Heian Period Japan

2016-10-08

Tengu cedar legends

source and more photos : tensugi.blog119.fc2.com
「越後の天杉日記」Echigo no Tensugi Nikki : 天狗の大杉　/ 天杉杉太

The Tengu like to reside in these trees and some are even called
Tengusugi, Tengu-sugi　天狗杉 Tengu Cedar Tree.

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県 ............................
飛騨地方 Hida district

Once a child had a high fever, so the Tengu from Ipponsugi came down to comfort it.

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揖斐郡 Ibi district 春日村 Kasuga

To build a new bridge a 大檜 huge hinoki cypress tree and a cedar tree growing downstream of the river were cut down. THat night a Tengu appeared in the dream of the land owner and scolded him: "Now you have taken away my home, so I will destroy your village!"
And indeed, that night a fire broke out and most of the village burned down.
This was the great fire of Meiji 10, 明治10年1月18日.

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加茂郡 Kamo district

The Tengu is also called 狗賓 Guhin / Kuhin.
He lives in the deep forest and produced balls of fire at night to frighten the villagers. There are a few large cedar trees where he lives. When people have to walk here at night, they might hear a laughter if the Tengu is in a good mood.
If he is in a bad mood, he will throw pebbles and sand an the people. People who experience this will soon have more misfortune in their lives.

. guhin kuhin gubin 狗賓 / グヒン Guhin Tengu Yokai monster .

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高山市 Takayama

A man rested under 老杉 an old cedar tree on the mountain path. Suddenly he had the feeling of someone watching him. He looked up and saw a Tengu with large wooden sandals sitting high up in hte branches.
He felt great fear and lay flat on the ground, unable to move for quite a while.

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吉城郡 Yoshiki district

Once a child was abducted by the Tengu and later found dead under the solitary cedar tree.

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

Below a cedar tree at the foot of a mountain, the Tengu come at night and makes a strange noise, サワサワ sawasawa.
This means the Tengu are having a drinking party.

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sugi no boo 杉の坊 monk of the cedar tree

The temple 紀州法燈寺 / 法灯寺 Hotto-Ji in Kishu had been burned down many times and now the head priest could not re-build it again. A wandering monk came by and said he could do it.
The priest said he was 赤木山の杉の坊 Akagiyama no Sugi no Bo, the Monk of the Cedar Tree from Mount Akagisan in Gunma.
He asked all the villagers to put out the fires for one night - and oh wonder, the next morning the temple with all its buildings was standing there in fill splendor.

Akagisan　赤城山　Mount Akagi, Akagiyama (1,828 m)
群馬県勢多郡富士見村赤城山

source : blog.goo.ne.jp/tokics...
山の妖怪神「群馬県赤城山の天狗」

Sugi no Bo was 大天狗 a Big Tengu. His sanctuary is the Asuka Shrine 大沼湖畔の飛鳥社 at Lake Onuma.

. 赤城山金剛院 Akagizan Kongo-In .
Gunma, 沼田 Numata

. Tengu legends from Mount Akagisan .

.......................................................................... Ishikawa 石川県 ............................
小松市 Komatsu

Come on down to Osugi between Oct 2-10 2016 to see our fun and fabulous
"Yokubari Tengu" よくばり天狗 (The Greedy Goblin).
We first did this show in 1997, and again in 2003, followed by three sequels! This is the original, telling how the tengu statue in Osugi turned to stone.

In our village of Osugi there is a statue of a Tengu, made by Kurakichi Okura in the 1970's. This statue is the inspiration for our tengu musicals and projects.
We first produced Yokubari Tengu (The Greedy Goblin) in 1997, a "new legend" about how he turned to stone. In 2004, we put on Yokubari Tengu II: I'm Back!
This year the saga continues with Yokubari Tengu III: Adventures on the Tengu Planet.

- source : osugi musicaltheatre.com -

.......................................................................... Kyoto 京都府 ............................

役行者 En no Gyoja and 雲遍上人 Unpen Shonin

- - - - - The story is similar to the one told at Nikko (Tochigi).
Around 700 the two came to a large waterfall. A thunderstorm came with heavy rainfall and the Tengu, who lived in a huge cedar tree, appeared.
The two were undisturbed in their prayers and then in beams of light Jizo Bosatsu, the Dragon God, 富婁那 Punna the Arhat, Bishamonten and Aizen Myo-O appered and the Tengu was gone.
The two built a sanctuary in the mountains and venerated the huge cedar tree as
Kiyotaki 清滝 the Dragon Deity of the Pure Waterfall.

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鞍馬山 Mount Kuramasan

. The Tengu Sōjōbō 僧正坊 of Mount Kurama .
He often came to the Tengu Sugi to rest his wings.

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

Near the old burrial ground and 古墳 Kofun there are many old trees. One is the 天狗杉 Tengu Sugi. This Tengu with wings and a red face likes to fly from cedar to cedar and sometimes even stays in a 松 pine tree.

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清武町 Kiyotake

Near the Kofun of 岩見田 Iwamida there are some Tengu Sugi, where the Tengu lives:
Shoode no Tengu sugi 正手の天狗杉 Tengu cedar from Shode
Ookubo no Tengu sugi 大久保の天狗杉 Tengu cedar from Okubo
The one at Shode burned down after a thunderbolt hit it.
The one at Okubo was cut down to make room for housing.

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

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桜井市 Sakurai

. Hasedera 長谷寺 Temple Hase-dera .

When the Head Priest Eigaku 英岳大僧正 was still a young acolyte at the temple, he did not study much. Eigaku had to light all the lanterns, but the Tengu from the Cedar Tree (in the form of a squirrel) run around and extinguished them and caused other trouble at night. So Eigaku collected all his wits and eventually threatened the Tengu:
"When I become High Priest here, I will cut down all the cedar trees and you will have no more place to live here!"
Eigaku was not really a dilligent student, but from this time on he changed his ways and eventually at the age of 60 became the High Priest 大僧正 Daisojo of the temple.

source : sacredjapan.com/Temple

He had all the huge cedar trees cut down and used the wood to repair the temple buildings.
Only one of the trees he did not cut down, the 天狗杉 Tengu Sugi, to remind him and the people in the future of the Tengu, who eventually helped him to become a dilligent student and high priest.

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山辺郡 Yamabe district

Jinyaji 神野寺 Temple Jinya-Ji
At this temple there was a huge Tengu Sugi tree of some ten meters high and 3 meters in circumference. The bark of the trunk and the branches had come off. This is because a Tengu lived there and instructed his disciples, practising the jump from branch to branch and up the trunk.

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Tengusugi 天狗杉
Once upon a time it the forest of Nara there was a very old temple and a large forest of cedar trees surrounded it. A lot of たちの悪い天狗 bad Tengu lived there.

