The Dog and the Flute

Dedicated to Ikuko

I

Long ago, at the foot of Mount Katsuragi in the province of Yamato, there lived a young woodcutter named Kaminagahiko. He had been given that name because his face was as gentle as a woman's, and because his hair, too, was long like a woman's.

Kaminagahiko was extremely skilled at the flute. Even when he went into the mountains to cut wood, he would take the flute tucked into his belt and, during breaks in his work, play it alone for his own pleasure. And strangely enough, birds and beasts and even the grasses and trees seemed to understand the charm of his music. Whenever Kaminagahiko began to play, the grasses bent, the trees stirred softly, and birds and animals gathered around him and listened motionless to the very end.

Now one day, as Kaminagahiko sat down at the roots of a great tree as usual and played without a care, a giant suddenly appeared before his eyes. The giant wore many blue magatama jewels and had only one leg.

"You are very good at the flute," he said. "For ages I have lain dreaming dreams of the Age of the Gods in a cave deep in the mountains. But since you began coming here to cut wood, your flute has lured me out, and every day I have greatly enjoyed myself. So today I have come all this way to thank you. Ask for whatever you like."

The woodcutter thought for a little while, then answered,

"I am fond of dogs. Please give me a dog."

The giant laughed.

"To ask for no more than a single dog! You are a man with remarkably little greed. But that lack of greed is admirable, so I shall give you a wondrous dog the like of which cannot be found elsewhere. I am the One-Legged God of Mount Katsuragi."

With that he gave a shrill whistle, and from deep in the forest a white dog came running, kicking up the fallen leaves.

Pointing to the dog, the One-Legged God said,

"This dog's name is Sniff. No matter how far away something is, he can scent it out. Take care of him as dearly as you would have cared for me."

No sooner had he said this than his form vanished like mist.

Overjoyed, Kaminagahiko returned to the village with the white dog. The next day he went to the mountain again, and while idly playing his flute, another giant appeared. This one wore black magatama around his neck and had only one arm.

"Yesterday my elder brother, the One-Legged God, gave you a dog, so I too have come today to reward you," he said. "If there is anything you want, ask without hesitation. I am the One-Armed God of Mount Katsuragi."

When Kaminagahiko replied once more, "I want a dog as marvelous as Sniff," the giant immediately whistled and summoned a black dog.

"This dog's name is Fly. If anyone rides on his back, he can fly a hundred leagues or a thousand through the sky. Tomorrow my younger brother will come and reward you as well."

Then he too vanished somewhere, just like the first.

And the next day, before Kaminagahiko had even properly begun to play, a giant adorned with red magatama and having only one eye came dancing down from the sky like the wind.

"I am the One-Eyed God of Mount Katsuragi. My brothers have rewarded you, and so I too shall give you a splendid dog, one no less fine than Sniff or Fly."

As soon as he spoke, his whistle rang through the whole forest, and a spotted dog came running up, baring its fangs.

"This dog is called Bite. Once set upon an enemy, he can kill even the fiercest demon or god with a single bite. There is one thing to remember: no matter how far away the dogs may be, if you play your flute they will always return to you. But without the flute, they will not come. Do not forget that."

As he spoke, the One-Eyed God stirred the leaves of the forest trees and rose into the air like the wind.

II

Four or five days later, Kaminagahiko came blowing his flute along a road at the foot of Mount Katsuragi where the way divided in three, leading his three dogs with him. From the road to the right and the road to the left came two young samurai, armed with bows and arrows and mounted on sturdy horses, making their way calmly toward him.

When Kaminagahiko saw them, he tucked his flute into his belt, bowed politely, and asked,

"My lords, where might you be going?"

The two samurai answered in turn:

"The two daughters of the Minister of Asuka have somehow been carried off, it seems, by some demon or monstrous being, and in a single night their whereabouts became unknown."

"The Minister is deeply distressed. He has proclaimed that whoever finds the princesses and brings them back will receive a rich reward. So we are both traveling in search of them."

