Showing posts with label - - Yokai Monsters Demons - -. Show all posts
Showing posts with label - - Yokai Monsters Demons - -. Show all posts

8/01/2015

Tofu Kozo

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. yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - Introduction .
. kozoo 小僧と伝説 Kozo, Legends about temple acolytes and youngsters .
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- Toofu Kozoo, Tōfu kozō 豆腐小僧 Tofu Kozo, The Tofu Boy -

. Bean curd ( 豆腐 toofu, Tofu, Dofu) .
- Introduction -
Tofu is made made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks.


CLICK for more photos !

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- quote
Tōfu-kozō – The Tofu Boy
Zack Davisson
On a dark and stormy night Edo night, if you should happen to turn around and see a giant baby dressed in an enormous bamboo hat and carrying a wiggly block of tofu festooned with a maple leaf, don’t panic. Despite the strange appearance, it is only Tofu Kozo, one of the most harmless of all of Japan’s bizarre yokai tribe.



Who is Tofu Kozo?
One of Japan’s most popular yokai, the name Tofu Kozo is most commonly translated as “tofu boy” or “tofu kid,” although a more literal—albeit clumsy—translation would be “tofu young Buddhist priest.” But the Buddhist associations don’t run any deeper than the name, with “kozo” being a common term for young boys in Japan.

Tofu Kozo generally appears as a small boy, or even a baby, in a giant, conical bamboo rain hat and a traditional kimono. The kimono can be plain, or highly decorated with daruma figures, red rockfish, horned owls, and taiko drums, all of which were thought to be talismans against small pox during the Edo period. As the same suggests, Tofu Kozo are never seen without a plate of tofu, which is decorated with a single maple leaf impression.

Lacking any special powers or features other than appearance, Tofu Kozo is said to wander through deserted city streets at night, or during the rain. Generally shy and timid, Tofu Kozo sometimes likes to sneak behind humans and follow them through the streets.

There is little agreement about Tofu Kozo amongst writers. Some say that there is only one Tofu Kozo, and that he is a sort of yokai prince, the son of the yokai supreme commander Mikoshi Nyudo and his wife the Rokurokubi. Some say that tofu kozo are nothing more than errand boys for the yokai, rushing back and forth on endless tasks.

From the Showa era and up, there have been accounts of Tofu Kozu as meeting people on rainy streets at night, and offering up some delicious tofu. Anyone who eats the tofu finds their body growing with mold from the inside until they die. Yokai researchers Kyougoku Natsuhiko and Yamaguchi Bintaro trace this legend as having been invented for for childrens’ books in the Showa era to give the Tofu Kozo a bit more of an edge for modern readers.

One the opposite side, in modern Japan therapists have been using Tofu Kozo as a yokai who gets bullied by other yokai, and is used in anti-bullying therapy and education.

The Origin of Tofu Kozo
Tofu Kozo has the unique status of being Japan’s first modern, city-bred yokai. Unlike other yokai that sprang from ancient and rural Japan, the Tofu Kozo has no folklore heritage, no appearances in traditional folktales or legends. He arrived fully formed suddenly during the Anei era (1772-1781), where he quickly became a popular character for picture books, kabuki performances, toys, advertisements, cookbooks, and yellow-covered kiboshi illustrated stories.

There are several theories as to the origin of Tofu Kozo. One aspect is tofu itself. The urban Edo period saw the rise of tofu as a popular food source, cheap and nutritious. One picture book of the time, Edo Meisho Zue (江戸名所図会) “Collection of Pictures of the Famous Places of Edo” by Hasegawa Settan, shows tofu dealers wearing the iconic conical bamboo hat as they travel the streets back and forth with their wares. Other illustrations from the period show yokai like tanuki and kappa carrying tofu, and it is speculated that some enterprising tofu dealer might have created Tofu Kozo as an advertising character for their shop, only to see the character’s popularity run away from them.

Mizuki Shigeru gives the location of Tofu Kozo as Satsuma province, modern day Kagoshima prefecture, although the character is seen all over Japan. During the Edo period, when the 100 candle storytelling game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was popular, game players and storytellers were always on the lookout for new yokai stories to tell, and it is likely that the legend of Tofu Kozo was created and expanded upon during numerous storytelling sessions.

The first known print appearance of Tofu Kozo is in the 1777 kiboshi illustrated book “Bakemono Shiuchi Hyoban-ki” (妖怪仕内評判記; “Commentary on Notable Events of the Yokai”), written by Koikawa Harumachi. A few years later in 1782, he appeared in a popular tofu cookbook called “Tofu Hyakuchin” (豆腐百珍; “The 100 Curiosities of Tofu”) by Hitsujun Ka. The character continued to be popular through the Meiji era.

The Many Faces of Tofu Kozo
Because there is no traditional origin for Tofu Kozo, artists have depicted him in varying ways over the years. Early descriptions describe him as having an enormous head, like an overgrown baby. Koikawa Harumachi described him this way in “Bakemono Shiuchi Hyoban-ki,” and the artist Kitao Masayoshi even named him Ogashira Kozo, meaning “Big Head Boy,” in his 1787 picture book “Bakemono Chakutōchō” (夭怪着到牒). For a short time, it was popular to draw Tofu Kozo as having only one eye, but this fad soon faded and by 1853 Tofu Kozu was drawn looking like a normal young boy, as seen in the illustrated book “Kyoka Hyakumonogatari” (狂歌百物語).

An obvious relative of Tofu Kozo is Hitotsume Kozo, meaning the One-Eyed Boy. Although Hitotsume Kozo is an older, more traditional yokai, over the years the two have come to resemble each other as their stories and appearances merged. This has caused researchers to postulate that they are the same yokai. But while they have had obvious influences on each other—and are depicted as cousins in many modern yokai stories—they are generally considered to be separate characters.
- source : Zack Davisson

- source : National Diet Library -

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- quote -
Tōfu-kozō (豆腐小僧, literally tofu boy) is a yōkai of Japan, and is a yōkai that takes on the appearance of a child possessing a tray with tōfu on it. It is a yōkai that frequently appears in the kusazōshi and kibyōshi and kaidan books from the Edo period, and from the Bakumatsu to the Meiji period, people have become familiar with them as a character illustrated on toys[2] such as kites, sugoroku, and karuta. They can also be seen in senryū, kyōka, e-hon banzuke (pamphlets that introduce the contents of a shibai), and nishiki-e, etc.


"Ōjidai Karano Bakemono" by Shuntei Katsukawa.
An example of a tōfu-kozō with one eye.


. . . Based on the folk belief that hitotsume-kozō like tōfu, and since there was the card in yōkai karuta called "Boy with His Toungue Out Licking a Tōfu (した出し小僧のとうふなめ?," as well as senryū poems such as
"behind the tōfu shop there is a one-eyed boy
(豆腐やのうらは一つ目小僧也 to-o-fu-ya-no/u-ra-ha-hi-to-tsu-me/ko-zo-u na-ri)"
and "
tōfu-kozō are one-dice-eyed fellows wearing kasa
(笠のうち眼は一ツ賽の目の奴んも化す豆腐小僧は),"
it has been pointed out that tōfu-kozō would thus be no more than an alternate name for hitotsume-kozō, but since there are many tōfu-kozō that don't have one eye, there is also the claim denying that they are the same as hitotsume-kozō, and that tōfu-kozō and hitotsume-kozō were created separately.
In any case, there are many parts that are still unclear, and there is still research going on about how tōfu-kozō developed.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

katame 片目 "with one eye" could well be a pun with katame 固め hard tofu

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. Mikaribaba, Mikari Basan 蓑借り婆さん / ミカリバアサン
"old hag Mikari" .

