Japanese folktales: The stonecutter
By zteve t evans
In every mountain there is a spirit and in every man there is a spirit of yearning. The mountain spirit yearns to help the man, while the man often yearns for what he does not need. A man who makes his living through daily sweat and toil such as a stonecutter can often become disenchanted with the everyday drudgery of existence and wish for a better life. The mountain spirit can grant a man anything that he can wish for and uses this power to benefit anyone deemed worthy enough to receive such a great gift. At any moment in time, at any place in the world, wherever a mountain and a man may be found existing together, is a place where this story may be enacted.
Public Domain
The stonecutter
And in that place a man who made his living as a stonecutter goes every day to the the mountain where he chips away until he has cut a large slab of rock from the rock face. He then cuts it into different sizes. Sometimes he cuts it into paving slabs. Sometimes he cuts it into gravestones, and sometimes he cuts it up for different purposes.
Over the years he had grown very skilled and knowledgeable about his trade. People respected him for his hard work, skill, reliability and diligence and he had a good reputation and many customers.
He lived in a wooden hut at the bottom of the mountain. It was not much but supplied his basic need for shelter. For many years he worked hard at his trade which provided all his meagre needs. He was happy and satisfied and asked for nothing else in life.
The mountain spirit
The folk who lived around the mountain believed that a spirit lived in it and sometimes would appear before people who were deserving. Sometimes they would just hear its voice and it would grant them wishes. The spirit was benevolent and wise and only appeared to a person who was ready to benefit from its magic.
Although the stonecutter had heard of the spirit he had neither seen it, or heard it talk, so he did not believe it existed. He would laugh and shake his head when people mentioned it, but a time was at hand that would see him change this belief.
The rich merchant
One day a very rich local merchant sent one of his servants to see the stonecutter with a special commission for him to cut a very expensive gravestone from the mountain and deliver it to the merchant's house. So the stonecutter set off to the mountain to cut the gravestone for the rich merchant. When he had finished cutting the gravestone from the rock face he put it on his cart and wheeled it down to the town where the merchant lived.
When he reached the merchant's house and saw how big and beautiful and luxurious it was he was astounded! He had never seen anything so magnificent in his life. He went up to the door and rang a silver bell and a servant hastened to the door to let him in and took him to his master.
The stonecutter looked around at all the fine furniture, works of art and the expensive tapestries on the walls and wonderful carpets on the floor. Never in his life had he seen such riches and a change came over him from that day. The rich merchant dressed in fine silk robes welcomed him and paid for his work as had been agreed and the stonecutter reluctantly left and went back to his own humble home.
And in that place a man who made his living as a stonecutter goes every day to the the mountain where he chips away until he has cut a large slab of rock from the rock face. He then cuts it into different sizes. Sometimes he cuts it into paving slabs. Sometimes he cuts it into gravestones, and sometimes he cuts it up for different purposes.
Over the years he had grown very skilled and knowledgeable about his trade. People respected him for his hard work, skill, reliability and diligence and he had a good reputation and many customers.
He lived in a wooden hut at the bottom of the mountain. It was not much but supplied his basic need for shelter. For many years he worked hard at his trade which provided all his meagre needs. He was happy and satisfied and asked for nothing else in life.
The mountain spirit
The folk who lived around the mountain believed that a spirit lived in it and sometimes would appear before people who were deserving. Sometimes they would just hear its voice and it would grant them wishes. The spirit was benevolent and wise and only appeared to a person who was ready to benefit from its magic.
Although the stonecutter had heard of the spirit he had neither seen it, or heard it talk, so he did not believe it existed. He would laugh and shake his head when people mentioned it, but a time was at hand that would see him change this belief.
The rich merchant
One day a very rich local merchant sent one of his servants to see the stonecutter with a special commission for him to cut a very expensive gravestone from the mountain and deliver it to the merchant's house. So the stonecutter set off to the mountain to cut the gravestone for the rich merchant. When he had finished cutting the gravestone from the rock face he put it on his cart and wheeled it down to the town where the merchant lived.
When he reached the merchant's house and saw how big and beautiful and luxurious it was he was astounded! He had never seen anything so magnificent in his life. He went up to the door and rang a silver bell and a servant hastened to the door to let him in and took him to his master.
The stonecutter looked around at all the fine furniture, works of art and the expensive tapestries on the walls and wonderful carpets on the floor. Never in his life had he seen such riches and a change came over him from that day. The rich merchant dressed in fine silk robes welcomed him and paid for his work as had been agreed and the stonecutter reluctantly left and went back to his own humble home.
