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Zashiki-warashi
, sometimes also called , are spirit-like beings told about mostly in the Iwate Prefecture. They are said to be yokai that live in parlors or storage rooms, and that perform pranks, and that people who see one would be visited with good fortune. There are also legends of how they would bring fortune to families. They are also known from Kunio Yanagita's ''Tōno Monogatari'', ''Ishigami Mondō'', and stories about them appear in the 17th and 18th chapters of the ''Tōno Monogatari'' and the 87th chapter titled "Zashiki-warashi" of the ''Tōno Monogatari Shūi''. In the 17th chapter, it is written "families with whom this spirit dwells become prosperous" (''kono kami no yadoritamafu ihe ha fūki jizai nari to ifu koto nari''). In recent years, television programs and magazines have reported about various Iwate Prefecture ''ryokan'' where it is said to be possible to see a ''zashiki-warashi''. Etymology The name breaks down to ''zashiki'' (Japanese: ), a sitting room or parlor, usuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōno Monogatari
was a Japanese author, scholar, and Folklore studies, folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual establishment of Japanese folklore, Japanese native folkloristics, or ''minzokugaku'', as an academic field in Japan. As a result, he is often considered to be the father of modern Japanese folklore studies. Early life Yanagita was born as the fifth child of the Matsuoka family in the town of Fukusaki, Hyōgo, Fukusaki, located in Hyōgo Prefecture. He was born with the name Kunio Matsuoka (or Matsuoka Kunio in the Japanese manner of naming), but was adopted into the family of a court justice named Naohei Yanagita. At the time, it was fairly common practice for families without a son Japanese adult adoption, to adopt a young boy or man into the family to inherit the family's property. This would often occur through marriage, with the adopti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iwate Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the west, and Miyagi Prefecture to the south. Morioka is the capital and largest city of Iwate Prefecture; other major cities include Ichinoseki, Iwate, Ichinoseki, Ōshū, Iwate, Ōshū, and Hanamaki, Iwate, Hanamaki. Located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast, Iwate Prefecture features the easternmost point of Honshu at Cape Todo, and shares the highest peaks of the Ōu Mountains—the longest mountain range in Japan—at the border with Akita Prefecture. Iwate Prefecture is home to famous attractions such as Morioka Castle, the Buddhist temples of Hiraizumi, Iwate, Hiraizumi including Chūson-ji and Mōtsū-ji, the Fujiwara no Sato movie lot and theme park in Ōshū, and the Tenshochi park in Kitaka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
怪談レストラン
is a Japanese children's storybook series. The books take the form of horror anthologies, edited by Miyoko Matsutani and illustrated by Yoshikazu Takai and Kumiko Katō. As of 2007, there were 50 volumes published by Doshinsha. Over 8 million copies of the books have published so far. The books were adapted into a TV anime series by Toei Animation, which began airing in 2009. It derives its name from "kaidan", which loosely translates to "thriller" (from "kai", meaning strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition, and "dan", meaning talk or recited narrative; a more direct translation would be a ghost or horror story). Rather than forming a linear plot, the anime follows the anthology format of the book and tells a collection of ghost stories similar to what would be traditionally told around a campfire. The anime was frequently among the 10 highest rated anime shows of the week in Japan. The series was adapted into a hybrid live-action and anime feature film in 2010 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biwa Hōshi
, also known as "lute priests", were travelling performers in the era of Japanese history preceding the Meiji period. They earned their income by reciting vocal literature to the accompaniment of music. were mostly blind, and adopted the shaved heads and robes common to Buddhist monks. The occupation likely had its origin in China and India, where blind Buddhist lay-priest performers were once common. The musical style of the is referred to as , which literally means " music". Although these performers existed well before the events of the Genpei War, they eventually became famous for narrating tales about this war. Before sang , they were entertainers and ritual performers. They took on a broad range of roles, including poetry and song, plague prevention, and spiritual purification; it was probably because of their ritualistic duties that they became the caretakers of . The are considered the first performers of the ''Tale of the Heike'', which is one of Japan's most famous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moxibustion
Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or process it further into a cigar-shaped stick. They can use it indirectly, with acupuncture needles, or burn it on the patient's skin. Moxibustion is promoted as a treatment for a wide variety of conditions, but its use is not backed by good evidence and it carries a risk of adverse effects. Terminology The first Western remarks on moxibustion can be found in letters and reports written by Portuguese missionaries in 16th-century Japan. They called it ''botão de fogo'' (), a term originally used for round-headed Western cautery irons. Hermann Buschoff, who published the first Western book on this matter in 1674 (English edition 1676) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anma