And her companion, me hitotsu kozo 目一つ小僧 (Hitotsume Kozo)

. 一つ目達磨 hitotsume Daruma - 白隠 Hakuin .
Hakuin teaches us that we can hear the sound of one hand or view the world with one eye ...

. me hitotsu kozoo 目一つ小僧 and Yamanokami .
from Shizuoka

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. Hitotsume Kozoo 一つ目小僧 Hitotsume Kozo - Young Monk with One Eye .
and
一つ目小僧地蔵 Hitotsume Kozo Jizo



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- flying tofu -

雁鴨は我を見捨てゝ去りにけり
豆腐に羽根の無きぞ嬉しき


Goose and duck
leaving, I am out of luck
happily, I see
My tofu, lacking wings
cannot abandon me!


. Ryokan / Ryookan 良寛 (1758-1831) .

. Flying Tofu, discussion with Robin D. Gill .
Kyoka, Japan's Comic Verse: A Mad in Translation Reader
By Robin D. Gill

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Tofu Kozo and Daruma san !



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- - - - - Legends with tofu  豆腐伝説 - - - - -

The fox has a special relationship to tofu, especially fried tofu,
abura age 油揚げ.
They will be collected in a separate entry.
. kitsune 狐 fox legends .

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........................................................................... Tengu 天狗 the long-nosed goblin

Gunma 群馬県

Once upon a time
a Tengu turned himself into a boy apprentice and lived at the temple Kashozan. Once he went on an errand to 沼田 Numata, which takes about 30 minutes. The head priest had asked him in the morning to go and get some fresh tofu.
(今日できの豆腐 - kyo deki no tofu )
But today of all days, the boy returned only late in the evening.
When he arrived, the priest aksed him what had happened.
"Well, you told me to go to Kyoto to get some Tofu, so I went there!" (Being a Tengu, he could fly . . .)
(京できの豆腐 - Kyo (Kyoto) deki no tofu)
This is a pun on the sound of KYO.

. Kashozan 迦葉山 a Tengu mountain .

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Chiba 千葉県
The same story as above, from the town of 市原 Ichihara.


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Saitama 埼玉県 / Chichibu 秩父



In the remote Chichibu mountains is a waterfall with a 天狗岩 Tengu Rock, where once a Tengu lived. The priest from a nearby temple often asked him for an errand. When there were visitors at the temple, the Tengu would fly to to Kyoto in one blink of the eye and get some fresh Tofu.


. Tengu Legends 天狗伝説 - Introduction .

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source : ranryoutei.blog.shinobi.jp

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......................................................................................... Fukushima 福島県
三春町 Miharu

On the day 甲子 KINOE you can prepare all kinds of food, but Tofu has to be one of it.
. kinoe, ki no e, kasshi 甲子 day of the rat and element water .
The rat (mouse) is closely related to Daikoku.


......................................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県
高山市 Takayama

mujina ムジナ badger
Once an old man had walked all the way to 神岡 Kamioka to get some Tofu for the New Year celebrations, but on the way, a badger stole it from him.

. tanuki 狸 mujina, badger .


......................................................................................... Gunma 群馬県

rokusen 六算 calculating with SIX - ( 惣身六算 )
When someone is ill the cure is made by "calculating with six".
First take the age of the ill person and divide it by 9. The number can now be equated to a part of the body.
1 and 3 are legs, 2 and 6 are the sides, 4 is the stomach, 8 are the upper legs. 5 and 7 the shoulders.
If the healing was successful, offering of Tofu, sekihan 赤飯 red cooked rice and dango 団子 rice balls were made to the 稲荷 Inari deity.


......................................................................................... Ibaragi 茨城県
水戸市 Mito

12月8日と2月8日の夕に、豆腐を小さく切って葱とともに串に通して、門の両側にさしておくと邪気をはらうという。昔は大蒜をはさんだので、これを蒜豆腐という。
.
旧正月3日は三日月神社の縁日で、これに祈願すると子供の吹出物や疣が治るといわれている。豆腐の献供が多く、三日月信仰者はこの日は豆腐を食べないという。


......................................................................................... Iwate 岩手県
九戸郡

yama no kami 山の神
12月12日は山の神さんの年取りで、ゴエンニチともいう。山の神は12人の子どもを持っているのでストギと豆腐をそれぞれ12切れ供える。ストギをつくるのはたいてい女だが、食うと子どもを12人生むことになるため、女が食べてはいけない。


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

hitobashira no rei 人柱の霊
亀山城を築城するとき、通りかかった豆腐屋を捕らえて生き埋めにし人柱にした。今でも雨のしとしと降る淋しい晩などは、「豆腐、豆腐」という悲しげな売り声が聞こえてくる。


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kuwasai (kasai) 火災,kitausoo 祈祷僧
13,4軒の家が焼失した。その前数日の間、付近に豆腐やこんにゃくが捨てられていたので奇妙に思ったが、聞けば、どこからか現れた祈祷僧が火災を予言し、逃れたければ金や豆腐、こんにゃくを捨てよといったためだという。不思議なことだ。


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

12月1日は水溢しの朔日で、長方形に切った豆腐を串に刺して、炉の四隅に立て、水をかけてから屋根に投げ上げて鳥に食わせると、火除けになるという。

仙台市 Sendai
Jooenboozuka 浄円坊塚 Mount for Joenbo
東照宮の下、東側の延寿院にある。東照宮別当仙岳院の僧浄円は足が速く、飯釜をかけて炊き上がらないうちに出羽の羽黒山に往復した。師の坊が重病で最上の豆腐を食べたいといったところ、即座に買ってきた。一生のうちに羽黒山に238回往復したという。元禄12年に76歳で示寂。鉄のワラジや大小のワラジが奉納してある。水疣が治るといわれ、お礼に酒や餅を塚に供える。


......................................................................................... Miyazaki 宮崎県
高千穂町 Takachiho

Kawataro 河太郎 Kappa
Once the priest from temple 泉福寺 Senpuku-Ji threw a stone at the Kappa, but the stone hit the favorite food of this Kappa, his Tofu. When the priest came to the river the next time, there was a lot of water and he could not cross it. So he brought a piece of Tofu with a knife stuck in it, and the water retreated.
Now many visitors to this temple bring a piece of Tofu with a needle stuck in it as an offering.
針を刺した豆腐

. Legends - Kappa densetsu 河童伝説 .
. Senpukuji 泉福寺 Senpuku-Ji Fudo - Kanagawa .


