Nobusuma wild quilt squirrel bat

- Yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - ABC-Index -
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Nobusuma 野衾 (のぶすま）"wild quilt", "wild blanket"
Yokai squirrel, Yokai bat
Sometimes depicted as a flying squirrel, sometimes as a huge bat.

. musasabi むささび flying squirrel .
Riesenflughörnchen, Petaurista leucogenys
momonga ももんが small flying squirrel, Pteromys momonga

. koomori 蝙蝠 (こうもり) Komori bat, Fledermaus .



. . . . . fusuma - introduction . . . . .

fusuma 衾 (ふすま) a kind of down futon blanket / Daunendecke
... kakebusuma 掛衾（かけぶすま）blanket to cover you
... shikibusuma 敷衾（しきぶすま）blanket to lie on
furubusuma 古衾（ふるぶすま）old futon blanket
kamibusuma 紙衾 (かみぶすま) futon from paper, the inside is padded with cotton.
This was used by poor people, using old sliding doors from temples, which were discarded in late autumn.
... Tentokuji 天德寺（てんとくじ）"like in the tempel Tentoku-Ji"

- - - - - not to be mixed with the sliding doors :
fusuma　襖 (ふすま) sliding doors between the rooms,
fusu ma 臥す間, literally, a room (ma) to lie down (fusu), a bedroom.


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by Warriors Of Myth Wiki

- quote
Nobusuma are a type of animal-spirit from Japanese mythology and like most spirits classified as yokai they were once ordinary animals who, upon reaching a great age, were bestowed supernatural powers and new forms by which to live on as lesser deities and/or spirits that haunt the world.
Nobusuma,
despite appearing as flying squirrels, were original bats but tansformed into their current form upon becoming yokai and while primarily seed and fruit-eaters like common squirrels they have also developed unusual tastes for fire and blood.
As such the Nobusuma will attack and kill cats to drain their blood as well as other small animals, they will also ambush humans who are travelling at night and latch onto their faces, either biting and drinking the victim's blood much like vampires or trying to get them to drop their lanterns so they may consume the fire within.
Nobusuma,
while born of ancient bats, are simply the start of an even more frightening transformation and should Nobusuma reach an old age themselves they may change into either the Momonjii or the Yamachichi.
- source : villains.wikia.com/wiki/Nobusuma...



- quote -
. . . ALTERNATE NAME: tobikura (flying warehouse)
HABITAT:
forests and mountains
DIET:
primarily blood; also fire, nuts, fruit and berries
APPEARANCE:
A bat which lives to a very old age develops magical powers and changes into a yokai known as a nobusuma. They look almost identical to musasabi, or Japanese giant flying squirrels, although they are much more dangerous.
BEHAVIOR:
Nobusuma eat nuts, fruit, and berries, but also feed on fire, and by sucking blood from humans and small animals (such as cats). They attack travelers walking the roads at night. They swoop down from the trees onto the faces of their unsuspecting victims, latch on, and begin sucking blood. When they do not need to feed, they simply swoop down and blow out lanterns and torches, flying back up into the night sky with a creepy cry that goes, “gaa gaa!”
ORIGIN:
While nobusuma are born from long-lived bats, the transformation does not stop there.
Once a nobusuma reaches a very old age, it transforms again, either into a yamachichi or a momonjii.
This yokai should not be confused with the nobusuma (野襖) from Kochi prefecture, whose name is pronounced the same but is actually a variety of a different yokai called nurikabe.
- reference source : yokai.com/nobusuma... -



- source : Matt Alt - facebook -


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- by Luke Harrington on Twitter -


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no fuse ma　野伏魔　Nofusema
日本における想像上の動物。衾（ふすま）とは寝るときに体の上にかける夜具のことで、野衾とは現在で言うムササビのことだが、
現在知られる生態の他に、夜道を歩いている人を襲って松明を消したり（あるいはそこから発展して炎を食べるとされたり）、人や家畜を襲って血を吸うと考えられていた。
- reference source : myth.maji.asia... -

fusu ma 臥す間, literally, a room to lie down, a bedroom.

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


Tsukumogami Nobusuma ツクモガミ 野 衾

The folklorist 柳田國男 Yanagida Kunio wrote;
In Tokyo, Nobusuma is seen as a 鼯鼠 Momonga or 蝙蝠 Komori. In some regions of Japan it is just called 衾 Fusuma.
It sneaks up on a person and covers its eyes and mouth.

. Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 (1875 - 1962) .

- - - - -

Once a bicycle driver found a cat with a Nobusuma wound all around its body, lying by the roadside. He hit the Nobusuma with a stick and killed it. The cat lost one leg in the event.


............................................................................ Miyagi 宮城県

fusuma フスマ same as 野衾 Nobusuma
Is someone walks alone in the evening or at night, the Nobusuma appears like a wall in front of him, spreading in all directions, obstructing the way.
If a person keeps its cool, waits by the roadside and chews some tobacco, the Yokai will disappear.

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



Miyamoto Musashi and the Batlike Monster
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1867)

. 宮本武蔵 Miyamoto Musashi .
(1584 – 1645) - famous swordsman and samurai

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- Japanese reference - 野衾 -

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. - - - Join my Yokai friends on facebook ! - - - .

