CZM Book Club: Three Stories From Japanese Folklore

Margaret reads you stories about demons and moon maidens.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Cool Zone Media.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Book Club book Club, book Club. It's the Cool Zone
Media book Club. Hello, welcome to the Cool Zone Media
book Club. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and every week
I read you stories. This week, I'm going to read
you three stories, all for the price of I guess

(00:29):
zero stories. Well, I guess the price of advertisers on
our podcast. But I have stories for you. This is
a folklore a week. I'm going to read you three
stories from an eighteen eighty book of Japanese folklore. And
this particular book was written by American man who lived

(00:49):
in Japan for a very long time named William Elliott Griffiths,
and in eighteen eighty he published a book called Japanese
Fairy World that seemed to have been written with help
from his Japanese students and is illustrated with art from
Japanese artists. There's no particular moral or whatever that I'm
going for with this week's stories. I just kind of

(01:10):
liked them, and I thought you might like them too.
I like fairy tales, especially of two particular types, adventures
and guy falls in love with a mystical lady. And
so today I'm going to manage to read you two adventures,
and one guy falls in love with a mystical lady.
So here we go. The first story is called Watanabe

(01:36):
cuts off the one's arm. When the capital of Japan
was the city of Kyoto and the Mikado dwelt in
it with all his court, there lived a brave captain
of the guard named Yoramitsu, who belonged to the famous
Minimotok family. He was also called Raiko, and by this
name he is best known to all the boys and
girls in Great Japan. Under Captain Rako there were three

(02:00):
brave guardsmen, one of whom was named Wuanatabe Suna. The
duty of these men at arms was to watch at
the gates leading to the palace. It had come to
pass that the Blossom capital had fallen in a dreadful
condition because the guards at the other gates had been neglected.
Thieves were numerous, and murders were frequent, so that every

(02:23):
one of the city was afraid to go out into
the streets at night. Worse than all else was the
report that one or imps were prowling around in the
dark to seize people by the hair of their head.
Then they would drag them away to the mountains, tear
the flesh off their bones, and eat them up. The
worst place in the city to which the horned imps

(02:45):
came oftenest was at the southwestern gate, called the Rajaman.
To this post of danger, Raiko sent Suna, the bravest
of all of his guards. It was on a dark,
rainy and dismal night that soun Sa started, well armed
to stand sentinel at the gate. His trusty helmet was
knotted over his chin, and all the pieces of his

(03:07):
armor wore well laced up. His sandals were girt tight
to his feet, and in his belt was thrust the
trusty sword, freshly ground until its edge was like a razor's,
and with it the owner could cut asunder a hare
floating in the air. Arriving at the red pillar of
the gate, Soona paced up and down the stone way

(03:29):
with eyes and ears wide open. The wind was blowing frightfully,
The storm howled, and the rain fell in such torrents
that soon the cords of Sonna's armor and his dress
were soaked through. The great bronze bell of the temples
on the hills boomed out the hours one after another,
until a single stroke told Suna. It was the hour

(03:51):
of the rat midnight. Two hours passed and the hour
of the bowl sounded two a m. And Suna was
still wide awake. The storm had lulled, but it was
darker than ever. The hour of the Tiger three o'clock
rung out, and the soft, mellow notes of the temple
bell died away like a lullaby, wooing one to sleep.

(04:12):
Spite of will and vow. The warrior, almost without knowing it,
grew sleepy and fell into a doze. He started and
woke up. He shook himself, jingled his armor, pinched himself,
and even pulled out his little knife from the wooden
scabbard of his dirk, and pricked his leg with the
point of it to keep awake, but all in vain.

(04:34):
Unconsciously overcome, he leaned against the gate post and fell asleep.
This is just what the imp wanted all the time
he had been squatting on the cross piece at the
top of the gate, waiting his opportunity. He now slid
down as softly as a monkey, and with his iron
like claws, grabbed Sooner by the helmet and began to

(04:55):
drag him into the air. In an instant, Suna was awake,
seizing the hairy wrist of the imp with his left hand,
and with his right he drew his sword. He swept
it around his head and cut off the demon's arm.
The one, frightened and howling with pain, leaped up the
post and disappeared in the Clouds. Soon awaited with drawn

(05:17):
sword in hand, lest the onone might come again. But
in a few hours morning dawned. The sun rose on
the pagodas and gardens and temples of the capital, and
the ninefold circle of flowery hills. Everything was beautiful and bright.
Soona returned to report to his captain, carrying the one's
arm in triumph. Raicho examined it and loudly praised Soona

