Japanese Legend Collection

(II) Otohihimeko-type Legend

(A) Bull's Head

There is a mountain road leading from Mazawa, Nishiyama Village, Nishimurayama County, Yamagata Prefecture, to Tsurube, and about 50 ~ 60 meters from Tsurube is a mysterious stream called Shirinashi Stream. There is so much water in there that there is nowhere to flow out. And yet the water dries out before you know it. They say it is called Shirinashi (no back) stream because there is no back part that flows out.

Once upon a time, this was a big swamp, and the genius of the swamp was a serpent. From there, there was a couple who made a living making baskets in Kagoshi, northeast. It was the wife's role to come to the swamp every day to fetch water and wash rice. One evening, as she was washing rice here as usual, the genius of the swamp caught her at first sight and dragged her at last to the bottom of the swamp. The basket-maker was so angry that he drove several wooden stakes of chestnuts, which the serpent hated, into the marsh. Then, impatient, the serpent transformed into a bull's head and flew out of the swamp, flying high into the sky and out of sight. When the genius of the swamp disappeared, the water of the swamp gradually dwindled, and before we knew it, it became the dry river Shirinashi stream it is now.

impatient（形）待ちきれずに

dwindle（動）縮小する

Its northwest corner is now named Ushigakubi (bull's head) (Kikumatsu Sugano in Motodera Koji, Sendai City).

(B) The Snake-pattern Bamboos

There used to be a farmer with a lot of land in Ampachi County, Mino Province. One year, as the drought continued the water ran out, and the rice in the field nearly died, the farmer, whose name was Ampachi Dayu, was extremely worried. He said he would thank anyone who gave him water and prayed at shrines and temples here and there but without any benefit. When he had given up thinking that he was surely being punished for not having rain even after praying so earnestly, the sky suddenly clouded one day and a heavy rain fell, and the dying rice plant quickly recovered. His joy was extraordinary. He didn't know who he owed it to, but he knew in his heart that he had to thank him. One day, he was walking with his daughter along the bank of a large pond in the village when a wonderful giant serpent suddenly appeared from the pond. His daughter jumped into the pond while he was surprised and upset. He gave up, thinking that if it was the serpent in the pond that made it rain, it could not be helped, and decided to sacrifice his daughter as a token of his gratitude. Since then, his daughter has made sure to come back once a year. She had firmly asked him not to see her in her sleep at all costs, but when he forgot his promise and peeped gently into her bedroom, he found, astonishingly, a giant serpent all over the room.

drought（名）旱魃

astonishingly（副）驚くべき程に

She never came back after that, but around that time, the bamboo at the edge of the pond was patterned with snakes. Even now, the bamboos there have the pattern. It is said that when someone put fruit on a tray and floated it in the pond, a vortex formed and rolled it together with the tray until only the tray floated. (Toru Takagi)

vortex（名）渦巻き

(C) Otowa Pond

A long time ago, in a temple called Dangishobo in Kawarada, Sado Province, there was a beautiful maid named Otowa. Just when it was rice planting season, she went to the mountain to collect bracken to prepare a side dish for a meal to be eaten by those who would help with rice planting tomorrow, and caught by the abundance of good bracken, she climbed, without realizing it, to the vicinity of Mt. Kinpoku, an ancient abomination of uncleanliness that women should not climb.

abundance（名）沢山、多量

bracken（名）ワラビ

abomination（名）強い嫌悪

It was almost dusk. At that time, her waist was dirty because she was menstruating, but there was a pond, so she washed the dirty loincloth with water in the pond. Then the giant serpent of the pond genius came out disguised as a fine man and wooed her. I don't know what she thought then, but she got engaged just as he said and came away from there.

menstruate（動）生理がある

loincloth（名）下帯

They had apparently promised in advance, and the next day the man immediately came to pick her up. He was riding a white horse. She got ready at once and got out of the exit, and to avoid notice she darted into the sky and hurried toward the mountain with the big serpent man.