......................................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県
島原市 Shimabara

darashi だらし
ある人が、急用のため、十分にご飯を食べずに峠のところで、急に体がだるくなり、どうにも動けなくなった。連れの者に肩を借りて歩いていると、高野豆腐が一つ落ちていた。それを拾って食べると、けろりと元に戻った。だらしにつけられたのである。


......................................................................................... Niigata 新潟県
関川村 Sekikawa

Daikoku sama 大黒様
12月9日は大黒様の嫁取り・大黒様の祝言・オカタ迎え・大黒様の年取り・大黒様の年夜などといい、二股大根ときな粉餅・小豆餡餅・豆御飯・豆腐汁・打豆入汁・納豆・炒り豆の7色を供える。炒り豆は焙烙で3回炒り、一生枡に入れて、「大黒様大黒様豆振って聞かせます 耳あけて聞かれやれ 目あけて見しゃっしゃれ」とうたって供える。大黒様は耳が聞こえないという。

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konbu こんぶ
大年の晩には、ごぼう・こんにゃく・焼豆腐・コンブを煮た、「年取りのオヒラ」を食べる。これを食べると年を取る。特にコンブは「よろこんぶ」といい、必ず入れた。「年を取りたくない」と言ってこれを食べずに縁の下に隠れていると、余ったものを全部くれていっぺんに年を取ってしまったという話がある。

......................................................................................... Okinawa 沖縄県

mazumunu マズムヌ
マズムヌは山や人家に住む。人間が腹を叩いて「グッダ、グッディ」と泣くことを嫌う。酒や塩煮の魚、豆腐の刻んだものが好物である。


......................................................................................... Saitama 埼玉県
皆野町 Minano

oosaki おおさき a fox-like animal
人の世話をしたがうまくいかず、恨まれて病気になった老婆がいた。「豆腐が食いたい」というので持っていくと食べた。死んだあと体を見ると、脇や腰の下に毛がついていた。オオサキに憑かれたため死んだとのことである。


......................................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県
茂木町 Motegi

. Yooka sama 八日様 Yoka Sama, the Honorable Day Eight. .

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粟野町 Awano

rokusan sama ロクサン様 Rokusan Sama
Pain in the shoulders, lower back or legs is often simply called "Rokusan".
People visit elders who perform rituals to get rid of Rokusan (rokusan sake ロクサン避け).
They also offer special kinds of Tofu bean curd to Rokusan or the Family Deity (ujigami sama 氏神様).


masudoofu マス豆腐 / 枡豆腐 Tofu in a wooden Masu cup.

. Rokusan 六三 伝説 legends about Rokusan, deity of illness .


......................................................................................... Tokushima 徳島県
一宇村 Ichiu

hotokesan 仏さん
12月の初巳の日はミノヒといって、仏のお正月であるという。この日はオハカサンに竹を組んで注連縄を張り、お供えをして草履も置いておく。家で身内が集まって会食し、夜の12時を過ぎてから墓地に向かい、麦藁を燃やした火で炙った餅や豆腐を食べる。仏さんは藁火の明かりで、人々の様子を見ているとされた。

in other parts of Japan
mi no hi ミの日,ミウマ,タツミ

旧12月はじめの巳の日に仏壇に豆腐や餅を供える。四国でも各地により多少相違はあるが、この日は死霊が訪れてくる日だと信じていた。


......................................................................................... Tokyo 東京都
南多摩郡 恩方村 Tama, Ongata

お灸をすえた時には、豆腐を食べると灸熱を吸い込まれないという。

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新島村 Niijima village on the island of Niijima

runin 流人,enoki 榎
豆腐を買いに行った流人が、豆腐を盗んだかどで捕らえられて、首を斬られた。死に際して流人は、自分が死んだ後、墓地から榎が生えるであろうが、それは自分が潔白だったと言う証だと言い残した。そして生えた榎が「なぞの榎」だと言い伝えられている。


......................................................................................... Yamagata 山形県
鶴岡市 Tsuruoka

imi 忌 absention, ritual purification
黒川村の王祇祭で豆腐を作るとき、産死の忌の人が来ると豆腐が固まらないとされている。


......................................................................................... Yamaguchi 山口県
福栄村 Fukue

inugami 犬神 Dog Deity
犬神に憑かれると、寿司の味がわからなくなる、豆腐が水になる、もち米を搗いても餅にならないなどのことが起き、妬んだ人のことを口走る、雪中を駆け出す、妊婦が鳥を殺す、などの行動をとる。

. Inugami 犬神 "Dog Deity" .

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Yokai Database - tofu - 57 entries (00)
- source : Nichibun Yokai Database -

- reference -

. Tofu Kozo shared at PINTEREST .

Actor Onoe Waichi II as a Tôfu Buyer (Tôfukai) and
a One-Legged Ghost (Ippon ashi no obake)

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1865)

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

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. Curry カレー, karē, karee .
one of the most popular dishes in Japan

- CLICK for more photos ! -

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. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .

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

. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .

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

. kozoo 小僧と伝説 Kozo, Legends about temple acolytes and youngsters .

- #tofukozo #tofukozoyokai #kozoo #kozo -
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[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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7/31/2015

Tenaga Ashinaga monsters

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- - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - -
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- Tenaga Ashinaga 手長足長 "long arms, long legs" -

Otenagasama, O-Tenaga sama お手長様
Ashinaga kozoo 足長小僧 the Boy Ashinaga




Tenaga-Ashinaga shaving Fukurokuju

. Kawanabe Kyosai .
. Tenaga Myojin 手長明神 The kami with long arms .

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- quote
Ashinaga-tenaga (足長手長, "Long Legs Long Arms")
are a pair of yōkai in Japanese folklore. One, Ashinaga-jin (足長人), has extremely long legs, while the other, Tenaga-jin (手長人), has extremely long arms. They were first described in the Japanese encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue.
They are said to be found in Kyūshū.



Description
The pair is commonly described as people from two countries, the "Long-legged Country", and the "Long-armed Country". As the names suggest, the inhabitants of these two countries possess unusually lengthy arms and legs. The two work together as a team to catch fish by the seashore. In order to do this, the long-armed man, tenaga, climbs onto the back of the long-legged man, ashinaga. The ashinaga then wades out into the shorewaters, staying above water with his long legs, while the tenaga uses his long arms to grab fish from his partner's back.

According to the Wakan Sansai Zue, the tenaga is also known as chōhi (長臂), and his arms can reach three jō in length, or a bit over nine meters. The ashinaga's legs stretch to two jō, or just slightly over six meters.

An essay from the Kasshiyawa by Matsura Seizan also describes the ashinaga.
The essay documents a man's anecdotal account of an unfortunate encounter with a strange being. The man was fishing by the seashore on a clear, moonlit night, when he spots a figure with nine shaku long legs (about 2.7 meters) roaming around on the beach. Shortly after, the weather turns bad and begins to rain heavily. The man's servant then informs him that they had just seen an ashinaga, and that sightings of this yōkai always brought bad changes in weather.
- source : wikipedia

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- source : japaaan.com -
Kawanabe Kyosai 河鍋暁斎

Yokai with long noses

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Fukushima 福島県

Once upon a time, there lived Tenaga and Ashinaga on Mount Bandaisan 磐梯山.
They reached to the sky, collected all the clouds and heavy rain fell and flooded the plains. They looked at all the destruction they caused with great pleasure!
Along came Kobo Daishi, fooled them cleverly and banned them into a small box.
Now they are venerated as 磐梯明神 Bandai Myojin.

