The Secret Of Iidamachi Pond.

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UNCLE HAYATO’S

GHOST STORIES Japanese Tales of Mystery and Horror By H. Tokugawa

SHISEI-DŌ PUBLICATIONS, Tajimi, Gifu, Japan

Copyright 2009 by H. Tokugawa and Shisei-Dō Publications. All rights reserved.

DEDICATION For Aoi Tokugawa, my wife, my muse, and hunter of ghosts.

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The Secret of Iidamachi Pond

It was not so long ago, in the first year of Bunkiu (which is 1861 – 1864 by the modern calendar), that there lived in the district of Kojimachi in Kasumigaseki,1 a man named Yehara Keisuke. Yehara was hatomoto; that is, he was a direct vassal and sometimes advisor to the Shōgun himself; and therefore, a man to whom some respect was due. I must tell you also that it was not just because of his position 1

Kasumigaseki (霞が関, 霞ヶ関 or 霞ケ関, literally Fort of Fog) is a district in Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo. It is now the location of most of Japan’s cabinet ministry offices.

that Yehara was respected; he was also liked for the kindness of his heart and for the general fairness he showed in dealing with all people. Now, there was also another hatomoto who happened to live nearby in Iidamachi, named Hayashi Hayato, and he had been married to Yehara’s sister for almost five years. They were a remarkably happy couple; their four year-old daughter was the happiness of their lives. Even though the cottage they lived in was rather dilapidated in the eyes of many people, Hayashi took great pride in it; for it was his own; not rented or loaned from someone else. The house had a beautiful pond in front of it, and also on the property, which comprised almost 200 acres, there were two busy farms. This was such a fortunate circumstance for Hayashi, for he was thus able to live without working too hard and thus had the time to do things which brought him pleasure. In the summer, he fished for carp; in the winter, he spent his time writing, for he as considered locally to be somewhat of a poet. As our story begins, it was spring and Hayashi had just completed planting his rice and sato-imo or sweet potatoes. With these tasks completed, he found he had little to do, so he spent most of his time with his wife, fishing in is ponds; one of which contained large suppon (turtles) as well as koi (carp). That seemed like a pretty nice life indeed; however as we all know, something was bound to go astray. One fine morning, Yehara received a surprise visit from his sister, Hayashi’s wife, Okomé. “I have come, dear brother,” she began tearfully,

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“to beg you to help me to obtain a divorce from my husband.” Yehara was stunned. “Divorce? What? How…how…how is this possible?” he stammered, which was something quite out of character for our esteemed hatomoto. “Why would you possibly want a divorce? How is this possible? Have you not always said that you were happy with your husband, my dear friend Hayashi? Why do you make this sudden request? For what sudden reason do you ask for a divorce? Remember, you have been married now for five years. That is sufficient time, by the laws, to prove that your life has been happy and that Hayashi has indeed treated you well.” At first Okomé tried to explain; but in truth, as she went on, she could not give any good reason as to why she wished to be separated from her husband; however, she at last said, “Brother, please do not think that Hayashi has been unkind. His is everything that can be called kind and we deeply love each other; yet, as you know, Hayashi’s family has owned the land and the farms, including the one on of which we live, for some three hundred years. Nothing could ever induce him to move to any other place, and I would never have wished him to do so until some twelve days past.” “What could possibly have happened within the last twelve days:” asked Yehara. “Dear brother, I can not stand it any longer,” was her desperate reply. “Up until twelve days ago, all has gone so well; but then a terrible thing has happened. On a warm and dark evening, twelve days past, I was sitting outside

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our house, looking up a the clouds as they passed over the moon, at the same time talking to my daughter. Suddenly, there appeared before me, as though walking on the lilies of the pond, a white figure. Oh, it was so white, and wet, so very wet! And so miserable to look at! It seemed to rise from the pond and then to float upon the air toward me; approaching slowly, until it was perhaps only ten feet away. As it drew near, my daughter cried out, ‘Why mother! There comes Osumi! Do you know Osumi?’ “I answered her that I did not think so; but truthfully, I was so frightened I hardly know what I said. The figure was horrible to look at. It was that of a girl, perhaps of eighteen or nineteen years, with unkempt hair that was hanging loose, over wet, white shoulders. “ ‘Help me! Please help me!” cried the ghastly figure. “I was so frightened that I covered my eyes and screamed for my husband who was inside. He ran out and found me in a dead faint, with my child at my side, in a state of terror. Hayashi said nothing, but carried us both in and shut the doors. Then he told me that I must have been dreaming. ‘Perhaps,’ he added sarcastically, ‘you saw the kappa2 that is said to dwell in pond, but which no one of my family has seen for over one hundred years.’ That was all that my husband said on the subject. 2

Kapa (河童?) or “river child” are legendary creatures, a type of water sprite or elf-like creature found in Japanese folklore. In Shintō, they are regarded as one of many types of water gods.

