Chapter 6 Bear at Slider Mountain

It is very interesting to talk about the bear story of Mount Nametoko (the name of the actual mountain in Iwate Prefecture, 860 meters above sea level, in the center of the photo).Huade Mountain is a very big mountain.The Fuchizawa River originated from here.Huade Mountain is full of cold clouds and mists all year round.All around are dark mountains that look like sea cucumbers or green turtles. There is an empty cave on the halfway up the mountain of Huade Mountain.At the entrance of the cave, the Fuchizawa River turns into a waterfall more than 300 feet long (about 90 meters), pouring down in the air on the dense cypress and wooden thatched roof.

Zhongshan streets are full of weeds such as coltsfoot and knotweed because there are few people recently. The roads are also lined with wooden fences that people use to prevent cattle and horses from escaping into the mountains.However, if you walk along this road for more than three miles (about eleven kilometers), you will hear a whistling sound like a strong wind blowing over the top of a mountain from the opposite side.At this time, if you look at it again, you will find a long and slender white belt that fluctuates and falls downwards with white smoke.That is the waterfall in the sky of Huade Mountain.

It is said that there were many bears living in this area a long time ago.I'll be honest, I've never seen Huai Bed Mountain, and I've never seen a bear bile.Most of them are heard from others, and some are imagined by myself.So some parts of the story may not be realistic, but I believe it is.In short, the bear bile of Huachong Mountain is well-known in this area. Bear bile from Huatangshan can not only cure abdominal pain but also heal wounds.At the entrance of the lead mine hot spring, there is still an old signboard saying "Bear bile for sale in Huade Mountain".Therefore, there are indeed bears with red tongues on Huaichuang Mountain that haunt the deep mountains and valleys from time to time, and there are indeed bears who gather here to play wrestling and finally kick and punch.The famous bear hunter Fuchizawa Kojuro hunted these bears one by one here.

Fuchizawa Kojuro is a black and strong old man with squinting eyes. His body is roughly as thick as a small stone mortar, and his palms are thick and big, just like the handprints made by Kitajima Bishamon (one of the Four Heavenly Kings) when he was healing people.In summer, Kojuro always wears a coir raincoat made of linden bark, puts on leggings, and carries a machete like the one used by natives, and a large and heavy shotgun from Portugal. Leading a brave yellow hunting dog, he traveled freely and horizontally in places such as Huade Mountain, Shitoki Swamp, Sanchakou, Suhai Mountain, Badger Cave Forest, and Baize Valley.

Because this area is densely wooded, if you go upstream from the bottom of the valley, it's like walking into a dark tunnel. Sometimes you will suddenly see the green and golden sunlight shining around you; The sun is shining like a hundred flowers blooming all around.Kojuro walked unhurriedly in it as if he were pacing in his own home.The yellow dog sometimes ran ahead along the steep cliffs, sometimes jumped into the water with a plop, swam desperately through the thick, dark and terrifying abyss, and then climbed to the rock on the opposite bank, shaking his body and shaking off the water. After the bead, he stretched his neck and twitched his nose to wait for the master's arrival.

At this time, Kojuro would curl his mouth slightly, thrust his feet into the water step by step like compasses, and a wave of white waves like a screen would rise above his knees, and he would cross the abyss at a leisurely pace.It might seem a little unfair for me to tell the truth here first, but to be honest, the bears around Huatok Mountain really like Kojuro very much. For when Kojuro pattered down the valley, or passed the bank of that long, flat, thistle-covered ravine, the bears watched silently from above. he.Otherwise, he hugged the branches with his hands on the tree, or sat on the cliff with his knees hugged, and looked down at him with relish.

Not only that, these bears seem to like the yellow dog next to Xiao Juro. However, like it or not, the bears are still very reluctant to meet Xiaojuro face to face.Especially when Kojuro aimed his gun at them with wide eyes and murderous eyes, and the dog next to him rushed towards them like a fireball, most of the bears would frown and wave their hands, expressing their unwillingness to let the dog Juro succeeded. But the bears are also of different colors and have different temperaments. If they encounter a bear with a violent temperament, they will howl loudly, straighten their feet, and then open their forearms towards Kojuro as if they are about to trample the yellow dog flat. Approaching step by step.At this time, Kojuro would hold his breath first, stand firmly on his feet, lean his back against the tree, then raise his shotgun, aim at Xiong'er's half-moon-shaped white-haired throat, and shoot the bullet with a "boom".

