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

by Darvin Babiuk

  ***THE END***

  YOHEI THE BUDDHA

  By Shigeo Funato

  Once upon a time, in the outskirts of the village of Kamino, stood a big, cedar tree, poking up into the deep blue sky all alone like a goblin's umbrella. And about four kilometers from this great big cedar tree was the mansion of Yohei, who lived there alone.

  One day, just like every day, the children of the village gathered outside and chanted for him to come out and play:

  "Well, well. Yohei the Buddha.

  The man with the Buddha's smiling face.

  Well, well. Shares his rice. Shares his fields, too.

  Well, well. It's bright and clear today. Let's go and play in the bamboo grove by the cedar tree."

  As soon as he heard the young singing voices calling him, the short, smiling Yohei grabbed a ball and came running out of his house.

  "Hey, everyone. How are you? Look! I brought my ball!" Yohei yelled, kicking the ball over to them.

  "Great! Thanks!"

  One of the boys, Shohkichi, grabbed the ball, and leading them along the Tsubo River, ran to the bamboo grove by the big cedar tree, all the other children raising shouts of joy as they hurried to catch up to their leader. Watching the happy children run along the river, the satisfied Yohei turned towards the bamboo grove and started walking there, too.

  As he got near the bamboo grove, he stopped, surprised to hear loud, arguing voices of a child and some adults were coming from a poor, small house near the cedar tree. They sounded like the voices of Shohkichi -- the boy he liked to play with -- his mother, and Shichibei, the village headman.

  "What?" Shichibee was yelling. "You still haven't paid this year's land-tax yet? Then you can't stay in the village."

  "Please! Please! Wait just a little bit longer. My husband is sick and can't get out of bed. Please!"

  "Why can't we stay in the village?" demanded Shohkichi. "My father's sick and has to stay in bed all day. You're the one, Devil Shichibei, who shouldn't be coming here."

  "You're a cheeky little brat, aren't you?" said Shichibee. "So your father's sick, is he? I don't care. Wake him up and tell him to pay. Anyone who can't, can't stay here. Or maybe you'd like me to take you down to the courthouse in place of him?"

  "Please! Please! Forgive us. We just need a little time."

  "Forget it!" shouted Shohkichi. "He's so greedy all he'll do is raise it higher. Go on! Get out of our house, you greedy pig!"

  "What the . . . ? Why you little . . . "

  A child and an adult came running out of the little hut and ran right into Yohei. Just as he thought, it was Shohkichi, who was hiding from the headman now behind his back.

  "Ah, Yohei," said Shichibee, almost bumping into him himself. "How are you? Are you going to hand me that little brat?"

  "Well, well, Shichibee," said Yohei, putting on his smiling, serene Buddha face. "What are you doing with a scary face like that? What happened?"

  The headman told him what happened, that Shohkichi's family hadn't paid their land-tax, and now Shohkichi, the little brat, was calling him names to top it off.

  "Well, well. I guess I'll just have to give you three bales of rice instead of this child then," Yohei said gently, looking down at the cowering Shohkichi.

  "Go on, Shohkichi," he said, smiling and patting the boy on the back. "Fetch your wagon. We'll go get the rice together."

  "Thank you, Yohei. A lot. I really mean it. I'm grateful," Shohkichi said, putting his hands together to pray unconsciously.

  Before they knew it, the children had gathered around them and started to chant.

  "Yohei the Buddha. Yohei the Buddha," they said over and over again. All Shichibei could do was stand there with his mouth hanging open in surprise.

  "Let him pay the boy's land tax," he mumbled as he walked away. "Before you know it, he'll run out of money and I'll be able to get my hands on his land, too. The best in the village."

  Soon after, the sight of mother and child outlined against the persimmon winter sky pulling a wagon loaded high with Yohei's rice could be seen and the children spread word about Yohei's saintliness throughout the village. It wasn't long before half the village had rushed to Yohei's mansion and asked for help.

  "Yohei," they pleaded. "The headman and the judge say we have to pay our land tax, but we don't have enough, either. We don't know what to do. Do you think maybe . . . ?"

