Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story V "Rokurokubi"

(Rokurokubi begins at 8:00)

Well sure, I may have gone a little overboard with the drinking and gambling. But my wife is the one to blame. How come, you ask? Well, she's just too damn sexy. When I walk around town with her, everyone turns their heads with envious looks on their faces. Sure, I fell for her looks. Yes I did, guilty as charged. But you know, when she seriously uses her sex appeal on other men, I'm not just going keep quiet.

Like a while ago, when the fishmonger came by, she goes: "Isn't it hot?" and invites him inside and treats him to some cold noodles. I was going to eat those for lunch. And then, that fishmonger shamelessly helps himself to some sake, and is getting along really good with my wife. Goes without saying that that was my sake. That's when I told him to his face that if he was done trading he should just get out. And guess what? Without even a glance in my direction, he just tells my wife to take care and that he'd come by again. Does that sound like something a fishmonger would say!?

And my wife too, she didn't look altogether displeased! Gimme a break! What? [unclear] What do I care! Like, isn't that the proper duty of a husband? I let her have it. I told her that I'd be better off without such a bitch. Then she went and handed me a notice of divorce! The nerve on that woman! What? You're telling me it's ass backwards for a wife to give the husband a notice of divorce? Shut up! I can't help it! That's just what she did.

But you know, I'm a man after all; I wouldn't accept such a thing. That's why, uh, I threw it into the privy without even reading it. Serves her right. Huh? You're saying that my hand slipped and I dropped it when I was trying to read it in secret? D- Don't be silly! Like I'd do something that pathetic... I used that thing as toilet paper then threw it away. For real.

Anyways, I told her that it was her fault and she's the one who should apologize, otherwise she could just take a hike! And guess what, she really did! Even if that bitch comes back I won't even let her cross the threshold! I'm a man of my word. Right, buddy boy?
Ah... Mommy...

陰陽座百物語　第伍話「飛頭蛮」

たしかによぉ、俺は酒と博打が過ぎたかもしれねーよ。でも悪いの、かかあの方なんだよ。何が悪いって？あいつは色気が過ぎるってんだよ。そりゃな、あいつを連れて町を行けば皆が羨ましそうに振り返る。その器量に俺は惚れたよ、惚れた、惚れました。けどよ、その色気を本気で他の男に向けられちゃ男として黙っちゃいられねーよ。

この前なんかよ、家に来た魚屋を「お暑いでしょう？」なんつってよ、座敷に上げて冷麦食わしてやってんだよ。ありゃ俺の昼飯だったんだ。その後、その魚屋、しゃあしゃあと酒まで飲んでよ、いい塩梅になってかかあと話し込んでやがる。勿論俺の酒だよ。んで俺は言ってやったよ、「商いが済んだんなら帰えってくんな」ってな。そしたらよ、奴さん俺には一瞥もくれず、かかあに向かって、「元気でな、また来るぜ」ときたもんだ。それが魚屋の台詞かよ！

かかあもかかあで満更でもねえ面しやがってよー！俺悔しいよ！何？[unclear]、そんなもん知ったことかよ！こりゃおめえ、亭主として当然の事だろうが。だから俺は言ってやったんだよ、「おめえみてーなあばずれはこっちから願い下げ」だってな。そしたらよ、三行半書いてよこしやがったんだ、かかあの奴はよ！何？亭主が嫁に三行半書かれるってな、あべこべだって？うるせーよ！しかたねーだろ！書かれちまったもんはよ。

でもな、俺は男だ。そんなもん受け取れねーよ。だからあれだ、読まずに厠にどぼんだよ。ざま見ろってんだ。何？厠でこっそり読もうとして手滑らして落としたんだろって？ば・馬鹿言っちゃいけねーよ！誰がおめえ、そんなみっともねえ…　あんなもん便所紙にして捨ててやったんだよ。いや本当だって。

そんでよ、「おめえが悪いんだからおめえが謝れ！さもなきゃとっとと出て行きやがれ」とこうかましてやったらよ、本当に出て行っちめえやがった。あんちくしょう、帰って来たって敷居跨がせてやんねーからな！俺はやる時はやる男だぜ。なーおい？
嗚呼、母ちゃん…

Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story IV "Ninja Scroll of Wilderness"

(Kegai ninpōchō begins at 1:20) 

"Well then, I'm off. I won't be back until that man's head is mine."
As soon as the young man had said so, he started walking away. Following closely behind him was the heartrending voice of a girl.
"I beg you! Please don't go! What meaning is there to revenge? We could just return to our old life and live here quietly like before!"
The tearful appeal of the girl did not have the power to change the young man's will, and he said: "Indeed, we have been branded as insubordinate barbarians and have lived here secretly. I do not consider that to be pitiful. However, the pride of our clan is not something so cheap that we are just going to submit meekly when it has been trampled underfoot!"
Having said so, he left without slowing his pace. Only the figure of a girl breaking down in tears was left behind.

