Ugetsu Monogatari or Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Routledge Revivals)

by Ueda Akinari

  ‘What a horrible thing to say,’ I replied, my tears ceasing at his words. ‘People have always thought you were very intelligent, and you must realise full well a ruler's moral responsibility;43 so, Your Majesty, I want to ask you whether you believe that your intention to revolt during the Hōgen Era44 was in accordance with the teachings of the Sun Goddess,45 or if you were scheming for selfish ends ? Please explain yourself.’

  Hereupon, his highness grew indignant. ‘Listen!’ he said. The Emperor ranks highest among men. Yet, when someone from above disturbs the course of humanity, he must be punished, in keeping with the will of heaven46 and following the wishes of the people. During the Eiji Era,47 though I had done nothing wrong, I obeyed my father's command and abdicated in favour of the Emperor Konoe, who was only three years old.48 One can hardly say that my action was selfish. But when Konoe died prematurely, both I myself as well as the people believed that my son, Prince Shigehito,49 should rule the nation. But I was thwarted by Lady Bifukumon'in’s50 jealousy, and can you imagine how humiliated I was at having my line usurped by Goshirakawa,51 the Fourth Prince? Shigehito had a talent for ruling, whereas Goshirakawa had no such skill. Although my father suffered from such vices as inability to appoint good men and tended to seek counsel from the palace ladies, still, as long as he lived I observed filial piety and remained loyal to him. But when he died, my patience gave way, and I moved with courage and decision.

  ‘Once upon a time in China a subject struck down his lord,’52 he raved wildly in conclusion, ‘and because the deed was in accord with heaven and conformed to the wishes of the people, the man founded a line that endured for eight hundred years -the Chou Dynasty. All the more justifiable would it be for a capable heir to replace a ruler during whose reign hens crowed in the morning.53 You have deserted your family54 to indulge in Buddhism. From selfish desire to gain future salvation, you have sacrificed human ethics for faith in karma. Can you deny that you have confounded the way of Shakyamuni with the teachings of Yao and Shun ?’

  ‘Your Highness takes refuge in arguing about lay affairs,’ I began, without shrinking from him,55 but rather drawing closer. ‘Yet, you have failed to free yourself from desire. There is no need to cite examples from faraway China. Long ago Emperor Honda of our imperial line56 passed over his eldest son, Prince Ōsasagi,57 and designated his youngest, Prince Uji, to be heir apparent. When the emperor died, each son tried to give way to the other, and neither would ascend to the imperial rank. After three years the matter still remained unsettled, and Prince Uji in an excess of grief said, “Why should I prolong my days and bring trouble to the nation ?” and he put an end to his own life. Because of this Prince Ōsasagi had no choice but to ascend the throne.58 Still, he fulfilled the task of heaven and ruled with brotherly love, he served with devotion and unselfishness as a true example of the way of Yao and Shun. Prince Uji was the first man in our country to respect the teachings of Confucius and practise the Kingly way, summoning Wani, of Kudara,59 and studying under him. In spirit, these princes, elder and younger brother, equalled the sages of China.

  ‘I have heard people say60 that in the text known as The Book of Mencius it states, “At the beginning of Chou, King Wu, in wrathful indignation, brought peace to the people of the empire.61 This was not a case of subject slaying sovereign. Rather, it was putting to death a despised creature called Chou, who was an outrage against humanity and righteousness.”

  ‘Strange to say, all manner of Chinese books – classics, histories, and poetry – have come to us. But The Book of Mencius, alone, has yet to reach Japan.62 Ships that bear this text, I have heard, invariably encounter typhoons and sink. This is because63 in our country ever since the Sun Goddess founded it the imperial succession has continued unbroken. Should anyone introduce such a sly doctrine as that found in Mencius, a wicked person in later ages might usurp the line of the gods and deny his crime. The eight hundred myriad gods hate the very thought, it is said, and send divine winds to overturn ships carrying this book. So you see, the teachings of sages from other lands on many occasions do not necessarily fit our realm. Besides, do you recall The Book of Songs?

