寒山拾得森鴎外Upper intermediate · JLPT N2
寒山拾得Kanzanshūtoku — The Governor Goes Looking for Sages
- JLPT N2
- 6,132 characters
- 5 parts
- about 51 minutes
Mori Ōgai retells a Chinese Buddhist legend about Kanzan and Jittoku (Hanshan and Shide), two eccentric monks of Mount Tendai traditionally regarded as enlightened beings in disguise. The story follows Ryokyū In, a Tang official newly posted to Taishū, who is told by a wandering monk that two lowly temple figures are in fact bodhisattvas, and who sets off with full ceremony to pay his respects. The narrator is dry and ironic. He questions whether Ryo existed at all, stops to cite a Japanese scholar on administrative terms, and breaks off for a short essay on people who revere what they do not understand, with comparisons to his own Taishō-era Japan. For learners, the text is short and clearly structured, and the plot is easy to follow. The challenge lies in the language. The narration is in literary de aru prose with hedging and hearsay forms, and the dialogue uses formal, somewhat old-fashioned keigo. Chinese place names, Buddhist terms and official titles are read in on'yomi. The payoff is a sharp, funny ending and a close look at how Ōgai uses understatement to make his point.
Contents
Before you read
- Learn to spot the narrator's hedging and hearsay before you start. 〜そうである ("it is said that") and 〜と見える ("it seems that") appear in his historical asides and show how much he distances himself from the legend.
- Separate the two voices. The narration is plain literary de aru with forms like 〜まい, 〜なくてはなるまい and 〜ことにしておく. The dialogue uses formal keigo, with Ryo politely condescending and the monks humble. Ask yourself who is speaking and how they rank themselves.
- Proper nouns use Japanese on'yomi readings of Chinese names, such as 台州 (たいしゅう), 天台 (てんだい), 国清寺 (こくせいじ) and 寒巌 (かんがん). Learn these readings and the cast's names (閭, 豊干, 道翹, 寒山, 拾得) first so they don't slow you down.
- Part 3 is an essay, not narrative. Read it as an argument with three categories of people and their attitudes toward 道 (the Way). It explains the irony of the ending, so don't skip it.
- Expect Buddhist vocabulary, including 菩薩, 普賢, 文殊 and 賓頭盧. A rough sense of who Fugen and Monju are is enough to understand why Ryo is so eager and why the final scene is funny.
Words to know
The most useful words from the notes across the story.
| Word | Meaning | JLPT |
|---|---|---|
| 因縁いんねん | a cause or connection behind something; a story behind itOriginally a Buddhist term for karmic causes and conditions. | — |
| 平生へいぜい | usually, ordinarilyLiterary; 平生から means 'always, by nature'. Everyday equivalent: 普段. | — |
| 乞食坊主こじきぼうず | beggar monk坊主 'monk' is often slightly disparaging; 乞食 means 'beggar'. | — |
| 会得えとく | understanding, grasp会 is read え here, as in Buddhist vocabulary. | — |
| 厨くりや | kitchen (of a temple or large house)An old-fashioned word. The modern equivalent is 台所. | — |
| たかったたかる | to crowd around, to swarmdictionary form: 集るOften used of insects or people gathering around something. | N4 |
| あいにくあいにく | unfortunately, as luck would have it | N3 |
| 女房にょうぼう | wifeSomewhat old-fashioned and informal way to refer to one's own wife. | N2 |
| 懐かしいなつかしい | dear, drawing one's affectionHere it expresses a feeling of closeness toward someone, not nostalgia for the past. | N2 |
| 湯気ゆげ | steam, vapour | N2 |
| お暇いとま | leave, farewelldictionary form: 暇お暇をいたします / お暇します is a polite way to say 'I'll take my leave'. Read ひま, the same kanji means 'free time'. | N1 |
| 強いてはしいて | forcibly, insistentlydictionary form: 強いて強いては申しますまい: 'I won't press you'. | N1 |
| 顧みないかえりみる | to pay heed to; to look back ondictionary form: 顧みるOften used in the negative: 〜を顧みない 'to give no thought to'. | N1 |
| 丈じょう | jō, an old unit of length (about 3 m)Ten 尺 (shaku); the narrator finds 18,000 jō an obvious exaggeration. | N1 |
| 捗らないはかどる | to make good progressdictionary form: 捗るUsually used of work or travel going smoothly. | N1 |
Plot summary
Show the full summary (contains spoilers)
Ryokyū In is about to leave Chōan to govern Taishū when a stubborn headache strikes. A ragged, tall monk named Bukan appears, spits a mouthful of water over his head, and the startled Ryo finds the pain gone. Bukan refuses payment and says he comes from Kokuseiji on Mount Tendai. He also tells Ryo that Jittoku is really Fugen and that Kanzan is really Monju. Three days after taking office, Ryo sets out in procession to visit them. At Kokuseiji the monk Dōgyō tells him that Bukan once rode home on a tiger and shows him Bukan's empty quarters. Dōgyō explains that Jittoku is a foundling and that Kanzan is a cave-dweller who collects leftovers. In the kitchen, Ryo bows deeply to two shabby monks by the stove and recites his titles. They burst out laughing, and Kanzan remarks that Bukan must have talked. The two run off, leaving Ryo astonished among the crowding kitchen monks while Dōgyō stands frozen and pale.
About the author
Mori Ōgai was one of the leading writers of Meiji and Taishō Japan. As a young doctor he studied in Germany, and that experience shaped his early fiction, including 舞姫 (The Dancing Girl). He was an important translator of European literature; his translations include Goethe's Faust and Andersen's The Improvisatore. In his later years he turned to historical fiction and biography based on Edo-period sources. Works such as 阿部一族 and 山椒大夫 belong to this period, as does 高瀬舟. His other well-known works include 雁 (The Wild Geese).