In the 13th year
(552 A.D. by traditional dating) of the reign of Emperor Kinmei, dark
clouds covered the sea at the watergate (entrance) to the lake from
the
estuary of the Southern Sea (Sagami Bay) at Eno. The clouds lasted from
around 8:00 pm of the 12th day to 8:00 am of the 23rd day of the fourth
month (2). Large earthquakes shook the earth day and night.
(2) Assuming that this year corresponds to the second year of YuZhang
Wang (King of Yuzhang) of the Southern Liang Dynasty in China
(南梁豫章王天正2年), the first year of Emperor Yuan (承聖元年), and the third year
of Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi
Dynasty (北齊文宣帝天保3年), the earthquake swarm took place from Monday, May
20
to Friday, May 31, 552 (Julian), according to the online
lunar calendar to western calendar conversion utility at Academia
Sinica
(in Chinese). According to NengoCalc, the swarm took place from Sunday,
19 May to Thursday, 30 May 552.
However, dating is fuzzy at this time, both in China and Japan. It is
worth noting that a number of celestial events mentioned in Chinese
histories around this time did occur, but not on the dates listed in
the
histories. Until the problems are sorted out, it may be best to think
of the earthquake swarm and associated events as having occurred in
early summer in the 550-554 timeframe. (This paragraph
added in September
2008.)
Mount Haruna (榛名山) in Gunma Prefecture (群馬県) had a major explosive
eruption (with VEI = 5) at 550 AD ± 10 years, Jun 1 ± 30 days,
according to the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian
Institution here.
Mt. Haruna is less than 150km from Enoshima. Kokei's dates above for
the events at Enoshima certainly fit within the
± year and month of this eruption at Haruna. It is especially
noteworthy that Kokei's dates (20 May-early June) fit well within the
month-window of the eruption (2 May-1 July). However, that does not
necessarily indicate a connection. (This paragraph
added in July
2007.)
Then the goddess
appeared above the clouds, with servants at her left and right. The
myriad spirits — dragon-spirits, the spirits of water, fire, thunder,
and lightning, as well as mountain spirits, ghosts, spirits of the
dead,
and demons — made great boulders descend from above the clouds and
rocks
and sand spurt up from the bottom of the sea. Lightning bolts flashed,
and flames flickered amidst the white-tipped waves. (2) (3)
Notes/Comments
(1) According to one source, a comet was observed in Europe in AD 552
(I. Hasegawa, Catalog of Ancient and
Naked-Eye Comets, Vistas in Astronomy, 24 (1980), p. 70).
Hasegawa bases the AD 552 date on Pingré, who wrote:
552. En l'année qui précéda la mort de
Théodebalde, on vit des flambeaux dans le Ciel, & une Comète parut.
(Pingré Alexandre-Guy, Cometographie ou Traité Historique et Theorique
des Comètes, Paris, Imprimerie royale, 1783-84, pg. 321).
This may be translated as "Torches were seen in heaven and a comet
appeared, the year before the death of Theobald." Theobald is now
thought to have died in 555. Therefore, the date of this comet was in
554, not 552, if modern scholarship is correct. However, no other
source reports a comet in 554.
(This paragraph added in April 2009.)
Newton
(Newton, Robert R., Medieval
chronicles and the rotation of the earth, Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1972) reports an aurora on 25 July AD 552 (see here).
However, the date is uncertain. Whether these events were associated
with the events at Enoshima is unknown.
Some of the descriptions in western sources of auroras around this time
resemble Kokei's description of Benzaiten above the clouds
surrounded by servants and spirits. See, for example, the years 523
("strange sights were seen of Dragons, Lions and other furious wild
Beasts Fighting in the Air"), 540 ("Battles in the Air"), and so on in
the link above. (These two
paragraphs were added in
August
2006.)
(2) Regarding the flames on the waves, see Enomoto Yuji (Mech. Eng.
Lab., Agency of Ind. Sci. and Technol.),
"Historical Seismology of Next Generation. On Earthquake Tsunami
Lightning in Historical Japanese Documents," Journal of Geography
(Japan), 1999 (abstract at http://tinyurl.com/pnpkvk). Enomoto writes:
One
of
the intriguing events accompanying large tsunamis, especially those
that strike the Pacific coasts of Japan, is the luminous phenomenon;
many historical Japanese documents have described how fire balls or
pillars of fire seemed to come out from the sea when tsunami approached.
Among 17 events of large tsunamis from 684 to 1946, where the surface
wave magnitude was greater than 8 or the tsunami magnitude was greater
than 3, nine tsunami events accompanied luminous phenomena. (This
paragraph
was added in May
2009.)
Another
possibility is a case of
bioluminescence in connection with a "red tide." I myself have seen
this phenomenon at Enoshima. However, it is common and well-known to
local residents, who are unlikely to mistake it for flames amidst
waves. Enomoto writes:
Some
eye-witness reports in historical documents strongly suggest that
luminous phenomena associated with tsunami are attributable to methane
hydrate disruption, not others causes such as luminescent planktonic
organisms.
