2007-12-07 - 1:15 p.m.
Baby Hachinotaro: The Neglected Prologue to a Way-Famous Folk Tale, as Translated by ELOFTING@HOTMAIL.COM
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Long, long ago in Tokaichi Village (now the Tokaichi area of Hachinohe City) lived a young lady by the name of Ofuji who was known far and wide for her remarkable beauty.
Every night, Ofuji was secretly visited by a handsome young man. He was always kind and neatly dressed and, before long, Ofuji was very much in love with him.
There was, however, just one thing that was a little odd about Ofuji's boyfriend. He refused to answer any questions Ofuji asked him about his family, his background, or even his hometown.
Nevertheless, days and months passed and, in time, Ofuji became pregnant. When Ofuji told her boyfriend he said that he was sure that the baby would be a boy, and that he wanted her to name him Hachinotaro. Then Ofuji's boyfriend told her that he would not be coming to visit her anymore.
Ofuji was, as you can probably imagine, shocked. Ofuji pleaded with her boyfriend, begging him not to leave her alone. Ofuji said that she didn't care at all where they lived, just so long as they were together.
Ofuji's boyfriend was unmoved by her speech, and eventually lost his patience with her whining and tears.
"Fine then, I'll tell you the truth," Ofuji's boyfriend said. "I'm actually the Lord of Hattaro Pond (in the present-day Kawaragi area of Hachinohe City). Now see me in my true form!"
And, with that, Ofuji's boyfriend transformed into a terrifying dragon riding upon a black cloud, and flew off in the direction of Hattaro Pond.
After that, Ofuji became deeply depressed and had long fits of crying everyday. So recently she had been completely happy, but everything was different now and Ofuji was overwhelmed with self-pity.
Eventually, however, Ofuji simply gave up and decided to accept her hopeless situation, which actually helped her to feel a lot better. She worked as hard as she could to prepare a home for her child and, in time, gave birth to a strong baby boy.
Ofuji named the baby Hachinotaro, and loved him very much, and began to feel that she may be able to be happy again.
Hachinotaro grew at an astounding rate. And, strangely, from the time of his birth he had had all of his teeth. By the age of seventeen Hachinotaro was taller and stonger than any of the other men in the village. He could pull bears apart with his bare hands and run as fast as the wind. He was an excellent hunter, and a very good cook, and extremely kind to his mother and friends.
One day, Hachinotaro and a friend went on a hunting trip in the mountains near the village.
The first day was Hachinotaro's day to cook and Hachinotaro wanted to prepare something truly delicious for them to eat. He ran all over the mountain in search of some wild animal to prepare, but couldn't find a single one. Disappointed and tired, Hachinotaro returned to where they had set up camp so that he could, at the very least, prepare some rice.
Hachinotaro went to fill a small wooden bucket in the nearby stream and was delighted to see three Iwana fish swimming in the clear water in front of him. He jumped into the stream, caught the fish, skewered them, and began to roast them over an open fire.
By the time the fish and rice were done, Hachinotaro's friend still hadn't returned. The roasted fish smelled so good that Hachinotaro couldn't wait any longer and decided to eat just one.
It was delicious. No words could describe how delicious that fish was. Hachinotaro decided to eat just a little more and, before he could stop himself, he had eaten all three.
Soon Hachinotaro was overcome by the most intense thirst that he had ever experienced in his life. He gulped down all the water from his little wooden bucket, but was still just a thirsty as before.
He walked over to the stream, stuck his head right in, and drank and drank and drank. Still, Hachinotaro could not satisfy his thirst.
Hachinotaro dove into the stream, and then a strange thing happened. The tiny mountain stream began to widen and, before long, had become a small pond.
When Hachinotaro's friend returned to their camp he was surprised to find a pond where none had been before. He was even more surprised to see his friend Hachinotaro sitting at the bottom of it.
"What on earth are you doing in there?" Hachinotaro's friend asked.
"To be honest," Hachinotaro replied. "I don't know. I caught three Iwana fish for us to eat. But, while I was waiting for you, I got hungry. And, I'm sorry to say it but, I ate them all. Then I got thirsty. So thirsty that I jumped in here. And now I know, this is hard to believe, but you must believe that I know I can no longer live on dry land. But this pond is much too small. I need to make it wider. Hurry and escape to high ground. And, please, take my mother with you."
As Hachinotaro's friend watched, Hachinotaro transfomed into an enormous dragon. He was thirty meters long, with horns like trees on his head and eyes that shone like the moon. His face was bright red and he was breathing fire.
Hachinotaro's friend ran towards Hachinotaro's mother's house as fast as he could.
Soon, the earth groaned, and thunder roared, and lightning flashed in the sky. Rain poured down from the sky and continued to come down for three days and nights.
When the storm finally stopped, the pond had become as big as a sea. Today it is called Lake Towada.
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Translator's Note: Lake Tazawa in Akita supposedly has a lady-dragon living in it. She was once a woman, but transformed into a dragon after drinking water that she believed would make her beautiful forever. Hachinotaro and the Lake Tawaza dragon are in love and, according to a folk tale much more famous than that of Baby Hachinotaro, their love is the reason Lake Tawaza doesn't freeze over in winter.
