‘Late one night, when Oei was asleep, her grandmother suddenly came to her room, and woke and dressed her. Still half asleep, Oei was taken by her grandmother down the hallway and out of the house. They walked to a dark earthen storehouse in the garden. In the storehouse was a small shrine made of white wood. The old woman opened the shrine door with a key. Inside the shrine, reflected in dim candlelight, Oei saw the black image of a Maria Kannon standing behind a heavy brocade veil. Overwhelmed by the ominous atmosphere of the dark and silent earthen room, Oei clutched the sleeve of her grandmother and began to sob. But the old woman ignored her tears, knelt before the image of the black robed Mary, crossed her forehead and her chest, and began to pray intently in words unknown to Oei.
‘After a while, the old woman stopped her prayers. She picked up Oei, soothed her and had her kneel beside her, then began to make a vow to the black image in a language Oei understood: “Our Holy Virgin Mary, please listen to my prayers. This girl and her younger brother, Mosaku, are the only ones upon whom I can rely in this transient life. My granddaughter, Oei, is still too young to take a husband to look after my family. If something happens to my grandson, my family, the Inugami, will have no male heir. Please protect the life of Mosaku so that no misfortune will fall on him. But if my faith is not strong enough for such a wish, then at least let him live until my own life ends. As I am old, it won’t be long before I give up my soul to the Heavenly Lord. But may Oei have become old enough to marry by then. So please render us your mercy, please stay the sword of the Angel of Death, let it not touch my grandson before my eyes are closed for ever.”
‘Thus, her head bowed, the old woman earnestly prayed. And as her grandmother finished the last words of her prayer, Oei timidly looked up at the black image and now felt it smiling slightly. With a small cry, Oei again clutched at the sleeves of her grandmother in fear. But the old woman seemed quite satisfied, and stroked Oei’s back and said, “Let us go now. I am sure Our Holy Virgin Mary has heard this wretched woman’s prayer.”
‘The following day, as if the vow of the old woman had been fulfilled, the boy’s condition improved; his fever went down and he finally awoke from his coma. Seeing this, the grandmother was filled with an indescribable joy; Oei would never forgot her tearful, joyous face that day.
‘Now, as her grandson calmly slept, the exhausted old woman lay down herself in the next room and finally closed her eyes to rest. Beside her, Oei quietly played with marbles, occasionally glancing up at her peaceful grandmother. But then, about an hour later, the old maid who was attending to the boy quietly opened the sliding door and asked, “Miss Oei, will you please wake your grandmother for a moment now?”
‘Oei went over to her grandmother and gently shook her shoulders a few times, calling to her, “Wake up, Grandma, wake up.” But the old woman did not move, would not be stirred from her sleep. Concerned, the maid returned to the room, looked at the grandmother, and in a shocked and tearful voice cried, “Oh, Madam Inugami, Madam Inugami!”
‘But the old woman remained still, slight purple shadows beneath her closed eyes. Now Oei heard another maid hastily open the door and, as she looked down at the old woman, in a trembling voice the maid said, “Madam, your grandson …”
‘Oei knew something terrible must be happening to her little brother. But her grandmother’s eyes were still closed, would not open, the two maids tearfully crying by her pillow, wailing now.
‘And sure enough, a few moments later, Oei’s young brother took his last breath; it seemed the black robed Mary had fulfilled the prayer of the grandmother by preventing the grandson from dying, as long as she lived.’
Nagami stopped speaking now, struck a match and relit his pipe, then looked across the table at his guest.
Akutagawa was staring intently at the white porcelain Maria Kannon on the table before him. Now he turned away to look up at Nagami. ‘And what became of the granddaughter, Oei?’
‘She was adopted into the family of a distant relative,’ said Nagami. ‘And so according to my friend, her branch of the Inugami family was thus ended. Furthermore, it is said that the only son of the adopted family, and to whom Oei was betrothed, later died in the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle.’
‘And so how, then, did the family of your friend come upon the black robed Mary,’ asked Akutagawa, ‘and hear its legend?’
‘That was my question, too,’ said Nagami. ‘Tashiro-kun, my friend, told me that his father, who was a noted collector of antiques and relics, bought the statue from a curiosity shop close to the Futarayama Shrine while on business in Utsunomiya. However, the proprietor of the shop would only sell the statue to him after first ascertaining that Tashiro’s father was not a follower of the “Mary Faith”, as the shopkeeper said, while warning him of its curse and the story associated with this particular black robed Mary.’
‘It is a most fascinating, mysterious and sad tale,’ said Akutagawa. ‘Thank you for sharing it with me. And I confess, I am most envious you saw the statue for yourself, held it in your hand and looked upon its face.’
‘I did indeed,’ said Nagami. ‘And I must say, beautiful though she was, this Mary wore a most disdainful, almost scornful smile.’
Akutagawa nodded. ‘I can imagine.’
‘Her expression