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- Yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - ABC-Index -

. yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters .
- Reference -

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


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

. Tengupedia - 天狗ペディア　- Tengu ABC-List .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #nobusumayokai -
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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Daija huge snake

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - ABC-Index -
.
. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .
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- daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake -

A huge snake demon monster. He often impersonates the ike no nushi 池の主 Master of the Pond
and asks for human sacrifices. Sometimes it is a female.
Sometimes a kappa in the form of a snake is seen as the "Master of the Pond" too.

. Legends about ike no nushi 池の主 と伝説 the Master of the Pond
Der Herr des Teiches .
- Introduction -



In the traditional Kagura dance, the serpent is called Orochi 大蛇 .
. Kagura Dance　神楽 .

Sometimes the Daija as a deity is venerated in rain rituals.
. amagoi　雨乞い rain rituals .

. Amulets with the Daija　大蛇のお守り　 .

. Benten to hebi 弁天と蛇伝説 Legends about Benten and serpents .

. Guchinawa (Kuchinawa) グチナワ huge white serpent .

.shirohebi / hakuja 白蛇と伝説 white serpents .

. nozuchi 野槌 tsuchinoko ツチノコ / 槌の子 "hammerspawn" snake .
shakuhachihebi 尺八蛇 Shakuhachi Serpent

A serpent may turn into a dragon . . .
. ryuu, ryū 龍　竜　伝説　Ryu - dragon legends .

. Silk - kinu - 絹 silkworms and Serpent legends .


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- quote -
Yamata no Orochi (ヤマタノオロチ) 八岐大蛇、八俣遠呂智、八俣遠呂知,
"8-branched giant snake") or Orochi (大蛇), is a legendary 8-headed and 8-tailed Japanese dragon.
Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The ca. 680 AD Kojiki transcribes this dragon name as 八岐遠呂智 and ca. 720 AD Nihongi writes it as 八岐大蛇. In both versions of the Orochi myth, the Shinto storm god Susanoo or Susa-no-Ō mo Mikoto is expelled from Heaven for tricking his sister Amaterasu the sun-goddess.
After expulsion from Heaven, Susanoo encounters two "Earthly Deities" (國神, kunitsukami) near the head of the Hi River (簸川), now called the Hii River (斐伊川), in Izumo Province. They are weeping because they were forced to give the Orochi one of their daughters every year for seven years, and now they must sacrifice their eighth, Kushi-inada-hime (櫛名田比売 "comb/wondrous rice-field princess", who Susanoo transforms into a kushi 櫛 "comb" for safekeeping). ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Yamata no orochi 山田の大蛇 huge monster serpent .
Legend from Tokyo, 練馬区 Nerima ward

. uwabami うわばみ / 蟒蛇 an old name for a very large serpent .
Sometimes seen as a Yokai monster.

- quote -
Susanoo (スサノオ, スサノヲ Susanowo　/ すさのお‐の‐みこと / 素戔嗚尊 / 須佐之男命)
is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics (both good and bad), being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.
Slaying the Yamata no Orochi
- source : wikipedia -

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a serpent to rub for making a wish 撫で白蛇
Hebikubo Daimyoojin 蛇窪大明神 Deity
. 上神明天祖神社 Kamishinmei Tenso Jinja 蛇窪神社 Shrine Hebikubo Jinja .

The shrine dated back to 1272, when Hojo Shiro and his son Tokichiyo, who developed the land in this area.
- source : kamishinmei-tensoshirine -

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


. - suijin 水神 water deity - .
Mizu no Kamisama 水の神様　God of Water
Water deity worshiped at sources of irrigation waterways, lakes, ponds, springs, and wells. The suijin has been represented in the form of a serpent, an eel, a fish, and a kappa or water sprite.
Women have played an important role in the history of suijin worship.

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. . . . . . . . . . Chiba 千葉県

養安寺村 Yoanji village

If someone walks around the pond seven times in deep prayer, he will be able to see the Master of the Pond. During the hottest days of the year (doyo 土用) the female Master 雌蛇 will go to the pond of the male master 雄蛇ヶ池 Ojaga Ike. During that time is will be possible to hear the female serpent.

. . . CLICK here for Photos of Ojaga-Ike !



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. . . . . . . . . . Ehime 愛媛県

.Enko Kappa and ドンコ Donko, Dark sleeper fish .



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. . . . . . . . . . Fukui 福井県
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坂口村 Sakaguchi village

Once upon a time an old man pleaded with the Master of the Pond 蛇ヶ池 Jaga-Ike during a long dry spell. He promised to give one of his daughters as a wife to the Daija if rain would fall.
Soon it rained and shortly after the Daija in the form of a young man came to get his bride, the youngest daughter.
She took a bag with needles with her. At the pond the man changed into the Daija and wanted to throw the girl in, but she stuck the needles into its body, so he jumped in surprize and both were not seen any more.
A few days later the house of the man burned down. Two large serpents had build a ring around the house and asked for water, but the villagers were too surprized and run away. The two serpents burned down with the house.



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. . . . . . . . . . Fukushima 福島県
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いわき市 Iwaki city 好間町 Yoshima town
. Zenwanbuchi 膳椀淵 "river pool for trays and bowls" .




