The Tale of Tawara Tōda (俵藤太物語,Tawara Tōda monogatari) is a Japanese heroic tale recounting the legendary exploits ofFujiwara no Hidesato. It is part of theotogi-zōshi genre of tales dating to theEdo Period or earlier. Some of the fabulous accounts are also told in themilitary pseudo-chronicle,Taiheiki (14th century).
Hidesato used abow and arrow to kill a giant centipede (mukade) wrapped around a mountain nearLake Biwa, fulfilling the request of a serpent at a bridge, which turned out to be a court lady (or Dragon King) from the underwaterRyūgū-jō (龍宮城) "Dragon Palace". The hero was entertained at the palace and received rewards including armor and sword, and an inexhaustible bag of rice.[a]
The story is set inŌmi Province (Shiga Prefecture), and begins with a large serpent lying onSeta Bridge [ja] on the brink ofLake Biwa. The serpent, which later assumes human form, conveys Hidesato to the Dragon Palace, which can be reached through the depths of this Lake.[1][2]
There is a Shinto shrine near the Seta Bridge at Lake Biwa where people have venerated Tawara Tōda.[3]
Tawara Tōda (俵藤太; lit. 'Rice-bag Tōda') is a name that plays apun betweentawara meaning 'straw rice-bag; straw barrel' andTawara (田原), aproper name (which may be aperson's name or a place name). It was the nickname given to the historicalFujiwara no Hidesato who flourished in the first half of the 10th century and participated in the suppression of the rebel usurperTaira no Masakado.[4]
The nickname is sometimes styled "Tawara [no] Tōta".[5]
The hero's centipede-slaying legend as contained in theTawara Tōda monogatari ("The Tale of Tawara Tōda") was widely circulated and read during the earlyEdo Period (17th century), when the text was being copied in picture scrolls (emaki) and appearing inOtogizōshi type woodblock-printed (and hand-copied) books.[b][7][1] A summary of themonogatari version is as follows:
Fujiwara no Hidesato confronted the large serpent which lay onSeta Bridge [ja] inŌmi Province disrupting travelers. Undaunted by this twelve horned snake measuring 200 feet,[c] the hero stepped on its back and crossed over, continuing onward. That night he was visited by a young woman who proclaimed to be the transformation of the serpent. NearLake Biwa where she lived, a huge centipede took up residence onMount Mikami, and was devouring beasts and fish and even her own kindred.
Hidesato accepted her plea to eradicate this creature, and went to Seta. When the centipede came slinking down, it appeared as if two or three thousand torches were descending the mountain. Hidesato shot two arrows which failed to lodge, but when he laid spittle on the third arrow and prayed to his patronHachiman deity it struck a grievous blow. Hidesato approached the creature[d] and hacked it to pieces.[e]
The dragon woman was elated and gave him magical gifts: undiminishing bolts of silk, inexhaustible rice bag, and acrimson copper pan of plenty (or "pot of alloyed gold and copper"[8]). It was on account of the rice bag (tawara [ja]) that Hidesato received the nickname Tawara Tōda. The dragon woman took him to the Dragon-Palace (Ryūgū), where he was entertained and lavished with additional gifts from the Dragon King.[f] Hidesato was given armor and sword, and a crimson copper bell. Hidesato subsequently donated this bell toMii-dera temple at the foot ofMount Hiei.[9][1][6][g]
Themonogatari version probably derives from earlier accounts of Hidesato's centipede slaying described in the 14th-centuryTaiheiki, expanded with layers of legendary and religious (Buddhist) motifs.[10] The above summary is not the entirety ofTawara Tōda monogatari, which contains a second part where the hero triumphs overTaira no Masakado, despite the latter having an iron body which was invulnerable except at thetemples on his head, and having six ghostly doubles of himself.[10]