The bear who was shot would of course let out a wail that shocked the entire valley and forest, and then fell down with a thud, with black and red blood gurgling from his mouth, and his nose whimpered and groaned to death. Then Kojuro erected the gun under the tree again, approached cautiously, and said to Xiong'er: 'Bear, I didn't kill you because I hated you. I killed you because I had to.I also want to do some jobs that don't involve crimes, but I have no land to cultivate, and the trees in the forest are owned by the government. Even if I travel far away from home to ask for work, I have no one to rely on.That's why I had to do the hunting job.If it's karma for you to be born a bear, it's also karma for me to have to do this job!Hey, in the next life, you must never be reborn as a bear again. '

When Kojuro said these words, his yellow dog squinted his eyes and squatted beside him dejectedly. Speaking of this dog, I think that in the summer when Xiaojuro was 40 years old, the whole family was infected with dysentery. In the end, the disease took the lives of his son and wife one after another, but this dog survived alive and kicking. Then again, after Kojuro said that to Xiong'er, he took out a sharpened knife from his pocket, and started from Xiong'er's chin to his chest and cut open the bear's skin.Next is the scene I hate the most.In short, Kojuro will finally put the bloody bear gall into the wooden box on his back, then drag the bloody fur into the valley to clean it, then roll it into a ball, carry it on his back, and walk down the valley exhausted .

Kojuro sometimes thinks he understands bear language.One year in early spring, when the trees in the mountain had not yet sprouted green buds, Kojuro and his yellow dog climbed up the Shirasawa Valley.In the evening, Kojuro thought about staying overnight in a bamboo hut built on a peak not far from Balhaize last summer before setting off.Unexpectedly, Kojuro somehow found the wrong climbing pass. He went back to the bottom of the valley several times to look for climbing passes, climbed up and down, and finally found the tent that was about to collapse. Then Xiaojuro remembered that there was a spring not far from the hut, and he froze in place just a few steps down the mountain.Because in front of him was a female bear and a cub that seemed to have just turned one year old. Under the light of the first quarter moonlight on the sixth day of the lunar new year, they would cover their foreheads with their hands when looking into the distance like a human being, and they were staring intently at the opposite valley.Kojuro felt that the bodies of the mother and child bears seemed to emit a circle of light (the round light behind the Buddha statue), and he could only stand still and look at them.

