Week 5 Story: Hakuro's Sons
An updated version of this story can be found on my website, Rehashed Histories.
...a fuzzy haze...
...the bright faces of two young boys looking at him in excitement and awe...
...his own smiling face, full of pride, looking back at them...
The old man's bones groaned in resistance as he got up from his spot under the tree and stretched. How long had he been meditating there? The tree he had been leaning against had started to grow around him. He looked around at his hermitage. It was the same as when he had last opened his eyes, save for the now deteriorating door frame and the plethora of dust and insects now inhabiting it.
"This is no place to live!" he tutted to himself. "I must repair it at once!"
He peeled the axe from where it had fused to the back wall of his house, holstered his sword to his belt, and set off to gather wood for repairs.
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Tori tripped over another root. She was exhausted, full of cuts, and pregnant.
"O gods, deliver me, for I am with child!" she cried. "At the cost of my life, at least save my child!"
It was at this moment that she heard the falling of a tree. She listened closer and heard the distinct sound of wood being chopped. Salvation had come, for she realized that the sound of chopping trees could mean one thing - there was some kind of shelter nearby! She hastily wobbled toward the sound of the chopping and as she emerged into a clearing, she saw the source of the sound and was amazed. It was a man that, from the pure white of his hair and the time-worn wrinkles on his face, should have been nearly 90 years old! But he was chopping down a tree with all the swiftness and energy of a man 65 years younger. She watched in awe as it took him four quick swings to cut through half a tree. Four more and a small push, and the tree fell with a deafening crash.
The old man, not a drop of sweat on his brow, sensed a pair of eyes on him and looked directly over at Tori.
"Strange woman, what brings you here, to the heart of the forest? Have you no consideration of your child?" he said, immediately determining that she was pregnant.
"Please, sir. I have been exiled from my kingdom, forsaken to walk in the wilderness to prove my loyalty to my king. I have been walking for seven days, surviving off the sparse berries and the trickles of forest streams. May you spare me some food and shelter, that I may bring my child safely into this world?" she implored him desperately.
Touched with compassion for this dirty woman and her unborn child, he agreed. He brought the wood back to his hermitage, along with the woman and built a small, separate shelter for himself, giving his hermitage to her. He had sensed the woman's loyalty to her husband and king, and dared not provide even a chance for misunderstanding, for he knew the king and his uprightness. He had no such worries, for he had transcended such worldly desires in his meditation in isolation, but in his wisdom, considered her position.
"Wise sage, I forgot to ask - what is your name? Mine is Tori," she asked.
"I have not needed a name for a long time...you can call me Hakuro."
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Tori eventually gave birth to not just one child, but twins. However, their temperaments were very different. Lava, who she named due to his flaring, but quickly calmed temper, was more of a leader than Kusa, who was as quiet and peaceful as the growing grass. She asked for Hakuro's help in raising them, that he would act as a father figure, for she believed every boy needs the guidance of one to grow properly.
So Hakuro, learned in all forms of literature and poetry, and having mastered the military skills and swordsmanship, took up their education. Despite his gentle complexion, he was a completely different person during their instruction. In training he was harsh, and in literature he was strict, giving off an unchallengeable aura that demanded attention and perfection. But the more he perfected them, the more he realized he had come to love them. Because of this, Lava and Kusa grew up refined in all matters of the world, and were more powerful and wise than the strongest generals.
Finally, the time of their coming of age drew near, so he gave them one last challenge - to memorize the story of a man and his wife. He called them over and began telling them the story of this extraordinary couple: about their history and the challenges they faced to get to where they were, how the man was exiled because of his aunt's jealousy, how his wife and his brother refused to leave his side...about how his wife was kidnapped by the demon king and he, along with his brother and friends, defeated the demon king, bringing joy to the gods and winning back his wife. And how the man returned from his exile to take his rightful place at the throne.
This story was Hakuro's final charge to the two he had come to call his sons. As he finished up the story, he looked down at their bright faces looking back at him, their eyes full of wonder and awe. And he smiled at them, eyes full of pride.
