. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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ijuu 異獣と伝説 Legends about Iju monster animals
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Ijū (異獣, Ijū) is a creature from Japanese folklore.
There is only one story of the Ijuu, and it comes from Suzuki Bokushi’s Edo period book Hokuetsuseppu (北越雪譜; Snow Stories of North Etsu Province, 1837).
Long ago, in Echigo province (modern day Niigata prefecture), a porter named Takesuke was engaged in hauling a heavy load over a mountain pass to a faraway town. He had gone about 7 ri (28 kilometers), when he became exhausted and hungry. Takesuke leaned his backpack against a tree, then sat down and rested against that same tree, unpacking his lunch and preparing to tuck in.
Before Takesuke could get a bite into his mouth, the thick bamboo of the forest was pushed aside, and an incredible monster stepped into sight. It was larger than a human, and looked like some mix between a monkey and a bear. It had long tufts of hair on its head, and fur covering its entire body.
Instead of panicking, the porter calmly looked at the strange beast. It looked hungry, Takesuke decided. He then casually split his lunch, offering the animal half. The creature was delighted, and accepted the food and ate it with vigor.
With the meal done, the strange beast leapt to its feel and shouldered Takesuke’s burden as if it weighted nothing at all. The porter walked ahead down the mountain trail, while the creature happily ambled along behind. When they got within sight of the porter’s destination, the creature took off the heavy backpack, set it down carefully, and scampered back into the forest.
It was never seen again.
- source : yokai.fandom.com/wiki... -
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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :
......................................................................................... Hokkaido 北海道
. Ezo, Emishi 蝦夷 エゾ Ainu Culture アイヌの文化 Yezo, Yeso, Jezo .
One day in March there was a big earthquake and two big mountains collapsed.
Since then, many 異獣 Iju monster animals were seen.
One had 2 faces and 8 legs and could fly in the sky.
The local 蝦夷 Emishi people tried to get it, but could not catch it.
......................................................................................... Kyoto 京都府
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京都市 Kyoto city 南区 Minami ward
ijuu 異獣 a monster animal
Around 1675, in Kichijomura village in the South of Kyoto, the statue of 吉祥天女 Kichijoten was open for public viewing.
Many people from the nearby villages came, chanting the 六斎念仏 Rokusai Nenbutsu prayer.
They made a lot of noise with their prayer gongs and prayer drums.
Suddenly a huge monster animal came out and run away to hide under the veranda of a village house.
They managed to catch it.
If had the face of a tanuki 狸 badger and was black from the nose to the top of the front.
The neck was white, the back was black and the stomach was white.
Its buttocks looked like a tokkuri 徳利 sake container.
It had no tail and looked more like a mole. Its back legs were long like that of a dog.
For its food it would only eat 串柿 dried persimmons on a stick.
. Kichijoojimura 吉祥寺村 Kichijo-Ji village in Edo .
......................................................................................... Nagano 長野県
Once in the summer at 更科山 the volcano Tateshina there was a thunderstorm.
A strange small beast appeared at a rock and then, like a locust, ascended to the sky.
......................................................................................... Nagasaki 長崎県
長崎市 Nagasaki city
Once a lot of rice disappeared from the official Nagasaki Storehouse.
Some people also got lost.
When the villagers checked about it, they found that many
異獣 Iju monster animals came out of the sea
and ate the rice and even the people.
......................................................................................... Niigata 新潟県
When the young daughter of the family was weaving,
異獣 an Iju monster animal appeared outside the window.
It wanted to get the pot where the rice was kept warm.
The family gave some rice balls to the animal, which seemed very happy.
From then on the animal came once in a while to get a rice ball.
One day the daughter had her period and could not go the the weaving room
and was in trougle to keep her deadline for finishing.
The 異獣 an Iju monster animal stopped her period and she could finish in time.
At another home in the mountains, at night,
a strange creature with red hair came to warm at the fire.
It looked like a monkey with long hair.
In the mountains a man was sitting down to eat his rice ball.
A creature like a monkey with long hair appeared.
When the farmer gave it a rice ball, it was very greatfull
and later carried his load down the hill.
......................................................................................... Shizuoka 静岡県
富士宮市 Fujinomiya city
On the 10th of August in 1859, in 川尻村 the village of Kawashiri,
they caught 異獣 an Iju monster animal.
It had the size of a cat, the face looked like a horse, the body was coverd in fly hair.
The legs looked like those of a human baby.
Later they found that four similar creatures had been caught at 蒲原宿 the Kanbara postal station.
At Kanbara the creature was called sennen mogura 千年もぐら .
In 豊川村 Toyokawa village they caught another strange animal.
It looked like a bear, but its face was human.
The nails of its feet were like those of a hawk.
The hair on its face was red and on its body it was yellow.
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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
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. animals and their legends 動物と伝説 - - ABC list .
. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
- Yookai 妖怪 Yokai Monsters of Japan -
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