Nori's blog----Novels, Poems, Essays, from Japan

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　　　　　　　　　 　 　　 　　　 　１４

The lord rode on his white horse. He then went down the hill
on with his horse. As the lord said he leaves the hanami
banquet for a while, all who were in the banquet wondered
why he leaves the banquet. But the lord said he just felt
like to ride on his horse. And he told everyone to keep
enjoying the hanami(cherry blossoms viewing) and said he
would come back soon. Then the lord started for the temple
where the culprit lives in the dungeon, with some samurais
as his guards.
The white horse the lord rode on ran under the full bloomed
sakura(cherry blossoms). The horse descended the gentle slope
and headed for the temple. while the lord ran on his horse
leading his vassals, those samurais on horses who escorted
the lord were totally unaware why the lord goes to the
temple. The escorts, being unaware why the lord goes to
the temple, could only hurry their horses to chase their
lord's white horse heading for the temple.
There were sun light streaming through the trees
on the slope they ran towards the temple. And there were
cherry flower leafs scattered on the slope they ran.
The lord and his escort samurais hurried the slope on
their horses to the temple. However, since the lord was
a renowned horse rider, he descended the slope much
faster than his escorts and ran far ahead from those
escorts riding horses.
Then, after his ride, the lord arrived the front of
the temple. The lord got off his horse there and stood
in front of the big gate with roof of the Buddhism
temple he visited after a long interval.
the lord looked around the gate. Nothing of the scene
has changed since he came to the temple last time.
The trees around the gate, the gate with roof irself,
and the pair of wooden statues of the Deva kings(Niou)
on both sides of the gate, have not changed at all there,
as if time has stopped at the gate.
the lord looked up the wooden statue of the Deva Kings,
that stand there as the guardians of the temple, and
gazed them for a while without a word.
Then, his vassal samurais, who were his escorts, arrived
there on their horses. The escorts delayed to their
master, to their shame, as the lord hurried his horse too
fast on the way. But the lord did not say anything about
their delay. Instead, the lord continued to stand in
front of the gate, and kept gazing the old wooden statues
of Niou(Deva Kings)--guardian of holy Busshism--without
saying a word.
then one of his vassals, who arrived there after the
lord as his escort, entered the territory of the temple.
He, then, announced the sudden visit of the lord to the
men in the temple in a loud voice. In response to the
voice of announcement by the samurai, some men of the
temple appeared to meet the visitors.
the lord ceased to gaze the old wooden statues of Niou
(Deva Kings) at last. And he walked into the territory
of the temple.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　１３

The lord had forgotten about the culprit. But he stopped his
walk now as he was suddenly reminded of the culprit, whom he
imprisoned in the dungeon of the temple 7 years ago.
The lord has not heard a report the cilprit died. Moreover,
he has heard that the culprit is alive in last spring.
The lord mocked the culprit when he heard it. But the lord
has not been reminded of the culprit even once in this one
year. Regardless of his such indifference, the lord was
reminded of the culprit now, and he wondered how he is
doing now. This wonder raised in his mind as if like a
cloud appears in the sky. The lord was surprised at
his own mind. And he turned back to look down the spring
field spreading beneath the hill. The landscape has not
changed at all since he observed here just before a moment.
But the lord felt something utterly diffirent in the
same landscape now. The lord was determined to ride on
his horse and to go to see the man in the dungeon at the
temple.

(To be continued)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　１２

The lord left others present in the banquet and walked alone under
the cherry blossoms. And he stopped his walk under an old cherry
tree, when he reaches a gentle slope of the hill.
It was a wonderful viewpoint. The lord, who stopped his walk
there, was standing in front of a landscape of fields beaneth
the hill extending from the foot of the hill towards south.
It was a sight of winter fields and rice fields without
water of early spring. In the landscape, one could see
bamboo bushes and woods here and there. And one could
see farmers' houses of rice straw roofs here and there
in the landscape. And one could see cherry trees blooming
white flowers in many places in the landscape, which was
like an Indian-ink painting of nature, from the slope
the lord was standing.
The lord has stood here and observed the same sight of
spring fields. Seeing the same landscape, the lord
recalled he has held hanami(cherry blossoms viewing)
every spring on this hill. The lord, recalling his
hanami every spring, felt vain emotion in his mind
which was rather like solitude than nostalgia.
“A year has passed again.”thought the lord.
The lord mocked himself who thinks the same
every spring when he holds hanami(cherry blossoms
viewing) banquet on this hill, and kept gazing
the fields of early spring where cherry blossoms
were blooming here and there.
As he strained his ears, he could hear birds chirp
in many places in the bright field, even from the
slope of the hill. It was a bright chirp mimic of
singing, which one could not hear in winter. The
chirp of birds, however, sounded somehow uneasy,
though it was bright and like singing.
Hearing the birds' voice, the lord strained his ears
to hear a human voice somewhere. But the lord could not
hear a human voice. And he could not find a human figure
in the lanscape beneath the hill. All was bright and
sourrounded in light in the landscape. But the lanscape
lacked human atmosphere. The lord felt solitude at the
landscape. The lord felt like to come back to the banquet.
The hanami(cherry blossoms viewing) banquet was at its
pinnacle now. The lord thought he should dance sarugaku
(Noh play dance) in front of the guests once more again
and thought to drink more sake. Then he turned his back
to the field beneath the hill and began to return to
the hanami banquet.
It was at this moment the culprit, whom the lord made
his men catch in the hanami banquet 7 years ago, suddenly
flashed into his mind.

