Pathway to Japanese Literature

I

In a certain mountain village, there existed a clear, blue lake.
At the bottom of that lake lived the Demon King with his three princesses.
When summer came and the sky stretched clear and blue above them, the Demon King would often take small demon women along and board a pearl boat together with his three princesses to emerge upon the lakeshore where soft grasses grew thick.

The demon women played with great delight—running through the grass, ducking into small wildflowers to chat with only their faces peeking out, teasing large grasshoppers, and making tremendous commotion.
Among them were some who gathered glittering threads from spider webs to craft masks and wear them.
These masks suited the charming little demon women perfectly.

The three princesses sat upon the grass, combing their thick golden hair with shell combs and adorning it abundantly with forget-me-nots and lilies.
The three were demon women of such exquisite beauty that even the fairest among humankind paled in comparison—their loveliness defied all earthly measure.
Their lovely eyes shone more beautifully than the evening stars.

The three sang a powerful, beautiful song.
The forest birds all stopped their own songs and listened spellbound to that singing.

The Demon King, during that time, entered a tree hollow and slept until the sun sank.
The Demon King was already quite advanced in years.
His blue hair and long blue mustache, perpetually submerged in water, had become swollen like water moss into a slimy mass, while countless wrinkles were deeply etched across his entire face.

One day, two or three travelers happened to pass by this lakeshore.
These travelers, drawn by the area's scenic beauty, built a chapel dedicated to the gods by the lakeshore.

Then, hearing of this, all sorts of people began making pilgrimages there every year from far and wide.
The chapel caretaker rang a small bell three times each day.

For the demon women, the sound of the bell was more terrifying than anything else—utterly unbearable.
Ever since the chapel had been built, even when the Demon King, his three princesses, and the small demon women managed to come up to enjoy themselves on the grassy shore, every so often the bell would suddenly clang out, and each time they all—

“Ah!” they shrank back in a great panic and fled beneath the water.
In the end, no matter how much they longed for the sunlight upon the shore, coming forth proved too frightening, so they had no choice but to spend their days in gloomy contemplation at the water's bottom.
Even so, there were times when the sound of the bell still echoed down to that underwater realm.

The Demon King, declaring this situation unbearable, devised all manner of schemes until at last he had them gather every stem of algae from the water and use it to create a thick covering across the lake’s ceiling.
And then he had them plant moss and blue grass lined up in rows atop it.
Therefore, the lake’s surface appeared exactly like a wide, lush green meadow.
In this covering, they opened windows here and there so that sunlight could shine into the water below.

Just as the Demon King was rejoicing，thinking they were finally safe now，the bell’s sound pierced through that covering and still came clanging through.
Each time this happened，he would grow bitterly frustrated，tear at his beard，and fly into a furious rage.
The princesses and small demon women were frightened and wailed.

The village cowherds and shepherds, because they would occasionally hear strange weeping voices coming from within the lake, grew so unsettled that not a single one ventured out to the nearby pastures anymore.

II

Before long, a certain farmer's household in the village hired a young cowherd who had come from another land.
The farmer cautioned the young cowherd never to go near the pastures by the lake's edge.

However, since the young man was a stubborn fellow, when told this, he deliberately went out alone at night, built a campfire by the lake's edge, and lay down beside it.

Then, before long, a small person wearing a green velvet garment—soft and billowy—appeared abruptly from nowhere.
When he looked, the small person wore a splendid golden crown atop his dripping blue hair and had a long beard of the same blue hue hanging soddenly.
The young man immediately realized this was the Demon King of the water demons.
Nevertheless, without flinching,

“Excuse me, do you have some business with me?” he inquired.

The Demon King, wringing water from his long beard,

“The truth is, I came out intending to give you a bag each of gold and silver.”

“Then must I also give you something in return?” the cowherd asked.
The Demon King said,

“No, no—you needn’t give me anything in return.
“Just—please quietly take down that chapel bell and bring it here. You see that red-trunked tree over there? Right beneath it, there’s a window in the lake. Could you throw the bell into the depths through there?”
“The gold and silver I brought are packed into leather bags and hung on that red-trunked tree.”
“The bags won’t come down—they’re too heavy unless I go with you.”
“If you throw down the bell, I’ll give you both bags.”

The young man gladly accepted immediately.
And late that night, after confirming that the old chapel caretaker had fallen asleep while snoring soundly, he sneakily stole the bell and brought it back.

