Pokemon

- Yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - ABC-Index -
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Pokemon ポケモン Pocket Monsters

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Pokémon (an abbreviation for Pocket Monsters in Japan)
is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a company founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.
The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996, and is centered on fictional creatures called "Pokémon".
In Pokémon, humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train Pokémon to battle other Pokémon for sport. All media works within the franchise are set in the Pokémon universe. The English slogan for the franchise is "Gotta Catch ‘Em All!".
There are currently 905 Pokémon species.
The franchise began as Pocket Monsters: Red and Green (later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue), a pair of video games for the original Game Boy handheld system that were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo in February 1996.
It soon became a media mix franchise adapted into various different media. Pokémon is estimated to be the highest-grossing media franchise of all time. The Pokémon video game series is the fourth best-selling video game franchise of all time with more than 380 million copies sold and one billion mobile downloads.
The Pokémon video game series spawned an anime television series that has become the most successful video game adaptation of all time with over 20 seasons and 1,000 episodes in 183 countries. The Pokémon Trading Card Game is the highest-selling trading card game of all time with over 34.1 billion cards sold.
In addition, the Pokémon franchise includes the world's top-selling toy brand, an anime film series, a live-action film (Detective Pikachu), books, manga comics, music, merchandise, and a temporary theme park. The franchise is also represented in other Nintendo media, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, where various Pokémon characters are playable.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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-source : M.Lucero -
Yokai: The Folklore Roots of Pokémon

Kappa - Lombre

Tengu - Shiftry
Kotengu - Nuzleaf
Futakuchi Onna - Mawile
Kyubi no Kitsune fox - Ninetales
Amikiri to cut nets - Gligar
Sazae Oni - Slowbro / sazae snail (Turbo cornutus)
Baku - Drowzee
Jinmenju, or ninmenju - Exeggutor
Yamanba, Yamamba - Jynx
Nekomata cat - Espeon
Kamaitachi, Kama Itachi “sickle weasel" - Sneasel
Chochin Obake - Dusclops
Kirin - Suicune
Yuki warashi, Yukinbo - Snorunt
Hakutaku - Absol
Ho-O, hō-ō, hōō - Ho-Oh
Tsuchinoko - Dunsparce
Tatsu (Dragon) - Rayquaza
Wani (dragon-like monster) - Gyarados
Basan (chicken) - Magmar
Tanuki (badger) - Zigzagoon
Ungaikyo 雲外鏡　(mirror) - Bronzor
Yuki onna (snow woman) - Froslass
Fujin (God of Wind) - Tornadus
Raijin (God of Thunder) - Thundurus
Sogenbi (fire head) - Gastly

Matthew Meyer’s own website, - yokai.com -
is a highly-recommended, thoroughly-researched guide to the monsters, ghosts, and creatures of Japanese folklore.
His images are with permission of the artist.

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Jinmenju じんめんじゅ　– The Human Face Tree

This tree is found in mountain valleys. The fruit of the tree looks like a human head. It doesn’t say a word, but it is constantly laughing. It is said that if the fruit laughs too heartily, it falls from the tree.
According to the Edo period Hyakka Jiten encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue (和漢三才図会;
A Collection of Pictures of Heaven, Earth, and Man from China and Japan),
the Jinmenju trees are found in the south, and the fruit of the tree is called the jinmenshi, or human-faced child. They ripen in the fall, and if you eat the fruit they have a sweet/sour taste. It is said that the Jinmenju seed also has a human face, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It is possible that the trees were all eaten and it is why we don’t see them today.
In the past however, it was said that people planted great orchards of the laughing Jinmenju. That must have been a beautiful sight.
The legend of the Jinmenju comes from China, and was passed onto Japan where it was considered to be a yokai due to its peculiar nature. There are also stories of trees bearing human-faced fruit from India and Persia, usually with the faces of beautiful girls. Even now, when you walk through the forest you can see trees whose roots bear a resemblance to human and yokai faces.
- source : facebook Japanese.Ghosts ... -

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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 .

