The Story of Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden - 悠久城風の間　blog語り部のささやき

Cats’ eyes are mysterious. What do cats see with their sparkling eyes? I wonder what they are thinking about? Just when you think your cat is going to quietly climb onto your lap, it suddenly decides to just go outside. Cats are quite whimsical. Some cats sleep their days away inside a kotatsu, a low Japanese table with a heating unit and coverlet. Are cats dreaming while they sleep? If so, what do they see in their dreams?

The people who read “The Origin of the Twelve Zodiac Signs” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 shared their thoughts.

One of them stated, “The Cat is not included in the twelve zodiac signs. Isn’t that weird?”

Another commented, “I heard that the Cat was tricked by the Mouse. Does this mean that mice are smarter than cats?”

One more wondered, “The Cat was late for the assembly called by the deity and it was insulted by a gate guard who said to the Cat, ‘Come back after washing your face.’ Wasn’t it frustrated? Didn’t it get angry?”

Then, I interviewed Miiko. Here is the story of Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden.

I’m Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden, meow. I serve a deity. He issued a proclamation that he would hold an assembly of animals at the end of the year. There, he would choose 12 of them to protect the world of the humans, each one assigned to its own year, meow.

I suddenly became very busy. I had to assemble the 12 animals that the deity wanted by December 12^th. Walking down a road, I came across Squeaky the Mouse.

“Hey Squeaky, when was the day the deity is going to choose the 12 animal guardians? Meow?” I asked.

“It’s the day after tomorrow, the 13^th. Squeak, squeak.”

“What? The day after tomorrow, the 13^th? Meow, meow.”

So, it will be the day after the 12^th. Even if I told him now, I’m sure that careless and rash Squeaky will forget. Oh, Squeaky should ask the Ox, who lives just below Squeaky’s house, to take him to the assembly, meow. Yeah, this is a good idea.

Wait a second! The Ox always walks so slowly, plodding along. If the Ox just moseys along, the sun will set and they will be late for the assembly, meow. Okay, I’ll wake him up earlier.

I went home and went right to bed. Fwooh, fwooh. Meow. I went into the Ox’s dream and became a hag, meow.

The Ox was mumbling something to himself.

“Moo. I was slowly making my way up a mountain pass, carrying a load of mackerel on my back. The sun had already set. Then, a hag was chasing me from behind. The hag snatched the mackerels from my back and devoured them. Then, she sunk her teeth into my belly. Snap! Moo, moo. I’m scared!” (Please refer to “The Mackerel Monger and the Hag” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2.)

The Ox suddenly jumped up, lowing loudly. Even though it was still the middle of the night, he started getting ready to attend the deity’s assembly. Hearing the ox lowing, Squeaky the Mouse, living in the ceiling space, also got up.

“Hey, Ox! What’s going on? It’s the middle of the night. Squeak, squeak.”

“Well, I had a dream in which a hag chased me. It was really scary. I’m going to the deity’s assembly. Squeaky, why don’t you come along with me? If the hag appears, could you bite the hag? I’m scared of the hag. Moo, moo.”

The Ox headed out with Squeaky the Mouse on his back in the middle of the night. The moon was out. I asked the moon to shine brightly for the Ox and the Mouse because the hag would be unable to appear in the moonlight. OK, good. Meow, meow. Squeaky, don’t fall from the Ox’s back, meow.

The Ox plodded along with all his might. The hag did not appear. The Mouse, who was rocked gently on the Ox’s back, comfortably fell asleep there.

Hey, Ox, you made it to the deity’s shrine. You have finally arrived here, meow.

“I’m the first one here, moo.”

The Ox stopped short and the sleeping Mouse was thrown from the Ox’s back.

“Ow, ow, ouch! Squeak!”

The Mouse opened his eyes to find himself at the feet of the deity.

“Mouse, you are the first,” the deity declared clearly. “Ox, you are second.”

You did a good job in helping Squeaky the Mouse, meow.

Following these two, the fleet-footed Tiger came in third and the hopping Rabbit fourth. If you have four legs, you’re fast. Meow.

However, I was wondering how the Snake, who had no legs, would manage. Then, I saw the Snake slithering along the ground. Snake, you’ll never make it that way, meow. I asked the Dragon to let the Snake ride on its back.

The Dragon flew ponderously through the wide-open sky and placed fifth. The slithering Snake slid down from the Dragon’s back to the ground in sixth place. Meow.

They were followed by the Horse, running in and breathing hard. That’s seven.

The eighth one was the Sheep, who was cute even while running.

Wow! Great job, everyone! Meow.

Well, who’s next? How is the Monkey doing? That clown can easily get out of hand. I went to check on the Monkey, meow.

“Screech, screech, screech. Hey, Rooster, you have such beautiful feathers. Your red comb is also beautiful.” The Monkey was talking to the Rooster.

“Hey, Monkey, do you want my comb? Cook-a-doodle.”

