Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan
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was still dark outside.
Arriving at Moritaka’s house before noon, Genta announced himself
to an attendant. “I have brought a letter from the direction of the capital.
I wish to see Lord Moritaka.” The attendant conveyed Genta’s message to
Moritaka, who came out of his quarters and asked from whom the letter
was sent. Genta unwrapped the paper and took out a letter on which was
written, “A letter to Lord Moritaka from Blossom Princess.”
“Is this a dream or reality?” Moritaka asked and immediately opened
the letter and confirmed that it was indeed from his beloved Blossom
Princess. Disregarding his surroundings, Moritaka pressed her letter to his
face and wept, so happy was he to know his daughter was alive. Then he
invited Genta to his quarters, clearing out the people, and he asked about
his daughter in detail. Genta replied to Moritaka according to Saishō’s
instructions, and Moritaka was exuberant. “It is an auspicious sign to live,”
he said. “It was good that I did not commit suicide when my daughter
disappeared.” Moritaka summoned Saemon, his adjunct, and told him to
keep this matter secret. He then ordered Saemon to send Genta home after
entertaining him. Further, he asked Saemon whether there was someone
who knew the way to the middle councilor’s residence. Saemon replied that
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his wife was from the village of the middle councilor’s house and therefore
knew where he lived. Moritaka was delighted. While Saemon entertained
Genta, Moritaka wrote a letter in reply to his daughter and gave it to Genta.
Moritaka also gave Genta a quilted silk garment for a gift, which Genta
received humbly and put on his shoulder. Further, Moritaka provide a fine
horse with a saddle on it. “This horse runs fast. Please go quickly,” said
Moritaka’s attendant, who accompanied Genta until he was outside the gate.
Once outside, Genta got on the horse and whipped it to a gallop.
Genta took the matter as his own and hurried, so he arrived at Saishō’s
house before sunset. Immediately, Genta presented the letter to Saishō,
who was delighted to see him back so soon. Genta showed the gifts of the
quilted silk garment and horse and reported, “I have returned quickly riding
on this horse. The lord lives in a magnificent house. He said that he would
visit you tomorrow.”
Saishō was pleased to give the princess the happy news. With the reports
of her father’s safety and anticipating their reunion, the princess shed tears
of joy. She read his letter and impatiently awaited the following morning.
At Moritaka’s house, immediately after Genta left, the lord commanded
Saemon to prepare everything for an early departure the following day. “For
this visit no treasure can be too good or wasteful,” Moritaka said. “open
one whole warehouse. Prepare various gifts: gold, silver, gold-brocaded
satin damask, Chinese twilled silk fabric, Chinese textiles, embroidered cos-
tumes, silk, and so forth. Into one oblong chest put golden armor, breast
protectors, and swords. Another chest should include white cloths for
all the expenses. Also, prepare thirteen fine horses with a golden saddle
on each. Accompanying attendants should look fine, not unsightly: ten
mounted retainers and twenty foot soldiers only. The visit should be secret;
tell people that the entourage travels to pray at a shrine. Let them carry
ample treasures.” Lord Moritaka wanted to share his secret with Akashi.
“But women are indiscreet. It will be regrettable if her face shows the joy
and my wife notices the truth.” So thinking, he went to his wife’s quarters
and summoned Akashi. In good humor, he told Akashi to stay home while
he went to a shrine to pray for a long-standing desire the following day.
Moritaka was all smiles and left the quarters. His wife was happy to
see him in such a good mood and vainly thought he would visit her upon
his return.
on the following day, the party left while it was still dark outside.
Though the entourage had been ordered to be small because of secrecy,
one had to be cautious against bandits along the way. Thus, the accompany-
ing number became large, with people equipped with spears and halberds.
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A long line of people carrying the large oblong chests led the way. Looking
at this sight, people whispered to each other, “That’s strange. Which shrine
is Lord Moritaka going to visit?” “Our lord is said to be secluded,” was the
common answer. None could make out the intentions of their lord.
Moritaka’s party went quickly and soon arrived at Saishō’s residence.
Moritaka sent his man to report his arrival, and Genta came out immedi-
ately. As Genta had anticipated, Moritaka’s entourage was quite large. He
ushered Lord Moritaka and his immediate retainers in while having the
rest of the party wait outside the gate. The princess scurried to the edge
of the room, for she had been eagerly awaiting her father. She took her
father’s hand and ushered him into the room. She could not find words to
express her joy. She stayed close to her father and wept. Moritaka also wept.
“Blossom Princess,” he said through his tears. “I am so happy to see you.
After I lost you, I thought of killing myself. But I have survived until now,
relying on the Buddha’s oracle. It is indeed a miracle.”