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- ##pokemon #pocketmonster #monster #yokai -
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Takabozu yokai monster Shikoku

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Takaboozu 高坊主 Takabozu yokai (Large Priest)
Takataka Bozu タカタカ坊主


source : youkai.tou3.com

Takabozu is a Yokai.
It has the figure of a very large monk and appears on crossroads and in the mountains, to take people by surprise.
Kurobozu　黒坊主 is also used as an alternate name for other yokai like the Umibozu and Takabozu.

. umibōzu 海坊主 Umibozu, "sea monk", "sea bonze" .

Takabozu Daimyojin 高坊主 大明神

In some regions he is also called Takanyuudoo 高入道 Takanyudo, Taka-Nyudo

source : たかにゅうどう...

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Kuro Boozu 黒坊主 Kuro-Bozu, Kurobozu, Black Monk Yokai
APPEARANCE:
A kuro bōzu is a dark, shadowy yokai which looks somewhat like a bald-headed Buddhist monk—however, its exact appearance is vague and difficult to make out. It’s entire body is black, and it wears black robes. Its face has somewhat bestial features. It has a long tongue, and it reeks of rotting fish. Its hands and feet are said to be indiscernible. It can change its height rapidly, becoming a towering monster in an instant. It is extremely fast, and can run as fast as if it were flying.
source : yokai.com/kurobouzu...

source : cromagnon.jp/gallery/kurobouzu...


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

............................................................................ Ehime 愛媛県

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Ehime 北条市 Hojo city

source : daitoshijonawate.goguynet.jp...
Takataka boozu タカタカ坊主 Takataka Bozu Tanuki
. kawauso 獺魚 / カワウソ river otter .
A kawauso カワウソ otter liked to shapeshift into a Nobiagari monster or a タカタカ坊主 Takataka Bozu.
One lived in 横谷 Yokodani became ever larger if people looked up to him, but when they looked down at him, he shrank and disappeared.
The Takabozu from 丹原町 Tanbara town appeared on lonely evenings.
The Takabozu from 魚島村 Uoshima village and 重信町 Shigenobu town was really very small, 小坊主. When people looked at him, he grew large but soon disappeared.

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The Nobiagari (のびあがり, ノビアガリ, Nobiagari)
is a yōkai that can take many forms, most commonly in that of a priest or a living shadow.
The Nobiagari is known for creeping up behind people and, as soon as they turn around, growing quickly to a great height. This usually causes the person to look up too high and therefore fall over.
Although the Nobiagari is mostly harmless and does this as a prank, some may take this opportunity to attack the victim's neck.
- source : yokai.fandom.com/wiki... -

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Ehime 松山市 Matsuyama city

. Hōkigami 箒神 Hokigami, Legends about the Broom Deity .
Takabozu comes instead of Hokigami to help with a birth.

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Until about 30 years ago in a place named 草場 Kusaba, children were told never to go playing there, since 高坊主 a Takabozu lived there.

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Ehime 越智郡 Ochi district 宮窪町 Miyakubo town

In 友浦 Tomoura a 高坊主 Takabozu appears sometimes.

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Ehime 越智郡 Ochi district 玉川町 Tamagawa town

Around 1870 there was 高坊主 a Takabozu, who scared the people on the road. If they gave him some food, he disappared.
This place is also called ウト Uto.

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Ehime 温泉郡 Onsen district 重信町 Shigenobu town

A man walked along a narrow path in a bamboo brove, Suddenly a young priest in white robes appeared. He grew bigger and bigger and eventually disappeared in the sky.

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A 高坊主 Takabozu appeared along the river 重信川 Shigenobugawa.
A man saw him from afar, stopped walking and closed his eyes. But he became curious and peeked a bit.
Every time he opened his eyes a bit, the person became bigger. When he was close to the river, the Takabozu changed into a kawauso カワウソ otter and disappeared.

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Ehime 東温市 Toon city

Shrine 飛梅天神社 Hibaiten jinja
In the bamboo grove of this shrine there is a small path, where sometimes the features of a young man (a 高坊主 Takabozu monster) in whige robes can be seen.
If someone sees it, the boy suddenly begins to grow and finally disappears.

飛梅天神社 (とびうめてんじんじゃ) Tobiume tenjin sha, 806 Kitanoda, Toon




............................................................................ Ishikawa 石川県　
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白山市 Hakusan city 河内町 Kawachi town

Tere is a slpoe in the village called 高坊主（タッカンボ） Takkanbo (local dialect for Takabozu).




