南総里見八犬傳 Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
滝沢馬琴 Takizawa Bakin
[The East Vol. XXX No. 6 March/April 1995]
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33. The Seventh Dog Warrior
Kobungo and Tanetomo lost no time in leaving the castle. They fled to the Sumida River with the intention of crossing it, but there was no boat in sight. A party of men, which had pursued them from the castle, was fast approaching
when finally a boat drifted by. Tanetomo jumped aboard but before
Kobungo could get in, the boat was whisked downstream by the strong current. Kobungo swam after it, but to no avail. Then another boat appeared and Kobungo climbed into it. To his surprise, he knew the man at the helm—Yorisuke, the leader of the Yamabayashi in Ichikawa. Yorisuke had married the niece of Myoshin, who was the mother-in-law of Nui, Kobungo's sister. Kobungo told Yorisuke that farther downstream was a boat carrying the man who had saved his life. Although Yorisuke gave chase, they never saw the other boat. Abandoning the search, Kobungo decided to go with Yorisuke, who was on his way home.
After the boat reached Ichikawa, Yorisuke took Kobungo to his house. Kobungo expected to see Myoshin and Nui's baby Masashi, who was one of the eight dog warriors. But Yorisuke informed him that they had gone.
"After you left for Otsuka in Musashi Province," Yorisuke said, "Myoshin took Masashi and left for Awa Province. Along the way, however, a cyclone arose and snatched Masashi out of Myoshin's hands. The baby disappeared. Distraught, Myoshin continued on to Awa. Your father Bungobe also journeyed to Awa. The lord of Awa awarded them stipends."
Kobungo said, "I want
to see my father as soon as possible." But Yorisuke replied,
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but he died of old age."
Kobungo was shocked. He went to his family temple at Gyotoku. He gave the head priest money and asked him to erect a gravestone and chant Buddhist sutras for the repose of his father's soul. He went into mourning the next day. When the mourning period ended, he bid farewell to Yorisuke and set out with no particular destination in mind. He thought that Shino,
Nobumichi, Gakuzo, and Tadatomo must have headed west. He was also concerned about Tanetomo, who he suspected was a dog warrior since Tanetomo's family name included the Chinese character for dog. Remembering that Tanetomo had spent his childhood in Kamakura, Kobungo headed there to look for him.
Upon arriving in Kamakura, however, Kobungo learned that Tanetomo was a wanted man. There was no chance Tanetomo would return to Kamakura, Kobungo thought. Mustering up his courage, he left Kamakura, determined to leave no stone unturned in his search.
34. The Monster at Mt. Koshin
Here let me mention what became of Nobumichi. He and the other dog warriors fled from Mt. Arame. While fighting their pursuers, however, Nobumichi became separated from his friends.
Nobumichi went to Gyotoku, expecting to find Kobungo. He visited Kobungo's home, but no one was there. Neighbors told him that Kobungo was gone, Bungobe and Myoshin had moved to Awa Province, and Masashi had disappeared.
Nobumichi traveled west in search of the other dog warriors. Reaching Kyoto, he opened a dojo. After two years he left Kyoto for the eastern provinces.
Nobumichi stopped at a teahouse in Shimotsuke Province. Hung on the walls were bows and arrows, the last things one would expect to see in a teahouse.
Nobumichi asked about the weapons, and the proprietor, Mozuhei, an old man, replied, "Many people have disappeared at the foot of the mountain ahead. It's unsafe to travel unarmed." After a pause the old man continued.
"Mt. Koshin, which is said to be inhabited by a monster, rises about twenty kilometers ahead. just past the foot of the mountain stand a stone gate and giant stone statues. No one had dared to pass these until seventeen years ago, when Akaiwa Ikkaku Taketo, a master of martial arts, ventured into the unknown heart of the mountain with his best pupils. They reached a stone bridge spanning a deep ravine. Frightened, the pupils turned back, and only Taketo went on. He did not return that night. The following day his pupils searched the mountain for him, meeting him as he was coming back across the stone bridge. According to him, there were three caves across the bridge. In front of each cave stood a statue of a monkey. Taketo said that he had fallen into the ravine and had been forced to spend the night there.
"Taketo's first wife was a wise woman named Masaka. She bore him a son named Kakutaro.
