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Danzaburou-danuki

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Danzaburou-danuki (upper left) lends money to human merchants in the painting The Three Tanuki of Sado by Kawanabe Kyōsai; from the book 100 Images by Kyōsai.[1]。

Danzaburou-danuki (団三郎狸, Danzaburō-danuki) was a bake-danuki passed down in stories in Aikawa town, Sado, Niigata (now Sado city). In Sado, tanuki were called "mujina (狢)," so he was also called Danzaburou-mujina (団三郎狢).[2] In the Ukiyo-e, its name was written as 同三狸."[3][4] Matching up to the Shibaemon-tanuki of Awaji island, and the Yashima no Hage-tanuki of Kagawa, they together form the "three famous tanuki of Japan.[5]

Outline

Danzaburou was the supreme commander of the tanuki in Sado.[6] He created wall-like things at times and places where people go on journeys at night,[7] fooled people with mirages,[8] and sold leaves from trees by making them look like gold.[7][8] He put mirages in his own home, a hole in the ground or cellar, making it look like a splendid estate, and invited people over.[6] When he become sick, he disguised himself as a human, and went to human doctors.[7][9]

He did not merely do bad things, but have also lent money to people who fell into trouble. It has been said that this money was earned by fooling people and making them work in mines, or otherwise stolen.[6] Also, Danzaburou live in the town of Orito, Aikawa, and one leaves them an IOU with the sum of money, date it is to be returned, and one's own name, and affix a seal and leave it there, the IOU would disappear the next day, and money would be left there in its place.[3][10]

Afterwards, Danzaburou was deified in Aikawa town as Futatuiwa Daimyoujin (二つ岩大明神), into which people heartily put their faith.[11]

Legend

  • It has been said that the reason why there are no kitsune (foxes) in Sado is because Danzaburou drove them out, and there are the following two legends:
    • While Danzaburou was on a journey, he met a kitsune and was requested to "bring me to Sado." Danzaburou replied, "I'll bring you there, but it'll be difficult if you look like that. Please shapeshift into my zōri." The kitsune thus shapeshifted into a zōri, and wearing that, Danzaburou rode on a boat. Before long, Danzaburou rode on a ship to Sado, and right in the middle of the sea, he took off his zōri and tossed them into the sea. Ever since, kitsune have never considered trying to cross over to Sado again.[7][12]
    • While Danzaburou was on a journey, he met one kitsune. As oppposed to the kitsune who boasted of his techniques, Sado said, "I'm good at disguising myself as the daimyo's procession, so I'll threaten you" and disappeared. Soon after that, the daimyo's procession arrived. The kitune jumped under a basket of a feudal lord within the procession, and mocked, "you surely disguised yourself well," at the kitsune was seized at once, and put to the sword for the crime of causing a disturbance. The procession was not Danzaburou, but the real thing, and he knew before hand that the procession was about to pass by.[6][7]
  • There are many more where Danzaburou tricked humans, but there is also a legend that he lost to a human in a contest of wit, so he no longer tried tricking humans.
    • Danzaburou found a young peasant, and to trick him, he disguised himself as a young woman, and pretended to be in a poor state of health. The young peasant called out, and Danzaburou replied "I can't move because of my stomachache." The peasant thus took responsibility for sending the woman, but he somehow had a hunch that it was Danzaburou, and tied the woman up with rope. The peasant answered to the startled Danzaburou, "it's so you won't slide off." Danzaburou, feeling a sense of danger, desperately pleaded, "let me off." The peasant asked "even though you're in bad health, why do you want to get off?" and did not let Danzaburou off, and Danzaburou replied "... I wanna go pea," but the peasant laughed, "if a beautiful girl like you will pee, I wanna see it. Do it on my back," and did not let Danzaburou off at all. Before long, they arrived at what was the peasant's house. Danzaburou said, "isn't this my home?" and the peasant said, "Danzaburou, I know who you actually are!" and harshly chastised the earnestly apologizing Danzaburou. Ever since, Danzaburou did not try fooling humans again.[12]

True identity

Danzaburou was a human merchant's name in Echigo, and in Meireki 3 (1657), there were on sale for-breeding small tanuki that were used in the Sado gold mines for taking skins for the sides of bellows, and afterwards Danzaburou, who started taking care of the tanuki in Sado, was sidely respected by the islands, and there is a theory that the tanuki itself was worshiped like an ujigami.[13]

References

  1. ^ 暁斎妖怪百景. pp. 46頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  2. ^ 村上健司編著 (2000). 妖怪事典. 毎日新聞社. pp. 216頁. ISBN 978-4-620-31428-0. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b 暁斎妖怪百景. pp. 129頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  4. ^ "狸の戯". 本銀行金融研究所貨幣博物館. 日本銀行金融研究所. 2004-09. Retrieved 2011年1月9日. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); External link in |work= (help)
  5. ^ 宮沢光顕 (1978). 狸の話. 有峰書店. pp. 229頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b c d 幻想世界の住人たち. pp. 241–243頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e 変態伝説史. pp. 63–70頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b 日本伝説叢書. pp. 175–180頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  9. ^ 根岸鎮衛. "耳嚢". 奇談異聞辞典. pp. 574–575頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  10. ^ 滝沢觧. "燕石雑志". 奇談異聞辞典. pp. 573–574頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  11. ^ "二つ岩大明神 ～相川～". やまきスタッフが発見した裏佐渡スポット紹介!! 裏サド. 相川やまき. 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2011年1月10日. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |publisher= and |work= (help)
  12. ^ a b 日本の伝説. pp. 162–168頁. {{cite book}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)
  13. ^ 田村博 (1981). "信楽狸の発生と流行6 -甲賀郡信楽町-". 民俗文化 (通巻215号). 滋賀民俗学会: 2140頁. {{cite journal}}: Text "和書" ignored (help)

Further reading

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