Thousand Shrine Warrior (27 page)

“When the Temple of the Gorge was completed one-hundred and five years ago; it was not long before part of the ground gave way beneath it. Half the temple tumbled into the gorge. Many monks were killed. A passing pilgrim claimed to have seen a green-colored
yane-no-mune
or roof-ridge ghost dancing on the tiled peak just before that part of the building collapsed. None credited the witness. Attaching no supernatural importance to the matter, the abbot preferred to believe the error was in placing the temple on a weak fault too near the cliff.

“After proper consultations, the temple was reconstructed, giving the cliff greater berth. Yet, the following year, at the height of winter, fire broke out in the repaired part of the temple, destroying one-third of everything, including the abbot's quarters, which had been untouched the year before.

“This time they could not deny supernatural implications. The temple had burnt with the rich blue color of the fires of Emma's Hell. A stooped old man, made of green fire, was seen in the blue holocaust, wailing like a lonesome dog and jerking his body in a piteous dance.

“The next day, a woodcutter and his two sons were discovered in the snow-shrouded forest. They were standing on a path, frozen to their places, as though embraced by Yuki-onna.

“The sect abandoned the vicinity, but it was not left vacant long. Yorimitsu Sato had meanwhile died of a strange illness, and his cousin Ofuku Sato was made Lord of Kanno. Ofuku Sato had an older brother named Morihei Sato who had shaved his head, become founder of an order of Lotus monks, and changed his name to Johei, with seven chief disciples and numerous lesser followers.

“Lotus monks were generally impoverished in those days, having yet to raise up a great proponent like Saint Nichiren. This group considered it their good fortune to inherit such a large temple, due to Abbot Johei's relation to the Lord of Kanno. They were a belligerent sect then as now and boasted that the temple's past havoc had been the cause of previous monks not being holy enough. They rebuilt the burnt-out part of the temple with funds provided by Lord Ofuku Sato to Abbot Johei. They were certain they would never experience the kind of demonic persecution a less meritorious sect endured.

“Before the first year ended, Raiju the Thunder Animal came tramping across the forest roof. A hurricane tore one-quarter of the temple from its foundation and dashed it into the gorge. Many of the novices were killed by Raiju's lightning. The seven disciples had to nurse each other's injuries.

“The self-esteemed order took solace in the observation that less of the temple had been destroyed than on previous occasions, when another sect had been in charge. But to tell the truth, they were depressed fellows. Their pride had been dealt a wicked blow.

“The abbot was joined by priests of other Lotus enclaves so they might discuss the problem best. By means at their collective disposal, they discovered that the exorcisms commissioned by the late Yorimitsu Sato had caused the separation of Green Fire Devil, who was dispatched to Hell, from Yuki-onna, who wandered on the snowy peaks. Whenever Green Fire Devil heard his lover's sorrow, he would cause the temple harm, just by trying to get out of the gloomy land.

“The romantic ties of demons are not very common. The Wonderful Law suppresses the cruelty of demons, but regarding sentiments of love, the Law is helpless. The priests did not wish to consider the least failing in the Lotus Sutra, however, and continued to be self-assured. They drew floor plans of the temple and compared the areas variously stricken, seeking some pattern. They saw how on the first year a part had fallen away with the cliff's edge; where on the second year a part had burnt to the ground; and on the third year some of the building was snatched away by spectacular winds. Those areas of destruction overlapped at a particular point which the priests finally deduced was no larger than a trunk or a coffin. Green Fire Devil was able to ascend from the gloomy land at that spot, given the right conditions.

“Various magical rites were performed. A special tablet was made and buried deep in the ground in an effort to seal in the lovesick demon. Only when these things were completed was the temple rebuilt, the monks hardly courting the possibility that they would fail twice.

“But the monsters of land and air had consulted much as the priests had consulted; and they considered countermeasures to the efforts of the strongest adherents of Shaka's Wonderful Law. These monsters pitied the hapless couple who were being denied their meetings with one another. As a result of these unfathomable consultations, there was a fourth catastrophe at the Temple of the Gorge in the following year. It was the worst event of all.

