Pathway to Japanese Literature

I

One spring afternoon.
The dog named White was walking along a quiet avenue, sniffing at the ground.
Along both sides of the narrow avenue stretched an unbroken line of hedges swelling with buds, and here and there between those hedges cherry blossoms bloomed.
White followed along the hedges when he abruptly turned into a side street.
But no sooner had he turned than he froze in his tracks as though startled.

That was only natural.
Some ten meters down that side street stood a dog catcher in a workman’s jacket hiding a trap behind his back while targeting a black dog.
What’s more, this black dog—utterly oblivious—was eating the bread or whatever bait the dog catcher had tossed his way.
Yet that alone wasn’t why White was startled.
If it had been some stray mutt, that would’ve been one thing—but now in the dog catcher’s sights was none other than Black, their neighbor’s pet.
Black who every morning without fail would meet him face-to-face and sniff noses—Black his dearest friend.

White involuntarily shouted in a loud voice, “Black! Danger!” he tried to shout.
But in that instant, the Dog Catcher glared sharply at White.
“Try it! I’ll trap you next!”—the Dog Catcher’s eyes vividly bore that unspoken threat.
White, overwhelmed with terror, forgot even to bark.
No—it wasn’t just that he had forgotten.
He couldn’t stay still for even a moment—a wave of cowardice had risen within him.
While keeping an eye on the Dog Catcher, White began to inch backward.
No sooner had the Dog Catcher’s figure vanished behind the hedge than he fled at full speed, leaving poor Black behind.

At that very moment, the trap must have sprung.
In rapid succession, Black's shrill cries rang out.
However, far from turning back, White showed no sign of stopping.
He leapt over mud puddles, scattered pebbles underfoot, slipped through rope barriers blocking the road, overturned boxes of goods, and continued fleeing without looking back.
Look.
Down the slope he raced!
There! He was nearly hit by a car!
White may have been utterly consumed by the desperate need to save his own life.
No—even now, Black’s cries buzzed like horseflies deep within White’s ears.

“Yelp! Yelp!”
“Help me!”
“Yelp!”
“Yelp!”
“Help me!”

II

Panting and gasping, White finally returned to his owner’s house.
After passing through the dog passage under the black fence and going around the storage shed, there was the backyard with its doghouse.
White rushed into the backyard lawn like a gust of wind.
Now that he had fled this far, there was no longer any danger of being caught in a trap.
Moreover, on the lush green lawn, fortunately, both the Young Mistress and Young Master were playing ball.
How could one describe White’s joy upon seeing this?
White wagged his tail and leapt toward them in a single bound.

“Young Mistress! Young Master! Today I encountered the dog catcher!”

White looked up at them and said breathlessly.
(Of course, the Young Mistress and Young Master couldn’t understand a dog’s language—they heard only barks.) But today, for some reason, they simply stood dumbfounded and did not even pat his head.
White, finding this strange, spoke to them once more.

“Young Mistress! Do you happen to know about the Dog Catcher? That’s a terrifying creature! Young Master! I managed to escape, but the neighbor’s Black was caught!”

Even so, the Young Mistress and Young Master merely exchanged looks.
Moreover, after a while, the two even began to say such strange things.

“Where could this dog be from, Haruo?”

“Where’s this dog from, Sis?”

Where did this dog come from?
This time, it was White who stood dumbfounded.
(White could clearly distinguish the words of the Young Mistress and Young Master.
Since we humans cannot understand a dog’s language, we assume dogs likewise cannot comprehend ours—but in reality, this is not the case.
Dogs learn tricks because they understand our language.
However, since we cannot distinguish a dog’s language, we cannot learn any of the tricks they teach us—such as seeing through darkness or detecting faint scents.)

“What’s wrong with this dog from somewhere?”
“It’s me!”
“I’m White!”

However, the Young Mistress was still gazing at White disgustedly.

“Could this be Black’s brother from next door?”

“It might be Black’s brother.”
The Young Master answered thoughtfully while fiddling with his bat.

“This one’s jet black all over too.”

White suddenly felt the fur on his back stand on end.
Jet black!
That couldn’t be.
After all, White had been as white as milk ever since he was a puppy.
But when he looked at his front legs now—no—it wasn’t just his front legs.
His chest, belly, hind legs, and even his elegantly slender tail—all were jet black like the bottom of a pot.
Jet black!
Jet black!
White, as if he had gone mad, leapt up and bounded about while barking desperately.

