Professor Nekoma's Japanese Folktale Research: "The Silkworm Deity and the Horse" Edition

Good evening! 🐯

I have been researching Japanese folktales for 50 years!

I am Professor Nekoma, a Japanese folktale researcher.

Do you like Japanese folktales?
Even though they are the same folktales, the stories can sometimes differ depending on the region,
, have you ever experienced that?

Since it was very well received,
tonight as well, I would like to introduce
the same folktales, but with content that differs by region.
I will continue to introduce them.

This series
uses the following books for citation and reference.
Please note that since these are old books, some place names may no longer exist or have been changed.

*The title notation follows the kanji in the book, but
after the main story begins, while I may use kanji for animal names at times,
I would like to use katakana as much as possible.

"Complete Collection of Japanese Folktales, Vol. 2: Authentic Folktales 1 (1978)"

Kadokawa Shoten, Keigo Seki (Author)

— Long, long ago, in a far-off foreign land, China. There lived a very
beautiful young woman.

The girl's father had gone to a distant city to take up a post, or perhaps went to war—it varies depending on what you read—but in any case, her father had gone far away, and she was unbearably lonely every day.

Once, to a stallion she was keeping,
though it is not certain if she was serious,
she said something like this to the stallion.

"If you bring my father to me,
I will become your bride."

Hearing this, the stallion
"neighs"and when it neighed,
it jumped over the fence and ran off
somewhere far away...

A few days later, the stallion returned.
On its back, it carried her father...

The father, who had been in a distant land,
was very surprised
because the stallion he kept
suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Worried that something might have happened to his daughter,
the father had come along, swayed on the horse's back,
so he was relieved to see she was safe.

However, ever since returning,
the horse's attitude toward the daughter had been strange...
The father questioned his daughter.

The father was enraged.

"How dare a mere horse be so insolent!
Of all things, to my own daughter!"

The father shot and killed the horse with a bow and arrow.
His anger did not subside with that alone, so he
skinned the horse and hung it out to dry in the garden.

One day, the horse's skin hanging in the garden wrapped around the daughter,
ascended to the heavens, and vanished...

A few days later, the horse's skin and the daughter were discovered on the branches of a large tree in the garden.

The horse's skin and the daughter, now one,
eventually became "silkworms," spun thick threads to become
cocoons, and from those cocoons, a great deal of thread was harvested.

And this tree, from the
endless regret of the father who lost his daughter,

Mourning (Sāng) = Sō

was named with the same sound as

Mulberry (Sāng) = Sō

and...

It became the

"mulberry tree" that you all know.

This is the story of the "Horse-Headed Maiden" and the "Silkworm Horse."

Starting with China's Soushen Ji (In Search of the Supernatural), although the content varies depending on the document,
it is recorded in many Chinese texts.

Eventually, this story,
along with 'silk', arrived in Japan from China as early as the Yayoi period,
and more fully during the Kofun to Nara periods.

It crossed over from China to Japan.

And then, this story
spread throughout various parts of Japan,
and became intertwined with the indigenous beliefs
of each respective region.

The Tohoku region version, in particular,
became famous overnight thanks to Kunio Yanagita.

It is the "Oshira-sama."

In the Complete Collection of Japanese Folktales,

"The Silkworm Deity and the Horse"

is the title,

from various parts of Japan,
the story of "The Silkworm Deity and the Horse"is what,
tonight, I would like to introduce to you.

Where I live,
in Gunma Prefecture, sericulture has been thriving since long ago.
Silkworms are called "Okaiko-san" or "Okaiko-sama,"
and mulberry trees have also been cherished.

Oshira-sama is the deity of sericulture.
It is worshipped in the Tohoku region.

On the other hand, here in Gunma Prefecture, we also have a deity of sericulture.
Known as Kinugasa Myojin,they are worshipped in Gunma Prefecture under the name
"Kinugasa-sama."Besides Gunma Prefecture, there are also regions in the Kanto area where this deity is worshipped.

Gunma's "Kinugasa-sama" is depicted
in the form of Kannon, holding a mulberry branch in the right hand and an Inari deity in the left.

Tonight, I would like to introduce you to manyderivative versions.

Let's get started right away!

