TheAgedMot

her
by
 Mat
suoBasho

Alsoknownas TheStoryoft
heAgedMot her,t
hisJapanesefol
ktal
etel
lsthestor
yof
anunkindr
ulerwhoissuescruelorder
s,includi
ngonedemandt hatal
lol
df ol
ksare
tobeabandonedandlefttodie.Bashotellsapoignantstor
yaboutamot herandher
sonandthei
rloveforoneanother.
Long,
longagot
her
eli
vedatt
hef
ootoft
hemount
ainapoorf
armerandhi
s
aged,
widowedmot
her
.Theyownedabi
tofl
andwhi
chsuppl
i
edt
hem wi
th
f
ood,
andt
heywer
ehumbl
e,peacef
ul,
andhappy
.
Shi
ningwasgov
ernedbyadespot
icl
eaderwhot
houghawar
ri
or,
hadagr
eat
andcowar
dlyshr
inki
ngf
rom any
thi
ngsuggest
iveoff
ail
i
ngheal
thand
st
rengt
h.Thi
scausedhi
mtosendoutacr
uel
procl
amat
ion.Theent
ir
e
pr
ovi
ncewasgi
venst
ri
ctor
der
stoi
mmedi
atel
yputt
odeat
hal
lagedpeopl
e.
Thosewer
ebar
bar
ousday
s,andt
hecust
om ofabandoni
ngol
dpeopl
etodi
e
wasnotuncommon.Thepoorf
armerl
ovedhi
sagedmot
herwi
tht
ender
r
ever
ence,
andt
heor
derf
il
ledhi
shear
twi
thsor
row.Butnooneev
ert
hought
t
wiceaboutobey
ingt
hemandat
eoft
hegov
ernor
,sowi
thmanydeepand
hopel
esssi
ghs,
they
out
hpr
epar
edf
orwhatatt
hatt
imewasconsi
der
edt
he
ki
ndestmodeofdeat
h.

Justatsundown,
whenhi
sday
’swor
kwasended,
het
ookaquant
it
yof
unwhi
tenedr
icewhi
chwast
hepr
inci
pal
foodf
ort
hepoor
,andhecooked,
dr
iedi
t,andt
iedi
tinasquar
ecl
oth,
whi
chheswungi
nabundl
ear
oundhi
s
neckal
ongwi
thagour
dfi
l
ledwi
thcool
,sweetwat
er.Thenhel
i
ftedhi
s
hel
plessol
dmot
hert
ohi
sbackandst
art
edonhi
spai
nful
jour
neyupt
he
mount
ain.Ther
oadwasl
ongandst
eep;
thenar
rowr
oadwascr
ossedandr
e-
cr
ossedbymanypat
hsmadebyt
hehunt
ersandwoodcut
ter
s.I
nsomepl
ace,
t
heyl
ostandconf
ues,
buthegav
enoheed.Onepat
horanot
her
,itmat
ter
ed
not
.Onhewent
,cl
i
mbi
ngbl
i
ndl
yupwar
d--ev
erupwar
dtowar
dst
hehi
ghbar
e
summi
tofwhati
sknownasObat
suy
ama,
themount
ainoft
he“
abandoni
ngof
t
heaged.
”

Theey
esoft
heol
dmot
herwer
enotsodi
m butt
hatt
heynot
edt
her
eckl
ess
hast
eni
ngf
rom onepat
htoanot
her
,andherl
ovi
nghear
tgr
ewanx
ious.Her
sondi
dnotknowt
hemount
ain’
smanypat
hsandhi
sret
urnmi
ghtbeoneof
danger
,soshest
ret
chedf
ort
hherhandandsnappi
ngt
het
wigsf
rom br
ushes
ast
heypassed,
shequi
etl
ydr
oppedahandf
ulev
eryf
ewst
epsoft
hewayso
t
hatast
heycl
i
mbed,
thenar
rowpat
hbehi
ndt
hem wasdot
tedatf
requent
i
nter
val
swi
tht
inypi
l
esoft
wigs.Atl
astt
hesummi
twasr
eached.Wear
yand
hear
tsi
ck,
they
out
hgent
lyr
eleasedhi
sbur
denandsi
l
ent
lypr
epar
edapl
ace
ofcomf
ortashi
slastdut
ytot
hel
ovedone.Gat
her
ingf
all
enpi
neneedl
es,
he
madeasof
tcushi
onandt
ender
lyl
i
ftedhi
sol
dmot
heront
oit
.Hewr
appedher
paddedcoatmor
ecl
osel
yaboutt
hest
oopi
ngshoul
der
sandwi
tht
ear
ful
eyes
andanachi
nghear
thesai
dfar
ewel
l
.

