[Illustration]
On the death of Nomoto Yajiyémon, a daikwan[2] in the province of
Echizen, his clerks entered into a conspiracy to defraud the family of
their late master. Under pretext of paying some of the daikwan's debts,
they took possession of all the money, valuables, and furniture in his
house; and they furthermore prepared a false report to make it appear
that he had unlawfully contracted obligations exceeding the worth of
his estate. This false report they sent to the Saishō,[3] and the
Saishō thereupon issued a decree banishing the widow and the children
of Nomoto from the province of Echizen. For in those times the family
of a daikwan were held in part responsible, even after his death, for
any malfeasance proved against him.
But at the moment when the order of banishment was officially announced
to the widow of Nomoto, a strange thing happened to a maid-servant in
the house. She was seized with convulsions and shudderings, like a
person possessed; and when the convulsions passed, she rose up, and
cried out to the officers of the Saishō, and to the clerks of her late
master:--
"Now listen to me! It is not a girl who is speaking to you; it is
I,--Yajiyémon, Nomoto Yajiyémon,--returned to you from the dead. In
grief and great anger do I return--grief and anger caused me by those
in whom I vainly put my trust!... O you infamous and ungrateful clerks!
how could you so forget the favours bestowed upon you, as thus to ruin
my property, and to disgrace my name?... Here, now, in my presence, let
the accounts of my office and of my house be made; and let a servant
be sent for the books of the Metsuké,[4] so that the estimates may be
compared!"
As the maid uttered these words, all present were filled with
astonishment; for her voice and her manner were the voice and the
manner of Nomoto Yajiyémon. The guilty clerks turned pale. But the
representatives of the Saishō at once commanded that the desire
expressed by the girl should be fully granted. All the account-books
of the office were promptly placed before her,--and the books of the
Metsuké were brought in; and she began the reckoning. Without making
a single error, she went through all the accounts, writing down the
totals and correcting every false entry. And her writing, as she wrote,
was seen to be the very writing of Nomoto Yajiyémon.
Now this reëxamination of the accounts not only proved that there had
been no indebtedness, but also showed that there had been a surplus
in the office treasury at the time of the daikwan's death. Thus the
villany of the clerks became manifest.
And when all the accounts had been made up, the girl said, speaking in
the very voice of Nomoto Yajiyémon:--
"Now everything is finished; and I can do nothing further in the
matter. So I shall go back to the place from which I came."
Then she lay down, and instantly fell asleep; and she slept like a
dead person during two days and two nights. [For great weariness and
deep sleep fall upon the possessed, when the possessing spirit passes
from them.] When she again awoke, her voice and her manner were the
voice and the manner of a young girl; and neither at that time, nor
at any time after, could she remember what had happened while she was
possessed by the ghost or Nomoto Yajiyémon.
[Illustration]
A report of this event was promptly sent to the Saishō; and the Saishō,
in consequence, not only revoked the order of banishment, but made
large gifts to the family of the daikwan. Later on, various posthumous
honours were conferred upon Nomoto Yajiyémon; and for many subsequent
years his house was favoured by the Government, so that it prospered
greatly. But the clerks received the punishment which they deserved.
[Footnote 1: The term _shiryō_, "dead ghost,"--that is to say, the
ghost of a dead person,--is used in contradistinction to the term
_ikiryō_, signifying the apparition of a living person. _Yūrei_ is a
more generic name for ghosts of any sort.]
[Footnote 2: A _daikwan_ was a district governor under the direct
control of the Shōgunate. His functions were both civil and judicial.]
[Footnote 3: The _Saishō_ was a high official of the Shōgunate, with
duties corresponding to those of a prime minister.]
[Footnote 4: The _Metsuké_ was a government official, charged with the
duty of keeping watch over the conduct of local governors or district
judges, and of inspecting their accounts.]