Bird of Spring.

Haru no Tori
Author(s): Kunikida Doppo and David G. Chibbett
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 26, No. 1/2 (1971), pp. 195-203
Published by: Sophia University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2383616
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 eTRANSLATION

BIRD OF SPRING

Haru no tori
by KUNIKIDA DoPPo

Translatedby DAVID G. CHIBBETT

S IX OR SEVEN
maticsin a certainprovincial
'I

yearsago I wasengaged
district.
in teachingEnglishandmathe-
In thetownwas a mountain called
Shiroyama whichwas covered with huge, gloomy trees.
ThisI usedtoclimb
whenever I was outfora walk,becausealthoughit was nota particularly high
mountain its scenerywas ofexceptional beauty.On its summitweretheruins
of a castle,the highstonewalls of whichhad an inexpressible charm,with
creeperstrailing overthem, tingeing them a deepred.Where thekeep hadstood
in ancienttimesthegroundwas level;withitssparsescattering ofdwarfpines,
whichhadgrownupsometime inthedimpast,amidstanunbroken seaofsummer
grasses,the sceneborea pathosredolentofbygonedays.I cannotcountthe
numberoftimesI spreadsomegrassand lay enjoyingthe view of suburban
gardensand fieldsoverthetop ofa forestto whichno axe had beenlaid over
hundreds ofyears.
I remember one Sundayafternoon. It was lateautumnand theskywas clear
as water,buta wintry windwas blowing, causinga violentmoaning amongthe
treesofShiroyama. As usualI had climbedto thesummitandwas readingthe
novelI hadbroughtwithmeas I watchedthesun,whichwas slightly inclined
to thewest,castinga redglowoverthe distant and
villages suburbs. Suddenly
I heardthesoundofvoicesandwhenI lookeddownovertheedgeofthestone
wallI sawthreequiteordinary-looking girlsgatheringdeadbranches. Perhapson
accountofthegreatharvestto be reapedbecauseoftheviolenceofthewind,
theyappearedtobe stillsearching thearea,eventhoughtheyhadlargeloadson
i96 Monumenta xxvI, I-2
Nipponica,

theirbacks,chattering and singingmerrily as theypickedup thewood.They

seemedto be abouttwelveor thirteen yearsold; probablyfarmchildren from
somenearbyvillage.I lookeddownat thegirlsfora time,butthenreturned to
mybookandforthemoment forgotall aboutthem.
'Ah!' At thesoundofa femalecryI lookeddownin surprise andsawthatthe
threegirlsmusthavebeenfrightened bysomething fortheyfledinconfusionwith
thewoodon theirbacks.Immediately theywerelostto viewbeyondthestone
wall.Thinkingthisodd,I lookedcarefully roundthevicinity andsaw someone
coming inmydirection from themurky beatinga pathforhimself
forest, through
thetrackless undergrowth. At firstI did notknowwho it was,but whenhe
emergedfromtheforest and appearedbeneaththestonewallI saw thatit was
a boywhomI judgedtobeelevenortwelveyearsold.He worea navy-blue kimono
fastened witha whitecottonwaistband;judgingfromhisappearancehe was
neither a farmlad nora boyfromthetown,it seemed.Carrying a stoutswitch
in his handhe staredabouthimwithwandering eyes,and whenhe suddenly
lookedup overthestonewall,oureyeshappenedto meet.The childgazedhard
at me,butpresently grinned. It was no normalgrinand,fromthewaytheeyes
in hispale roundfacegoggledat me,I immediately perceivedthathe was no
normalchild.
'Whatareyoudoing,Sensei?he calledto me.I was slightly butthe
startled,
placewhereI taughtat thetimewas an extremely smallcastletown,so even
though I knew few people outsidemypupils, the nativesgenerallywouldbe
awarethata youngteacherhad arrivedfromthecapital;thusit wasnotparti-
cularlystrange forthischildtoaddressmethatway.As soonas theexplanation
occurred to me,I spoketo himgently:'I am readinga book.Won'tyoucome
here?'
At oncethechildput his handson thestonewalland beganto climblikea
monkey.As thewall was morethanthirtyfeethighI was amazed;evenas
I reflected thatI shouldmakesomeeffort to stophim,he was alreadyhalf-way
up. Graspingthe nearestcreeperas it came withinreach,he agilelypulled
himself upbyitandinaninstantwas standing bymyside.Thenhe stoodthere
grinning.
'What'syourname?'I asked.
'Roku.'
'Roku?It's Roku-san, is it?'
He nodded,wearingthesamepeculiargrin.He hadhismouthslightly open
andstaredso hardat myfacethatI feltodd.
 TRANSLATION. CHIBBETT, 'Haru notori' I97

