Pit Workers in the Old Days #5: Buzen-bo #5 (Miraculous Water of Buzen-bo, the Long-nosed Goblin in Akizuki)
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yamabito #5: Buzen-bo #5 (Akizuki Buzen-bo no Shinsui)
[Pit Workers in the Old Days #5: Buzen-bo #5 (Miraculous Water of Buzen-bo, the Long-nosed Goblin in Akizuki)]
21.0 x 30.0 cm Ink Painting

The police started investigating the miraculous water, though it was not clear if they were suspicious about the effects of the water rumored to immediately cure every disease by divine protection. It seems that it was an investigation into the spring by the officers of the Hygiene Section of Fukuoka Prefecture and the police. They found the spring after walking a long distance through the valley along the stream. The water was filtered through the sand in an old sake barrel and flowed through bamboo troughs and rocks before flowing out of a trough made of a bamboo cut into halves. The result of the investigation said that the water was dangerous to drink without boiling it, though no ingredient harmful to the human body was found. The investigation also revealed the miraculous water to be normal water from the spring in the mountain and not poisonous, but ineffective.
It was disclosed to the public that this incident was a case of aiming fraud to swindle people out of their offering money. It was caused by tricksters who made use of people's belief in divine protection. It was said that those who had recovered from lameness, blindness, and dumbness were all frauds. (Tens of thousands of people from Chikuzen [northern part of Fukuoka; especially Iizuka and Nogata], Chikugo [southern part of Fukuoka], Buzen [Oita and the eastern part of Fukuoka; especially Tagawa] had visited the spring for about three months.)

Here's a night tale at that time:
"Hey, they say that the divine protection of Buzen-bo in Akizuki was found to be a scam. Now I remember, someone said that the water smelled of sake. As I went there as many as three times, the blisters on my feet caused by the waraji straw sandals still hurt and won't heal."


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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