing. This tale comes from 1852.
In Tokyo, there was once a girl named Matsu. Since childhood she had fondess for dragging discarded heads and guts from fish from the garbage before eating them. She was nimble and would often trap mice and rats to eat.
Due to this she gained many names including Neko Kozo, Cat Child and Neko Bozu, Cat Priest.
Her nature was strange to others, some thinking the essence of a cat had mingled with hers as a baby leading to how she was today.
Her mother prayed and summoned doctors to try and see if she could take the cat out of her daughter. She even beat her, but nothing worked.
In the end, she shaved her daughters head and sent her to be a nun but even that did not work. Still her behavior continued and so she was expelled from the nunnery.
Matsu was bullied by the other children, they chased her, but as she was nimble she could always get away by climbing up and running over rooftops. She became respected by other adults who saw her as useful with rat problems, and so her mother began to rent out her child to others, Matsu given to clambering under peoples homes and feast on the rats there.
And that is the strange tales of the Neko Musume, I didn’t enjoy learning of the origins, I think shows like that were cruel, but it is history and should be learnt.
Now I want to move onto the third and maybe final thing for today. There are so many tales we could tell, so many other types of cats we could do, like the Kasha, Bakeneko, Gotoku Neko, the list goes on. But I don’t want to go overboard. We can easily fo a part 2 to this in the future.
But I want to end on something that should be rather familiar to most people. The waving cat, the lucky or inviting cat, or as it is known in Japan, the Maneki Neko.
First of all did you know that they can come in different colors? Each having different connotations. Red is for relationship success and illness prevention, black keeps evil at bay, gold is for money, green for health, blue for academic success and even pink for help with love.
Some say a raised left hand brings in money, but other would say the complete opposite.
But what of its origins?
Well that can be a little contended wth Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto all claiming its origins back in the Edo Period. But the earliest made forms can be traced back to the Asakusa Districts of Tokyo. In their original form, they were rather different to today. Made of clay and with a raised paw they lacked the flair of modern maneki neko, and these precursors were known as marushime, meaning something close to affixing wealth and fortune to yourself. These precursor cats were portaryed in the markets of Sensoji by Utagawa Hiroshige in 1851 and a year later a tale of their origins was born.
A woman, it is said once lived with her cat, she was poor, and rent was due. However, she could not pay. And so her cat came to her in a dream saying the gods had not abandoned her in this time of need.
All she need do is take clay from under her home and sculpt a cat. Bake it to make a figurine and then with it praise the Buddha. Riches and fine cloth will then come to you in kind.
This tale is told to this day at the Imado Shrine in Asakusa, who claim it as the birth place of the marushime. Sadly though, I don’t think they sell them now, and you can only buy Maneki Neko there.
But when did they morph and change into this new form? When did it gain its new style and items like the bib, coin and other attachments?
We don’t know!
All we know is their popularity only continued to increase from 1876 after a news article was made about them.
I personally would love to be able to buy on of the original versions of this lucky cat. Unfortunately I have yet to see one in Japan. So lets just hope it works out in the end.
One final thing, have you ever heard of Tama the cat?
She was once the staion manager of Kishi Station, Wakayama Prefecture.
Born in 1999 she would come to the train station with her owner and because of her the amount of visiting the station increased, which was good as the station had almost closed due to funding.
Sadly she died in 2015 but her job lived on with her succesors Nitama, Suntamatama and Yontama, literally Second, Third and Fourth Tama.
It is fascinating seeing how cats had such sinister links through history but now have become symbols of prosperity and in the case of Tama, tourist attractions almost.
So that was our first look into Cat Folklore, I am sure we will be back to look at some more cats of supernatural origin in the future.
Poem Notes
Takahashi Matsumoto
Takashi Matsumoto was born in Tokyo January 5, 1906. He was born into a family of Noh actors and started acting in Noh plays from the age of 8.
Growing up, he was interested in calligraphy, Chinese literature, and English. He was also interested in comic storytelling, called rakugo.
It wasn’t until he was recovering from illness in 1921 that he started to develop an interest in haiku. He joined a haiku group and began to study under the haiku poet Takahma Kyoshi.
When he was 20 he retired from Noh due to health issues and turned his career towards haiku.
He had his own literary magazine called Fue. He also wrote a novel about Hosho Kuro, another Noh actor. He was also awarded the Yomiuri Literary Prize in 1954.
He died in 1956. He was 50 years old.
薄目あけ 人嫌ひなり 炬燵猫
usumaake hitogirai nari kotatsu neko
With squinted eyes, the cat says, I don’t want to talk with you, while on the kotatsu
hitogirai – can be said to be deep and philosophical, but it’s humorous when said by a cat.
References for cat folklore
Andrew L. Marku (1985) “The Carnival of Edo: Misemono Spectacles From Contemporary Accounts” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 499-541
Rabinovitch, Judith N; Minegishi, Akira (1992). “Some literary aspects of four kambun diaries of the Japanese court: Translation with commentaries on excerpts from Uda Tennō Gyoki, Murakami Tennō Gyoki, Gonki and Gyokuyō” . The humanities. Section II, Language and literature; Journal of the Yokohama National University. 39 (1–13).
Show Notes for bonus episode 7 of our Podcast – The Tatoo Collector.
Story Notes
B7 The Tatoo Collector
Fukushi Masaichi (福士政一) is an interesting man, born January 30th 1878, he lived until 1956 and had a single child by the name of Fukushi Katsunari. Now they are of interest to us as he and his son have become known to this day as Irezumi Hakase” (刺青博士) or what we could translate to in English as Dr. Tatoo, and this is pureply due to the fact that he the worlds only collection of tatoos taken from the dead.
He lived and worked in the sciences, his job being centered at Nippon Medical University where, at least one of the elements of his research, was into syphillis, and it was during this research he noticed that the ink used in tatoos was killing the lessions of syphillis on peoples bodies.
One of the skins Masaichi collected over the years.
By 1926 this interest increased and so he began to spend more time around those with tatoos, though he himself did not have one. And those with tatoos that had died, he undertook autopsies on them, removed the skin and began research into the methods of preserving this skin. Over the coming years he collected in total around 2000 hides of skin and amassed a collection of over 3000 photos of them.
He was even known to pay for people who could not afford to complete the body tatoos they had begun, on the premise that once they died he was allowed to keep their skin.
Sadly in WW2 much of his collection was lost, aside from those he preserved inside of an air raid shelter. These skins can be viewed to this day should you visit the Medical Pathology Museum in Tokyo University.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for bonus episode 6 of our Podcast – Proverbs.
Story Notes
There are many proverbs throughout Japan and so we wanted to introduce you to a few of them.
釈迦に説法 しゃかにせっぽう Translation: Teaching Buddhism to the Buddah. Trying to explain things to someone who knows more than you.
花より団子 Hana yori dango Dango over flowers – Utility is more useful than beauty
ない袖は振れぬ Naisodewa furenu You can’t shake an empty sleeve The sleeve of the kimono was used to store money. This saying is equivalent to “you can’t get blood from a turnip”
知らぬが仏。 Shiranu ga hotoke. Not knowing is Buddha. Ignorance is bliss. / What you don’t know can’t hurt you.
七転び八起き Nanakorobi yaoki Fall seven times and stand up eight When life knocks you down, stand back up; What matters is not the bad that happened, but what one does after.
老いたるを父とせよ Oitaru wo, chichi to se-yo That which is old should be treated with the respect due a father.
Show Notes for episode 39 of our Podcast – First Antarctic Expedition.
Story Notes
Nobu Shirase
To start off it is best to talk a little about the man behind the expedition. His name was Nobu Shirase, born originally in Akita Prefecture (so I nice little tie in with last weeks episode), born June 13th 1861 at the temple of Jorenji. In fact his father even served there as a priest.
He grew up during the end of Japan being a closed nation, seeing the Meiji Government replace the Shogunate when he was only seven years old. Japan having been closed off for so long, the whole idea of exploration was an almost entirely alien concept but as Shirase-san grew he heard of several storied of foreign explorers including stories of Sir John Franklin and his search for the Northwest Passage, and this all led to him being fascinated with polar exploration.
However, for a time nothing came of this, he joined his father’s temple, but eventually left to enter into the military, and by 1881 he had received the rank of lieutenant within the Transport Corps.
This all culminated into his first expedition, not to the polar ice but to the island of Chishima from 1893-1895, or the island of Kuril as it is known by in Russian.
This all came about as he mentioned his ideas for exploration to his senior officer, a man by the name of Kodama Gentarō, who basically told him to not jump the gun and first try an island a little closer to home to make sure he could do it.
An opportunity arose for this in 1893, when he was able to join an expedition led by Naritada Gunji, with an aim of establishing a permanent colony here in these northern island chains above Hokkaido. Now, this expedition went rather badly. Ill-equipped in the first winter 10 of the men died and then the Leader Naritada left to join the expedition, leaving Shirase-san incharge for a second winter in which more men died. Eventually they were relieved in 1895, and Shirase blamed the whole failure on poor organization, but it still hadn’t deterred him from his explorations. All of the failures and bad things that had occurred he had made note of, to ensure he was better prepared when his journey finally began.
Though it would not occur for several more years yet.
And that brings us all the way to 1910 when he approached the government with his plans to get Japan to the South Pole, as he had begun to hear of other countries who were also planning similar things to get to the pole.
He declared, rather optimistically to the government, that the expedition was for science and he would have the flag of Japan raised at the south pole in merely three years time.
Stating that: “The powers of the world ridicule the Empire of Japan, saying we Japanese are barbarians who are strong and brave in warfare, but cowardly when it comes to the realm of science. For the sake of bushido we must correct this regrettable situation”.
In the end, the government said they would give money and a potential boat for the expedition, but in the end they broke this promise, and other societies were uninterested, saying it was a mere adventure and nothing to with science. This was also based on the fact that Shirase-san was neither a scholar or scientist, which I think is unfair, just because you don’t have the qualifications doesn’t mean you can’t still want to try for something. Even the Tokyo Geographic Society wrote nothing about the expedition in the end, though they wrote of other countries that did so.
So where did Shirase-san find the money? Well funnily enough, the government may not have provided but the previous Prime Minister agreed to help. His name was Ōkuma Shigenobu and he established the Antarctic Expedition Supporters Association and the public began to contribute to the fund. Due to this Shirase-san also garnered the support of the Asahi Shimbun, an important newspaper at the time (and the same that wrote about Hachiko).
He received many applications to join him for the expedition. None had polar experience, and only one had a scientific background, meaning (almost ironically) he had to scale down the scientific part of the exploration. Other for the expedition that were chosen included two Ainu People, due to their prowess with dogs and sleds, the transportation of choice back then for the snow and the captain of the ship was called Noakichi Nomura.
The boat in question they used was known as the Kainan Maru, after it was renamed from the Hoko Maru. And this boat was originally a fishing vessel, and at merely 100ft long it was the smallest vessel for the time making expeditions to the south pole. The new name of the ship was chosen for its fitting meaning, that being ‘Southern Pioneer.’
The whole thing had a messy start unfortunately, on the day of leaving thousands came to see them off, but the ship wasn’t ready… and when it left 24 hours later, only a handful came to see it off, and so they left December 1st with 27 men and 28 Siberian dogs.
The plan was to reprovision at Wellington in New Zealand, before heading again to the pole where they would set up and wait for winter to end. Shirase said then that on 15th September (1911) the party would proceed to the pole and return back to base by late February 1912.
The mess only continued initially, the boat set off in unfavorable condition arrived storm beaten in Wellington where they had not been told to expect a ship from Japan on February 7th. The boat to them, had arrived late in the season, looked unsuitable for a polar expedition, no navigation charts could be seen, they had unsuitable food and equipment and most of the dogs had already died just sailing to Wellington. So the New Zealanders they regarded this whole ship and crew with a large amount of suspicion and the New Zealand Times newspaper offended Shirase by saying they were ‘gorillas sailing about in a miserable whaler.’
Over the next few days, as if to prove the New Zealanders right, they Japanese crew spend the entire time desperately trying to find up to date charts for the ice conditions for their continued journey south, all they had chart wise for their southern journey was a copy of a chart dating back to 1907. Eventually they left February 11th, though some respect had been gained from the people, another newspaper (the Lyttleton Times) writing ‘Godspeed to the plucky little band of explorers from the Far East.’
Sailing south, there were many first for these people. On February 17th, they saw their first penguin, saying ‘it looked for all the world like a gentleman in an overcoat.’ February 26th they saw the first iceberg, and March 1st the witnessed their first aurora.
However, it soon became apparent they had left far, far too late. There was too much ice now to make a landing of any kinds, and magnetic interference from the magnetic pole on made things harder to navigate by compass. They almost became trapped in March 12 by ice, and if that was to occur then ship was likely to be crushed. Almost defeated, they turned north, and left for Sydney to wait for winter to end and return again.
By now, out of the 28 dogs, only one was left. They reached Sydney May 1st.
Just like in New Zealand, they were treated with suspicion when they arrived, one newspaper even demanded they be immediately expelled. However, as if by luck, they gained support from a wealthy resident who allowed them to camp in a corner of his land whilst the boat underwent repairs. The captain of the ship returned to Japan to try and gain further funding for the expedition. Shirase-san soon formed a friendship with Tannatt Edgeworth David, who had already been to the Antarctic, and been one of the three who had discovered the location of the South Magnetic Pole, his friendship with Shirase helped the local people to stop regarding the Japanese with suspicion and accept their presence. And Edgeworth helped Shirase by giving him his knowledge and experience of Antarctica.
The ship captain finally returned, with more funding, more dogs, and two new members. Another scientist and a film cameraman. And so Shirase abandoned plans of conquering the Sotuth Pole, believing others who had already set out would be too far ahead of him. And so in a twist of fate, his expedition would actually become one of science. And they would head to the pole with the aim of surveying and exploring the area known as the King Edwards VII Land.
Finally they left once again for the pole, November 19th 1911, but before they did so, Shirase-san gifted Edgeworth with his 17th Century Samurai Sword, in thanks for everything he had done for them. (You can find the sword now in the Australian Museum, donated there in 1979).
They finally received the proper good bye they had wanted from Japan, and many people came to see the ship set sail with white handkerchiefs and black hats thrown into the air as they sailed away.
It’s almost as it their luck had changed, they didn’t leave in a storm, the weather was fair and by January 4th 1912, they had reached the area which had sent them to Sydney the previous time. Now the sea was open and good progress was made, and by January 10th they had their first sight of the Ross Ice Shelf, Shirase saying it looked like a ‘gigantic white snake at rest’ as they saw it on the horizon. As they frew near, they made East, in an attempt to find a landing spot near King Edwards VII Land.
Again, in a twist of irony there were attacked by killer whale, after sailing through the area known as the Bay of Whales, but they soon withdrew, the Ainu people praying throughout the ordeal. Finally they came to an area of suitable landing, however, the terrain here would have been impossible to traverse, and so quickly naming it the Kainan Bay, they sailed onwards.
Shirase breaks the expedition now into two groups, and again the ship turns around heading back West. One group to make a ‘Dash Patrol’ to make a march south across the ice with the dogs, and another party which would go to explore King Edward VII Land. Shirase joined the ‘Dash Patrol’ when the ship could reached the ice back at the Ross Ice Shelf. After setting up camp, and seeing the Kainan Maru sail onwards. Shirase and six others prepared for the ‘Dash Patrol.’ Two stayed at base camp, to undertake meteorological observations, while the others marched south. Shirase, the two Ainu and two others, Takeda and Miisho. Their sole aim was the travel as far south as they could in their limited time frame. The first day only saw them travel 13 kilometers, the next day they remained in their tents due to weather and the day after, and travelling through blizzards the next few days, some of the dogs again died. By January 28th, they stopped, having covered 250 kilometers. Here they placed a canister with the names of the group, dubbed the area they were in as the Yamato Yukihara (Japanese Snow Plain), saluted the Emperor and then began their return to base. They made it back in a mere three days due to favorable conditions, which was likely to have been the quickest polar sled journey at the time. Exhausted from it all, they then slept for 36 hours.
So onto the King Edward VII exploration. The boat arrived on January 23rd in the Biscoe Bay thinking they were the first to explore here. Sadly they weren’t, however they were the first group to make a landing on King Edward VII Land from the sea. Here, they split into two smaller groups, one headed south but was unfortunately stopped by ice and the other reached the foothills of the Alexandra Mountains before being stopped, here they erected a sign, explored the local area a little and collected rock samples before returning to ship.
So only a little bit of exploration had been undertaken, before they had to return to ship and make their way back east to pick up Shirase. They stopped at a bay on their way, calling it the Okuma Bay in honor of the ex-Priminister who had helped them and finally reaching the area once more where Shirase was, they were halted by the ice for two days in picking them up. In the hurried process of saving Shirase and the others, all the dogs were abandoned much to everyone apparent heartbreak. And it is said that Shirase remembered them everyday from then on in his daily prayers.
They returned to Wellington, exhausted, Shirase and a few others transferring to a faster ship to reach Japan, so they could prepare for the return of the expedition. After all of these hardships, the Kainan Maru arrived back in Tokyo on June 19th, after sailing 31,000 miles (50,000km) to a large reception and celebration.