*I have written about silkworms several times before.
Some readers who read those posts
commented, "I couldn't look at the silkworm images, so I skipped over them."

They look a bitlike caterpillars, so I think many people find them off-putting. 😅 Therefore, this time,
I will not use any images or illustrations of silkworms at all.

Therefore, I hope you can read on with peace of mind until the end.
"What do silkworms look like?", some of you may be wondering.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but please look them up individually using an image search.
a white Mothra is what you should imagine,
and I think that will make it easy to visualize right away.

(Nishiyatsushiro District, Yamanashi Prefecture)

This happened a long time ago.
The lord who ruled this land was away from the country due to war.

This lord had a very beautiful
only daughter, a princess.

To distract herself from the loneliness of her father being away, the princess kept

a magnificent stallion.

The building where horses are kept

is called a stable

.
Every day, the princess would go to the stable in the morning, take the stallion out to play, and return in the evening.

One day, the princess whimsically said this to the stallion:
"If you bring my father back from the battlefield, I will become your bride. Tee hee."

Princess

"If you bring my father back from the battlefield, I will become your bride. Tee hee."

At that moment, the princess did not notice that the stallion's eyes were strangely excited...

— That night.

The stallion bolted from the stable and vanished into the darkness...

Three days passed as the princess grieved, thinking the stallion had gone off somewhere...

That stallion returned with the lord on its back.
When asked, the lord explained that when he was in a desperate situation on the battlefield,
this stallion jumped out,
carried the lord, and narrowly escaped danger,
or so the lord told the story.

The princess was delighted and stroked the stallion, praising it.
The lord also treated the stallion to a feast in celebration, but
the stallion would not eat anything at all.

It stared at the princess with bloodshot eyes,
and since it was rampaging in the stable, everyone was at their wit's end.

The princess wondered if... and
recalled the words she had said on a whim at that time.

"Father, Mother, actually..."

The princess told the lord and the others the truth, but
"Just give it some grass and tell it that it's a lie."was how it was lightly dismissed, so the princess went to the stable and gave it some grass...

Princess

"St... stop it... let me go..."

Hearing the princess's cry for help from the stable,
the lord rushed over in a panic, and...
the stallion was gripping the hem of the princess's kimono,
trying to drag her into the stable.

Seeing this, the lord was enraged and...

"Stab!"

In a fit of rage, he stabbed the stallion to death
with his spear.
Furthermore, he skinned it
and left it out to dry in the garden.

Whoosh!!!

On the seventh day,
a storm suddenly broke out.

The princess

"Kyaaaaaa!!!!"

The horse hide that had been drying outside suddenly floated up,
wrapped around the girl, soared high into the sky,
and vanished somewhere...

The lord searched for the princess's whereabouts,
but she could not be found.

A week later, the horse hide was discovered in a place where many mulberry trees grew,
but the princess was not there...

There was only a small insect eating the mulberry leaves.

Thinking it was the princess's substitute, the lord
brought it home and raised it with great care.

The small insect eventually turned into a white worm,
spun a cocoon, and became capable of producing silk.

This is a silkworm.

It is said that even now, the footprints of a horse
can be found on the back of the silkworm.The end.

The end.

Furthermore, in a similar story from
Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, a lord loses a treasure and promises that if someone finds it, he will give them his daughter in marriage.

The horse successfully finds it, but the lord does not keep his promise... There is also a version where the subsequent events are the same.

(Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture)

"Grandmother has passed away..."

It was a night of heavy rain.
With a voice so small it seemed like it would be drowned out
by the sound of the fierce wind and rain,
the girl cried, and in front of the silent grandmother,
she spoke in a voice that sounded as if it were being squeezed out.

Grandfather was away on a journey, and she did not know where he was.
The girl was at a loss, so she went to the stable
where the horse she was close to lived, and consulted the horse.
It was a white, magnificent-looking stallion.

Girl

"Hey, Yuki.
What should I do?
If only Grandfather would come home..."

-- That's it! Yuki!
If you bring Grandfather back home,
I will do whatever you say.
If you want me to be your bride, I will.

The moment she heard that...
Yuki bolted out of the stable,
and into the pitch-black heavy rain,
she ran off somewhere.

Daughter

"Yuki! Where are you going!"

