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Amefurikozō

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"Amefurikozō" from the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Sekien Toriyama
The amefurikozō that appeared in "Gozonji no Bakemono" illustrated by Utagawa Toyokuni

Amefurikozō (雨あめ降くだ小僧こぞう, 雨降あめふり小僧こぞう) is a type of Japanese yōkai. There is a depiction of this yōkai in Sekien Toriyama's collection of yōkai drawing the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki, and they can also be seen in the kibyōshi among other publications of the same era.

Classics

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In the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki it wears a Japanese umbrella with its central pole missing, and it is depicted possessing a paper lantern. In the explanatory text, it says, "speaking of the rain god Ushi, there is the amefurikozō, who works as its jidō (雨あめのかみを雨あめ師し（ushi）といふ 雨あめふり小僧こぞうといへるものは めしつかはるる侍童じどう（jidō）にや)", stating that they are the jidō (children employed by the nobility) of the Chinese god of rain "Ushi".[1]

Since Ushi (雨あめ師し) is an honorary title of the nobility (大人おとな, "ushi"), and since jidō (侍童じどう) can be understood as jidō (児童じどう) meaning "children", there is the interpretation that it is a yōkai depicted using a play on words "a child employed by an adult".[1]

In the kibyōshi of the Edo period, just like the popular kibyōshi character tōfu-kozō, they appear as yōkai that take on the role of servants.[2] In the kibyōshi "Gozonji no Bakemono (御ご存そん之の化物ばけもの)" by Jihinari Sakuragawa and illustrated by Utagawa Toyokuni published in Kansei 4 (1792), when a man walks on a rainy night, a one-eyed amefurikozō wearing a bamboo kasa would step up possessing something in both its hands. Since they appear on rainy nights, and since they possess something in both hands, there is the interpretation that they can be understood as tōfu-kozō who also appears on rainy nights possessing tōfu.[3]

Modern

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According to yōkai literature published after the Showa and Heisei eras, there are the theories that if you steal the umbrella from him and wear it, one would not be able to take it off,[4] and the theory that they make it shower and delight at seeing people get troubled.[5] According to the explanation at Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, the amefurikozō would be the one with the role of adjusting rain, something that is greatly related to the work and life of all living things.[6]

In Norio Yamada's writing titled "Tōhoku Kaidan no Tabi", in the part titled "Amefurikozō", there is a story where at Sennin Pass in Kamihei District, Iwate Prefecture, a fox (kitsune) requested to an amefurikozō, "I shall be performing a fox's wedding (kitsune no yomeiri), so please make the rain fall," and when the kozō waved a paper lantern that it has making the rain suddenly fall, and during that time the fox's wedding was performed.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 多田ただ克己かつみ (1999). "絵解えとき 画図えず百鬼夜行ひゃっきやこうの妖怪ようかい". In 郡司ぐんじ聡さとし他た編へん (ed.). 季刊きかん 怪かい. カドカワムック. Vol. 第だい伍ご号ごう. 角川書店かどかわしょてん. pp. 300–301頁ぺーじ. ISBN 978-4-04-883575-6.
  2. ^ 飯島いいじま吉晴よしはる (2011). "豆腐とうふ小僧こぞうの周辺しゅうへん 小ちいさ子こ神かみの系譜けいふ". In 郡司ぐんじ聡さとし他た編へん (ed.). 怪かい. カドカワムック. Vol. 0032. 角川書店かどかわしょてん. p. 167頁ぺーじ. ISBN 978-4-04-885094-0.
  3. ^ 延広のぶひろ真治しんじ編へん (2000). 江戸えどの文事ぶんじ. ぺりかん社しゃ. pp. 177–178頁ぺーじ. ISBN 978-4-8315-0937-6.
  4. ^ 少年しょうねん社しゃ・中村なかむら友紀ゆき夫おっと・武田たけだえり子こ編へん (1999). 妖怪ようかいの本ほん 異こと界かいの闇やみに蠢うごめく百鬼夜行ひゃっきやこうの伝説でんせつ. New sight mook. 学習がくしゅう研究けんきゅう社しゃ. p. 108頁ぺーじ. ISBN 978-4-05-602048-9.
  5. ^ 草野くさの巧たくみ・戸部とべ民夫たみお (1994). 日本にっぽん妖怪ようかい博物館はくぶつかん. 新しん紀元きげん社しゃ. p. 155頁ぺーじ. ISBN 978-4-88317-240-5.
  6. ^ "雨降あめふり小僧こぞう（あめふりこぞう）". 境港さかいみなと市し. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  7. ^ 山田野やまだの理り夫おっと (1974). 東北とうほく怪談かいだんの旅たび. 自由じゆう国民こくみん社しゃ. p. 178頁ぺーじ.


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