onizuka demon mound

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Onizuka 鬼塚 / オニヅカ Demon Mound

Some are kofun 古墳 mounds.
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and the early 7th century AD.
- - - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Oni no iwaya kofun 鬼の窟古墳（鬼のいわや古墳）
鬼ノ岩屋古墳 "Cave of the Demons" - Miyazaki Kyushu



- quote -
Saitobaru Kofun-Gun 西都原古墳　
There are burial mounds everywhere in Miyazaki that is rich with ancient myths. Among them, Saitobaru Kofungun is one of the largest groups of burial mounds on a 70-meter-high hill running from south to north in the east of Saito, Miyazaki. A part of them are designated as special historic burial mounds. 311 burial grounds of various sizes scattered across the hill are reminder of the prosperity of ancient persons in power. Burial mounds of different styles are scattered around Osahozuka believed to be the grave of Ninigi-no-mikoto and Mesahozuka believed to be the grave of his wife Konohanasakuya-hime (both managed by the Imperial Household Agency). They indicate the existence of multiple powers that continued to build these large-scale burial mounds.

175 m-long and 18 m high at the round part, Osahozuka is the largest scallop-shaped mound in Japanese Archpelago. 180 m-long Mesahozuka (15 m high at the round part) is one of the largest mounds in Kyushu. Both are under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Agency and closed to the public.



Oni no Iwaya is the only tumulus left in a perfect condition in Japan and you can see the inside.
However, most of the burial mounds are preserved without excavation. ...
- reference source : jnto.go.jp/eng/spot/ruins -


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鬼塚古墳 Onizuka kofun, Kunisaki, 国東　Oita　大分
- reference -


長戸鬼塚古墳 Nagato Onizuka Kofun, Isahaya　諌早, Nagasaki 長崎
- reference -


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. Shrines named Onizuka Jinja .

鬼塚神社　　- 福岡県椎田町 Fukuoka
and - 鬼塚観音 Onizuka Kannon 　/ 鬼塚子宝観音 Onizuka Kodakara Kannon / Onizuka Mara Kannon. まら観音
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鬼塚神社　Onizuka Jinja - 長崎県佐世保市 Nagasaki

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


............................................................................ Ehime 愛媛県
北宇和郡 Kitauwa district 吉田町 Yoshida

Ushioni 牛鬼 "bull-demon"
On his way to war in Korea, 加藤清正 Kato Kiyomasa asked the Ushioni to come with him and fight.
In the town of 宇和島 Uwajima at 泉ヶ森 Izumigamori there is Ushioni-Zuka 牛鬼塚 a mound in his memory.
Once upon a time, when Okuninushi drove out the demons and also Ushioni, his blood turned the ground all red, and even now there are 赤石 red rocks.

Uwajima Ushi-oni matsuri 宇和島牛鬼祭り Uwajima Ushi-oni festival
牛鬼の面（かぶ） Mask of an Ushi-Oni for the festival
There are also families named 鬼塚 Onizuka and 鬼頭 Onigashira .
. ushi oni, ushioni, gyuuki 牛鬼 / うし鬼 "bull-demon" .

. 加藤清正 Kato Kiyomasa (1562 - 1611) .



............................................................................ Ibaraki 茨城県
鹿島市 Kashima

The 鹿島の大神 Great Deity of Kashima drove out the demon of the 高天原地方 Takamagahara region. He burried its head in the ground, which is now the 鬼塚 Onizuka.
The blood of the Oni turned the sand all read.
If people eat the birds that live in this region, the family will suffer misfortune and disaster.



- quote -
Takama-ga-hara 高天原 "the Plain of High Heaven"
is a place in Japanese mythology. In Shinto, Takamagahara (or Takama no Hara) is the dwelling place of the kami. It is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge Ama-no uki-hashi (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven").
In Shinto, ame (heaven) is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the amatsukami. Some scholars have attempted to explain the myth of descent of the gods from the Takamagahara as an allegory of the migration of peoples. However, it is likely to have referred from the beginning to a higher world in a religious sense. A Shinto myth explains that at the time of creation, light, pure elements branched off to become heaven (ame). Heavy, turbid elements branched off to become earth (tsuchi). Ame became the home of the amatsukami or gods of heaven, while tsuchi became the home of kunitsukami or gods of the land. The amatsukami are said to have descended from heaven to pacify and perfect this world.
- source : wikipedia -

The location of this plain is disputed, sources quote a region in Kashima.




. Kashima Shrine 鹿島神宮 Kashima Jingu .
This shrine is dedicated to the deity Takemikazuchi no mikoto (武甕槌大神)
Kashima Daijin (鹿島大神) "Great Deity of Kashima", a patron of the martial arts.



............................................................................ Kagawa 香川県
善通寺市 Zentsuji

kaika 怪火 ghost light，狸 Tanuki
The lord 鬼塚八郎右衛門 Onizuka Hachiroemon of castle 雨霧城 Amagirijo was was killed by the enemy and the castle lost.
To appease his soul, the villagers erected an Onizuka 鬼塚 Demon Mound Stone Memorial. Much later the land was redistributed for agriculture and the small shrine and mound was lost. The man who tore down the mound, Senkoya 線香屋, soon fell ill.
In his dream he heard a voice: "Why did you com here? Why did you do this?"
"I destroyed the Onizuka, that was wrong of me, I want to beg for your pardon."
On that night a ghost light appeared and the estate and all the family members were burned.
The villagers thought it must have been the revenge of the Tanuki who had stayed for so many years as guardian of the Onizuka.

