Japanese Legend Collection

(II) Legend of the Vengeful Spirit: (i) Legend of the Vengeful Spirit

(A) Tojinbo

Tojinbo* in Osima Village, Sakai County, Echizen Province was worshiped by local people because Tojinbo, a dissolute monk who used to live in Heisen Temple, was harassed by his peers, forced to drink and then pushed off the cliff into the sea. According to a story about Zen teachings told by a priest at a festival on April 5, a guidebook on scenic beauty contains a story in which an angry figure of Tojinbo appears on the waves when the wind becomes violent and rough waves occur. (Sado Nishimura)

dissolute（形）放蕩な

(B) The Monk Star

Farmers in Kamihataki, Shiratori Village, Kashima County, Ibaraki Prefecture, say it will rain whenever the Monk Star of Kazusa appears tomorrow.

When I asked an old man in this village, he told me that the priest of a temple in Kazusa Province had become a star after being brutally tortured and killed by the villagers. It is said that when he died, he said, 'Look to the south, because if I die, I will become a star and it will appear the night before the rain.' Later, when the villagers were paying attention, it was true that a dim and resentful star appeared near the mountain in the southern sky the night before the rain. This star still appears. (Hiroshi Sugaya in Ishizu, Shiratori Village, Kashima County, Ibaraki Prefecture)

brutally（副）残酷に

torture（動）拷問にかける

dim（形）おぼろげな

resentful（形）恨みがましい

(C) The Pond that Killed the Daughter-in-law

It is a story handed down in Samizu, Kofu Village, Sarashina County, Shinano Province.

A long time ago, a mother-in-law in this village bullied her daughter-in-law. One year, during the rice planting season, the mother-in-law gave her daughter-in-law a stern order to plant all the seedlings in one day. She worked hard but didn't make much progress because of the large rice field. It was nearly over when the sun went down. She was so disappointed and died there.

seedling（名）苗

It is not known when, but water gushed out of this field and a large pond was formed. No matter how bad the droughts are now, the water in this pond will never decrease. It has long been said in the local community that you can hear the sound of her crying when the weather changes. (Takayoshi Koike in Kami-Minochi Conty)

(D) Blood Pond

The Blood Pond is located near Hinagu Town, Ashikita County, Higo Province. Once upon a time, a battle broke out between two defeated warriors of the Taira clan who were holed up in the hills around here because of their grudge, and one warrior was attacked and destroyed by the other. The cause of their defeat was that the plan of a surprise attack on the opponent leaked from the maid, so the warriors got angry and killed the maid and abandoned her body in the pond. It is said that every year on the day of her murder, a blood-red will-o’-the-wisp appears vaguely around the pond because her bitterness never leaves the place. It is a famous story in my hometown. (Tomito Izu in Ashikita County, Higo Province)

grudge（名）恨み、怨念

will-o’-the-wisp（名）鬼火

bitterness（名）恨み

(A)

*Tojinbo: A cliff in Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture. It is a columnar joint of andesite, rare worldwide and designated as a natural monument of Japan.

(B)

(C)

(D)