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| Tanuki 狸 Badger, Racoon Dog - Introduction - . tanuki 狸 mujina 狢 － badger legends from Japan .  Five Buddhas and one Tanuki in my Garden ................................................................................. The Japanese Tanuki racoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides, also called badger, is still a familiar sight in rural neighbourhoods. Next to the fox the Tanuki is seen as a crafty animal with magical powers, but unlike the fearful fox it is quite humorous in its tricks.  . Tanuki and Daruma . ... and the Tanuki Scrotum, kintama 金玉  Shigaraki Pottery 信楽焼 Nowadays, you can see a Tanuki figure standing outside restaurants and bars beckoning customers to come inside. Here he stands upright, usually with a vest, a hat, and carrying a bottle of liquor. He is believed to travel from one pub to the next in search of more liquor and good company. . Tanuki and Sake Legends 狸とお酒 .  from Fudo Temple at the Tanuki Valley Mountain 狸谷山不動院 Tanukidaniyama This temple in Kyoto has many more amulets. It is well known for Miyamoto Musashi practising ascetics under a waterfall. . Tanukidani Fudo-In Temple . Tanuki figures are sold everywhere, for your garden, as home decoration or little amulets on a string. . Tanuki in the WIKIPEDIA ! ....................................................................... Tanuki Osho Clay Bell たぬき和尚  . otogibanashi dorei おとぎ話の土鈴 clay bells with motives of legends . :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: - ABC - List of Tanuki from the Prefectures .................................................................................................................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . Ehime from Kikuma town 菊間  Kizaemon and Kojooro the Tanuki prostitute 喜左衛門と小女郎狸 (komero 小女郎) This Tanuki is the object of verneration at the shrine Kusunoki Jinja 楠木神社 Kojooro Daimyoojin 小女郎大明神. Once there were three tanuki siblings from the Iyo Tanuki Family 伊予狸族 venerated in the region of Iyo. Nyuugawa 壬生川の喜左衛門狸 Kizaemon from river Nyugawa Yashima no hage Tanuki 八島の禿狸 (later famous near Takamatsu) and Kojooro 小女郎狸 Kojooro Tanuki had been kept and fed by the head priest of the shrine Ichinomiya 一宮神社, because she was quite intelligent and kind. But one day she stole some ears of the first rice. The priest scolded her and banned her from her nest near the big camphor tree (kusunoki). For a long time she erred in the large forest around the shrine and finally reached the beach. She found a fisher boat ready to leave for Osaka. So one changed her figure into that of the priest of the temple Jigenji 慈眼寺 and sat in the boat. This was a day when they fished quite a lot of the local speciality, the sea bream (tai 鯛). Oh, and this was her favorite food, but she resisted her desires, closed her eyes firmly and prayed to Amida Buddha, or rather the Bosatsu of the Sea Bream Namu Taisan Bosatsu 南無鯛散菩薩. At her feet the delicious-looking fish flapped here and there, so she became more and more hungry and could hardly subpress her lust for a fish meal. "Oh well, just one will not break my Buddhist vows" ... she encouraged herself, sat closer to the fresh fish and slipped one under her Buddhist robe. When she secretly tried to eat the fish, the fishermen found her out and scolded her: "You stinkin' old priest! You thief!" They begun hitting the priest-tanuki with a large oar, and in fear she lost her human figure, showed her long tail and hopped around franticaly in the small boat. She almost drowned in the chase. When the fishermen let go of her, she repented her former sins and promised to protect the fishermen from now on. "When we reach Osaka, I will change into a metal tea kettle. You can sell the kettle and take the money as pay for the fish I stole from you and ate!" Thus she payed back her debt to the fishermen. After she had kept her promise as a tea kettle, she changed into a beautiful courtesan and spent some time in the pleasure quarters of Osaka. Later she returned to the forest of shrine Ichinomiya and became a protective deity for those who keep their vows and have a wish fulfilled. shogan jooju 諸願成就 Her statue at the shrine  The Kusunoki shrine near the big tree was built in her honor. ........................................................................