(05:40):
for his bravery, and rewarded him with a silken sash.
Now it is said that if an one's arm be
cut off, it cannot be made to unite with the
body again if kept apart for a week. So Raiko
warned Suna to lock it up and watch it night
and day, lest it be stolen from him. So Souna

(06:01):
went to the stone cutters, who made idols of Buddha
mortars for pounding rice and coffers for bearing money in
to be hidden away in the ground, and bought a
strong box cut out of the solid stone. It had
a heavy lid on it, which slid in a groove
and came out only by touching a secret spring. Then
settling it in his bed chamber, he guarded it day

(06:23):
and night, keeping the gate and all his doors locked.
He allowed no one who was a stranger to look
at the trophy. Six days passed by, and soon A
began to think his prize was sure, for were not
all his doors tight shut. So he set the box
out in the middle of the room, and twisting some
rice straw fringe in token of shore victory and rejoicing,

(06:46):
he sat down in ease before it. He took off
his armor and put on his court robes. During the evening,
but rather late, there was a feeble knock like that
of an old woman at the gate outside. Suna cried out,
who's there. The squeaky voice of his aunt, as it seemed,

(07:07):
who was a very old woman, replied me, I want
to see my nephew to praise him for his bravery
and cutting the one's arm off. So Soona let her
in and carefully locking the door behind her. Helped the
old crone into the room, where she sat down on
the mats in front of the box and very close
to it. Then she grew very talkative and praised her

(07:29):
nephew's exploit, until Suna felt very proud all the time.
The old woman's left shoulder was covered with her dress,
while her right hand was out. Then she begged earnestly
to be allowed to see the limb. Soona at first
politely refused, but she urged until yielding affectionately, he slid

(07:49):
back the stone lid just a little. This is my arm,
cried the old hag, turning into an onony and dragging
out the arm. She flew up to the ceiling and
was out of the smoke, slide through the roof in
a twinkling. Sooner rushed out of the house to shoot
her with an arrow, but he saw only a demon
far off in the clouds. Grinning horribly. He noted carefully, however,

(08:13):
that the direction of the IMP's flight was to the northwest.
A council was now held by Rako's band, and it
was decided that the lurking place of the demons must
be in the mountains of oh ye in the province
of Tango. It was resolved to hunt out and destroy
the imps the end of that story. The other stories

(08:34):
continue on from there. You'll be shocked to know. But
what will come before those stories is advertisers. And that's
why I would like to remind all of you that
Cool Zone Media book Club is sponsored by by your
trans Friend's Swords. They all want them. No one is
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(08:56):
want to check with people first, but remember this podcast
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ads to and Rebecca. This story is called Raiko in

(09:18):
the she ten Doji, quite pathless were the desolate mountains
of Tango, for no one ever went into them, except
once in a while a poor woodcutter or charcoal burner.
Yet Raiko and his men set out with stout hearts.
There were no bridges over the streams, and frightful precipices abounded.
Once they had to stop and build a bridge by

(09:40):
felling a tree and walking across it over a dangerous chasm.
Once they came to a steep rock to descend, which
they must make a ladder of creeping vines. At last
they reached a dense grove at the top of a
cliff far up to the clouds, which seemed as if
it might contain the demon's castle. Approaching, they found a

(10:01):
pretty maiden washing some clothes which had spots of blood
on them. They said to her, sister, miss, why are
you here and what are you doing? Ah, said she,
with a deep sigh. You must not come here. This
is the haunt of demons. They eat human flesh, and
they will eat yours. Look there, said she, pointing to

(10:22):
a pile of white bones of men, women and children.
You must go down the mountain as quickly as you came.
Saying this, she burst into tears. But instead of being
frightened or sorrowful, the brave fellows nearly danced for joy.
We have come here for the purpose of destroying the
demons by the Mikido's order, said Riicho, patting his breast,

(10:45):
where inside his dress in the damask bag was the
imperial order. At this the maiden dried her tears and
smiled so sweetly that Riiko's heart was touched by her beauty.
But how came you to live among these cannibal demons,
asked Raicho. She blushed deeply as she replied sadly. Although
they eat men and old women, they keep the young

(11:07):
maidens to wait on them. It's a great pity, said Riicho.
But we shall now avenge our fellow subjects of the mikido,
as well as your shame and cruel treatment, if you
will show us the way up the cliff to the den.
They began to climb the hill, but they had not
gone far before they met a young one who was
a cook in the Great Doji's kitchen. He was carrying

