Lotus & Other Tales of Medieval Japan

by Takeshi Umehara

  The cities of Japan are not surrounded by fortified walls, like those in China, so their gates have lost their original significance as points of entry and exit for the inhabitants. Since one can enter the city from anywhere, the gate functions not as a proper entrance way but as a mere sign that from here the city begins. So it was that soon after the construction of the capital the Rashomon fell into dilapidation and in time became known as the haunt of robbers.

  "This is where I live," said the man as he climbed up the staircase leading to the upper story of the gate.

  Could he be a robber? Apart from his extraordinary thinness, there was nothing to differentiate him from anyone else. No, he just didn't seem the robber type. And what if he was? Reminding himself that he did want to play backgammon right now, Haseo followed the man up the stairs.

  The interior of the second story looked liked the sitting room in a nobleman's mansion. It was carefully furnished and incense was burning.

  "Not a bad place, is it? And there's a fine view of the capital from here," said the man, indicating the direction Haseo should look. And indeed it was a superb view.

  "A wonderful view! This place is far better than my mansion."

  "No, no, you mustn't flatter me like that. I like it, though; it suits me, dubious sort of fellow that I am. Well now, shall we have a little game? But it's no fun to play without betting something; and betting money seems a little dull, doesn't it? So I was thinking, how would this be: You're almost certain to win, but if by some chance I do, I'd ask you to destroy the records on file with the police concerning one 'Demon' Tarō. I know you're on very close terms with the commissioner, Taira no Yasuhira. This 'Demon' Tarō fellow is not in police hands at this point, and I have some little connection with him. And anyway, he never committed the crime he's accused of in those records. But it'd be hard to prove his innocence, and that's why I'd like those records destroyed. Now Taira no Yasuhira served under you at one point, sir, and I've heard that he'd do anything you asked. There's not a chance in a thousand you'd lose to me; but, just in case, could I have your help with this matter?

  "Now, what about if you win? You don't need money from the likes of me, so I thought I'd present you with something quite rare—the most beautiful woman in the world. Her skin is incredibly white, almost transparent in fact. Her hair is long and black, her eyes large and dark, her lips red as could be; and set between those eyes and those lips is a charming little nose. I'm sure you've never seen a woman as beautiful as this. And if I lose, I'll deliver her to you myself."

  Haseo didn't believe everything the man told him; but if he did lose, it would be a simple matter to destroy this 'Demon' Tarō fellow's records. Taira no Yashuhira was a cooperative man, after all. So he didn't see how he could lose much by this bet. And if he won, the most beautiful woman in the world might be his!

  "If I win, you're going to give me this most beautiful of women, correct?"

  "Yes, I swear it before you, Master Haseo, and the gods of Kumano. So, let us begin."

  The two sat down in front of a backgammon board and began to play. At first, both had wins and losses but gradually Haseo began to lose steadily. Most men lose their nerve in a situation like this, but not Haseo. A skilled politician never acts irrationally no matter how bad things get. The same principle holds with gambling, so no matter how badly things were going for him, Haseo never lost control. Knowing that in essence gambling and politics were the same, he applied himself to a calm consideration of why it was he kept on losing. Was the other man cheating? He called to mind all the different ways of cheating at backgammon that he knew of, from every age and land, but none of them seemed to fit. So he continued to lose, till evening came, and then night.

  "My loss. Today I've done nothing but lose. I'm no match for you, my friend, and it's time I was going home. I'll have 'Demon' Tarō's records expunged from the police files, as agreed."

  But as Haseo rose to leave, the other man said, "You've just been unlucky so far. The game has just begun! Let's play till dawn. I hear you've often done so in the past."

  Haseo in fact did not like leaving after such a string of losses, but he knew his family would be worried if he didn't get home soon. As he tried to leave, the man, sensing his reluctance, quickly suggested, "Of course we'll have to let your family know you'll be out all night. I can send a messenger."

  "I can't say I'm going to be spending the night playing backgammon!"