So after all of this, it showed that the Japanese could mount an Antarctic Expedition, but its legacy was quiclly forgotten. Shirase and others were praised by the Emperor, but he sadly died six weeks after their return, and so the publics interest died. The government did not help him with the debts of the expedition, and there was little interest from people to buy Shirase’s book on his expedition. Even though money was made through a documentary film, Shirase gained none of the profts as he had sold off the rights to the film company. Around the world the expedition was little noticed, eclipsed by other explorers and only published in Japanese, which was still little known around the world then only hindered Shirase’s story being learnt. It wasn’t until 1933 in the first substantial account was made in English in the Geographical Journal.
And so Shirase was left to settle his debts himself, he returned to the Kuril Island where he had his first expedition, making money through a fox-fur business and had paid everything off by 1935. In 1933 he received belated recognition for his exploits and was made honorary president of the Japanese Polar Research Institute, but sadly died in obscurity in 1946.
His name did live on however, the current Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition has named their research vessel Shirase in his honor, and in his hometown of Nikaho, a statue in his memory and a museum to his expedition has been created.
And that is the tale of Shirase-san.
But one last thing, the boat that took them all that way. It was sold back to its owners, going back to its life as a fishing vessel, and we sadly don’t know what happened to it. We have records saying in 1944 a fishin vessel by the same name was sunk in a USAAF attack in the Gulf of Tonkin, but whether this was the same ship, we will never know.
Poem Notes
Yosa Buson
Yosa Buson was a Japanese poet and painter. He was born in 1716 in Osaka, a child of the Taniguchi family.
He moved from his home to Edo at the age of 20 to learn poetry from Hayano Haijin. A follower of Basho, he would eventually follow the same path as Basho as described in Oku no Hosomichi, and published his own work from this journey. The name he published under was Buson.
He traveled further throughout Japan, but at age 42 settled in Kyoto and starting using the name Yosa. Buson married soon after and had one daughter.
Buson often talks about family in his poetry and he published Kushuu – (poem books) and Shufu bateikyoku.
His poem today describes a samurai demanding to be put up for the night.
宿かせと 刀投げ出す 吹雪かな
Yado kase to katana nagedasu fubuki kana
“Give me shelter!” He threw the katana. In the snow storm.
Today we also had a bonus poem for you by Buson, but for now we only have the English.
Over-ripe sushi, The Master Is full of regret.
Featured Image: The Kainan Maru.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 38 of our Podcast – Hachiko: The Dog Who Waited.
Story Notes
Picture of Hachiko
To tell the story of Hachiko it is no doubt also good to know a little about the man who raise him.
Now this man was known as HidesaburōUeno ((上野 英三郎) born January 19th, 1872. Living all the way up until May 21, 1925. Ueno-san studied at the Tokyo Imperial University where he eventually graduated having studied in the agricultural department there, and after his graduation moved to study agricultural engineering as well as farm implement research. Once again, after graduating he moved on, eventually finding himself as a Professor where he first studied at Tokyo Imperial University and there taught within the agricultural department. So in a way his life had come full circle.
He devoted himself to teaching reclamation engineering for farmland, as well as arable land readjustment and looking into drainage systems. And after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake the technologies he had devised from his studies into arable land reclamation were used in the earthquake after math to help Japan on the road to recovery.
Sadly his life ended in 1925 at the age of 53 when he suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage actually when he was giving a lecture, and his body was laid to rest in Aoyama Cemetery, which can be found in Tokyo. Interestingly, this was one of Japan’s first public cemeteries and was one of the few which had a section to allow the burial of foreigners.
Now that is a little on the life of Ueno-san, and now it is time to move on to Hachiko.
The famous Hachiko. The dog who waited.
Hachiko (ハチ公) was born on November 10th, 1923 and lived until March 8th, 1935. He was a Japanese Akita dog, which I think perhaps are quite well known even outside of Japan. Born originally in Akita Prefecture, which is where this type of dog gets its name from, he was brought to Tokyo in 1924 by Ueno-san. It is said Hachiko was 2ft 1 in height, weighing around 90 pounds and his fur was a golden light brown, but upon his face it changed to a peach white in the upper parts of it. And it was later discovered that Hachiko was one of only 30 pure-bred Akita dogs left in Japan.
Hachiko, loved his owner, and every day he would meet Ueno-san at Shibuya station after his commute there from Tokyo University and then of course they would return home together.
That all changed obviously on 1925 when sadly Ueno-san died at work. Hachiko, of course not knowing this proceeded to venture to Shibuya station that day only to find his owner never appeared.
Now remember I said that Hachiko did not died himself until 1935. He continued on for another nine years until he too finally died, but the heartbreaking thing about all of this is that for every day until his death he would return to Shibuya station to wait for his master. Every day he would go and patiently wait, hoping to Ueno-san to appear from the station so that they could walk home together.
Sadly, at first, the dog who waited was not necessarily treat with kindness from the people who frequented or even worked at the station (though of course there would have been some who grew used to the dog and didn’t mind his presence), and it wasn’t until 1932, so at this point Hachiko had been dealing with peoples unkindness for 7 years when an article about Hachiko was written in the Asahi Shimbun that peoples attitudes changed towards him and they began to brig him treats to keep him nourished during his never ending wait. The article, interestingly was written by an old student of Ueno-san by the name of Hirokichi Saito.
When Hachiko’s story was finally told in that news article, the people of Japan saw a lot of themselves in this dog. The ideas of familial loyalty and faithfulness. And soon parents and teachers began to use this tale to teach these ideas to children. His faithfulness even became a national symbol for loyalty in Japan.
As we said, Hachiko died in 1935, his body found on a street in Shibuya. It was until 2011 that the actual cause of death was decided upon and that not only did Hachiko have an infection known as Heart Worm, as well as dealing with terminal cancer. At the time of his death, 4 yakitori skewers were also found in his stomach, but those have been determined to have not played a role in his death.
His remains were eventually cremated, with his ashes taken to Aoyama Cemetery to finally be laid to rest with his master. His fur, was preserved after his death, and was eventually stuffed and mounted to be displayed permanently in the National Science Museum of Japan. (I personally don’t agree with that decision, they should have let the dog have his final rest, why they felt the need to preserve him for future in stead of just telling his story I don’t know.)
And that is the tale of Hachiko.
But what of Hachiko’s mother? We have talked a little of Hidesaburo Ueno, but not yet touched on his partner, Yaeko Sakano (坂野 八重子). It is said, Hachiko showed great love and affection to here whenever they were together, showing his had a love for both of his owners.
But sadly, though she loved him, and he had loved her, when she died in 1961 aged 76 she was not laid to rest with Ueno-san or Hachiko, despite her requests to her family to be buried with them.
And it wasn’t until 2013 that this changed, records of Sakano-san’s dying wish were rediscovered and so the process of moving her remains began. The Ueno and Sakano families agreed immediately to this, however it took another two years to actually come to fruition due to the many layers of Japanese bureaucracy and regulations that there are.
And upon he burial again with her partner and Hachiko the two families were reunited again and I will end this with two quotes said at this ceremony.
“By putting the names of both on their grave, we can show future generations the fact that Hachikō had two keepers,”
“To Hachikō the professor was his father, and Yaeko was his mother,”
As to his legacy, like we have said he is used as a figurehead of loyalty and faithfulness, but he has lived on in other ways.
There are numerous statues erected to him, the most famous I think being the one in Shibuya, first erected in 1934 and crafted by Teru Ando. Unfortunately it was melted down during WW2 for the war effort and the current one was created in 1948 by the son of the original artist, and he was known as Takeshi Ando. You can also find a statue in his hometown of Odate in Akita, as well as one outside the Akita Dog Museum, also in Odate. There is another at Tokyo University, though this one also portrays Ueno-san standing next to his faithful dog.
You can even find one to him on Rhode Island, in Woonsocket after the station there was used in the making of the film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale starring Richard Gere.
We have the sound of Haciko’s bark, which was found upon a record broken into several pieces. However, after some work they managed to lift it from it and keep it and on May 28th 1994, millions of people tuned into the radio to hear Hachiko’s bark one last time.
Shibuya station has named one of their exit after Hachiko and in 2004 started 4 mini bus routes around the area nicknamed the Hachiko bus.
And as for ceremonies, on March 8th every year Hachiko is remembered at his statue at Shibuya station by people (especially dog lovers) who go to honor his memory.
In 1987 there was a film by the name of Hachiko Monogatari, and in 2009, like we have said another film was made by the name of Hachi: A Dog’s Tale. (Although the 2009 film, merely took the idea of the Hachiko Tale, making it into an American setting for the tale). Another movie based on the tale of Hachiko was made in 2015 by the name of Tommy, and was made in the Telugu language, a language native to India.
He is referenced in Futurama, in the episode Jurassic Bark, a play was made in Western Australia about Hachiko. In the Mange One Piece, there is a similar tale with a dog named Shushu, and there are similar tales even in the Pokemon Anime Master Quest, where there is a story about a Ninetales who waits 200 years for her master’s return.
The Disney Film, Wall-e, there is a cockroach who waits for the robot to return to earth, an homage to Hachiko. And finally in the PS4 game, Persona 5 you can explore Shibuya Station and see the statue of Hachiko, though they have changed the name to Buchiko.
Hachiko’s Bark
Poem Notes
Today’s poem is from Baizan. I have just a little information about him – he was from Fushimi, an area to the south of Kyoto.
The poem today came from a “paper poetry contest” in which each author sent in a written poem but didn’t perform it in public. These contests allowed the winners to be published as well as critiqued by Takai Kito (alternate name of Yahantei) and he was a disciple of Buson.
This poetry contest allowed for Kito to fulfill his obligation for his students, which was to get their poetry published.
I did a search in Japanese, but as it’s much more difficult to read and check, even with the assistance of built in translation tools. Perhaps his full name is Sone Baizan. And according to my notes, I don’t know for sure if this poem was a winner or note, but I suspect perhaps it was not.
Show Notes for episode 37 of our Podcast – The Song the Black Fox God Sang.
Story Notes
The Woman Behind the Stories
EP37 The Song the Black Fox God Sang
The stories are through the work of Chiri Yukie, collecting tales she heard from her family. This book, the Ainu Shinyoushuu was the first of its kind about the Ainu language written by an actual Ainu.
Chiri was born in 1903, and was brought up by her aunt and grandmother. Even though her father was a Chief of the Ainu, he did not have the financial means to care for his daughter, and she grew she heard all the old oral stories told by her aunt and grandmother.
Eventually a linguist called Kindaichi Kyousuke visited these three women saying how he was undertaking work in the Ainu language and so Chiri decided to devote all her time to writing down the stories she had been brought up hearing, and eventually translating them into Japanese after first transcribing them into Roman characters.
Chiri Yukie
Finally aged 19 she travelled to Tokyo having collected 13 tales known as yukar (epics about humans told by men) and kamui yukar (epics chanted in the first person by a god). Working then with Kindaichi they moved to have these stories published, and though there would have been many stories to come, Chiri died on the day the book was finally finished from heart failure.
The Song the Black Fox God Sang
This tale involves the Black Fox, as well as the men known as Okikirmui, Shupunramka and Samayunkur. The Black Fox is evil and dreadful. Okikirmui, is descended from heaven and the typical heroic figure. Samayunkur is described as shallow, indecisive and weak. Shupunranka is known form mildness and reticence, and appear in no stories of his own.
And so on with the tale.
Here I found myself sitting. On the rocky headlands of our land. On the rocky headlands of the gods. When one day I saw right before my eyes the sea stretching out. A calm sea, with Okikirmui, Shupunramka and Samayunkur sailing across it. Sailing for whales my heart filled with heart. My evil heart swelled with malice.
On the rocky headlands of our land. On the rocky headlands of the gods. I ran from end to end. With my light feet and sinuous body. Barking with the low sound of heavy wood splintering. And I called to the storm demon within. A violent wind came forth, the ocean began to rise and fall. The sea plunged down before me. And in that sea, in peril now were the three brothers. All three chanted, and rowed onwards. Like a leaf I could see the boat being blown around on the water. And yet those three men sailed onwards.
And so my heart again swelled with malice. I ran from end to end. With my light feet and sinuous body. Barking with the low sound of heavy wood splintering. With all of my strength I urged the storm onwards. And eventually, exhausted, Samayunkur. With blood running from the palms of his hands. With blood running from the backs of his hands. Collapsed from exhaustion. And a laugh escaped from me. Again I ran from end to end. With my light feet and sinuous body. Barking with the low sound of heavy wood splintering. With all of my strength I urged the storm onwards. The remaining two encouraged one another, but eventually. Shupunramka. With blood running from the palms of his hands. With blood running from the backs of his hands. Collapsed from exhaustion. And a laugh escaped from me. I ran from end to end. With my light feet and sinuous body. Barking with the low sound of heavy wood splintering. But still Okikirmui did not look to have tired, he rowed and rowed until his oar snapped. And so he reached over to take the oar of Samayunkur. And he continued to row.
When I saw this I was filled with rage. Barking with the low sound of heavy wood splintering. I ran from end to end. With my light feet and sinuous body. Again I urged the storm demon on, until again the oar broke. Okikirmui took up the oar of Shupunramka and continued on. Until again this oar broke. And it was then Okikirmui stood up in his boat, he could see me. Though I could not believe so. His face was the calm color of anger as I watched him reach into his bag. When I saw him draw forth a little wormwood bow. And I little wormwood arrow. I saw it and laughed. What could this human hope to achieve with his little arrow I asked. On the rocky headlands of our land. On the rocky headlands of the gods. I ran from end to end. With my light feet and sinuous body. Barking with the low sound of heavy wood splintering. I praised the storm demon. All the while his arrow came for me, hitting me in the back of my neck. And what happened next I could not say. The world fell dark.
When I awoke. The ocean had calmed, the weather was good once more. Okikirmui’s boat was gone. There was pain everywhere, as if my skin was burning and shrinking all at once. Who would have thought such a small thing could cause me so much pain. On the rocky headlands of our land. On the rocky headlands of the gods. I screamed in pain. And I writhed in pain. All day and all night. Half living, but also half dead. Until once more I lost consciousness. When I awoke again. I was sitting between the ears of a great black fox. And after another two days Okikirmui came, appearing like a god, and grinning wide. What a fine sight this is to see he said. The black fox god who keeps watch here, dies a good and splendid death. On the rocky headlands of our land. On the rocky headlands of the gods. With his strength the man took my head. Using my lower jaw and my upper jaw, and made out of them a latrine. Thus I would be tortured forever more by this horrible stench
In the end I died a pointless death, and a horrible one. Therefore, all foxes to come after me, learn from my fate. Never harbor wicked thought. So said the fox god.
I was not content in myself being a minor god. Because of my evil heart I died a horrible death.
Proverb Notes
Proverbs as we have said before are known as Kotozawa in Japanese.
Recently, while watching the news with the professor I asked a question (as I often seem to do, because there’s still quite a bit about Japanese culture I don’t understand). And the professor just looked at me, and replied with a Japanese proverb that started a whole other conversation. That conversation inspired me for the literature section this week.
What English proverbs can you think of?
A stitch in time saves 9 A penny saved is a penny earned Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
I think most of these I put here seem to come from Benjamin Franklin – a very interesting person to be sure, but not really our focus for today.
Today, let’s look at some Japanese proverbs, called “kotowaza” 諺 . Many Japanese proverbs come from agriculture, but they are also from the tea ceremony, from games such as Go, and Buddhism. And of course, Chinese philosophy.
There’s one proverb I can vaguely recall from a conversation my first year in Japan. A teacher and I were trying to help move furniture but since the students were helping there really wasn’t much for us to do. I made a joke about being in the way, and she laughed and agree. But then she told me “Even a dead tree is useful.” I wish I could recall the Japanese and in fact I did write it down in one of my lesson notebooks but I wasn’t able to find it. Moving tends to mix things up, even if the move was over a year ago.
A quick search resulted in the following:
枯れ木も山の賑わい かれきも やまのに ぎわい Even dead trees give life to a mountain.
Even something that doesn’t really seem valuable can be better than nothing at all.
Show Notes for episode 36 of our Podcast – A Brief History of Rice.
Story Notes
EP36 A Brief History of Rice
What is rice? How is it grown?
The rice plant is a grass. The product, also called rice, is a cereal grain, and the scientific name is Oryza sativa. It is usually grown in a water paddy. While rice technically doesn’t need the paddy to grow, it does provide a way to ward off bugs, water the rice, and does generally yield more rice per field.
Rice is started in beds, and then it’s moved to the water paddy when it’s approximately 25-50 days old.
Rice needs processing in order to be eaten, and you can get both white rice and brown rice, depending on the level of polishing, or milling. Brown rice has more nutrients than white rice, but white rice is much more popular.
There are different types of rice too, but that’s a topic for another day. The majority of rice eaten in Japan is a short grain rice.
How did it get to Japan
Based on my research, it looks like Rice may have come to japan via the Fukouka region, around 3000 years ago. There is an archaeological site called “Itazuke remains” located in Hakata that has the first evidence of rice grown in Japan. And just like grass, rice spread relatively quickly throughout Japan, taking approximately 600 years to cultivate in the different regions.
