Dogra Magra (30/47)

by Hisashi Yumeno

Kotei was filled with fear by the situation before his eyes. The remaining people had fled far away, and there was no one attempting to pursue them. He calmed his mind, returned the stolen dagger to the corpse, clasped his hands together, rubbed his rosary, and chanted the nembutsu two or three times. Then, as if brushing off the snow from his black robe, he carried the Buddha statue, cared for the six emotionless beauties, tilted his kasa, and urged his horse and men onward. After entering Chikuzen territory and spending a night in a place called Fukae, the next morning, he trod on the still lingering snow, heading east for five ri, finally reaching Meinohama.

Kotei observed the local landscape and thought. This place had Mount Atago, a sacred mountain, soaring halfway into the sky to the north, and to the south, famous mountains like Sefuri, Raizan, and Ukidake formed a continuous line of clouds and mist. The vast fields were sufficient to sustain descendants, and the clear stream of the Muromi River was suitable for floating cups. It was adorned with the ancient sites of Aburihama and Oto, and the scenic spots of Keya and Ikinomatsubara, and was close to the castle town of the Kuroda domain, which yielded 550,000 koku. It was truly a place where mountain and sea topography converged. He decided to support his retainers, acquire fields, build a house, open communication with his hometown in the capital, and while planning for the future, gather giant trees from Raizan and Sefuri. He would personally use a measuring line to construct a grand temple, making the seated statue of Miroku Bodhisattva he brought back the principal image, to serve as a family temple for all generations and a place of prayer for eternity. The temple gate would soar high, welcoming the moon of true reality, and the temple roof would welcome the golden sun of the Buddha land. The deep forest springs, the clear blue water, the white sand, the chirping birds, and the leaping fish presented a scene where the remembrance of Buddha, the remembrance of the Dharma, and the remembrance of the Sangha were practiced. It truly felt like a rare and wondrous pure land in this degenerate age.

Thus, when the construction was completed in early Shimotsuki (the eleventh month) of Enpo 5, during the reign of Emperor Reigen, the 111th emperor, a poor monk was invited from the head temple in the capital to serve as the founding abbot. The poor monk, due to his limited knowledge, repeatedly declined, but his refusal was not accepted. Finally, moved by the temple's unique wonder, he descended with his belongings and became the abbot. The temple was named Seitaizan Kisaragidera, and on an auspicious day, February 21st, of the following year, Enpo 6, a seven-part sermon on the Ojo Koshiki (a ritual for rebirth in the Pure Land) was delivered, and the Jodo Sanbu-kyo (Three Pure Land Sutras) were recited, followed by a seven-day grand memorial service and Segaki ritual.

On that day, Kōtei himself ascended the platform, recounted the karmic ties from his past, confessed to the audience, and recited two waka poems.

“The six paths, now I shall not stray, the six characters

In the Buddha's world, a bamboo staff.”

“Piling up worlds like bamboo, to the Buddha's

Straight empty path, I shall return.”

Following this, the poor monk ascended the platform, meticulously explained the cause and effect of karma, elucidated the transmigration through the six realms and the principle of reincarnation, imparted the truth that a single thought of Amitābha Buddha eradicates immeasurable sins, and finally recited a verse.

“A single thought of the chanted name, its merit passed down through myriad ages;

The bell of Seidai Mountain Temple, welcoming the moon of truth.”

The six beautiful women were eighteen years old at the time and had continuously copied the six-character name three hundred thousand times. When these copies were distributed at the gathering, it is said that all were collected in less than three days.

Such a story represents the city of the six realms in the Saha world, vividly illustrating the principle of karmic retribution. That defilements are enlightenment, and the six dusts are the Pure Land—the connection between the repose of the Wu family ancestors and the perfect enlightenment of future generations is truly boundless. If the men and women born into the Wu family wish to repay this grace, they must deeply engrave this meaning in their hearts and never neglect Buddhist services or chanting the Buddha's name. Should anything leak beyond this, one should fear incurring the resentment of other domains. This should be kept only among the temple's chief priest at the time and the head of the Wu family and his wife. Indeed.

Recorded by Ikkō, on the seventh day of the seventh month, Enpō 7.

◆Third Reference: Mr. NOMIYAMA Hōrin's Statement

▼Interview Date and Time: Same day, around 3:00 PM

▼Interview Location: At the abbot's quarters of Kisaragi-dera Temple

▼Attendees: Mr. NOMIYAMA Hōrin (Chief priest of the temple, 77 years old at the time. Passed away in August of the same year)

I (Mr. W) said to the two individuals mentioned above:

“That doubt is indeed very reasonable. As written in the main text of this engi, about how the picture scroll, which Kōtei-sama, who could be called the restorer of the Wu family, burned everything and sealed away until the age of Maitreya, returned to its old form for some reason, appeared in the present world, came into the hands of Mr. Wu Ichirō, and became the cause of confusion... I actually wanted to talk about this even if you hadn't asked.”

