A Story from Long Ago
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At the base of Kurumayama there was a village called Kashiwahara. At one
house in the village there was a small girl called Okan. She often enjoyed
herself playing and didn't come home for dinner.
One day night fell and she still hadn't come home. When she realized it
was dark, she hurried home but to teach her a lesson, her family had locked
the door and she couldn't get in. She began to cry with a loud voice but
her family ignored her.
After some time the loud voice of Okan disappeared. Her family thought
something was wrong and opened the door to find that she was not there.
After searching everywhere for her she still couldn't be found. After consulting
a priest, the family were told that she had been taken away by the Tengu
(Mountain God) of Kurumayama. |
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After many years and months passed a young man from Kashiwahara went to
Kurumayama to get some firewood. When he was at a place called 'Tengunokubo'
he suddenly came across an elderly woman with hair white like snow. She
approached him with a walking stick and asked him "Please do something
for me".
The young man recieved a letter from her and closed his eyes as she told
him to. He flew through the air and found himself on the top of Yatsugatake
Mountain. Tengu was at that place. He gave Tengu the letter and after doing
so he closed his eyes again and flew back to his original place at Kurumayama.
However, when he returned the old lady was not there any more. In front
of his eyes was a large pile of firewood. Upon using that firewood, he
found that however much he used it it never ran out! After that the young
man's lifestyle became much easier.
That old lady the young man met on the mountain was Okan. After that on
various occasions people from the village met the old woman and she became
fondly known as KurumayamanoOkanbaba (Kurumayama's Okan Grandmother). |
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