Food
If you study Japanese, you’ve probably learned these words: “朝ごはん、昼ごはん、晩ごはん, which mean breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You probably learned other words as well, but these are USUALLY the ones you’ll start out with. Notice something in common? They all end in gohan. Gohan is the word for cooked rice. The stuff you buy at the store? That’s 米、お米. The “O” sound is an honorific, which can also be used to beautify a word.
Religion
Rice is used in religious rights, such as the Buddhist offfering of rice to ancestors. There’s a shrine in the house and you’ll put out a bit of the cooked rice, light incense, and ring a bell. This lets your ancestors know that there is rice for them. There isn’t food in the afterlife, so you should share yours with them.
Cooperation
Traditional rice planting requires A LOT of work. You have to individually plant each rice stalk. Rice required communities to work together to cultivate and harvest the rice.
Cultural Significance
Rice is also used in holidays, such as the mochi for new years, as decorations and in soup. There’s a mochi for many different seasons, such as the pickled sakura mochi eaten during spring.
And of course, as mentioned on the podcast before, there is the rabbit making mochi on the moon.
Products
Japanese Sake
Rice can also generate lots of products, such as sandals, thatched roofing, tatami, as well as sake or nihonshu.
Currency
Rice was also used as payment for taxes from around medieval times to the Edo period. Hideyoshi Toyotomi was responsible for the system that evaluated the sizes and yield of rice in order to provide protection by the bushi class.
Future Rice
Consumption in Japan is way down – the introduction and popularity of western foods means a decrease in the amount of rice eaten (And my unscientific study of asking my students back during ALT days, sometimes about half of my students ate bread for breakfast) in fact, some places are trying to bring back the tradition of eating rice, which has decreased over the years. I found an article from 2015 about a shrine that created Nagoshi gohan, rice with azuki and millet topped with kaki age, and seasoned with Ginger sauce. Which sounds amazing and I would gladly welcome this new tradition
How to cook and eat rice
The easiest way is a rice cooker, but you can also use the stovetop and boil it. There is also the steam method, which you can do when you want to make mochi. Rinse the rice til the water becomes clear and don’t season it! Just water, and rice. You’ll eat the rice with pickles and other sides, and the subtle flavor of the Japanese rice helps cleanse your pallet and provide a backdrop for different flavors. Japanese people also serve their rice in a separate bowl. And you probably know some basic Japanese table etiquette for rice, such as don’t leave your chopsticks standing in the rice – that’s how they serve rice at a funeral, but did you know you also should’t use soy sauce on your rice?? One of the few exceptions to this rule is tamakakegohan – raw egg served on rice. You can add soy sauce then. It is also considered polite and respectful to finish your rice, as a show of gratitude for the food. And not just that, but many Japan people (including sometimes the professor and I seem to have also adapted this habit) don’t feel it’s a “true meal” unless there is rice! For at least one meal a day, if not most.
Rice Folktales
Rice folk tale #1 – the rolling rice ball
There was an ojisan who went to work on the top of a mountain, bringing with him his wife’s delicious rice balls/onigiri. Well, when lunchtime came Ojisan eagerly reached into his fukoro and pulled one out. Well, wouldn’t you know it, but once of those rice balls escaped and rolled down and into a hole! The Ojisan, quite hungry, followed the trail of the rice ball. When he gets there, he looks inside and there are very happy and rejoicing mice! “Oh, dear sir, thank you so much for this glorious food! You are our hero” And with that the mice danced and sang. The Ojisan, hungry but happy that the mice were so happy, decided to let them keep part of his lunch. “Oh, but please! Before you go, we wish to give you a gift! You can choose from the small box or the big box.” The Ojisan decided “The small box. And thank you!” And with that the mice presented him with the small box and the man returned to finish his lunch. When he arrived home, he opened the box and all sorts of treasures burst forth! The Ojisan and his wife, greatly pleased with their windfall, decided to share this blessing with the town. And there was much rejoicing. Well, except for one man – the Ojisan’s neighbor. He became inflamed with jealousy, so much so that after hearing how the Ojisan received the box, decided to try the same thing. He made the journey to the mouse home, and dropped in a rice ball. When he heard the sounds of rejoicing, he peered in. “You, mice! I gave you a rice ball, so give me a gift! Or I’ll bring my cat!” The shocked mice, much disturbed by this angry man, dragged him into their hole! Amd with that, the angry neighbor was never seen again.
Rice folktale #2 Somin Shorai
Somin Shorai is a folktale written in the Bingo Fudoki, from the 8th century. Bingo is an old name for a particular region in Hiroshima prefecture, one I am familiar with. There are several shrines that have charms base on this folktale.
Somin Shorai was very poor, but very kind. He was always willing to lend a hand to those less fortunate. One day, while taking a journey, he happened across a man who seemed lost, tired, and dirty. “Ah” Somin came up to the traveler “Are you lost”
“I am a visitor here, but I’ve gotten lost and I’m trying to find a place to stay. I’m so tired, and I’m so hungry.” replied the man
“Well, I don’t have much, but please, share my lunch with me. It’s millet and rice. I’m sorry it’s so humble, but it’s very filling”
“Ah, thank you!” And with that the man took a bite.
But! He stopped – and while Somin looked on, his appearance changed! He was actually a kami in disguise!
“Somin – your kindness in helping an unknown traveler should be rewarded. I’m gifting you this ring which will help save you from harm. Guard it well.”
And with that, the kami disappeared.
Much later, a terrible wind came and destroyed much of Somin’s home village. However, Somin and his family were saved – because of the ring given to him by the kami.
Poem Notes
Master Kenshō. We are uncertain of the dates he lived though it is likely to have been around 1130 to around 1209. Though we don’t really know who his parents were, we do know that he was at some point adopted by one member of the Fujiwara Clan, a Fujiwara no Akisuke, this man having had a poem in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
Todays poem comes from a poetry competition, a poetry competition in six-hundred rounds, known in Japanese as the Roppyaku-ban Uta Awase, and we known that Kenshō even acted as judge in similar competitions. These competitions consisted of two poems being read side by side, with a judge ruling which of the two best fit the theme that they were writing about. Now I am unsure who judged Kenshō’s poetry during this competition, but Kenshō’s poem fit into the category of love and he was up against a man known as Fujiwara no Tsune’ie, who was a Minister for the Imperial Household.
逢ふ事は 苗代水を 引き止めて通しはてぬや 小山田の關
Fu koto wa nawashiromizu o hikitomeye tōshi hatenu ya Oyamada no Seki
Can a meeting, like The waters round the rice seedlings be stopped In their endless flow Past the Oyamada Barrier
Now did Kenshō win? Unfortunately not.
The judges critiques stating it was stylistically tasteful, but the line ‘can a meeting, like the waters rounds the rice seedlings’ makes the conception of love weak.
Featured Image: All images today were gathered from pixabay.com
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 35 of our Podcast – Light Returns.
Story Notes
EP35 Light Returns
All the kami of Heaven gather on the banks of the river Amenoyasunokawa (meaning Heavens Tranquil Stream) while they decided what should be done to get Amaterasu to leave the cave after she flees into it from injuring herself with her shuttle. This again due to her meddling brother Susano-o. The Kojiki states it was left to Omoikane to decide what must be done.
To bring her out,
cockerels are gather from the mythical land of Tokoyo. Stone is taken
from the Amenoyasunokawa and iron from Heaven’s mountains.
The kamiAmenotajikarao then places himself just outside of the rock cave. Ameno Uzume the performs a lewd dance making everyone laugh, and so Amaterasu peers out of the cave wondering how people can be happy in her absence.
In the Kojiki, Ameno
Futodama and Ameno Koyane place a mirror before her face, saying they are happy
as there is someone here more beautiful than she. And so she steps a little
more out of the cave.
Amaterasu leaving the rock cave.
Once she is
partially out, Amenotajikarao grabs her and pulls her from the cave bringing
sunlight back into the world. Futodama and Koyane then take a sacred boundary
rope and stretch it behind Amaterasu barring her from returning into the cave
again.
So what happens in
the end to Susano-o for causing all of this to happen?
Well, when his
sister is finally coaxed out of the Sacred Rock cave a large fine of 1000
tables of food offerings is placed upon him and he is then exiled from Heaven.
In the Nihongi it states he also had his hair pulled out with an alternate
version of the Nihongi adding that his toenails were pulled out. With the
Kojiki stating his beard, fingernails and toenails were cut off.
As he now needed to give up offerings of food, he beseeches Ōgetsuhime for her help. She does so by providing food from her various orifices, and Susano-o considering this food disgusting and defiled kills Ogetsuhime before leaving Heaven. And that particular tale we have already dealt with all the way back in Episode 12 in an alternate form, told differently in the Nihongi when it related to the kamiTsukiyomi and Ukemochi causing day and night to become separated.
Now a few things of note for the other kami and places we mentioned in this short tale (if we have extra information). And we will start with the places.
Tokoyo (Everworld) a mythological land and paradise which is said to be full of Immortals and be covered in golden orange orchards. It is said to be located ‘across the sea,’ and that is all we know of it’s location.
Mount Kagu forms part of the Yamato Sanzan, or Three Hills of Yamato, the other two peaks being Mount Unebi and Mount Miminashi. This mountain in particular at a height of 154.2 metres is said to have descended from Heaven and to be home of the kamiNakisawame (A kami of Mourning), who lives at the base of the tree trunks there.
Omoikane (思兼 / 思金) also known as Tokoyo-no-omoi-kane in addition to what we have said about him, is generally seen as the advisor to all the kami of Heaven.
Amatsumara (天津麻羅) is the is the kami of blacksmiths.
Ishikoridome (石凝姥命 or 伊斯許理度売命) is interesting when you look at alternative versions of this part of the Shinto Mythology. In one source, which we can call the Gleaning of Ancient Words it is said the first mirror she actually made was defected and turned into the kamiHinokuma. And another interesting thing is, several of these kami act as ancestors to the clans of Japan, and this kami was said to be the descendant of the clan of Mirror Makers. Unfortunately I have found nothing to tell me what clan this actually is so if anyone does know please let us know. Similarly Tamanooya, acted as ancestor to the clan of Jewel Makers and again I am not sure what clan this actually was.
Going on from that, Ameno Uzume is the ancestor of the Sarume Clan, Ameno Futodama is the ancestor of the Imbe Clan and Ameno Koyane is the ancestor of the Nakatomi Clan.
Poem Notes
Takarai Kikaku
Takarai
Kikaku who is also known by the name Enomoto Kikaku, was born in 1661 and died
in 1707. A haikia poet and a student of Matsuo Basho. Instead of joining his
father’s profession – a doctor – he chose to become a haikai poet instead.
You
might be wondering what Haikai is? Well, it’s linked verse poetry. The meaning
comes from “vulgar/earthy” and used satire and puns. I’m not sure if Kikaku’s
father was exactly thrilled with him chasing to become an “earthy poet” rather
than a doctor, but I didn’t see anything in my searches about it. Something to
look up in Japanese!
Basho
wanted to elevate haikai poetry from its origins and was instrumental in
changing the tone to be more serious. However it seems that Kikaku followed the
more traditional style and kept to the more rougher subjects. Basho did
influence some tone change, so perhaps Kikaku’s rougher style did become a
little more refined due to this influence. It requires a deeper study.
He
wrote a collection of poems called Minashiguri, published in 1683. He also
wrote about Basho’s final days and after his death. In English this title is
called An Account of Our Master Basho’s Last Days.
さくらがり きょはめぐろの しるべせよ
sakura gari kyo ha meguro no shirubeseyo
Searching blossoms Today let’s get a guide to Meguro.
Translated over time as demon, ogre or devil. And we can find reference to them as far back as the 8th century. Perhaps former Shintokami and there can be both male and female Oni, though female Oni are much rarer.
We can find the word Oni in the oldest Japanese texts, such as the Kojiki, Nihongi as well as local gazetteers known as fudoki, all of which we have drawn upon in older episodes. However, the pronunciation as it stands is a Japanese construct, and wasn’t used until the Heian Period, and the Kanji for Oni can also be pronounced ‘ki’ if use in other words such as the Hyaki yagyo or Procession of One Hundred Oni/Demons. Nowadays the word Oni is used as a general word for ‘scary.’
Now we see them as
an entity in itself but in the past the word Oni was used as a catch all term
for supernatural creatures, or Yokai in general, as they signified monstrous
things of all shapes and sizes. But that all slowly changed and they became a
Yokai themselves.
Some believe the
origins of the word Oni can be found as a signifier of an epidemic. And that
the image of the Oni developed as a manifestation of the invisible and worrying
spread of disease.
Historically there
are many various depictions of Oni and they can vary wildly in appearance, but
now they have taken a more common appearance. Humanlike and male, large and
powerful, sporting red, blue, black or yellow faces, clawed hands and sharp
protruding fangs, Horns upon their heads, carry an iron club and wear a
loincloth made of tigers skin.
Of course it doesn’t
quite end there. There is more, associations with lightening, a perchance for
eating people, three fingered hands and three toed feet. Some even have three
eyes.
Earliest images are from Buddhist 12th century hell scrolls, known as Jigoku zoshi. Likely later images were also influenced by the kami of Thunder Raijin. And overall these creatures don’t have their origins in one place, but is an amalgamation of Chinese, Japanese, Buddhist and others sources all fused together.
Their humanlike
appearance at times has helped them to
be depicted as the anti-human, an image for the bad and immoral acts people can
do. There are far and few exceptions, where we see humorous or even foolish
Oni, but they are very much anomalies and the Oni are the symbol of ‘the
negative human.’
They have links to outsiders, people who were marginalised and feared by society. Such as the Shugendo, founded by En no Ozunu and even strangely enough blacksmiths who lived on the outskirts of villagers because of their apparent supernatural abilities to shape metal.
Now I have found 4 different Oni tales for us. I was going to do more, but I think that might be too many, too much for one episode, and so I can bring more Oni stories together later and do a Pt.2 episode if there are enough, or a shorter bonus episode. It all depends on how many more I find. I will put images of them up in the show notes, all of them depictions by Toriyama Sekien.
Shuten DojiSansei
GagozeHashi Hime
This first one, is said to have been a general of the Oni, showing us that perhaps they had some form of hierarchy. This Oni is better known as Shuten-dōji (酒呑童子) or the Sake-Drinking-Boy.
The story goes that the capital of Japan at the time was plagued by demons, or Oni. The maidens of the city were being take by these creatures and even the daughter of one of the government officials had been taken. Outraged by everything that was happening he summoned Minamoto no Yorimutsu to rid the city of this demon plague and end their sorrows.
Minamoto gather a group of trusted men and sets out the meet the general of the Oni in an attempt to stop them, heading to the sloped of Mount Oe where he is said to reside. As they climb the mountain three old men are said to appear and approach them, gifting them with large barrels of sake.
They tell them how
this sake is special, and poisonous to the Oni, but of great use to the men.
All of this will work out well, as Shuten Doji is said to be a great fan of
drinking sake. And so with this gift they continue their ascent and finally
reach the summit where they are met with a palace made of iron.
And so they enter,
all disguised I might add as monks. They are welcomes by Shuten-Doji who during
the day takes on the appearance of a human and they are invited to seat and
join them for a feast. A feast, as it turns out, of human flesh. Both men and Oni
drink the sake that Minamoto had brought with him and soon the Oni fall into a
deep slumber as night draws in.
Shuten-Doji then
transforms into his Oni self, a giant ten-foot-tall demon, asleep before them.
And so Minamoto and
his men then attack, slaughtering the Oni and beheading Shuten Doji, his head
even after it has been detached biting and attacking. Minamoto and his men then
descend further into the palace and find pickled human flesh, and women who have
had limbs amputated. Eventually they also come across the officials daughter
and so they release all the women, returning to the city as heroes.
This second tale is set in Gango-ji Temple in Nara, and the creature known as the Gagoze take its name also from this temple where it once resided. It is said that one day a farmer came across a ‘thunder child’ during a storm, the farmer takes pity and doesn’t kill the creature and so in thanks it tell him he will soon have a strong child. Soon after the farmers wife gives birth to a son, who was also born with a snake around his head. The child then grew up strong and became a monk at the temple of Gango-ji. Whilst there the son learns that monks here seem to dye a lot, always close to the bell of the temple, and being brave and strong he goes to investigate what could be killing the other monks. Upon investigation he finds ‘the Oni Gagoze’ living near the bell and so he drags him from its home, so it cannot kill anymore monks.
This third Oni, isn’t from Japan, but is actually said to live in Anguo, China, in the mountains there. It is known as the Sansei (山精 – Mountain Spirit)
The creature is humanoid in appearance, but only has one leg. The Wakan Sansai Zue (an encyclopaedia from 1712) elaborates more on the creature stating that it ranges from 90 to 120cm in height and that it’s one foot faces the opposite way to its face.