(11:29):
a human limb for his master's lunch. They gnashed their
teeth silently and clutched their swords under their coats. Yet
they courteously saluted the cook demon and asked for an
interview with the chief. The demon smiled in his sleeve,
thinking what a fine dinner his master would make of
the four men. A few feet forward in a turn

(11:49):
in the path brought them to the front of the
demon's castle. Among tall and mighty bowlders of rock which
loomed up to the clouds, there was an opening in
the dense groves covered with vines and mosses like an arbor.
From this point, the view over the plains below commanded
a space of hundreds of miles. In the distance, the
red pagodas, white temple gables, and castle towers of Kyoto

(12:13):
were visible. Inside the cave was a banqueting hall large
enough to seat one hundred persons. The floor was neatly
covered in new, clean mats of sea green rice straw,
on which tables, silken cushions, armrests, drinking cups, bottles, and
many other articles of comfort lay about. The stone walls

(12:34):
were richly decorated with curtains and hangings of fine silken stuffs.
At the end of the long haul, on a raised
dais our, heroes presently observed as a curtain was lifted.
The chief demon she ten Doji, of a gust yet
frightful appearance. He was seated on a heap of luxurious

(12:55):
cushions made of blue and crimson crape, stuffed with swans down.
He was leaning on a golden armrest. His body was
quite red, and he was round and fat, like a
baby grown up. He had very black hair cut like
a small boy's, and on top of his head just
peeping through the hair were two very short horns. Around

(13:19):
him were a score of lovely maidens, the fairest of Kioto,
on whose beautiful faces was stamped the misery they dared
not fully show, yet could not entirely conceal. Along the wall,
other demons sat or lay at full length, each one
with his handmaiden seated beside him to wait on him
and pour out his wine. All of them were of

(13:41):
horrible aspect, which only made the beauty of the maidens
more conspicuous. Seeing our heroes walk in the hall led
by the cook, each one of the demons was happy
as a spider when in his lurking hole he feels
the jerk on his web thread that tells him a
fly is caught. All of them at once poured out

(14:01):
a fresh saucer of sake and drank it down. Raiko
and his men separated and began talking freely with the demons,
until the partitions at one corner were slid aside, and
a troop of little demons who were waiter boys entered.
They brought in a host of dishes, and the onees
fell to and ate. The noise of their jaws sounded
like the pounding of a rice mill. Our heroes were

(14:25):
nearly sickened at the repast, for it consisted chiefly of
human flesh, while the wine cups were made of empty
human skulls. However, they laughed and talked and excused themselves
from eating, saying they had just lunched. As the demons
drank more and more, they grew lively, laughed till the
cave echoed and sang up roarious songs. They showed their

(14:46):
terrible tusks and teeth like fangs. All of them had horns,
though most of these were very short. The Dojie became
especially hilarious and drank the health of every one of
his four guests and a skull full of wine. To
supply him. There was a tub full of sake at hand,
and his usual drinking vessel was a dish which seemed

(15:08):
to Suma to be as large as a full moon.
Raiko now offered to return the courtesies shown them by
dancing the Kyoto dance for which he was famous. Stepping
out in the center of the hall with his fan
in one hand, he danced gracefully and with such wonderful
ease that the one screamed with delight and clapped their
hands in applause, saying they had never seen anything to

(15:30):
equal it. Even the maidens, lost in admiration of the
polished courtier, forgot their sorrow and felt as happy for
the time as though they were at home dancing. The
dance finished, Raiko took from his bosom a bottle of
sake and offered it to the chief demon as a gift,
saying it was the best wine of Sakai. The delighted

(15:51):
Doji drank and gave a sip to each of his lords, saying,
this is the best liquor I ever tasted. You must
drink the health of our friends in it. Now, Riicho
had bought at the most skillful druggists in the capitol
a powerful sleeping potion and mixed it with the wine,
which made it taste very sweet. In a few minutes,

(16:12):
all the demons had dropped off asleep, and their snores
sounded like the rolling thunder of the mountains. Then Riicho
rose up and gave the signal to his comrades, whispering
to the maidens to leave the room quietly. They drew
their swords, and with as little noise as possible, cut
the throats of the demons. No sound was heard but

(16:32):
the gurgling of blood that ran out in floods on
the floor. The Doji, lying like a lion on his cushions,
was still sleeping, the snores issuing out of his nose
like thunder from a cloud. The four warriors approached him, and,
like loyal vassals as they were, they first turned their
faces towards Kyoto, reverenced the mikido and prayed for the

