Today’s story is a bit ‘TSUYA-BANASHI’. Please note that underage viewers are not permitted to watch this programme…!? (^_^;).
There is a saying in Japan that goes, “Never judge a person by his or her appearance.”
There is a saying in English-speaking countries, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”, which must mean almost the same thing.
Whether it is a person or a book, you can never know what it is really about until you take the time to actually get to know it.
Unfortunately, however, people often tend to judge things by appearances. And this is the cause of more than a few failures.
Not only that, but we must not forget that there are those who seek to exploit such human habits.
Gifu Prefecture is located in central Japan. It is an inland prefecture, rich in nature with mountains and forests.
Although it is not a developed city today, in olden times（The Age of the Samurai）it was a place for travellers to come and go, as it was also served by a major road, the Nakasendo.
A time when things were much more leisurely than they are today.
One autumn, when the sun was about to set, the owner of a farmhouse in the village was washing his hands and feet in the stream that ran beside his house after a day’s work. Then…
“Um… hello…”
Someone called out to him from behind, in a voice so weak he might have missed it.
The husband turned around and saw a nun standing there. (*Buddhist nun).
But that wasn’t the only reason she caught the husband’s eye.
The nun had a sophisticated appearance that could not be found in most villages, and she was probably young, with She was probably young, and above all, she had the most beautiful face I have ever seen.
The owner of the house stood there in a daze, wondering if the Kyo dolls he had heard so much about were like her.
‘I am on a pilgrimage. Excuse me, but could I stay at your house for the night?”The nun said.
The husband was in a daze, but her words finally brought him back to himself.
He felt that he could not treat a person serving the Buddha in such a neglectful manner, so he said, ‘It’s a miserable house, but if you don’t mind, please stay in my house’.
Thus, he welcomed the nun into his house.
When the husband went home and told his wife about it, she replied that if that was the case, then there was nothing wrong with it. That night, the three of them, including the nun, had a lively dinner.
The nun told us that she had been born in the western part of the country and was on her way to visit Boko-ji Temple after becoming a monk with a great desire. She told us stories of faraway lands and what she had seen and heard on her journey, so we had a pleasant time together for the first time in a long time.
So when night fell and it was time to go to bed.
‘I know it sounds pathetic, but even at my age I still find it disconcerting to sleep alone. I am sorry, but as we are both women, may I sleep in the same place as your wife just tonight?”The nun says.
The husband thought, “Well, maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” He decided to sleep alone in the living room, pulling out a mshiro (straw mat).
The next morning, after waking up and praying at the altar, the three of them had breakfast together again. Afterwards, the nun thanked her husband and wife several times before leaving again.
After seeing her off, the wife started tidying up the house.
Her husband also went out to work in the fields a little earlier than usual.
But here the husband had a bad idea.
（She was too beautiful to be a nun. I’d like to hold her in my arms somehow… Now, conveniently, there would be few people around, and if I hurried after her…)
It was an evil thought, but when the blood rushes to your head, you can’t stay or go any longer. I followed the nun with my footsteps getting faster and faster.
When we were about halfway up the mountain pass, we could see a black-and-white robe on the other side of the road. The nun was standing by a large tree and appeared to be taking a rest.
（Yas! There’s no sign of anyone around, so we’ll just keep approaching quietly…)
Just as the husband was about to approach the nun with stealthy steps, it happened.
The nun, who had been standing quietly, looked around briefly and suddenly opened the front of her kimono and began to urinate standing up…
This startled her husband. The bad thoughts he had had about the nun had vanished. (And by the way, the part of him that had been healthy also quickly wilted…)
(That nun was a man…)
While her husband sat hunched over in the shadows, the nun quickly changed into a man’s kimono and walked away…
And only then did the husband realise.
「Ah!! Oh no!! Oh no!!」
That’s right, that fake nun had slept with his wife last night.
The husband ran back home as if he were falling down…
The title of this article, and the ‘TSUYA-BANASHI’ mentioned at the beginning, could be translated into English as ‘Erotic story’ or ‘Erotic conversation’.
There are a small number of folk tales and folktales that have this tendency.
There may be some amusing ‘TSUYA-BANASHI’ in the folk tales of your country.
The fake nun in this story. Although it is dangerous to wear a woman’s clothes when travelling, it is more acceptable to wear a woman’s clothes when asked to stay in a private house. Moreover…
It’s probably a technique that makes effective use of your own facial features, but your efforts are going in the wrong direction.
The husband, on the other hand, was confronted with a young, beautiful woman, forgot himself and was dominated by evil thoughts. The result was unexpected, but well deserved.
We should not be misled by immediate greed or profit and loss in anything…
And you need to have the strength to discipline yourself…