"Knock, knock"

It was in the middle of the next night...
The storm had stopped, and it was a quiet night.

There was a sound of someone knocking on the door,
so the daughter woke up and opened it, and...

Daughter

"Grandpa~~~!!"

There, were Grandpa and Yuki.
Yuki had found Grandpa, who was away on a journey, and brought him back home.

Grandma's funeral was finished safely.
Grandpa noticed that Yuki was acting strange when with his daughter, so he decided to ask his daughter about it...

Grandpa

"Whaaaat~~~!!"
"How dare a mere beast be so insolent!"

Chikushō (beast) is originally a Buddhist term.

Animals other than humans (four-legged animals) were called "beasts"
as beings living in the "realm of beasts."

Grandpa's anger was immense, and
he killed Yuki immediately.
Not satisfied with just killing her, he skinned Yuki's white hide
and hung it out to dry on a fence.

Daughter

"Yuki~~~!! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

As the daughter continued to apologize while crying,
the white hide that had been hung out to dry floated up gently,
wrapped around the daughter, and ascended into the heavens, disappearing.

After a while, the old man found only the white hide
caught on a mulberry tree,
but in his grief over losing his daughter,
he could do nothing,
and many, many days passed by.

Before long, the white hide
became infested with maggots.

Eventually,the maggots ate the mulberry leaves and turned into silkworms,
or so the legend goes.

The end.

<Introduction of Original Text>

(Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture)

The old woman dies while the old man is away on a journey.
The daughter, in distress, consults the horse, promising to do whatever it says if it brings the old man back home.

Upon hearing this, the old man kills the horse and skins it.

The daughter apologizes to the skin stretched out on the fence.
Then, the horse's skin wraps around the daughter and ascends to heaven.

The skin gets caught in a mulberry tree and maggots emerge.
They eat the mulberry leaves and turn into silkworms.

(Source: Keigo Seki (Author), "Complete Collection of Japanese Folktales, Vol. 6: Authentic Folktales 5", Kadokawa Shoten)
(From page 145 of "The Silkworm Deity and the Horse")

(Shimokita District, Aomori Prefecture)

An old man and an old woman lived together, raising
twelve horses.

Among them, the finest horse fell in love with the old couple's
daughter.

It stopped eating food from anyone other than the daughter.
Before long, the horse and the daughter had become so close that they promised to be husband and wife...

―― However, incurring the old man's wrath,
the horse was killed and skinned.

When the daughter approached the hide while crying,
the hide floated into the air on its own,
gently wrapped itself around the daughter,
and flew high into the sky, disappearing.

The old man and the old woman were
deeply saddened by the loss of their daughter,
and they never failed to visit her grave.

It was when they went to visit the grave on the anniversary of her death.
Two white insects descended from the sky.

It is said that theyturned into silkworms
and spun cocoons.

The end.

(Ninohe District, Iwate Prefecture) *Ninohe District = Ninohe-gun

An old man and an old woman,
anda beautiful daughterlived together.

The daughterbecame close with the horse they kept and they became a couple.

The old man was enraged, took the horse to the mountain, and
killed it by hanging it from a mulberry tree.

Right in front of the daughter who had chased after them,
the old manskinned the horse.

As the daughter was crying,
the horse's skin began to move on its own,
wrapped around the daughter, soared into the sky, and
disappeared into the distance.

The old man and the old woman,
out of the sorrow of losing their daughter,
spent every day crying.

One evening, such a day came.
The two of them had the same dream.
It was a dream in which their lost daughter appeared.

In the dream,the daughter said this.

The Girl in the Dream

"On the morning of March 16th,

there will be a horse-shaped insect
in the mortar on the dirt floor,
it will produce silk thread,
so please use that to make a living."

Having said that, the girl vanished, and both of them woke up from their dream.

The morning of March 16th arrived. Just as the girl had said, there was a

horse-shaped insect in the mortar on the dirt floor.

The old man and the old woman raised this insect just as the girl had told them to.

And so, they made a living by selling the thread obtained from the cocoons.

This insect,

Silkworm (Todoko)

is what we call it.

The end.

(Shimohei District, Iwate Prefecture) *Shimohei District

A wealthy man's househad
a beautiful daughter and a chestnut horse.

