by How to Fool a Cat- Japanese Folktales for Children (retail) (epub)
“Well, it’s a long story, but on my way here last time, foxes in that mountain stole my inari-zushi. It was very important to me. So I want to pay them back. I want to catch them. To do that, I need a huge bag and Mouse Tempura.”
The villagers said to each other, “It’s not hard to prepare that for him, but he can’t see. Do you think he can catch foxes?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Those foxes trick us all the time. But if we can’t catch them with our eyes wide open, it’s impossible for Zatobo-sama to catch them.”
Zatobo-sama begged, “I’m not sure if I can catch them, but I have a plan I want to try. So please give me the bag and the Mouse Tempura.”
Villagers finally agreed. They made a huge bag. As Zatobo-sama asked, the bag had a drawstring to close it instantly with one pull. They also fried a lot of Mouse Tempura. With the bag and Mouse Tempura, Zatobo-sama set off.
He went up the mountain and came to the place where his inari-zushi had been stolen. “I think it was around here.”
He opened the bag, tied one end of the drawstring to a tree trunk, and put the other end around his wrist. He propped the mouth of the bag open with two twigs. In the bottom of the bag, he put the Mouse Tempura. Then, he sat down by the opening of that huge bag and started playing his shamisen.
Penko, penko, penko, penko. (music of plucked
strings)
Penko, penko, penko, penko.
Please sing a song,
With my shamisen.
Penko, penko, penko, penko,
Penko, penko, penko, penko.
Please sing a song,
With my shamisen.
Penko, penko, penko, penko,
Peko, penko, penko, penko.
Clap your hands, and stamp your feet,
Please dance with me.
Penko, penko, penko, penko,
Penko, penko, penko, penko.
If you dance with me,
The ancestors will be pleased.
Penko, penko, penko, penko,
Penko, penko, penko, penko . . .
As he played, he heard something coming out. He said,
“I don’t know who you are, but please dance and please sing. It will please the souls of the deceased.”
Penko, penko, penko, penko,
Penko, penko, penko, penko.
Many foxes came out as they smelled the Mouse Tempura. They started to dance with Zatobo-sama’s shamisen. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. “They are dancing. They are dancing,” he thought. So he sang,
Please sing a song, with my shamisen.
Then he heard them singing,
Woo, woo, woo,
Woo, woo, woo.
So he sang,
Clap your hands and stamp your feet,
Please dance with me.
Then he heard them dancing,
Shan, shan, shan, shan.
Their footsteps went high and low. Zatobo-sama listened intently as he played shamisen, penko, penko. The foxes were really more interested in the Mouse Tempura than in dancing. One by one, they sneaked into the bag, passing by Zatobo-sama.
He listened as he played.
“Now there goes the first one.”
Penko, penko, penko, penko.
“Now there goes the second one.”
Penko, penko penko, penko.
“Now there goes the third one. The fourth one.”
He counted as he played his shamisen.
Penko, penko, penko, penko,
If you dance with me,
The ancestors will be pleased.
There went the seventh one. The ninth one.
When he thought he had waited long enough, he put down his shamisen, pulled the drawstring and closed the bag.
He carried the bag full of yapping foxes back to the village and handed it to the villagers.
He got a lot of money and continued on his way homeward.
Oshimai
COMMENT FROM FUJITA-SAN: I don’t know if it is true or not, but the old tales said that foxes love fried tofu, red bean rice, and Mouse Tempura.
You hold a mouse by its tail, dip it in a batter of water and flour, and deep-fry it. Then you have a yummy fresh Mouse Tempura . . . Takeda Kuni described that to me as if he had done it before. I didn’t ask if he had ever eaten it.
I like the image of foxes dancing and singing for the sake of Mouse Tempura. Uncle Kuni didn’t tell me what the villagers did to the foxes afterwards, whether they were sold to a furrier or set free after a long scolding, I don’t know.
TANUKI
English translations sometimes say “raccoon dog” or “badger” for tanuki, but these are misleading. Tanuki is a member of the dog family, Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus. They look like foxes wearing fluffy raccoon coats and black masks. Like American raccoons, they eat almost anything and often cause trouble to farmers.
Like American opossums, tanukis can “play dead” if they are attacked or startled. Then after a while, they get up and run away. Mrs. Fujita thinks that this dead/alive behavior may have earned them credit for supernatural powers.
In Japanese folktales, some tanukis have shape-changing power that they can use to fool people. They are fast and tricky, but not very clever. Tanuki in the story, ONE BEAN MAKE A THOUSAND BEANS was mean, but didn’t change shape.
Clouded Moon
Once upon a time, two men from a village were walking together near Amado Bridge. A full moon rose up from the mountainside.
“Oh, it’s a full moon tonight. What a beautiful moon! Now that it’s up, we should pray to it.”
So they stopped and put their hands together for the moon.
Suddenly, from a pine tree beside the bridge, there rose another moon.
“What a surprise! Here’s another moon. Which one is real, that moon, or this moon? But we should not neglect this moon.”