This is basically the story of Hasedera, but the priest here is called
Fugaku 芙岳（ふがく）

- read Manga Nihon Mukashibanashi :
- reference source : nihon.syoukoukai.com/modules -

.......................................................................... Okayama 岡山県 ............................
久米郡 Kume district

From 二上山 Mount Futakami, the highest peak in this area, there is a great view to Mount Daisen. Sometimes the Tengu from Mount Daisen takes a flight and comes here to rest his huge wings.

. Ryosan-Ji 両山寺のニ上杉、大杉 "Futakami Sugi" 天狗杉 Tengu-Sugi .

.......................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県 ............................
日光市 Nikko

En no Gyoja 役小角 and 雲遍上人 Unpen Shonin once came to a 清瀧 waterfall in the 日光山 Nikko Mountains to practise austerities. Suddenly a black cloud hang over the waterfall and a terrible thunderstorm rattled and strong wind blew.
The two of them were 一心不乱 undisturbed by all this, sat down and said their esoteric mantras in deep quiet.
Suddenly the sky cleared again and now they saw a Tengu sitting in the branches of the large cedar tree. The Tengu faded from sight in no time.

. Nikkoozan Tookooboo 日光山東光坊 Tengu Tokobo. Toko-Bo from Mount Nikko .
There used to live many Tengu in the mountains of Nikko, and their boss was Tokobo.
He is seen as in incarnation of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

.......................................................................... Tokyo 東京都 ............................
板橋区 Itabashi

In the middle of the fields there was a huge cedar tree. Its branches hang down to the ground. This is because a Tengu often came here and sits on it. So it is called 天狗杉.
Now it is at the bottom the slope 松山の坂 Matsuyama no Saka, which is also called
天狗坂 Tengusaka, Tengu-Saka.

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- quote -
Up for Spiritual Waterfall Training?
..... try doing a pilgrim at Mount Mitake.

Along the way, you will see mother nature’s beauty at its best. An example of this is the 350-year-old cedar tree called Tengu-no-Koshikake.
- source : jpninfo.com/39507 -

.......................................................................... Toyama 富山県 ............................

. Tengosama テンゴサマ / Tengohan テンゴハン .
Tengu in the Toyama dialect.

.......................................................................... Wakayama 和歌山県 ............................

Tengu no koshikake sugi 天狗の腰掛杉 Cedar where the Tengu sits down
A few meters up from this cedar tree there was a huge boulder in the middle of the road. Around 1640 a stone mason tried to split this boulder and begun to make a hole in it.
Suddenly he heard a loud voice coming from the cedar tree
"Hey you there, what you think you are doing?"
He became frightened for his life and run away as fast as he could.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
天狗杉 (ok) / 大杉 (ok) 一本杉 (ok)
75 tengu and 杉 to explore (00)

天狗杉のたたり the curse of the Tengu
manga nihon mukashibanashi
- source : nihon syoukoukai com -

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. En no Gyôja 役行者 Founder of Shugendo .
En no Ozuno 役小角 "En with the small horn"

. Unpen Shoonin 雲遍上人 Saint Unpen Shonin .
Taichoo, Taichō 泰澄上人　Saint Taicho Shonin / Taicho-Daishi 泰澄大師 (682 ?683 - 767)
Etsu no 越の大徳 Etsu no Daitoku - Great Man of Virtue from Etsu
Shiramine Daisoojo 天狗白峰大僧正 Tengu Shiramine Daisojo

. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #tengucedartree #tengusugi #sugitengu -
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2016-10-07

Nara and Persia

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. ABC List of Contents - Nara Period .
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Nara and Persia
奈良時代 / ペルシャ人役人存在

- quote Japan Times -
Ancient inscription suggests Persian official worked in 8th century Nara
Ancient Japan may have been far more cosmopolitan than previously thought, archaeologists said Wednesday, pointing to fresh evidence of a Persian official working in the former capital of Nara more than 1,000 years ago.

Present-day Iran and Japan were known to have had direct trade links since at least the 7th century, but new testing on a piece of wood — first discovered in the ’60s — suggest broader ties, the researchers said.

Infrared imaging revealed previously unreadable characters on the wood — a standard writing surface in Japan before paper — that named a Persian official living in the country.

The official worked at an academy where government officials were trained, said Akihiro Watanabe, a researcher at the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.

The official may have been teaching mathematics, Watanabe added, pointing to ancient Iran’s expertise in the subject.

“Although earlier studies have suggested there were exchanges with Persia as early as the 7th century, this is the first time a person as far away as Persia was known to have worked in Japan,” he said.

“And this suggests Nara was a cosmopolitan city where foreigners were treated equally.”

Nara was the capital of Japan known as Heijokyo from around 710 to around 784 before it was moved to Kyoto and later to present-day Tokyo.

The discovery comes after another team of researchers last month unearthed ancient Roman coins at the ruins of an old castle in Okinawa Prefecture.

It was the first time coins from the once mighty empire have been discovered in Japan, thousands of kilometers from where they were likely minted.
- source : Japan Times -

奈良市の平城宮跡から出土した８世紀中頃の木簡に、ペルシャ（現代のイラン付近）を意味する「破斯（はし）」という名字を持つ役人の名前が書かれていたことが、奈良文化財研究所の調査でわかった。
source : news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup

破斯清通 - はしのきよみち: Hashi no Kiyomichi

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- Reference in Japanese -
- Reference in English -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #naranandperisa #persianara -
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2016-10-01

kaminari thunder legends

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話昔話 - Introduction .
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kaminari 雷と伝説 Legends about Thunder and Lightning

. kaminari, rai 雷 / raiden　雷電 thunder and lightning .
- Introduction -

raijin 雷神 God of Thunder
raiko 雷鼓 drum of the God of Thunder

. Raijin 雷神と伝説 Legends about the God of Thunder and Lightning .

In Japanese, the voice of this angry deity is represented as
GOROGORO sama ゴロゴロ様 .

The word kaminari seems to be derived from the meaning:
the gods are sounding, kami ga naru　神が鳴る / naru kami　鳴神

雷, if we look at the Chinese character for the word, means to have rain on the fields, so this is an expression for the deity that helps watering the rice paddies.

kami ... can also be interpreted as Kami san, the wife of the farmer, who wakes him up early in the morning and makes him work hard in the fields to feed the family. If she roars with her angry voice (kami ga naru), then the farmer had better work hard!

source :　facebook
raisama らいさま "Honorable Thunder Man"

raikoo　雷光 thunder and flash of lightning

. raijuu Raijū 雷獣 Raiju Thunder Beast Yokai Legends .