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. . . . . . . . . . Gifu 岐阜県
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揖斐川町 Ibigawa

In the village of Anpachi lived the rich family of 安八太夫 Anpachi Daiyu.
One year during a severe drought, he prayed at the pond and promised one of his daughters if it would rain. Soon it rained and shortly after the Daija came to get the youngest daughter. She was now the wife of the Master of Yashagaike 夜叉が池.
Once she came back home to visit but when she took a nap during daytime she asked to keep the door shut and nobody come in while she slept. But when her mother came peeking she saw her daughter had changed into a Daija.
From that time on, she never came back to visit her family.

Now there is a festival to celebrate this legend.



夜叉姫伝説道中おまつり Festival for the Yasha Hime, Princess Yasha
- source : www.fmgifu.com/blog -

. Tokuyama Kaido 徳山街道 Tokuyama Highway .
and the yasha hebi 夜叉蛇 demon serpent


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Takayama, 吉城郡 Yoshiki

The serpent master of the pond Oonyuu ike 大丹生池 / (大丹生ヶ池)
. Legends about Master Carver Enku　円空と伝説　 .



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. . . . . . . . . . Gunma 群馬県

赤城村 Akagi village

Once upon a time a hunter was sharpening his arrows. A small serpent came along to watch. He wanted to chase it away and hit it with his arrow in the upper jaw. The monster fled to the pond and jumped in with a howl. The water produced a huge whirlwind. The neighbours came by to see what was happening. They found the Master of the Pond with its upper jaw smashed and quite dead in the water.

- - - - -

. Daija from みどり市 Midori city 笠懸町 Kasakake town .
- and her companion, kani カニ a crab.

. Daija from 榛名湖 Lake Harunako .
Many legends



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. . . . . . . . . . Hiroshima 広島県

mugiware daija 麦わら大蛇 the huge serpent made of wheat straw

This is not a story about the "Ike no Nushi", but about a serpent granting happiness to a young couple.

. mugiwara hebi 麦藁蛇 serpent made from straw .


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. . . . . . . . . . Ibaraki 茨城県

. legend from 久慈郡 Kuji district 大子町 Daigo .
The people living around the pond say the serpent was Yamanokami.

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稲敷郡 Inashiki district

Annaka Ike 安中池の主 The Master of Annaka Pond
In front of the school in Annaka there is a ond called Annaka Ike, where a huge serpent lived as the Master of the Pond.
On day when it rained a farmer passed by and needed to pee. When he walked back later he saw a beautiful lady by the pond. She asked him to see her home, so he did. There was another pond just a bit further down the road. When the two walked past it, the lady stopped and claimed she had now found her way. In departing she said: "Tomorrow there will be a loud thunder as a sign that I am home safely!"
The next day indeed there was a loud spell of thunder. The farmer was quite happy and he became a rich and benevolent person during his a long life.

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美浦村 Miho

Nobody had ever seen the serpent Master of the Pond.
Once a fisherman came by the pond and met a beautiful lady. He helped her get to the other side of the large lake in his boat. In departing the lady told him she was the Master of the Pond. She also said there would soon be a huge storm.
So he wanted to go back as fast as possible but the storm was faster and he had to stay in a small hut at the other side for a few days.



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. . . . . . . . . . Ishikawa 石川県

邑知郡 Ōchi, Ochi district

Once day the Master of the Pond lost the trust in her power to be the protector of the village.
She turned into a girl and left the village to live quietly in another pond.
When the villagers came to ask for a rain ritual ( amagoi 雨乞い) as usual during a drought, the deity told them that there was no Master of the Pond any mroe.

(A Daija in retirement . . . !)




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. . . . . . . . . . Kyoto 京都府

北区 Kita ward

Midorogaike 深泥池 / Mizorogaike 深沢池 / 深泥ケ池
The Master of Midoro-ga-Ike is a huge serpent, so thick that a man could not grab it around with two arms. Farmers were not allowed to touch the water, lest they would be destroyed by a curse.



Once
a young man passed by and saw a huge log lying straight across the road. He wanted to kick the log away, but it began to move all by itself and slipped into the water. The young man now realized this was the Master of the Pond and began to fear for his life.

Once
there was a plan to dry out the ponds for land reclamation, but all the officials of the Kyoto government in charge of this plan died, one after the other.

The Tomita Hospital 富田病院
was built at the North side of the pond. The Master of the Pond used the gatekeeper as his medium, claiming since his home was not destroyed they should build a small 祠 sanctuary and venerate him there.
They did so for two or three years, but then the rituals at the sanctuary were stopped, it was all declared as superstition by the manager.
Well, very soon after this, the two sons of this manager died.
- HP of the Tomita hospital -


- quote -
The Fours Seasons in Kyoto
The Kyoto Valley was formed and built up by sedimentary deposits carried from the nearby mountains. The ponds “Shinsenen” and “Midorogaike” still remain in Kyoto as evidence of the ancient lakes that were filled by rain washed mountain sediments.
This “ancient lake” area is the reason for the many springs that help create an extremely humid environment. These unique characteristics make Kyoto a place of outstanding natural beauty with tremendous seasonal changes. ”Chilled to the Bone in the Winter”, the “Heat and Humidity of Summer” in contrast to the “Mild Spring and Fall”.
- source : www.kashifuji.co.jp -

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. Yamanokami no daija 山の神の大蛇 great serpent of Yamanokami .
6-1 Koyamanakajimacho, Yamashina Ward, Kyoto,




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. . . . . . . . . . Miyazaki 宮崎県

. Daija in a valley of 日州飫肥 Obi .



