Summary

Skilled at Illness, Inept at Dying

In a small village, there lived an old man known as the master of longevity. This old man, named Takeshi, was the most frequently ill person in the village. Whenever a cold swept through, he would inevitably catch it, and when the flu was prevalent, he would suffer from severe complications. However, each time he fell ill, Takeshi took his health very seriously, making daily visits to the doctor and spending all day caring for himself.

One day, Takeshi was invited by his friend Yoshio to join the village festival. However, he made an excuse, saying, "I feel a cold coming on today, so I won't go," and ultimately spent the day wrapped up in his futon at home. While the villagers danced, drank, and had fun at the festival, Takeshi was alone in solitude. As the night grew late, he found himself asking, "If I'm this sickly, how long do I plan to live?" In that moment, he made a decision.

The following day, Takeshi decided to visit the doctor for a full check-up. When the doctor asked, "What were the results of your health examination?" Takeshi smiled and replied, "No problem at all, I'm the invincible master of illness!" From that point on, Takeshi became increasingly aware of his health and immersed himself in further research on disease prevention. He took pride in the belief that he had "conquered disease by living long."

The villagers, while secretly calling him "the master of illness," felt a bit envious of him. No matter how much he cared for his health, Takeshi could not die. As he aged and finally turned one hundred, the villagers decided to celebrate. However, Takeshi caught a cold and did not attend the celebration. He continued to live on just as he was. For the villagers, Takeshi became a symbol of "skilled at illness, inept at dying," and a legend began to spread around him about how he could not die.