At temple Kennin-Ji

. Narukami Shonin 鳴神上人 Saint Narukami and Fudo Myo-O .
Kabuki : Narukami Fudo Kitayama-Zakura 雷神不動北山桜

雷さま, カミナリサマ Mister Kaminari Sama
稲妻さま，イナヅマサマ Missus Inazuma Sama

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

Many legends are related to the Dragon deity and rain, which often comes together with a thunderstorm.

source : ac.auone-net.jp/~cockpit

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.......................................................................... Fukuoka 福岡県 ............................

source : yu on facebook
篠栗- 南蔵院 Nanzo-In

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.......................................................................... Gunma 群馬県 ............................
佐波郡 Sawa district

There is a ritual called nawa no goshinji ナワノゴシンジ "Ritual of the rope".
Once upon a time, the farmers were having a hard time with wind storms and thunder, so the priest decided to have 21 days and nights of prayers in the temple hall. When he came out of the hall after 21 days, there was an oni 鬼 demon saying: "I was the one who caused all the trouble with bad weather!"
So the priest took the devil and tore out its horns, throwing them high in the air. One flew off to the next village, one flew of to the shrine
角折神社 Tsunoori Jinja (Tsuno-ori) "Shrine of the Broken Horn", now in Saitama.
Since then, the farmers held this ritual and could grow good crops.
There are other versions of this story, dating back to the year 862 and the ritual done with the approval of the Emperor. The priest tore the whole Oni to pieces and one of its arms was floating down a river, floating to 群馬県佐波郡玉村町の角渕.

Now people come here to pray for peace in the land and the family.
- Homepage of the Shrine (also read: Tsuno-ore)
埼玉県本庄市都島235
- reference source : jinjajin.jp/modules/newdb-

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.......................................................................... Iwate 岩手県 ............................

When there is a strong thunderbolt, if people act careless, they will draw the anger of Mister Thunder and his wife, 稲妻 Inazuma Lightning, and cut their legs or get other wounds.

.......................................................................... Nara 奈良県 ............................
帯解町 Obitake

ryuu 竜 Ryu, Dragon
In the village pond lived a Dragon who ate peopoe, so they tried to drive it away. They lit a fire at the dam of the pond and tried to scare it, but the Dragon did not appear. A Samurai, who walked past, shot an arrow in the pond. The Dragon grabbed the Samurai and flew with him up to heaven. Eventually it begun 雷光 to thunder and flashes of lightning appeared.
Blood-red raindrops fell into the pond. Eventually the body of the dragon dropped into the pond, all torn with wounds.
The villagers collected the Dragon bones from the pond and made a statue of a Dragon.
The Samurai never appeared again. They say it was an incarnation of
. 春日明神 the Deity Kasuga Myojin. .

. Lightning and Shotoku Taishi 聖徳太子 Prince Shōtoku .

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

. Kaminari in Toda city 戸田市 .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
47 雷神 (00)
14 雷が鳴った (00)
14 雷電 (00)
58 雷鳴 (00)
42 雷雨 rai-u, thunder and rain
100 雷 (00)
17 稲妻 (00)
7 鳴神 / 鳴神餘響 Book / 鳴神社
雷光 ok /

"The Falling Thunder God"

. Hanabusa Itchoo, Itchō 英一蝶 Hanabusa Itcho .
(1652 – 1724)

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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図録全国の神社信仰
- reference source : www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- ##kaminari #inazuma #raiko #thunder #thunderbolt #lightning -
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2016-09-20

shinka divine fire legends

Kiso Ontake-san,御嶽山 the second highest volcano in Japan
Eruption on September 27, 2014, ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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. ryuutoo 竜燈 / 龍燈 / 竜灯 "dragon lantern" .
A phenomenon at the Ariakekai sea in Kagoshima, Kyushu, in the evening hours.

source :　龍燈、龍灯、竜灯- wikipedia

santoo 山燈 Santo, "Lantern of a Mountain"
The "lanterns of the sea or mountain" do not light things clearly, they just seem to fade around in regions where few people live. They are venerated as Shinka, the divine fire.

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

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

At the 老樟 old camphor tree of the 蕨岡 Warabioka family there was a divine light for seven days and seven nights. They called it 熊の権現の神火 the divine light of Kumano Gongen and venerated it at
Mount 篠山 Sasayama (1065 m ).
Years later the Tengu who lived at Sasayama came to live in this tree and played his tricks on the members of the Family. So one day the head of the home shot at him and the Tengu lost one of his wings. To get it back he had to promise never to play tricks around here any more. And to this day, the Tengu protects the Warabioka family.

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

Every year on the last day at the spooky time of ushi no koku 丑の刻 double-hour of the bull, there is a strange light coming down from a mountain called (竜が口山 / 龍之口山) 龍ノ口山 Tatsunokuchi, it looks like an arrow being shot from the mountain toward the sea.
People venerate it as they pass into the New Year.

.......................................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県　 ......................................

Akiba shinka 秋葉神火 divine fire from Mount Akiba

At night a fire ball came flying from 秋葉山 Mount Akibasan to the open sea. People thought this was the グヒン Guhin Tengu of the mountain who went fishing. After that the local fishermen had a bad catch for three days.

. Akiba Gongen 秋葉権現 Tengu 天狗.
The Tengu 三尺坊 Sanjaku-Bo came to Mount Akiba Yama in Shizuoka prefecture riding on a white fox.
He became the god for calming fire.

.......................................................................... Okinawa 沖縄県 ......................................
国頭郡今帰仁村 Nakijin

During a typhoon, fishermen were drifting, lost off the coast. Suddenly there was a shinka 神火 "divine light" and showed them the mountains and way to the harbour. So all came home safely to 仲宗根港 Nakasone Port.

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

　Takibi no Yashiro　隠岐焚火の社 The Takihi Shrine, Oki Province
Utagawa Hiroshige

Shooka Gongen 焼火権現 Shoka Gongen，Ooyama Gongen 大山権現 Oyama Gongen
ショウカゴンゲン, 焼火山大権現 Shoka Oyama Daigongen / Takuhi Gongen / Takubi Gongen

At night there shines a light, venerated as the sacred apparition of the deity Shoka Gongen.
This deity can calm down wind and waves and help ships in distress at sea. If fishermen pray to this Deity, he will show them a light to follow on the safe way to a harbour.

There is also a shrine
Takuhi Jinja 焼火神社（たくひじんじゃ)
Shimane Prefecture, Oki District, Nishinoshima 西ノ島町美田

After the Meiji restoration there was also a temple
Takuhisan Unjooji 焼火山雲上寺 Unjo-Ji.