............................................................................ Kagawa 香川県

The master of the pond 山大寺池 Yamadaiji Ike is a huge higoi 緋鯉 red carp.
He had special powers and grew into 高坊主 a Takabozu to frighten the people.
He also shape-shifted into a beautiful woman and made mischief.
During strom storms he became quite wild.
During droughts he changed shape and flew up to heaven.

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Kagawa 木田郡 Kita district

The 高坊主 Takabozu of this area is really large. He often appears at road crossings.

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Kagawa 長尾町 Nagao town

At the local pass there was 高坊主 a Takabozu haunting the people.
One night a brave man tried to cross the pass. He saw one leg on each side of the mountain. When he looked up at the legs, he saw a huge man laughing. He tried to cut one of the legs. Since then nobody has met a Takabozu on this pass again.

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Kagawa 寒川町 Samukawa town

The 高坊主 Takabozu appears at night and chases people from behind.
If people try to run, the Takabozu runs too. If people go very slow, the Takabozu moves very slow too.
At a certain point the Takabozu always disappears.
The Takabozu does no special harm to people, but when they come home, they often fall ill from fear.




............................................................................ Nara 奈良県
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橿原市 Kashihara city

. Atago Jinja 愛宕神社　Atago shrines of Japan .
Three children went to the festival at Atago Shrine but came running home in fear.
From a bamboo grove 高坊主 the Takabozu monster had come out and then disappeared into the nearby field.
This Takabozu did not have any legs and was clad in a white robe. It had disheveled yellow hair.

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. tanuki 狸 - mujina 狢 － racoon dog, badger legends .
A man was walking home in the evening when he saw two black 高坊主 Takabozu near the river.
Then he raalized it was only a Tanuki 狸 which had shape-shifted.




............................................................................ Tokushima 徳島県
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Takanyuudoo 高入道 Takanyudo
In Awa in the 山城谷 Yamashirodani valley area the large Takabozu is called 高入道 Takanyudo.
In the valley 正夫谷 Shobudani (Ikawacho Iuchihigashi, Miyoshi, Tokushima) people can look down at him and then he will shrink.


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

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- Japanese reference -

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

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. boozu　坊主 priest, お坊さん　O-Bo-San .

- 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 .

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

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- #takabozu #shikoku #kurobozuyokai #blackpriest -
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Narikama Narigama Kamanari

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Narikama 鳴釜 Narigama yokai / Kamanari 釜鳴

. Narukama-Shinji 鳴釜神事 ritual at Kibitsu Jinja, Okayama .
A boiling water pot is beaten and the sound that comes from doing so is used to determine if your wish will come true or not.

. Minakamidera 水上寺 Minakami-dera Fudo Temple .
釜鳴の法 ritual in Spring

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A tsukumogami Yokai originating from the myth of an iron kettle which could predict one's fortune.

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A Narikama (also called Narigama or Kamanari)
is one of Japanese yokai (ghosts, spirits and monsters) that was portrayed in Sekien TORIYAMA's yokai art collection book: "Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro" (The Bag of One Hundred Random Demons; the term 'hyakki' in its title is a pun on the usual hyakki, replacing the character for demon which is written as "鬼" in Japanese with a character for vessel written as "器," and sure enough, most of the yokais shown in this book are tsukumogami [a type of Japanese spirits that originate in items or artifacts that have reached their 100th birthday and become alive]). It is a kind of the tsukumogami (specters transmuted from objects).
- - - - - Summary
Sekien portrayed the Narikama as a hairy yokai, putting a kama (a metal pot) on and holding a votive picture tablet in his hands as if it is doing fortune-telling. It is allegedly originated from the Narukama Shinji Ritual, practiced in Kibitsu-jinja Shrine in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture. According to one legend, the ritual was started when an ogre named Ura or Onra, which had been killed by Kibitsuhiko no mikoto and become a deity to give divine messages to people through sounds of steam from an iron pot. Some say that the specter Narikama is this Ura portrayed as a tsukumogami of a kama based on the legend, thus depicting the kama as a specter.
In a similar way, there are other tales of divination by sounds from a kama. A farmer dug up an iron pot in a cist. When the farmer boiled water with the iron pot, it might sound, and whenever the pot made some sounds, it always rained on that day. Then it is said that the iron pot became famous as a weather forecaster.
Moreover, a kama yokai (metal pot specter) was portrayed in "Hyakki yagyo emaki" ('Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' picture scroll) in the Muromachi period, and the Narikama was supposedly modeled on it.
- source : japanese-wiki-corpus.. Narikama ...