Author's Note: I wanted to retell the story of Sita's exile (after all she went through!), her finding Valmiki's hermitage in the wilderness, him raising her two sons, and their eventual return to Ayodhya/their father, Rama, but through a new set of characters.
Hakuro, in Japanese, literally means "old white man," referring to someone who is, well, old and wise, which I thought was fitting for Valmiki. Tori was short for "Toriireru" (取り入れる), which means "harvest/adopt/take in." According to Wikipedia, "Sita" has a connotation of the blessings of agriculture, and was the name of the Hindu goddess of the harvest in the Rigveda. In the Ramayana, Sita was also said to have been adopted by Janaka, so I think the name is even more fitting!
The names of the two sons in this story are Yogan, meaning lava (as in the volcanic rock), and Kusa, meaning grass. The names of the two sons in the Ramayana were Lava and Kusa (or Kusha), so there wasn't much to change here. Interestingly, another name for Eragrostis cynosuroides, a type of grass used in Hindu ceremonies, is Kusa. It all comes full circle.
I didn't include the name of the king to put more focus on the development of Hakuro's relationship with Lava and Kusa. Eventually, this hermit sage is able to experience what being a father is like by taking care of these two. But in the end, as with all things, he must let them go.
Bibliography: This story was based off the PDE Ramayana.
...a fuzzy haze...
...the bright faces of two young boys looking at him in excitement and awe...
...his own smiling face, full of pride, looking back at them...
The old man's bones groaned in resistance as he got up from his spot under the tree and stretched. How long had he been meditating there? The tree he had been leaning against had started to grow around him. He looked around at his hermitage. It was the same as when he had last opened his eyes, save for the now deteriorating door frame and the plethora of dust and insects now inhabiting it.
"This is no place to live!" he tutted to himself. "I must repair it at once!"
He peeled the axe from where it had fused to the back wall of his house, holstered his sword to his belt, and set off to gather wood for repairs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tori tripped over another root. She was exhausted, full of cuts, and pregnant.
"O gods, deliver me, for I am with child!" she cried. "At the cost of my life, at least save my child!"
It was at this moment that she heard the falling of a tree. She listened closer and heard the distinct sound of wood being chopped. Salvation had come, for she realized that the sound of chopping trees could mean one thing - there was some kind of shelter nearby! She hastily wobbled toward the sound of the chopping and as she emerged into a clearing, she saw the source of the sound and was amazed. It was a man that, from the pure white of his hair and the time-worn wrinkles on his face, should have been nearly 90 years old! But he was chopping down a tree with all the swiftness and energy of a man 65 years younger. She watched in awe as it took him four quick swings to cut through half a tree. Four more and a small push, and the tree fell with a deafening crash.
The old man, not a drop of sweat on his brow, sensed a pair of eyes on him and looked directly over at Tori.
"Strange woman, what brings you here, to the heart of the forest? Have you no consideration of your child?" he said, immediately determining that she was pregnant.
"Please, sir. I have been exiled from my kingdom, forsaken to walk in the wilderness to prove my loyalty to my king. I have been walking for seven days, surviving off the sparse berries and the trickles of forest streams. May you spare me some food and shelter, that I may bring my child safely into this world?" she implored him desperately.
Touched with compassion for this dirty woman and her unborn child, he agreed. He brought the wood back to his hermitage, along with the woman and built a small, separate shelter for himself, giving his hermitage to her. He had sensed the woman's loyalty to her husband and king, and dared not provide even a chance for misunderstanding, for he knew the king and his uprightness. He had no such worries, for he had transcended such worldly desires in his meditation in isolation, but in his wisdom, considered her position.
"Wise sage, I forgot to ask - what is your name? Mine is Tori," she asked.
