[Work Introduction] Eternal Hatred and the Mythological World — Natsume Soseki’s Ten Nights of Dreams, The Fifth Night: The Tragedy of the “Amanojaku” Who Stole Two Lovers’ Fate

“I had a dream like this.” — This familiar opening line, which had been broken in the Fourth Night, returns in the Fifth Night to lead the reader into a wild, ancient world described as “a time close to the Age of the Gods.” Shifting away from the modern landscapes and everyday people of the previous nights, the Fifth Night is depicted with the scale of a grand epic or myth. It features a warrior defeated in battle, a white horse galloping as if breathing fire, and a cruel prank that twists the threads of fate. Here is a synopsis of the Fifth Night — a whirlpool of love, death, and eternal hatred — along with “Three Hints for Interpretation” to help you savor this profound world.

Synopsis: A Promise at Dawn and Love Torn Apart

Long ago, in a time close to the Age of the Gods. “I,” a prisoner of war defeated in battle, am brought before an enemy general — a man of giant stature with eyebrows that connect in the center. When asked to choose between surrender or death, I immediately answer “death,” but make one request before the execution: “I want to see the woman I love one last time.” The general promises to wait until dawn, when the rooster crows. While the man waits by the bonfire, the woman leaps onto a white horse without a saddle and rushes through the darkness to reach him. The horse gallops at such a fierce speed that the sound of its hooves seems to ring in the air. However, in the middle of the pitch-black road, the sudden cry of “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” echoes through the night. Startled, the woman pulls the reins hard; the horse carves its hooves into a rock and plunges straight into a deep abyss. The one who tore the two apart by mimicking a rooster was the “Amanojaku.” As long as those hoofprints remain on the rock, the Amanojaku is my eternal enemy.

Three Hints for Interpretation

When experiencing this tragic tale, please pay attention to the following three points. They reveal the fundamental human emotions hidden behind this wild dream.

Hint 1: A Leap to “A Time Close to the Age of the Gods”

From the First to the Fourth Night, the stories were set in the “modern” atmosphere of the Meiji era or times reflecting the remnants of the Edo period. However, the Fifth Night suddenly leaps into a mythological era. It is characterized by its direct portrayal of humanity’s most primal and instinctive emotions — life or death, love or hatred — rather than sophisticated logic or modern internal anguish.

Hint 2: The Presence of “Amanojaku,” the Twister of Fate

The “Amanojaku” mimicked the rooster to prevent the woman’s arrival. This is a deity (or yōkai) from Japanese mythology known for reading people’s minds and intentionally acting contrary to their true intentions. Soseki likely uses the Amanojaku as a symbol of “irrational fate” or “cruel coincidence” that humans are powerless to overcome.

Hint 3: Hoofprints Carved in Rock and Eternal Hatred

The story concludes with the declaration: “As long as these hoofprints remain carved into the rock, the Amanojaku is my enemy.” While the First Night depicted eternal love through “waiting a hundred years,” this Fifth Night proclaims an “eternal hatred.” The physical scars gouged into the rock tell the story of a sense of loss and a depth of resentment in the protagonist’s heart that can never be healed.

Afterword

The Fifth Night is a highly dramatic and mythological story depicting the tragic love between an ancient warrior and his beloved. The narrative is filled with powerful, cinematic imagery, such as the white horse galloping through the darkness breathing “pillar-like breaths of fire” and the eerie presence of the enemy general illuminated by the bonfire. Yet, that overwhelming energy is abruptly swallowed into a deep abyss by a single prank — the “rooster’s cry” from the irrational Amanojaku. What remains are only the painful hoofprints carved in the rock and a hatred that will never fade. This powerful yet heart-wrenching lingering resonance is the greatest charm of the Fifth Night.

https://youtu.be/Bho-n__njqw