The moon maiden [short story]

Title

Language

English

Source

Volume XIX (Issue No. 2) February 1967

Year

1967

Subject

Japanese short stories

Japanese folklore

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

This story written by Minamato no Jun is from the “Taketori-Monogatari,” the great classic of the 10th Century, the product of the second literary period of ancient Japan.

Fulltext

■ This story written by Minamato no Jun is from the “Taketori-Monogatari,” the great classic of the 10th Century, the product of the second literary period of ancient Japan. THE MOON MAIDEN Throughout Japan there was talk of the beauty of Nayotake Kaguyahime. Wisely, indeed, had the old priest Akita named her Na yotake, which means “Slen der Bamboo.” Samurai and Princes wooed her; but none could wlin her. The verses that were offered to her were returned, sometimes without word, sometimes, if the wooer were particularly troublesome, with a verse that mocked him and stop ped his courtship if not his love. At last, however, the Mi kado himself fell in love with her. Then Nayotake was haughty and cruel no longer. She became mournful and gentle, and once, when the ruler held her silken sleeve, and entreated her to marry him, she hid her face and s'ighed: “I would if I could. But I may not. I am not of this earth.” The Mikado knew from her expression and her voice that she had pronounced some fateful decree that he could not hope to change. He went home sorrowfully, and his only pleasure after that was to write verses and tie them to blossoming trees where she could find them. She, in turn, answered with similar verses, and thus, for three years, the lovers kept their love alive though they never saw each other. When the fourth Spring arrived and the cherry trees were blossoming again, Na yotake became more and more mournful. Through all the months that followed she wept till the new moon rose ,in the middle of the eighth month. Then she went to her fos ter-parents (who had found her in a bamboo grove) and said to them: “I must tell you now what I have kept secret all these years, from love for you. I am not a daughter of the earth, but 48 Panorama was born in the moon, and I descended to earth for only a period, according to an andient law of my race. My time on earth ends when the present modn is full. Then my parents and kin, who dwell in a great moon-city, will arrive to take me back. Her foster-parents lament ed. Sanuki, her foster-father, sorrowed so that his beard whitened, hjis back became bent and his eyelids were continuously red. At last he sent word to the Mikado and asked him to help keep Nayotake on earth. Immediately the Mikado ordered his chief commander, Takomo Okuni, to guard her with h'is best warriors. Tako mo picked out 2000 of the most accurate archers and the most desperate swordsmen in the 'land,' and marched with them to Nayotake’s home to beat back the attack from the moon-people. He ordered Nayotake’s fos ter-mother to retire with her into an underground place that was heavily walled with stone. “Put your arms around her,” said Takomo Okuni, "and do not let her out of your grasp till the moon has passed its fullness.” Then he locked the place and surrounded it with his grim men. The girl smiled sadly while they were doing all this. "I loved you so, and your grief hurt me, so that I prayed to have my time on earth lengthened by a year,” she said to the old woman. “I should like to stay with you, though the moon-city is most glot'ious and we live there without sorrow or pain in eternal youth. But my wish was not fulfilled. At the appointed time I must g°” The night of the full moon arrived. The old woman pressed the gftrl to her with all her strength. At the “mouse’s hour” — midnight — all the country around the house suddenly became as bright as if sun and moon both were shining at once. Shimmering clouds appear ed high, high dn the sky. Slowly they sank until the warriors could see beings standing on them. Most wonderful and beautiful were they, lovely beyond all love liness that the earth ever had seen. Still the brave archers laid their arrows in rest and pulled their bow strings taut February 1967 49 with all thdir might. The terrible swordsmen set their faces into the most fearful creases and wrinkles and lifted their eyebrows in their most murderous manner, as they brought up their swords, ready to smjite and slay. •One of the cloud people held up both hands. Instant, ly the arms of the archers were powerless. Their right hands yielded helplessly to the pull of the deadly bow strings, and the arrows sank to the ground. The swords men could not hold their swords and had to let them slip from nerveless hands. The door of the under ground vault sprang open of itself, and Nayotake appear ed. The moon people ap proached her with two shin ing caskets. One of these contained, the aerial garments and the other contained the herb of immortality. Nayotake nibbled a bit of the herb. Then she wrote verses of farewell to the Mi kado, thanking him for his great love. Weeping, she gave the verses and the herb of immortality to Takomo Okuni, put on the aerial gar ments and stepped on one of the clouds. Swiftly the clouds rose, and in a few mo ments were lost in the sky. When the Mikado heard of her departure from earth and read her loving, gentle verses he became immersed in a melancholy that never lifted from his soul through out all the rest of his life. He lived only to think of her. He would not touch the herb of immortality. He sent it by trusted servants to the summit of the great Mountain Fujiyama with strict orders to destroy it by fire. This was done. The ser vants made a vast pile of fag gots and laid the tiny herb on it. The flame licked high toward Heaven and they stirred it until all the masses of firewood were utterly con sumed and nothing remain ed- except the very finest ash. Yet the fire iin the heart of it would not stop. It has not stopped yet, and people say, it never will. It is the herb of immortality burning forever. That is why there always is smoke on the peak of beautiful, chaste Fu jiyama. — As interrupted by Julius W. Muller. 50 Panorama

pages

48-50

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