  "Well, well," answered Yohei the Buddha. "I guess there's nothing else for you to do but take enough rice from my storehouse to pay for everyone then, is there?"

  "Really, Yohei? Do you mean it? That we can all start the New Year off right? That's great. Thank you. Thank you."

  One by one, the villagers came and loaded up their carts with bags of rice from Yohei's warehouse to pay their land tax. And Yohei just stood smiling and saw them off. Even in the bad years -- when no one had enough to eat, much less pay their tax -- he would just grin his goofy smile and divide up his millet and barley and oats until there was enough to pay for all. And when it became time to rebuild the village's Shinto shrine Yohei donated all the wood from his own forest while Shichibei wouldn't even part with a single tree.

  "Yohei the Buddha pays all our land tax and builds us a Shrine while Devil Shichibei just sits around getting fat, eating our crops and drinking sake all day long," the villagers started to say to each other.

  One day, Yohei was playing around the single cedar tree with Shohkichi and the children as usual when Devil Shichibei came along with his drunken red face and the town's judge.

  "Yohei," he called out drunkenly, looking slyly at the judge and laughing at him from his horse.

  "You still haven't paid your tax. Ten bales of rice for you. Or don't you have it. You being such a saint and all. I want it now. Or you can give me your mansion instead. Tell me clearly what you're going to do, right now, here in front of the judge."

  "Well, well," answered Yohei calmly. "You're right. I don't have that much rice just now. I gave it to my friends. I guess I'll have to give you my mansion like you say."

  "Good. It's decided. Everyone heard you. Let's go, then," Shichibei said quickly, trying to cover his surprise at how lightly Yohei had parted with his own mansion. He'd been expecting him to beg and plead.

  Quickly, vicious gossip about how the village's richest man lost his mansion spread throughout the village. But even then, Yohei just moved into a small hut in the bamboo grove and continued to play happily under the single cedar tree with Shohkichi and the children every day.

  One warm day in the Fall, Shohkichi and the children gathered as usual under the single cedar tree in the bamboo grove.

  "Yahoo!" yelled Yohei, pulling a red ball out from under his tattered black kimono and kicking it high up into the clear Fall sky. In seconds, the children were running out of the bamboo grove and kicking the ball up and down the Tsubo River. Satisfied, Yohei watched them play. Just then, Shichibei -- or Devil Shichibei as Shohkichi called him -- came up to where Yohei was standing.

  "Yohei," he mumbled, stinking of alcohol. "How about selling me this bamboo grove for a nice shiny gold coin?"

  "What? You want this bamboo grove" Yohei said, surprised and looking at the drunken Shichibei. It was more money than a poor farmer could hope to see in a lifetime, but Yohei didn't treasure such things.

  "Shohya-sama," he said to the village headman. "This is mine and the children's treasured bamboo grove. We play here every day. I couldn't even think of selling it. Ask me anything, but not that. Please."

  "Well, how about ten gold coins then? All I need is this bamboo grove and then I'll own everything in Kamino Village." Reaching into his purse, he took out ten shiny gold coins. He was going to get that land if he had to kill for it. All Yohei could do was gaze up into the deep blue sky above the big cedar tree and hope he would go away.

  "Hey, look!" shouted Shohkichi from the river, noticing Shichibei and the sad Yohei by the cedar tree.

  "Devil Shichibei is bullying Yohei
again! Let's go help him!"

  "Go home, Devil Shichibei! Go home!" they shouted together, running through the bamboo to Yohei's aid. They came rustling through the bamboo, bending it back and aiming it in Shichibei's direction.

  "Ouch!" shouted Shichibei, trying to fend off the flying bamboo trees. "Stop it! That hurts! All I was trying to do was help poor Yohei out by giving him ten gold coins for this worthless playground. I'm in charge of this village, Yohei. You know that. If you want to stay here, you'll sell. You'll see me again. Count on it." Then, dodging a final blow aimed at his head by Shohkichi, he ran away.

  That night, Shohkichi and the children gathered at the village shrine.

  "We have to protect Yohei the Buddha from Devil Shichibei," Shohkichi said. "Tonight we start practicing for this year's Insect Festival. Is everyone ready? Did you bring the drums?"