Tales of Moonlight and Rain

by Ueda, Akinari

  “venerable truth”: the truth of Buddhist teachings.

  “under the clouds”: that is, in distant lands.

  “has not dried up”: that is, the spirit or teachings of Bodhidharma lived on in Kaian.

  ON POVERTY AND WEALTH

  TITLE

  The title, “Hinpukuron,” refers to the discussion, in the story, between a wealthy samurai and the spirit of gold.

  CHARACTERS

  There are only two characters in “On Poverty and Wealth”: Oka, or Okano, Sanai (late sixteenth century), a samurai in the service of the Gamō and Uesugi clans, and the spirit of gold.

  PLACE

  “On Poverty and Wealth” is set at the home of Oka Sanai, in Mutsu, which refers to the northeastern part of the island of Honshū. Sanai’s master, Gamō Ujisato, was based in Aizu Province (Fukushima Prefecture).

  TIME

  An autumn night in 1593, 1594, or 1595 (after the birth of Toyotomi Hideyori and before the death of Gamō Ujisato), during the hegemony of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

  BACKGROUND

  Sanai’s master, Gamō Ujisato (1556–1595), was a warlord in the service of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) and Hideyoshi (for more on Hideyoshi, see the introduction to “The Owl of the Three Jewels”).

  Many samurai of the time pursued elegant hobbies such as tea ceremony, incense sampling, and nō drama. Several sources confirm Sanai’s interest in money, a remarkable preoccupation for members of his class, since samurai ideals disdained moneymaking.

  The late-sixteenth-century warlords Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, and Hideyoshi, as well as Hideyoshi’s baby son Hideyori (1593–1615), are mentioned toward the end of “On Poverty and Wealth.” They contrast with Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), the founder of the shogunate that followed Hideyoshi’s hegemony and under whose rule Akinari lived.

  AFFINITIES

  “On Poverty and Wealth” draws from or alludes to several Chinese works: the Lun yü (Analects, fifth century B.C.E.?) of Confucius; Zhong yong (The Doctrine of the Mean, fifth century B.C.E.?), one of the classics of the Confucian canon; the Mengzi (Mencius, third century B.C.E.?); Xie Zhaozhe’s Wuzazu (Five Miscellanies, 1618); “Biographies of the Moneymakers,” part of Sima Qian’s Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian, early second-late first centuries B.C.E.); and Qu You’s Jiandeng xinhua (New Tales After Trimming the Lamp, 1378). It is also indebted to Japanese historical sources that mention Sanai.

  In Mutsu lived a samurai named Oka Sanai, in the service of Gamō Ujisato. Highly paid and much honored for his martial prowess, he was known for his bravery everywhere east of the barrier. Sanai was a most eccentric warrior. His desire for riches and honor far exceeded that of the ordinary samurai. Because he ruled his house on the principle of frugality, his wealth increased as the years piled up. Furthermore, when he rested from military training, he would take pleasure not in savoring tea or playing with incense, but in lining up a great many gold coins on the floor of a room—a pastime he savored even more than others might enjoy the moon and the blossoms.1 Everyone considered Sanai’s behavior strange and dismissed him contemptuously as a miserly boor.

  Hearing that a groom, long employed in his household, secretly carried a gold piece with him, Sanai summoned the man and said, “Even a disk of jade from the Kunlun Mountains is, in troubled times, no better than a tile or a pebble. One who has been born into this age and wields a bow and arrow prizes, above all, a sword from Tangxi or Moyang and, next, prizes wealth. Even with the best sword, however, one cannot fight off a thousand enemies; but the virtue of gold will sway all the people of the world. A samurai must not use it recklessly. He should store it away carefully. It is wonderfully rash of you to have gained wealth beyond your lowly status. I must reward you.” He gave the man ten ryō in gold, allowed him to wear a sword, and took him into his service.2 When people heard about this, they heaped praise on Sanai, saying, “Sanai does not accumulate gold out of insatiable greed. He is simply the most eccentric samurai of the day.”

