Japanese Legend Collection

(II) The Two-tree Legend and the Cane Stick Legend

(A) Tarobo and Jirobo

A small shrine called Hiraiso Shrine can be seen in a thick forest on the western edge of the fishing village of Hiraiso, about a mile east of Shizugawa Town, Motoyoshi County, Miyagi Prefecture. There are two cedars in front of the shrine building: Tarobo and Jirobo. I don't know if they are hundreds of years old cedars that are hundreds of years old, but they are large trees that are probably nine meters in circumference. And their height is also extraordinary, which, when seen from the top of a hill on the way to this village, is exactly as high as the hill itself. The treetops of the cedar called Tarobo are forked, and a great big stone is caught between the forks.

circumference（名）外周、円周

A long time ago, two gods went fishing to the sea and were caught in a windstorm, breaking both the mast and rudder and getting wrecked before they washed up on Hiraiso Beach. They found two appropriate cedar trees. They wanted to cut down the cedars and use them as sailing poles for their ships, so they first cut down the Tarobo, which curiously gushed red blood from the cut end. It is said that they were so surprised to see it that two of them were able to carry a large stone nearby and put it on top of the cut, finally stopping the bleeding and leaving safely. The two cedars grew gradually into the present Tarobo and Jirobo, and the large stones visible near the treetops of Tarobo still have the stones used to stop the bleeding at that time.

rudder（名）舵

wreck（動）壊す

gush（動）ほとばしる、湧き出る

treetop（名）梢

The two cedars are now landmarks for fishing boats. The two gods are said to have been Kashima and Katori* (Shiba Takeyasu).

(B) The Chopstick Cedars

There is a large cedar tree about 109 meters north of the Hachiman Shrine* in Honda, Minami-Kawachi County, Kawachi Province. It is said that a long time ago, after Saigyo had eaten his lunch here, he stuck two cedar chopsticks into the ground, and they started to grow bigger and bigger. (Minamikawachi X)

(C) The Two-pronged Bamboos

In the precincts of a temple dedicated to Prince Shotoku* in Taishi Village, Minami-Kawachi County, Kawachi Province, about 20 bamboo trees, each about six feet tall, grow four feet square. Strangely, all these bamboo trees are forked. Said to have been planted by Prince Shotoku, this bamboo is said to fulfill a wish for marriage and is said to have many pieces of paper tied together. (Minamikawachi X)

pronged（形）叉のある

precinct（名）境内

(Note)Eifukuji Temple in Isonaga Village, Minami-Kawachi County, is dedicated to Prince Shotoku and also contains his tomb. He is commonly called the prince of Kamigata. The seven wonders of the temple are Two-pronged Bamboo, Stone Broken into Three Pieces, Stacked Stones, Upside-down Cedar, Zelkova Cane, Ground not Dented by Raindrops, and the Blessings of Treasures. When the Prince once climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji and looked out to see where there might be a suitable place to make a grave for him to be buried after his death, he gladly decided on the location of the grave here and planted two bamboos as a landmark because the Isonaga village was lit up. Since then, it has been said that whenever the bamboos die, replacement bamboos grow naturally, and of course, two-pronged bamboos still grow. And neither broad-leaf bamboo nor grass has ever grown on this grave. Long ago, when the Prince was young, he was better and wiser than the common man, so people worried about his future that they worked out a plot to kill him, and hundreds of army soldiers tried to crush him with large stones. The Prince got angry and threw back the stone with both hands and it broke into three pieces, one of which flew to the bamboos marking the Prince's grave. He was even more delighted and decided to make it his own tomb. Even now, the stone is by the grave in the shape of a cow lying down. When the Prince was building the tomb, he stuck the chopsticks he used to eat into the ground. It sprouted and has flourished to this day, a thousand years later. He pricked the chopsticks with their thicker sides up, so all the branches on the bottom grew thick, and the top appeared to have snapped. This is the upside-down cedar. The zelkova stick used to bury the Prince was stung on the ground, and it has sprouted and is now a big old tree. In this village, drops of rain falling from the roof don't dent the ground no matter how many years they drip; and this is also the Prince's blessing. There are many treasures in Eifukuji Temple. It rains heavily when you touch them. So if it rains all the time, the locals have a custom of saying it's because someone tampered with the treasures. Only a highly noble person can see these treasures. If there are besieged by drought, all you have to do is fiddle with these treasures and it will rain. (Tayoru Inoue)

zelkova（名）ケヤキ

dent（動）へこませる

blessing（名）神の恵み、恩恵

broad-leaf bamboo......ササ

work out......考え出す

plot（名）陰謀

snap（動）鋭い音を立てて折れる

tamper（動）許可なくいじる

drought（名）旱魃

(D) Cherry Blossoms at Ankokuji Temple

Two miles from Monobe Village, Ikaruga District, Tamba Province, one reaches Ankokuji Village. There was one cherry tree on the grounds of Ankokuji Temple* in this village. Now it has withered, leaving only the roots. It is said that once upon a time a gardener brought this cherry tree and while talking to the chief priest about whether or not to sell it, the cherry tree that had been in a basket-like container came out with its roots, penetrated the container, went deep into the ground, and took root. The gardener saw it and decided to donate it to the temple. (Toru Takagi)

penetrate（動）突き刺す、貫く

(E) A Cedar in A Rice Field

In a rice field about two miles from Matsuo in Osugi Village, Casa County, Tamba Province, there is a cedar that is said to have sprouted when a hermit once brought a cedar cane and stuck it into the ground. Perhaps it has been pushed so deep that it appears to have grown hundreds of cedar trees, with leaves at its base, because only the branches are sticking out hidden in the soil, not to mention the roots and even the trunk. It is a hindrance, but it is said that if you ask the cedar, it will cure the rice if it goes wrong, so it is still allowed to flourish. (Toru Takagi)

hermit（名）隠者、仙人

hindrance（名）障害物

(A)

*Kashima and Katori: Kashima Shrine is a shrine in Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture that is dedicated to Takemikazuchi, a warrior god. Katori Shrine is a shrine in Katori City, Chiba Prefecture, where Futsunushi is enshrined. These two gods were sent to Izumo to negotiate with Okuninushi to surrender the land.

(B)

*Hachiman Shrine: A Shinto shrine in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture. Adjacent to the tomb of Emperor Ojin, it is said to be the oldest Hachiman Shrine.

**Saigyo: (1118 - 1190) Samurai, monk, poet. He was a samurai named Norikiyo Sato, but in 1140 he became a priest and called himself Saigyo. Traveling across the country, he composed waka poems that greatly influenced subsequent generations of poets and haiku poets. His most famous waka: I'd like to die under the cherry blossoms in the spring, if possible, when the full moon of February comes out.

(C)

*a temple dedicated to Prince Shotoku: Eifukuji Temple

(D)

*Ankokuji Temple: A temple of the Rinzai sect in Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture. Founded in 993, it was converted into Ankokuji to mourn the war dead by the Ashikaga family, the shoguns of the Muromachi period.

(E)