'How old areyou?'I asked.He lookedpuzzled,so I repeatedthequestion,

whereupon he twistedhismouthintoa strangeshapeandmovedhislips.Sud-
denly,heopenedbothhandsandcountedoffon hisfingers 'One,two,three'and
thenjumpedto 'ten,eleven'.He lookedup at me seriously. The way he said
'eleven'was no different childwho hasjust
at all fromthatofa five-year-old
learnedto count.
'Well,you'reprettybright,aren'tyou?'I saidinstinctively.
'My mothertaughtme.'
'Do you go to school?'
'No.'
'Whynot?'
The childhunghisheadandlookedaway,so I waited,guessingthathe was
thinking abouthisanswer.Withoutwarninghe rushedoff,makinga croaking
noiselikea deaf-mute.
'Roku-san!Roku-san!'In amazement, I calledforhimto stop.Witha cryof
'Aagh,aagh!'herushedoffdownthebaseofthekeepwithoutlookingback,and
immediately disappeared fromsight.

At thistimeI was livingin a lodginghouse,butI foundit inconvenient, so

aftermakingseveralenquiriesI eventually rentedtwo upstairsroomsfroma
mannamedTaguchi,whowas to provideall thenecessities. Taguchiin earlier
days was a principal
samurairetainer andlivedaffluently
beneathShiroyama in
a splendidmansionwhichretained allthegloryoftheoldstyle,soitwasnosmall
favorforhimtorentmetheupperstoryofhishouseandtakecareofme.
When,themorning afterI movedin,I got up earlyto takea stroll,I was
surprisedtofindtheboyI hadmetonthemountain sweepingup inthegarden.
'Goodmorning, Roku-san,' I said.He lookedat meandthenwitha grinswept
up someleaveswithhisbroom,makingno reply.
As thedayspassedI gradually beganto learnthestoryofthispeculiarchild;
thiscameaboutbecauseI verydiscreetly keptmyeyesandearsopen.His name
wasRokuz5,andhewasthenephewofmylandlord Taguchi.He wasa congenital
imbecile.His mother, who was forty-five or forty-six
yearsold, had lost her
husbandearly;shehadreturned to herownfamily, andwithhertwochildren
wasbeingcaredforbyherelderbrother, Taguchi.Rokuzo'seldersisterwascalled
0-shige.Shewas seventeen at thistimeandfromwhatI couldsee shetoowas
an unfortunatecase-an imbecilelikeherbrother.
i98 Monumenta
Nipponica,
XXVI,I-2

At firstmylandlordTaguchiseemedto be concealingthefactoftheirim-
becilityfrom me,butthetruthaboutanything cannotbe hiddenwhenyoutalk
aboutit, so finally he cameto myroomone eveningand aftertalkingabout
education, he broughtup thesubjectoftheimbecility ofhisnephewandniece
andwondered ifit mightnotbe possibleto givethemsomesortofeducation.
According to whathe toldme,thefather ofthispatheticpairhad beenan ex-
tremely heavydrinker, in theprocessshortening hisownlifeand squandering
thefamily fortune. In thebeginning he sentRokuz5and 0-shigeto primary
school,but both had provedsingularly incapableof learninganything;no
matterhowhardtheteachershad triedwiththemall efforts wereto no avail.
For the mostpartit had beenimpossibleto teachthemtogether withother
pupils,forall theydidwasbecometargets oftheridicule ofclassmischiefmakers,
and so it was sympathetically suggestedthattheybe takenaway fromthe
school.
As I heardthestoryin allitsdetails,it becameincreasingly obviousthatboth
brother and sisterweretrueimbeciles. Also,thoughTaguchidid notsay this,
fromgeneralobservation it was clearthathissister,thechildren's mother,was
notquiteall there,andI quicklyperceivedthatwhilepartofthecauseofthe
children'simbecility layin thefather's alcoholism, it was also partlyinherited
from themother.
I knewthattherewas sucha thingas theeducationofimbeciles, butspecial-
izedknowledge wasnecessary forthis,soI avoideddiscussing thematterseriously
withTaguchi.I contented myself withmerelysayingthatit wouldbe no easy
task.However,whenthereafter I cameto see moreof0-shigeand Rokuz5,I
couldnothelpbutfeela greatpityforthem.I feltthattherewas no deformity
morepitiablethanthis.It is no doubta tragedyto be mute,deaf,or blind,but
thosewhoareunableto speakor to hearor to see arestillcapableofthought.
Theycanthinkandfeel,whereastheimbecilehasa muteness, anda
a deafness,
blindness ofthemindso thatheis scarcedifferent fromthe birdsandthe beasts.
At anyrate,sincehe has a humanform, he is notcompletely withoutfeelings,
but theycannotamountto morethana fraction ofthoseofthenormalperson.
Ifa mindisinorder, eventhough incomplete, itisnottoobad,butas theimbecile's
mindisdistorted aswellasincomplete, he seems indeed.Whenhelaughs,
peculiar
whenhe cries,whenhe rejoices,whenhe is sad,he is in an evensorrier plight
becauseto all normalpeopleall ofhisactionsseemderanged.
It was notquiteso trueof0-shige,butRokuz5,all themoreforbeingbuta
child,hadan innocence whichmademepityhimdoubly,andso I resolvedthat
 TRANSLATION. CHIBBETT, 'Haru notori' 199

