Pathway to Japanese Literature

I

The three Star Women sisters would say longingly that they wished to descend there every night whenever they gazed upon the beautiful world below.

One evening, the three found a beautiful spring in the middle of the forest, where water lilies bloomed in abundance. All three of them wanted to step into that water, but they had no means to descend that far. The three of them gazed at the spring throughout the night, sighing. The following night too, the three of them did nothing but gaze down at that spring. The spring appeared even more beautiful than the previous night.

“Ah, I want to descend,” said the eldest sister. “Even just once—I want to bathe in that spring and return.” The two younger sisters also expressed their desire to descend likewise. Then Moon’s Wife—who loved walking atop high mountains—heard this, “If you wish so fervently,” she advised, “tell Spider King and have him lower his spider’s thread.” Spider King sat ensconced in his web as ever, ears pricked sharp. Star Women made their plea to Spider King. Spider King—

“Now then, please descend. My thread may be as light as air, yet its strength rivals steel,” he said.

The three grabbed hold of the thread and descended one after another, smoothly down to the spring’s edge.

Moonlight spread across the spring’s surface, and the nostalgic fragrance of water lilies filled the air. The three took off their glittering star-embroidered robes and slipped quietly into the water.

The water was refreshingly cold. The three quietly parted the water lilies and moved forward. On their skin, water droplets glistened like pearls.

And there, right beside the spring, lay a young hunter fast asleep. The three, unaware of this, kept bathing joyfully with smiles. The hunter, who had been dozing deeply, awoke abruptly upon dreaming of three celestial women swaying the water lilies as they walked through the spring. When he propped himself up on his elbows and peered at the spring’s surface, there in the deep blue moonlight were three beautiful women bathing joyfully in the water.

The hunter stealthily crept along the spring’s bank to where the three’s garments were laid out. And then, he picked up the most beautiful garment among them to examine it. It was a splendid garment woven with gold and silver threads, embroidered with jewels of every hue, and upon its left breast shone a large heart-shaped red ruby. The hunter, carrying the garment, returned to his original spot and hid.

The three Star Women, not even dreaming of such a thing, continued bathing joyfully in the water for a long time. Before long, dawn steadily drew near. Then from high above in the sky came the Spider King’s voice: “You must return now. When the Sun graciously emerges, his horses will sever the thread with their hooves. Hurry back to the sky,” he urged. Hearing this, the Star Woman scrambled up to the shore. Her two elder sisters swiftly donned their robes and ascended the invisible spider’s thread ladder, returning to the vast sky.

The youngest sister—the most beautiful among the three—was startled to find the robe she had removed along with the others missing. Without it she could not return to the sky, so she searched the area desperately, but it was nowhere to be found. Before long, the Sun made its appearance. The Sun’s horses severed the spider’s thread with their hooves.

The Star Woman was at a loss, lay face down on the grass, and wept. When that happened, the forest birds awoke and came,

“Your beautiful robe was taken by the young hunter. “That hunter was pretending to sleep under that tree over there.” In this manner they chirped and told the Star Woman. When she heard this, she stitched together water lilies into a floral robe, wrapped herself in it, and went to where the hunter was.

And then,

“Please return my gold and silver robe. In exchange, I’ll do whatever you wish,” she pleaded through tears. The hunter replied, “I want nothing. If you become my bride, I’ll need nothing else.”

The Star Woman, having had her robe taken away and thus losing the magical power to leave the earthly realm, had no choice but to become the hunter's bride.

The hunter cherished the Star Woman dearly. The Star Woman’s form was as beautiful as water lilies, and her voice resonated more tenderly than any bird’s song.

The hunter went out hunting every day and brought back food. And to the Star Woman, he told various enjoyable stories of that day.

Yet even amidst such times, the Star Woman could not forget her home in the vast sky. On moonlit nights, she would go out alone to the water lily spring and gaze up at the sky, weeping. She yearned and waited, thinking how she wished her two elder sisters would descend just once more. Yet they merely blinked their blue eyes in silence—though every night the Spider King lowered his thread, they showed not the slightest intent to come down.

Two Before long, three boys were born one after another to the Star Woman. The Star Woman spent her days making her children's growth her sole joy.

