Shonai Yamagata Legends

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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Shōnai 山形 - 庄内　- 伝説 Shonai Yamagata Legends

map of the Shōnai 庄内 Shonai region, Shonai district



Yamagata consists of four regions: Murayama, Oitama, Shonai, and Mogami.
Main towns in Shonai are Tsuruoka, 酒田市 Sakata, 三川町 Mikawa and 庄内町 Shonai town.


. Tsuruoka mingei 鶴岡民芸 folk art from Tsuruoka .

Matsuo Basho, Oku no Hosomichi 奥の細道
. Station 31 - Sakata 酒田 - Tsurugaoka, Tsuru-ga-oka 鶴が岡 .

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庄内 伝説の池めぐり - 庄司秀春

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nana fushigi 七不思議 the seven wonders of Shonai

永泉寺の何不思議。開山源翁和尚が今も生きているように不思議の威徳をあらわすこと。
福徳稲荷大神が吉凶を告げること。
火盗がないこと。
慈覚大師天に祈った感応水は長命をまねくこと。
報恩の電燈が境内を照らすこと。
姿見池の蛇が声を出さないこと。
護摩壇の灰が悪虫の害を防ぐこと。

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庄内町 Shonai town

hiyakusan ヒヤクサン Hiyaku San

At the temple 延命寺 Enmei-Ji in Karigawa 東田川郡狩川村 there is a stone statue of Hiyaku San.
If you rub his cheeks, your toothache will be healed.


- Yakushi Nyorai and Jizo Bosatsu for your Toothache 歯痛止 -

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baku バク / 獏 legendary tapir

This legendary animal lives in the ceiling and watches over dreams.
If you have a bad dream, you should not tell anybody about it, but go out and pray to the sun (tentosama テントサマ（太陽）with the following words, three times to make the bad dreams stop.
ヨンベの夢は天のバクに進ぜます

I pass on the bad dream from last night to the Baku in the ceiling.


. baku makura 獏枕 tapir pillow and dreams - Introduction .

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buna 鮒

katame no buna 片目の鮒 crucian carp with one eye

In the village of 大広 Daiko, if there is 旱魃 a long drought and people need rain, they go to the pond at the 薬師社 Yakushi Shrine and clean it. During that time others perform rain rituals. Since the crucian carp, which lives in this pond, does not like it to be cleaned, he lets rain fall soon.


. buna 鮒 crucian carp .

. katame buna 片目鮒 crucian carp with one eye - Legends .

. Legends about Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来 .


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hebi 蛇, daija 大蛇 all kinds of serpents

. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake legends .
- Introduction -
hakuja 白蛇 white serpent

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daija 大蛇 large serpent

akataki no Fudo sama 赤滝の不動様 Fudo from the Akataki waterfall

The Fudo statue at the "Red Waterfall" has special power to heal diseases of the eye.
He sometimes transforms into a huge serpent, but people who have seen the animal are cursed and do not dare to talk about it.

. Legends about Fudo Myo-O お不動さま .


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立川町 Tachikawa

Once upon a time there lived a senkan chooja 千貫長者 rich millionaire at river 狩川 Karigawa.
. 千貫長者 Senkan Choja, the rich millionaire .


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鶴岡市 鶴ヶ岡城 Tsurugaoka Castle

hakuja 白蛇 white serpent
After the defeat of the war, many ladies from the castle threw themselves into the pond and died. Until our day the water of the pond is muddy. The ladies turned into white serpents and continued to protect the treasures of the castle.
If someone sees a white serpent and talks about it, he/she is sure to die.


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Tsuruoka-kouen-no-sakura　鶴岡公園の桜 Cherry Trees in Tsuruoka Park
Tsuruoka Park lies within the grounds of the old Tsurugaoka Castle, in Tsuruoka, Yamagata prefecture. It is famous for its cherry trees.
The Sakai clan lived in this castle for about 250 years as the Shonai domain head. The park is dotted with the remains of the old stone walls along the moat. An old cedar tree, thousands of years old, reminds you of the castle and its past.
- - - Syounai-Hanko Chidokan　庄内藩校 致道館 The Chidokan Shonai Clan School
- source : nippon-kichi.jp -

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At the home of 五十嵐与七 Igarashi Yoshichi in Tsuruoka there is a huge tree with a hollow where a white serpent with ears lives 耳のある白蛇. If anyone sees the animal, he/she will turn blind or die. If you come near or try to cut a tree, you will be punished in a less lif-threatening way.


耳のある白蛇 mimi no aru hakuja
- miminoarusirohebi.html / reference -

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ryootoo no hakuja 両頭の白蛇 white serpent with two heads
昔、赤川の洪水の時、川上からワラニオが２つ流れてきて、そのうちひとつが同家の宅地にとどまった。そのニオにはかぞえきれないほどたくさんの蛇がまつわりついていたが、その後、変事のある前には両頭の白蛇が姿を見せるようになったと言われている。


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kitsune 狐 fox

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鶴岡市 Tsuruoka

Once upon a time
a fox transformed into the wife of a man and tried to steal his purse, but in reverse got his duck stolen by the man. The fox got very angry and knocked at the door of the man for two or three nights, calling

kame yokose 鴨よこせ "Give me back my duck!"


