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Tsuru No Ongaeshi
is a story from Japanese folklore about a crane who returns a favor to a man. A variant of the story where a man marries the crane that returns the favor is known as . According to Japanese scholar Seki Keigo, the story is "one of the best known" tales in Japan about supernatural and enchanted spouses. Crane's Return of a Favor A man saves a crane that had been shot down by hunters. That night, a woman appears at the man's door and tells him that she is his wife. The man tells her that he is not wealthy enough to support them, but she tells him that she has a bag of rice that will fill their stomachs. Every day, the rice never goes down in the sack, and it always stays full. The next day she tells the man that she is going in a room to make something and that he is not to come in until she is finished. Seven days have passed by and she finally comes out with a beautiful piece of clothing, but she is very skinny. She tells the man to go to the markets the next morning and to sell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Folklore
Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, Tradition, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The Folklore studies, academic study of folklore is known as . Folklorists also employ the term or to refer to the objects and arts they study. Folk religion Men dressed as namahage, wearing ogre-like masks and traditional straw capes (''mino (straw cape), mino'') make rounds of homes, in an annual ritual of the Oga Peninsula area of the Northeast region. These ogre-men masquerade as kami looking to instill fear in the children who are lazily idling around the fire. This is a particularly colorful example of folk practice still kept alive. A parallel custom is the secretive ritual of the Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa which does not allow itself to be photographed. Many, though increasingly fewer households maintain a kamidana or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seki Keigo
was a Japanese folklorist. He joined a group under Yanagita Kunio, but often came to different conclusions regarding the same folktales. Along with collecting and compiling folktales, Seki also arranged them into a series of categories. This work culminated in his ''Nihon mukashibanashi shūsei'' (''Collection of Japanese Folktales'') (1928, revised 1961), in six volumes, which classified Japanese folktales after the model of the Aarne-Thompson system. A selection was published as ''Nihon No Mukashi-Banashi'' (1956–7), and was translated into English as '' Folktales of Japan'' (1963) by Robert J. Adams. Seki founded the Japanese Society for Folk Literature in 1977. University Life Seki was a native of Nagasaki Prefecture and graduate of Toyo University. He studied philosophy and worked as a librarian for the university. He founded the Japanese Society for Folk Literature (Nihon Koshobungei Gakkai) in 1977 and was its first president. Seki understood German and translated tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swan Maiden
The "swan maiden" () is a tale classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, ATU 400, "The Swan Maiden" or "The Man on a Quest for His Lost Wife," in which a man makes a pact with, or marries, a supernatural female being who later departs. The wife Shapeshifting, shapeshifts from human to bird form with the use of a feathered cloak (or otherwise turns into a beast by donning animal skin). The discussion is sometimes limited to cases in which the wife is specifically a swan, a goose, or at least some other kind of bird, as in ''Enzyklopädie des Märchens''. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. In the typical story a maiden is (usually bathing) in some body of water, a man furtively steals, hides, or burns her feather garment (Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, motif K 1335, D 361.1), which prevents her from flying away (or swimming away, etc.), forcing her to become his wife. She is often one of several maidens present (of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuki-onna
is a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore that is often depicted in Japanese literature, films, or animation. She may also go by such names as ''yuki-musume'', cited by (雪娘, "snow daughter"), ''yukihime'' (雪姫, "snow princess"), ''yuki-onago'' (雪女子, "snow girl"), ''yukijorō'' (雪女郎, "snow woman"), ''yuki anesa'' (雪姉さ, "snow sis"), ''yuki-onba'' (雪乳母, "snow granny" or "snow nanny"), ''yukinba'' (雪婆, "snow hag") in Ehime, ''yukifuri-baba'' (雪降り婆, "snowfall witch" or "snowfall hag") in Nagano. They are also called several names that are related to icicles, such as '' tsurara-onna'', ''kanekori-musume'', and ''shigama-nyōbō''. Origins Yuki-onna originates from folklores of olden times; in the Muromachi period '' Sōgi Shokoku Monogatari'' by the renga poet Sōgi, there is a statement on how he saw a yuki-onna when he was staying in Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture), indicating that the legends already existed in the Muromachi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hagoromo (play)
is among the most-performed Japanese Noh plays.Royall Tyler (academic), Tyler, Royall. ''Japanese No Dramas.'' Penguin Classics (1992)p96 . It is an example of the traditional swan maiden motif (narrative), motif. Sources and history The earliest recorded version of the legend dates to the eighth century.Blacker, Carmen. ''Collected Writings of Carmen Blacker.'' Routledge (2000)p44 . The play however apparently combines two legends, one concerning the origins of the Suruga Dance (''Suruga-mai'') and another the descent of an angel onto Udo Beach. A parallel story may also be found in the 14th volume of the fifth-century ''Sou-shen chi''. A poem by the 11th century poet Nōin is quoted. The authorship of the Noh play ''Hagoromo'' is unknown. The earliest references to the play in historical records date to 1524, which suggests that it was written well after Zeami's time. Plot A fisherman is walking with his companions at night when he finds the Hagoromo, the magical feather-m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiction About Shapeshifting
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with fact, history, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, fiction refers to written narratives in prose often specifically novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition and theory Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly expressed, so the audience expects a work of fiction to deviate to a greater or lesser degree from the real world, rather than presenting for instance only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood as not adhering to the real world, the them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythological And Legendary Japanese Birds
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the veracity of a myth is not a defining criterion. Myths are often endorsed by religious (when they are closely linked to religion or spirituality) and secular authorities. Many societies group their myths, legends, and history together, considering myths and legends to be factual accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Origin myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. National myths are narratives about a nation's past that symbolize the nation's values. There is a complex relationship between recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. Etymology The word "myth" comes from Ancient G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
