Splendor of Okinawa Bonus: A story from the Ryukyu Kingdom (Sunday: 17mr24)

 

The Monk with His Ear Cut Off

 A long time ago, there was a temple called Godou Temple in Naha. A Buddhist monk by the name of  Zashu Kurogane was the priest of the temple. Zashu read the sutras with a voice that would carry throughout the temple and, best of all, his preaching was excellent. Moreover, he was tall and so handsome that even  people in the street would turn their heads to stare at him.

(A go board during play:Wikipedia) 

Because of Zashu’s reputation, an endless number of pilgrims visited his temple. But Zashu was using his talent for hypnotic spells to do unthinkable things to his parishioners, like skimming money from them and even doing awful things to their beautiful daughters.

So, gradually, his parishioners began to turn away from the temple, saying, “Whenever I go to that temple, my money gets stolen” and “That Zashu, he puts young women to sleep and takes advantage of them!”

This rumor spread from mouth to mouth and, in no time at all, reached from one end of Naha to the other. Soon there was not even a single pilgrim at Godou Temple. Nonetheless, Zashu kept stealing defiantly and, in people's eyes, it seemed he was  time and time again dragging off their beautiful daughters. It got so that, at the very sight of Zashu’s priestly robes, the people of Naha would flee into their houses and hold their breath waiting for him to pass into the distance.

The king at Shuri was outraged at Zashu’s deeds and ordered his men, “For someone who has dedicated his life to Buddha, this monk has gone way too far. Go cut off his head, now!”

The king assembled experts in karate, the fighting pole, and the sword from all over the country, over one hundred warriors altogether. Urged on by the king, the warriors triumphantly marched off from Shuri. But these warriors, who had set out to get rid of Zashu, were no match for him. When Zashu worked his magic, they began fighting among themselves and saw themselves changed into mice and snakes. So, there was never even a battle.

As the warriors fled in confusion, Zashu laughed with scorn, and cursed the king, saying, “Because you tried to kill me, consider your life as king over!”

Shocked at this report, the king called in Prince Chatan, his younger brother, who was renowned for his bravery. The king gave the prince the castle’s jeweled sword that had been handed down to him from the kings of Ryukyu before him and said, “Please lend me your strength. You are the only one who can strike down this majimun (sorcerer).

After returning to his residence at Ufumura Palace just below Shuri Castle, the prince thought of what to do as he slept with his head on his pillow. Suddenly,in a dream, the answer flashed into his mind. He abruptly got up and had his servants bring him sake and a needle.

The following day, with the western sky colored red by the setting sun ,Prince Chatan set off for Godou Temple with his jug of sake. If it were not for the sword at his waist, it would have seemed that he was just going out for a little fun.

Godou Temple had fallen into ruins. The grass in the courtyard was growing unchecked. The wood of the walls of the main hall were peeling away  Nevertheless,.“Anybody home?” called out the prince.

With the sound of loud footsteps, Zashu appeared. The prince bowed politely, looked Zashu straight in the eyes, and said, “I’m Prince Chatan. I’ve heard that there’s a master of go (a Japanese checker game) in this temple. So, I’ve stopped by for a match. Are you up for it?”

Zashu had heard of the fame of the great Prince Chatan and, although inwardly ill-at-ease, said, “If it’s an opponent for a game of go you want, that’s fine with me.” Then he impassively brought Prince Chatan into a room in the temple.

The two of them began playing go and drinking sake. But noticing the prince’s sword, Zashu never let down his guard for a moment. And the prince never let down his. Meanwhile, all that could be heard was shrill snap of the go stones being placed one by one on the board.

Time passed and the moon rose high in the night sky. Tired of enduring the tension, Zashu called on his power of hypnotic spells and began intoning some sort of chant in a murmur. Realizing that the time had come and he needed to keep control of himself, the prince pulled out the needle that he had stuck in his sleeve, hid it in his sake cup, and transferred it into his mouth. Once there, he immediately stuck it into his tongue, so that the pain would keep his mind clear of the enchantment. 