- reference : Amagiri castle -

In Zentsuji town there is a district called Onizuka
香川県善通寺市弘田町鬼塚 Zentsuji, Hirota village, Onizuka
At the adress 香川県善通寺市弘田町鬼塚1105 there is the Shinto shrine

Kumoge Jinja 雲氣神社（雲気神社）





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

上水内郡 Kamiminochi district 鬼無里村 Kinasamura village

戸隠山の鬼 Togakushiyama no Oni
When people were digging up the Onizuka mound, they found bones. The skull had two horns, and from the jaw some fangs were protruding for about 90 cm.
There were also bones from arms and legs.
Villagers say that 平惟茂 Taira no Koremochi had burried an Oni there. After he had killed the Demon, the village was called
Kinasa - village without any demons.
The story tells of Koremochi fighting Kijo, the demon of Mt. Togakushi.

kijo momiji　鬼女紅葉 The Female Demon called "Momiji"


- quote Sean Donnan Art -

. kijo momiji　鬼女紅葉 The Female Demon called "Momiji" .
with Haiku by Buson and more


. お善鬼様伝説 The Legend of O-Zenki Sama - The Benevolent Demon .
Nagano, Aoni shuuraku 青鬼集落 a hamlet named Aoni "Green Demon"

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One more legend from Kinasa village about the Kappa

馬を厩に入れると尻尾に河童がつかまっていた。打ち殺そうとすると詫びたので逃がした。河童は恩返しに膳椀を貸してくれたが、そのひとつを横領したものがあり、貸さなくなった。

- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - ABC-Index -


............................................................................ Nara 奈良県
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宇陀郡 Uda district 榛原町 Haibaracho

黒塚 Kurozuka, 鬼塚 Onizuka and 三ツ塚 Mitsuzuka
. oni no shison 鬼の子孫 descendants of Oni . .
Families with the name 足立の安達姓 Adachi are descendants of Oni.
In the deep mountain there are three 古墳 Kofun mounds related to the Oni.


............................................................................ Osaka 大阪府

- quote -
Mitsuzuka Mounded Tombs - Kofun
These are three square mounded tombs arranged from east to west on the south side of the Mausoleum of Empress Nakatsuhime.
From east, they are called Yashimazuka Mounded Tomb, Nakayamazuka Mounded Tomb, and Suketayama Mounded Tomb, respectively.
In 1978, large and small shura (wooden sleds) were discovered at the bottom of the surrounding moat between Yashimazuka Mounded Tomb and Nakayamazuka Mounded Tomb, which attracted wide attention from the public.
- source :city.fujiidera.lg.jp/kanko -
大阪府藤井寺市岡1丁目1番1号


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

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

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

. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .

. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk Art from Japan .

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- #onizuka #demonmound #onikofun -
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Gaappa legends Kyushu

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Legends from Kyushu 九州 -
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- Gaappa ガーッパ The Kappa of Nagasaki 長崎県 -

. - suijin 水神 water deity - .
Gaappa is seen as the God of Water 水神.

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In spring the Gaappa moves to 雞知 Kechi and in Autumn to 佐須 Sasu (対馬 Tsushima ).

The Gaappa has the size of a child with red hair, others say he looks like a large frog with a dent on his head. He likes to eat the nuts of the shuro 棕櫚 hemp palm.

Sometimes he throws sand at a person walking on the beach.

To be possessed by the Gaappa is said of people who like to carry around a lot of fish and sweets on a lonely road at night.
It is almost the same as being possessed by a fox.

Some people with a special medial vision can even see the Gaappa.

If people wrestle with a Kappa, the thread of their robes comes off. To win against a Gaappa best have him stand on his head. Then the magic water from his plate will be spilled.

Before swimming in a river you have to fix some cucumbers to your arms and neck.

People who meet a Gaappa usually become ill very soon afterwards.

On the day of the River Festival カワマツリ people float bamboo shoots and dumplings on the river.
Some rivers have special bewitched places where the Gappa live, ガーッパドコ gaappadoko. These places are dangerous for horses

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Kappa and Monkey 猿

The wild monkeys usually do no harm to humans. But if a human is possessed by a Gaappa the monkey will jump on it and bite it.


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西海市 Saikai town, 西彼町 Seihi

. Gaappa ガーッパ Kappa and Sake .


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商い（秋無い）ますます（二升）繁盛（半升＝五合）
aki nai masumasu hanjo - a pun with Chinese characters


対馬市 Tsushima town and Tsushima Island

There are many deep and dangerous river pools on the island, where Gaappa live and bring harm to humans. These pools have water even in the most waterless times of summer.

In one river pool of 佐護川 Sasugawa lives the "Boss of the Gaappa" 大将ガーツパ.
For the New Year all the Gaappa come here to celebrate and exchange stories of their own river pools.
He lives in 千馬ケ原 in Kechi village 美津島町難知,

In some very rural areas there are some kind of 祈祷師 exorcists for the Gaappa, ガーッパおとしの神さん Gaappa otoshi no kami san. They can remove a Gaappa if he possesses a human by beating the Shaman drum, swinging the ritual wand 御幣 and chanting exorcist sutras.