"Forgive me. Those who were mocked and then murdered were close friends of mine since childhood. Unless I avenge their deaths, there is no way I can face them in the afterlife!"
While glaring at his destination, the enemy's fastness located between the mountains, the young man proudly walked onward. The hard rock surface crunched under his step and the gusty wind blew away his footprints, as if foreboding the young man's fate.

Before long the girl hears rumors of the young man's demise. No one in the clan doubted his inevitable, vain death. Ironically, his righteous indignation that resulted in his death in battle ended up causing trouble for the whole clan. As a warning to others, the Imperial army was ordered to extirpate all members of the clan, including women and children, for having revolted against the Imperial Court, not once but twice.
Absolutely nothing has been heard of the clan since then.
Only the wind that blows through the valley carries their laments.

陰陽座百物語　第肆話「化外忍法帖」

「では、行って来る。奴の首を取るまで帰らぬ」
若者はそう言うや否や歩き始めた。その背中に娘の悲痛な声が追い縋る。
「後生です。行かないでください！仇討ちなど何の意味がありましょう？このまま、元の暮らしに戻って　ひっそりと生きて行けばよいではありませぬか！」
涙混じりの娘の訴えにも若者の意志を覆す力は無いと見え、若者は「確かに我らはまつろわぬ化外の土蜘蛛の烙印を押され、人目を隠れて暮らして来た。それを惨めだとも思わぬ。だが、一族の誇りを踏み躙られても尚、黙って泣き寝入りする程我らの誇りは安いものでは無い！」と言い放った儘　歩みを緩める事も無くその場を立ち去った。後には泣き崩れる娘の姿が残された。

「許せ。嬲られて殺された者共はわしの幼い頃からの親友共だったのだ。この敵討たねば、わしは死んで奴等に向ける顔が無い！」
目指す敵の砦を山間に睨みながら若者は昂然と歩き続けた。ざくざくと踏み締める岩肌は硬く、吹き付ける風は足跡すら掻き消してゆく、丸で若者の行く末を暗示するが如く。

やがて娘は風の便りで若者の憤死を知る。一族の誰もが疑う事の無かった、当然の犬死にであった。そして皮肉にもその義憤に駆られた討ち死には一族全体に累を及ぼす結果となった。朝廷に対し一度ならず、二度までも反逆した罪として勅命を受けた官軍に一族は女子供に至るまで悉く討ち果たされ、見せしめとされた。その一族のその後の消息はぷつりと絶えて聞かない。
唯、渓谷に吹く風がその慟哭を運んで来るのみであった。

Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story III "Yoshitsune"

(Yoshitsune begins at 16:14)

Having suffered a crushing defeat due to Yoshitsune's surprise attack at Ichinotani, the Tairas retreated to Yashima, an island on the Sanuki sea, in hopes of reorganizing their troops. Unwilling to let them get away, soldiers of the Minamoto clan would have rushed after them, but due to problems such as procuring ships, precious time was fruitlessly running short. That night, accompanied by rain, the wind changed direction from south to north, which drove Yoshitsune into madness. For Yoshitsune himself however, it might have been confidence rather than madness. Still, he sets sail into the raging sea with a hopelessly scanty number of ships and little more than hundred soldiers with him, and heads for the Tairas' position at Yashima.

"Do not fear the storm! Anchors aweigh! Those who hesitate shall be put to the sword right here!"

Helped by a furious tailwind, as if by a miracle, Yoshitsune's troops arrive at enemy territory in an extraordinarily short time. The Tairas are caught off guard and put to rout, just like at Ichinotani. The downfall of the Tairas was drawing ever nigher. Yoshitsune, whose great services in war should have been praised, however serendipitous they might have been, instead ends up, due to the intrigues and falsehoods of various generals and due to his own naivety and imprudence, being slighted by his elder brother Yoritomo. Even in the middle of all this, he only wishes for one thing.

"My brother! If you so wish, I shall give you that all! In return, I want to have your love."