Next, an adorable girl was born. To the Star Woman, that girl was so unbearably cute.

One day, a messenger came from the distant town where the Hunter was born. It was news that the Hunter’s Father was gravely ill and nearing death. The hunter was startled, “I must leave right now,” he said. The Star Woman heard this and, “But what would you do if you were to be killed by wild beasts during that long journey?” she said through tears. The hunter soothed the Star Woman,

“There’s absolutely no need for such worry.” “Since Father has no other children besides me, I must go and let him close his eyes in peace.” “Once I’ve completed the funeral rites, I’ll return immediately.” “Please wait here with the children.” “When seven days have passed, I will surely return,” he said. Then the eldest son,

“I want to go with Father and see Grandfather,” he said. The hunter said, “You stay home with everyone and keep watch for burglars,” he said. The boy said, “Then let me go with you to the edge of this forest and come back from there. And I’ll keep watch over the house together with Mother.”

When the hunter came to the edge of the forest with the child, “You must return from here now. Since these are all the keys to the house’s rooms, I’ll entrust them to you,” he said, handing over the bundle of keys. And then,

“Listen well—no matter what happens, you must never enter the small upstairs room.” “This Golden Key fits into that room’s lock, but you must never open that one,” he repeated again and again. The boy nodded repeatedly to show his understanding. The hunter,

“Now, there’s nothing to fear here, so wait obediently until I return,” he said, and parted.

The boy made his way back through the forest and returned home, only to find Mother standing at the doorway, weeping bitterly. The boy said, “Why are you crying? Since I’ve returned, there’s no need to fear burglars anymore, right?” Then Mother said, “Burglars aren’t troubling in the slightest.” “Then what are you sad about?” “Because Father won’t come back here anymore.”

"Nuh-uh, that's not right. Father declared he'd return soon." “And then I too must return home now. “Once I return, I can never come back out again.” Having said this, Mother began weeping bitterly once more. The boy, “Then are you going to leave all of us—the three of us and the little baby—behind?” he asked. The Star Woman was startled upon hearing this and,

“No, no! No matter what happens, I will never return.” “Rest assured.” “How could I ever return, leaving that baby and you all behind?”

Having said this, she wiped her tears. The boy, reassured by this, played together with everyone.

That night, the boy woke to someone with a voice as beautiful as a bird's insistently speaking in the moonlight outside. As he listened, that bird-like voice—"The spider's ladder has descended—please return quickly," she sang in a mournful melody.

Beside them, Mother was nursing the baby, “Hush now, hush now. For this child is my ruby—how could I return, leaving her behind?” she sang in a lullaby imbued with this meaning, gazing at the baby’s sleeping face.

Then，from outside， “Then please return－the two of you holding your ruby－return together，”she sang． Mother remained silent for a while． Before long，the voice outside began again，

“The spider’s ladder has descended— even if you’ve been gone seven years, the two star women are weeping.”

And then she began to sing again. The baby abruptly awoke and began to cry. Mother gently patted her back, “Hush now, hush now. Even if they tell me to return, I have no jeweled robe,” she sang mournfully. The baby fell peacefully asleep again.

Then, for a while, there were no voices—but soon again from the moonlight outside,

“Please search for the key—the golden key to the small room where your robe lies hidden,” sang a delicate, beautiful voice. As the boy listened to this song, he gradually drifted into sleep on his own. Then into his dream came two beautiful women,

“Since you’re a good child, please open the door to that room on the second floor. If you do that, your mother will stop crying,” they said. When the boy woke up in the morning, he turned to Mother and,

"I heard someone last night singing to you, Mother—'Return quickly, return quickly'—over and over," he said. Mother said, "You must have been dreaming." And afterward, she wept bitterly alone. Since the boy had indeed been awake and listening, he spent the entire day fretting over what would happen if Mother truly were to return, his thoughts consumed by last night’s song.

III

That evening, the boy remembered what the two women had said the previous night—that if he opened that second-floor room, Mother would stop crying. And he thought that if he did so, Mother would probably never return home again. At that time, Mother had gone to the spring to let the two younger boys and the baby bathe.

