--- title: Story of a Tengu[1] — In Ghostly Japan · full text with trees description: Story of a Tengu[1], «In Ghostly Japan» by Lafcadio Hearn: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: [1] This story may be found in the curious old Japanese book called _Jikkun-Shō_. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/27/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [In Ghostly Japan](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/) / Story of a Tengu\[1\] # Story of a Tengu\[1\] Story of a Tengu\[1\] of «In Ghostly Japan» by Lafcadio Hearn: the whole text, 194 sentences and 4689 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/27/page/2/) \[1\] This story may be found in the curious old Japanese book called \_Jikkun-Shō\_.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") The same legend has furnished the subject of an interesting \_Nō\_-play, called \_Dai-É\_ (“The Great Assembly”).[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") In Japanese popular art, the Tengu are commonly represented either as winged men with beak-shaped noses, or as birds of prey.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") There are different kinds of Tengu; but all are supposed to be mountain-haunting spirits, capable of assuming many forms, and occasionally appearing as crows, vultures, or eagles.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") Buddhism appears to class the Tengu among the Mârakâyikas.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") In the days of the Emperor Go-Reizei, there was a holy priest living in the temple of Saito, on the mountain called Hiyei-Zan, near Kyōto.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") One summer day this good priest, after a visit to the city, was returning to his temple by way of Kita-no-Ōji, when he saw some boys ill-treating a kite.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") They had caught the bird in a snare, and were beating it with sticks.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") “Oh, the, poor creature!” compassionately exclaimed the priest;—“why do you torment it so, children?”[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") One of the boys made answer:—“We want to kill it to get the feathers.”[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") Moved by pity, the priest persuaded the boys to let him have the kite in exchange for a fan that he was carrying; and he set the bird free.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") It had not been seriously hurt, and was able to fly away.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") Happy at having performed this Buddhist act of merit, the priest then resumed his walk.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") He had not proceeded very far when he saw a strange monk come out of a bamboo-grove by the road-side, and hasten towards him.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") The monk respectfully saluted him, and said:—“Sir, through your compassionate kindness my life has been saved; and I now desire to express my gratitude in a fitting manner.”[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") Astonished at hearing himself thus addressed, the priest replied:—“Really, I cannot remember to have ever seen you before: please tell me who you are.”[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") “It is not wonderful that you cannot recognize me in this form,” returned the monk: “I am the kite that those cruel boys were tormenting at Kita-no-Ōji.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") You saved my life; and there is nothing in this world more precious than life.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") So I now wish to return your kindness in some way or other.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") If there be anything that you would like to have, or to know, or to see,—anything that I can do for you, in short,—please to tell me; for as I happen to possess, in a small degree, the Six Supernatural Powers, I am able to gratify almost any wish that you can express.”[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") On hearing these words, the priest knew that he was speaking with a Tengu; and he frankly made answer:—“My friend, I have long ceased to care for the things of this world: I am now seventy years of age; neither fame nor pleasure has any attraction for me.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") I feel anxious only about my future birth; but as that is a matter in which no one can help me, it were useless to ask about it.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Really, I can think of but one thing worth wishing for.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") It has been my life-long regret that I was not in India in the time of the Lord Buddha, and could not attend the great assembly on the holy mountain Gridhrakûta.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") Never a day passes in which this regret does not come to me, in the hour of morning or of evening prayer.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") Ah, my friend! if it were possible to conquer Time and Space, like the Bodhisattvas, so that I could look upon that marvellous assembly, how happy should I be!”[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") “Why,” the Tengu exclaimed, “that pious wish of yours can easily be satisfied.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") I perfectly well remember the assembly on the Vulture Peak; and I can cause everything that happened there to reappear before you, exactly as it occurred.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") It is our greatest delight to represent such holy matters….[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") Come this way with me!”[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") And the priest suffered himself to be led to a place among pines, on the slope of a hill.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") “Now,” said the Tengu, “you have only to wait here for awhile, with your eyes shut.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") Do not open them until you hear the voice of the Buddha preaching the Law.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") Then you can look.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") But when you see the appearance of the Buddha, you must not allow your devout feelings to influence you in any way;—you must not bow down, nor pray, nor utter any such exclamation as, ‘\_Even so, Lord\![35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") \_’ or ‘\_O thou Blessed One\![36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") \_’ You must not speak at all.