Hihi Baboon Yokai

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Yokai Monsters -
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- Hihi 狒々/ 狒狒 / 比々 Hihi Baboon Monster -

Once upon a time
every year there was an arrow with white feathers stuck in the straw roof of a farmhouse.
The daughter of this home had to put on white robes of a dead person, be put into a box made of paulownia wood and was to be offered at the local Shinto Shrine.
To tell the truth, she was eaten by a huge HIHI baboon monster.

Then one day the strong 岩見重太郎 Iwami Jutaro gave a lot of sake to drink to the Hihi and fought him out of the region.


source and more photos :　板原村のだんじり会館
岩見重太郎、狒々（ひひ）退治 - Iwami Jutaro fighting the Hihi

- quote -
APPEARANCE:
The hihi is a large, monkey-like beast which lives deep in the mountains. It has long, black hair and a wide mouth with long, flapping lips. Old legends say that a monkey which reaches a very old age will transform into a hihi.



BEHAVIOR:
Hihi can run very fast and primarily feed on wild animals such as boars, battering them down and snatching them up just as a bird of prey snatches up small animals. The hihi gets its name from the sound of its laugh. When it sees a human it can’t help but burst into laughter. letting out a loud, “Hihihihi!” When it laughs, its long lips curl upwards and completely cover its eyes.

INTERACTIONS:
While hihi primarily feed on wild beasts, they will also prey on humans if given the opportunity. They are known to catch and run off with human women in particular. If a hihi catches a human there is only one way to escape: by making it laugh. While it is laughing and blinded by its own lips, it can be taken down by striking it in the middle of the forehead with a sharp spike.
Hihi
are sometimes confused with other monkey-like yokai that live in the mountains, such as yamawaro and satori. The hihi is much bigger, more violent, and far more dangerous than these. Some stories say that, like satori, hihi have the ability to speak human words and read human hearts and thoughts. They are valued for their blood, which is a vivid, bright red. If used as a dye, the bright red color will never fade or run. If drunk, the imbiber is said to gain the ability to see demons and spirits.

ORIGIN:
The hihi’s origins lie in ancient Chinese mythology, where it was believed to be a supernatural monkey that lived in the mountains. It was brought over to Japan by folklorists during the middle ages. In modern Japanese, hihi is the word for baboon, which takes its name from its resemblance to this yokai.
- source : yokai.com/hihi



岩見重太郎 Iwami Jutaro is another legendary figure, fighting monsters.



井川洗厓/大河内翠山 - Iwami Jutaro


source :　www.npo-hiroshima.jp

宮乃木神楽団｢岩見重太郎｣ Kagura dance


. Kagura 神楽 Ritual Kagura Dance .

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- quote -
Hihi – No Laughing Matter (狒々, 狒狒 or比々)
Descriptions vary – the Wakansansaizue describes the hihi as being black, whereas most popular depictions in ukiyoe, drama and TV are of a white-haired beast, although the red face and long, flapping lips are almost universal. Some say that a snow monkey that reaches an extreme old age transforms into a hihi.
snip
Living in the deep mountains, they hunt wild boars but will also prey upon humans. Most descriptions agree that the hihi will laugh before devouring a human – the laugh being the reason behind the name. Stories of them catching and running off with women are staple fare of folk stories, kagura theatre and ukiyoe.
(Incidentally, the word hihi is also sometimes used as a pejorative for a lecherous old man.)


- painting by Masasumi

The two most famous stories involving the hihi are of the semi-historical Jutaro Iwami (often identified as the real-life Kanesuke Susukita) and Shippeitaro (or Hayataro, as he is also called, depending on the region).

- - - Both these stories are similar in plot.

In the former, the mighty warrior hears of a village that is forced by some mountain god to make a sacrifice of a maiden once every year. Not believing that a god would be so evil, Jutaro decides to take the place of the maiden and hides in the offering casket. Night falls and a hihi comes down from the mountains to collect his meal - - -

In the latter story, a maiden must be offered to a menacing mountain god. A wandering priest hears of this and decides to investigate. Hiding behind the shrine at night, he hears voices calling to each other.
“Is Shippeitaro near?”
“No, we have no need to fear tonight”
The priest goes off in search of Shippeitaro, envisaging him as a mighty warrior. Imagine his surprise when he finds that Shippeitaro is a dog!
He borrows the dog, who hides in the casket in which the offering is to be made (some versions have a shrine building instead). Night falls, shadows come down from the mountains and open the box. (One would think that villians in Japanese folklore would wise up to this trick . . .)
The next morning
the priest finds the bodies of dozens of monkeys and a giant hihi (some versions have three hihi). The wounded Shippeitaro makes his way back home, but dies from his injuries.