(16:54):
blessing of the gods who made Japan. Riicho then drew near, and,
measuring the width of the dome Oji's neck with his sword,
found that it would be too short. Suddenly, the blade
lengthened of itself. Then, lifting his weapon, he smote with
all his might and cut the neck clean through in
an instant. The bloody head flew up in the air,

(17:16):
gnashing its teeth and rolling its yellow eyes, while the
horns sprouted out to a horrible length, the jaws opening
and shutting like the edges of an earthquake fissure. It
flew up and whirled round the room seven times. Then
with a rush, it flew at Raiko's head and bit
through the straw hat into the iron helmet inside. But

(17:37):
this final effort exhausted its strength, its motion ceased, and
it fell heavily to the floor. Anxiously, the comrades helped
their fallen leader to rise and examined his head, but
he was unhurt. Not a scratch was on him. Then
the heroes congratulated each other, and after dispatching the smaller demons,

(17:58):
brought out all the treasure and divided it equally. Then
they set the castle on fire and buried the bones
of the victims, setting up a stone to mark the spot.
All the maidens and captives were assembled together, and in
great state and pomp they returned to Kyoto. The virgins
were restored to their parents, and many a desolate home

(18:19):
was made joyful, and many mourning garments taken off. Raiko
was honored by the Mikado in being made a coujay,
a court noble, and was appointed chief of the entire
garrison of Kyoto. Then all the people were grateful for
his valor. The end of that story, but not of

(18:40):
this episode, because there's one more story to go. But
first you get to learn about products and services. Really,
they are their own fairy tale. They tell you sweet,
beautiful untruthful things. Here they are, and we're back.

Speaker 1 (19:06):
All right.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
The story is not part of the same continuity as
the other two stories. This story is called The Fisherman
and the Moon Maiden. Pearly and lustrous, white like a
cloud in the far off blue sky, seemed the floating
figure of the Moon Maiden as she flew to Earth.
She was one of the fifteen glistening virgins that weait

(19:29):
attendant upon the Moon in her chambers in the sky.
Looking down from her high home to the earth, she
became enraptured with the glorious scenery of Surroga's ocean shore,
and longed for a bath in the blue waters of
the sea. So this fairy maid sped to the Earth
one morning early when the moon, having shone through the night,
was about to retire for the day. The sun was

(19:52):
rising bright and red over the eastern seas, flushing the
mountains and purpling the valleys. Out amid the sparkling waves.
The shit sailed toward the sun, and the fishermen cast
their nets. It was early spring, when the air was
full of the fragrance of plum blossoms, and the zephyrs
blew so softly that scarce, a bamboo leaf quivered, or

(20:12):
a wave lapsed with sound on the silvery shore. The
moon maiden was so charmed with the scenery of earth
that she longed to linger above it, to gaze tranquility.
Floating slowly through the air, she directed her course to
the pine groves that fringe the strand, near Cape Miwoh,
lying at the base of Fuji Mountain, whose snowy crown

(20:32):
glistens above, fronting the ocean, whose blue plaine undulates in
liquid glory till it meets the bending sky. The scenery
of Miwo is renowned everywhere under the whole heavens, but
especially in the land which the Mikido's rain blesses with peace.
Full of happiness, the fairy maiden played sweet music from
her flute until the air was full of it, and

(20:55):
it sounded to the dweller on earth like the sweet
falling of rain drops on the thirsty ground. Her body
shed sweet fragrance through the air, and flowers fell from
her robes as she passed, though none saw her form,
all wondered. Arriving over a charming spot on the sea shore,
she descended to the strand and stood at the foot

(21:17):
of a pine tree. She laid her musical instrument on
a rock near by, and, taking off her wings and
feathered suit, hung them carefully on the pine tree bough.
Then she strolled off along the shore to dip her
shining feet in the curling waves. Picking up some shells,
she wondered with innocent joy at the rich tints, which
seemed more beautiful than any color in the moon world,

(21:41):
with one a large smooth scallop. She was particularly pleased
for inside one valve was a yellow disk, and on
its mate was a white one. How strange, said she,
here is the sun and there is the moon. I
shall call this the suki Kai sun and moon unshell,
and she put them in her girdle. It chanced that

