Oni no kannebutsu
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 07:13:01 PM
Greetings yokai lovers!
I hope you're all enjoying a nice winter holiday.
I mentioned in the Kickstarter description that while The Fox's Wedding focuses heavily on kitsune lore, the book is not solely about kitsune. About 1/4 of the entries in the book are related to kitsune, however, the remainder of the book describes other yokai as well. So today I thought I'd introduce one of the other interesting yokai you can find inside. And we're expecting a big blizzard in a day or two, so I decided to show one of the wintry ones.
This is oni no kannebutsu (鬼の寒念仏). It is the phenomenon of an oni undergoing a monk’s ritualistic winter training. Oni you probably have heard of before. They are the "demons" of Japanese folklore. They are big, horned, ogrish creatures that love to punish humans. All of my books feature a few examples of different oni, and The Fox's Wedding is no exception. Kannebutsu is a part of Buddhist religious training. It involves getting up before dawn on winter mornings and patrolling the streets loudly reciting prayers. Oftentimes devotees bang a gong and visit house to house to collect alms while chanting the name of Buddha.
Oni no kannebutsu is one of the themes of Ōtsue (“paintings from Ōtsu”), a popular genre of folk painting. Ōtsu was a major station on both the Tōkaidō and Nakasendō roads connecting Edo with the rest of Japan. A great number of travelers passed through the city. It was an important destination for religious pilgrims, as it is home to several important religious sites, including Enryaku-ji, Mii-dera, and Hiyoshi Taisha.
Ōtsue were produced by Ōtsu’s residents and sold as souvenirs and as protective charms to pilgrims and travelers alike. These paintings were immensely popular during the Edo Period. They depicted several common themes, usually with moral or satirical meanings. Oni no kannebutsu is one of the most popular Ōtsue themes. Traditionally, oni no kannebutsu pictures were sold as a remedy for infant colic.
An oni in monk’s garb is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Their horns are the manifestation of the three poisons of Buddhism which are the root of all evil: delusion, attachment, and hatred. The more we express our ego, use things for our benefit, see things through our own eyes, and act in our own self interest, the more our horns grow. It is said that oni reside in the human heart. The Ōtsue looks ready to perform winter training. He wears a monk’s robes. He carries a gong, a wooden mallet, and a donation registry. The one thing he is missing is the most important: a clean soul.
Oni no kannebutsu is a satire of monks and priests who dress and act pious, but who actually behave in a manner more fitting an oni than a buddha. This comical depiction of religious hypocrisy is a theme frequently found in yōkai art.
But there is another hidden message in oni no kannebutsu. One of the oni’s horns is broken. In other words, the oni is trying to break free from self-delusion. The broken horn shows that it has succeeded to some degree. It serves as a role model and a reminder of the path to salvation. If an oni can try to walk the path of enlightenment, then so can anyone.
Otora gitsune
almost 4 years ago
– Sun, Dec 27, 2020 at 01:15:40 AM
Greetings yokai lovers!
Today's kitsune story is about Otora, a one-eyed, three-legged kitsune from Aichi Prefecture.
Otora lived long ago in the Inari shrine grove at Nagashino Castle. After the Battle of Nagashino, the castle was burnt to the ground. Its Inari shrine was abandoned and never rebuit. This enraged Otora, and he turned his vengeance against the locals by pranking them. His first target was the daughter of a wealthy family: a woman named Otora. It is from her that this kitsune got his name. From then Otora gitsune continued to possess villager after villager, causing mischief across the region.
Otora became one-eyed during Battle of Nagashino. He was observing the battle from his grove when a stray bullet struck his left eye. There are a few stories about how he lost his left leg. Some say that he was eavesdropping on a meeting of generals in Nagashino Castle when his shadow was cast against the paper sliding door. The lord of the castle saw the shadow, and believing it to be a spy, slashed his sword and severed the kitsune’s leg. Another version says that one day he transformed into a crow, perched on a wall, and began cawing loudly. This annoyed a famous bowman who lived nearby, and the bowman shot an arrow at the crow, severing its leg.
