The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom -- A Japanese Folk Tale
A long time ago, in a small countryside town, an old man and an old woman lived together. The old man and old woman didn't have any children but they had a dog, named Shiro that they absolutely adored.
One day, Shiro began barking loudly in the vegetable garden near the old man and old woman’s house. He barked and barked and barked until the old man came out to see what he was barking about.
What is it, boy? the old man asked.
Shiro yipped excitedly. He snuffed his nose into the ground and scratched at it with his paws.
Do you want me to dig here, boy? the old man asked.
Shiro panted and jumped up and down in response, Yip, yip. Yip, yip.
All right. I can do that. Just give me a minute, the old man said. Then he went back to his house to fetch a shovel.
When the old man returned, he began digging in the place Shiro had shown him. Before long, he struck something hard. Soon after that, he was pulling ancient gold coins out of the ground by the dozen, both large and small. My gosh! he exclaimed. I can't believe it!
That night, as the old man showed the old woman the treasure he had found, he told her the story of how Shiro had helped him find it. As he did so, a greedy old man from a nearby house happened to walk by.
Just as he passed in front of the old man and old woman's house the greedy old man heard the word gold and stopped in his tracks. Gold? the greedy old man thought. Then he hid next to the window of the old man and old woman's house and listened to the old man tell his story.
That night, the greedy old man couldn’t sleep. He spent the entire night thinking about gold and how much he wanted some. The next morning, determined to get some gold of his own, the greedy old man barged into the house of the old man and the old woman.
Oi! he shouted. Let me borrow that mut of yours. I’m gonna get some gold of my own! And without waiting for a response, the greedy old man put Shiro on a lead and marched him out the door and into the fields.
Find me some treasure, dog! he commanded.
Shiro led the greedy old man all through the fields until finally he came upon a particular spot and began whimpering. At Shiro's signal, the greedy old man jabbed his shovel into the ground and started digging, but all that he found buried in the dirt were soft pockets of rotten garbage.
What is this? the greedy old man shouted at Shiro. Then, in a rage of fury, he beat the poor dog to death.
When the greedy old man returned to the old man and old woman with a lifeless Shiro, the old man and old woman were deeply saddened. They received their beloved dog with tears in their eyes. Their heads fell forward. Their shoulders sank. But they said nothing, not even a simple, Why?
Seeing this, the greedy old man quickly turned and left.
With Shiro’s dead body in his arms, the old man walked into the nearby fields with the old woman. There, the old man and the old woman gave Shiro a proper burial and marked his grave simply, with a stick.
The following morning, the old man and the old woman woke up early and went to pay their respects at Shiro’s grave. As they walked through the fields, they carried a small basket full of the dog’s favorite snacks and a bowl that they planned to fill with water. They had intended to leave these things behind as offerings to their late and beloved Shiro.
But to their surprise, when they arrived at the grave, the simple stick they had marked it with was gone. In its place, there stood a large tree that had grown overnight.
Recognizing this to be a sign of good fortune, the old man and the old woman used the wood from this tree to make a large mortar for making mochi (an auspicious Japanese food that is made of water and pounded rice). Together, they slowly carried this mortar to their home. When they finally reached their home, they immediately began making mochi.
With the limited strength that they had, the old man and the old woman took turns pounding a large mound of boiled rice with a giant wooden mallet. Slowly, they pounded and turned the rice until it thickened and became gelatinous. As they did so, a mysterious thing began to happen. Jewels started coming out of the mochi. The more the old man and the old woman pounded the mound of mochi in the giant mortar, the more it produced an assortment of beautifully cut gem stones.
The old man and the old woman couldn’t believe their eyes.
Word of their good fortune and magic mortar quickly spread through town, and it wasn’t long before the greedy old man who had killed their beloved dog, Shiro, heard the news. Wanting riches and jewels of his own, the greedy old man once again presented himself at the door of the old man and old woman’s house.
Oi! Give me that mortar of yours! he demanded. I want to make some mochi! And without waiting for a response, the greedy old man once again marched into the old man and old woman’s house. This time, he grabbed hold of the magic mortar and dragged it back to his house.
When he got home, the greedy old man filled the mortar with a mound of softened, boiled rice and began to pound it. He pounded and turned the mound of rice so furiously that it quickly became a large ball of gelatinous mochi. Expecting diamonds and emeralds to appear at any minute, the greedy old man doubled his pace. Soon the mochi became hard and grainy. It doubled in size and then tripled. Then, rather than jewels, a wide array of crude stones and jagged pebbles began popping out of the greedy old man’s mochi.
