Asi Hell - Capítulo 63
"Shaped by someone? By that mastermind you mentioned who's manipulating things behind the scenes?"
"The mastermind behind this must be Kubo."
Kyogoku-do asserted once again with decisive certainty.
Is Kubo the mastermind behind Mihako-gami's death? How was this conclusion reached? The lingering sense of forced connection makes it difficult for me to accept immediately.
However—compared to Kubo, who was a devout follower of Mihako-no-Kami and prostrated himself before him, his cold sneer behind his back was undoubtedly more true to my impression of him.
"What is the basis for this?"
"The way Kubo is involved in this incident always gives me a strange sense of incongruity. He always makes an unexpected appearance where he doesn't need to. This is because we originally thought of the Mikoto or the dismemberment incident as the main focus. If we think of Kubo as the main focus and combine these two aspects, it will make perfect sense."
Indeed, whether it was when I saw the name on the list of Mikoto deities or when we bumped into each other at the Musashi-Koganei café, I felt an unusual unease. I shared this feeling with Kyogoku-do, who smiled, holding Kiyono's list in his hand, and said:
“You’re always so anxious. Let’s not talk about that. Anyway, we’re wrong to conclude that this is the register of the God of the Household. This is not the register of the believers.”
"Then what do you think this is? Is there some kind of secret code inside?"
Kyogoku-do laughed even harder upon hearing this, saying:
“You’re so dense. This register is basically ordered according to the 50 sounds, but you can see that Asano is listed after Aida (note). It’s quite random, probably added under each new believer. But there’s no way around it. The number of believers increases or decreases every month. If it were to be arranged neatly according to the 50 sounds, it would have to be rewritten every time. But why be so fixated on the 50 sounds? If it’s a register of this kind, it would be much easier to arrange it by month according to the order of the letters.”
Note: Aida, pronounced as ぁいだ, should be ranked before Asano, pronounced as ぁその, in the order of fifty syllables.
"But it's not uncommon for account books to be arranged according to the Japanese syllabary, is it?"
“That’s true. But since it’s an account book, there’s really no need to write down addresses, and there’s no total column either, so it’s not meant to be used as an account book. Therefore, there should be a more reliable account book elsewhere. This book is only temporarily used as an account book; I guess it was originally a list of contact offices. This should just be a regular contact book.”
The bird tilted its head.
“But Mr. Chuzenji, it’s strange if it’s just a regular contact book. The address and phone number are followed by a record of donations. So every time the donation column is full, we have to rewrite the address and phone number. Judging from the remaining space, it probably won’t last more than three months.”
"That's true. But this register is loose-leaf, so it seems we don't need to worry about that."
The register was bound in loose-leaf form with string.
"This one had a hole in the back, used to string the charlatans together. It originally seemed to be a notebook, so there should have been several pages between each item to record the donations. It seems that the original contact book before late May was unusable for some reason, so it was copied into this notebook, and the donations were recorded there as well. But this notebook was so hard to make, and it was stolen by Kiyono after only two months of use. It was used from June to August, so it only recorded two months of data. This data was probably created by Kiyono tearing off the cover of the stolen notebook, discarding the blank pages in the middle, and only keeping the necessary parts to string together the data."
"Now I understand—but what's the point?"
"Of course there are. So what I mean is, the names registered on this register are not just those of believers."
The bird cried out loudly:
"Ah, I see! If it's a contact book, people who aren't believers will also register. So those who don't give alms aren't believers."
"But they are related people. Incidentally, there are a total of twenty-one people who did not give alms. Kiyono predicted that nine of them would suffer misfortune. It is only natural that his theory came true. According to the results of my investigation yesterday, four of the nine died. But the reason is simply that they are old. Two of them died between June and July, which is also understandable since they did not give alms."
Upon opening the lid, the truth was revealed to be nothing more than this.
"Then, five of them renounced their faith. Incidentally, three of these five families overlapped with the list of missing girls on the police's list. That is to say, the daughters of these three families went missing, but all of them did so before the dismemberment case, that is, in mid-August, and therefore were not on the police's list of suspected victims. So, the formula that misfortune increases the amount of money to be given away is also overturned here. Next, the problem is that of the twelve people that Kiyono could not predict, nine of whom could be completely eliminated. The reason is simple. Although these nine people are registered here, they are just business owners who frequently visit the box shop and have nothing to do with spiritual energy. So only three are left."
Kyogoku-do returned to his usual sharp and composed self; perhaps he had come to terms with things.
"One is Yoshimura Yoshisuke, another is Nikaido Toshimi, and the last is Kubo Shunji. You are also very familiar with the first two, Toriguchi."
"Huh? I don't recognize these names. I've never heard of them before."