  "What about using a directional taboo as an excuse? Say you're spending the night with a friend to avoid traveling home in an unlucky direction."

  The belief in lucky and unlucky directions was a part of the Way of Yin and Yang, often made good use of by the aristocrats of this age when they wished to spend the night with another woman. Haseo agreed to the proposal and sent off a messenger, having decided to play backgammon till dawn if necessary.

  "Well, let's get to it. Or would you perhaps like something to fortify yourself with first? Some good food and sake should restore your energies." As if from nowhere, servants appeared bearing great platters filled with delicacies from land and sea. It all looked wonderfully delicious, but Haseo had no mind for food at that moment: All he could think of was backgammon, and why on earth he had lost so much. If not the other's cheating, then what was it? Aha! thought Haseo. Whenever he shakes the dice, he makes an odd sound, like "Eh!" It must have some magical power.... I have to do something before he manages to say "Eh!"

  Having finished eating, the two once again began their game. At first, each man sometimes won and sometimes lost, just as before; but then the tide turned strongly against Haseo. Sure enough, the man kept on making that sound. Haseo decided to act. Before the man could say "Eh!" as he shook the dice, Haseo cried "Ya!" Was it because of that that the man's hand began to tremble as he shook the dice? At any rate, Haseo won that throw. From then on, Haseo made sure to slip in a "Ya!" before the other could say "Eh!" The man began to lose steadily, until his losses far outweighed Haseo's before dinner. Of course, the other man kept on crying his belated "Eh!"s as he shook the dice, but it was no use: he never beat Haseo again.

  Finally it was morning. "Well, the new day's here," said Haseo.

  "I've lost, I'm sorry to say. It's the first time this has ever happened to me. A total loss for me." The man looked very regretful. "Now I won't be able to save 'Demon' Tarō." He seemed on the verge of tears. Haseo wondered if perhaps this 'Demon' Tarō was, not a relative or close friend of the man, but the man himself. He began to feel sorry for him, and tried to cheer him up: "Don't worry. I promise I'll look into the 'Demon' Tarō matter sometime soon."

  That seemed to make the other feel much better: "I'd appreciate that very much. And I'll be sure to deliver the woman to you, sir. At twilight five days from now, I'll bring you the most beautiful woman in the world. Where would you like her brought?"

  "To my villa—I mean, my study-house." This "study-house" was in fact Haseo's villa; and, though of course he used it as a place for quiet study, in his younger days he had also entertained women there, unbeknownst to his wife. He had an old serving-woman staying there, one who knew how to keep a secret.

  "The study-house is close by Kiyomizu Temple. Please bring her there."

  "Of course, sir."

  Haseo said good-bye and returned home.

  Five days had passed. It was not as if Haseo had been waiting and longing for the promised day to come. He didn't put much faith in what the man had said, but if it turned out to be true, all the better. He had enjoyed his game of backgammon (the first in a long time), and he had seen the marvelous view of the capital from the top of the Rashomon. So it really didn't much matter whether the fellow's story was true or false. But as twilight drew on, he began to think about the promise, and decided at any rate to go to his villa and wait. As he did so, his heart beat faster, as it had when he had his first experience with a woman, a good many years before. Even with age, it didn't change, this excitement at a first encounter.

&
nbsp; After perhaps two hours had passed, the man appeared, as promised, with the woman. Looking at her, Haseo was amazed, for it was just as the man had said. Her skin was, indeed, not simply exceedingly white, but almost translucent. Her black hair fell in long waves nearly to her ankles, and her eyes shone with a mysterious depth. Her lips were a deep crimson color, and above them was a small, charming nose. Haseo had never seen anyone so beautiful. He led the two visitors into the sitting-room, and in the dim light looked again, carefully, at the woman. She was indeed very beautiful, yet there was about her something not of this world. She seemed to radiate a mysterious light, which made Haseo recall the stories he had read about Hsi Shih, the fabled beauty of ancient China.