When the priest of the temple saw Otowa and thought it strange and made a mark, she gradually climbed toward the mountain and stood on the bank of the pond. When the priest realized that she was sure to sink into the water, he ran out to hold her, and when he asked why, she said, holding back the tears that flowed, "In fact, when I came to pick bracken yesterday and was washing my waist in this pond, the genius of the pond fell in love with me and I had no choice but to get engaged. I am sorry to say goodbye without giving anything back to you, although I have been taking care of you for a long time. Please understand my situation and allow me to say goodbye, "and jumped into the pond and left the mirror, the tortoiseshell comb, and the sleeve of the hemp kimono as keepsakes. After that, she is said to have become a genius at Otowa Pond.

tortoiseshell（名）鼈甲

keepsake（名）形見、記念品

Her mementos are still the treasures of the Dangishobo Temple. The pond orbits for about 1.5 kilometers, with a floating island in the center about one-third the size of the entire pond. It's always moving here and there with the wind. Even with 40 ~ 50 people on board, it won't sink. There are two wells on the floating island, and freshwater always comes out. (Shogetsu Nakayama in Ebisu Port, Sado Province)

Note: There is a floating island of grassroots in a pond covered with ferns. There are two holes leading to the bottom of the pond in the center of this island. When the rice cracker offered to the dragon god of pond genius is floated in the water in this hole, only the portion received by the dragon god sinks to the bottom in a spiral, while the portion not received floats. Pour the liquor inside and when she receives it, draw a line and sink. That's how you can tell if the giver is diligent or lazy. June 23 of the lunar calendar is the day when she married the genius of Otowa Pond, and on that day the locals offer food to the pond, raise flags, and beat gongs to worship her spirit. On this day, the worshippers at the Chokoku Temple will see a garment with a moth-eaten hole that is said to have been worn by her. Chokoku Temple is the temple where Otowa lived. Otowa Pond is still worshipped by local people because it is said to be a sacred pond with great miraculous efficacy for both apotropaisms and rainmaking. (Seiichi Okazaki)

grassroot（名）草の根

fern（名）シダ

rice cracker（名）煎餅

moth-eaten（形）虫に食われる

apotropaism（名）厄除け

(D) The Teahouse Lady

In Aimoto Village, Shimoniikawa County, Toyama Prefecture, there is a bridge called the Aimoto Bridge that has a long reputation. The Kurobe River, which runs under the bridge, is a torrent that rises from behind Mt. Renge in the Tateyama Mountain range, and the depth under the bridge is unknown. There is a teahouse on the west side of the bridge.

There used to be a beautiful girl in this teahouse. One night, a handsome man in the shape of a 22 ~ 23-year-old samurai visited the teahouse, talked with "I am a vassal of the Kaga clan, and luckily have no wife yet, so I have come all the way here after hearing your daughter's reputation." and insisted on making her his wife. Her parents were delighted to hear that he was a warrior and immediately gave him their daughter. She had not heard from her for about two years after the samurai took her. They were worried because they remembered their daughter when she suddenly came home in the third year. She said, "I came home to give birth this time, and I have a favor to ask my parents about it. During my delivery, please don't look into my room under any circumstances, "and her parents agreed, but didn't care. Once they told her not to peek, they wanted to peek more and more and couldn't stand it. They looked into her room through a gap in the sliding screen, thinking it would be all right if they only had a glimpse, and to their surprise, what she bore were twelve tiny snakes. The noise of their surprise and clatter surprised her too, and realizing that she might have seen her child, crying and telling her parents "I had the misfortune to fall in love with a giant serpent that lives under this bridge, and now I am his wife and live with him. The samurai who came before had the giant serpent come in a temporary transformation to make me his wife. If I disobey my husband, there is no life for me. This is our farewell in this world ", she hid herself in a pool under the bridge with small snakes.

clatter（名）騒々しい音

Even now, the teahouse has an old hanging scroll depicting small snakes borne by her daughter. The bank on the side of the teahouse is now merged into the village of Shimodate. (Sekijiro Izumi in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture)

*Otohihimeko: Also known as Matsurasayohime. She was the wife of Otomo Satehiko, an ancient local ruling family, and is said to have waved her sleeve off when he went on an expedition to Korea. Her legend is described in the ancient anthology of Japanese poetry "Manyoshu" and the topography "Fudoki".

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