(This paragraph
was added in May
2009.)
On the 23rd day of
the month at the hour of the dragon (around 8:00 am) the clouds
disappeared, the haze dispersed, and an island was seen to have emerged
in the sea amidst the blue waves — a new mount made by the spirits. (1)
Notes/Comments
(1) The text exaggerates here. The island existed before this time, as
indicated by the presence of Jomon- (8,000-300 BC) and Yayoi-era (300
BC-300 AD) artifacts on the highest point of today's Enoshima island
(see 藤沢市史、第４巻, pg. 26
and 252; also
noted here).
What possibly happened is that the formerly low-lying island rose
substantially at the time of the swarm of earthquakes. The History of Fujisawa City (藤沢市史、第４巻,
pg. 250-251) suggests that in the ancient past a natural phenomenon may
have
taken place in which the island did suddenly emerge or rise
substantially, that this phenomenon was observed by inhabitants on
near-by shores, and the memory of these events was passed on orally,
forming the basis of the story of Enoshima's sudden emergence from the
sea.
Chinese transcription
Translation
十二鵜降居嶋上、依之忽云鵜来嶋。
Twelve cormorants
descended to perch on the island. This is why it then was also dubbed
"Island to Which Cormorants Come" (1)
Notes/Comments
(1) Cormorants are sometimes said to be the messengers of Benzaiten, as
related in Kamakura Shi (鎌倉志,
a
work created in 1685 AD, quoted in 藤沢風土記,
pg. 6). The goddess Benzaiten appears.
Chinese transcription
Translation
々上天女降、形貌殊妙耀麗質於金窟(1)、是
即辨才天女之應作、無熱池(2)龍王第三之娘也。
Displaying her
exquisite, brilliant charms, the goddess descended into the Golden
Grotto (1). It was none other than Benzaiten, the third daughter of the
dragon-king of Munetsuchi
(2),
manifesting herself in the flesh.
Notes/Comments
(1) The Golden Grotto (金窟) is often identified as the main grotto of
Benzaiten, or Iwaya cave (岩屋洞窟). The Anzenki
(安然記), a Buddhist work quoted by Seido Hattori (藤沢風土記, pg. 9), says the
Golden Grotto was
a southwest-facing stone cave from which a golden light issued from
time
to time, hence the name.
(2) The transcription writes 魚熱池, an error for 無熱池. Munetsuchi
(無熱池), which
is
said to be located to the north of India, is the abode of Zennyo
dragon-king. It is mentioned in the Taiheiki.
See 太平記巻第十二,
但（ただし）北天竺（てんじく）の境（さかひ）大雪山（だいせつせん）の北に無熱池（むねつち）と云（いふ）池（いけ）の善女（ぜんによ）竜王、独（ひと
り）守敏（しゆびん）より上位の薩■（さつた）にて御坐（おはしまし）ける
<http://j-texts.com/taihei/tk012.html>
This is a
reference to Lake Anavatapta ("The Lake Without
Heat") in the Himalayas, which was said
to be 800 li in circumference. It is sometimes identified with Lake Manasarovar.
Manifesting
herself in the flesh, the goddess, the third daughter of the benevolent
dragon-king of Munetsuchi, the elder sister of Lord Enma (also Yama),
ruler of
Hades, the younger sister of [Dragon-]King Baso, descended upon that
island. Adorned with a long jade pendant (2) and a blood-red ornament
(3), and making a strumming (1)
[or
slapping] sound, she shined like the
autumn
moon enveloped in mist and sparkled like spring flowers dripping with
dew (4).
Notes/Comments
(1) The descriptive phrases 鞘々たる and 鏖々たる are
spelled as さくさくたる and ろくろくたる, respectively, in the kanabon gloss. Sakusaku-taru is a reduplicated
syllable describing a strumming or slapping sound, like that made by
the
strings of a musical instrument, or a rustling sound, like the wind
passing through twigs on the branches of trees. As reference, see The Tale of Genji, where the
following phrase appears: 第一第二絃の声は索々たり (源平盛衰記、巻第十二). Also see
the Kaidokudari chapter of Heikeimonogatari, where the
following phrase appears: 北には青山峨々として、松吹く風索々たり。(平家物語卷第十、海道下).
The Enoshima Engi manuscript
uses the kanji 鞘 (meaning
"sheath" or something worn at the belt), spelled しょう in modern Japanese
but which would probably have been spelled しやう in Kamakura-era
Japanese.
It is possible that some word-play is taking place. The kanji 鞘 belongs to a family of
characters such as 削, some of which are read as さく . To the Japanese of
that time, the kanji 鞘 could
have been read as さく, which would have yielded the reduplication さくさくたる
(as in the gloss). To the eyes, the kanji
would have conjured up the image of a long belt pendant, while to the
ears, the phrase would have conveyed a sound like the strumming of
strings or the slapping of a girdle pendant against clothing.
