THE CENTIPEDE AND THE DRAGON PRINCESS
(An Alternate Version of Rice-bag Toda (Tawara Toda)
Once upon a time a warrior called Fujiwara no Hidesato was
crossing the Seta Bridge at Lake Biwa. Suddenly a monstrous serpent appeared
and lay across the roadway just ahead of him.
The hero was not least bit perturbed and, shrugging his shoulders,
calmly stepped over the giant snake and continued his way. No sooner had
Fujiwara passed than the serpent slid into the lake only to reappear again a
few feet in front of him in the form of a beautiful woman, blocking his way.
Sporting an enchanting smile, she bowed to him in formal
greeting and said, “For two thousand years sir, it’s been my unfortunate fate
to be kept away from my home, held prisoner under this bridge. In all that
time, I have never seen such a courageous man as you. It is for that reason
that I dare ask this favour.” In a
sorrowful voice she related her tragic story to the hero. She told him how once
she’d been a Dragon Princess from a far away sea. Wanting to see more of the
world, she had forsaken her safe home, snuck away and travelled far and wide.
After many years, as she grew older and matured, she relented and wished to go
back home but could no longer find her way no matter how hard she tried. Alone
and forlorn, constrained to remain in human form, she had been fortunate enough
to meet a brilliant scholar and married him.
For a time, they lived happily with their three children, but
then one unfortunate day a monstrous centipede emerged from a valley beyond the
ridge of hills and, having spotted her, abducted her and hid her in a cave
where no one could find her. While she was captive, the centipede had gone back
and murdered her loving husband and children. Claiming the region around their
old home and the river as his own, he’d brought her back to that precise spot
and, from that time on, condemned her to the life of a captive slave.
He used his power to endlessly torment her. She had made her
home in the depths of the river, forsaking solid land as it had reminded her
too much of what she had lost. Still, she could not attain any solace. She was
forced to give him whenever he wanted each time, he came to call on her. She
had been most miserable since then, powerless to escape the clutches of the
trickster centipede. The few times she’d sought help from wandering warriors,
or anyone courageous enough to be willing to help, it had ended disastrously.
The monster, delighting in torture, had eaten each champion slowly and
painfully in front of her.
“I have been most frank and now you know just what is at
stake. Dare I hope for your help, for salvation from my nightmare?” She cupped
her face in her hands and sobbed tragically. As he had not taken to his heels
in fright and still hung about, she came to believe that he might be the one to
save her and again implored the hero to do all he can to destroy the centipede
and rescue her from this dire predicament.
Fujiwara was as compassionate as he was brave and he consented
after only a very brief consideration. “Rest assured dear lady, I’ll do all I
can within my power to help you.” he promised her. “Please go home to your
place in the lake and await the results.”
That evening armed with a bow and arrow he planted his feet
solidly in the centre of the bridge and waited patiently for the arrival of the
centipede. It was a particularly cold night, cumulous clouds rode the sky,
driven by strong winds that buffeted his sleeves and thrashed at his face.
Often, they hid the moon’s rays, leaving him in pitch darkness. Adding an
ominous choir to this dramatic scene were the continuous cries of the wild
beasts.
Suddenly from the top of Mt. Mikami, following in the wake of
a flash of lightning, two enormous lights burst into the black sky. The vast
blinding light, resembling two hundred lit torches, had suddenly turned night
into day. It took Hidesato only an instant to recognise the two beams of light
as the centipede’s eyes.
Unafraid, Hidesato sightlessly launched three consecutive
arrows directly at the blinding lights. Being a great marksman, he hit his
mark, and the blinding lights were instantly snuffed out; the monster was no
more.
The Dragon princess was overjoyed at the news of his decisive victory. Filled
with gratitude, she invited Hidesato to be her guest for a time at her own
Dragon abode. With her powers now at full capacity after the death of the
centipede she was able to transform the simple dwelling into a palace more
befitting a Dragon Princess. There she regaled him with music, tasty,
delectable dishes and rewarded him with fine gifts: a roll of fine silk, a
temple bell, a sword and armour, as well as a tawara bag of rice. She told him
in no uncertain terms that these were magical items; that the silk roll, no
matter how much he cut from it, would not diminish in size, nor would the bag
of rice ever empty no matter how many scoops he took from it, and that the
magic would last as long as he lived.
Hidesato returned home and lived comfortably till a ripe old age. At
one point, he did come to know how the Dragon Princess, with her continually
growing powers, had eventually attained her ultimate goal of returning home.
She was eventually reunited with her parents, who forgave her after learning of
all that she’d gone through; she had married another dragon and they both lived
happily ever after.
Note: In another version of the story, set during the Genpei War, when Hidesato encounters the Dragon Snake on the bridge it is transformed, instead of a beautiful woman, into a “strange small man” instead, who was none other than the Dragon King himself. There is a Shinto shrine near the Seta Bridge at Lake Biwa where, even to date, people worship Tawara Toda, “Rice-bag Toda”.
