SEPIAD^E. — CUTTLE. 259 



There he passed his time in studying the sacred laws, 

 both hidden and revealed, and, after nine years, set sail 

 to return to Japan. When he was on the high seas 

 a storm arose, and a great fish attacked and tried to 

 swamp the ship, so that the rudder and mast were 

 broken, and the nearest shore being that of a land 

 inhabited by devils, to retreat or advance was equally 

 dangerous. Then the holy man prayed to the patron 

 saint, whose image he carried, and as he prayed, 

 behold the true Yakushi-Niurai appeared in the centre 

 of the ship, and said to him, " Verily thou hast travelled 

 far that the sacred laws might be revealed for the 

 salvation of many men, now therefore take my image, 

 which thou carriest in thy bosom, and cast it into the 

 sea, that the wind may abate, and that thou may est be 

 delivered from this land of devils. " The commands of 

 the saints must be obeyed ; so, with tears in his eyes, 

 the priest threw the sacred image into the sea. Then 

 did the wind abate, and the waves were stilled, and 

 the ship pursued her course as though she was being 

 drawn by unseen hands, until she reached a safe haven. 

 In the tenth month of the same year, the priest again 

 set sail, trusting to the power of his patron saint, and 

 reached the harbour of Tsukushi without mishap. For 

 three years he prayed that the image he had cast away 

 might be restored to him ; until at last, one night, he 

 was warned in a dream, that on the sea-shore at 

 Matsura, Yakushi-Niura would appear to him. In 

 consequence of this dream he went to the province of 

 Hizeu, and landed on the shore at Hirato, where, in 

 the midst of a blaze of light, the image which he had 

 carved appeared to him twice, riding on the back of a 

 cuttle-fish. Thus was the image restored to the world 



s 2 