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. . . . . . . . . . Nagasaki 長崎県

外海町 Sotome

The Master of the Pond of 鏡ヶ池 Kagamigaike on the island 池島 Ikeshima is said to be a bull. Therefore no bulls are kept on the island.
Other legends say it is a Daija, a girl that was once the daughter of a rice merchant from Higo 肥後の米屋.
. Ryugaike, Tatsugaike 竜が池 / "Dragon Pond" legends .



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. . . . . . . . . . Nagano 長野県

. Daija and Yamanokami 山の神 .

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Daija is one of the "seven wonders of Shikao Onsen 鹿塩温泉 Hot Spring"

At the pond Komagaike 駒ヶ池 the master is a Daija.
It used to lend trays and bowls to the villagers.

. zenwan 膳椀 trays and bowls for village festivals .
One common theme is the master of the pond providing trays and bowls 膳椀 for the village festivals.

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jayanagi (hebi yanagi) 蛇柳 the "serpent willow tree" ,Snake Willow
Once
there came a samurai and tried to expel the Daija of the pond.
When he saw a young woman near the pond, he killed her with his sword. The body of the woman vanished in the sky, but on the next day he saw he had cut off the branch of a willow tree by the pond. To confuse the samurai, the Master of the Pond might have taken the form of a willow tree.

Jayanagi
is also the title a famous Kabuki play: Snake Willow.
But this is related to a story from Koyasan and Kobo Daishi.


by 歌川豊国 Utagawa Toyokuni

. reference : jayanagi -

. yanagi 柳 willow tree - Introduction .

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長和町 Nagawa

大蛇がおこした大水 The Daija that caused a flooding
Once upon a time
two hunters came to the Honzawa gorge 本沢渓谷.
At the riverbank they saw a huge serpent. The younger hunter became quite scared, and despite the warning of his older companion shot the snake in its head. But the snake did not die, it just jumped into the air and became invisible. How much they looked, not a trace of the snake was to be found.
Then suddenly a thick fog rose from the river and the sky turned all black. For three days it rained constantly and the villages near the river were flooded and suffered great damage. After five days the weather finally changed and the sun came out again.
One of the villagers told about a snake he had seen flowing by in the river. This must have been the Master of the Pond 赤沼の池 Akanuma no Ike.

赤沼池, now 女神湖 or 夜の池
and a Kappa legend 赤沼の河童
- source : www.miyagaku.sakura.ne.jp -

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平谷村 Hiraya

Once a farmer was cutting weeds near the pond, when a beautiful lady appeared and told him she was the Master of the Pond. After that the water in the pond never dried out, even in a drought.
A few years later when he came again to cut weeds he observed some large waves heading North. The Master had left the pond to live in a different river.



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. . . . . . . . . . Nara 奈良県

. LINK BIG font .
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五條市 Gojo

Himetani Ike 姫谷池
Once a girl from the village went to the Himetani Pond to do her washing. At the bank she found a nice hair pin and picked it up. When she tried to stick it into her hair, it turned into a huge serpent, which swallowed the girl.
When she did not come home that night, her parents got worried and went looking, but found only her wooden sandals and the washing on the bank. Now they new the Master of the Pond 大蛇 had gotten her. So they erected a stone memorial in her honor . . . and since then the name of the pond became "Princess Valley Pond".


Even now it is an eerie, gloomy pond.

- and

amagoi 雨乞 praying for rain
The farmers make a huge serpent with straw from wheat (mugiwara 麦藁) and throw it into the 三ツ沢池 Mitsuzawa pond. When they throw in a serpent made of straw, the real Daiji will know that it has now to come out and provide rain for the parched fields.

. mugiwara hebi 麦藁蛇 serpent made from straw .
. daija from 竜泉寺 Temple Ryusen-Ji .



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. . . . . . . . . . Niigata 新潟県

赤塚村 Akazuka

. The master of the pond Akazu no Ike 明かずの池 .
(maybe a red bull 赤牛)

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荒川町 Arakawa

Once the Daija wanted to become a human, went to a nearby temple and prayed for 100 days, when she turned into a woman. Buddha 大日如来 Dainichi Nyorai helped her into the world of humans and found her a husband. When she was pregnant and ready to give birth, someone saw her real figure and she had to become a daija again.

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畑野町 Hatano

The Master of the Pond 尼池 Amaike (Pond of the Nun) was a Daija. He had fallen in love with a nun and jumped into the pond.



Another legend
tells about a sudden flooding in the region, when a nearby Buddhist nunnery (amadera 尼寺) was lost in the waters of the pond.

The name of the pond is now どんち池 Donchi Ike.

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佐和田町 Sawada Sado Island

At the temple 長福寺 Chofuku-Ji a girl named O-Towa worked in the kitchen and one day went to the deep mountain to find some butterbur 蕗, but she got some mud on her undergarment 腰巻. So she went to the pont to wash it. There the Master of the Pond, a 大蛇 huge serpent showed up and told her that it was a custom that anybody who washed her undergarments in the pond had to become his wife within three days, so he would come and get her.
Back home O-Towa became ill and stayed in bed. But three days later the Serpent appeared and threatened to bring great flooding if the girl would not come out. So she became his wife.
A few days later a small island appeared in the pond as a proof that O-Towa had found her home in the pond. The pond was now named after her, Otowa-ike おとわ池 / 乙和池. Every year on the 23rd day of the 6th lunar month the villagers come to the pond and make offerings.




