ashamed of himself for believing he had acquired supernatural power through many years of learning.
It is told that there have not been any more mysterious events of that kind on the mountain since then.
16. A cat-hater
L ONG, LONG AGO , there was in the capital a pecul iar person named Fujiwara Kiyokado. He was an official of the department of finance and held the court rank of goi (fifth grade).
He was a great hater of cats and was so much afraid of these animals that he was nicknamed "Human Rat." Half for fun, some of his friends would scare him by putting cats beside him. Even in the office he would run away abandoning his work at the sight of a cat. The officials of the department therefore called him "Cat-hating Kiyokado."
Kiyokado was a rich man with large estates in Yamato, Yamashiro, and Iga provinces. But he would not pay taxes to the government of Yamato Province. In olden times people offered bags of rice as taxes to the provincial governments. The officials of the Yamato government requested many times that Kiyokado pay the taxes, but he would not pay them.
One day Governor Sukegimi and his men got together to study the best way to make the cat-hater pay taxes.
"If we leave this matter unsettled, he will never pay the taxes. We must do something."
"As he is a goi -holder, we cannot punish him merely for not paying. He will be crafty enough to make some excuse for his neglect of payment."
They were at a loss what to do with Kiyokado. All of a sudden the governor hit upon a good idea. Just then Kiyokado accidentally came to see the governor, who immediately had him shown into his office and the door locked. Then the 'governor began politely, "Dear Kiyokado, why don't you pay the taxes? I have been strictly instructed by the central government to collect them from you. I ask you to tell your estate managers to pay the taxes without delay."
"I am very sorry to trouble you, dear Sukegimi. I have been so busy that I was compelled to put off the payment. Since it is our duty to pay the taxes, I promise I will pay them in the near future."
Although cat-hating Kiyokado apparently apologized to the governor, he cried in his heart that he would never tender a single grain of rice to the government. Governor Sukegimi, however, was not deceived at all, for he was well aware of the cat-hater's tactics.
"My friend Kiyokado, you cannot fool me this time. You promised me many times that you would pay the taxes, but you never kept your word. I do wish to settle this problem today. If you will not accept my request, I will not let you out," said Sukegimi.
"Please don't get excited, Governor Sukegimi. Though I have said I would pay them in the near future, I promise you I will pay them by the end of this month. Is that satisfactory to you?"
"No, no, I cannot trust you." The governor continued, "As we have been close friends for many years, I do not wish to have trouble with you. I will let bygones be bygones. Again I ask you to pay the taxes at once."
Kiyokado, however, held out persistently. "As I told you, I am in no position to pay them right now. I have to talk with my managers about how to pay."
The governor became excited by his indecisive attitude and cried, "Guards, bring them in!" Kiyokado, remaining calm, wondered what the governor's men would bring into the room. In a minute, there was heard a meowing in the doorway, and a big grey cat came in. She was followed by four others.
"Oh, cats! No, no. Take them out, please," cried Kiyokado, with a tremble. He earnestly asked the governor, with joined hands, to take out the animals right away.
The cats came near the stranger, meowing, and one of them got on his lap while another jumped on his shoulder. A third took a sniff of the sleeves of his kimono, and others ran about the room.
Kiyokado was quite helpless. He looked pale, trembling with fear. At this sight, the governor thought that his tactics had worked well.
"Guards, take them out," he ordered. The
It is told that there have not been any more mysterious events of that kind on the mountain since then.
16. A cat-hater
L ONG, LONG AGO , there was in the capital a pecul iar person named Fujiwara Kiyokado. He was an official of the department of finance and held the court rank of goi (fifth grade).
He was a great hater of cats and was so much afraid of these animals that he was nicknamed "Human Rat." Half for fun, some of his friends would scare him by putting cats beside him. Even in the office he would run away abandoning his work at the sight of a cat. The officials of the department therefore called him "Cat-hating Kiyokado."
Kiyokado was a rich man with large estates in Yamato, Yamashiro, and Iga provinces. But he would not pay taxes to the government of Yamato Province. In olden times people offered bags of rice as taxes to the provincial governments. The officials of the Yamato government requested many times that Kiyokado pay the taxes, but he would not pay them.
One day Governor Sukegimi and his men got together to study the best way to make the cat-hater pay taxes.
"If we leave this matter unsettled, he will never pay the taxes. We must do something."
"As he is a goi -holder, we cannot punish him merely for not paying. He will be crafty enough to make some excuse for his neglect of payment."
They were at a loss what to do with Kiyokado. All of a sudden the governor hit upon a good idea. Just then Kiyokado accidentally came to see the governor, who immediately had him shown into his office and the door locked. Then the 'governor began politely, "Dear Kiyokado, why don't you pay the taxes? I have been strictly instructed by the central government to collect them from you. I ask you to tell your estate managers to pay the taxes without delay."
"I am very sorry to trouble you, dear Sukegimi. I have been so busy that I was compelled to put off the payment. Since it is our duty to pay the taxes, I promise I will pay them in the near future."
Although cat-hating Kiyokado apparently apologized to the governor, he cried in his heart that he would never tender a single grain of rice to the government. Governor Sukegimi, however, was not deceived at all, for he was well aware of the cat-hater's tactics.
"My friend Kiyokado, you cannot fool me this time. You promised me many times that you would pay the taxes, but you never kept your word. I do wish to settle this problem today. If you will not accept my request, I will not let you out," said Sukegimi.
"Please don't get excited, Governor Sukegimi. Though I have said I would pay them in the near future, I promise you I will pay them by the end of this month. Is that satisfactory to you?"
"No, no, I cannot trust you." The governor continued, "As we have been close friends for many years, I do not wish to have trouble with you. I will let bygones be bygones. Again I ask you to pay the taxes at once."
Kiyokado, however, held out persistently. "As I told you, I am in no position to pay them right now. I have to talk with my managers about how to pay."
The governor became excited by his indecisive attitude and cried, "Guards, bring them in!" Kiyokado, remaining calm, wondered what the governor's men would bring into the room. In a minute, there was heard a meowing in the doorway, and a big grey cat came in. She was followed by four others.
"Oh, cats! No, no. Take them out, please," cried Kiyokado, with a tremble. He earnestly asked the governor, with joined hands, to take out the animals right away.
The cats came near the stranger, meowing, and one of them got on his lap while another jumped on his shoulder. A third took a sniff of the sleeves of his kimono, and others ran about the room.
Kiyokado was quite helpless. He looked pale, trembling with fear. At this sight, the governor thought that his tactics had worked well.
"Guards, take them out," he ordered. The
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