  That night, Sanai heard the sound of someone at his pillow. When he opened his eyes, he saw a tiny old man, smiling as he sat near the lamp stand. Sanai raised his head from the pillow and said, “Who are you? If you were here to borrow provisions, you would have brought some brawny fellows with you. Taking the form of a dotard like you and coming to wake me up must be the prank of some fox or raccoon-dog.3 What tricks do you know? Show me a little something, to drive away the sleepiness on this autumn night.” He showed no sign of being agitated. The old man said, “This is neither a goblin nor a man who has come to you tonight. I am the spirit of the gold that you care for so well. In my joy at having being warmly received all these years, I have presumed to come for a nighttime chat. Deeply moved by the way you rewarded your servant today, I felt that I could not rest until I told you what is in my heart, and so I have appeared temporarily in this form. What I have to say is only idle talk, not worth one part in ten, but if I do not speak, my belly will be overfull.4 This is why I have come to interrupt your sleep.

  “Now, then, wealth without pride is the way of the great sage.5 We hear insults, such as ‘The rich are always perverse’ and ‘Most rich men are fools,’ but these apply only to wild dogs, wolves, snakes, and scorpions like Shi Chong of Jin and Wang Yuanbao of Tang.6 The rich of ancient times derived their wealth naturally, from measuring heavenly time and closely observing the benefits of the land.7 When Lü Wang was enfeoffed in Qi, he taught the people how to make a living, and so others came to his state from the seaside, hoping for profit.8 Guan Zhong assembled the princes nine times, but, although his status was only that of a minister, his wealth was greater than that of the lords of all the states.9 Fan Li, Zigong, and Bo Gui profited from selling produce and accumulated vast amounts of gold.10 Since Sima Qian included these men in his ‘Biographies of the Money-makers,’11 later scholars vied with one another to condemn his views as vulgar, but theirs were the words of men who lacked deep understanding. ‘Without a constant livelihood, there will be no constant heart.’12 Farmers work to produce grain, artisans work to assist them, and merchants work to distribute their production: each manages his own livelihood, enriches his family, venerates his ancestors, and plans for his posterity—what else is there for a person to do? As the proverbs say, ‘A millionaire’s son will not die in the city,’ and ‘The wealthy man’s pleasures are the same as the king’s.’13 If the pool is deep, the fish will swim freely; if the mountains are vast, the animals will grow up strong—truly, this principle follows the natural course of heaven.14 ‘Poor and yet happy’15—these words have been a source of confusion for men who study letters and search for rhymes; and forgetting that wealth is the foundation of the state, even warriors, with their bows and arrows, train in senseless tactics, smash things, kill people, lose their own virtue, and let their progeny die out—all because, in their confusion, they belittle wealth and prize fame. If you think about it, the desire is the same, whether for fame or for wealth. When people get caught up in words and belittle the virtue of gold, they proclaim themselves immaculate and say that a man is wise who wields a spade and abandons society. Such a man may be wise, but such behavior is not wise. Gold is first among the Seven Rarities. When buried in the earth, gold causes magical springs to spill forth, eliminates filth, and harbors a mysterious sound. Can it be that a thing of such purity gathers only in the homes of the foolish, ignorant, greedy, and cruel? It cannot be. I am overjoyed that tonight I have been able to vent my resentment and dispel the gloom of many years.”

  “Sanai raised his head from the pillow and said, ‘Who are you?’”