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . Kagawa  Jooganji no Hage Tanuki 浄願寺の禿狸 bald Tanuki from temple Jogan-Ji Most Tanuki stories and legends are told in Shikoku, some say, because there are no foxes in Shikoku, since Kobo Daishi banned them from the island for doing tricks to the humans. So in Shikoku the Tanuki serves as the trickster and joker. Jogan-Ji is a temple in Takamatsu city. The tanuki had been fed by an old couple and wanted to show his gratitude (ongaeshi). So he transformed himself into a tea cattle and asked the old man to sell him for good money. The man who bought this tea cattle made fire every day to cook his water ... and thus the tanuki became all bald. But soon it hurt too much, he gave up his disguise, ran away and came back to the old couple. The old man took pity on him and gave him three mochi rice cakes to feast on. The story of a tanuki changing into a tea cattle are told elsewhere too.  my teapot suddenly grows fur - tanuki legends . . . . . . Tasaburo Tanuki 太三郎狸 . from temple Yashima-ji 屋島寺 ........................................................................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . Kochi Kankuro Tanuki 権九郎狸  He is one of the famous tanuki of Shikoku. In the mountain region of Ushioyama 潮江山 in the south of Kochi. One day a woman made a wish to have a child at the shrine where Kankuro was living. She became pregnant soon and gave birth - but whow, her baby was a tanuki. Or rather, it looked like a tanuki to all other people, but not to the happy parents. But the child died soon afterwards. The procession of the funeral had to take refuge during a strong rainshower - and whow and behold, someone stole the coffin during that break. The procession climbed to Mount Ushioyama anyway and found another new grave there. Maybe Kankuro, the tanuki, had built this? they thought. Now any time it rains in the region, people see spooky lights along the mountain slope and think it is the tanuki funeral procession with their lanterns 葬連火. Kankuro used to steal into the ladies quarters of the nearby castle at night, paste some red paper into the eyes of the sleeping ladies and then shouted "Fire, fire". He used to enjoy the hustle and bustle that followed when the surprized ladies woke up in a hurry and ran around to extinguish the fire. ........................................................................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . Kumamoto Hikoichi koma (Hiko-Ichi) 彦一独楽 spinning top . Hikoichi don from Kumamoto 熊本の彦一 . and the tanuki legends ........................................................................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . Kyoto tanuki from temple Kodai-Ji (Koodaiji) 高台寺の狸  These Kyoto pottery tanuki figures have been sold in the access road to the shrine. They are an amulet to prevent robbers from entering the home. Nowadays they are made from Shigaraki pottery. In contrast to the "domesticated" form of Shigaraki with a bamboo hat on the back, a sake flask and passbook (kayoichoo 通い帳) they look a bit more on the wild, animal side. From behind the large bamboo hat their tail is showing just a bit. . Koodaiji 高台寺 Temple Kodai-Ji . Kyoto ..............................................................................................................................................  source : Iandalf Shimamura, facebook at Yasaka Jinja . Yasaka Shrine 八坂神社 and the Gion Festival . .............................................................................................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . Mie shita dashi tanuki 舌出し狸 tanuki showing his tongue another version is this : . The O-Nyudo of Yokkaichi 四日市の大入道 . ........................................................................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . Shizuoka  tanukiguruma 狸車 tanuki with wheels .............................................................................................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . Tokushima 徳島県 tanuki gassen 狸合戦 ，金長 Kanenaga，六右衛門 Rokuemon Around 1840 many Tanuki living between 名東群斉津村 Myodo district, Saitsuson village and 勝浦郡小松島町 Katsuura district, Komatsushima village, were found wounded and dead. Very soon after that stories were told about the 狸合戦 Tanuki Warfare.  