The Demon King had come exactly to the red-trunked tree and was waiting.
The Demon King took hold of the bell, plucked off the striker dangling from its center, and handed only the bell to the young man.
Then, taking the striker with him, he waded into the water.
The young man splashed along behind him, soon reached the lake's window, and from there hurled the bell down with a heavy splash.

The Demon King immediately lowered the two bags hanging from the tree branch, settled them onto the young man's shoulders, then sank straight down into the water's depths.

The young man was startled by how heavy the bags were.
There was no way he could carry them to shore alone.
Yet he exerted maximum effort, groaning through clenched teeth, and somehow managed to return to land.

The moment his feet touched the ground—or perhaps before they even properly did—his body lurched forward steadily of its own accord, until at last he found himself on all fours. And then, "Huh?" he had barely thought when his body had turned completely into a bull. The farmer who had hired the young man, when he went to the cowshed the next morning upon waking, found that during his sleep, an unfamiliar large black bull had appeared there, and he found it strange.

When he looked, there were two heavy-looking leather bags bound to the bull's head.
The farmer opened them to check and found one bag filled to the brim with gold and the other stuffed full with silver, which left him astonished yet again.

Then, the bull let out a human-like voice and began to wail.
The farmer thought it was a strange bull but kept raising it as it was.

At the chapel, the caretaker old man raised a commotion, saying someone had stolen the bell.
The farmer who had received the gold and silver, being a devout person, upon hearing this, immediately took out the gold from the bags, bought another bell, and dedicated it to the chapel.
The caretaker old man hung the bell and tested it by ringing it.
When they did so, strangely enough, that bell—as if made of mud or something—no matter how much they rang it, didn’t make a sound at all.

That night, when the chapel caretaker fell asleep, at midnight small demon women came trooping out of the lake in a long line, joined hands in a ring, and danced a stomping dance before the chapel.

They kept repeating this song over and over as they danced about merrily, making a great commotion.

“Mr. Caretaker, oh Mr. Caretaker,

Your broth lacks salt!

No salt at all!

Go borrow some from someone around here,

If they won’t lend it, kick them and take it!

Ding-dong,

Ding-dong!”

Mimicking the sound of the bell, they kept mercilessly mocking the caretaker who rang the silent bell.

Three

One night, the chapel caretaker old man had a dream in which God led him to the Demon King’s palace beneath the lake and showed him where the stolen bell was hidden.
The caretaker, thinking it was a strange dream he’d had, told everyone about it.
The people of the village, upon hearing this, said, "Then that bell must undoubtedly be lying at the bottom of the lake."

Many young men, declaring they would retrieve the bell, took turns diving into the lake’s depths.
However, once they went beneath the water, not a single one resurfaced.
This was because the mischievous demon women, whenever someone entered the water, would extract their souls one after another and hide the empty bodies among the water plants.

The many mothers who had lost their precious sons spent their days weeping.

The people of the village declared this must surely mean a terrible fiend lurked within the lake, and strictly instructed the youths never to go near the lakeshore under any circumstances.

From within the lake, on quiet evenings under the moon’s clear blue light, indescribably beautiful singing voices could be heard.
Those were the demon women’s songs imbued with magical power.
The young men, upon hearing those singing voices, found themselves unwittingly drawn out, walking of their own accord to the lake’s shore.

When they went to look, within the lake were beautiful small women bathing in water that glittered silver as they sang in perfect unison. The young men, while gazing spellbound at their figures, found themselves plunging into the water with a splash before they knew it and could not help but swim to the women's side. And once they did so, they all sank straight to the bottom of the water.

The farmer’s household that kept that same mysterious black bull had three sons.
The three of them took turns tending the bull.

One evening, the eldest son took the bull out to the pasture and went alone toward the lake.
Then, seeing this, the mysterious black bull let out a sorrowful cry and wept.
The bull had tried to stop him by saying, "Stop! Stop!"

However, the young man calmly strode to the lakeshore and sat down on the grass.
Then, before long, the moon appeared.
And together with it, the Demon King’s First Princess emerged from the water.

The princess, with her snow-white complexion and beauty, wore a pale blue sweet pea flower crown atop her golden hair and a silver garment woven from mayfly wings.
Her lovely lips were exactly the red color of coral.
When the young man saw that beautiful demon woman floating in the moonlight, he was so startled that he couldn’t tear his eyes away, watching her spellbound.
The demon woman addressed the young man with a gentle smile.

