{"id":662,"date":"2026-02-01T16:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/?p=662"},"modified":"2026-02-01T17:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T08:09:09","slug":"ancient-boy-soran-%e2%91%a3-yaha-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/?p=662","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Boy Soran \u2463 Yaha God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u21d2\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\u306f\u3053\u3061\u3089\u3092\u30af\u30ea\u30c3\u30af\u3057\u3066\u306d\uff01<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYaa-hooo!<\/strong>\u201d
Tomo, Soran\u2019s mother, called out in a loud voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYaa-hooo!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same word echoed back through the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a mountain echo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soran copied her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYaa-hooo!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mountains answered again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYaa-hooo!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomo and Soran were climbing a low mountain near Fujimi Village<\/strong>.
They were looking for young tree buds and wild plants that could be eaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still cold, but some early trees and grasses are already putting out their spring buds.
Look\u2014this is bracken fern<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomo showed Soran a green plant with a tip curled tightly like a spiral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! The slippery one!\u201d
Soran recognized it right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in his old village, his mother used to gather it every spring, and the family ate it together.
But this was the first time he had seen it growing on a mountain slope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWow! There\u2019s some over there too! And here!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soran was so happy that he eagerly picked the bracken growing straight up from the ground.
Each time he snapped one off, it made a small crack<\/em> sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSoran, don\u2019t pick it from the root,\u201d Tomo said gently.
\u201cIf you do, there won\u2019t be any left for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Soran replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along a small stream where snowmelt flowed, many butterbur buds<\/strong> were sprouting.
They picked the bright green buds poking out of the brown soil.
They were cooked with miso and eaten, but they tasted a little bitter\u2014
a flavor for grown-ups.
Soran didn\u2019t like them very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While searching near the stream, Tomo suddenly cried out happily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found it! Mountain wasabi!<\/strong>
This is Grandpa Seitaka\u2019s favorite.
With soy sauce, it\u2019s really delicious.
He\u2019ll be so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Soran said.
\u201cBut it\u2019s really<\/em> spicy, right?
Why do grown-ups like bitter and spicy things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the thick white root Tomo dug up, Soran tilted his head.
Tomo smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good question.
I bet Grandma Yuka knows the answer.
Let\u2019s ask her later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandma Yuka had a vegetable garden just behind the house.
She planted and grew edible plants and trees she gathered from the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After returning from the mountain, Soran and Tomo boiled the bracken in a clay pot
and chatted with Grandma Yuka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHahaha,\u201d Grandma Yuka laughed.
\u201cThis is more like a flower garden than a vegetable garden.
I love pretty flowers, so whenever I find a plant that blooms,
I plant it here.
In spring, they all bloom at once\u2014so beautiful!
People from the whole village come to see them.
We spread mats and have a flower-viewing picnic.
Butterflies come too\u2014it\u2019s very lively.
The men mostly just drink sake, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Grandma Yuka lowered her voice and whispered a secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell only you, Soran.
During flower viewing, the Koboshi-sama<\/strong> come to play too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKoboshi-sama?\u201d Soran asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she said, holding up her little finger.
\u201cThey\u2019re small people, only about this tall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey only show themselves to people with pure hearts.
Many villagers have seen them.
I\u2019m sure you and Tomo will see them too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just then, they heard Grandpa Seitaka\u2019s whistling.
He was always either whistling or singing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHo\u2014i, ho\u2014i! I\u2019m home!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tama the cat, who had been sleeping curled up by the hearth, meowed and rubbed against Grandpa\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHo\u2014i, Tama. I brought you a present.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandpa gave Tama a branch of silver vine<\/strong>.
Tama began to purr loudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHo\u2014i, your favorite,\u201d Grandpa chuckled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t care for it as a kitten,\u201d Grandma said,
\u201cbut I guess you start to appreciate silver vine as you get older.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soran remembered the talk he\u2019d had with his mother in the mountains and asked,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrandma, why do grown-ups like bitter and spicy foods?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat,\u201d Grandma said slowly, \u201cis God\u2019s punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuh? God\u2019s punishment?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandma told them a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLong ago, people were all good.
But one day, they disobeyed God and did bad things.
So God made it so that each time someone does something bad,
they begin to like bitter and spicy tastes.
That\u2019s why when people lie, are mean, hurt animals, or make messes,
they slowly stop minding bitter and spicy flavors.
By the time people grow up, they\u2019ve all done something<\/em> bad\u2014
so they end up liking those tastes.
People who do lots of bad things might even enjoy foods so bitter or spicy
that a good person\u2019s tongue would go numb.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grandpa Seitaka muttered,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019ve done lots of bad things too.
I love bitter foods now.
Well\u2026 growing up isn\u2019t all good things, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that, he happily ate the mountain wasabi Tomo had gathered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHo\u2014i! Spicy\u2014but tasty!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tama, dizzy from silver vine, purred and rubbed against Grandpa\u2019s crossed legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The next morning, the sun shone brightly over the forest and the sea.
Soran\u2019s friend Masato<\/strong> came to pick him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were going to Urawa Island<\/strong> by log boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masato\u2019s father was a skilled fisherman.
On clear days, he went out to sea almost every day.
Fishing nets were set near Urawa Island, and today Soran could come along.
Their friend Katsuya<\/strong> joined them too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two log boats glided quietly over the sea.
The sky stretched wide and blue to the far southern and eastern horizons.
To the north and west, snow-capped mountains stood clearly.
Seagulls flew after the boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Soran whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one answered\u2014
as if speaking would spoil the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they rowed, the fathers began to sing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey, hey, little seagull,<\/em>
Calling from the sky so blue,<\/em>
Won\u2019t you come and marry us?<\/em>
Fish every day to fill you up,<\/em>
A warm place to sleep each night,<\/em>
And best of all\u2014we\u2019re good men too!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the last line, the three boys shouted along:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd best of all\u2014we\u2019re good men too!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the island, only the children got off to play while the fathers checked the nets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYaa-hooo!\u201d
Soran ran across the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masato and Katsuya followed, laughing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They raced, wrestled, explored a cave full of bats, and shouted echoes again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy do you say \u2018yaa-hoo\u2019 so much?\u201d Masato asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mom says it\u2019s a word for calling God,\u201d Soran replied.
\u201cGod\u2019s name is Yaha<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYaha, huh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon Masato was shouting it everywhere.
By the time they returned to the village,
everyone had learned the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u2728 Feel free to leave a comment!<\/strong> \u2728<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u21d2\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\u306f\u3053\u3061\u3089\u3092\u30af\u30ea\u30c3\u30af\u3057\u3066\u306d\uff01 \u201cYaa-hooo!\u201dTomo, Soran\u2019s mother, called out in a loud voice. \u201cYaa-hooo!\u201d The same word ec […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-novels"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=662"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":666,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662\/revisions\/666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}