Once upon a time lived in the village of Tonoshiromura, on the island of Ishi-gaki, a kind fisherman. That village stood on the very shore of the sea. Every evening, when the Heavenly River appeared above the shore, fishermen went fishing.
One dark, moonless night happened. Few people decided to go to sea. The fisherman wanted to try his luck. A fisherman sailed far from the shore, threw his net and began to wait.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wind blew in, and a terrible voice came from the darkness:
“Fate and punishment are the law of this life!” he thundered. “Who can talk here in the middle of the sea?” - the fisherman was surprised.
- I’m tired, tired... Everything in life is vanity... And what is that ahead? No island? — the unknown voice spoke to itself again. It was scary, loud, as if an invisible giant was hitting the coastal rocks with a sledgehammer. “Yes, this island is exactly what I need...” the voice continued and suddenly screamed: “What kind of little man is swimming here?!”
The fisherman realized that the dark force had noticed him. Suddenly a high wave rose on the sea, picked up the boat, and turned it over. A fisherman swims in the dark and chokes. “So my death has come,” he thinks.
And then suddenly everything became quiet, the sea became calm, as if there had been no waves, and there was no voice. The fisherman looks and sees a large log floating towards him. The fisherman grabbed it, took a deep breath and exclaimed:
“I don’t know who you are, my savior, but I thank you for not letting me perish in the abyss of water.” Show me who you are, a man or a spirit?
A light breeze arose and his savior appeared before the fisherman. The fisherman looked, but almost out of fear he didn’t let go of the log. His face was very black, round, like a big ball, but on his face there were no eyes, no nose, no mouth. The fisherman realized that it was not a man who saved him, but a werewolf.
-Who are you and where did you come from? - the fisherman whispered barely audibly.
“I am not a man, but the Spirit of Plague,” the werewolf answered proudly. “The Chief Spirit of Diseases, the same one whose voice you heard over the sea, ordered me to infect this island with plague.”
“What are you, what are you,” the fisherman begged, “I beg you, do not send bad diseases to our island!”
Then the werewolf brought his terrible face closer to the fisherman and said:
“You, I see, are a kind person, therefore heavenly punishment will not befall you, I will not send a plague to your family - you are the only one on the entire island who will be saved.” Mark my words! Tonight, as soon as it gets dark, a large night bird will appear over your village - it will bring disease to the island. Then quickly go out into the yard and take out the mortar and crusher. As soon as you see a bird, start hitting it with a pestle, as if you were pounding rice. From this sound the evil spell will dissipate.
“Please, figure out how we can save the whole village?” the fisherman begged.
“I would be glad to help your village,” answered the Spirit of Plague, “but I dare not disobey the order.” Farewell and do not forget my words! - he shouted and disappeared into the darkness.
The fisherman reached the shore and immediately ran to the elder’s house. I told him about everything, and together they began to think about how to save the island from disaster. We thought and thought, but still didn’t decide anything. Then the fisherman says:
“We need to gather people and tell people everything.” Let them go out into the yard in the evening and take out the mortars and crushers. As soon as the night bird appears, we will begin to strike together with our pestles. The bird will think that this sound is coming from my yard, will circle and circle and fly away.
That's what they decided on. The elder ordered the gong to be struck so that it could be heard in the farthest fields. The peasants gathered, the elder told them about the trouble that was hanging over their island.
The people returned home, took out the mortars and mortars and began to wait for the night bird to fly. We waited for a long time until it got completely dark.
Then, out of nowhere, a large bird appeared in the sky. When the peasants saw her, they began to hit her with pestles as hard as they could, as if they were pounding rice in a mortar. A lower bird descended, circled the island once, circled another, and then soared into the sky and disappeared.
A fisherman saved a village from the plague. People began to thank him for helping everyone get rid of trouble.
But then the most wonderful thing began: unprecedented harvests will appear on the island, unprecedented fish will be caught - as if all the mountain and sea deities decided to help the peasants.
Many years have passed since then. The fisherman grew old and died. And the villagers began to venerate the place in the sea where the Spirit of Plague saved the fisherman as holy. They went there to pray to the gods for a good catch and a rich harvest. They called that place Amagawago-take, which
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru