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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6/27/2015

Suikosama Water Beast

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ / カッパ - ABC-Index -
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- Suiko 水虎 Water Tiger, Water Beast -



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- quote -
ALTERNATE NAMES: sometimes mistakenly referred to as kappa
HABITAT: rivers, lakes, ponds and waterways; found throughout Japan
DIET: omnivorous; prefers human blood and souls

APPEARANCE:
Suiko are found in both China and Japan and are often confused with kappa, which they closely resemble. However, suiko are far more dangerous, violent, and hot-tempered than their kappa cousins. Suiko have the body of a small child and are covered in extremely tough scales like a pangolin’s. They have sharp, hook-like growths on their kneecaps which resemble a tiger’s claws. They live near riverbanks and in large bodies of water.

BEHAVIOR:
Suiko rank above kappa in the hierarchy of water goblins, and as such are sometimes placed in charge of them, with one suiko placed in charge of 48 kappa. (They are sometimes called the oyabun, or yakuza bosses, of kappa.) In turn, suiko report to the Ryū-ō, the dragon king, who lives in his palace, Ryū-gū, at the bottom of the sea. The reason suiko kill humans is to look tougher among the other suiko and increase their standing with the dragon king. (Likewise, when kappa attack humans, it is to make them look tougher and increase their standing with their suiko boss.)

INTERACTIONS:
Suiko who live in inhabited areas like to sneak out of the water at night to play pranks oh humans, knocking on doors and running away, or possessing people and making them do strange things. Like kappa and other water spirits, suiko enjoy using their superior strength to pull humans into water and drown them, although unlike kappa they have no concern for the shirikodama. Instead, suiko drain their victims of blood like vampires, then eat their souls (reikon) and return the dead, drained body to the surface.
It is possible to keep suiko at bay by leaning a sickle against the side of a house and sprinkling flax seeds or black-eyed peas on the ground outside. Suiko are afraid of these and will keep away.

There is one known method to kill a suiko.
It involves the corpse of a person who has had their blood drained by a suiko. First, a small hut made of grass and straw is built in a field. Then the body, instead of being buried, it is laid on a wooden plank and placed in the hut. The suiko who sucked that person’s blood will be drawn to the hut, where it will start running around and around in circles. (Suiko have to ability to become invisible, so it is likely that it will only be heard rather than seen; or else only its footprints will be visible.) As the dead body gradually decays, so will the suiko. By the time the body has rotted completely, the suiko will have died, its magic will have ceased, and the decayed corpse of the suiko will be visible on the ground near the body.
- source : yokai.com/suiko -


- quote -
The suiko (lit. "water tiger")
is a king-sized variety of kappa living in and around the Chikugo River (Kyushu), Lake Biwa (Shiga prefecture), and other bodies of water across Japan.



In addition to prowling around at night and making mischief, the suiko has the power to possess people. Those possessed by a suiko descend into a temporary state of madness, but they recover quickly after the creature withdraws.

At least once a year, the suiko drags a human victim into the water, sucks out his blood, and returns the body to shore. It is best not to have a funeral for the victim of a suiko attack. Instead, the body should be left on a wooden plank inside a small thatched hut in a field. If done properly, this course of action causes the flesh of the suiko perpetrator to slowly rot until it dies.
- source : monstropedia.org -

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Suiko Sama 水虎様
from North-West Tsugaru, Iwate 西北津軽

There are more than 80 temples and shrines in Iwate and Aomori where this deity is venerated.



He comes in various forms and robes.



He is a deity people come to pray for the prevention of water accidents.

In East Tsugaru it is often the feature of a woman standing on a turtle.

Look at more photos :
- source : marugoto.exblog.jp -

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Suikosama 水虎様
Aomori, Kizukuri machi 青森 木造町 July 20



At the temple Jissooji 実相寺 Jisso-Ji

Look at many more photos of other Suiko Sama from the region !
- source : sadisticyuki10 -

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- reference -

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

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

. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .

- #kappasuiko #suikosama #kappatiger #suikojizo #jizo -

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. Jizō - Jizo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 .
suiko Jizo 水虎地蔵 Jizo as a water tiger
In Akita, Yokote, at the temple 龍泉寺 Ryusen-Ji
there is a statue of 水虎地蔵 Suiko Jizo.
When there was a fire he produced water bubbles with his hands and feet and used the water of a flower vase.  

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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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5/06/2015

Hihi Baboon Yokai

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

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

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


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

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



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

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

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



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



井川洗厓/大河内翠山 - Iwami Jutaro


source : www.npo-hiroshima.jp

宮乃木神楽団「岩見重太郎」 Kagura dance


. Kagura 神楽 Ritual Kagura Dance .

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


- painting by Masasumi

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

- - - Both these stories are similar in plot.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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



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

. Hihi becomes 山の神 Yamanokami .




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

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




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

. 六部 The Rokubu pilgrim .




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

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

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Nahgano 松本市 Matsumoto

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

. rokubu 六部 Rokubu pilgrims in Nagano .




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

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


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

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- reference -

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

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

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

. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .

- #kappahihi #hihiyokai #hihiyōkai #baboon #hihibaboon #hayataro #shippeitaro -
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