"Yoshimura Gisuke is that guy, the owner of 'Goshikiyu' (Five-Colored Soup) next to Mihakogami. Nikaido is the surname of the woman in charge of affairs at Mihakogami. The address above is her hometown."
"Oh! I see. Well, I get to know you."
Bird Mouth was utterly astonished.
"Terada Hei's social circle was too narrow, so he realized it too late. If he had more information on acquaintances, friends, or business associates, he might have noticed it immediately—but if that were the case, it would have made it even harder to narrow down the scope. In short, Kubo's position here is quite special."
"Kyogoku-do, but even knowing all this doesn't prove Kubo is the mastermind. We only know that Kubo is probably not a believer, but we can't determine anything else."
"Of course, so at first I was only a little concerned. By the way, Sekiguchi, have you read Kubo's Honjo Fantasy Literature Newcomer Award-winning work, <The Collector's Garden>?"
I haven't read it.
Why are you suddenly asking this? I haven't read it—
"I see. Since even the pass hasn't been read, the others here probably haven't either."
No one answered. These people didn't seem like the type to read novels normally.
"Hey, Kyogoku-do, so what? Are you saying that reading a novel will teach you something? It's not like it's written down some criminal motive, is it?"
“I didn’t say that. I just meant that once you’ve read it, you’ll know that Mikoto and Kubo have a close relationship. Those who have done some research will understand.”
Kyogoku-do paused briefly, then continued:
"This novel, titled 'The Garden of Collectors,' is Kubo's debut and acclaimed work, and its content is quite unique. The protagonist is a priest at Ise Grand Shrine who dedicates his life to collecting the sorrows of others. He seals the lives of people into stone towers and places them in the courtyard of his residence. Every night, he presses his ear to the towers, listening to the sounds of sorrow and pain. Soon, the number of stone towers grows larger and larger, and his courtyard is filled with countless cries of anguish and sobs. A mountain hermit—a ascetic from Mount Hidehiko—who hears of this comes to persuade the priest. He tells the priest that collecting such evil things is of no benefit to the world. What follows is an endless series of questions and answers between the ascetic and the priest. During these exchanges, the priest reveals his profound evil deeds, and in the end, he too is transformed into a stone tower. However, the ascetic, who glimpses the emptiness in the priest's spirit, also becomes a prisoner of his dark side and becomes the inheritor of the priest's 'garden'—that's roughly the gist of the story."
"That's a strange story," Natsumi said.
"But what can the listener of this story possibly know?"
"Hmm, didn't I mention the priests of Ise Grand Shrine and the ascetics who train at Mount Hidehiko?"
"So what if I ask you that?"
Kyogoku looked puzzled, but he simply didn't understand, and there was nothing I could do about it.
The bird clapped its hands and said:
"Ah, I remember Mount Hidehiko is in Kyushu—speaking of which, Mr. Chuzenji, you mentioned Ise and Chikugami the other day, right? It seems you were asking if Terada Heiwa had any relatives in Ise or Chikugami—"
When I heard Torikochi say that, I remembered that Kyogoku-do had indeed asked about this matter.
"That's right, that's what I meant. At that time, I hadn't yet brought Kubo into the discussion. The issue was resolved with Kubo's arrival. According to the report about Kubo in the *Golden Star Literature*, which published *The Garden of Collectors*—"
Kyogoku-do pulled a magazine from the mountain of books behind him and flipped through it. It was probably the one that published Kubo's award-winning work.
"Let me see—the winner, Mr. Kubo, spent his childhood in the upper reaches of the Sai River in Fukuoka, and his youth near the Ise Grand Shrine. The area along the upper reaches of the Sai River was a place where mountain religion flourished, and Mr. Kubo himself said that this childhood experience had a great influence on this work. He also mentioned that he was very interested in the Shinto rituals of the Ise Grand Shrine (note). In fact, without this unique life experience that was deeply influenced by faith and religious rituals, this work would not have been possible—that's roughly it, a very simple, clear, and straightforward explanation. Therefore, he is an acquaintance of Hyōe, who was connected to Chikugami and Ise."
Note: A ritual for worshipping gods.
The question is, why Ise and Fukuoka?
I started to get impatient.
If we listen quietly, Kyogoku-do will gradually arrive at his conclusion; patience is essential to understanding his arguments. But with such a lengthy explanation, I'd prefer he skip a couple of paragraphs to speed things up.
"It's because of the blessing of the Mikoto deity, Sekiguchi. Haven't you heard it before? Even if you have, you probably don't understand it, but those who understand will understand it immediately."
Even after jumping through two sections, I still didn't understand. The blessing he mentioned was probably the strange incantation that the bird had recorded, which didn't sound like Japanese.
