January 25, 2007
明るい日
みかんのように
まぶしいね
(the glowing sun
like an orange
is luminous)
It was a blistering summer day in the surrounding regions of Tokyo. Residents of feudal Edo were beginning to feel the summer heat as the gusting winds swept dust and heat waves through the village. On the mountainside sat a large black lacquered house, majestic in its form and function. Surrounded by a large forest and a cascading waterfall, the palace was revered for its inner and outer beauty.
明るい日
みかんのように
まぶしいね
(the glowing sun
like an orange
is luminous)
It was a blistering summer day in the surrounding regions of Tokyo. Residents of feudal Edo were beginning to feel the summer heat as the gusting winds swept dust and heat waves through the village. On the mountainside sat a large black lacquered house, majestic in its form and function. Surrounded by a large forest and a cascading waterfall, the palace was revered for its inner and outer beauty.
Inside the northern most corner room crown Princess Aiko sat on plush futon mats as she practiced shodo (calligraphy) on fine sheets of white rice paper. A gentle breeze gracefully flowed through the thin palace walls, mocking the heat waves surrounding the rest of the village. Aiko tried to keep her fude (brush) upright and steady as she wrote, but soon lost concentration as a gust of wind swept through the open window, gently shaking the shoji screen doors behind her. She sighed heavily, complaining while picking up the scattered pieces of calligraphy thrown throughout the room.
Suddenly, Aiko was startled to find her maid in waiting, Satsuko, admonishing her from the entryway’s open shoji screen doors. “Aiko! Good heavens! What are you doing! You should be practicing your strokes, not picking up litter on the ground! That is peasant work.” “I know,” whined Aiko. “It was the wind’s fault, not mine! I am getting so tired of practicing my shodo. It is good enough! Mother says that today is my last day to practice before I am to see the matchmaker in Chiba. The time passes oh so slowly Satsuko!” Satsuko nodded. “Very well Aiko. It turns out your Mother is waiting for you to come for dinner. Hurry along now!”
Aiko could feel the excitement run through her as servants packed the carriage with all of her favorite things: steamed bamboo shoots from the royal bamboo forest, sweet hard candies, and dried ginger strips. Dressed in her finer yukata traveling outfit, Aiko watched eagerly as servants secured the last bundle. Aiko kissed Satsuko and Mother goodbye as her bodyguards quickly made their last rounds around the carriage.
Cool mountain air swirled around Aiko as the golden red sun slid slowly behind the shroud of the mountain. She began to feel a bit scared at the sudden rush of cold wind, but refused to admit that the little tickle of wind frightened her. “Besides,” she thought to herself, “I have the finest samurai protecting me. Nothing can ever harm me.”
Unexpectedly, Aiko jostled in her seat as the horse drawn carriage reeled to an abrupt stop. Aiko crouched as low as she could, frightened by the blood curling cries of an attacking clan. The samurai protecting her were considered traitors by samurai of neighboring clans, and Aiko knew that the fight outside would not end until one side capitulated. Squeezing her eyes tightly did not make the thoughts of the battle dissipate from her mind, and Aiko wished they could just leave her alone.
After what seemed like an eternity, Aiko heard the shuffling of boxes and packages pulled from the trunk of the carriage. The attacking samurai dragged the horses off into the distance, and Aiko could feel how terrified the horses were by the sound of their cries.
Aiko heard the wind howl once more before sending a chill down her spine. Shivering, she raised her head out of the window of the carriage to find her beloved guards on the ground, none moving. Aiko shuddered, quickly mumbling a prayer for the fallen guards so that their spirits might rest peacefully in their second life. Realizing that she was now alone and abandoned in the middle of nowhere, Aiko felt terrified. There was no one to care to her every whim, no one to even keep her company. Tears began to stream down her face as she tried to sleep; slowly beginning to understand that she was very far from home, both physically and mentally.