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

- - - kamanari 釜鳴 a kettle makes auspicious noises - - -
In many rural areas of Japan, there are legends about a kettle or hearth that makes a noise. This is often not seen as anything special or auspicious.

This penomen often happens in the New Year bewtwen the first ne no hi 子の日 day of the rat and i no hi 亥の日 day of the wild boar and is then seen as something bringing bad luck.
If a cattle starts making noise, a man has to wear woman's robes to make it stop.
A woman has to wear man's robes to make it stop.

If a kettle starts making noise, people hang some new underwear of a woman on the lid to stop it.

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banyo 婆女 demon hag, mother in law
If the kettle in the kitchen makes a noise, on has to call out Banyo (Demon Hag). This will stop the fire below the kettle and bring good luck.

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kane ga naru 鐘が鳴る a temple bell rings
Sometimes the kettle begins to make a noise while cooking rice for dinner. Sometimes the sound resembles that of a temple bell. Adjusting the fire it may sound like someone playing the lute. Sometimes the sound can be heard just three times and brings joy to those who hear it.

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. A 刀鍛冶 sword smith named 国員 Kunikazu .


............................................................................ Akita 秋田県
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平鹿郡 Hiraka district 平鹿町 Hiraka town

When a local Sake dealer made rice wine and boiled rice in the large kettle, the kette started to make a noise like 「もんもん！もんもん！」 monmon mon mon .
This sound can be heared from close by and from far away.
So the Sake dealer sold the kettle, but from that day on his business went down and bancrupt.




............................................................................ Iwate 岩手県
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遠野市 Tono city

Once a shugenja 修験者 mountain priest came to the town and performed a Kamanari ritual.
He boiled water in a huge kettel, placed a large wooden bottle on it and placed a lit on it.
Then he performed some ritual prayers and called out " Now, Kettle, begin to make a sound!"
The kettle sounded in a high and deep voise and then stoped.
(Some say it was the voice of the skillful priest . . . )


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

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

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- Yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - ABC-Index -


. 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 .

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Amabie and Epidemics

- Yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - ABC-Index -
ー teijin 氐人 , see below
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Amabie アマビエ
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Amabie (アマビエ)
is a legendary Japanese mermaid who allegedly emerges from the sea and prophesies either an abundant harvest or an epidemic. There are other mermaids and mermen known by other names but considered identical.
The male amabiko (アマビコ, 天日子) or amahiko (尼彦, あま彦, 天彦),
the amahiko-nyūdo (尼彦入道), and
the elusive arie (アリエ)..


CLICK for more photos !

- Legend
Amabie appeared in Higo Province (Kumamoto Prefecture) according to legend, around the middle of the 4th month, in the year Kōka-3 (mid-May, 1846) in the Edo era. A glowing object had been spotted in the sea, almost on a nightly basis. The town's official went to the coast to investigate, and witnessed the amabie. She had a mouth like bird's bill, and was covered in scales from the neck down. Addressing the official, she identified herself as an amabie and told him that she lived in the open sea. She went on to deliver a prophecy: "Good harvest will continue for six years,
if disease spreads show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured." Afterwards, she returned the sea. The story was printed in the kawaraban (woodblock-printed bulletins), where her likeness was printed, and this is how the story disseminated in Japan.

- Similar yōkai
A yōkai creature considered identical to Amabie is the merman named Amahiko (尼彦), which reputedly appeared in the sea of Higo Province. This Amahiko resembled Amabie in that it also made predictions of bountiful harvests or pestilence, and prescribed displaying the picture of his likeness in order to avoid catastrophe. The Amahiko Nyūdo (尼彦入道 "the amahiko monk") of Hyuga Province (Miyazaki prefecture) was another creature considered of the same kind, who appeared and pronounced his prophecy.

