1 Thanks to a missing cow, I became his apprentice

I stumbled over the roots of a tree which were protruding from the ground and almost made me fall forward. Just below me laid a valley overgrown with lush shrubs; if I had remained myself inactive, I would have rolled down to the bottom of it.

I managed to shift my weight back so that I would not fall. Instead, I landed on my butt on one of the four jute bags I was carrying on my back. Fortunately, I felt no pain.

"Nisuke. Are you okay?"

The hoarse voice of Dr. Tokuhon, who walking behind me, echoed through the area.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"In that case, get your backside off the herbal medicine immediately! Your weight will crush it!"

He seemed to be more worried about the merchandise packed in the jute bag than about me.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

I tried to get myself off the ground in a hurry, but since my legs were exhausted, I found it hard to do so.

"The cow seems to be better at carrying luggage than you," Dr. Tokuhon said plausibly. I thought the same thing, so I begged him: "You are absolutely right. Please, let's take a short break."

"Indeed. Let's rest."

"I appreciate it."

My sensei and I left the inn town of Narai at Shinano Province and were about to reach the dangerous section of the Torii Pass.

I put all the jute bags on the ground and laid the straw mats (which I was holding in my armpit) under the cedar on the side of the highway. First, Dr. Tokuhon sat cross-legged, and I sat next to him.

"It looks like the fatigue is getting to your legs. We can do moxibustion on the Zusanli (literal translation: Legs Three Miles) acupoint."

"Sure, doctor."

Moxibustion on the acupoint called zusanli (applied on the shin, that is, "the jar"), not only relieves the tiredness of the legs, but also makes the road ahead a little easier.

I searched for one of the jute bags, took out an incense stick, a candle, a flint, and the moxa case and handed it to him.

"Shall I apply it only on myself? Are your legs okay, doctor?"

"Yes, they are."

I took off my gaiters to have direct access to my right shin, and lit a candle with a flint. Then, I transferred the fire to the incense stick in my left hand and picked up a small amount of wormwood from its container. After that, I twisted the moxa with my thumb and forefinger while holding the moxibustion (which was about the size of a grain of rice) in my right hand.

When I applied moxibustion on the Zusanli point (about four fingers below the knees), it felt a little unpleasant. Gradually, the moxibustion began to produce heat.

"Ouch! It burns!"

I hurriedly threw the moxibustion away. As I expected, it was hot!

"Small wonder you got burned. It's molded incorrectly, among other things," he said; to which I replied, "If you are so kind, please teach me how to do it properly."

The doctor took the moxa, molded it quickly, and placed it on my shin.

"That's how it should be done."

When the moxibustion started burning, a pleasant warmth spread throughout the lower part of my leg.

The state of relief made me hear myself going, "Oh... moo..." unintentionally.

"Are you now imitating a cow? Well, if you work patiently like one, someday you might improve your skill at moxibustion," he said with laughter mingling with his words.

I am often compared to a cow because I became Dr. Tokuhon's apprentice thanks to this animal.

My name is Nisuke. In the Japanese language, it means that I am the second son. I am from Settsu Province and I was born in a family of peasants.

I have a strong body which is 5 shaku 5 sun tall (shaku and sun are Japanese units of length and, in this case, they equal 5.4 feet), but from an early age, my physical constitution was weak. For example, I used to cough almost every night.

When that happened, I could not sleep, so my elder brother, Itta, used to go to a doctor in the neighborhood to get some medicine. After taking it, I could finally catch some shuteye, but in most occasions my father would normally tell me, "Bear it like a man!"

Probably the medicine was costly. As proof of that, a few days after taking it, we were all deprived of side dishes during dinner.

But my cough got better as I grew up.

After turning ten years old, my body got bigger and bigger, and I needed to eat a lot more.

My mother used to be concerned about it since I started to have three bowls of barley rice! Occasionally, when I was hungry after the second serving, it was her turn to tell me, "Bear it like a man!"

We were not particularly poor. The whole village used to live in the same situation.

At an early age, I thought that I had to leave the house to reduce the burden on my family, but I wondered what job I could possibly get. If I could find a profitable one it would be great.

I thought about the possibilities and said, "Doctors live in the finest houses in my village. They must have money-making jobs to live in such luxurious homes." That is why I aspired to become a physician too.

When I was sixteen, I visited Dr. Dosan Manase in Kyoto, recommended by his colleague in my neighborhood.

However, Dr. Dosan already had as many as twenty apprentices.