  Sanai moved forward, intrigued: “You have said that the way of wealth is noble, and this does not differ in the slightest from what I have always thought. Although my question is foolish, I hope that you will give me a detailed answer. The principle you have just elucidated is that one makes a terrible mistake to underestimate the virtue of gold and to be unaware that wealth is a great endeavor; and yet wha
t the bookworms say is not without reason. Eight of ten rich men in the world today are greedy and cruel. Although they are satisfied with their own stipends, they do nothing to help the poor, including even brothers, relatives, and people who have served their families for generations; when their longtime neighbors lose their strength, have nowhere to turn for help, and decline in the world, the rich will beat down the price of the neighbors’ paddies and fields and take the land as their own; even when they have risen to the esteemed position of village head, they will not return the things they have borrowed in the past;16 if a courteous man yields his seat to them, they will despise him as though he were a servant; if an old friend calls to offer greetings of the season, they will suspect him of coming to borrow something and let it be known that they are not at home. I have seen many of this sort. There are also people who are utterly loyal to their lords and are known for the purity of their devotion to their parents, who respect their superiors and aid the wretched; and yet they struggle through the three months of winter with only a single woolen garment, and the heat of summer with no chance to wash their single linen robe, and even in a bountiful year they fill their stomachs, morning and evening, with a single bowl of gruel; such people, of course, are never visited by their friends and are shut out by their relatives; but they have no way to express their sadness at being cut off from others, and they live out their lives in drudgery.17 Is this because they neglect their livelihoods? Rising early, retiring late, they devote all their energy to their work and have no time to pause as they rush frantically east and west—these people are not stupid, but it is rare that the application of their talents leads to success. They do not even know the taste of Master Yan’s single gourd.18 A Buddhist will explain this outcome in terms of actions in former lives; a Confucian will tell you about the Will of Heaven. If there is a future, then hidden virtues and meritorious actions hold promise for the next life, and, in anticipation of this, people will suspend their anger for a time.19 Can we say, then, that only Buddhism fully accounts for the nature of the Way of wealth, and that Confucian teachings on the subject are incoherent? You seem to adhere to Buddhist teachings. If I am mistaken, please explain your thoughts to me in detail.”

  The old man said, “The point of your question has been discussed since ancient times, but has never been resolved. If we listen to Buddhist teachings, we hear that wealth and poverty result from good and bad actions in former lives. This is nothing more than wishful thinking. When a man who, in a former life, has cultivated himself, striven to be compassionate, and dealt kindheartedly even with strangers is, as a result, reborn into a rich family, struts before strangers on the strength of his fortune, abuses others with outrageous nonsense, and reveals the base heart of a barbarian—then we have to ask what kind of result it is when the compassionate heart of a former life falls so low in this life.20 I have heard that the buddhas and bodhisattvas abhor fame and greed; why, then, are they so obsessed with poverty and wealth? The explanation that wealth comes as the result of good actions in a former life, and poverty as the result of badness, is pseudo-Buddhism propagated for the deception of ignorant old wives and girls. A man might not benefit himself who concentrates on doing good deeds without regard for poverty and wealth, but his descendants will surely be favored with good fortune. ‘His ancestral temple received these; his descendants preserved these’ subtly expresses this truth.21 It is not a sincere heart that does good and then waits to be rewarded for it. I have my own view regarding covetous men who do bad things and not only grow rich, but also live long, fulfilling lives. Please listen to a little more of what I have to say.

  “I have taken this temporary form to speak with you, but I am neither a god nor a buddha: I have no feelings, and so my thinking is different from that of humans. The rich of ancient times became wealthy by managing their affairs in conformance with heavenly time and their observations of the benefits of the land. Since this strategy followed the natural course of heaven, it also followed the natural course of heaven that wealth gathered around these people. Also, when a base, stingy, cruel man, seeing gold and silver, treats us as warmly as he treats his own parents, stops eating what he should eat, stops wearing what he should wear, and even risks his precious life as he thinks of gold and silver constantly, whether awake or asleep, then it is perfectly obvious that gold and silver will gather around him. I am neither a god nor a buddha, simply a thing without feelings. As such, I have no reason to weigh the good and bad in people and act accordingly. It is heaven, the gods, and the buddhas who praise goodness and punish badness. These three provide Ways. We are no match for them. Nevertheless, you must understand that we will gather around a man when he fawns over us. In this respect, gold differs from the human heart, even though it has a spirit. Further, a man may grow rich and sow the seeds of good karma, but if he is generous for no reason, or lends money to someone without perceiving that he is dishonorable, then his fortune will surely dissipate despite his good deeds. This is because a man like that treats gold lightly, knowing how to use it but not knowing its virtue. Also, a man who suffers in narrow circumstances, even though he conducts himself well and is sincere to others, will never attain wealth in his lifetime, no matter how much he taxes his spirit, because he was born with few of the blessings of nature. It is precisely for this reason that a wise man of old escaped from society to the wooded hills, where he lived out his years in peace just as he wanted to do, seeking wealth when the search was fruitful, and not seeking when the search was not fruitful.22 It makes one envious to think how clean and fresh his heart must have been.23 Nonetheless, the Way of wealth is an art—the skillful will accumulate much; the foolish will crumble more easily than tiles. Furthermore, we follow men’s livelihoods and depend on no master in particular.24 No sooner have we gathered here than we might run over there, depending on the master’s actions. We are like water flowing to the lowest spot. Day and night, we come and go with no time to rest. An idle man with no livelihood, however, will finally deplete even a Mount Tai of food and drink up the rivers and oceans. As I said before, the unrighteous man’s accumulation of wealth has nothing to do with virtue or its lack; and the case of the upright man need not be discussed.25 If a man who is blessed by the trends of the times will exercise frugality, curtail expenses, and work hard, his house will naturally grow rich and others will surely bow to him. I know nothing of the Buddhists’ karma in a former life, nor do I concern myself with the Confucianists’ Mandate of Heaven.26 I roam freely in a different realm.”

