The Japanese Story Project: “The Tale of the Heike: Ushiwaka and Benkei”
Translation by Kunimasa Nerome
Edited by Jenny Auld
Two works of classical Japanese prose tower in significance above all others. One is The Tale of Genji, considered the world’s first novel, written in the Heian period (early tenth century) by a woman of the Imperial court known as Murasaki Shikibu — not so much a personal name as a title. Murasaki makes reference either to a flower or a shade of violet, and Shikibu denotes her father’s military rank.
The other work of great significance, and our subject this week, is Heike Monogatari — The Tale of the Heike — a sweeping prose epic following the political machinations, alliances, betrayals, and violent battles of two powerful clans: the Minamoto (also known as the Genji) and the Taira (or Heike), who clashed with each other for control of Japan during the Genpei War at the end of the twelfth century. The story was compiled sometime before 1330 from multiple sources. The text, with its shifting viewpoints, inconsistent style, and mixing of Chinese* and Japanese languages, shows evidence of its roots in oral history.
Supernatural elements appear sometimes in Heike, interwoven with historical fact. This week’s story excerpt, from Ushiwaka and Benkei, concerns the early life of the young prince Ushiwaka — the elegant flute-player in the illustration. Having been separated from his family as a small child, Ushiwaka is raised in a monastery, unaware of his own tragic backstory. When he comes of age and learns the truth of his identity, Ushiwaka vows to avenge his slain father and take up the cause of his family against their mortal enemies. Training one night in the forest, he encounters a powerful spirit called a Tengu who offers to teach him the art of the sword.
*It should be noted that Chinese characters as a writing system and Chinese language as a whole were both in use during this period among the educated classes of Japan. The use of Chinese, in this case, does not indicate a source outside Japan.
***
Since Ushiwaka was still drinking milk, he was allowed to stay with his mother for a while, but when he turned seven, he was sent to a monastery in Mount Kurama.
As he grew, Ushiwaka found out the truth about his family’s situation. When he learned that his father had been killed by the Heike, he cried with rage and resentment. “Being a monk and reading chants every day — it’s all useless! I will practice sword art, train hard, and become a powerful chief. Then I will exterminate the Heike and avenge my father!”
He was determined.
Behind Mount Kurama lay Soujyou Valley. This valley was full of pine and cedar trees so that darkness prevailed both day and night, as the rays of the sun almost never penetrated to the forest floor. Every night, Ushiwaka crept out of the monastery after the other monks were asleep and practiced his sword art alone in Soujyou Valley. He imagined that a stand of cedar trees was the gate of Heike and that the biggest tree was Kiyomori. He would strike at these trees with his wooden sword, again and again.
One night, as Ushiwaka was practicing in Soujyou Valley, there suddenly appeared from nowhere a gigantic man with a very long nose. In his hand he held a feather fan. He stood watching Ushiwaka.
“Who are you?” Ushiwaka asked, wide-eyed.
The man laughed and replied, “I am a Tengu of this valley. I must say, your sword technique is so bad that it hurts my eyes. I will teach you from now on.”
“I would be grateful,” Ushiwaka said. “Please teach me.” Saying this, Ushiwaka attacked with his wooden sword, but the Tengu handled it easily with his fan.
Since that night, the Tengu came to Ushiwaka every night to train him in sword art. Ushiwaka improved very quickly.
After some time had passed, the priest of the monastery somehow learned that Ushiwaka was going off every night to learn sword art from a shadowy figure. Surprised and concerned, the priest summoned Ushiwaka and told him that he would have to shave his head and become a proper monk.
“No chance!” Ushiwaka shouted. He put his hand on his wooden sword and glared at the priest. The priest was scared by this, and he stopped trying to shave Ushiwaka’s head.
Ushiwaka did not want to be pressed to become a monk ever again, so, one day, he departed from the monastery, descended Mount Kurama, and headed off to Kyoto. He was fourteen or fifteen by then.