Their favourite food
is said to be roasted stone crabs, and they often steal salt from woodcutters
according to the Chinese book ‘A Record of
Yongjia.’ The Wakan Sansai Zue also states they are nocturnal and also
enjoy eating frogs and toads. The creature will cause you to suffer illness or
for your home to catch fire should you attempt to attack them. However, should
this creature attempt to attack you, shouting the word ‘batsu!‘ will stop the creature.
Our fourth and final Oni for today is known as Hashi-Hime (橋姫) and she is a female Oni. In fact she is a bit of an exception as she did not start of her life as an Oni, but actually as a human. The tale begins with a woman desperate for love. But sadly it is said her appearance was so bad that she would never be able to find another husband. Her previous one had left her for another woman and so day after day she found her slowly slowly to become consumed by jealousy and hatred. And so she headed to the Kifune Jinja Shrine to pray to the kami known as Kifune Daimyojin. For seven days she prayed back to back, desperate to be turned into a ‘living Oni.
Daimyojin eventually takes pity on the woman instructing her on how she can transform herself. All she simply needed to do was soak herself in the Uji River for 20 straight days. And so she returns home, tying her hair up in five horn like locks, she paints her face and body red and places an inverted Iron Trivet on her head. Finally she bites down on a torch lit at both ends and holds it in her mouth before running straight towards the river. It is said the very sight of her was enough to make people faint or die from fear. And so returning to the river, she bathed for 20 days until her transformation was complete.
Song Notes
Today Heather continues with the song from last week, giving us the ‘new’ first verse of this song.
sakura sakura noyama mo sato mo mi-watasu kagiri kasumi ka kumo ka asahi ni niou sakura sakura hana zakari
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, In fields, mountains and villages As far as the eye can see. Is it mist, or clouds? Fragrant in the rising sun. Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Flowers in full bloom.
Show Notes for bonus episode 5 of our Podcast – Peacock Power.
Story Notes
This is a tale on En no Ozunu, from Episode 22. This tale can be found in the nara ehon, now this is an over all term from what I can tell for woodblock printed book or handscrolls of a certain size from the Muromachi period into the Edo. I am afraid the book I have consulted doesn’t say which specific ehon this tale comes from.
It is said that growing up he lost his father at the age of two and so was brought up by his mother afterwards. Eventually, he decided to turn their home into a temple when he became 34 years of age, enshrining with an 8 foot tall statue of the kami known as Miroku. (The kami of happiness)
Now the story sadly
doesn’t say what became of his mother when he turned their home into a temple,
but soon after its completion he gifted the temple to the court and retired to
the Mountains of Katsuragi where he began to wear clothes made from bark, and
subsisted of nothing but pine needles.
Wandering the
mountains became his life, and at time he ventured to other ranges close by.
One day, whilst walking through the Omine range he looked over to the peak
known as Shaka Peak and he could feel the power which radiated from it.
Drawn to the power
he went to the summit where he came upon an 9ft tall skeleton. Now the sheer
size of the body wasn’t the only thing of interest, though dead, the skeleton
still grasped with an iron grip two things. In his left, there was a bell. In
it’s right, a single-pronged vajra.
A Vajra.
This find, increased Ozunu’s faith and so that night he prayed to the kami Miroku. And Miroku that night spoke back.
“The skeleton
you have found is yours, it is you. For seven of your past lives you were an
ascetic of this mountain. The body is you. If you want the bell and the vajra,
chant the Mantra of the Peacock King.”
He went away to
learn this mantra, finding himself filled with new abilities from the very
moment he began to utter it. He could suddenly fly to any place he wanted to on
a cloud of five colours, and so he returned to the Shaka Peak to see the
skeleton again.
But, it had
disappeared, the bell and the vajra now laying on the ground waiting for him.
From here, now holding these two items he coveted, he look north and saw Golden Peak. Another place which radiated power. A mountain which had flown from India when Emperor Kimmei was on the throne, flying upon a white cloud to nestle itself into to country of Japan. En no Ozunu knew of the legends surrounding the mountain, that when Mirkou returned as the buddha far in the distant future, the earth would become covered in gold, and until then, all the gold waits patiently, inside of Golden Peak.
Ozunu feared for the future and the sinful ages to come, and so wanted a kami who could guide others to salvation, He prayed, day in and day out for a thousand days, until the kami Zao Gongen came forth, taking on the appearance of a very quiet and kind being. Ozunu was unimpressed, fearing and wondering how such a kindly kami could save the deluded being from the sins of what was to come. And so Zao Gongen left.
En no Ozunu
Ozunu prayed anew
and again Zao Gongen returned, this time taking on a fearsome form. Taking the
fierce pose used to crush demons, and brandishing a three-pronged vajra in his
right hand.
Now. A few years are said to have passed as Ozunu retrated into a cave, bringing all kinds of creatures to him with his new found powers so that they may serve him. During these years he made various outings to all the sacred mountains of Japan, including Fuji and Asama. And even during this time he went to the land of the Immortals.
Now after all these years, Ozunu decided it would be best for a bridge to be constructed. All the way from the Katsuragi Mountains to the Golden peak to allow all his followers to make journeys between the two. And searching for someone who could do this very job, he came across Hitokotonushi (the kami of Katsuragi).
Sadly this rock bridge was never built, but it was more the fault of Ozunu than of the kami. The kami had always been ashamed of his appearance and so would only work during the night. Ozunu furious by this decision bound the kami in a spell and threw him to the bottom of the ravine. A very callous act for a religious man if you ask me.
Soon after the court
of the Emperor found themselves with an attendant who became possessed. And
under questioning they revealed themselves to be Hitokotonushi, who announced
that Ozunu was making a rebellion and had to be stopped.
Emperor Mommu, who ruled at the time immediately sent a letter demanding his presence, but Ozunu refused. He sent his soldiers, but Ozunu flew away. It was only after they took his mother prisoner did Ozunu finally appear in the palace, where his mother was immediately freed.
And so the Emperor had him exiled to Oshima. During the day he behaved, he stayed on the island.
But at night, he
flew to Mount Fuji. Hitokotonushi knew of this and again possessing an
attendant informed the Emperor, and demanded that Ozunu be put to death for
disobeying the Emperor.
Soldiers came to
take his life, but all failed. Their bows broke, as did their swords when they
attempted to take the mans life.
Ozunu then asked for a soldiers sword, and taking it, he licked the blade 3 times, before handing it back. The soldiers were in awe from that moment, where he had licked the blade they know saw engraved the name of the kami of Mount Fuji. They returned to the Emperor then to tell them their tale, Mommu realising now Ozunu was not an ordinary man and so had him pardoned and his exile lifted.
Now Ozunu had grown
tired of Japan, and so climbed into a large bowl with his mother and flew to
China on his five coloured cloud.
But that is not
quite where the tale ends.
Enter into this tale the man known as Taicho, who came from the province of Echizen. He also was a great ascetic who powers were well known and regarded. This man also found himself used as the vessel of Hakusan, the kami of White Mountain, and the kami often used Taicho as a means to speak to others.
Taicho, like Ozunu
once had, set out to visit all the sacred mountains of Japan, eventually coming
to Katsuragi where he stayed for a night. During his sleep, Hitokotonushi
reached out to him, begging for him to be freed, that Ozunu had bound him with
a spell, revealing he was bound inside a mossy boulder.
Taicho awoke, and found the boulder and attempted to free the kami, but as soon as he did so Ozunu suddenly appeared full of fury. Taicho fled and no-one attempted to free Hitokotonushi again.
References:
Tyler, R. (1987) “Japanese Tales.” New York: Pantheon Books.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for bonus episode 4 of our Podcast – Hospital Check Up.
Story Notes
We gave Heather a call for a Hospital Check Up and while we were at it, we thought we would look at some medical history from Japan.
These notes are the few things I found of note about Japanese Medical History to tell Heather whilst we checked up on her.
The first few bullet points are more overarching periods of times, followed by more specific ones.
6th-7th Centuries – Kampo Medicine beings. This is the study of Chinese Medicine in Japan.
1200-1693 – Most physicians during this time are Buddhist Monks.
1603-1868 – During the Edo Period, ‘Dutch Learning’ known as Rangaku is intruduced into Japan. This brings western medical textbooks to Japan causing debates between western and traditional Chinese medicine. By the time of the Meiji Restoration, traditional Chinese medicine falls into decline.
Now moving on the more specific things.
Oldest Medical Textbook.
c.912 – The oldest Japanese medicial textbook to have survived to the modern day is written by Tamba Yasuyori.
1556 – The first eastern hospital is opened in Oita (Kyushu) by a Jesuit Missionary called Luis de Almeida.
1804 – The first operation under anesthesia is undertaken using the (poisonous) datura plant. Commonly known as the devils trumpet.
1922 – The first health insurance law is introduced. but at the time is does not cover all people.
1938 – A new health insurance law is brought in extanding the coverage to farmers, fishermen, foresters etc.
1976 – 82 types of kampo medicine are approved for use by the Ministry of Health.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 32 of our Podcast – Ninja Arsenal.
There was no poem segment in todays episode due to the length of the Podcast.
Story Notes
EP32 Ninja Arsenal
Now I have debated a little on how to write down these show notes, as we know during the episode I gave Heather various scenarios to see how she would deal with the situation as a Ninja. I feel that might not work as well in note form and so below you will find the notes of the items mentioned during the epsode grouped by theme.
You will also find a few things we initially planned to mentioned in the episode, but did not.
So lets start with a Ninja Poem. This comes from the Bansenshukai (萬川集海 – All Rivers Merge into the Sea) This book contains a collection of knowledge from the clans in the Iga and Kōga regions that had been devoted to the training of Ninja. It was compiled by Fujibayashi Yasutake in 1676 and the poem goes as follows:
忍ニハ危ナキヲ良セヨ 前へ疑ヒハ臆病ノ沙汰
For a shinobi it is desirable not to have any anxiety or hesitation. Doubts before hand come from you own cowardice.
Tools to take with you
Page from the Shoninki.
It is said that every Ninja had six items they would always take with them. We find them first recorded iny the Shoninki (正 忍 記 – Record of Proper Ninjutsu) a medieval ninja document from Kishū province. It was written by Natori Masatake in 1681.
Kaginawa – Rope attach to hook. Grappling hook.
Kasa – Conical straw hat, could conceal flat blades or arrows.
Chalk – Useful to leave easily erasable marks for other ninja.
Tinderbox – For starting fires, cooking/firing rifles.
There were several herbs used by the Ninja which could be uses for medicinal purposes, as well as to fill ones stomach if needs be. They were the following.
Yomogi – Japanese Mugwort. Boiled steamed, or fried, it can be eaten directly or applied for medicinal applications.
Tsukushi – Horsetail. Often found near fuki(see below), boiled alone or added to rice it would make a tasty dish.
Fuki – Butterbur. Soaking this in water lessens their bitterness, butterbur stalks are chopped into short lengths and boiled for use as a side-dish or topping on boiled rice.
Food
On a mission it would also have been wise to take food with you, and various food stuffs were made prior to missions, or taken with them to prepare on their journeys.
The ideal Ninja weight was said to be 60kg, or 132 pounds, and their diet meant that they would not eat strong food such as garlic, chives, onions, meat. Instead their diet would consist of tofu, miso, pickled plums, vegetables, brown rice, wheat, soba and potatoes.
Umeboshi – Pickled plums. These were good at making you salivate for times you may feel thirsty.
Hoshi-i – Dried rice. Cook it, dry it, and soak in water to eat again.
Kikatsu-gan – Think of this like an energy bar. This consisted of dried carrots, buckwheat (soba), wheat, yam, licorice and sticky rice. You will grind this down to a powder and then soaked it in sake for 3 years. The slurry left behind after the sake has evaporated is then made into balls. On missions, three were consumed over a day.
Hyoro-gan – Ration balls. This is made from wheat powder, sake, honey, sticky rice, and carrots. This is all mixed, cooked then mashed and made into small balls. 30 of these a day would be eaten.
Kata-yaki – Ninja biscuits. These were a very durable and long lasting food, so hard they had to have been broken up by with a knife or sword pommel.
If you needed to cook yourself some rice in the field but had forgotten your pan, then you could do the following to get around the problem. Wrap rice in a straw bundle or straw mat, soak it in water, dig a hole and then bury it. You would then need to burn a fire over it, and eventually it will cook. Alternatively would could put rice in a bucket, add hot rocks, and it would eventually cook.
Should you find yourslef in need of some clean water, but were unfortunately in a marsh you could dig a small hole and put paper around the hole. You can take out water which filters through the middle of the paper.
Now on a mission, it would be best for the Ninja to hide in plain site, often disguised as travellers, merchants or wandering monks. But of course this would later call for a change of clothing when night fell and their nightime activities began.
Sadly, the image of their black clothing is more myth than reality. You would find them wearing dark clothes, but more perhaps grey, brown or blue. In the case of blues, deep indigo would work well as it was thought the dye helped repel insects and venomous snakes. At times, a different color could be stiched onto the inside of their clothing, in case you need a quick change of outfit to get a way and go incognito again.
The standard Ninja attire would be as listed below.
Zukin – Single sheet of cloth 30 centimetres wide and two meters long, wrapped around the head and to cover the face.
Uwagi – Based off a farmers shirts, however the Ninja added extra pockets in them to hide their gear.
Fundoshi – Loincloth, wrapped around your private area. Could whip it off in an instant if you need a garrotte.
Hakama – Two independent leggings synched together and top and ankles, meant they wouldn’t have to disrobe to relieve themselves.
Teko – Cloth gauntlets.
Tabi – Two toed socks, cushioned to mask noise.
Waraji – Straw sandals, at times spikes woven into soles for extra grip.
Seoi – Cloth back back.
Weapons
A pair of Kusari-gami
Many weapons made up a Ninja’s arsenal and this below is by no means a completed list.
Shinobi-gatana – Straight and fairly short blades. Ninja were forbidden swords, so likely made off the books by inaka blacksmiths. Due to this perhaps they lacked the finesse and polish of the better known samurai swords. Sheath had a pointed tip. These were good to find people in dark corridors, by pulling the sword out halfway from the sheath keeping the sage-himo cord in your teeth. This cord is wrapped around the top of the sheath. Should the sheath bump into someone in the dark, the vibration would be felt in the Ninja’s mouth, meaning they could then quickly pull out the sword and dispatch the person before they could signal for help. Sheath could also be used to make a makeshift footstool. You would do this by sticking it in the ground, standing on sword pommel and vaulting over your obsticale. You could then use the cord to pull the sword back over to you.
Shuriken – Throwing stars. Written with Kanji meaning ‘blade in the hand’ there are lots of various shapes which would affect how they were thrown. Various schools also used specific shapes.
Makibishi – Small spiked objects for unwary feet. Likely in Japan they used the seed pods of the water chestnut after drying them out. As throwing them down, their spikes naturally point upwards.
Manriki-gusari – Length of chain, weighted at both ends. Coiled in palm of shirt sleeve it could be hurled at enemies, and instantly retracted to be used again.
Kusari-gama – Weighted chain attached to farmers sickle. You would throw the weighted chain to entangle your foe, then run in and finish them off.
Teko-kagi – Think Wolverine, literally metal claws.
Nake-te – Smaller than the teko-kagi, these metal claws merely slipped over the end of your fingers so you could slash a foe.
Equipment
Nobe kagi – Extendable key. A nine section extendable bar around 5ft with changeable heads. Each section can fold out. It is L shaped at the bottom to allow you to change the angle of usage.
Mizu-gumo – (Water Sliders) or Uki-gutsu (Floating Shoes) These are of unsure use, but perhaps they were planks of wood with inflated animal skins attached to the bottom to allow you to grab hold and cross water or lay upon them.
Mizugaki – Wooden Geta. These versions of geta would have had angled board coming from the soles to give you better footing through murky areas.
Kamei-gata – This was a quick to make raft made by a bamboo frame over upturned clay pots for buoyancy.
Shikomi – Walking sticks made from things such as bamboo which were hollow inside. Could be used to hide swords, chains, weighted balls, blinding powders etc. This could be expanded to other things such as flutes for blow guns and smoking sets which would hide pepper instead of having tobacco to be used to irritate peoples eyes if thrown at them.
Kunai – Small field knife. To be used for cutting, scraping and digging tasks. Can be thrown if needs be.
Shikoro – Serated version of the kunai knife. Curved edges to be able to cut through flat surfaces easily.
Hamagari – Folding saws.
Kasugai – Anchors to fit into cracks to scale walls. Can also bar doors shut to delay pursuers. Interestingly, Castle walls were nicknamed musha-aeshi ‘Warrior Stoppers.’
Tsubo-kiri – This tool has a distinct look, like horseshoe with pointed ends attached to a long metal handle. Used to drill starters holes in walls which would could then widen with the Shikoro. Can make holes through which you can unlatch a lock.
Musubi-hashi – A normal light weight ladder.
Tobi-hashi – Steps on a single pole.
Uki-hashi – Rope ladders, can be pulled taut across bodies of water to create make shift bridge.
Goshiki-mai – Dyed rice grains to leave a trail for others.
Gandou – Portable lantern. Using a candle and bucket. Gyroscopic device inside to ensure the candle always stays upright no matter which ever way you hold it. This meant you could hide the light quickly from people by holding bucket upside down.
