Pathway to Japanese Literature

I The Sea Monster was a mysterious creature whose true form remained unknown. With a pitch-black body, he dwelled at the bottom of the sea—a mischievous troublemaker who did exactly as he pleased. Therefore, everyone hated him. When something displeased him, he would rampage without restraint. He churned up seawater, summoned black clouds, raised tidal waves, and plunged everything around him into chaos.

The fish and creatures living in the sea held their breath and shrank down. If a ship happened to be passing by during such times, it would be disastrous. “Hey! Can’t you tell I’m here?” With that, the Sea Monster lifted the ship high with his large hands and sank it to the bottom of the sea before one could say “Ah!” However, no one could stop it.

“The lawless Sea Monster has started causing trouble again. What a troublesome creature.” With that, the Princess dwelling in the Dragon Palace knitted her brows.

Even the large whale,

“I can’t handle this!”

With that, he fled somewhere. The small fish like sea bream, squid, and sardines were being tossed by the waves and left dazed. “Princess, please help us.”

they gathered at the palace gate. No matter how powerful the gods might be, they could do nothing about it, and they knew full well that in times like these, there was no choice but to rely on the kind Princess's power.

“Please wait a little while.” The Princess spoke these words. Having rampaged indiscriminately across every corner, the Sea Monster had gradually begun to weary.

At that moment, beautiful music began to drift through the air from somewhere unseen.

II

“Hmm?”

When the Sea Monster raised his head and looked yonder, he saw girls clad in red and blue kimonos surrounding the beautiful Princess—some playing flutes, others beating drums, while still others danced with playful gestures.

The Sea Monster, realizing that the princesses had just witnessed his rampage, felt so ashamed he couldn’t stay still and hid away in the dark depths of the sea.

In an instant, the black clouds vanished, the storm subsided, and the sky took on a beautiful pale peach hue. In the town, both adults and children rejoiced. "Why did such a terrible thing like that happen?" And Take asked his grandmother.

“It was the Sea Monster that went on a rampage.”

With that, Grandmother replied.

At that moment, San-chan and Kimiko-san came to play. "Let's go check out the bridge," said San-chan.

“Let’s go check out the bridge,” said San. “It’s surely a flood,” said Kimiko.

When the three reached the bridge, the water collided with the pillars with a rumbling roar. "That's incredible." At that, San-chan stiffened his shoulders. "Something like that floated down. What could it be?"

With that, Kimiko-san pointed yonder. A black, round object was bobbing up and down, now visible, now hidden. "Could it be the Sea Monster?" said Take-chan. "What’s a Sea Monster?"

“What’s a Sea Monster?” asked Kimiko-san. “A rowdy creature that lives in the sea.”

And Take told what he had heard from Grandmother.

“Take a look.” “That’s not it.” “It’s some sort of empty barrel.”

With that, Kimiko-san laughed. Empty straw bales, mandarin orange peels, and all sorts of things came flowing down. "I wonder what happened to that horse I threw into the river." said Take.

III “What happened to your toy horse?” San-chan asked. “It was a toy I didn’t need anymore.” Take said he had discarded into the river the toy horse he had played with as a small child—the one that had lost its legs. Then Kimiko too, “I once threw away a doll too, you know.” said Kimiko-san. “They all must have flowed out to sea.”

said San-chan. "I wonder what happened after they went out to sea." And the three of them wondered.

Here was a vast, vast sea. Among them all, the northern sea where the Sea Monster dwelled had a bluish-black color of terrifying intensity. There lived sea snakes, crocodile sharks, polar bears, striped seahorses, and the like. And these beasts had become the Sea Monster’s underlings.

It was just after the great storm. "Oh, what's this?" "A strange thing has come floating in!"

The sea snake found the one-legged horse and swam in circles around the toy. Hearing this commotion, a crocodile shark came from somewhere and tried to swallow the toy in one gulp.

