Kasakojizou

Bamboo Hats for Jizo

The Grateful Statues

ISBN4-591-03711-8 C8739 P1000E

Translation by Naoya Arakawa (arakawa@itl.atr.co.jp) , distributed by

www.brantar.blogspot.com
page 2

--

Long ago in some place, there was an old man and woman who didn't have
even a straw to thatch their roof.

Even though the next day was New Year's day, they didn't even have money
to buy rice.

Pettang, pettang (sound), in the neighborhood, rice pounding had already begun.

--

page 4

--

"It's always good to hear rice pounding sound."

"Indeed,

we should make some preparation for the New Year."

"All right, then, I'm going to town to sell firewood."

The old man went out carrying firewood on his back.

--

page 7

--

The sky is cloudy and it is likely to snow at any moment.

"Grandpa, take care."

"All right, I'll be back having bought plenty of good things."

The old man left waving his hand.

--

page 8

--

Town was in quite a bustle.

"Wanna buy firewood?
Wanna buy firewood?"

--

page 9


--

Even though the old man called out, nobody cared about him.

--

page 10

......

--

......
"Grandma will be dissapointed..."

The old man started trudging back in the snow which had begun to fall.

Then, he found an old sedge hat vender sitting sadly under a big tree.

--

page 11

--

"Old firewood vender there,

could you sell any?"

"Nope, couldn't."

"Same here."

The old sedge hat vender sighed.

--

page 13

--

"We're fellows who can't sell any way.

Would you exchange my firewood and your hats?"

"Well now. That'd be fine."

The two old men exchanged their firewood and hats.
--

page 14

--

"Good grief, it became quite late."

The old man started walking in a rush putting the hats on his back.

It snowed thick and fast,

and the mountains and fields were all white.

"Oh it's cold, it's cold."

said he, and looked ahead,

finding seven Ojizou-sama (statues) standing together on the roadside.

--

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
ks(h)iti = earth; garbha = womb (supposedly an Indian "earth-mother" deity,
originally)

page 16


--

Without thinking the old man stopped and joined his hands.

"Even without having things, I wish that we can live on healthily."

Having prayed, he looked up and found

much snow on the heads of the Ojizou-sama.

"Oh my, this would be freezing."

--

page 18

--

The old man whisked off the snow on the Ojizou-sama's heads,

and put hats on them one by one.

However, there were only six hats.

"Well now, I'm in trouble."

--

page 19

--

After pondering a while, the old man

put off his towel (tenugui) wrapping his cheeks and put it on the last
Ojizou-sama.

--

page 21

--

The Ojizou-sama who got the hats and towel looked very warm.

Somehow even the old man felt that he got warm.

"Having done this, they'll be fine."

The old man hit the road while he looked back many times.

--

page 22

--

"Grandma, I'm home now."

"Well well, Grandpa, you must've been cold.

Did you find anything good?"

"As a matter of fact,

I couldn't sell at all.

As there was no other way, I exchanged it with hats

and I put them all on Ojizou-sama."

The old man told the old woman what had happened in the day.

"Well, you did a good thing.

Come on in home now."

--

page 25

--

The old man sat by the hearthside and

said with relief.

"Now, Ojizou-sama should be feeling warm."

"Indeed.

For sure they must be pleased.

Why (heck), let's see the old year out thinking of the Ojizou-sama."

The two slurped millet gruel and went to bed early.

--

# (dialect)
# (dialect)
# (archaic)

page 26

--

However, late in the night,

there were shouts for carrying some heavy things outside.

Yoisa! Yoisa!
Yoisa! Yoisa! (shouts)

"Well, what kind of clamor at this time (of the night)?"

--

page 29


--

The old man rose and went to open the front door.

Then what was there?

There were a number of rice bales and fish having been brought by Ojizou-sama.

--

page 31

--

"Ojizou-sama, thank you very much."

The couple quietly joined their hands for Ojizou-sama going back in the
the first sunlight (sunrise) of the new year.

--