The Love of a Silver Fox: Folk Tales from Seki CIty

by Darvin Babiuk

  ***THE END***

  THE WATER MIRROR

  By Fusako Tsuji

  Once upon a time, standing silently at the foot of a small mountain, was a convent in a temple called Shoukenji in the town of Hiromi. One day, in the spring, a woman named Chiyono made her way to the front gate. She was coming from Kamakura, which was far, so her clothes were stained and her straw sandals full of holes. For a while, she stood gazing broodingly in front of the gate, then made up her mind and passed through.

  "Is anybody home?" she called out in a thin voice.

  "What is it?" an old nun called out from inside the temple, coming outside to see who it was.

  "I have a favour to ask," Chiyono said, sliding down to her knees in the dirt in front of the temple and bowing her head. "I would like to become a nun."

  "Well, stand up and come inside then. I don't know who you are, but you certainly know how to speak what's on your mind."

  Relieved, Chiyono went around to the back entrance where she washed her feet and the nun showed her the way to the head priest's quarters. Even older than the nun, he came out to the entrance and looked at Chiyono with peaceful eyes.

  "Honoured priest," she said. "I came to ask you to allow me to be a nun. No matter how hard it is, I don't care. I'll do it."

  "Where are you from?" the priest asked. His voice reminded her of the broken voice of her old, deceased grandmother. "You put your hands together to pray like this," she could still remember her saying.

  "From the east. I hope that's enough. I've decided not to tell anyone who I was or where I'm from."

  "I see. Why do you want to become a nun?"

  "Some time ago, my husband became sick and I tried to nurse him back to health with all my heart. Calling on the gods and Buddha's power, I did everything; prayed, and went from temple to temple. But they didn't answer my prayers. Three months ago, he died. I'd like to become a nun so that I can give him a memorial service and he can become a Buddha. I heard that there was a temple called Shoukenji in Mino where you could study to become a nun and do that, so I came here."

  "Is that right?" said the priest, listening patiently to Chiyono's words. "You heard this temple was a place where you could study and become a nun did you? Well, I guess I don't have a choice then, do I? I'll have to let you become a nun."

  "Thank you. Thank you. I knew if I came all the way here you couldn't refuse."

  "Wait," said the priest. "I said I'd give you permission, but it's not up to me. It's up to you. It depends on how hard you work. Studying to be a nun is not easy. It's tough. Very tough. If it's not something you're absolutely sure you want to do, you might not make it."

  "Don't worry," Chiyono said. "That's what I want. The harder the better. I don't want you to spare me. No pity."

  "Okay," said the priest. "I can see you've made up your mind. But it’s not very convenient if we don't have a name to call you. You don't want to tell us your real name so how about if we call you Matsu?"

  "Matsu? Why not. It's a good name. Thank you."

  And so it came to be that Chiyono came to be called Matsu and live in Shoukenji temple in Mino. That evening, she went into the temple and found five people chanting the Buddhist prayers together. Quietly, she crept in and began to read the prayers with them, sitting as far in the back as possible. That night, she slept on a board with a woman about the same age as her called Tami. Tami had come to the about a year ago and still wasn't a nun yet either, so her head wasn't shaved.

  The next day, Tami taught Chiyono how to gather firewood and draw water from the river for the temple, the kinds of jobs that everyone who wanted to enter the temple was given at first. Firewood could be found on the mountain around the temple and water from the Tanigawa that flowed nearby.

  "What pretty hands you have, Matsu," Tami said. "It's almost like you've never had to gather firewood or water before."

  "Umm . . . yes," said Chiyono falteringly.

  "When I see pretty hands like that, it almost makes me think you've never done an honest day’s work in your life," Tami said nastily.

  Before Chiyono came to the temple she had been married to a samurai of high class, so she had many servants to do jobs like gathering firewood and collecting water. Tami was right. She'd never done such things even once in her life. But before three days passed, her hands became rough and calloused. She carried the water in two buckets balanced on a bamboo pole over her shoulders, but she still stumbled and wobbled when she walked. Collecting firewood, too, required her to climb mountain after mountain. It was hard, but Chiyono didn't mind. She was happy. The happiest time, though, was when she was chanting prayers in front of the Buddha.

  One by one, she came to memorize each of the many prayers. That was more interesting than anything.

  A month passed since Chiyono came to Shoukenji Temple and she got used to gathering firewood and drawing up water, too. Collecting enough firewood each day was difficult, but before she knew it, she started to be able to stock up extra wood. She got good at carrying the water in buckets, too, not spilling a single drop. And Tami started to treat her kinder and kinder, too.

  "Matsu," she said one day. "When you first came to this temple, it was like your eyes were burnt right out of your face, but when I see you like this I can't believe how beautiful you've become. I wonder if I'll get like that if I stay here. I was married once, you know, but I was forced to leave my husband's house. I couldn't have any children so he returned me to my parents."

  "Is that right?" Chiyono said, her heart bursting with pleasure that Tami would call her beautiful.

  "Each of us has their own story, don't we?"

  Chiyono pitied Tami. She was a good worker, but her fingers were thick and fat as caterpillars and her face not very beautiful at all. She knew it was only the luck of the gods that she was beautiful and Tami was not, but she became proud and vain.

  Soon, rumours about Chiyono began to spread among the villagers.

  "I heard there's a real beauty living in the temple now."

  "That's right. Someone told me her name's Matsu."

  "Not only is she beautiful, but she can work hard, too."

  "When I was gathering firewood on the mountain, I was facing downhill but I saw her face in spite of myself. She really is beautiful."

  "I wonder where she's from. Becoming a nun is really, really tough. She must have a really good reason to do it."

  Before long, there were people standing in front of the temple gate trying to catch of glimpse of her and calling out her name when she went down to the river to draw water. Rumours of the beautiful nun came to the village headman's ears, too, just as he was thinking about finding a good wife for his son.

  "You mean to tell me there's a woman that beautiful and who can work like that at the temple? In our town? And she hasn't become a nun yet? I wonder how she'd do for my son."

  Two or three days later, he put on his dress-kimono and went to the temple to see for himself. After making small-talk with the head priest, he began to talk about taking Chiyono for his son's wife. But the priest flatly refused.

  "Matsu used to be married," he said. "But her husband passed away so she came here. She has her heart set on becoming a nun. Her husband is still in her heart and she wants to honour him by taking care of things here at the temple. It's ridiculous to think that that kind of woman would want to become a wife again."

  Soon, this talk spread throughout the village, too, and new rumours were going along the villagers. Every day, people were finding excuses to be near the temple so they could get a chance to bump into her or a single glance of the wonderful woman who would be a nun at their temple. Chiyono acted troubled by this, but in her heart it made her happy. She was very proud to be so beautiful.