Japanese Folk Tales

Sadaroku and Shiro

Once upon a time in Kazuno, Akita, there lived a hunter called Sadaroku.

Sadaroku had a special hunting license. He could hunt anywhere with his license, even in other territories that wasn't near his home.

Sadaroku had an Akita dog named Shiro.

Shiro was the size of a calf, but when he was young, he could fit in Sadaroku's hand, and loved him like a child.

Shiro was a smart dog, as he could smell a prey miles away.

One day, it was snowing hard, and the cold winds blew harshly. 

Sadaroku took his rifle with him, put rice balls into his pouch and went out to hunt with Shiro.

But for once, they couldn't find anything to hunt or to take.

"Oh well", Sadaroku said, disappointed. "The sun's set. Let's head home."

And then...

Shiro barked.

"You found something?" Sadaroku asked Shiro, suddenly alert at how Shiro was acting. Before Sadaroku could even look forward, Shiro dashed through the snow.

There before him was a pale deer, a type of deer he had never seen before in his lifetime.

Sadaroku aimed at the deer and shot without hesitation. "I got him!" Sadaroku exclaimed. "That's a great kill!" Sadaroku walked gleefully to the spot where the deer was supposed to be.

The deer was tossing its head, suffering from the immense pain it received from the shot. Its belly was stained with blood.

"It's tough!" Sadaroku said, quite shocked at the deer's strength. The deer ran, afraid of taking another shut from the merciless hunter.

Sadaroku, wanting to get his game, followed it. Shiro ran, barking.

Suddenly, he lost track of where he was. Sadaroku turned, trying his best to see where he currently was.When he sudenly felt the cold wind against his face, he'd cross Raiman Pass, and crossed into Sannohe territory.

He went deep into mountains that he'd never travelled before, and finally found the deer's home.

He peered inside, and there sat the deer's child, licking its mother's wounds.

Sadaroku readied his gun once more, but he wasn't sure of what to do. His mind was clouded with thoughts. He didn't want to kill the deer and its child, but he couldn't come back empty handed.

Then, Shiro barked at the deer.

"Forgive me!" Sadaroku shut his eyes and pulled the trigger.

And he fired.

The deer and its child died on top of each other. That night, Sadaroku decided to spend the night in the cave. As night fell, he started to feel strangely pathetic.

By morning, he regretted for killing the deer and its child. His guilt was becoming bigger and bigger.

"Where are you from, hunter?" A couple of other hunters called out to him, as they spotted him.

"I'm Sadaroku from Kazuno."

"What's a Kazuno hunter doing in the Sannohe territory?" They asked him.

"I've got the right to hunt anywhere I like. Look..." Sadaroku said as he reached into his pocket.

But then, he realized his license wasn't with him. He panicked. Without his license, he was illegally hunting on another territory's grounds. He could be imprisoned!

Sadaroku was then given to the magistrate of Sannohe. Since he didn't have his license, he was put to prison.

"If only I had it with me..." Sadaroku said, his face filled with misery. "Shiro, go back and take the lisence for me! And hurry!" Sadaroku said as he let Shiro go.

The very next day, Sadaroku was sentenced to death by the magistrate of Sannohe,

"Please wait a bit longer!" Sadaroku begged. "Shiro, my dog, will arrive soon!"

But, Shiro was a moment late to his master. He arrived later than expected.

Sadaroku was killed by a spear, and in that moment, he remembered the deer and its child. He realized what he had done.

When Shiro arrived, he put the lisence beside his master's bloodstained corpse.

Shiro tried to drag his master back to Kazuno, but he couldn't drag it much longer when he arrived on a mountain summit. His body was far too heavy for a dog alone to bring back to Kazuno. 

Shiro, then, looked at the direction of Sannohe, and howled a howl full of hatred and loathing.

Then, Shiro turned to stone, and their corpse stood there, together.

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it!

Just to make things clear, I don't own these stories, they belong to Japan, not me.

Stories here can be seen/viewed in "Folktales from Japan". (Its a series.)

Again, Thank you!

Until next time!

Lizbeth-HimeChan

edited - mar 27, 2021