Then I heard Little Bear say coquettishly: 'Mom, no matter how I look at it, it's still snow!Because only the side of the valley is white!That must be snow!mom! ' After hearing this, the female bear looked carefully at the valley for a while, and said: 'That's not snow, how could the snow only fall on one side? ' Little Bear went on to say: 'That's because it hasn't melted yet, so it stayed! ' 'No, Ma walked there yesterday to see if the thistles were sprouting. ' Kojuro unconsciously followed and looked towards the opposite valley. Pale moonlight is sliding down the hillside quietly.Sure enough, there was a place that shone like a piece of silver armor. After a while, Little Bear said again: 'If it's not snow, it must be frost.Well, it must be frost. ' After hearing this, Xiaojuro thought to himself, there will definitely be frost tonight, because isn't the Stomach star (the star in the east of Aries) near the moon also blue from the cold and shivering slightly?Even the light of the moon itself was as cold as ice. 'Mom knows, that one is magnolia flower. ' 'After a long time, it turned out to be magnolia flower!I know what flower it is. ' 'You haven't seen magnolia flowers yet, have you? ' 'See, didn't I pick it a few days ago? ' 'That's not magnolia flower, what you picked is catalpa flower. ' 'yes? ' Little Bear responded in a dazed manner. Kojuro listened, and for some reason, an inexplicable emotion welled up in his chest.He glanced at the snow-white flowers at the bottom of the valley opposite, and after the mother and cub looked at the bottom of the valley wholeheartedly in the moonlight, he tiptoed back.He secretly prayed in his heart: the wind, don't blow there, the wind, don't blow there; and then step back carefully step by step.The fragrance of the camphor tree and the moonlight floated faintly around. However, it would be unbearable to mention the miserable appearance of this heroic Xiao Julang when he went to the city to sell bear skins and bile. There is a large grocery store in the center of the city. On the shelves are bamboo baskets, sugar, whetstones, Jintiangou brand cigarettes, Chameleon brand cigarettes, etc., and even glass jars for trapping flies. One day, as soon as Kojuro stepped into the threshold of a grocery store carrying a large pile of bear skins on his back, all the clerks in the store sneered, with contemptuous expressions of "Look, here we go again".In another room at the end of the shop, the proprietor sat comfortably by a large bronze brazier in a spacious room. 'My lord, it's really thanks to you that I have been taken care of many times. ' Kojuro, who has always dominated the mountains, put down his fur mountain goods, knelt on the floor and respectfully paid his respects. 'Where, what are you doing today? ' 'I brought some bearskins. ' "Bearskin, the pile of goods you brought last time is still intact. Forget it, let's not accept it today!" ' 'Sir, please don't say that, please accept it, it can be considered cheaper. ' 'No matter how cheap it is, I can't accept it! ' The store owner calmly tapped the ash in the pipe on the palm of his hand. The heroic king of the mountain, Kojuro, would frown worriedly every time he heard such words. Because although there are millet seeds in the mountain where Xiaojuro lives, the small field behind the house can also harvest some barnyards, but there is no way to grow rice, and there is no soybean paste.There is a 90-year-old mother here, and a family of seven with a bunch of children, relying on him to earn money to buy some rice to go home. Besides, other families in the village can grow cannabis and the like, but Xiaojuro can only find some wisteria vines to weave dill baskets, and there is no crop for weaving. Kojuro was silent for a while before speaking hoarsely: 'Master, I beg you, you can accept as much money as you want! ' Kojuro kowtowed again while talking. The store owner let out a puff of cigarette in silence, hiding the sly smile on his face. 'Okay, put things back.Hello!Hirasuke!Give Kojuro two dollars! ' The clerk Hirasuke took four large silver coins and placed them in front of Kojuro.With a smile on his face, Kojuro accepted the silver coins respectfully. Afterwards, the store owner's mood gradually improved, and he said: 'Hey buddy, pour Kojuro a glass of wine. ' At this time, Kojuro was already bursting with joy.The shop owner on the side began to talk about the daily life slowly, and Kojuro could only respond to the scenes in the mountains with a straight face.After a while, there was a report from the kitchen that the food and wine were ready.Kojuro got up and said goodbye politely.In the end, he was pulled to the kitchen, and bowed to everyone again. Then, someone brought out a small black square table with sashimi of soda salmon, sliced ​​squid and other side dishes, as well as a bottle of wine. Kojuro sat down politely, took a piece of squid and licked it on the back of his hand, and respectfully poured yellow wine into the small magnetic wine glass. Even in the cheapest season, if two bear skins were only exchanged for two yuan, anyone would feel that Xiaojuro sold it too cheaply. Kojuro himself knew that the price was ridiculously cheap.But why didn't Kojuro sell the bear skin to others, but went to this grocery store in the city?Most people don't know why.However, there is a kind of fox boxing in Japan. When punching, the fox loses to the hunter, the hunter loses to the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper loses to the fox.So although the bear in the mountain was shot by Kojuro, Kojuro was exploited by the shop owner.Since the shop owner lives in the city, it is unlikely that he will be killed by a bear, but this kind of old, treacherous and cunning person will naturally disappear with the progress of society. Although it didn't take me much time to describe the scene where the honest and kind Xiaojuro was cleverly exploited by the hateful shopkeeper, I still feel extremely resentful. In short, although Kojuro has been hunting bears all year round, he never hates bears.But one summer, such a wonderful thing happened. That day, when Xiaojuro waded through the mountain stream and just climbed onto a rock, he found a giant bear on a tree in front of him, curled up like a cat, climbing the tree.Kojuro immediately aimed his gun at the bear, and the yellow dog happily ran under the tree, running around the tree and barking wildly. But the bear on the tree seemed to be thinking about jumping off the tree and rushing towards Kojuro?Or just stay where you are and die?As a result, the bear loosened his hands and fell from the tree. Kojuro gripped the barrel of the gun vigilantly, and approached the bear cautiously.Unexpectedly, the bear raised his hands and shouted: 'What on earth do you want to kill me? ' 'I just want your bear skin and bile, and nothing else.And if you sell it in the city, you won't be able to sell it for much money. Thinking about it, I'm really sorry, but I really can't help it!But now that you ask me this question, I would rather pick up some millet seeds and fern seeds to satisfy my hunger. Even if I starve to death because of it, I