There are so many stories about the Gaappa of Tsushima, so they are sometimes called

対州ガーッバ Taishu Gaappa (Taishu is an old name for the island).
There is a Gaappa well ガーッパ井戸 in the village of 対馬厳原町 Izuharamachi.

At the shrine 壱岐郡芦辺町八幡浦の津緑川（つべらごう）神社 Tsuberago Jinja there is a Kawappa Sumo wrestling ガワッパ相撲 on the 16th day of the O-Bon festival for the ancestors.


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At the end of the Edo period
a samurai on his way home late at night saw a Gaappa in the river. The samurai noticed that his eyes stuck out like that of a crab or lobster but could not remember anything else about the creature he had seen. Oh yes, he also said this creature did not have a plate on its head.


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This happened about 25 years ago.
There was a rumor that this man had been deceived by a Gaappa.
The man called out "There comes a Gaappa!", fell into the river and could not get up by himself. When they finally brought him home to bed, he realize that the whale meat he had in his breast pocket was gone.


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- reference -

yokai database ガーッパ
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -

- source : www.eonet.ne.jp/~nagasaki/kappa

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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 .

- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Legends from Kyushu 九州 -

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #gaappalegendskyushu -
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Kappa Jizo

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - Legends -
. Jizō - Jizo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 - ABC List .
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- Kappa Jizoo かっぱ地蔵 / 河童地蔵 Kappa and Jizo Bosatsu -
There are various legends and statues in Japan.


source : Rob on facebook

Inspired by this photo by Rob on facebook !

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- カッパ封じ地蔵 Jizo subduing the Kappa -

福岡県の民話 Legend from Fukuoka
福岡の若松の高塔山（高塔山公園）Kita Kyushu, Mount Takato (Mt. Koto) in Wakamatsu (124 m)
北九州市若松区修多羅 Sutara
The part is now famous for its Hortensia アジサイ ajisai, open air concerts and a Wallaby zoo.
It overlooks the nearby sea 玄界灘.


- source : wakamatude.gozaru.jp

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- - - - - Watch the story online
- source : nipponmukasibanasi


- - - - - summary
At the top of Mount Takatosan in Wakamatsu there is a pond where clear water is sprouting and many Kappa lived in the pond. They always fought abou their territory among themselves.

One year there was no rain at all, all was dry and the hot sun shone from the sky every day.
Most ponds and rivers in the region were out of water and only the pond on top of Mount Takatosan still had some water. So the Kappa of the region all moved here and fought about the last few drops of water. They also involved the villagers nearby and it was really a cruel fighting among humans and the Kappa for survival.

Mountain ascet and Priest 堂丸総学 Domaru Sogaku heared about the water shortage and came to Mount Takatosan. He had been involved with wicked Kappa before and fought them with leaves of the gourd ヘチマの葉. So he thought he could help the people by subduing the Kappa here too.

He asked the blacksmith of the village to make him a long nail of about 30 cm. Then he climbed Mount Takatosan, sat in front of the statue of Jizo at the top of the mountain and began his prayers to subdue the Kappa.
"If my prayers are answered, then this nail will stick out of the back of the Jizo statue and all the Kappa will be put under the earth, never to come up again!"

When the surprised Kappa heare his prayer, they wanted to stop him. So one of them changed into a beautiful lady and tried to seduce the monk. Others offered him money to stop, others changed into huge serpents and threatened him, but monk Sogaku did not move an inch and continued to pray.



On the last day of his prayer, when Sogaku was already very exhausted, he suddenly saw one place at the back of the Jizo statue become soft as tofu pudding. He called on all his strength and stuck the nail into the stone statue there.
And in that moment, all the Kappa who had been threatening Sogaku disappeared into thin air, never to come back.

Now the water flew back down the mountain to the village and all were saved.
Even now there is the nail in the back of the Jizo statue to be seen. It is left there so that the Kappa will never never come back again to Mount Takatosan. People rub it softly with this wish and the nail has become all soft and smooth over the years.


The Jizo hall at Mount Takatosan.
It seems the real statue is not Jizo but Kokuzo Bosatsu 虚空蔵菩薩.




龍匠外伝

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Another legend about priest 堂丸総学 Domaru Sogaku
小便 - told by Mizuki Shigeru

高塔山の地蔵にはある由来があった。その昔、あんまの東六が森の淵で小便をすると、千匹の河童が現れた。その淵は、禁忌を破った河童達が溶けて溜まったものだった。村人たちは蘇った河童の退治法を考え、山伏の堂丸総学に河童を封じてもらうよう頼む。
- source : ja.wikipedia.org


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河童地蔵尊 Kappa Jizo Son
神埼町 枝ヶ里 Kanzaki, Saga prefecture



Link with 7 photos
- source : www.kanzaki-museum.com


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Kappa Koen カッパ公園 Kappa Park

At the hot spring 猿ヶ京温泉 Sarugakyo Onsen
Gunma 群馬県　



Once upon a time
a Kappa raided all the cucumber fields of the local farmers and caused a lot of trouble.
When the farmers caught the Kappa he promised by the statue of a Jizo Bosatsu to show them how to make good medicine if they let him go.

