Show me hospitality for the love of the gods. I am a samurai in the service of the Lord of Noto, upon whose business I ride. “I am a weary traveller, lost and benighted upon your lonely moor. “Who rides abroad upon such a night?” she asked, “and what wills he here?”
Tomodata threw his horse’s rein over a branch of one of them, and called for admittance to the longed-for shelter.Īt once the cottage door was opened by an old woman, very poorly but neatly clad. The three willow trees swayed and flung out their green streamers in the wind. Light shone from the chinks of the cottage door, and smoke curled out of a hole in the roof. “Now, indeed, the gods be thanked!” said Tomodata, and he climbed the hill in no time. Upon the hill was a small thatched cottage, and before the cottage grew three green weeping-willow trees. “Alack!” he cried, “must I die in this wilderness and the quest of the Lord of Noto be unfulfilled?”Īt this moment the great winds blew away the clouds of the sky, so that the moon shone very brightly forth, and by the sudden light Tomodata saw a little hill on his right hand. His horse could carry him no longer, and he wandered on foot through bogs and marshes, through rocky and thorny tracks, until he fell into deep despair. By this time Tomodata had lost his way in a wild, lonely place, where, as it seemed to him, no human soul inhabited. Noontide was as dark as twilight, twilight was as dark as night, and when night fell it was as black as the night of Yomi, where lost souls wander and cry. The fierce storm swept away many a familiar landmark of the road, and buffeted the samurai so that he became weary almost to fainting. His own cloak he drew close about him and held it so that it might not blow away, and in this wise he rode on. The good horse trembled and could scarcely keep its feet, but Tomodata spoke to it and urged it on.
The wind howled in the pine-tree branches. Ere he had been three days upon the road the autumn tempest burst, for it was the ninth month. He rode straight, and was not afraid of the steep mountain passes nor of the enemies’ country. Obedient to his lord’s commands, he spared not his good beast. So Tomodata got him to horse, and away he rode upon his quest. Above all, do not look any maid between the eyes. Lose your life but betray not your trust. Ride straight, and fear not the mountains nor the enemies’ country. “Then carry my message,” said the daimyo. “Ay, my good lord,” said Tomodata, kneeling before him. “Do you love me, then?” asked the daimyo. “My lord, you know it,” answered Tomodata. He chose Tomodata, and called him to his presence. Now his daimyo, the Lord of Noto, wanted a man to undertake a mission of trust. He was a graceful dancer, and excelled in every manly sport. He had a sweet voice and a beautiful face, a noble form and a very winning address. He was a soldier, a courtier, and a poet. Tomodata, the young samurai, owed allegiance to the Lord of Noto. Note: This story is of its time and should be read with that in mind Publisher By: Macmillan And Co., Limited, London, 1912 From: Green Willow And Other Japanese Fairy Tales
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