Public Domain
A wish for riches
After the visit to the rich merchant's home the stonecutter began to change within himself. He began to find the daily routine of his work tiresome and the stone cutting grew harder and more tiring and his bones began to ache.
One day when he was feeling very tired and troubled from his daily exertions he cried out in anguish, "Oh, I wish I live in a big house, with servants and fine furniture with works of art and a great bed with feather mattress and silk curtains where I could sleep soundly and wake refreshed and my bones would not ache so. Oh, how wonderfully happy I would be!"
The mountain spirit heard him and to the stonecutter’s utmost surprise a voice from nowhere spoke out, “I hear your wish and you will see, in a blink of an eye a rich man you shall be!”
The stonecutter looked around but could see no one. He thought he must be over tired and imagined Feeling despondent he threw his tools into his cart and made his way back to the small wooden hut he called home. When he reached the place where his hut had once been he stood with his mouth wide open rubbing his eyes. He could not believe what he was seeing. Instead of a small wooden hut there was a huge and magnificent palace.
A servant opened the door and let him in and showed him around. The rooms were beautifully decorated and there were wonderful paintings and works of art all around the house. There was fine and luxurious furniture in all of the rooms, but best of all in the bedroom was a huge and splendid four post bed. It had a mattress a of the softest feathers and a bedcover of the finest and most gorgeous silk. It had curtains that went all around it made of the most beautiful golden cloth with silver stars and moons, the like he had never seen before. It was exactly like the bed he had wished for.
The stonecutter soon made himself at home and slept every night in his bed waking up refreshed and feeling fit and happy. In his happiness he soon forgot his old life as a stonecutter. One day in the in the early days of summer the sun was so hot he could barely breathe. He decided to stay inside his beautiful palace until the evening when it would become cooler. This he did but he soon became bored. You see all his life he had always worked all day and had never learned how to amuse himself when he was not working. For him it had been work, or rest and he had no other interests or hobbies because he had no time in between. So while he kept inside the palace he kept going from room to room and peeping through the drawn curtains to see what was happening in the world.
After the visit to the rich merchant's home the stonecutter began to change within himself. He began to find the daily routine of his work tiresome and the stone cutting grew harder and more tiring and his bones began to ache.
One day when he was feeling very tired and troubled from his daily exertions he cried out in anguish, "Oh, I wish I live in a big house, with servants and fine furniture with works of art and a great bed with feather mattress and silk curtains where I could sleep soundly and wake refreshed and my bones would not ache so. Oh, how wonderfully happy I would be!"
The mountain spirit heard him and to the stonecutter’s utmost surprise a voice from nowhere spoke out, “I hear your wish and you will see, in a blink of an eye a rich man you shall be!”
The stonecutter looked around but could see no one. He thought he must be over tired and imagined Feeling despondent he threw his tools into his cart and made his way back to the small wooden hut he called home. When he reached the place where his hut had once been he stood with his mouth wide open rubbing his eyes. He could not believe what he was seeing. Instead of a small wooden hut there was a huge and magnificent palace.
A servant opened the door and let him in and showed him around. The rooms were beautifully decorated and there were wonderful paintings and works of art all around the house. There was fine and luxurious furniture in all of the rooms, but best of all in the bedroom was a huge and splendid four post bed. It had a mattress a of the softest feathers and a bedcover of the finest and most gorgeous silk. It had curtains that went all around it made of the most beautiful golden cloth with silver stars and moons, the like he had never seen before. It was exactly like the bed he had wished for.
The stonecutter soon made himself at home and slept every night in his bed waking up refreshed and feeling fit and happy. In his happiness he soon forgot his old life as a stonecutter. One day in the in the early days of summer the sun was so hot he could barely breathe. He decided to stay inside his beautiful palace until the evening when it would become cooler. This he did but he soon became bored. You see all his life he had always worked all day and had never learned how to amuse himself when he was not working. For him it had been work, or rest and he had no other interests or hobbies because he had no time in between. So while he kept inside the palace he kept going from room to room and peeping through the drawn curtains to see what was happening in the world.
The prince with the golden umbrella
In one of his rooms a window looked out onto a busy street and peeping through the curtain the stonecutter saw a richly carved and decorated open carriage drawn by two white horses pass by. In front of the carriage rode a company of servants in scarlet and gold uniforms and at the rear there rode another company of servants dressed the same. The carriage was driven by a servant also dressed in a fine uniform of scarlet and gold. On the back of the carriage rode a footman dressed in the same finery. Seated within the carriage there sat a handsome prince dressed in the finest scarlet and gold robes the stonecutter had ever seen. Sat behind him was another servant dressed in the same finery as the other servants and holding a golden umbrella which he had opened out and was holding aloft to shade the prince from the fierce rays of the sun. He immediately grew envious of the prince who was free to go where he please protected by the golden umbrella from the rays of the sun.