One day, the horse fell ill. The daughter, who was great friends with the horse,
was extremely saddened.

Seeing his daughter's grief, the wealthy man called for
a skilled horse doctor to
examine the horse.

However, since the horse did not get any better, he took it to the home of a
wise man who was well-regarded in the region, and

"It is a sickness caused by falling in love with the daughter"

he was told. The wealthy man, in a rage, took the horse to a field,

killed it, and skinned it.

Because the wealthy man and the horse were late returning,
when the daughter came to the field to look for them,
the wealthy man had just finished skinning the horse.

Facing the horse's unrecognizable form,
the daughter cried out in a loud voice.

And then...

A great wind blew from somewhere, and
it swept up the horse's hide.

Strangely enough, the hide
wrapped around the daughter right before the wealthy man's eyes,
and flew off high into the sky.

Though the wealthy man called out his daughter's name
toward the distant sky,
she never returned.

That evening,the wealthy man had a strange dream.

It was the chestnut horse
that he had killed and skinned during the day.

The horse spoke in human language,
saying the following:

The chestnut horse

"Wealthy man...
How dare you kill me!

-- However, I hold no grudge against you.
You raised me with care until now, and
above all, you are the father of the girl I loved.

The girl and I have ascended high into the heavens,
and our souls have melted and become one.

If you wish to see my daughter,
there is a mulberry tree in the field where you killed me and skinned me.

When the third day of the third month arrives,
there, a small insect with a face just like mine
will be eating the mulberry leaves.

That is the form in which my soul and my daughter's soul have merged.

If you regret the cruel treatment you inflicted,
I want you to raise that small insect on mulberry leaves.

It will surely repay your kindness..."

The wealthy man did exactly as the chestnut horse had told him.
The small insect eventually spun a cocoon,
from which beautiful raw silk was harvested, and that eventually became silk thread.

When he sold the silk thread, the wealthy man's house
continued to prosper in a mysterious way.

The people of this region

They say this small, horse-like insect

is called a silkworm (todoko)

and is raised with great care.

The end.

(Tono City, Iwate Prefecture)

A daughterliving in this region went to the

stable and slept with the horse she kept, and they eventually became
husband and wife.

Her fatherfound out about this and became furious. He took the horse to a mulberry tree, pushed aside the daughter who tried to stop him, and hung it from the tree,

killing it
.　

The daughter clung to the neck of her transformed husband.

The daughter

"My dear! My dear!"

This made her father even more enraged. Because the daughter was clinging to the horse's neck and crying,

in a fit of anger, he cut off its head.

Then...

The severed horse's head, along with the daughter clinging to it, floated into the air, ascended to the heavens, and vanished.

This is said to be Oshira-sama.

The end.

(Tono City, Iwate Prefecture) ②

-- Once upon a time, a young woman married a horse. Her father was angry and
tied the horse to a mulberry tree and killed it.

The young woman stretched the horse's hide over a small boat, then took an oar made of mulberry wood,

went out to sea, and died there.

An oar is what we would call today,
a paddle used to row a boat.

A boat covered in horse hide and
the corpse of the girl still clutching the oar
were washed up on the shore.

Before long, from that corpse,
white insectsbegan to swarm.

These were calledsilkworms, and they came to be raised with great care.

The end.

That is all for tonight's story.

Thank you very much.

— It seems it is almost time.
I am glad that I could share Japanese folktales with you again tonight.
I am happy that we could talk about them together.

Next time, I will take you once more into the world of Japanese folktales, rich with local color.
I will take you there.
I will come to pick you up in a few nights.

— Until then, farewell. Have a pleasant time.

End-of-volume column: "What exactly is Oshira-sama?" 🤔

Now, for this end-of-volume column after reading the main story,
this time,"Oshira-sama"I would like to write a little about.

From the Japanese Folktale Compendium Volume 2,"The Silkworm Deity and the Horse"and
I am using it for citation and reference this time from the item titled,
but the only places where it was written as "Oshira-sama" were
Ninohe District and Tono City in Iwate Prefectureonly.

And, introduced in the Tono Monogatari and others,
the classic "Oshira-sama",
the scene where the horse's head is cut off and the daughter is with it...
was only in Tono City.

