#Sanzu River || Rokumonsen

[dustxechoes]

@asurastro from x

"...Indeed. 'tis most unfortunate, that Arquebus forces would climb The Wall, while I, the young master, and yourself, all happened to either be off duty or deployed elsewhere."

Seeing Asura home hale and hearty was a relief, but the old merc's mind couldn't help but wander dark places. Paranoid he may be, but Ziyi had nearly been killed. He would leave no rock unturned.

"Pure and watchful heart, hidden blades avail them not! For we stand as one."

[itsmarjudgelove]

Sanada Yukimura (真田 幸村, 1567 – June 3, 1615) The Rokumonsen, or six coin crest, is the mon of the Sanada family. The Japanese believe that the dead must cross the Sanzu river in the underworld. To cross over to the afterlife, the dead would have to pay a toll fee of six coins.

[oh-my-otome]

The Sanzu river, also known as the river of three crossings/roads, is similar to the river Styx.

Six coins were placed in the casket of the dead, used for safe passage in the afterlife.

Seen above, the coins are represented on Yukimura’s clothing in both IkeSen and SLBP, from the real-life Sanada clan’s crest: the rokumonsen, or “six mon coins,” with mon being a type of currency.

A character from Rumiko Takahashi’s manga, Rinne, also reflects this belief in the form of Rokumon, a black-cat-by-contract who helps guide wandering souls to the wheel of reincarnation— he is named, appropriately, for the amount needed to reach the other side of the Sanzu river: six (roku) mon.

An innocent soul was believed to be allowed to cross a bridge over the turbulent river, but evil souls were cast into the rapids and made to swim across the raging waters. Souls somewhere in the middle were allowed to ford the river.

On the other size, wandering souls were met by Shozuko-no-baba, also known as Datsueba, a hag who demanded the coins or else she would strip the soul of their clothing. Souls who arrived without clothing were stripped of their skin.

The souls of children are told by Datsueba that they must make towers of stones and pebbles in order to climb out of limbo. Datsueba, however, sends demons to knock the towers down as they accumulate.

Jizo, a bodhisattva who also helps wandering adult souls, rescues the children and hides them in his robes, ferrying them past Datsueba.

[dusksummoner-blog]

Kosodate Yūrei – The Child-Raising Yūrei

Yūrei require a tether, something to connect them to the physical world, something strong enough to prevent them from moving on to the next world. Depending on the nature of this bond, a different type of yūrei can manifest. The bond of a mother to her child is one of the oldest and strongest of these tethers.

What Does Kosodate Yūrei Mean?

The kanji for the kosodate yūrei is descriptive. Kosodate (子育て) means child-raising. An alternate term substitutes amekai (飴買い) for the amekai yūrei meaning the candy-buying yūrei. Variations of the story can be found all over Japan, but most kosodate yūrei stories follow a consistent pattern.

The Legend of the Kododate Yūrei

There are multiple versions of the kosodate yūrei told all across Japan. Most of them follow an identical pattern. This version is told in Nihon no Yūrei by Ikeda Yasaburo as a personal recollection of a story that had been told to him:

“The name Tsukiji nowadays brings to mind a bustling fish market in Tokyo, but it was not always so. In the olden days, the area known as Tsukiji was packed with temples, mostly belonging to the Honkan-ji temple complex. The area was also covered in cemeteries.

Along the banks of the Sumida River that flows near Tsukiji, there were also stands selling fresh fish and the sweet sake for children known as amazake. In one story, late every night a woman clutching a child would come to a certain amazake dealer to buy the sweet sake from him, which she would then give to her child to drink. The sake dealer, sensing something mysterious about this woman, followed her from his stall one night and watched her as she made her way towards the main hall of the temple, where she disappeared like a blown-out candle. When she vanished, the sake dealer could hear the cry of a baby coming from somewhere in the cemetery. Tracking the sound to a freshly-dug grave, the sake dealer enlisted the help of some others to dig up the grave, and when opening the coffin discovered a crying baby nestled in the arms of its mother’s corpse.”

The legend has its origins in China, where it can be traced back to the book Yijian zhi (1198; Records of Anomalies), with the story of the mochikae onna, the rice cake-buying woman:

“One time, a woman who was pregnant died, and was buried in the ground. After that, a nearby rice-cake dealer began to have a strange customer come night after night, an odd woman carrying a baby. The woman always bought a rice cake for the baby. The dealer was suspicious, and stealthily tied a red string to the woman the next time she came in. After she left, he followed the red string and found that it led to a grave hidden under some bushes. After telling the bereaved family, they dug up the grave to find that the woman had given posthumous birth in her coffin. The bereaved family happily took the child to raise, and had the mother’s body cremated.”

Rokumonsen – Six Coins to Pay the River Crossing

Another part of the kosodate yūrei legends are the use of rokumonsen, the six coins placed with dead bodies in order to pay the toll across the underworld River Sanzu. In many versions of this legend, the kosodate yūrei is using these coins. Often the story continues for five nights, until the body is dug up and the final coin is found resting in her dead hand.

Many other merchants receive even less. In several of the tales, the mother uses the tanuki trick of passing off leaves as coins, and the merchant is left with only a wallet of foliage after the true nature of the woman is discovered.

