Kagamigaike Mirror Pond Legends

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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Kagamigaike, Kagami-ga-Ike 鏡ヶ池 Legends about a Mirror Pond
Kagamiike, kagami ike 鏡池



Kagamigaike
One Hundred Beautiful Women at Famous Places in Edo (Edo meisho hyakunin bijo)
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786–1864)
- source : Museum of Fine Arts, Boston -

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

.................................................................. Akita 秋田県 ....................................................................

yasha oni 夜叉鬼 Demon

宝亀元年4に保呂波山から夜叉鬼がきて女米鬼山に住み、里人の娘を奪い妻として、大瀧丸を生んだ。略奪を繰り返すので村民は恐れて古種沢鏡池より保量大権現を勧請し、その難を逃れようとした。現在由里群大正寺村、河辺郡女米鬼村、男鹿半島の一部に伝わる「悪魔払い」あるいは「ナモミハギ」の行事は、その難を忘無いために始まったのではないか。

保呂波山 440m
- reference source : 秋田の信仰の山々 - photo -

女米鬼山

. juuni shinshoo 十二神将 Twelve Heavenly Generals .
also known as the juuni yakusha Taishou 十二薬叉大将 or juuni yasha taishoo 十二夜叉大将




.................................................................. Chiba 千葉県 ....................................................................
木更津市 Kisarazu

hebi 蛇 serpent

蛇の基本的性格は水の精霊のミヅチである。明治まで、山王様の沼を通る者は沼の主に敬意を表して下馬した。木更津吾妻神社の鏡池の主は白蛇２匹とされている。明治になって山王様と合祀したとき、蛇のつたあとが沼から神社に続いていたという。


.................................................................. Ibaragi 茨城県 Ibaraki .....................................................

下妻市 Shimotsuma

nanafushigi 七不思議 the seven wonders of Shimotsuma
高道祖の七不思議。鏡ヶ池、逗孔塚、庚猫塚、片葉の葦、弥六ヶ清水、筑波かくし、乳草ヶ池について。


.................................................................. Kumamoto 熊本県 ....................................................................

kagami ike カガミイケ

古池があり、池が澄んでいるときは古鏡３枚が現れる。村の者はこれを池の神といっている。池を侵犯するときには水が涸れるという。


.................................................................. Miyagi 宮城県 ....................................................................

船形山 Funagatayama

kenka matsuri 喧嘩祭 "fighting festival"
In the village 加美郡色麻村 the deity of Koguriyama, 小栗山権現 is the elder sister, and the deity of Funagatayama is the younger sister.

Once they fought about a kanzashi カンザシ hairpin and the younger sister got hold of it. But the elder sister chased her, and the younger one broke a bridge, threw boulders on the way, cut down a huge tree and fled.
At Funagatayama she made a break at a place called 一足 Hitoashi.
But the Elder Sister found out about it, and the Younger Sister hit in a boat, so the Elder Sister gave up and went home.
When the Younger Sister left the boat and went to the lake to wash her hair, the hairpin was reflected in the water. She was happy and went back to her Mountain, Funagatayama.


This in now Kagamigaike 鏡ヶ池 the "Mirror Pond".

Since that time, the annual festival of Funagatayama has become a "fighting festival".



Two groups fight for a Bonten pole and the winning group has to run down the mountain with it, rolling stones down the road and kicking roots of the trees.

. bonten 梵天 Bonten pole .

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亘理町 Watari

kataha no ashi, kataba no ashi 片葉の芦 One-sided Reed

Kamakura Kagemasa 鎌倉景正 was wounded by an arrow in his eye and wanted to wash in a pond. When some reeds disturbed him, he cut them down and they turned to become one-sided reeds.
This legend is told in many other ponds of Japan:

宮城郡利府町神谷沢 鏡ヶ池 Miyagi, Rifu, Kamiyazawa
仙台市南町裏の池、仙台市片平丁西側牢屋敷隣りの池、白石市柳町角田街道沿道田の中の池、白石市越河亀井清水、多賀城市市川鴻ノ池、黒川郡富谷町志戸田行神社御手洗池、石巻市真野萱原長谷寺の池、栗原郡金成町姉歯赤坂岩蔵寺堤、白石市葭ヶ池、柴田郡柴田町船迫清水、栗原郡高清水町勾当山。

. Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa 鎌倉権五郎景政 Legends .
and many fish with one eye


.................................................................. Nagano 長野県 ....................................................................

上田市 Ueda

ryuujin 竜神 Dragon Deity
小金山にある池。昔，泥棒が北向観音の宝鏡を盗み出した。ある池のところまで来て休んでいると，池の竜神が現れて泥棒を池に引きずり込んで殺してしまった。池の土手に置き放しになっていた鏡は，自然に元の北向き観音におさまったっという。以来，「鏡池」と呼んでいる。


.................................................................. Nagasaki 長崎県 ....................................................................

外海町 Sotome

The Master of the Pond of 鏡ヶ池 Kagamigaike on the island 池島 Ikeshima is said to be a bull. Therefore no bulls are kept on the island.
Other legends say it is a Daija, a girl that was once the daughter of a rice merchant from Higo 肥後の米屋.

. - daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake - .


.................................................................. Nara 奈良県 ....................................................................

Todai-Ji Kagami-Ike 東大寺の鏡池

hi no tama 火の玉 ball of fire
If people try to steal fish from this pond, a ball of fire in red and blue comes out of the corridor of the temple Todai-Ji and keeps whirling above the head of the thief.




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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -

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

. Japanese legends and tales 伝説　民話　昔話 - Introduction .

- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
- Introduction -

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