Michi-Hakari – Measuring stick for precise distances.
Noroshi-no-jutsu – Smoke bombs for concealment.
Firecrackers – For distractions.
Techniques
Kitsune-gakure-no-jutsu – Submerging oneself in water, or using water to mask your scent.
Kannon-gakure-no-jutsu – Kannon goddess technique. Pressing oneself flat against a wall or static object, covering your face and remaining completely still.
Uzura-gakure-no-jutsu – Quail technique. Derived from defensive posture of a bird, involves balling oneself up, slowing your breath, and stilling movement. Reduces silhouette and noise, enhancing effect of limited cover.
Tanuki-gakure-no-jutsu – Taking cover high places, such as tree branches or the roof of a house. Humans often fail to look up when searching, 45* is the ideal blind spot.
Cats and Snoring
Cat’s Eyes are said to be useful in telling the time as their pupils dilate at regular patterns throughout the day.
7am-10am, oval but narrowing.
12pm-14pm very narrow, almost like needles.
14pm-17pm becoming more oval.
23:00 egg shape again.
When it comes to snoring, if someone is acually asleep then it is more stable. If you don’t have pain or emotional stress in your life it will be calmer. Labourers will have louder and more erratic snoring and ill people will have duller sounding snores.
Feigning sleep however, will vary the pitch wildly. Swallowing, sighing, or skipping breathes are also other clues. There was even a doodle sketch drawn by Basho, showing the intensity of an average snore.
Creating Torches (Recipes)
The Rain Proof Torch
Saltpetre
Sulphur
Pine tree knot
Camphor
Moxa
Pine Resin
Mouse droppings
Make a powder using the above and put into bamboo cylinder. Scrape off the exterior of the bamboo until the sides have thin walls, burn paper, covered in a layer of the power on top of the cylinder and light with a tinder.
Sun Torch
It is said this will not fail in the rain.
Walnut bark
Camphor. This and the walnute bark should be dried.
Shochu spirit (boiled)
Borneol
Japanese nutmeg yew
Pine resin
Mouse droppings
Cow dung
Whetstone
Moxa
Saltpetre
If you have none of those, but have mercury on hand you can make the Yoshitsune Fire, or Long-Lasting torch. (Named after Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源 義経 a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods.)
Scrape ox horn until the walls are thin, place 5 cormorant feather spines at the bottom. Next place mercury into the spines of the feathers and cover with a lid. (Presumably this make the whole thing illuminate? Unfortunately the book I found this recipe in does not say.)
And there you have it. This is by no means an exhaustive list of Japanese Ninja items, but it is a good start for those who find themselves interested in the history of them.
References
Cummings, A & Minami, Y. (2013) ”The Book of Ninja; The First Complete Translation of the Bansenshukai. Oxford: Watkins Publishing Limited.
Yoda, H & Alt, M. (2012) “Ninja Attack: True Tales of Assassins, Samurai and Outlaws” Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
Zoughari, K. (2010) ”The Ninja: Ancient Shadow Warriors of Japan.” Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
Said to have dwelt in the mountains ranges close to Nara, they would regularly terrorise the people there by taking their children. En no Gyoja eventually learns of this and so decides to intercede. Upon finding the Oni he stuns then into submission, using the powers of a Buddhist Deity, and then takes the five children of these Oni. He then hides their children in a large cauldron, which causes Zenki and Goki to believe their children have been killed.
This causes the Oni to realise how they have been making the families of those in Nara feel by stealing their children, and so they annouce to En no Gyoja that they will change their ways. They also then pledge to renounce their evil and follow En no Gyoja. And so, their children and finally returned to them.
Show Notes for episode 30 of our Podcast – The Bean Throwing Festival.
Story Notes
EP30 The Bean Throwing Festival
There is a
saying in Japan they states:
On the Eve of the beginning of the Spring Season, to place heads of sardine and holly is to ward of the devil known as Kaguhana, a devil who is said to eat man…
Now I don’t know about you, but I would much rather stick the head of a dead fish and some holly on my front door than risk being eaten by a devil, or Oni (鬼) as they are known in Japan.
And this is
where the Festival of Setsubun, which is celebrated every February 3rd, comes
into play.
It’s a
festival of demons, holly, as we have said; sardine heads as well as soybeans.
A weird mix to be sure, but there is reasoning behind the madness.
The Holly and Sardine
It links to other festivals that occur at this time and so falls
under the umbrella of Haru matsuri (春祭 ), which translates to Spring
Festivals.
Now
the name of the festival could be translated as something like ‘Season
Division,’ an apt name considering it marks the end of the Winter (冬)
and onset of Spring (春). Although there does appear to be
regional differences. I have found reference to one small village in Chiba
Prefecture calling it Toshi-koshi (年越し) meaning something along the lines of
‘bidding the year out.’
Of course,
that may get some of you wondering ‘but the festival is in February not the end
of the year,’ and you would be correct.
However, it
has to be taken in the context of the night before the onset of Spring. And the
beginning of a new year full of life.
The Festival appears to have made its way to Japan from China, characterized by the adoption of throwing roasted soybeans to drive out evil Spirits. The first mentioning of the festival however, wasn’t until 935AD. Mentioned in the Tosa Nikki (土佐日記) by Ki no Tsurayuki (紀 貫之).
‘I wonder,’ Tsurayuki mused in his writings, ‘how it is in Kyoto. Are the customary decorations of straw rope, mullet head, holly and the like displayed…?’ which shows us the use of sardine heads wasn’t original to this festival, but mullet instead was.
Section from the Tosa Nikki.
And with
that out the way, its time to learn how to banish the Oni.
The primary
function of the festival is to do just that, to banish Oni which may be living
somewhere nearby to your home.
Oni, it
should be stated, are a type of Yokai, or supernatural being.
Be sure that
you have a large bucket of soybeans on hand to throw at any pesky Oni that may
be wandering around. But be sure to learn the following incantation as merely
throwing the beans is not enough.
鬼は外 福は内 Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi. Demons Out! Fortune In!
If you
decide to not say the incantation, then these Oni are unlikely to leave you
alone. No matter how many beans you throw at them!
And you have
to understand, these creatures are not to be messed with, so I cannot stress
enough, you must say the incantation.
Even the Gods of Shinto (神道) are shown to be scared of these beings, as we have depictions of the God Ebisu (恵比須) throwing soybeans himself as meddling Oni.
Ok. So now
you’ve thrown some beans, and made some incantations. So what comes next?
Remember the
holly and sardine heads? Well, I hope you remembered to procure some because
its their time to shine.
Take your
holly and take your sardine head and hang it at the entrance to your home.
If you’re
wondering why.
Well, the
answer is simple really. Its the eyes the Oni fear. Their eyes shining in the
sunlight is too much for them to bear and will send them running.
There are a
some regional differences however. Some villages are said to have hung large
buckets from their roofs, covering them in mesh to mimic the eyes of the
sardines. And as it turns out, were just as affective at sending the Oni
fleeing in fear.
But that
still leaves us with the holly doesn’t it?
Well
to find our answer, we can turn our attention to a Kyōgen Play (狂言),
a type of comical theatre.
In the text
of one of them, we find an Oni wandering around who comes from a place called
‘The Place of Eternal Youth.’
‘I am
exceedingly tired,’ the Oni moaned, ‘and I am hungry!’ He looked around
noticing a structure in the distance, ‘oh, look, there’s a house! Lemme take a
look.’
The Oni,
wanders over, and immediately regret his decision. ‘Ouch! How painful!’ He
screams.
‘I forgot
all about this night being the night of Setsubun when people put holly at the
door to scare us away!’
And
screaming that his eyes were now in extreme pain, the Oni fled.
And there
you have it. The holly is there as a final measure to protect you. Because
apparently, Oni are dumb enough, or simply so unaware of their surrounding they
will walk straight into branches of holly hanging from someone’s doorway and
have to flee in pain.
And that’s
the story of the Festival of Setsubun.
Now, in addition to all of this, Heather talked about another newer tradition surrounding Setsubun. This new tradition includes buying rolled sushi and eating it. But make sure you face the north-west and refrain from talking as you do so. (Rememeber how the north-west is where all bad luck stems from?)
Poem Notes
Now today’s poem come from the Emperor Koko who lived from 830-887. As the 58th emperor of Japan he reigned from 884-887.
His poetry appears in the Hyakunin Isshu as well as his own collection the Ninna gyoshuu. During his reign he is known to have reinstated ‘old traitions’ such as hunting with falcons
君がため 春の野にいでて 若菜つむ わが衣手に 雪はふりつつ
Kimi ga tame haru no no ni idete wakana tsumu waga koromode ni yuki wa furi tsutsu
For you I came to the fields to pick the first spring greens. During this time, on my sleeves A light snow was falling
Featured Image: The God Ebisu throwing Soy Beans at the Oni.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 29 of our Podcast – Mother of Japanese Whiskey.
Story Notes
EP29 The Mother of Japanese Whiskey
Jessie Roberta Cowan was born in December 14, 1896 in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Her father was a doctor in the village. She grew up the oldest of four children, two younger sisters and a brother.
It’s
said that Rita, as she was called, had a happy childhood. But, the death of her
fiancé during the Great War and the death of her father in 1918 brought on more
difficult times.
With
the family in danger of losing their home, they decided to open up to lodgers.
And with that, entered Masataka Taketsuru.
Masataka
was from Hiroshima, and had come to study in Scotland in order to take back the
secrets of Scottish Whiskey to make in Japan. He enrolled in the Universtiy of
Glasgow, which just happened to be close by Kirkintilloch. He came to be known
by the Cowan family because sister Ella attended universtiy with him and wanted
Masataka to teach their younger brother Judo.
So,
Masataka moved into the Cowan family home as a lodger.
Rita Masataka in Kimono.
By
some accounts, Rita and Masataka fell in love during a singing of Auld Lang
Syne. Some accounts state that it was a Christmas pudding with a ring and
sixpence (help me THomas) that led them to believe their future was with each
other. I like to think that it was two people who recognized a beautiful spirit
in each, two people that worked hard and recognized that together they could
make anything happen. But, I am a romantic.
Rita
and Masataka were married in January 1920. Now, being a romantic I wish that I
could have said that their families were happy and supportive and glad for the
marriage. However, both families were against it and Rita’s mother even
requested the marriage be annulled.
Rita
and Masataka stayed together and moved together to Japan. Now, Masataka had
been sent by his company to learn about whiskey to bring back the knowledge and
know how, but when he returned the economy wasn’t doing so well and his company
decided to change directions. Masataka, disappointed with the direction and not
giving up his dreams of making whiskey, resigned from the company.
Rita
supported her husband by teaching English and piano lessons. And, she worked
dillengelty to study Japanese too. She also learned to cook Japanese food and
even took to wearing kimono. She tried her best to adapt to her new homeland.
In 1923, Masataka started a new job with the founder of Suntory, but left in 1929 due to creative differences.
Masataka
decided to open his own whiskey brewery, and decided on Yoichi, in Hokkaido.
The climate, landscape, and temperature was very similar to Scotland, and he
knew that it would lend itself to a very nice whiskey, as he felt they were an
inportant part of the process.
Now,
Rita had been teaching the wife of XX since 1926, and this man just happened to
be an investor. So, due to Rita’s teaching, Masataka had the capital to start
his own brewery.
Rita
had been working on her Japanese for years and I read a rally interesting story
– even though her Japanese by all accounts was about native Level, she had
picked up a strong Kansai accent that was difficult for her staff in Hokkaido
to understand!
Now,
someday I do want to come back to tell more of this story, but today is Rita’s
story.
Rita
and Masataka were not able to have children of their own. I read somewhere
during my research that perhaps Rita had suffered a miscarriage, but I am
unable to find this documentation. But they did adopt a daughter named Rima,
and also adopted their nephew in order to take over the family business. So
Rita and Masataka did have children, and grandchildren as well.
It’s
said that Rita was a kind yet strict grandmother, giving out sweets but also
making sure her children and grandchildren (and other children for that
matter!) speak proper polite Japanese to their elders. In fact, there is a
nursery school named for her, one she started in 195?? One can imagine her
bringing love and strictness to her teaching!
Now,
the brewery was lucky – during World War 2, sanctions were made against imports
from many countries, and the UK happened to be one of those. That meant – no
whiskey could be imported. But with a growing tast for whiskey in Japan, the
brewery became classified as a vital required operation and was given access to
ingredients there were being rationed.
Rita,
however, was not so lucky. Looked at as a potential spy, a previously welcomed
member of her community, she then became mocked, feared, and even followed by
the police who suspected her of working for the enemy. Mistrust from her
neighbors must have been a heavy burden to bear. Rita stayed strong through it
all, and continued holding her head up and carrying on with her life.
After
the war, life settled back down. The brewery had made a good profit during the
war and sales continued to increase.
However,
in 1961 Rita died from liver disease. Masataka would outlive his wife for 18
years.
Rita’s
story was not forgotten. There is a Rita road in Yoichi, and there was even a
daily drama on NHK that told a paraphrase of her story. And I found out that
there is even a Rita Taketsuru fan club that makes the journey to her grave
each year, which since she died in January in Hokkaido isn’t an easy
journey!
I
have given you a bite sized history of Rita’s life, but I hope you will explore
further into this extraordinary woman’s life. If you want to learn more
about Rita’s life, please visit these sites!
Poem Notes
Bashō we know was born in Iga Province, now Mie Prefecture (Honshu) in the city of Ueno, in 1644. His father was Yozaemon and as Bashō grew up he ended up with 6 siblings.
Growing up he had the name of Kinsaku. And after his coming of age ceremony he was known as Chūemon as well as Tōshichirō.
酒のめば いとゞ寐られね 夜の雪
sake nomeba itodo nerarene yoru no yuki
As I drink my wine, Sleep eludes me still On this snow-swept night.
Show Notes for episode 28 of our Podcast – Shark Man.
Story Notes
The Samebito and Totaro upon the Seta Bridge.
So today is yet again another link to one of the places we seem to be growing a fondness for. And that is the area around Lake Biwa outside of Kyoto. Honestly, at this point I think Heather and I need to go there and just do a video documentary for you all to see all the places we have mentioned in this area. But we can see how that goes.
Anyway today is a
strange tale, well as far as strangeness goes, compared to all the other
episodes we have done in the past.
We can find the story mentioned in several texts, but I suppose the most famous would be from the short story known as ‘The Gratitude of the Samebito‘, a short story by Lafcadio Hearn. Now Lafcadio Hearn is a very interesting man in his own right and he will definitely get an episode dedicated to him. But in short, he is known to have brought many stories to the West of Japan in a time when Japan was still largely regarded as a mysterious and exotic place. And he is buried in Tokyo, in Zōshigaya Cemetery which is a mere 12 minute walk from Ikebukuro Station. So I shall definitely be paying him a visit in the near future.
But today is not about him, it is about one of his
stories.
Now the Samebito is a strange creature, you could class him as a Yōkai, after all, Yōkai is the encompassing word for supernatural creatures as a general whole.
Now if you are wanting to know what this creature looks like in case you ever run in to him. Then you are looking out for a creature with in general the body of a man, but with skin that is pitch black in colour. He will have eyes that glow like emeralds, and he has a beard which looks like the beard of a dragon. Now the tale doesn’t go much more into his appearance, however, considering Samebito, is often translated as Shark Man, I am going to assume that there were more elements to his appearance which looked like a shark.
Now getting into the story, it is said that a man known as Tōtarō (not Totoro from the Ghibli Films, so apologies if I accidently mispronounce his name here), Tōtarō had made his way to the Seta Bridge (the same bridge which Fujiwara Hidesato had met the Dragon King in Episode 6) which crosses Lake Biwa and upon the bridge he came across the Samebito.
Now
Tōtarō was a little startled at
seeing the creature, but he made no move to attack him and instead asked him
several questions including who he was.
‘I am the Samebito,’
he said, ‘I was once in the service of the Eight Dragon Kings acting as one of
their subordinates. However, I have now been dismissed from my work for such a
very minor fault. And I even find myself banished from the seas. And so now I
find myself completely miserable and without home or shelter. I can’t even find
myself food. If you would take pity on me, if you would find it in your heart
to give me shelter and food. I would be extremely grateful.’
Tōtarō, having a kind heart, gave the Samebito shelter, finding a home for
him in the pond which resided in his garden. And he also ensure the creature
was fed. And so that is how it remained for the next six months, the creature
once more had a home and was content.
Now after all this time had passed there came a day when there was a great pilgrimage of women to the local temple (and I am sure Heather can guess which temples). The temple of Miidera, located in the neighbouring town of Ōtsu. Tōtarō attended the festival and during the events of the day his eyes fell upon an extremely charming girl.
Tōtarō is said to have recited the following about her ‘her face was fair
and pure as snow; and the loveliness of her lips assured the beholder that
their very utterance would sound as sweet as the voice of a nightingale singing
upon a plum-tree.’ And so with those words Tōtarō found himself
having fallen in love with her.
Her
name, he found out was Tamana and that the only way to have her hand in
marriage was to present a gift of ten thousand jewels. A completely impossible
task for Tōtarō to achieve.
