First, Acknowledge Your Own Reason for Being, Unconditionally
At the eastern foot of the Katsuragi mountains, in Gose, Nara, stands Katsuragi Hitokotonushi Shrine. Passing under the torii gate and climbing the stone steps, I find an enormous ginkgo tree towering in the grounds. It is estimated to be about twelve hundred years old. Knobby aerial roots hang down here and there from its trunk, and it is known as the Chichi Icho, the 'nursing ginkgo.' Its leaves are still green; it is said that the grounds turn golden only in late autumn.
The deity enshrined here is Hitokotonushi no Okami. Known as a god who will grant a wish as long as it is spoken in a single word, it is fondly called Ichigon-san by local people. In the Kojiki, Japan's oldest chronicle, this god appears in the time of Emperor Yuryaku.
One day, Emperor Yuryaku climbed the Katsuragi mountains, his officials all dressed in blue robes tied with red cords. Then, along the facing ridge, another procession was climbing toward the summit. It was exactly like the emperor's own, the robes and the people alike, without the slightest difference. The emperor sent someone to ask: 'In this land of Yamato, there is no king but me. Who goes there in such a manner?' The reply that came back was the very same words as the emperor's. The emperor flew into a great rage and set an arrow to his string, and all his officials set arrows to theirs. And the other party, too, all set arrows to theirs.
Why are we human beings always so irritated?
Why do we human beings get angry at others?
Behind this lies the self-defense instinct we have as living creatures.
When we are ignored, made light of, or troubled by others, in other words, when our reason for being is threatened, we feel anger and dissatisfaction.
Of course, a minimum of self-defense instinct is necessary to stay alive.
However, in today's human society, an excessive self-defense instinct makes human relationships go wrong.
First, acknowledge your own reason for being, unconditionally, by yourself.
Then the irritation will vanish somewhere, and you will no longer get angry.
The emperor spoke again: 'Then tell me your name. Let us each give our names, and then loose our arrows.' An answer came back: 'It was I who was asked first. So I shall give my name first. I am the god who declares bad things in a single word, and good things in a single word: the great god Hitokotonushi of Katsuragi.' The emperor was filled with awe and said, 'I did not realize, my great god, that you would appear in a form of this world.' Then, beginning with his own great sword and his arrows, he had his officials take off their robes as well, and offered them all with deep reverence. The great god clapped his hands and received the offerings, and when the emperor set off for home, it is said, the god came down from the mountain and saw him off as far as the mouth of the Hatsuse valley. In the shrine grounds, the old ginkgo still stirs its green leaves in the breeze today. As autumn deepens, those leaves will turn golden, and before long they will quietly cover the stone steps.