A similar creature named Arie (アリエ) appeared in "Aoshima-gun" county, Higo Province, according to the Yamanashi Nichinichi Shinbun newspaper dated 17 June 1876, although this report has been debunked by another paper. The Yūbin Hōchi Shinbun dated 10 June 1876 also carried an article about Amahiko.

The three creatures share these common characteristics:
1) appearance from the sea, 2) prediction of good harvest and the plague, and 3) a solution of disaster by showing the apparition's picture, and on that account have been considered identical.

The Amahiko no Mikoto (天日子尊 the holy Amahiko) was spotted in a rice paddy in Yuzawa, Niigata, as reported by the Tokyo Nichinichi shinbun dated 8 August 1875.
The Yamawarawa (山童 the mountain child- Kappa) in the folklore of Amakusa is believed to haunt the mountains. Although neither of these last two emerge from sea, other similarities such as prophesying indicate they belong to the same kind.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Mermaids .
- Introduction -

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. coronavirus in Japan コロナウイルス - 2020 - COVID-19 .


. hayariyamai はやり病 / 流行病と伝説 Legends about epidemics .
densenbyoo 伝染病 Densenbyo contagious diseases / pandemic
ekiri 疫痢 plague

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Amabie with a fugu 河豚 blowfish for more power !
At the Shrine 亀山八幡宮 Kameyama Hachimangu



- quote -
下関・亀山八幡宮、アマビエ描いた御朱印郵送始める
新型コロナウイルスに対する不安を減らそうと、疫病退散に御利益があるとされる妖怪「アマビエ」を描いた御朱印が、山口県下関市中之町の亀山八幡宮で授与されている。御朱印は本来、参拝者に授与しているが、現在は境内に人が集まらないように希望者への郵送で対応している。
アマビエは、うろこに覆われた胴体や、長髪が特徴の半人半魚の妖怪。江戸時代に現在の熊本県沖に現れ、「疫病が流行したときは私の姿を絵に描いて人々に見せよ」と言い残して海に消えたとされる。ウイルス感染が拡大する中、芸能人やイラストレーターが疫病退散を願って描いたイラストをネット上に投稿したり、各地でグッズや和菓子が生まれたりしている。
亀山八幡宮は「（感染を懸念して）参拝を控える人たちの不安な気持ちが少しでも落ち着けば」と、アマビエの御朱印を発案。神職の見習いに当たる出仕の大鳥居奨（つとむ）さん（23）が宿直の夜にイラストを描いた。図案はアマビエがフグを持っている姿で、神職の竹中信彦さん（45）は「届いたら神社の方向へお祈りして、終息したときに参拝していただければ。疫病が去って福が来ることを願います」と話した。
フグを持つアマビエの御朱印
アマビエの御朱印は、他の御朱印（初穂料500～1000円）と一緒に授与している。郵送の申し込みなど問い合わせは亀山八幡宮社務所（083・231・1323）。
【佐藤緑平】
- reference source : Mainihci Shinbun 2020/05/13-




- Homepage of the Shrine
- kameyamagu.com... -

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fugu is a play of words with fuku, to bring good luck and happiness!
. fugu 河豚 / 鰒 / 鯸 / 魨 blowfish, puffer fish, globe fish .




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- quote -

新型コロナ終息願う アマビエ像 Statue of Amabie
天草市の神社に、疫病から人々を守る熊本の妖怪とされる「アマビエ」をかたどった石像が祭られています。
石像は、天草市有明町の大島子諏訪神社の境内に今月１１日に祭られました。
石像は高さ４５センチで、墓石などに使われる灰色の「唐津石」を材料に、くちばしやうろこが立体的に作られていて、境内の参道横の、およそ１メートルの台座の上に祭られています。
神社の山浦一男宮司によると、明治時代、赤痢などの疫病がはやったとき、地域の人々がこの神社のそばにあった石神のほこらにサカキを供えて祈ったという言い伝えがあり、今回も新型コロナウイルスの一日も早い終息を願って、神社に石像を祭ることにしたということです。
参拝に訪れた人たちは、手を合わせたり頭をなでるなどして一日も早い終息を願っていました。
大島子諏訪神社の山浦一男宮司は「かわいらしい石像を手でなでるなどして和んでいただいて、心も癒やしていただければと思います」と話していました。
- reference source : NHK news 2020/05/15 -