“Wait, wait. Don’t be so greedy. It’s something never seen before. Let me show it to our lord. He likes anything unusual, you know. Even this thing—if it just had a soul, it’s not like it couldn’t become one of us.”

And the sea snake, acting evasively, showed its gleaming belly to the waves. “Ha ha ha! Does this runt really have such value?” The crocodile shark laughed.

At this very moment, the Sea Monster was alone at the bottom of the sea, just growing bored. Since he had a wicked nature that delighted in people’s troubles, he was considering what kind of mischief to cause next to see everyone in distress. This was because there existed no terrifying beings in the world stronger than himself. However, being seen by the beautiful Princess was what he found most shameful and terrifying.

Why is it that even the stubborn Sea Monster cannot stand against beautiful things? Is it not truly mysterious?

IV The Sea Monster had the fish and beasts call him Lord King. “Lord King, such a rare thing has drifted here.”

And the sea snake brought the toy horse. The Sea Monster, who had been dozing out of boredom, opened his eyes and picked up the small horse. “Ha, ha, ha. Is this the crippled child of some seahorse?” he laughed. “No, Lord King, this is a rare thing. It must have been tossed by the waves and drifted here from the shore where humans live.”

“Lord King, such a rare thing has drifted here,” said the Sea Snake. “Hmm, that might indeed be the case,” said the Sea Monster. “Well then—let’s put a soul into it and make it speak.”

The Sea Monster used a mysterious technique to make the horse speak.

“Where are you from?”

“I am a toy that was cherished by Take.” “How did you end up so crippled?” And the Sea Monster asked.

“Because Pochi would pick me up and swing me around, and Tama would playfully scratch me.” And the horse said. “Why aren’t you angry?”

“Dogs and cats don’t know what it means to do wrong,” answered the horse. “What a strange creature you are,” said the Sea Monster. “I’ll take revenge for you instead. Guide the way.” “Can I really return to that nostalgic town?” asked the horse in surprise. “Just shut up and follow me,” growled the Sea Monster as he glared and summoned black clouds. Instantly, the surface of the sea grew dark.

When they rode upon the cloud, the sea snake’s body transformed into a great serpent. Moreover, the Sea Monster’s head reached up to the sky. The horse, the crocodile shark, and the polar bear—they all transformed into gigantic forms.

“Come on, let’s move out!”

And the Sea Monster raised his hand.

V

From the direction of the sea, black clouds emerged, and no sooner had a cold wind begun to blow than the rumbling of thunder could be heard. Take and Kimiko, who had been playing, were startled.

“Ah, it flashed!”

“The big one’s rumbling!”

And before Kimiko could finish speaking, the rumbling sound was already heard overhead. "Let's play again later."

With that, the two hurried into their house.

Take took off his shoes, dashed up, and went to Grandmother’s room. “The Sea Monster’s throwing a fit again, huh?” he said. Grandmother, who had been reading the newspaper, removed her glasses and said, “Summer has already passed. After this, it will become noticeably cooler.” “So then, will the Sea Monster stop rampaging?”

And Take asked. “The sea monster?” “He often rampages during summer,” Grandmother said. “But when autumn turns to winter and grows cold, rampaging loses its appeal, so he dozes off in dark northern waters till next year. When warmth returns, he rides clouds back toward land.” Hearing this, Take—though disliking him— felt inexplicably sorry for this solitary creature.

“Grandma, the thunder seems to have moved far away.” And Take tilted his ear to listen.

“Since it’s gotten brighter around here, it won’t come this way anymore.”

And Grandmother said.

When he heard that, Take felt relieved and went back outside.

Then, toward those mountains, a black cloud carrying flashing lightning could be seen moving.

“Oh, that one cloud looks like a lame horse.”

And Take stared intently at the sky.

That cloud bore an exact resemblance to the toy horse they had once discarded in the river.

At that very moment, up in the sky, the Sea Monster was confronting the horse, “You’re no fool to forget your own town. Hurry up and tell me—where exactly is this ‘town’ of yours?”

he was asking impatiently.