陰陽座百物語　第参話「義経」

一谷で義経の奇襲により大敗を喫した平氏は讃岐の海に浮かぶ屋島に逃れ、軍の再建を計っていた。逃さじとばかりに殺到した源氏は船の入手などに手間取り、いたずらに時が貪られていた。その夜、雨を伴って南から北へと転じた風は義経を狂気へと駆り立てた。義経自身にしてみれば狂気などでは無く寧ろ確信であったかも知れない。しかし、手勢僅か百騎余り、荒ぶる海の中では木の葉にも等しい程の船を出し、平氏の拠点 屋島を目指した。

「嵐を恐れるな！船を出せ！尻込みする者はこの場で斬り捨てる！」

猛然たる追い風を受け、奇跡的にその軍勢は神懸り的な速度で敵地へと臨んだ。結果、虚を衝かれた平氏は一谷同様、這這の体で退却を余儀無くされる。平氏の没落は目前に迫っていた。奇跡的とは言え、その多大なる戦功を賞されてよい筈が、諸将の謀略と欺瞞、そして本人の純粋さと軽率さによって兄頼朝から裏腹に疎まれるばかりの義経はその渦中になっても尚、たった一つの事を望み焦がれていた。

「兄よ！望むならば、その全てを私が呉れてやろう！その代わりに私は貴方の愛が欲しい」

Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story II "Kurotsuka"

(Kurotsuka begins at 8:20)

I cannot fathom why a travelling monk such as yourself would like to hear the life story of an old crone like myself, but since you insist so much, I shall tell you. Long ago, I served in a castle as a wet nurse for a certain princess. The princess was the sweetest girl you ever laid eyes upon, and I looked after her as if she were my very own child. As a matter of fact, I once had a daughter I had to let go as soon as she was born. I wholeheartedly devoted my love to the princess; I felt that serving her was my atonement for what had happened to my own child, and my love for her only grew with time.

At any hand, the young princess suffered from an illness. No matter how many great doctors we consulted, the verdict was always that she didn't have much longer to live. I intended to do anything I could to save the life of the princess. Therefore I visited a popular soothsayer to ask if there was a way the princess could be saved. The result of the divination was this: if she ate the liver of an unborn baby she would live. Yes, I am aware of what a horrendous thing that is.

However, I did not care if I myself should land in hell, if only the princess would be saved. I left the castle alone and headed for Ōshū. I set up a crude shack by the river Abukumagawa and waited for travelers lost on their journey. And finally one day, a pregnant woman arrived. She said that she had to find a certain person before her child was born, but that was none of my concern. There was not a chance that I would let this opportunity slip, so I waited until she fell asleep, cut open her stomach and took the liver of the child.

Still euphoric now that the princess would be saved, I looked through her things in order to get rid of them, but for some reason, each of them seemed familiar to me. There were amulets and nightwear I had given my child when I had to let go of her, and a boxwood hairpin I had hidden on her, hoping she would one day wear it. Why was this woman cherishing these things so dearly? Yes, indeed. This woman was my very own child. She was travelling, even though she was pregnant, in hopes of finding her mother — me — before her child was born, so that she could show me the face of my grandchild. I cried and screamed for days on end, until my tears ran dry.

I no longer know how much time has passed since then. I just carry this dreadful burden, not even allowed to follow my daughter, I am still living here as you can see. I am sure that even a priest like you is unaware of what the punishment is for a parent who kills her own child. Yes, I suppose you have heard the poem that people recite around this region?
"Is it true what they say, that Kurotsuka in Michinoku, on the plains of Adachigahara, is the abode of a demon?"
That demon is me.

陰陽座百物語　第弐話「黒塚」

貴方様の様な旅の御坊様が何故この婆の身の上話などを聞きたいと申されるか、私には分かりませぬが、そこまでおっしゃるのでしたらお話致しましょう。遠い昔、私は然る姫君の乳母として御城に仕えておりました。赤子の頃からそれはそれは玉の様に美しい姫君で、私は丸で自分の娘の様にその御成長を願っておりました。その実、私には生まれて直ぐ手放せねばならなかった娘がおりましたのです。姫様に一心に愛情を注ぎ、お仕えする事が我が子への罪滅ぼしの様に感じられ、自然と情は深まって参りました。

しかし姫様は幼い身体で重い病に患われてしまわれたのです。どの様な名医に見せてもこの儘ではもう長くは生きられまいと言われるばかり。私は何としてでも姫様の御命を助け申し上げたいと思いました。そこで、評判の占い師を訪ね、姫様が助かる方法を占ってもらったのです。占いの答えは一つ、まだ生まれる前の胎の中にいる子供の生き胆を飲めば助かる。ええ、勿論それがどれ程恐ろしい事か分かっておりましたとも。

しかし私なら姫様の命が助かれば、例えこの身が地獄に落ちようとなら構わなかったで御座います。私は一人城を出て、奥州へ向かい、阿武隈川の辺に粗末な小屋を構え、道に迷った旅人が訪ねて来るのを待ちました。そして到頭ある時、子を身籠った女子がやって来たんです。女子は稚が生まれる前にどうしても探し出して会いたい人が居ると言うておりましたが、私には係わり合いの無い事。この好機を逃してなるものかと女子が寝入るのを見計らい、その腹を裂き、子供の生き胆を取り出しました。

