The Story of Dondoko, Kannari Taro - 悠久城風の間　blog語り部のささやき

What will thunder and lightning bring down to the land? Rich harvests? The sprouting of new life? Genetic mutations? Or, are the thunder and lightning supposed to make us realize the dreadful fury of the heavens?

The people who read “Thunder’s Child” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 all shared their thoughts.

One of them said, “Thunder’s child fell from the sky. What a klutz! Why did he fall?”

Another commented, “Was the child born to Annyasa, a simple villager, a human? Or was he Thunder’s child? I heard that he had a horn growing from his head and fangs sticking out of his mouth.”

One more wondered, “He said to the demon at the temple bell tower ‘Show me your face.’ Why did he want to see the demon’s face?”

Then, I interviewed Taro, the child of Thunder (named Kannari in Japanese). Here is his story.

I am Kannari Taro. Some people call me Dondoko. I always went around with Kannari, my father. I took my drums when we went riding on clouds.

“Okay, Taro. Watch me carefully,” my father said.

“Heads of rice are starting to appear in the rice fields. It’s time to send down some lightning. Then, the heads of rice will ripen and turn gold. Here we go. Zap!”

Flashing bolts of lightning lit up the rice paddies.

“Taro, beat your drums.”

I hurriedly beat my drums. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Boombaba, boombaba, boombaba.

The rice was bathed in the bright flashing light and trembled with the sound of my drums. Then, the green heads of rice turned gold. The rice paddies became a sea of gold.

“All right, let’s move on to another paddy. Here we go. Kazaam!”

My father flashed his lightning over another paddy, too.

“Taro, beat your drums.”

I hurriedly beat my drums. Boo-boo-boom! Boombaba, boombaba.

All the rice plants swayed and the green heads turned golden.

“Yes, this is the first-class brand rice, Koshihikari.”

“Father, that was fantastic! Well done, boombaba, boombaba.”

“My lightning bolts can turn all rice into Koshihikari. Hahahaha!”

This is how my father made all rice become Koshihikari.

Looking over the rice paddies below, I was amazed at what he did. I praised him saying, “It’s as if you spread a golden carpet over the land. Boombaba.”

I was mesmerized by this beautiful scenery. I wanted to take a closer look, so I moved my cloud down closer to the fields. Startled by the thunder, villagers, dogs, and cats were running around and trying to hide themselves.

“Hey, what’s that? Boombaba.”

What’s running through the paddy, staying away from the villagers, dogs, and cats? Is it some kind of beast? Is it a human?

I moved my cloud closer to the land so that I could take a better look.

“It looks kind of like a beast, boombaba. But it looks kind of like a human, boombaba. Is it a demon?”

Its hair was whipping wildly around, so I couldn’t see its face.

Then, my navel started growling, “Mother, mother!”

“What? Is that my mother? Is that my mother? Boo-boo-boom.”

I moved my cloud much closer to the land.

“Your face, show me your face. Are you my mother? Boombaba, boom-boom.”

Just at that time, “Ah…ah…achoo!”

What a surprise! It was the goblin’s sneeze. (Please see “The Story of Donwan, the Goblin” a Pastiche of Niigata’s Folk Tales No.3)

I was blown away by the gust of the goblin’s sneeze.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Boo-boo-boom.”

Ka-blam! Carelessly, I fell to the ground with my drums.

“Boombaba boom. What the heck!”

I was supposed to follow my father, who was flashing his lightning over the land, but I ended up falling down to the ground. Now, my father might drop a flashing bolt on my head.

“I have to go and apologize to him right away, boombaba.”

But what was that thing I saw just before? It was something like a beast, like a human, like a demon…Was it my mother?

“Yes, it’s her. It’s your mother.” My navel cried out again.

I heard that my mother had been kicked out of Tenjuku, the land of Thunder, because she aroused my father’s anger. I also heard that she became a demon in her time on the ground. My navel has been crying out, “My mother, my mother.” Was that strange thing my mother? I want to see my mother’s face. My father might get angry because I fell down to the ground.

“My father will never let me become Thunder now. Boomboom, boombaba.”

All right, then, I will return these drums to my father and come back to the land to look for my mother.

“Mother! I want to see you! Boombaba-baba. Boombaba-baba.”

Just then, Annyasa, a simple villager, showed up. Annyasa helped me make a mud-colored cloud. I promised that he would be blessed with a son. Riding on the mud-colored cloud with my drums, I returned to the seat of my father, the heavens of Tenjuku.

