The Vampire Cat of Nabéshima

There is a tradition in the Nabéshima[75] family that, many years ago,

the Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been

kept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of

rare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the

favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and

accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O

Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset,

when they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being

followed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired

to her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start,

and became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when

she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in

her delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so

fair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly,

bitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave

under the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her

form, began to bewitch the Prince.

[Footnote 75: The family of the Prince of Hizen, one of the eighteen

chief Daimios of Japan.]

But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little thought

that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled him was an impish

and foul beast that had slain his mistress and assumed her shape in

order to drain out his life's blood. Day by day, as time went on, the

Prince's strength dwindled away; the colour of his face was changed,

and became pale and livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly

sickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly

alarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed various

remedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the more serious did

his illness appear, and no treatment was of any avail. But most of all

did he suffer in the night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and

disturbed by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors

nightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over

him; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock on the very first night

that the watch was set, the guard were seized with a sudden and

unaccountable drowsiness, which they could not resist, until one by

one every man had fallen asleep. Then the false O Toyo came in and

harassed the Prince until morning. The following night the same thing

occurred, and the Prince was subjected to the imp's tyranny, while

his guards slept helplessly around him. Night after night this was

repeated, until at last three of the Prince's councillors determined

themselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could overcome

this mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no better than the others,

and by ten o'clock were fast asleep. The next day the three

councillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya

Buzen, said--

"This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men should thus

be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that is upon my lord and

upon his guard must be the work of witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts

are of no avail, let us seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the

temple called Miyô In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the

recovery of my lord."

And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had said, they

went to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite litanies that the

Prince might be restored to health.

So it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of Miyô In, offered

up prayers nightly for the Prince. One night, at the ninth hour

(midnight), when he had finished his religious exercises and was

preparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied that he heard a noise

outside in the garden, as if some one were washing himself at the

well. Deeming this passing strange, he looked down from the window;

and there in the moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some

twenty-four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished

cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the figure

of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my lord the Prince.

Ruiten looked on with admiration; and the young man, when he had made

an end of his prayer, was going away; but the priest stopped him,

calling out to him--

"Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say to you."

"At your reverence's service. What may you please to want?"

"Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little talk."

"By your reverence's leave;" and with this he went upstairs.

Then Ruiten said--

"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man,

should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this

temple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray

what is your name?"

"My name, sir, is Itô Sôda, and I am serving in the infantry of

Nabéshima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to

assist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of

sufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but

to pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may

regain his health."

When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of

Itô Sôda, and said--

"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness

this is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from

horrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized

with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very

wonderful."

"Yes," replied Sôda, after a moment's reflection, "this certainly must

be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with

the Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this

drowsiness and detect the goblin."

At last the priest said, "I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya

Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you

and of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain

your wish."

"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain

thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the

recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour."

"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the

councillor's house."

"Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted.

On the following evening Itô Sôda returned to the temple Miyô In, and

having found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen:

then the priest, leaving Sôda outside, went in to converse with the

councillor, and inquire after the Prince's health.

"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I

have been offering up prayers for him?"

"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must

be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of

keeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot catch a sight of

the goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble."

"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have

something to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect

the goblin; and I have brought him with me."

"Indeed! who is the man?"

"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named Itô Sôda, a

faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be

permitted to sit up with my lord."

"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a

common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's reflection;

"still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the

office of watching over my lord."

"It is true that he is but a common soldier," urged the priest; "but

why not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let

him mount guard?"

"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's recovery. But

come, let me see this Itô Sôda, that I may know what manner of man he

is: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and

perhaps we may grant his request."

"I will bring him in forthwith," replied Ruiten, who thereupon went

out to fetch the young man.

When he returned, the priest presented Itô Sôda to the councillor, who

looked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and

gentle appearance, said--

"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my

lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors,

and we will see what can be done for you."

When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his

leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his

object. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for Itô

Sôda, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers

that very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall,

having made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred

gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.

Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards

around him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation

and pleasant conceits. But, as ten o'clock approached, they began to

doze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one

another awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. Itô Sôda all this

while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and,

though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that

there was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for

which he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil

paper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats,

he sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in

the sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile

the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he

was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became

drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh,

so that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the

feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper

which he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood,

which might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.

So Itô Sôda remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he

watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince's room were drawn

open, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew

nearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some

twenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when

she saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile,

and was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in

one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to

startle her, but she went up to Sôda and said--

"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?"

"My name is Itô Sôda, and this is the first night that I have been on

guard."

"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard

asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty

watchman."

"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast and sound."

"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood."

"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the

pain of it has kept me awake."

"What wondrous loyalty!" said the lady.

"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master?

Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about?"

Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, "How fares it

with my lord to-night?" But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made

no reply. But Sôda was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O

Toyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince

he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form

of O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come

again that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the

watchfulness of Itô Sôda; for whenever she drew near to the sick man,

thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind

her, and there she saw Itô Sôda glaring at her; so she had no help for

it but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.

At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and

opened their eyes, saw that Itô Sôda had kept awake by stabbing

himself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home

crestfallen.

That morning Itô Sôda went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him

all that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all

loud in their praises of Itô Sôda's behaviour, and ordered him to keep

watch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and

looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting

Itô Sôda, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she

returned to her own apartments.

Now as since Sôda had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet

nights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in

the palace, and Sôda was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the

meanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept

away; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject

to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck Sôda as very strange,

so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O

Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while,

and said--

"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?"

"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the matter, and

try to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you

to order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her."

Having agreed upon this plan, Sôda went at nightfall to O Toyo's

apartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the

Prince. When she saw him arrive, she said--

"What message have you brought me from my lord?"

"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;" and

as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at

her; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring

fiercely at Sôda, said--

"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will

have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike Sôda with the halberd.

But Sôda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that

she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful

woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the

sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight

men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the

beast made good its escape.

So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the

surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great

hunt, and the beast was killed.

But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Itô Sôda was richly

rewarded.