Tales of Moonlight and Rain is a collection of short stories by Ueda Akinari. The book is subdivided into five parts all of which have several short stories. In Book One, the short stories are Shiramine and The Chrysanthemum Vow. In Book Two, the stories are The Reed Chocked House and The Carp of My Dreams. Book Three has The Owl of the Three Jewels and the Kibitsu Cauldron, Book Four has A serpent’s lust and lastly, Book Five has The Blue Hood and On Poverty and Wealth. The stories are all different and their lessons and teachings vary as analyzed below.
The first story of Book One is titled Shiramine. In the story, a devout Buddhist monk known as Saigyo went to visit the place where a retired emperor had been buried in order to pay his respects. When Saigyo was reciting a sutra, the retired emperor appeared before him in the form of a ghost. Saigyo listened as the emperor’s ghost told of his pain for being rejected that he was killing his enemies to appease his soul. The story sheds light on the heaviness of failing to forgive others. The emperor’s resentment had denied him peaceful rest in the afterlife to the extent that he was killing off those who had wronged him.
The second story of Book One is titled The Chrysanthemum Vow. The story is about two strangers; Akana and Samon who became the greatest of friends to the extent that they were like brothers. Samon had attended to Akana while he was ill and that is what built their lifelong friendship. When Akana was healed, he left Samon and vowed to return when the Chrysanthemums blossomed. Akana was captured when he returned to his home and as a result he knew that he would not be able to keep his vow and return to Samon. He therefore committed suicide and traveled to meet Samon in spirit. This story builds the theme of friend hip. It shows how deep friendships are formed and their benefits to those involved.
In Book Two, the first story is named The Reed Chocked House. This story is about a man named Katsushiro and his wife Miyangi. In pursuit for making more money as a merchant in the capital, Katsushiro left his wife in the countryside and vowed to return soon. Unfortunately, war broke out in the province where Miyangi had been left; she decided not to flee but to await her husband. Katsushiro returned to the village seven years later and found that his wife had died of loneliness and his home was in ruins. This story aims to uphold love and commitment in a marriage above all else. Miyangi, though she suffered waiting for her husband is praised for her patience, faithfulness and forgiveness to her husband.
The second story of Book Two is titled The Carp of My Dreams. This story is about a monk named Kogi who loved painting. In the story, the Kogi would fall into a deep sleep where he would imagine himself as a fish and he would paint pictures of fish swimming in the deep sea. One day the heart of Kogi stopped beating and he was presumed dead. His attendants did not burry him because his body was still warm. The Kogi later came back to life and told a story of how he had been transformed into a fish and some fishermen had fished him from the sea. This story sheds light to the environmental concern of overfishing in the sea. The narrator, Kogi is a vegetarian and his intention was to convince his listeners to preserve the life of all animals.
The first story of Book Three is titled The Owl of the Three Jewels. In the story, a man named Muzen goes on a pilgrimage with his youngest son, Sakunoji as they travel about to the holiest places in the land, the father teaches his son on Buddhism. The aim of this story is to show the importance of religion to a human being. The narrator tells of enlightenment and peace which every human being intends to acquire in life. The story shows the importance of good parenting whereby parents take the time to teach their children the right paths to go through in life.
The second story in Book Three is titled The Kibitsu Cauldron. The story is about Izawa and Kasada who were a married couple. Izawa was promiscuous and this hurt his wife. Izawa ran off with a prostitute to the city. This cause Kasada great suffering that she died of grief. She became a spirit that tormented Izawa. This story teaches of the good qualities that a couple should possess in order to have a happy and fulfilling marriage. Izawa is condemned for his promiscuity and his abandonment of his wife whereas Kasada is praised for her faithfulness and devotion to the marriage.
Book Four contains one story which is titled A Serpent’s Lust. The story is about a young man who was possessed by a demon. The demon was female and she had fallen in love with the young man. She took the form of a beautiful woman and enchanted him. The young man was wary of the demon’s attachment to him and he wanted to remove himself from her at which he was successful after many attempts. The story shows how devastating a hold on a human soul can be. This attachment may be in the form of an addiction. The story applied to modern times shows hoe difficult it is to get rid of various addictions that we have as human beings.
The stories of Book Five are titled The Blue Hood and On Poverty and Wealth. The Blue Hood is a story of a monk who was overcome with grief when a young man who was his assistant died. The monk ate the flesh of the young man and he became a cannibal. He would go into the village in the night and eat people. Another monk came to the village, went to the pace where the cannibal monk lived and counseled him on his unnatural behavior. The cannibal monk repented for his unnatural behavior and stopped his wrongdoing. The application of this story in modern times teaches that every human being is capable of evil and that each person should suppress the evil in them.
The last story in the book is On Poverty and Wealth. In the story, a thrifty Samurai collects a lot of wealth and stores it in the form of gold in his house. The favorite pastime of the Samurai was to count his gold coins. One day, the spirit of his gold appears to him in the night and the two have a long conversation about wealth till morning. The story’s aim is to show the gap that exists between the rich and the poor in the society. The story also praises those who work hard to acquire wealth through means that are fair.