The 14th-centuryTaiheiki records a much earlier version of this legend about Hidesato,[11][12] but instead of the dragon turning into a beautiful woman, it transforms into a "strange small man"[12] – theDragon King himself.[h][13][14] And here, Hidesato is invited to the Dragon Palace first and thereafter combats the centipede that attacks the aquatic realm.[12][15] Here the inexhaustible silk and rice bag are received from the Dragon King,[i] but not the copper alloy pan/pot, only the copper temple-bell.[15]
A version (similar to themonogatari) appears inHonchō kaidan koji (本朝怪談故事) (1711) as pointed out by Dutch JapanologistMarinus Willem de Visser [de].[2]
The centipede coiled seven and a half turns around Mount Mikami according to popular tradition.[5] An early written mention of this occurs in thearea guidebookŌmi yochi shiryaku (1723).[16]
Hidesato's alleged armor from the Dragon Palace bore the similarly scripted name Hiraishi (避来矢) according to theUjisatoki (before 1713[20]).[k][21][22][23] Hiraishi (平石), an armor with thesame-sounding but differently written name, is listed as a gift of Dragon Palace inArai Hakuseki'sHonchō gunkikō (1709); this work mentions a second armor Muromaru (室丸) being obtained as well.[24][25]
Although not an attestation of the entire story, a sword namedMukadegiri [ja] (蚣切) "Centipede-cutter" purportedly owned by Hidesato according to the inscription borne on itstang was bequeathed to theIse Shrine.[26] The Ise Shrine (Chōkokan Museum [ja]) also houses akenuki gata [ja] or "tweezer type" that allegedly belonged to Hidesato.[27][l]
Benkei dragging the bell
There is a legendary incident concerning the bell donated by Tawara Tōda to Mii-dera', which was serving as thebonshō-bell to tell the hour. It happened centuries later, whenMusashibō Benkei captured and dragged it up the mountain to Eizan (Enryaku-ji), but the bell failed to toll properly. Thus the bell has been returned and has so remained at the rightful temple.[29][30]
An English version of the tale entitled "My Lord Bag-O'-Rice" (1887) was translated byBasil Hall Chamberlain, and published as Japanese Fairy Tale Series No. 15 byHasegawa Takejirō.[31][32]
Anotogibanashi (Japanese fairy tale) version entitled "Tawara Tōda" (「俵藤太」), retold byIwaya Sazanami [ja] appeared in the 1890s.[33] Subsequently, "My Lord Bag of Rice" was included inJapanese Fairy Tales (1903) anthologized byYei Theodora Ozaki.[34][35] Ozaki's version is a retelling based on the rendition by "Sadanami sanjin",[36] the misspelledalias of Iwaya Sazanami.[37] Ozaki's book was illustrated by Kakuzō Fujiyama.[36] Iwaya's version of several fairy tales were later collected, andHannah Riddell's translation, "Tawara Toda Hidesato (Hidesato of the Rice Bale)".[29]
^The Tawara Tōda story is not one of the 23 pieces listed in the more stringent definition ofotogizōshi. But it has been printed under theotogizōshi anthology.[6]Araki (1981) also discusses it as anotogizōshi narrative, in the broader sense.
^A legend concerningBenkei is attached to the bell. See below.
^In theTaiheiki it is not explicit that the "small man" and the "Dragon God" (not "Dragon King" in original text) are the same personage, so this must be inferred. The small man changes into wearing akanmuri (冠) "crown" but this headdress is worn by various officials, not just the monarch.
^Rather than the Dragon Woman, as in themonogatari version
^This sword was passed down theAkahori clan [ja], these sources add.
^The Chōkokan Museum editors surmised that this particularkenuki gata sword (Ise) [ja] was the very sword that was heirloom to theAkahori clan [ja], to which was attached the legend of it being the gift of the Dragon Palace.[28]
^Shigehara, Hiroshi (1981),Nicchū setsuwa no hikaku kenkyū日中説話の比較研究 (in Japanese), Kyūko Shoin, p. 52,小男にも化ければ湖中の竜宮では竜王となる [will transform into a small-statured man, or become Dragon King in the Dragon Palace in the lake. ]
Kimbrough, R. Keller (2018)."The Tale of Tawara Tōda".Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds: A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales. Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-54550-1.
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EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:My Lord Bag of Rice