Sadayū, sin guvernerja Harime

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Sadayū, sin guvernerja Harime

Long ago, a man named Sadayū, a son of Kinyuki, governor of Harima, lived near Fifth Avenue. He was the father of the Akimune who is alive today. This Sadayū accompanied Satonari, governor of Awa, on his journey to that province, but died on the way. He was a relative of a former governor of Kawachi. Now, this former governor owned an ox with an amber-mottled coat. Someone borrowed the ox, harnessed it to a carriage, and sent it toward Yodo. At Hitsume Bridge, the ox driver handled it badly and let one wheel slip over the edge. The carriage was dragged sideways and began to fall from the bridge, but the ox, sensing what was happening, spread its legs and braced itself. The breast strap snapped, and the carriage fell and shattered, while the ox remained alone on the bridge. No one had been riding in the carriage, so no one was hurt. “An ordinary ox would have been pulled over and injured too. What astonishing strength!” the people of the neighborhood said in praise. After this, the ox was treated with great care, but one day it disappeared without a trace. “What can have happened?” the household exclaimed, searching everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found. Thinking it might have broken loose and wandered off, they sent people looking both near and far, yet still found nothing. While the former governor was lamenting the loss of such a remarkable animal, he had a dream in which Sadayū came to visit him. “I heard that this man fell into the sea and died. How can he have come here?” he wondered, but went out to meet him. Sadayū said, “I dwell in the northeastern quarter. Once each day I must go from there to the foot of Hitsume Bridge to suffer torment. My sins are so grave that my body is exceedingly heavy, and no conveyance can bear me. It is painful to make the journey on foot, so I have been riding your amber-mottled carriage ox, which is very strong. But you have been searching for it so anxiously that I shall return it in five days’ time, on the sixth day, at about the hour of the Serpent. Please do not search so desperately for it.” Then the former governor awoke. He told the household of his dream, and they let the matter rest. On the sixth day after the dream, at about the hour of the Serpent, the ox came walking in of its own accord. It looked as though it had endured some terrible ordeal: its tongue hung out in distress, and its body was streaming with sweat. The former governor told this story, saying how dreadful it was to think that Sadayū might have happened upon the scene at Hitsume Bridge when the carriage fell and the ox held its ground, thought what a powerful beast it was, and borrowed it to ride.