(22:04):
near the edge of the pine grove, not far away,
there dwelt a lone fishermen, who, coming down the shore,
caught a whiff of sweet perfume, such as had never
before delighted his nostrils. What could it be? The spring
zephyrs blowing from the west seemed laden with the sweet odor.
Curiosity prompted him to seek the cause. He walked toward

(22:24):
the pine tree, and looking up, caught sight of the
feathery suit of wings. Oh, how his eyes sparkled. He
danced for joy, and, taking down the robe, carried it
to his neighbors. All were delighted, and one old man
said that the fairy must herself be nearby. He advised
the man to seek until he found her. So, with
feathered robe in hand, the fisherman went out again to

(22:45):
the strand and took his place near the pine tree.
He had not waited long before a lovely bean with
rose tinted white skin and of perfect form appeared. Please get, sir,
give me back my feathered robe, said she, in a
sad v of liquid sweetness, though she seemed greatly frightened. No,
I must keep it as a sacred treasure, a relic

(23:07):
from a heavenly visitor, and dedicated in the shrine yonder
as a memorial of an angel's visit, said the fisherman. Oh,
wicked man, what a wretched and impious thing to rob
an inhabitant of heaven of the robe by which she moves.
How can I fly back to my home again? Give
me your wings? Oh ye. Wild geese that fly across

(23:27):
the face of the moon and on tireless pinions seek
the icy shores in springtime, and soar unwearied homeward in autumn.
Lend me your wings, But the geese overhead only word
and scream and bit their sprays of pine which they
carried in their mouth. Oh ye, circling gulls, lend me
but for a day your downy wings. I am prisoner here,

(23:49):
cried the weeping fairy. But the graceful gulls, hovering for
a moment, swept on and widening circles out to the
farther sea. Oh breezes of air which blow whither ye live,
Oh tide of ocean, which ebbs and flows at will,
Ye may move all. But I am prisoner here, devoid
of motion. Oh good sir, have pity and give me

(24:09):
back my wings, cried the moon maiden, pressing her hands
together in grief. The fisher's heart was touched by the
pathos of her voice and the glittering of her tears.
I'll give back your winged robe if you'll dance and
make music for me, said he. Oh yes, good sir,
I will dance and make music. But first let me
put on my feather robe, for without it I have

(24:31):
no power of motion. Oh yes, said the suspicious mortal.
If I give you back your wings, you'll fly straight
to heaven. What can you not believe the word of
a heavenly being without doubting? Trust me in good faith
and you'll lose nothing. Then, with shamed face, the fisherman
handed the moon Maaiden her feathered robe, which she donned

(24:53):
and began to dance. She poured out sweet strains from
her upright flute that, with eye and ear full of rapture,
the fisherman imagined himself in heaven. Then she sang a
sweet song in which she described the lights of life
in the moon and the pleasure of celestial residence. The
fisherman was so overjoyed that he longed to detain the fairy.

(25:15):
He begged her to dwell with him on earth, but
in vain as he looked, he saw her rising. A
fresh breeze rippling the face of the sea. Now sprang
up wafted the pearly Maiden over the pine clad hills
and past Fuji Mountain. All the time sweet music rained
through the air, until as the fisherman strained his eyes
towards the fresh fallen snow on Fuji's crest, he could

(25:38):
no longer distinguish the moon Maiden from the fleecy clouds
that filled the thin air. Pondering long upon the marvelous apparition,
the fisherman resolved to mark the spot where the fairy
first descended to earth. So he prevailed upon the simple
villagers to build a railing of stone around the now
sacred pine. Daily, they garlanded the the old trunk with

(26:01):
festoons of tasseled and twisted rice straw. Long after, when,
by the storms of centuries, the old pine, in spite
of bandages and crutches, and tired of wrestling with the blast,
fell down like an old man to rise no more.
A grateful posterity cleared the space and built the shrine
of miw Woe, which still dots with its sacred enclosure

(26:23):
the strand of Surroga on which the fairy danced the end.
I like those stories. Maybe you like them too, And
if you didn't, well, maybe you'll like next week's story.
And if you did, maybe you'll like next week's story too.
And if you listen to this on Cool People Did
Cool Stuff, make sure to check out it could happen here.

(26:44):
And if you check this out on it could happen here.
Make sure to check it out on cool People did
cool Stuff. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy. This has been
cool Zone Media book Club. That's the full name, and
I'll talk to you next week.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
It could Happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.
For more podcast us from cool Zone Media, visit our
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You can find sources for It could Happen Here, updated
monthly at Coolzonmedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.