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- quote -
Yōkai and the visualization of disease

In the past few weeks, as the international pandemic has led the people of Japan to quarantine themselves and practice social distancing, characters from supernatural folklore (yōkai), including one that has served as a symbol of epidemics since the 1840s, have experienced a sudden resurgence of popularity.
For centuries, yōkai functioned as pre-scientific explanations for microbiological phenomena such as the decay of organic material, and several were specifically associated with illness. Arguably the earliest work of Japanese art that features such characters is the Scroll of Hungry Ghosts (Gaki zoshi, late 12th century). Interest in yōkai exploded during the 18th century, when the ukiyo-e print designer Toriyama Sekien (1712–1788) published his encyclopedic bestiary The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons (Gazu hyakki yagyō, 1776). Not only did this publication enjoy astonishing commercial success in its own right, it also had a substantial influence upon the imagery of artists such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861).
- source : honoluluacademy.org ... -

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- quote -

Meet the Japanese Yokai That Will Save us From the Coronavirus
By Kirsty Kawano May 20, 2020
- source : blog.gaijinpot.com... -


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wagashi アマビエ和菓子 Amabie sweets





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Amabie Daruma アマビエ だるま









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- quote -

'Amabie'-shaped bread popular amid outbreak
Bread shaped like a mythical mermaid-like monster that folklore says repels plagues is proving popular in Japan as people hope for the end of the coronavirus outbreak.
A cafe in the city of Uruma,
Okinawa Prefecture, started selling the bread, which looks like Amabie, last month.
The bread is made from locally-sourced ingredients,
including yellow potato for the monster's long hair and beak, and red sweet potato for the body.
The cafe has closed temporarily
since early last month due to the outbreak. But orders have been pouring in from across the country after it began selling the product online.
A representative of the cafe says
she hopes the bread will make people smile and help boost their immunity so that the outbreak will end as soon as possible.
- source : NHK 2020 -

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- quote
Chronicle of the Cholera Outbreak of Fall 1858
(Ansei Uma no Aki Korori Ryukoki)

- quote
The outbreak of cholera that began in Nagasaki in June 1858 spread to Edo by July of the same year.
This book chronicles the situation in Edo at the time of the outbreak.
The first outbreak of cholera in Japan occurred in 1822.
Cholera caused death within three days after symptoms appeared, which led to it being known as
mikka korori or "fall down in three days," korori being a play on korera, the Japanese word for cholera.
The 1822 outbreak was centered on West Japan, and did not affect Edo.
However, a later outbreak that began in Nagasaki in June 1858 spread to Edo by July of the same year.
This book chronicles the situation in Edo at the time of the outbreak.
The illustration here shows a crematorium overflowing with caskets of the deceased awaiting cremation.
It is estimated that there were around 30,000 fatalities in Edo during this outbreak,
and neither burial nor cremation services could keep up with the demand,
so caskets were lined up on the roadside around crematoriums.
Filled with anxiety, the townsfolk of Edo turned to religion to ward off the disease.
They put their faith in objects such as the leaves of the Japanese aralia tree,
charms bearing poems of the Mimosuso River (another name for the Isuzu River
that runs through Ise Shrine),
and charred garlic.
There were repeated outbreaks of cholera every few years in Edo from 1862 onward.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

One more page with illustrations:
A Wish for the End of the Infectious Diseases

- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library .. taihen/page4- -

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yogen no tori 予言の鳥　/ ヨゲンノトリ prophecy bird



