12/10/2017

tanokami inoko legends

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. Ta no Kami 田の神 - Table of Contents .
. Yama no Kami 山の神 - Table of Contents - .
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Ta no Kami, Tanokami 田の神 God of the Rice Fields
and inoko 亥の子 / イノコ / 亥子 the "young wild boar"


Tanokami is also called inokami, i no kami 亥の神 God of the Boar

. inoko, i no ko 亥の子 (いのこ) young wild boar .
observance kigo for early winter - and Marishi-Ten

The day of the boar in the tenth lunar month. In 2017, it is the 8th of November.
This month is also called inotsuki 亥の月 month of the boar.
Rituals on this day are more common in Western Japan.



inoko, i no ko 亥の子 (いのこ) young wild boar
i no hi matsuri 亥の日祭(いのひまつり)festival on the day of the boar
i no kami matsuri 亥の神祭 festival for the deity of the wild boar

inoko mochi 亥の子餅(いのこもち)rice cakes for the wild boar festival
They were prepared in the hour of the boar and eaten as a harvest thanksgiving. This a custom coming from China. Here the deity honored is also seen as the God of the Fields (ta no kami).
Many tea masters close the summer hearth on this day.

inoko ishi 亥の子石(いのこいし)Inoko stone
inokozuki 亥の子突(いのこづき)hit the ground
gencho 玄猪(げんちょ) / gogenjoo 御厳重(ごげんじゅう)
..... genshoo 厳祥(げんしょう)
onarikiri おなりきり

Inoko is a festival on 旧暦10月の亥の日 the day of the wild boar in the tenth lunar month.
On this day 田の神 the Ta no Kami - God of the Fields goes back to the mountains.
While pounding the earth with a special mallet on long strings, the children sing the Inoko song:

祝わんものは鬼うめ蛇うめ、角の生えた子うめ



Today we celebrate, bury the Oni demons in the ground,
bury the snakes in the ground,
bury demon children with horns in the ground."


On this day people are also not allowed to go to the fields to pick daikon 大根 large radish.

. oni 鬼 the Demons of Japan .




Interpreting Japanese Society: Anthropological Approaches - edited by Joy Hendry
- books.google.co : inoko -

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inoko mochi, i no ko mochi 亥の子餅 rice cakes for the boar festival



They were prepared in the hour of the boar and eaten as a harvest thanksgiving. This a custom coming from China.
They were thought to prevent illness, especially the common cold in winter and would bring many children to the family.
Here the deity honored is also seen as the God of the Fields (ta no kami).

Festival of the Goddess 摩利支天 Marishi Ten and her animal, the Wild Boar.



. kaze no kami 風邪の神 Deity of the common cold - Legends .

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inoko ishi 亥の子石 Inoko stone

at 峠条 Taojo, Hiroshima



The stone looks almost like a matsutake 松茸 mushroom. Its head has a diameter of 20 cm and the length is 40 cm.
It is 11,5 kg heavy. It is decorated with colorful paper ornaments and a lot of ropes.
While singing the inoko uta 亥の子唄 Inoko song,
it is carried to all the homes and hit on the floor of the entrance.
This purifying ritual is also called (as a pun)
inoko mochi o tsuku 亥の子餅をつく preparing Inoko mochi.

In 船越 Funakoshi this ritual was called
kenka inoko ケンカ亥の子 fighting of the Inoko

inoko uta 亥の子唄 Inoko song - with many versions - and further information
- reference source : 13.plala.or.jp/discover-fnks...-



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inoko iwai 亥の子祝い celebrating Inoko



- reference source : K.やまだ in SAGA  -

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. toshitokujin 歳德神 Toshitoku Jin, God of the Year .
Another name for Tanokami.
Toshitoku san トシトクさん in Hiroshima (see below)

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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

Some legends are related to taboos concerning the daikon 大根 radish.
The common theme is:
People should not cut radish on the day of Inoko, because if someone hears the sound of cutting, he will die.
Farmers are also not allowed to go into 大根畑 the radish fields to pull radishes.

. daikon 大根 radish legends .

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hebi 蛇 snakes and oni 鬼 demons
On the evening of the Inoko day, young men walk around the village to homes where a baby boy was born this year.
If the family does not give them some money, they shout:

亥の子の晩に祝わん者は鬼産め蛇産め
Families who do not celebrate the Inoko evening
will have a Demon child, will have a Snake child !




....................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県 .....