“Oh, I wish I was a prince with a fine carriage and servants and a golden umbrella to protect me from the rays of the sun, then I too could go out and about. Oh how happy I should be!” cried the stonecutter as the prince passed from sight.
Again the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye, a prince with an umbrella and carriage you shall be!”
In an instant he found himself sat in a fine carriage with a company of servants to the fore and another to the rear. A servant sat behind him holding a golden umbrella shielding him from the heat of the sun. It was exactly as his heart and desired and exactly as he had wished.
For a while as he rode around the countryside and through the towns in the carriage shielded from the sun he was very happy and please but this began to subside and he grew dissatisfied. He could now see a pattern to how his fortunes were being shaped and realised it was the mountain spirit that was granting his wishes. As his carriage passed through the countryside and the towns and villages of his homeland he looked around for something to wish for.
The Sun
On his travels he saw that the sun had parched all of the crops and the grass that fed the animals. Although the people continuously poured water on the crops and grass the sun still scorched and dried them. He also began to noticed that despite him being in the shade of the umbrella every day his face was growing ruddy and brown where it was still tanning him.
One day he grew angry and cried out, “The sun is stronger and mightier than I! I wish I was the sun and then I would be the mightiest and then, oh, how happy I should be!”
The mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye the sun you shall be!”
Instantly the stonecutter found himself as the sun looking down upon the earth and covering it with his golden rays. He could see the crops shrivel and the grass scorch as he sent his rays down and he was pleased. He saw the princes under their golden umbrellas with brown and tanned faces and he was pleased, For a while he was happy, but discontent began to gnaw at him.
In one of his rooms a window looked out onto a busy street and peeping through the curtain the stonecutter saw a richly carved and decorated open carriage drawn by two white horses pass by. In front of the carriage rode a company of servants in scarlet and gold uniforms and at the rear there rode another company of servants dressed the same. The carriage was driven by a servant also dressed in a fine uniform of scarlet and gold. On the back of the carriage rode a footman dressed in the same finery. Seated within the carriage there sat a handsome prince dressed in the finest scarlet and gold robes the stonecutter had ever seen. Sat behind him was another servant dressed in the same finery as the other servants and holding a golden umbrella which he had opened out and was holding aloft to shade the prince from the fierce rays of the sun. He immediately grew envious of the prince who was free to go where he please protected by the golden umbrella from the rays of the sun.
“Oh, I wish I was a prince with a fine carriage and servants and a golden umbrella to protect me from the rays of the sun, then I too could go out and about. Oh how happy I should be!” cried the stonecutter as the prince passed from sight.
Again the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye, a prince with an umbrella and carriage you shall be!”
In an instant he found himself sat in a fine carriage with a company of servants to the fore and another to the rear. A servant sat behind him holding a golden umbrella shielding him from the heat of the sun. It was exactly as his heart and desired and exactly as he had wished.
For a while as he rode around the countryside and through the towns in the carriage shielded from the sun he was very happy and please but this began to subside and he grew dissatisfied. He could now see a pattern to how his fortunes were being shaped and realised it was the mountain spirit that was granting his wishes. As his carriage passed through the countryside and the towns and villages of his homeland he looked around for something to wish for.
The Sun
On his travels he saw that the sun had parched all of the crops and the grass that fed the animals. Although the people continuously poured water on the crops and grass the sun still scorched and dried them. He also began to noticed that despite him being in the shade of the umbrella every day his face was growing ruddy and brown where it was still tanning him.
One day he grew angry and cried out, “The sun is stronger and mightier than I! I wish I was the sun and then I would be the mightiest and then, oh, how happy I should be!”
The mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye the sun you shall be!”
Instantly the stonecutter found himself as the sun looking down upon the earth and covering it with his golden rays. He could see the crops shrivel and the grass scorch as he sent his rays down and he was pleased. He saw the princes under their golden umbrellas with brown and tanned faces and he was pleased, For a while he was happy, but discontent began to gnaw at him.
Public Domain
A cloud
Then one day as he was sending down his beams scorching the crops and tanning the faces of princes a cloud floated between him and the earth. His most powerful rays were blocked by the cloud from reaching the earth and he grew angry and cried, “That cloud blocks my strongest rays, is it mightier than I! Oh, I wish I was a cloud then I would be the mightiest!”
Again, the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye a cloud you shall be!”