“You idiot! Do you know what you did? Taro, you are the heir of the Kannari family, aren’t you? That was so careless of you! You are still in training, aren’t you? Did you say that you fell down to the ground because you saw a cat? I can never forgive you. Once you’ve touched the ground, you can no longer control flashing bolts of lightning. You can never become Kannari-sama. You cannot make Koshihikari rice with flashing bolts of lightning. You won’t be able to make Koshiibuki rice or Shinnosuke rice either. Once you’ve touched the ground, there will be nothing else for you to do but work on the land. Kazaam!”

My father rained down flashing bolts of lightning over my head while shedding tears.

Before I knew it, I found myself in the womb of Anesa, the wife of Annyasa, the villager who helped me in my time on the ground.

I became the couple’s child. The couple, who had no children, lovingly raised me. They sang praises to the heavens, “Kannari-sama, Thunder, bestowed this child on us.”

However, I still had an outie navel even though I had grown up.

Anesa said, “The midwife did a terrible job at cutting your umbilical cord. She left it too long. That’s why you have an outie.”

However, Annyasa said, “Kannari-sama, Thunder, left you with an outie so that he could easily recognize you when he takes you back.”

“Kannari-sama, Thunder, may come to take you back. That’s why you must never show your belly and navel.” That’s why I always hid my outie whenever I heard thunder.

At the age of five, I was sent out to an apprenticeship at a Buddhist temple, where I studied.

One day, I heard a rumor that a demon was appearing at the temple’s bell tower. I recollected having followed my father and beating my drums to his thunder. When his lightning flashed with the sound of my drums, the rice fields turned gold. I remembered seeing something running through the golden fields. Was it a beast, a human, or a demon? I recalled that when I saw it, my navel started growling, “Mother, mother!”

That’s right! I came down to the land from Tenjuku, the land of Thunder, to look for my mother. I have to find my mother, boombaba-baba.

“I think I should go to the bell tower”

The people of the temple were shocked.

“Are you serious? You, sweet child, you want to go there?”

However, the elderly Buddhist priest said, “OK, then. Why don’t you go there and strike the bell?”

Listening to the Buddhist priest’s advice, I was suddenly inspired by his words. Just then, a horn popped out from the top of my head, boombaba.

“I’m off to the bell tower, boombaba.”

The bell tower was deep in silence. Since it was time to toll the bell, that’s just what I did.

That’s when I sensed something squirming around.

I asked, “Is it a demon? Boombaba.”

Then my outie navel responded, “It’s your mother.”

“Are you my mother? Or a demon? Boombaba.”

The thing in the corner of the bell tower did not respond.

“If you are my mother, show me your face, boombaba.”

Then, I heard a voice from the corner of the bell tower. “Show me your navel, show me your navel.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s my mother, boombaba, boombaba.”

Right at that time, there was a startling flash of lightning from the heavens. Flash, zap! The tower was filled with the piercing flash of lightning. I instinctively covered my outie. My father, Thunder, was very upset.

“You stupid old hag, get out of here. You’re a demon!”

His terrifying voice echoed all around. My mother, who had turned into a demon, ran away in fright. I was trembling in dreadful fear. I found myself gripping my outie. The tower became silent again after my mother, who had turned into a demon, left. I slowly opened my hand to find my outie ripped off, lying there in my palm. Did my outie pop off because of my dreadful fear of my father?

The Buddhist priest kindly held a heartfelt memorial service for my torn-off navel. After that, my mother, who had turned into a demon, never again appeared in the village.

Since my outie was gone, I didn’t care anymore if it thundered.

I continued my training at the temple. Then, my head gradually became larger and the horn at the top of my head was hidden from view. I also worked in the rice paddies of the village, where I was able to harvest good-quality rice. This made the Buddhist priest, as well as Annyasa and Anesa, all very happy.

Ever since then, rice farming became more and more successful and the village prospered. However, the villagers were still afraid of thunderstorms, worrying that their navels might be taken. They are said to curl up their bodies and cover their navels while waiting for the thunder to stop.

Today, you may still hear people say to children who sleep with their bellies uncovered, “The thunder will take your navel.”

I hope you all keep yourself warm and keep your belly covered when you sleep.

The End

November 2020

Into the season of the deepening of the crimson maple leaves

Written by Yoko Tate

Translated and Recited by Masako Hayakawa

Illustrated by Rino Saito

June 2022 recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD7Mq--hsNc

日本語版

朗読　楯よう子