- - - - - Another version of the legend:
- quote -
In the middle of the pool is the largest floating island on high marshy wetlands in Japan. Over 200 species of vegetation grow luxuriantly round about and the whole area is shrouded in a strange mysterious atmosphere.

There is a legend about how the pool got came to get its name.
According to the legend a beautiful maiden came one day to the Nagafuku-Ji Temple at the foot of the mountain and asked to stay there. The high priest feeling sorry for the girl agreed to let her stay. The girl said nothing about where she came from only that her name was “Otowa .” One year after the rice-planting was finished Otowa who had come to pick the sprouting grass found herself too close to the mountain which was forbidden to women and as she was running downhill in a panic she came to a little pool.

Here she washed the hem of her underskirt in the water and the lord of the pool fell in love with her. At that moment in a flash the pool grew much bigger leaving only the place where Otowa was standing as a sort of floating island and the lord of the pool a huge snake appeared and told Otowa to stay here so that she could become the mistress of the pool and take charge of it instead of him.

Otowa wept and pleaded so much that she was allowed to go home but three days later she heard the voice of the lord of the pool calling her name and at this she at last made up her mind to become the mistress of the pool.

As she was making her way to the mountain in a box the sound of hoofs could be heard in the distance and the next instant a prince galloped up on a white horse and setting Otowa in front of him they both disappeared in a haze.
The prince on the white horse was the snake-lord of the pool. For seven days after this day the mountain was wrapped in dew and on the seventh day the dew turned to a downpour and heaven and earth drew dark.
The people of the village believe that this rain meant that the lord of the pool had gone to heaven and that Otowa had become the mistress of the pool in his place. Even nowadays on July 23rd the anniversary of Otowa's death the “Otowaike Pool Festival” is held to pacify Otowa's spirit.
- source : visitsado.com/en -


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上越市 Joetsu

Near the pond タナの池 Take no Ike a man from the 小林家 Kobayashi family walked past, when he met a beautiful woman. Well . . they got married and when the first child was to be born, he saw to his horror many snakes in the maternity room of his wife. So the wife vanished, leaving a stick 杖一本 with the order to hit the lake if the child would cry. When the child grew up and cried one day, it hit the water and a huge snake pulled it into the water. From that time on, only the Kobayashi family became rich and prosperous.
To our day this lake never freezes in winter.



Kamoonoike 蒲生の池 Kamo-no-Ike

Nonomi-Ike 野々海池 Nonomi Pond
From Gamo Village you have to cross a pass to reach Nonomi-Ike, where a Serpent was living as the Protector of the Mountain and protect the village from drought or too much rain.
The son of the Master of the Pond 蒲生の池 Kamo-no-Ike wanted the beautiful daughter of this serpent as his wife and asked the Master of Hanage-no-Ike 鼻毛の池 to be the middleman for the wedding.
But the Master of Nonomi-Ike did not want to give his daughter to such a dirty pond and refused. The master of Kamo-no-Ike and the middleman from Hanage-no-Ike became angry, changed into young ladies and borrowed swords from the villagers. Finally they killed the Master of Nonomi-Ike. His blood flew down the river 保倉川 Hokuragawa and all the bamboo near the riverside was soon colored in red.
From this day on, the bamboo of the riverside shows the strange pattern of a serpent.

- source : www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp -


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. . . . . . . . . . Okayama 岡山県

. ヤマガミ Yamagami .
from 都窪郡 Tsukubo district, 庄村 Shomura village.



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. . . . . . . . . . Shiga 滋賀県

醒ケ井村 Samegai

Once there lived a beautiful girl named O-Tora お寅 in the castle town of Hikone 彦根.
But the Master of the Pond emptied all the water and pulled the girl in.
From that day on, there was always water in the pond, even during a drought.



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. . . . . . . . . . Shizuoka 静岡県

松崎町 Matsuzaki

The Master of the Pond アゾノヤマの池 Azonoyama no Ike.

- - - - - and many more
静岡県の竜蛇 - Dragon and snake legends from Shizuoka to explore *
- source : hunterslog.net/dragonology -



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. . . . . . . . . . Tochigi 栃木県

. Mizu no Kami 水の神 and Iwadakemaru 岩嶽丸 .

. Daija 大蛇 and Shakuhachi 尺八 flute .



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. . . . . . . . . . Tokyo 東京


This ema 絵馬 votive tablet is sold well especially during the New Year holidays:

. Shrine Okusawa Jinja 奥澤神社 - Setagaya .
Okusawa shrine is famed for that 150kg, nine-metre-long daija, or shrine snake, draped over the torii gate at the entrance, which is often mistakenly referred to as a dragon.

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Asakusa Kannon densetsu 浅草観音伝説 Legends

. ubagaike 姥ヶ池 the pond of the old woman .

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中野区中央 Nakano ward, Chuo district

. Serpent bones at 豊仙寺 / 宝仙寺 Hosen-Ji .



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. . . . . . . . . . Tottori 鳥取県

気高町 Ketaka

The pond 日光池 Nikko Ike had been dried out and reformed to new fields. During the works the Daija got caught by the villagers. Since it was the Master of the Pond, they built the shrine 杉谷神社 Sugitani Jinja in its honor.




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. . . . . . . . . . Toyama 富山県

. saotome 早乙女と伝説 Legends about women planting rice .