It was said that an introductory fee was required to become a new apprentice, which was extremely expensive for any family of peasants. Moreover, monthly tuition fees were to be charged as well.

Ironically, in order to make money, I also had to pay a lot of it. I had to give up that introductory thing.

While I was wandering around the town of Kyoto feeling helpless, I heard about Dr. Nagata Tokuhon's reputation; he lived in Kai Province. His pseudonym was Chisokusai, which in Japanese roughly means the one who attained contentment.

Regardless of the prescribed treatment, Dr. Tokuhon would charge only 16 mon (an old Japanese currency unit). Thus, he was also known as "Mr. 16 Mon" (that amount of money would be roughly 7 dollars).

"If there is such a person, I should head to Kai Province with hope."

The locals there guided me to his house. In front of it, there was a man who seemed to be a doctor.

Apparently, he was over sixty. He was wearing a coarse brown kimono tucked up to elbows. His arms had many wrinkles, and his hair was completely grey. His tanned face was round, and his cheeks were slightly red and rosy.

He gave the impression that he put eyes and nose on a boiled taro (a tropical plant).

I observed him for a while, but his manners did not help to arouse admiration for him. He turned around over and over like a restless child.

Eventually, he found me and called out to me.

"Hey there, have you seen my cow?"

"No, I haven't."

"Oh, I'm in trouble without it. I'm supposed to go on a trip to provide medical treatment to some patients and I have a lot of luggage."

I thought, "Wait! This person does seem to be Dr. Tokuhon!" I felt a little disappointed, but since I came so far, I asked his name.

"Are you Dr. Nagata Tokuhon, AKA Chisokusai?"

"Indeed, I am. By the way, did you happen to see my cow somewhere?"

"Sorry, I didn't."

"Oh, what a predicament!"

Having said that, he turned his back on me and went behind a shabby hut. I decided to follow him.

He was looking for the missing cow, seemingly.

"I couldn't find the cow anywhere in the backyard or in the barn. Perhaps the cow had been stolen."

He was pacing around, nodding his head from time to time.

I had no choice but to follow along; I was aware that it was not the place to apply for apprenticeship, though.

When I began to wonder whether I should give up hope on becoming his apprentice, he stopped and turned to me.

"Why are you following me?"

With determination, I answered, "I came all this way to request that you please allow me to become your apprentice, sir. My name is Nisuke."

He laughed joyfully.

"So, may I be your apprentice?"

"Well, Nisuke, are you ready to replace my cow and carry my luggage?"

"Yes, it is absolutely fine with me, but ... where should I carry it?"

"You are carrying it wherever I go on my trip..."

"Then, by any chance, will I become a luggage carrier instead?"

"Right you are."

"But what I would like is for you to share with me your knowledge about the art of medicine..."

"Of course, that is also included."

"Thank you very much! By the way, how much should I pay for the introductory fee?"

He looked at me.

"You shall not need to pay for any introductory fee."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Carrying my luggage would suffice."

"Only that?"

"Look, we will help each other. Cows help man; therefore, they get food. Similarly, you help me; therefore, you get to learn all there is about medicine, and you don't need to worry about food."

I had mixed feelings after being compared to a cow, but, well, I was more than grateful.

"Thank you, Dr. Tokuhon!"

"You are welcome. Just call me doctor, sensei or even sir… as you wish. Will you follow me to check the luggage?"

"Definitely yes, sensei!"

Thus, it was thanks to a missing cow that I got my current position.

Since then, I have been traveling along with Dr. Tokuhon as a medicine apprentice and as a luggage handler. Well, initially, only the cow used to deal with the weight.

We have three large jute bags filled with several herbal medicines, a tool bag containing a balance, a spoon, a yagen (a tool for finely crushing crude medication), a dobin (a clay bottle for decocting herbal medicine), an acupuncture box with needles, a moxa holder, an incense stick, a flint stone, a candle and other few things.

Additionally, we have a very bulky signboard made of cedar: it is about 4 shaku (4 feet). It says, "DR. TOKUHON OF KAI, 16 MON - 1 DOSE; ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION, SAME PRICE."

I have been doing this kind of work for three years now. I still cannot master doing moxibustion and there are still many things I do not understand about the medical field.

However, I am growing to love this apprenticeship transition, even when I have never been paid for it yet.

Yes, my only complaint relates to money.

With the payment of only 16 mon for each treatment, if you put together the eating habits of two people, saving is out of our range of possibilities.

What is more, far from saving money, sometimes it is difficult for us to even survive.