Thet
rembl
i
ngmot
her
’sv
oicewasf
ull
ofunsel
fi
shl
oveasshegav
eherl
ast
i
njunct
ion.“
Letnott
hineey
esbebl
i
nded,
myson.
”Shesai
d.“
Themount
ain
r
oadi
sful
lofdanger
s.LOOK 
  car
eful
l
yandf
oll
owt
hepat
hwhi
chhol
dst
he
pi
l
esoft
wigs.Theywi
l
lgui
dey
out
othef
ami
l
iarpat
hfar
therdown”
.Theson’
s
sur
pri
sedey
esl
ookedbackov
ert
hepat
h,t
henatt
hepoorol
d,shr
ivel
edhands
al
lscr
atchedandsoi
l
edbyt
hei
rwor
kofl
ove.Hi
shear
tbr
okewi
thi
nand
bowi
ngt
othegr
ound,
hecr
iedal
oud:
“oh,
Honor
abl
emot
her
,yourki
ndness
br
eaksmyhear
t!Iwi
l
lnotl
eav
eyou.Toget
herwewi
l
lfol
l
owt
hepat
hoft
wigs,
andt
oget
herwewi
l
ldi
e!”

Oncemor
eheshoul
der
edhi
sbur
den(
howl
i
ghti
tseemednow)andhast
ened
downt
hepat
h,t
hrought
heshadowsandt
hemoonl
i
ght
,tot
hel
i
ttl
ehuti
nthe
v
all
ey.Beneat
htheki
tchenf
loorwasawal
l
edcl
osetf
orf
ood,
whi
chwas
cov
eredandhi
ddenf
rom v
iew.Ther
ethesonhi
dhi
smot
her
,suppl
yi
ngher
wi
thev
ery
thi
ngsheneeded,
cont
inual
l
ywat
chi
ngandf
ear
ingshewoul
dbe
di
scov
ered.Ti
mepassed,
andhewasbegi
nni
ngt
ofeel
saf
ewhenagai
nthe
gov
ernorsentf
ort
hher
aldsbear
inganunr
easonabl
eor
der
,seemi
ngl
yasa
boastofhi
spower
.Hi
sdemandwast
hathi
ssubj
ect
sshoul
dpr
esenthi
m wi
th
ar
opeofashes.

Theent
ir
epr
ovi
ncet
rembl
edwi
thdr
ead.Theor
dermustbeobey
edy
etwhoi
n
al
lShi
ningcoul
dmakear
opeofashes?Oneni
ght
,ingr
eatdi
str
ess,
theson
whi
sper
edt
henewst
ohi
shi
ddenmot
her
.“Wai
t!
”shesai
d.“
Iwi
l
lthi
nk.Iwi
l
l
t
hink”Ont
heseconddayshet
oldhi
m whatt
odo.“
Maker
opeoft
wist
ed
st
raw,
”shesai
d.“
Thenst
ret
chi
tuponar
owoff
latst
onesandbur
nitona
wi
ndl
essni
ght
.”Hecal
l
edt
hepeopl
etoget
heranddi
dasshesai
dandwhen
t
hebl
azedi
eddown,
ther
eupont
hest
ones,
wit
hev
eryt
wistandf
ibershowi
ng
per
fect
ly,
layar
opeofashes.

Thegov
ernorwaspl
easedatt
hewi
toft
hey
out
handpr
aisedgr
eat
ly,
buthe
demandedt
oknowwher
ehehadobt
ainedhi
swi
sdom.“
Alas!Al
as!
”cr
iedt
he
f
armer
,“t
het
rut
hmustbet
old!
”andwi
thdeepbowsher
elat
edhi
sst
ory
.The
gov
ernorl
i
stenedandt
henmedi
tat
edi
nsi
l
ence.Fi
nal
l
yhel
i
ftedhi
shead.
“
Shi
ningneedsmor
ethanst
rengt
hofy
out
h,”hesai
dgr
avel
y.“
Ah,
thatIshoul
d
hav
efor
got
tent
hewel
l
-knownsay
ing,
“wi
tht
hecr
ownofsnow,
ther
ecomet
h
wi
sdom!
”Thatv
eryhourt
hecr
uel
lawwasabol
i
shed,
andcust
om dr
if
tedi
nto
asf
arapastt
hatonl
ylegendsr
emai
n.