Originally, this auspicious written record was to be shown to the master and mistress who inherited the Wu family's distinguished name, with others dismissed, during their first visit to the grave. Apart from that, anything concerning the Wu family lineage, excluding ordinary matters, was never to be divulged to others. This has been established as the duty of the temple's head priest since the founder, Ikkō Shōnin. However, your question is unavoidable, and discerning whether Wu Ichirō is truly insane or merely feigning it is, I believe, the boundary between becoming a criminal or not. So, what can I conceal...?

The reason is none other than this: there was someone who, a long time ago, discovered that the picture scroll, which should have been enshrined as ashes within the main deity of this temple, actually existed in its original form. Furthermore, I know well the person who must have been responsible for removing that picture scroll from within the main deity and causing Wu Ichirō's illness. It is, needless to say, Wu Ichirō's biological mother, Chiyoko, who met a mysterious death in Nogata a few years ago... This is truly a strange story, and above all, I cannot believe there exists such a heartless mother in this world who would give such a terrifyingly legendary item to her irreplaceable child. However, it seems there are deep circumstances involved, so in any case, if you listen to what I am about to tell you, I believe everything will become clear immediately."

Looking back, it was about twenty, no, thirty years ago. It's a truly old story. You may already know, but the woman named Chiyoko was extremely intelligent and skilled with her hands from a young age. She was particularly good at drawing and embroidery, it is said. When she was still young, I often saw her alone in a corner of the temple's main hall, copying the seasonal flower patterns painted on the sliding doors and the carvings of heavenly beings on the transoms. Even then, she was truly lovely, with a beautiful, doll-like face.

Now, when she was about fourteen or fifteen years old, Chiyoko, wearing an ebi-cha hakama, came into this hojo carrying a furoshiki bundle on her way home from school. As I was drinking tea alone, she said to me, "Osho-sama, I heard that there is a beautiful illustrated handscroll inside that pitch-black Buddha statue, the main image. Could you show it to me?" The story of this illustrated handscroll has been a famous legend since the founding of this temple, and the villagers must know about it. She might have heard it somewhere.

I laughed and said, "That was turned to ashes a long, long time ago, so I can't show it to you now." Then Chiyoko said, "But just now, when I shook that Buddha statue, I heard a rattling sound inside its belly. Something must be in there." I was surprised. "No one would do such a thing. You'll incur divine punishment!" I scolded her, but after she left, when I was alone, I started to feel a little worried.

So, I secretly went to the main hall and shook the main image, the Miroku-sama, and indeed, there was a rattling sound. It felt as if something shaped like a scroll was stored inside. I was surprised by its mystery, and my heart pounded. I had thought that the Buddha's interior contained only the ashes of the burnt illustrated handscroll, so I never imagined there would be something inside.

At that moment, I pondered. Perhaps, in the past, Kotei-sama had only pretended to burn the illustrated handscroll, and in fact, had placed it inside the Buddha statue as it was. The surrounding packing might have dried out over the years and was now making a sound. I thought that such a thing could be possible for someone who loved paintings. If that were the case, various thoughts ran through my mind about whether I should take it out and burn it, but there were still parts that didn't make sense, and I also felt a sense of dread. So, I decided that I couldn't break the Buddha's body to look inside and left it as it was.

Time passed, and it was the evening before the autumn equinox last year. Oyashiro-san, Ichiro-san, and Omoyo-san came to clean the graves. At that time, while Oyashiro-san was cleaning the mausoleum alone, she stopped by this hojo (abbot's quarters) and we talked over tea. She consulted me, saying, "It might be a bit early, but next spring, after Ichiro graduates from the Rokubonmatsu school, I'm thinking of having him marry Moyoko right away. What do you think?"

Oyashiro-san always consulted me before discussing such matters, so I replied, "That would be wonderful." Afterwards, we both went out to the veranda of the main hall, and we saw Ichiro-san and Omoyo-san, who was wearing a red obi, standing side-by-side in front of the graveyard next to the temple gate, pressing their hands together. Seeing this, Oyashiro-san seemed to be overcome with emotion, and quickly covered her face as she went towards the mausoleum. I remained behind, watching the two of them, and thinking about the future of the Kure family. At that moment, I suddenly remembered Chiyoko from twenty years ago, and I was surprised.

That night, unable to sleep, I quietly got up. Relying on the moonlight streaming through the window and the light of the temple lamp, I went to the main hall alone. When I shook the main deity, the sound I had definitely heard last time was completely absent. Furthermore, I felt a sensation as if the interior was hollow.