The Shrine was called Takuhi no Yashiro (Takubi)、焼火社、焚火社、離火社
「たくひ（び）のやしろ」

The deity in residence is
Oohirume Muchi no Mikoto 大日孁貴尊（おおひるめむちのみこと）
another name for 天照大神 Amaterasu no Omikami
Oohirume no Mikoto 大日孁尊（おおひるめのみこと）Ōhirume ("great-day-female")　
日女尊（ひるめのみこと）Hirume no Mikoto

Takuhiyama 焼火山 was also called Ooyama 大山 Oyama in former times.
It is 452 meters. The whole mountain is seen as a manifestation of the Deity.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

- quote -
Takuhi Shrine
The main shrine building is constructed partly inside a cave.

It is the oldest shrine in the Oki Islands, and is listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Takuhi is dedicated to the deity of maritime safety, so people have come here for many hundreds of years to pray for safety at sea. The hike through the forest to the shrine is very nice, and the views of the islands are amazing.
- source : kankou-shimane.com -

- quote -
On Nishinoshima's highest mountain, Mt Takuhi, sits the island's oldest shrine, the Takuhi-Jinja.
The shrine's Honden (god's sanctuary) building was built into the mountain rock, according to legend the cave came about from the fire of one of the gods. It's dedicated to the god who protects seamen and used to function as a lighthouse for ships traveling to Oki. It also used to be a combined shrine and temple, but during the Meiji period when temples were outlawed the Takuhi shrine temple converted to a shrine. At over a thousand years old it's quite a venerable shrine with a respected history.
- source :en.japantravel.com/shimane / Rory Jackson -

. Wakahirume no Mikoto 稚日女尊 .
The name Wakahirume ("young-day-female") suggests a contrast to Ōhirume ("great-day-female"), another name for Amaterasu).

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

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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goshinka 御神火 Sake from Izu Oshima
The woman has a tsubaki 椿 camellia on her headband.

御神火の椿の島を恵方とす
goshinka no tsubaki no shima o ehoo to su

Camellia Island
with its Divine Fire shall be
my auspicious direction

原田青児　Harada Saiji

Tsubaki no Shima , Camellia Island, is Izu Oshima with its active volcano.
Izu Ōshima 伊豆大島
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. ehoo 恵方 Eho, auspicious direction of a New Year .

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ご神火は太古の闇を連れて来し
大谷早苗

御神火の火屑掃き寄す繞道祭
村上冬燕

凍む国の神火をきりし火燧臼
下田稔

天日を蔽ふ御神火や蜜柑むく
佐野青陽人

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #shinka #divinefire #godsfire #takuhi -
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2016-08-10

saba mackerel legends

- quote -
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.
- Japanese Spanish mackerel - Scomberomorus niphonius
- Japanese horse mackerel - Trachurus japonicus. The Japanese name for this fish is Aji (あじ)
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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There are some legends about the Tengu, who dislikes 生鯖 mackerels.
天狗は鯖が苦手　/ 天狗は鯖が嫌い

There are various theories about this.
Maybe the Tengu, as a being from the mountains and forests, is not used to fish and usually does not get fresh fish. So when some had been carried to the mountains and got half-rotten on the way, by the time the Tengu ate it, he got ill.

sabayomi 鯖読み "to read a makerel", to understand its age by the body length and weight.
Many salted makerels carried from Obama to Kyoto lost their freshness on the way and a professionel Sabayomi had to check their condition.
In some regions, the search for a lost child comes with calling out
「鯖読んだ◯◯帰ってこーい」saba yonda (00) kaette koi!
This might just have been a misunderstanding of calling
「鯖食った○○やい」saba kutta (00) yai! - or - 鯖食った○○おらんかー

tengu sarai 天狗攫い / tengu kakushi 天狗隠し - kidnapped by a Tengu

In our modern times and tales, it even helps to show a metal can of mackerels to a Tengu to make him run away.

The real reason why a Tengu dislikes mackerels is not quite clear, however.
「天狗の嫌うものは鯖である」とあるが、なぜ嫌うかは不明。
- source : crd.ndl.go.jp/reference -

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

source : tengart.com

.......................................................................... Fukui 福井県 ......................................
福井市 Fukui town

When someone looses a hatchet or sickle in the mountains, they mumble
サバ（鯖）の骨はどこへいったかな」
Where did I loose the bones of the mackerel?
The Tengu, who dislikes mackerels, will soon come and help find the sickle.

.......................................................................... Ishikawa 石川県 ......................................
白山市 Hakusan district 河内町 Kawachi

The Tengu likes to build his nest in a new home.
Therefore when building a new house, people put up an amulet to prevent this and ward off all kinds of evil. A six-cornered reel is set up, with a mackerel inside, during the rituals for building a new home.
After the ritual, the fish is let free in the river.
Similar rituals are held for new homes in other parts of Ishikawa prefecture.
The fish can be hung from the main pillar or outside under the eaves of the roof, to ward off a Tengu.

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石川郡 Ishikawa district

Sometimes children get lost and do not come back home. People think they are kidnapped by a Tengu. So the men from the village walk around to look for the child, calling out loud that the child likes mackerels or has just eaten mackerels.
This custom is also common in other parts of Ishikawa prefecture.

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能美郡 Nomi district 川北村 Kawakita

During the Meiji period, a boy named サク Saku got lost and was missing. His parents called out for two nights:
「鯖食うたサク」 saba kuuta saku
(Saku has been eating mackerels)
(It is said that the Tengu dislikes mackerels!)
And then found him sleeping in the store house.
He told them he had been caught by a Tengu and spent the time as prisoner in the branches of a Zelkova tree. Eventually the Tengu had let him down.

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

Guhinsama グヒンサマ Guhin Sama Tengu
Sometimes children get lost and do not come back home. People think they are kidnapped by a Tengu or Guhin. So the men from the village walk around to look for the child, calling out loud that the child has just eaten mackerels, 「鯖食った鯖食った」.

. guhin kuhin gubin 狗賓 / グヒン Guhin Tengu Yokai monster .

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Saba Daishi 鯖大師 "Mackerel and Kobo Daishi"
On the Shikoku Henro road, located between Temples 23 and 24. in Tokushima Prefecture

In Buddhism, SABA is spelled 生飯（さば）, offering some rice from one's own food to the hungry souls and demons and wild beasts.
Also read さんば sanba or sanban 散飯.

