. Japanese legends and tales 伝説 民話 昔話 - Introduction .
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oyuki 大雪と伝説 Legends about heavy snow
tooshi 凍死 freezing to death
. yuki 雪 snow .
- Introduction and Haiku -
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mansei no ha 蔓菁の葉 (マンセイノハ) leaf of a Kabura turnip
When a fermer walked through his fields in October, he saw thet the leaves of the Kabura turnip where much bigger than usual.
This means that there will be heavy snow in the coming winter, said his old companion.
And indeed, there was heavy snow this winter.
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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures - - - - -
......................................................................................... Aichi 愛知県
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北設楽郡 Kita-Shitara district 振草村 Furikusa village
doorokugami どうろく神 / 道祖神 the Dosojin deity
(どうろく神 Wayside God in local dialect
This deity has only one leg.
Once a woodcutter had built a small hut below a cliff and stayed there over night.
One night when there was heavy snow, he heard something walking over his hut. When he looked the next morning, he saw a huge footprint, but just one.
. Doosojin 道祖神 Dosojin, Dososhin - Legends about Wayside Gods .
......................................................................................... Chiba 千葉県
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香取郡 Katori district 多古町 Tako town
On the second day of the New Year, there is a fire ritual at the local Shrine.
If this ritual is not performed, there will be great misfortune in the village.
One year there was heavy snow and the villgers could not go out to have the ritual. But at night an old woman saw someone making the ritual fire at the Shrine.
It must have been the Deity itself, the villagers thought and from that time on, they held the ritual every year.
......................................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県
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今治市 Imabari city 玉川町 Tamagawa town
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shishigamisama 獅子神様 wild boar Deity
About 200 years ago, a high-ranking priest Saint Muso 無相上人 helped a 小猪 small wild boar on a day of heavy snow on 奈良原山 Mount Narabarasan.
He had practised for a long time and then went on a pilgrimage through Japan.
Before he left, he asked another priest to care for the inoshishi.
This priest cared for it very well for a while, but then he felt tired of it and let the boar run into the wild fields.
The villagers shot the boar with a gun.
Since then all the villagers were cursed and decided to venerate the wild boar as a deity.
To our day after the harvest villagers make wild boars from straw.
. Muso Daishi 無相大師 .
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hendobaka 遍土墓 (ヘンドバカ) grave of a Henro pilgrim
About 150 years ago there lived a man alone with his child after his wife had died.
The daughter had promised to get married to 四国遍路 a Henro Pilgrim but her relatives did not agree, so she left the house.
On that day there was a heavy snow. The daughter could not see the road and fell to her death down a deep valley.
Since then her family was befallen with misfortune. They erected a statue of 地蔵 Jizo Bosatsu on the location where she had died and prayed for her.
This place is now remembered as Hendobaka.
......................................................................................... Fukushima 福島県
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南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata village
Heavy snow in winter is an omen that it will be a rich harvest.
......................................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県
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Gifu 恵那市 Ena city 明智町 Akechi town
. tanuki 狸 - mujina 狢 － racoon dog, badger legends .
Once on a night with heavy snow, there came a traveller and stayed over night. He went into the bath but did not come out for a long time.
The host thought this strange and had a peek into the bathroom. There he saw a Tanuki washing his body with his long tail.
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Gifu 神岡町 Kamioka town
kumo katsura 蛛蜘桂 Katsura tree and spiders
- - - - - katsura 桂 Japanese Judas tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum
Around 1580, on a day with heavy snow, a warlord was bewitched by 山蜘蛛 the mountain spiders.
He stayed under a Katsura tree, because he thought it was a house, but later many of his servants were found dead under the tree.
Now the villagers fear this tree.
. kumo 蜘蛛と伝説 Legends about spiders / Spinnen .
......................................................................................... Ishikawa 石川県
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珠洲市 Suzu city
kaki no tane 柿の種 persimmon seeds
This would bring heavy snow to the area.
When the snow season came, there was more than 6 meters of snow!
......................................................................................... Kyoto 京都府
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Kyoto 船井郡 Funai district
. saru 猿と伝説 Legends about monkeys - Affen .
On a winter day with heavy snow a hunter found daien / oozaru 大猿 a huge monkey at the foot of oimatsu 老松 an old pine tree. The monkey begged for his life, but the hunter shot him. When the hunter looked closer, he saw the monkey was pregnant.
