A Living God

A Living God

　　　　The following story illustrates well the religious core belief of the
　　　Japanese. It is entitled, 3A Living God2 or 3Hamaguchi Daimyojin2 or
　　　Hamaguchi Gracious Deity. It was originally written by an English writer
　　　named, Rafcadio Hearn or Koizumi Yakumo, his adopted Japanese name. A
　　　Japanese elementary school teacher named, Jozo Nakai modified the story
　　　in　Japanese under the title, 3Fire of Big Bundles of Rice2 or, in Japanese,
　　　Inamura no Hi. It was adopted as a story of instruction and included in
　　　the textbooks for elementary schools throughout Japan.  The story is as
　　　follows:

    　　Long, long ago, before the Meiji era, there was a disaster that happened
　　　to a small village located in some coastal province of old Japan. There
　　　dwelt in that village a man named, Gohei Hamaguchi. The villagers usually
　　　called him, 3Grandfather,2 not only because he was an old man, but because
　　　he was much respected by the villagers. They would always consult with him
　　　about their difficult problems, and he would give them good advice on how to
　　　sell their rice at the best price for the highest profit.

   　　 Gohei Hamaguchi lived in a big thatched house which he had built on the
　　　edge of a hill overlooking the village. One day, on　a hot afternoon in autumn,
　　　Hamaguchi peered out the window of his house at　the villagers below and
　　　observed them preparing for their annual harvest　festival.
    　　Though a comforting breeze blew from the sea, it was a sultry day, and
　　　the intense heat of the sun was causing the still air to pile layer upon
　　　layer over the sea. In the village below, the people did not notice the
　　　subtle change in the air, but from his house above, Gohei Hamaguchi saw
　　　the　disturbance of the sea, with its waves rising and darkening and seemingly
　　　moving in opposite to the wind. Then, remembering a story told to him by his
　　　grandfather, about a big wave that had rushed in from the sea one day,
　　　Hamaguchi knew that a terrible tidal wave was about to engulf the village.

    　　At once, Gohei Hamaguchi lit a torch and ran as fast as he could to his
　　　harvested rice field. There, one after another, he set fire to the big　bundles
　　　of rice that were setting on the ground. The flames of the burning　rice leapt
　　　skyward and blazed brightly in the wind that was now blowing hard　from the sea.
　　　Then, Hamaguchi struck the large bell, again and again, that　hung in a temple,
　　　nearby.
    　　The villagers, seeing the blazing fire and hearing the ringing bell,　rushed up
　　　the hillside to where Hamaguchi stood. At first they thought he　had gone crazy,
　　　but when they looked back down at the sea, they loudly　shouted, "Look! Look!
　　　A terrible tidal wave is coming!"
    　　Very soon, the tidal wave struck the village, destroying the villagers1　houses
　　　and carrying away all their possessions. The people stood perfectly　still, unable
　　　to speak because of the sudden catastrophe that had befallen　them.
   
    　　Gohei Hamaguchi, by his sacrifice, lost all of his property and much of　his rice,
　　　but he had saved the lives of four hundred villagers. They were　unable to make
　　　their 3Grandfather2 rich again, but several years later, when　the village had revived,
　　　they renamed their savior, Hamaguchi Daimyojin or　Hamaguchi Gracious Deity.
　　　 They built a small shrine where the spirit of　Gohei Hamaguchi was deified, and
　　　there the villagers would pray everyday,　even though he still lived.  Thus, curiously
　　　or not, the soul of Gohei　Hamaguchi was worshiped by the villagers as a living God.

　　A Brief History of Rafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo).

    　Rafcadio Hearn was born in Greece, in 1850, the son of an Irish army　surgeon and
　　a Greek mother. He went to America and worked there as a　journalist. In 1890, he
　　came to Japan as a travel journalist. He also worked　as an English teacher in the
　　city of Matsue, in Shimane Prefecture. He　married Setsu Koizumi, the daughter of
　　a samurai, and became a Japanese　national.  He changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo.
　　After that, Rafcadio　Hearn, now Koizumi Yakumo, taught English literature at Tokyo
　　University and　Waseda University. He died in Tokyo, in 1904, at the age of fifty-four.

　　　 His main books include, Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan; 　In Ghostly　Japan; Ghost
　　Story (Kaidan); 　Shadow God Country Japan: One essay.
    　These manuscripts, together with his diary and other writings, are　reserved in The
　　 Rafcadio Hearn Library of Toyama University. 

　　March 2001,described