(To be continued)

http://nishiokamasanori.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/
(original japanese version is on this web-page.)

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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　１１

The lord went out for cherry blossoms in the spring too.
As in every spring, the lord planned to hold a banquet
under fully bloomed cherry blossoms on the hill near the
castle. He was to enjoy new spring with his vassals and
mistresses on the hill.
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The lord ordered
his men to prepare the place for cherry blossoms viewing
under cherry trees with luxurious foods and sake at the
spot of best view from the hill. The lord made it a rule
to occupy the place for the best sights at a corner of
the cherry forests on the hill and meke people do tea
ceremony, drink sake, and dance SARUGAKU(Noh plays), as
his annual pleasure in spring. The lord was going to do
the same this year too. He was going to pass a day of
spring by such banquet under cherry blossoms on the hill
with his vassals and mistresses. The sky was clear on
the day. Although it was windy, the chill that has
remained in the air until several days ago has gone
and the weather became best for hanami(cherry blossoms
viewing). The lord, happy with full bloomed sakura
on the hill, appeared on the hill with many vassals.
He welcomed the guests he invited to the hanami(cherry
blossoms viewing) on the hill, and treated the guests
with powder green tea he made by himself in as tea
ceremony. And he danced sarugaku(Noh play dance) in
front of the guests under the full cherry blossoms.
Thus, the lord was very happy. However, as he got
drunken very soon with sake in this banquet, he was
surprised he got old and mocked his aging by himself
in his mind.
While the banquet reached the pinnacle under sakura,
the lord stood up from his place quietly.
Being drunken with sake, he suddenly wanted to be
alone, leaving from others. The lord told his men
not to follow him. He left the circle of guests and
began to walk alone under full bloomed cherry blossoms.
His vassals, however, followed him regardless of his
words not to follow. So, the lord told his men not to
follow him once more again a little angrily. Then the
lord finally could be alone and walk under cherry
blossoms for a while.

(To be continued)

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１０
　　　　　　　　　　　　

Among the scenes the culprit recalled in the dungeon was
the sight of a hill near the castle. It was a hill of
gentle slope, from where man could see a wonderful view.
And the whole hill was covered by old cherry trees.--
the hill was a wonderful viewpoint.
In spring, the hill is covered be fully bloomed cherry
trees. And one could see good view of cherry blossoms of
nearby lands blooming here and there around the castle
from the hill. So, it was a femous spot of picnics and
banquets under cherry blossoms in spring.
The culprit played running on the hill when he was a
child. And, when he became a father, he went picnic to
enjoy cherry blossoms to the hill in every spring with
his wife and children, and his late mother.
The hill was, however, the place where the lord held
luxurious banquet every spring with his vassals and
mistresses too. The lord made it a rule to go out of
his castle and go picnic to the hill with many vassals
and mistresses every spring, when the cherry blossoms
bloomed fully and held banquet. It was in this banquet
that the culprit, who participated in this annual banquet
as usual, was caught like a surprise play and imprisoned
in this dungeon.
The culprit could not help but feel a special sentiment
in his mind when he recalled his memories about the hill
in his dungeon due to this experience.
And, when the culprit saw the white flower leafs of
sakura brought to the his dungeon by the wind, the
culprit was aware many of those flower leafs must have
been brought from the hill, which is not quite far
from his dungeon. He, then, could not help but imagine
the scenes of the hill in the spring.

(To be continued)

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9

The flower leafs of sakura danced in front of the culprit.
The white flower leafs of sakura rotated in a whirl as if to
say to the culprit “come here to play with us”.
The sunbeams through branches of trees above joined their
play. The wind, light through branches, cherry flower leafs,
played in front of the dungeon, as if they were three children,
from morning to sunset. The culprit observed the three play
there every day, without being bored.
The culprit, meanwhile, listened to the sounds of wind,
when trees afar made sounds like the sea, and imagined
the sights of far places those cherry flower leafs
came from in his mind.
The culprit learnt to love far memories. The surrounding
land around this Buddhism temple was the land where the
culprit was grown up. It is near the castle and there are
grounds of temples where he played with his brothers in
his childhood, or the place he practiced archery as a
young samurai. And, above all, the house where the culprit
lived as a vassal of the lord and grew his children up was
located near this dungeon.
To this culprit who was born and lived near the catle,
surrounding land of this Buddhism temple was full of
his memories. But the culprit had not felt landscapes
of this area so nostalgic until he was imprisoned in this
dungeon. The culprit, however, became to feel the landscapes
around the dungeon nostalgic. And it made him imagine the
landscapes.
When spring comes and spring brings cherry flower leafs
here, the culprit imagined the cherry trees those flower
leafs came from, and he imagined the sights of the nearby
land. And he listened the sounds of wind recalling the
sweet memories he had there.

(To be continued)

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