Looking at the regions, except for Tono City in Iwate Prefecture,
following the sad story of the daughter and the stallion,
from Aomori in the north to Oshima District in Kagoshima Prefecture in the south,
the development where the horse's hide wraps around the daughter and ascends to heaven,
and she subsequently becomes a silkworm, was the same.

Perhaps due to the strong influence of the Tono Monogatari,
to me, the name "Oshira-sama"
felt very major, but...
it seems it islimited to parts of the Tohoku and Kanto regions,and even here in Gunma, it is called Kinukasa Myojin,
and it seems to change depending on the region, including its name, such as being linked to Inari worship in the form of a woman.

Therefore, I would like to re-examine Oshira-sama,

"A Few Speculations Regarding the Oshira Deity" by Sadakichi Kita <Aozora Bunko>
while quoting and referencing this,
I would like to write about it while weaving in my own thoughts.

Question: "Why is Oshira-sama called Oshira-sama?"

Regarding the origin of the name Oshira-sama,
there is no single, definitive academic consensus.

Therefore, I would like to introduce
three commonly cited theories.

● 1. "Shira" (White) = Meaning "pure/sacred"

In the Tohoku region, "white" is a sacred color.
This theory suggests that the deity with a horse's face became associated with a "white horse deity," leading to
"Shira-sama" becoming "Oshira-sama."
(The belief that white horses are the mounts of the gods is strong in Tohoku.)

● 2. "Shiru" (To know) = "A being that conveys divine oracles"

There is a ritual called
"Oshira-asobase"where an Itako shakes the Oshira-sama to bring down a divine oracle.
This is the etymological theory of "a god that informs" → "Oshira-sama."

In connection with this,
I believe that the reason Oshira-sama spread throughout Tohoku
is deeply linked to thisItako culture.

● 3. Corruption of the mulberry wood doll "Oshiragami"

The shintai (sacred body) of Oshira-sama is made from a mulberry tree,
and it is also called "Oshiragami" or "Oshirahotoke."
There is also a theory that this evolved (or was corrupted) into "Oshira-sama."

I will not go into detail, but
Oshira-sama iscalled by various names in different parts of the Tohoku region.

In Iwate and Aomori, it is "Oshira-sama";
in the Shonai region of Yamagata, it is "Okunai-sama" or "Okonai-sama";
and in the Mogami and Murayama regions, it is "Todo-sama," among others.
Although there are different names and slightly varying stories,
it is said that they are all guardian deities of old houses and are fundamentally the same.

Note: While the table says "female deity," some suggest that"a deity deeply involved with women"might be better.
Also, regarding Okunai-sama, it seems there are other origins,
and
"traditions such as the land survey rod"might be a safer expression.

From here on, based onwhat Professor Sadakichi Kita has written,
I would like to think about this more deeply.

I believe you are familiar with the deity known as "Daikokuten" from the Seven Lucky Gods.a deity of the Seven Lucky Gods He is smiling, holding a magic mallet, carrying a large sack, and standing on rice bales.
He is cherished as a deity of

"abundant harvests" and "wealth and fortune".

However, are you aware of his original form?
He was a terrifying-looking, armed deity of war. There was even a time when he was revered by the samurai class as a god of war.

Like Daikokuten, deities are
not always the same, but have changed over time.

The same applies to Oshira-sama.
Originally, in the Tohoku region, he was
a "Takushin" (house deity), a god that protects the home, a god that protects the inside of the house.

(*In classical literature, the house deity is also called
"yakutsukami".)

In Tohoku, there was a belief in a deity within the house = a house spirit (karei)
.

House spirit = House deity

Please think of it as
Oshira-sama is also a type of this house deity.

(※ I used an equals sign, but
after writing it, I looked into it further, and
academically speaking, it seems they cannot be considered completely equal.）

Takushin (House Deity) = A "deity that protects the house" (worshipped and prayed to) leaning towards old Shinto or Onmyodo.

Karei (House Spirit) = A spiritual entity dwelling in the house (ancestral spirits, spirits of the ancestors, guardian spirits of the house).
(Objects of memorial services to avoid curses or out of reverence.)

That is accurate, but if I write it in a difficult way...
Well, if you ask if they are completely different things, that is not the case either.
Including myself, I think you, the reader,
might find it confusing, so
in my own way,I wrote a revised version focusing on clarity.

