Demon legends Shimane

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Shimane 島根県の鬼伝説 Oni Demon Legends

Izumo is a region rich of legends:
. Izumo Fuudoki 出雲風土記 "Records of Wind and Earth" .
The Records of Izumo, Izumo Fudoki, where written about 733.



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. ushi oni, ushioni, gyuuki 牛鬼 "bull-demon" - Introduction .



A well-known ushi-oni is a massive, brutal sea-monster which lives off the coast of Shimane Prefecture and other places in Western Japan and attacks fishermen. It is often depicted with a spider- or crab-like body. This ushi-oni seems to be connected to another monster called the nure-onna 濡れ女 / 濡女 , who sometimes appears before an ushi-oni attack and tricks the victim into holding her child, which then becomes a stone stuck to the person's hands and grows heavier in order to hinder escape.
In Iwami Ginzan (Shimane) the story goes on about a young samurai who held the heavy stone baby.
A famous sword in his family suddenly flew into the sky, cut off the head of the demon and cut the body into nine pieces.

If it rains for a long time in Shimane, the Ushioni starts to show up under bridges. Once a man passed a bridge and saw a white light flickering there. After he had passed the bridge the flickering kept hovering around him. People in the neighbourhood who saw this thought the Ushi-Oni was the reason for it.
Another word for this monster in local dialect is
オシミ （牛鬼） oshimi (ushioni) .
The more people try to get rid of the flickering by shaking their sleeves, the more it clings to them. To get rid of it one has to get some urin on the hands and splatter that around.


. Nure-onna 濡女 "Wet Woman" .


Kaikidan Ekotoba 怪奇談絵詞
Nure-onna 濡女 "Wet Woman" was a dragon with a snake's body and a woman's head.
She was typically seen while washing her hair on a riverbank and would sometimes kill humans when angered.


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安濃郡 Ano district 太田町 Otamachi

Once a man went fishing in the evening, when the Nure-Onna appeared. She gave him a baby to hold and disappeared. He threw the baby away and fled, but Ushi-Oni came right after him. He managed to take shelter in a farmer's house and was safe.


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知夫郡 Chibu district 知夫村 Chibu village

Once a brave man was on his way to 伊勢神宮 Ise Shrine with a lot of money for offerings, but an Oni in the form of the 庚申 Koshin Deity took all his money away. But it was just a wicked person clad like Koshin. When the Deity heard the story, he hurried to give the money back to the brave man.

. The Koshin Deity 庚申 .


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出雲市 Izumo city

Fishermen at the coast are often called Yasha 夜叉 Demons in the local dialect.
Yasha were seen as demons, sometimes female ones. People in mountainous regions call them 鬼 Oni.

. Yasha 夜叉 - the Twelve Heavenly Generals 十二神将 .


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石見の国 Iwami no Kuni

nure onna to ushi-oni ぬれ女と牛鬼
Once upon a time in the land of Iwami
there lived a samurai named 森山玄蔵 Moriyama Genzo, who liked to go fishing at night.

