janjanbi legends Nara

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. Legends - Nara Period - Introduction .
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janjanbi じゃんじゃん火 / ジャンジャン火 Janjan fire legends from Nara
a kind of

. onibi 鬼火 "demon fire" .
or
. kitsunebi 狐火 "fox fire" .

. hitodama 人魂 / 人玉 spirit of a dead person, "soul flame" .


- will-o'-the-wisp :
"a mysterious light associated with spirits, found in various folklore tales”

kaika 怪火　atmospheric ghost lights
They are often seen in humid climates.

Gongorōbi (権五郎火, lit. "Gongorō fire")
Jōsenbi (地黄煎火, lit. "Jōsen fire")
Kane no Kami no Hi (金の神の火, lit. "fire of the metal god")
Kinka (金火, lit. "gold fire")
Kumobi (蜘蛛火, lit. "spider fire")
Nobi (野火, lit. "field fire")
Osabi (筬火, lit. "guide for yarn on loom fire") / Obora
Sōrikanko
Susuke Chōchin (煤け提灯, lit. "stained paper lantern")
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. . tenpi, tenbi, tenka 天火 "fire from heaven" . .
hi no tama 火の玉 ball of fire, and
油日神社 Aburahi Shrine, Shiga

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Janjanbi (じゃんじゃん火 or ジャンジャン火) is a kaika told about the legends of various places in the Nara Prefecture. They are considered a type of onibi.
In the Miyazaki Prefecture they are also called musabi (むさ火) and
in the Kōchi Prefecture, they are also called kechibi.

Their name comes from the "janjan" sound that they make. There are many legends where they are people who have committed double suicides or military commanders among other deceased ones who have had their souls turned into balls of fire.

Also in Nara,
there are different legends depending on the area, and different alternate names depending on the area.

Byakugō-ji town, Nara city 白毫寺町
It indicates two balls of fire that appear in the graveyard of 白毫寺 Byakugō-ji and 大安寺 Daian-ji. In the 夫婦川 / 女夫川 Fūfu River (Miyotogawa ミヨート川), the two balls of fire would meet together, intertwine themselves, and then finally return to their graves.
When a person sees this fire, it would come closer to that person, and even when those who are chased by the janjanbi flee into the middle of a pond, the fire would still follow them above the pond.
They are said in the legends to be a man and a woman who committed double suicide, and since they were buried in separate temples after death, they became balls of fire that meet together.
Similar legends are told at 打合い橋 Uchiaibashi bridge.

Yamatokōriyama - Yamato Koriyama 大和郡山市
It indicates two hitodama 人玉 (human fireballs) that would visit every year in June 7th on the bridge above the 佐保川 Saho River.
Just like the ones from Byakugō-ji town, they are also the spirits of a man and a woman.
It was said that there was previously a custom when it was June 7th for 20 men and women to be selected from each of the surrounding villages and dance above the bridge where they appear frequently, in order to console the spirit of the hitodama.

Fujichō, Tenri 天理市藤井町
It indicates a ball of fire that would appear from the remains of a castle and fly westwards. For those who encounter this, it would be necessary for them to hide under a bridge and wait for it to pass. It is also called Zannenbi (残念火, lit. "disappointment fire").

Yanagimotochō and Tainoshōchō, Tenri, and Kashihara 天理市柳本町、田井庄町、橿原市
On a summer night when rain is near, by turning towards the 十市城 Tōichi castle and saying, "hoi hoi, hoihoi" two times, it would come flying, make the sound "jan jan" and then disappear. It is also called the hoihoibi (ホイホイ火).
It is considered to be the vengeful spirit 怨霊 onryō of the military commander 十市遠忠 Tōichi Tōtada who was slain by 松永弾正 Matsunaga Danjō in the Azuchi–Momoyama period, and those who see it would, by the onryō's curse, become sick with fever for three days and nights. When Tōtada was slain, the killed soldiers all said "zannen, zannen (disappointment, disappointment)" as a crowd of voices, which is why it was heard as "jan jan."


The Kubikiri Jizō in Tainoshōchō, Tenri

Also, in 田井庄町 Tainoshōchō, Tenri, there is a Jizō with its head separated called the "kubikiri Jizō (decapitated Jizō)," but it is said that a soldier who was being attacked by the janjanbi in the past swung his sword around and mistakenly cut off the head of a Jizō by the roadside.
It was said that in the end, that soldier died completely burning.
- source : wikipedia -

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source :　kazxxxjp/archives


janjanbi ジャンジャン火

Once a villager saw two fires come down from Mikasayama 三笠山 on the evening of the event "burning the mountain 山焼き. It was a yellow fire which slowly turned blue-green.
Other seasons to see them there are from Winter toward Spring.
Sometimes they appear suddenly very bright and are gone in no time again.


In the North of Nara, at the village of Hoorenji 法連寺町 Horen-Ji there are legends at the temple トモ寺 Tomo-ji and 岩淵寺 Iwabuchi-Ji about double-suicide.
It is said that the lovers had committed double-suicide and the woman was buried at Tomo-Ji, while the man was buried at Iwabuchi-Ji.


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hinotama, hi no tama 火の玉 a ball of fire

one ball of fire is called タマヒ tamahi. Two or more are called janjanbi.

The Janjan Fire at temple 大安寺 Daian-Ji is related to the revenge killing of an enemy (adauchi 仇討ち).
The older brother was tending to the fields when a bit of earth hit the passing 生田伝八郎 Ikuta Denpachi, who willed the farmer in his rage. Both brothers became "demon fires" after that.
(This story is better known as 崇禅寺馬場の仇討 Sozen-Ji baba no adauchi), happening in 1715, and now also a famous Kabuki play.

At the 高橋堤 riverbank of Takahashi
three lived tow brothers. One was killed by a samurai from Koriyama 郡山藩. His brother, who wanted to revenge him, was also killed when he tried to. Now both appear as Hinotama.


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法華寺町 Hokkeiji town

At the beginning of the road 一条通り Ichijo Dori near the riverbank of Takahashi, there is a long ball of fire, emerging from an old tree. It usually appears on a rainy night and flies with a blue-green light. In the middle of the fire there is the face of an old man.
This is the vengeful spirit of a high official from the Nara period, who had been killed there.


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下田 Shimoda

Once upon a time there was a water shortage and the farmers fought with their hoes (kuwa 鍬) until in the Summer heat the sparks of the metal begun to fly around.


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大和郡山市 Yamato Koriyama

A young samurai named 亀井式部 Kamei Shikibu fell in love with the poor farmer girl 深雪 Miyuki and they often met at the bridge 打合橋 Uchiaibashi.
The authorities found out about it and he was beheaded right on the bridge.
This was the 7th day of the 6th month. The head begun to fly away, drawing a red line of blood in the sky. Later Miyuki killed herself below the bridge, holding his head in her lap. Since that day the Janjanbi is seen on this night in the 6th lunar month, coming from the Northwest, and dancing above the bridge.
To appease their souls, the villagers now dance on the bridge on that night.


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妖怪じゃんじゃん火あめ sweets called Janjanbi



From Tenri Janjan Market 天理じゃんじゃん市
- source : ameblo.jp/fudeasobi -


The legend about 十市遠忠 in Japanese, zyanzyanbi :
- source : kanko-tenri.jp -

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- Reference in Japanese -
- Reference in English -

yokai database 妖怪データベース - ジャンジャン火
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -
- 19 entries to explore

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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