The Story of Gingya, the Evening Sun - 悠久城風の間　blog語り部のささやき

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I bullied and abused my child, then I was all alone.

Night and day, for me, the world is only gray.

My heart is empty.

I cannot see either the morning sun or the evening sun.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot sleep.

No matter how much I drink, I cannot forget what I did.

My body is so heavy. What will I do? What will happen to me?

Will morning come?

Have you heard someone around you muttering these things?

The people who read the story entitled “Morning Sun and Evening Sun” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 all expressed their thoughts about this folk tale.

One of them said, “Asahi, Morning Sun, was severely bullied by her stepmother. Will she be able to get along with her stepmother at home?”

Another commented, “The mother bullying her child is an alcoholic, isn’t she? Can she become a good mother?”

One more stated, “What does Yuhi, Evening Sun, think about his mother?”

Then, I interviewed Yuhi, Evening Sun, the younger brother of Asahi, Morning Sun.

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I’m Yuhi, Evening Sun. You can call me Gingya. I love my sister, Asahi, Morning Sun, very very much. I used to play with her all the time, gingya. But my mom didn’t like that.

My mom said, “Yuhi, you are a man. Don’t play with Asahi. If you play with a girl, you will eventually turn into a girl.”

“I don’t mind, gingya. My sister, Asahi, is very nice and sweet to me. When I grow up, I’ll take her place and become Asahi, gingya.”

My mom frowned and pinched my sister’s cheek.

One day, my dad planned to go on a pilgrimage to the capital in the western region.

He said, “I’ll buy a scarlet kimono as a souvenir for Asahi.”

So I begged him, “Please buy me a scarlet kimono, too, gingya.”

Upon hearing this, my mom haughtily stated, “A scarlet kimono won’t look good on you, Yuhi. There’s no way it’ll look good.”

My dad left without a word.

Since my dad was out of town, my mom was the boss. She fed only me with delicious food, saying “Yuhi, Yuhi, grow up big and strong.” She continued, “Our home needs only you.”

She tried to feed my sister Asahi with poisonous buns stuffed with bean paste. She also tried to crush my sister by dropping a huge rock on her while she was sleeping. She began to show her true colors.

“Asahi, Morning Sun, is so bright, she’s blinding me. This is a big problem. I don’t need Asahi. I’m going to get rid of her, so you’d better help me.”

When she said this to me, I ran away with my sister.

My mom chased us, “Wait! Wait!”

She finally caught up with us and pushed my sister into a pit. She then covered my sister with dirt and buried her alive. 　

Then she headed home saying, “Now, tomorrow morning I can sleep in.”

Even though I tried to save my sister, I wasn’t strong enough to dig her out. I cried out, “Gingin, gya-gya! Gingin, gya-gya!”

Then, an old man with a beard appeared. He asked, “What’s the matter with you? You have such a red face. What’s your name?”

“I’m Yuhi, Evening Sun. Gingin, gya-gya. Gingin, Gya-gya.”

“Oh, Yuhi? Why are you crying gingya, gingya?”

“My sister Asahi, Morning Sun, has been buried here, gingya!”

“What? Was the morning sun buried? What will happen to tomorrow’s sunrise? Hurry up! We must dig her out quickly. Hurry up! Hurry up!”

The old man dug my sister Asahi out of the ground, his white beard covered with mud. Then, he took us to his house. It was already late at night.

The next morning, the three of us had breakfast together at the old man’s house, the morning sun flooding into the house.

The old man said, “This is a very good meal. It’s a fine morning. The sun rises in the morning. The morning sun shines, making this morning meal delicious. The morning sunlight enjoys slowly looking over the village and becomes the evening sun in the evening. In the light of the evening sun, you can enjoy a good evening meal.”

“What? Will Asahi, the morning sun, become Yuhi, the evening sun, gingya?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s right. Asahi, the morning sun, will become Yuhi, the evening sun. Then Yuhi will sleep during the night and become Asahi the following morning.”

“What? What did you say? You mean Yuhi will become Asahi? Gingin gya-gya, gingin gya-gya!”

“That’s right. That’s right. Yuhi will become Asahi.”

“I, Yuhi, will become Asahi, gingya.” I was glad to hear that. “That’s right. I’ll become Asahi. I love my sister Asahi very much. I’m so happy! Gingya, gingya.”

My sister Asahi brightened and smiled.

“I’ll become Asahi. Gingin, gya-gya.”

I heard the sound of a hand-held bell outside. “Clang, clang.” I saw my dad searching for us, ringing that bell. He had lost his eyesight because he cried so much over us.

My sister dashed out of the house and hugged him, crying “Dad, Dad!”

“Is that you, Asahi?” My dad hugged her close and breathed in her scent.

My sister Asahi began to shine brightly. The bright light restored my dad’s eyesight.

My sister Asahi, my dad, who could see again, and I all returned home together.

My mom was lying on the floor, drunk as usual. My dad abruptly snatched her sake bottle and said, “Enough drinking!”

“Oh. Huh? What’s the time?”

“It’s noon.”

“Since Asahi left, the morning sun doesn’t shine. I couldn’t get up because I had no idea when morning came.”

“You mean, it’s been night the whole time?”

“Yuhi didn’t come home either. There was no evening sun, so I couldn’t see when night came. I couldn’t sleep. No matter how much I drank, I couldn’t sleep.”

I said to my mom, “Mom, Mom, It’s me, Yuhi. I’ve come back home. Gingya, gingya.”

“Oh, my. It’s you, Yuhi. You’re here. You’re home. Now, the sun can finally set. Night will come. I will finally be able to sleep when night arrives.”

My sister Asahi also said, “Mom, Mom, I, Asahi, have also come home.”

“Oh, oh my goodness. It’s you, Asahi. You’re here. You still have your own hands and feet. It’s good. I’m glad. You’ve come home. The sun will rise and morning will come tomorrow.” My mom was crying great tears as she said this.

Looking at the evening glow that evening, my mom shed tears again as her face reddened.

Then she enjoyed eating supper, saying, “It’s good. It’s delicious.”

When the sun set she said, “Night has arrived. Night is here.”

Before long, she fell asleep without drinking any sake.

The following day, my mom woke with the rising sun. She drank the morning sun in and washed away the traces of tears on her face, saying, “Morning has arrived. Morning is here.”

Then, with a smile on her face, she started preparing ankoromochi (pounded rice cake wrapped in sweet red bean paste).

My dad bought us a red kimono and a pink kimono as souvenirs from the capital. I wore the red one because the evening sun is redder than the morning sun, gingya. My sister wore the pink one. Then, my sister and I enjoyed the ankoromochi that mom made and played together again, gingya.

Since that time, Sister Asahi and Yuhi Gingya help the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening every day. In the village, the sun regularly rises in the morning and sets in the evening. The villagers get up and start working with the morning sun and fall asleep in the evening. It is said that the village has prospered forever.

The End

Written by Yoko Tate

October 2020

With the Sun Hiding behind Clouds

Translated and Recited by Masako Hayakawa

Illustrated by Rino Saito

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