Bunta the Salt-seller

(♪) The hero of this story, Bunta the Salt-seller, made a poor living by extracting salt from seawater. He boiled it, or let it dry, and then he peddled the salt that he made. That is how he got his name. So what do you think happened to poor, struggling Bunta? (♪)

(♪) A long time ago in the province of Hitachi there lived a man called Bunta the Salt-seller. He and his wife lived in poverty from the salt that he made, but they were honest people and they had a gentle, beautiful daughter named Koshio. She loved making up poetry.

Right-side:

(♪) One of the people who bought Bunta’s salt was a man called Daiguji of the Shore. He was the richest salt merchant in the area and lived in luxury. Daiguji heard about Bunta’s beautiful daughter Koshio and declared that he would marry her. But Koshio would have none of it.

Left-side:

(♪) Among the servants in Daiguji’s household was a conniving old hag named Nejikane. This woman, who had been with the household a long time, decided to use her wiles to persuade Koshio to accept. Nejikane: “Let me handle this matter. I have an idea.” Daiguji: “What? You think you can bring her around?” High Attendant: “If you succeed, certainly you will be well rewarded.” Seawater Gatherer: “No, it won’t work. Nothing even the hag can conjure up will make Koshio change her mind.”

(♪) Meanwhile, Daiguji kept some birds at his house, and he especially liked a mandarin duck. It so happened that he had placed his treasured duck in Bunta’s keeping. Around the same time there was a young merchant from the capital called Sukehachi who sometimes stopped at Bunta’s house. Because he was a warmhearted man who liked poetry, he and Kosio got along well together, and soon the two of them fell in love. Bunta and his wife saw what was happening, but they approved of Sukehachi and so they pretended not to notice. Bunta: “Well, Mr. Sukehachi, can you tell me anything about mandarin ducks?” Sukehachi: “Yes, of course. I know a story that comes from China. There, they say that a young couple who loved each other were killed by the emperor and their spirits were turned into two mandarin ducks. So now, whatever happens to them, they always long for each other.“ Koshio: “Oh, how romantic!”

Right-side:

(♪) Now, Nejikane set out to lure Koshio into marriage with Daiguji. She tried to spark her interest, showing her beautiful kimono, combs, and hair ornaments. Nejikane: “See here, if you marry Mr. Daiguji, you will have all the wonderful things you could wish for, all the time.” Koshio: “I’m sorry, but whatever you say, I will never agree.”

Left-side:

(♪) Nejikane tried some different approaches, but Koshio was not one bit swayed. The malicious Nejikane finally exploded in a fury of exasperation. Nejikane: “You are insufferably stubborn! I’m going to suffocate you in a smoking bed of pine needles. What a hateful look you have on your face!” Koshio: “No matter how you threaten me, I will never give in to you.”

Right-side:

(♪) Koshio finally ran away from her and got home. She thought of Sukehachi as she looked at the mandarin duck in the cage, all alone, separated from his mate. She could not stop herself from taking him out and setting him free. The mandarin duck soared happily into the air and then flew off in the wide blue sky. Koshio: “I wonder what Sukehachi is doing now? Since I freed Daiguji’s mandarin duck, I cannot stay in this house any longer.”

Left-side:

(♪) Having failed to win over Koshio, Nejikane marveled at her tenacity and began thinking about terrible ways to punish her. Meanwhile, when Sukehachi arrived home from a business trip of a few days, he was surprised to see a letter from Koshio. He hurried to visit Bunta’s family.

Right-side:

(♪) When Sukehachi heard about what had happened while he was away, he thought it would be dangerous to stay and decided to flee to the capital with Koshio. He knew that Daiguji’s revenge for freeing the mandarin duck could be something terrible. Sukehachi: “We’ve come a long way. Are you not tired? We’ll walk a little more and then take a rest.”

Left-side:

(♪) After Koshio ran away to the capital with Sukehachi, Bunta and his wife found a letter from their daughter. They were relieved when they read it. Bunta: “She says, ‘I am worried that after we leave, things will be greatly troublesome for you, my parents’. How sweet of her to think of us.” Bunta’s Wife: “Did Koshio leave with Sukehachi? Oh, I’m so relieved, so relieved.”

(♪) After Koshio, whom he had wanted as wife, had left, and worse, upon learning that his precious duck had been set free, Daiguji exploded with rage. Daiguji: “What disgraceful parents! Retainer, roll them up tight in a reed mat!” Retainer: “Shameless parents! Where did you send your daughter off to?” Nejikane: “You cheated me, and made me waste my time and hard work.” Bunta: “I thought you might do something like this. Do your worst.” Bunta and his wife loved their daughter so much that they gave no thought to whatever punishment came to themselves. Rolled up in the mat, they were handled roughly, and Daiguji’s men made ready to throw them into the sea.

(♪) Just as Bunta and his wife were about to be tossed into the waves, a samurai arrived from the local administrator’s office to announce that the couple were pardoned and he ordered Daiguji’s men to release them immediately. Samurai: “Now Bunta, you have been acquitted of the crime of setting the mandarin duck free.”

(♪) All this happened so suddenly that it took Bunta and his wife a while to grasp the changed situation. The samurai explained. Samurai (in reality the mandarin duck): “Bunta and Mrs. Bunta, I am actually a mandarin duck. For a long time Daiguji held me in captivity and my wife and I were separated from each other. But your daughter Koshio let me go and we found each other again. We wanted to repay that kindness by helping you.” To make a long story short, the samurai turned back into a duck, and then two ducks flapped their wings and flew off together into the sky.

(♪) Saved by the mandarin duck, Bunta and his wife decided to go to the capital to look for Koshio. They were overjoyed to find her and amazed to learn the incredible facts. The young man called Sukehachi turned out to be a high ranking noble called Prince Arisu. When he first found Bunta, he just happened to be in Hitachi disguised as a merchant. He had been visiting places made immortal in poetry he had read. The nobleman they had known as Sukehachi gave Bunta and his wife a wonderful welcome and bestowed many things on them. Perhaps there is no need to tell you that Koshio and her nobleman husband lived happily ever after.

(♪) An announcement of newly-published books appears on the last page of the picture book. Note that two volumes of the story of Bunta the Salt-seller are now available. On the left-hand page a poem has been written, probably by the former owner of this book. It means, “Please return this when you have finished it.” More than anything it conveys the way people long ago treasured their books.