TheAgedMot
her
 wasf
eat
uredas 
TheShor
tSt
oryoft
heDay
 on 
Sat
,May11,
2019

Mat
suoBashō 
(松尾 芭蕉,
1644–1694)
,bor
n 松尾 金作,
then 
Mat
suoChūemon
Munef usa( 松尾 忠右衛門 宗房) ,
[2]
[  
3]wast hemostfamouspoetoft he Edo
period in Japan.Dur inghi sl
ifeti
me, Bashōwasr ecogni zedforhisworksinthe
collabor ati
ve haikainor engaform; t
oday ,af
tercenturi
esofcomment ary,
hei s
recogni zedast hegr eatestmast erof  hai
ku(t
hencal l
ed hokku).MatsuoBashō'spoet r
y
i
si nternat i
onallyrenowned; and, i
nJapan, manyofhispoemsar ereproducedon
monument sandt raditi
onalsites.Al t
houghBashōi sj ustif
iabl
yfamousint heWestf or
hishokku, hehi mselfbel i
evedhi sbestwor klayinl
eadi ngandpar t
ici
pati
ngin renku.He
i
squot edassay i
ng, "Manyofmyf ollowerscanwr i
tehokkuaswel lasIcan.Wher eI
showwhoIr eallyam i sinli
nkinghai kai v
erses.
"[
4]

Mat
suoBashō(
松尾 芭蕉)
 Por
trai
tofBashōby
 Hokusai
,l
ate18t
hcent
ury

Bor
n
Mat
suoKi
nsaku(
松尾 金作)
1644
Near
 Ueno,
 
IgaPr
ovi
nce

Di
ed
November28,
1694(
aged50)
Osaka[
1]

Penname
Sōbō(
宗房)
Tōsē(
桃青)
Bashō(
芭蕉)