''Anma'' () is a practice of traditional Japanese massage; the word also refers to practitioners of that art. Modern shiatsu is largely derived from ''anma''. History ''Anma'' is thought to be of Chinese origin, developing from ''Tui Na''. ''Tui Na'' techniques arrived in Japan during the Nara period (710–793 CE), along with other techniques of traditional Chinese medicine, and were practiced in government-sponsored hospitals. ''Anma'' as a unique system was founded in 1320 by Akashi Kan Ichi. ''Anma'' was popularised in the seventeenth century by acupuncturist Sugiyama Waichi, and around the same time the first books on the subject, including Fujibayashi Ryōhaku's (藤林良伯) ''Anma Tebiki'' (按摩手引 "Manual of Anma"), appeared. The Fujibayashi school is the foundation of modern anma. ''Anma'' (masseurs) were often nomadic, earning their keep in mobile massage capacities, and paying commissions to their referrers. In the nineteenth century, the image of ''anma' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōdōza
The was a Japanese guild for Visual impairment, blind men, established in the 14th century by the biwa hōshi . Members performed a variety of roles, as itinerant musicians, massage, masseurs, and acupuncture, acupuncturists. It received the patronage of the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Edo period, Edo shogunates, and remained active until the Meiji restoration, being eventually disbanded in 1871. The organization was hierarchically structured. The primary ranks, known as , were (the highest), then , , and ; these were further subdivided into a total of 73 distinct grades. Total membership was usually around 3,000; it is not known what proportion of the total blind population this represents. The Tōdōza accepted only male members; a separate organization, the , existed for blind women. There was additionally a further guild, the , similar to the Tōdōza but active mostly in the western regions of Japan. References Further reading *Achttiende-eeuwse verhandelin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninohe, Iwate
is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 26,344, and a population density of 63 persons per km2 in 11,803 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ninohe is located in far north-center Iwate Prefecture, bordered by Aomori Prefecture to the north. The northern end of the Kitakami Mountains, the 852.2 meter Mount Oritsume is in Ninohe. Approximately 70% of the city area is mountainous and forested. The upper reaches of the Mabechi River flows through the city. A portion of the city is within the borders of the Oritsume Basenkyō Prefectural Natural Park. Neighboring municipalities Aomori Prefecture * Nanbu * Sannohe * Takko Iwate Prefecture * Hachimantai * Ichinohe * Karumai * Kunohe Climate Ninohe has a humid continental climate (Köppen ''Dfb'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ninohe is 9.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1248 mm wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inugami
, like kitsunetsuki, is a spiritual possession by the spirit of a dog, widely known about in western Japan. They seemed firmly rooted until recent years in eastern Ōita Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, and a part of Kōchi Prefecture in northern Shikoku, and it is also theorized that Shikoku, where no foxes (kitsune) could be found, is the main base of the inugami. Furthermore, traces of belief in inugami exists in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, all of Kyushu, even going past the Satsunan Islands all the way to the Okinawa Prefecture. In the Miyazaki Prefecture, the Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, and Yakushima, the local dialect pronounces it "ingami" and in Tanegashima, they are called "irigami." It can also be written in kanji as 狗神. Origins The phenomenon of inugami spiritual possession was a kojutsu (also called "kodō" or "kodoku", a greatly feared ritual for employing the spirits of certain animals) that was already banned in the Heian period that was thought to ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Binbōgami
A is a kami (god or spirit) in Japanese folklore said to inhabit a person or their house, bringing poverty and misery. References to binbōgami appear in classic Japanese tales, essays, and rakugo performances. Description A binbōgami typically appears as a skinny, dirty old man with a pale complexion, often carrying a paper fan (''shibu-uchiwa'') and wearing a sad expression. Regardless of appearance, they are said to be fond of lazy people. When inhabiting a house, they reportedly prefer to live in closets. According to the poet Nakamura Kōgyō, binbōgami have a fondness for miso, and use their fans to waft and enjoy its aroma. Some descriptions add details like wielding a kendama and wearing only one broken geta. Being a kami, a binbōgami cannot be killed, but methods to drive one away exist. Folklore and Literature Historical References * The personification of poverty appears as early as the 13th-century collection '' Shasekishū'' (Collection of Sand and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tōno, Iwate
is a city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 26,378, and a population density of 31.6 persons per km2 in 10,759 households. The total area of the city is . Tōno is known as "The City of Folklore" for its rural nature, its preservation of traditional culture and especially for the collection of folktales, '' Tōno Monogatari,'' written by Kunio Yanagita in 1910. Geography Tōno is located in central Iwate Prefecture, in the floodplain of the Sarugaishi River, surrounded by a ring of mountains. Mount Hayachine sits at the northernmost point of the city where Hanamaki, Kawai and Tōno meet. At 1,914 meters it is also the city's highest point. Mt. Rokkoushi, (1,294 meters) dominates the landscape to the east and Mt. Ishigami (1,038 meters) is the highest mountain in the west. Together these peaks form Tōno's "big three" mountains. The highest points in southern Tōno are Mt. Sadato (884 meters) on the border of Sumida and Mt. Tane (871 meters) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