  "I have brought the woman as promised, Master Haseo. She is, as I said, the most beautiful of women, is she not? You may do with her as you like, but there is one condition I must ask you to observe. For the next one hundred days, you must not sleep with her. If you violate this condition, she will simply vanish. Now, I know it seems cruel to bring you a beautiful girl like this and then ask you to wait a hundred days. But on the other hand, you are well known for your fortitude and self-control, so I am sure you will keep the condition and wait patiently. After a hundred days have passed, you are free to do absolutely anything you like. So please bear up; pile endurance upon endurance, and wait out the hundred days. Its agreed, then. On no account forget what I have told you."

  The man left after uttering these seemingly highly significant words, and Haseo was left alone with the woman. She had been listening silently to what was said, but seemed unaffected both by the man's words and by his departure. Nor did she show the least sign of fear at being left alone with Haseo. From that night she became a resident of the villa. She spent her days locked away in her room and seemed very much averse to going out into the sunlight. Haseo was curious about her past and tried questioning her about it, but she would not answer. He supposed she had gone through some very trying times, but he had no way of learning anything specific. The woman was by no means stupid: she understood everything that was said to her and carried out Haseo's commands to the letter. Yet he had no idea what she might be thinking, or rather, feeling, for she seemed to have no emotions at all. Actually, this rather excited Haseo. There was something hidden deep inside her, and he wanted to touch that something. He enjoined absolute secrecy on the old serving-woman so no one could know of the woman's existence, not his wife, not his children, no one. He made a point of visiting his villa once every three days, and of spending the night there once a week. Those nights were hard on him. Thinking of her lying there under the same roof, he found it impossible to sleep. It would be a simple matter to make her his own. She was perfectly compliant, never opposing him in anything.

  If he tried to sleep with her, no doubt she would accept his advances in silence. Having wrestled with himself for some time, he decided one night to steal into her room. Yet when he arrived in front of her sliding door, his legs would carry him no further.

  "Wait one hundred days. If you take her before the hundred days are up, she will vanish." The man's warning still rang in his ears. They were like a heavy weight about his legs as he prepared to sneak into the woman's bedchamber. How many times had Haseo gone as far as her door, recalled those words, and then returned to his own room with a heavy heart? Sometimes he did this several times in a single night.

  Night after night was spent like this; and as twenty days passed, then one month, Haseo began to show signs of fatigue. It was hard for him to face the woman in the morning after one of these sleepless nights. The woman, for her part, would greet him as if nothing at all were the matter and serve his breakfast. Could she have known how often he came to her room at night, hesitated, and withdrew? It would seem she must have, but she gave no sign of it whatsoever. Haseo felt he understood her less and less, yet was drawn to her more and more uncontrollably.

  By the time the sixtieth day had passed, he had grown very haggard. There began to be rumors about him at court: "Haseo goes to his villa and holds communication with the dead Michizane—I'm sure of it! That's why he looks so ill and exhausted."

  The people in power began to be afraid of him and to avoid his company. Thus, Haseo grew still more lonely, and the lonelier he was, the more obsessed he became with the woman. The seventieth day came and went, and he felt he could not hold up any longer. Then, on precisely the eightieth day after the woman's arrival, Haseo said to himself, "The fellow said one hundred days; but a full eighty days have passed.... Surely there could be no harm in sleeping with her now!" In the realm of practical affairs, Ki no Haseo was the most rational of men. If the man had warned him to wait one hundred days, there was probably a good reason for doing so. The Haseo of former days would have understood that and waited. But now everything was different: he'd gone mad with love. One hundred days was too long; eighty was his limit. Hadn't eighty percent of the specified time passed? It would be all right. Besides, the man had, no doubt, deliberately inflated the number. Thus, Haseo interpreted things as he wished and decided to sleep with the woman. His vaunted reasoning powers were unable to prevent it.