At that moment, an eerie premonition struck me. Mustering my courage, I lifted the main deity out of its shrine and carried it to these abbot's quarters. Putting on my glasses and looking closely, although the whole thing was covered in dust and a little difficult to see, I noticed that the statue's neck was a separate piece fitted into the collar. When I shook it with force, the neck came loose. At that instant, I understood.

Suppressing the pounding in my chest, I carried it along the corridor to the dirt floor, and carefully brushed off the dust without making a sound. Then, I spread a felt mat under the lamp, and when I pulled out the statue's head from the kiribame section, there was ash wrapped in old karakami at the bottom, which had been hollowed out in the shape of a sutra cylinder. The center of the ash packet was firmly indented in the shape of a scroll's core. Seeing this, I thought that perhaps there was some deeper meaning behind what Reverend Kotei had said about burning the picture scroll. It had not actually been burned, but had been stored in its original form, and the fact that someone had stolen it was now an undeniable truth. Around it, there was not a single piece of paper other than old cotton.

"Please come here. I will show you the main deity," I said.

"As you can see... should I call this my carelessness, or what should I call it... Oh, I was not a little worried that something might happen. However, on the other hand, if it was something that O-Chiyo-dono took, what was the necessity? And after she met such an end in Nogata, who has been hiding it until today? If O-Yashiro-san, who tidied up after O-Chiyo-dono's death, had found it, she would have told me a word... Just as I was lost in thought, this incident occurred, so I can only describe it as a mystery beyond words or comprehension. I hear that the picture scroll's whereabouts have been unknown since Ichiro-dono's madness. This is also one of the mysteries. There are some villagers who say they saw the picture scroll ripple like a snake and cross the void before and after Ichiro-dono's madness, but what do you think? This too happened due to my carelessness. I think of the sorrow of the deceased Omoyo-dono and the mad Ichiro-dono, and I wish I could exchange my short remaining life for theirs, and I am simply overcome with tears..."

At that moment, Oh Hachiyoko appeared. "Ah, Sensei... you've finally arrived. How long I've waited... No, my wounds don't matter. I don't need my life or anything else. Please, I beg you, take this picture scroll (taking it out from her tightly guarded pocket) and steal it from the temple. Then, wait for Ichiro at that quarry and give it to him. Please, find the person who plotted to kill everyone in the house. If you find that person, even a single word is enough, please ask them what grudge they held to commit such a cruel act... I deeply regret not being able to ask about that person while Ichiro was still sane... If I find out, I don't think even gnawing on their bones would be enough... No, there was nothing like that when I pulled Naogata out. I've thoroughly investigated everything around Ichiro. What would the police know? To subject him to such a heinous fate... I couldn't answer when I was questioned... I've given up now. I don't care if Ichiro regains his sanity, if my daughter comes back to life, or what happens to my own life. Only my sister Chiyo, Ichiro, and my daughter's enemy is the same person... The one who knew the circumstances of this picture scroll and showed it to Ichiro... (She became agitated and confused, unable to continue the conversation. Afterward, she gradually regained composure after about a week, but showed a tendency towards a state of mental detachment.)

On the day the incident occurred, at 10:30 AM, an inspection of the interior of the Oh family's storehouse (known as the third storehouse), which was forbidden to enter or exit, revealed that on the old newspaper laid at the entrance of the wooden floor downstairs, the marks of Oh Ichiro's wooden clogs and Moyoko's red cork sandals for going out were neatly arranged. From there, candle drips continued in a dotted line up the stairs.

There were no signs of struggle, resistance, or agony on the upper floor or on the victim's body. The victim's neck showed ligature marks and congestion, but no external injuries to the trachea or carotid arteries were observed. Additionally, a new Western-style towel with the scent of face powder was found fallen under the desk in front of the body. This was believed to be an item belonging to the perpetrator and used in the crime.

In the center of the desk were several dozen folded sheets of Japanese paper with a woman's body odor, stacked with tissue paper. To their left was a brass candlestick, one of the household's Buddhist implements, with a hundred-momme candle that showed signs of having been lit. Subsequent examination estimated that it had been extinguished approximately two hours and forty minutes after being lit.

Furthermore, three new hundred-momme candles were placed under the desk along with a box of matches. The numerous fingerprints found on the top and middle sections of these four candles were all exclusively those of the victim, Moyoko, from her left and right hands; not a single one belonged to the perpetrator, Go Ichiro. Since only the victim's fingerprints were detected on the matchbox as well, there was no doubt that the aforementioned four candles were brought in by the victim herself, and that she herself struck a match to light one of them and placed it on the left edge of the desk.