(Revised Version)

In the Tohoku region, there has long been a belief in "deities that protect the inside of the house."
These are called "Takushin" (house deities) or
"Karei" (house spirits).

Although the names are different, both refer to
entities that dwell in the house and protect the family.
Oshira-sama is also one of those "deities that protect the house."

I think this is easier to understand.
Academic accuracy is important, but...
I want to prioritize the clarity for the reader above all else.
）

Oshira-sama has also changed with the times.
The initialgoshintai (divine body) was a wooden or bamboo stick (about 30 centimeters).
On this, they would either not draw a face, draw simple male and female faces,
or carve them, and then dress them in clothes made of cloth, or simply cover them completely with cloth from the head down.

Think of the goshintai asa feeling where a deity dwells within it,
and that object becomes a deity.In the early days of Oshira-sama, it was a wooden or bamboo stick.

Initially, they were guardian deities of the house or deities of the eyes.
Deities that cure illnesses, and in some places, deities of hunting.
And they were deities of fire; they were not yet deities of sericulture or horses.

To digress slightly, let's look further north to Hokkaido.
Here, too, there is a belief in a "house deity," and just like in the Tohoku region,
they draw or carve faces onto wooden deities or sticks.

The Ainu peoplehad this belief.

"Chise-koro-kamuy"is what it is called, and it is similar to Oshira-sama.

It is not yet clear, but
some say it is the origin of the Ainu.
Conversely, since there is a possibility that it spread from Tohoku to Hokkaido,
it is not academically clear which is the origin,but I introduced this just as a reference to show that similar beliefs exist.

And as time goes on,
as I introduced at the beginning,
along with "silk," the stories of
"Batoujo" (Horse-headed girl) and "Sanba" (Silkworm horse)found in the "Soushinki" (In Search of the Supernatural) spread and became linked to this.

With the sericulture boom, and especially in Tohoku,
not only as a production area for "horses",
but as the importance of horses increased with the times,
it became a deity of sericulture, a deity of agriculture, and a deity of horses. And also a deity of children, and a deity of girls and women,
and the belief expanded, or perhaps you could say the benefits expanded.

The sacred object also changes.
Faces of both a horse and a girl are drawn or carved.
The appearance also changes.
It is called "Osendaku/Osentaku",and it changes to a custom where,
every year,new cloth is layered on top,swelling to dozens of layers.

I have briefly introduced Oshira-sama up to this point...
And now,
I have a request for you, the reader.

If you are able to speak, then
right there...

Please try saying "Oshira-sama"
out loud 10 times.

―― Go ahead!

Thank you for your cooperation.
While saying it a few times,
I suspect some of you may have
accidentally said words other than "Oshira-sama".

"Ohinasama"

I'm sure some of you have said that, right?🤣
What if it's not just because they look similar?
How would that be?

It's quite long and the development is a bit forced, but
please bear with me for just a little longer.😅

So, I would like to conclude by writing down the final question.
I apologize for it being so long up to this point, but
if you don't mind, please bear with me for a little longer.

Question: "Is Oshirasama an Ohinasama?"

First, please take a look at this.
"Illustration AC"I borrowed it from there.
I would like to thank Illustration AC and the creatoras I introduce it.
It is a wonderful illustration.

This is an illustration of an Oshirasama doll.As mentioned earlier, we layer clothes (fabric) on this every year.
It looks like a twelve-layered ceremonial kimono, or a Hina doll, doesn't it?

Since I am posting this article on the
night of March 2nd, I imagine that households with women or girls are already displaying their Hina dolls.

I didn't plan it to coincide with March 3rd (Hinamatsuri) tomorrow, but since it happened to overlap, I'd like to take advantage of the timing. 😂
Please read this casually, just thinking that such a theory exists.

As a major premise, there is a proper origin for Hinamatsuri.

From ancient times, there has been the 'Nagashi-bina' (proxy dolls). This is a ritual to ward off evil, where illnesses and misfortunes are transferred onto paper or grass figures called 'hitokata' and then floated down a river.
Then, there was 'hiina-asobi,'
where children of Heian period aristocrats played house with dolls (hiina).