Otora had a powerful personality, and humans possessed by him would adopt a number of his mannerisms. They would experience an excess of discharge from their left eye. Their left leg would also begin to ache unexpectedly. They would also begin to talk endlessly about the Battle of Nagashino, that time they got shot, and other personal adventures that they never actually experienced.
Otora could usually be exorcised from people by priests, however there were times when his possession was exceptionally hard to get rid of. In those cases, it was recommended to travel to the Yamazumi Shrine in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Yamazumi is a shrine dedicated to wolves. Many of the rituals performed there invoke the power of wolves in order to chase away sickness and evil spirits. As foxes are terrified of dogs and wolves, exorcism involving them is be particularly effective at removing kitsune tsuki.
Otora was killed by a hunter while he was napping on the banks of the Sai River in Nagano Prefecture. However, his legacy was carried on by his progeny. After his death, his grandchildren took up the name Otora, and continued to possess people, telling their grandfather’s story through human mouths.
Hakuzosu
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Dec 26, 2020 at 08:13:22 PM
Greetings yokai lovers, and Merry Christmas!
I hope you are all enjoying a lovely holiday. I have another fox tale to share with you today. It's a tale of comedy, tragedy, and revenge. It's not quite Dickensian, but it should still be good enough to tell in front of the fireplace tonight.
Long ago lived a man named Yasaku. Yasaku made his living by trapping foxes and selling their pelts in the market. An old, silver-furred kitsune lived in the mountains where Yasaku worked. The kitsune had lost all of his friends and family members, one by one, to Yasaku’s traps until at last only he remained. He decided he would teach the trapper a lesson.
Yasaku had an uncle, a monk named Hakuzōsu. The kitsune transformed himself into a monk, and disguised himself as Hakuzōsu. Then he paid Yasaku a visit. He scolded him for hunting foxes. He preached the Buddhist precept that killing any living being is a grave sin. He referenced the story of Tamamo no Mae, whose sins caused her to be transformed into a boulder as a punishment. He even gave Yasaku some money in exchange for the rest of his snares. Yasaku agreed, and promised to stop killing foxes. Pleased with himself, the kitsune skipped back into the forest.
However, the money did not support Yasaku for long. He quickly spent all that the kitsune had given him. He travel to his uncle’s temple to ask for more money. The old kitsune saw this, and realized that if Yasaku spoke to his uncle, the kitsune's trick would be discovered. So he hurried to the temple ahead of Yasaku and found Hakuzōsu. He lured the monk away into the forest, where he devoured him. The kitsune once again disguised himself as the old monk. When Yasaku arrived to ask for money, Hakuzōsu scolded him for being wasteful and sent him away empty handed.
For the next fifty years, the old kitsune lived at the temple disguised as Hakuzōsu, and faithfully performed the old monk’s duties. Nobody realized that the old monk was a kitsune in disguise.
One day, a deer hunt took place at a nearby farm. Many people gathered to watch the hunt. The old kitsune (in the guise of Hakuzōsu) also went. However, when he got to the farm, two dogs belonging to a samurai smelled the kitsune. The leaped upon Hakuzōsu and ripped him to pieces. When the dogs were finally called off of the old monk, the torn body of an old, silver-furred kitsune was discovered and Hakuzōsu’s true form was exposed.
The villagers feared that the kitsune’s spirit would return and curse them. They buried its body in the shade of a nearby mountain, and erected a small shrine over it.
Otohime gitsune
almost 4 years ago
– Sat, Dec 26, 2020 at 08:57:45 AM
Greetings yokai lovers!
Today's kitsune is not really well known even in Japan, but I liked the story so I thought it was worth including in the book. Otohime gitsune (乙姫狐) is also a nice example of how powerful kitsune were sometimes considered gods to us mere humans. She lived in what is now the village of Kyūhirota in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture. It's an obscure story from a town that no longer exists, and I had to contact the Kashiwazaki city hall just to confirm the pronunciation of the mountain village's name.