  Brothers may quarrel within the walls,

  But outside they defend one another from insult.64

  i White Peak: The ghost of the emperor confronts the priest Saigyō

  You, however, ignored ties of blood.65 Then, after the Emperor Toba died,66 while his body still lay in state,67 the flesh not yet having grown cold, you started hoisting banners and twanging bows68 to struggle for the throne. What greater breach of filial piety can one imagine ?

  ‘That which lies under heaven is like a holy vessel.69 He who tampers with it for selfish ends can never succeed. Supposing, for example, that people had urged Prince Shigehito to ascend the throne. Unable to rule with virtue or spread peace, and impaired by being without right moral principles, he would have brought disorder to the world. The people who wanted him the previous day would then suddenly have become his enemies.

  ‘Far from getting what you wanted, you received the cruelest punishment inflicted in all time and were turned to dust in this remote place. At all costs, I beg of you, forget past grudges. I pray and beseech you to show intelligence and return to the land of paradise and find eternal repose.’

  ‘To blame me for my conduct and accuse me of criminal action,’ his highness lamented, with a long sigh, ‘is not without justice. But how could anyone such as I, banished to an island such as this and tormented in a house such as that of Takatō, in Matsuyama,70 endure meeting no human beings71 except the attendant who three times a day brought food ?

  ‘When on my pillow in the dead of night I heard the cry of the wild geese soaring across the sky, I longed for the capital, wondering if that was where they were flying. At dawn the plover's call on the beach rent my heart till I thought it would break. Even should a crow's head grow white, I would never get a chance to return to the capital, so certain was I fated to become a ghost by the seaside. Hoping at least for relief in the world to come, I copied the five Mahayana sutras.72 But it would have been a pity to leave them on this desolate, stony shore,73 where one cannot hear the sound of bells and trumpets. “At least, please let the work of my brush be permitted to enter the capital,” I wrote to the abbot of the Ninnaji Temple, sending him the sutras, to which I had attached the verse,

  Hama chidori Plover on the beach –

  ato wa miyako ni Although your footprints

  kayoedomo Journey to the capital,

  mi wa Matsuyama ni You must stay by pine-clad hills,

  ne wo nomi zo naku74 Where your lonely cry resounds.

  ‘The councillor, Shōnagon Shinzei,75 however, opposed me and convinced the emperor that I meant to lay a curse76 on the land, and therefore to my chagrin the sutras were sent back. Since antiquity, in Japan as well as China, struggles for the realm have pitted brother against brother. Such cases are by no means rare. But because it struck me what a heinous crime this is, I had copied the sutras77 in the hope of making up for my ill behaviour. But no matter how much his advisors may have intervened, my brother's disregard of the law under which our relationship should have been considered78 and his decision not to accept my calligraphy have now made him my bitter enemy.

  ‘Then, I took these sutras and used them to pray for bad ends79 in an effort to give vent to my rage. Once I made up my mind, I cut my finger and wrote an oath in blood.80 This, and the sutra, I cast into the sea at Shido.81 I withdrew from the sight of mankind and begged with all my heart to become a king of Evil.

  ‘That is why the Heiji Rising broke out.82 First I took advantage of Nobuyori's83 overweening desire for high rank and led him to plot with Yoshitomo ,84 the enemy who irked me most. During the Hogen Era his father – Tameyoshi85 – and all of his brothers had given their lives for my cause. But he alone drew his bow against me. Tametomo's86 bravery together with Tameyoshi and Tadamasa's87 strategy had brought victory in sight. Then fire driven on by a southwest gale for
ced us to flee from the Shirakawa Palace,88 and on the steep slope of Mt Nyoigatake89 I injured my leg. Although I tried to find shelter from the rain and dew by hiding underneath a woodcutter's stack of oak kindling, I was eventually captured and banished to this island – all of which torments fell on me because of Yoshitomo's malicious plotting.90

  ‘To revenge myself, I placed a curse on Yoshitomo's cruel heart and led him to join Nobuyori's conspiracy. For his treasonous crimes against the gods of the nation he was soundly beaten by Kiyomori,91 who is hardly clever at the art of war. Finally, retribution for having slain his father, Tameyoshi, came when his own retainer92 slew him. It marked the fulfilment of the curse of the gods of heaven.

