rokubu pilgrims 05 Oita

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. rokujuurokubu 六十六部 Rokujurokubu, Rokubu Pilgrims .
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rokubu 六部 Rokubu pilgrims 05 - Oita to Yamanashi

This is a pilgrimage to many places of Japan, and many legends are connected to the pilgrims.

六部(ろくぶ) Rokubu pilgrimage, Rokubu pilgrim / / 六十六部衆
Pilgrim traveling with 66 volumes of the Lotus Sutra
sixty-six part circuit pilgrimage

Rokujurokubu Hijiri - kaikoku hijiri 廻国聖 - itinerant Rokubu Pilgrim
六十六部行者 rokujuurokubu gyooja / 六部行者 / rokubu gyoja
六十六部廻国巡礼 rokujurokubu kaikoku junrei

A pilgrim copies the 法華経 Hokekyo Lotus Sutra 66 times and brings a copy each to 66 temples
in 66カ国 66 different domains of Japan.




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. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .



................................................................................. Oita 大分県　
国東町 Kunisaki

Once a Rokubu camped over night at a graveyard, because he could not find a house to stay.
The whole night he could hear the voices of the dead, telling their stories to each other.





................................................................................. Okayama 岡山県　
上房郡 Jobo district 北房町 Hokubo

tsurugi misaki ツルギミサキ sword misaki
. Misaki ミサキ / 御先 / 御前 / 御崎 The Misaki Deity of Okayama .





................................................................................. Osaka 大阪府　

Once a Rokubu entered a home and asked to stay over night.
Next morning nobody saw him getting out of the home . . . he had simply disappeared, it seems.
After that the family became very rich, but soon after all family members died.





................................................................................. Shiga 滋賀県　

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伊香郡 Ika district 余呉町 Yogo cho

ookami 狼 wolf，太郎が母 the Mother of Taro
Once a Rokubu camped over night under 柳ヶ瀬の三昧の松 the pine tree of Yanagase. When a pack of wolves came nearer, he climbed the tree. The wolves stood on each other, forming a ladder to get up to him, but could not reach him. Then he heard a voice calling
「太郎が母を呼んで来い」 "Call the mother of Taro!"
and a huge wolf came along.
The Rokubu threw is shuriken 手裏剣 throwing weapon at her and soon all run away.
When he came to the village the next morning, he saw an old woman with a wound on her head. She breathed her last, saying:
「シュンショウ寺に妹のショウリが母がいるから、こんなことはするな、太郎が母は死んだと伝えてくれ」
(Tell my younger sister at the temple Shunsho-Ji that the Mother of Taro has died.)

All the children and grandchildren of this old woman had been wolves, turned human.
- Another version tells
The wolves called on an old cat called 太郎婆 Taro-Ba to climb the tree and get the Rokubu. But he defended himself with a short sword.
He later found that the wolves had killed the old cat by boiling her in a metal bath tub. They feared her curse and built a shrine, the - Ookami jinja 狼神社 Okami Jinja wolf shrine.

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大津市 Otsu city 上田上芝原町 Kamitan Kamishibahara cho

狸 Tanuki, the badger
At the temple 法蔵禅寺 Hozozen-Ji there came a Rokubu pilgrim and asked the priest to take him in over night.
The priest told him to better go to a different place, because his temple was haunted, but the Rokubu said he could endure anything and stayed.
At night when the Rokubu was in bed, at ushi no koku 丑の刻, the spooky hour, he saw a monster peeking down from the ceiling, glaring at him,
The Rokubu called on the monster: "You must be a Tanuki. Come down and lets have a fight!"
When the Tanuki came down and asked what kind of fight, the Rokubu said:
「オノレワ、テンクラテンジャを交代で言い合いをする」
Let us repeat the sentence "Onore wa, Tenkuraten ja" until one gives up.
After a while the Tanuki could not say it any more and fled into the forest behind the temple.

. tanuki 狸 - mujina 狢　－ racoon dog, badger legends .






................................................................................. Shimane 島根県　
邑智郡 Ochi district

Once a Rokubu stayed at a remote mountain temple where four monsters were said to roam.
He sat all night before the alter, reciting the sutras. Suddenly he heard a loud noise as if the ceiling was falling down.
A rooster slipped in from the ceiling,
saying he was 西竹林の鶏三足 the rooster with three legs from the Saichikurin, the bamboo grove in the West.
Next came a monster saying he was 南池の鯉魚 the carp fish from Nanchi, the pond in the South..
Next came a monster saying he was 北山の白狐 the white fox from Hokuzan, the mountain in the North.
They asked if ティティコブシ Teitei kobushi was here.
The brave Rokubu scared them all with his sutra reading and they left.

Teitei Kobushi 椿々小法師 - was the name of a cursed camellia tree. (小法師 here spelled like "a young priest".)
kobushi コブシ（辛夷) Magnolia kobus
Other versions talk about a one-eyed rooster at Shichikurin, or a rooster with one leg 西竹林の一足の鶏.

