Folk Legends From Tono: Japan's Spirits, Deities, and Phantastic Creatures Read online

  At the top of Tachimaru Pass, there was once an ishi-gami (stone spirit). Now there is an outline of a male phallus carved into a large tree. There is the story that Tachimaru Pass is related to the origin of the fertility god Konse-sama. There are similar stories about ishi-gami in other places as well. The stone deity (ishi-gami) of Wano in Tochinai is a round, short, pole-like stone placed vertical in a rice field. This ishi-gami is said to relieve pains that women have in the pelvic area.

  The owner of this rice field felt that this ishi-gami interfered with his rice planting and wanted to move it elsewhere. But when he dug up the dirt below it, a large number of human bones were found. Afraid of being cursed for moving it, the ishi-gami was left in the original spot.

  According to the Tono ethnologist Ino Kanori (1867–1925), who did research with the Russian scholar Nikolai Nevskii (1892–1937), a large number of human bones were also found when digging under vertical stone pillars in the Emishi (Ezo) mounds in Otomo village. The Emishi or Ezo people lived in northeastern Japan before the fifth century AD. They are thought to have been related to the Ainu people. These were probably burial sites. There are two similar stories in Ayaori village. (28-16)

  At the base of Mt. Atago in Tono, there is a shrine to the spirit of love and relationships (unedori). In a small pond off to the side of the shrine, one-sided leaf reeds grow. A long time ago this was a large water pool. If a request was made to the spirit of the water pool, then in some mysterious way, a man and woman would come together in love or marriage. It is said that sometimes the spirit of the water pool would allow himself to be seen by faithful and sincere believers. (29-35)

  This is an animal-human love story from a town over on the coast. A young man from the hamlet of Ando went into town on business one evening and came across an old woman standing alone at the approach to the Otsuchi River bridge. She said, “I am very sorry to bother you, but I have a request to make for my daughter who is sick. Could you please buy a certain medicine at the drugstore in town?” He thought she was probably just a beggar from somewhere. Even though he didn’t recognize the old woman, he willingly agreed to do it.

  The old woman was very happy when he purchased the medicine and brought it to her on the bridge. She said, “My home is nearby. Why don’t you drop in?” Wondering what kind of dwelling it might be and curious to see it, he went with her. They entered a fairly large room through an opening in the rocks. As modest as it was, it was neat, with straw mats on the floor and furniture. The daughter who was supposedly sick was sleeping in a corner of the room. When the young man entered, she woke up slowly and greeted him. She was indescribably delicate. Her skin was pale and her eyes were bright. She was a beautiful small woman. Entertained that night, he enjoyed himself and went home. After that, as hard as he might try, he could not forget the girl. He went to see her every evening.

  As their love deepened, he became weak and sickly. His friends noticed this and asked him about it. He told how he had become friendly with a beggar girl. Once they found out about the girl, they said they would do what they could for him and asked him to take them to see her. The young man had no choice but to take two or three friends to the rock cave. The mother and daughter were troubled by this, but even so, they welcomed them, serving tea and cakes. One friend, who thought there was something unusual about the home, secretly put a cake in his pocket to examine later. It turned out to be a perfectly normal cake.

  The next night, when the young man went to see the girl, she looked at him and explained her true identity. She said, “We are not really humans. We are foxes that once lived inside the Myojin fox shrine. My father was killed by someone years ago, and we have been living together like this since then.” With tears in her eyes, she said, “Hearing this, you are no doubt upset.” Nevertheless, the man thought that even if she was not a human being, he would not give up. She said that since her health was failing and he would no doubt have some bitter memories, it was better for them to part ways. She pushed the young man out of the room. After that, he could not forget her. He went back to the rocky area a number of times but couldn’t find the entrance to their room. It is said that the daughter probably died and the young man grieved. The person who told this story said it happened around 1915. He was an ex-soldier who visited Tono frequently. (30-200)

  A man from Hashino village took someone with him to Mt. Hajikami to make charcoal. One of the men had a girlfriend in the village, and he always bragged about her when working around the kiln. One evening, the girl came to their hut in the mountains with soybean curd (tofu) wrapped in a square, striped cloth. She stayed overnight, sleeping between the two men. At night, after her boyfriend had fallen asleep, the other man reached out to touch the girl’s body and was shocked to find that she was covered with thick hair. He observed her for a while, got up, grabbed his hatchet, and started to kill her. As she died, she murmured, “What on earth made you do this?”