Tanuki Kanenaga from the village 日開野村 and Tanuki Rokuemon from 名東群津田浦 were leaders of two great Tanuki factions from all over Japan. They fought, their children fought and in the second generation they eventually made piece due to the intervention of Hage Tanuki / Hagedanuki 禿狸 from Sanuki Yashima 讃岐屋島 in Northeast Shikoku near Takamatsu .  - CLICK for more photos ! - Shrine for Tanuki Rokuemon . hage 禿げ bald - legends . ........................................................................................................................................................ . . . . . . . . . . Tokyo Tamonji temple 多聞寺  tanuki no chokin tama 狸の貯金玉 piggy bank with badger Tanuki and his wife, 狸夫婦  tanuki no dorei 狸土鈴 clay bell with badger During a pilgrimage to the seven gods of good luck (Shichi Fukujin 七福神巡り) people would go to this temple dedicated to Bishamonten during the New Year festivities. Once upon a time, a homeless tanuki lived in the temple compound, because it was not frequented much and quite wild. The tanuki changed into a monster and played tricks on the people. So they build a big hill for the tanuki to live and appeased him thus. The temple is also famous for its lovely landscape garden. The piggybank is now an amulet to wish for more money and good business. The temple is also called the "Tanuki Temple" 狸の寺.  . Bishamonten Tanuki ... Bishamon Tanuki 毘沙門狸 . . . . . . . Joofukuji 常福寺 Jofuku-ji Temple in Setagaya . In the precincts there are porcelain 狸 Tanuki racoon dogs in all sizes, . . . . . Ueno Toshogu Shrine 上野東照宮 . Eiyoo Gongen 栄誉権現 Venerable Guard Deity . Ema votive tablet with tanuki ....................................................................... Yanagimori jinja shrine 柳森神社 千代田区神田須田町2-25 Chiyoda, Kanda Suda  oyako tanuki 親子狸 parent and child badger o-tanuki san おたぬきさん the honorable Tanuki The parent is about 3,5 cm, the child only 2 cm. Once a Tanuki badger family, who lived near the pond Otama-ga-ike お玉ヶ池, close to 東紺屋町 Eastern Konya-Cho. The original story tells of a wooden sculpture which the 6th Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu 徳川家宣 (1662 - 1712) gave his retainer hatamoto of the 河原林家 Kawarabayashi clan. After the Meiji Restauration, the estate of the clan had to be removed, so the Tanuki statues were given to the shrine. Praying here brings good luck in all kinds of contests 勝負事. . Konyachō 神田紺屋町 Konya-Cho in Kanda, Edo . This shrine in Kanda is dedicated to the Tanuki, the trickster of Japanese legend.  ta o nuku 他を抜く pull away from the crowd as an amulet for a good career and good business and victory in all endeavors. The ladies pray for a good wedding partner (enmusubi) to make a brilliant marriage (tama no koshi 玉の輿). (see story below).  source : sanpokatagata.blogspot.com Check this link for more photos of the shrine. quote Yanagimori Shrine was built in the late 17th century by a woman named Keisho-in 桂昌院, the daughter of a lowly greengrocer. As a teenager she was 'scouted' by representatives of Edo castle to join the O-oku -- the harem of women who serviced the Shogun. While this might sound like a sad fate by modern standards, in feudal times a spot in the O-oku was akin to winning the lottery for a woman. No matter how humble your origins, you were treated like royalty in the O-oku, particularly if you caught the Shogun's fancy. And Keisho-in not only caught his fancy but bore him a son -- a son that eventually became the Fifth Tokugawa Shogun, making her a powerful political figure in her own right. Not bad for a woman who had been sweeping the floor in a vegetable stand just a few decades earlier. And this is precisely why O-Tanuki Sama Jinja remains popular even today among those looking for a little boost in their professional lives. The nickname comes from yet another mnemonic pun: "tanuki" can also be read "ta-nuki," or pulling away from the crowd, a symbol of victory. It helps that it is a charming sort of place, framed as always with a bright red Torii gate. But in place of the usual komainu moondog statues that flank the gates at most shrines, there stands a pair of exquisitely sculpted stone tanuki -- with testicles of legendary scale, of course. Stepping through, the concrete of the sidewalk gives way to stepping-stones atop well-trod earth. A cherry tree shades