Soon after his birth, however, she died. Then Taketo married Madoi,
who bore him a son named Gajiro. Doting on Gajiro, Taketo began to
abuse Kakutaro, who was a faithful son. So Masaka's elder brother, Inumura Norikiyo, and his wife took charge of Kakutaro and renamed him Masanori. Under their care Masanori learned martial arts. Eventually they married him to their daughter Hinaginu. Sadly, however, Norikiyo and his wife died of illness soon after.
"Some time afterward Madoi died. Taketo would keep a mistress, only to be left by her. None of his mistresses stayed with him long. Two years ago he fell in love with a woman named Funamushi and married her.
"Hearing that Masanori and Hinaginu had inherited a lot of money from Hinaginu's parents, Funamushi urged Taketo to have the young couple stay with them. When Hinaginu became pregnant, however, Funamushi accused her of infidelity and expelled her from the house. Eventually she also enticed Taketo to disown Masanori and steal his property. Now Masanori lives in a thatched cottage at an out-of-the-way place called Tamagaeshi. I feel very sorry for him."
Nobumichi also felt pity for Masanori, who seemed to be respectable. Since he had to pass by Mt. Koshin, he bought a bow and arrows from the old man.
Nobumichi hurried toward the next village. When darkness fell, however, he lost his way. He found himself standing in front of the stone gate which the teahouse proprietor had described. He decided to spend the night there. Around two in the morning he saw two lights approaching and hid behind a tree. As the lights neared, however, he realized that they were not lanterns, but the eyes of a monster.
35. Nobumichi Encounters a Wraith
The monster had a head
like a tiger's. Its mouth, which split its face from ear to ear, was
blood red, and its bushy beard was reminiscent of willow branches
covered with snow. But it had the body of a man. Wearing two swords,
it rode a horse which was mossy in places, like a dead tree. The
horse's legs looked like tree trunks, its tail like wild grass.
The monster was escorted
by two attendants. The three were laughing as they approached the
stone gate, unaware of Nobumichi. Climbing the tree behind which he
was hiding, Nobumichi shot an arrow at the monster, striking it below
its left eye. Screaming, the monster tumbled from the horse. Its
attendants helped it up, and then the party turned around and
returned the way they came.
Nobumichi thought that
once the monster healed, it would return to exact its revenge, so he
passed the stone gate and fled deeper into the recesses of the
mountain. He reached the three caves the teahouse proprietor had
spoke of. He was surprised to see a fire in one of the caves.
Thinking that the cave was the lair of another monster, he notched an
arrow.
Just then a faint voice came from the cave. "I am no monster. I've waited here to thank you for shooting the monster, whom I despise. And I have a favor to ask of you. Please come inside and warm yourself by the fire."
Nobumichi entered the
cave. By the light of the fire he saw a skinny man, seemingly in his
thirties, with a pale face and dressed in ragged clothes. There was
something unworldly about him.
"You said you hate
the monster I shot?" Nobumichi asked.
"Yes," the man
answered. "It is a terrible feline monster, over 500 years old
and able to transform itself into whatever shape it desires. In its
original form it is a dreadful cat as large as a calf and as fierce
as a tiger. Its supernatural powers enable it to employ the mountain
god and soil god as attendants and the spirit of an old tree as a
horse."
"I heard that a
samurai named Akaiwa Taketo explored this area seventeen years ago,"
Nobumichi said.
Shedding tears, the man
cried, "I am the wraith of Taketo!"
Stunned, Nobumichi stared
at him.
"Seventeen years ago
I came here," Taketo's wraith said. "Suddenly a strong wind
arose. As sand blew in my eyes, I covered my face with my sleeve. The
next instant the monster attacked me from behind. Clawing at my back,
he pulled me to the ground. I managed to unsheath my sword and slash
at his foreleg, but he crushed my throat in his jaws and I died."
"But I heard that you
returned home," said Nobumichi.
"After killing me,
the monster took my shape to win my wife, Madoi, a woman of rare
beauty," the wraith said. "When my pupils came looking for
me, they met the monster in the form of me. But nobody suspected.
Even Madoi was fooled by the monster. She bore it a son named Gajiro.
Drained of her vitality by the monster, she died in her twenties.
Then the monster in the guise of me took various concubines. Some
died of illness, others it killed. Recently it married Funamushi. She
is so wicked that the two get along well together."
As the wraith talked, day
broke.