“Yeah, I want it, I want it! Your pretty red comb looks like a crown. I want it. Screech, screech!”

“My comb is stuck to my head. Since I can’t rip it off, I can’t give it to you. Cock-a-doodle.”

“I want a comb on my head. If I become a guardian, I need a crown-like comb. Rooster, why don’t you let me just borrow your comb? Screech, screech.”

“No way. It’s not possible. I can’t take it off. Cluck, cluck.”

“Oh, please. Just for a little while. Now, take it off. Screech, screech.”

“OK, then. How about this? Cock, cock, cock-a-doodle-dooo!”

The Rooster jumped onto the Monkey’s head.

“Hey, Monkey, look! Now you have a comb on your head.”

“Screech, screech. Ow, ow! That hurts! You’re heavy.”

“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”

The Monkey and the Rooster kept talking on the roadside, meow. What happened to going to the deity’s assembly? Meow. I know! I’ll have the Dog chase them. I set the Dog on them. Meow, meow.

“Oh, my goodness, a Monkey is bullying a Rooster. Bow-wow! Stop, stop!”

The Dog leapt forward.

The Monkey ran off, the Rooster still on his head.

The Rooster, perched on the Monkey’s head, pointed out the deity’s shrine. “Monkey, that way, cock-a-doodle.”

The Monkey ran on, complaining, “You’re heavy, so heavy. Screech, screech.”

The Dog chased on, shouting “Bow-wow, stop, wait up!”

Oh, my goodness, what a racket! At least they’re all headed for the deity’s shrine.

That scatterbrained Monkey kept desperately running with the Rooster on his head, followed by the Dog, who was so very fast as everyone knows. The Dog finally caught up with them and sank his teeth into the Monkey’s behind.

“Bow-wow. Chomp!”

“Screech, ouch!”

The Monkey instantly arched back in pain and the Rooster was thrown from the Monkey’s head and fell to the ground.

“Cluck, cluck, cluck. Where am I?”

He was right in front of the deity.

The deity loudly proclaimed, “The Monkey is 9^th, the Rooster is 10^th, and the Dog is 11^th.”

Whoops! The 12^th one hasn’t arrived yet, meow.

In a field by the roadside, a wild Boar was digging for potatoes and scattering them around.

“Hey, Boar, what are you doing? Meow.”

“Can’t you see what I’m doing? This is my breakfast, oink, oink.”

The Boar was completely absorbed in devouring the potatoes.

“This year’s potatoes are not bad. Oink.”

“Hey, Boar, aren’t you going to the deity’s assembly? Meow.”

“These potatoes are so good, so good. Oink, oink.”

Since he was so focused on the potatoes, he didn’t hear me even though I was talking to him. That Boar is such a pig! I mixed some hot chili peppers with the potatoes. The Boar can’t handle spicy food. Meow.

“Ahhh! Oh, my god! It’s hot, so hot. Oink, oink. What’s up with these potatoes? Potatoes aren’t supposed to be spicy. I’ve never had such spicy potatoes. This year’s potatoes are a bad crop. Oink, oink.”

Screaming in agony as if he were dying, he spat out the spicy potatoes. “Ptui, ptui, oink.”

“Hey, Boar, why don’t you just forget about those nasty potatoes and head for the deity’s shrine. If you are appointed one of the guardians, the deity will surely serve you some delicious New Year’s dishes, meow.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right. I was on my way to the deity’s shrine. There’s no way I can keep eating these spicy potatoes, oink. Yes, I’m off to the deity’s shrine. Oink, oink”

He started charging straight to the shrine, meow.

The deity said, “Everyone, welcome to this assembly. Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, 11 of you. Wait, what happened to the 12^th one?”

Just then, the Boar popped in “Oink, oink.”

“The Boar is the 12^th. Now we have all 12 guardians here. Wonderful, wonderful! Ha, ha, ha!”

The deity’s laughter echoed all around.

The following day, I was taking a walk in front of the deity’s shrine and a gate guard called out to me.

“You didn’t come to the shrine yesterday when the deity chose the 12 guardians. You’re too late. The assembly is over.”

“Meow.”

It seemed like the gate guard didn’t know that I’m the Cat Shrine Maiden serving the deity. I am Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden. Meow. Don’t I look like a shrine maiden?

Well, I guess I have to make myself prettier and more elegant. Meow.

I went home and washed my face with my saliva as cats usually do, making myself pretty. Meow.

Since then, the years, each with its own zodiac symbol, have continued to roll around and people have continued to live through each year with its own various charms, wonders, and differences. The passage of time has become more deeply ingrained into the history of humankind.

On the contrary, cats have remained unchanged, still indulging in their catnaps alongside humans every day.

The End

December 2020

On a night with the moon shining brightly

Written by Yoko Tate

Translated and Recited by Masako Hayakawa

Illustrated by Rino Saito

September 2022 recording

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