The Warrior's Head猛将の首
Long ago, a great warrior was slain during a rebellion against the Imperial Court, and his severed head was put on display as a warning to others. However, after several months, the head showed little sign of decay, and more disturbingly, was reported to be terrorizing the people with its wild howls throughout the night.
That is, until the day when a passing poet composed a comic verse inspired by the warrior's plight. So amused was the head that it immediately brightened up. What happened next remains a mystery—there are those who say he stayed there laughing as the flesh rotted off his skull, while others say the severed head bounded off towards the east, where its ancestral homeland lay.
So the mighty rebel whose uprising shook the nation has been brought to heel at last...
It's such a shame how things turned out. As a warrior, he was second to none. And now his head is to be put on a stake like a common thief. It's an insult to his memory.
Ah, here they come now with his head.
...B-but what's this! Do my eyes deceive me!?
ようやく、天下を騒がせた謀叛人が討たれた。 …惜しいことだ。 またとない武士であったというのに。 しかもさらし首とは…屈辱であろうな。 おや、首が運ばれてきたな。 …お、おお！ なんと、これは！
Oi! Unhand me, you scoundrels! And more importantly, bring me my body! Stick my head back on this instant and I'll take on every one of you!
So this is the storied severed head? How extraordinary. They say it's been calling for its body and demanding a rematch for several months now, all without showing the slightest sign of putrefaction.
I can see why people are terrified, but to me it has a certain nobility. Indeed, if you ask me, that head is merely expressing the indomitable spirit of the true warrior.
Such iron will is entirely alien to a mere poet such as I, but it is inspiring nonetheless. Perhaps I might take the liberty of penning a verse in honor of that proud samurai.
You there! Yes, you! The scribbler over there! Listening to that doggerel you came up with has really cheered me up. I've been boiling with rage and stewing in the injustice of it all for months, but now I see how ridiculous I must sound!
Why, I feel positively giddy! And I have no regrets about how things turned out. In fact, I'd say I've got another rebellion in me! Hurry and summon my men and let me lead them into battle once more, before the flesh falls from my skull!
- Where
- Sandbar - Entrance district
- Map
- Eastern Kyoto
- Region
- Eastern Kyoto
- Hand in to
- Lady Murasaki, Yasaka Shrine
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