- quote -
Shikoku 88 Temples Foot Pilgrimage, Temple Saba Daishi
The story is that Kobo Daishi (in the 800’s) met a dried Mackerel seller on the road.
He was hungry, and he asked the trader to spare a dried fish.
The trader thought that Kobo Daishi was a beggar, and he refused.
He said that it is his livelihood, and that he cannot give all of his supplies away.
A bit later the man’s horse got very sick.
The trader realized that the beggar was the famous but humble Kobo Daishi, and he ran down the trail to ask Kobo Daishi for his forgiveness.
- - - Kobo Daishi forgave him and healed his horse.
The man insisted that Kobo Daishi eat one of his mackerel.
Kobo Daishi ate the dried Mackerel and then excreted the fish, fully alive.
- source : talilandsmanart.com -

. Shikoku Henro Temple List .

- - Now back to more regional legends about the mackerels ! - -
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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

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

During the 華厳会 Kegon ritual of painting eyes for the statue of the Great Buddha at the temple 東大寺 Todai-Ji an old man passing by, who had carried a bamboo basket with mackerels was summoned to read the Kegon Sutra. This was done because the 聖武天皇 Shomu Tenno (701 - 756) had a dream telling him to summon the first person passing the Hall in the morning should read the Sutra.
When the rituals were over, the old man suddenly disappeared.
The mackerels turned into 80 volumes of the 華厳経 Kegon Sutra.
The old man had been an incarnation of the Buddha himself.

The old man had forgotten his 杖 walking staff in the Eastern part of the temple, where it turned into a tree in the course of time. Now it is known as
saba no ki 鯖の木 the mackerel tree.

- More tales from Yamato and Nara:
- reference : nara.jr-central.co.jp/campaign/wokashi -

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
56 to explore (01)

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #saba #mackerel -
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ishibitsu stone coffin legends

source : museum.pref.yamanashi.jp

This stone box contains two 朱印状 trade licenses with personal seals,
one from 徳川家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu and one from 羽柴秀勝 Hashiba Hidekatsu (1568 - 1586), the fourth son of Oda Nobunaga and adopted child of Hashiba Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
They give permissions for trade to the businessmen of 右左口村 Ubaguchi village in Yamanashi prefecture.

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dotei no gyooja 土定の行者 / ドテイノギョウシャ an ascetic burried in the ground

In the autumn of 1817 a huge Keyaki tree suddenly fell down and in the hole in the ground a 石櫃 stone sacrophagus appeared. From inside there was a voice heard reciting the holy Sutras and ringing a bell. This must have been the Saint Ascetic who was burried there alive about 150 years earlier.
The long line of visitors coming here to pray lasted until the winter of that year.

. Sokushinbutsu 即身仏 the Living Mummies of Japan .
土定 (dojoo) - Others offered their life in a fire 火定 (kajoo) or in water 水定 (suijoo).

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Once upon a time
the villagers wanted to built a 祠 small Shinto shrine in the mountains and when they begun digging, a stone coffin came to light. Inside were the bodies of a man and a woman, almost like still alive, but when the coffin was opened, they suddenly disappeared into the breeze. There was also a 刀と鏡 sword and mirror in the coffin, so the villagers brought them to the lord of the domain.
But from this day on, suddenly an epidemic begun to haunt the village.
So they asked for the sword and mirror to have them back and bury them properly in the new shrine,
saying prayers for the souls of the man and woman.

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Shizuoka　静岡県 ......................................
伊豆の国市 Izunokuni town

伊豆の国市北江間横穴群大北支群 Kitaema cave mound / Kita Ema Caves
Kitaema Cave Tomb Cluster

source : sgkohun.world.coocan.jp/archive

.......................................................................... Tokushima 徳島県 ......................................
千代ヶ丸山 Chiyogamaruyama

In the year 1702, on the 24th day of the 4th month, the 観音堂 Kannon Hall at Chiyogamaru was to be repaired. In the ground they found a large stone sarcophagus 長さ9尺8寸、高さ2尺9寸、奥行き3尺. Inside were two skulls and two swords, spears and arrow heads.
The skull was about 3尺7寸 in diameter, and 1尺4寸 in length.,
1尺 - 30 cm, 1寸 - 3 cm

- reference and photos : awa-otoko.hatenablog.com -

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

The 甲府中納言殿 regent of Kofu, a member of the Tokugawa family, visited the state mansion 桜田御殿 Sakurada Goten, when he suddenly became very tired and fell ill.
The attendants called a mountain priest named 義孝 Yoshitaka to performe some rites for healing.
The priest revealed that there was something quite frightening below the bedroom of the mansion.
When they started digging, they found a stone coffin. Inside was a doll with a human figure.
The priest performed exorcist rituals with all his might and dilligence and indeed, the regent recovered in no time.

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

- reference : 石櫃と伝説 -

..............................................................................................................................................

. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #ishibitsu #stonesarcophagus -
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2016-08-08

tsue staff of Kukai legends

- BACK to the Daruma Museum -
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話昔話 - Introduction .
. kataba no ashi, kataha no ashi 片葉の葦 One-sided Reed .
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tsue 杖と伝説 Legends about the walking staff of Kobo Daishi

. Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai Legends .
- Introduction -

He walked around in many parts of Japan and countless legends about his deeds and accomplishments are handed down.
Many legends deal with his walking staff from Gingko tree wood, 杖銀杏.
He also used various staffs and sticks from other material, even bamboo.

He would hit the ground with his staff to produce wells, springs and even hot springs.

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Chiba 千葉県 ......................................
船橋 Funabashi

In former times there was a Dragon Shrine 龍神社 in the middle of the swamp. Kobo Daishi got rid of the reeds by hitting the with his staff, so now they are one-sided. He drained the swamp and now there are green fields.
There is a stone memorial in the place
弘法大師加持石芋片葉蘆之碑

. kataha no ashi, kataba no ashi 片葉の芦 One-sided Reed .

.......................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県 ......................................
今治市 Imabari 菊間町 Kikuma

In the compound of the temple 円福寺 Enpuku-Ji there is 青木の地蔵 "Aoki no Jizo", and next to it is a well called 青木の水 Aoki ni Mizu. The well was started by Kukai when hitting the ground with his staff and is also called
弘法大師御加持水, ritual water from Kobo Daishi or kusurimizu 薬水 "medicine water".
When he hit the ground, a well came forth and also a "green tree", maybe aoki, ミズキ Cornus controversa.

The water has healing powers for all kinds of diseases. And the Jizo is known for healing all kinds of diseases from the hips down the body.

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

dakeishi ダケ石
There is a boulder which Kobo Daishi had touched with his staff. If people touch it now, they will hurt themselves.

.......................................................................... Iwate 岩手県 ......................................

Kobo Daishi rammed his 杖銀杏 walking staff from Gingko tree wood into the ground and a tree began growing. If women prayed here, they had enough milk to feed their babies.

.......................................................................... Kumamoto 熊本県 ......................................

The hot spring 杖立温泉 Tsuetate Onsen was founded by Kobo Daishi, when his bamboo staff took roots.
It is now called 逆杖の竹 "upside down bamboo staff".

