Japanese Tales from Times Past by Naoshi Koriyama

Author:Naoshi Koriyama
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-4-8053-1341-1
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: 2016-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

39

A Man from Yamato Province Catches a Hare and Is Punished

In olden times, there lived a man in a certain county of Yamato Province. He was wild by nature and he had no sense of compassion. He loved killing animals and made his living by hunting.

One day, he went out into the fields and caught a hare, skinned it while still alive, and then left its body in a field. Not long after, pustules formed all over the man’s body, his skin broke out in sores, and he suffered excruciating pains. He sent for a doctor and was prescribed some medicine for treatment, but it was to no avail. A few days later, he died. Those who saw him or heard of his fate said in rebuke, “It’s clear that this must have been his punishment in this world for killing the hare.”

As this story shows, human beings enjoy killing animals just for sport, but animals may value their lives even more than we human beings. Therefore, it is said that we should cease killing animals and realize that animals value their lives just as we do. Such then is the story as it has been handed down.

Vol. 20, Tale 28

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