36. The Eighth Dog Warrior
Taketo’s wraith continued its tale. "My son Masanori never saw through the monster's guise. He loves the monster as his father, but it hates him. Once it attempted to eat him, but a bead he has protected him. The bead bears the Chinese character for courtesy. And he bears the family name Inumura, since his stepfather was Inumura Norikiyo."
The wraith pointed at a skull and a rusty sword. "There are my skull and sword," he said. "Please take them to Masanori and help him avenge my death." Looking up at the sky, he said, "I'm sorry, but I must go," then disappeared.
Nobumichi left the mountain and traveled to Masanori's cottage in Tamagaeshi. Peering over the fence around the cottage, Nobumichi saw a comely fair-skinned youth in his early twenties, dressed in a black surplice over a gray garment and sitting in front of an image of the Buddha. His eyes were shut and his hands were clasped in prayer. Nobumichi assumed he was Masanori.
Nobumichi went around to the front of the cottage and called out, but no one answered. Remembering that Masanori was meditating, Nobumichi decided to wait until he was finished.
Sometime later a beautiful young woman approached the cottage. Noticing that she was pregnant, Nobumichi assumed she was Hinaginu. He hid behind a tree, thinking that she might be embarrassed to find someone else there. As she came to the door of the cottage, he realized that she was weeping. Composing herself, she knocked gently, calling out, "Open up,
please. I've something to tell you. I'm determined to kill myself if you ignore me."
But the door remained closed. Eventually Hinaginu gave up and left, determined to die.
As Nobumichi started after Hinaginu, he heard someone say, "Wait." It was Masanori. "I've finished meditating. Please come in."
37. Hinaginu's Tragedy
Although concerned about
Hinaginu, Nobumichi had no choice but to accept Masanori's
invitation. The two men introduced themselves. "I know this is
the first time we've met, but I feel like I know you," said
Masanori. After a pause, he continued. "Last night I dreamt of
seven large dogs. I called to them, clapping my hands. One ran to me
and jumped into my arms. The next instant I turned into a dog.
Surprised, I woke up. And since the Chinese character for 'dog' is
included in our family names, I feel that we must somehow be involved
with each other."
Nobumichi told Masanori
about the others who bore similar family names. "Don't you own a
bead bearing the Chinese character for courtesy?"
"Yes," Masanori
said, wondering how Nobumichi knew about his bead. "My mother,
Masaka, was deeply religious. When I was born, she had a traveling
merchant fetch a pebble from Shirayama Shrine because the pebbles
there are said to be capable of healing the sick. She put the pebble
in a case and saved it for me.
"One day my mother
opened the case. To her surprise, it contained not a pebble but a
bead bearing the Chinese character for courtesy. When I was three
years old, I became seriously ill. Doctors said I would die. My
mother soaked the bead in water and had me drink the water. Soon I
was cured.
"This summer my wife
Hinaginu and I moved to my father's home. Sometime later she
developed a terrible stomach ache. I soaked my bead in water and gave
her the water to drink, but she accidentally swallowed the bead. The
stomachache went away, but the bead remained in her body.
"After swallowing the
bead, Hinaginu's stomach grew larger, as if she were pregnant. I had
been practicing continence for three years, since my foster parents
had been ill, so I knew I wasn't the father. My stepmother,
Funamushi, accused Hinaginu of adultery. Although I knew Hinaginu had
been faithful, I was obliged to part from her. Then my father and
stepmother found a way to deprive me of all that I own. I decided to
retire into religion. Now I live an austere life as a priest."
Nobumichi sympathized with
Masanori. "I'm still worried about your wife," he said to
Masanori. "She's determined to kill herself. If you're sure that
she's no adultress, why don't you try to save her?"
Smiling, Masanori said,
"There's no need to worry. It's impossible for her to die as
long as the bead is inside her."
Relieved, Nobumichi knew
it was time to tell Masanori about his father. "I hear a person
can determine if he is related to a dead person by pouring his blood
on the bones of the deceased. If the blood is absorbed, then the two
are related; if it runs off, they are not. What do you think of this theory?"
"I believe it,"
Masanori replied. "A Chinese book mentions that a man identified
his father's remains on a battlefield by pouring his blood on the
bones."
Nobumichi was surprised by
Masanori's knowledge. He was about to show Masanori Taketo's skull when suddenly Funamushi arrived.
