Yamawaro
Yamawaro(Sơn đồng,oryamawarau)is ayōkai(spirit) said to appear in mountains in Western Japan, starting in theKyūshūregion. According to mythology, it is sometimes said that they arekappathat have come to dwell in the mountains.
Yamawaroare known by a number of different, similar terms; inAshikita District,Kumamoto Prefecture,they are also known asyamawarō, yamamon, yamanto,yaman wakkashi(Sơn の nhược い chúng,"young person of the mountain" )andyaman ojiyan(Sơn の bá phụ やん,"mountain uncle" ).InKuma Districtin the same prefecture, they are also known asyaman-tarō(Sơn ん thái lang)oryamanbo(Sơn ん phường).[1]
Thekanjiforyamawarocan also be written asSơn 𤢖(yamawaro). Thesansō(Sơn 𤢖)is the name of the Chineseyōkaithat this comes from.[2]
Description
[edit]According to theEdo-periodWakan Sansai Zue,yamawarolives in the depths of the mountains inKyushu.It appears as a child about 10 years in age, has long perssimon and navy colored hair on its head, and has intricate fur all over its body. TheWakan Sansai Zuestates thatyamawarohas a short torso, walks upright on two long legs, and speaks in human language. The same book (the version published by Kyōrindō) states that there areyamawaroin theChikuzen Province(nowFukuoka Prefecture) and on theGotō Islands,and they have a human-like appearance with a round head, long red hair that reaches their eyes, pointy ears like that of a dog, one eye above their nose, and they eatcrabs,tokoro(some types ofdioscorea), andkōzo(a hybrid of twobroussonetiaspecies) roots.[2]
In the Kumamoto Prefecture,yamawarohateink lines,which are used for carpentry, so it is thought that in places where carpentry work is done in the mountains, if one uses an ink line to make lines of ink,yamawarowould not come close.[1]
It is said that sometimes they help out withlumberjackwork in the mountains and that they would help out again by giving themalcoholandnigirimeshias thanks. The goods given to ayamawaroas thanks must be the same as the ones promised at first, and if something different is given instead, they get unfeelingly angry. It is also said that if they are given their thank-you presents before the work is done, they sometimes run away with it. In theAshikita District,Kumamoto, it is said that when there is a lot of work in the mountains, they say "let's ask for some help from someyaman wakkashi"and askyamawarofor help.[3]
Like thekappa,they also performsumoand like to play pranks oncattleandhorses.They are also said to enter people's homes without permission and enter into their baths,[3]and it is said that the baths that ayamawaroenters in would get dirty with grease floating in them as well as a very foul odor.[4]
Tengu-daoshiand other strange events in the mountains are often considered to be the deeds of mountain gods ortenguin the Eastern half of Japan, but in the Western half they are considered to be the deeds ofyamawaro.Phenomena such as thetengu-daoshi(sounds such as that of a large tree falling) are considered to be done by theyamawarothemselves, and in the Kumamoto Prefecture, other than stories where they would make falling tree or falling rock noises, there are also stories where they would imitate human songs and where they make sounds imitatingmokko(a tool made of bamboo or woven grass for carrying heavy loads) dropping dirt or even the explosion sounds of dynamite.[1][5]However, thetengudoes not play no role at all in those regions, because in some parts, such as theOguniin Kuamoto Prefecture, there are noyamawarolegends and they are instead considered to be the deeds oftengu.[1]
Yamawaroandkappamigration
[edit]In various places in the Western half of Japan, there have been confirmed to be legends whereyamawaroarekappathat have moved into mountains. In many of them,kappawould move into the mountains during the autumnHiganto becomeyamawaro,and during the spring Higan they would move back to the rivers to becomekappa.
