The Independence of Hoichi

Blog #3
Week of  9/16/19

The work I read this week was from Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn. Kwaidan. This is a Japanese book that contains retelling of short stories that were passed down from generation to generation. The short story I read is called, The Story of Mimi-Hashi-Hoichi. The main character is a blind man named Hoichi - a talented musician. In the middle of the night, a mysterious man appears and tells Hoichi has been called upon by his lord to perform for him. He is then asked to return for next six nights. Although others might think this encounter as odd, Hoichi thinks of it as a great honor to perform to a lord, so he accepts. At this point in the story is when I started having my suspicions that something mischievous was going on. The mentioning of the number six alludes to the Bible as the sign of the devil.

On the second night, the priest - who took Hoichi under his care - finds out that Hoichi went out in the middle of the night without a guide. The priest made his mind up that Hoichi is in danger due to evil spirits. He immediately sets out to find the cause of Hoichi’s strange behavior. I think this part in the story is a great example of independence verses dependence. In comparison to western culture, the Japanese take it very seriously to take on the responsibility of nursing the elderly and sick. Therefore, I believe that when the priest experiences Hoichi's independence for the first time, his alarm bells go off. Hoichi’s dependence of needing help on a daily basis it ends up saving his life. On the other hand, due to his lack of independence, the priest’s actions to save him create quite a sinister result. In order to protect Hoichi, the priest orders his body to be painted in religious scripture from head to toe. On the forth night, when the guide comes to pick Hoichi up, the plan seems to be going well because the guide is not able to touch him. That is until he realizes that his ears are fair game because they were left bare, and rips them off. This was a powerful scene because it shows that in culture, even back then, people seemed to think religion had all the answers to life’s daily problems. In actuality, there are moments in life that just don’t have solutions but they are to teach us lifelong lessons.