“The Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale”
187. The Tiny Hakama
Long ago an old woman lived alone in a hut in the mountains. As she was spinning as usual late one night, a little man came out from somewhere. He was tiny and angular and he wore a little hakama neatly. He said, “You must be lonely, Granny. I’ll do a dance for you.” He danced, keeping time well with the song as he sang, “Tiny, tiny hakama with a wooden sword at my side. Look, Granny, look!” Then he disappeared. The old woman felt uneasy. When it was daylight, she searched all over the house. Under the porch, she found an old wooden pick which had been used to blacken teeth. She burned it to get rid of it. After that nothing more appeared. It is said that in olden days the old picks used to blacken teeth were gathered together and burned to get rid of them.
Niigata: Sadogashima 132, “The tiny hakama” (Chii-chii hakama). Example.
Bitchū (Okayama): Minzoku I 681, “The little boy” (Chin-chin chiyoboshi).
Ōita, Kitaamabe-gun: MK I 4 30, “The ghost story” No. 1 (Bakemono banashi). The translation by Hearne of “Chii-chii hakama” and the Bitchū tale no doubt came from this.
188. Destroying the Ghost
There were two brothers who hunted with guns. They went into the mountains once, and were walking on opposite sides of a stream in a valley. The older brother heard his brother shooting and the shots continued for some time. The older brother thought it must be a very large animal, but suddenly the shots stopped. He was worried, and crossed the stream hastily. He climbed to where his brother should have been, but when he called, there was no answer. Then he noticed a white-haired woman seated at the foot of a huge tree. She was spinning thread. He thought she looked like a ghost and aimed his gun at her. She did not show fear or run away but only looked at him and grinned. He was sure one shot hit her, but there was no response. He fired till he had only two bullets left, then aimed a shot at the box she was putting her thread in. At that the old woman disappeared. He hurried up to see and found a very old baboon. He found no trace of his brother.
Iwate, Kamihei-gun: Kikimimi 161, “The spinning woman” (Itoomi onna). It is told as an anecdote about two hunters, but it is probably a fragment of a folk tale.
Niigata, Sado: MK I 4 43, “Revenge upon a badger” (Mujina no adauchi). A badger disguised as a woman invited a man to visit her on a moonlight night. The man cut her shadow and destroyed the badger.
Fukushima, Date-gun, Datezaki-mura: Shintatsu 54, “The fox’s prank” (Kitsune no itazura). A woman from Shikibuzaka said to Sagohei of Kitazawa, “Are they black, Sagohei?” as she showed him her face. The next night he told her they were black and destroyed her with a fire box that was beside him.
Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Kai 254, “Hihibaba.” Example.
Tochigi: Shimotsuke 71, “The badger disguised as a priest” (Bōzu ni baketa tanuki).
Tokushima: Awa Iyayama 48, “The night spider” (Yoru no kumo).
Ōita, Kitaamabe-gun: MK I 4 38, “Two ghost stories” (Bakemono banashi futatsu).
Kagoshima: Koshiki 144, “The spider ghost” (Kumo no bakemono); Kikai 121, “The kasha ghost” (Kasha no bakemono). There was a match at scratching each other’s head and grasping each other’s legs.
Further reference:
Shiwa-gun mukashibanashi shū 14, “Bakemono dera.” There is a story in Tōhoku, too, about a match at striking heads.
Rōō yatan 37, “Kumo to aonyūdō.” A hunter and a big ghost.
189. The Mochi and White Stones
This is one form of the story of “The ghost in the mountain temple.”
Iwate, Kamihei-gun: Tōno 25 No. 28. No title. In the form of a legend about the origin of the road in Hayachinesan.
Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: Kamuhara 151, “The badger’s fright” (Tanuki gyōten). This is tied to the story about the badger and eight mats. It was probably made into a story by mat makers.
Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Kai 45, “The priest and the badger” (Oshō to tanuki). This is also a story of eight mats. It tells about inviting the badger to come up to the fire, but there is nothing about heating white stones.
Wakayama: Nankii 16, “The chest of the yamauba” (Yamauba no nagamochi). This is about a yamauba who liked mochi and set out in autumn to beg for it. She was fed stones that had been gathered from the sandbar of the river and heated. According to the legend, mochi cannot be made here at New Year because of her grudge.
Okayama, Kawakami-gun: Okayama bun II 3 39, “A badger” (Tanuki). White stones that look like mochi are left in a row at a charcoalmaker’s hut. When they are thrown at a badger that comes in disguise, he runs off.
Further reference:
Azuma mukashi monogatari, jō.
