folklore of nippon

The Spirit Captive is, above all other things, an exploration of Japanese folklore in the form of fiction. It tells a story of mystery, hope, endurance, and tragedy, but it does so through the lens of a peasant woman living in ancient Japan. Filling the pages of this book are the gods, monsters, and folktale characters that such an ordinary woman would have been familiar with at certain times in Japanese history. The book draws threads from the fabric of folktales, ghost stories, local legends, noh dramas, folk songs, proverbs, and myths, in order to weave its memorable tale.

Called "Nippon" from the seventh century, a name meaning "Sunrise Country" or "Origin of the Sun", Japan is a nation and people that has largely been misrepresented in the West. We are familiar with samurai films and geisha novels, with hyperbolic anime and manga, and with the technological prowess the nation is now said to possess. But none of these images tells the true story of Japan: that story is the story of its common people. Japanese folklore has been a popular field of study ever since the efforts of Yanagita Kunio, a man whose life was devoted to his country's "abiding folk", and a hero and inspiration to author Michael Henry Lucero. In The Spirit Captive, Lucero has drawn on Yanagita's work and the work of other folklorists, as well as from classical and legendary sources.

Folklore is most commonly understood to mean the folktales (sometimes called "fairy tales"), legends and myths of a culture, but it is more accurately understood as a culture's knowledge, practices, arts, and crafts. This includes anything from the German Kinder- und Hausmärchen of the Brothers Grimm, to the agricultural and botanical methods of Native Americans; from the woodworking crafts of the Appalachian mountains, to the beliefs in guardian deities in West African tribes.

Here is a brief (and far from complete) sampling of folklore which can be found in The Spirit Captive. Those who are interested in continued study in the subject of Japanese folklore are encouraged to visit the sites below, particularly their pages listing source materials and further reading.

• Amanohohi 天穂日命

  "A deity mentioned in the Nihon Shoki as well as the Hotsuma Tsutae; a messenger from the Heavens who, in elder days, was not so reliable. His full name is Amanohohi no Mikoto."
   

• Futakuchi 二口女 []

  "Literally, 'two-mouthed woman'. Futakuchi-onna is a woman, usually one who lives in the mountains, who marries a man known for his stinginess. She will never eat in his presence, leading the man to think that he is saving on food; yet in his absence, she will feed a hidden second mouth on the back of her head, one with an appetite far surpassing that of a normal woman. For more information, see The Obakemono Project."
   

• Hitodama 人魂

  "Floating balls of fire, said to be the souls of newly deceased human beings on their way to the other world. These flames can also be indicators of the presence of spirits or monsters; they are sometimes believed to be caused by foxes, tanuki, or other creatures or monsters. Also called: onibi 鬼火, kitsunebi 狐火, hinotama 火の玉, etc. See also The Obakemono Project."
   

  "More commonly known as Kiyo-hime, she was the daughter of a tea-house owner who became infatuated by a Buddhist monk called Anchin. There are many versions of this story, but in most, the two have a brief affair before Anchin returns to his religious duties, causing Kiyo to pursue him, enraged. Her passions, in a way that is common in Japanese folk belief, become physically manifested as she turns first into a demoness of sorts and then into a dragon, crossing a river and pursuing Anchin to his monastary, the temple called Dōjōji. Anchin hides under the bell there, but Kiyo-hime wraps her serpentine body around it and melts it with the heat of her love and rage, killing them both. In a drama called Musume Dōjōji, Kiyo-hime's spirit returns to the temple for a while to taunt the monks living there."
   

• Kosode-no-te 小袖の手 []

  "A type of obake お化け, a monster or spirit. A kosode 小袖 is a type of kimono, with sleeves that do not drape as low as was once common. The kosode-no-te is such a kimono, but with ghostly hands that come out of the sleeves to help its owner dress. Such aid endears the owner to this robe, but tragically so, as she usually falls sick and dies after a short while."
   

• Kōyō 紅葉 []

  "Kōyō is a tanuki 狸, a real animal that is indigenous to Japan. Often translated 'raccoon,' 'badger,' or, more correctly, 'raccoon-dog,' the tanuki is a small canine with raccoon-like markings on its face. Tanuki, like their vulpine kin, are thought to have the ability to shape-shift, which is often facilitated by the placement of a lotus-leaf or a human skull on top of their heads. They are sly and licentious animals, yet they are also notoriously absent-minded and ruled by sensual pleasures. Often seen outside of bars and sometimes on lawns are ceramic statues of tanuki, usually wearing straw hats and carrying a jug of sake and a bill that it will never pay. A common motif in tanuki folklore is their scrotum, which is said to be bigger than normal and can be enlarged simply by holding their breathe, blowing out hard, and pulling on its skin. It is said that a tanuki's scrotum can be enlarged to the size of an eight-mat room. At night, tanuki often bang their scrotum or stomach, making a ghostly sound like pon poko pon. For more information, see The Obakemono Project."
   