- - - - -Another version about Teitei Kobushi
古寺に住みついた四人の化け物の正体を暴いた坊さんの話
Story about four monsters who lived in an old temple and a brave monk who spooked them!
愛知県一宮市東加賀野井(ひがしかがのい)がまだ美濃国加賀野井郷(かがのいごう)だった頃。
- reference source : manga nihon mukashibanashi -

- - - - - The story of a haunted monster temple in other parts of Japan -
化物寺 東西南北の妖怪 - Monsters of the four directions in a haunted temple





................................................................................. Shizuoka 静岡県　

furudanuki 古狸 the old Tanuki badger
Once upon a time, every year at the annual festival a girl had to be offered in a white chest as
ikenie 生贄 a human sacrifice.
Once an itinerant Rokubu thought this was the doing of a Yokai monster. So he put a dog into the chest instead of a girl.
And indeed, 古狸 an old Tanuki badger, who came to get the offering, was bitten by the dog and died.

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庵原郡 Ihara district 両河内村 Ryogochimura

ryuu no tama 龍の玉 dragon ball
There was a family in posession of a dragon ball. An itinerant Rokubu had left it there as a thank-you present.
If they rub it, eye disease will be healed.

Once the ball was investigated by 大阪の博物館 the Osaka Museum. They found it was one of the two special dragon balls in Japan, the 女玉 Female Ball.
"If someone finds 男玉 the Male Ball, we will buy it immediately!"

. ryuu, ryū 龍　竜　伝説　Ryu - dragon legends .

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Shizuoka 引佐郡 Inasa district

At the Tenjin shrine of 遠州見付 Enshu Mitsuke it was customary to give a human sacrifice once a year.
The story about the dog is told here:
. the brave dog しっぺい太郎 Shippeitaro (or Hayataro) .
At 観音山 mount Kannon-Yama (578 m) a Rokubu got mixed in the story and died. He is now venerated as 犬神様 Inugami-sama.

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賀茂郡 Kamo district 南伊豆町 Minami-Izu town

Mida-gutsu 弥陀窟 Mida cave，Mida zoo 弥陀像 / 彌陀像 Statue of Amida


- Teishi, Minamiizu, Kamo District, Shizuoka

- - - - - There is an old legend about this cave:



Around 1640, there was an old fisherman named 七兵衛 Shichibei, who lived in a village called 手石 Teishi. His wife had died and he was all alone with three children. His youngest son, 三平 Sanpei, was very ill, so the father went to a nearby Kannon temple every day to pray for his health.
One night Shichibei had a dream: Kannon Sama appeared and told him he should get the awabi 鮑 abalone from the bottom of the cave and give them to Sanpei to eat.
So he took his small boat to the cave when he saw three golden Buddha statues in the back, glittering all golden! In awe, he closed his eyes and fell on his knees in prayer. When he opened his eyes again, the bottom of his boat was full of abalones.
He gave them to his son and the boy was soon healed.
This story became quite famous all over Japan.

. awabi densetsu あわび　アワビ　鰒　鮑伝説　abalone legends .

In the year 1857, an itinerant Rokubu reached the Midagutsu 弥陀窟 rock cave on the beach. Inside he saw something golden glimmering. He became greedy and wanted to get it, so he went inside. But the tide came and he almost drowned.
Others ventured into the cave and saw a golden statue of Amida, others ventured inside and saw nothing.


source : mfa.org/collections/object...
Amida Buddha Cave at Teishi Village in Izu Province
伊豆手石の弥陀 (Izu Teishi no Mida)
Aoigaoka Hokkei 葵岡北渓画





................................................................................. Tochigi 栃木県　
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鹿沼市 Kanuma

Amida sama 阿弥陀様 Amida Nyorai
Once there was a hall for Amida Nyorai, now the place is called doo ato ドウアト "place where the hall was".
A statue of Amida was venerated here, but then came a Rokubu pilgrim and wanted to steal the statue. He took it from its place, but the Kannon statue next to it begun to cry:
大久保恋しい "I love my Okubo! I long for it!"
So the Rokubu put the statue back in its place.

. Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来 Amitaabha Buddha .

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Tochigi 鹿沼市 Kanuma 粟野町 Awano

. sakasadake サカサ竹 / 逆さ竹 upside-down bamboo .
A family had killed a Rokubu to get his money. His 杖 walking staff stuck in the ground and begun to grow upside-down.







................................................................................. Tokushima 徳島県　

. ムソロクブ muso rokubu no tatari 六十六部の祟り curse of the Rokubu .
and 黄金の鶏 the golden rooster

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Tokushima 那賀郡 Naka district

kubikire uma 首切れ馬 horse with the head cut off


- also kubi-nashi-uma
This Headless Horse Yokai is well known in many parts of Japan.

The entrance to a new mountain road looked just like the wound on the neck of a horse with the head cut off.
Sometimes at night people see a horse without a head, and a Rokubu riding it.
This is a curse of a Rokubu, who had his horse killed here.

. uma 馬 koma 駒伝説　horse legends .

首切れ馬 - - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !






................................................................................. Tokyo 東京都　
西多摩郡 Nishi-Tama district

tatariyama 崇り山 the cursed mountain
Mount ミタマ山 Mitamayama is also called Ihaiyama 位牌山 because of its form looking like
a Buddhist mortuary tablet, ihai 位牌.