これで姫様は助かると天にも昇る気持ちの儘、一刻も早く女子の持ち物を始末せねばと調べたところ、出て来た物がどうしてか私の見覚えのある物ばかり。我が子を手放す折に持たせた筈の御守りや寝巻き、何時か身に着けて欲しいと忍ばせた柘植の簪。それを何故この女子が後生大事に抱いていたのか。ええ、そうですとも。この女子こそ私の実の娘だったので御座います。
娘は稚が生まれる前に母の私を探し出し孫の顔を見せたいと願おうて、身重な身体で旅をしていたので御座います。私は泣き叫びました、幾日も幾日も、涙が枯れ果てるまで。

あれからどれだけの年月が経ったか、もう私にも分かりませぬ。唯、この恐ろしい業罪背負って、娘の後を追う事も許されず、私はまだここにこうして永らえて居るのです。御坊様も子を殺した親がどの様な罰を受けるか、知らぬ筈はありますまい。そう、この辺りに長く伝わる歌をお聴きになった事がお有りでしょう。
「陸奥の安達ヶ原の黒塚に鬼籠もれりと聞くはまことか」
その鬼が私で御座います。

Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story I "Footfall"

This was a section on Onmyōza's radio show HOT ROCKIN' back in 2004-2006 where Matatabi and Kuroneko read stories related to the lyrics or to the things that inspired the lyrics in the first place.
Hyakumonogatari means a round of ghost stories.  (Wikipedia)

I've made the transcripts myself, so they may contain errors.

Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story I "Footfall"

(Ashioto begins at 1:45)

The man walked cautiously, yet at a quick pace, along the sheer mountain cliff. His job was to get the goods he carried on his back delivered by the time the cock first crowed in the morning. His greatest concern should have indeed been whether he could deliver the goods on time, but for a while now, there was something else that occupied his mind.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump...

Something kept making such a strange noise behind him. It sounded like something rolling; at any rate, it was a queer sound. He had turned around many times, but was unable to determine what the sound was. The reason for that was because, although the sound came from right behind him, he could not discern anything at all there. Albeit the night was dark, the fact that he could not see what was making that sound right behind him made the man grow more and more afraid. He quickened his pace, and getting the goods delivered on time was not the reason he did so.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump...

Then finally, the strange noise was coming from somewhere right next to his ears. The man could not take it anymore, which did not mean that he was going to turn around and witness what was making the sound; he was too afraid to do that. Instead, he ran like mad, trying to shake it off, whatever it was. He rushed as fast as he could along a cliff barely wide enough for one adult. However, the sound adjusted its speed to match that of his, and the man could hear it coming from exactly the same distance as before.

"Give me a break." The moment he prayed so in his mind, having lost his composure, he now lost his footing too, and wretchedly plunged from the precipitous slope into the abyss that spread before his eyes. It was a fall one possibly could not survive. After his plunge, only a few small rocks that had chipped off from the edge of the road came tumbling down after him.
What had made that mysterious sound remains in the dark...

陰陽座百物語　第壱話「跫音」

切り立ったその山の切岸を男は怖々と、しかし足早に歩いていた。背に背負った品物を何としても明日の朝、一番鶏が鳴くまでに送り届けるのが男の役目であった。その品物が定刻に届けられるか、確かにそれが男の最大の関心事である筈だったが、先刻よりそれ以上に男が気になっている物があった。

ぞろり　ぞろり　ぞろり…

男の背後からその奇妙な音はずっと聞こえていた。何かが転がるような、兎に角奇妙な物音であった。男は何度も振り返ったのだが、それが何の音なのか突き止める事は出来なかった。何故ならその音の源はそれが男の直ぐ後ろから聞こえるのにもかかわらず、全くその姿が見えなかったからである。暗い夜道とはいえ、背中にぴたりと張り付いたその音の主が見えぬ筈は無く、それが男の恐怖心を一層駆り立てる。品物を届ける為に急ぐのとは全く別の意味で男の歩調は高まるばかりであった。

ぞろり　ぞろり　ぞろりと…

そして遂にその奇妙な音は男の耳元で鳴った。男は矢も楯もたまらず、かと言って今更振り返って音の正体を目の当たりにするのも恐ろしく、夢中で走り、それを振り切ろうとした。大人一人が漸う通れるか狭い切岸を男は全力で駆けた。しかし、その音は男の走る速度に合わせ、全く変わらぬ間合いで聞こえ続けた。

「もう勘弁してくれ」、そう祈るように念じた刹那、取り乱した男は足を踏み外し、哀れにも切り立ったその斜面から一寸先の奈落へとその身を躍らせてしまった。到底助からぬ高さであった。男の転落した後にはその際に崩れた道の端からぱらぱらと小石が落ちるのみであった。
奇妙な音の正体は最後まで闇の中に伏した儘であったと言う…