The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōichi (1)

The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōichi (1)

More than seven hundred years ago, at Dan-no-ura, in the Straits of Shimonoseki, was fought the last battle of the long contest between the Heike, or Taira clan, and the Genji, or Minamoto clan.

There the Heike perished utterly, with their women and children, and their infant emperor likewise ー now remembers as Antoku Tennō.

And that sea and shore have been haunted for seven hundred years.
... Elsewhere I told you about the strange crabs found there, called Heike crabs, which have human face on their backs, and are said to be the spirits of heike warriors.

But there are many strange things to be seen and heard along that coast.

On dark nights thousands of ghostly fires hover about the beach, or flit above the waves ー pale lights which the fisherman called Oni-bi, or demon-fires; and, whenever the winds are up, a sound of great shouting comes from that sea, like a clamor of battle.

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LAfacadio Hearn 小泉八雲　「KWAIDAN」より、「耳なし芳一」の物語です。
この出だしは原作文通りですが、
申し訳ありませんが途中を若干re-told して(原作の表現を尊重はしますが)お届けする場合もあるかと思います(出だしもそうですが、ややこしいところがありまして)。

re-toldの考慮時間が必要なため、掲載はほぼ２日に一度となる見込みです。

なお、ローマ字表記に付き、上点付き文字等が原作にはあるのですが、現状再現出来ない部分がありますので、ご了承方お願い申し上げます。

The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōichi (2)

The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōichi (2)

In former years the Heike were much more restless than they now are.

They would rise about ships passing in the night, and try to sink them; and at all times they would watch for swimmers, to pull them down.

It was in order to appease those dead that the Buddhist temple, Amidaji, was built at Akamagaseki.

A cemetery also was made close by, near the beach; and within it were set up monuments inscribed with the names of the drowned emperor and of his great vassals ; and Buddhist services were regularly performed there on behalf of the spirits of them.

After the temple had been built, and the tombs erected, the Heike gave less trouble than before; but they continued to do queer things at intervals ー proving that they had not found the perfect peace.


Some centuries ago there lived at Akamagaseki a blind man named Hōichi, who was famed for his skill in recitation and in playing upon the Biwa.

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