38. The One-eyed Monster
Masanori told Nobumichi to hide in the next room. Funamushi entered and said, "I'm on my way home from a shrine, where I prayed for Taketo, whose left eye was injured yesterday while he was teaching his pupils archery."
Surprised, Masanori said, "Is my father all right?"
"He's in no danger of dying," replied Funamushi. Looking frustrated, she said, "I've just run into Hinaginu. I stopped her from throwing herself into the river. I brought her here in an open palanquin. She's in your garden. Will you take care of her?"
"It's kind of you to
think of me," said Masanori, "but when I was disowned by my
father I was told to part from Hinaginu. It would be indecent to have
her stay with me."
"I know how you
feel," Funamushi said, "but to ensure that my prayer for
Taketo is answered, I must show mercy towards someone else. Please
help me with Hinaginu!"
Eventually Masanori
consented to take charge of Hinaginu for the sake of his father.
Delighted, Funamushi returned home, leaving Hinaginu with Masanori.
After Funamushi's arrest
and escape in Asaya Village of Musashi Province, she fled to
Shimotsuke Province, where she met and married the monster
masquerading as Taketo. She persuaded Masanori to take charge of
Hinaginu because she had something sinister planned for the couple.
Returning home, she broached the scheme to her husband.
After Funamushi left,
Masanori introduced Hinaginu to Nobumichi. Masanori and Hinaginu were
over-joyed at being reunited, but Nobumichi was lost in thought.
"I've heard that
Funamushi is a wicked woman," Nobumichi said, "yet today
she spoke like an affectionate mother. I think she's planning
something. You should beware of her."
The next morning the
monster in the guise of Taketo visited Masanori's cottage with
Funamushi and Gajiro. Nobumichi hid in a closet.
Sighing, the monster said
to Masanori and Hinaginu, "I was very glad to hear that you
followed Funamushi's advice and chose to live together as before. I
was so excited by your decision that I couldn't sleep last night."
"We're grateful for
your benevolence," Masanori said. "If you take back your
vow to disown me, I promise I'll devote myself to you. I'm at your
command."
"Then let me see how
you can help me," the monster replied. "I have a favor to
ask of you. I've come for your treasure."
"I've nothing worthy
of being called treasure," Masanori said. "I've been
indifferent to worldly things since the day I retired into religion."
"I'm not speaking of
a worldly thing. What I want is the five-month-old fetus Hinaginu is
carrying."
Masanori and Hinaginu
stared at the monster in shock. "Let me explain," it said,
as Funamushi placed a pot between the couple. "I called a doctor
to look at my eye. He said that it would heal only if I took a
mixture of silvervine that had been buried for at least a century,
the liver of a fetus at least four months old, and blood from the
heart of its mother. Since those things are difficult to obtain, I
feared that my eye would never heal. But yesterday," it said,
pointing at the pot, "I came across silvervine buried for over a
century. If I get the other two things my eye will be normal again.
Masanori, you said that you're willing to help me—I need the
other two ingredients. I'm sorry, but I know you won't refuse to help
me." The monster pretended to cry.
Funamushi, also shedding
fake tears, said to Masanori, "All living things are reluctant
to die. To heal his eye, however, your father desperately needs the
liver of a fetus and its mother's blood. I'm very sorry, but we need
your wife to sacrifice herself for the sake of your father."
Masanori sat in silence.
Finally he said in a dejected tone, "I would gladly die for my
father. But please spare my wife. She's the daughter of my foster
parents, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude."
Enraged, the monster
screamed, "What of your promise?" It pulled a dagger from
its bosom and thrust it towards Hinaginu. "Take your life with
this dagger!" he commanded.
Funamushi reproached
Masanori, saying, "You spoke like a devoted son, but everything
you said was a lie, wasn't it?" Gajiro also chastised Masanori
for his disrespect.
Then Hinaginu, who had
collapsed in tears, raised her head and said, "It seems I'm
destined to kill myself. I'm prepared to take my life, although I
don't know if a woman can muster the strength to die honorably." Picking up the dagger, Hinaginu looked longingly at Masanori as if to say farewell.
"Be quick," the
monster urged Hinaginu, as if it were a messenger from hell.
Funamushi and Gajiro also implored her to hurry.
Hinaginu unsheathed the
dagger and raised it. The blade glittered.
continued [The East Vol. XXXI No.1 May/June 1995] 39. Death of the Monster
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