And at Miyagi 宮城県 - 丸森町 Marumori Karoosan 鹿狼山 Mount Karo-San "Dear Wolf"

On the border to Fukushima in Soma 相馬郡 there is mount 手長山 Tenagayama, where the deity 手長明神 Tenaga Myojin (The kami with long arms) roams. He takes a tame white fox along when he walks. He can stretch his long arms from the mountain top to the sea to catch mussels and clams and where he throws away the shells, there is his Kaizuka yashiki 貝塚屋敷, now in Soma at the village Kogawa 小川部落.
Near the mountain top is a rock formation where the deity used to sit and rest, called
Tegaga Myojin no koshikare ishi 手長明神の腰掛石.

Tenagayama is about 236 m high, near Ishinomaki.



- source : Fukushima Furusato -
磐梯明神 Bandai Myojin shrine at the top of the mountain


. Kobo Daishi Kukai 弘法大師 空海 - (774 - 835) .

. Legends about Mount Bandai San 磐梯山 .

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Mie 三重県

If you hand a ruler 物差し to someone from hand to hand, the child of Tenaga will be born.


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Miyagi 宮城県 Sendai 仙台 



Oogisaka 扇坂 Ogisaka slope
Near the eastern gate of Sendai castle there is a slope in the form of a handfan (ogi). At the end of the slope is Sujigaibashi 筋違橋. The mysterious boy 足長小僧 Ashinaga Kozo lives there.
Sometimes he rolls the head of a human being down this slope.


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Saitama 埼玉県
高崎線岡部駅 Takasaki Okabe

At 森下イッケ O-Tenaga sama お手長様 is venerated. He is the deity
天手長雄命 / 天手長男神 Ame no Tenaga no Mikoto
He is a deity to protect from fire 火伏せの神. When called on during a fire, he will come and help with his long arms and extinguish the fire.


Otenaga kofun お手長山古墳 Otenaga - ancient burial mound
from the 6th century
埼玉県深谷市岡2006-1
- source : wikipedia -

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Yamagata
飽海郡 Akumi district 遊佐町 Yuza town

Once upon a time, there lived 手長足長 Tenaga and Ashinaga on 鳥海山 Mount Chokaisan.
They were so huge, they could stand on the mountain top, strech the long arms to grab fishermen from the ocean and eat them.
Ten no Kami 天の神 The Deity of Heaven became angry about this and made the mountain explode. Part of the debris became the island 飛島 Tobishima (The Island that has flown here.).



. Ten no Kami 天の神 The Deity of Heaven .


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. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

- reference : yokai database -

日本各地に伝わる伝説の巨人「手長足長」
(with many photos)
- reference : karapaia.livedoor.biz -

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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 - .


. Minwa 民話 folktales / densetsu 伝説 Japanese Legends .

. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .

- #tenagaashinaga #ashinagatenaga -
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7/06/2015

Kasha Demon

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. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .
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- Kasha 火車 Kasha Demon "burning chariot" -



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Kasha 火車 (folklore)
The kasha (火車, lit. "burning chariot" or "burning barouche" or 化車, "changed wheel")
is a Japanese yōkai that steals the corpses of those who have died as a result of accumulating evil deeds.

They are a yōkai that would steal corpses from funerals and cemeteries, and what exactly they are is not firmly set, and there are examples all throughout the country. In many cases their true identity is actually a cat yōkai, and it is also said that cats that grow old would turn into this yōkai, and that their true identity is actually a nekomata.

There are tales of kasha in tales like the folktale Neko Danka etc., and there are similar tales in the Harima Province (now Hyōgo Prefecture), in Yamasaki (now Shisō), there is the tale of the "Kasha-baba."

As a method of protecting corpses from kasha, in Kamikuishiki, Nishiyatsushiro District, Yamanashi Prefecture (now Fujikawaguchiko, Kōfu), at a temple that a kasha is said to live near, a funeral is performed twice, and it is said that by putting a rock inside the coffin for the first funeral, this protects the corpse from being stolen by the kasha. Also, in Yawatahama, Ehime, Ehime prefecture, it is said that leaving a hair razor on top of the coffin would prevent the kasha from stealing the corpse.
In Saigō, Higashiusuki District, Miyzaki Prefecture (now Misato), it is said that before a funeral procession, "I will not let baku feed on this (バクには食わせん)" or "I will not let kasha feed on this (火車には食わせん)" is chanted twice. In the village of Kumagaya, Atetsu District, Okayama Prefecture (now Niimi), it is said that a kasha is avoided by playing a myobachi (妙八) (a traditional Japanese musical instrument).

There is also the theory that the legend of kappa making humans drown and taking their butts (eating their innards from their butts) was born as a result of the influence of this kasha.

The expression "hi no kuruma" which means urgency of economic conditions, comes from how the dead would receive torture from this kasha (hi no kuruma).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Kasha – The Corpse-Eating Cat Demon 火車猫
Fire (火) chariot (車)- Kasha 火車

Kasha are one of the most confused of Japan’s yokai.
Over the centuries kasha have evolved from a fiery cart pulled by devils to an aged cat that changes form into a corpse-eating monster. Even the calling them yokai is dubious.



Although yokai can be a catch-all term for Japan’s monsters, the kasha are more properly demons. They have more in common with Hell-dwellers like oni, and are found on Kamakura period Hell Portraits designed to terrify people into following the righteous path of the Buddha.

More details and colorful photos :
- source : hyakumonogatari.com -


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音誉上人 - 音誉聖観上人 Saint Onyo Shokan Shonin

音誉上人自ら火車に乗る Onyo Shonin riding the chariot of fire

On the 2nd day of the 7th lunar month in 1479 文明11年, at temple Zōjō-ji 増上寺
saint 音誉上人 Onyo Shonin was welcomed at the end of his life by the chariot of fire 火車, which was not a welcome from hell but an envoy from the Gokuraku Paradise.
The people of that time saw this wheel of fire according to their own liking, hell or paradise, at the end of life.

"Shin Chomonjū (新著聞集)," Chapter Five "Acts of Prayer"


source : minneko.blog.so-net.ne.jp

hi no kuruma 火の車 wheel of fire
火車来現 the Buddhist wheel of fire at the end of life

火の車、造る大工はなけれども、
おのが造りておのが乗りゆく

the wheel of fire is not made by a carpenter
I made it myself, I will now ride it myself

. Legends about Japanese Saints .

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

訃報の使いを知らせの使いと言い、必ず2人で行く。2人で行くのは、途中で火車や山犬に襲われる可能性があるからである。火車や山犬は死人を好むという。使いが提灯を持つのは夜になると火車や山犬が襲う可能性があるためで、魔は火を恐れると信じているからである。


.................................................... Miyazaki 宮崎県 ....................................................

西都市 Saito

The Kasaha came to get a dead body. During the burial service of a bad person, it usually comes. Suddenly the sunny sky turns to rain and the Kasha comes down from heaven.
In this case the priest has to sit on the coffin and perform ablutions with his wand 払子. This will make the Kasha retreat. (And the Kasha is usually a cat.)