• Nurarihyon ぬらりひょん []

  "Originally painted on the emaki scrolls of Sawaki Sūshi, and later by the artist Toriyama Sekien, Nurarihyon is an old man with a strange, deformed head who is said to enter, anonymously, the homes of wealthy families around mealtimes. It is said that his appearance and behavior is so comfortable and authoratative that the servants assume he is the master of the house, and treat him accordingly. Despite his freeloading and easygoing nature, Nurarihyon is also said to be the commander of the Yōkai Hosts. The earliest lore about this being depicts him as a sea apparition: a floating head that sinks down under the ocean (onomatopoeia: nurari) when a boat approaches to investigate, and then comes up again (hyon!) when the boat gives up and leaves. This floating head may have been based on the man-of-war jellyfish, which has similar behavior and would explain the strange-shaped head."
   

• Okuri-ōkami 送り狼

  "Also called yama-inu 山犬, okuri-inu 送り犬, etc. The wolf in Japan is extinct, but once was the most feared animal in the forests that covered the mountains. It is said that a wolf could hide behind even one reed. However, the wolf was also seen as a protector of travelers, provided it was given culinary incentive once one arrived home safely, and was said to be an apt judge of good and evil in men. The wolf, like the fox, was also seen as a protector of rice harvests, and was the messenger of the mountain deity (the wintertime form of the rice-paddy deity). For more information, see the SamuraiWiki and the ObakeWiki, and John Knight's article from the Asian Folklore Studies Journal. "
   

• Oni 鬼 []

  "Huge ogres in Japanese folk belief, usually with red, blue or black skin, with the horns of an ox and a loincloth of tiger-skin. Oni are usually depicted carrying huge iron clubs, leading to the expression "an oni with an iron club," used in reference to a person or thing that is invincible. They can be cunning and intelligent or stupid and comical, depending on who is telling the story and what the story's message is. Oni are associated with the direction northeast, from whence all evil, misfortune, and spirits and monsters are said to come."
   

• Oni King 鬼の大将

  "This term is sometimes used in English translations of Japanese folktales, in place of the original Oni no taishō, or literally, 'Great General of the Oni'. The Oni King is from the story of Momotarō (often translated 'Peach Boy'), in which a band of oni ruthlessly terrorizing the local population is deposed by a boy born from a peach and his friends the monkey, the dog and the pheasant."
   

• Orihime 織姫

  "Orihime comes from the legend surrounding the Tanabata 七夕 festival, held on the seventh night of the seventh month of every year. The story behind this festival involves the yearly meeting of Orihime (the star Vega) and her lover Hikoboshi (the star Altair). The two were forbidden to meet by Orihime's father after she gave up weaving and Hikoboshi, the cow-herder of the Heavens, allowed his cattle to stray. However, the two were later allowed to meet once a year on Tanabata, facilitated by a bridge of magpies, but only if it is not raining."
   

• Tsukumogami 付喪神  or 九十九神

  "These animated man-made objects have attained sentience either through great age, usually the span of at least one hundred years, or through resentment at being thrown away unceremoniously. They usually harbor a grudge against the men and women whose lives depended upon them, but who did not give them the appreciation they deserved. Anything in theory can become a tsukumogami, anything from straw sandals, umbrellas, spoons, teapots, rosaries, wrapping cloths, bowls, teapots, saddles, stirrups, etc. See also The Obakemono Project, and Elizabeth Lillehoj's article in Asian Folklore Studies."
   

• Yamanba 山姥 []

  "Also known as Yama-uba, these are old women who live in the mountains. They are said to eat people, especially children; although in some stories they are kind, such as in the tale of Kintarō, a boy whose father died and whose mother was banished from society to live in the wild, thus becoming a yamanba. Some folklorists have connected yamanba to women who are either kidnapped or leave society of their own will to escape its hypocricies and injustice."
   

• Yatagarasu 八咫烏

  "Literally 'eight-span crow', meaning a crow with a wingspan too large to be measured. These sacred messengers from heaven appear as huge black crows -- though they sometimes are depicted at regular size -- with three legs, and are said to be so holy that if an unfit person looks upon them he will go blind."
   

• Yuki-onna 雪女 []

  "The 'snow woman', the ghost of a woman who died in the snow. Yuki-onna appear clothed entirely in white, though sometimes with a patch of black, deliniating pubic hair, or a spatter of red indicating her mortal wound, is visible. Yuki-onna sometimes carries a baby, which she asks a passing traveler to hold, saying she will return shortly. The woman never returns, and the baby increases in weight, causing the hapless man to freeze to death in the snow, trapped. Yuki-onna sometimes also blow their snowy breath upon a man, causing him to die instantly; one such story, retold by Lafcadio Hearn, tells of a yuki-onna who spares a man and later, in disguise, becomes his wife and bears him children. There are many stories and legends surrounding this mysterious figure. See also SamuraiWiki and The Obakemono Project."

Read more about the lore of Japan at Mukashibanashi Library, and The Obakemono Project.

Learn more about Japan's history at The Samurai Archives and their wiki.