笠羅漢 (kasa rakan) "The statues with straw hats"

...my own completely inadequate translation! A "kasa" is a straw hat, and a "rakan" is in Chinese "luohan" or in Sanskrit "arhat" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakan (Am I the only person who sees "arhat" and thinks "asshat"? I hope not!)

In this cartoon version of a Japanese folk story (Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi), the old couple find they have no food or money to buy food, so the old man goes off to town to sell the straw hats he has been making. On the way he is caught in a rain storm, and seeks shelter in a grove with sixteen rakan. He decides they need the straw hats more than he needs food, so gives his hats to them and goes home. [By the way, the old woman is ok with this - he apologises for not bringing back any food and she says that his giving the hats to the rakan is just the sort of thing she likes about him - which makes him blush!] That night, the couple are visited by a ghostly procession bearing a coffin, which the pall bearers leave behind. In it is a treasury of "koban" - gold coins. By the door they find one of the old man's hats, and when they visit the rakan they see that one of them is hatless. So, they know that the riches they received were given by the rakan! And they lived happily ever after...

It's a beautifully illustrated story, and it reminds me of a simpler time when gods seemed closer and more intimately entwined in daily life.

Also, for those seeking the solitude of the mountain hut, the couple's house is perfect - in a bamboo grove, with little by way of furniture or decoration. Something to learn from, in many ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at8JhEgEb8g

Chuffed

Gosh, I seem to have *actual real people* reading the blog. How very kind of you!

Just when I thought peace was reigning upstairs (I think the noisy bloke has been replaced by another less noisy bloke) I now have recurring drama in the form of a young girl who likes to have very public outpourings of drunken grief, especially in the wee small hours. This block used to be so quiet! *sigh*

I've become interested in the case of a missing boy in the US, Hasanni Campbell. Poor mite was reportedly kidnapped back in August and hasn't been found, but the parents (foster parents) never seemed quite right in their protestations. I'm sure it's too late for the lad now, but what a waste of a tiny life. Here's a jizo for you, Hasanni!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizo

In Japan, Kṣitigarbha, known as Jizō, or Ojizō-sama as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, particularly children who died before their parents.