*****
Around the same time, on Mount Hiei in Northern Kyoto, there lived an uncommonly large, tough monk named Benkei. As a child, Benkei stayed in the womb for eighteen months so that by the time he was born, he was the size of a three-year-old. He had a thick head of hair and a mouth full of large, strong teeth — and, to top it all off, he could already speak.
“Ah, it is bright!” said Benkei the moment he was born, and he started walking around.
His father was unnerved by all this, and, a few years later, he sent Benkei off to the monastery.
As an adult, Benkei was grumpy in nature, and physically strong, so he beat up other monks whenever he was unhappy about something. He even beat one monk to death. People began to shiver with fear whenever Benkei’s name was mentioned.
When a fellow monk in Mount Hiei named Saitou no Musashibou passed away, Benkei took his name and began to call himself Saitou no Musashibou Benkei.
One day, Benkei sat thinking to himself. “A person’s treasure,” he considered, “is only complete once they have a collection of one thousand. Hidehira of Oushu has a thousand fine horses and a thousand suits of armour. Matuura no Tayuu of Kyushu has a thousand bows and a thousand ceramic pots. I will collect one thousand katana. It should not be difficult if I go down to the capital.”
He dressed himself in armour threaded with black strings, clothes painted black, and a white cloth to cover his head. He stood at the Gojyo Bridge at night with his long spear at the ready. Whenever he spotted someone carrying a good katana, he took it by force. If they resisted or tried to escape, he used his spear to vanquish them.
Before long, word got out that there was a big monk on Gojyo Bridge stealing people’s katana at night. Some versions of the story said that the thief was a Tengu rather than a monk. As the rumours spread, fewer and fewer people crossed the bridge at night.
One day, Benkei brought out all the katana he had collected, in order to count them. There were 999. He was pleased and said to himself, “Good, good! One more to go, and I will have one thousand! I would like the last katana to be the best one of all.”
He went to a shrine and prayed to the local god of Gojyo. “One more katana to reach a thousand. Please let this one be the best of all!” Then he left the shrine and took his position under Gojyo Bridge.
*****
The story about the thief of Gojyo Bridge at last reached the ears of Ushiwaka. “Hm, that is interesting,” he said to himself. “Well, Tengu or Oni, whatever he is, I shall conquer him and make him my vassal.”
The moon that night was bright. Ushiwaka wore a wide belt, with a white, flowing robe over it, and a gold-chased sword by his side. He set off for the Gojyo Bridge, playing his flute as he walked.
Benkei, who was standing under the bridge, heard the sound of the flute approaching. “Here we go!” he thought, and readied himself. He peeked out from his hiding spot and saw a rather small figure in white. He was disappointed. “Ah, it’s just a kid!” he scowled. Then he noticed the fine katana by the boy’s side. Benkei’s energy returned.
“Yes, this is it!” he thought. Benkei leapt into the middle of the bridge and blocked Ushiwaka.
Ushiwaka stopped playing the flute and said calmly, “You are in my way. Move aside.”
Benkei laughed. “I’ll get out of your way if you give me your sword.”
Ushiwaka thought to himself, “This must be the famous katana thief! Well, well. Why don’t I give him a bit of trouble?” He stared straight into Benkei’s eyes. “If you want, I can give it to you. But it won’t be free.”
Benkei was becoming frustrated. “What do you want for it, then?” he demanded.
“Take it by force — if you can.”
***
Kunimasa Nerome ( 根路銘 国真 ) was born and raised in Okinawa (沖縄), Japan. He is in his fourth year of study in political science at The University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He loves bicycles, raccoons, and ramen, not necessarily in that order.
Jenny Auld was born in Vancouver, Canada. She has an honours degree in linguistics from UBC, with a specialization in the history and structure of the English language. She has written and edited for various publications, and is also an exhibiting artist, with three solo shows at Art Sui Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. She likes ginger milk tea, riding her bike, and watching way too many Korean dramas.