むかしむかし、石見の国(いわみのくに→島根県)に、森山玄蔵(もりやまげんぞう)という侍がいました。
玄蔵は大変な釣り好きで、ひまさえあると、釣りに出かけます。
さて、ある夏の事、玄蔵は夕方から磯へと夜釣りに出かけました。
その日はどうしたわけか、次から次へと魚が釣れる日で、またたく間に、びくの中は魚でいっぱいになりました。
「こんなに釣れるとわかっていたら、もっとでっかいびくを持ってくるんだったな」
これ以上は釣っても持って帰れないので、玄蔵が引き上げようとしたら、後ろにだれか立っていました。
「おや？」
と、振り向いてみると、だれもいません。
「おかしいな」
そう思って、もう一度前に向き直ったら、なんと目の前の海に、ずぶぬれの女が赤ん坊を抱いて立っているのです。
月の光に照らされた顔は、まるで死人のように青白です。
玄蔵は逃げ出そうとしましたが、足がひきつり、動く事が出来ません。
女は、まるで海の上を歩くようにして、玄蔵のそばにやってきた。
そして、ぞっとするほど冷たい声で言いました。
「すみません。この子が、お腹をすかせて困っています。どうか、魚を一匹やってくださいな」
「や、や、やるとも」
玄蔵は震える手で、釣りあげたばかりの魚を女に手渡しました。
そして女が、その魚を赤ん坊に持たせるとどうでしょう。
赤ん坊は、いきなり魚の頭にかぶりつき、骨ごとバリバリと、またたく間に食べてしまったのです。
「すみません。もう一匹」
玄蔵は、びくごと女にわたしました。
すると赤ん坊は、バリバリ、ムシャムシャ、ペチャペチャと、口のまわりを血だらけにして、びくの中の魚を一匹残らずたいらげてしまったのです。
あまりの恐ろしさに、玄蔵は、もう気絶しそうです。
「すみませんが、ちょっとこの子を抱いてくれませんか？」
玄蔵は嫌がりましたが、女は玄蔵に赤ん坊を無理矢理おしつけたかと思うと、すうっと海の中に消えてしまいました。
玄蔵は、あわてて赤ん坊を投げようとしましたが、赤ん坊は胸にしっかりとしがみついて、どうやっても離れてくれません。
「とにかく、ここを逃げ出さなくては」
玄蔵は赤ん坊を抱いたまま、夢中で駆け出しました。
そしてようやく岩場を抜けて海辺の道へ出たとき、後ろから、ひづめの音が近づいてきました。
「あっ、牛鬼！」
ふりかえった玄蔵の前に、鬼の顔をした牛の化け物が、角をふりかざしながらやってきます。
「だ、だれか～！」
玄蔵は、声をふりしぼって叫びました。
そのころ玄蔵の家では、奥さんが一人で留守番をしていました。
座敷の方から、ガタガタと、おかしな音がするので、中をのぞいてみると、主人が大切にしている床の間の刀が、一人であばれているのです。
「これはもしや、主人の身に、何かあったにちがいない」
気の強い奥さんが表の戸を開けて外へ出ようとしたら、床の間の刀がさやから抜けて、矢の様に飛び出して行きました。
刀は空に舞い上がると、そのまま海辺にむかって一直線に飛んでいきます。
「どうか、主人をお守りください」
奥さんは、刀に向かって手を合わせました。
そのとき玄蔵は牛鬼に追いつめられ、するどい角でいまにもひと突きにされようとしていました。
「もうだめだ！」
玄蔵が思わず目をつむった瞬間、
「ぎゃあ！」
目の前で、ものすごい叫び声がしました。
それと同時に、玄蔵の胸から赤ん坊が落ちました。
恐る恐る目を開けてみると、牛鬼の首に、自分の刀が突き刺さっているではありませんか。
「助かった」
玄蔵は腰が抜けて、その場にへなへなと座り込んでしまいました。
次の朝、玄蔵が村人たちと一緒に昨日の海辺へ来てみると、牛鬼も赤ん坊の姿もなく、血の跡が、てんてんと海まで続いていたそうです。
ぬれ女とは海の岩場に住むお化けで、必ず、牛鬼を連れて現れるという事です。
oshimai - The END
- reference source : hukumusume.com/douwa/pc -


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鹿足郡 Kanoashi district 日原村 Nichihara village

On the evening of Setsubun the 出雲に鬼 demons of Izumo come out. The God of Izumo sits on his bronze horse and drives them away with his bow and arrow.
On this day the people of Izumo do not go outside to see him.
Once a curious old hag peeked out from a small hole, but the Deity saw her and hit her eye with his arrow.


shinba 神馬 the divine horse from Izumo


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那賀郡 Naka district 浅利村 Asari village (Present day 江津市浅利町）

Once upon a time the local Shrine priest went fishing in the evening, when the Nure-Onna gave him a baby to hold. He tried to throw it away, but it stuck to his hands. Finally Ushi-Oni came running after him. The priest run for his life, but suddenly he saw a white flash of light hitting the head of the Ushi-Oni. Later he understood that it was the sword from his Shrine that had come to his rescue.