Tōtarō worried so much over this exorbitant amount that he eventually made
himself quite ill and even the doctor could find no way to cure him, for
sickness relating to love has no remedy. The Samebito at this time finally
learnt of Tōtarō’s illness and so left his pond to approach
the bed chambers of the man who had given him the gift of shelter for all these
months.
Tōtarō never mentioned what ailed him, merely stating that he did not know
who would care and feed for him after he was dead.’
It
finally dawned on the Samebito that Tōtarō was dying and
so he began to cry. His tears fell as blood, bright red drops falling to the
floor where he sat. But there was something special about his tears, upon
hitting the floor they became transformed into bright red rubies.
Tōtarō seeing these jewels found his will to live returning to him, seeing
now a way to gain the hand of the woman he loved. He cried in elation, telling
the Samebito that his tears would bring him complete happiness. His tears would
be enough to repay him for the food and shelter he had been providing for the
Samebito.
The
poor Samebito immediately stopped crying, confused, asking Tōtarō to explain what he meant and so Tōtarō told him of his
dilemma with the woman he wished to wed. He informed him how he would never be
able to reach the goal of ten thousand jewels, but with the help of the
Samebito and his tears he could finally achieve this goal.
Tōtarō then looking down to the floor exclaimed that their were simply not
enough jewels, he needed more! And so he asked the Samebito to cry once more.
The creature was
rightfully hurt by this, exclaiming that he had cried because he was genuinely
concerned for the wellbeing of his friend.
‘I cannot just weep
on demand,’ he exclaimed. ‘You are well again my friend, surely now has come
the time for celebration.’
‘But,’
Tōtarō interjected, ‘without your tears I will never be able to marry the
woman I love.’
Now,
the Samebito was a kindly creature and so he thought of a way in which he could
get the rest of the jewels Tōtarō required.
‘Let us go down to
the bridge over the lake tomorrow. Let us take with us a good supply of wine
and fish. Perhaps as I sit with you upon the bridge I will think back to the
home I lost and grow sad. Perhaps then I will cry.
And so when the next
day dawned they made their way to the bridge, and the Samebito as he believe
grew sad looking over the water at what was once his home. He tears began to
fall, turning to rubies as they landed upon the bridge.
Tōtarō, (in my opinion, showing his true colours and lack of care for this
man) immediately began to grab the jewels from the floor, continuing to do so
until he had the total ten thousand. Not once did he show any concern for the
creature he had saved all those months ago.
This
act seemed to move the Dragon King within the lake, and both Tōtarō and the Samebito heard sweet music as they watched a great palace
rise from the waters of the lake.
The Samebito grew
joyous, exclaiming that the Dragon Kings were calling him and it was time for
him to leave. And with those final words he leapt from the bridge and returned
back to his home in the lake.
Tōtarō wasted no time after this, and presented the jewels to the woman and her family, and they quickly married after.
Poem Notes
Now today’s poem is by a man known as Soboku Tani who wrote this poem
“For a gathering sponsored by Hekidosai at Odani Castle north of Lake Biwa”
Soboku Tani was a bard during the Sengoku period and was from Fukui prefecture. While his year of birth is perhaps unknown, he died in 1545. Sources say he was perhaps around 80 years old, but this is unverified. He was said to be a master of Renga. (Renga is a form of waka, and it seems to be a communal poem made with each person doing the 5-7-5 syllables to make a larger poem.)He wrote Yajima Kobayashi an hyakuin, kochiku, and also wrote about religious works from others, perhaps named Sogi and Socho.
His poem today is an example of ari no mama, or “things as they are” these poems can be simply descriptive, perhaps containing no elaborate imagery or “deep symbolism” and can be seen below.
にわやなみ おばながうえに おきつしま
niwayanami obanagaueni okitsushima
In the garden there are waves And above the micanthus there is an island offshore.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 27 of our Podcast – Legends of Himeji.
Story Notes
View of Himeji from inside (Own Photography)
So today I wanted talk a little about some of the history of Himeji Castle. Castle in Japanese being pronounced Jō. As some of you many recall I visited Nagasaki during November last year when my parents came to visit. But we also visit the area of Himeji on the way down, stopping there for one night to explore the castle the next morning. It had been a place I had wanted to go for some time, not only as it is reported as one of Japans most beautiful castles, but because of some of the history which has surrounded it. And so I wanted to tell you some of that today.
Now the castle itself, located in Hyogo Prefecture, also goes by the names of the Haruro-jō and the Shirasagi-jō (The White Egret Castle or White Heron Castle) this being due to its rooves of pure white with its exterior at times having being compared to a bird about to take flight. And you can easily believe that when you see the castle, with its sweeping rooves which rise up at its edges.
The building finds
its origins as a fort dating to 1333, when a man known as Akamatsu Norimura
constructed one there on top of the hill by the name of Himeyama. The fort
itself only last for 13 years before it was changed into Himeyama Castle. Now
that castle lasted for around two centuries before coming to be known as Himeji
as we know it today.
In 1581 we see it significantly remodelled by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who added a three storied castle keep to the structure. This man is of notes as the ‘second great unifier of Japan’ as he was the successor of Oda Nobunaga who we have mentioned before in Episode 7, Nobunaga being the man who was the first to reunite Japan.
There were several
other changes over time, in 1600 it was given into the ownership of Ikeda
Terumasa after the aide he gave in the Battle of Sekigahara. (A battle which we
will talk about in a future episode don’t worry) and Ikeda had the castle
completely rebuilt between 1601 and 1609 which made the entire complex much
greater in size, and finally from 1617-18 several extra buildings were added by
a man known as Honda Tadamasa.
And that’s how the
castle remained mostly, unchanged and safe from destruction. It remained intact
even during the events of World War Two and bombings which happened within
Japan. And it even remained unscathed during the Great Hanshin Earthquake. This
particular earthquake was the 2nd worst one to affect Japan in the 20th century
after the Great Kanto earthquake which devastated Tokyo and the surrounding
areas, including the prefecture I currently live in.
Now of course there
is much more about the castle itself, however, this episode I wanted to go more
into some of the legends and perhaps myths surrounding this castle. Perhaps in
the future, if people want to learn more about the factual history of the castle
itself we will do so. So if that is the case, just let us know on our social
medias or by messaging us on our website.
But, anyway, back to
the lore’s and legends surrounding Himeji that I has read about from the books
and journals I have. And there are two I wanted to tell. They are kind of
short, but that kind of how our show works. Little bite sized pieces. We do
have plans though, don’t worry in the future to delve into the larger topics of
Japanese history and no doubt this will mean those episodes may reach maybe
40-45 minutes at a time, But as we work towards that, and prepare our research,
we will keep bringing you these bite sized pieces.
The first goes by
the name of Ubagaishi and we can translate that as something like Old Widow’s
Stone.
Mukashi Mukashi,
long long ago, when the great castle of Himeji was being built they ran into a
sizable problem. Toyotomi Hideyoshi found himself being informed that they had
somehow run out of stone. And there was no more to be found to continue and finish
the original three storied keep of the castle. Now word spread into the general
populace of the problems they were facing and eventually this story was
overheard by a little old woman. Now, she may have not had much, but she knew
she wanted to help, and so approaching the castle she offered them her
millstone so that they may use it to help complete the castle. Now, the people
were motivated by her generosity and so it is said that all the people of the
area began to donate stones of their own so that the castle could finally be
completed. (I will check to see if I have a decent picture of this, when I went
to the castle I was sadly disappointed by the fact that the millstone if kinda
covered up in an ugly looking mesh fence. I thought they would have presented
it a little better, but alas, they have not).
The second short
tale I have today, again relates to the construction of the castle itself. It
is said that there was once a master carpenter by the name of Sakurai Genbei,
now he worked for Ikeda Teramasa (the man who we mentioned completely
redesigned Himeji Castle). Now Genbei, was the man who oversaw this
construction and after all the years of sweat and tears, the day came when he
could lay down his chisel and relax. And look upon the work he had created. But
ultimately what he saw dissatisfied him completely, for he saw that the keep
leaned a little to the southeast, he great work of construction wasn’t
straight. It ate away at him day after day until it became to much. And it is
said Genbei climbed to the top of the keep, chisel in his mouth and jumped from
the top to his death.
Now the final two things I want to talk about today we can find referenced in a book known as the Fūryū Shidōken-den. This book dating to 1763 was written by Hiraka Gennai. First of all, the book talks of a strange item known as the ‘Red Towel’ or Aka-Tengui in Japanese. Now sadly, the book doesn’t really go into much depth as to what this strange thing is. It is a creature? Could it even merely be a towel which is red? Either at the time of writing this book, it is thought that the ‘Red Towel’ was a very well known thing associated with the castle and so the author felt no need to elaborate further on what ever this thing may have been. And sadly over time, what ever the Red Towel may have been has been lost. The other things which is mentioned is the fact that a Yokai, or monster dwells within the castle. The creature known as the Osakabe.
The story goes that
around the time when the entire complex was being rebuilt and expanded at the
beginning of the 1600’s a shrine had to be moved to make room for the expanding
castle perimeters. Now the god, or creature which has dwelt in this shrine grew
angry, and so a few years later the lord of the castle is said to have fallen
in. People believing it to be because of this creature had a new shrine built
inside of the castle itself to appeased it spirit. This shrine was named
Osakabe and so the creature was thus given the same name.
Now you might be wondering, wait is that it!? But guess what, there is one more story about the castle of Himeji, and for those of you who have visited you might well know what it is. The story of Okiku, from last weeks episode. The Province of Harima, and the castle that the lord of this area lived in, was this castle. And the well of Okiku, well you can find it while walking the castle grounds.
So there you have it. Some tales of Himeji Castle.
Tongue Twister
Today for you Heather found another tongue twister, which we now know in Japanese is known as a Hayakuchi kotoba (Fast Mouth Words)
庭には二羽鶏がいる にわにはにわにわとりがいる niwa niwa niwa niwa tori ga iru There are two chickens in the yard.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 26 of our Podcast – Okiku and the Nine Plates.
Story Notes
Okiku depicted by Hokusai.
Today I wanted to tell a story, this one in particular being a ghost story – The story of Okiku and the Nine Plates. Now this is one of Japanese better known Ghosts stories and does go by several names. One of originals being known as Bancho Sara-yashiki (The Plate Mansion of Bancho) dated to 1741 and this first appearance was seen through the medium of Japanese bunraku plays (or puppet plays).
So with that out of
the way, lets head into the story.
Mukashi mukashi, long long ago in the old Province of Harima, there was a most beautiful woman who went by the name of Okiku. Everyday Okiku worked as hard as she could for the Samurai she served as his maidservant. Okiku worked for the man known as Aoyama Tessan, he himself a servant, servant to the lord who ruled the area of Harima Province.
Tessan has spent day
after day serving his master, wishing he could overthrow the man he served and
himself become the leader and ruler of Harima. Thoughts gathered in his mind
over the time her served his master, thoughts of how he could fulfil his dark
desires; until one day he came upon a solution. Poison. Poison should do the
trick just find, and as Tessan had also been so loyal, why would anyone expect
it was him?
‘I have a plan for
you,’ he said to Okiku one day.
‘Anything.’ She
replied, for how could she refuse to served her master in all things?
When the day grew close however, he was forced to abandon his plans, somehow, someone had learned of the plot to kill the leader of Harima and so Tessan retreated from his lofty goals; all the while acting like the attentive retainer he had always been. As he had suspected, no-one suspected he could have been the one to have formed such an evil plan. Though Tessan was free from suspicion, a man was tasked to try and uncover the one behind the plot. And so this man, Danshiro set about his work.
He was a bright man,
quickly deducing that Okiku was the one to blame. But here he found himself
with a problem. He knew Okiku had to be punished, but he too had always held a
strong love for this woman, and always wanted her to be his bride and future wife.
‘Okiku, I know it
was you who tried to poison the Lord,” he said when he approached her,
‘but there is a way I can save you.’
‘And what would that
be?’ Okiku asked.
‘Why, if you marry
me, then I won’t tell anyone of your crime. You will be safe Okiku, you merely
need to consent and marry me.’
It took mere moments
for Okiku to respond, ‘dame! Never!’
Danshiro, angry and
humiliated left immediately, but quickly began to form his revenge on the woman
who denied his advances.
‘What better way to
shame Okiku, than the have a servant girl, loose something precious in the
household she serves.’ He laughed, his plan now formed.
He personally went
ahead and hid one plate from a collection of ten priceless heirloom plates that
the family owned, and quickly blamed Okiku for losing it. There was no way to
prove her innocence, try and she might to find this missing plate she could not.
And so Danshiro now finding himself able to punish her and deal with her as he
wished, killed her and then disposed of her body by throwing her down the well.
Danshiro thought
everything would be ok after that, but with tales such as this it is never so
simple.
Soon after, a
strange occurrence began night after night after night. A voice began speaking
from the well.
No not speaking they
soon realised, counting, Okiku had returned. Her spirit angry, resentful and
not at rest was counting.
1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…1…2…3..
It never ended, upon reaching nine Okiku would start again, there was no tenth plate for her to count. No tenth plate that, upon counting would give her soul ease and the rest it needed.
1…2…3…4…
Night after night
Danshiro and everyone around could hear the ghostly counting. Night after night
it never ceased.
Tessan wishing to
deal with this eventually called in a priest from a local temple to try and
appeased Okiku’s spirit, after many failed attempts by reading sutras next to
the well, the priest shouted the number 10 when he heard Okiku say the number
nine.
‘Finally,’ Okiku sighed from the well. And now, knowing the tenth plate had been found her spirit was appeased and could finally rest.
Eventually, news
reached the lord of Harima, who put Tessan to death, causing him to commit
suicide by disembowelment as well as dissolving his families holdings as he own
way of ending this whole sordid affair.
And there you have
it, the story of Okiku. Well, at least one version of the tale, as with
folktales such as this, there is always more than one version.
Some, which are
almost identical to this one, do say Okiku’s spirit was eventually appeased or
exorcised in a way when a priest shouted ten after Okiku reached the number
nine. Thus finally, she had all the plates once more and her spirit could rest.
Now if you are
wondering, Ghost in Japanese, at least in terms of old tales such as this one
are known as Yurei. However, Yurei also fall into various categories, Okiku
falling into the type known as an Onryo. This term basically being used to
describe a ghost who has a lot of lingering anger and hate. Further back in
time, it was also used to describe Ghosts who had a hatred for the Emperor and
had returned to wreck havoc on the nation. One final thing of note, there is a
temple, called Chokyu-ji, located in Shiga Prefecture who say they own a set of
plates which once belonged to Okiku. Their story goes that, Okiku’s mother so
the priests there could perform a kuyo (a kind of funeral rite) to release her
daughter’s connection to them. Nowadays only six of the origin set remains. (So
I hope that doesn’t cause Okiku to return in anger at more plates being
broken!).
So there you have
it.
My only problem with this tale is that, if Okiku said no to Danshiro, why not just then say she did the poisoning and have her dealt with that way instead? Either way, I think it would have ended with Okiku being killed.
Poem Notes
Heather’s translation attempt.
Today’s poem is by a man known as Nakao Kaishi, who lived between 1669 and 1731. His poem todays comes from the Haikai Sabishiori and is a lament for the passing of Matsuo Basho.
なにごとも なみだ に なりぬ ふゆ の いお
nanigotomo namidaninarinu fuyunoio
Anything at all and I find myself in tears hut, in Winter.
Show Notes for episode 25 of our Podcast – Temples of Ueno Park.
Story Notes
EP25 Temples of Ueno Park
There are many
temples in Ueno Park, and honestly the episode we did on them didn’t even
really scratch the surface. And we will definitely be returning to not only
talk more about the temples, but to also look at some of the interesting parts
of the parks. But for now, here are the things we talked about in Episode 25.
Ueno Park
Now of course, we
should start off by talking about the park in general. Now the park itself was
established all the way bac, in 1873 on land which had once belonged to the
temple of Kanei-ji which still exists close by. Prior to the expansive park,
there were numerous other building throughout the area, linked to the temple we
have just mentioned. However, in 1868, during the Boshin War we find that a lot
of these building were sadly destroyed. The Boshin War in question, for those
wondering, was a battle in which the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate were
defeated in battle by a sect of people who wished to restore the Imperial
Family of Japan to their original place of power. Whereas right now they had
become more of a type of figurehead and nothing more.
After the
destruction of many of the buildings, the city of Tokyo found themselves trying
to think what they should now do with all of this open land, and so many varied
proposals were put forwards including using the site as a medical school or
hospital. However, we owe it to a Dutch man known as Bauduin for this area
becoming the park it is today. And so in January of 1873 the Dajo-kan issued
the area to be established as a public park.
Noting that ‘in
Prefectures including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, there are places of historic
interest, scenic beauty, and recreation and relaxation where people can visit
and enjoy themselves.
And with that little
aside about the park, let’s delve into some of the temples here.
Kiyomizu Kannon-do
Kiyomizu Kannon-do
Kiyomizu Kanno-do
was founded back in 1632, originally as part of the Kanei-ji Temple complex
which covered this area. The temple, however, was not originally located here
but moved in 1694 to the place it still resides today, and later between the
years of 1990 and 1996 the whole complex was given a full-scale restoration.