Long ago, there was a goddess named Otohime. She lived in a mountain called Hatahikiyama. She was a clairvoyant, and was only known to the villagers by her disembodied voice which could be heard in the woods—nobody had ever seen her true form. Whenever the villagers would call out to her from the base of her mountain, she would answer their questions.
When a farmer lost one of his tools, he approached the foot of Hatahikiyama and asked Otohime for help. She replied from out the woods that he had left it next to his shed. When some food was stolen from the village, Otohime instructed the villagers the name and the location of the thief. Thanks to Otohime’s knowledge, eventually there were no wicked people left in the village.
One autumn, a farmer’s vegetable garden was torn up by wild animals. The farmer feared that he would run out of food during the winter. So he set some traps deep in the woods to catch the wild beasts that were destroying his crops.
Not long after that, the farmer heard a voice deep in the forest. It was a call for help. It was the unmistakable voice of Otohime!
The man hurried into the woods. He climbed towards where he heard the voice. Finally, he reached the place where he had set his traps. There, caught in one of his snares, was the body of a large, beautiful, white-furred fox. But it was too late; the fox was dead.
The voice of Otohime was never again heard in the village.
Denpachi gitsune
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Dec 22, 2020 at 11:22:48 PM
Greetings yokai fans!
Today's fox story comes from Chiba Prefecture. This little creature goes by Konoha or Denpatchi, and he was no trickster like the kitsune we've looked at lately. He's quite beloved by the residents of Sosa, Chiba, and you can even visit his shrine today and pray to him.
Long ago, there was a major Buddhist seminary in Iidaka. Young men from all over eastern Japan would go there and study to become priests. Its most famous student, however, was a kitsune named Konoha, who attended the seminary disguised as a boy named Denpachi. Konoha woke up early every morning, transformed into Denpachi, and arrived at school before anyone else.
When the other students and teachers arrived each morning, Denpachi would already be there, performing his temple chores like sweeping the floors and preparing meals. Denpachi was an exemplary student. He poured himself into his studies. He performed his ascetic training diligently, and learned to comprehend the deepest esoteric mysteries. From time to time he even instructed the other students in some of the more difficult teachings. Denpachi came to be highly respected among his fellow students and the faculty.
Though he was a diligent student, Denpachi was occasionally careless. Students and teachers discovered fox’s paw prints leading into and out of seminary buildings. Once in a while, leaves onto which Denpachi had copied the Lotus Sutra and accidentally dropped would be found in the gardens. Rumors spread that a kitsune was performing mischief at the seminary. Of course nobody suspected Denpachi.
For ten years, Denpachi continued to study diligently at Iidaka. One day, a high priest named Saint Nōke was installed as the new headmaster of Iidaka. There was a ceremony and a great banquet. Though alcohol was normally forbidden, the restriction was lifted for the evening, and it turned into a night of wild drinking. The students, including Denpachi, drank themselves into a stupor. Denpachi became so drunk that he lost control over his disguise, and transformed back into a fox.
His deception revealed, the other students descended upon Denpachi. They tied him up and beat him nearly to death, then dragged him before Saint Nōke for judgment. Denpachi kneeled before the headmaster with tears in his eyes and begged for forgiveness. He explained that his real name was Konoha, and he lived in a hole in the woods near the seminary. He had heard the young priests every day reciting their chants and performing their studies. He wanted to try studying too. So he had disguised himself as a young boy and slipped into the seminary, blending in with the crowds.
Saint Nōke listened to Konoha’s plea. He was touched by the kitsune’s sincerity, his success and diligence as a student, and his passion for helping others. He told the students, “For the teachings of the Lotus Sutra to have reached the heart of this lowly beast, it is truly a marvelous thing!” Saint Nōke forgave Konoha’s deception.
Konoha promised that from then on, he would serve the temple as a guardian spirit and protector of the faith. Saint Nōke built a small shrine for Konoha to live in, in one corner of the lecture hall’s front garden. Konoha’s spirit came to be known as Konoha Inari Daimyōjin, a popular local deity who grants wishes to farmers, merchants, and students. His shrine still stands, and remains a popular place of devotion to this day.