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Should you make even the least sign of reverence, something very unfortunate might happen to me.”[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") The priest gladly promised to follow these injunctions; and the Tengu hurried away as if to prepare the spectacle.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") The day waned and passed, and the darkness came; but the old priest waited patiently beneath a tree, keeping his eyes closed.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") At last a voice suddenly resounded above him,—a wonderful voice, deep and clear like the pealing of a mighty bell,—the voice of the Buddha Sâkyamuni proclaiming the Perfect Way.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the priest, opening his eyes in a great radiance, perceived that all things had been changed: the place was indeed the Vulture Peak,—the holy Indian mountain Gridhrakûta; and the time was the time of the Sûtra of the Lotos of the Good Law.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") Now there were no pines about him, but strange shining trees made of the Seven Precious Substances, with foliage and fruit of gems;—and the ground was covered with Mandârava and Manjûshaka flowers showered from heaven;—and the night was filled with fragrance and splendour and the sweetness of the great Voice.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") And in mid-air, shining as a moon above the world, the priest beheld the Blessed One seated upon the Lion-throne, with Samantabhadra at his right hand, and Manjusri at his left,—and before them assembled—immeasurably spreading into Space, like a flood Of stars—the hosts of the Mahâsattvas and the Bodhisattvas with their countless following: “gods, demons, Nâgas, goblins, men, and beings not human.”[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") Sâriputra he saw, and Kâsyapa, and Ânanda, with all the disciples of the Tathâgata,—and the Kings of the Devas,—and the Kings of the Four Directions, like pillars of fire,—and the great Dragon-Kings,—and the Gandharvas and Garudas,—and the Gods of the Sun and the Moon and the Wind,—and the shining myriads of Brahmâ’s heaven.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") And incomparably further than even the measureless circling of the glory of these, he saw—made visible by a single ray of light that shot from the forehead of the Blessed One to pierce beyond uttermost Time—the eighteen hundred thousand Buddha-fields of the Eastern Quarter with all their habitants,—and the beings in each of the Six States of Existence,—and even the shapes of the Buddhas extinct, that had entered into Nirvâna.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") These, and all the gods, and all the demons, he saw bow down before the Lion-throne; and he heard that multitude incalculable of beings praising the Sûtra of the Lotos of the Good Law,—like the roar of a sea before the Lord.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") Then forgetting utterly his pledge,—foolishly dreaming that he stood in the very presence of the very Buddha,—he cast himself down in worship with tears of love and thanksgiving; crying out with a loud voice, “\_O thou Blessed One\![48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") Instantly with a shock as of earthquake the stupendous spectacle disappeared; and the priest found himself alone in the dark, kneeling upon the grass of the mountain-side.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") Then a sadness unspeakable fell upon him, because of the loss of the vision, and because of the thoughtlessness that had caused him to break his word.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") As he sorrowfully turned his steps homeward, the goblin-monk once more appeared before him, and said to him in tones of reproach and pain:—“Because you did not keep the promise which you made to me, and heedlessly allowed your feelings to overcome you, the Gohotendó, who is the Guardian of the Doctrine, swooped down suddenly from heaven upon us, and smote us in great anger, crying out, ‘\_How do ye dare thus to deceive a pious person?[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") \_’ Then the other monks, whom I had assembled, all fled in fear.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") As for myself, one of my wings has been broken,—so that now I cannot fly.”[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") And with these words the Tengu vanished forever.[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") At Yaidzu[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") I[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") Under a bright sun the old fishing-town of Yaidzu has a particular charm of neutral color.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") Lizard-like it takes the grey tints of the rude grey coast on which it rests,—curving along a little bay.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") It is sheltered from heavy seas by an extraordinary rampart of boulders.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") This rampart, on the water-side, is built in the form of terrace-steps;—the rounded stones of which it is composed being kept in position by a sort of basket-work woven between rows of stakes driven deeply into the ground,—a separate row of stakes sustaining each of the grades.[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") Looking landward from the top of the structure, your gaze ranges over the whole town,—a broad space of grey-tiled roofs and weather-worn grey timbers, with here and there a pine-grove marking the place of a temple-court.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") Seaward, over leagues of water, there is a grand view,—a jagged blue range of peaks crowding sharply into the horizon, like prodigious amethysts,—and beyond them, to the left, the glorious spectre of Fuji, towering enormously above everything.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") Between sea-wall and sea there is no sand,—only a grey slope of stones, chiefly boulders; and these roll with the surf so that it is ugly work trying to pass the breakers on a rough day.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") If you once get struck by a stone-wave,—as I did several times,—you will not soon forget the experience.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") At certain hours the greater part of this rough slope is occupied by ranks of strange-looking craft,—fishing-boats of a form peculiar to the locality.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") They are very large,—capable of carrying forty or fifty men each;—and they have queer high prows, to which Buddhist or Shintō charms (\_mamori\_ or \_shugo\_) are usually attached.