Once again enraged by his lack of fortune, the greedy old man grabbed a nearby ax and struck the mortar over and over until it was nothing but a pile of splintered pieces. His rage not yet extinguished, the greedy old man took what was left of the mortar and threw it onto the fire in his kitchen’s hearth. There, he watched until the mortar disappeared into a pile of hot ashes.
The next day, the old man and the old woman paid a visit to the greedy old man’s house. They knocked on his door and, when it slid open, said, We’re sorry to bother you, but we’ve come for our mortar.
Oh, that, the greedy old man replied in annoyance. Why don’t you come in and get it. It’s over there. Then he pointed to the hearth.
The old man and the old woman looked at the hearth and then back at the greedy old man with puzzled expressions.
That’s right. It’s over there, he snapped. In the hearth. Why don’t you go have a look for yourself? That lousy mortar of yours gave me nothing but rocks and pebbles. So I burned it.
Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes. Then he lowered his head and bowed to the greedy old man. Humbly, the old man said, If it isn’t an inconvenience to you, I would like to be allowed into your house to sweep up the ashes my mortar has left in your hearth.
An inconvenience? the greedy old man retorted sharply. Do you realize how inconvenienced I have been already? Look at the mess your good-for-nothing mortar made of my house. Now, hurry up! Get in there and clean it up!
The old man and the old woman removed their shoes and stepped up into the greedy old man’s house. The old man opened an old cloth bag that had been tied to his waist and bent down to scoop the ashes of his beloved mortar from the greedy old man’s hearth. As he did so, the old woman swept the rocks and pebbles from the greedy old man’s floor. When they were finished, and the greedy old man’s house was cleaner than it had been in many years, the old man and the old woman backed out of the greedy old man’s house and said, We’re sorry to have inconvenienced you.
They then put on their shoes and turned to walk back home with their bag full of ashes. However, before they could even take ten full steps toward their home, a strong wind began to bear down on them. It knocked the old woman forward and tore into the bag full of ashes. The wind ran through the porous cloth of the bag and sent a fine cloud of ashes drifting into the air. The ashes wafted onto the branches of an old, dead tree and instantaneously, the tree began to transform. It's bark became re-nourished and beautiful flowers budded and bloomed right before the old man’s and old woman’s very eyes.
Amazed and delighted, the old man couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Look! Look! he blurted. The tree is flowering! Can you believe it? That old, dead tree is flowering! And before the old woman could react, the old man swiftly walked over to another dead and shriveled tree and began sprinkling ashes over its branches. Like the tree before it, this tree too soon began budding and blooming flowers.
Ha, ha! the old man laughed. He was happier than he could ever remember being. This happiness enveloped him and he began to dance and whirl around just like a young boy. Then suddenly, he turned to the old woman and blurted out gleefully, Let’s make flowers bloom.
As the old man danced and whirled about, the Lord of a nearby castle happened to come marching down the street with an entourage of servants and soldiers.
Why this is quite a sight, now isn’t it? the Lord said to no one in particular. An old man dancing and making flowers bloom. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anything like this before. And suddenly, the Lord felt giddy.
A strange euphoria spread to the Lord’s servants and soldiers and soon everyone was saturated with a warm feeling of bliss. Moved by this emotion, the castle’s Lord began showering the old man with gifts. Thank you! Thank you! the Lord said. A man who can make flowers bloom is a splendid man, indeed. Take this gold and come to my castle.
At the sound of the Lord’s voice, the greedy old man, whose house was nearby, came running outside. My Lord. My Lord, he shouted. You’ve made a mistake. Those ashes are mine. This old man took them from my hearth. I’m the one who can make the flowers bloom. Me. Just you watch and see.
After the greedy old man had said these things, he moved toward the old man and took the bag full of ashes from him. Then, reaching into the bag, he took a handful of ashes and threw them into the air. In that moment, a strong wind swept down on the greedy old man and carried the ashes from his hand straight into the eyes of the castle Lord.
Reeling backward in pain, the Lord screamed, Ooowww! Who is this fool who would throw ashes into my eyes? His euphoria suddenly blotted out by anger, the Lord groped around blindly and commanded, Beat this fool! Beat him now! Beat him so hard he never forgets what an ignorant fool he his.
And at these orders, the Lord’s servants and soldiers rained down upon the greedy old man. They delivered blow after blow upon him until he, the greedy old man, no longer knew who or what he was.
Note: This is an original adaptation of an old Japanese folk tale. The original text that this adaptation is based off can be found here 花咲じいさん.
If you enjoyed reading this, please also consider reading Jinshirou the Turnip Roaster, and The Battle of the Monkey and the Crab.
Resteemed
Thank you! Very much appreciated!!
Im not much of a story reader anymore but this was well worth the read, thanks for sharing
Thanks a lot! I'm glad you enjoyed it.