Aichiあいち

Gozu Tenno (also known as Mutō-no-Kami) is a uniquely Japanese deity whose existence is unconfirmed in foreign lands like India, China, or Korea. Several theories regarding his origin coexist and remain academically unconfirmed: 1) A Buddhist origin theory claiming he is the guardian deity of Jetavana (an ancient Indian monastery where Shakyamuni preached). The name 'Gozu' (ox head) is said to derive from Mount Gośīrṣa in Magadha, India, known for sandalwood, where a guardian named 'Gozu Tenno' was purportedly worshipped. 2) A Korean Peninsula origin theory attributing him to Mount Sudusan, introduced to Japan by ancient Korean immigrants (related to Mount Gozu where Dangun descended in Korean founding myth). 3) A syncretic theory suggesting he is an ancient Japanese immigrant/agricultural deity (the ox being a symbol of farming) reinterpreted through Buddhism and Taoism. Though conclusive evidence is lacking, immigrant influence and his later syncretism with Susanoo-no-Mikoto are the prevailing views from the Middle Ages onward. The core narrative of his worship is the Somin Shōrai legend found in the 'Bingo-no-kuni Fudoki' (compiled in the early 8th century, now surviving only as fragments cited in the 'Shaku Nihongi'). While traveling to the Southern Sea to marry the Dragon King's daughter, Mutō-no-Kami (= Gozu Tenno; 'Mutō' is also theorized to derive from the ancient Indian Maheśvara) sought lodging at the home of the brothers Kotan Shōrai and Somin Shōrai in Bingo Province (modern-day eastern Hiroshima). The wealthy elder brother, Kotan Shōrai, refused him, while the poor younger brother, Somin Shōrai, welcomed him with a humble meal of millet. Years later, Mutō-no-Kami returned with his eight divine children and told Somin Shōrai, 'Wear a woven reed ring (chinowa) around your waist and chant "I am a descendant of Somin Shōrai" to escape the plague,' before departing. The next day, Kotan Shōrai's entire family was wiped out by the plague, while Somin Shōrai's family survived thanks to the chinowa. This is the origin of the 'Amulet of Somin Shōrai's Descendants' (an amulet placed at doorways) and the 'Chinowa-kuguri' (a purification ritual held at the end of June), rituals still performed at Gion shrines, Tenno shrines, and Ise Jingu nationwide. Kyoto's Yasaka Shrine (formerly Gion Shrine / Kanjin-in Gion Shrine / Gion Kanjin-in) is the hub of Gozu Tenno worship. The shrine's history holds multiple theories: 1) Founded in 656 by the Korean envoy Irishi, who enshrined Susanoo from Mount Gozu (most plausible); 2) Enshrined by Ennyo, a monk from the southern capital, in 876; 3) The Imperial Court began praying at Gion during the great plague of 869 (the origin of the Gion Goryo-e). Ranked among the twenty-two elite shrines during the Heian period, the Gion Shrine became the most critical religious center for the Imperial Court, nobility, and Kyoto's citizens. The Gion Festival was established in 869 as a ritual for Gozu Tenno (= Susanoo) to ward off plagues and is one of Japan's three major festivals (alongside the Aomori Nebuta and Awa Odori). When a massive plague swept Kyoto and the nation in 869, the Imperial Court ordered prayers at the Gion Shrine. They created 66 halberds (hoko) representing the 66 provinces of the time to gather the plague gods, then banished them to Shinsen-en (modern-day Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto) — an event known as the 'Gion Goryo-e.' It evolved through the medieval and early modern periods, establishing the Yamahoko float procession, folding screen displays, and Yoiyama eves during the Muromachi period. It is now a month-long summer hallmark of Kyoto and was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, representing the pinnacle of Kyoto's tourism resources. Among other major centers of Gozu Tenno worship, Hiromine Shrine (Hiromineyama, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture; supposedly founded by imperial decree of Emperor Shomu in 733, with alleged involvement by Kibi no Makibi) claims to be the 'Head Shrine of Gozu Tenno,' asserting