“Mr. Cowherd, come in here.
Let us go together to my home.
My home is a beautiful crystal palace adorned with rubies and beryl.
Outside the windows, beautiful flowers that glitter like seashells bloom in abundance.
Please come along with me.
If you do that, I will become your bride.
And let us live happily together.”
Having said this, she invited the young man.
The young man,

“But we cannot live in the water like you. Instead, please come into my house. My house stands atop a beautiful, sunlit hill where various flowers bloom abundantly in the garden. When morning comes, golden sunlight fills every corner of the house. I think that must be more beautiful than an underwater palace adorned with rubies and beryl. Please come inside with me—and become my bride.”

Having said this, he pleaded.

Then the demon woman glided through the water toward this shore.
The young man, rejoicing, took the demon woman’s outstretched hand and tried to pull her up.
Then, the demon woman—far stronger than any human—suddenly seized the young man’s hand,

“Ah!”—and in that instant, she dragged him down to the water’s depths.

The following night, the second son was similarly deceived by the Second Princess and sank to the depths of the water.

IV

The following night was the third son's turn.

The mother, having lost two sons in succession, tearfully pleaded with her third son: "Please, just you—don’t go near the lakeshore."
The son,

“Oh, I’ll be fine.
“Even if I go there, I’ll never lose to those demon women. Please rest assured.”

Having said this, when evening came, he went out alone, sat beneath a blue tree on the shore, and began playing a silver flute.
The flute’s sound traveled across the dark water, resonating into the distance.

Then, as the moon rose, the Demon King’s Third Princess emerged from the water with a soft splash.

That princess was the most beautiful demon woman among the three siblings.
Now, that demon woman wore a wreath of forget-me-nots atop her lustrous hair, a glittering garment woven from rainbow hues with glass-like transparency, a pearl necklace around her neck, and a golden sash fastened at her waist.
When the young man saw that beautiful woman, he was startled and stopped playing his flute,

“Miss Demon, please come in here. Please become my bride,” he pleaded. The demon woman thought it pitiful if the young man were to sink into the sea again, and

“Now, quickly return over there. We cannot possibly become brides to humans. First of all, humans are not meant to see our forms,” she said. The young man,

“Don’t say that—please come with me. I don’t want to go back alone,” he said, remaining rooted to the spot without moving. The demon woman,

"Why do you keep urging me to come like this? Do you want this pearl necklace of mine? Here, take this. Or perhaps do you favor this golden sash? Then I'll give you this too," she said, casting both items onto the shore.
The young man replied:
"No, no—I want none of those things. It's you I desire. I love your coral-like lips and those star-bright blue eyes of yours. I wish to take you home to my mother's house and cherish you as tenderly as one would a songbird."

Having said this, he did not even glance at the necklace or golden sash.
The demon woman came to like this young man.
So she hurriedly swam to the shore and extended both hands.

The young man took those hands and tried to pull up the demon woman.

The Demon King and the lesser demon women below saw this and startled; they frantically splashed through the water and nearly seized the princess's feet.
However, when a demon woman comes to love a human child, her magic immediately vanishes.
Therefore, the young man effortlessly pulled up the demon woman onto the shore and took her home.

The Demon King and the small demon women, utterly enraged that their precious princess had been stolen away by humans, suddenly sent massive waves surging up from the lake's depths, crashing them thunderously against the shore.
The giant waves raged like demons, roaring as they surged onto the shore all through the night, uprooting every last standing tree in the surrounding forest and carrying them away.

The young man’s parents were overjoyed that their son had returned with a beautiful bride and immediately held a wedding ceremony.
Every single person in the village was astonished when they saw the beautiful bride.
However, even the family members did not notice that she could possibly be a demon woman.

The young pair lived harmoniously, just like two small doves.
Everyone who saw them thought there could be no one in the world as happy as they were.

The demon woman showed not the slightest difference from a human being wherever one looked.
Only if one looked closely would they notice that wherever her hands had touched, that spot alone invariably showed traces of moisture.
Even garden flowers that had wilted under the scorching summer sun, bowing their heads, would promptly raise them vigorously when she drew near.
She would release droplets of water from the tips of her lovely, pure white fingers to revive the pitiful flowers.

The young man’s mother was a keenly observant person.
Only the mother noticed that wherever the bride’s hands had touched, traces of moisture were invariably left behind, and she alone thought this strange.

V

Before long, a year had passed.
Then, a boy was born to the demon bride.