The boy hurried up to the second floor and unlocked the door to that room with a small golden key. When he did so, inside the room hung a beautiful robe embroidered with gold and silver threads and adorned with various jewel decorations.

When he took it down and looked, there was a large red ruby attached to the chest of the robe. Both the decorative gems and that red ruby shone dazzlingly, just like stars in the night sky. The boy, startled, thought to show the robe to Mother and carried it downstairs. After a while, Mother returned with the two boys and the baby. The boy said, “Mother! Mother! There was such a beautiful robe on the second floor.” “Please try wearing it,” he said. When Mother saw it, she smiled happily and immediately put it on. The children danced around joyfully because Mother had put on that robe and become a beautiful Mother.

The boy said, “I’ll lend it to you every night until Father returns. And when Father returns, I’ll ask him and get him to let you keep it.” Mother replied, “Let me keep it just until Baby falls asleep tonight.” The boy responded, “Then please wear it until then.”

That night, the boy lay in bed with his eyes open, refusing to sleep. Then soon again from the moonlight outside came a beautiful voice singing, "The spider’s ladder has descended. Though you have been gone seven years, the two Star Women weep."

and the singing in a beautiful voice like a small bird’s could be heard.

After that, there was no sound for a while—but then Mother, who was nursing the baby, “Hush now, hush now. How could I ever leave behind my precious ruby?” she sang. The boy, while listening, grew drowsy on his own, and Mother’s voice seemed to gradually fade into the distance. And so, he slept soundly until the Sun rose.

The boy woke up in the morning and, intending to speak about last night’s song, searched for Mother—but Mother was nowhere to be found. The boy— Then he thought,*She must have gone to the water lily spring*, and went searching there—but Mother was nowhere to be found at that place either. When he returned home and looked, not only was Mother gone, but the little baby had disappeared as well. The boy—

"This must be—without a doubt—a wicked thief who abducted Mother and the baby. Those beautiful songs since the night before last—they must have been sung by the thief to deceive Mother and lure her away," he concluded. When he looked, the glittering robe adorned with jeweled decorations that he had lent Mother was gone.

The two younger children began to cry, saying, "Mother isn't here, Mother isn't here." The boy consoled them and searched around the forest, but no matter how far he went, Mother was nowhere to be found. The two children,

“It’s frightening because Mother isn’t here. It’s frightening because Mother isn’t here,” they said, and no matter how much they were comforted, they wouldn’t listen, wailing all day long and causing trouble. In the end, the boy too,

“Mother, come back. Mother, come back,” he sobbed through tears. The two children, unbearably hungry, wailed all the more. The boy suddenly recalled how Father had so strictly forbidden him.

“Ah, I’ve done a terrible thing. Because I didn’t listen to Father and opened the door to the second-floor room, even that beautiful jeweled robe had disappeared. When Father returns, what will he say? The disappearance of Mother and the baby must surely be the punishment for my defying what Father said.” Thinking this, he grew even sadder.

Before long, the sun set and a beautiful moonlit night arrived. The boy was trying to put the two children to bed when suddenly the entrance door opened and Mother returned wearing last night’s jeweled robe. The two younger children clung to their mother in great delight.

“It was frightening because Mother wasn’t here.” “I was frightened too,” the two said alternately. Mother,

“Now that I’m here, there’s nothing to fear.” “But more importantly, you must all be terribly hungry.” “Here, eat this,” she said, distributing the delicious fruits she had brought from the vast sky. The two children ate heartily, overjoyed. However, the eldest boy did not even try to eat it,

“Mother, where has the baby gone? You said you wouldn’t leave us behind, so why did you go away?” he asked. Mother replied, “The baby is sleeping beside my two elder sisters. I will return home right away and watch over you all from afar, so everyone must be good and go to sleep quietly. I’ll bring more delicious things for you tomorrow night.”

The boy pleaded, "Then take off that jeweled robe before you leave." "But even though Father strictly forbade opening that room—I was careless enough to open it myself—he'll surely reprimand me." "When Father comes home," his mother reassured him while adjusting her celestial garment,"I'll make amends through earnest entreaty until he relents." She added,

“Never mind that; hurry up and eat this fruit,” he said. Having been told this, the boy felt relieved and sat beside Mother eating the delicious fruit. As they did so they gradually forgot all about both golden key and jeweled robe. And they were overjoyed that Mother had become such a beautiful person wearing her splendid garment.