"I have not needed a name for a long time...you can call me Hakuro."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tori eventually gave birth to not just one child, but twins. However, their temperaments were very different. Lava, who she named due to his flaring, but quickly calmed temper, was more of a leader than Kusa, who was as quiet and peaceful as the growing grass. She asked for Hakuro's help in raising them, that he would act as a father figure, for she believed every boy needs the guidance of one to grow properly.
So Hakuro, learned in all forms of literature and poetry, and having mastered the military skills and swordsmanship, took up their education. Despite his gentle complexion, he was a completely different person during their instruction. In training he was harsh, and in literature he was strict, giving off an unchallengeable aura that demanded attention and perfection. But the more he perfected them, the more he realized he had come to love them. Because of this, Lava and Kusa grew up refined in all matters of the world, and were more powerful and wise than the strongest generals.
Finally, the time of their coming of age drew near, so he gave them one last challenge - to memorize the story of a man and his wife. He called them over and began telling them the story of this extraordinary couple: about their history and the challenges they faced to get to where they were, how the man was exiled because of his aunt's jealousy, how his wife and his brother refused to leave his side...about how his wife was kidnapped by the demon king and he, along with his brother and friends, defeated the demon king, bringing joy to the gods and winning back his wife. And how the man returned from his exile to take his rightful place at the throne.
This story was Hakuro's final charge to the two he had come to call his sons. As he finished up the story, he looked down at their bright faces looking back at him, their eyes full of wonder and awe. And he smiled at them, eyes full of pride.
(Valmiki telling the Ramayana to Lava and Kusha, taken from Wikipedia)
Author's Note: I wanted to retell the story of Sita's exile (after all she went through!), her finding Valmiki's hermitage in the wilderness, him raising her two sons, and their eventual return to Ayodhya/their father, Rama, but through a new set of characters.
Hakuro, in Japanese, literally means "old white man," referring to someone who is, well, old and wise, which I thought was fitting for Valmiki. Tori was short for "Toriireru" (取り入れる), which means "harvest/adopt/take in." According to Wikipedia, "Sita" has a connotation of the blessings of agriculture, and was the name of the Hindu goddess of the harvest in the Rigveda. In the Ramayana, Sita was also said to have been adopted by Janaka, so I think the name is even more fitting!
The names of the two sons in this story are Yogan, meaning lava (as in the volcanic rock), and Kusa, meaning grass. The names of the two sons in the Ramayana were Lava and Kusa (or Kusha), so there wasn't much to change here. Interestingly, another name for Eragrostis cynosuroides, a type of grass used in Hindu ceremonies, is Kusa. It all comes full circle.
I didn't include the name of the king to put more focus on the development of Hakuro's relationship with Lava and Kusa. Eventually, this hermit sage is able to experience what being a father is like by taking care of these two. But in the end, as with all things, he must let them go.
Bibliography: This story was based off the PDE Ramayana.
Hi! I like how you incorporated a Japanese twist on the Ramayana. It was an interesting way how you combined two different cultures! Thanks for putting the meanings of the names in the authors note, that definitely changes the way I think of the story! The last few sentences wrapped the story up nicely, I liked how Haruko was prideful of the twins.
ReplyDeleteHowdy Smith,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I loved how much effort you put into the names, and how you gave a background to the meaning of the character's names. I think it was a fun idea to blend the Indian and Japanese cultures together. I also really liked the writing style at the very beginning; It was unique, yet it did a good job of setting the scene in my opinion. Overall, your story was really entertaining to me as a reader.
Hi Smith~
ReplyDeleteI loved your retelling of Sita's exile! It helped better my understanding of what was happening during that time than the source material I initially read for class did. For example, I was able to connect with Hakuro in your story but in the source material Valmiki wasn't someone I gave much thought to. I also liked the nature elements you had throughout the story. It's always fun to read something that has connections and deeper meanings attached when you look a little closer.
Hi again Smith! As always, your stories are great. Sita's exile was honestly one of the sadder moments in the Ramayana as it never felt quite justified to me. I like how in each story you have some unique background to choices you made in themes, names, etc. it always adds something special to it. I hope you had a great semester writing these stories!
ReplyDelete