- quote -
Appearance:
Yogen no tori are prophetic birds which resemble two-headed crows.
One of their heads is white. They can speak, and are sent by the gods to deliver important messages to humanity such as warnings about epidemics.
Behavior:
Like most prophetic yōkai, nothing is known of yogen no tori’s natural behavior, as they are only seen when there is an important message to deliver.
Interactions:
In addition to delivering an important message, yogen no tori are such holy animals that merely an image of them is enough to keep the evil spirits which cause disease away. Regularly looking at a picture of a yogen no tori is said to protect the viewer from harm.
Origin:
The story of the yogen no tori follows an Edo Period pattern of yokai warning about outbreaks and offering their image as protection. Contagious diseases like cholera are spread by invisible means, and for a long time there were no known cures or methods of protection against them. Amulets, talismans, and image of holy yōkai might not have done much to actually prevent sickness, but the willingness of people to cling to their promise of salvation is understandable.
Legends:
A serious cholera outbreak struck Japan in the summer of 1858. During the outbreak, a government official from Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture) named Kizaemon, discovered the legend of the yogen no tori and reported it in Bōshabyō ryūkō nikki, a journal detailing the outbreak.
According to his report, a yogen no tori was sighted in December of 1857 near Mount Haku in Kaga Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture). The bird foretold, “Around August or September of next year, a disaster will occur, killing 90% of the world’s population. Those who gaze upon my image morning and night and believe in me will be spared from this suffering.”
Kizaemon believed the yogen no tori to be a messenger from the gods. He declared it to be a symbol of the great power of Kumano Gongen. An illustration of the bird was printed alongside the report so people could see it and receive its protective powers.
- source : yokai.com/yogennotori ... -


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Teijin 氐人【テイジン】dī rén
A Yokai monster from China.
A kind of merman, half fish half male human.



中国に伝わる人魚のような怪人のこと。
氐人国に住んでいるといわれ、資料には上半身が男性の人魚の姿で描かれている。
人魚の一種とされる
- reference source : chinki-note.blogspot... -

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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 .

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- #amabie #mermaid #covid19 #coronavirus #amabiko #amahiko #pandemic #epidemic #teijin -
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Mizuki Shigeru Oni

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. Onipedia - 鬼ペディア　- Oni Demons - ABC-List - .
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Mizuki Shigeru 水木しげる Shigeru Mizuki
Shigeru Mura (武良茂 Mura Shigeru)


Goyu - 36 Stations of the Yokai Road - Mizuki Shigeru

. yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - ABC-List - .


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oni 鬼 demon


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. Amanojaku 天の邪鬼 / 天邪鬼 Heavenly Evil Spirit .


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. Gegege no Kitaro .
and more about Mizuki Shigeru


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. - - - Join the Onipedia friends on facebook ! - - - .

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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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- #mizukishigeru #shigerumizuki -
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Mikaribaba, Mikari basan Yokai

- Yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - ABC-Index -
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Mikaribaba, Mikari Basan 蓑借り婆さん / ミカリバアサン "old hag Mikari"
みかり婆



- quote
Mikaribaba
In Yokohama and Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, the Chiba Prefecture, and Tokyo etc., they would visit people's homes on the 8th day of the 12th month and the 8th day of the 2nd month on the lunisolar calendar, and they are said to borrow sieves and human's eyes. They are said to visit people's home together with a hitotsume-kozō.。


mekago 目篭 / 目籠 to catch the evil.

In order to avoid a mikaribaba, one would leave a basket or zaru at the entrance of the home, and it is said to be effective to put the tip of a rod into the bamboo basket and make it stand on the ridge of the house's roof. It is said that this is in order to make the one-eyed mikaribaba make it seem like as if there were plenty of eyes (stitches).

At the Ura no Yato, Toriyama town, Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama, an avaricious mikaribaba would even come to collect grains of rice that have fallen on the ground, and would cause fires due to the fire in its mouth. In order to avoid this, there is the custom of making a dango called the ツヂョー団子 "tsujoo dango" made from the rice left over from the garden, and put it in the doorway, as a means of saying that there is no more rice to collect.

On the 8th day of the 12th month and the 8th day of the 2nd month on the lunisolar calendar, there is a folk practice called Kotoyōka, and in the past, there were many regions where people would not do any work and confine themselves in their homes.
In the southern part of Chiba Prefecture, on the 26th day of the 11th month of the lunisolar calendar, as a period of about 10 days of seclusion in the home called "mikawari" or "mikari," when it would be taboo to go outside at night or enter the mountains and spend the time in the home quickly avoiding any big noise, lights, hairdressing, or entering bath.
Outside of the Kantō region, at Nishinomiya Shrine in the Hyōgo Prefecture and Kito, Tokushima Prefecture (now Naka), there is a practice of confinement to the house before the festival called "mikari." Rituals like these of secluding oneself in the home have been interpreted as seclusion at home due the appearance of a monster, and it is thought that those monsters are the mikaribaba and the hitotsume-kozō.
It is also said that "mikari" comes from "mikawari" (身変わり), indicating a time different from usual when one observes the practice of confinement at home.
- source : wikipedia