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

上九一色村 Kamikuishiki

精進に寺がない時には竜華院まで坊様を頼みに行っていたが、その近くに火車という化物が住んでいた。葬式が出るたびに死体を食おうと狙っていた。ある時村に葬式が出ると火車は飛脚に化けて竜華院にたのみに行ったが、坊様は見破り、施主に葬式を2回出し、最初の棺には石を入れておくよう指示した。最初の棺が出ると空に黒雲が沸いて雲の中から火車が飛んできて棺をさらっていった。その隙に施主の家では2回目の葬式を出して骨を無事に寺に納めた。火車は「竜げん坊主にだまされた」と叫んだという。


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yokai database 妖怪データベース (30 entries) (02)
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- reference -


. KASHA - shared at PINTEREST .

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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 - .
- Introduction -

- #kappakasha #kashamonster -
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5/10/2015

Mochi and Yokai

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- KAPPAPEDIA - Yokai Monsters -
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- Mochi 餅 rice cakes and 妖怪 Yokai monsters -

Mochi are used in many kinds of food, from soup to sweets. Mochi can be grilled, fried, and simmered.
The Japanese have traditionally believed that all material things are imbued with spirits, and so by partaking of the rice mochi - thought to symbolize the spirit of rice - they hoped to gain the strength of these rice divinities for themselves.

Some legends and episodes involve the rich imaginary world of Yokai monsters.

. mochi 餅 rice cakes, Reiskuchen .
- Introduction -




chikara mochi yokai ちからモチ妖怪 "Power Rice Cake"
from the Yokai Watch
- source : yokaiwatch.wikia.com -

- - - - - not to mix with
Chikaramochi Yurei 力持ち幽霊 The Strong Ghost
- source : hyakumonogatari.com -



. botamochi ぼた餅 牡丹餅 "peony rice cakes" .

. kusamochi くさ餅 mugwort rice cakes .


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. Benkei no Chikaramochi 三井寺名物「弁慶の力餅」 .


. Jizo Bosatsu and Mochi rice cakes 地蔵と餅 .

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

awamochi 粟餅を食った地蔵様 Jizo Bosatsu eating Millet Mochi




Once upon a time,
the kind and honest 正兵衛 Shobei and the greedy 慾兵衛 Yokubei lived in a village. The poor Shobei, who could not afford Mochi made from white rice, pounded some of millet and offered it to the deities.
His neighbour Yokubei was quite rich and pounded white Mochi.
Shobei wanted to make some offerings to the Jizo statue by the river, so he put some Millet Mochi in his bag and took a bucket to get New Year's Water by the river. He walked along the river, but when he wanted to put the Mochi up as an offering for Jizo, he could not find them any more. They must have slipped out of his pocket somehow, so he apologized profoundly to Jizo.
And well, Jizo answered:
"I just ate your Mochi which have come floating past. They were quite delicious!"
When Shobei looked more closely, he could see some powder around the mouth of the Jizo statue.
So Shobei thanked Jizo with all his heart and went home.
On the way home his bucked suddenly felt very heavy and when he looked inside at his home, he found that it was filled with small and large gold coins.
When Yokubei heard the story from Shobei, he got all envious and went down to the river himself. He stuffed some of his white Mochi into the mouth of the statue and then hurried home.
But his bucket was filled with heavy stones and horse excrements . . .

. Legends about Jizo Bosatsu - 地蔵菩薩 - .



..................................................... Nagano 長野県 .....................................................

For people who have died without relatives (muenbotoke 無縁仏) people float offerings of Mochi and rice in the river to protect themselves from water accidents.
One day when Uwabami ウワバミ (a huge serpent-monster) wanted to eat a child, people threw Mochi at them and saved it that way.

yamakagachi, ja, senja - python
- tba source : www.blackdrago.com

- quote -
蟒蛇 Uwabami
..... The name uwabami has roots going back to archaic Japanese. The first part of the name, uwa, meant skillful or superior. Gradually this shifted to a similar sounding word, uha, which meant great or large. The second part of the name is from an archaic word for snake, hami. This word derives from the word for eating, hamu, which refers both to the snake’s fondness for biting and its ability to eat things that appear much larger than it. So uwabami were “skillful eaters” which over time became “giant snakes.”
Another linguistic point of interest is
that the word “uwabami” also has the colloquial meaning of “heavy drinker.” The reason for this is the uwabami’s great love for sake and its ability to drink in far alcohol more than even a creature as large as it should be able to.
A famous tale comes from Ōnuma Lake in Nagano Prefecture. .....
- source : yokai.com/uwabami -



..................................................... Okayama 岡山県 ..................................................

. kohaku mochi 紅白餅 and 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji .
a legend from Niimi 新見


..................................................... Saitama 埼玉県 ..................................................

Chichibu, 吉田町 Yoshida

During お盆 O-Bon, the festival for the ancestors, children go to the river and enjoy sumo wrestling. One of the boys got hungry, went home and ate some of the ぼた餅 botamochi offered to the ancestors. When he came back to the river and tried to wrestle again, he fell into the river and never came out again.
You should not eat the Mochi dedicated to the ancestors.




..................................................... Shimane 島根県 .....................................................

On the 20th day of the first lunar month all family members share to eat the 力餅 chikara mochi they have prepared in the last year. This way they will all partake of great power.


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- reference -

血を流す餅 / 若餅 / かびたれ餅 / 鼠の餅つき

yokai database - more than 560 episodes tba (01)
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -


mochitsuki 餅つき (12) tba
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -



. mochi 餅 rice cakes, Reiskuchen .
- Introduction -


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

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- - - - - Kappa and Mochi legends - 河童と餅 - - - - -


Kappamochi, Kappa-Mochi 河童餅 Green Mochi for the Kappa

. Kappa and Mochi - Ehime 愛媛県 .

. Kappa and Mochi 餅 - Fukushima 福島県 .

. Kappa and Mochi - Gifu 岐阜県 .
imomochi 芋餅 mochi from potatoes

. Kappa and Mochi - Gunma, Gumma 群馬県 .
kabitari mochi かぴたり餅 / (川浸り餅) "Mochi for the First Day"

. Kappa and 餅 Mochi - Ibaraki, Ibaragi 茨城県 .
kawabitari mochi カワビタリモチ / 川浸り餅 "Mochi for the First Day"
kabitari mochi かぴたり餅 / (川浸り餅) "Mochi for the First Day"
kaaperi mochi かーぺぇり餅」(川入り餅) "Mochi to go into the water"

. Kappa and Mochi - Iwate 岩手県  .

. Kappa and Mochi - Kagoshima 鹿児島県 .

. Kappa and Mochi - Tochigi 栃木県 .
kabitari mochi カビタレモチ / (川浸り餅) "Mochi for the First Day"

. Kappa and Mochi - Tottori 鳥取県 .

. Kappa and Mochi - Toyama 富山県 .
kabitari mochi かぴたり餅 / (川浸り餅) "Mochi for the First Day"

. Kappa and Mochi - Yamagata 山形県 .
mamemochi 豆餅 Mochi made from beans

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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 .

- #kappamochiyokai #mochiyokai #yokaimochi -
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5/08/2015

Shuten Doji Yokai

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- KAPPAPEDIA - Yokai Monsters -
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Shuten Dooji 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji "Sake Child" Demon
Shuten Dōji 酒顛童子, 酒天童子, 朱点童子 Saka Doji

There is a lot of material about this popular Sake Drinker Yokai Monster,
from the hanga of old to the manga of new.