“During an especially shocking windstorm, Raiju the Thunder Animal returned, leaping from tree to tree and snarling, a beast as big as seven horses but able to pass daintily over the forests. Large stones of ice came pounding from the sky. And the monstrous Nure-onna rose out of the mists of the gorge!

“Nure-onna the Wet Woman is like a big snail pulled out of its shell, but with the head and torso of a woman. Some say the part of her that appears human is beautiful, while others say she is horrifying at both ends. All agree she is deadly to encounter.

“She crawled up the face of the cliff, as snails can do easily, and continued right up the temple wall. She found a certain place on the roof that especially interested her, and with taloned claws began to tear away the tiles.

“Despite the sound of Raiju and the furious hailstorm, monks heard the odd scratching on the roof. They came running out under their umbrellas, but the umbrellas were beaten to pieces by the huge balls of hail. The monks saw Raiju roaring in the trees. They saw Nure-onna clawing the temple's roof.

“The monks ran about, pelted by ice-stones, not knowing what to do. Some of the novices tried to hide in the forest, but they encountered a woman made of ice, sparkling crystals whirling about her body and seeming to explode into stars. She raised her arms as though desirous of the chaste novices, and they ran back in search of their abbot, who was nowhere to be found. They beseeched the seven privileged disciples to effect some miracle, but the seven were confounded.

“The disciples were able to collect their wits enough to order the frightened novices to the armory to fetch spears. These were soon brought, and the seven began pitching spears at Nure-onna. The wind was Nure-onna's ally, and the spears could not reach her, but only clattered to the roof among the balls of ice.

“The Wet Woman remained intent upon her task of making an opening in the roof, high above the site where priests previously divined a source of evil. When the hole was big enough, her slimy body oozed into it. Most of the monks were too afraid to go inside to see what she was up to. One, less afraid than others, was called ‘sixth light' or Nichiroku. His one affectation was that he never shaved his head, and for this reason he was called, behind his back, ‘Disciple Page,' for his effeminate appearance. He alone had the bravery to rush into the temple, a sturdy spear his sole companion.

“Winds rose and Raiju's claws sparked, striking blue flames to the branches of trees. Monks ran for cover in woodsheds and the like. They could not hear anything inside the temple and were not eager to go in and see how brave Disciple Page fared.

“After a while, the Wet Woman squirmed up from the hole in the roof. She went down the outside of the temple, then over the cliff. Raiju, settling down and retracting his claws, tiptoed over the roof of the forest, wishing to avoid the sun. A few monks had taken refuge in an outbuilding near the cliff and they saw Nure-onna go slowly into the mist. Certain she would not climb up again, they hurried to the temple to see what havoc had been wrought.

“It was dark within, except for the dim morning light showing through the ruined roof. By this light they saw a rough opening in the floor. The Wet Woman had broken through the floorboards and dug a pit beneath the temple. From the pit, she extracted the ceremonial tablet, on which was scribed the Lotus Sutra; and it lay broken upon the altar. The face of the wooden Buddha had been scratched by the vindictive Nure-onna's talons.

“In the bottom of the pit sat Nichiroku. His spear was stuck through his thigh. He moaned the Lotus Sutra, but in an odd way. The monks were afraid to help the delirious fellow, for when he looked up from the bottom of the haunted hole, his eyes shone like emeralds.

“Abbot Johei came at last, making no excuse about hiding for so long. He strutted about proudly in his priest's robe, but it was false pride and barely disguised his budding doubts regarding the Lotus Sutra. Peering into the hole, he revealed no emotion at” the sight of Nichiroku, injured by his spear, mouthing the sutras strangely.

“The abbot, his faith faltering, sent the novices away, and addressed his six remaining chief disciples. They had always obeyed him implicitly. When he invented an explanation for the terrible events, they may not have believed him; but they were unwilling to express their doubts. ‘The Wet Woman was trying to help us,' said Johei, pretending divine inspiration. ‘A Shinto monster has shown us that a human sacrifice alone can preserve the sanctity of our Buddhist temple.'