“Oh dear, what should we do? Haruo. This dog must be rabid!”

The Young Mistress stood frozen in place and let out a voice that seemed on the verge of tears. However, the Young Master was brave. White was instantly struck on his left shoulder by the bat with a solid thud. Then, a second swing came flying toward his head. No sooner had White slipped under it than he fled back the way he had come. But this time, unlike before, he did not flee a block or two. At the edge of the lawn, in the shade of a palm tree, there was a cream-colored doghouse. When White came before the doghouse, he turned to look back at his small masters.

“Young Mistress! Young Master!”
“I am that White!”
“No matter how jet black I’ve become‚ I’m still that White!”

White's voice trembled with indescribable sadness and anger.
Yet there was no way for the Young Mistress and Young Master to comprehend such feelings of White's.
Indeed, the Young Mistress glared hatefully—

"It's still barking over there.
What a shameless stray dog," she said, stamping her feet.
The Young Master—the Young Master scooped gravel from the path and hurled it at White with all his might.

"Damn you!
Still dawdling around?
Still not enough?!
Still not enough?!"

The gravel flew in rapid succession.
Among them were stones that struck White at the base of his ear hard enough to draw blood.
White finally tucked his tail and slipped out beyond the black fence.
Outside the black fence, a single cabbage white butterfly, its wings dusted silver in the spring sunlight, fluttered about with carefree ease.

Ah... Am I to become a stray dog from today onward?

White let out a sigh and, for a while, simply gazed vacantly at the sky from beneath a telephone pole.

III

Driven out by the Young Mistress and Young Master, White wandered aimlessly through Tokyo.
Yet wherever he went, what he could not forget was his jet-black form.
He feared barbershop mirrors reflecting customers' faces.
He feared rain-puddled streets mirroring the sky.
He feared display windows casting back spring leaves.
No—even café tumblers brimming with dark beer—but what did it matter?
Look at that automobile.
Yes—that grand black-lacquered automobile halted beyond the park gates.
The polished chassis now mirrored White's approaching figure.
Distinctly, like a looking-glass.
Reflections of White lurked everywhere as that idling car proved—this was his inescapable truth.
To glimpse them meant terror.
Look now at White's face.
With a pained groan, he bolted into the park.

Inside the park, a faint wind passed through the young leaves of the Japanese pagoda trees.
White walked through the trees with his head hung low.
There, fortunately, aside from the pond, no reflective surfaces could be found.
The only sound was the buzzing of bees swarming around the white roses.
White, in the peaceful air of the park, momentarily forgot even the usual sorrow of having become an ugly black dog.

However, it was unclear whether even such happiness lasted five minutes.
White, as if in a dream, emerged onto the roadside where benches were lined up.
Then, from beyond the bend in that road, arose a piercing dog's cry.

“Yelp!”
“Yelp!”
“Help me!”
“Yelp!”
“Yelp!”
“Help me!”

White involuntarily shuddered.
This voice brought back vividly into White’s heart the terrible end of Black once more.
White kept his eyes closed and tried to run back the way he had come.
But that was just as those words suggested—a matter of mere moments.
White let out a savage growl and turned around sharply once more.

“Yelp! Yelp! Help me! Yelp! Yelp! Help me!”

To White’s ears, this voice also sounded like these words.

“Yelp! Yelp! Don’t be a coward! Yelp! Don’t be a coward!”

No sooner had White lowered his head than he dashed toward the source of the voice.

But when he arrived there and looked, what appeared before White's eyes was not the Dog Catcher.
There were two or three children in Western-style clothes, likely on their way home from school, dragging a brown puppy with a rope around its neck while making a ruckus.
The puppy struggled desperately to resist being dragged, repeating over and over, "Help me!"
However, the children showed no sign of heeding such cries.
They did nothing but laugh, shout, or kick the puppy's belly with their shoes.

Without a moment’s hesitation, White barked and lunged at the children.
The children, caught off guard, were more than startled.
Indeed, White’s appearance—from his eyes burning like fire to his blade-like bared teeth—showed such a fearsome bearing that he seemed ready to bite at any instant.
The children scattered in all directions.
Some even leapt into roadside flower beds in their panic.
After chasing them several yards, White spun around to face the puppy and called out sternly.