VI The horse, seeing Take far below, felt so nostalgic he could hardly bear it. How could I ever cause him such distress? “Your Majesty, where I was isn’t here—it’s in that forest.”

With that, he pointed to the field. "I see. "In there?" “In that case, I’ll send a downpour over there.” In an instant, he drenched the forest in the field with a torrential downpour. Flash, flash, rumble, rumble. Heaven and earth quaked. “Ha, ha, ha! If I wring them out this much, they’ll probably shrivel right up.” And the Sea Monster laughed contentedly.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, this isn’t a town,” said the Crocodile Shark. The gluttonous Crocodile Shark had been thinking of quickly going to town to stuff himself full of all sorts of delicious things. However, things hadn’t gone as planned, and he was utterly frustrated. “That crippled horse lied,” said the Crocodile Shark. “Why do you lie?”

And the Sea Monster scolded the horse.

“No, it is not a lie. This forest’s interior thrives with activity. Should Your Majesty doubt my words, descend and witness it yourself.”

And the horse answered. “Then I’ll go down and see.”

And the Sea Snake said this, promptly lowering the cloud he was riding into the forest. The horse also followed the Sea Snake down.

Indeed, various birds were singing. It seemed there was a concert. The Sea Snake had never before heard so many such beautiful voices. Furthermore, here and there, fruits of many colors were ripening. All were things never seen within the sea. In the forest stood a splendid temple. It resembled the grand hall of the Dragon Palace. Passing over the roof and weaving through the trees, there appeared a spacious pond. There, many red, white, and spotted fish swam.

"This is quite a nice place. It would surely be fascinating if I lived here," thought the Sea Snake.

At that moment, because the Sea Monster signaled for them to return quickly, the Sea Snake hurriedly left the horse behind and soared into the sky.

“We can’t dawdle about.” “The princesses seem to be coming this way.”

And the bashful Sea Monster, looking at the western red sky, said.



Truly His Majesty was short-tempered. "He didn’t listen to my report and just withdrew from the forest without even getting water—what a waste," the Sea Snake muttered to himself.

“What was it like down there?”

said the Crocodile Shark as he came near.

"It's a truly wonderful place," answered the Sea Snake. "I wanted to show everyone. I thought I wanted to settle down there peacefully."

“I see. “Is it really such a good place?” “Then there must’ve been lots of delicious things.” “Absolutely—fruits with a wonderful scent hung heavy on the trees, and beautiful fish teemed in the pond.” “So you saw fine things there. “What were the humans doing?” asked the Crocodile Shark.

“What with the thunder roaring and rain pouring down, they didn’t show themselves, but since there was a house resembling the Dragon Palace, they’re probably there,” said the Sea Snake. “There were still more interesting-looking things, but since His Majesty summoned us, that’s why we came back.” At this time, the black cloud carrying everyone was crossing over the high mountain peak, heading out to sea. Snow had piled up on the mountains, and every mountain shone white.

“I want to go back quickly.” “I’ve grown to miss the icebergs.”

And the Polar Bear said earnestly, looking down below.

When the Sea Monster King heard that, “Exactly. The human world’s no place to linger long.” “There ain’t no creature anywhere as deceitful, greedy, and quarrelsome as humans.” “That crippled horse who chased after Sea Snake down below and never came back—just ’cause it got pampered by humans, learned to lie through its teeth.” “Pathetic bastard.” “We’ll live peaceful through storms, snow, and monster waves till summer now.” “And if any ship dares show up—we’ll capsize ’em and raise hell!”

And he declared in a loud voice. “His Majesty is such a brat.”

And the Sea Snake laughed. “Despite all that vigor, why is he afraid of the Princess?”

And the Crocodile Shark wondered. "That’s not strange," replied the Sea Snake. "Gentleness and righteousness are undoubtedly nobler than brute strength."



Outside the house, Kimiko-san, Mitsuko-san, Take-chan and the others were playing.

In the western sky, peach-colored clouds flew like flower petals, and mingling with them, red clouds streamed like banners.