Broomstick mega-comet (mahā-ketuḥ) with
hibiscus flowers as his ear ornament, having observed the houses of
Vrṣṇīs, did not appear again. (as of March 2006)
The phrase 鏖々たる is not attested in literature, to my knowledge. The
kanji 鏖 is associated with blood and killing. Here the phrase roku roku-taru probably functions
like
adding
"blood" to "red" in English, i.e., "a blood-red ornament." Note that
the
term 賁 is often associated with a transient glow, as in the Yi-Jing (易經), where 山火賁 (associated with hexagram 22) is
sometimes interpreted as the last glow of the sun on a mountain at
sunset.
(2) Error in the transcription, which has 遂 in place of 璲 (だま, meaning
long jade belt pendant).
(3) Error in the transcription, which reads 蕢 in place of 賁.
(4) Note that this passage is not part of the Chinese version written
by Kokei. Instead, it is from the Japanese version. Nonetheless, it
does suggest there was some tradition according to which the goddess,
or whatever phenomenon the people
saw, was brilliant, sparkled, and her/its descent onto the island was
accompanied by a sound of some sort, perhaps a music-like sound. After
all, she was the
goddess of music.
In my translation above, the phrase "she shined like the
autumn
moon enveloped in mist" is apparently from Sarasvati's dhyana shloka 禪偈 (meditation
verse), which reads
"...her
lustre is like that of a moon shining in the autumn sky." See
Sankaranarayanan, S., Glory of the
Divine Mother, Prabha Publishers, 2001, pg. 183. Similarly, the
phrase [she] "sparkled like spring flowers dripping with
dew" resembles a line in a popular vandana
prayer to Sarasvati, which reads [Sarasvati's] "pure white garland is
like frosty dew drops."
Thanks mainly to the work of Colin Keay, it is now known that some
meteors can make electrophonic sounds. See this
bibliography and Colin
Keay's website. The dragon falls in love with the goddess.
Chinese transcription
Translation
於茲五頭龍見是天女之麗質、為通志於天女、凌
波渡嶋、到天女所ト欲念。
Upon seeing the
charms of the heavenly goddess, the five-headed dragon of the lake
wanted to tell her of his deepest desire. Riding the waves, he came to
the island and sought to tell her of his love.
The
goddess rebuffs the dragon.
Chinese transcription
Translation
天女答云、我有本誓、愍念有情、汝無慚愧横害
於生命、形与心共我不相似、更不可通。
The goddess replied,
"I have made a pledge of compassion and pity [for all creatures]. But
you mercilessly and rapaciously end their lives. In body and
heart
we are complete opposites. And that is all the more reason that your
desire makes no sense!"
The dragon is persuaded to follow her
teachings.
Chinese transcription
Translation
龍言、我随教命、自今以後永停凶害、心禁断殺
。願垂哀愍令我得遂宿念。
The dragon spoke, "I
will follow your teachings. From now on, I will refrain forever from
harboring a heart set on destruction and from harming living beings.
Instead, I ask you to make me compassionate, able to follow and carry
out your will." (1)
Notes/Comments
(1) Among other accomplishments, Benzaiten is the goddess of persuasive
eloquence, a skill that enables her to immediately convince the dragon
of the truth of her words.
Chinese transcription
Translation
于時天女肯。爰龍随順天女教誡、發誓向南成
山。
The goddess then
consented. Thereupon, the dragon pledged to follow her teachings and
faced south, becoming a large hill (1).
Notes/Comments
(1) This hill still exists. It runs roughly north to south, and
the head of the dragon is said to be at the foot of its southernmost
part. Today, that location is the site of Dragon's Mouth Temple (龍口寺).
Fittingly enough, the head of the dragon lies looking toward Enoshima
Island, which is the
abode of the goddess.
Chinese transcription
Translation
世人是名龍口山(1)、又号子死方明神。
The people of that
time named the hill "Tatsu-no-kuchi-yama" (1) (Dragon's Mouth Hill).
It
was also called "Benevolent Spirit-Guardian of the Dead
Children."
Notes/Comments
(1) The hill is still known by that name.
Benzaiten
is praised for her saving grace.
Chinese transcription
Translation
弁才天以方便之力為降伏龍之猛悪、救護衆生故
所
化作嶋也。垂権迹(1)天女也。是号江嶋明神。
This is the island
transformed and created by the goddess Benzaiten, using her
expedient
powers [to lead beings to the truth] in order to save sentient beings
from the savagery and evil of the dragon. As a goddess
who manifested herself as a savior, she is thus is known as the
beneficial spirit enshrined at Enoshima.
Notes/Comments
(1) Suijaku (垂迹) refers to a bodhisattva or holy person who may
temporarily manifest himself/herself as a savior in order to free
people
from some evil. This concludes the translation.
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(This
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