A Mujina
Sunshine English Course (?)
| A Mujina | |
|---|---|
| 貉（むじな） | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 281 |
| Book | Sunshine |
| Grade | ? |
| Year | ? |
Long, long ago, there was a lonely slope in the city of Edo. People stayed away from the slope at night, because a mujina lived there.
This is a story about the mujina.
One night, at a late hour, an old man was hurrying up the slope. Then he saw a woman under a tree. She was sitting alone, and crying.
"Why is she crying here at this late hour?" he wondered. "She looks like a young girl from a good family."
He went up to her and said, "What's the matter? Why are you crying?" But the girl did not answer. She was covering her face with one of her long sleeves.
"Please, please listen to me," he said gently. "This is not a place for a young girl at night! Don't cry, please!" Slowly she stood up, but she was still covering her face.
He put his hand on her shoulder, and said again, "Please don't cry!" Then the young girl turned around, and dropped her sleeve.
Look! She had no eyes, or nose, or mouth. He cried out and ran away. He ran and ran up the slope. And at last he saw a light far away.
The light was from a soba stand. The old man ran up to the stand, and fell down at the feet of the soba man.
"What's the matter?" asked the soba man. "Did anyone hurt you?"
"Oh, no!" said the old man. "I saw.... I saw a woman.... Her face was...."
"Well, was her face like this?" said the soba man. He stroked his face. Then his face became like an egg.
And, at the same time, the light went out.
New Prince English Course 2 (Showa 46) pg. ?-?
| A Mujina | |
|---|---|
| 貉（むじな） | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 223 |
| Book | New Prince |
| Grade | 2 |
| Year | 1971 |
Many years ago, there was a road along a small river in the city of Edo. There were no houses around there.
In those days, there were no street lights along the road. Very few people walked there at night. People said "Don't walk the road at night. A mujina lives there."
One night, an old man was going back to his home in Kyobashi. He was walking along the road with a chochin in his hand. Then he saw a woman by the river. She was crying.
"Why is she sitting there at this late hour?" he asked himself.
The old man went up to her and said, "What's wrong with you? Tell me. Why are you crying?"
The woman did not say anything. She was in a beautiful kimono. She covered her face with part of her kimono.
"Don't cry," he said. "Can I do anything for you?"
But she did not stop crying.
"Please, please listen to me," said the old man. "This is no place for a young lady at this late hour."
"Did you come here alone?"
"Yes, I did."
"Did you lose anything here?"
"No, I didn't."
Then the girl turned around. She moved her hand slowly from her face
Look! She did not have any eyes, nose, or mouth. The man cried out and ran away.
Unknown
| A Mujina | |
|---|---|
| 貉（むじな） | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 375 |
| Book | ? |
| Grade | ? |
| Year | ? |
One night, at a very late hour, an old merchant was hurrying up the Kinokunizaka. The moon was not out that night and so he carried a lamp in his hand. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful young woman on the edge of the castle moat. She was crouching and crying.
"She looks like she is going to drown herself!" he said to himself. "I must stop her!"
"Wait," he exclaimed as he approached her, "Tell me what the trouble is. If there is any way I can help you, I will."
But the woman hid her face from him with the sleeve of her kimono, and did not stop crying. "Listen," he said again as gently as he could, "Please listen to me! This is no place for a young lady at night. Don't cry. Just tell me how I can help you."
Slowly she rose up, but turned her back to him, and was still crying. He laid his hand lightly upon her shoulder, and pleaded: "Listen to me, just for a moment... please!" The woman turned around, and dropped her sleeve from her face. She had no eyes or nose or mouth! The merchant screamed and ran away.
Up Kinokunizaka the merchant ran and ran. His lamp went out, and all was black and empty before him. On and on he ran, and never looked back.
At last he saw a light in the distance and ran toward it as fast as he could.
The light was coming from a soba stall by the side of the road. He ran up to the stall and fell down at the feet of the soba seller. He was shaking with fear.
"What's the matter with you, old man?" asked the soba seller. "Did somebody hurt you?"
"No - nobody hurt me," panted the old man. "Only..."
"Robbers?"
"Not robbers, - not robbers," gasped the terrified man, "I saw ... I saw a woman - by the moat; and she showed me... Oh! I can't tell you what she showed me!"
"Well, did she show you something like... this?" cried the soba seller.
Suddenly, his face became as smooth and white as an egg.
The merchant screamed again, and at the same time the light of the stall went out.
Note
- This story was originally written by Koizumi Yakumo (小泉 八雲), born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, a Greek-Irish-Japanese writer.