So they prayed to the second moon, too. But what if it was really a shape-changing tanuki?
One of the men said to the other, “I think a clouded moon is much more beautiful. The moon should have a cloud with it.”
A cloud appeared on the moon by the pine tree.
“Oh, that one looks beautiful. But if it had one more cloud, it would look even more beautiful.”
Another cloud appeared on the moon by the pine tree.
“Another cloud! How wonderful! How beautiful it would look if there was still another cloud!”
Then another cloud appeared. The moon seemed to be wobbling a little.
The two men whispered together, “Tanuki is said to make clouds with his paws. He’s using three . . . so let’s ask him for one more.”
“It would be wonderful if there was another cloud!” they said in a loud voice.
Right after the fourth cloud appeared, that extra moon fell down from the pine tree and was gone.
Oshimai
COMMENT FROM FUJITA-SAN: Amado Bridge is in the west of Fukushima-city. Toshiko Endo told me that there used to be many tanuki there. People believed a tanuki climbed up a tall pine tree and changed its paws into clouds. The more clouds he wanted, the more paws he needed for them, and if he wanted four clouds he would naturally fall down.
NOTE FROM FRAN: Mrs. Fujita says that even today, some Japanese people feel that the moon is the land of the dead. Her grandmother taught her that one must always greet the full moon with hands joined in prayer. It is a way of paying respect to the spirits of ancestors.
A Tanuki Drum
Once upon a time, there was a Jisama living alone in a small mountain hut.
One day, while he was working on the mountain, he heard a cry. “Kya, kyan. Kya, kyan.”
He went to see what it was and found a little tanuki caught in a trap. He helped it to escape.
That night, its mother came and said, “Thank you very much for saving my child this morning. I would like to give you a gift, but I’ve got nothing. So I’ll change myself into a drum. Please take it to town tomorrow and sell it.”
She did a flip in the air and changed herself into a small hand drum.
He held it and hit it once. The drum sang,
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no (sounds of drumming)
Joyful, joyful, Goyo pine tree.
“Wow! Goyo pine tree is the best good luck! This is fun,” Jisama said and hit it again.
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no,
Joyful, joyful, Goyo pine tree.
“This really is a delightful drum. I think I can make good money selling this.”
Next day, he went to a town. In a plaza full of people, he hit the drum once.
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no,
Joyful, joyful, Goyo pine tree.
“It’s a delightful drum. You can have fun with it.”
People liked it. Some threw coins every time he hit the drum. Some wanted to buy it. But Jisama was reluctant to sell it.
As the sun was going down, a child of a wealthy family came with his mother. He nagged, “I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it.”
His mother gave Jisama a lot of money and took the drum.
Knowing that the drum was a mother tanuki, the man had hit it lightly so that he wouldn’t hurt her. But the rich boy hit it many, many times.
Pon pon, pon, pon.
At first, the drum went,
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no,
Joyful, joyful, Goyo pine tree.
The child hit it again, Pon.
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no,
Joyful, joyful, Goyo pine tree.
Another pon!
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no
Another pon!
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no
Another pon!
OPpoko-PON no, SUPpoko-PON no.
Ouch-ous! Ouch-ous! Goyo pine tree.
Another pon!
Ouch-ous! Ouch-ous! Goyo pine tree.
Ouch-ous, ouch-ous, ouch!
Then it went silent.
The child said, “This is not fun anymore.” He left it by the window.
That night, the mother tanuki ran back home to the mountain.
Oshimai
COMMENT FROM FUJITA-SAN: Folktales say that a drum or a teakettle may really be a fox or a tanuki, and can easily run away. So you have to watch out not to lose them.
I’m glad I know many old tales, because they give me practical advice. If I lose something, perhaps it was really a tanuki. Or if I burn cooked vegetables in the pot, probably the god of Fire took them. If I am poor, the Poor god is living with me.
My house is not a mansion with a drawing room, but a Zashiki Warashi (drawing room child, a kind of mischievous spirit) seems to be living with me. He sometimes moves things in my house. For example, I sometimes can’t find a book on its usual shelf. I need the book for that day’s meeting, so I look and look, but can’t find it. Finally I give up and leave home without it. When I return home, I find the book on its usual shelf where I looked over and over that morning.
This kind of thing often happens to me. But I don’t feel so bad because I think Zashiki Warashi is just playing his tricks on me.
Zuiten and Tanuki
Once upon a time, there was a young apprentice in a Buddhist temple. His name was Zuiten.
One day, he was staying in the temple alone while his master the priest was away, visiting one of their parishioners. Zuiten-san heard somebody call his name outside the temple door.
“Zuiiiii-Ten. Zuiiiii-Ten.”
“Yes!” he answered and opened the door. But there was nobody.
“Was it only my imagination?” he thought and went back inside.
Then, again he heard, “Zuiiiii-Ten. Zuiiiii-Ten.”
“Who is this?” he wondered and opened the door. But again, there was nobody.
