densenbyo pandemic legends

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. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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densenbyo 伝染病と伝説 Legends about pandemics



The whole world is under the influence of this pandemic.
. hayariyamai はやり病 / Ryukobyo 流行病と伝説 Legends about epidemics .

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :


......................................................................................... Aichi 愛知県
幡豆郡 Hazu district 幡豆町 Hazu town

taiboku 大木 a huge tree
In a village on the beach there was densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic.
Once there was a light on the sea and a huge strange tree came afloat.
The villagers wanted to burn it but could not.
There came Gyoki Bosatsu and carved a statue of Kannon out of it.
The villagers prayed to Kannon and the pandemic ended.
. 行基菩薩 Gyoki Bosatsu (668 - 749) Gyōki, Gyōgi .




......................................................................................... Akita 秋田県
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大仙市 Daisen city 堀見内 Horiminai

. shishimai 獅子舞と伝説 Legends about the lion dance .
san shishimai 三匹獅子舞 a lion dance with three dancers prevents pandemics.




......................................................................................... Aomori 青森県
下北郡 Shimokita district 東通村 Higashidori village

. juzu 数珠, nenju 念珠 rosary legends - Rosenkranz .
During the Spring and Autumn equinox and when densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic is in the village, people gather in the temple and pass a huge rosary around hyakumanben 百万べん / 百万遍 a million times.

If there is a person among them who will die soon, he becomes all stiff when he grabs the large bead.




......................................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県
松山市 Matsuyama city 中野町 Nakano town

. The Buddhist nun 妙円尼 Myoen-Ni .




......................................................................................... Fukushima 福島県
南会津町 Minami-Aizu town

Once a man opened the door before breakfast and saw shirohige no ojisan 白ひげのおじいさん an old man with a white beard.
The man became ill, because he had seen Yakubyogami.
. Yakubyogami 疫病神 / 厄病神 Deity of Diseases .
eyami no kami えやみのかみ gyooyakujin 行疫神 gyoyakujin
ekijin, yakujin 疫神 / byoshin 病神 / yakushin 厄神 (ヤクシン)

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Fukushima 相馬郡 Soma district 飯館村 Iitate village

oyudachi, o-yu dachi お湯だち hot water ritual
If densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic is in the village, they call a shaman.　
He boils water id a large pot and throws salt into it. Then he wields his heisoku 幣束 ritual wand and splashes the hot water over the people.　
If someone does not feel the heat of the water, he will not become ill with the pandemic.




......................................................................................... Gunma 群馬県

Yatsukahagi ヤツカハギという大男 / 夜都賀波岐 a large man called Yatsukahagi
A huge man named Yatsukahagi lived in a cave in the mountain forest.
In Autumn he came down to the village and got some rice.
When the villagers followed him one day, he did not show up the next day.
But from the next year on, there were densenbyo 伝染病 pandemics in the village.
The villagers begun to venerate him as ヤツカハギ様 Yatsukahagi Sama.




......................................................................................... Hyogo 兵庫県
城崎郡 Kinosaki district 香住町 Kasumi town

ame kai 飴買い buying sweets
A beautiful young wife was pregnant, but she died of densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic.
About one week later, a woman on a fire chariot came every night to the sweets shop to buy sweets.
The money in the box for offerings at the temple was always empty.
When they dug up the gave, they found the woman holding a healthy baby boy in her arms.
- - Similar stories are told in other parts of Japan.
. ame 飴 sweets, dagashi 駄菓子 cheap sweets .




......................................................................................... Kagoshima 鹿児島県
大島郡 Oshima district 瀬戸内町 Setouchi town

. shimenawa 注連縄 伝説 / シメナワ 　sacred rope - legends .
a mamono 魔物 monster flees while they shout "エンサエンサ ensa ensa".




......................................................................................... Kochi 高知県
幡多郡 Hata district 大月町 Otsuki town

Shrine 高平神社 Takahira Jinja

At the Takahira Shrine there was a fox who suddenly could not move, standing near the tabu no ki タブの木 a Japanese bay tree.
The children killed the fox.
Soon after this, densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic came to the village.
Now people come to the Shrine to pray for a cure.
. Inari 稲荷と伝説 Legends about the Fox Deity .




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

tsuki 月 looking at the moon
On the first day of the year (according to the old lunar calendar)
if the moon looks yellow or blue-green, there will be kikin 飢饉 a famine or typhoon.
If the moon looks red, there will be a fire.
If the moon looks black, there will be water damage.
If the stars around the moon are close, someone will die.
If there is gesshoku 月食 a lunar eclipse, there will be
a typhoon or densenbyoo 伝染病 a pandemic in the the village.




......................................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県
上県郡 Kamiageta district

. kitsune densetsu 狐と伝説 fox legends .
Once a fox wanted to cross from 対馬 Tsushima island to the mainland.
It shape-shifted into a human and got on a fishing boat.
Since the fox was hungry, he ate the eye of buri ブリ a yellowtail.
On land the fox-human walked around the city and said :
"If you eat an eye of a yellowtail, you will not get ill from densenbyoo 伝染病 a pandemic."
The people heard this and went to the boat to buy all the yellowtails.
This was the gesture of gratitude from the fox.




......................................................................................... Nara 奈良県
吉野郡 Yoshino district 十津川村 Totsukawa village

. ookami 狼 / オオカミ Okami, wolf legends .
Until around 1935, there were quite a few wolves in the area, but then many died of densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic.
Now there are no more wolves.




......................................................................................... Okayama 岡山県
阿哲郡 Atetsu district 神郷町 Shingo town 高瀬 Takase

. ookami 狼 / オオカミ Okami, wolf legends .
In the hamlet of 梅田 Umeda, if a wolf howls for a very long time, there will soon be
densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic.




......................................................................................... Tochigi 栃木県
鹿沼市 Kanuma city

If the male and female deity meet during 七夕 the Tanabata festival, there will be
densenbyo 伝染病 a pandemic.
If there is some rain on this day, the river will swell and they can not meet.
In this case, no pandemic will happen.
. Tanabata 七夕 the Star Festival .
Tanabata refers to the double-date of the Asian lunar calendar, the 7th day of the 7th month;
now celebrated July 7 in some places, on August 7

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Tochigi 真岡市 Moka city // 獅子舞 lion dance

. Lion dance 大日堂の獅子舞 at the Dainichi-Do Hall .





......................................................................................... Tottori 鳥取県
八頭郡 Yazu districe 若桜町 Wakasa town

. Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩 伝説 legends about Kannon .
and a fire in a nearby farmhouse.




......................................................................................... Wakayama 和歌山県
田辺市 Tanabe city

. The healer Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来 .




......................................................................................... Yamanashi 山梨県

. Suwa Jinja no Kami 諏訪神社の神 The Deity of Suwa Shrine .


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

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. Kaido highway legends 街道と伝説 - - ABC list .

. animals and their legends 動物と伝説 - - ABC list .

. plants and their legends 　植物と伝説 - - ABC list .

. Persons, People, Personen and their legends - - ABC list .

. 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 -

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