Sam and I have been struck by the number of signs we encounter on the road that tell us about local history or local legends. This is a series of posts that translate these signs for readers of this blog so you can share with us the sense of the legendary landscape we are passing through.

THE GRAVE OF THE MONKEY AND THE HUNTER
(a sign at the Awa-Otani train station platform)

“This is a story of a place called Otani, in Naruto City.

About four kilometers north of this station, around the watershed line, there are ancient tombs known as “the grave of the monkey” and “the grave of the hunter.” Many people come to visit.

A long time ago (about 600 years ago), there were a lot of monkeys living in the Ôasa mountains. There was among them one giant monkey who led a troupe that, on occasion, caused trouble for the people living in a village nearby, but there was no one who could drive them away.

After a time, a hunter from Banshû (a region in the western part of Hyôgo Prefecture) heard about the situation and thought he could defeat the giant monkey and bring relief to the sufferings of the villagers. He travelled a great distance to come here and face the monkey, but in the end the monkey killed him.

The terrible news of the hunters’ death reached his younger brother in their home village. Vowing to strike his brother’s enemy and avenge his awful end, he came to the area, killed the monkey and saved the villagers from their awful plight.

The two graves were built by the local people. The stone marking the “Hunter’s Grave” has the date Rekiô 4 (1341) inscribed upon it.”