“Look.” “My, how beautiful!” “Don’t those clouds look like long flowing sleeves?” And Kimiko pointed at the sky.

“There must be a wedding procession tonight.”

And Take said. When they heard this, they imagined the beautiful Princess who adorns the wedding hall. And now, they felt as though the Princess and her attendants were proceeding slowly and gracefully across the clouds. “Once my grandmother said that when the Sea Monster who made it rain returns to his home in the sea, and when the Princess goes to marry a star, the sky becomes beautiful—so this must be her wedding procession.”

And Take-chan said.

Everyone gazed at the sky for a while.

“That must be paradise.”

And Mitsuko said.

“What kind of place is paradise?” And Kimiko-san asked.

“A good place. Where every day’s sunny, with nothing unpleasant or sad.”

And Mitsuko-san said.

“It’s beyond that mountain, right? When I grow up, I’ll go see it.” And Take said. “Humans’ flaws.”

“Is it such a faraway place?” “If you rode an airplane, you could probably get there.”

Each of them spoke their thoughts, their eyes sparkling.

“I wish I could become that little cloud.”

And Mitsuko said.

“It looks just like the doll I sent down the river last year.” “It must have been reborn as a cloud.”

And Kimiko said. And that night, when Kimiko returned home and told of the Sea Monster and the Princess, her father—

"That's an interesting story," he said. "But not only in the sky above—in the world below too, there are Sea Monsters, and there are gentle people like the Princess."

“So after all, there are Sea Monsters and Princesses?”

And Kimiko said.

“That’s right. Unlike Gods, since we’re humans, there are few such gentle and beautiful Princesses—but I think there are far more Sea Monsters of worse character.” And her father said.

Nine

Kimiko was playing on the school playground when— “Sea Monster, you’re the one to blame!”

A boy's voice was heard saying. Startled, she looked over to see two or three children hurling insults at a tall, strong-looking boy with a large head before scampering away.

Kimiko thought that the large boy who had been called by that nickname truly resembled the Sea Monster.

“You’ll remember this.”

The Sea Monster glared at his opponent. “Wasn’t it you who lost someone’s ball? I’ll tell the teacher.” “Hmph, what’s there to be scared of?”

The Sea Monster stiffened defiantly and went off that way. "My, what a rowdy child. What Father said about there being Sea Monsters everywhere is truly right."

And Kimiko thought.

It was when she had returned home and was playing outside with everyone.

“Take, don’t you know about the Sea Monster?”

And Kimiko asked.

“Did Grandma ever talk about it?”

“No, the real Sea Monster.” “There’s no such thing!” “He’s at school, you know.” “You don’t know?” And when Kimiko said this, Mitsuko, who was nearby,

“Ah, I get it.”

As if to say just that，Mitsuko clapped her hands with a pattering sound. “San，do you know about him?” Take said to San. “Who are you talking about?” “I don’t know either.”

And San tilted his head.

The early spring evening sun illuminated everyone's faces with a reddish hue.

“Kimiko, I saw it. Because later, other kids were saying that was the Sea Monster.”

And then, Mitsuko told the following story.

“A small, adorable first-grader wearing a baseball cap was carrying peach blossoms on his way home from school when a large-headed, strong-looking boy told him to hand over the flowers. When the little child said he couldn’t give them because he was taking them home, the bully tried to forcibly snatch them away, so the little child started to tear up.”

“Was there anyone else there at that time?” Take asked.

“There were others there, but everyone kept quiet because they were scared of getting bullied.”

“And then what happened?”

And San said. “The Sea Monster finally snatched away the flowers. The small child became sad and called out ‘Mom…’ in a loud voice.”

“Poor thing.”

And Kimiko’s eyes welled up with tears.

“You’re such a weakling，always crying for your mom，”the Sea Monster laughed.“Like she’d hear you calling out here.”

“What a jerk.”

And San got angry.