Having said this, the two samurai looked down in scorn at the woman-faced woodcutter and his three dogs, then hurried on their way.

Kaminagahiko thought he had heard something useful. At once he stroked the white dog's head and said,

"Sniff, Sniff. Find the whereabouts of the princesses."

The white dog turned its nose eagerly into the wind that happened to be blowing, sniffing hard. Then, after a sudden shiver, it answered:

"Woof, woof. The elder princess is being held captive by the Kaijinin, who lives in a cave on Mount Ikoma."

The Kaijinin was a monstrous villain who, long ago, had kept the great eight-forked serpent.

At once the woodcutter tucked the white dog and the spotted dog under his arms, mounted the black dog, and gave the order in a loud voice:

"Fly, Fly. Take me to the Kaijinin who lives in the cave on Mount Ikoma."

He had scarcely finished speaking when a terrible whirlwind rose beneath his feet. The black dog, as lightly as a single leaf, soared up into the sky before his eyes and shot straight toward the distant peak of Mount Ikoma, hidden beyond the blue clouds.

III

At last Kaminagahiko reached Mount Ikoma. Sure enough, halfway up the mountain there was a great cave, and inside it sat a beautiful princess with a golden comb in her hair, weeping softly.

"Princess, Princess, I have come to rescue you, so you need fear no more. Please, make ready at once to return to your father."

When Kaminagahiko said this, the three dogs also tugged at the hem and sleeves of the princess's robe and barked,

"Please hurry and get ready. Woof, woof, woof!"

But the princess, tears still in her eyes, quietly pointed toward the back of the cave and said,

"But over there lies the Kaijinin who abducted me. He has been drunk on sake and asleep for some time now. If he wakes, he will pursue us at once. And then both you and I will surely be killed."

Kaminagahiko smiled.

"What is there to fear from a mere Kaijinin? To prove it, I shall dispatch him here and now with ease."

As he spoke, he struck the spotted dog once on the back and commanded in a bold voice,

"Bite, Bite. Kill the Kaijinin in the back of this cave with a single bite."

At once the spotted dog bared its fangs and, growling like thunder, dashed straight into the cave. In no time at all it came back out, wagging its tail and carrying in its mouth the blood-soaked head of the Kaijinin.

But then a strange thing happened. At the same instant a gust rose from the valley below, buried in clouds, and a voice within the wind said,

"Kaminagahiko, thank you. I shall never forget this kindness. I am Princess Koma of Mount Ikoma, whom the Kaijinin tormented."

The rescued princess, however, was so overjoyed at having escaped with her life that she seemed not to hear this voice. After a while she turned anxiously to Kaminagahiko and said,

"You have saved my life, but where can my younger sister be now, and what suffering might she be enduring?"

At this, Kaminagahiko again stroked the white dog's head.

"Sniff, Sniff. Find the whereabouts of the princess."

Immediately the white dog twitched its nose, looked up at its master, and answered,

"Woof, woof. The younger princess is being held captive by a tsuchigumo that lives in a cave on Mount Kasagi."

This tsuchigumo was an evil little creature, no bigger than an inch-high boy, one that Emperor Jimmu himself had once subdued.

So, just as before, Kaminagahiko tucked two dogs under his arms and mounted the black dog together with the elder princess.

"Fly, Fly. Take us to the tsuchigumo who lives in the cave on Mount Kasagi."

At once the black dog leapt into the sky and sped faster than an arrow toward Mount Kasagi, which also towered among trailing blue clouds.

IV

Now when they reached Mount Kasagi, the tsuchigumo there proved to be a creature of great cunning. The moment it saw Kaminagahiko, it came smiling out before the cave to greet him.

"Why, Kaminagahiko, what trouble you have taken to come such a long way. Please, come inside. I have nothing much to offer, but at least allow me to serve you fresh deer's liver or the unborn young of a bear."

But Kaminagahiko shook his head.

"No. I have come to take back the princess you abducted. Return her at once, and all may yet be well. Otherwise I shall kill you, just as I killed that Kaijinin."

He rebuked the creature with terrible force.