  Of course the boyfriend was upset and said, “Why did you kill my girlfriend?” The boyfriend said he was going to leave the mountain and report the murder, but the other man said that the girl was not human and that he should wait until noon of the next day before doing anything. But because she still had the body of a human, the other man was worried and concerned.

  The next morning, the first rays of light came into the hut. But the girl still had a human form. The boyfriend again said he was going to report the incident, but the other man again restrained him, pleading to wait just a little longer. Sure enough, the dead woman began to transform into an old fox. After waiting so long, they were both shocked. They went to the village to see if they could find the owner of the square, striped cloth that the girlfriend had brought with soybean curd wrapped in it. They found that the night before there had been a wedding where the custom was to bring soybean curd as a present. The soybean curd brought by one of the guests had disappeared, and the people wondered what had happened to it. No doubt, it was the soybean curd that the fox had taken to the mountain. This took place about fifty or sixty years ago. (31-207)

  The deep pool of water called onabe-ga-fuchi (cooking pot pool) in Masuzawa village is on the Sarugaishi River. The story is that during the feudal days of the Asonuma family (around 1600), a concubine learned that her master had been killed in battle, so she drowned herself in this pool of water clutching her baby.

  There is a large white rock in the middle of the water pool. Before a flood, a woman wearing a white dress and combing her hair has been seen on top of this rock. About twenty-five years ago during a flood, two or three people saw her. (32-29)

  Most people usually sleep together completely naked at night. If they don’t sleep naked, sleep is supposedly not satisfying. Sleeping is distasteful if even one item of clothing is on the body. It is said that it is the start of a separation if a husband or wife sleeps with underwear on. It is also considered a bad omen to do this. (33-258)

  When a boy reaches adulthood or is ready to wear a loincloth, he has his aunt (in place of his mother) buy some bleached cotton cloth to make the loincloth. Also, the first pubic hairs that come out on the boy must be pulled out. It is said that by doing this, symbolically the “founder of the family” is removed, and this will allow the pubic hair to grow in thicker. (34-253)

  It is said that if a girl’s waist sash comes untied by itself, that evening the person she loves will visit. It is also said that if a man’s loincloth or a woman’s underskirt gets loose by itself, something very good will happen. Also, if a man’s eyebrows itch, he will meet a woman. (35-254)

  Several years ago, in the hamlet of Kuribashi, a young daughter in the Hiraguzo household was pulling weeds in the fields. She muttered something to herself rather pleasingly and was laughing. Someone who was with her was curious why she was laughing and took a look. Something like a stick raised its head and moved near the girl’s inner thighs. Because it was a grass (ring) snake, they called some others and beat it to d
eath. (36-18)

  When a wife is suffering from morning sickness or labor pains related to giving birth, her husband can experience the same discomfort. A proverb says that the only thing that a man can help with is morning sickness. (37-244)

  In the special “childbirth room” (parturition hut) for a woman giving birth, she uses twelve rolls of straw as pillows. Each day, one roll is removed, making the pillows lower. In two weeks, the rolls become the size of a normal pillow. When the pregnant woman is in the birth room, she gradually returns to a normal diet of foods. If she doesn’t do this, later when she returns to normal food, she will have stomach trouble. She should also not eat wild mountain vegetables that contain thiaminase, a cause of vitamin deficiency. (38-241)