IV

The boy, now convinced Mother would never leave again, went to bed reassured. Then, before long, he was startled awake by a sudden burst of singing. When he listened intently, it was indeed the same beautiful voice as last night, “The Red Ruby is crying incessantly. You must return before the sun rises—the horses’ hooves will sever the thread.”

she chanted.

Mother was just putting the youngest child, who had woken up, back to sleep. When the outside voice ceased, Mother,

“Hush now, hush now. I will take this child with me tonight. If this child cries here, I too shall weep in the sky,” she said, wiping her tears.

The eldest boy once again grew sleepy on his own. And then, "Tomorrow I'll tell Mother that and have her bring the baby back. With this thought—that if he did so, Mother wouldn't have to return to her own home anymore—he drifted off to sleep. When he awoke the next morning, Mother had vanished without a trace, taking the youngest brother with her. The second son wailed that Mother was gone. The boy,

“You don’t have to cry.” “Mother will come again when night falls,” he said, trying to calm him. However, no matter what he said, the younger brother would not stop crying until finally his eyes grew swollen and red from tears.

Before long, the sun set, and the sky filled with stars. Then, before long, the entrance door opened, and Mother returned. The second son ran up, clinging to Mother’s hand while crying,

“I hate being left here with just the two of us. Take me to your home,” he said. Mother pressed her cheeks against both children’s faces and fed them portions of those same delicious fruits from last night.

The eldest boy asked worriedly, “Mother has finally taken both of them to your home right? When Father returns, what should I say?” Mother said, “I’ll explain that later—please eat quickly now.”

The boy, unbearably hungry, hurriedly ate the fruit. And then, having forgotten all his sadness and worries, he talked happily with Mother and finally went to bed.

The boy suddenly awoke near dawn. Then, once again, there was a singing voice outside. “You must return before the sun rises, the horses’ hooves will sever the thread. The two are crying all night long,” she sang in a beautiful voice like a little bird’s. Mother was putting the second child, who had woken up, back to sleep while, “Hush now, hush now. Once this child falls asleep, I will take him along. If this child cries later, I too will weep in the sky,” she said sorrowfully.

The boy, listening to that song, once again fell fast asleep.

When he awoke in the morning and looked, the window was already bathed in bright yellow sunlight. And Mother and his younger brothers had all vanished.

The boy cried alone all day, his eyes swelling bright red from tears. Before long, night fell, and as soon as stars began twinkling in the vast sky, the entrance door opened once more and Mother returned. The boy clung to Mother’s hand, “Mother, why did you take everyone away? When Father returns, he’ll be shocked. Please take everyone back quickly. Please, Mother. Because Father will be so sad,” he pleaded.

Mother said, “We can discuss that later—for now, eat this quickly,” as she laid out many fruits brought from the sky. Yet however much she urged him, the boy would not eat. Mother—

“Then let us now go together—you and I—to where your beloved baby and those two younger brothers are. Now, let us be off,” she said. The boy said, “I will stay here alone. Because Father told me to stay and properly guard the house until he returns, I will keep watch alone.”

“Well then, I will go now.” “Father is expected to return tomorrow, so when he comes back, please tell him that.” “Please tell him that Mother found her jeweled robe and has returned home.” “You can’t possibly know how much Mother has longed day after day to return home all this time—since I won’t come back here again after tonight, look closely at Mother’s face.” “And if Father asks why you opened the second-floor room, tell him this: ‘Two women appeared in my dream and said Mother was crying and looked so pitiful that I should open it for her—so I did.’”

Mother said this through her sobs as she wept. “Where is Mother’s home?” “Is it very far from here?” the boy asked. “You can ask your father about that later.”

The Star Woman, having said this, soon returned to the sky.