The demon woman would quietly fill a trough with water when no one was around and place the newborn baby inside it.
Then, the baby swam freely through the water like a fish.
The child grew strong and sturdy.
The people of the entire village were all astonished at both the child's robust growth and his skillful swimming.
The boy briskly swam across the Lake from this shore to the farthest opposite shore.
Then, whenever someone dropped anything into the Lake, he would immediately dive to the bottom and retrieve it in the blink of an eye.

Then, after many years had passed, the boy grew into a full-grown man.
The grandfather and grandmother had already passed away long ago.
Father had also grown quite old.

However, only Mother Demon remained completely unchanged no matter how much time passed - appearing exactly like her own grown-up human child did when first wed - looking every bit his contemporary despite being centuries older.

And then, one summer, a severe drought continued to plague the region.
Every field in the villages was scorched into desolation, the fruit orchards withered away, and not a single tree remained standing across the land.
Then, as every household’s well had completely dried up, everyone was thrown into a great commotion.

However, contrary to all else, the waters of the Lake alone swelled steadily, spilling over its banks bit by bit.
The villagers who had been distressed by the drought until now were suddenly alarmed by this flood and broke into panic.

The Lake’s waters spread outward in all directions with terrifying force before their eyes, until it seemed the entire village would soon be completely submerged.

The demon woman mother, knowing their lives would be in danger if she remained still like that, took her son to the water’s edge and secretly told him the Lake’s secret.

“Beneath this lake resides my father, the King, within his Crystal Palace.”
“Though we are three sisters, each of us had different mothers—the clouds of the vast sky bore my eldest sister, the spring welling from the earth bore my middle sister, and I was formed from dew upon grass leaves.”

“The King, my father—truly a short-tempered, terrible man—whenever he grows to loathe humans and this ground they inhabit, he summons our three mothers to the lake’s depths and confines them in a single chamber.”
“That is why this time too, the surface has been utterly parched by drought, while in turn the lake’s waters alone have swelled so relentlessly.”

“If we leave this unchecked, your father, you, I—soon we’ll all drown alongside everyone in the village.”

“Therefore—though it pains me to ask—you must now hurry down to the lake’s depths.”
“You see that Marumero tree growing over there?”
“Break off one of its branches and take it with you when you dive underwater.”
“When you do, all manner of monsters will emerge to drive you back—strike them with the Marumero branch, and they’ll flee in terror.”

Then, as he continued steadily onward, he came to a place where many yellow water lilies were blooming.
Beyond those flowers lay Grandfather’s Crystal Palace.
Because the walls were made of crystal, they were completely transparent, and at a single glance one could see thousands upon thousands of rooms arrayed within.
Every room was decorated with large diamonds and emeralds, with rubies embedded in numerous pillars, and at each doorway two winged dragons stood guard.

Even if those dragons are there, you need not fear them at all; if you strike them with the Marumero branch, they will all turn to stone. Passing through room after room and advancing straight onward without end, you will finally arrive at a splendid chamber fitted with an emerald door. That is Grandfather’s bedroom.

The ceiling of that chamber was paneled with pearls, and the floor was entirely made of seashells. When he entered, large vases lined up in rows held coral-like flowers and trees bearing golden fruit arranged within them. On all four walls, cotton-like spiderwebs that billowed forth from large aquatic plants hung all over. On the tapestries perched several small, pale red frogs, singing in beautiful voices together with blue spiders.

In that chamber sat the Demon King with his long blue beard, wearing a green velvet kimono, with a silver snake coiled around him in place of a sash, seated upon a chair.

"On either side of him sit my two older sisters, fanning Father with fish fins."

"When you go, Father and my sisters will surely all try to please you, take you to the treasure vault, and say they'll give you gold, silver, and diamonds."
"However, you must not touch such things at all."
"But more importantly, inside that vault there are twelve small bottles and one glass box—you must take that."

“Then next, take the rusted bell hidden in the corner of that same vault. That is the bell from that chapel over there. If they refuse to surrender it, threaten to strike the bell with the Marumero branch. They will surely give it then.”

“When you receive the twelve bottles, open their stoppers immediately. And take only the bell to return.”

“But mark this well—you must never ring that bell until you’ve fully departed the Demon King’s palace. Take utmost care not to let it sound by knocking against anything.”

“Once you’ve left the palace and put some distance from its entrance, summon all your strength and strike that bell three times. Do you understand? This will conclude the task you’ve undertaken.”

Having said this, Mother instructed him in meticulous detail.