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迩摩郡 Nima district

Once an old man took his small fishing boat and went out at night. An Ushi-Oni came after him, but he caught the demon and tried to birng him to his home. But near his fishing hut the Ushi-Oni fled. A young man who was watching tried to hit the Ushi-Oni and managed to cut off its head. But when they looked closer it was just 椿の古根 an old root of a 椿の古根 tsubaki camellia tree.

- - - Some researchers say the real origin of this monster is a root of a camellia tree (tsubaki no ne).
This tree is sacred in many parts of Japan. Ushi-Oni is in fact a local deity turned demon.
Camellia trees grow in many parts along the beaches and peninsulars, being brought there by the waves of the sea. Camellia flowers blossom at the border to the other world.

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西ノ島町 Nishinoshima town

Oniko 鬼子 Child of a Demon
The local people here never have a wedding ceremony on the Koshin day.
They say a child conceived on the Koshin day will either become a Demon Child or 蛇の子 the child of a serpent.


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仁多郡 Nita district 大馬木川 Omaki River

oni no shitaburui 鬼の舌震 shaking of the Demon's tongue



- quote -
A valley filled with massive, peculiarly-shaped rocks; a reminder of the primeval age
Oni No Shitaburui is a valley in the midstream of Omaki River.
You will never get tired watching the clear water flowing sometimes fast, sometimes slowly, between massive rocks. The valley is surrounded with abundant nature that looks different in different seasons. You can also enjoy the scenery on the walking path.

There is a legend explaining the origin of the name of the place.
Once upon a time, a small shark (wani ワニ) fell in love with a princess living in a village, and visited the village every day over the Sea of Japan. The princess felt sick of this and stemmed the water with a large rock to stop the shark, but the shark continued to admire the princess. It is said that the current name is a corruption of wani no shita buru (meaning the shark in love).

On both sides of the valley are steep cliffs, and the rows of massive, peculiarly-shaped rocks are a spectacular sight. There is a dam downstream, and you can enjoy fishing. The barrier-free walking path is suitable for wheelchairs and baby strollers. The Izumo area is a land of myths. Imagine the ancient days in the freely-growing trees forming a scene like a virgin forest of the primeval age.
- source : jnto.go.jp/eng/spot/natuscen -


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大原郡 Ohara district 阿用郷 （アヨ）Ayo village (now 大東町 Daito town)

This is maybe the oldest mention of an ONI in Japanese records.



Once upon a time
there lived a wild demon, who was very large and had only one eye. He appeared in the fields and when the farmers were busy, he took away their child and begun to eat it. The farmer and his wife hid in the bamboo forest in great fear and could not do anything to help. They trembled and the bamboo swayed, making quite a sound. When the child heard the sound, it begun to shout "
「アヨ、アヨ（動いたよ、動いたよ）」 Ayo! Ayo! (It's moving.)
This is how the region became its name.
- reference source : kotodama.日本伝.com -

This legend is mentioned in the Izumo Fudoki:
- quote -
the inhabitants of the Central Land who are not subjugated "ashiki," or evil gods. In Izumo fudoki, a one-eyed A appears in a reclaimed land in the community of Ayo of Izumo Province (present-day Shimane prefecture) and devours a man (Akimoto 238-39).
Komatsu Kazuhiko writes,
"People who had different customs or lived beyond the reach of the emperor's control" were considered some form of oni ("Supernatural Apparitions and Domestic Life in Japan" 3). This concept is actually not unique to Japan.
Targets of subjugation and different ethnic groups that do not assimilate the precepts of hegemonic authority are described as %, by the Han race even before the period of Six Dynasties (220-589) in China (Li 427). It is not certain, however, whether the character, was pronounced as oni or mono. Indeed, the character is rendered as mono in Man'yoshu (Ten Thousand Leaves, ca. eighth century).
There exists no definitive example of the term "on" in the ancient literature (Tsuchihashi 94-95).
- source : archive.org/stream/JapaneseDemonLore -


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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
- reference - 鬼　島根県　-

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. Onipedia - 鬼ペディア　- Oni Demons - ABC-List - .

. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .

. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk Art from Japan .

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