Teito Monogatari:
The Tale of the Imperial Capital
Part 1: Great Spirit of Tokyo
Author: Hiroshi Aramata
PROLOGUE
"I love Tokyo"
"I hate Tokyo"
--Everybody says that.
There is an entertainment district in Asakusa. The main draw of this entertainment district is not the aquarium or the museum of curiosities, but the haunted house.
Long-necked monstrous women, murderous weasels who cut down prey using whirlwinds, mermaids, and snake women all beckon to potential customers from their painted signboards.1
Asakusa is famous the world over for its Cloud-Surpassing Tower.2 To climb this tower and look down is to view the imperial capital of Japan's Meiji era.3 An electric elevator is installed in the tower so that people may ascend to its greatest height by the power of technology.
There is a special show today that monopolizes the entertainment district's usual clientele. The show's title: "Demon-Slaying at the Rashōmon Gate."
The women of ill repute who linger beneath the Cloud-Surpassing Tower, the Salvation Army band who has come marching in to reform those women, maids and apprentices with a half-day off and even the owners of large shops come to see the show.
The show is magic via machinery. The ticket seller stands behind a booth, raising his voice to draw in more of the crowd. From the back of the booth, there are clanging noises like gongs being beaten together.
"Come on, come on, step right up! Our Meiji civilization is flourishing! What we have to show you today is a great spectacle--the terrifying demon of the Rashōmon Gate!4
"Gather around! It’s a demon, a demon, a demon is here! Take a look! Through these mechanical spectacles, you can see the severed arm of the demon. And what’s more, the arm is clawing at the air, writhing and moving—astonishing!
"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Don't be shy! Once you witness this demon, you will be able to tell the story for generations to come! You’ll never see the arm of a demon again, so don’t miss this chance!
"But wait, there's another surprise! Onstage in the back, the snake woman will also make an appearance. She is a poor unfortunate soul. She was born in Hokkaido, in the upper reaches of the Ishikari River in Tokachi Province. One day her father split a viper in two with a hoe. The viper’s curse was visited upon his child, and this poor woman is the child that was born!
"Now eighteen years old, she lacks both arms and legs and coils her body like a serpent. Her name is Hanako. Little Hanako, come out! Adults pay ten sen, children five sen. One-eyed visitors pay half price, and pregnant women pay double! 5
"Step right up, step right up! The demon, the demon, the demon is here! Right here, in our civilized city of Tokyo! It is time to see the demon! The demon, the demon, the demon is here!"
The citizens of Tokyo flock to see the demon of the Rashōmon Gate. Shows like these are always shady and suspicious, but much of the crowd still wants to see for themselves whether or not the demon arm is genuine. Many of them had seen the other monsters in the sideshow before, since it frequently performed in Asakusa.
The monsters performing today are depressed prisoners. None of them are permitted to leave their tents except for performances. The citizens of Tokyo are put at ease by only seeing monsters and demons on stages. They cannot possibly know that a real demon, fierce and uncontrollable, is stalking down their city streets even now.
In the fortieth year of the Meiji era, that demon invades in the imperial capital alone. He has two thousand years of demonic resentment to assuage.6
Translator's Note
1
The list of monsters here refers to a few common ones, like mermaids, but most
are specific to Japan. 鎌鼬, kamaitachi, are the weasels. ろくろ首,
rorokukubi, are women with long necks that expand and contract. 蛇女,
hebionna, is literally "snake + woman."
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2
凌雲閣: The Ryōunkaku, literally Cloud-Surpassing Pavilion or
Cloud-Surpassing Tower, was Japan's first Western-style skyscraper. It
stood in the Asakusa district of City of Tokyo from 1890 until its
demolition in 1923 following the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. The
Asakusa Jūnikai (浅草十二階; literally "Asakusa Twelve-stories"), as it
was affectionately called by Tokyoites, was Tokyo's most popular
attraction, and a showcase for new technologies.
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3 明治時代: The Meiji era was an era of Japanese history that
extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912.
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4
羅城門: The Rashōmon Gate in the then-capital city of Kyōto
was built in 789 CE. It was 106 feet (32 meters) wide by 26
feet (7.9 meters) high, with a 75-foot (23 meter) stone wall
and topped by a ridge-pole. By the 12th century it had
fallen into disrepair and had become an unsavory place, with
a reputation as a hideout for thieves and other disreputable
characters. People would abandon corpses and unwanted babies
at the gate. The use of the Rashōmon Gate is almost
certainly symbolic here; it is a broken relic of the older
and more traditional capital city of Kyōto juxtaposed
against the new capital of Tokyo, which is industrializing
at a rapid pace.
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5
一銭: The one sen coin was a Japanese coin worth
one-hundredth of a Japanese yen, as 100 sen equaled 1
yen. One sen coins were first struck for circulation
during the 6th year of the Meiji era (1873) using a
dragon design.
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6
The 40th year of the Meiji era is 1907.
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Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! :) I'll try to add a few more chapters for you this week.
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