Teru teru bōzu
Teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主; "shiny-shiny Buddhist priest"[1]) is a little traditional hand-made doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This amulet is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day. "Teru" is a Japanese verb which describes sunshine, and a "bōzu" is a Buddhist monk (compare the word bonze), or in modern slang, "bald-headed."
Teru teru bōzu became popular during the Edo period among urban dwellers[2], whose children would make them the day before the good weather was desired and chant "Fine-weather priest, please let the weather be good tomorrow."[2]
Today, children make teru-teru-bōzu out of tissue paper or cotton and string and hang them from a window to wish for sunny weather, often before a school picnic day. Hanging it upside down - with its head pointing downside - acts like a prayer for rain. They are still a very common sight in Japan, although there is no scientific evidence that they work.
There is a famous warabe uta, or Japanese nursery rhyme, associated with teru teru bozu:
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Like many nursery rhymes, this song is rumored to have a darker history than it first appears. It allegedly originated from a story of a monk who promised farmers to stop rain and bring clear weather during a prolonged period of rain which was ruining crops. When the monk failed to bring sunshine, he was executed. Many Japanese folk historians, however, believe this story and others regarding the origins of teruterubozu may have been fabricated long after the tradition had become widespread, most likely in an attempt to refine the image of the doll. It is more likely that the "bōzu" in the name refers not to a Buddhist figure, but to the round, bald head of the doll, and "teru teru" is the effect of the bright sunlight reflecting off of it. In Japanese culture, this image is a particularly laughable item of low comedy.
Teru teru bozu in fiction
- In the ending theme of the anime Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu Final the main character sings a teru teru bozu rhyme.
- The design of the kaiju Nova from the television series Ultraman Leo (and later revived in Ultraman Mebius) is based on the teru teru bozu.
- In the manga Fairy Tail the character Jubia, a water mage, makes a Teru teru bozu to try to stop the rain the she caused.
- In the manga 20th Century Boys, a couple of kids going through a "test of courage" encounter a giant teru teru bozu on a stairwell.
- In the movie Ima Ai Ni Yukimasu, the teru teru bozu was used by Yuji to prolong the rainy season in hope of spending more time with his mother.
- In the video game "Tokyo Extreme Racer: Drift 2" ; teru teru bozu dolls can be bought and equipped to change the weather for the next track day.
- In the third volume of Vampire Doll the chapter "Singing in the rain" is all about teru-teru bozu dolls
- In the video game series Pokémon, the Pokémon Shuppet is based on the Teru teru bozu.
- In the fifth episode of Minami-ke, Kana employs Chiaki as a living Teru teru bozu.
- In the fifth episode of Mokke, Teru teru bozu are made to pray for a sunny Sunday.
- In the anime, Samurai 7, Heihachi has a teru teru bozu hanging on the hilt of his sword.
References
- ^ "Literally means "shiny-shiny Buddhist priest". It may also translate to "shiny shiny bald head," the word "bōzu" having long ago become a reference to the shaven heads of Buddhist monks. They are paper dolls made by school children before going on school excursions as a charm for fine weather." [1]
- ^ a b "Weather Watching and Emperorship", by Noboru Miyata. In Current Anthropology, Vol. 28, No. 4, Supplement: An Anthropological Profile of Japan. (Aug. - Oct., 1987), pp. S13-S18. Provided by JSTOR.