- quote -
The Tsuetate-onsen Hot Springs, located on the border of Kumamoto and Oita prefectures in the middle of Kyushu ...
When Empress Shinko went on an expedition to Korea, she was pregnant with the child of Emperor Chuai who had just recently died. As soon as she retreated to Munakata in the Chikuzen region after the war, she went into labor. A gray old man then appeared and said to her, “Follow the river in a southeastern direction, and you will see a magical spring. Draw water from the spring, use it for your baby’s first bath, and it will extend the life of the Prince until he is 1000 years of age.” Then he disappeared. Hearing this message, her squire went over jagged mountains and found the steam coming off the spring in a big rocky cavern. He drew water from the spring, brought it to the Empress and dedicated it as her baby’s first bath. The Prince was born. 　It is believed that the Prince later became known as Emperor Ojin.
... the legend of Kobo Daishi ...
This story is the origin of the name Tsuetate (Tsue means a stick, tate means remain). Addition to this story, another origin is that the sick or elderly people visited the area with their sticks (tsue) for the hot spring cure, but they left (tate) their sticks after they took a bath.
- source : tsuetate-onsen.com-

.......................................................................... Nagano 長野県 ......................................
下伊那 Shimoi district

shio no i 塩の井 Shionoi, the Salt Well
The villagers in Shimoi were very poor. So Kobo Daishi struck the ground with his 銀杏の杖 staff of Gingko wood and opened a well sprouting salt water. Salt became the new income of the villagers.

.......................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県 ......................................
上都賀郡 Kamitsuga district 東大芦村 HigashiOashi

When Kobo Daishi Kukai visited 日光登山 Mount Nikko he planted his staff in the ground at Higashi Oashi village. It grew to a large keyaki 欅 Zelkova tree.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
58 to explore (01)

..............................................................................................................................................

. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. tsue 杖と伝説 Legends about the walking staff .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #tsuewalkingstaff #staff #walkingstaffkobodaishi -
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keyaki zelkova tree legends

CLICK for more photos !
Keyaki is a very special tree, often venerated as a ritual tree of the gods, 欅神木 shinboku.

- quote -
Zelkova serrata (Japanese zelkova, Japanese elm or keyaki; Japanese: 欅 (ケヤキ) keyaki / 槻 (ツキ) tsuki)
is a species of flowering plant native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan. It is often grown as an ornamental tree, and used in bonsai.
- more in the wikipedia -

. 箪笥 Tansu: Traditional Japanese Cabinetry .
Many are made of Keyaki wood.
The wood is very strong and was also suited for making wooden nails, which were used by the traditional carpenters.

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dotei no gyooja 土定の行者 / ドテイノギョウシャ an ascetic burried in the ground

In the autumn of 1817 a huge Keyaki tree suddenly fell down and in the hole in the ground a 石櫃 stone sacrophagus appeared. From inside there was a voice heard reciting the holy Sutras and ringing a bell. This must have been the Saint Ascetic who was burried there alive about 150 years earlier.
The long line of visitors coming here to pray lasted until the winter of that year.

. Sokushinbutsu 即身仏 the Living Mummies of Japan .
土定 (dojoo) - Others offered their life in a fire 火定 (kajoo) or in water 水定 (suijoo).

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.......................................................................... Aichi 愛知県 ......................................
北設楽郡 Kitashitara 設楽町 Shitara

穴瀧という瀑布があり、近くに大蛇の遊木と言われた大欅があった。ある時、ある男が大欅を切り倒そうとした。すると美女が現れて名残惜しそうに立っていた。男はそのまま仕事を続けていたが、ふと大蛇の化身ではないかと思いついた。急に戦慄を覚え家に逃げ帰ったが、病床に臥してそのまま死んでしまった。

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

. Gyokuzooji 玉蔵寺 Gyokuzo-Ji .
The main hall has been erected in 1983, with stems from precious old keyaki zelkova trees 神代欅.

.......................................................................... Fukui 福井県
......................................

. Yamanokami no yadorigi 山の神さんの宿り木 sacred tree for Yamanokami .
三方郡 Mikata district 美浜町 Mihama // 遠敷郡 Onyu district 名田庄村 Natasho

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今立郡 Imadate district 池田町　Ikeda

Daishogun no Mori 大将軍の森
There was a Zelkova tree surrounded with Tsuta ivy, venerated by a family nearby.
In 1951 this tree was felled and soon after the family died out.

- - - - -

Once there was a Sake brewer in the village. At night, from the nearby Zelkova tree, a 天狗Tengu sneeked in with a paper lantern and begun to drink the new Sake, slurping happily. When the brewer heard this sound, ne knew that he had made a good rice wine that time and was grateful to the Tengu.

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遠敷郡 Onyu district 上中町 / 名田庄村 Natasho

tsurube otoshi 釣瓶落し "throwing a well-bucket"
Once there was a large Zelkova tree and when someone passed it by night, a well-bucket fell down from the tree top and hurt the person. So to our day it is called the "Well-Bucket Throwing Tree" and people do not dare to pass here at night.

tsurube otoshi is also a kigo for all autumn, referring to a fast sunset,
lit. "the sun goes down like a bucket in the well"
. nichibotsu　日没 sunset, evening sun .

CLICK for Keyaki trees from Fukui !

.......................................................................... Fukushima 福島県 ......................................
南会津郡 Minami Aizu district 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata

shihoogatame no ki 四方がための木 shiho-gatame, four trees to appease the four directions
and protect a village from evil influence. These trees are not to be cut.
If someone cuts them they will leek red blood and moan and groan like a wounded human.

In the East in the Keyaki tree 東にけやき.
南に唐松 South: Karamatsu - 北に黒松 North: Kuromatsu - 西に赤松 West: Akamatsu

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いわき市 Iwaki

Kuramochi Mishima Hachiman 蔵持三島八幡
蔵持に里という美しい少女（未亡人という説もあり）がいて、たそがれに軒端で歌っていた。その声に寄せられて毎夜同じ時刻に若者がたずねてきた。そのころ、村人が蔵持三島八幡境内にあるえのき（神白村ぼんてん山の大けやきという説も）を切り倒してお里の家の近くに橋をかける話をまとめた。毎夜お里を訪ねてきた若者は、悲しそうに今夜限りで会えないといって帰った。村人たちがその木を切ると、血が流れ出た。ようやく切り倒して運ぼうとしても動かない。お里を呼んで歌を歌わせ、音頭をとらせたら、木は自分から動き出した。その夜から若者の姿はみられなくなった。この橋を里也橋という。
.
さとや橋の南にあった大きなけやきの木を切って橋をかけようとすると、木から血が出て、倒すのに７日間もかかった。ところが重くて動かない。お里という女に木やり節を歌わせたら軽々運べた。

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大沼郡 Onuma district 金山町 Kaneya

八町のだだ坊 Hatcho no Dadabo Tanuki
At the local shrine of Hatcho village there lived a strange monster called Dadabo , which would often eat children. So the villagers asked 中井坊 the blind priest Nakai to drive away the monster.
The blind priest placed a すり鉢 mortar on his head, grabbed a howe and a mallet and went to the Shrine. He threw the monster into the mortar and hit it with the hoe and mallet until it begun to bleed and run away.
Next morning the villagers followed the blood and game to a hole under the Zelkova tree near the shrine. They found 古狸 a bleeding tanuki badger without much hair. They killed it and made some Tanuki soup out of the meat.
From that day on, the monster never showed up.

