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Synopsis
This is the true story of one ascetic who transformed Mount Odaigahara, which had long been called the ‶Devil's Mountain〞into a paradise of healing.
In the western part of the Japanese archipelago, there is a mountain called Odaigahara, which is 1695 meters high.
This mountain is not a high mountain that climbers aim to conquer, but it is a very unique mountain. It is a popular mountain for beginner climbers and photography enthusiasts.
Until the 1890s, Odaigahara was feared as a ‶mountain inhabited by devils〞and kept people at bay.
The reason for this is that this mountain is geographically prone to severe weather fluctuations, and in addition to heavy snowfalls in winter, there are also unexpected downpours and sudden thick fog that can make the future look bleak. Because of this, hunters and monks who were stuck in the mountains were often lost.
People feared that this phenomenon was caused by demons. As a result, many legends of demons have emerged since ancient times, and the mountain has been passed down as a place where demons live.
Let me give you a synopsis of this true story.
The protagonist is Kasamu Furukawa, born in January 1860 in Kasada Village, Gifu Prefecture, in the central part of the Japanese archipelago. As a boy, he suffered from depression and went into mountain asceticism with his father to cure it.
After three days of rough training with his father at a stone asceticism center, Kasamu sees a vision of Buddha at the top of a mountain at dawn.
The unexpected event surprises him. He then gazes at the image of the Buddha with abandon.
―He is surprised by this unexpected event and gazes at the image of the Buddha in a state of absentmindedness, perhaps because his mind has been sharpened by his ascetic training.
While he was thinking this, a solemn voice came into his ears.
‶Kasamu, there is a devil's mountain in the south country. That mountain awaits you〝
Is that voice the Buddha? Could this be an auditory hallucination? But his ears were definitely hearing that voice. He felt as if his body was floating in the air, and he let go for a while.
After this morning, his depression had recovered.
On his way home after completing his training, Kasumu remembered this morning.
―What does it mean that the devil's mountain is waiting for you to come?
This training has freed me from my illness. Is it that there is a demon mountain in the west and I should build a church there to help people in distress?
He did not tell my father about the Buddha, but kept it to myself. I didn't tell my father about the Buddha because I thought it might have been a temporary hallucination.
After being saved from depression, Kasamu went to the city to make a living and opened a general store. The store prospered. In anticipation of the construction boom, he also started dealing in lumber for construction. Sales increased. Things were going well for a while, but not for long.
A few years later, Japan was hit by the Great Famine. In the aftermath, sales plummeted and Kasamu decided to close the store. Returning to his hometown, Kasamu found himself penniless.
―So, what do we do now?
Famine has disrupted politics, and farmers are selling their daughters to survive. No one will help them. The only thing that can heal people's hearts in this world is the mountain asceticism that he experienced. At this moment, the voice of the Buddha came back to Kasamu's mind.
―Now was a good time to practice what the Buddha had told him.
It was at this moment that Kasamu decided to enter Odaigahara, the Devil's Mountain. He had heard about Odaigahara from the locals when he was buying lumber.
He was also intrigued by the enigmatic term Devil's Mountain
In the spring of 1891, a person appears who decides Kasamu's life. This encounter became a turning point in his life.
His character was immediate action. There was no hesitation.
There are many doors in life. A normal person would get lost each time. But he didn't have that problem. He jumped right into the door that faced him. He understood that it was the instructions of the gods of nature and the Buddha. This honesty and can-do spirit led him to the Devil's Mountain.
In January 1891, he set out to turn Odaigahara, a mountain feared by many as the home of the devil, into a place of healing, a paradise in the sky. I have the blessings of Buddha was his motivation.
His love of nature, his unselfish nature, and his willingness to sacrifice himself to help others. This noble spirit of Kasamu's led him through many difficult times.
Oh, sorry. I forgot one more important thing.
That is the fact that the main character, Kasamu, lived with a ferocious Japanese wolf and investigated Odaigahara with the wolf's help.
Humans can talk with wolves. What does this mean?
Biographer, Fumito Yoshi