Once upon a time, Prince Siddhartha, the son of King Suddhodana, turned seventeen. The king gathered his ministers and declared:
“The prince has now reached adulthood. It is time for him to take a wife. Does anyone know of a suitable bride?”
One of the ministers responded:
“There is a man who speaks of a Brahmin’s daughter from my royal family. Her name is Yasodhara. She is beautiful and has a kind heart, truly a princess worthy of being the crown prince’s consort.”
Hearing this, the king was overjoyed. He immediately sent a messenger to the Brahmin father.
“The prince has come of age, and I believe your daughter would make an excellent queen.”
The Brahmin consented.
A date was chosen, and the bride was welcomed into the palace with grand ceremony, riding in a splendid carriage. The prince behaved as husbands do, and the king, aside from the queen, also selected other beautiful women to serve as handmaidens, allowing them to entertain the prince day and night.
However, the prince did not spend time with the queen. From a young age, he would quietly calm his mind at night, deep in thought, contemplating the path of the holy.
The king, growing concerned, would ask the many handmaidens each day:
“Is the prince spending time with the queen?”
“We have never seen the prince show affection toward her,” they replied.
Upon hearing this, the king brought in more beautiful women, skilled in music and dance, as handmaidens. Yet still, the prince did not show love to the queen.
The king grew fearful and despaired.
[Translation]
Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using ChatGPT-4o to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[Explanation]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
The Prince’s Duty Was to Produce an Heir
The story goes that Prince Siddhartha married Princess Yasodhara. However, the prince showed little interest in her and rarely shared a bed with her. His father, the king, was deeply concerned by this and created a harem for the prince, allowing him to amuse himself day and night, but even that failed to bring him joy.
Rakugo master Yanagiya Kosanji once said, “A lord’s job is to produce children.” If a lord did not favor his official wife, he would take several concubines. It’s not that he particularly enjoyed womanizing, but rather, he needed an heir. Therefore, regardless of who the woman was, if she pleased him, she would become his concubine. There were even cases where a commoner’s daughter caught the lord’s eye and bore his heir. The classical rakugo story “Mekanma” is based on this theme.
Similarly, the prince had the duty of producing an heir. When the king heard that the prince wasn’t doting on his wife, he created a harem for him. When he learned that the prince still showed no interest, the king’s distress must have been immense.
The Prince Was Not Impotent
Literature scholar Fumimaro Kunisaki has discussed what the king might have been “afraid” of in this situation. Was the king perhaps worried that his son was impotent? That’s likely the case.
However, the king’s fear turned out to be unfounded. Prince Siddhartha and Yasodhara did have a child together. So, the prince had fulfilled his duty. A happy ending? Not quite? but that’s a story for another time.
The wedding celebrations of Yasodhara and Siddhattha, depicted in Burmese fashion.
●Japanese
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