Fairy tales always have a unique aspect of weirdness, but sometimes the extent can’t be truly appreciated until you read one from another country. Having a keen interest in Japan, I decided to switch gears today and check out some Japanese fairy tales, ones translated and collected by Yei Theodora Ozaki specifically. I was definitely not disappointed in my endeavor to find a unique tale, one that at its heart promotes how three key traits are need to lead a prosperous life. As per usual, the following is my own interpretation of the tale. I am also including an extra disclaimer that I am not an expert on Japanese culture, and that my viewpoint is through a Westernized lens; as such, certain symbolic gestures I might miss or get entirely wrong. My intent is not insensitivity, but I feel attempting to interpret the piece is still worthwhile as all literature interpretation is a personal matter.
My Lord Bag of Rice follows the tale of Fujiwara Hidesato, a lord who sets out one day to look for adventures. As he arrives at Lake Biwa, he finds a bridge that is blocked by a dragon. Hidesato gathers his courage and steps past the dragon. Upon doing so the dragon reveals its true form to be the Dragon King of the Lake. The Dragon King begs Hidesato for aid against a monstrous centipede that lives on a nearby mountain and has been destroying the Dragon King’s family. Moved by the Dragon King’s story, Hidesato agrees and is taken to the palace under the lake. At nightfall, the centipede appears and Hidesato begins his battle. The first two arrows Hidesato fires do nothing to the centipede. However, upon remembering saliva is dangerous to centipedes, Hidesato wets his last and third arrow, and the arrow strikes true. Hidesato is rewarded for his deeds with two bells, a bag of rice that never empties, a cooking pot that always cooks delicious food without a fire, and a roll of silk that never dwindles. His prosperous life earns him the title “My Lord Bag of Rice.”
As mentioned, for me the story was promoting three ways one must live their life in order to be truly prosperous. In the first respect, one must be able to go through life bravely. Hidesato shows bravery in most steps he takes throughout the story, whether it consists of him passing the fearsome dragon or him fighting the centipede. It is these key steps that allow him to endure through these trials in his life. Bravery being key is further compounded by other aspects of the story. The Dragon King distinctly remarks that no other traveler had dared to pass, which implies that this choice of fear hindered their ability to gain true prosperity. Additionally so, while Hidesato fought the centipede bravely, the Dragon King and his family did nothing but quiver in fear. Given this was not the first night the centipede had appeared, we can infer that this is perhaps what the Dragon King was doing when the centipede had shown up previous nights. Thus, with the figure of the Dragon King, we see a depiction of cowardice leading to despair and, in extreme cases, death. The role of Hidesato’s bravery is an important one in the story, and given olden times were always harsh, one can imagine why a promotion of bravery might be needed to get through life.
Another aspect this tale tells us is important to living life is being charitable. The Japanese culture puts a rather high emphasis on mindfulness of others, whether it’s expecting 100% from employees every time or simply living life in a way that does not inconvenience others. It is very much a part of their collectivist culture. Thus, it is not a hard jump to see the promotion of charity within the story. The Dragon King asks no light thing of Hidesato; after all, fighting a giant centipede does not sound pleasant whatsoever. Yet, Hidesato does not hesitate to help the Dragon King. The story doesn’t even mention much the concerns Hidesato had for himself. Rather, the story focuses on Hidesato wanting to be charitable to a fellow being, regardless of reward involved or not. It is this charity that, again, turns into a key personality aspect that allows Hidesato to turn into a prosperous man for life.
Yet, there is one last aspect that is important to life that is perhaps a bit more subtle in this tale: purity. Given purity can mean a lot of things when applying it to humans, I will clarify that I’m talking more about purity of the spirit. In one of the more obvious shows of this purity of spirit, Hidesato gives one of the bells he received to a local temple. Thus, in this way, Hidesato showed both purity and charity by providing back to a place of spiritual worship. This would be especially significant in ancient Japan given Japan’s relationship with its religions. By donating the bell, Hidesato is showing his spiritual dedication in a subtle way, and by association his spiritual purity.
However, another lesser known aspect of purity might be alluded to in his saliva (yes, you read that sentence right). What ultimately proves fatal to the centipede is Hidesato’s saliva, which he applies by putting the arrow in his mouth before firing. This moment stuck out to me quite a bit, since it seemed a rather specific way to end a fight. Unfortunately, I could not find a ton of information regarding saliva symbolism in Japan. What I did find out existed was a specific sake called Kuchikamizake. This specific sake is made with human saliva to start the fermenting process. However, what is interesting about this sake is its relationship with purity. The original version of the sake was dictated to be made via the saliva of female virgins, which are generally the ultimate symbol of purity regardless of culture. Though Hidesato is no female virgin, the parallel may still be present; one might imagine the point of the saliva was to express how pure Hidesato was that his saliva became an important component in defeating the centipede.
Though the tale is short, is has many unique aspects one does not find in Western fairy tales. However, I found even though the symbolism is different, the unique purpose of fairy tales is the same. Fairy tales ultimately exist to convey lessons about life, and as they age, they become historical views into the ways of our ancestors and what they valued in their cultures and lives. Regardless, I’d definitely give the tale a read through if you want one of the lesser known Japanese fairy tales out there.
Image courtesy of moritz320 on Pixabay.
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