In the Heian period, children of the nobility played house with dolls, a practice known as

'hiina-asobi'.

When the Edo period arrived, these two practices merged.

Instead of floating the dolls down a river, the custom of 'Hinamatsuri' (Doll Festival) spread among the common people, where dolls were displayed in the home to protect children as 'proxies,'
and this tradition continues to the present day.

Professor Sadakichi Kita thought about it this way:
Could the 'Oshira' in 'Oshira-sama' have been 'Ohina' in the old language?...

Perhaps 'Ohina-sama' became 'Oshira-sama' due to the Tohoku dialect, where the sounds 'hi' and 'shi' are easily confused,
he wrote in his work, 'A Few Speculations on the Oshira Deity'.

Both Oshira-sama and Ohina-sama are beings born from a culture that entrusts prayers to small dolls.

While Oshira-sama continued to be worshipped as a deity protecting the home, Ohina-sama gradually lost its religious significance and transformed into a fun plaything for young girls...

That is why, when I look at the Ohina-sama displayed during the Doll Festival today, I feel as though the image of Oshira-sama, quietly enshrined in a home in the distant Tohoku region while layered in cloth, overlaps with them.
Perhaps both of them harbor the sorrowful and gentle likeness of a daughter who has passed away. 😢

However, it is not just that the way they are referred to is similar.
In the story from Shimohei District, Iwate Prefecture that I introduced in this series, there was a clear mention of
March 3rd, which is the date of the Doll Festival (Peach Festival).

Is this just a coincidence?
Perhaps there is something that connects them. 🤔
As Sadakichi Kita-sensei also wrote, this is just
one theory, but I would like to introduce it.

●<The Death Anniversary of Oshira-sama> (Festival Day)

The official festival day for Oshira-sama is called the "death anniversary". It occurs three times a year on the
16th day of the 1st, 3rd, and 9th months of the lunar calendar. (Although in some regions or households it may only be once, these three times are the most widely known.)

On this day, Oshira-sama is taken down from the altar, dressed in new layers of cloth (osendaku), and offered shinsen, which are feasts for the gods.
It is considered an important day when young girls carry them on their backs to play (oshira-asobase) and Itako shamans chant ritual prayers.

In particular, the 16th day of the 3rd lunar month is close to the "start of the sericulture season", so it is said that the
significance of praying as a silkworm deity is strong.
Sericulture begins in earnest around the 3rd lunar month (when mulberry leaves begin to appear).
This death anniversary is the perfect timing to pray for the protection of sericulture, isn't it?

●<The Relationship Between the Doll Festival (Peach Festival) and the Lunar Calendar>

Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival) was originally the Peach Festival, held on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the lunar calendar (the Festival of the First Snake).
In the solar calendar, this corresponds to around early April (the time when peach blossoms bloom).

After the Meiji era, it was moved to March 3rd of the solar calendar, but the fact that
the peach blossoms do not bloom is because the calendar changed.

The "Festival of the First Snake (Joshi no Sekku)" originated in ancient China.
The first Day of the Snake in March was called the First Snake.
This day was said to be a day to purify oneself by the water and ward off misfortune,
and it was introduced to Japan during the Nara and Heian periods,where it is considered a "day for warding off evil."

In some regions (such as parts of Hokkaido and the Tohoku region),
there are still places that celebrate the Doll's Festival
on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of the lunar calendar (around April 3rd of the solar calendar).
The reasons for this include avoiding the busyness of farm work and placing importance on the sense of the season.

・<Where Oshirasama and Ohinasama overlap>

First of all, they are both enshrined within the home,
and they are both human-shaped figures draped in cloth.

Besides, although it's a bit of a stretch,
speaking of Hina dolls, they wear gorgeous kimonos.
Since they are made almost entirely of silk, they share that in common with Oshira-sama's
silk.

Also, here are a few points in a list.
I'll list a few.

● Although the dates are different, they are both in the third month of the lunar calendar

Since Oshira-sama's memorial day (March 16th) and the Doll Festival (March 3rd) both fall in the third month of the lunar calendar, they are seasonally close.
The third lunar month is the time when spring arrives, sericulture begins, and peach blossoms bloom, so the timing for praying for the protection of women and children overlaps.