  ‘Shōnagon Shinzei, who always boasted of his learning, had a perverse streak and enjoyed saying “no” to people, and thus I got him to make enemies of Nobuyori and Yoshitomo. In the end he fled from his home and hid in a hillside cave near Uji.93 After he had been flushed from his refuge and caught, his severed head was exposed by the river bank at Rokujō.94 Here was fitting punishment for his role in the events that led to the rejection of my sutras.

  ‘But that was not all. In the summer of the Oho Era95 my curse ended Bifukumon'in’s life. In the spring of the Chōkan Era96 I brought about Tadamichi's97 death. I myself died in the autumn of the same year. But by the flames of vengeance, which were still far from exhausted in their might, I finally became a great king of Evil,98 head of the more than three hundred kinds of demons. Every time my band sees happiness, they turn it to misery. Whenever they see the country at peace, they cause war.

  ‘Only Kiyomori continues to flourish,’ he concluded, his voice rising to an alarming pitch. ‘He has placed his entire family and his relatives in high offices,99 and he rules the country by caprice. Only Shigemori's100 sense of loyalty and duty keep the time from being right. But you shall see! The Taira Clan shall not long endure. Goshirakawa has injured me till my only recourse lies in revenge.’

  ‘Because you are so involved in an evil karma with the world of demons,’I replied, ‘and ten thousand billion leagues separates you from Buddha Land, I have nothing more to say to you,’ and I faced him in silence.

  Thereupon a tremor shook the mountains and valleys. The wind rose, as if to fell the forest trees. Sand and pebbles flew in a vortex toward the sky, and as I watched, dumbstruck, a ball of flame flared up where his highness stood, illuminating the mountains and valleys, as if it were day. In the light I could clearly see his highness's features. His face101 flushed crimson. His hair hung down to his knees, as tangled as if a thorn bush. The pupils of his eyes were turned up, leaving only the whites exposed, and his hot breath came in painful gasps. His persimmon-coloured robes102 were filthy with soot. His fingernails and toenails had grown as long as a beast's claws. Every detail betrayed the terrifying and frightful form of a demon king.

  ‘Sagami! Sagami!’ his highness screeched,103 addressing the sky. A cry came in reply, and a bird-like goblin resembling a black hawk descended, paid homage to his highness, and awaited his command.

  ‘Why have you not more quickly taken Shigemori's life and made Goshirakawa and Kiyomori suffer ?’ his highness shouted.

  ‘Goshirakawa's good fortune has not yet run out. Shigemori's loyalty and faith are hard to pervert. But if you wait for the signs of the zodiac to revolve once,104 Shigemori's life will end, and when he dies his family's fortunes will be destroyed.’

  Clapping his hands in joy, his highness said, ‘These enemies of mine, to the last man, will perish in the sea before me.’

  His voice reverberated from the hills and valleys with an eerie and indescribable echo, and as I witnessed the debased nature of such witchcraft, I could no longer repress my tears. Through one last verse I tried to restore him to his senses:

  Yoshi ya kimi Even though, My Lord,

  mukashi no tama no You once lived in jade splendor

  toko memo And held a royal throne,

  kakaran nochi wa Now that you have passed away

  ika ni kawasen105 How can you hope to change your lot?

  ‘Ruler and ruled meet a common fate,’106 I chanted loudly, with all my heart. When he heard my words, he showed signs of pleasure, and his face grew calmer. The ghostly flame gradually subsided, and then the emperor's form disappeared from sight,107 and the bird-like goblin also vanished without a trace. The moon of ten-odd days was hidden behind the peaks. Under the dark trees in the black night, I felt as though I was enveloped in a world of dreams.

  Before long the sleep-ending light of the dawn sky108 brought the gay chirruping of the morning birds. Then I chanted a section of the Diamond Sutra109 in prayer for his majesty and descended the mountain. Back in my hut I pondered over the events of the night before and reviewed each detail in my mind. Beginning with the Heiji Rising, in the facts about persons and in the dates of events, I could detect no mistake. But I kept it all to myself and never uttered a word to anyone.