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. . . . . . . . . . Wakayama 和歌山県

. taki no nushi 滝の主 Master of the Waterfall .
s a huge serpent and also an unagi 鰻 eel. And does not like umeboshi 梅干 dried pickled plums.



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. . . . . . . . . . Yamagata 山形県

. The village of Kaison in the Oshu Okitama district 羽州置賜郡開村 .



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. . . . . . . . . . Yamaguchi 山口県

平郡島 Heigunto Island

At the pond of the Kumage peninsula (熊毛半島, also 室津半島) the Master is a huge serpent. During the time of the Genpei war 源平の合戦 between the Minamoto and the Taira from 1180 to 1185 many swords fell into this pond. Since there was so much metal, the Master of the Pond could not live there any more, because he disliked metal. Therefore he moved to the
Serpent Pond 蛇の池 at Heigun .
If people try to throw metal things into this pond, it will be back at the bank by next morning.



Once
the Master of the Pond took on the figure of a girl and asked a fisherman to take her to the other side. Over there she told him "As an expression of my gratitude I allow you to put your nets into the pond just once!"
When he did so, it was a very rich catch indeed.
So he became greedy and threw his net in again. But this time all he caught was a serpent and no fish at all.


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- reference - yokai database -
there are 976 entries for the "huge serpent" 大蛇 from all the prefectures !
- reference - www.nichibun.ac.jp -


. Legends about ike no nushi 池の主 と伝説 the Master of the Pond .
- Introduction -

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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

. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .


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

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #kappaikenonushi #masterofthepond #ikenonushi #daija #kappadaija #orochi #uwabami -
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horse uma

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - animals -
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- horse 駒 koma / 馬 . 午 uma -

komahiki 駒引き / 河童駒引 Kappa the “horse puller”

【河童駒引き(かっぱこまひき)】Kappa Komahiki 《｢日本昔話事典｣稲田浩ニ他》
【民俗学=河童駒引(かっぱこまひき)】Kappa Komahiki 《｢柳田國男全集=山島民譚集｣柳田國男》
【民俗学=河童駒引考】 石田英一郎著 副題「比較民族学的研究」　　



saru hiki koma 猿曳駒 monkey (kappa) leading a horse
which is in fact a kappa leading the horse in the Tono Monogatari
from Tono Hayachine Jinja 遠野早池峰神社
- source : dostoev.exblog.jp


- quote
Monkey “Protector of the Horse”
Another striking overlap between Monkey and Kappa lore is the horse.
In Chinese tradition, the monkey is often shown riding the horse. This symbolism too stems from the classic Chinese story Journey to the West (Saiyuki), in which the Jade Emperor appoints the Monkey to the post of “Protector of Horses.”
The horse also appears quite regularly in Kappa mythology. Dozens of stories tell of the Kappa trying to drag a horse into the river, failing, then getting caught by the horse’s owner, and forced to promise to never again harm the horses of the village. In this roundabout fashion, might we not call the Kappa a “guardian deity” of the horse?
... here also discusses the serial stories called Kappa Heaven, which ran from Showa 28 to Showa 33 in the weekly Asahi Shukan. 実はそれ「清水崑 (Shimizu Kon ) manga aratist, wrote about the Kappa 漫画家が書いた「かっぱ天国
（昭和28年～33年まで『週刊朝日』にて連載）」の河童なんです。
See Ishida Eiichiro’s “The Kappa Legend” for details on the Kappa’s strong link to horses.
- source : Mark Schumacher


- quote
. . . The Kappa’s peculiar behavior of dragging horses into the water is also observed in northwestern European folklore, particularly Finland. In Finnish folklore, the horse-shaped water spirit Näkki resides in rivers and lakes, enticing children and horses to their watery deaths with its shape-shifting capabilities.
“It may also assume the appearance of a tree that has fallen into the water, and as soon as someone climbs on it, it disappears under water, carrying the person with it” (Ishida and Yoshida 1950, 29).
. . . In Greek mythology, the god of the sea,Poseidon, was also credited with fathering the first and many other extraordinary horses. In order to breed divine stallions, pasturing land was often placed near water, thus illuminating the Kappa’s penchant for drowning horses.
- source : Ken Lim


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- quote
Bon sugi medochi dan　盆過ぎメドチ談
After the Bon Festivities: Tales of Medochi [Kappa]
Yanagita Kunio 柳田 国男

"In this reason, such instances as the kappa festival in Tosa when horses are tethered to stakes by the waterside may probably be considered as a sort of an old-age pension paid to the mixuchi (mizushi), and such place-names as
Senzoku-no-ike (” Feet-washing pond “) and
Uma-arai-buchi (” Horse-washing pool “), as well as the name
Koma-tsunagi-no matsu (”Horse-tethering pine “),
- - - 洗足の池　／馬荒い淵　／　駒繋ぎの松 - - -

given to certain pine trees in all parts of our country and the reason for which has so far remained unknown, are most likely the relics of yearly rites held in ancient times at which horses were offered to the water-god, and which in course of time came to be regarded by the agricultural population simply as a means of safeguarding their horses from evil throughout the year, the origin of the practice becoming completely forgotten. The custom, however, of offering the heads of oxen and horses to the water-god to pray for rain was long preserved.”

. Medochi　メドチ，　めどち Medochi Kappa variations .

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- Legends -

. - Kappa no kizugusuri カッパのきず薬 / 河童の傷薬
Kappa makes an ointment for wounds - .