Because of the sharp pain running through his whole body, the prince was able to escape Zashu’s sorcery. But to deceive Zashu, the prince deliberately rested his head down on the go board and started snoring.

Put at ease by the prince’s seemingly deep sleep, Zashu said with a laugh, “Even if you are the great Prince Chatan, in my presence, you’re like nothing but a newborn child!” Then he grasped the prince’s throat from behind and tried to strangle him.

Swiftly drawing the sword from his side, the prince stood up, knocking Zashu down with his shoulder, and instantly slashing with his sword. But it seems that even a prince can be off balance. At that very moment his leg got caught in the go stand, and his sword swished through the air, cutting off only Zashu’s left ear. With his ear cut off, Zashu ran off screaming in pain toward the great hall of the temple. 

Unwilling to let Zashu get away, the prince ran after him. As soon as he set foot in the great hall, the prince turned his head to look around. But Zashu was nowhere to be seen in the silence of the hall. With his sword still in hand and ready, the prince intently searched the room. 

Just then the light of the moon pierced the darkness of the great hall of the temple’s main building, and the prince saw something red on the floor. Drop after drop it came falling down, forming a pool on the floor. The red drops were flowing from the body of a huge poison spider flattened against the ceiling.

The spider came sliding down a single strand of its web. At the instant that it hit the floor, poised to attack, the prince sliced the spider in half, body and soul, with his sword. Then, with a groan like nothing heard in this world, the poison spider breathed its last at the prince’s feet. That was how Zashu Kurogane met his earthly end..

The people of Naha heaved a collective  sigh of relief. However, the very next night, the ghost of a monk with one ear was seen standing in a corner of Ufumura Palace. Moreover, each time a son was born to the prince’s family, the child soon died because of the curse of Zashu.

So, on orders of Prince Chatan, henceforth, whenever a son was born at the palace, it was announced by the palace servants in a loud voice facing the outside gate, the same as for a daughter, “Ufu inagu nu umariton du (A great daughter has been born)!”. Since then, even if a son were born, the curse has had no effect.This custom is said to remain even now around Shuri.

Perhaps this children’s song, still sung around Naha, had its origins in the same story:

Ufumura-udun nu kadu nakai

In the corner of Ufumura Palace

Mimichiri booji nu tacchon do.

Monks with their ears cut off are standing.

Ikutai ikutai taccho ga ya?

How many, how many are standing there?

Micchyai yuttai tacchon do,

Three or four of them are standing there,

Irana n shiigu n mucchon do

Waiting with sickles and short swords

Naachuru warabe mimi gusu gusu.

To slice slice the ears off crying kids.

Heyo heyo naakan do!

Hey, hey, better not cry!  

Heyo heyo naakan do!

Hey, hey, better not cry!  

(Translator’s note. Perhaps it is gratuitous to add the transliterated Ryukuan lyrics to this song. However, this is the final story in this series and I thought it was a way of showing a bit of the syllabic cadence, the alliteration, and the rhyme of a Ryukyuan poem. Anyone interested in hearing the song can find a version at: 

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=%E3%81%86%E3%81%B5%E3%82%80%E3%82%89%E3%81%86%E3%81%A9%E3%81%85%E3%82%93%20%E6%AD%8C%E8%A9%9E&tbm=&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:565cb8a6,vid:76UTtLdC0UI,st:0

The meager remnants of Ufumura Udun (Great Village Palace) are indicated by a marker between Sueyoshi Park and Gibo Station near Shuri in Naha.)

Note on pronunciation: Okinawan consonants sound much the same as their alphabetical counterparts in English. Vowels follow the sounds of the a,e,i,o,u of Italian or Spanish. Doubling means that the vowel is lengthened, not repeated.

Story: compiled and written in Japanese by Kyoko Ishikawa. English translation by William A. O’Donnell (odomnail@rocketmail.com), edited by Thomas Marsh.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day