The tsuchigumo shrank in on itself.

"Ah, of course I will return her. How could I possibly refuse what you say? The princess is safely inside, all alone. Please, do go in and take her with you."

Its voice trembled as it spoke.

So Kaminagahiko, with the elder princess and the three dogs, went into the cave. And sure enough, there too sat a lovely princess with a silver comb in her hair, weeping sorrowfully.

Startled by the sound of people coming, she quickly looked up. But the instant she saw her elder sister's face,

"Sister!"

"Little sister!"

The two princesses ran together from both sides at once and for some time clung to each other, shedding tears of joy. Kaminagahiko, seeing this scene, was moved to tears himself. But suddenly the three dogs bristled and began barking as if mad:

"Woof! Woof! That tsuchigumo brute!"

"Vile creature! Woof! Woof!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof! You'll pay for this! Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Startled, Kaminagahiko turned around. That crafty tsuchigumo had somehow rolled a huge boulder into place and sealed the entrance of the cave tightly from outside, leaving not the slightest gap. And from beyond the rock came the sound of the tsuchigumo clapping its hands and laughing.

"Serves you right, Kaminagahiko! Leave things as they are and in less than a month you'll all dry up and die in there. What do you think of my clever scheme?"

Even brave Kaminagahiko was furious for a moment at having been tricked so neatly. But fortunately he remembered the flute tucked into his belt. If he played it, not only birds and beasts but even grasses and trees would listen entranced. It was possible that even that crafty tsuchigumo would not be able to keep its heart unmoved.

So Kaminagahiko took courage again, soothed the howling dogs, and began to play with single-minded intensity.

The melody was so enchanting that even the wicked tsuchigumo gradually lost itself in it. At first it merely pressed its ear against the cave entrance and listened intently. But in the end, wholly absorbed, it began little by little to slide the huge rock aside, an inch, then another inch.

At the moment when an opening large enough for one person appeared, Kaminagahiko stopped playing abruptly and struck the spotted dog on the back.

"Bite, Bite. Kill the tsuchigumo standing at the entrance of the cave."

The tsuchigumo, terrified by this command, tried to flee at once, but it was already too late. Bite shot out of the cave like lightning and killed the creature with ease.

And once again a strange thing happened. At that same moment a gust rose from the valley below, and a gentle voice was heard:

"Kaminagahiko, thank you. I shall never forget this kindness. I am Princess Kasa of Mount Kasagi, whom the tsuchigumo tormented."

V

After that, Kaminagahiko took the two princesses and the three dogs with him, mounted the black dog's back, and flew straight from the summit of Mount Kasagi through the sky toward the capital where the Minister of Asuka lived. Along the way, for reasons of their own, the two princesses drew out their golden and silver combs and quietly tucked them into Kaminagahiko's long hair. But of course he noticed nothing of this. He only urged on the black dog with all his might, looking down at the beautiful plains of Yamato spread beneath his feet as they flew steadily through the sky.

Before long Kaminagahiko had brought the dog as far as the skies above the fork of three roads where he had passed earlier. There he saw the same two samurai, apparently returning from somewhere, once again riding side by side in haste toward the capital. At the sight, Kaminagahiko was suddenly seized with the desire to tell them of his great deed as well.

"Down, down. Descend onto that road where the three ways meet."

Now as for the two samurai: despite searching everywhere, they had learned nothing of the princesses' whereabouts, and so they rode on dejectedly. Then all at once the princesses themselves came floating down from the sky, riding with that woman-faced woodcutter on a powerful black dog. Their astonishment was beyond measure.

Kaminagahiko dismounted, bowed politely again, and said,

"My lords, after parting from you, I flew at once to Mount Ikoma and Mount Kasagi, and as you see, I have rescued both princesses."

But the two samurai were beside themselves with resentment and jealousy at having been so neatly outdone by a mere lowly woodcutter. So, while pretending to be delighted and praising Kaminagahiko's feat, they gradually coaxed out of him the full story of the three dogs and the wonder of the flute at his waist. Then, while Kaminagahiko was off his guard, they quietly slipped the precious flute from his belt. In the next instant they leapt onto the black dog's back, tightly clutching the two princesses and two of the dogs under their arms, and shouted together,

"Fly, Fly. Take us to the capital, where the Minister of Asuka awaits."