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今治市 Imabara 玉川町 Tamagawa

The Kotatsu heater is first used on the day of Inoko.
If people celebrate Inoko, they will be blessed for one year.
If people eat eggplants on this day, 風邪の神様 the Deity of common cold disease will come to stay in the house.



. kotatsu コタツ 炬燵 こたつ, おこた heatable table .

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北宇和郡 Kitauwa district

愛媛県北宇和郡日吉村下鍵山 - ほんとは幟もある
- reference source photos : lupus.is.kochi-u.ac.jp/shiota... -

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松山市 Matsuyama

hi no tama 火の玉 ball of fire
On the evening of the day of Inoko, children were walking around when someone called out to be careful of a ball of fire. It was almost blue and had a tail, passing slowly over the roofs of the village.

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南宇和郡 Minamuuwa district 愛南町 Ainan

yamainu, yama-inu 山犬 wolf
The wolves from the hamlet 油袋 Yutai.
If children bring Mochi after a birth and on the Inoko day, the wolves walk between their legs or jump over their heads as a blessing.
In 三瓶町 Mikame the wolves also just follow the children.

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越智郡 Ochi district 魚島村 Uoshima

nobori 幟 flag on a pole
On the day of Inoko fermers pray to the deities to prevent bad luck and offer them seeds of mugi 麦 barley.
If they do not do this, all their barley seeds will be lost, they will get ill and even die.

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温泉郡 Onsen district

On the day of Inoko, children walk past the homes and sing the Inoko song about snakes and demons.
- 亥の子亥の子、亥の子の晩に餅搗いて祝わぬ者は、鬼うめ蛇うめ、角の生えた子うめ -




....................................................................... Hiroshima 広島県 .....

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因島市 Innoshima

Toshitoku san トシトクさん Deity of the Year
He comes on the day of Inoko, therefore people leave the door open and also the kotatsu コタツ heated table for him to come and sit in the home.

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庄原市 Shobara 東城町 Tojo

daikon 大根 radish taboos




....................................................................... Kochi 高知県 .....

On the day of Inoko, people are not allowed to eat gokoku 五穀 the five grains:
soy, wheat, barley, proso millet, and foxtail millet.




....................................................................... Nara 奈良県 .....
大柳生町 Oyagyucho

kitsune キツネ fox
Before the war on the day of Inoko there was an exhibition of the village harvest of the year.
But the foxes built a long procession with lanterns and stole all the food.




....................................................................... Niigata 新潟県 .....
南魚沼郡 Minami-Uonuma district 六日町 Muika machi

留守居の神 rusui no kami,恵比寿様 Ebisu sama,便所の神 benjo no kami
On the day of Inoko people prepare Inoko dango 亥の子ダンゴ round rice dumplings.



When most of the Kami left for Izumo, only Ebisu and the Benjo no Kami of the Toilet stayed back in the homes. They were the rusui no kami, Gods keeping back home. For them, the round rice dumplings were an offering. Also called
inokori dango 居残りダンゴ round rice dumplings for those left behind.


. kannazuki, kaminazuki 神無月 かんなづき "Gods are absent" month .
The tenth lunar month (now November), after the harvest when the Japanese gods had done their duty, they left their local shrines for a bit of a vacation and went to the Izumo Shrine.




....................................................................... Okayama 岡山県 .....

On 亥の日 the day of the wild boar day in Northern Okayama, the weather usually turns bad with cold and rain.
This is called - inoko are 亥の子荒れ.

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勝田町 Katsuta

亥の子 inoko,産の神 san no kami,若年様 wakadoshisama,年神様 toshigamisama
The nando 納戸 storeroom of a house is often used as a bedroom for the young couple and a place to give birth. In the hamlet of 富坂 Tomisaka it is customary to have a shelf in a corner of this room and put offerings for Inoko there.
On another shelf san no kami 産の神 the Deity of Birth is celebrated.
In such a home, the deity of the new year is also celebrated as 若年様 wakadoshisama or 年神様 toshigamisama.

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真庭郡 Maniwa district 久世町 Kuse

oni オニ demons
On 亥の子の日 the day of Inoko, the farmers walk around the fields calling
イノコノヨウサ、イワワンモンハ、オニヲウメ、ジャヲウメ、ツノハエタコヲウメ
(The same song as given above.)
On the evening of this day people do not go to the radish fields . If someone hears the sound of a radish cut, he will die soon.