6

The young man immediately took a marumero branch and plunged into the lake.
Then, before he knew it, an innumerable host of dreadful fiends had surrounded him on all sides.
When he looked, there were monsters with three heads and numerous fiery eyes glowing; creatures with flat or round skull-tips; others with human faces atop bodies of enormous lizards; and beyond these, a dragon with a horse’s head, algae resembling ravenous beasts that coiled around trees and devoured them branch by branch—every manner of great and small fiends swarmed densely about, launching their assault on the young man.
However, the young man showed not an ounce of fear, whacking each fiend that lunged at him with his marumero branch.
Then the fiends all shrank back in fear and stampeded away.

The young man soon passed through the yellow water lilies and ascended to the corridor of the Crystal Palace.

Then, the small demon women who had been sleeping were startled by the sound of his footsteps, woke up, and in a great panic rushed off to inform the King.

The young man turned the dragons guarding each doorway into stone one after another and steadily approached the Demon King’s bedroom.
When he saw this, the Demon King became furious,
“Who dares?!” he roared, and with the golden whip in his hand, suddenly struck the young man’s face.

The young man swiftly dodged and knocked down the whip with the Marumero branch.

Then, the Demon King, in fear, leaped back.
The two sister demon women who had been attending the Demon King came before the young man and knelt,

"We beg you to please forgive us.
In that vault over there, gold and silver and diamonds and rubies and coral and pearls are packed full, so please take as much as you desire.
And now, we beg you to please return just as you are."

Having said this, they led the young man to the vault.
The young man,

“I did not come here because I wanted such things. Rather than that, please give me the bottles inside that glass box.”

The demon women reluctantly handed over the twelve bottles.
The young man received them and immediately began opening the bottles one after another.
Then from within, many white-shaped things emerged, crying out joyfully with loud voices as they came thundering out of the palace.
Those were the human souls that the demon women had abducted.

The two demon women tried to placate the young man, saying, “Please come inside and partake of this feast.” However, the young man said, “Rather than that, you have hidden the chapel bell in this vault, haven’t you? Quickly bring it out here.” Then both the two demon women and the small demon girls began trembling violently and burst into loud sobs. The Demon King also shrank down and began trembling violently.

But as there was no other choice, the two demon women finally brought out the bell and handed it over. The young man wiped the rust off the bell cleanly and hurriedly left the Crystal Palace. And as soon as he was a short distance from the Crystal Palace, he mustered all his strength and clanged the bell.

Then, the Crystal Palace that had stood magnificently until now crumbled into pieces in the blink of an eye without a sound—the coral pillars and pearl ceiling all turned to dust, scattering onto the sand at the water’s bottom.

The young man continued and clanged it once more.
Then, this time, all the fiends in the lake and every small demon woman vanished into the depths of the lake at once.

When the young man clanged the bell a third time，two slender silver fish began swimming in circles around the crumbled palace．Then，a large bat came and perched atop the broken smoking pipe lying there．This occurred because both princesses and the Demon King had transformed into those very fish and bat．The one who had become a bat was none other than the Demon King．

7

The young man, still carrying the bell, hurriedly climbed ashore.

Then, the lake that had been overflowing until just moments before had, before anyone knew it, receded to its original state. The young man saw this and felt relieved. As he began returning home, a frail old man who had aged considerably came from the opposite direction, knelt at his feet, and with tears streaming down his face, thanked him over and over again. Around the old man’s neck was coiled the very same rope that had previously been fastened around the neck of that mysterious black bull.

That was the cowherd who had stolen the bell and thrown it into the lake.
The cowherd had been transformed into a bull by the Demon King’s magic for so long that he became this frail old man, but thanks to the young man ringing the bell, the magic was broken, and he was finally able to return to his original human form.
When the young man soon returned home and looked, an old woman he didn’t recognize came out looking delighted,

“Oh, it’s you. Thank you for ringing the bell,” she said, pressing her cheek against the young man’s. The young man made a strange face and entered the house,

"Where is Mom?" he asked his father.
The father said, "Look, that's your mom right there," and led him to the old woman from earlier.

The young man, startled, scrutinized the old woman's face.
Father said,
“It’s no wonder you’re surprised.
“The truth is, while you were away, that once-youthful mother aged rapidly right before my eyes until she became an old woman just like me.”

“When the sound of the very first bell you rang was heard, Mother had already ceased to be a demon woman and become an ordinary human.
“From now on, the three of us will live happily together.”

Having said this, he clasped his hands and offered a long prayer to the Lord.