. kitsune densetsu 狐　伝説 fox legends - Introduction .


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ryuu 龍 dragon

ryuu no hone 龍の骨 bones of a dragon

In Shonai town, in the Meiji period there was a 巨杉 huge cedar tree between the waterfall and the 不動堂 Fudo Hall, but during a strike of lightning it burned down. In its ashes there where almost two buckets full of white bones. The local gossip says these were the bones of a dragon who had lived below the tree.


. ryuu, ryū 龍　竜　伝説　Ryu - dragon legends .

. sugi 杉 伝説 Cryptomeria legends .


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sake 鮭 salmon

sake no oosuke 鮭の大助 the salmon called Osuke, the BIG ONE, the Salmon King



On the 15th day of the 11th lunar month people prepare mochi 餅をつく rice cakes, because Sake no Osuke descended the Mamurogawa river.
"If a human happened to hear the cry of the salmon masters, he would die on the spot. Therefore the people pounded rice, making much noise, and kept to the house, in order not to hear it".
Now it was a widespread custom in Japan for somebody to close his ears with two rice cakes when he heard of the death of a friend of a same age. Thus he pretended not to hear the bad news, and wanted to ward off possible ominous effects on himself."
Women had to stay in their homes and men were also forbidden to see the salmon.
source :　North_Western_Pacific.htm

. Oosuke, ōsuke, Daisuke 鮭の大助 / 鮭の大介 legends about the salmon king .
- Introduction about this special fish -


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Daikoku sama 大黒様

In the village of 大広 Daiko on the 9th day of the 12th lunar month, the deity Daikoku gets one year older, it is his birthday.

. Daikoku Ten 大黒天 - 大国 Okuninushi - Mahakala .
- Introduction -

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Gooki san ゴウキさん

gooki 豪鬼 The Yokai monster Goki

Sometimes when walking at night on a dark road, people have the feeling someone is following them, but beware - never turn round to see if there is anyone.
In 高知 Kochi (Shikoku island) this Yokai monster is called betobeto san ベトベトさん
and people stop and ask it to overtake them.
In the Shonai region people say
ゴウリキさん、先さこう - Goki San, please go ahead.
Then the moster stops following them from behind.


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Hachiman sama 八幡さま

日露戦争の時、牛の刻に戦場から帰ると、八幡神社の前で馬のいななく声が聞こえ、神様が鎧を脱ぐ音もした。

. Legends about Hachiman Shrines 八幡宮　/ 八幡神社 .
- Introduction -


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Ise sama 伊勢様

In the village of 大広 Daiko

12月15日は伊勢様のおとしやで、この日は、伊勢様は年をおとりになる。

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noomen 能面 Noh mask

utau noomen うたう能面 the singing Noh-Mask

村のある家にむかしから伝わる野生めには精がはいっていて、夜になると時々歌い出して、家人や村人を驚かせたという。


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o shooryoo sama お精霊様
In the village of 大広

8月6日はお精霊様がござるので、火をつけて川端へ迎えに行く。提燈に明りをつけていくこともある。そして、お精霊様は家の中にある御霊舎に招き入れる。
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8月16日はお精霊様が帰るので。松明をつけて飾り物や供え物と一緒に家の前の流れの早い川に流す。

shinin no tamashi 死人の魂
In the village of 大広 Daiko

8月23日は森山参りといって死人に会いたい人が清水にある森山に参拝する。ここには昔から死人の魂が集まるといわれている。


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酒田市 Sakata town

神軍 shingun，矢の根石 ya no ne ishi

出羽国庄内飽海にある大物忌を祀った社の境内では、一年に一度神軍ということがおきる。これは一時二時の間に暴風雨や雷があった後に、石で造ったような矢の根があちこちに落ちているという。人々はこれをお守りにするという。

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tengu 天狗 Tengu

永泉寺の境内に「天狗の石鼓」がある。

天狗スモウ取山では正月10日の未明に置賜と庄内と村山の天狗が集まって、鞍馬山の天狗を行事にスモウを取る。二ッ石山では昔、朝日権現と月山権現の天狗が法力比べの末、双方とも精根尽きて２つの天狗石と化したという。


. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .


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Zenpooji 善宝寺 Temple Zenpo-Ji

山形県鶴岡市にある曹洞宗の寺。山号は竜沢山。平安時代、妙達の開いた天台宗の竜華寺を、永享年間（1429～1441）太年浄椿が再興。竜神を祭り、航海・漁業の守護神として信仰される。曹洞宗三祈祷所の一

鶴岡の善宝寺の信仰圏は広く、東北から関東一円の漁村、四国の一部に伝播している。列島を南下すると航海神の種類も増え、三重県の青峯山正福寺や熊野、住吉、宗像、鵜戸などの神々が登場する。正福寺の本尊は十一面観音で高野山派真言宗で、海上安全の祈祷寺であったので、特に竜神との関係はない。


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reference - yokai database 妖怪データベース
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp -

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. Legends about Kobo Daishi Kukai - 弘法大師　空海 - 伝説 .

. minwa 民話　folktales / densetsu 伝説　Japanese Legends .
- Introduction -

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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- #shonailegends #shonaiyamagata -
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