It is often said that books in scroll form are more inconvenient to read than those in booklet form. The act of winding a scroll requires more effort than turning the pages of a book. However, this format did not disappear. Even in the late modern period, scrolls were as popular as ever, or perhaps even more popular than they had been previously. Looking at scroll books, in particular picture scrolls, there were, of course, the traditional classical works, shrine and temple histories, records of festivals, processions, seasons, and famous places. Many other works about various incidents, such as the Ako Gishi Picture Scroll and Yume no Ukihashi also came to be produced. Even stories that did not actually take place were written about as if they were true incidents and made into picture scrolls. Outstanding among these is certainly the Inou Mononoke-roku Picture Scroll. This tale tells the story of a young warrior who fearlessly confronted ghosts and apparitions that appeared every night in July. This museum has also recently acquired a copy of Budayuu Monogatari. According to the notes of its former owner, it has a unique heritage as it was originally in the possession of a lady attendant of the Asano clan of Aki.
It can be said that the Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari picture scroll is another work in this genre. Although the young warrior in this story, in contrast to the warrior in the original tale, is frightened of each ghost and specter he meets. The story is set in Kagoshima, late in the Eighth month of 1624 (the first year of Kan'ei), where a group of notorious young roughneck warriors gathered. As the rumor that many men had been enchanted by foxes and had thier heads shaved was being discussed, it was decided that one of the young warriors, Ooishi Hyoroku, would set out to test his courage. The fox apparitions who heard about this transformed into a variety of phantoms and specters and menaced Hyoroku.
These specters included Uja, Minobajo, Mitsume Kouen, Nurarihyon, Hoobeni Taro, Teremenchippei, Konotsukitokkou, and Nuppeppou. Each time Hyoroku met up with a demon, he became frightened and fled. He was finally able to catch two small foxes, but then his father suddenly appeared and admonished him to release them. This father was actually a fox who had transformed itself into that form and in the end, he tricked Hyoroku into eating sweet dumplings made of horse droppings. Finally, the foxes transformed into a large number of humans. They caught Hyoroku and forced him to shave his head. The despairing Hyoroku saw that the six strange-looking Jizo statues by the side of the road were actually foxes and he was finally successful in capturing two of them. Hyoroku thought it was a pathetic outcome to the situation, but his comrades praised him for this and fed him breakfast.
In addition to the version held in the collection of the National Museum of Japanese History entitled "Hyoroku Monogatari", other extant copies include a copy that is part of a private collection in Kagoshima and one in the Waseda University Library collection. In recent years a new copy has been presented by Koshoshi. The works in the National Museum of Japanese History collection consist of one copy from a private collection and the scroll introduced in this paper. There are many similarities between the pictures and stories, and the two versions appear to be related. The Waseda edition has a postscript dated 1801 (the first year of Kyowa). There are many differences between the Waseda edition and the ones held by the National Museum of Japanese History, and it can not be easily determined which came first. The newly discovered version has not yet been closely investigated, but it seems to resemble the National Museum of Japanese History collection copy,. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that this picture scroll can be generally classified into two lineages.
Either way, even if this story is not a traditional folklore tale, it can be said that it is known to have been passed along in picture scroll form. Nara picture books were among the illustrated booklet-style works of the early modern period, but it seems they were not produced after the middle of that period. In contrast, picture scrolls, which at first glance tend to be seen as inconvenient, expanded into many varieties. There are many reasons for this, and one of them is probably that the broad paper surface of the picture scroll made it possible to enjoy dynamic expressions.
This tale was later rewritten by Satsuma clansman Mori Masanao (1761-1803). The work is called Ooishi Hyoroku Yume Monogatari and has an author's preface dated 1784 (Tenmei 4).
More versions of the Yume Monogatari adaptation, such as one published in 1794 (Kansei 6), were produced than of the original Hyoroku Monogatari. It seems they circulated widely and there are many extant copies. Some of the versions are novels that are presented as authentic accounts, but it seems that it was widely read as a copy of the picture scroll. Masanao's modifications of the original, such as the change of time period from the Kan'ei era to 1338 (the first year of Ryoko), show how his literary style was influenced by the Taiheiki. Incidentally, Masanao produced many other works including Ikyoki, Daifukuben, Fufuronmonsho, Muchu no Yume, Mori-shu and others. All of these were reproduced in the library collection of the Satsuma clan. However, Masanao's most famous work is, of course, the Yume Monogatari. In addition to the reproductions in the library collection of the Satsuma clan, four types of reprints and translations were released both before and after World War II.
Ooishi Hyoroku does not only exist in the world of fiction. He is also connected to the folklore of Kagoshima in arts and confections. In the realm of arts, there is a dance in the Furyu style called Hyoroku Odori. This has mainly been passed down in Kagoshima prefecture and has been verified today in several places. Among these, the version performed at the Shibi Shrine in Takaono-cho, Izumi-gun has been designated as an intangible cultural asset. Also, in Akune city the dance had been performed on occasions of celebration, but was discontinued in 1981 (Showa 56). It was revived on September 15, 1999 (Heisei 11) for Respect for the Aged Day (reported in the Minami Nihon Shimbun, September 18,1999).
There is also a rather well known pounded rice confection known as Hyouroku mochi that is sold in souvenir shops in Tokyo and other areas of Japan. This product is a recent creation, but it is said that it came to be made by people wanting to create a souvenir connected to Hyoroku. It's possible that in the future Hyoroku will be used as a character in plans to revitalize rural towns and villages.
Shingo Ito
Part-time Lecturer, Medieval and Modern Literary History, Chuo Gakuin University
National Museum of Japanese History, All rights reserved.http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp |
