“Some Warriors look fierce but are mild. Some seem timid but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.”
- Deng Ming-Dao
Samurai Amago, walked through the heavy snow and blizzard, as he went up the Akaishi mountains. This was not an easy task or one that he enjoyed, but it was one that he needed to do. The monster had escaped him a day ago and fled to the mountains. The Shimo Kyojin was twelve feet and he was a fierce beast. They say that the frost giant had no mercy. After the villagers had taken a large part of the mountainside to grow rice and wheat, it had upset the frost giant.
The village of Kakunodate was being terrorized by a frost giant, Shimo Kyojin. The village people turned to Amago, a samurai who was in the village at the time. The other samurai were out on a military campaign for the emperor.
The frost sent over the fields by the Shimo Kyojin destroyed every crop in the field. The people did not have enough food supplies for the winter months. Samurai Amago had to find and either kill the beast, if it did not want to reach some type of compromise.
It was late at night on the third day of the chase, that the Shimo Kyojin, attacked the Samurai, as he sat waiting in the darkness. Amago was waiting in silence in the darkness for the frost giant to face him. The land was covered with large amounts of snow. The mountains were wrapped in layers of virgin white snow. The frost giant Shimo Kyojin, could be anywhere lurking and waiting to pounce. It was the snow and the snow was a part of him. The Shimo Kyojin was a creature of nature and it protected him.
As he gazed into the distance and saw some shadows move, Samurai Amago was alerted. His senses were keen and he could hear a faint rustle in the mounds of snow in front of him. It was coming and he needed to be ready for the surprise.
The snow in front and behind Amago came alive, it rose into the air, to a height of twelve feet. The frost giant punched Samurai Amago and he flew up into the air, with his swords or daisho in his hands. His katana almost slipped out of his hand, but he held onto the wakizashi. The two warriors kept fighting one another for a long time. Both did not want to retreat. The Samurai was battered by the powerful punches of the frost giant. The night was still dark and sunrise was hours away. Samurai Amago kept baiting the frost giant to lead him into a trap. It was close to dawn, when the Shimo Kyojin, dropped into the large pit that was dug by the samurai and carefully concealed with layers of bark, branches, and snow. There was not much sunlight in the mountains. The frost giant had nothing to fear from the weak sunlight.
The Shimo Kyojin fell into the large pit. Samurai Amago picked up a large log from the campfire and took it close to the trapped giant in the pit.
“Shimo Kyojin, do you wish to die or change your ways?”
“I would rather die than be trapped here.”
“I can set this pit on fire and your life will come to an end”.
“Do it and save me the sound of your feeble voice”, thundered the frost giant Shimo Kyojin.
“If you promise to keep away from the villagers and their crops, in summer, they will give you their lakes and the land they do not use for the whole of winter. Do you accept?”, said Samurai Amago sternly.
“That sounds reasonable. I accept”, said the frost giant, in a pleased tone.
The frost giant Shimo Kyojin stepped out of the large trap in the ground and bowed his head in respect to the Samurai. Peace was made. Samurai Amago, bowed his head to this majestic beast of ice, frost, and power in reverence.
Peace was now reigning in the village. Samurai Amago would have a tale to tell his children and grandchildren. He was also pleased that the people of the village were willing to give the land they would not use in winter to the frost giant, as a means of paying respect to him and nature.