There is a temple in Komagane, Nagano Prefecture,
which claims to house the grave of Hayataro (as he is known in that region), and to also be his birthplace.

Curiously, this story was translated into English by one T. H. James in 1888, but she replaced the monkeys and hihi with phantom cats. (Perhaps she thought that hihi wouldn’t translate well, and replaced them with the dog’s enemy in Western folklore. In Japanese folklore, dogs and monkeys are antagonistic toward each other, and people who hate each other are said to have a monkey and dog relationship)

Just to tie all the folklore and nature back together again, the Shippeitaro/Hayataro legend claims the dog as being a “yamainu” (山犬). This is a very vague term, and has been used not only to describe domestic dogs which have gone wild, but also wolves. Some also suggest that it may be a separate creature altogether, possibly a domestic dog-wolf hybrid.

The wolf cult is a complex and fascinating topic, and I hope to write about it sometime.
- source : wildinjapan.wordpress.com

. Koozenji 光前寺 Kozen-Ji - Nagano .
霊犬早太郎伝説 - The legend of the spiritual dog Hayataro.
"A Heroic Dog of the Kozenji Temple" and the old monkey monster （老ヒヒ）.

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Susukida Kanesuke 薄田兼相 (Susukita) (? - 1615)



- quote -
Kanesuke was a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hideyori.
He joined Hideyori at Osaka castle and fought for him in the two campaigns there. A rather colorful character, Kanesuke was killed fighting the Tokugawa forces in 1615.
- source : samuraiWiki

His grave is at the temple 増福寺 Zofuku-Ji in Osaka.

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. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .



................................................................................. Akita 秋田県　

. Hihi becomes 山の神 Yamanokami .




................................................................................. Gifu 岐阜県　

. Gero Onsen 下呂温泉 Gero Hot Spring Spa .
legend about a hihi




................................................................................. Hyogo 兵庫県　
氷上郡 Hikami district

. 六部　The Rokubu pilgrim .




................................................................................. Nagano 長野県　
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Nagano 飯田市 Iida

A similar story of the baboon
光前寺に迷い込んだ山犬が子犬を産み、住職はその一匹を引き取って早太郎と名付けた。その頃、遠州の府中という村では氏神に娘を人身御供に差し出していた。ある六部が氏神に泊まったところ、「光前寺のへえぼう太郎に知らせるな」という声を聞く。村人に頼まれて、六部はへえぼう太郎を捜しに信州に行き、和尚から早太郎を借りる。娘の代わりに差し出された早太郎はひひを退治し、傷ついた体で寺に戻ると息を引き取った。
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信州にたどり着いた六部は方々探して、光前寺にたどり着き、早太郎を借りることができた。氏神に娘が箱に入れられて運ばれる際、身代わりに早太郎が入れられた。翌朝宮に行ってみると、そこいら中血まみれで、血の跡をたどっていくと大きな銀色のひひが噛み殺されていて、早太郎はどこにもいなかった。血まみれの早太郎は寺にたどり着き、住職の顔を見て一声鳴くと息を引き取った。早太郎の墓は今でも光前寺にある。
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遠州の府中という村では、秋の祭には氏神様に人身御供として娘を差し出さねばならず、それは白羽の矢で決定されていた。あるとき、村にやってきた六部が氏神に泊まったところ、何者かが「信州信濃の光前寺、へえぼう太郎に知らせるな」と踊っているのに気づいた。翌朝村に立ち寄った六部は、村人から人身御供の話を聞き、化け物を退治するためにへえぼう太郎を探して信州へ向かった。

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Nahgano 松本市 Matsumoto

山犬から生まれた早太郎がいた。あるとき娘が人身御供となり、六部が身代わりに籠の中に入っていると、早太郎には知らせるなと怪物が出てきた。早太郎を呼んで身代わりになってもらうと、中で怪物を噛み殺した。その正体は狒々であった。

. rokubu 六部 Rokubu pilgrims in Nagano .




................................................................................. Shizuoka　
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磐田市 Iwata city 見付 Mitsuke

. 矢奈比売神社 the Shrine Yanahime Jinja .
and the origin of Shippeitaro.


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -
16 legends to explore (01)

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- reference -

. Sake Legends and Shinto Shrines　酒と神社 .
- Introduction -

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. Kappa densetsu　河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

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