Yoshisaku drop

Yoshisaku Otoshi is a folktale handed down in Oita Prefecture.

A folktale from Oita Prefecture. A long time ago, there lived a strong young man named Yoshisaku in the village of Kamihata at the foot of Mt. Yoshisaku made a living by picking rock mushrooms on steep hills surrounded by steep rocks and virgin forests. Rock mushrooms sell well as ingredients for medicine, but since they only grow on precipitous cliffs, they hang on with a lifeline while picking rock mushrooms. It was a life-threatening job to scrape off and collect them with a bamboo spatula. However, Yoshisaku, who was all alone and without a family, could not live without doing such a dangerous job. One day, Yoshisaku hung down on a cliff as usual to look for rock mushrooms, but he couldn't find them at all, perhaps because they had exhausted them. Therefore, Yoshisaku decided to go to a steep slope, which he usually does not go because it is dangerous, and look for it. Yoshisaku's reading was correct, and there were many rock mushrooms growing there. When the basket hanging from his waist was full of rock mushrooms, Yoshisaku found a rocky area right below where he was hanging that was just the right size to sit on. Yoshisaku came up with the idea of taking a break, and when he reached the rocky place, he let go of the rope and sat down to rest while enjoying the scenery. After the break was over, Yoshisaku tried to grab the end of the rope that was supposed to be above his head in order to return to work, but when he let go of the rope that was stretched to the limit, Yoshisaku's hand fell out of his reach. I was jumping up as high as I could. Yoshisaku panicked and tried to climb the cliff, but he couldn't climb the cliff because there was no place to grab it or put his feet on it. Yoshisaku realizes that it is impossible for him to escape on his own, and cries out for help. So there weren't many. Over the next several days, Yoshisaku endures hunger and fear, but still raises his voice and calls for help. It sounded like a scream. As a result, rumors spread that "there is a monster on Mt. Katayama," and people stopped coming. Even in Kamihata no Sato, no one thought to tie Yoshisaku's disappearance, who had no relatives, to the mysterious voice. A few days passed, and Yoshisaku was completely weakened by hunger and fear, and no longer had the energy to call out for help. "I wish I could fly like a bird." Yoshisaku thought vaguely and crossed his legs again. Looking down from above, the pebbles seemed to fall slowly, like falling leaves. Yoshisaku, who was physically and mentally weakened by the harsh life of a shipwreck, no longer had the ability to make normal decisions. "If I fly from here, I might be able to dance softly in the forest and quietly descend into the valley..." Yoshisaku finally jumped off the rock. The rocks in the valley that were bathed in the autumn sunset looked redder and more beautiful than the autumn leaves in the forest. Seeing it for the first time, Yoshisaku burst into tears at its intense beauty. In that beauty, Yoshisaku disappeared... It was around the end of autumn that year that people began to come and go on the suzura-goe pass again. Yoshisaku lost his life with just a little carelessness. When the villagers learned about this later, they named the rocky place "Yoshisaku Otoshi" and used it as a warning for those who climbed the mountain.

Yoshisaku Otoshi is a folktale handed down in Oita Prefecture.

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