●Both are "rituals of spring rebirth"

Oshira-sama → Worshipped before spring sericulture

Hina dolls → Warding off spring misfortunes and wishing for the rebirth of life

Spring is the season when life is revived.
Both the household gods and the dolls "are renewed" on this day.
That is why I feel a connection between the memorial day and the festival.

● Common themes between sericulture and young girls

Oshira-sama is primarily worshipped by women, who are the ones responsible for sericulture.
It is not that men are strictly forbidden, but there are regions where it is said that men must not touch it.
It is not that men are strictly forbidden, but there are regions where it is said that men must not touch it.
It is not that men are strictly forbidden, but there are regions where it is said that men must not touch it.

Hinamatsuri (Doll's Festival) is held to pray for thegrowth of girls and womenand to ward off misfortune.

Both aregods that protect children (especially girls) and women, ensuring their healthy growth and shielding them from illness and disaster.

I have listed a few points, but what do you think?
With so many connections,
I don't think we can say they are
completely unrelated.
How did you feel as you read this?

Perhaps, deep within the Hina dolls displayed for the spring festival,
there is

“another story”that no one has noticed yet, quietly breathing. 🐯

Well, I got quite heated, so
the column ended up as long as the main story. 😅
Actually, I wasn't feeling well last week,
and since I started writing, it looks like it will be finished the day before Hinamatsuri,
"You should be more grateful to women!"it might be a message from God,
so even though it has nothing to do with folktales, through my own old stories,
I'd like to jump on the "Hinamatsuri" bandwagon once again. 😂

Looking back,
during the days when I was at the bottom of despair,
wonderful women always helped me.

Men are no good.
They've said terrible things to me
and done terrible things to me.
I hate men. 😂

(*If you are a man reading this,
you are an exception, so please rest assured. 😊)

On that note,women have always been kind to me.
Even when I was socially ostracized,
the ones who treated me like a man, like a human being,
and like a normal person,
were kind-hearted women.

That's why I love women! ( *´艸｀)

Usually, when I was seeing someone,
it was often during times when I had no job and no money,
so even on her birthday, I had no money,
and when I wrote a few poems and gave them as a gift,
she was happy and gave me a gift in return,
well,I'm the typical deadbeat man.😂

At that time, she encouraged me by saying this.

“There is surely work that only you, Nekoma-sensei, can do...
The day will come when you earn double what you haven't been able to earn until now.”

“—So, it doesn't have to be perfect, but
anyway, let's keep living. You mustn't give up on living.”

I suddenly remembered being encouraged like this.
Well, I am living having failed at many things, but
if the day comes when I can become what she said,
I think it might be a small way to repay her.

With gratitude to all women,
praying for the health and happiness of all women,
I would like to celebrate 'Hinamatsuri' (Doll's Festival).

Unfortunately, it seems it will be raining or snowing everywhere tomorrow.
Even though it is a special day to celebrate women,
it is a shame about the weather, but...

But it doesn't matter if it rains or snows tomorrow!
You, as a woman, are the ultimate heroine,so please enjoy yourself to the fullest all day tomorrow.🌸

While looking at the Hina dolls at home and eating sweet treats,
please take it easy and spoil yourself a little.
Just by you being happy and smiling, the world becomes a little brighter.🤭

I personally love hina-arare (rice crackers),
and since I bought quite a few, I plan to munch on them to celebrate. 😂

Since it is the eve of "Hinamatsuri" (Doll Festival),
things got quite mixed up
and it ended up being long,
but I will end this final column here!

Despite it being a very long story, thank you for reading until the end!

— How was it?

If there are any unique folktales specific to the region where you live,
please do write an article and share them with us.
We would love to hear about them.

It is a fascinating phenomenon how even the same folktale
can change as it is influenced by the regional characteristics, culture, and customs
that lie behind it
when told in different areas.

If the opportunity arises again,
I would like to try this
with a different Japanese folktale.

Thank you very much for reading until the end.

— Goodbye! 🐯

* This story is from "Complete Collection of Japanese Folktales, Vol. 2: Authentic Folktales 1 (1978)"
Kadokawa Shoten Keigo Seki (Author)

Pages 141 to 146
From "The Silkworm Deity and the Horse"

Used for citation and reference. Thank you.