“So then, a kind woman from somewhere came rushing over and asked the small child what was wrong. At that moment, I was truly happy. When everyone explained what happened, right then the Sea Monster threw away the flowers and ran off, you know.”

And Mitsuko spoke.

10

One day, the Sea Monster tied a rope around a white puppy’s neck and dragged it away. From behind, a short boy followed after, “What are you going to do with that dog?”

the short boy asked.

“Dump it in the river.”

“Dump it in the river,” said the Sea Monster. “Why are you doing such a thing?” “This mutt here sneaks through my fence every morning, barges into my flowerbed, and takes a dump. Finally caught him today, I tell ya.” “But isn’t killing it cruel?”

“It can’t be helped.” “Gonna teach it a lesson.” “You’re comin’ with me.”

said the Sea Monster.

“If you’re going to do something that violent, I won’t go with you.”

And the short boy answered.

“If you don’t wanna come, then don’t.” “In that case, I won’t listen to anything you say from now on either.”

With his large round eyes glaring fiercely, the Sea Monster stared down the boy. The timid boy followed along behind the Sea Monster reluctantly, afraid of being bullied later. Mitsuko happened to pass by just then; seeing this scene made her grow to hate the Sea Monster too—she wanted to say something but lost her nerve and ended up going straight home instead where she hurriedly reported everything to Kimiko.

“That’s terrible.”

And Kimiko worried about the puppy.

Since school was closed, when [she] went to call Take and San, the two came right away. And then they all discussed what to do. “Trying to kill a dog just because it pooped—that’s truly barbaric.”

And Take got angry.

“It’s still a small, cute puppy that knows nothing,” Mitsuko said. “It can’t possibly swim in a river or anything like that. Since I’m sure it’ll get washed away, let’s hurry over and save it!” She urged everyone on. “You should have stopped him back then, Mitsuko,” Kimiko said.

said Kimiko.

“But the Sea Monster looks strong, right? I didn’t have that kind of courage, you know.”

“No matter how strong they are, I can’t just stand by and watch them commit such senseless cruelty.” And San said.

“Right! If it’s me and San, we can take down the Sea Monster,” said Take in agreement with San. “No, you mustn’t fight,” said Kimiko. “Instead, let’s hurry over and stop them.” As Kimiko dashed off, everyone else followed suit and ran toward the river together.

When they reached the riverbank, the sunny embankment lay blanketed in green grass. The water flowed quietly at full brim, suggesting the presence of fish.

Then from over there, a child approached carrying a fishing rod and bucket. "You there—didn’t you see a kid with a dog?" San asked. The child looked back along the path they’d just walked and replied, "I saw them earlier by that bridge."

“Thank you.”

Everyone ran along the embankment where violets and dandelions were blooming.

Eleven When they reached the bridge area, the receding figures of two children walking along a narrow path through the rice fields came into view.

“The ones heading over there aren’t the Sea Monster. Since they’re not bringing the dog anymore, they must’ve thrown it into the river.”

said San.

The figures of the two gradually faded away. At that moment, Kimiko, "Don’t you hear a dog whimpering somewhere?"

With that, they searched along the riverbank.

“Ah, it’s crying.” “It must be somewhere.”

And Take too climbed down the embankment and searched through the bush shadows.

“Here it is! Everyone, come quick!”

And Take shouted.

A white puppy was trembling under the wild roses at the water’s edge. “Let’s save it!” And Take began to climb down to the water’s edge.

“You’ll get hurt if you fall!”

And San said while firmly holding Take’s coat.

“Take, you’re okay.”

And Kimiko fretted atop the embankment. "I'll go carry it over right now." Take climbed up the embankment holding the soaked, shivering dog and laid it on the soft grass. "It didn't get swept all the way away." Mitsuko pulled out a handkerchief and started wiping the dog down, while Kimiko joined her in drying its drenched fur.

“They must’ve thought the Sea Monster was dead. But it’s good it survived.”