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田村郡 Tamura district 小野町 Ono

A few years go someone found a straw doll hammered into the stem of the Zelkova tree in the shrine compound. That is quite astonishing for our century.

. wara ningyoo 藁人形 straw dolls for curses .

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

上州一ノ宮貫前神社 Shinshu Ichi no Miya Nuisaki Jinja
敗戦近くの頃、上州一ノ宮貫前神社の欅の神木に蛙の形の茸が生え、神木に宿る軍神が怒って現れたものと言われた。さらに、大戦果時には大きくなり、玉砕などの時はしぼんだとか、敗戦直前には蛙に蛇が巻きついた形になったなどという話にまで発展した。

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

Once at 常陸 Hitachi a shabby looking monk begged at a home for a lodging, but was refused. When the master of the home later found out that it was Kobo Daishi, he climbed on a large 欅 zelkova tree and called out for the monk to come back.
弘法様よーい、弘法様よーい Kooboo sama yoooi, kooboosama yooi
Eventually the man turned into a 蝉 cicada calling ちばひめ chibahime.

source : otafuku.cocolog-nifty.com
若宮八幡宮の大けやき The Keyaki zelkova tree in the compound of the shrine Wakamiya Hachimangu in Hitachi Ota 常陸太田市.

It is said that to our day the cicadas of the region come to this tree on the 23rd of July (this is the day when Kobo Daishi is supposed to have passed here).

. Kōbō Daishi Kūkai 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説　 Kobo Daishi Kukai Legends .

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茨城町 Ibaraki Town

諏訪大社　Suwa Taisha 諏訪大社 Great Suwa Shrine
Near the keyaki 欅 zelkova tree at お諏訪様 the Suwa Shrine there was a huge lantern hanging down one day.
Some say it must have been a mujina むじな Tanuki. This was in early spring.
. Suwa Jinja 諏訪神社 Suwa Shrines and their Legends .

- - - - -
tamase, hitodama 人魂
A bluish-white fireball 火の玉 fell down to the ground near a Zelkova tree.
The local folks called this tamase タマセ（魂) (tamashi) a soul.

.......................................................................... Ishikawa 石川県 ......................................
能美郡 Nomi district 川北村 Kawakita

Tengu 天狗
During the Meiji period, a boy named サク Saku got lost and was missing. His parents called out for two nights:
「鯖食うたサク」 saba kuuta saku
(Saku has been eating mackerels)
(It is said that the Tengu dislikes mackerels!)
And then found him sleeping in the store house.
He told them he had been caught by a Tengu and spent the time as prisoner in the branches of a Zelkova tree. Eventually the Tengu had let him down.

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

鯖天狗 / 天狗は鯖が苦手 / 天狗の鯖ぎらい
Saba and Tengu comes with more legends on its own.
. saba 鯖と伝説 Legends about mackerel, Makrele .

.......................................................................... Iwate 岩手県 ......................................
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岩手県花巻市東和町北成島５－１ Hanamaki

source :　hidemichitanaka.net

成島毘沙門天 Narushima Bishamonten
The largest statue in Tohoku, made from one stem of keyaki wood, 4.73 meters high.
. Bishamon-Ten 毘沙門天 Bishamonten (Vaishravana) .

.......................................................................... Kyoto 京都府 ......................................

There is a keyaki 欅 zelkova tree in 亀岡市 Kameoka that was planted by Abe no Seimei.
If people want to cut it or hurt it, they will be cursed.
. Abe no Seimei 阿倍晴明 (921 - 1005) .

.......................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県 ......................................
黒川郡 Kurokawa district 大和町 Taiwa

kasa ni baketa mujina 笠に化けた狢
吉岡館主但木土佐より前の時代の話。宇古館地内に欅の大木があった。ある夜一人の若者がそこを通ると枝に饅頭笠が懸かっていたので，怪しんで笠の紐を掴み，地面に叩き付けるとそれは笠に化けた狢であった。亡骸を埋めた所を近年までキンタマ塚などと呼んでいたが，今は自衛隊キャンプ敷地になっている。

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仙台市 Sendai 青葉区 Aoba

Tennozuka 天皇塚 Mound of the Emperor
On a hill near the 阿弥陀堂 Amidado hall there were the huge roots of a Zelkova tree. People say that the gibutsu 御物 imperial treasures of 安徳天皇 Antoku Tenno are burried here.
Many woman come here to pray for an easy birth.

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柴田郡 Shibata district 村田町

Yamato Takeru 日本武尊
At the shrine Shirotori Jinja 白鳥神社の祭神は日本武尊。境内に、今も二条の大藤がからみつく大欅がある。源頼義父子は前九年の役に際してこの境内に宿陣し、夢に祭神が現れ大勝した。戦いの初め、官軍が苦戦した時、この藤が二頭の大蛇となって敵を敗走させたという。

. Yamato Takeru 日本武尊 / 倭健命 - Introduction .

.......................................................................... Nagano 長野県 ......................................
東筑摩郡 Higashichikuma district 麻績村 Omi

At the shrine of the hamlet Kanori 叶里のお宮 there is a Zelkova tree that should not be cut down.
But then a villager tried to cut it down anyway. The tree begun to bleed red blood and the man died soon.

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北佐久郡 Kitasaku district 立科町 Tateshina

kimon yoke no keyaki 鬼門除けのけやき
The Zelkova tree between the Hachiman shrine and the Myojin Shrine is supposed to ward off evil. Once three farmers said they could not pass there with their horses and tried to uproot the tree by pulling it sown with ropes. All three of them soon died at a young age.

. kimon 鬼門 "Demon Gate" in the Northern direction .