- Kumamoto Prefecture:Garappawould move to the mountains during the autumn Higan to becomegarappaand would return to the rivers during the spring Higan to becomegarappa.[3]
- Kuma District,Kumamoto Prefecture:kawan-tarōandyaman-tarōwould switch with each other every February 1 (called the"Tarō Tsuitachi"(Thái lang sóc nhật))[6]
- Minamata,Kumamoto Prefecture: On June 1(Băng sóc nhật,"kōri tsuitachi"),garappawould go from the mountains into the rivers.[1]
- Wakayama Prefecture:Gaorowould go into the mountains to becomekashanboin the autumn and would return to the rivers to becomegaoroin the springtime.[7]
- Yoshino Region,Nara Prefecture:kawa-tarōwould go into the mountains to becomeyama-tarōduring autumn Higan and return to the rivers to becomekawa-tarōduring spring.[7]
The folkloricistKunio Yanagitatheorizes with words such as "river-child migration" that these seasonal changes betweenkappaandyamawarocomes from the seasonal changes between faith and the field gods (Ta-no-Kami) and the mountain gods (Yama-no-Kami) and that since birds could often be heard in many places during those times, it may be related to thebird migrationsthat happen with Japan's seasonal changes.[8]
It is said that whenkappaandyamawarogo to and from mountains, they would move in a group through an'osaki'.It is said that if a human ever built a house in this passageway, thekappaandyamawarowould get angry and open a hole in the walls. Is also said that if one ever tried to catch sight of theyamawaroreturning to the mountains, one would fall into an illness.[9]'Osaki'(Vĩ tiên)refers to the landscape and places that go down from a mountain and are considered to be lands that are not suited towards building houses.[10]In the town of Omine,Aso District,Kumamoto Prefecture, the pathway that yamawaro use to move are calledtoorisuji(Thông り cân).[1]
Similar concepts
[edit]In theHida Region(Gifu Prefecture), they are also calledyamagaroand they are said to play pranks such as stealing bentō from woodcutters.[11]
Similaryōkaitoyamawaroinclude theseko,thekashanbo,and thekinoko.Thesekotold about inNishimera,Miyazaki Prefectureare said to go into mountains during the evening and return to the rivers during morning.[3]Also, in legends in Omine,Aso District,Kumamoto Prefecture, calling them"yamawaro"is thought to anger them so"seko"would be used instead as a more polite alternative.[1]
Paintings
[edit]In theyōkai emakiof the Edo period (such as theHyakkai Zukan) and theJikkai Sugoroku(Thập giới song lục)among others,yamawaroare written about under the name ofyamawarawa(Sơn đồng,alsoyamawarau)and they are often depicted with tree branch arms and one eye. According to the Edo-periodKiyū Shōran(Hi du tiếu lãm),it can be seen that one of theyōkaithat it notes is depicted in theBakemono E(Hóa vật hội)drawn byKōhōgen Motonobuis one by the name of"yama-warawa"(Sơn わらは).[12]
In Popular Culture
[edit]ThePokémonDusknoiris inspired by the yamawaro.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefgHoàn sơn học “Sơn đồng”Cốc xuyên kiện nhấtBiên 『 nhật bổn dân tục văn hóa tư liêu tập thành yêu quái 』Tam nhất thư phòng1988 niên, 17 - 39 hiệt.ISBN4-380-88527-5.
- ^abTự đảo lương an 『Hòa hán tam tài đồ hội』6, đảo điền dũng hùng ・ trúc đảo thuần phu ・ thông khẩu nguyên tị 訳 chú,Bình phàm xã〈Đông dương văn khố466〉, 1986 niên, pp. 152–153.ISBN978-4-582-80466-9.
- ^abcdThôn thượng kiện tưBiên trứ 『 yêu quái sự điển 』Mỗi nhật tân văn xã,2000 niên, 353-354 hiệt.ISBN978-4-620-31428-0.
- ^Tùng cốc みよ tử『 hiện đại dân thoại khảo 〈1〉 hà đồng ・ thiên cẩu ・ thần かくし』Trúc ma thư phòng〈ちくま văn khố〉, 2003 niên 4 nguyệt, p. 173.ISBN978-448-003811-1.
- ^Tùng cốc みよ tử 『 hiện đại dân thoại khảo 〈1〉 hà đồng ・ thiên cẩu ・ thần かくし』 thập ngũ “Hà đồng の thanh, ca, vật âm, túc あとなど” 193-197 hiệt. Ca は ca từ までは chân tự られなかったとされる.
- ^Hoàn sơn học “Sơn đồng vân thừa” 『 nhật bổn dân tục văn hóa tư liêu tập thành yêu quái 』 cốc xuyên kiện nhất biên, tam nhất thư phòng, 1988 niên, p. 15.ISBN4-380-88527-5.
- ^abLiễu điền quốc nam『 yêu quái đàm nghĩa 』Giảng đàm xã〈Giảng đàm xã học thuật văn khố〉, 1977 niên, 74 hiệt.ISBN4-06-158135-X.
- ^Liễu điền quốc nam “Xuyên đồng の độ り” 『 yêu quái đàm nghĩa 』 giảng đàm xã 〈 giảng đàm xã học thuật văn khố 〉, 1977 niên, pp. 71–76.ISBN4-06-158135-X.
- ^Đa điền khắc kỷ『 huyễn tưởng thế giới の trụ nhân たち IV nhật bổn biên 』Tân kỷ nguyên xã〈Truth in Fantasy9〉, 1990 niên, 119 hiệt.ISBN978-4-915146-44-2.
- ^Liễu điền quốc nam giam tu, dân tục học nghiên cứu sở biên 『 tổng hợp nhật bổn dân tục ngữ hối 』 đệ 1 quyển, bình phàm xã, 1955 niên, p. 239.JPNO48006970,NCIDBN05729787.
- ^Cốc xuyên kiện nhất giam tu 『 biệt sách thái dương nhật bổn の yêu quái 』 bình phàm xã, 1987 niên, 135 hiệt.ISBN978-4-582-92057-4.
- ^Kinh cực hạ ngạn・Đa điền khắc kỷBiên trứ 『 yêu quái đồ quyển 』Quốc thư khan hành hội,2000 niên, 132-135 hiệt, 162-163 hiệt.ISBN978-4-336-04187-6.