think I will be willing. ' 'Can you wait for me for another two years?Although I have nothing to miss when I die now, I still have some things to do, so wait for me for another two years.Two years later, I will definitely die in front of your house, and I will give you my fur, stomach and intestines. ' Kojuro just felt an unspeakable feeling in his heart, and stood there silently thinking. Xiong took advantage of this moment, and slowly stepped away with the soles of his feet on the ground.Kojuro still stood there dumbfounded. Kuma seemed to trust that Kojuro would never shoot him from behind, so he walked away slowly without looking back.It wasn't until the sun shining through the treetops flashed on the bear's dark and broad back that Kojuro sighed in distress, and then waded into the water and set off on his way home. Two full years later, on a windy morning, Kojuro was worried that the trees and fence outside the house might be blown down by the wind. When he went out, he saw that the cypress fence had not been blown down by the wind, but lay horizontally under the fence. A familiar swarthy thing.Kojuro was taken aback because the two-year time limit had expired, and he was wondering whether the bear would appear these days.Kojuro rushed forward and found that the bear lying on the ground vomiting blood turned out to be the bear two years ago. Kojuro involuntarily clasped his hands together and prayed for the bear. One day in January, when Kojuro left home early in the morning, he said something he had never said before. 'Mom, I think I'm old. For some reason this morning, for the first time in my life, I don't want to go into the water! ' The ninety-year-old mother, who was spinning under the sun on the verandah, raised her dim eyes and glanced at her son, showing a weeping and laughing expression. Kojuro tied up his straw sandals, shouted encouragingly, got up and walked out the door.The children poked their heads out from the stables one by one, and shouted with smiling faces: 'Grandpa, come back soon! ' Kojuro looked up at the bright blue sky, then turned his head and called out to his grandchildren: 'Grandpa is gone! ' Then stepping on the white and frozen snow, headed towards the Baize Valley. The yellow dog also stuck out its red tongue, gasped for breath, and ran forward without stopping.After a while, Kojuro's back disappeared on the other side of the hill.After watching grandpa go, the children started to play with barnyard sticks. Kojuro went upstream along the bank of Shirasawa Valley.Some parts of the valley formed a deep blue abyss, some places were frozen like thin ice covered with a layer of glass plates, and some places were frozen into several strings of icicles like rosary beads.On both sides of the strait, red and yellow Baidu fruits can be seen from time to time, hanging on the treetops.Kojuro walked upstream step by step, stepping on the shadows of himself, the yellow dog, and the birch trees that were clearly reflected on the snow, shimmering, sometimes overlapping, and sometimes separated. As early as summer, he found out that there was a big bear perched behind a mountain ridge from Baize Valley. Kojuro kept turning left and right, crossed five small tributaries that flowed into the valley, and came to a small waterfall.Then climb from the bottom of the waterfall to Changgen.The silvery white snow is dazzling like a torch.Kojuro, on the other hand, seemed to be wearing sunglasses, and continued to climb up without taking his eyes off it. Although the yellow dog nearly slipped down many times, he was determined not to lose to the cliff, and desperately clung to the snow to climb up.It was hard to climb to the top of the cliff.The top of the cliff is a gentle slope with a few chestnut trees scattered here and there, the snow on the ground is as crystal clear as cold water stones, and the towering snow-capped peaks around are like bamboo shoots after rain. Just as Kojuro was resting here, the yellow dog suddenly barked like it was on fire.Xiao Shilang was startled, and hurriedly turned his head to look, only to see the big bear that Xia Tian had inquired about, pounced towards him with its hind legs upright. Kojuro calmed down and stood firm, raised his gun and aimed at Big Bear.The big bear waved its forelegs as thick as a giant club, and rushed straight over.Seeing the fierceness of Big Bear rushing towards him, Kojuro couldn't help but change his expression slightly. With a 'bang', the sound of the gunshot indeed reached Kojuro's ears.But the big bear didn't fall down, it still rushed straight like a black whirlwind.The yellow dog rushed forward and bit the bear's heel. At this moment, Kojuro only felt a hum in his head, and his eyes turned pale.Then came a sentence from afar: 'Oh, Kojuro, I didn't mean to kill you. ' Kojuro thought, I must be dead.Then I saw countless blue lights shining like star eyes all around. 'This is evidence of death.The fire that people see when they die.Bears, forgive me! ' After that, I can't guess what kind of mood Kojuro will be in. In short, three days later that night, a round of ice hockey-like cold moon hung in the sky. The pure white snow is shining with crystal light, and the stream water is splashing with sparkling ripples.Ang Xing and San Xing seemed to be breathing, flashing green or orange starlight from time to time. On this gentle slope on the cliff top surrounded by chestnut trees and snow-white peaks, countless black giants gathered into a big circle, each dragging their own black shadows behind them, kneeling silently on the snow like a Muslim praying, For a long time, for a long time, no one moved.Looking carefully under the snow and moonlight, one can see that the highest point in the middle of the big circle is the half-sitting corpse of Kojuro. I don't know if it's a psychological effect, but Xiaojuro's frozen face is no different from that of his life, it is extraordinarily bright, and he even seems to be smiling.And those huge black monsters, until Sanxing rose to the middle of the head, or even slanted to the west, remained motionless like fossils. (The author did not publish it during his lifetime, and it is speculated that it was created in 1927) Annotation: Kenji Miyazawa loves his hometown very much. Place names or proper nouns of Iwate Prefecture can often be seen in his works. Many of them are place names that cannot be found on the map, or names that local residents only know.Like Huade Mountain and Badger Cave Forest in this article, and Wolf Forest and Bandit Forest in other works, they are all place names that actually exist in Iwate Prefecture.Mount Huatoko was officially recorded in the 1/25,000th map issued by the National Geological Institute of Japan in 1996.There is a sign at the entrance of Huade Mountain, which reads "No shotguns allowed, bears stay".very funny. Fox Fist: Cover your ears with your hands to represent a fox, put your hands on your knees to represent a hunter, and hold your left fist forward to represent a shopkeeper.When punching, the fox loses to the hunter, the hunter loses to the store, and the store loses to the fox, similar to scissors, rock, and paper.