Now the temple is of
note as it is said to have been styled of the very large and grand temple of
Kiyomizu-dera located in Kyoto, and other temples in the park also have been
styled off area close by to the old capital of Kyoto which we will talk about soon.
Visiting this temple, you will find it dedicated primarily to Senju-Kannon Bosatsu as well as Kosodate-Kannon and so this temple has grown particularly popular for women who are wishing to try and conceive a child. Due to this, the temple also provides many charms and amulets which you can buy to help with conceiving a child.
One of the other
more famous aspects of this temple is the pine tree here, which has been
grafted to grow into a circle, and due to this it has gained the name of Tsuki
no Matsu (The Pine Tree of the Moon). Most notable this tree was depicted in
the artist Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo made between 1856 and 1859.
Sadly the tree here today is not the original and dates back to only 2011.
Through the viewing platform of the temple, and looking through the circular
pine you have a view down to the Shinobazu Pond and Benten-do Temple.
Benten-do through the Moon Pine
Kanei-ji
As we have said, we
owe thanks to the temple of Kanei-ji as one of the reason why Ueno Park exists
today. Originally this temple had a large complex of over 30 different
buildings in the area, and throughout its history it had strong ties to the
Tokugawa Shogunate which helped it stay rather rich. And that it was one of the
reason it was so badly affected in the Boshin War, when the Shogunate fought
against Pro Imperial Forces. There still remains a pagoda to this day for this
temple (standing now next to Toshogu Shrine), however, the only was to now
access it is to pay entrance into the Ueno Park Zoo.
We know the temple was founded in 1625 by a monk with the name of Tenkai. And going back to temples here being modelled off those from or near Kyoto we can see that Kanei’ji was modelled after that of Enryaku-ji, located upon Mount Hiei. Now cleverly the full name of Kanei’ji is Toeizan Kaneiji, and Taeizan means ‘Mount Hiei of the East,’ its name acting as a link to the area which inspired its construction. The Kanei part of the temples name comes from the fact that it was built during the Kanei Era which dates from 1624-1644.
This temple acted as the Kimon (which we discuss in Episode 16) for the area. Built to the North-East of Edo Castle to protect it from the bad luck which was said to comes from the North-Easterly direction. Almost in homage to this Kimon element, the main Kanei’ji building which is located now just outside of Ueno Park is covered in ornamental roof tiles known as Oni-gawara of ‘Devil Tiles.’ These tiles, using Oni imagery were designed to helped in scaring away the evil forces which stemmed from the north-east.
A final thing I
wanted to mention which I found interesting was a particular monument here
within the temple complex known as the Mushizuka-hi. The Monument to Insects.
This monument was set up back in 1821 as a dying request by a man known as
Sessai Mashiyama who lived from 1754 to 1819. During his lifetime as well as
being a aristocrat he is know to have created a book called the Chuchijo, a
natural history book on insects which included a lot of sketched. Now in the
hopes of honouring and appeasing the creatures who had died so that he could
use them a models of his sketches this monument was constructed and can still
be seen to this day in the temple grounds.
Toshogu Shrine
Toshogu Shrine Lanterns
The Toshugu Shrine,
stands next to the Pagoda of Kanei’ji temple, this shrine being founded back in
1627 as a place to enshrine the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa
Ieyasu. In this place, Ieyasu is also called by the name of the ‘God Lord’ or Tosho-daigongen
in the original Japanese. Now the main building here is rather impressive in
that it has survived since its construction in 1651, meaning not only did it
survive the Boshin War but it also lasted through the Great Kanto Earthquake in
1923 which devastated the city of Tokyo and surrounding Prefectures, including
Chiba and it survived the bombings of World War 2.
The shrine is known
for the bronze lanterns which are located within its ground, 50 in total, and
additionally many people come here to visit the Peony Garden attached to the
complex. The Peony Garden always seems busy and is 700 yen for entry. (I sadly have
yet to visit the garden).
Gojoten and Hanazono Shrine
Gojoten and Hanazono Shrines
Now these two
temples are located on the same grounds right next to one another. It is said
that no one can remember exactly when Hanazono Shrine first came here, only
that it has been here ‘for a long time.’ However, we do know that after the
establishment of Kanei’ji, Hanazono became the guardian of the temple.
Gojoten similarly
has very old and tentative origins. We don;t know the exact time when it came
to be, however, legends state it was founded some 1900 years ago. It was then
relocated for a time elsewhere in Tokyo, but finally returned here to Ueno Park
in 1928. The current buildings of both shrines date from 1928.
Benten-do and Shinobazu Pond
Lilly upon Shinobazu Pond
Let us start with
the Shinbazu Pond, which the temple of Benten-do sits within.
Now the story goes that this pond was styled to be Tokyo own Lake Biwa, which is a rather large lake just to the north-east of Kyoto. Again the people of Edo were attempting to bring more of the old capital into the new capital. A few years after the establishment of Kanei’ji, the monk who founded it (Tenkai) decided to build a smaller island within the pond. The island, known now as Bentenjima was built to imitate the island of Chikubushima which sit within Lake Biwa. So too, the temple of Benten which was built upon it was made as a replica of a temple which sat upon the island of Chikubushima. Historically this temple was only accessible by boat until the construction of a bridge in 1672. Sadly the original building did not survive the bombings of World War Two and the current building dates from 1958.
The temple itself
enshrines the goddess of Benten (or Benzaiten) within it and she can find her
origins back to the country of Indian where she was seen as a river goddess,
and apparently the associations she had with water never truly went away which
is why her temple can be seen upon the water of the pond. Overall she is
thought of as the goddess of things that flow, such as words, wisdom, wealth,
music and dance. Additionally, a statue of her within the temple shows her with
eight arms holding different weapons to signify her keeping evil at bay. Due to
her associations with music, people often come to this place to pray to her so
they may be successful within the arts or to pray for a successful business.
And there you have
it, some of the history behind the temples of Ueno Park. We hope it helps you
to understand a little more, the places you will see on your wanderings around
the park.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 24 of our Podcast – Christmas in Japan.
Story Notes
EP24 Christmas in Japan
Christmas in Japan is a different atmosphere that the one you might be used to. For both Thomas and myself, we are used to Christmas being the most important holiday of the year. Many people have the day off and celebrate with big meals and piles of gifts. However, in Japan it’s just another holiday like Valentine’s or Halloween.
There are certain traditions that have been started here, but they are more recent and are influenced by a few different countries as well as Japanese culture.
Let’s start with almost everyone’s favorite, PRESENTS!!! If you give a Christmas gift in Japan, it’s usually to your sweetheart/significant other, or children. And the gift may be on the smaller side – you see, the end of the year is the biggest holiday in Japan and most people have to buy gifts to send to friends, family, and coworkers. Many people in Japan get their second bonus of the year and that goes to buying gifts as well as the end of the year money to children called “otoshidama.” So buying Christmas gifts at the same level of America, for example, would just be too much.
Season’s eatings – Kentucky Fried Chicken is the biggest name you might hear if you hear about Christmas in Japan. Based on research, it looks like the KFC/Christmas connection was started by an advertising campaign back in the 70s. Today, most restaurants and grocery stores offer several options for Christmas meals but the main theme is chicken, fried or roasted.
You also have to have a Christmas cake for your Christmas meal. Strawberry cake is the most popular one (at least based on the advertisements you might see leading up to Christmas), but there are several varieties and flavors to choose from.
The day to celebrate Christmas is usually December 24th, Christmas Eve. You might even have giant lines outside cake shops and KFC and the deli shelves filled with plastic bins or buckets of chicken. Christmas decorations might even be taken down on Christmas evening too.
Christmas Eve is often known as a dating holiday too. The idea of Christmas being a family holiday seems to be a newer one, and the idea of decorating and presents seem to be more popular these days as retail perhaps wants to get in on the Christmas action they see happening in other countries. At least, that’s the sense I’ve gotten from the professor, other friends, and just what I’ve seen here in the past three years.
So if you feel that the holidays are too hectic, or you just have had enough with cooking a big meal and want to take it easy, next year grab yourself some chicken* and some cake* and take it easy!
*For those who don’t eat meat/sugar/processed foods, please celebrate with the alternative of your choice. 🙂
Song Notes
Snow Balls by Bertha Lum, 1912.
Todays song is titles Snow and was written by the Japanese Board of Education. We believe that it was create by them to be used in teaching songs to Japanese students of Primary School age.
yuki ya konko arare ya konko futte wa futte wa zun zun tsumoru yama mo nohara mo wata boushi kaburi kareki nokorazu hana ga saku
Fall snow, fall hail! As it keeps falling It piles up and up. The mountains and fields wear cotton wool hats. The bare trees become covered in snowy flowers.
Show Notes for episode 23 of our Podcast – The Worms that Speak to Ten-tei.
Story Notes
The Shokera from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyo.
Todays episode was a
three in one combo for you all.
Not three separate
topics, but three different topics all which I discovered linked into one
another.
So lets start with a Yōkai known as the Shōkera. Now this Yōkai I came across whilst studying through the Creatures Compendiums of Toriyama Sekien, his book the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō being published back in 1776. This creature take the form of some vague humanoid shape, but in actuality was never a creature to start with.
Toriyama created this creature as a manifestation of words used from the Folk Religion known as Kōshin.
Which moves us on to
the second topic.
So what is this religion? As to its origins around the 9th century, this folk faith is a combination of Taoist, Shinto, Buddhism and local Japanese beliefs which all became mixed together into this new belief system. Their beliefs hold that every 60 days, there is the event known as the Kōshin-kō and that during this time worms that lived in your body (Sanshi) would exit your body as you slept and report both your good and bad deeds to the kami Ten-tei. (The kami Ten-tei being styled and inspired from the Jade Emperor of China). However, it is said in their faith that there are ways in which you can stop these Sanshi from leaving and reporting your deeds, a useful thing to be able to do if you are perhaps a less refutable person of a society. Think criminals and the like.
If you didn’t wish
to have your bad deeds reported to Ten-tei then you could always stay up all
night as the worms cannot leave your body whilst you remain awake. However, if
you enjoyed sleep, you could instead speak a religious chant in which the word Shōkera
is invoked which would stop the Sanshi exiting you while you slept. And so this
is why Sekien created this Yōkai, depicting him looking through a window on a
roof onto the sleeping people below. A physical manifestation of the religious
chant to watch over and ensure the Sanshi stayed inside their host.
In this modern
world, and especially since the Meiji Restoration and the issuance of the
Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order in 1872, folk beliefs such as Kōshin were
relegated to the status of superstitions instead of religion and so has lost a
lot of its popularity.
When it comes to the kami of this faith, we have already mentioned Ten-tei, but there is one more which should be mentioned; Shōmen-Kongō. This kami is equivalent in a way to the concept of the devil, this entity portrayed as a fearsome being with many arms. Able to spread illness, it also had the ability to make the Sanshi ill, again meaning they would be able to report to Heaven and Ten-tei.
If you are wondering, we can trace back associations of Shōmen-Kongō to the Kōshin faith as early as the Heian Period, and the first scrolls and scriptures showing this connection were centred around the Buddhist Temples of Miidera (which we have discussed in various episodes) but also the temple of Shittennō-ji.
By now you may be
wondering what our third and final connection to all of this might be, so let
me tell you. It is something rather famous around the world after all.
The three monkeys
and the saying ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’
As it turns out,
these monkey can trace their fame to this faith. In Japanese they are known as
the Mizaru (not see) Iwazaru (not say) and Kikazaru (not hear). They find there fame from being carved into
a carving above a door in the Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō. These then became
statues which can be seen dotted around Japan with associations to the religion
of Kōshin. And after they were noted by visitors to Japan their fame and
significance soon spread around the world.
So there you have it, one things which led to three interesting points from Japanese History.
Matsuo Bashō
Poem Notes
We return today to a poet who is quickly becoming a favourite of Heather’s over on the Japan Archives, Matsuo Bashō.
His waka poem today, from 1688, is centered around the theme of winter and the snow and goes as follows:
いざさらば 雪見にころぶ 所迄
iza saraba yukimi ni korobu tokoromade
Now then, let’s go out to enjoy the snow … until I slip and fall!
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 22 of our Podcast – En the Pilgrim.
En no Ozunu stood with two Oni. (Muromachi Period portrait).
Story Notes
En no Ozunu is an interesting man. Born in a time really before the Ninja, if anyone would have asked him if he considered himself to be one he would have just looked at you in confusion and demanded to know what you were on about. And we will get into the why shortly.
Now he was born perhaps in 634 living until around 701 but we are not too sure about these date. We do know he is a historical figure, being born with the name of Kamo-no-e-no-kimi, however as he grew and legends sprung up far and wide about this man, he gained several new names.
Now one of those was Jinben Daibosatsu, meaning the Great Bidhisatva of Heavenly Change he was also known as En no Gyoja, meaning En the Pilgrim, which he obtained after many years of mountain meditation; but he also garnered the name of En no Ozunu, which would mean En of the Horn.
Now the last name is
an interesting one, and relates to the fabled origins of his birth. It is said
that this man was born with a horn protruding from his skull, hence the name,
but it didn’t quite stop there. It’s also said he was born with a flower clutched
into one of his hands and that he was very adept at holding conversations with
people from the moment he arrive on planet earth.
One of this claims to fame was the founding of the religion known as Shugendo. A religion that became a mixture of both Buddhism and indigenous mountain worship already prevalent in Japan. And his new religion was actually quiet successful after its inception on the slopes of Mount Katsuragi in Nara Prefecture and it grew rather quickly. It grew so quickly in fact that the Emperor even banished him as he feared that this new religion was threat to the reigning monarch. The notes of his banishment, detailed in the Shaku Nihongi state that this happened in 699AD and so would have been decreed by the Emperor Monmu.
His exile upon the
island of Oshima is said to have lasted in total 3 years, but that is when
stories of this mans supernatural abilities started to crop up around Japan.
Though banished to this remote island it is said he would often be found scaling Mount Fuji so that he could meditate upon it summit. It’s even said that he scaled the mountain over 1000 time, such was his love of meditation upon the mountain, that he learnt the mantra known as the ‘Peacock King’ which then gave him the ability to shoot across the sky on the back of clouds. In addition to now being able to fly, it then gave him access to the world above and he started to split his time between both Heaven and Earth.
Now what else is it
said about Ozunu’s powers? Well, he learnt to walk on water, managed to be able
to subsist on nothing but the mist and air around him and he even learnt how to
transform himself into a tiger. There are even accounts of attempts on his
life, but every time someone brought an axe down on his head to kill him the
blade shattered in thousands of pieces.
Now, I am sure you
are wondering how all of this relates to him being thought of as a Ninja. Well
it is said that he is considered one the honoured ancestors of the Ninja.
And this all goes back to his founding of the Shugendo religion. His followers came to be known as the Yamabushi and it is said that these were the people who first taught the Ninja their tricks. They built a dojo on a Koga Mountain called Hando-san in honour of Ozuno and the Ninja began to come here to learn skills in herbs, minerals, weather patterns and even camouflage from the mountain dwelling monks who had learnt all of this so they could survive in the mountain climate.
The stories around his death are just as interesting as those of his life. Some say reached enlightenment in 701 and walked across the sea to China. Others say he went into the sky in a Buddhist alms bowl with his mother. Regardless, he is now considered a Sennin, ‘Great Immortal,’ who is still out there somewhere watching over the Yamabushi and the Ninja.
Poem Notes
Matsuo Bashō
Today we head back to the Poet known as Matsuo Basho and a poem he wrote around 1680. During this time we know he moved into a home out of the public eye, his disciples however planted a banana plant outside of the home they had also built for him. And it was this plant that inspired this poem:
ばしょう植ゑて まづ憎む荻の 二葉哉
bashō uete mazu nikumu ogi no futaba kana
By my new banana plant the first sign of something I loathe— a miscanthus bud!
Show Notes for episode 21 of our Podcast – Darkness Falls.
Story Notes
EP21 Darkness Falls
Her brother Susano-o, having been condemned to go reside in Yomi, wished to speak to his sister one last time and so ascends to Heaven. He brother informs her that he comes with no ill intent and so Amaterasu asks for them to make a pledge together and create children.
Amaterasu makes him hand over his ten span sword, cleaning it and chewing it in her mouth she spits forth three female Spirits, these daughters being called Takiribime, Ichikishimahime and Takitsuhime. According to the Kojiki these daughters born from his sword show Susano-o had no ill intent and so in triumph he runs amok in Heaven destroying rice fields. The main text of the Nihongi differs where it says should he have daughters then he has ill intent.
Susano-o’s final act whilst running amok in Heaven (in the Kojiki) was to drop a pie-bald colt which had been skinned backwards from its tail into the sacred weaving hall where Amaterasu and Amenohatorime were. The colt causes Amenohatorime to be startled and so she accidently kills herself by slamming her weaving shuttle into her privates. Amaterasu frightened by all this flee into the Sacred Rock cave and so night falls eternally. In the main text of the Nihongi, Amenohatorihime is not mentioned and Amaterasu injures herself in fear before fleeing to the rock cave.