Now there is even a local festival and ritual to keep the Kappa happy.
カッパ地蔵安泰祈願祭

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Nagasaki, near 眼鏡橋の川沿
- source : travelog-jpn.blogspot.jp/


. Nagasaki Suijin-Sha 水神社 Shrine of the Water Deity .
and Kappa Legends

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Jizo no Fuchi no Kappa 地蔵の渕の河童　The Kappa from Jizonofuchi River Pool
Akita, 東由利町 Higashiyurimachi

The river which flows past the small village of Kubo 久保集落 has a river pool, Jizunofuchi, where a Kappa lived, who liked to play tricks on people. At the home of 末吉 Sueyoshi there were many young horses. One day when Sueyoshi had washed them in the river, the Kappa followed him. The villagers, who all knew about the malicious deeds of this Kappa, took him prisoner.
Eventually Sueyoshi felt pity with the Kappa and helped him to get free.
From this day on, every year when Autumn came, he delivered two fine salmon at the home of Sueyoshi.


source :　kappa hakubutsukan

kokeshi wooden doll of Kappa delivering two salmon


. Akita　秋田県 Kappa Legends 河童 .

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Nikaidoo Masahiro 二階堂正宏 Nikaido Masahiro



Painting by Nikaido Masahiro (1948 - )
from Kamakura.

This one is for the Shrine Egara Tenjin 荏柄天神社.

鎌倉在住の漫画家二階堂正宏さ んは荏柄天神社の河童塚創設に奔走された一人です。
- source : kikurotakagi

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Kappa from Shimantogawa Shikoku 四万十川カッパ造形大賞



made by 竹岡瑠美
- source : www.kisotengai.jp


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


.......................................................................................... Fukuoka 福岡県
鞍手郡 Kurate district



In front of 地蔵堂 the Jizo Hall there is a huge rock.
Once a Kappa, who wanted to steal the horse of the Lord, was kicked by it and caught. He had to swear he would not do it again and write this on a piece of paper.
The paper was buried in the ground below this rock.



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

カワランベ Kawaranbe, local name for Kappa
Near the river crossing in Kiso there was a Kappa coming out with a suribachi 擂鉢 mortar on his head.
A bit further downriver was a rock called abura-ishi アブラ石 "fat rock) and many people came here to kill themselves.
When they carved the feature of Jizo Bosatsu in the rock, people stopped coming.



.......................................................................................... Niigata 新潟県
北蒲原郡 Kita-Kanbara district

Villagers were much troubled by a Kappa pulling children into the river.
So they put a stone statue of Jizo near the river bank and prayed to it.
Since then the trouble stopped and people called the stone statue
河童地蔵 Kappa Jizo.



.......................................................................................... Oita 大分県
佐伯市 Saiki city

Once upon a time 金田家 the Kanada family had a Jizo statue in front of their home. This place had been a swamp, where Kappa and ghosts used to come out.
When they put up the Jizo statue and prayed to it, nothing bad happened any more. Jizo would hide the children under his robes if a wicked Kappa showed up.



.......................................................................................... Tottori 鳥取県

If there was a place with a lot of damage by a Kappa, people placed a stone statue of Jizo nearby and prayed to it.
Once a strong Samurai came past and killed the Kappa, later praying to it as Jizo. The statue was soon called
河童地蔵 Kappa Jizo.


.......................................................................................... Yamaguchi 山口県

The Kappa in the river often killed people, so the villagers caught it.
He had to promise not to do any more harm until the bottom of the stone Jizo would rot away.



.......................................................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県
下部町 Shimobe town

wankashibuchi 椀貸淵 "river pool for trays and bowls"
The お地蔵淵 Jizo River Pool is also called 巴淵 Tomoegafuchi.
At the bottom under a rock there lives a Kappa. If the villagers had a meeting with many people they came here to ask for trays and bowls.
Once they forgot to bring them back and Kappa got angry, never lending them any more.

. Zenwanbuchi 膳椀淵 "river pool for trays and bowls" .


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

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. . . CLICK here for Photos !

- reference -


. Jizo Bosatsu (Kshitigarbha) 地蔵菩薩 .
- Introduction -

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Kappaishi 河童石 Kappa Stone
Nagasaki - Suijin-Sha 水神社 Shrine of the Water Deity



. Kappa ishi 河童石 Kappa stone legends .


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

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. hyootan 瓢箪 Hyotan gourd, calabash and Kappa .
. . . . hechima 糸瓜, 蛮瓜,布瓜 sponge gourd

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

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #kappajizo #jizokappa #jizobosatsu -
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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Hyozu no Kami

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- KAPPA - 河童 / かっぱ /　カッパ - ABC-Index -
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- hyoozu no kami, Hyōzu 兵主神 Hyozu no Kami
- Deity of Wind and Weapons -
兵主大神（ひょうずのおおかみ） Hyozu no Okami
兵統良神（ひょうすべらがみ Hyosuberagami (Nagasaki) is Kappa as the messenger of the Water Deity 水神さま.