. . . One day Morikiyo was crossing a river on horseback, when his horse suddenly stopped.
When he looked down he saw a long yellowish arm reaching out of the water and grab one leg of his horse. When the creature did not let go after he shouted at it, he took his sword and cut the arm off. . . .


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koke　苔 moss

If horses eat a bit from the moss growing on the grave of Lord Ozumi 大積隆鎮 of Fukushima, a Kappa will not be able to pull them into water.
. Kappa legends from Fukushima .


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. . . CLICK here for Photos - 河童駒引 !

- reference -


. WKD - Horse, Pony (uma 馬, ポニー) .
- Introduction -

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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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 .

- #kappahorse #horse-
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monkey enko

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - animals -
. saru 猿と伝説 Legends about monkeys - Affen .
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- monkey - enkoo, enkō 猿猴 / 猿　saru -

- - - - - monkey-related names of the 河童 kappa 猿猴系

honkoo ホンコウ Honko
yunkosan ユンコサン
engozaru 、エンゴザル
Kawazaru, kawa no saru 川猿 "river monkey"



CLICK for more photos of the kawazaru !

Some monsters have a body of mixed animals, only with the head of a monkey.

One theory about the evolvement of the Kappa:

from a suiko and monkey スイコ×サルの系統


. Different types of Kappa .

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Lafcadio Hearn calls the kappa the "ape of the waters"
source :　books.google.co.jp
Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, Volume 2



. - Tanushimaru 田主丸 Fukuoka - . 　
猿猴河童 Enko Kappa and Son Goku 孫悟空, the Monkey King from Saiyuki 西遊記 - the Travel to India via China
the 九千坊 Kyusenbo clan in Kyushu and how it was defeated by a monkey army
(Monkeys can see a kappa, even if he is invisible to the human eye).


. bamboo shoots 筍 / 竹の子 伝説　takenoko densetsu and Kappa Legends .

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Let us live together in peace ! 平和に暮らそう
- source : blue-bee.blog

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- quote
Some say the Kappa descended from Chinese monkeys, most notably the writer Yanagida Kunio (1875-1962), the author of Tono Monogatari 遠野物語 (Legends of Tono). Yanagida is considered by most to be the father of Japanese folklore study, so his opinion carries weight. When comparing the different names used by different localities to describe the Kappa (e.g., Kawataroo, Gataroo, Kawako), Yanagida discovered that some areas in Japan refer to the Kappa as Enkō 猿猴 (also spelled Enko), the term for “monkey.” Enkō appears in a famous Buddhist parable from China called Yuanhou Zhuyue (Japanese = Enkō Sokugetsu 猿猴捉月). In this famous story, a group of monkeys attempt to catch the moon’s reflection, but all are drowned in the effort.

- The Enkō Sokugetsu Story as Quoted by JAANUS -
One night a monkey chieftain saw the bright reflection of the moon in the water below his tree. Thinking that the moon had died and fallen into the water, and fearing that the world would thus slip into darkness, the monkey called together his underlings and commanded them to join tails and together pull the moon out of the water. However, when the monkeys attempted this task, their combined weight was too great, the branch broke, and they fell into the water and drowned. One simple moral of the story is not to recklessly attempt impossible tasks. On a more philosophical level, the image of the monkey attempting to grasp a reflection of the moon is a metaphor for the unenlightened mind deluded by mere appearances. The theme was often depicted in ink painting, usually featuring long-armed spider monkeys.
The screen paintings by Shikibu 式部 (16c; Kyoto National Museum) and Hasegawa Touhaku 長谷川等伯 (1539-1610; screen painting at Konchiin 金地院, Kyoto), are representative.
- end JAANUS quote -



enkōzu 猿猴図 monkey reaching for the moon

There are many more indications of the monkey connection.
In Tono Town itself, the Sarukaishi River (literally “Monkey Stone River”) flows through the town’s southern section.
In Geishu City, Hiroshima Prefecture, the locals say a monster named Kawazaru 川猿  (lit. River Monkey) lives in the waters there, attacking both men and animals. The monster is said to possess the power of 100 men, but its power evaporates if the water atop its saucer-like head is spilled.
- source : Mark Schumacher




Hasegawa Tōhaku 長谷川等伯 Hasegawa Tohaku (1539 - 1610) painter
and a deforme of his famous monkey


source :　ニヤッとする話
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. hyoosubo ヒョウスボ カッパ /兵主坊 Hyosubo Kappa .

- - - - - Miyasaki prefecture 宮崎県

If you hang the arm of a monkey in the horse barn, it will prevent the Hyosubo from coming in. The monkey is stronger than the kappa Yosubo, even in water. Hyosubo usually come at night to pester the horses. When a horse has been exposed to this, it will be all over in sweat the next morning and not come to rest any more.
- source : nichibun.ac.jp


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saru hiki koma 猿曳駒 monkey (kappa) leading a horse
which is in fact a kappa leading the horse in the Tono Monogatari
from Tono Hayachine Jinja 遠野早池峰神社
- source : dostoev.exblog.jp

. - Tono Monogatari 遠野物語 Legends of Tono, Iwate - .


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. - Genta and the Kappa 　源太様 と河童 - .
Saga prefecture 佐賀県

. . . . . The horrid monster had a turtle’s shell and beak, a monkey’s face and the arms and legs of a frog His servant seemed to be under the monster’s spell and was pouring water into a depression on its head. The more water the servant poured in, the stronger the kappa became.