  Nearly thirteen years later, in the autumn of the third year of Jisho,110 when Taira Shigemori was stricken ill and departed from this world, Taira Kiyomori, Prime Minister of the nation, vented his malice against Goshirakawa, confining him in the imperial villa at Toba.111 Later he removed him to the temporary capital at Fukuhara112 and caused him to suffer various indignities. Then Yoritomo113 arose like the east wind to contend with the Taira, and Yoshinaka114 swept down like the northern snow to drive them away from the capital. The entire Taira clan was pushed into the Western seas, and finally, by the waters of Sanuki, at Shido and Yashima,115 many of their brave warriors met their end, entombed in the bellies of turtles and fish.116 When the survivors were pressed to Akamagaseki, at Dannoura,117 the infant emperor, Antoku, 118perished at sea, as did all the commanders of the Heike forces.

  His highness was not a dewdrop mistaken, and what he related was as terrifying as it was mysterious. Thereafter people adorned his shrine with jewels, decorated it in vermilion and blue lacquer, and worshipped the august virtue of his majesty.

  People who visit the province all offer him spirit festoons119 and honour him as a powerful god.

  II CHRYSANTHEMUM TRYST

  (Kikuka no chigiri)

  Green, green grows the spring willow.120 But never plant it in your garden. Never pick a falsehearted man for a friend.

  Although the willow may bud early, does it hold up when autumn's first wind blows ? A falsehearted man makes friends easily, but he is fickle. Whereas the willow for many springs takes on new colour, a falsehearted man will break off with you and never call again.

  In the province of Harima in the town of Kako121 there dwelt a scholar whose name was Hasebe Samon. He lived a poor but honest life, and except for the books that kept him company122 he hated being tied down by any possessions. Samon had an aged mother, who was in no way less virtuous than that of Mencius,123 and she constantly worked at spinning to help her son do as he wished. A younger sister had been brought up in the Sayo household in the same village. This family, which was extremely rich and prosperous, recognised the character of the Hasebe mother and children and took the young girl in marriage. The two families thus became closely related. On one pretext or another, the Sayos would sometimes send food and other presents, but Samon never accepted them, saying, ‘Should a man bother others for what his own mouth eats ?’

  One day Samon went to pay a visit to an acquaintance in the town, and he and his host enjoyed themselves, talking about modern times and olden days. Then, he heard through the wall the anguished voice of a man crying pitifully in pain. Samon inquired about it, and the master of the house replied, ‘It seems to be a man from the Western provinces. He said that he fell behind his travelling companions, and he asked me to put him up for the night. Because he carried himself like a warrior and there was nothing common about him, I took the man in. But that night he came down with a severe fever, and he has been unable even to move by himself. These three or four days he has lain in a pitiful state. Still, I don't know exactly where he c
ame from, so I find myself in an awkward situation.124 You can imagine how disturbed I am!’

  ‘What a melancholy tale!’ said Samon. ‘I can certainly understand how worried you feel, but it must be all the more distressing for the stricken man to find himself taken with such an illness while passing through a place where he doesn't know a soul. What if I were to go and examine him ?’

  The master held him back. ‘Fevers are infectious,125 I've heard, so I don't even let my servants go in. You had better not go near him and expose yourself.’

  ‘Life and death depend on heavenly fate,’126 replied Samon with a laugh. ‘How can diseases be transmitted by humans ? The idea is fit only for ignorant and common people. We have no need for such beliefs,’ and so saying, he pushed open the door and went in to the man.

  As Samon's host had said, the invalid was certainly not of the lower classes, and he seemed to be in serious condition. Emaciated,127 he lay in agony on an old blanket, his face jaundiced, his skin dark. He looked up at Samon beseechingly.

  ‘Please give me a cup of warm water,’ he said.

  ‘You mustn't worry,’ said Samon drawing nearer. ‘I'm sure that I can help you.’

  After discussing the matter with his host, Samon chose a medicine, determined the dosage himself, boiled it,128 and gave it to the sick man. He prepared gruel and cared for him like a brother, for indeed the patient was in no condition to be left unattended.

  ‘Why are you so generous to a wandering traveller ?’ said the warrior, moved to tears by Samon's warmth and compassion. ‘I'll find a way to repay your kindness, even if I die.’