. suijin 水神 water deity .
and shrines dedicated to Kappa san
Kappa Jinja　河童神社 Kappa Shinto Shrines

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Hyosube anatomical illustration - Mizuki Shigeru : Yokai Daizukai
. Mizuki Shigeru 水木 しげる Shigeru Mizuki . .

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- quote -
Kazenokami　風の神 "kami of wind," also known as fūjin　風神.
Japan's geographic setting, in an area exposed to strong seasonal winds, makes the wind an important factor in everyday life, farming, and maritime industries. As a result, Japan has been home to beliefs in tutelaries of wind since ancient times.

Another common belief was that a "divine wind" (shinpū　神風　) accompanied the coming and goings of kami. The Kojiki, Nihongi and Engishiki list the names Amenomihashira no kami, Kuninomihashira no kami, Shinatsuhiko no mikoto, and Shinatobe no mikoto as kami of wind. Amenohashira no kami and Kuninomihashira no kami are the chief objects of worship (saijin) of the Yamato-region shrine Tatsuta Jinja, which is well known for its Fūjinsai or "wind kami festival," and which has long been the center of a cult dedicated to rituals for protection from wind damage.
Among the shrines enshrining Shinatobe no mikoto and Shinatsuhiko no mikoto is the Kazahinomi no miya, a detached shrine (betsugū) of the Grand Shrines of Ise; legend relates that the "divine wind" which blew at the occasion of the thirteenth-century Mongol invasions originated from there.

The shrine Anashinimasu Hyōzu Jinja in Nara (and other Anashi shrines nationwide), is said to enshrine a kami of blacksmithing (kajishin), thought to be related to the words anaji and anaze, local terms referring to stormy seasonal winds from the northwest. As a result, these shrines are thought to have originally been patronized as part of a cult for the prevention of damaging winds. Local cults can also be found in many areas involving the use of symbolic scythes or sickles as magical implements to ensure protection from the wind.

In addition to such shrine rites to subdue winds and assure abundant crops, observances directed toward the wind kami included magical invocations to the kami, observance of the Kaze matsuri (wind festival), all-night vigils to the wind (kaze himachi), and the performance of traditional lion dances.

Most of these rituals were observed around the "210th day"counting from the first day of the old luni-solar new year or risshun　-　the day believed to signal the start of the typhoon season. Typhoons arriving around that time were in fact the cause of great crop damage.

Many locales also observed "wind kami exorcisms" (kaze no kami okuri) resembling exorcistic rites to drive off evil spirits. Such rites were meant not only to avert typhoons and other heavy winds, but also to exorcise and drive away evil spirits and "epidemic kami" (ekishin) believed responsible for colds and influenza, since the word for "wind" (kaze) was a homophone for another word meaning "cold."
source : Kokugakuin Suzuki Kentarō 2005



. fuujin 風神 Windgott . 　
taifuu 颱風 / 台風 typhoon and more season words 　

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In relation to Kappa, this deity relates to the fart (wind) of a kappa.

Regional names of the Kappa and his cousins are a reminder:

. hyoosube, hyōsube 兵主部 / ひょうすべ Hyosube . from Saga, Kyushu
The Hyosube is a child-sized river monster from Kyushu that lives in underwater caves, ventures onto land at night to eat rice plants. The creature has a relatively small brain, and a nervous system specialized in detecting humans. A pair of rotating bone coils produce an illness inducing bacteria that the yôkai sprinkles on unsuspecting humans.
Their favorite food is raw, bloody, human anuses.


hyoosubo ヒョウスボ カッパ /兵主坊 Hyosubo
- quotes -
ヒョウスボは水の神 Hyosubo is a deity of the water in Miyazaki.
At night he climbs up the mountain, in the morning he returns to the river. When he walks down, he pants hoihoi ホイホイ.
When humans meet a Hyosubo on the way, they will be unlucky, maybe even have a fire in their estate.

When the buckwheat flowers are in bloom, late at night at Mount Atagoyama in Osaki 愛宕山のオサキ（尾根）a kappa (Hyosubo) comes out of the river and climbs up the mountain, panting hyoohyoo 「ヒョウヒョウ」.
Until 1982 local folk heard him frequently. But since a new road and more houses were built in the region, nobody has heared him any more.

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


ひょうすんぼ Hyosunbo
ひょうすえ Hyosue、ひょうすぼ Hyoosubo、ヒョウスンボ Hyoosunbo、ひょうすんべ Hyoosunbe
. Kappa Legends from Miyazaki 　河童伝説　- 宮崎県 .

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- quote -
兵主部 Hyōsube Yokai

ALTERNATE NAMES: hyōsue, hyōsubo, hyōsunbo, hyōsunbe
HABITAT: rivers and streams; found primarily on Kyushu and in West Japan
DIET: omnivorous; prefers eggplants

APPEARANCE:
Hyōsube are squat, hairy humanoids found mostly in the southern and western parts of Japan. They are cousins of kappa and garappa, but much more savage and belligerent. They are short, with bald scalps, sharp claws, and a mouth full of sharp teeth which are prominently visible due to the malicious smile they wear. They are covered with a pelt of thick, greasy hair which gathers dust, oil, and dirt, and constantly sheds wherever they go. Their name is said to come from the “hyo- hyo-” call that they make; however, when written in kanji, the characters used have a martial connotation.