People try to avoid it. In the mountain is a swamp called Jigaisawa 自害沢 "Swamp where someone killed himself".
Some say it was a Rokubu and the mountain is now cursed.
Others say it was a retainer of Yamato Takeru no Mikoto.
. Legendary Prince Yamato Takeru 日本武尊 .

. Tobayama 塔婆山 "Mountain with grave markers" .







................................................................................. Toyama 富山県　

観音様 Kannon Bosatsu
A Rokubu staying at a village temple woke up at night, because he heard to sound of a horse bell.
This sound came from the statue of Kannon, who had just came back.
The statue let him know:
She had been to a home where a child had been born this night. But in the spring of its 14th year the child would die from the wound of 刃物 a blade.
When the Rokubu came back after 14 years, he was told that the child had indeed died.





................................................................................. Yamagata 山形県　
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Yamagata 東田川郡 Higashi-Tagawa district

daija 大蛇 huge serpent
Once upon a time there lived a senkan chooja 千貫長者 Senkan Choja rich millionaire at river 狩川 Karigawa.
One evening a stately young man came along and fell in love with his daughter. The daughter became pregnant, but as the time passed did not feel like giving birth. Nothing would help.
One day a Rokubu came to the house. "If the son-in-law can climb up to the nest of a tonbi 鳶 black kite and get some eggs for the girl to eat, she will be saved."
So the young man took on his real features of a snake, climbed up a tree and tried to get some eggs from the nest.
But there he was caught by the black kite and the bird swallowed the snake.
The Rokubu told the family:
"I have once been a frog and the young man was the serpent which wanted to eat me, when the master of this house saved me."
The daughter could finally give birth to many serpents and then died. The Rokubu disappeared on the spot.

- Senkan Choja: Shonai no Mukashibanashi. by Seino Hisao
- source : Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia -

A similiar story is told in Hyogo about the young man / serpent being eaten by
. sagi 鷺 a heron .

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Yamagata 南置賜郡 Minami-Okitama district 中津川村 Nakatsugawa

. Revenge - A family turned Roku Jizo 六地蔵 .

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鶴岡市 Tsuruoka 大山町 Oyama

狸 Tanuki, the badger
Once upon a time in this village, every year at the annual Shrine festival the daughter of a rich man had to be offered as
ikinie 生贄 a human sacrifice.
Then one day came a Rokubu and visited the local shrine. He saw a huge O-Nyudo Yokai mumbling to himself:
"There is 丹波の国の和犬 a special dog in Tanba who must never be told about this."
Then the Nyudo ate the human offering.
The Rokubu went to Tanba to get the dog, brought him here and had him fight with the O-Nyudo Monster. The dog bite the monster, but then he died in the fight.
Following the bloodstains to Rokubu came to a cave where he found an old Tanuki, half dead lying on the ground.

. Oonyuudoo 大入道 O-Nyudo Yokai Monster .

. hitobashira 人柱 "human pillar" - human sacrifice .
ikenie





................................................................................. Yamanashi 山梨県　

hachi 蜂 bees
Two farmers, 茂衛門 Moemon and 八右衛門 Hachiemon, decided to become Rokubu and left the village.
When Moemon took a nap one afternoon, some bees came out of his nose. This was his dream when the bees showed him where a treasure of five large pots was buried.
Hachiemon became envy, then he had a dream, followed the bees and found a treasure of two large pots too.
They both became very rich after that.

- - - - -

孫六という沢 a swamp called Magoroku
This swamp got its name because once a Rokubu with his grandchild (mago) stumbled in this swamp and both died.

- - - - -

benjo 便所 Rokubu on the toilet
Once a Rokubu came to a very poor family and asked them to let him use their outhouse.
The Rokubu learned that the grandmother of this home had stolen a statue of 弁天様 Benten, which had been at the entrance of the outhouse.
The Rokubu got angry and cursed the eldest son, saying he would not live long.
Indeed, the young man became rich for a short time and then died.

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Yamanashi 南都留郡 Minami-Tsuru district 山中湖村 Yamanakako village

. Yamanokami 山の神 Mountain God and the Rokubu .

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Yamanashi 西八代郡 Nishi-Yatsushiro district 下部町 Shimobe

Rokubu no boorei 六部の亡霊 the ghost of a Rokubu
It was at the time when 伊藤家の宗家 the main Ito family was quite affluent.
A Rokubu came to the house, borrowed some fire for his pipe and then left without further ado.
The head of the family thought this was a sinister omen, fired an arrow at the Rokubu and killed him. His body was buried like a muen-botoke 無縁仏 grave of an unknown pilgrim.
But now the home of the Ito family became haunted by the ghost of the Rokubu and all the 14 sub-families where haunted too by the wandering ghost.


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -


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. Join the Rokubu Pilgrims on Facebook ! .



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. rokujuurokubu 六十六部 Rokujurokubu, Rokujuroku Bu pilgrim .
- Rokubu Pilgrims - Introduction -

. Japan - Shrines and Temples - Index .

. Onipedia 日本の鬼 The Demons of Japan .


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