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妖怪 Saka Doji, Shuten Doji 酒呑童子 a Sake Yokai Monster


source : 妖怪博士の日記

This monster lives at the border of Kyoto and Tamba (Tanba) (京都と丹波国の国境) on big branches or in caves (鬼の岩屋 oni no iwaya) and is the boss of the local monster clan.
It's face is slightly red and the hair short and red. It can grow up to 6 meters high and has five horns. It also has 15 eyes.
Others say it looks like a beautiful boy of the "other world".
It is related to the famous monsters of Oeyama 大江山.
He often had virgins brought to his camp and used to "eat" them . . . most probably by using them as "comfort women" for himself and his men.

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- quote -
Shuten-dōji 酒呑童子, also sometimes spelled 酒顛童子, 酒天童子, or 朱点童子
is a mythical oni leader who lived in Mt. Ooe (大江山) of Tamba Province or Mt. Ooe (大枝) on the boundary between Kyoto and Tamba. He was based in a palace somewhat like a Ryūgū-jō on Mt. Ooe, and he had many oni subordinates.
- snip
He, who was born in Echigo in the Heian era (8th century) when Dengyō Daishi and Kōbō-Daishi were active, became a page of the Kokojou-ji (国上寺) (in Tsubame, Niigata) (at the base of Mt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dou where he is said to have passed through).
- snip
one of the “three great evil yokai.”
Shuten-doji, who came to Kyoto, had many subordinates with Ibaraki-doji as his first, and based on Mt. Ooe, appeared in Kyoto from time to time, kidnapped the daughters of noble families, cut them with swords, and ate them raw.
- snip

CLICK for more photos !
“Ooe-yama Shuten-doji Emaki” scoll (大江山酒天童子絵巻)
- details in the WIKIPEDIA -

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models of festival floats from the Karatsu kunchi festival 唐津くんち in Saga, Kyushu
Festival float Nr. 11 番曳山 is about "the drunken ogre and the helmet of Minamoto Yorimitsu"
酒呑童子と源頼光の兜.


source : nino-art.at.webry
clay bell 土鈴



source : karatsu-otsuka

酒呑童子と源頼光の兜 the helmet of Raiko

hariko papermachee doll 張子 



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- quote -
Shuten Dōji Will Drink Your Blood and Eat Your Flesh



A new exhibit, at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery opens Saturday, March 21 and runs through September 20. It features hanging scrolls, folding screens and printed books telling the Shuten Dōji legend:One thousand years ago, the ogre giant Shuten Dōji lounged in his mountain castle

The Shuten Dōji legend:
One thousand years ago, the ogre giant Shuten Dōji lounged in his mountain castle, sipping wine and snacking on samurai meat. As he dined with his demonic companions, with a gaggle of captive young noblewomen to serve them, perhaps he wondered how sweet life had turned out for him. A life of debauchery rewarded day after day with earthly pleasures.

Nearby by in Kyoto, the capital of medieval Japan, the emperor grew concerned. Each day, he was forced to stand by and watch, as Shuten Dōji kidnapped one woman after another. The emperor called for the legendary samurai Minamoto "Raiko" Yorimitsu 源頼光 and his five retainers to conquer the ogre giant. The handsome and morally righteous Riako accepted the challenge, and after a brief stop to pray, he and his band set off toward Shuten Dōji’s castle on Mount Oe.

Disguised as Buddhist monks to avoid suspicion, with armor hidden in their wooden backpacks, the good guys traveled deep into the mountains. Along the way, the disguised samurai met three gods in human form, who shared their strong dislike for the ways of the wicked Shuten Dōji. Raiko is given a magical helmet, as well as a special sleep-inducing sake (rice wine), and the gods guide him to the castle.

When the samurai arrive, they are welcomed and entertained by Shuten Dōji, who is fooled by their monk costumes. After they enter the giant’s home, they watch as horned demons slice off human thigh and shoulder meat before eating it like sushi. Dōji settles down on his favorite decorative rug as the captured noblewomen enter through hand-painted doors to serve the guests wine. It’s then when Raiko gives Shuten Dōji the special sake, and the giant quickly becomes drunk and sleepy.

What Raiko doesn't know, is that whenever someone serves Shuten Dōji wine, the ogre giant transforms into a hairy, red, demon. But Raiko, nevertheless, ambushes and beheads the monster. The hero can’t declare victory, however, because when Raiko least expects it, Shuten Dōji’s head jumps back to life and attempts to kill the samurai. Protected by his magic helmet, Raiko deflects the attacks, conquers the monster and his demon henchmen, and marches victoriously back to Kyoto hauling Shuten Doji’s head in an ox-cart.
Good vanquishes evil once again.

- source : www.smithsonianmag.com - Joseph Caputo


Raiko fighting Shuten Doji (Katsushika Hokusai)

Minamoto no Yorimitsu 源頼光 (948 – August 29, 1021),
also known as Minamoto no Raikō
Raiko is usually accompanied by his four legendary retainers, known as the Shiten'ō (The Four Guardian Kings).
They were Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata no Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake, and Usui Sadamitsu.
The Karatsu Kunchi festival in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture, features a large float inspired by the helmet of Minamoto, being partially devoured by the oni Shuten Douji . . .
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Ooeyama. Ōeyama 大江山 Mt. Ōe. Mount Oeyama

Some legends say this mountain was a refuge for pirates from Korea 朝鮮人の海賊.


CLICK for more photos !

Near the place where the remains of the mansion of Shuten Doji are supposed to be there is a huge boulder. There is also a place where the river flows upstream when the demons wash the bloody robes; this is where the villagers later they build the 不動堂 Fudo Hall below the waterfall 千丈ヶ滝下 Senjogataki.
Even further up in the mountain, where Shuten Doji was defeated by Raiko Yorimitsu there is now the shrine 鬼獄神社 Onitake Jinja.

. 鬼嶽稲荷神社 Onitake Inari Jinja / 鬼獄神社 Onitake Jinja .
Oni-take Inari Jinja 京都府福知山市大江町北原 Fukuchiyama, Kyoto

At the forest 童子ケ森 Dojigamori in Fukuchiyama there is the head of Shuten Doji burried in the ground. It had flown there all by its own.


- quote -
Mt. Ōe (大江山)
Mention Mt. Ōe to any Japanese person, and they’ll likely start indulging you in the legends of the many oni (demons) that roam the ridges of the hallowed peak.
Oni’s cave (鬼の洞窟)
Senjogatake (千丈ヶ嶽) / Senjogataki 千丈ヶ滝 Waterfall
Oni-take Inari Jinja (鬼岳稲荷神社)
- source - japanhike.wordpress.com -


After Minamoto Raiko had killed the yokai Shuten Doji, all the girls he had kidnapped ("eaten") were set free to go home. But one had gone so out of her mind, she did not remember where she was from. She was pregnant and eventually gave birth to a baby with all teeth already there. This "Demon Child" 鬼童 Kido grew up and went to Kyoto, trying to kill the brother of Raiko. But he did not succeed and got caught himself.
He is the subject of legends of its own.