BEHAVIOR:
Hyōsube live near rivers, where they enjoy catching wild fish and generally keep away from humans. Their favorite food is the eggplant, and they are capable of devouring whole patches very quickly. They share a love of mischief and a hatred of horses with their cousins the kappa, though they are generally more violent and malicious. Also like their cousins, hyōsube retain a strong sense of honor despite their love of mischief and violence.

INTERACTIONS:
Hyōsube are capricious, insolent, and extremely dangerous. A person who simply looks at a hyōsube may be struck with a terrible and highly contagious fever, which can quickly spread and turn into an epidemic. Hyōsube cackle with an evil laughter which is also quite contagious; an unlucky person who hears a hyōsube laugh, and who laughs himself, will be struck with a sudden fever and die within hours.

A hyōsube’s thick hair builds up a lot of dirt and grime, and they love nothing more than to sneak into houses at night and slip into the bathtub. When a hyōsube finds a bathtub it likes, it will often return every night, leaving a thick scum of greasy body hair and a horrible stench to be found in the morning. Once, the unlucky owner of such a house emptied the bathwater and threw out the hair and grease. This angered the hyōsube so much that it slaughtered the owner’s horse the next night. In another story, some hyōsube hairs dumped from a bathtub landed on a nearby horse, and the animal promptly dropped dead. In yet another tale, a woman spied on a hyōsube ravaging her eggplant garden; the next morning her entire body had turned purple, and she died soon after that.

Hyōsube are occasionally honored at local Shinto shrines, usually as gods of war, for some form of military service they performed for villagers in the past. Farmers living in areas inhabited by hyōsube often leave offerings of the first eggplants harvested in hopes that the hyōsube will spare their fields for the remainder of the year. Those who do not leave offerings occasionally find their fields trampled in anger.
... They are cousins of kappa and garappa, but much more savage and belligerent.
- source : yokai com -

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The following relation about the number THREE is still not finally researched.
If you have any additional information, please share it.

A kappa is said to have three komon 肛門 anus, or simply put three holes.
All three are used for farting and the fart is rather smelly. When a Kappa feels in danger or that death is close, huge farts come out from here (hence the relation to the God of Wind). The wind from a large fart can also lift a Kappa high into the air to fly.

Why three ?
Kappa is revered as hyoozu no kami 兵主神 Hyozu-no-kami
There are three shrines relating to this deity.

The first shrine is Itate Hyoozu Jinja 射楯兵主神社 Hyozu Jinja in Harima, Hyogo.
and related to this,
there is Anashinimasu hyoozu jinja 穴師坐兵主神社 with many ana holes.

Sugawara Michizane is also revered in Hyogo. How about the MITSU at the Tenmangu 天満宮の満（みつ）? mitsu　三　is a pun with the number 3.
I am not sure which shrine this is.

Oonamuchi no kami 大穴牟遅神  Onamuchi no kami / 大穴持命（大国主) Okuninushi is revered at a shrine in Hyogo too, so there is the ana 「穴」 hole.

The circle of three 菅原 - 大穴 - 穴師 - 兵主 -- 河童

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- - - - - Shrines dedicated to 大穴牟遅神 Okuninushi 大国主神 in Hyogo 兵庫県

生石神社　-　Oshiko Jinja - 兵庫県高砂市阿弥陀町生石　-　大穴牟遅神
佐用都比売神社　Sayo Tsuhime Jinja - 兵庫県佐用郡佐用町本位田　-　大国主命
御形神社　- Mikata Jinja -　兵庫県宍粟郡一宮町森添　　-　 葦原志許男神 （あしはらしこお）
三坂神社　-　Misaka Jinja -　兵庫県三木市志染町御坂243　 - 葦原志許男命

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- - - - - Other Hyozu Shrines 兵主神社 in Japan

兵庫県丹波市鎮座 Hyogo, Tango
兵庫県西脇市鎮座 Hyogo, Nishiwaki
長崎県壱岐市鎮座 Nagasaki, Iki
大阪府岸和田市 Osaka, Kishiwada

水神宮, 東彼杵郡波佐見町長野郷 Nagasaki

They are all famous for their power to prevent evil from a Kappa 河童除け (kappa yoke, kappayoke).

The relation of Michizane, the Tengu / Tenjin shrines and Kappa is not quite clear to me yet.
But at Egara Tenjin in Kamakura, for example, there is a festival with many kappa lanterns made by the local children.
. Egara Tenjin 荏柄天神 Shrine in Kamakura .
Sugawara Michizane　菅原道真


- quote
Scholars and Sprites at the Egara Tenjin Shrine in Kamakura
. . . Somewhat surprisingly, the unassuming Egara Tenjin is considered one of the three major shrines of the cult . . .
. . . But it's slightly to the left of the main hall that it starts to get weird.
First, there is a large stone that supposedly looks like the head of a kappa – and when garnished with a sacred shimenawa rope, indeed it does!
The kappa is a mythological, amphibian creature with webbed feet, a shell on its back, and a plate filled with water on its head, which makes for a curious hairstyle, not unlike the tonsure of old monks in Europe. Although cute, kappas mostly create mischief as such imps are wont to do, and may lure the unwary to a watery grave.
This stone is actually a monument raised in 1971 to worn-out brushes. On the front is a drawing of a kappa by the famous cartoonist Kon Shimizu, and on the back it says “Kappa fudezuka" (Kappa brush monument) in the hand of the Nobel literature prize-winning author Yasunari Kawabata. Both were residents of Kamakura.
Even odder is the 3.2 m high, paintbrush-shaped bronze monument on a mound behind it. This was erected in 1989 and features 154 different pictures of kappa painted by cartoonists in homage of Shimizu. Scholarship comes in many forms!
- source : Jan Fornell


- - - - - Part of the bronze monument :

. . . CLICK here for Photos -荏柄天神 かっぱ Egara Tenjin and Kappa !

