One-eyed fish - Hard fish

There are legends about fish that have lost one eye and the ponds they inhabit. Many of these fish live in the grounds of temples and shrines, or in nearby ponds, and are considered sacred. The origins of the one-eyed fish seem to have been intended to guide the faith of temples and shrines. Many of them involve a military commander who was shot in one of his eyes, and when he washed the fish in the pond, it lost its eye. The most famous one is related to Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa, who appears in medieval literature. Other legends include one about a rich man's daughter who was captured by the owner of the pond, and when she threw a hot stone at him, it hit him in one of his eyes, causing him to go blind; another about a fish left over from a high priest's meal entering the pond and losing its eye; and another about a man with long eyes drowning in the beautiful owner of the pond.

One-eyed gods are closely related to spiritual gods. There are many legends explaining the origins of one-eyed gods, not just the one-eyed fish. There are various theories, such as that a local god fell off a horse, or that kadomatsu are not planted because a pine leaf was poked in the eye. There are also cases where the legend is linked to a tale explaining the taboo against plants. Suwa-sama of Minamisaku District, Nagano Prefecture, was riding a white horse to heaven when his horse's legs got entangled in a kudzu vine and he fell off his horse. Suwa-sama was poked in the eye with a sesame seed. As a result, people in this region do not plant kudzu, do not cultivate sesame, and do not keep white horses.

Kunio Yanagita explains that this connection between one eye and gods is a remnant of the time when those who served gods had one eye damaged or crushed to distinguish them from ordinary people. One could also see the legends of one-eyed fish and one-eyed gods as vestiges of an era when one could only serve gods if they were abnormal.

[Shogo Watanabe]

"Hitome Kozo and Others" (included in "The Complete Works of Yanagita Kunio Vol. 5", 1964, Chikuma Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

目の片方を失った魚、ならびにそれのすむ池の伝説。その多くは、社寺の境内か、近くの池に棲んで神聖視される。片目の魚の由来伝説は、社寺の信仰を導くことを主としたものらしい。すなわち、片目を射られた武将が、それを洗ったために池の魚が片方の目を失った、というたぐいのものが多く、中世文学にみえる鎌倉権五郎景政(かげまさ)にちなむものがとくに有名である。そのほかに、長者の娘が池の主に捕らえられたため、焼け石を投げたところ、それが主の片目にあたり失明したとするもの、高僧の食べ残した魚が池に入って片目となったというもの、さらに、美しい池の主をすが目の男が見そめて入水したものなどさまざまの伝承がある。

　片目神は御霊神(ごりょうしん)と関連が深い。片目の魚に限らず、目一つの神に対する由来説明の伝説は少なくない。当地の神が落馬したためとか、松の葉で目を突いたため門松は植えぬとか、その内容はさまざまである。また、植物禁忌の説明譚(たん)と結び付いて伝承されている例もある。長野県南佐久郡の諏訪(すわ)様は、白馬に乗って来臨の途中に馬の足が葛(くず)の蔓(つる)に絡みついて落馬。諏訪様は胡麻(ごま)で目を突かれた。そのため、この地域では葛を植えず、胡麻を耕作せず、そして白馬も飼わないという。

　この、片目と神の結び付きについて、神に仕える者を一般から区別するために片目を傷つけつぶした名残(なごり)であると、柳田国男(やなぎたくにお)は説明している。異常でなければ神に仕えることはできなかった時代の痕跡(こんせき)が、片目の魚や片目の神という伝承である、という見方もできよう。

［渡邊昭五］

『「一目小僧その他」（『定本柳田国男集5』所収・1964・筑摩書房）』

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