The sparrow's awakening - Suzume no Hosshin

Japanese: 雀の発心 - すずめのほっしん

A fairy tale. Also known as "The Sparrow Story" or "The Tale of Kotota." There was a sparrow named Kotota in a mountain village in Miyano County, Yamato Province. They gave birth to a green child, but when the couple went out to look for food, the child was eaten by a snake. The birds recite waka poems to console the grieving Kotota, but the couple discuss the possibility of escaping from this world in order to mourn their child's future. The wife becomes a nun in her hermitage in Amakasaki, chants Buddhist prayers with all her heart, and finally passes away. Kotota also became a monk in the hermitage of the Owl (Son Amida Buddha) on Mount Amida, traveled around the country, and visited various temples in and around Kyoto. When he visited Kitano Shrine, he met Murasame, and so he took up a hermitage there and devoted himself to his Buddhist training (according to a book owned by Akagi Bunko).

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

御伽草子。《雀の草子》《小藤太物語》とも。大和国みやの郡の山里に小藤太という雀がいた。みどり子をもうけたが，夫婦が餌を求めに出た際に蛇に食われてしまう。悲しむ小藤太を鳥どもが和歌を詠（よ）んで慰めるが，小藤太夫婦はわが子の後世（ごせ）を弔うべく遁世（とんせい）しようと語り合う。女房は〈あまかさき〉の庵室で出家し，一心に念仏を唱えついに往生する。小藤太も弥陀が峰の梟（ふくろう）〈そん阿弥陀仏（あみだぶ）〉の庵室で出家，諸国を巡り，洛中洛外の諸寺を参拝し，北野社に参った際，村雨（むらさめ）に遇ったのを縁としてそこに庵室を結び仏道修行にはげむ(赤木文庫蔵本による)。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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