ifit wereat all humanly possibleI shouldliketo somehowimprovehismental

faculties,eventhoughit mightbe to onlya smalldegree.
Two weekshadpassedafter mytalkwithTaguchiwhenoneeveningat about
teno'clock,justas I was thinking ofretiringto mybed,I hearda voice.
'Areyou in bed, Sensei?'It was Rokuz5'smother, who had comeintomy
roomeven as she askedthe question.Shortand thinwitha smallhead and
prominent features,
shewas an old-fashioned womanwhoalwaysblackened her
teeth.Hermouthwasslightly openanda benignly sillysmileplayedperpetually
inhereyesandonherlips.
'I wasjust thinkingaboutit.' As I spokethewomansatdownby thehibachi.
'I havea favorto askyou,Sensei,'shesaid.She seemedto findit difficultto
speak.
'Whatis it?'
'It's aboutRokuza.He's sucha foolthatI wonderwhatthefuture holdsin
storeforhim.WhenI thinkaboutit,I forget myownstupidity andcan'tstop
worrying aboutRokuzo.'
'Ofcourse,butthere'sreallyno needto worryso.' It was humancompassion
thatled me to uttersuchwordsofcomfort.

BitbybitthatnightI heardwhatthemother hadto say,butwhatI feltmost

stronglywas hercompassion forherchild.As I saidbefore,it was apparent at a
glancethatshe wvasnot quiteall there,but heranxietyforherchildwas no
different
fromthatofa normalmother. I feltevenmorepityin thatthemother
was closetobeingan imbecileherself.Despitemyself, I wepttearsofsympathy.
Eventually I sentthepoorwomanbackwiththepromisethatI woulddo my
bestforRokuz5'seducation, and untillatethatnightI rackedmybrainsover
whattodo.FromthenextdayI begantotakeRokuz5withmewhenever I went
a
out for walk and,as the opportunity occurred, I decidedlittleby littleto
providesomething forhismindtoworkon.It washisinability tocountnumerals
thatI firstwas awareof,forhe was unableevento countthenumbers fromone
to ten.HowevermanytimesI taughthim,he couldonlyrepeatverballythe
numbers 'two,three'up to 'ten',butwhenI placedin a rowthreepebblesfrom
thewaysideandaskedhimhowmanytherewere,hewouldmerely contemplate
themin silence.WhenI pressedhimforan answer, hewouldbreakintohisusual
weirdsmileat first,butafterwards he wouldseemon thepointoftears.
I formyparttookgreatpainsand workedwithpatience.Once we climbed
200 Monumenta
Nipponica,
XXVI, 1-2