Occupat
ion
Poet

Nat
ional
i
ty
Japanese

Not
abl
ewor
ks
OkunoHosomi
chi

Bashōwasint
roducedtopoetryatayoungage,andaft
erint
egr
ati
nghimsel
fint
othe
i
ntel
lect
ual
sceneof Edo 
(modernTokyo)hequi
cklybecamewellknownthr
oughout
Japan.Hemadeal i
vingasateacher
;butthenr
enouncedthesoci
al,ur
banl
if
eofthe
li
terar yci rclesandwasi nclinedt owandert hroughoutt hecount ry, headi ngwest ,east ,
andf ari nt othenor ther nwi l
dernesst ogai ni nspi rationf orhi swr iti
ng.Hi spoemswer e
infl
uencedbyhi sf irsthandexper i
enceoft hewor ldar oundhi m, of tenencapsul at
ingt he
feelingofascenei naf ewsi mpl eel ement s.
Japanesev alues ar ecul tur alassumpt ionsandi deaspar t
icularto Japanesecul t
ur e.
The  honne/ tatemaedi vide bet weenpubl i
cexpr essi onandpr ivatet hought s/feel i
ngsi s
consi der edt obeofpar amounti mpor tancei n Japanesecul ture.[
1] I
n  Japanese
my thol ogy ,thegodsdi spl ayhumanemot i
ons, suchas  love and  anger .[
2] I
nt hesest ori
es,
behav iort hatr esul tsinposi tiver elat i
onswi thot her si sr ewar ded, andempat hy ,
ident i
f yingonesel fwi thanot her, i
shi ghl yv alued.Bycont rast,thoseact ionst hatar e
individual i
sticorant i
soci al (t
hoset hathar m ot hers)ar econdemned.Hur t
ful behav ioris
puni shedi nthemy thsbyost raci zingt heof fender .
Nosoci etycanexi stt hatdoesnotmanageandi nt egr ate antisocial behav i
or,[
citat
ion
neededJ
]
apanesechi ldrenl earnf rom t hei rear li
estday sthathumanf ul fi
llmentcomes
from cl oseassoci ationwi thot her s.Chi ldrenl ear near lytor ecogni zet hatt heyar epar t
ofani nter dependentsoci ety,begi nni ngi nt hef ami lyandl aterext endi ngt ol ar ger
groupssuchasnei ghbor hood, school ,playgr ound, communi ty,andcompany .
Dependenceonot her sisanat ural par toft hehumancondi t
ion;itisv iewednegat i
vely
onlywhent hesoci alobl igat i
ons( giri)itcr eat esar et oooner oust of ulfi
ll
, l
eadi ngt o, f
or
exampl e, suicide,whi chi sat opicofgr eatel abor ationi n Japanesehi stor y and  culture.
Howev er,int heear lypar toft he21stcent ur y,school  bully
ing hasbecomeat opi cof
verygr eatconcer n.[3]
Inint er per sonal r
el ationshi ps, mostJapaneset endt oav oid
open  compet it
ion and  conf ront ation. [  
4]Wor kingwi thot her srequi ressel f-cont rol,buti t
carriest her ewar dsofpr i
dei ncont ri
but i
ngt ot hegr oup, emot i
onal secur i
ty,andsoci al
i
dent ity.
 Wa  (和) ,thenot i
onofhar monywi thinagr oup, requi resanat tit
udeof
cooper ationandar ecogni
t i
onofsoci al roles.I feachi ndividual int hegr oup
under standsper sonal obli
gat i
onsandempat hizeswi tht hesi tuationsofot her s,thent he
groupasawhol ebenef it
.Successcancomeonl yifal lputf ortht heirbesti ndi vidual
efforts.Deci sionsar eoft
enmadeonl yaf terconsul ti
ngwi thev er yonei nthe
group.  
Consensus  doesnoti mpl yt hatt herehasbeenuni ver sal agreement ,butt his
styleofconsul tati
v edecision-maki ngi nvolveseachmemberoft hegr oupi ni nf or mation
exchange, reinfor cesf eeli
ngsofgr oupi dent i
ty, andmakesi mpl ement ationoft he
decisionsmoot her .Cooper ati
onwi thi
nagr oupal soi sof tenf ocusedoncompet i
tion
betweent hatgr oupandapar all
el one, whet hert hei ssuei soneofeducat ional success
ormar ketshar e.Sy mbolssuchas  uni forms, names, banner s, andsongsi dent ifythe
groupasdi stinctf rom other sbot ht oout sider sandt othosewi thinthegr oup.
Par t
icipationi ngr oupact i
viti
es,whet herof ficial orunof ficial ,isasy mbol icst atement
thatani ndi vidual wi shestobeconsi der edpar toft hegr oup.Thus,  
aft
er -
wor kbar
hoppi ng prov idesnotonl yi nstr
ument al oppor t
uni ti
esf ort heexchangeofi nf or mat ion
andr eleaseofsoci al t
ensionsbutal sooppor tuni t
iest oexpr essnonv erbal lyadesi refor
cont i
nuedaf fili
ation.
Wor kingi nagr oupi nJapanr equirest hedev elopmentofsuccessf ulchannel s
of communi cation, whichreinforcegr oupi nterdependence, andt hesenseofdi fference
from thosewhoar enotmember soft hegr oup. [
ci
tat
ionneeded ]
Yetsoci al i
nter act ion
beyondthatwhi choccur swithindividualswi thwhom onel i
vesandwor ksi sanecessi
ty
i
ncont emporarysoci ety
.Iftheexchangei sbr i
efandr elat
ivelyinsi
gnif
icant ,suchas
buyi
nganewspaper ,anony mi t
ywi l
lbemai ntained.Butifther el
ati
onshipi sexpectedt
o
conti
nueov eralongper iod,whet herinbusi ness, marr
iage,empl oyment, or
nei
ghborhood, greatcareislikelytobei nvestedi nestabli
shingandmai ntaininggood
rel
ati
onships.Suchr elat
ionshipsar eoftenbegunbyusi ngthesoci al
net wor ksofa
rel
ati
ve,fr
iend,orcolleaguewhocanpr ovideani ntr
oductiontot hedesiredper sonor
serv
easgo- between (仲人 nakoudo)
.Thenakoudomostof t
enr efer
stotheperson(or
people)whonegot i
ates 
marri
agearr
angements,
incl
udingcheckingeachfamil
y's
background,conveyi
ngquesti
onsandcrit
ici
sms,andsmoothingoutdiffi
cul
ti
es.Butthi
s
ki
ndofper sonalmediati
oniscommoni nmanyaspectsofJapanesel i
fe.
[
5]