It is said that a demon accompanied by a child appears on that mountain.
Mountains spread as far as the eye can see.
Near the summit of one of the mountains, there stands (Demon) and a girl.
Around them the wind blows through the trees, making them rustle.
(Demon) is one-eyed. Her disheveled hair streams in the wind and from her missing left eye come rolling down tears of blood.
Her stark naked body is covered by something blackish, perhaps blood.
From the top of the mountain, the pair peers down at something below.
The girl is wearing what looks like a kimono rag.
(Demon) says something to the girl, but the girl does not react at all.
(Demon) silently calls the girl's attention by gently drawing her closer by the shoulders.
In response, the girl looks up at (Demon), and after giving her an innocent smile, she follows obediently after (Demon) without uttering a word.
The pair disappears into the mountains.
The wind grows stronger and its sough sounds like someone sobbing.
——Fadeout.
(From Zekkai no Kishibojin, Preface: "Kikoku")
Note: I have not read Zekkai no Kishibojin, but I think that (Demon) is in parentheses because her identity is not yet to be revealed, and she's not actually an ogre. In the original, double brackets are used: 《鬼》. As far as I know, they don't have a fixed meaning in Japanese.
"Hey grandma, am I really a useless, unwelcome child?"
"Hmm? That's not true at all. Why would you even ask such a thing?"
"It's that Kansuke. He was saying that I'm a birdbrained, ugly, useless nobody."
"Useless of all things! Dear Tōkichi, you're good at singing, aren't you?"
"Nobody listens to my singing. Everyone just wants to look at the funny picture book that Kansuke bought at the capital or the pretty pinwheel that O-hana has. No one pays me any attention."
"It's just a matter of taste. Those who want to look at a picture book can do so, and those who want to play with a pinwheel can ask their parents to buy them one. Neither one is superior to the other. Everyone can play with the one they prefer. There must be someone who likes your songs and wants to hear them."
"No way! Nobody likes me!"
"Hey! Tōkichi! Mother! I just got back! Phew, I sure am tired. Oh! Tōkichi, let me hear a song of yours again. When your daddy hears you sing, it gives him strength to give his all again tomorrow!"
"O-Okay! I will! But which one? Which do you prefer?"
"All of them! I like it no matter what you sing!"
"Yeah! Hyahahahaha!"
"Hahahaha!"
When the world is shrouded in jet-black darkness, there are two beings whose mission is to sacrifice their lives to save it. One is the dragon who soars to the sky when the time is right. The other is the shrine maiden who has looked after the dragon since it was a nestling. Her task is to offer a prayer that releases the dragon to the sky. They both waited quietly for that moment while aware of the fact that after they had accomplished their mission, they would meet their end.
And now, having heard the prayer of the shrine maiden and having climbed to the sky, the dragon was looking down on the various sufferings of the world below.
As the girl gazed at the dragon that had soared out of sight, the image of the dragon when it was still small enough to be carried in her arms crossed her mind and tears started to roll down her cheeks before she knew it.
The terrestrial world ruled by humans, filled with insolent desires and petty falsehoods, was now full of more suffering than there had ever been and everyone was longing for the dragon of redemption to appear. The girl had offered the dragon a prayer in order to fulfill her mission as the shrine maiden, but now that the moment was at hand, at the same time as her love for the dragon suddenly awakened, she also started to feel intense hatred for the humans who had shifted the task of redeeming their crimes on the dragon. Her anger grew uncontrollable and in spite of herself the girl shouted inside her mind: "There is no need to listen to the hopes of the selfish humans. Give me back my dragon!"
However, at the same time she heard the voice of the dragon's consciousness echoing inside her mind.
"Girl. There is no need to worry. We shall never lose the memories of the peaceful days we spent together, not even if our bodies perish. I will now release the light that will save the world. With that light, the two of us will ascend to heaven. And the humans too——"
"Huh?"
Unable to grasp the meaning of the dragon's final words, the girl gazed at the sky even more intensely. Shortly afterwards, light so dazzling that one could not look straight at it came falling down from the heavens, surrounding the earth. The dragon, the girl, humans, and all other living things were enveloped by the light, and they all vanished from the face of the earth.
