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

by Darvin Babiuk

  ***THE END***

  THE HONORABLE INEN COMES HOME

  By Sohkichi Gotoh

  For the young Tomo, it had been a long night, snowy and she hadn't been able to sleep at all. There was just too much going on in her head. For the first time in years, her father, Inen, was coming home. She hadn't seen him since that day long ago when he'd left Seki, their hometown, to take up the life of a Buddhist monk on the road, wandering around in search of wisdom with no more than his wits and a begging bowl to his name.

  "What a fine life for a father," grumbled Tokuichi to himself while replacing the rotten porch in front of the small house. Earlier that morning, he had joined the rest of Tomo's relatives and neighbors coming to her small, straw-thatched hut and ready it for Inen's return. "Abandoning his mother and children to wander around like a beggar."

  Out in the yard, Chousuke was sweeping the freshly fallen snow. Inside, the elderly O-hana was wiping everything down with a rag while Sakubei was fixing a tear in the paper sliding doors. No one said anything, but they nodded their heads in agreement. Tomo, too, held her tongue while decorating the small, raised household temple with some daffodils before going back to the unfloored part of the house to continue working.

  "Sorry to bother you on such a cold, early morning," called out the priest from Bamboo Forest Temple as he came along the small stone path in the garden. "Chikurinji" the temple was called in Japanese and that's what the villagers called him too, Chikurinji-sama, adding the "sama" the same way they added it to O-hana and Sakubei's names to show their respect. He was a man of great learning and highly thought of by everyone.

  "Chikurinji-sama," Tokuichi asked him at once. "Inen's my relative, but I don't understand this at all. Is he such a great man that we have to do all this for him?"

  Chuckling, the priest took off his scarf and entered the floored part of the house. "Shall I show you something interesting?" he asked, bringing out an important-looking wooden box. While everyone watched, he opened the lid and took out some dried, milk-chocolate-colored leaves, two or three times the size of his hand.

  "These came yesterday," he said. "What do you think they could be? No idea? Well, if you look closely you can see they have words written on them. It's a letter from Inen! I was surprised, too, using leaves for letter paper, but that's what it is, a letter. See?"

  Sure enough, everyone could see that there was something written on the leaves. But almost none of Tomo or her relatives could read them.

  "Umm, yes, I see," said Tokuichi, leaning forward on his knees to get a better look. "But what do they say?"