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THE HERMIT'S CAVE MANY
years ago there lived in the village of Nomugi, in Hida Province, an
old farmer
named Jinnai, with his wife. They had a daughter on whom they simply
doted. Her
name was Yuka. She was seven years of age, and an extremely beautiful
child.
Unfortunately, just at this age she developed something the matter with
her
leg, which grew worse and worse until the limb became deformed. O Yuka
suffered
no pain; but her parents were much troubled. Doctors, drugs, and the
advice of
many friends made Yuka's leg no better. 'How
sad it will be for her later on!' thought her mother and father. 'Even
now it
is sad that she should have a deformed leg when she plays with other
children.'
There
being no help, Yuka and her parents had to make the best of things. In
any
case, Yuka was not the only deformity in the village. There were other
cases. —
One of Yuka's boy playmates, Tarako, had been born blind; and another,
Rinkichi, was so deaf that he could hold his ear to the temple bell
while the
other children struck it, and he never heard the sound, though he felt
a
vibration. Well, these two were perhaps no better off than Yuka, and at
last
her parents began to console themselves. The child played about and
seemed
perfectly happy. Nomugi
village is at the foot of the great mountain Norikuradake, which rises
10,500
feet, and is a wild place of volcanic origin. Many
of the children of Nomugi used to go daily and play on the grassy slope
of an
old dam at the end of the village. They would throw stones into the
water,
fish, sail boats, and pick flowers. The dam was a kind of club for the
children. From morning to evening they were there, having with them
their rice
to eat. One day, while thus playing, they were surprised by an old man with a long white beard approaching them. He came from the direction of the mountain. All stopped their games to watch him. He came on into their midst, and, patting them on the head, seemed to make friends naturally. Taking notice of Yuka's bad leg, the old man said: 'Come! how is this? Have not your parents tried to cure it?' Little Yuka answered that they had, but that they could not do any good. The old man made her lie down on the grass, and began to manipulate the leg, pulling it this way and that way, and rubbed in some red medicine which he took from a case. The old man then operated on Tarako the blind boy, and on Rinkichi the deaf one. The Old Hermit Entertains the Children 'Now,
my children,' said he, 'you all love your fathers and mothers, and it
will be a
great pleasure to them to find you cured of your ailments. You are not
well
yet; but you will be, if you do what I tell you, in less than three or
four
days. You are not to mention having seen me until I tell you that you
may — after
you are cured. Tomorrow you will meet me at the flat rock under the
cave on
Mount Norikuradake. You know the place. Very well: until to-morrow
good-bye,
and if I find you do as I tell you I will make you all laugh by showing
you
some fancy tricks.' Then he trudged off in the direction whence he had
come. The
children continued their play, thinking 'What a nice old man!' And,
strange to
say, O Yuka, as she walked home, felt her leg to be of greater use. Very
little attention is paid to Japanese children. They are nearly always
good and
well-behaved, little grown-up people in fact; and therefore they ate
their
suppers and went to bed as such, giving no account of their day's
amusements,
or of the strange old man. Next
day they went to the flat rock. As it was wet, they had not started
until late;
but they found the old man, and, though he had no time to play with
them and
show the tricks which he had promised, he attended to Yuka's leg, and
to the
dumb boy and the blind. 'Now
go home,' he said, 'and come back here tomorrow. By the time you get
home
Yuka's leg will be well, Tarako will be able to see, and Rinkichi able
to hear;
and I am sure your relations will be delighted. To-morrow, if it is
fine, you
must come early, and we shall have lots of fun.' Even
before they got home everything came about as the old man had said. The
three
children were recovered. The villagers and the parents rejoiced
together; but
all were mystified as to who the magician could be. 'If
he returns to the mountain, as the children say, then he must live in
the
cave,' said one. 'He must be a Sennin,' said another. 'It is rumoured
that the
most famous priest, Kukai shonin, who founded the sacred temple on
Mount
Koyasan, in Kii Province, was able to make these wondrous cures in
children,'
added another. But, with all the gossiping and conjectures, none could
explain
how it was possible to bring sight to a boy who had been born blind. At
last
some one suggested that two or three should follow the children
secretly on the
following day: by hiding themselves they might be able to see what
happened.
This excellent plan was adopted. In
the morning about thirty children started off at daybreak, followed,
unknown to
themselves, by two men of the village. When
the children arrived at the flat rock — which is said to be large
enough to
measure one thousand Japanese mats of six feet by three feet — they
found the
old man seated at one end of it. The two men who had followed hid
themselves in
some fine azalea bushes. First
they saw the old man rise to his feet, and then go over to the children
and
hear from the three cured ones how they felt, and how their parents had
been
pleased. Tarako was the most delighted, perhaps, of the three; for he
had never
seen the world before, or even his parents. 'Now,
my children, you have come here to see me, and I am going to amuse you
all. See
here!' Saying this, the old man picked up some dead sticks, and,
blowing at
their ends, produced blossoming cherry branches, plum blossoms, and
peach, and
handed a branch of each to the girls. Next he took a stone and threw it
into
the air, and behold! it turned into a dove. Another turned into a hawk,
or, in
fact, into any bird a boy chose to name. 'Now,'
said the old man, 'I will show you some animals that will make you
laugh.' He
recited some mystic verse, and monkeys came leaping on the flat rock
and began
to wrestle with one another. The children clapped their hands in
delight; but
one of the men who was hidden exclaimed in his astonishment: 'Who
can this wizard be? No other but a wizard could do such things!' The
venerable old man heard, and, looking cautiously round, said: 'Children,
I can do no more tricks to-day. My spell has gone. I will go to my
home, and
you had better go to yours. Farewell.' So
saying, the old man bowed to them, and turned up the mountain path,
taking the
direction of the cave. The
two men came out from their hiding, and they, with the children, tried
to
follow him. In spite of his great age, he was much more nimble than
they among
the rocks; but they got far enough to see him enter the cave. Some
minutes
later they came to the entrance, and bowed before it. The entrance was
surrounded
by fragrant flowers; but into its dark depths they did not venture. Suddenly
O Yuka pointed upwards, crying, 'There is the old grandfather!' They
all looked
up; and standing on a cloud was the old man, right over the summit of
the
mountain. 'Ah,
now it is quite clear!' cried one of the men. 'It is the famous hermit
of Mount
Norikuradake.' They all bowed low, and then went home to report to the
villagers what they had seen. Subscriptions
were collected; a small temple was built inside the cave, and they
called it
the 'Sendokutsu Temple,' which means The Sennin's Temple. |