There was a legend that was passed on within my family about this mound in a shape of a small hill. The story tells that a divine sword is buried inside the mound. The divine sword is made out of metal that does not rust and it is not gold.
During my grandfather’s time, there was once a very heavy thunderstorm that lasted for three days and three nights. The river that ran through the town burst and the water flooded through out the town. Strangely, the water did not recede even after the rain had stopped. My grandfather felt odd about this and sensed something was wrong at the mound. He went to the mound to find out it was partially destroyed. His instinct was that one of his cousins had done this. He went to his cousin and pressed him for an answer. He confessed that he tried to steal the sword to sell it and make money. But when he started to dig, black clouds started to fill the sky, thunder started rumbling and heavy rain started to fall. He kept digging, but the thunder became louder every time he swung down the shovel. The timing was so exact, he became scared, decided to give up and ran away. The thunderstorm did not stop for three days after this incident. My grandfather fixed the mound, but since then, people kept going into the mountain to the mound trying to steal the sword. Every time the thunder rumbled and heavy rain fell. One day, my grandfather decided that he had to close the area by destroying the mountain trail so no one can enter the area. His cousin’s family eventually died out. My father had to move out from the town due to his business. Other relatives also ended up moving out from the town for business reasons. We no longer have any relatives living in that area. Maybe Susanoo’s anger created this fate.
My father has been to the mound when he was little. Naturally, I have never been there. Now that I think about it, I wish I had asked my father where exactly the mound is located. By now, the plants and tree has grown wild, it would be hard to find.
Another part of the legend I had heard from my father is that when there is three children in the family, and the first child is a boy, the second child a girl and the third child a boy, the third boy is called “Onikko”(an ogre child).
This is much like the Japanese mythology about the Sankishin – The Three Dear Gods. The first son was Tsukuyomi-no-kami, the moon god, the second daughter was Amaterasu-Ohomikami, the sun goddess, and the third son was Susanoo.
My grandfather had already departed before I was born. And I am the third son in the same order… As I write this, the thunder has started to rumble….
Ikashite-itadaite Arigato-gozaimasu
Thank you for letting us live
No comments:
Post a Comment