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新見市 Niimi city 哲西町 Tesseicho

daikon 大根 radish taboos

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総社市 Soja town

oni 鬼 demons
On the day of Inoko, when Tanokami goes back to become Yama no Kami, people sing the Inoko song
祝わんものは鬼うめ蛇うめ、角の生えた子うめ
(The same song as given above.)
and
daikon 大根 radish taboos



....................................................................... Saga 佐賀県 .....
唐津 Karatsu

- quote -
Inoko Matsuri (young boar festival)
handed down to the Kitahata-Kamihirano region of Karatsu City is held on the day of the Boar of the lunar calendar. By around the end of the Meiji era, the Inoko-ishi (stone) was pounded around in each region but this tradition gradually faded and presently, in the Kamihirano region only, the event is handed down. At the time of the first Inoko, the people were glad at the birth of a boy while at the time of the second Inoko, the birth of a girl was welcomed. Children holding the inoko-ishi stone visit each home of the region, sing a festive song, and pound the stone.



Inoko Tsunahiki (tugs-of-war of young boars)
handed down in Uwaba, Chinzei-machi, Karatsu City was originally performed in order to boost the morale of the people of the region on the October day of the boar, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispatched troops to Korea, and the event has since been performed to date in order to celebrate the harvest. Sixty to ninety pieces of agricultural rope are twisted together to make two ropes 60 cm in diameter and 60 meters long, which are bound together at the center to form a rope with a total extended length of about 100 meters. After holding divine service, the people are divided into upper and lower groups and engage in a tug of war. Presently, three tugs of war are held at the signal of fireworks.
(Event-holding date: Second Saturday of November)
- source : bunkashisan.ne.jp/search -




....................................................................... Shimane 島根県 .....
大田市 Oda city 安濃郡 Ano district 富山村 Tomiyama mura

daikon 大根 radish taboos

The Kotatsu heater is first used. This will protect the home from fire and disaster.






....................................................................... Tokyo 東京都 .....
多摩村 Tama

daikon 大根 radish taboos

botamochi ボタモチ rice cakes



Botamochi are given to エビス様 Ebisu.

On the day of Inoko, a frog puts some Botamochi in a box and carries them on his back to the Daikon fields. The Daikon are already waiting and stick out their heads, calling
moo inoko ka もう亥の子か "Is is already Inoko time?"
(a pun with moo ii kai? in a children's game).


. botamochi ぼた餅 / 牡丹餅 "peony cakes .
round rice cakes covered with sweet anko powder.




....................................................................... Tottori 鳥取県 .....
東伯郡 Tohaku district 琴浦町 Kotoura

inoko san 亥の子さん,Tanokami san 田の神さん
Inoko san is another name for Tanokami. In February on 亥の日 the day of the boar it comes down from 神棚 the Shelf of the Gods in the home and goes out to the fields.
On the day of the boar in the 10th lunar month, people offer fresh 餅 mochi rice cakes on the Shelf to welcome it back. The mortar for making Mochi must be washed clean and kept outside until the morning so that the "Young Wild Boar" can touch it and make sure it is his own home.


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- reference source : nichibun yokai database -

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inoko matsuri 亥の子まつり Inoko festival
The story about a boar who died through a ruse of the landlord
Once upon a time in a village in 天草 Amakusa
There lived a mean landlord and his mean daughter. The landlord used to lend money to people. On his land there was a huge boulder, which he could not move away by himself.
So he spread the word he would give his daughter as wife to anyone who would move the boulder.
But, well, the daughter of the mean landlord, nobody wanted her.
There came only one boar willing to do the job. The angry landlord spread another message "I give my daughter all all my riches to the one who moves the boulder!"
Now a few men came, but
not even the strongest man could move the boulder and in the end it was the boar who moved the boulder.
The landlord had to keep his word and let the daughter go as bride with the wild boar.
The happy boar put the bride on his back and gallopped back to his mountain. But as he was running, the mean daughter took a fire stone and straw, lit a fire and burned the back of the animal. Jumping in pain the boar fell from a cliff and died on the spot.
This episode made the rounds in the village and all felt sorry for the boar.
So they decided to have a festival for it on the Day of the Boar in October.

Nihon Mukashibanashi from the Oniike area, Amakusa Kumamoto 鬼池エリア
- reference source : nihon.syoukoukai.com/module -


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. 12 Zociac animals 干支 eto, kanshi .
signs of the zodiac in Chinese astrology
. i (inoshishi) 亥 Boar (wild boar) .


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. Ta no Kami 田の神 - Table of Contents - .

. Yama no Kami 山の神 - Table of Contents - .

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sangaku shinkoo 山岳信仰 religion of the High Mountains is a different matter.

. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja 神社) - Introduction .

. kami 神 Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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