The Ogre of Rashomon
Title: Ogre
Author: Cos Koniotis
URL: fantasyfineart
The geisha thought to herself that this was the perfect tale to
convince the general that he needed to reconsider his decision to
attack the Akechi clan.
"Great Nobunaga, you must remember the tale of the great ogre who
terrorized Kyoto and how the brave and noble knight Wantanabe fought
him."
"I do recall the story but I am interested to hear it again," Nobunaga
said, wondering why this young geisha was telling him moral tales as
was
untraditional for geisha to do.
The Ogre of Rashomon was as tall as the walls that surround the
city of Kyoto and had arms as thick as a tree. He was terrible in his
rage. He attacked anyone who approached the Gate of Rashomon and ate
them.
In the city of Kyoto the great knights who followed the legendary
general Raiko, who was known as a great ogre killer, were stationed.
His knights were
seen as the bravest in the entire nation.
One night the brave knights were boasting over sake about how
strong and brave they were. Hijo, the newest knight, told the other
knights he had heard from his wife about the ogre of Rashomon Gate.
"Someone needs to take care of that ogre and it should be one of us. I
think that I will do it."
Wanatabe, the eldest knight and Raiko's
most trusted adivor said, "You have drunk to much sake and wouldn't
stand a chance. You are correct that someone should do something about
that ogre not for the honor but to protect the people. I will do it."
With that, Wanatabe went the the gate of Rashomon and engaged in battle
with the ogre. The ogre, who was used to being able to frighten his
opponents, was surprised when Wanatabe did not back down. The
fight lasted until the early dawn when Wanatabe struck the ogre's arm
and severed it. The ogre fled into the hills. Wanatabe attempted to
catch him but was unable to.
Wanatabe knew the ogres were vengeful creatures so he took the ogre's
severed arm and placed it in a strong box made of the finest wood and
iron in a beautiful box. Wanatabe knew that the ogre would want his arm
and if he were able to get it that he would be a danger to the people
of Kyoto yet again.
Wanatabe wanting to protect others from this vengeful creature refused
to show the arm to anyone and did not let the box out of his sight.
One night an elderly lady approached Wanatabe's house and asked to be
allowed to enter. This woman was Wanatabe's nurse who had helped to
raise him and was a part of his earliest memories. The nurse begged and
pleaded to see the arm. Wanatabe against his better judgment he showed
his nurse the arm.
Upon seeing the arm the nurse began to laugh. "Thank you for returning
my arm." The nurse began to change shape and form. Wanatabe was taken
aback just for a second, and then grabbed his sword and prepared for
battle. The
ogre thinking that he would catch Wanatabe of guard was surprised when
his first blow was blocked by Wanatabe's slashing katana. The battled
for hours and hours until both the ogre and Wanatabe was exhausted.
Wanatabe declared he would never surrender to the likes of this evil
ogre. The ogre, who was a coward at heart, used his great size to throw
Wanatabe to the ground and ran from the house. Having a sizable lead
over Wanatabe, the ogre was able to outrun the noble knight.
Wanatabe was greatly disappointed he had lost the ogre's arm but he
realized that he had been foolish in doing something that he knew he
should not have.
"Noble Nobunaga, when planning for an attack it would be wise to take
heed of the lesson the the great knight Wanatabe learned from the
ogre." the
geisha said to the mighty shogun.
Nobunaga smiled as he began to understand the intentions of this
geisha. "My dear, though time is short for me I believe I have time to
hear one more story. I believe I would love to hear the story of The
Mirror of Matsuyama.
Author's Notes: I kept the story pretty much the same with the
exception of giving the story a moral message as well as changing the
personality of Hijo a little. Hijo was originally just another knight
who served Raiko but I made him young and a little boastful. I
chose this story because it helps further the idea that the Shogun
needs to rethink his position of attacking the Akechi clan. Also this
story is slightly different than most Western tales in that the knight
is tricked and in the end only fights to a stalemate with the ogre. It
seems a much more realistic point of view than the romanticized
versions of the West. I think that it is important to keep
these stories relatively close to the actual telling.
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Bibliography: "The
Ogre of Rashomon." Japanese
Fairy Tales. Yei Theodora Ozaki. Published in 1908.