4:1 About Extraordinary Tales of Master Kobo,1 Salt, Chikami,2 Reed, and Other Things
translated by Yoshiko Dystra
1 This is another legendary anecdote about Master Kobo, or Kukai (774-835), the founder of the Shingon sect of Japan. He studied in China for two years (804-806), advocated esoteric Buddhist teachings, and passed away at the age of sixty-two. For a biographical tale, see Yoshiko Dykstra, Konjaku Tales : Japanese Section I, pp. 30-35.
2 Chimaki rice cake wrapped in a reed leaf in the shape of a triangle was originally used as an offering to the water deity in China. Later it was offered to appease the soul of Qu-yuán, a poet of Chu (343-277? B.C.), who committed suicide by drowning in the Milou Jiang River. In Japan, the chimaki has been popularly enjoyed, especially on Boy's Day, 5 May, the memorial day of Qu-yuán.
Last year, a samurai who lived in the north-eastern region said, "Historical writings record Master Kobo's many achievements, and so there is no need to mention here any of them which are familiar among nobles and common folk. But I will introduce here another unusual event which took place in my province. In a deep valley of a mountain, there was a village called Shiokawa [Salt River] with forty to fifty houses. Since it was some ten ri away from the sea, it was difficult for the people to obtain rice and grain, and especially salt.
"In olden times, when Master Kobo visited the village during his journeys, he heard about the people's grief and lament for their hardship. So he said to the villagers, ‘What a pity this is. With my power of incantation I will immediately produce salt, and this will help you for generations.'
So the Master had a tub made and placed it in the river which ran by the village. From the next day, only the water in the tub became salty while the rest remained pure. So the villagers as well as people from neighboring villages came, scooped up the salt water from the tub, and boiled it in pots and pans to obtain the salt, which they used to better their lives. Even today, the tub, just as it was in the time of Master Kobo, still remains in the middle of the river and has never been buried in the sand despite the violent currents and floods. Such an extraordinary deed is truly noble as it has benefited the people for generations. So what the Master did was deeply appreciated.
"This is not everything about the master. Today, we notice each reed leaf has wrinkled marks in two places on its surface. There is a legend about a playful deed of Master Kobo's. One day, he watched a man making chimaki by wrapping the rice cakes with reed leaves, and he said to him, ‘Your chimaki don't look good because their sizes are different. You should place the rice cake at the proper place on the leaf. I will make marks on the reed leaves of various provinces from next year.'
"When he heard this, the man who was making the chimaki put a rice cake on a leaf and said to the master, ‘This is the right place.' The master immediately made marks with his finger and said, ‘From next year on, there will be two wrinkles on each reed leaf. If the positions of these wrinkles are compared with those made by my nail, they will match well. You should place the rice cake between the two wrinkles on the leaf.'
"As was to be expected, from the following year reed leaves all have had two marks of wrinkles. The origin of these two marks is said to have come from this legend. This should not be doubted.
"People say that there were no places -- villages, districts, and provinces -- where Master Kobo had not visited during the some sixty years of his life. He was a very active man and spent some years in T'ang China and left many writings including essays, poems and prefaces. People often wonder how he achieved so much during his short life of some sixty years. It is true to say that he was indeed an incarnation of a Buddha or a god."
Last year, a scholarly monk of Mount Hiei said, "Since Master Kobo buried a sacred nyoihoshu ball3 on Mount Koya,4 this mountain has flourished through later generations even after all others have declined." Someone sitting near the monk said, "Master Dengyo5 was also a most celebrated gonge6 incarnation in Japan, but did not seek prosperity for his mountain, Mount Hiei, while [Master Kobo] wanted Mount Koya to flourish till the present day. So I hear that the decline of Mount Hiei7 was the wish of its founder, Master Dengyo."
3 The mani or nyoihoju jewel ball purifies muddy water, and gets rid of bad luck.
4 Mount Koya in Wakayama-ken has the Kongobuji temple, the headquarters of the Shingon sect founded by Master Kobo in 816.
5 Master Dengyo, also known as Saicho (767-822) went to China and returned with the Tendai teachings, and founded the Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei as the headquarters of the Tendai sect of Japan. For a tale recounting his life, see Yoshiko Dykstra, Konjaku Tales:Japanese, Section I, pp. 36-37.
6 Here the term gonge refers to an incarnation of a Buddha, a bodhisattva or a god.
7 The context implies the political issues within the Tendai sect and the institutional pressure from old Nara Buddhism. In contrast, the Shingon teachings popularly accepted by the nobles and courtiers seemed to have less pressure. But the Tendai sect had great influence on the rise of Kamakura Buddhism as it produced many eminent priests and monks, including Shinran, Eisai, Dogen, and Nichiren.
8 The Five Tastes, gomi, include sweet, sour, bitter-salty, bitter, and spicy.
At this, the scholarly monk retorted, "That is just sour grapes on the part of the Tendai sect on Mount Hiei. No matter how selfless a person is, is there anyone who does not desire the success of his sect to save sentient beings?" Thus the two argued with each other, and it all sounded rather amusing to me.
As we consider the Salt River legend, we realize that no place in this country is too far from the sea, and the people often used salt. Salt is the first of the Five Tastes8 which give flavor to food. Without it, even life itself is hard to maintain. Though this country is small, it has everything and so is the richest in the world. In China, people favor flesh and meat, and they eat insects, snakes and animals. There is nothing they don't eat. And so, from time to time, they suffer from food poisoning which kills many victims. That is because they eat bad food.
Moreover, people think they lack salt if they are living several thousands ri from the sea. But thanks to the immeasurable wonders of Nature, they can obtain three kinds of salt--from earth, from rocks, and from wells--to satisfy their needs.
The people in this country have shunned eating flesh and meat since the olden times of the gods. That was probably because this country has everything needed, and so people did not have to eat meat.
~~~ The End ~~~
©2007 by Yoshiko Dykstra