Kidoomaru 鬼童丸、鬼同丸(きどうまる)Kidomaru


Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳『鬼童丸』

- 鬼童丸 Kidomaru Demon -

. kidoo 鬼童 "child demon" .


. 大江山鬼伝説 Demon Legend of Oeyama Mountain .




大江山酒呑童子祭り Oeyama Shuten Doji Festival



- quote -
Shutendoji Oeyama Onigawara Craft Center
Oeyama Onigawara (roof tiles with the figure of a demon) Craft Center
is located in Shutendoji-no-sato, which is in the grand nature of the Oeyama mountain ranges (designated as Tango Amanohashidate Oeyama Quasi-national Park) or has inherited a demon legends and other folk tales.
There is Japanese demons museum nearby too.
(Oe-Yama-no-Ie) 912-1Butsushoji Oe-cho Fukuchiyama City
. source - kyoto-kankou.or.jp .



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source : youkai-heim.jp

酒呑童子先生 Shuten Doji, Saka Doji, our teacher - More Local Legends

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.................................................... Hyogo 兵庫県

In 姫路 Himeji at a large shrine there is a Demon Boulder 鬼岩 about 1 meter high related to Shuten Doji. If someone sits on this boulder, he will be cursed 祟り.


.................................................... Ibaraki 茨城県

The deity Takemikatsuchi no Mikoto 鹿島の武甕槌命 from Kashima drove Ibaraki Doji out of the region.
This area where he fled is now called 鬼越山 Onigoeyama.


source : facebook
Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900)

The demon Ibaraki grips her severed arm in her teeth.


.................................................... Kyoto 京都

Kubizuka Daimyojin Shrine 首塚大明神
京都府京都市右京区 - Kyoto

- quote
... near Oinosaka Pass on Rte 9, is a popular tourist attraction as well as a major haunted spot in Kyoto. It is believed that Shuten-doji, a leader of mysticism and magic, was killed by Minamoto Yorimitsu and his head was buried here in the Heian period.

The shrine has a gloomy and sinister feel even in daytime. You feel your body become heavy on a sudden even if you are not spiritually sensitive. Photographs taken here will get innumerable orbs floating all over. Rumor has it that people get cursed once passing through the torii gate, or that a lady with downcast eyes always stands at a bus stop in the midnight.
- source : guides-japan.com




. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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. Shuten-dōji 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji .
and the Rashomon Gate 羅城門の鬼、羅生門の鬼

The story is also told in the Noh play by Kanze Nobumitsu.
The hero Watanabe no Tsuna 渡辺綱 fights against a demon (Ibaraki doji).


- quote -
Watanabe no Tsuna (渡辺 綱) (953-1025)
was a Japanese samurai, a retainer of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (also known as Raikō), one of the earliest samurai to be famed for his military exploits.


- Watanabe Tsuna fighting with Ibaragi Oni at the Rashomon

- In legend
Watanabe features in many of Yorimitsu's legendary adventures, and aids him in fighting many monsters, beasts and demons.

In one such tale, Tsuna accompanies Raikō to the hut of Yamamba, a man-eating hag. There they find a boy known as Kaidomaru, who had been brought up among animals and endowed with superhuman strength. The boy requests that Raikō allow him to become one of his retainers, and Raikō accepts, giving the boy the name Sakata no Kintoki, often shortened to Kintoki.

Some of Watanabe no Tsuna's other comrades in legend are Urabe no Suetake and Usui Sadamitsu. Together, the four are collectively known as the Four Guardian Kings, an allusion to the Buddhist Shitennō.

Watanabe is also said to have assisted Raikō in slaying a tsuchigumo. His most famous feat is most likely the defeat of the demon Ibaraki-doji, the principal follower of Shuten-doji. He fought Ibaraki-doji single-handedly at the Rashomon gate at the southern end of Suzaku-oji, the central North-South street in the old capital Heian-kyo (now Kyoto).

At the end of the intense battle Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the demon's arm before it fled over the gables. Tsuna put the demon's arm away in a Chinese case (唐櫃 karabitsu). The demon later returned to claim the lost arm, and tricked Tsuna to release the arm. This legend is continued in a Japanese tale known as Ooeyama.

- Tsuna and the Ibaraki-doji
- Tsuna's Meitō, the Demon Slayer
- In popular culture


. . . . . carver Otoman, circa 1830, ivory, height 72 mm
- In netsuke
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. 高野山 Koyasan 弘法寺 Kobo-Ji 龍生院 Ryusho-In . - Tokyo
The temple was revitalized in 1890 by 渡邊貞浄法尼 the Honorable Nun Watanabe.
Legend knows that in the compound is an old well used for water of the first bath of the Heian-period hero,
渡邊綱 Watanabe no Tsuna,

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source : kurand.jp/blog

京丹波町
The town of Tanba is proud to be the place where Minamoto Raiko gave it a lot of sake to drink and then get rid of Shuten Doji. The sake is called
鬼殺し Onikoroshi " killing the demon"
from Shuchi 須知 (a town in the Tanba district)

鬼を殺すほど辛い酒 a sake as hot-spicy (karai) as to kill a demon




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

In the town of Igu 伊具郡 there lives a family called Watanabe, dating itself back to Watanabe no Tsuna. They never built a gable 破風 on their house, because Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the arm of Shuten Doji and escaped over the gable .



.................................................... Nara 奈良県

Byakugooji 白毫寺 Byakugo-Ji
奈良県奈良市白毫寺町392


- source and more photos : 東風庵

- - - Yamato province birth legend
Shuten Doji was a page acolyte at the temple Byakugō-ji in the Yamato province (presently, Nara Province), but found a corpse at a nearby mountain, and due to curiosity, brought that meat back to the temple, and made his priest teacher eat it without telling him that it was human meat. Afterwards, the page frequently brought back meat, not only from the flesh of corpses, but also by murdering live humans and returning with their flesh. The priest, who thought that it was suspicious, followed after the page, discovered the truth, harshly criticized the page, and abandoned him in a mountain. The page later became Shuten-doji, and it has been said that the place where he was abandoned was thus called “Chigo-saka” (稚児坂 page-hill).



According to another theory,
he was a child of the chief priest of Byakugō-ji, but as he matured, he grew fangs and a horn, and later became a child as rough as a beast. The priest was embarrassed by this child, so the child was abandoned, but the child later came to Mt. Ooe, and became Shuten-doji.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Byakugo-Ji and Haiku .


.................................................... Niigata 新潟県 - Echigo 越後

Kokujooji 国上寺 Kokujo-Ji / 運高山国上寺
新潟県燕市国上1407 - Tsubame, Kugami

- Homepage of the temple (one of the oldest in Echigo
- source : kokujouji.com

国上 can be read as Kokujo or Kugami.


CLICK for more photos of the temple !

酒呑童子 / 茨羅鬼童子/ 茨城童子 / 茨木童子 Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji
(Ibaragi Dōji)

In the village Kugami Mura 国上村 near mount 国上山 Kugami there lived a man called Sado Hayato 佐渡隼人. He had no children and therefore went to Mount Togakushiyama to pray for a son. When a son was born he called him
外道丸 Gedomaru . Gedomaru lived as an acolyte at the temple Kokujo-Ji from the age of 7, because he was quite a wild boy and beyond his parent's control. When he was 17 he had become a very handsome yong man. The local ladies began to look at this beautiful boy when he came down from the mountain to have a drink of sake at the lokal inn.
He loved only sake, so the local folks called him 酒呑童子 "Saka Doji" "the child of sake".
But he never gave a look at the ladies or cared for their love letters. When he burned the love letters he received from all the females, due to one of the lady who was not able to acquire her love, when the love letters burned, the smoke that came out enveloped him, turning him into an oni 鬼 monster.
Because of this, it was said that he, who had now became an oni, was moving from mountain to mountain in Honshu.

