Tenka (atmospheric ghost light)
Tenka( thiên hỏa ) are a type ofatmospheric ghost lighttold about in various areas of Japan. It is written about in the collection of fantastic stories, theEhon Hyaku Monogatarifrom theEdo periodand in the essayKasshi YawabySeizan Matsuuraand other writings, but it is also told as the folklore of various areas.
Folklore
[edit]In theAtsumi District,Aichi Prefecture,when one's path ahead when on a road at night becomes bright like at noon, it is called a "tenbi" ( thiên hỏa ),[1]and in theIbi District,Gifu Prefecture,the mysterious fires that make a great noise in the evening sky in the summer and fly are called "tenpi" ( thiên hỏa ).[2]
In theHigashimatsuura District,Saga Prefecture,the weather became better once a tenka appeared, but the homes it entered were stricken by illness, so it is said that they are beaten by akaneand driven out.[1]
In theTamana District,Kumamoto Prefecture,it is a mysterious fire that falls from the heavens and has a size about that of a paper lantern. It is said that a conflagration results when it falls on the roof of a house.[1]In theSaga Prefectureregion, they were thought of as a premonition for a conflagration, and were detested.[1]
It is said that tenka were once thought of as a type ofvengeful spirit(onryō), and in the document on folk customs "Amakusatō Minzokushi" from theAmakusa islands,Kumamoto Prefecture, there is the following legend. A certain man went to Oniike village (nowAmakusa city) to fish, but the villagers treated him as an outsider and treated him ill, and due to that, he died from an illness. From then on, a ball of fire came flying in Oniike every evening, and moved on to burn a brush, and without even a chance for the villages to try to extinguish the fire, it spread, and completely burned down the houses of the village. The villagers feared this as the deed of that man's vengeful spirit, and built ajizōat the place where he was ill-treated, and it is said that his spirit is mourned for every winter.[3][4]
When a tenka flies, there is the theory that it makes a "shan shan" sound like thejanjanbiof theNara Prefecture,and thus it is also called a "shanshanbi" in theTosa Province(nowKōchi Prefecture).[5][6]
Classics
[edit]According to the "Kasshi Yawa", when the people of Saga found a tenka and left it alone, their homes caught on fire, so it was driven away by gathering around and reciting a Buddhist prayer, causing the tenka to change its direction and flee. At the end, in the suburbs, it disappeared in the middle of vegetation.[7]
Also, it is said that tenka could be driven away by fanning them with asetta(a type of sandal), and in the collection of fantastic stories "Fude no Susabi" from theAnseiperiod, there was one that told about someone in theHizen Provincewho lost their home due to a fire and "the fire fell on someone else's home, and the resident of that home used a setta to drive away that fire, resulting in my home catching on fire instead, so I'd like for the residents of that home to pay the expenses for a new home", and implored for a settlement from thedaikan(administrators of the Edo period).[4][8]
In the collection of fantastic stories "Ehon Hyaku Monogatari" from the Edo period, it was written about as "tenka" ( thiên hỏa ), and according to this, there are those here and there who die by fire when their homes catch on fire. According fantastic story from this same piece of writing, there was a heartless daikan at a certain place, and due to his selfish desires, he ill-treated his subordinates, and got a bad reputation even among his superiors, and when he came down from his seat of daikan next month, a fire came from somewhere that should have had no trace of fire at all burned his house, and he also died from the fire, and all the gold and silver, treasures, and clothing turned to smoke in a flash. When this fire occurred, it is said that someone witnessed the sight of a lump of fire falling from the sky.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdDân tục học nghiên cứu sở biên trứ (1955). Liễu điền quốc nam giam tu (ed.).Tổng hợp nhật bổn dân tục ngữ hối.Vol. Đệ 3 quyển. Bình phàm xã. pp. 1010 hiệt.
- ^Quảng lại quán chi (May 1940). "Mỹ nùng ấp phỉ quận đức sơn thôn hương thổ chí".Lữ と vân thuyết.13 quyển(5 hào ( thông quyển 149 hào ) ): 63 hiệt.
- ^Bang điền long nhất (1975). "Thiên thảo đảo dân tục chí". In trì điền di tam lang biên (ed.).Nhật bổn dân tục chí đại hệ.Vol. Đệ 2 quyển. Giác xuyên thư điếm. pp. 124 hiệt.ISBN978-4-04-530302-9.
- ^abいずれも nguyên điển には “Thiên hỏa” の danh がないが, thiên thảo のものは hậu yết 『 trúc nguyên xuân tuyền hội bổn bách vật ngữ đào sơn nhân dạ thoại 』で, 『 bút のすさび』のものは『 yêu quái sự điển 』(ISBN978-4-620-31428-0)で thiên hỏa と giải 釈されている.
- ^Sơn khẩu mẫn thái lang."ハザマトシユキの “お hóa け đại hảo き” ( đệ 5 hồi ) ".ホラーアリス yêu quái vương( sơn khẩu mẫn thái lang công thức サイト ). Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-04.Retrieved2008-07-09.
{{cite web}}:External link in|publisher= - ^Nham tỉnh hoành thật (2000).Mộ しの trung の yêu quái たち.Hà xuất văn khố. Hà xuất thư phòng tân xã. pp. 102–103 hiệt.ISBN978-4-309-47396-3.
- ^Tùng phổ tĩnh sơn (2008). "Giáp tử dạ thoại". In sài điền tiêu khúc biên (ed.).Kỳ đàm dị văn từ điển.ちくま học vân văn khố. Trúc ma thư phòng. pp. 558–559 hiệt.ISBN978-4-480-09162-8.
- ^Gian trà sơn (1975). "Bút のすさび". In tảo xuyên thuần tam lang tha biên toản (ed.).Nhật bổn tùy bút đại thành.Vol. Đệ 1 kỳ 1. Cát xuyên hoằng văn quán. pp. 85 hiệt.ISBN978-4-642-08555-7.
- ^Đa điền khắc kỷ biên (1997).Trúc nguyên xuân tuyền hội bổn bách vật ngữ đào sơn nhân dạ thoại.Quốc thư khan hành hội. pp. 91 hiệt.ISBN978-4-336-03948-4.