“Come on, come with me. I’ll take you home.”

White dashed headlong back into the trees he had come from.
The brown puppy happily darted under benches, scattered rose petals, and raced after White, determined not to lose to him.
All while dragging the long rope still hanging around its neck.

× × ×

Two or three hours later, White stood before a modest café with the brown puppy.
Inside the dimly lit café—dim even at midday—red lamps already glowed, and a scratchy-voiced phonograph seemed to be playing naniwa-bushi or something of the sort.
The puppy wagged his tail triumphantly and spoke to White like this.

“I live here.
In this café called Taishōken.
——Where do you live, Uncle?”

“Uncle? — Uncle lives in a town far away.”

White sighed forlornly.

“Then Uncle will go home now.”

“Oh, wait a moment! Is your master strict?”

“My master? Why are you asking that again?”

“If your master isn’t strict, please stay here tonight.
“And please let my mother thank you for saving my life too.
“At my house there’s milk and curry rice and beef steak—all kinds of good things to eat.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”
“But Uncle has business to attend to, so let’s save the feast for next time.”
“Well then, give my regards to your mother.”

White looked up at the sky for a moment, then quietly began walking on the paving stones.
In the sky, at the edge of the café’s roof, a crescent moon was beginning to glow.

“Uncle.”
“Uncle.”
“Speaking of Uncle—!”

The puppy whimpered sadly.

“Then at least tell me your name.”
“My name is Napoleon.”
“Though I’m called things like Nappo-chan or Napo-kou.”
“—What’s your name, Uncle?”

“This uncle’s name is White.”

“White——?”
“It’s strange that you’re called White, isn’t it?”
“But Uncle, every part of you is black!”

White’s chest tightened.

“Even so, I am called White!”

“Then let’s call you Uncle White.”
“Uncle White.”
“Please do come again soon, Uncle White.”

“Well then, Napo-kou, goodbye!”

“Farewell, Uncle White! Goodbye! Goodbye!”

IV

What became of White afterward?
That need not be recounted in detail—it has been reported in various newspapers.
Most of you doubtless already know—
of the brave black dog that had often saved imperiled human lives;
of how there once flourished a moving picture called *The Loyal Dog*.
That black dog was none other than White.

However, if there are any who remain unfortunately unaware, I earnestly entreat you to read the newspaper articles quoted below.

Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun.
On the 18th of last month (May) at 8:40 AM, when an upbound express train on the Ou Line was passing through a railroad crossing near Tabata Station, due to the crossing guard’s negligence, Tetsutaro Shibayama—an employee of Tabata 123 Company—’s eldest son Minoru (age four) entered the tracks where the train was passing and was nearly run over.
At that moment, a sturdy black dog darted into the railroad crossing like lightning and successfully rescued Minoru from the train wheels that loomed before him.
This brave black dog had hidden itself somewhere amidst the crowd’s commotion, making it impossible for the authorities to commend it, much to their consternation.

Tokyo Asahi Shimbun.
Mrs. Edward Baakuree, wife of an American tycoon summering in Karuizawa, cherished a Persian cat.
Then recently, a giant serpent over seven shaku (about 2.1 meters) long appeared at the same villa and attempted to swallow the cat on the veranda.
At that moment, an unfamiliar black dog suddenly rushed to rescue the cat and, after a twenty-minute struggle, finally bit the giant serpent to death.
However, because this valiant dog had hidden itself somewhere, the lady offered a $5,000 reward and sought its whereabouts.

*Kokumin Shimbun*.

The three Daiichi High School students, who had gone missing while crossing the Japanese Alps, arrived at Kamikōchi hot springs on the 7th (August).
The group had lost their way between Mount Hotaka and Mount Yari, and after a recent violent storm had taken their tent and provisions, they had nearly resigned themselves to death.
However, from somewhere a black dog appeared in the valley where the group had been wandering and began walking ahead as if to guide them.
The group followed this dog and, after walking for over a day, finally managed to reach Kamikōchi.
However, when the dog saw the hot spring inn’s roof below it, it let out a single joyful bark before disappearing once more into the kumazasa bamboo grass from which it had come—or so it was said.
The group all believed this dog’s arrival had been divine protection.