In an instant he was a cloud floating high above the earth and he felt the sun’s rays on his back and he blocked them from reaching earth. He rained water down upon the earth cooling down the scorched land and turning the crops and grass green again. He saw flowers blossom in thanks to the rain he poured and he saw the dried river beds and lakes swollen with the waters he rained and he was very pleased and happy. Day after day, week after week, he poured his rains upon the earth until lakes and rivers burst their banks flooding towns and villages and drowning all the crops. The water flooded the land until only the mountain could be be seen above it and he grew angry.
A mountain
He cried, “Is this mountain mightier than I? Oh, if only I was a mountain then I would be the mightiest!”
Once again, the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye a mountain you shall be!”
In an instant he was a mighty mountain tall and proud and could see for many miles all around him. Sometimes the sun would beat its rays hot and fierce against his sides but it did not bother him. Sometimes the rain filled up the valleys below washing everything away that was in its path in great torrents, but it did not bother him. He felts secure in his power and proud of his might and for a while he was very happy.
A man
But his happiness did not last. One day he heard a strange noise down at his feet. Looking down he could see a small, tired man chipping away at a piece of his rock. The man was a stonecutter cutting a slab of stone for some commission he had received. After chipping away for hours a great slab of rock fell off him and the stonecutter broke it up and loaded it into his cart and took it away.
He grew angry and cried, “What is this, is this small, tired, man mightier than a mountain? I wish I was a man!"
Yet again, the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye a man you shall be!”
In an instant he became a man and he worked all day every day cutting stone from the mountain. He worked hard and his bones ached and he worked diligently and he made enough money to make a meagre living and he was happy in his work and content with his life. Although he still had the power to wish he had learned not to yearn for the things he did not have or to wish be better than others. This made the mountain spirit very happy and he looked around for some other deserving soul he could help.
© 21/01/2015 zteve t evans
Then one day as he was sending down his beams scorching the crops and tanning the faces of princes a cloud floated between him and the earth. His most powerful rays were blocked by the cloud from reaching the earth and he grew angry and cried, “That cloud blocks my strongest rays, is it mightier than I! Oh, I wish I was a cloud then I would be the mightiest!”
Again, the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye a cloud you shall be!”
In an instant he was a cloud floating high above the earth and he felt the sun’s rays on his back and he blocked them from reaching earth. He rained water down upon the earth cooling down the scorched land and turning the crops and grass green again. He saw flowers blossom in thanks to the rain he poured and he saw the dried river beds and lakes swollen with the waters he rained and he was very pleased and happy. Day after day, week after week, he poured his rains upon the earth until lakes and rivers burst their banks flooding towns and villages and drowning all the crops. The water flooded the land until only the mountain could be be seen above it and he grew angry.
A mountain
He cried, “Is this mountain mightier than I? Oh, if only I was a mountain then I would be the mightiest!”
Once again, the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye a mountain you shall be!”
In an instant he was a mighty mountain tall and proud and could see for many miles all around him. Sometimes the sun would beat its rays hot and fierce against his sides but it did not bother him. Sometimes the rain filled up the valleys below washing everything away that was in its path in great torrents, but it did not bother him. He felts secure in his power and proud of his might and for a while he was very happy.
A man
But his happiness did not last. One day he heard a strange noise down at his feet. Looking down he could see a small, tired man chipping away at a piece of his rock. The man was a stonecutter cutting a slab of stone for some commission he had received. After chipping away for hours a great slab of rock fell off him and the stonecutter broke it up and loaded it into his cart and took it away.
He grew angry and cried, “What is this, is this small, tired, man mightier than a mountain? I wish I was a man!"
Yet again, the mountain spirit heard him and answered, “I hear your wish and you will see in a blink of an eye a man you shall be!”
In an instant he became a man and he worked all day every day cutting stone from the mountain. He worked hard and his bones ached and he worked diligently and he made enough money to make a meagre living and he was happy in his work and content with his life. Although he still had the power to wish he had learned not to yearn for the things he did not have or to wish be better than others. This made the mountain spirit very happy and he looked around for some other deserving soul he could help.
© 21/01/2015 zteve t evans
References and Attributions
Copyright January 21st, 2015 zteve t evans
Folktales from Japan - selected and edited by D. L. Ashliman
The Stonecutter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese Stories (Myth-Folklore Online) - MythFolklore.net
Copyright January 21st, 2015 zteve t evans
Folktales from Japan - selected and edited by D. L. Ashliman
The Stonecutter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese Stories (Myth-Folklore Online) - MythFolklore.net