At nine o'clock that night, the victim's body was transported to the Department of Forensic Medicine at Kyushu Imperial University School of Medicine. I, Mr. W, immediately performed the dissection, with Medical Doctor Funaki in attendance. The dissection concluded at eleven o'clock, and the cause of death was determined to be compression of the neck, specifically strangulation. Furthermore, it was presumed that the victim was strangled after losing consciousness for some reason. No abnormalities were found in the hymen.

Next, I investigated the seated statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva, the principal image of Kisaragi-dera Temple. Its head was large, its body small, and its expression strange, with no halo or exposed shoulder. It wore a surplice like ordinary monastic robes and was seated in the lotus position, forming the Maitreya mudra, but there were parts that suggested it might be a self-portrait of the artist. The overall carving technique was extremely simple and powerful, with saw-tooth and wavy chisel marks visible everywhere. In the center of the base, the two characters "Shōkū" were incised in a one-inch square, with extremely careful carving.

The central hollow was cylindrical, one shaku deep and three sun three bu in diameter. Subtracting the thickness of the cotton and ash packed at the top and bottom, the height was slightly over one shaku six bu, which matched the volume of the picture scroll. Also, glue marks remained on the square part at the base of the neck, which served as its lid.

Upon examining the karakami paper that wrapped the ash and the cotton packed above, below, left, and right, it was confirmed that they had an antique appearance, roughly consistent with the period of the records. Microscopic analysis of the ash revealed only traces of ordinary Japanese paper and silk fabric having been burned, with no traces of gold thread for mounting or wood used for scrolls found at all.

As a result of investigating the quarry at the foot of the mountain on the coastal side along the national highway at the entrance to Meinohama, the stone on which Go Ichirō was said to have been sitting the previous day while looking at the picture scroll was located behind a remaining rough stone, in a spot unlikely to attract the attention of those passing on the road.

Inside the quarry, countless large and small stone fragments, stonecutter's marks, and debris such as straw, paper, straw sandals, and horseshoe fragments scattered from the road were strewn about, but no particularly noteworthy artifacts were found. Perhaps because it had been washed by light rain, no footprints of any person, including Go Ichirō, could be confirmed.

Gunpei Wakino, a stonemason who had worked at the same location his entire life and resided at 75-1 Meinohama-machi, had developed abdominal pain and diarrhea two days prior, along with his wife Mitsu and adopted son Ichi. They were suspected of having an epidemic disease, and their movement had been restricted. However, as days passed, when questioned, the two stated they had no memory of any suspicious individuals entering the quarry or loitering nearby during their work. Furthermore, regarding their illness, since the fish at that location were always fresh, food poisoning was not considered a cause, and ultimately, the pathogen remained unknown.

――――――――――――――――――――

Hahahahahahah…….

Well, everyone. Were you surprised?

You must have forgotten by now that this is the most important part of my will. With tragedy, comedy, sword fights, giant creatures, and even advertisements for a benevolent shop, the content of this record is truly strange and bizarre. In particular, the uniqueness of how this psychological inheritance manifests is unparalleled throughout history, and it is utterly beyond the grasp of modern common sense or scientific knowledge. Dr. Kyotaro Wakabayashi, the renowned forensic pathologist, also seems somewhat at a loss with this case, as he expressed such a sigh in his investigation documents:

"I intend to call the perpetrator of this incident a hypothetical perpetrator. This is because I cannot conceive of any other explanation than to imagine that the perpetrator of this incident possesses a terrifying, divine, and mysterious character that transcends all modern academic knowledge, morality, customs, obligations, and human emotions. Despite daring to commit such cruel acts—killing or driving insane three women and one young man within just two years, and devastating that family's bloodline to the point where it cannot be restored—the means employed appear to be either accidental occurrences or disguised as super-scientific mystical workings, leaving no room for other conjectures. Not only the existence of the perpetrator, but even the existence of an entity carrying out such crimes with a consistent purpose is questionable... and so on."

Well, what do you think? Those of you who have compared this text with the records I showed you earlier will have already realized that Wakabayashi-kun's claims as a forensic expert and my views as a psychiatrist on this case have been clearly diametrically opposed since the beginning of the incident, and have not aligned to this day. Wakabayashi-kun, from a forensic scientist's unique perspective, believes that there must be a hidden culprit in this case. He has been convinced from the start that this culprit is manipulating threads from somewhere, freely controlling all the strange phenomena related to this incident, whereas I do not agree. From a psychiatric standpoint, this is merely a so-called "crime without a culprit." It is nothing more than the manifestation of a bizarre psychotic episode, both in appearance and content, and the heinous act was committed by the same person, both victim and perpetrator, under a certain delusion. If, despite this, a culprit is absolutely necessary, then I argue that the ancestors who passed on such a psychology to Oh Ichiro should be caught and imprisoned. This is where the central interest of this case lies, but...