The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 1The Spiderʼs ThreadBased on the story by Ryunosuke AkutagawaThe Spiderʼs Thread is a well-known short story by the Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, published in1918. It is a moral fable about good, evil and redemption. Akutagawa was inspired by other stories and alsoBuddhist fables; according to some Buddhist beliefs, those who lead good, compassionate lives are reincarnatedinto a better life, and those who do not are sent to Hell.

19The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 2It was a beautiful morning in Paradise. The carpet of clouds had been turned shades of blue and apricotorange by the warm morning sun. From time to time, the fragrance of lotus ﬂowers drifted through on thegentle breeze.
Our story starts on this very morning when Buddha was taking a walk over the Pond of Paradise.

1The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 3Buddha paused on his way and glanced down at the scenery through the water, between the ﬂowers andleaves. The water in the pond was crystal clear, so clear that he could see all the way to the bottom - to thevery depths of Hell.

2The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 4Hell was a silent darkness. But the Buddha could see the many sinners who were trapped there. Some werecrawling and others were shaking in fear. But most lay motionless, exhausted by the relentless torture of thecreatures in Hell.

3The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 5From time to time the silence of Hell was broken by agonised screams and pitiful calls for help. The sinnersbegged for mercy as monsters emerged from the shadows. In Hell, horrible things were happening, thingsthat we cannot begin to imagine.

4The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 6Among the many sinners, Buddhaʼs eye came to rest on an individual called Kandata, a man with a jaggedscar running down one side of his face. He was hiding behind the large rocks, trying to escape the notice ofthe fearsome monsters of Hell.

5The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 7During his lifetime, this sinner, Kandata, had been an infamous thief. He was a ruthless killer too, taking thelives of many innocent souls and causing needless misery to countless ordinary people. However, wickedthough he was, Kandata had performed one good deed in his past life of evil.

6The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 8One day, as he was walking through the forest, he nearly stepped on a spider. In a rare moment ofcompassion he had thought to himself ʻEven though it looks so tiny and weak, it is still a living being.
It is cruel to take a life for no reasonʼ. So he had taken the spider to a safe place, carrying it in the palmof his hand.

7The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 9Buddha remembered this act of his kindness as he watched Kandata suﬀering in Hell. He decided to rewardhim for this one good deed and to save him from eternal torment.
Buddha found a spider on a nearby lotus leaf. He gently scooped up the small creature and asked it to ﬁndKandata. He lowered the spider with its silver thread down to Hell.

8The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 10Hell was far from Paradise, so the spiderʼs descent was long and passed through many layers of sky andclouds. As it travelled further and further down, the colour drained from the landscape and everythingbecame bleak and lifeless.

9The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card11Kandata was exhausted from the perpetual torments of Hell. All he could do was stare into the gloom.
Then, all of a sudden, something bright and shiny caught his eye. As he looked harder, he noticed the spiderdescending on its silvery thread.

10The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 12Kandata grabbed the thread and looked up to see where it was coming from. It seemed to lead all the wayup to the roof of Hell. With a broad smile on his face, he told himself ʻIf I could climb this thread all the wayup to the top, I could get out of Hell. Maybe I could even escape into Paradise!ʼ11The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 13Kandata did not waste a moment. He grasped the spiderʼs thread with both hands and pulled himself up withall his strength. As he was a great thief, this kind of climbing came naturally to him.
He climbed up and up, higher and higher.
Yet it was not a quick and easy task; there was a vast distance between Hell and Paradise.
Who knows how many hours he spent climbing? Eventually, he paused as his arms and hands were burningfrom exhaustion.
As he was resting, he looked down to see how far he had come. But what Kandata saw ﬁlled his soul with rage.

12The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 14Far below him, there was a mountain of sinners clinging to the very same spiderʼs thread. The puny ﬁgureswere wriggling and writhing, pulling and pushing as they climbed upwards like him.
How could such a thin and fragile thread possibly hold this enormous weight?
What if the spiderʼs thread should break because of these selﬁsh sinners? Kandata would also fall back into Hell.

13The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 15Kandata shouted down,“Oi, sinners! This spiderʼs thread is mine alone. Who said you could climb with me? Get oﬀ, GET OFF!”But the moment those words left his lips something happened.

14The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 16“SNAP!”In that very instant, the spiderʼs thread broke, just above the point where Kandata was hanging on.

15The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 17For a moment, Kandata sensed he was ﬂoating in the air, free as a bird. Then he was falling down as if beingsucked into an endless abyss. He screamed and cried in agony and despair. He had been so close to Paradise,far away from all the suﬀering and pain that he had endured for a long time. But his screams were soondrowned out by the chorus of screams from the other sinners in Hell.

16The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 18Buddha had seen everything happen through the crystal clear water. A single tear ran down his cheek as hewatched Kandata being swallowed back into the darkness.

Yet, around Buddhaʼs feet, the petals of the lotus ﬂowers were still dancing in the gentle breeze, carrying awave of heavenly fragrance from the golden centre of the ﬂower. The late morning sun turned the carpet ofclouds a pearly white.

17The Spiderʼs ThreadCreated by Aya Nakamurastory text for card 19The End.

This Kamishibai was funded by The Japan Society, 2021.

18How to Read KamishibaiKamishibai stories are read from the back of illustrated cards. However, you can also tellthe story from memory or even improvise a little to add to the story.
Move the front card to the back after you finish one part of the story. The text nowshowing will be the story for the card that is at the front.
The text for the title image (card 1) goes on the back of the last card, so when showingthe title image to the audience, you can read the corresponding text without turningthe card around.
When you finish the story for card 1, move it to the back of the pack. The story for card2 which is on the back of card 1 will now be at the back for you to read. Once you havetold that part of the story, you move this card to the back and again the story for thecard 3 will now be at the back for you. You continue this for each part of the story untilthe end.
Remember, the text on the back of a card does not correspond to the illustration onits front!

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