Kachi-Kachi Mountain: The Clever Rabbit and the Tanuki's Revenge

Once upon a time, there lived an elderly couple in a peaceful village. The old man worked diligently on their farm, planting seeds in the field. However, one day, a mischievous tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) came and dug up all the seeds, eating them before the old man could return. Furious, the old man caught the tanuki, tied it up, and brought it home.

The Tanuki's Trick and the Old Woman's Misfortune

The old woman, trusting the tanuki's plea for mercy, decided to untie it. "Please forgive me," the tanuki begged. "I will help you with all the chores if you set me free." Moved by the tanuki’s words, the kind old woman untied it.

But the tanuki didn’t keep its promise. Instead of helping, it attacked the old woman, leaving her badly injured before fleeing into the forest. The woman, unable to recover from the brutal attack, soon passed away, leaving the old man heartbroken and grieving the loss of his wife.

The Rabbit's Plan for Justice

One day, as the old man sat alone in sorrow, a clever rabbit passing by overheard his story. "I’ll take care of that tanuki for you," the rabbit said confidently. The rabbit then set off to find the tanuki, determined to exact revenge.

The next day, the rabbit encountered the tanuki in the forest. "Let’s go gather firewood together," the rabbit suggested. The tanuki agreed, and the two of them climbed up the mountain to gather wood.

As they descended, the rabbit walked behind the tanuki, quietly striking two stones together to create a crackling sound.
Curious, the tanuki asked, "What’s that noise?"
The rabbit replied nonchalantly, "That’s just the sound of Kachi-Kachi Yama—this mountain always makes that noise."

The tanuki, oblivious to the rabbit’s plan, continued walking. Suddenly, the wood on the tanuki’s back caught fire. The tanuki shrieked in pain, threw the firewood aside, and ran home, nursing painful burns on its back.

The Tanuki's Downfall and Final Justice

A few days later, the rabbit visited the tanuki and offered to help. "I’ve brought some medicine for your burns," the rabbit said, offering to soothe the tanuki’s pain. But instead of a healing salve, the rabbit smeared a mixture of miso and chili paste on the tanuki’s wounds.
The tanuki howled in agony, "Oh, it hurts! It hurts so much!"
The burns grew even worse, and the tanuki was left in even more pain.

Later, the rabbit invited the tanuki to go fishing by the sea. At the beach, two boats awaited them. The tanuki eagerly hopped into the larger boat made of mud, while the rabbit climbed into the smaller wooden boat.

As they sailed into the water, the tanuki’s boat began to break apart and sink. The rabbit, in the meantime, calmly sailed away in its sturdy wooden boat. The tanuki called for help, but the rabbit said nothing and simply watched as the tanuki’s boat sank, taking it down into the sea.

With the tanuki gone, the rabbit had finally avenged the kind old woman’s tragic death. The old man, now free from grief, could live in peace once more.