Show Notes for episode 20 of our Podcast – Sole Japanese aboard the Titanic.
Story Notes
Masabumi Hosono
So
today I wanted to talk about Masabumi Hosono. He was born October 15th 1870 and
lived until March 14th 1939. Now we know he lived his life being a civil
servant but what is interesting about Mr Masabumi is that he was the sole
Japanese passenger aboard the Titanic.
Now as
we know, the titanic sunk on its maiden voyage but Mr. Masabumi was one of the
fortunate people to have survived and made it safely back home.
So a
little bit about his life prior to the sinking of the Titanic.
Now we
know he was born in the village of Hokura, which is a part of Niigata
Prefecture, and after he eventually graduated from the Tokyo Higher Commercial
School he found a job with the Mitsubishi Join Stock Company which he stayed
with until 1897. He eventually leaves though to be a cargo clerk in Tokyo at
the Shiodome Freight Terminal. Now Mr. Masabumi seems to have been a rather
bright man, going on to learn the Russian language which led him eventually to
working as a railroad director and subsequently this had him sent to Russia
where he was tasked to undertake research into the Russian railway system at
the time.
And it
was because of this he found himself aboard the Titanic. On his way back to
Japan, he ended up in London, then Southampton where he boarded the Titanic
April 10th 1912 as a second class passenger.
As we
know the Titanic was hit by an iceberg on April 14th, merely 4 days after its
maiden voyage and Mr. Masabumi found himself rightly fearing for his life.
It is
said that he was awoken by a steward during the night, but then found himself
trapped below deck as he wasn’t allowed up to the boat deck from where the life
boats were being launched.
Now
from what I can tell, this was because the crew at the time believe him to be a
third class passenger. Now of course, in the Titanic film, we see the third
class passengers locked down below and left to drown. However, there is no
proof that this ever occurred to anyone aboard.
The
third class area did have these gate which could be closed so they couldn’t
access other part of the ship, but this was because these people were immigrant
heading to America wanting a new life. They were kept separate for fear of
spreading disease and so that once they reached Ellis island they could all be
unloaded separately to everyone else.
So
eventually, Mr. Masabumi makes them realise he is a second class passenger and
so they allow him onto the boat deck above.
Now if
that makes you wonder what happened to the first class passengers, as far as I
can tell, every class aboard the ship had their own deck and allocated
lifeboats. But no lifeboats were stored in the third class section meaning
these people had to find their way to the boat deck, which was a first and
second class promenade through a maze of corridors, meaning it would take them
longer to reach the sanctuary of a lifeboat.
Now going back to
Mr. Masabumi, when he eventually reached the boat deck where he saw the
emergency flares being fired.
He writes after the events that:
All the while flares signalling emergency were being shot into the air ceaselessly, and hideous flashes and noises were simply terrifying. Somehow I could in no way dispel the feeling of utter dread and desolation.
Mr.
Masabumi saw the lifeboats dissipating quickly as they were filled with women
and children. Now, the concept of ‘women and children’ first at the time was
more of a western concept than a Japanese one, but I will come back to that.
So he
sees the lifeboats filling up and eventually the 10th boat is nearly filled.
He
writes that:
I found myself looking for and waiting for any possible chance for survival.
And he
was in luck, considering how many lost their lives on this day.
He
heard the boat crew on the 10th boat say there was room for 2 more and Mr.
Masabumi saw a man jump aboard.
And so in his own words:
the example of the first man making a jump led me to take this last chance.
And so
he boarded the 10th lifeboat.
He
says that no-one realised he was a man after boarding, that the men in charge
were busy with other things and that because of how dark it was it would have
been extremely difficult to make out who was a woman and who was man.
When
the ship finally sunk he says that the lifeboat was filled with the sobbing of
mother and children who feared for their fathers and husbands. Mr. Masabumi
comments that he was a much depressed as they all were, not knowing what was to
become of him in the long run after they hopefully reached safety.
Mr. Masabumi’s letter written on Titanic stationary.
Now as
we know, the other survivors were all luckily rescued by the RMS Carpathia and
once aboard he began to write. Now what he wrote is special in a way in that it
is the only known document that we know which exists to have been written upon
the stationary aboard the Titanic. So
what did he write? Well, firstly, he wrote a letter home to his wife in
English, and secondly he used the time aboard the Carpathia to write an
account, this time in Japanese of his experience aboard the doomed vessel.
So in
the aftermath of everything little attention was actually given to him and Mr.
Masabumi finally began his journey home. He went from New York, to San
Francisco and there found a ship back to Japan. A local newspaper finally got a
hold of this story and dubbed him as the ‘Lucky Japanese Boy’ and he even found
himself being interviews in several newspapers and magazines. The Yomiuri
Shimbun even ran a photo of him as his family.
Unfortunately
this didn’t last for him. Around the time of the release of the Titanic film an
article released at the same time stated that Mr. Masabumi eventually found
himself being publicly condemned for his actions. He was described by some as a
stowaway with others who had been in charge of the life boat said they only way
he could have got on board was if he had disguised as a women. But I should say
that that particular story was never reported in Japan, only abroad.
Sadly
because of all of this he lost his job and was deemed a coward by the Japanese
press. The article from 1997 stated that Japan even published school textbooks
which used him as an example of how dishonourable he was and it became so bad
he was even denounced as immoral as a professor of ethics. However, research
undertaken in 2007 by a Ando Kenji states he was unable to find any textbooks
which had condemned him in this way.
Several
theories were put forward as to why this occurred. Some saw it as him betraying
the ‘Samurai Spirit of Self Sacrifice,’ with others saying it was seen as a
failure to conform and that he selfishly pushed aside other passengers to board
the life boat. This all led to him being subjected to ostracism, or mura hachibu in Japanese.
One
woman by the name of Margaret Mehl attributes this ostracism, not to the fact
that he didn’t follow the customs of Japan which didn’t hold the concept of
women and children first. She believes it was more that, he embarrassed his
country by not following the custom of ‘women and children first.’ Japan was
opening up to the world and wanted to show they
could adapt and progress and be more ‘Western’ and so by not following
the western custom of ‘women and children first,’ he therefore embarassed his
entire country.
Sadly
because of this, Mr. Masabumi’s story was a source of shame for his family for
a long time, and it wasn’t until the release of the Titanic film when people
began to more fully understand the ordeal he and others went through that he
was finally forgiven and honour was restored to his family.
Whatever
the real story behind this period in history, he was soon reemployed into his
old job as they dubbed him too valuable to lose, and he remained working there
until his death in 1939.
Poem Notes
Fujiwara no Tadahira
Fujiwara no Tadahira (藤原 忠平) was the great-grandfather of the poet Fujiwara no Sanekata. He lived from 880 to 949, and was known after his death as Teishinko (Lord Upright and Faithful). He took over from his brother (Tokihira) to lead the hokke branch of the Fujiwara Clan and also held the position of Chancellor of the Realm.
During his life he held the position of Sadaijin (Minster of the Left) during the reign of Emperor Daigo, and became sesshō (regent) during the reign of Emperor Suzaku. Under the orders of Emperor Daigo he was instructed to aide in copiling the Engi Shiki which he did until 927AD.
His legacy includes seven poems within the Gosenshū, and an additional six in the imperial waka anthologies. He is also noted to have left a journal entitled the Teishinkō-ki.
One of his poems is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, his is the 26th in the sequence and reads:
小倉山 峰のもみぢ葉 心あらば 今ひとたびの みゆき待たなむ
Ogurayama mine no momijiba kokoro araba ima hitotabi no miyuki matanan
Dear mapels of Mount Ogura, if you have a heart, please wait for another visit so that His Majesty may enjoy your lovely autumn colors.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
The origins of Japanese curry come from British curry. When the British navy came to Japan, they brought along their curry as well. Curry uses easy to store ingredients like onions, potatoes, and carrots and it’s a great way to get nutrients to prevent shipboard illnesses. Not just that, but it’s easy to eat on a ship – it doesn’t slosh all over the floor during turbulent seas!
Curry was brought into civilian life by the sailors who brought back a taste for curry. Curry also made its way into school lunches and into homes as well.
Curry is delicious, inexpensive, and stores lovely and tastes even better the next day! It’s truly one of Japan’s favorite dishes.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi lived from 718 to 785. Now during his life he was waka poet, which is why I’m talking about him. But he also eventually receiving the role of kokushi(Provisional Governor) in the Province of Etchu.
Now having the last name of Otomo showed him to be of the Otomo Clan. We’ve mentioned one other before by this name, Otomo Sorin from Episode 4 who turned to Christianity. He was the man who had the Vassal known as Sekiso, the Samurai Weatherman.
Anyway, back to Yakamochi, he was sent in 740AD to Kyushu by Emperor Shomu to suppress a rebellion headed by Fujiwara no Hitosugu. And it wasn’t until 11 years later when he received the Governor position of Etchu in 751AD.
And its said that by
this time he had already amassed a rather large collection of poetry which he
had penned himself by this point, we’re talking in the range of 220 waka poems
by 751. And in 777 he became the Governor of Ise.
Now he unfortunately had a sad end to his life. He drowned in the Province of Mutsu and shortly afterwards a man known as Fujiwara no Tanetsugu was assassinated. Now people suspected that Yakamochi had been involved in this act for various reasons and so he was denied a burial as well as being excommunicated posthumously. This bad luck also reigned down onto Yakamochi’s son and he was forced into exile until 806AD when he was finally able to regain his rank.
Moving onto some of
his poetic achievements he was listed as one of the Thirty-Six Poetry
Immortals, these being 36 poets of renown to the Japanese and was one of the
comilers of the large poetry anthology known as the Man’yoshu. And as a finaly
note, some of his poetry has lived on with Japanese military songs; these types
of songs being known as Gunka. The song Umi Yukaba uses one of his poems, and
is generally considered the second anthem for the Japanese during wartime.
Now the poem I have chosen for Yakamochi can be found in the Shui wakashu which dates to around 1005. It’s a rather large book of twenty volumes containing 1,351 poems. It was the third of the large Imperial Poem Antholgies which were commissioned and was the first to contain poems in the form of waka composed by two poets.
The poem goes as follows:
春の野に あさる雉 の妻戀に 己が在りかを 人に知れつ つ
haru no no ni asaru kigisu no tsuma kohi ni ono ga arika o hito ni siretutu
In the springtime meadows Seeking food, a pheasant, Fondly thinking of his hen, His location to All reveals.
Show Notes for episode 18 of our Podcast – The Bell of Miidera.
We know of several stories surrounding the Bell of Miidera.
Story Notes
Kanesama
One relates how women were forbidden to touch the bell as it was feared that it would cause the bell to go dull. A woman from Kyoto learns of this tales and so wishes to go and touch the bell. Journeying to the temple she looks at the gleaming bell and tentatively touches it. Upon the touching the bell, the part where her fingers touched shrank leaving an indentation. The rest of the bell is said to have then lots its shine.
Benkei and the Bell
Benkei Pulling the Bell of Miidera
Another tale relates to Benkei, who was the retainer of Miyamoto no Yoshitsune. The tale relates that when he was still a monk he sorely wanted to steal the bell to install it into his own monastery. He thought to roll the heavy bell down the hill, but fearing the monks would hear him and discover his theft he used his great strength to place the bell on one end of the cross-beam and his paper lantern on the other and proceeded the carry the heavy burden for seven miles. Eating a meal after arriving back at his temple, he then allows the monks to strike the bell.
However, instead the bell made a cry of ‘I want to go back to Miidera!’ They hoped that sprinkling the bell with holy water would appease it, but still the bell longed for Miidera. Benkei grew angry and so he struck the bell as hard as he could hoping it would break, but it did not. All it did was cry again, ‘I want to go back to Miidera!’ He took the bell to the top of a mountain, kicking it down the slope. Benkei no longer wanting the bell. Eventually the priests of Miidera found their bell once more and hung it back in its rightful place. It is said though the bell never spoke again, and merely rung like other temple bells.
Song Notes
Todays song is called Furusato, and is a traditional childrens song written by Teiichi Okano and Tatsuyuki Takano. Now that winter is drawing closer in Japan, you can hear this song playing at around 4.30 to tell the children it is time to go home before it gets dark.
One of the verses goes as follows:
兎追いし 彼の山 小鮒釣りし 彼の川 夢は今も 巡りて 忘れ難き 故郷
usagi oishi ka no yama ko-buna tsurishi ka no kawa yume wa ima mo megurite wasure-gataki furusato
I chased after rabbits on that mountain. I fished for minnow in that river. I still dream of those days even now Oh, how I miss my old country home.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
Show Notes for episode 17B of our Podcast – Hitobashira.
Story Notes
EP17B Sacrifice: Hitobashira
Human Sacrifice known as Hitobashira, literally translates as ‘Human Pillar,’ and is a purported form of Human Sacrifice carried out in Ancient Japan. However, we have no physical proof that such a thing ever occoured.
In times when large
constructions such as bridges and castles for example needed to be built it was
often the case that someone would be sacrificed to aide in the strength of the
foundations.
Earliest mentioning’s from the reign of Nintoku in the Nihongi. It says that the plain north of the Palace was excavated, with water from the South diverted into the Western Sea. In order to stop the flooding of the northern river, they constructed an embankment known as the Mamuta Embankment. Two embankments made up the entirety of the Mamuta Embankment, however, during construction, both kept collapsing.
Emperor Nintoku then
had a dream. During the dream he was admonished by a God who stated that there
were two men which could help with the problem of the collapsing embankment.
One was called Kohakubi and the other a man known as Koromonoko. The God which
spoke to him in his dreams said that if these men were sacrificed to the river
God, then the embankment could be built without fear of collapse.
Nintoku sent for
these men to be found and they eventually were located and sent to the river
for sacrifice.
The first man,
Kohakubi, wept and lamented but threw himself into the river as sacrifice as it
was the Emperors will. However, Koromonoko had other ideas. He threw two
calabashes into the river, and demanded proof that the entity which demanded
sacrifice was a true God. He stated that if this being could submerge the
calabashes it would prove he was a true god and so Koromonoko would gladly
sacrifice himself.
The River God in the
end, could not submerge the calabashes and so the embankment was then
constructed with no more collapses after this entity was proven to be a false
God.
Nagara Bridge.
The Yasutomi-ki, a diary from the 15th century, documents the famous tradition of “Nagara-no Hitobashira”. According to the tradition, a woman who was carrying a boy on her back was caught while she was passing along the river Nagara, and was buried at the place where a large bridge was then to be built.
Matsue Bridge
It’s said that the Daimyo, or leader of Izumo Province where this river was needed to construct a bridge over it. They made numerous attempts but every time the foundation stone were washed away by the rushing river. People believed the spirits of flood were angry, and in an attempt to appease them they offered a sacrifice. Below the central pillar of the bridge, where the water was the most turbulent, a man by the name of Gensuke, was buried alive and soon after the waters calmed and they were able to finish building the bridge. It is said to this day, on moonless nights a mysterious red fir shines from the pillar, this being the ghostly remains of Gensuke.
Matsue Castle
Matsue Castle
The practise of Hitobashira is also said to have been carried out here as well. It is said that under the foundation of the castle a girl was buried, a girl who had a great love for dancing. It is said to this day that should a woman or child dance in the streets near the castle, it will cause the castle to shake with the girls rage.
Maruoka Castle
This castle is one of the oldest surviving castles in Japan and is rumored to have been constructed with a human pillar which can be found in the legend of “O-shizu, Hitobashira”.
When Shibata Katsutoyo, the nephew of Shibata Katsuie, was building a castle in Maruoka, the stone wall of the castle kept collapsing no matter how many times it was piled up. There was one vassal who suggested that they should make someone a human sacrifice . O-shizu, a one-eyed woman who had two children and lived a poor life, was selected as the Hitobashira. She resolved to become one on the condition that one of her children be made a samurai. She was buried under the central pillar of the castle keep. Soon after that the construction of the castle keep was successfully completed. But Katsutoyo was transferred to another province, and her son was not made a samurai. Her spirit felt resentful, and made the moat overflow with spring rain when the season of cutting algae came in April every year. People called it, “the rain caused by the tears of O-shizu’s sorrow” and erected a small tomb to soothe her spirit.
There was a poem handed down which went as follows, “The rain which falls when the season of cutting algae comes. Is the rain reminiscent of the tears of the poor O-shizu’s sorrow”.
Poem Notes
Saigyō was a poet active around the end of the Heian period and into the start of the Kamakura Period. Saigyō was his pen name, meaning ‘Western Journey,’ which was a nod to Amida Buddha and the Western Paradise.
In addition to his poetry he was well known for his many long, poetic journeys which he took in the Northern parts of Honshu. These journeys would later act to inspire the journeys of Bashō.
Today’s poem of his is a Spring Death poem and goes as follows:
願はくは 花の下にて 春死なむ その如月の 望月のころ
Negawaku wa Hana no moto nite Haru shinan Sono kisaragi no Mochizuki no koro
Let me die in spring under the blossoming trees, let it be around that full moon of Kisaragi month.
Feature Image: Maruoka Castle.
You can listen to the full podcast episodes here: Japan Archives, or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