- quote -
Mikari-Baba
she is a Yōkai. She is one of the chosen 47 Yōkai Warriors and represents Kanagawa Prefecture.
She appears in GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!
Due to the 5th anime adaption's sudden cancellation at 100 episodes, he is among the 23 Yokai Warriors that were not revealed aside from the movie.
- source : gegegenokitaro.wikia.com/wiki... -


Kandaiji 神大寺村 village, Yokohama
From the first to the fourth sub-district in Yokohama, 神奈川区 Kanagawa district.
Every year on the fourth day of the 12th lunar month, the Yokai ミカリバアサン Mikari Basan comes out.
On this day all things that are usually hung out to dry, like crops or straw sandals, must be brought inside. People prepare offerings of rice dumplings, ツジョウダンゴ tsujoo dango （オッパキダンゴ Oppaki dango and place them at the doorstep.


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source : by cielociel

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


. Yamanokami 山の神 and Mikari Basan .

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11月25日から12月5日にかけて訪れるという妖怪。オッパキダンゴというのをつくって、戸口に挿し、その禍を防ぐマジナイとしたという。

............................................................................ Kanagawa 神奈川県

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川崎市 Kawasaki

yookazoo 八日ゾウ / 八日僧 monk coming on the eighth day
On the eighth day of the second lunar month, the Yakubyogami is called
me hitotsu kozo 目一つ小僧 young monk with one eye (the same as Hitotsume kozo).
People put up a rod or pole with a basket, as described above. They also leave a bucket with water where rice had been washed in.
When Mehitotsu Kozo tries to drink the water and sees his face reflected, with just one eye, he will be surprized and run away.

. Hitotsume Kozoo 一つ目小僧 Hitotsume Kozo - Young Monk with One Eye . .
. me hitotsu kozoo 目一つ小僧　and Yamanokami .

. Yakubyoogami 疫病神 Yakubyogami, Deity of Diseases .

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Kawasaki 多摩区 Tama district

Makari Basan comes to bring the choomen 帳面 business ledger to the place of the Dosojin 道祖神 wayside gods.


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横浜市 Yokohama

yookadoo ヨウカドウ Yokado


source : wikiwiki.jp/heian...

Mikari Basan comes on the first day of the 12th lunar month. She comes with flames in her mouth, picks up any rice grains and makes dumplings so that there will be no fire.
Hitotsume no Ba 一つ目の婆 The old hag with one eye does not like baskets with many openings (eyes). She can fly all the way to Hakone, but might hit the mountains and fall into the see. So she avoids the Western direction.
Until the 8th day, she writes all the names of ill people in her choomen 帳面 business ledger and brings it to the deity of the fields, サイノ神 Sai no Kami.
This ledger is burned in the ritual fires of サイト焼 Saitoyaki on the 14th day. But she comes back on the 8th day of the 2nd lunar month.
On the 8th day, she passes above the roof, so people put up a basket on a pole.
- - - - -
She has only one eye and comes on the 8th day of the second and 12th lunar month in some suburbs.
- - - - -
The first day of the 12th lunar month is called hanayogore no tsuitachi ハナヨゴレの朔日 in some suburbs.
Mikari Basan comes on this day.
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When Mikare Basan was on her way to 佐江戸 Saedo (in Yokohama 横浜市都筑区), she came to the river 恩田川 Ondagawa and fell under the bridge 落合橋 Ochiaibashi.
Since then she never went to Saedo again.


. Sai no kami 幸の神 the God of the Fields.
Ta no Kami 田の神 Tanokami




............................................................................ Yamanashi 山梨県

hitotsume 一つ目　one eye
On the 8th day of the second lunar month, the Yokai Mikari Basan or as she is also known, 八日僧 Yokazo are coming.
To prevent her from doing evil, people put special mikari dango ミカリダンゴ rice dumplings on the doorstep and put up a pole with a basket.




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

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. . . CLICK here for Photos 箕借り婆 !


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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 .

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- #mikaribaba #mikari #mikaribasan -
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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) .

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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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