Kaminagahiko, aghast, sprang at them at once. But by then a fierce wind had already risen, and the black dog, tail tightly curled, soared far up into the blue sky with the samurai on its back.

Only the two horses the samurai had abandoned remained behind. Kaminagahiko threw himself down in the middle of the three-forked road and for some time could do nothing but weep bitterly.

Then a sudden wind came blowing from the peak of Mount Ikoma, and within it there was a voice.

"Kaminagahiko, Kaminagahiko. I am Princess Koma of Mount Ikoma," it whispered gently.

At the same time a wind swept from the direction of Mount Kasagi, and in that wind too there was a voice.

"Kaminagahiko, Kaminagahiko. I am Princess Kasa of Mount Kasagi," it whispered, just as gently.

And then the two voices became one.

"We will go at once after those samurai and get your flute back for you, so do not worry in the least."

Before the words were even finished, the wind went roaring away wildly in the same direction the black dog had flown.

But after a short while the wind came down once more upon the three-forked road from the high sky above, whispering as gently as before:

"Those two samurai are already before the Minister of Asuka with the two princesses, receiving all manner of rewards. Come, quickly, play this flute and call your three dogs back here. Meanwhile, we will make sure that when you set out on the path of your rise in life, you will not do so in shame."

As soon as the voice had spoken, not only the precious flute but a golden suit of armor, a silver helmet, peacock-feather arrows, a bow of fragrant wood, and all the splendid array of a great general came showering down before his eyes like rain or hail, glittering dazzlingly in the sun.

VI

Some time later, when Kaminagahiko, looking like a god, with peacock-feather arrows on his back and a bow of fragrant wood in hand, came flying down from the sky to the residence of the Minister of Asuka on the black dog's back, carrying the white dog and the spotted dog tucked under his arms, one can imagine the panic of those two young samurai.

Indeed, even the Minister himself was so astonished by the marvel of it that for a while he could only stare blankly, as though in a dream, at Kaminagahiko's gallant figure.

But first Kaminagahiko removed his helmet, bowed respectfully to the Minister, and said,

"I am called Kaminagahiko, and I live at the foot of Mount Katsuragi in this land. It was I who rescued your two daughters. Those samurai standing there did not so much as lift a finger in defeating the Kaijinin and the tsuchigumo."

When the samurai heard this, they turned pale at once, for until then they had been boasting of everything Kaminagahiko had told them as though it were their own exploit. Interrupting him, the two of them said in all apparent sincerity,

"That is an outrageous lie. It was we who cut off the Kaijinin's head, and we who saw through the tsuchigumo's trick. There can be no mistake about it."

The Minister, standing between them, could not determine which side spoke the truth, so he looked from the samurai to Kaminagahiko and said,

"There is only one way to settle this. Tell me, which of these men was it who saved you?"

He turned to the princesses as he spoke.

At this, the two princesses clung at once to their father's breast and said shyly,

"The one who saved us was Kaminagahiko. As proof, we tucked our combs into that man's thick long hair. Please look and see."

And sure enough, in Kaminagahiko's hair the golden comb and the silver comb gleamed beautifully.

At that point the samurai had no choice left. At last they prostrated themselves before the Minister and said, trembling violently,

"The truth is that we plotted wickedly and claimed here, as though it were our own deed, the rescue of the princesses whom Kaminagahiko had saved. Now that we have confessed everything, we beg you at least to spare our lives."

What happened after that hardly needs telling. Kaminaga-hiko received a great many rewards, and on top of that became the son-in-law of the Minister of Asuka; meanwhile, the two young samurai were chased about by the three dogs and fled headlong out of the mansion. As for which princess became Kaminaga-hiko's bride, that alone happened so long ago that no one can say for certain anymore.

(December 1918)