the grounds within, flecked with uncommon yellow-tinted flowers. Here and there can be seen several more tanuki in pottery and stone. Mossy stone markers and stone lanterns list gracefully between ferns and other greenery of the sort you almost never see in the city. source : tokyo/play, Hiroko Yoda . Keishoo-In, Keishōin 桂昌院 Keisho-In . . Kanda Sudacho 神田須田町 Suda district . ....................................................................... Denpooin 伝法院 Denpoin, Denpo-In, Asakusa Around 1872, there used to be spooks going around this area. Finally people thought it was a curse of the Ohashi family, who had been "temple samurai 寺侍" here and cut down all the bamboo thicket to make a garden. A Tanuki who had lived there cursed the area, so they build a sanctuary for it and venerated it as a protector deity 鎮護大神. Now the "Golden Tanuki" is an amulet to prevent all kinds of fire and disaster.  Established in 1777, Denpoin is the parent temple of Asakusa Senso-ji. It is also a place for monks to perform ascetic practices. - reference - ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: タヌキ Tanuki, キツネ」 kitsune, 弘法大師 Kobo Daishi Legends from Ehime, Iyo and Shikoku source : kotaro_mil Tanuki mit 8 Merkmalen: 1) ein grosser Strohhut zum Schutz vor Wetter und Ärger 2) große Augen um alles warzunehmen und richtige Entscheidungen zu treffen 3) Tugend wird durch eine Sake-Flasche dargestellt 4) der große Schwanz steht für Beständigkeit und Kraft 5) übergroße Hoden für finanzielles Glück 6) ein Schuldschein-Buch suggeriert Vertrauen 7) der dicke Trommel-Bauch steht für dreiste und gefasste Entschlossenheit 8) ein freundliches Lächeln bringt nur Gutes :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  . . . CLICK here for Photos ! . Reference . - source : asahi/narumi/clinic -  Reference : 長泉寺の狸 Saitama, Temple Chozen-Ji (Choozenji) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Tanuki Kokeshi wooden dolls タヌキ こけし      and many MORE source : zenmaitarow  - ebay, 2015 - ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Mistranslations of Tanuki Confused Naming Conventions Neither the badger nor the racoon (raccoon) figure prominently in Chinese or Japanese folklore or artwork. Nonetheless, for decades, Western scholars have mistranslated Tanuki as "badger" or "racoon-dog." This is clearly wrong, but can be forgiven -- the Tanuki does, in fact, look badger-like, racoon-like, and fox-like. The magical shape-shifting Tanuki is clearly a composite creature. The original evil parts come from old China and its fox lore (introduced to Japan between the 4th-7th centuries CE). The newer tamer parts, such as the big belly, belly drumming, and giant scrotum, can be traced to late Edo-era Japan (18th-19th centuries), while the commercialized benevolent parts (sake bottle, promissory note, straw hat) emerged in Japanese artwork around the beginning of the 20th century. Fox and Tanuki Lore in Old Japan and Bunbuku Chagama 文福茶釜・分福茶釜, Lucky Tea Kettle Story tanuki in Awa province 阿波の狸の話 Awa no Tanuki no Hanashi Danzaburō Tanuki / Danuki 団三郎狸. Sado Island Hage Tanuki / Danuki 禿狸 from Yashima 屋島 northeast Shikoku Shibaemon Tanuki / Danuki 芝右衛門狸 of Awaji Island Flying-Dragon Tanuki 飛龍狸 in red robe MORE details are here : source : Mark Schumacher . Danzaburō Tanuki 団三郎狸 Danzaburo from Sado Island 佐渡 . . kachikachi yama, Kachi-Kachi Yama かちかち山, The Crackling Mountain Story .  . otogibanashi dorei おとぎ話の土鈴 clay bells with motives of legends . bunbuku chagama and kachikachi yama clay bells .................................................................................................................................................... - quote - The Awa Tanuki Gassen (阿波狸合戦) (also called the Awa no Tanuki Gassen (阿波の狸合戦) or the Kinchō Tanuki Gassen (金長狸合戦)) is a Japanese legend that takes place in the Awa Province (now Tokushima Prefecture). The legend is about a great war between two tanuki powers. Tanuki Kinchō (金長狸), and the bad one, Rokuemon (六右衛門狸), - - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !   戸をたたく狸と秋をおしみけり to o tataku tanuki to aki o oshimikeri (1768) with a badger knocking at my door I lament the passing of autumn Buson wrote this poem while staying in Ibaraki, 結城市 Yuki town, where many Tanuki have been killed. So in honor of their souls he wrote another poem: 秋のくれ仏に化る狸かな aki no kure hotoke ni bakeru tanuki kana at the end of autumn this badger poses as a Buddha . . . hotoke ni bakeru - signify a tanuki who got killed. hotoke is a word used for a dead person or a corpse. The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3. . Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo . - - - - - Comment by Larry Bole: Regarding "aki no kure hotoke...", the following is a passage from "The Path of Flowering Thorn: The Life and Poetry of Yosa Buson" by Makoto Ueda (Standford Universit Press, 1998): One of the few remaining records that show something of Buson's life in Yuki appears in a section of 'A New Florilegium' (Shin hanatsumi), a book he wrote later in his career. It tells of an incident he encountered while staying at a local poet's villa: "Joou, a resident of Yuuki, owned a villa and had an aged caretaker live there all the time. Although located within the town limits, the premises were covered by trees and overgown with grass, providing a convenient hideout for someone who wanted to avoid the dust of the world. That was why I stayed there for a while. "One autumn night the old caretaker, having finished all the cleaning and other chores, was idling away the long evening hours by a lamp, with a Buddhist rosary in his hand. I was in a back room struggling to compose hokku and other verses. After a while I grew so tired that I pulled a quilt over me, and was beginning to doze off when I heard loud banging sounds on the storm doors enclosing the veranda. There were twenty or thirty bangs in succession. My heart pounding fast at the strange happening, I got up and opened a door without making a noise. No one was out there as far as my eyes could see. I went back to bed, but just as I began to sleep, there came the same banging sounds. Again I rushed out to look, but again there was no sign of life. Utterly unnerved, I went to the caretaker and asked him what to do. " 'I know what it is,' the old man said. 'It's a badger. Next time he comes, you open the door at once and chase him away. I'll go out the back door, hide behind the hedge, and wait for him.' "He readied himself by taking out a whip and laying it beside him. I pretended to be asleep and waited for the badger. Before long the badger started again. " 'There he is!' I opened the door. With a cry, the old man dashed out. But there was not a soul in sight. Upset, he searched every corner of the villa, all in vain. "The same incident occurred every night for the next four days. I was becoming too exhausted to stay on in the villa any longer, when Joou's head servant came to see us. " 'That fellow won't come tonight,' he said. 'Early this morning, a villager killed an old badger at a place called Yabushita. I'm sure he was the one playing tricks on you every night recently. Please have a restful sleep tonight.' "The man was right. From that night on, there was no disturbing sound. I didn't like the badger for what he had done to me, yet I also felt sorry for the animal because he was after all a visitor who came to console this lonely traveler sleeping away from home. Perhaps he and I had been tied by some karma. I was so grief-stricken that I gave alms to a mendicant friar called Zenku and asked him to offer prayers for the badger's soul one night. aki no kure hotoke ni bakeru tamiki kana autumn nighfall--- a badger has turned himself into a Buddha [trans. Ueda] The haibun distinctly shows Buson's interest in the macabre, one of the characteristics of his later poetry. In Japan, people used to believe that badgers, along with foxes, were animals with supernatural powers that could turn themselves into any shape or form at will. Japanese folkore abounds in bizarre tales featuring badgers and foxes that work mischief on humans. Buson, while terrified of the power of the supernatural, also felt a measure of attraction to it and made it a part of his poetic world. In this episode, he actually deifies the badger, albeit with a touch of humor. The badger, capable of transforming himself at will, has chosen to become a Buddha at death-- or the poet would like to think so. [end of passage] .......................................................................  Tanuki Sake - - - - - and a set with cups to drink it  |
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