And San-chan rejoiced. And everyone surrounded the dog and sat down. A dragonfly peered down as it flew over their heads. “Won’t someone take in this dog?” And Kimiko-san said. “I want him, but since Grandmother’s had enough with Pochi, she probably won’t allow it.”

And Take said. “Why?” “Because whenever I take chickens or rabbits from other people’s homes, Grandmother always ends up having to go apologize, you see.” “We finally managed to get Pochi from my older sister’s friend.”

“I’ll ask Mom.” “Won’t you all come along and ask too?”

And Mitsuko said. “I’ll ask for you,” replied San. “Since she’s a good mom, she’ll surely agree.”

And San replied.

Then everyone went to Mitsuko’s house, but her mother did not immediately say yes. “Raising a living creature requires considerable care, you know.”

Mitsuko’s mother said.

At that moment, San said, “Auntie, we’ll all take care of everything for Shiro.”

And San said.

“Oh my, you’ve already given him the name Shiro?”

And Mother laughed. And at last, she gave her consent.

One morning, Shiro followed Mitsuko to school. Then at the gate he encountered the Sea Monster. "Oh! Is this dog yours?"

And the Sea Monster asked in surprise. Mitsuko found herself strangely filled with courage and stared fixedly at the Sea Monster’s face, “You’re the one who threw this dog into the river, aren’t you?” “We’re the ones who saved this dog.”

And Mitsuko said.

For some reason, the Sea Monster turned bright red and ran away.

Twelve

It was a hot day.

At the foot of the hill in front of the goldfish shop, Take and Mitsuko - on their way home from school - watched goldfish and carp paddling frantically in the water.

Then Mitsuko exclaimed, “Oh, Sea Monster! You’ve come around!”

When Mitsuko said this, Take also turned to look in that direction, and there was a child pushing an old man’s cart up the hill. “Oh, that kid’s the third-year class president.” And Take said.

“Because he’s the bad kid who threw a dog into the river.”

“He must have regretted it afterward, I bet.” When she heard this, Mitsuko recalled how that figure had turned bright red and fled the other day. When she told this story to San and Kimiko, “So after all, the human sea monster outdoes even the real Sea Monster.”

“So after all, the human sea monster is something else compared to the real Sea Monster,” said San. “Why?” asked Take. Then Kimiko replied,

“Even if we pray to the Thunder God, he won’t make it rain, will he?” Kimiko said. The sunset suggested that tomorrow would bring yet another clear day. The eggplants and cucumbers in the field wilted, and the flowers in the garden beds hung their heads.

“Our pleas might not be enough.”

And Mitsuko said.

“God, please send us rain.” And they all prayed to the sky. When the Princess observed this scene from atop a red cloud, she promptly proceeded to the Sea Monster’s abode.

At that moment, the Sea Monster was sitting on a large rock, watching the seagulls dance. “Everyone is pleading. Please send them rain quickly.”

And the Princess entreated him. The Sea Monster turned his face sluggishly, “It’s because humans are insolent that I’m causing them trouble.” “Not only do they torment innocent whales and gentle seals, but they boast they can do anything.” “If I were to withhold rain and cut off their electricity and water too, how amusing that would be!”

And the Sea Monster laughed.

“Exactly! There’s nothing as selfish as humans.” “When the village head occasionally goes to town, they burn incense sticks and drive him away.”

said the sea snake, undulating its glowing blue body. “There are certainly people who don’t understand, but there are also many good people. If we are to be called gods, we cannot simply remain silent in the face of suffering.”

When the Princess spoke these words, the Sea Monster hung his head and listened.

“If you grant everyone’s wishes, we will revere you as King of the Sea,” said the Princess. “What? ‘King of the Sea,’ you say?” With that smile and nod, the Sea Monster rose to his feet. Then he summoned his retainers.

Suddenly, the storm howled as black clouds churned upward. With flashes and rumbles of thunder shaking the skies, the Sea Monster marched toward land. In moments, villages and towns alike vanished beneath veils of rainclouds.

“Hey, it’s an evening shower! An evening shower!” And far below, the people were shouting joyfully.