Sea Monk (海坊主) 田中貢太郎
Sea Monk
Koutaro Tanaka
This is a story by the novelist Kyoka Izumi.
There was a young fisherman living on the coast of Boshu. One day, while the fisherman’s wife was preparing dinner and looking after her infant son, a dirty monk came out of nowhere and peered into the house. The fisherman’s wife, seeing this, thought he must have come to get some rice, so she immediately prepared some nigiri-meshi (rice ball) and brought it to him.
”Here,” she said.
But the monk only glanced at it with a sideways glance and did not touch it. The wife was kind. Then she thought he would need some money, so she went out with it this time and said, “Here.
“Here, take this,” she said.
But the monk did not pay attention to it either. The wife felt so scared that she shivered as if water had been poured down her spine, wishing her husband would come home soon. Soon it became dark, and the sea, now in a choppy condition, began to stir right in front of the house. The monk had remained where he had started, motionless. When she saw the shadowy black figure of the monk, she couldn’t stand still any longer and quietly tried to escape out the back door to the next house. Just then, a group of fishermen came out of their boats, all in high spirits. The wife, seeing this, ran out and said to them
“Anyone should come here,” she said.
and told them what had happened. The fishermen were all bloodthirsty people.
“That guy’s a monster. Take him down.”
They surrounded the monk, beat him severely, and dragged him out of the water and threw him into the surf.
When her husband, a fisherman, came home shortly afterward, she told him about the incident. The fisherman, seemingly curious about what had happened, went out to the shore after dinner, but could see nothing but a dark sea raging with white fangs.
The fisherman went to bed shortly thereafter, but as the night wore on, the outside became more and more stormy, and the terrible sound of the waves seemed to shake the small fisherman’s house. Then, when it seemed to be past one o’clock, a voice came out of nowhere, “Oui, oui!
The fisherman could hear the mournful call. The sleeping fisherman opened his eyes. The mournful call came again.
“Oh, it’s a shipwreck!”
The fisherman jumped out of bed and, without hearing his wife’s words to stop him, ran out the back door and toward the shore. He saw a monk standing on the rocks in front of him. When the fisherman saw him, he couldn’t help but say
“What are you doing?”
The monk pulled his hand out of his soaking wet robe and pointed toward the fisherman’s house without saying a word.
“What?”
Oh, oh, oh!
The sleeping fisherman was sobbing and shouting, “Oui, oui! The sleeping fisherman opened his eyes. The mournful call came again.
Oh, it’s a shipwreck!
The fisherman jumped out of bed and, without hearing his wife’s words to stop him, ran out the back door and toward the shore. He saw a monk standing on the rocks in front of him. When the fisherman saw him, he couldn’t help but say
What are you doing?
The fisherman looked at him and said, “Hey, what are you doing? The monk pulled his hand out of his soaking wet robe and pointed toward the fisherman’s house without saying a word.
What is it?”
When the fisherman prodded, the monk again silently pointed in the direction of the house. The fisherman looked back in wonder, and then he heard a baby crying like it was on fire from his house, accompanied by his wife’s screams. The fisherman became engrossed.
“What the hell are you doing?”
and suddenly tried to grab the monk. The monk showed his white teeth and grinned, then jumped into the sea and disappeared from sight. The fisherman ran to his house. Inside the house, his wife was holding a cold baby on her lap, her face pale and her eyes glazed over.
米国・ブリガムヤング大学のハロルド・B・リー図書館が所蔵する妖怪絵巻より、「海坊主」の名が記された妖怪画。
海坊主
田中貢太郎
これは小説家泉鏡花氏の話である。
房州の海岸に一人の若い漁師が住んでいた。某日その漁師の女房が嬰児の守をしながら夕飯の準備をしていると、表へどこからともなく薄汚い坊主が来て、家の中をじろじろと覗き込んだ。女房はそれを見て、御飯でも貰いに来たのだろうと思って、早速握飯をこしらえて持って往って、
「これを」
と云って差しだしたが、坊主は横目でちらと見たばかりで手を出さなかった。女房はやさしかった。それでは銭がいるだろうと思って、今度は銭を持って出て、
「それでは、これを」
と云ったが、坊主はそれにも見向きもしなかった。女房は気味悪くなって、金を持ったまま後すざりして厨房の方へ引込んで往ったが、怖くて背筋から水でもかけられたようにぞくぞくして来たので、早く夫が帰って来ればと思いながら震えていた。そのうちに辺りがすっかり暗くなって、時化模様になった。海がすぐ家の前でざわざわと波を立てだした。坊主はと見ると最初の処に突ったったまま身動きもしない。その影のような真黒い坊主の姿を見ると、女房はもういてもたってもいられないので、そっと裏口から隣へ逃げだそうとした。と、そこへ付近の若い漁師たちがはしゃぎながら船からあがって来た。それと見て女房は駈け出して往って、
「誰か来ておくれよ」
と云って事情を話した。皆血の気の多い連中のことだから、
「そいつは怪けしからん、やっつけろ」
と云って、坊主を取り囲んでさんざんに撲りつけ、倒れるところを曳ひきずって往って、波打ち際へ投げだした。
まもなく夫の漁師が帰って来たので、女房はその話をすると、漁師は何かしら気になるとみえて、飯の後で磯へ出てみたが、そこには暗い海が白い牙をむいて猛り狂っているだけで、それらしいものは見えなかった。
漁師はそれから間もなく寝たが、夜が更けて往くにしたがって外はますます荒れ、物凄い浪の音が小さな漁師の家を揺り動かすように響いた。そして、一時すぎと思う頃どこからともなく、
「おうい、おうい」
と云うような悲痛な呼び声が聞えて来た。眠っていた漁師ははっとして眼を開けた。悲痛な人声はまた聞えて来た。
「あ、難船だ」
漁師は飛び起きて女房の止めるのも聞かず、裏口から飛び出して磯の方へ走った。と、すぐ眼の前の岩の上に一人の坊主が突っ立っていた。それを見ると漁師は思わず、
「やい、何してるのだ」
と云った。すると坊主は、ぐっしょりと濡れた法衣の中から手を出して、黙ったままで漁師の家の方へ指をさした。
「何だ」
漁師が突っかかるようにすると、坊主はまた黙って家の方へ指をさした。漁師が不思議に思って振り返ったところで、自分の家の方から火のつくような嬰児の泣き声が聞え、それに交って女房の悲鳴が聞えて来た。漁師は夢中になって、
「何しやがる」
と云って、いきなり坊主につかみかかろうとした。と、坊主は白い歯を見せてにたにたと笑ったが、そのまま海の中へ飛びこんで見えなくなった。そこで漁師は己の家へ駈けこんだ。家の中では女房が冷たくなった嬰児を膝にして、顔色を変え眼を引きつっていた。