. . . CLICK here for Photos of the paper lanterns 荏柄天神 かっぱ 提灯 !


- - - from the Japanese wikipedia:
about the Suitengu in Fukuoka near 筑後川 the River Chikugogawa
福岡県の筑後川付近には「河童と地元民とのもめごと」や「河童族同士の戦争」の伝説や「河童にちなんだ地名」など比較的年代が明確ではっきりした記録が数多く残っている。
「水に入る前には水天宮の申し子だと唱える」
Before entering the water of a river you have to call out "I am a heavenly messenger (mooshigo 申し子) sent from the Suitengu Shrine".
「水に入る前にはタケノコを食べる」「水に入る前には仏前飯を食べる」
といった河童除けの風習は久留米市の水天宮付近が起源とされる。
毎年8月には、水の祭典という祭りが行われる。これは、元々河童をあがめるために始まった祭りである。

. Chikugo no kuni 筑後国 Chikugo Province Kappa Legends . Kyushu

. yakuyoke 厄除け amulets to ward off evil .

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- quote
Gozu Tennō 牛頭天王
Literally, "ox-head-heaven-king." Also called Gion Tenjin, Gozu Tennō is a product of kami-buddha "combinatory" religion, worshiped at the Gion Shrine (Yasaka Jinja) in Kyoto,
. . . The deity also became associated with the legend of a Japanese kami of plague called Sominshōrai and was identified with the kami Susanoo; taking on a trinitarian nature that incorporated characteristics of Susanoo's consort and child, he also came to be identified with the Japanese kami Onamuchi .
- source : kokugakuin - Yonei Teruyoshi 2005


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Soosha Itate Hyoozu Jinja 射楯兵主神社 (そうしゃ いたてひょうずじんじゃ)
総社 播磨国総社 はりまのくに Harima no kuni
兵主神社（現兵主大社） present-day Hyozu-taisha Shrine



姫路市総社本町190 / 190 Soshahonmachi, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture

- - - Homepage of the Shrine
- source : sohsha.jp



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Itate Hyozu Jinja 　射楯兵主神社　Itatehyōzu Shrine
The rite at Itatehyōzu Shrine (Itatehyōzu jinja) in Himeji City, Hyōgo Prefecture,
is the exact opposite of that at Iwaa Shrine: the Single Mountain Rite is every sixty years and the Three Mountains Rite is every twenty years. Along with this there is a sacred carnival event (kami-nigiwai gyōji) that lasts for a week. A bamboo and cloth mountain about fifteen meters high is constructed and placed before the shrine entrance. On top of this is placed a hokora and atop the shrine gate is placed a small hall . Sacred food offerings (shinsen) and a variety of mochi are offered. It is said that this rite is at the request of the Iwa Deity who had been invited (kanjō) to this area.
source : Kokugakuin, Mogi Sakae


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Anashinimasu Hyoozu jinja 穴師坐兵主神社 Anashinimasu-Hyozu-jinja
Anashi niimasuhyozu-jinja (あなしにいますひょうずじんじゃ)
- Anashi, Sakurai, Nara Prefecture 633-0071 奈良県桜井市


CLICK for more photos !

- quoting weblio :
中世ごろから、穴師坐兵主神社が穴師上社、穴師大兵主神社が穴師下社と呼ばれるようになった。
From around the Medieval period, Anashinimasu-Hyozu-jinja Shrine was called Anashi-kamisha Shrine (literally, upper Anashi-jinja Shrine), while Anashi-Daihyozu-jinja Shrine was called Anashi-shimosha Shrine (literally, lower Anashi-jinja Shrine).
Hyozu-no-kami is Miketsukami (god of food).

穴師坐兵主神社（奈良県桜井市）摂社の相撲神社に、野見宿禰とともに祀られている。
He is enshrined in the Sumo-jinja Shrine that is an auxiliary shrine of Anashinimasuhyozu-jinja Shrine (Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture), along with NOMI no Sukune

祭神の「大兵主神」は現在は左社に祀られ、剣を神体とする。
Daihyozu-no-kami,' the enshrined deity of Anashi-Daihyozu-jinja Shrine is now enshrined in the left hall of the current Anashinimasu-Hyozu-jinja Shrine, and the shintai is a sword.

元の穴師坐兵主神社は、垂仁天皇2年に倭姫命が天皇の御膳の守護神として祀ったともいわれる。
There is a theory that the original Anashinimasu-Hyozu-jinja Shrine was founded by Yamatohime-no-mikoto in the year 28 BC enshrining a guardian deity of food presented to the emperor.