Jiji Shimpo.
On the 13th (September), the great fire in Nagoya City claimed over ten lives, and Mayor Yokozeki of Nagoya was one of those who nearly lost a beloved child.
Takechika Yokozeki (age three), due to some oversight by his family, was left on the second floor amidst the raging flames and was on the verge of being reduced to ashes when he was carried out by a black dog.
The Mayor declared that henceforth, within Nagoya City alone, the killing of stray dogs would be prohibited.

Yomiuri Shimbun.
The Siberian giant wolf from the Miyagi Traveling Zoo—which had been drawing daily crowds at Odawara Castle Park—suddenly broke through its reinforced cage at around 2:00 PM on the 25th (October), injured two zookeepers, and fled toward Hakone.
The Odawara Police Station conducted an emergency mobilization and established a security cordon throughout the entire town.
Then, around 4:30 PM, the aforementioned wolf appeared in Jūjimachi and began fighting a black dog.
The Black Dog strived valiantly in the fierce battle and finally managed to bite down and subdue the enemy.
Thereupon, the patrolling police officer also rushed to the scene and immediately shot the wolf dead.
This wolf was called Lupus Giganticus and is said to be the most ferocious species.
Furthermore, the Miyagi Zoo Director is vehemently declaring that he will file a lawsuit against the Odawara Police Station Chief, deeming the wolf’s shooting improper.
etc., etc., etc.

V

It was an autumn midnight.
Exhausted in both body and mind, White returned to his master’s house.
Of course, the Young Mistress and Young Master had long since gone to bed.
No—by now, surely not a soul remained awake.
On the hushed lawn of the backyard too, only a lone white moon floated upon the high palm tree’s crown.
White rested his dew-dampened body before his old doghouse.
And then, with the lonely moon as his companion, he began this soliloquy.

“O Moon!
O Moon!
I let Black die.
I believe my body turning jet black stems largely from that failure.
Yet since bidding farewell to the Young Mistress and Young Master, I have battled every peril imaginable.
This arose partly from shame—whenever glimpsing my soot-black form, cowardice burned within me.
But ultimately, loathing this darkness—no, craving to destroy this blackened self—I hurled myself into flames and clashed with wolves.
Yet mysteriously, no foe could claim my life.
Death itself flees at the sight of my visage.
Driven by anguish beyond bearing, I resolved to end myself.
Even in suicide’s act, I yearn only to behold once more the masters who cherished me.
Of course, when dawn finds me here tomorrow, the Young Mistress and Young Master will deem me a stray anew.
Perhaps the Young Master’s bat shall strike me dead.
Yet even this would fulfill my deepest wish.
O Moon!
O Moon!
I crave nothing but to see my masters’ faces.
For this alone have I journeyed back through night’s expanse.
When day breaks, grant me this meeting—I beg you.”

White finished his soliloquy, rested his jaw on the lawn, and before he knew it, fell sound asleep.

× × ×

“My goodness, Haruo.”

“What’s wrong? Sis.”

At his young master’s voice, White opened his eyes wide. When he looked, the Young Mistress and Young Master were standing before the doghouse, exchanging looks of bewilderment. White lowered his once-raised eyes back onto the lawn. The Young Mistress and Young Master had been just as astonished when White turned jet black. When he thought of the sorrow of that time—White even began to regret having returned now. Then, at that very moment, the Young Master suddenly jumped up and shouted in a loud voice.

“Father!
“Mother!
“White’s come back again!”

White!
White involuntarily leapt to his feet.
Then, perhaps thinking he would try to flee—
The Young Mistress stretched out both hands and firmly pressed White’s neck.
At the same time, White fixed his gaze intently on the Young Mistress’s eyes.
In the black pupils of her eyes—the doghouse was clearly reflected.
The cream-colored doghouse shaded by tall palm trees—this was only natural.
But before that doghouse sat a white dog as small as a grain of rice.
Pure and slender.
White gazed entranced at the figure of this dog.

“Oh, White’s crying.”

The Young Mistress, while still hugging White, looked up at the Young Master’s face.
The Young Master—just look at how the Young Master puffs himself up!

“Hah! You’re crying too, Sis!”

(Taisho 12, July)