  Sanai was more and more intrigued: “Your theory is marvelous. My long-held doubts have been dispelled tonight. Let me try asking you one more thing. The powerful winds of the Toyotomi have forced all within the four seas into submission, and the five home provinces and seven highways seem finally to be calm;27 but samurai loyal to vanquished domains are plotting to achieve their long-cherished desires, lurking here and there in hiding, or serving masters of great domains for the time being as they await upheavals in the world.28 The people, too, being people of a country at war, drop their plows, exchange them for halberds, and neglect their crops. Samurai cannot sleep on high pillows. In this situation, surely the regime cannot last much longer. Who will unite the country and bring respite to the people? And with whom will you ally yourself?” The old man said, “Since this, too, is of the world of men, I do not know. But speaking from the perspective of wealth: Shingen’s schemes were on target every time, and yet during his life he wielded power in only three domains.29 Moreover, he was universally praised as a masterful commander. They say that his last words were, ‘Of all the generals today, Nobunaga’s karmic rewards are unsurpassed. Underestimating him for all these years, I failed to bring him down, and now I have taken ill. No doubt my posterity will soon be destroyed by him.’ Kenshin was a brave commander.30 There was no one to rival him after Shingen died. Unfortunately, he died early. Nobunaga surpassed the others in his capacities, but in wisdom was no match for Shingen, and in courage was infer
ior to Kenshin. Nevertheless, he acquired wealth and was entrusted with control of the whole country.31 Since he lost his life for humiliating a vassal, however, he cannot be said to have combined both letters and the martial arts.32 Although Hideyoshi’s ambitions are great, they did not encompass the world at first. We know this from the way he crafted the name ‘Hashiba,’ out of envy for the wealth of Shibata and Niwa.33 Now he has turned into a dragon, rising to the skies; but has he not forgotten what life was like in the pond? Hideyoshi may have turned into a dragon, but in fact he is no more than a water snake.34 It is said that a water snake that turns into a dragon lives for only three years.35 Hideyoshi’s descendants will not last long, will they?36 The world has never seen a realm endure that was governed with arrogance and extravagance.37 What people must cherish is frugality, but those who carry it too far degenerate into meanness. One must strive, therefore, carefully to maintain the distinction between frugality and meanness. The rule of the Toyotomi may not last much longer, but the time cannot be far off when the people will prosper in peace, and every house will sing Music of a Thousand Autumns.38 In answer to your question, let me offer this.” He intoned an eight-character verse:

  “The ming-grass of Yao will grow, the sun will shine high in the sky;

  and the one hundred families will return to the house.“39

  As they reached the end of their diverting conversation, the bell of a distant temple signaled the fifth watch. “The night is coming to an end. I must take my leave. I fear that my long tale has disturbed your rest tonight.” The old man seemed about to stand and depart, when suddenly he vanished without a trace.

  Sanai thought back on what had occurred during the night and considered the verse. When he grasped the sense of the phrase “the one hundred families will return to the house,” he came firmly to believe in what the old man had said. Truly, these were auspicious words for an age of auspicious grasses.40