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") A common form of Shintō written charm (\_shugo\_) is furnished for this purpose from the temple of the Goddess of Fuji: the text reads:—\_Fuji-san chōjō Sengen-gu dai-gyō manzoku\_,—meaning that the owner of the boat pledges himself, in case of good-fortune at fishing, to perform great austerities in honor of the divinity whose shrine is upon the summit of Fuji.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") In every coast-province of Japan,—and even at different fishing-settlements of the same province,—the forms of boats and fishing-implements are peculiar to the district or settlement.[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") Indeed it will sometimes be found that settlements, within a few miles of each other, respectively manufacture nets or boats as dissimilar in type as might be the inventions of races living thousands of miles apart.[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") This amazing variety may be in some degree due to respect for local tradition,—to the pious conservatism that preserves ancestral teaching and custom unchanged through hundreds of years: but it is better explained by the fact that different communities practise different kinds of fishing; and the shapes of the nets or the boats made, at any one place, are likely to prove, on investigation, the inventions of a special experience.[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") The big Yaidzu boats illustrate this fact.[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") They were devised according to the particular requirements of the Yaidzu-fishing-industry, which supplies dried \_katsuo\_ (bonito) to all parts of the Empire; and it was necessary that they should be able to ride a very rough sea.[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") To get them in or out of the water is a heavy job; but the whole village helps.[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") A kind of slipway is improvised in a moment by laying flat wooden frames on the slope in a line; and over these frames the flat-bottomed vessels are hauled up or down by means of long ropes.[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") You will see a hundred or more persons thus engaged in moving a single boat,—men, women, and children pulling together, in time to a curious melancholy chant.[75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") At the coming of a typhoon, the boats are moved far back into the streets.[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") There is plenty of fun in helping at such work; and if you are a stranger, the fisher-folk will perhaps reward your pains by showing you the wonders of their sea: crabs with legs of astonishing length, balloon-fish that blow themselves up in the most absurd manner, and various other creatures of shapes so extraordinary that you can scarcely believe them natural without touching them.[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") The big boats with holy texts at their prows are not the strangest objects on the beach.[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") Even more remarkable are the bait-baskets of split bamboo,—baskets six feet high and eighteen feet round, with one small hole in the dome-shaped top.[79](79/ "tree and pragmatics") Ranged along the sea-wall to dry, they might at some distance be mistaken for habitations or huts of some sort.[80](80/ "tree and pragmatics") Then you see great wooden anchors, shaped like ploughshares, and shod with metal; iron anchors, with four flukes; prodigious wooden mallets, used for driving stakes; and various other implements, still more unfamiliar, of which you cannot even imagine the purpose.[81](81/ "tree and pragmatics") The indescribable antique queerness of everything gives you that weird sensation of remoteness,—of the far away in time and place,—which makes one doubt the reality of the visible.[82](82/ "tree and pragmatics") And the life of Yaidzu is certainly the life of many centuries ago.[83](83/ "tree and pragmatics") The people, too, are the people of Old Japan: frank and kindly as children—good children,—honest to a fault, innocent of the further world, loyal to the ancient traditions and the ancient gods.[84](84/ "tree and pragmatics") II[85](85/ "tree and pragmatics") I happened to be at Yaidzu during the three days of the \_Bon\_ or Festival of the Dead; and I hoped to see the beautiful farewell ceremony of the third and last day.[86](86/ "tree and pragmatics") In many parts of Japan, the ghosts are furnished with miniature ships for their voyage,—little models of junks or fishing-craft, each containing offerings of food and water and kindled incense; also a tiny lantern or lamp, if the ghost-ship be despatched at night.[87](87/ "tree and pragmatics") But at Yaidzu lanterns only are set afloat; and I was told that they would be launched after dark.[88](88/ "tree and pragmatics") Midnight being the customary hour elsewhere, I supposed that it was the hour of farewell at Yaidzu also, and I rashly indulged in a nap after supper, expecting to wake up in time for the spectacle.[89](89/ "tree and pragmatics") But by ten o’clock, when I went to the beach again, all was over, and everybody had gone home.[90](90/ "tree and pragmatics") Over the water I saw something like a long swarm of fire-flies,—the lanterns drifting out to sea in procession; but they were already too far to be distinguished except as points of colored light.[91](91/ "tree and pragmatics") I was much disappointed: I felt that I had lazily missed an opportunity which might never again return,—for these old Bon-customs are dying rapidly.[92](92/ "tree and pragmatics") But in another moment it occurred to me that I could very well venture to swim out to the lights.[93](93/ "tree and pragmatics") They were moving slowly.[94](94/ "tree and pragmatics") I dropped my robe on the beach, and plunged in.[95](95/ "tree and pragmatics") The sea was calm, and beautifully phosphorescent.[96](96/ "tree and pragmatics") Every stroke kindled a stream of yellow fire.[97](97/ "tree and pragmatics") I swam fast, and overtook the last of the lantern-fleet much sooner than I had hoped.[98](98/ "tree and pragmatics") I felt that it would be unkind to interfere with the little embarcations, or to divert them from their silent course: so I contented myself with keeping close to one of them, and studying its details.[99](99/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/27/page/2/) - ← previous: [Morning Awakening After a Night’s Rest in a Temple, part 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/26/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/27/page/2/) - ↑ back to [In Ghostly Japan](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg8128/)