thestonestepsoftheHachimanShrine,countingthemas we went,'one,two,
three',untilwe stoppedat theseventh. I toldhimthatthiswastheseventh step,
butwhenI askedhimhowmanystepswe hadthuscounted, herepliedin a loud
voice'ten'.The resultwasthesamewhenwe countedpinetrees;thesamewhen
I triedtempting himwithsweetsto teachhimhowtocountthem.In thechild's
mindtherewas no connection betweenthe words'one, two,three'and the
numerical concepts whichthewordsimplied. I hadheardthatimbeciles havethis
inabilityto understand numbers, buthad neverthoughtit wouldbe as bad as
this.ThereweretimeswhenI feltlikecrying andthetearswouldflowspontane-
ouslyas I watchedthechild'sface.
Also,Rokuz5was quite mischievous and thereweretimeswhenhe really
startledpeoplewithhis pranks.He was skilledat mountain climbingand he
wouldrunaboutonShiroyama justas ifhewereonlevelground, bounding along
rapidlyevenwheretherewas no path.Henceit had happenedbefore, withthe
Taguchihouseholdworrying wherehe had gone,thathe wouldgo out after
lunchand suddenly,towardsnightfall, comeracingdownfromthe cragsof
Shiroyama toTaguchi'sgarden. I graspedthatthereasonthegirlwood-gatherers
hadfledat thesightofRokuz5was surelythattheyhadbeenfrightened byhis
pranksmanytimesin thepast.
On theotherhand,Rokuz5was quickto cry.Fromtimeto timehismother,
out ofconsideration forherbrother, administered severescoldings, sometimes
evenstriking thechildwiththeflatofherhand.At suchtimesRokuzowould
hanghisheadandshrink awayscreaming. Yet he was soonlaughingagainas if
hehadforgotten allaboutbeinghit.SeeingthisI felttheimbecile's wretchedness
evenmoreintensely.
FromwhatI havesaidit wouldseemunlikely forhimto knowsongsandthe
like,but knowthemhe did. He had offby heartsuchfavorites as thewood-
gathering song,and he sometimes wouldsingthemin a low voice.One dayI
climbedShiroyama alone.I hadintendedto takeRokuz5withmebuthe could
notbe found.EveninwinterKyushuis a warmregion,so theskieshaveonlyto
be fairforit to be quitewarm.Also,theairis clear,so winteris thebestseason
formountain-climbing.
Treadingamongthe fallenleavesI reachedthe summitat my usual spot
beneaththebaseofthekeep.In thecalmsilencepervading themountain I heard
someonesingingsoftly. I saw Rokuz5sittingastridethestonewallat thebase
ofthekeep,danglinghislegsand singinga popularsongwithhiseyesfixedfar
intothedistance.The colorofthesky,theraysofthesun,theruinsoftheold
 TRANSLATION. CHIBBETT, 'Haru notori' 20I

castle,and theyoungboy-it was quitea picture.The youngboywas a mes-

sengerofthegods.At thismoment Rokuz5lookedto menotat all likean im-
becile.Imbecileand heavenlymessenger-whata sad contrast!Yet I had a
profound impression theyoungboywas after
thenthat,forall hisimbecility,
all a childofnature.
One moreofRokuz5'sstrangecharacteristics was a fondness forbirds.He
hadonlytoseea birdforhimtoshoutoutwithhiseyesaglow.Yet hecalledany
birdhe sawa crowand,no matterhowmanytimesI taughthimthenames,he
wouldforgetthem.Shrikeor bulbul-to himit was a crow.Therewas one
amusingoccasionwhenhe saw an egretandcalledit a crow-amusingbecause
thereis a popularsaying'to blackenanegretbycallingita crow',1a thingwhich
wasa matter ofcourseforthischildalone.Whenever hesawa shrike singingfrom
thetopofa talltree,Rokuz5wouldstareat it withmouthagape;it wasstrange
toseehimstaring blanklyat theplacewhereit hadbeenafterit hadflownaway.
To him,birds,whichflewaboutin theairfreely, seemeda sourceofamazement.

4
I wasdoingmybestforthissad child,butto no visibleeffect. Whatwithone
thingandanother thenextspringarrived andwithitcameanunforeseen disaster
forRokuz5.It was theend ofMarch;one day Rokuz5disappeared fromearly
morning and had notreturned evenwhenmiddayhad comeand gone.When
nightfellandhe stillhadnotreturned, therewas greatanxietyin theTaguchi
householdand hismotherparticularly was restless.ThereforeI decidedit was
bestfirstofall to makea searchofShiroyama. I tookoneofTaguchi'sservants
withmeand,witha lantern at theready,climbedbymyusualpathto thecastle
ruins-a strangely painful
foreboding in myheart.I arrivedbeneaththebaseof
thekeepwiththefeeling peopleusuallycallpremonition.
'Roku-san!Roku-san!'I called.We strained ourearstolisten,theservant and
I, as ifby prearrangedsignal.Whatwithbeingin theruinsofa castleand the
childwe werelookingfornota normalone,I felta quiteindescribable senseof
themacabre. Whenwe emerged on topofthebaseofthekeepandlookeddown
overtheparapetofthestonewall,we discovered Rokuz5'sbodylyingdirectly
beneaththehighestangleofthewallon thenorthern side.It maysoundlikea
ghoststory,butas a matter offactafterI knewitwaspastthetimeforRokuz5's
return, I hada feeling
thathehadfallen from thishighstonewallandwasalready