190. The Old Woman’s Three Moles
This is a story about foxes that overheard people talking and learned their secret. They tried to used what they heard to trick the people, but failed.
Iwate, Shiwa-gun: Shiwa-shu 21, “Jinokazaemon and Babamatsukō” (Jikokazaemon to Babmatsukō).
Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: Echigo Sanjo 37, “Foxes” (Kitsune no mukashibanashi).
191. The Spider Web
This belongs to the group about the notions peddler and the badger.
A yamabushi went to a certain village and was refused when he asked for lodging. He went to a vacant temple. An ōnyūdō came out from the main hall in the night and called, “Here, you visitor, I’ll let you hear me play my shamisen.” He tightened its strings and at the same time the priest’s throat ached. Each time this happened he cut the strings with his sword, and his throat was relieved. When the ghost finally started to leave, the priest threw his sword at him and killed him. He tossed the remains into the dirt floor room. When the morning sun shined on them, he found they were a huge old spider.
This story must be considered the work of a player of a shamisen or a biwa.
Iwate, Kamihei-gun: Rōō 35, “The spider woman at the mountain temple” (Yamadera no kumo onna). The principal character is a notions peddler. When he put up at an old temple one night, a beautiful woman came out and played the shamisen for him. Each time she plucked the strings, his throat felt gripped.
Shiwa-gun: Shiwa 148, “The yamabushi” (Yamabushi). Example.
Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: Kamuhara 125, “The spider zatō” (Kumo no zatō). A young man offered to mend a broken string of a zatō’s koto, but it wound it onto his finger.
Kagoshima: Shima II 433, “The dead man and the wagering song” No. 2 (Mōja to uta kake). Majamun was always asking somebody to fix the strings on his shamisen. He claimed that when his string broke he was drawn into the after world. An old woman in the neighborhood came and showed him a chicken to chase the ghost away.
This story is older than the zatō ghost. On this island they do not call it a spider ghost.
192. The Notions Peddler and the Badger
This belongs in the same group as “The spider’s web,” “The mochi and white stones,” and the like. The hero is a notions peddler.
Iwate, Kamihei-gun: Rōō 35, “The spider woman” (Kumo onna). At a mountain temple.
Nagano, Shimoina-gun: Mukashibanashi 86, “The badger and the notions peddler” (Tanuki to komamonoya). A woman at a lonely house said she wanted a needle. The notions peddler stuck needles she said she did not like into the straw matting. Each time, she said it hurt her. It is an eight mat story.
Tottori: Inpaku dōwa 45, “The lonely house” (Ikkenya).
193. Failing to Destroy the Fox
Someone who thought he could see through a fox’s disguise was fooled, himself.
Iwate: Esashi 125, “The man who was given the view of a mare’s rump” (Meuma no shiri o nozokasareta otoko).
Kamihei-gun: Kikimimi 299, 285, 287, “The horse that was loose” (Hanashi uma) and “The magic hood” (Kakure zukin). He was dumbfounded when he discovered the fox’s tail. In the other story the fox gave a man a magic treasure. He thought his old woman could not see him when it was on his head, but it did not work. This is adapted from the story about the magic straw cloak and hat. “The running horse” (Kake uma). This and others like it have been changed into anecdotes for new tastes. A samurai who boasted he could not be fooled was resting at a pass when a horse came running past him. When he stood up, his riceball rolled away. The fox ate it and ran off.
Yamagata, Mogami-gun: Toyosato 250, “Cut with a yatsume sword” (Yatsumetō de kirareta no koto).
Fukushima, Iwaki-gun: Iwaki 84, “The liar” (Usotsuki otoko no hanashi).
Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: Kamuhara 40, “The stubborn fox” (Gōjō na kitsune); Minamikanbara 158, “The fox who became a priest” (Teihatsu gitsune). And the man became a priest with him.
Ishikawa, Kashima-gun, Nanao: Dai-ni 41, “Fooled by a fox” (Kitsune ni damasareta hanashi).
Tochigi, Haga-gun: Shimotsuke 69, “The fox disguised as a girl” (Musume ni baketa kitsune). A man beat a fox disguised as a girl to death and became famous.
Saitama, Chichibu-gun, Otaki-mura: MK II 2 31, “Being fooled” (Bakasare banashi). The tale is rather broken up. Is it because of the narrator’s invention?
Chichibu-gun Tsukikawa-mura: Nihon den Kazusa 31, 32, “When Yagobei was bewitched” (Bakasare Yagobei). Two tales with the same title.
Kazusa (Chiba): Nihon den Kazusa 35, “When Yagobei was bewitched” (Bakasare Yagobei).