But coins or leaves, the loving mother rarely buys food for her child, no rice or nourishment, but often the small sweet candies or toys that a child would crave, caring more for the baby’s happiness than its welfare.

Translator’s Note:

The kosodate yūrei is so similar to another type of ghost—the ubume—that they can almost be considered a different name for the same spirit. There are differences, however. The ubume is closely associated with blood, and with the Buddhist hell of Chi no Ike, the Lake of Blood, where women who died while pregnant were said to be consigned. Ubume also try to get someone to hold their baby, which kosodate yūrei never do.

source

[gary-luscombe]

Zenmyosho-in temple, perhaps more famously known as Sanada-an, in Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture. This temple once played host to three generations of the famous Sanada Clan during the later stages of the Sengoku Period. Upon the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan was once again split in two. The western army led by Ishida Mitsunari and the eastern army under Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Sanada Clan, perhaps as tactical gambit to protect the family line, chose to join both sides. The head of the clan, Masayuki together with his son, the legendary Yukimura, joined forces with Mitsunari and the western army. Masayuki's eldest son, Nobuyuki, joined the the Tokugawa. The two armies met on October 21st 1600 at the battle of Sekigahara where the western army was defeated, allowing Ieyasu to consolidate his power. As a reward, Sanada Nobuyuki was granted most of his clan's former holdings. Rather than have Yukimura and Masayuki executed, Ieyasu instead banished them to the small village of Kudoyama, close to sacred Mount Koya. They remained here for several years and made a living by crafting and selling particularly durable and fine belts before Masayuki died of illness in 1611. Four years later, Yukimura and his son participated in and met their fates at the sieges of Osaka Castle. The influence of the Sanada is easily seen throughout Kudoyama with the prevalence of the Rokumonsen, the famous clan symbol made up of six circles. Their clan symbol is incorporated into the decoration all around Sanada-an and can be clearly seen on the right-hand gate in the bottom picture. The Rokumonsen represents the six coins that would be placed in the coffin of the deceased in order to pay their way across the River Sanzu and enter the land of the dead, much like the Greek myth of paying Charon to ferry you across the River Styx. The image was chosen to emblazon the Sanada banners to show to all that they embraced death rather than feared it. #japan #japanesehistory #JapanTravel #historynerd #historical #visitjapan #discoverjapan #cooljapan #sanada #samurai #instagramjapan #wakayama #kudoyama #日本 #九度山 #和歌山 #真田幸村 #歴史 (at Kudoyama, Wakayama)

[dustxechoes]

"No mere beast, I'm afraid. But a hound. A disciplined one."

He understood well the type. The remorseless blade, acting on another's behalf. A part of him was almost nostalgic for those days, even if he'd only been with the Liberation Front less than a year. No need for thought, or putting others' safety before his own. Only the job.

"Be wary. A beast would have limits, a hunger that could eventually be sated. But this hound will follow the will of its master to whatever end they demand. Whether that be simple profit...or something far more sinister..."

"But enough of this old fool's ramblings, gladly would I join you on this adventure Comrade Asura! If anything remains of YUE YU, we will bring her home. Whether that be to rejoin the fight, or simply to receive a more dignified farewell, is up to the young master. Either way, I believe it will do her good."

"You're joking. What kind of a beast is this pilot, if they destroyed STRIDER and came back for more?! Unreal..."

Rex did remember seeing the independent mercenary depart from the battlefield just as he found Little Ziyi. But now that this merc was swinging for the fences, Rex started to really recollect the make and model of his AC.

And then that Vesper. Rokumonsen not wanting to discuss this any further, leadership avoiding any official operations? That seemed odd. Come to think of it, Ziyi always mentioned a pilot she wanted to surpass-- by flying higher. Maybe that was something he could ask her about when she was feeling better.

"Gathering intel on the corps is first priority... but maybe. Since we could end up behind enemy lines anyway, maybe we could try to salvage what we can of YUE YU. BASHO builds its stuff real tough, and I doubt Arquebus would take it for spare parts or a trophy. I remember exactly where it fell, too..."

[dustxechoes]

"Rumors are spreading that the independent mercenary who cut down YUE YU, is the very same cur who toppled The STRIDER. The younger and more...passionate of the Liberation Front's footsoldiers howl for blood and retribution. Yet...curiously, no sorties are authorized...level heads prevailing, perhaps?"

Rokumonsen folded his arms, exhaling sharply through his nose and frowning as he let the information sit. For a moment, if it weren't for him being a fifty eight year old black man, one might actually have mistook him for a historical portrait of a meditating samurai.

"...And then there's that Vesper...no. On that I will speak no more. Please, my friend. Go on. What are you thinking?"

"Always, shadow pal. We'll get all over the clues like a fine comb to a head of hair."

Rokumonsen wasn't the only one with misgivings. Professionals often hired analysts to help create openings like this. Exploiting what was available to score an even bigger jackpot. Working around the existing situation to appear more like perfect coincidence. But not every track could be covered.

"... Hey, you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Rex would have to pay Ziyi a visit first. But if Rokumonsen wanted to play detective, he could count on Rex to help him out. And with how many ACs and MTs were left wherever they were destroyed, maybe a certain secondary objective was possible.