He went inside and soon again he heard, “Zuiiiii-Ten.”
But this time, Zuiten-san didn’t open the door. He went out by the back door and saw a tanuki at the front door. Tanuki was scrubbing his long bushy tail against the front door. It made the sound, “zuiiiii.” Then he knocked the door with the back of his head. It made the sound, “ten!” He made another “zuiiiii” sound with his tail and then another “ten!” sound with his head. “Zuiiiii-Ten!”
“A-ha! Tanuki is making fun of me!” Zuiten-san knew what to do.
He went inside by the back door and through the front door crack he watched Tanuki.
Right after Tanuki made another “zuiiiii” sound with his tail, Zuiten-san slid the door wide open. Tanuki intended to hit the door with his head, but since there was no door to hit, he fell in on his back.
Zuiten-san tried to catch Tanuki. Tanuki ran all over the temple. Zuiten-san chased Tanuki this way. Zuiten-san chased Tanuki that way. At last, Zuiten-san lost track of Tanuki.
“Where did he go? Where did he go?” Zuiten-san searched for Tanuki in many rooms. Finally he gave up. He went into the main hall and decided to chant a sutra. He sat in front of the altar and faced Amitabha (statue of Buddha). There he found not one, but two Amitabha!
“Aha!” Zuiten-san thought quickly. “The extra one must be Tanuki! How should I get him? How?” And he got a wonderful idea.
He chanted, “Namu amida butsu, namu amida butsu,” and rang the bell, Chiiiin!
Then he said, “Mighty Amitabha, this is the end of my prayer today. You must put your tongue out as always!”
One of the two Amitabha statues put his tongue out.
Zuiten-san continued, “Mighty Amitabha, before you go to sleep, you must take a bath as always. Please follow me.”
That Amitabha who had put his tongue out, came down from the altar. He followed Zuiten-san to the bathing room.
“Mighty Amitabha, before you take a bath, you must be bundled up with rope as always,” Zuiten-san said and brought a rope. He wrapped the Amitabha statue with the rope and put him in the hot tub. He kept the end of the rope, put a lid on the tub, and a heavy weight on the lid. Then he started a fire under the tub to heat the bath water.
PONKA, PONKA, PONKA, PONKA (sound of flames and bubbling). He heated the water.
Finally, that Amitabha statue started to moan, “Ouch! Ouch!! Help, help!”
Zuiten-san helped Tanuki out from the hot tub.
Tanuki had scalds here and there. “I will never make fun of people again! Never!” he promised and ran away.
Oshimai
NOTE FROM FRAN: In the old days, in districts where hot water wasn’t available from volcanic hot springs, hot tubs were heated by building a fire under them—like a giant soup kettle. The tub had an insulated lid to keep the water hot until it was needed.
PRIESTS, MONKS, AND APPRENTICES
Parting Advice
INSIGHT: Zuiten was a real person, about whom many fictional stories were told. Some call him Zuiton.
Once upon a time, there was a young apprentice priest in a Buddhist temple. His name was Zuiten-san. He was a very eager student. He studied and practiced very hard.
One day, his master the priest summoned him and said, “I don’t have anything more to teach you. Now I will send you out to the people. In the village, among the people, you must learn by yourself.”
“Thank you, master,” said Zuiten-san. He went back to his room and packed his things, which weren’t so many. Before leaving, he went to see his master again to say farewell.
“My master, thank you very much for everything you taught me. Now I’ll live among the people in the village and learn more about the truth.” Zuiten-san bowed and closed the door. He was about to leave when his master called him back.
“For your journey, I’ll give you a token of my best wishes,” he said.
“Thank you, master,” Zuiten-san said and waited kneeling in the hallway.
From the master’s room, he heard this: “In a busy time, use your hands, not your mouth. This is my gift.”
“Thank you, master,” Zuiten-san stood up and went to the main hall. He put on his shoes. He was about to go out the door, when he hear
d the master calling him again.
“Wait! I will give you another token. Small tree is better than big tree. This is another of my best wishes,” said the master.
“Thank you, master,” Zuiten-san said and went out the door. He walked down the path to the gate. He was about to pass through the gate when he heard this loud voice: “One more time you must wait. I will give you one more token.”
Zuiten-san stood still and waited.
“The smaller room is better than the big one. This is the last token,” said the master.
“Thank you, master,” said Zuiten-san. And off he went.
He went to the village. He saw farmers’ houses here and there. He was passing by one of the houses when suddenly, the sky got dark and it started to rain. From that house an old woman jumped out in the rain. She was so old that her back was bent forward. She waddled like a duck. Though she was so old, she was trying all by herself to drag indoors the straw mats on which beans and grains had been drying.
“Oof! Oof!” she said and pulled the mats, trying to bring them inside under the roof.
“Oh, it’s too hard for her,” Zuiten-san thought. He was going to ask her if she needed help.
Then he remembered: “In a busy time, use your hands, not your mouth.”
So Zuiten-san didn’t say anything. He just gathered the mats and brought everything inside.