Kyoto, Minamikuwata-gun: Kuchitanba 71, “A fox” (Kitsune no hanashi).
Tottori: Inpaku min I 2 69, “Seventy-five badgers” (Nanajūgo tanuki); Hanashi II 3 103, “The yamabushi” (Yamabushi). About Yasaburō Fox from Suō and Osan Fox.
Kumamoto, Tamana-gun: MK I 2 37, “The fox disguised as a biwa player” (Biwa hōshi ni baketa kitsune). Since it is about a blind biwa player, it should be very entertaining if such a person told it.
Nagasaki: Shimabara 144, “The yamabushi and the badger” (Yamabushi to tanuki); TD II 10 34, “The fox sold as the prostitute of Maruyama” (Kitsune ga Maruyama no jorō ni urareta hanashi).
Iki: Nihon zenkoku 360, “The priest’s head” (Bōzu atama).
194. The Hōin and the Fox
The principal characters are usually hōin or yamabushi and the fox takes revenge.
Iwate, Hienuki-gun: MK I 1 38, “Fooled by a fox” (Kitsune ni damasareta hanashi); Kōshō 9 1, “Fooled by a fox” No. 2 (Kitsune ni damasareta hanashi).
Esashi-gun: Esashi 127, “Hōrinbō who fell from a bridge” (Hashi kara ochita Hōrinbō).
Shiwa-gun: Shiwa 33, “The man fooled by a fox” (Kitsune ni damasareta otoko).
Isawa-gun: Kikimimi 290, “The vigil for the dead man” (Shinin no ban). This is told as an anecdote about a man called Santarō, but it has been forced into a folk tale.
Kamihei-gun: Tōno 298 No. 203. No title.
Akita, Senhoku-gun: MK I 10 29, “The old man fooled by a fox” (Kitsune ni damasareta jii san).
Fukushima: Iwaki 65, 157, “The hōin and the fox” (Hōin sama to kitsune).
Niigata, Sado: MK II 5 39, “Fooled by a fox” (Kitsune ni damasareta hanashi). An itinerant merchant threw a stone at a fox that was taking a nap. The sun set suddenly. He was asked by an old woman at a lonely house to look after it while she was away. He saw a ghost. Next, he fell from a cliff. People working in the field laughed at him.
Nagano, Ina: Mukashibanashi 32, 56, 145, 84, “Hōgen and the fox” (Hōgen sama to kitsune); “The medicine peddler and the fox” (Kusuri uri to kitsune); “The shōya and the fox” (Shōya sama to kitsune), and “I can reach the lowest branch” (Ichino eda ni te ga todoku zo).
Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Zoku Kai 20, “The fox barber” (Kamisori gitsune).
Fukuoka, Kurate-gun: Fukuoka 105, “Mistaking a rokubu for a fox” (Kitsune to rokubu no machigai).
Chikujo-gun: Fukuoka 235, “A superstition” (Meishin no hanashi).
Mii-gun: Hanashi II 3 103, “The yamabushi” (Yamabushi). This tale may be from Sorori monogatari.
Nagasaki, Shimabara: TD II 3 49, “The yamabushi and the badger” (Yamabushi to tanuki); Shimabara 144, “The yamabushi and the badger” (Yamabushi to tanuki).
Further reference:
Sorori monogatari, maki I 409.
195. The Feud Between a Man and a Fox or Badger
Many of these are told as brief anecdotes, but they are left in the form of folk tales.
Okayama, Oku-gun: Okayama bun II 3 70, “The badger” (Tanuki). A man cut the grass away from the badger’s hole and said, “It’s lighter now, isn’t it?” In the evening the badger came to the man’s house and said, “Sell the door and let good fortune in.” When the man did that, he lost everything. The badger came along and said, “It’s lighter now, isn’t it?”
Tottori, Iwami-gun: Inpaku dōwa 49, “Lazy Tasuke” (Namake Tasuke).
196. Surprised Twice
This ghost story is told often. It is popular because of the way it is told.
A night school teacher was walking along a road by the edge of a rice field late one winter night and noticed a beautiful girl standing by the road with her face turned down at the book she was reading. He wondered whether she was a ghost and spoke to her. She did not answer but raised her face. He took one look at her face and his hair stood on end. He threw his coat over his head and ran home. He sat down hurriedly at his kotatsu. His wife seemed to think it strange and asked him over and over what had happened. When he told her about the frightful face of the woman, his wife wanted to know what kind of face it was. He could not explain. She asked, “Was it this kind of face?” At that she turned toward her husband and there she was, the woman with the terrible face. He took one look and gave a shout. Then he fainted as he tried to hide in the kotatsu. When he awoke the next morning, the sun was shining brightly on him as he lay face down by the dam in the middle of his field.
Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Kai 280, “The terrible face” (Kowai kao). Example; Zoku kai 243, “The ghost covered with eyes” (Medarake no bakemono).
Aichi: Sanshū Yoko 111, “The god that sets fires” (Hi o tsukeru kami sama).
Tottori: Inpaku min 56, “Oton Jorō.”
Shimane: Kyōdo ken II 3 44. No title.
Kumamoto: Amakusa 104, “The big feet” (Oki na ashi).
Tamana-gun: MK I 5 35, 36, “The nose that grew long” (Hana no nagaku naru hanashi) and “The face that grew long” (Kao no nagaku naru hanashi).
Kagoshima: TD III 10 101, “The eyeless demon in Monjuroku” (Monjuroku no menashi oni). In “Was it this kind of face?” by Shimazu Hisamoto.
Further reference:
Chihō sōdan. Uzen, Yonezawa.
197. Two Mouths, an Upper and a Lower
This could be put with stories of conquest, but the main point is the amusing look of the ghosts, two badgers disguised as one woman. The one below yawned.
Iwate: Esashi 130, “The badgers disguised as a woman” (Onna ni baketa mujina).
Tochigi, Haga-gun, Sakagawa-mura: Shimotsuke 72, “The badger’s failure to disguise” (Tanuki no bake sokonae).
Kanagawa, Tsukui-gun: Sōshū 41, “Foxes” (Kitsune).
Kagawa, Takamatsu: Sanshu Taka 40, “Badgers” (Tanuki no hanashi). The origin of demon mochi in Okinawa. In some stories the demon is astonished.
Further reference:
Enshu roku 1 1-u.
198. The Cat and the Squash
A bad cat was killed and buried. A squash sprouted from its eye. This is a ghost story about poison in the squash. A man who realized it was saved from death.
Aomori, Sannohe-gun: Tekkiri 251, “The unforgiving cat” (Neko no shūnen). Boatsmen are connected to this story.
Iwate: Kikimimi 349, “A ghost cat.” No. 9, “A ghost cat” (Kaibyō no hanashi). A cat that said things was killed. After it was buried, people who ate squash were poisoned. When they looked, they saw that squash had sprouted from its mouth. Rōō 202, “The origin of squash” (Kabocha no hajimari). The way it is told is so much like a katarimono that it must be the work of a bosama.
Fukushima: Iwaki 58, 151, “The cat and the squash” (Neko to kabocha).
Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: MK I 2 23, “The grateful rooster” (Niwatori no ongaeshi). The medicine peddler of Etchū is in it. There is influence from tales of exaggeration.
Tochigi, Haga-gun: Shimotsuke 65, “The cat disguised as a squash” (Kabocha ni baketa neko).
Shizuoka, Suchi-gun: Shizuoka 331, “The cat’s gratitude” (Neko no ongaeshi).I
Hiroshima, Futami-gun: Geibi 194, “The cat ghost” (Neko bake banashi).
Kumamoto, Tamana-gun: MK I 4 27, “The evil spell cast by a cat” (Neko no tatatta hanashi). It is told as a true story at Yanagawa, Chikugo.
Amakusajima: Amakusa min 141, “The cat’s curse” (Neko no tatari). A big squash grew from where a cat was buried after it was killed. When the squash was cut open, a snake came out.
Kagoshima, Okierabu: Okinoerabu 98, “The wife’s scheme” (Tsuma no hakarai).
Further reference:
In the story about the wife from the Sky World in Minamitakakugun, Nagasaki, 1000 red cows were buried and squash was planted over them. The squash grew to the sky. Perhaps squash were formerly melons, or this is a trend toward humorous tales. The tale is widely distributed. The narrator may be a rokubu because one has a good part in it.
199. The Cat’s Secret
A man and a cat and a rooster lived together. They were all 42 years old. The cat told the rooster he wanted to kill the man and become master, himself. The rooster was astonished and crowed with all his might to warn his master. The man only said it was a sign of bad luck and abandoned the rooster in the mountain. A passing medicine peddler heard about it. He put the rooster in his basket and took it back. He suddenly beat the cat to death as it slept. The master was angry until the peddler explained why he did it. When the peddler stopped at that house the next year and inquired, the master said a squash had grown from where he had buried the cat. He said they could eat it that night. The peddler thought it strange. He dug around the roots of the squash and found it had sprouted from the cat’s mouth. Everyone was astonished.
Aomori: Tsugaru k 27. No title. The story is also in Hachinohe; Tekkiri 252. A note.