Thus the earth was saved from the threat of mankind.
Piercing the pitch black rain clouds that had suddenly covered the sky, a single thunderbolt struck the center of the basin of a waterfall. Immediately, the pierced water surface swelled as if lifted from below, and a huge dragon suddenly appeared in an enormous splash.
After glancing at the girl dressed as a shrine maiden, who stood near the waterfall, the dragon soared straight towards the sky. As the girl watched it go, she had a complex expression on her face that was quite neither compassion nor resignation, nor did it resemble a prayer or a curse.
"Dear dragon. Hear me, dragon that has since ancient times been gathering the strength to save the world inside this waterfall. Now is the time for you to save my brethren from their numerous hardships!"
Directing her words rather at herself instead of the dragon, the girl whispered, but at the same time shouted so, and with the same expression still on her face, she gazed at the sky where the dragon had soared.
As if answering the girl, the dragon that had flown so high that one could no longer discern it gave out a cry in a wonderful timbre.
In a raging blizzard a man laid still[1], sure that he was a going to die. While on the way back to the village from the charcoal burning hut located in the mountains, he had seen the first snowfall of that year. In no time at all the snow had piled up and covered the whole area with white. The extraordinary amount of snow made the man realize that it had to be the doing of a snow woman. Around the region there were frightening legends of a snow woman that would lead astray passing men and then freeze them to death. The man had heard those legends when he was a child.
The roaring wind blew up the snow, and when the man was unable to keep his eyes open any longer, it became all quiet around him. Strangely, the snow had suddenly stopped falling, and he could no longer feel the piercing cold. The man nervously opened his eyes. He saw a woman with long black hair who was dressed in a snow-white kimono looking down at him.
"Are you the snow woman?"
Thinking that his life was over, with complete resignation, the man blurted out: "Why do you kill men? Do you hold some grudge against them? You are just going to kill me now, right? In that case, wouldn't you at least let me know before I die?"
The snow woman gazed sadly at the man and soon started talking sotto voce.
"In that case I shall tell you. Indeed I am the snow woman. As you can see, not even blood flows in my cold body, and I have spent hundreds of years hiding here. However, once there was a time when I fell in love with one of the men who come to this charcoal burning hut. Although I did fall in love, neither could we become man and wife nor even embrace each other, as my breath freezes everything and my body chills everyone who touches it. We could only gaze at each other from a distance, but nevertheless we understood each other."
"However, one day he said to me: 'I can no longer live without you. If we cannot be wedded, my heart's only desire is to be killed by you.' He then tightly embraced my body. That was his end. My loved one froze all the way to his heart and never opened his eyes again."
As the snow woman paused, the snowstorm started raging again. An even worse coldness attacked the man.
"You have been buried in the snow for quite some time. At this rate you will be done for. However, there is a way to save yourself."
The snow woman's words were drowned out by the howling blizzard and the man soon lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside his charcoal burning hut. He was lying in a properly laid futon and a mouth-watering pot of miso soup hung over the hearth. Under the pot the charcoal burned in crimson, warming the whole hut. The man sprung to his feet and rubbed his eyes in disbelief when he noticed a large puddle nestled close to the futon.
Could this be what had become of that snow woman? The man's family were the only ones who had been burning charcoal in that region, and they had been doing it for generations.
Had the snow woman saved a descendant of the man he loved and thus set herself free from her karma? The man had no way of knowing.
[1] Literally the word means: "without a wink of sleep".
In a river located deep in the mountains there lived two kappa brothers who were very close.
"Listen Kawakichi, you turn eight this year. You are old enough for a kappa to start scaring the humans and you're also old enough to be able to pull out a shirikodama[1] or two. When I was your age, I played sumo with the children of the nearby village and threw them around one after another. But you on the other hand... You're really weak at sumo and can't even come up with a single artful trick. I'm worried about your future."
"But brother, the human children gave me a manjū[2] when I was hungry, and made a ring out of beautiful flowers that they placed on my sara[3]. They're all good kids. Why do I have to scare them?"
"They're all like that when they're children. But things get different when they grow up. They all become sly and selfish. You understand, Kawakichi? Surely there must be at least one thing you're good at? You'll have to use that to play a trick on the adult humans."