His family became cursed and died out.
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Kyoto 中郡 Naka district 大宮町Omiya town
yukinbo 雪んぼ a female snow monster
In a remote mountain region on a night with heavy snow, grandmother was alone at home with her grandchild, when 雪んぼ the Yukinbo monster came.
Grandmother took the grandchild on her back, fled down to the village and then stayed there to live.
Yukinbo is made from matsuyani 松やに pine resin and snow and if people throw fire at her, especially if they hit her huge breast, she melts.
......................................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県
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栗原市 Kurihara city 金成町 Kannari town
. ne 子 / nezumi 鼠 Rat, Mouse .
At the temple 正法寺 Shobo-Ji in 江刺 Esashi there came a huge mouse and ate the head priest.
Another priest, who kept a cat well even in heavy snow times, became the next head priest. His cat killed the mouse and thus saved his life.
Since then the table for the sutras in this temple had legs like a cat and a mouse.
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Miyagi 柴田郡 Shibata district 大河原町 Ogawara town
. kitsune densetsu 狐と伝説 fox legends .
Around 1920, there was a men bewitchen by a fox, who froze do his death.
Others say he did not freeze to death, but who knows ?
......................................................................................... Nagano 長野県
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A man who wanted to secretely hunt for foxes with meatballs, where he had included gunpowder, got lost in the forest on a winter night and froze to death.
He had been cursed by the local foxes!
......................................................................................... Nara 奈良県
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- tooshi 凍死 frozen to death
The young owner of a wealthy shop had his fortune told by a diviner three years ago.
He was told he would die within three years of cold and hunger, but if he went to the Bishamon Deity at 信貴山 Mount Shigisan every year for three years, this fate would be turned and he could live a long life.
The young man went to Shigisan for two years, but on the third year there was such heavy snow! He told his servant to go up and get a palanquin.
When the servant returned, the young man was 凍死 frozen to death.
......................................................................................... Niigata 新潟県
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佐渡市 Sado city 畑野町 Hatano town
kami no ta asobi 神の田遊び Kami playing in the fields
At the 大久保の白山神社 Okubo Hakusan Shrine there is a special ritual on the third of January, where the deities come to enjoy the field work and farmers pray for an auspicious harvest.
Around 1930, there was such a heavy snow that the farmers could not go to the shrine.
But in the village they heard a strange loud sound. The Kami had performed this ritual all by themselves !
But in that year there was a severe epidemic in the village.
. Hakusan Jinja 白山神社 Hakusan Shrines in Japan .
......................................................................................... Shimane 島根県
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. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .
A hunter from 横道 Yokomichi found the bell and golden chopsticks of 山伏 a Yamabushi mountain priest in the forest.
To pay his respects and pray to the Tengu Sama, he went to the mounain every day.
On the 9th day of February, when Yamanba 山ン婆 the old mountain hag monster cooks rice, people are not allowed to go to the forest.
But the hunter went to his 天狗山 Tenguyama mountain anyway.
He shot at an old man, looking like a monkey (the Tengu), but he fell into a deep valley himself.
It was a night of heavy snow and the hunter lost his way.
Later they found him deep in Tenguyama with a large wound.
......................................................................................... Tochigi 茨城県
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東村 Higashimura village
Shozuga babaa しょうづがばばあ / 正塚の婆さん / 葬頭河の婆 Shozuka no Basan - Datsueba
Once upon a time, on a morning when it had snowed a lot that night, a woman was found frozen to death.
If someone passes this place at night, they say a monster is showing up now.
Children never dare to pass here in the evening.
If children play here late in the evening, they are often frightened by the Old Hag of Hell.
. Datsueba 奪衣婆 / 脱衣婆 the Old Hag of Hell .
......................................................................................... Yamagata 山形県
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鶴岡市 Tsuruoka city
. kitsune densetsu 狐と伝説 fox legends .
A few years ago, there was a man who had retired from his work as woodcutter. Just before the Newy Year he went to buy some fish, but went missing on the way. When others went searching for him, they found him in his black coat under a tree, frozen to death.
People said he was tricked by a fox from the near mountain.
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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -
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The winter of 2020/2021 has brought extremely heavy snow and blizzards to most parts of Japan.
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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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