  In this area, it is said that even if a pregnant woman is in labor, she cannot give birth until the yama-no-kami (a mountain deity associated with birth) arrives. This means that they have to go and welcome the yama-no-kami by preparing a horse with a saddle on it, just as if someone were going to ride it. You let the horse roam as it wants with someone following from behind. When the horse stops and shakes, you know the yama-no-kami has mounted the horse. Grasping the bridle, the horse is led home. Sometimes the kami meets the horse just in front of the home, while at other times the horse might not stop roaming until it reaches the edge of the village. Birth usually happens exactly when the kami arrives. (39-237)

  A deity or someone’s soul often rides a horse. If a horse in the stable makes a high-pitched neigh sound when the coffin of a dead person is carried out of the house, it means that someone else in the family will die. There are a number of examples where this has happened. To prevent this, the door to the stable should be shut tight and a cloth put over the horse’s head. Still, the horse might neigh and someone in the family will die. Sometimes when a funeral procession goes by, a horse in a house near the road will neigh. The result is the same. Could it be that when we hear a horse make a piercing neigh sound, it’s getting a whiff of the scent of the dead person? (40-264)

  A man in Mr. Sasaki’s village had this to say about Kuribashi village. The people sit in a circle around a cooking pot, and each person scoops out their food directly with their own bowl. They do the same for soup. Sometimes homemade soybean curd (tofu) soup is made for special occasions.

  One man in Kuribashi only ate the tofu out of his soup and left the broth. The housewife noticed this and put his broth back into the big pot. She then scooped out just tofu for him. The visitor seeing this couldn’t eat any more. They say they wouldn’t do such a thing in Tsuchibuchi village even though none of the homes use toilet paper in the bathroom. Instead of paper, they use a fifteen-centimeter cedar stick to wipe themselves. (41-259)

  Playing with the bero-bero kagi (a stick with a hook-shaped end) is done in many areas of Japan. In the Tono area, sometimes this is done to identify the person who farted. A child sits alone inside a circle of other children and has a bero-bero hook stick made from either grass stems or the branch of a bush. While the child in the center rolls the stick around in its hands, the other children recite a chant:

  You! Foul smell!

  The bero-bero hook stick,

  Noble hook stick,

  Who did it? He did!

  Point to the one who did it!

  When finished chanting, the person that the stick points to has to accept responsibility for having farted. Actually, before this ceremony begins, the child who farted is already known by how they behave. Of course, the person rolling the bero-bero hook stick can control which way it points. (42-86)

  There is a place called Kotoge (small pass) on the road from Ayaori village to Miyamori village. Near Mt. Kasanokayo there is a person named Kyasha, who it is said digs up corpses and then takes them somewhere to eat them. Also, during funeral ceremonies, it is said that he follows around behind the caskets. One account of this can be found in the Tono Kojiki (Old Records of Tono, 1763), a three-volume account of Tono history, customs, and religion compiled by Ubukata Koryu (1688–1768).

  Kyasha is probably a monster. Several people have also seen a weird woman walking near Kasanokayo. It is said that she has a red purse hanging from her front waistband. An old person from Miyamori village came across this woman when he was young. Just as he had heard, she had a purse attached to her waistband. He thought it would be quite a feat to capture her alive, and when he grappled with her, his hands and legs became numb and he couldn’t move. It is said she escaped. (43-113)

  About ten years ago, a man and his daughter lived together in Muika-machi. The father died, and from the night of the funeral and every night thereafter, the dead father would come to his daughter and say, “Let’s go off together, let’s go.” The daughter was frightened and had relatives and friends come and stay with her. Even so, she could not stop her father from coming at night and urging her to join him. All of this made her ill. At night, young people from town would wait in the room and brandish special swords that chase off ghosts. But her father would glare down at her from the back of the upstairs house rafters. This kept up for about a month, but finally he stopped coming. (44-167)