- quote
Hotsuma-Tsutae - Amateru's Decrees on Prayers of Succession
Kokotomusubi (also known as Tsuwamononushi, deity of the Anashi Hyozu Shrine in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture) lit the sacred beacons until their light shone all around.
- source : www.hotsuma.gr.jp

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兵主神 God of Weapons
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Anaseniimasu hyoozu（あなせにいますひょうず）
source : yamanobe/anasi
Anashinimasu-Hyozu-jinja maintains that Hyozu-no-kami is Miketsukami (god of food).

Anashi is a place name around Sakurai town in Nara 奈良県桜井市にある地名.
Anashigawa 穴師川 in Nara.

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"The fart of a water goblin", kappa no he, 河童の屁, へのかっぱ




This expression in Japanese means something small and insignificant. If the water goblin does it in the water, it is not heard very far and does not smell, and very few of us have ever experienced it in real life ...
But the real origin of this expression seems to go further, meaning "koppa no hi 木っ端の火", the flame of a little wood splinter used for igniting a fire, which was rather insignificant in itself. People of the Edo period used to play with words, so the KOPPA became a KAPPA.


. Woman farting at a Kappa .



source :　nippon.com/en/nipponblog

. Fart, farting (he　屁) - Introduction .


more links to check about the famous farting scroll
http://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/chi04/chi04_01029/chi04_01029.html
http://www.tofugu.com/2012/02/18/japanese-fart-scrolls/
http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/22/classic-japanese-painting-picture-scroll-of-a-fart-battle-is-exactly-what-it-sounds-like/
http://hyperallergic.com/109023/an-illustrated-japanese-battle-of-farts/
http://shinku.nichibun.ac.jp/jpub/pdf/jr/JN2604.pdf

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- reference - Hyozu-no-kami -

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farting competition -
the Kappa wins
every time

Gabi Greve
. WKD - Haiku, Senryu and farting .


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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 .

. - monkey - enkoo, enkō 猿猴 / 猿　saru and Kappa 河童 - .

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

- #hyosubo #hyosube -
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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Daija huge snake

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

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

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



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

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

. Amulets with the Daija　大蛇のお守り　 .

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

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

.shirohebi / hakuja 白蛇と伝説 white serpents .

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

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

. Silk - kinu - 絹 silkworms and Serpent legends .


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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. . . . . . . . . . Chiba 千葉県

養安寺村 Yoanji village

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

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Ehime 愛媛県

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



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

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



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




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

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

Now there is a festival to celebrate this legend.



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

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


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Takayama, 吉城郡 Yoshiki

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Gunma 群馬県

赤城村 Akagi village

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

- - - - -

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

. Daija from 榛名湖 Lake Harunako .
Many legends



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. . . . . . . . . . Hiroshima 広島県

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

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

. mugiwara hebi 麦藁蛇 serpent made from straw .


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. . . . . . . . . . Ibaraki 茨城県

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

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稲敷郡 Inashiki district

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

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美浦村 Miho

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Ishikawa 石川県

邑知郡 Ōchi, Ochi district

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

(A Daija in retirement . . . !)




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. . . . . . . . . . Kyoto 京都府

北区 Kita ward

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



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

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

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


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

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




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. . . . . . . . . . Miyazaki 宮崎県

. Daija in a valley of 日州飫肥 Obi .



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. . . . . . . . . . Nagasaki 長崎県

外海町 Sotome

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Nagano 長野県

. Daija and Yamanokami 山の神 .

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

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

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

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

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


by 歌川豊国 Utagawa Toyokuni

. reference : jayanagi -

. yanagi 柳 willow tree - Introduction .

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長和町 Nagawa

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

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

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平谷村 Hiraya

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Nara 奈良県

. LINK BIG font .
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五條市 Gojo

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


Even now it is an eerie, gloomy pond.

- and

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

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Niigata 新潟県

赤塚村 Akazuka

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

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荒川町 Arakawa

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

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畑野町 Hatano

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



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

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

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佐和田町 Sawada Sado Island

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




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

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

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

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

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


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上越市 Joetsu

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



Kamoonoike 蒲生の池 Kamo-no-Ike

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

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


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. . . . . . . . . . Okayama 岡山県

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Shiga 滋賀県

醒ケ井村 Samegai

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Shizuoka 静岡県

松崎町 Matsuzaki

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

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Tochigi 栃木県

. Mizu no Kami 水の神 and Iwadakemaru 岩嶽丸 .

. Daija 大蛇 and Shakuhachi 尺八 flute .



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. . . . . . . . . . Tokyo 東京


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

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

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Asakusa Kannon densetsu 浅草観音伝説 Legends

. ubagaike 姥ヶ池 the pond of the old woman .

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中野区中央 Nakano ward, Chuo district

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Tottori 鳥取県

気高町 Ketaka

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




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. . . . . . . . . . Toyama 富山県

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Wakayama 和歌山県

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Yamagata 山形県

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



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. . . . . . . . . . Yamaguchi 山口県

平郡島 Heigunto Island

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



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


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


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

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

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

. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - .


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

. Mingei 民芸　Regional Folk　Art from Japan .

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