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“But the next night however, when I was in bed, my daughter grabbed my suddenly, crying out, terror stricken. ‘Osumi…there is Osumi! Oh, mother! She looks horrible! Mother! Mother! Do you see here?’ “I did see her, standing not three feet from my bed, dripping wet. The ghostly whiteness, the wetness, and her disheveled hair truly gave her a horrifying appearance! “ ‘Help me! Help me!’ cried the phantom woman; and then she disappeared. “After that I could not sleep at all, nor could I get my child to do so. Now, every night, the ghost has come: Osumi! I will kill myself if I have to remain any longer in that house! My husband does not see the ghost and laughs at me! That is why I see no other way out of this difficulty but to divorce.” Yehara sat in silence for a long time, thinking. Then he told his sister that the next day, he would visit Hayashi; and on the very next day, Yehara did call on Hayashi. After hearing what his visitor had to say, Hayashi spoke, all the time shaking his head, “It is so very strange. I was born in this house almost thirty years ago; but never, ever, have I seen the ghost to which my wife refers. I have never heard of it; not even the slightest allusion has ever been made to it by my honored father or mother. Thank you for telling me, my old friend. I will make inquiries of all my servants and the neighbors as well, and try to make some sense of this. I will find out, once and for all, if they have ever heard of the ghost or even of anyone that has come to a unexpected and unfortunate end.

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There must be something to it; that much is obvious. It is impossible that my little girl would know the name ‘Sumi’, having never known anyone bearing such a person's name.” To be sure, inquiries were made; nevertheless, Hayashi could learn nothing from the servants or from the neighbors. He reasoned that, the ghost being ways wet, draining the beautiful pond in front of his house might possibly solve the mystery. Perhaps somewhere in its depths lay the remains of some poor, murdered person, whose bones demanded a decent burial and for prayers to be said over them. Now the pond was very old and very deep; covered with water plants and to his memory, it had never been emptied. Family tradition said that the pond contained a kappa. Well, if there was a kappa, Hayashi would hate to disturb him; but in any case, there were many turtles in the pond, the capture of which would certainly make up the cost of draining and replacing the water. And so the bank of the pond was breached and the next day all that remained of the pond was a dark pool at what had been the deepest part. Hayashi had all but decided to drain even this and then to dig into the mud that lay below when at that very moment, his grandmother arrived. She was an old woman of some years, perhaps over eighty but still of clear mind, and she said, “You need not go on further with this. I can tell you all about the ghost. Osumi does not rest and it is quite true that her ghost appears. I am so very sorry about it, now that I am in my old age; for it was my fault. The

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sin is mine. Listen to me now and I will tell you everything.” Everyone stood silent; astonished at these words, waiting for the secret that was about to be revealed. The old woman continued with her story: “When Hayashi Hayato, your grandfather, was alive, we had a beautiful servant girl whose age was seventeen. Her name was Osumi. Your grandfather fell in love with this girl and also with him. I was at that time about thirty and I was oh so jealous; for, my youth and good looks had passed away. One day, when your grandfather was away from home, I took Sumi3 to the pond and gave her a severe beating. It was during the struggle that she fell into the water and became entwined in the weeds. I left her there. I walked away, fully believing that the water was shallow and that she could get herself out. Nevertheless, she did not and was drowned. “When your grandfather returned, he found the dead girl. In those days, the police were not very particular with their inquires. The girl was buried; nothing more was said to me, and the matter was eventually forgotten. “Fourteen days ago was the fiftieth anniversary of this tragedy. Perhaps for that reason, the ghost of Sumi has been appearing; for, appear she must have, or your child could not have possibly known her name. It must be as your child says, and the first time she appeared, Sumi revealed her name.” 3

The prefix “O” is added to a woman’s name as an honorific; thus, the ghost is referred to here as both Osumi and Sumi.

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By then the old woman was shaking terribly with fear. Still, she had the presence of mind to tell all who were present to say prayers at Osumi’s tomb. This was done that very day, and the ghost has never been seen again. Of the matter, Hayashi later said, “Though I am samurai, and have read many books, I never before believed in ghosts: until now!

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