.......................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県 ......................................
対馬市 Tsushima

o hideri sama オヒデリ様
氏神の維持金を捻出するためにオヒデリ様（神無月の間の留守番の神様）の山の一部と大欅を売ったら、区長の次男の足が悪くなって立てなくなった。責祈祷をすると上手くいかなかったが、後で和尚に神様が乗りうつり、欅の木を売ったせいだということがわかった。代わりに欅を植えたが、次男は死んでしまった。

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

. Nakayama Jinja 中山神社 .

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阿哲郡 Atetsu district 神郷町 Shingo

yashikigami 屋敷神
備中北部の神郷町の8ヶ村を支配する庄屋の家の西に接する山裾には、欅造りの荒神祠がある。そこに祀られている荒神はもとは庄屋の屋敷神であったが、今では牛の加護を祈るものとなっている。
.
阿哲郡神郷町三ヶ市の荒神は、欅の大木の下に祠があり、部落の者みんなで祀っている、この部落の氏神は国司様であり、子供の宮参りにはこちらに参り、荒神には参らない。

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

. Enoki and yao bikuni 八百比丘尼 a nun for 800 years . .

.......................................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県 ......................................
庵原郡 Ihara district 両河内村 Ryogochi

Once the farmers wanted to cut down a large Zelkova tree in the forest. A nearby 藤 wisteria tree became so sad about the loss of its companion that it was howling and then begun to have blossoms, right in the middle of winter. The owner of the tree wrote a peaceful Waka poem on a slip of decorative paper and fixed it to the wisteria tree. The wiseria then stopped flowering and they could finish their work.
Yama no Kami 山の神, the deity of the mountain, had become angry, the farmers thought.

.......................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県 ......................................
上都賀郡 Kamitsuga district 東大芦村 HigashiOashi

When Kobo Daishi Kukai visited 日光登山 Mount Nikko he planted his staff in the ground at Higashi Oashi village. It grew to a large Zelkova tree.

.......................................................................... Tokyo 東京都 ......................................
八王子市 Hachioji

namakubi 生首 the cut-off head
In former times, when the 滝山城 Takiyama Castle was lost, the cut-off head of the Lord of the castle rolled down to the Zelkova tree and then jumped up to bite in the head of the victorious Samurai.
Since then the soul of the cut-off head resides in the Zelkova tree and sometimes comes down to bite people.
Once the head bit a man into the leg and the scars were seen and never healed. A learned man said it was the Yokai monster Jinmensoo 人面瘡 Jinmenso and suggested to offer it some おにぎり rice balls to eat every day. And indeed, after two months, the wound healed.

source : てくてくお気楽ダイアリー

jinmenso 人面瘡 - a supernatural tumor with a human face

- - - - - Not related, it seems, but interesting is the legend of

Jinmenju 人面樹　– The Human Face Tree
This tree is found in mountain valleys. The fruit of the tree looks like a human head. It doesn’t say a word, but it is constantly laughing. It is said that if the fruit laughs too heartily, it falls from the tree.
- source : hyakumonogatari.com　- Zack Davisson -

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. Nerima 練馬区 and the shrine 白山神社 Hakusan Jinja .

.......................................................................... Toyama 富山県 ......................................
東礪波郡 Higashitonami district 平村 Taira

Once a 天狗 Tengu lived in a large Zelkova tree with two stems. When he went out to work he prayed to the tree to let him go safely. When he came back at night he gave thanks in prayer with folded hands.

keyaki with two stems 双幹 / 二股に分かれた幹

吉田神社の欅 - 長野県長野市吉田１丁目 / Yoshida Shrine, Nagano

- Check out this page with many special Keyaki trees:
- source : azumauta.web.fc2.com/kengai-

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中新川郡 Nakaniigawa district 上市町 Kamiichi

daija 大蛇 huge serpent
滝橋集落の青どろという淵に、深い洞が２つあって、大蛇が棲んでいた。大蛇は女の子に化けて、欅の木の下によく出た。ある人が大蛇の化けた女に「一番嫌いなものは何だ」と訊いたら、「タバコのヤニだ」と答えたので、タバコのヤニを取って手桶に入れて大蛇の化けた女に掛け、「俺は大判小判が嫌いだ」と叫んで逃げ出した。その晩、大蛇は仕返しに男の家に大判小判を投げ込み、男は長者になった。

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

. Nagata Jinja 長田神社 .

.......................................................................... Wakayama 和歌山県 ......................................

Once there was a Zelkova tree of more then 2000 years (樹齢数千年の欅).
But one day the villagers tried to cut it down. That night 怪僧 an strange monk appeared and killed all men who had helped.
This Zelkova tree is the seat of a great deity 大神様, where the God comes to rest.

.......................................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県 ......................................
富士吉田市 Fujiyoshida

ジュウバコタタキ，ゴロチ
舟久保泰明氏の生まれたうちにはかつて月の木とよばれる欅の木があった。その木にジュウバコタタキだとかゴロチとかいう鳥か獣が来たといって、「ジュウバコがくるぞ」とか、「ジュウバコが縄を下ろしてひもひき上げちまうぞ」などとおどかされた。

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北杜市 Hokuto

meoto keyaki 夫婦欅 "husband and wife Zelkova"
At the Suwa Jinja shrine of 日野春村長坂上條村社 there are two Zelkova trees. The one on the left side is the 婦木 Wife, the larger one on the right is the 夫木 Husband.
The bark of the Husband Tree is very rough with many warts. People come here to wipe the warts with a 紙縒 paper string, and then their own イボ warts, to make them go away.

日野春村長坂上條村社の諏訪神社に夫婦欅とよばれるケヤキがある。社殿の右を夫木、社殿の左を婦木といい、夫木の表皮には多数の突起が疣状についている。紙縒をこの突起に結ぶとイボが治ると言われている。

- - - - -There are other trees of this kind

CLICK for more photos !
meoto keyaki 夫婦欅 "husband and wife Zelkova"

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
27 to explore ケヤキ (00)

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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- - - - - HAIKU 俳句 - - - - -

葉を脱いで欅すらりと月の中
ha o nuide keyaki surarito tsuki no naka

Having shed its leaves
the zelkova stands svelte
in the moonlight
Tr. Hiroaki Sato

. Tada Chimako 多田智満子 (1930 - 2003) .

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仙台ケヤキ並木 The famous Keyaki Road in Sendai, Miyagi

CLICK for more photos !

仙台の欅を慕いわたしは水
Sendai no keyaki o shitai watashi wa mizu

渋谷道 Shibuya Michi (1926 - )

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初冬の好日欅一樹立ち
松村蒼石

千年の杉や欅や滝の音
草間時彦

八幡宮夏至の欅が亭々と
高澤良一

- MORE haiku about the Keyaki tree:
- reference : haikureiku database -

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. Join the friends on Facebook ! .

- #keyaki #zelkova -
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. Legends about trees - - 木と伝説 .

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