LIFE IS THE GREATEST TEACHER

 

It was late summer, and the temperature was the hottest in Japan in a decade. I was sent by my sensei on a journey of learning. On this journey, I had to travel from Kyoto to Nagasaki. It was a long journey and would take almost five months. I departed with some provisions, which were: sake—the Japanese rice wine—rice, and 1000 yen. Deciding to go through the Inga Mountains, I arrived at a hotel to stay for the night.

The following morning, I woke up refreshed. Unlike the day before, a breeze was blowing. I saw the beauty of the mountains, untouched by human activity. I decided to take a stop at a nearby valley. When I reached the valley, it was too quiet, and an eerie silence surrounded the atmosphere. Nevertheless, I decided to knock on the door. A middle-aged farmer came out and was very welcoming. I gave him my personal belongings for safekeeping and dozed off.

When I woke, I found myself covered in grime and dirt. Feeling betrayed and confused, I took an uncertain path and, at last, gave up trying to find the village. Tired, confused, and hungry, I slept on the forest floor. I woke up disheveled and started the journey again, not knowing where I would end up. As luck would have it, I reached the same village. I knocked on the same door, and the middle-aged man came out. After seeing me, his face went pale. He said that he had no other choice. A bandit named Takedi robbed everything near the end of every month.

I was a monk, so I forgave him and even decided to help him fend off the bandit. He brought me to the leader of the village, Masomoto, and they held a meeting to discuss what to do. A villager suggested summoning samurai, but we knew that time was short, so we had to try something different. The meeting finally decided that barricades should be installed, and a police force should be trained to fight the bandit and his followers. We built a trench to the south, destroyed the bridge in the east, flooded the plains to the west, and, to make a stand in the north, we trained in Taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat) and Kajitsu (the art of sword fighting).

The month finished sooner than expected, and the time was upon us. Takedi was surprised to see such fortifications. We made a stand in the north, but Takedi was on horseback with his three companions. We decided to throw rocks at the horses, who, as expected, got scared and ran away. Thus, the villagers achieved a victory without a real fight. I received a sack of rice, three bottles of sake, and 2000 yen as a reward for leading them.

I then said goodbye, left the village, and embarked on my journey.

 Rafay  IX O