“With dour expressions, the six disciples pushed dirt into the hole, the dirt Nure-onna had dug out from under the floor. Afterward, they made a hidden door over the spot, disguised in such a manner that none could suspect the floor was ever damaged. They patched the roof as well. Then they went about their business, pretending they had never buried one of their own alive. But you may well guess that none of them could recite the Lotus Sutra without remembering Nichiroku. In their dreams they heard him chanting. They heard the secret door open up, though it could not be opened from below, as it had heavy objects placed on top.

“When novices did their sutras, they claimed to hear Nichiroku's voice joining in. Sometimes it grew louder and louder until every other voice was supplanted by this one. Now and then, someone caught sight of a ghostly monk sitting on the tiled peak of the temple, his posture woebegone, a throaty, toadish voice whispering, ‘Praise to the Wonderful Law of Shaka Buddha! Praise to the Wonderful Law of Shaka Buddha!'

“In the past, the temple had been troubled about once a year. Now it was haunted daily.

“One by one the lesser members of the temple ran off to join other orders. One or two jumped into the gorge, though bodies never washed onto the banks below. The six disciples remained longer than the others, for they well knew their own involvement, and were still reluctant to turn from Abbot Johei. But things were too much for the six disciples. Soon enough, they gave up their cleric training entirely. One returned to his family's lands to farm. The rest sought employment in the world, through the auspices of their wealthy clans. Within a year of the terrible event, there was only Abbot Johei, and he was close to madness.

“In the middle of a winter's eve, the ghost-disciple cried out to his master, Abbot Johei. Johei found the caller standing on top of the secret door, the heavy objects having been moved aside by the ghost himself. ‘Tomorrow,' said the ghost-disciple, ‘Green Fire Devil wishes to rise from the Land of Roots and search for his beloved Snow Woman. You thought to cure the trouble by sacrificing me, but the trouble is compounded. Had I been asked to give my life, I might have done so without feeling such an urge for revenge. As it is, I have become a
goryo
, a vengeful spirit.

“‘Perhaps it is true that I am strong enough to block up the gap through which Green Fire Devil passes. But I am disinclined to be such a guardian. How can you make me do it? How can you placate this angry spirit for even one hundred years?'

“So saying, the disciple's ghost disappeared. Throughout the rest of the night and much of the following day, Johei wrote his confession of the sacrifice of Nichiroku, buried alive beneath the temple. Then the abbot killed himself upon the secret door, hoping this action would placate the vengeful spirit for a hundred years.

“The next day, Lord Ofuku Sato recovered from an ailment similar to the one that took the life of the previous Lord of Kanno. As he believed his brother's prayers had brought the miracle, Ofuku Sato sent someone to tell Abbot Johei the good news of Lord Sato's recovery. But the messenger found Abbot Johei's body, and beside it the confession. The letter was hidden away and the matter covered up. The temple was forbidden to any sect and let to ruin. Green Fire Devil has not been seen again, but those who ventured near the temple by night have reported the presence of a ghost-disciple who makes fervent prayers against those who killed him and against their progeny.

“One hundred years passed before Priest Kuro came to Sato Castle. A year has passed since then. The rest is as you've seen it.”

“Do you believe it?”

“It all happened.”

“What do you propose?”

“As for the means to proceed against a goryo,” said Heinosuke, his manner conveying no sense of hope, “my mind is full of confusion. The tenets of kataki or revenge are as noble as sentiments of love; more noble, if the Warrior Way holds truth. This being so, it may be as difficult to defeat Kuro the Darkness as it was for the priests of old to suppress Green Fire Devil. Additionally, Kuro has convinced the objects of his revenge to chant the Lotus Sutra, thereby soliciting the Wonderful Law for achievement of his end. In this case, good and evil are one; there is no sure way against it. Only by the completion of his intent will a goryo rest. I have told you this whole story, hoping you would see some clue.”