"Kubo is most likely involved in the creation of the Mihako-no-Kami. That prayer could not have been composed by anyone who was not familiar with the prayers of the Ise Grand Shrine. It couldn't have been just randomly put together. Take a look at this first."
Kyogoku-do took a notebook from the one beside him and placed it on the table. Incantations were written on it in handwriting that was neither clear nor clumsy.
—The Heavenly Gods and Ancestors issued an edict,
If there is pain, then administer these ten treasures.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Burubu, Yuliang Yuliangzhiburubu——
—The Heavenly Gods and Ancestors issued an edict,
If there is pain
Let this ashinoutsuho's shinpi goku,
...
"The following section, written in katakana (Note 1), is a transcription of a blessing recorded by a bird's mouth. The preceding section is the blessing for the Ten Treasures Purification in the 'Chronicle of Ancient Events of the Former Dynasties,' which was originally written entirely in Chinese. The so-called Ten Treasures refer to ten auspicious treasures, that is, ten treasures bestowed upon Rasuhi by the heavenly gods when the heavenly grandson descends (Note 2)."
Note 1: The original text deliberately uses only katakana to indicate the pronunciation in order to create the effect of knowing the sound but not the meaning.
Note 2: According to the Nihon Shoki, during Jimmu's eastern expedition, Amaterasu Omikami ordered Nagasawa no Hijimi to descend to the land of Kawachi before his departure, giving him ten treasures. This belongs to a different mythological system than another common myth about the descent of a heavenly grandson—Ninagagi no Mikoto (or Ninagagi no Mikoto in Chinese characters) descending to rule the land of Mizuho in place of his father.
Birdmouth and Aoki leaned over to look at the notes.
"Haha, it really looks like it, it's a complete imitation. Is this book called Sendai Fortune Telling (Note 3) really that old?"
Note 3: A homophone for "乌口" (Wu Kou). "Sendai" (Sendai) sounds like "先代" (Siandai), and "旧事" (Jiushi) sounds like "抽签" (Chouqian).
Bird Mouth asked.
"It's very old. According to its preface, it can be traced back to the time of Empress Suiko and was written after the death of Prince Shotoku. If one were to blindly trust this record, it could be said to be even older than the Kojiki."
"Wow! That's really old. I didn't know there were such old books?"
"Kyogoku-do, but isn't that a forgery?"
Based on my poor memory, I heard that it was fake.
"Yes, yes, this book is indeed a complete forgery, probably completed during the Heian period. It is generally believed to have been written by the ancestor of the Mononobe clan (Note 4), and Hirata Atsutane (Note 5) also pointed this out. I think these claims are basically correct. However, even if the book was completed late, it is impossible to determine the date of the incantation itself. After all, such incantations are often preserved through oral transmission."
Note 4: The ancient clan that took Rao Suji as its ancestor was in charge of weapon management. The Ishigami clan mentioned later in this article is a descendant of the Mononobe clan.
Note 5: 1776-1843. A scholar of Japanese classical learning (a term used in contrast to Chinese Sinology and Western Rangaku, referring to the study of Japan's unique culture) and Shintoist during the late Edo period.
What exactly are you talking about?
Natsuki couldn't understand.
But I don't understand this puzzle either. So I honestly asked.
"This is really hard to understand. Anyway, even I can tell at a glance that the incantation of the Mikoto is completely imitated from the 'Old Chronicles'. It's just that the Ten Treasures have been replaced with 'ashinoutsuho no shinpi mikoto'. This part should be 'reshi no kuho no mystic mikoto' - right?"
When I first heard that part, I had absolutely no idea what it meant.
"—But so what? The method of modification is very simple. Anyone who has read 'Old Tales' can make the changes, right?"
I cannot deduce Ise and Chikugami from the matters instructed by Kyogoku-do.
“Sekiguchi, you make it sound so simple. It may be a bit rude of me to say this, but do you really think an uneducated carpenter could have thought of the *Kojiki*? Even if Terada Hei graduated from middle school, he's not entirely uneducated, but I don't think he knew about the *Kojiki*. If he had a penchant for collecting old books and happened to come across it, that would be one thing, or if he quoted it from the *Kojiki*, that would be understandable. Fine, I'll give you a hundred steps back and assume he knew it, but even then, he still couldn't have created this incantation for the Hako-gami.”
"Why?"
Kyogoku-do opened his notebook and pointed to a certain section.
"Aoki, how do you read this?"
It says on it: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
"Of course 'ichi', 'ni', 'san', 'si', 'go', 'roku', 'shichi', 'hachi', 'kuu', 'juu'."
"That's true in the general way of pronouncing it. But there are other ways of pronouncing it."
"You mean the one with 'hii', 'huu', or 'mii'?"