"You're right, I don't like adult humans. They yell at me when I play with the children. Oh, I know! I'm good at dancing. When I dance, even tanuki and foxes forget to transform and dance with me. I'll make the stuck-up adults dance a silly dance with me."
"Well said! That I'd like to see. And it just so happens that tonight's our chance. I hear that the humans are going to hold a festival. Let's go there right away so you can make them dance that silly dance!"
The kappa brothers swam down the river and headed for the human village.
"Brother! It sure is lively here! Since everyone's cheerful thanks to the sake, it should be a piece of cake to make them dance. Oh, I'll go talk to that girl over there."
"OK little brother. That sounds good. Let's see, I guess I'll just grab some sake and watch the show."
"Oh how rare! It's a little kappa. What a cute little thing you are with your beak still yellow and all! Come over here little boy and have a treat."
"Really? Yummy! Oh no! That's right, I was going to make them dance. Hey! Look at my dance and join in!"
"Ahahaha! Really, what an adorable kappa. If you like dancing that much, just wait a bit. Something fun is about to happen."
While the younger kappa was at his wits' end as for why the girl did not start dancing at all, a large drum boomed and lively festival music started playing.
"Today is the day of the Bon Festival dance in our village. Come on! You too join the circle and dance with us."
With the signal of the drum, people started getting up one by one and dancing merrily around the drum. Seeing that, the younger kappa could not contain himself and had to join the circle.
"What a fun festival! I'm having a really good time! It doesn't matter whether you're a human or a kappa, having fun is the best!
Meanwhile, the older kappa, who was feeling tipsy with the sake he had stolen, watched the humans dancing in a circle and said:
"Now that's my little brother. He's managed to get all of the humans to dance with him.
I guess I should give him a tasty cucumber as a reward when we get back."
[1] "Mythical ball inside the anus that is sought after by kappa"
[2] A bun with a bean-jam filling.
[3] The indentation on the top of the head of a kappa.
A long long time ago there lived a pack-horse driver. He was famous for his excellent singing voice and many people bought a ride on his horse just to hear him sing as he led the horse.
One evening, someone knocked on the door of the shack where he lived. Wondering who could want a ride so late, he opened the door and saw a most beautiful girl standing there drenched by the rain.
"Is something the matter?"
"I was on my way to the village when I got lost. Before I knew it it grew dark, and it even started raining. I am too exhausted to walk any more. Could it be possible for me to stay the night here?"
The girl's tired face made the pack-horse driver feel pity and he said:
"That must be awful. But as you can see, I live here alone. I cannot even offer you much of a supper.
"In that case I shall cook you supper as a token of my gratitude. If you will just let me stay, I don't mind if I have to sleep in the stable. Please, I ask you."
Unable to turn down the sincerely troubled girl, he accepted her offer, which made the girl look absolutely delighted and she then briskly began to get the supper ready. The supper she made was incredibly delicious, and that night was the most fun the lonely pack-horse driver had experienced in a long time.
When the morning came, while the pack-horse driver was readying his horse to take the girl to her village, he felt indescribable sadness at their parting. The girl then said:
"I was touched by your gentle heart. I do not have any relatives. If you only accept, I would like to live here as your wife." The surprised pack-horse driver gladly accepted her hand, and the two lived frugally but happily.
One morning, when the pack-horse driver was out gathering fodder for his horse as usual, he noticed a beautiful evening primrose blooming in the grass. He plucked the lovely flower to show it to his wife, but when he returned to his shack, his wife was nowhere to be found. Hastily he looked for her, finding her lying on the earth floor. The pack-horse driver quickly ran to her.
"What's the matter!? Do you not feel well?"
"When I heard your singing voice, I prayed that I could become your wife. Then came that evening when I shamelessly changed my shape and dared to visit you. But now I can no longer remain at your side. For I am the spirit of that flower you plucked."
After she had finished her sentence, she faded away and all that was left was the single evening primrose in the pack-horse driver's hand. Since then, the pack-horse driver has stopped singing. Only on moonlit nights he softly hums a song while thinking of his dead wife.