V

When the next day came, the boy stood at the entrance all day waiting, wondering if Father would return any moment now—any moment now. Then, finally as evening approached, Father’s returning figure came into view within the forest ahead. The boy ran out to meet him,

“Father, I did something very wrong.” “Two women came while I was sleeping and said Mother looked so pitiful that I should open the second-floor room, so I unlocked it with the golden key.” “When I did that, there was a beautiful robe adorned with jeweled ornaments. When I showed it to Mother, she asked me to lend it to her.” “And that night, when someone sang from outside calling Mother, she left wearing that robe.”

he said through tears as he recounted. When Father heard that, he was startled, “Look here—because you all didn’t listen to what I said, you’ve ended up losing Mother, haven’t you?” "But there’s no use regretting it now. I’ll forgive you for opening the room, so from now on you must never disobey what Father says." "Mother might come back wanting to see you all in time." “From now on, let’s all look after the baby and live happily together.”

Having said this, he shed tears.

“But the baby was taken along that night when Mother asked to borrow the jeweled robe,” the boy said. Father,

“Did the baby go too?” he said sorrowfully. “But since the baby needs milk, it’s better for her to stay with Mother.” “Then let’s live together as the four of us.” “But Mother took both of them away on the following night and again the night after that.” “Last night, she came to take me too, but I said I wouldn’t go because Father looked so sad.” When the boy said this, the hunter joyfully lifted him up,

“You did well to stay,” he said, pressing his cheek against the boy’s. “Then from now on, no matter what happens, won’t you stay by Father’s side?” “I will always stay with Father,” the boy said. “And I will listen well to what Father says.”

The two of them continued living in the forest house just as before.

The hunter went out hunting every day with the child, and when evening came, they returned home together. However, every day, the boy could not forget about Mother. When night came and the vast sky filled with stars, the boy would go out alone to the entrance. Gazing upward for a long time, he wondered which of those countless stars was Mother, which was his sister, and which his brothers. And when he entered his bed to sleep, he would cry alone, always wanting to see Mother, his sister, and brothers.

Before long，it had been one year since the Mothers had disappeared.

Then, one night, in the middle of the night, the hunter woke the boy and,

“Come here. “Hurry over here. Father suddenly felt unwell,” he said. The boy, startled, went to his side and saw Father lying there with eyes closed, his face ghastly pale. The boy was stroking Father’s hand,

“You walked too far today. Let’s rest from hunting tomorrow and stay home,” he said.

Father, “Ah, my lips are parched. Let me drink some cold water,” he said. The boy hurried off in great haste to the water lily spring. As soon as Father took a sip of that water, he fell fast asleep right then and there. The boy stayed awake all night long, keeping watch by his side. The hunter finally died just before dawn. The boy let out a loud cry.

When dawn broke, the boy, sobbing, cut and gathered wood, then cremated Father’s remains.

The boy no longer wanted to stay in this forest all by himself. But there was nowhere for him to go. The boy pressed his face into the forest grass and, while wishing he could see Mother just once more, cried on until day's end.

Before long, stars began to glitter in the vast sky. Then, the Spider King spun out a ladder reaching the mortal world in great haste. The Star Woman climbed onto it and descended to where the boy was crying.

The boy told her through sobs that Father had passed away. Mother too wept bitterly. And finally,

“That’s enough now, please don’t cry. “I came to get you because you looked so pitiable. “Now eat this and come with me to Mother’s place.” Having said this, she fed him the fruit she had brought from the sky. When the boy ate it, his sadness faded of its own accord, and he ascended to the sky with Mother.

The following day, two travelers happened to pass through the forest and entered the hunter’s house. Then, because there was not a single person in the house, the two found it strange and, “Then, until the people of this house return, let’s live here together, the two of us,” they discussed. However, no matter how much time passed, the people of the house did not return. The two travelers lived there for a long time until they finally died.

During that time, on every moonlit night, the two would hear the voices of three women and four children joyfully bathing in the water lily spring. And when dawn came, from the sky above, they would hear a voice calling everyone like this: "Come back now. If you don't return before the Sun makes his appearance, the horses will trample and sever the ladder."

“Please return. If we do not go back before the Sun makes his appearance, the horses will trample through and sever the ladder.” With these words, a voice calling everyone could be heard.