>>795274The village with no mirror
This is a tale from long ago. In Echigo (modern day Niigata prefecture) there lived a man called Shousuke. Shousuke lived with his father. One day, Shousuke's father became sick. Shousuke cared for him as best as he could, but his father died. Every day, Shousuke visisted his father's grave. he brought water and food to his father's grave. Even after getting married he visited his father's grave every day. For 18 years he did this without fail. The people in the village said, "Shousuke truly is a fine man." One day, the local lord heard about Shousuke's story and summoned him to the castle.
Lord: So you're Shousuke?
Shousuke: Yes.
Lord: I heard that your father died 18 years ago and that you'd visisted his grave every day since.
Shousuke: Yes.
Lord: You're a good son, a fine son.
Shousuke: No, I was just visiting my father's grave
Lord: No, it's not just something that anyone would do. Shousuke, you're a fine man. I grant you these beautiful kimonos.
Shousuke: I have kimonos
Lord: Fine, then I grant you possession of a wide rice field
Shousuke: I have a rice field, too
Lord: Fine, then I grant you money.
Shousuke: I don't have money, but I'm just fine without it. If you have a lot of money you won't work.
Lord: Well, there must be something that you want
Shousuke: I have no desire for anything, but I have a favor.
Lord: What is it. Speak.
Shousuke: I'd like to see my dead father.
Lord: Huh?
The lord was troubled by this. He whispered to his vassal in a hushed voice.
Lord: Shousuke, do you resemble your father?
Shousuke: Yes, I very much resemble him.
Lord: Very well, take this box with a mirror inside
The lord's vassal presented the box with the mirror inside.
Lord: Shousuke, look inside this box.
Shousuke: Yes.
Shousuke looked inside the box.
Shousuke: Father! You've come!
Shousuke thought his father had come to meet him when he saw his own face in the mirror. None of the people who lived in this village had ever seen a mirror.
When Shousuke saw his own face in the mirror, he cried tears of joy. The face in the mirror cried, too.
Shousuke: Oh father, please don't cry. But, father, you've gotten younger.
Lord: Take very good care of this box. However, make sure that no one else can see inside it.
Shousuke received the mirror and happily returned home. Then, he placed the mirror box inside his shed. From that point on, every morning and every night, Shousuke would go to the barn.
Shousuke's wife Omitsu grew warried. - Shousuke goes to the shed every morning and every night, but why? One day, Omitsu waited until after Shousuke went to his rice field, then entered the shed.
Then, she happened upon the mysterious box. She looked inside and… "Ah! A woman!" Omitsu was surprised, and the woman in the box was also surprised. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" Omitsu has also never seen a mirror before.
Shousuke returned from the field.
Shousuke: Omitsu, I'm back.
Omitsu: …
Shousuke: I'm hungry, is the rice ready yet?
Omitsu: …
Shousuke: Omitsu, what's wrong? Are you sick?
Omitsu: Who's that woman in the shed?
Shousuke: Woman in the shed? Huh? Ah, so you looked inside the box. That's my father.
Omitsu: Your father? No, that's a woman… Who is that woman?
Omitsu started hitting Shousuke.
Shousuke: Ah, it hurts!
Omitsu: Stupid, idiot!
Shousuke: It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!
A nun, (female monk) from a nearby temple, heard two voices coming from Shousuke's house and went inside.
Nun: Shousuke, what's going on here? Omitsu, don't cry.
Omitsu: Inside the shed…
Nun: Inside the shed?
Omitsu: There's a woman inside the shed
Nun: Huh? A woman?
Shousuke: That's my father.
Omitsu: No, it's a woman! There's a woman inside that box!
Shousuke: No, that's my father. It's not a woman!
Nun: Fine, why don't I go have a look inside the shed.
The nun entered the shed and opened the box. This nun had also never seen a mirror before.
Nun: Ah, it's a woman alright. There's a woman in there. But…
The nun emerged from the shed.
Nun: Shousuke, Omitsu, stop fighting! There is a woman inside the box, but it's alright. The woman must've realized she did something wrong and became a nun!