As the sun crept up over the horizon the next morning, Aiko woke suddenly as the rays of sunlight tickled her face. Peering out of the carriage window, Aiko gasped. “This can’t be possible. It must be a dream. Where are the guards?” Aiko wondered out loud. She realized that soon she must find her way back home or tragically die herself. After searching the carriage for any means of sustenance, Aiko saddled the one horse not captured by the raiding samurai. She began to search for the route back home, cursing herself for not paying more attention to the path as they traveled through the barren terrain.
As the hours dragged on with no sign of life, Aiko grew restless and depressed. “At this rate, I will never see my family again,” she said softly. A wave of sadness rushed through her, and she felt like quitting right there on the spot.
The sun was beaming down on her exposed face and neck, aggravating her even more. She looked up and cursed the sun for its perpetual shine and hindrance in her search. Squinting into the distance, Aiko made out clusters of many round, shining balls of light. Reeling her horse around, Aiko dashed towards this sign of life in the abyss. “Could those be oranges? Or am I really just hallucinating?” she wondered out loud.
As she approached the oasis, she saw that the balls were not bright balls of sunlight, but indeed plump, round oranges! Aiko grabbed a ripe orange and ripped it apart. She was hungry, but more so thirsty from a long day of endless search and disappointment. The juicy flesh of the orange sent waves of euphoria through Aiko as the orange replenished the lost fluids in her body. She sighed heavily, breathing in the deep scent of the orange grove she had stumbled upon. Aiko realized that the oranges had saved her life! “I have shamed my family and my good name,” Aiko wept. “The sun has been a burden to me all day, yet it has brought me to this lifesaving grove of orange trees. For that I will be forever grateful to the power and guidance of the sun.”
Thanks to the oranges, Aiko was able to gather enough sustenance to be able to eventually find her way back home. Determined more than ever by the lessons learned from the orange trees, Aiko finally found her way back home. From then on, Aiko never forgot that day, her attitude forever changed by a simple grove of orange trees and the guidance of the sun.
8 comments:
I really enjoyed your story because it was very different. Your use of Japanese terminology such as shodo made the story seem very authentic and your descriptions made the story very realistic. It reminds me of the type of folk tales we read in Japanese class. The fact that in the end, she reaches a lesson from the oranges really makes the story seem like those authentic folk tales in Japanese. Good job!
I like how you used Japanese words such as yukata and shodo in your story. I also felt that you effectively captured many aspects of the Japanese culture during this time period. For instance, Aiko is forced by her mother to practice calligraphy and is actually excited about going to a matchmaker. Furthermore, in the end of the story, Aiko cries because she feels she has brought shame to her family. I really enjoyed reading your story. Good job!
I really liked reading your story. The descriptions of everything from beginning to end made your story seem so realistic. I could actually sence how the character was feeling. This seems like a real japanese folktale also because of the simple lesson at the end. Great job!! :)
The words you used really made this story/the characters come to life. The thing I really like about your paper is how you make a great connection to your haiku with the sun and the oranges.
I thought this would just be a silly love story again but I was wrong. I liked the imagry and terminology when you first described the palace. I never suspected that there would be a battle, and that she would be left there all alone. I thought she would be a captive and have to escape, but this ending was also very good. It's also very good because you learn a lesson in your story.
What a fascinating connection between the sun and the oranges! I never really stopped to think while I was reading your story how the sun sustains all life and is essential for life. It was only until the end of your story that I appreciated the sun for making things grow. I glad Aiko found an appreciation for the sun after being angry at the blistering heat it brought. Another aspect of your story that was interesting was when all of Aiko's samurai died. Although this was a tragic event and seems like a horrible situation, I think Aiko actually benefitted from this because she became more independent and had to learn how to do things on her own in a strange place.
I really liked your story! I especially liked the way the Japanese culture was prevalent throughout and was depicted in several ways, such as the shodo and the calligraphy. I also enjoyed the story in itself, and the way that it gave hope in the end towards finding home again.
One thing that I liked about the paper was the way you describd everything. All the metaphors you used fit perfectly into the story and were things that you wouldn't imagine using. Like the "juicy flesh" of the orange. I also liked the ending and how you made something as small as an orange tree the thing that saved her life. It is something that I haven't seen before and was a good tie into your haiku as well. Good Job!!
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