Japanese Folk Tale

132 The Yanagita Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale
Hachinohe: MK II 8 22, "The crabs and the old man" (Kani to jii).
It resembles "The tongue-cut sparrow" somewhat.
Akita, Senhoku-gun, Kakunodate: TO XI 7 34, "The bird call" (Tori no
oto). This is about a crab wife. The old woman killed the crabs.
When the old man went looking for them, a crow called, "The
claws are on the roof, the shells in the garden, karon, karon";
Aki ta 7, "The old man and the crab" (Jichiya to kaniko).
Miyagi, Sendai: Kikimimi 257, "Koko jiro." The name of the crab was
Kokojiro.
Kagoshima: Koshiki 189, "The crab shell" (Kani no k6ra).
129. The Temple Patron Who was a Cat
There once was a very old priest at a certain temple. He kept a
cat that was very old, too. They did nothing but sit by the hearth and
doze. One day the cat suddenly declared that as thanks for its long
care it would like to make the temple prosper once more. It said that
the choja's only daughter would die shortly. It would raise her coffin
into the air during the funeral. When the old priest would go to offer
sutras, it would lower the coffin when he said, "Namu Tora-ya." The
choja's daughter did die, and since she was an only daughter, the
priests from all around were called for her splendid funeral, but the
old priest in the mountains was overlooked. When the funeral procession
'was formed to proceed around her coffin, the coffin suddenly rose
into the air and hung there. The people milled around and the priests
exhausted all their arts by intoning sutras and rolling their strands of
beads, but nothing seemed to work. The choja grieved and the people
began to complain about the priests. The choja said he would remit
the rice tax for the rest of the life of anyone who could lower the
coffin, he would repair his temple, he would contribute anything to
him, but nobody could budge the coffin. Somebody recalled the old
priest and went for him. He came tapping along with his staff and sat
down quietly on the grass. He began his sutra. At the right time he
intoned, "Namu Tora-ya," and down glided the coffin and came to rest
on the grass. All cried out and marveled. The choja prostrated himself
in thanks. He had his red lacquered sedan chair prepared and sent the
old priest home to the mountain in it. He made all kinds of donations
and had the temple repaired as he had promised. It prospered so much
that a market sprang up outside its gate.
Iwate, Kamihei-gun
Aomori, Hachinohe: MK II 8 22, "The temple patron who was a cat"
(Neko danka). Two tales. Both are changed into legends to tell the
origin of temples. This story is also told at Johoji.
Iwate: Kamihei 118, "The yellow cat and the priest" (Tora neko to
osho). Example.
Fukushima: Iwaki 42 131, "The cat's gratitude" (Neko no ongaeshi).