shiro usagi
(white rabbit)
in the time of the Gods, before the coming of man
a Haibun for “Hands in Haibun” on Chalkboard
there, Keta beckons
full moon glitters golden light
dancing on the waves
Such excruciating pain.
On the cape of Keta, in what is now known as Inaba, a long retinue of men from Izumo marched by, laughing. “Please,” i begged — “ease this pain!” Blood seeped from every inch of my body, the fur stripped away, revealing flesh below — sensitive, painful flesh.
Finally, one of the men said “Hey, you — are you a rabbit? You sure donʻt look like one. Look at you, so red-pink bloody. Where is your fine white coat?” I could barely choke out a sad, weak plea for help. Another man said, “Listen, rabbit, if you are in such pain, hereʻs what to do. Go hop down to the beach at Hakuto, and roll in the salt water. When you have done that, stand in the wind, and let it dry you off. You should feel much better then.”
The men sat down, and watched as I limped to Hakuto beach. There the surf rolled in. The waves looked much bigger than me, but if this would ease my suffering, then so I must go. Closing my eyes, I bundled my nerves, and took a leap into an oncoming wave.
“Aiiiiiiiiiiiii”. My scream surely must have pierced the heavens. “This burns like the irons of a thousand oni!” The men on shore laughed uproariously, pointing at me, as I struggled to swim back to the beach. Tumbled about in sand and surf, I finally managed to crawl out of the sea. Every bit of me was on fire. The tears of pain coursed down my face, dripping off my whiskers.
Then a man cried “The wind — stand in the wind to dry the water off — youʻll feel much cooler.” Surely this made sense, so I hobbled over to a little rise, and stood to catch the wind. “ITAIIIIII!!!!!” It hurt even worse if that was possible. The wind stung like a whip, on my already fiercely burning skin. The men laughed even harder, as they stood up and resumed their march.
The tears fell down to the tip of my nose, dripping and disappearing into the sand. Then, a single youth appeared. He was younger than the other men, and struggling under the burden of what must have been all the baggage that the men had packed, but who themselves refused to carry.
The young man looked at me.
“Surely, you have yet another cruel torture for me, as your brothers did. Spare me and walk on. Ignore my suffering.” But the man dropped his load, and ran over to me. “Oh, poor rabbit — how have you come to suffer so much?” His eyes began to pool and a large tear fell to the sand. I dared not hope. “Please, if you have a grain of kindness in you, please help me ease this pain.”
“Look, little one, see the stream here? Bathe yourself there, and wash the crust of salt and blood away.” The youth so directed me, and hesitantly, I hopped down the stream bank. The cool smell of mud, of fresh water, of rains in the mountains, rose in my nostrils. My nose twitched. “Surely, this will either kill me, or heal me. To choose between the two is meaningless,” and so I gingerly took small hops into the water. Ahhhhhhh, could it be that the youth spoke truth? The burning slowly began to subside. First, the whip of the wind, then the burn of the salt water, then the pain of the flaying, all began to quiet, and for the first time since the horror started, the red film of pain that had obscured my vision began to fade.
On the banks of the stream, I saw the youth gathering cat-tails, and laying them on a soft cloth. “Come, little rabbit, come and see what I have prepared for you.” Weakly, I hopped up the bank, where he was shaking the cattails, so their fine pollen fell off. “Roll, little one, in this pollen. It will soothe, it will heal your ravaged skin.” Now, trusting this kindly man, I followed his directions, rolling in the dust, breathing its light fragrance, covering myself in fine yellow powder.
Lo, a miracle happened, as the pain gradually disappeared.
After a few moments, a mild passing itchiness began, first on my back, then spreading down my sides, to my stomach, tail, face, and then my paws. I started to scratch, and was amazed to find . . . soft, luxurious, shining white fur again, pure as snow. Hopping in a circle to see my tail, I realized, I was whole again! I could not help but to leap as high up in the air as I could, dancing on the sand, the wind catching my fur.
here, sacred water
spin, leap, a dance of wonder
snow at Hakuto
I turned and saw the youth: he had already shouldered his burden, and was struggling back onto the road, to catch up to his brothers. “Wait!!!” I cried. And suddenly I found myself standing before him, “Please, let me tell you my story in gratitude to you before you leave. Before you found me in such horrible state, I leapt on the backs of the Wanizame as a bridge from O-Kinoshima to Keta, having convinced them that I would count each one so that we could see who had the more numerous clan. Foolishly, as I reached the last one, I taunted them for their gullibility. Ahhhh, if only I had waited until I was safely upon the sands — instead, before I could leap onto the back of the last Wanizame, he turned, snarling, and grabbed me in his horrible jaws, shaking me so terribly that I was thrown clean out of my skin, flayed completely. I managed to scamper up here, where your brothers found me, as the Wanizame swam off with my fur as a prize.”
The youth stood, dumbfounded.
“What is your name, kind one?” “O-Namuchi-no-Kami (the ignorant, innocent one of the gods), little rabbit,” he replied. “I am accompanying my eighty brothers to woo the beautiful O-Yakami-hime, Princess of these regions.”
I continued, “Know, dear prince, that I am O-Namiusagi-no-Kami (the Rabbit of the Waves God. Your kindheartedness and humility, both to your arrogant, cruel brothers, and to me, prove your inner purity. Therefore, from this day, you shall be known as O-Kuninushi-no-Kami, the Father of the Nation God. Indeed, it will be your hand that O-Yagami will choose as her husband, and you yourself will become the founder of a great nation of men yet to come that in future days will be known as Japan.”
The youth gasped in shock, then bowed deeply before me; I returned it, our hearts bound in gratitude, wonder, and humility.
These days, I donʻt travel the waves much. Wanizame has vowed to rend me once again, should any of his clan catch me. However, on mangetsu full moon nights, i dance the waves a few moments in the silver light of the Moon, O-Tsukiyomi-no-Kami, floating on the sea, before he returns to his abode below.
full moon spills her light
there, dancing, across the waves
perhaps, a rabbit
This is a first-person rendering of the legend, “The Hare of Inaba.” The legend is part of the Kojiki, the ancient Japanese compendium of legendary/mythological history. The story is considered to be possibly the oldest extant legend in Japan. i humbly hope that i have done this, one of my favorite legends, justice, and that it has perhaps brought a tear, a gasp, a smile.
(Although the name Keta has been lost to time, there still are, in the prefecture of Tottori, places that carry the name Ketaka-cho, and nearby, the beach of Hakuto, which is written with the same characters as Shiro usagi, 白兎、“white rabbit”. At Hakuto, there is a shrine beside a small fresh-water pond, where O-Namiusagi-no-Kami is said to have been healed and restored. On a nearby rocky point, overlooking the sea, is a tiny Shinto shrine, named Shirousagikawashimo-kami yashiro 白兎川下神社, the downstream White rabbit shrine.
As for O-Kuninushi-no-Kami, he indeed did win the hand of O-Yagami, and many great adventures befell him. To this day, he is greatly revered as the Shinto god of marriage, and the grand shrine Izumo-Ō-taisha dedicated to him is considered one of the oldest in Japan.)
still remembered, these
lief, life, love, their stories told
the gods amongst us