1 'To blackenan egretby callingit a crow.'To makea right

intoa wrong.
202 Monumenta
Nipponica,
XXVI, I-2

dead.You maylaughat thisas idle fancy,but I confessit seemedto me that

Rokuzohadthrown himselffromthetopofthestonewallwiththeintention of
soaringaboutin theskylikea bird.Thereis no doubtthatifa birdhad been
flying aboutfrombranchto branchrightbeforehiseyes,thenRokuzohimself
wouldsurelyhavetriedto flyup intothebranches.
Two daysafterRokuz5'sfuneral, I climbedup thebase ofthekeepalone.I
was unableto bear thevariousthoughtsabout the strangeness of lifewhich
occurred tomeas I thought aboutRokuza.The difference betweenmanandthe
otheranimals;theconnection betweenmanandnature;lifeanddeath-all these
problems brought a profound sadnesstomyyoungheart.A famous Englishpoet
wrotethepoemThereWVas a Boy2inwhichhetellshowa childstandswithhands
claspednightafternightby a lonelylake,enjoyingtheowls on themountain
on theothersideofthelakehootingin responseto hisownimitation ofthecall
ofan owl.In theend,thechilddiesandis buriedin a tranquilgrave.His spirit
returns to thebosomofnature.I was fondofthispoemandreadit often, butI
feltthatseeingRokuzo'sdeathandthinking on hislifeandimbecility madehis
storyevenmoremeaningful thanthatofthepoem.The springbirdsflewabout
as I stoodwatching fromthetopofthewall.Mightnotoneofthembe Rokuzo?
Evenifthatwerenotso,howmuchdidRokuzodiffer fromthesebirds?
His wretchedmotherwept,despiteprotesting thatRokuzo'sdeathwas a
blessing for him. I
One day wentto thecemetery to thenorthofShiroyama with
theintention ofvisitingRokuzo'sfresh grave.His mother was therebefore me.
Shewas apparently talkingto herself
as shewalkedrepeatedly roundthegrave,
and seemednotto noticemyapproach.
'Whydidyouimitatethebirds?Eh,whydidyoujumpfromthewall?That's
whattheSenseisaid.He saidthatyoujumpedfromthebaseofthekeepbecause
youwantedtoflyin theair.Is thereanyonewhopretends tobe a bird,however
muchofan imbecilehe mightbe?' she said,but aftera moment'sreflection:
'Butit is betterthatyouaredead.You arebetteroffdead.'
Thenshenoticedme.
'Sensei,it is betterthatmyRokuzois dead,isn'tit?' shesaidand burstinto
tears.
'That couldneverbe so,butit was an accidentthatyoucouldnotforesee, so
thereis nothing butto resignyourself to it.'
'But whydid he pretendto be a bird?'
2 Writtenby WilliamWordsworth
in I799. 298-3I0. Kaiz6sha,Tokyo, I930.
Text fromKunikidaDoppozenshu,vol. 2, pp.
 TRANSLATION. CHIBBETT, 'Haru notori' 203

'That's myownfancy.There'sno wayofknowingforsurethathe methis

deathwhilepretending to be a bird.'
'Butisn'tthatwhatyousaid?'The mother raisedhereyesandstaredat me.
'Rokuz5was veryfondofbirdsso I just thoughtthatmighthavebeenwhat
happened.'
'Yes, he didlovebirds.Whenever he sawone he wouldstretch outhishands
likethis.'She flappedherhandsin imitation ofa bird.'He usedto walkabout
theretrying toflyjustlikethis.Andhewasgoodat mimicking thecallofa crow.'
As shespokehereyeskindled;at thesight I shutmy eyes involuntarily.From
thewoodson Shiroyama a singlecrowflewleisurely past,cawingtwoor three
timesas it headedtowardsthebeach.The mothersuddenlystoppedspeaking
andstaredblanklyafterit,obliviousto everything. WhatdidRokuza'smother
supposethatsolitary crow was? I wonder....