Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Mr. Toshinori Shirasa, a native of Hekisui, Hokuryu-cho, has provided us with a children's story, "Hokuryu Melon: The Story of the Birth of the Dragon Bell". We have received permission to publish the story, and would like to introduce it here.
Beiryu Melon "Dragon Bell Birth Story" by Hekisui Watanabe
Watanabe, Hekisui
Born in October 1937. Born in Hokuryu Village, Amaryu County, Hokkaido. He uses a pen name that is named after a place in the pioneer days and a place in the present day. Writes and submits essays and other writings about his hometown and his personal history. Unemployed. Lives in Sapporo.Have you ever heard of a melon called "Dragon's Bell"? It is a very high quality melon that lasts for a long time and has excellent sweetness. It is a specialty product of Hokuryu, a town in Hokkaido (my hometown) where it is produced. Let me tell you the story of its birth.
"Currant, cologne."
The sound of bells echoed through the shrine grounds.
You all know the bell, don't you? It is the big bell that hangs with a woven rope in front of the shrine and rings when you swing the rope when you visit the shrine.
The bells at your neighborhood shrines ring with a "rattle, rattle" or "jingle, jingle, jingle," but the bell at this shrine rings with a "clang, clang, clang" sound.
Originally, people believed that the sound of a bell was pure and clear and had the power to purify the mind and body and remove misfortune.
The bell of the Shinryu Shrine in this town is called the "Dragon Bell. The bell has long been popular among the local people, with a special, pure sound that seems to seep into the hearts of the people.
It was autumn more than fifty years ago. As usual, a group of elementary school children were playing hide-and-seek on the shrine grounds. Hideki Yamada played the role of the devil,
Hakase, I found it!
I shouted, and Hiroshi Noda, who knows things and is called "Hakase" by everyone, came out looking uncomfortable. Hideki rang the bell at the shrine to let them know he had caught him.
Then, it usually made a "clang, clang" sound no matter who shook it,
Talang, melon."
And then it rang. I doubted my own ears, shook it again and asked everyone to listen, but still,
Talang, melon."
The sound of the bell rang out. Everyone wondered, stopped playing hide-and-seek, and pondered.
Then Hiroshi mentioned a great idea he came up with.
Talang is not enough. Isn't melon a fruit melon? It means that there are not enough melons. What do you think?
What does that mean?"
Since it rang Hideki, do you have any idea what it might be?"
Then Hideki immediately smiled and shook his head twice in a small, vertical motion.
There is, there is. It's a big one. This is a sign from God. Advise my father!"
He put his hands together at the shrine and the "dragon bell" and said, "This is about the future of our family, though," and with a bit of a flourish, Hideki let everyone listen to his father and mother explain how they had discussed the matter last night.
Hideki's father, Hideo Yamada, said, "In the future, agriculture will no longer be based on rice cultivation alone, but will have to change to include field cultivation. What is important is what to grow in the fields. Melons are the most important.
Then Hideki looked up at the sky, thinking about his future, murmuring the words his father had told him about "the richness of life. Everyone listened in admiration.
Melons are so good!"
and Hiroshi nodded broadly.
Hideki started to run. He ran and ran. To the paddy field where his father worked.
Then, "Just come!" and took his father back to the shrine.
At the shrine located on the outskirts of the city, people dropped by every day on their way to and from work and rang the "dragon bell. The sound of the bell has been used to heal people's tiredness.
When they arrived at the shrine, the uncle had arrived and was waving a bell-nawa.
"Currant, cologne."
The bell was ringing as usual.
Dad, I'll shake it for you.
and Hideki rang first.
Talang, melon."
It was indeed different. The father wondered why, and tried shaking the bell nawa himself.
Talang, melon."
Just to be sure, Dad rang again.
Talang, melon."
Dad, you know what's different?"
"Not enough melons, melons. "We're running low on melons, so make some melons, I hear you."
I know you did. I heard you talking about growing melons last night, so I let you know right away."
The father took this sound as a strong encouragement from the dragon that the Shinryu Shrine is dedicated to, and decided to grow melons.
Later, Hideki also cooperated with his father and produced a superior product that was praised as the finest green flesh melon, much to the delight of many people. The town's history records his father's name as "the creator of the high quality melons.
What kind of sound do the bells in the shrines make now? Actually, no matter who rings it, it only rings with a low "iran, corona" sound!
review
The bell of the shrine rings "Taran, melon". So Hideki advises his father to produce melons. So Hideki's father grows a good melon, which is appreciated by the people. The bell of the shrine now rings "Iran, Corona.
Senshi Public Guide to Children's Stories
First printing published December 20, 2020
Sixty-five readers of the publicly solicited guide brought their works together to create a collection of works. We hope you will appreciate the thousand thoughts and feelings that have been put into these fairy tales. (Editorial Department of the Public Offering Guide)
- author (usu. of a particular book, etc.)65 public guide readers
- publisherKunihiro Asada
- editor (in publishing, etc.)Kaori Sawada Kiyoshi Kuroda
- publishingPublic Offering Guide, Inc.
1-8-21-5F, Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan
Phone: 03-5405-2170
https://www.koubo.co.jp - cooperationChishige Okada
- formatNaomi Yasuda
© Public Offering Guide, Inc. 2020 Not for sale
This book is a collection of fairy tales by 65 readers of the public guide.
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