The princess looked up at her father and said, “I am sorry to see your
emaciated face. My sin to make you worry so must be deep. While you were
away, my stepmother, your wife, drove me out of the house, saying it was
your wish to do so. The feigned messenger carried me on his back and, never
stopping once, abandoned me on an unfamiliar mountain. But because of
Kannon’s help, I escaped the jaws of wild beasts and miraculously survived
to see your unchanged appearance. How grateful I am,” and she wept pro-
fusely. These were tears of joy; the nurse and attendants near the princess all
shared their tears. The princess then asked after Akashi. Her father replied,
“Akashi, Kojijū, and Kochōnomai are all well and waiting for your news. I
haven’t told them of this happy event yet. I will send for them tomorrow.”
Hearing this, the princess impatiently waited for the following day.
The middle councilor heard the news of Moritaka’s arrival. “What an
unexpected guest! It would be rude to send a messenger on my behalf while
I am here.” So saying, the middle councilor visited Saishō’s residence with
the rest of his children. Moritaka came out to meet the middle councilor in
person. This was their first encounter. “Your arrival is indeed unanticipated.
I regret that you didn’t tell us earlier,” said the middle councilor.
“You are quite right,” Moritaka replied. “I am ashamed to visit so bra-
zenly like this. However, I have only one child who disappeared the past
autumn. By some miracle, I learned that she is staying at this house as
the wife [of your youngest son], so I came here clandestinely without any
regard to public gaze or shame—probably, I have lost control of myself for
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the love of my child. You are so fortunate to have so many fine, grown-up
children. I am envious.” Moritaka shed tears.
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The middle councilor replied, “Thank you for your kind words. We are
blessed with many children, and we love them all. Now that you are here,
there is nothing more joyous than this. Please be kind to consider Saishō as
your child after this.”
The parents merrily exchanged saké, and then the middle councilor
returned to his residence with two of his children. Saishō remained and
entertained Moritaka with various stories. Moritaka’s happiness was inde-
scribable. Later, he made a return visit to the middle councilor’s quarters
and presented various gifts for celebration: to the middle councilor he gave
ten scrolls of gold brocade, a fine horse with a gold saddle, and a gold
sword; to the eldest son, a fine horse with a gold saddle and a gold sword;
for the middle councilor’s wife, three sets of Chinese textiles and gold dust;
for Saishō’s younger sister, one set of Chinese twill clothing and a shining
decorative miniature citrus tree with three gold fruit. Everyone, from the
ladies-in-waiting to lowly servants, received numerous and diverse gifts. The
clan’s men and household retainers, without omission, from the old to the
young, were given horses, saddles, armor, and swords. “What a splendid
entry from the father-in-law!” said the people of the middle councilor’s
quarters. All were delighted.
Moritaka then returned to Saishō’s residence. He was thrilled to see his
son-in-law and overjoyed to be with his beloved Blossom Princess again—
the reunion might be compared to seeing the udumbara [or udonge] that is
said to flower once every 3,000 years. The celebration gifts to Saishō were
a six-year-old dappled gray horse with a fine saddle, three grooms for the
horse, a gold sword, ten scrolls of gold brocade and a silk damask, and
three packets of gold dust wrapped in paper—each worth 100 ryō. The
wedding celebration gifts for the princess were three sets of Chinese red
cloths, Chinese twill fabric and silk textiles, plus a scarlet hakama. For the
nurse and Chiyoi and her female attendants, Moritaka gave gifts according
to their rank. Moritaka told the nurse and Chiyoi, “Your kindness to my
princess shall never be forgotten. The gifts here are only a token. Later, you
shall receive more.” Their joy was limitless.
After that, Moritaka sent a messenger to inform Akashi of the matter.
Receiving the news, Akashi could not believe her ears. She was so ecstatic
that she did not know what to think. As the messenger told the detailed story
of the princess’s adventures, joy began to settle in Akashi’s heart. “How
grateful. So it is really true. It is worth living this long.” So saying, she wept
for joy. Kojijū, Kochōnomai, the princess’s eight ladies-in-waiting, and her
maids were exuberant at the good news. The messenger said, “of whom
are you afraid now? Please depart immediately.” Akashi sent a message to
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the lady of the house: “our princess who disappeared the past autumn has
been discovered. So please excuse us, we are going to see her,” and she left
for Saishō’s house with her people. The stepmother was too appalled to
speak. The lady’s nurse came near her and said, “I heard that the princess
had already been eaten by wolves. The person who has been found must be
an imposter.”
