The Fox's Wedding: a Compendium of Japanese Folklore

Umidebito
over 3 years ago – Mon, Jan 18, 2021 at 02:09:24 AM

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Masaki gitsune
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jan 13, 2021 at 03:38:21 AM

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Arie
almost 4 years ago – Tue, Jan 12, 2021 at 12:23:35 AM

Greeting yokai fans!

First, a quick update on the status of the BackerKit pledge manager.

I know many of you are very eager for the pledge manager to open up so you can add on extra items to your pledges. I'm working on getting that up as soon as possible, but the massive snowfall has slowed things down in Japan so I've had to delay a few meetings with shipping companies.

Right now I'm just trying to nail down the shipping costs. I've narrowed it down to two fulfillment centers, one in Japan, one in Hong Kong. I have a Zoom meeting with the Japanese company later this week to discuss shipping rates. Once I've got the rates finalized, I will be able to open up the BackerKit pledge manager where you'll all be able to edit your orders, add on items, customize things like signatures & art prints, and of course finalize everything with the shipping costs. With luck, that will happen by the end of the week, but if the fulfillment center needs any extra time to give me shipping estimates per country, then it may take a few extra days. So please hang in tight a while longer!

Now, on to today's yokai.

Arie (アリエ) is another amabiko-type yokai. They are prophetic aquatic yokai with bulbous bodies covered in shiny scales. They somewhat resemble sea lions. They walk on four legs, and have long, thin tails. Their long necks stick straight up out of the center of their bodies, and they have hairy manes. They live in the ocean, they can speak and deliver prophecies, and they are powerful good spirits whose image alone is enough to drive away evil and sickness.

The only recorded arie sighting appeared in the Kōfu hibi shimbun on June 17, 1876. The report was virtually identical to that of many other aquatic prophetic yōkai which appeared in the latter half of the 19th century. The article was printed along with an illustration of the arie:

A strange creature was sighted in the waters off Higo Province (present-day Kumamoto Prefecture). After nightfall, the creature emerged from the water and began walking along the roadside calling out to people. Passersby were scared, and nobody approached the creature. Eventually the flow of traffic died out.

A government official heard the rumors about the strange creature. He went to see it for himself. When he approached the creature, it spoke to him: “I am the leader of the scaled beasts of the sea. I am called arie.” The creature then foretold a six-year bumper crop and an outbreak of cholera. He informed the official that anyone who hung up its image and prayed to it would be protected from the disaster.

After delivering its message the arie went back into the sea and was never seen again.

It just occurred to me right now that while I've been sharing you my interpretations of these yokai, it might also interest you to see what I based my illustration on. Since there was only ever one record of an arie, it was a pretty easy image to reference. Here is a scan of the original arie image from 1876:

Amabiko
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Jan 10, 2021 at 11:32:13 PM

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We Did It!
almost 4 years ago – Mon, Jan 04, 2021 at 02:51:14 AM

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