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. . . CLICK here for Photos - kawazaru !

- reference kawzaru -




© PHOTO :　だるまさん色々


. Monkey and Daruma - Monkey as a kigo for haiku .
- Introduction -

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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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 .

. saru 猿と伝説 Legends about monkeys - Affen .

- #kappamonkey #enko #kappaenko #sarumonkey -
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Otter kawauso

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Animals -
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- Otter, river otter 獺魚 kawauso -

- quote
Otter is a common name for a carnivorous mammal in subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates.



In Japanese, they are called "kawauso" (獺、川獺).
In Japanese folklore, they fool humans like the fox (kitsune) and tanuki. In the Noto region, Ishikawa Prefecture, there are stories where they shapeshift into beautiful women or children wearing checker-patterned clothing, and if a human attempts to speak to one, they will answer "oraya" and then answer "araya," and if anybody asks them anything, then they say cryptic things like "kawai," and there are also dreadful stories like the one in the Kaga Province (now Ishikawa Prefecture) where an otter that lives in the castle's moat would shapeshift into a woman, invite males, and eat and kill them.

In the kaidan, essays, and legends of the Edo period like the "Urami Kanawa" (裏見寒話), "Taihei Hyaku Monogatari" (太平百物語), and the "Shifu Goroku" (四不語録), there are tales about strange occurrences like otters that shapeshift into beautiful women and kill men.

In the town of Numatachi, Asa District, Hiroshima Prefecture (now Hiroshima), they are called "tomo no kawauso" (伴のカワウソ) and "ato no kawauso" (阿戸のカワウソ), and it is said that they would shapeshift into monks and appear before passers-by, and if the passer-by tries to get close and look up, its height would steadily increase until it became a large monk.

In the Tsugaru region, Aomori Prefecture, they are said to possess humans, and it is said that those possessed by otters would lose their stamina as if their soul has been extracted. They are also said to shapeshift into severed heads and get caught in fishing nets.

In the Kashima District and the Hakui District in Ishikawa Prefecture, they are seen as a yōkai under the name kabuso or kawaso, and they perform pranks like extinguishing the fire of the paper lanterns of people who walk on roads at night, shapeshift into a beautiful woman of 18–19 years of age and fool people, or fool people and make them try to engage in sumo against a rock or a tree stump. It is said that they speak human words, and sometimes people would be called and stop while walking on roads.

In an Ainu folktale, in Urashibetsu (in Abashiri, Hokkaido), there are stories where monster otters would shapeshift into humans, go into homes where there were beautiful girls, and try to kill the girl and make her its wife.



In the Ishikawa and Kochi Prefectures, they are also said to be a type of kappa, and there are stories told about how they engage in sumo with other otters.
In places like the Hokuriku region, Kii, and Shikoku, the otters themselves are seen as a type of kappa.
In the Kagakushū, a dictionary from the Muromachi period, an otter that grew old becomes a kappa.
- source : wikipedia

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- quote -
Kawauso
TRANSLATION: river otter
HABITAT: rivers, wetlands, freshwater bodies
DIET: carnivorous; feeds on fish and small animals, with a fondness for sake



APPEARANCE:
River otters can be found in the wilds all over Japan. They are under a meter in total length, and well-loved for their shy, playful nature and cute faces.
BEHAVIOR:
As with most wild animals in Japan, kawauso develop magical powers upon reaching old age. They are particularly skilled at shape-changing and accurately copying sounds. They love alcohol, and are usually only seen in human areas when trying to acquire sake. They are playful yokai, well known for tricks and mischief, but very rarely dangerous.
INTERACTIONS:
Kawauso are fond of playing pranks on humans, especially by mimicking sounds and words. They enjoy calling out human names or random words at strangers walking in the street and watching their confused reactions. They are fond of magically snuffing out lanterns in the night and leaving travelers stranded in the dark. Others transform into beautiful young women and try to seduce young men, and then run away laughing.
Occasionally
kawauso do commit more violent deeds. In a few instances near castles in Ishikawa, a kawauso dressed up as beautiful young woman was found luring men to the water’s edge in order to catch and eat them, discarding the half-eaten bodies into the moat.
OTHER FORMS:
A Kawauso’s favorite disguise is the form of a young beggar child wearing a big straw hat. They use this child form to sneak into towns and try to buy alcohol from shops. The ruse often falls apart when the disguised creature is asked who it is, or where it came from. Caught off-guard, it simply repeats the last word spoken to it, or makes funny nonsensical noises, ruining its disguise and giving away its supernatural nature.
- source : yokai.com/kawauso -

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. Shibaten しばてん / 芝天 otter and Kappa from Tosa - Kochi .
- Introduction -



. kawauso uo o matsuru 獺魚を祭る otter festival . 　
oso no matsuri 獺の祭 / dassai 獺祭
kigo for early spring 　

. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .
- Introduction -

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


.......................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県 ......................................
松山市 Matsuyama city

. An otter at 六角堂 the Rokkakudo Temple Hall .




.......................................................................... Kanagawa 神奈川県 ......................................
津久井郡 Tsukui district

. Tengoosama テンゴーサマ Tengu or River Otter ? .


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -
135 カワウソ to explore

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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .

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. - suijin 水神 water deity - . 　　

. 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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