In few weeks ago, I went to an interesting place in the deep mountain.
The place's name was "Nesame no toko (寝覚めの床)".
It is the near place from Narai-jyuku which I wrote about in previous blog.
The meaning of "Nesame no toko" is "The place where awake from the dream".
This place has a legend that one of the most famous man in Japanese folk story had awake from his dream. The man's name is "Urashima Taro (浦島太郎)" and in saying, he was awake from his dream at the top of this rock, where now you can see small temple.
Walking through the mountain and walking up the rocks, I reached this small temple.
The mountain road was not so rough, but the rocks where little hard to climb.
As the autumn is coming near, the mountain's color was changing green to orange.
Can you see the small building in the center of picture below? It's the temple.
To go this temple, I had to go downward once, and climb up the rocks again.
I saw a beautiful view on the rock.
The temple was quite small.
Door was locked and couldn't see inside.
I was little surprised to see the legs of temple.
The small rocks were used as a stopper!!
I will write folk story shortly about Urashima Taro.
Once upon a time, there was a young fisher man lived near the sea.
His name was Urashima Taro.
One morning, when he was going fishing, he heard children's voice.
He felt something wrong, and went to see what was going on.
What he saw was children and a turtle. Children found a turtle, and were teasing him.
As Urashima Taro was gentle young man, he saved turtle from the children.
The turtle thanked Urshima Taro a lot, and told him to ride on his back.
The turtle took Urashima Taro to the castle in the deep sea.
The beautiful princess, Otohime (乙姫) welcomed him.
Castle was made of beautiful coral, had delicious food, Urashima Taro liked the place at once.
Urashima Taro had fun, that he even forgot the time.
He told Otohime that he want to go back to the beach were he lived. He reminded his parents.
Otohime told to stay little more, but he decided to go back.
Otohime missed him a lot, but she gave him a present and said like this.
"I will give this box. Your TIME spent here is inside this box. When you go back, you will never get old and can stay young forever. But if once you open the box, your TIME will go out from the box. Please don't open it."
When he got back to the beach, the scenery had changed a lot.
He asked the people who met first, and know that 700 years had past since he left the beach.
The time he had spent at the castle was about 3 years, but more and more time had passed outside.
Urashima Taro knew that he never can see his parents anymore and filled with loneliness.
He reminded about the box which Otohime gave him.
At first when he told that he never gets old, he was happy, but now, he felt so sad being young alone.
He thought if he open the box, the time will go back and can meet his parents.
He opened the box.
The white smoke came out from the box and surrounded Urashima Taro.
When smoke went away, Urashima Taro became an old man.
He couldn't reverse the time. Just time of his body had proceeded.
This is the story of Urashima Taro, which most of Japanese know.
I found some rocks which shaped like a turtle's head.
Don't you think so, too?
I was wondering why the legend of Urashima Taro had left in this deep mountain place.
He must be lived near the sea.
I searched about Nesame no toko, and knew that there where little more additional story.
As Urashima Taro had lost all of his family and neighbors, he decided to traveled around Japan.
He came inside to the deep mountain of Kiso, the area's name of Nagano and Gifu prefecture, and found beautiful place.
He liked the place, and spent his life there doing fishing in the river.
One day, he reminded about the box which Otohime gave.
As long time had also passed since he came back from the sea, he reminded good old days.
A memory of happy days with Otohime, he opened the box.
The smoke changed him to old man.
When he become an old man, he felt all thing he experienced was just a dream.
That is the reason this place was called "Nesame no toko", "The place where awake from the dream ".
In the light of sunset, the beauty of the scenery, I felt like it's not bad living here for a while.
I saw someone pine cone at the temple.
I felt like Urashima Taro is still living here, and left them here.
It's little too fast for me to look back my own life.
I should come here again someday in the future.
Thank you for reading.
Good night!!
木曽, 寝覚めの床, 浦島太郎, 長野