Iwate, Hienuki-gun: MK I 11 46, “The cat’s dance” (Neko no odori); Kōshō 9 6, “The cat’s ballad” (Neko no shinnai katari).
Kamihei-gun: Kikimimi 348, “The ghost cat” No. 7 (Kaibyō no hanashi). The cat’s jōruri. A tired traveler picked up a stick from a grave and used it as a staff. When he tapped with it, he heard a cat’s voice, but to other people it sounded like a jōruri; Tōno 268, No. 174. No title.
Akita, Kazuno-gun: Dai-ichi 43, “The cat that sang” (Uta o utau neko). Hiraga-gun, Asamai-machi: TD IX 11 18, “Kisōji’s cat” (Kisōji no neko).
Miyagi: Kyōdo den 1 90, “The ghost cat of Yoneoka” (Yoneoka no kaibyō). This is a legend at Hakken Koji, Yoneoka-mura, Tome-gun. A cat sang one verse of “Yoshitsune Azuma kudari” to an old lady.
Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: MK I 2 23, “The grateful rooster” (Niwatori no ongaeshi). Example.
Okayama, Mitsu-gun: MK I 9 32, “The dancing cat” (Odori neko). The original form of “The cat’s jōruri.” Its contents can at least be recognized. The old man who cooked rice at a temple found the cat dancing and singing, “When shall I get our priest? Ohiyari-ko-ohiyarihiyari!” The cat was overcome later in a dialogue with the priest.
Ōita, Hayami-gun: MK I 12 45, “The cat that said things” (Mono iu neko). The cat said to the salt peddler, “Everyone here has gone to pick tea.” The man was surprised and told the people. When they asked the cat if it had said it, the cat denied it. This is probably older than the story about biting the bride to death. If it turns into that, it becomes a story of adventure.
Kumamoto, Tamana-gun: MK I 4 28, “The cat that sang” (Uta o utatta neko).
Nagasaki: Shimabara 174, “The revenge of the three-colored cat” (Mikeneko no fukushū).
Kagoshima, Kikaijima: Shima I 2 24, 25, “The rooster’s gratitude” (Niwatori no ongaeshi). This resembles the example above in Niigata. “The cat’s gratitude” (Neko no ongaeshi). While the old man was away, the cat danced and sang the song of the Eighth Month for the old woman. When she started to tell about it, the cat fastened its teeth into her throat and killed her. The rest is the usual story.
Further reference:
Chihō sōdan. The muro tree in the northeastern part of Fukushima. The cat recited a gidayu for an old woman in this. Turning a bullet aside with a mirror follows.
Hanashi zuihitsu, ge 61. It is told at Dentōji Nagaiya Osaka-mura, Kahoku-gun, Ishikawa and handed down as happening in Shōō (1652-1655). It says that a fox showed the priest a Noh drama as thanks. The cat was supposed to have a role by playing a flute, but it would not do it because the man knew about it beforehand. The fox’s old man would not come after that, etc.
200. The Cat’s Jōruri
This can be considered as connected with stories of dancing cats.
Akita, Kazuno-gun: Dai-ichi 43, “The cat that sang” (Uta o utau neko). A cat sang a song for an old woman who was looking after things while the family was away. Her son insisted on knowing who was singing when he came home. The old woman forgot her promise not to tell. Just when she started to say the cat, it leaped onto her and fastened its teeth into her throat and killed her.
Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Dai-ni 22, “The cat’s Chushingura” (Neko no Chushingura).
Further reference:
A tale is handed down about Neko-gami shrine at Kamiosakabeura, Atetsu, Bitchū [Okayama]. In the night before an old man and an old woman were going to go to a play, the cat did one for them. They were afraid of it and wanted to kill it the next morning. It ran away and went into a cave in the mountains. People took turns watching, but the cat grew bigger and bigger until it could not get out. It died there. It is worshipped as a cat deity. Its image is stroked and asked for cures. There are many cat deities around there. Cat worship is called Neko gedō.
201. The Fish That Ate Things
While men were talking about putting poison into dango to catch fish, an unknown priest came along and asked them not to do it. He ate the dango and disappeared. They caught a big fish. When they cut it open, they found the dango there.
Miyagi, Karita-gun, Shiroishi: Kyodo den 1 167, “The nushi of the pond” (Numa no nushi). Example.
Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Zoku Kai 122, “The trout king” (Yamame no ō). A trout disguised as a novice was fed millet and fished up later. There is nothing about his asking them not to catch fish. This must have been changed because it does not follow the general pattern of the story.
Futher reference:
Hitotsume kozō sonota, and others.
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