Gedomaru later flew to Mount Togakushi in Shinshu and begun to eat the local people there with crunching sounds.
So they prayed to Togakushi Daigongen 戸隠大権現 and Gedomaru went off.
Other legends locate him at 弥彦山 Yabikoyama in Niigata, but finally he settled at 大江山 Oeyama.
Other legends locate him at 高野山 Mount Koyasan, but 弘法大師 Kobo Daishi threw him out.
Other legends locate him at 比叡山 Mount Hieizan, but 伝教法師 Dengyo Daishi threw him out.
He lived a while at the food of Mount Ibukiyama 伊吹山の麓 as 伊吹童子 Ibuki Doji and then moved on to Oeyama.


- - - - - Echigo birth legend
He, who was born in Echigo in the Heian era (8th century) when Dengyō Daishi and Kōbō-Daishi were active, became a page of the Kokujou-ji (国上寺) (in Tsubame, Niigata) (at the base of Mt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dou where he is said to have passed through).
While he was 12 years of age, he was a “pretty boy,” and refused all of the females who loved him, and all of the females who approached him died from being so love-stricken. When he burned the love letters he received from all the females, due to one of the females who was not able to acquire her love, when the love letters burned, the smoke that came out enveloped him, turning him into an oni. Because of this, it was said that he, who became an oni, after moving from mountain to mountain centered on Honshu, eventually settled on Mt. Ooe.
One story is
that he was the son of a blacksmith in Echigo, that he was in his mother’s womb for 16 months, and that he had teeth and hair when he was born, was immediately able to walk, was able to talk on the level of a 5-6 year old, had the wisdom and physical strength of a 16 year old, and had a rough temperament, and due to this unusually ready wit, was shunned as an “oni child.” According to Zentaiheiki, afterwards, when he was 6 years of age, he was abandoned by his mother, wandered from place to place, and then walked the path towards being an oni.
There is also a legend that since he was scorned as an oni child, he was put into custody of a temple, but the chief priest of that temple was a user of unorthodox practices, and the child became an oni through learning those unorthodox practices, that he exhausted the limits of evil.
In the town of Wano 和納 (Wanoo, Niigata),
it is said that when a pregnant woman eats a fish called “tochi,” that child will become a robber if it is a boy, and a prostitute if it is a girl. It is also said that a woman who ate the fish, gave birth to a child after it stayed 16 months in her womb, and that child was Shuten-doji.
In Wanoo, there are place names like the Doji estate and the Doji field.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


- Relation to Ibaraki-doji -
Shuten-doji rampaged together in Kyoto along with Ibaraki-doji, but there are actually several theories about their relation. One of those theories is that Ibaraki-doji was not a male oni, but a female oni, and that Ibaraki-doji was a lover of his son, or Shuten-doji himself. Therefore, it has been said that Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji knew of each other’s existence, and aimed for the capital together.

Ibaraki dōji, Ibaraki Dooji 茨木童子 / 茨城童子 "Ibaraki child"
He is said to be the child of the fierce warrior 平将門 Taira no Masakado (?903 - 940).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !





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西蒲原郡 分水町 Bunsui machi


source : wiki

katame no gyoshin 片目の魚神 fish god with one eye
He became a a deity to protect the fish who get wounded or loose one eye in dirty rivers.

The village claims a canal where a baby (later to become Shuten) was washed after birth. In this canal there lived a fish with one eye 片目の魚.
Maybe one miracle induced the next . . .

Once a child had gone lost and when folks came to think of it they thought Shuten Doji had kidnapped the boy and eaten him (or maybe made him his male servant).

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栃尾市 Tochio town

In the 軽井沢地区 Karuizawa district there are only 50 families, and 34 of them have the name 茨木性 Ibaraki. There is a place named 茨木清水 Ibaraki Kiyomizu where Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji had a sumo wrestling match. After that, Ibaraki Doji stayed in the area and founded this village. His descendants live live in simple farm houses and if they try to build a stronger roof and gate, the family will be punished with bad luck - or so they say.

At the district 一之貝地区 Ichinokai a tale is told at Setsubun.
On the Setsubun Day (now February 3) Watanabe no Tsuna had cut off the arm of Shuten Doji. So the villagers with the name 渡辺 Watanabe are not afraid of this yokai.
Together with the villagers named Ibaraki these families do not have to throw beans for driving away the oni.


. Setsubun 節分 the "Seasonal Divide" .
Throwing beans to drive out the oni.

fuku wa uchi 福は内(ふくはうち)"Good luck, come in!"
oni wa soto 鬼は外(おにはそと)"Demons, go out! "



.................................................... Okayama 岡山県

In the village 下熊谷 Shimokumatani in Niimi 新見市 there lived a woodcutter who went to the forest with his many helpers. One of the helpers found a red and white auspicious mochi in a very lonely place in the woods 紅白餅. It looked so very delicious, he could not help but eat it. All of a sudden his face changed and became very wild, like a mask and he jumped around quite wild. He was like a demon who had lost its way in the woods. Finally his friends tried to bring him back, but he said
"I have become a demon all right, so please do not touch me." and eat the last man who had touched him. The helpers ran to their master and told him the story.
When they all went back to the spot, they found the demon.
"Now I will go back to Oeyama in Tanba!" he shouted, jumped into the sky and disappeared.
They finally realized is must have been Shuten Doji.


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酒呑童子 / 酒典童子 reference
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- reference 酒呑童子 -


ukiyo-e about Shuten Doji
- source : ukiyo-e.org -



.
Ricewine, rice wine (酒 sake, saké, saki) .

- Introduction -

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - (1715-1783) . .



雲の峰に 肘する酒呑童子かな
kumo no mine ni hiji suru Shuuten Dooji kana

Shuten Doji
rests his elbows
on billowing clouds . . .



妖怪ぞろぞろ俳句の本 - - - by 古舘 綾子 (著), 山口 マオ (イラスト)
. Haiku about Yokai and Demons .


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Kaidomaru 坂田怪童丸 Sakata Kaidomaru



A triptych showing the great sumo wrestling match between Momotaro and Kaidomaru, the two youths of prodigious strength. Momotaro, on the right, is identified by the peaches on his garment. (He was known as “The Peach Boy.”)
A pheasant is umpiring the match (a reference to the companions Momotaro makes early in his career: a monkey, dog and pheasant).
While a bear officiates on Kaidomaru’s side (also a reference to the animals he befriends in the forest).
- source : japaneseprints-london -

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

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source : mikosi-jiten

Head of Shuten Doji - Kanda Matsuri Festival Float - 附け祭り Tsuke Matsuri

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. karakuri ningyoo からくり人形 mechanical dolls .


Dolls of 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji (tba)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .

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

[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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