The Bonesetter

The Japanese tale The Bonesetter is another fairytale that recently caught my attention. I discovered it in Allan Chinen's Once Upon a Midlife: Classic Stories and Mythic Tales to Illuminate Middle Years. A tale about a husband and wife who are taught how to heal bones by a water demon, the Bonesetter connected to the veterinary surgeon in me who loved fixing broken bones. It seems strange to say, but this fairytale revived memories from a part of me that had almost disappeared. The tale also inspired me to paint this image.

The Bonesetter (Japan)

Once upon a time, there lived a husband and wife who were both greatly respected in their land. The man was a warrior and a physician, and she was famous for her many accomplishments, wisdom, and beauty. One night, the woman went to use the outhouse some distance from home. As she sat down on the toilet, she felt a hand touch her buttocks. She shrieked in surprise, but she was a brave woman and did not run away. Instead, she looked out the window and saw a shadowy figure scamper off in the moonlight. The woman finished her business, returned to the house, and said nothing to her husband.

The next night, the woman went to the outhouse as usual, and again a hand touched her buttocks. "How dare you!" she shouted indignantly, prepared to run after the rascal. But by the time she put her clothes back on the shadowy figure was gone.

The next evening, the woman again went to the outhouse, but this time she took a sword with her. Sure enough, a hand touched her buttocks just as she sat on the toilet. Without a word she drew her sword and cut the hand off. "Aiee" a strange voice shrieked, and the shadowy figure stumbled off into the darkness moaning piteously.

The woman picked up the hand and stared at it in surprise. It was webbed and looked like a turtle's foot. She went to her husband, explaining what had happened and showing him the strange hand. The husband marveled at his wife’s courage, and then studied the amputated limb. “What a strange thing! He exclaimed. Finally, he nodded, “It looks like a water demon’s hand!” he declared. The he laughed. “A water demon must have seen you at the toilet and fallen in love with you!”

The woman became indignant. “Don’t say such a horrible thing! The demon could have kidnapped me!” She picked up the hand and studied it. “This surely is a rare thing,” she murmured.

“Yes,” the husband replied, “it might be very valuable.” So he and his wife locked the hand in their vault. Then they went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, the man was awakened by a whispering at the window. "Please give me back my hand!" a voice pleaded. The man said nothing. He reached over to his bow and arrows and pulled on the bowstring as a warning. The voice stopped abruptly and someone or something scurried away.

“What was that?” the wife inquired.

“It must have been the water demon!” the man explained.

The next night, the man was awakened again by a whisper outside the window. "Please give me back my hand." The man picked up his bow, drew the bowstring, and released it, making a twanging sound. The water demon quickly fled.

The third night, the creature returned and again begged for its hand. “Please, give me my hand back.”

By this time the man was curious, so he asked, “Why do you want your hand back? It is now dried and shriveled! What could you possibly do with it?”

The water demon showed itself at the window and bowed to the husband and wife. “We water demons know the secret of setting broken bones and healing severed limbs,” the creature explained. “So I can rejoin my hand to my arm, and they will both be as good as new!” The water demon pleaded again for the return of its hand.

“Very well,” the man said, thinking quickly. “I should kill you for bothering my wife and me, but I will spare you. And I will return your hand but on one condition. You must show us the secret of setting broken bones and healing severed limbs.

“That is easily done,” the water demon promised. So, the husband and wife fetched the shriveled hand from the strongbox and gave it to the creature. The water demon showed the man and woman how to rejoin severed limbs and fastened its hand to its arm. In a few moments, the demon’s hand was healed, and the creature flexed its fingers to prove the point. The water demon bowed and disappeared into the night.

The next morning when the man and woman arose, they found two beautiful fish lying on the porch of their house. They knew the water demon had brought them as a gift to thank them, so they cooked the fish and enjoyed them immensely. With the water demon’s lesson, the husband and wife became great healers. They passed the art of bonesetting to their children, and to their children’s children. Their family prospered, and all their people too. (Adapted from R. Dorson, Folk Legends of Japan.)

Reference:

Chinen, Allan. (1992). Chapter 15: Renewal and the underworld, pp. 176-178. In Once upon a midlife: Classic stories and mythic tales to illuminate the middle years. G. P. Putnam’s Sons.