  A man from Shibukawa died young from the severe cold or something else. Every night after the funeral, he would visit his wife. He would tell her that he came to take her with him because he couldn’t go where he had to go and leave her behind. No one else could see him. But every night around ten o’clock, his wife would cry out in agony, “There he is!” She died on the seventh day after his funeral. This story is from about thirty years ago. (45-168)

  It is said that if someone attends a funeral ceremony and falls down, they will die in less than three years. But this isn’t always the case. Mr. Sasaki’s friend fell down on the frozen snow at a grave while attending a funeral, but over three years have passed and he is still as healthy as ever. (46-265)

  Condolence money, usually special coins to fund travel to the next world and back, is placed in the coffin of a dead person. This is money for the departed soul to pay for the ferry across the river (sanzu-no-kawa) that separates the world of the living from the “other world” of the dead. Also, in anticipation of the dead person’s rebirth, friends and relatives place other coins in the coffin.

  People exaggerate how much money they put in the coffin, saying they gave ten coins so the person will be wealthy upon return, when in fact they gave only two coins. In the same way, they put rice, barley, and soybeans in the coffin to sustain the spirit on its trip. Some years ago, Mr. Sasaki’s grandmother died. She was a very fine person, and family members and villagers were encouraged to bring presents for when she would be reborn. A good amount of food and money was put into her coffin. (47-263)

  The family of Uchikawaguchi of Yamaguchi disappeared about ten years ago. For a brief time their house was empty, but late at night a faint light flickered in an inner room. Someone could be heard reading Buddhist sutras in a soft voice. The house was close to a path where people passed by, and some youngsters curious about what was going on looked in. The voice reading the sutras silenced, and the light went out. The same thing is said to have happened at the Kikuchis’ in Wano when they disappeared. (48-94)

  It is said that from time to time people return or are reborn. A child born into a house in Kamigo village some years ago didn’t open its clenched fists for a long time. Then someone in the family forced open its hand and found a piece of paper saying that he was old Taro of Tajiri in Kitakami being reborn. When old Taro’s family heard this they were delighted. Their old family member had been dead less than a year. When a willow tree or other trees grow naturally in the dirt on a grave site, it is said that the person buried there has probably been reborn again somewhere else. (49-245)

  * * *

  *At the end of each tale, the first number is the order of the tale in this English translation. The second number indicates the tale’s location in the sequence of 1–299 tales in the original Japanese
text.

  2

  Souls Adrift between Two Worlds

  The counterpoint to life is the lure of the next world with its Dragon Palace Gate, beautiful roads, spectacular bridges, and the gentle urgings of mysterious children to make the transition. Japanese believe that souls can move freely at any time between this world and the other world, a belief that only sharpens their interest in paranormal encounters, out-of-body experiences, apparitions, ghosts, and other phantastic creatures.

  A friend of Mr. Sasaki’s had a major illness and seemed to take his last breath. At that moment, he saw an image of a gate that looked like the Dragon Palace (Ryugumon) entrance to the world of the departed. He ran toward it quickly, but there was someone like a gatekeeper who wouldn’t let him pass through. At that moment, a rickshaw with a neighbor woman in it came up at a fast pace and went through the gate. He looked on mortified. He was called back to consciousness by others and revived. He later heard that the neighbor woman in the rickshaw had died at the very moment she had passed him. (50-156)

  In Tono, when someone dies or there is a crisis, the strong thoughts, desires, or feelings of the living or dead coalesce into a walking illusory form. This appearance of an illusion is expressed using the word omaku. Some refer to this escape of the spirit (soul) from the body as an out-of-body experience or a flying soul.

  These living ghostly figures (ikiryo) or apparitions are visible to human beings. When Sasaki Kizen was a child, the Buddhist temple Koganji in Tsuchibuchi village was burned down. The carpenter Keijiro was put in charge of the temple restoration. One day, when they were working at the temple, around forty or fifty carpenters were taking a lunch break.