Whether it was happiness or hardship that brought them, tears flowed
on the cheeks of the princess and her nurse. After a while, Akashi told the
princess how terrible she felt after she had gone. Relying on Lord Moritaka’s
dream and the diviner’s divination, however, she had been waiting for the
first days of autumn. There was no end to her stories. As for the princess,
she told how much she missed Akashi when the nurse left for the shrine
the morning of her abduction, her worries when she was driven out of the
house, the samurai’s wife’s kindness, her loneliness in the mountains, how
scared she was at the yamauba’s cavern, and how relieved she was when the
yamauba turned out to be kind and gave her miraculous clothes and led her
to the middle councilor’s gate. The princess told how Akino had found her
and how she made the cooking fire at this house, how Saishō’s nurse and
Chiyoi were generous, and so on. They talked to each other from morning
to night endlessly—interrupted only by frequent tears.
Moritaka had been staying at Saishō’s residence for ten days, entertained
by this person and that person. Since this was an event known widely in the
province, people all over the province talked about it. The people close to
the stepmother heard the rumor and thought, “How wretched! We shall lose
face because of the lady’s inhumane treatment of her stepdaughter. There is
no need to write her a letter.” So no one visited the stepmother. Everyone
hated her. Since the woman could no longer live under Lord Moritaka’s
roof and there was nowhere else for her to go, she left the house with her
nurse without any destination. It was a sad journey for her, to say the least.
Later, Lord Moritaka took leave of the middle councilor and said to the
princess, “Now that I see your happiness, I have nothing to worry about.
I will return home to offer my gratitude to the Kannon, and then I will
come back here to discuss some matter with the middle councilor. Wait
until then.” He then bid farewell to Saishō and left.
When Moritaka returned home, his wife had gone. “They say ‘when one
is guilty, the world is small.’ It cannot be helped.” So thinking, Moritaka pur-
sued the matter no further. He went immediately to Kannon Hall and prayed
earnestly: “With your grateful vow to save Blossom Princess, I could see my
daughter once again. I am very thankful. Please continue to protect her in the
future.” Soon he had a residence hall and pagoda built on a hill and employed
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twenty Buddhist priests to conduct religious services for Shō Kannon every
morning and evening. Because of this miraculous Kannon, many people came
to pay a visit. Moritaka also revered the yamauba’s wondrous clothes and had
the priests hold a memorial service. The mound was built near the Kannon,
and a wooden grave tablet with a divine name was erected for the clothes so
the clothes, an intrinsic part of the oni’s nature, might be transformed into
a Buddha and rest in peace. After that, Moritaka gave the diviner 100 koku
of rice and 100 kan of currency, saying, “You foretold well. I couldn’t have
known happiness or hardship without your divination.”
The princess also sent a gift of a quilted silk garment and 100 gold coins
to the diviner with a note that read, “Because of your divination, I could see
my father and nurse once again. How can I not be delighted?” These were
happy events. The princess presented the gifts with the intent to become the
diviner’s long-term patron. Further, Akashi and a number of lady attendants
took off their quilted silk garments and offered them to the diviner, saying,
“Because of this diviner, we found hope to live and wait for.” The samurai
who had kidnapped the princess was captured and sentenced to death by
means of surikubi, beheading with a dull knife, for seven days and seven
nights. The samurai’s wife might have suffered a similar fate, but if she were
killed immediately, she would not be able to atone for her sin; today’s happi-
ness existed because the princess’s life was spared through the intervention
of the samurai’s wife. Still, because the woman had aided her husband, it
was not possible to reward her. So, with a lecture she was sent home. As for
Moritaka’s evil wife, had her whereabouts been known, he would have sent
her some form of stipend and “returned good for evil.” But she was sinful
and unaccounted for. It was indeed hard for the evil woman to avoid karma.
After Lord Moritaka had effected justice and directed events as he
pleased, he quickly returned to the middle councilor’s residence and
requested that the middle councilor allow Saishō to become his successor.
Moritaka wanted Saishō to succeed to his lordship and thus handed over his
fiefdom, his residence, and his many warehouses to both Blossom Princess
and Saishō, who was renamed Tango no kami Moriie. Further, Moritaka
invited his mother-in-law to stay at his residence as a happy reminder of his
late wife. As the middle councilor and his wife loved the princess without
equal, they deeply regretted the young couple leaving. Moritaka consoled
them by saying, “Please attend our various gatherings, including flower
viewings in spring and those of maple leaves in autumn. Please come often
to our house.” Thus, Moritaka bid farewell to the middle councilor and
his wife. As the princess got into a palanquin, Moritaka and Moriie rode
on horses. The middle councilor came out with his two children to see the
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party off as a celebration of Moriie’s first entry into his inherited fief. This
was a serious matter. The middle councilor’s party rode a long way with
Moritaka’s entourage. Moritaka at last urged them to return, as the distance
they had ridden together was already too far—thus polite and respectful to
each other, both entourages parted ways.