  That night he had dinner with the woman, got very drunk on sake, and urged some on her as well. As she drank, her skin became whiter and whiter, more and more translucent; her hair, blacker; and her lips, a deeper red. Haseo could control himself no longer; drawing her close, he led her to where he slept. She went willingly enough, with no show of resistance. Haseo went briefly to the bathroom and then came back to find to his surprise that she had already undressed and was waiting for him under the quilts. Pulling back the top-quilt, he saw she was stark naked. And what a wondrous nakedness it was! Her skin, more translucent than simply white, allowed each vein to show faintly through; it almost seemed as if one might catch a dim glimpse even of her inner organs. No, she could not be a creature of this world. She seemed more like a wax doll lying there. It was beyond mere beauty; it was mystery. Her nakedness did not fail to arouse Haseo's desire. Her deep red lips were most inviting; her breasts were rich and full, and of course translucent.

  He embraced her, and she submitted meekly to everything he wished to do. When at last their two bodies had become one, she gave a faint cry. Haseo was in his fifties and knew all there was to know about the love of women, but never had he experienced such pleasure as he did now. It was a strange sensation: he felt himself become a massive phallus wrapped round by crimson clouds and slowly dissolving within them. In the midst of this intensely pleasurable sensation, sleep fell upon him. It was only for a few seconds, an instant or two in which he did not so much sleep as simply close his eyes. But in that instant, the woman he had been holding in his arms had vanished. Astonished, he looked about the room, but the woman was not to be found. He felt a kind of chill, and then saw that the place where she had lain was covered with water. And the water was moving. Following its flow, he watched it move as if in flight toward the passageway. The woman had turned to water, flowed out into the passage, and disappeared.

  Shaken, Haseo hurried to wake up the serving-woman: "She's gone! Do you know anything about it?" How could the old woman have known? But still he kept asking her.

  "She must've run off somewhere, sir. You never paid much attention to her, after all."

  "No, no, she was just here. Look, here are her robes!"

  "You must be joking, sir. These are the very robes she was wearing when she come here. Do you mean to say the robes are still here but the girl inside them has up and vanished? Come now, sir."

  For some time thereafter Haseo was a mere shell from which the living spirit seemed to have departed. He continued to go to court everyday, maintaining the habits of a diligent official; but even there his strange behavior attracted attention. The courtiers whispered among themselves that Haseo's intercourse with Michizane had gone too far, that the dead man's soul had taken possession of him.

  The empty, spiritless days continued, but Haseo had begun to recover a little of his c
omposure when one day, on his way back from the palace, he once again encountered the other man. He grabbed hold of him and took him back to his villa. Then, seating him on the very spot where the woman had disappeared, he recounted what had happened. The man listened to what he had to say with a mocking smile, and answered as follows:

  "It looks as if you weren't able to bear up after all, Master Haseo. Yes, even you, the most self-controlled man at court, couldn't quite carry it through. Of course, an ordinary man wouldn't last a day with a beautiful woman like that. But you stood it for eighty days. I was proud of you, truly: the greatest disciple of Master Michizane, the man who can commune with gods and spirits, Master Haseo himself! And yet, those last twenty days proved too much for you. You'd waited for eighty long days, but you couldn't wait another twenty? Whereas if you had waited only those twenty more days, you could have enjoyed the favors of that gorgeous woman forever!

  "Why did she disappear, you ask? Because, you see, she wasn't a human being. It's no wonder she disappeared when you consider how she came to be: I collected corpses from here and there, selected only their best features, and concocted her myself! I'm not a bad craftsman, though I say it who shouldn't, and that woman was my finest creation. After I was finished, I added a soul. In a hundred days time the soul would have attached itself firmly to the body, and my masterpiece would have been complete. In other words, this uniquely beautiful woman, the loveliest creature in the world, would have become a genuine human being. Oh, if you'd only waited another twenty days, just another twenty days! I regret it almost as much as you do. So I guess our little game ended in a draw, hmm? Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

  The man laughed loudly, and Haseo thought he'd laugh along to keep him company. Oddly, though, no sound came forth.

  "What a loss! If only you'd told me what she was right from the start. I would have been able to bear up for the last twenty days.... Well, I suppose it wasn't a total loss, though.