that Kyoto's Gion Shrine was established as a branch of Hiromine. However, due to lengthy medieval and Edo-period disputes over hierarchy among Kyoto's Gion, Hiromine, Tsushima, and Yasaka, the academic consensus on the 'true head shrine' remains undetermined. Tsushima Shrine (Tsushima City, Aichi) serves as the core of Gozu Tenno worship in the Tokai region, with its Tenno Festival (August) being one of Japan's three major river festivals. The countless shrines nationwide bearing the names 'Tenno', 'Yakumo', 'Gion', 'Susanoo', or 'Hikawa' demonstrate the vast spread of Gozu Tenno worship. With the Shinto-Buddhism Separation Order of the Meiji Restoration (1868) and the abolition of Shugendo (1872), the Buddhist title 'Gozu Tenno' was banned, and all Gozu Tenno, Tenno, Gion, and Kanjin-in shrines were forcibly renamed as shrines dedicated to Susanoo-no-Mikoto. Kyoto's Gion Kanjin-in became 'Yasaka Shrine,' while local shrines were renamed to Yasaka, Susanoo, Hikawa, or Gion shrines. However, commoners retained colloquial names like 'Tenno-san' and 'Gion-san,' and folk customs such as passing through the chinowa, the Somin Shōrai amulets, and the Gion Festival persisted seamlessly. During the modern COVID-19 pandemic (2020-), the Gion Festival and chinowa rituals regained attention, reawakening memories of Gozu Tenno as the deity of plague dispellment. In folklore and religious history, he is positioned as 'the greatest victim of the Shinto-Buddhism separation.'

The principal deity of Inari, Ukanomitama-no-Kami (also known as Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto), is a goddess of grain and food appearing in the first volume of the "Kojiki" (712). The name combines "Uka" (ancient word for food) and "Mitama" (spirit), preserving its simple folk origin as the "personification of spiritual power dwelling in grains." The head shrine, Fushimi Inari Taisha (Mount Inari, Kii County, Yamashiro Province; present-day Fushimi Ward, Kyoto), originated on the first Day of the Horse in February 711. It was founded when Hata-no-Irogu, head of the Hata clan (an immigrant clan who pioneered the Kyoto basin and Fushimi area), shot an arrow at a target made of mochi (rice cake). In a miraculous event, the mochi transformed into a white swan, flew away, and sprouted rice plants where it landed on the mountain peak, prompting the enshrinement of three deities (according to a lost text of the "Yamashiro no Kuni Fudoki"). The three deities were Ukanomitama-no-Okami (the main deity), Satahikoo-no-Okami, and Omiyanome-no-Okami; later, Tanaka-no-Okami and Shi-no-Okami were added to collectively form the five Inari Okami. For its rapid expansion in faith after the Heian period, its connection with To-ji Temple, the head temple of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, played a decisive role. Starting with the legend of Kukai seeking Inari's cooperation when constructing To-ji, Shingon Buddhism and the Inari faith became deeply intertwined, leading to a syncretism with the Indian esoteric female demon Dakini-ten (Ḍākinī). Originally a "man-eating female yaksha," Dakini-ten softened as she passed through Tibet and China to Japan, becoming depicted as a "celestial maiden riding a white fox," and was eventually identified with Inari. This established a unique lineage of Buddhist Inari (Toyokawa Inari/Myogon-ji founded in Aichi in 1441, Saijo Inari/Myokyo-ji founded in Okayama in the 1300s, etc.), coexisting with the Shinto Inari (Fushimi lineage). During the Edo period, a massive boom occurred where people of all classes—samurai, townspeople, and farmers—enshrined Inari in small shrines on their properties as household deities. It became so widespread that a famous senryu poem listed "Iseya, Inari, and dog poop" as the most commonly seen things in Edo. Modern Inari shrines are estimated at about 32,000 (2,900 head shrines + branch shrines + household shrines), making it Japan's largest belief system by number of shrines. The relationship with foxes requires careful attention. While Fushimi Inari Taisha officially clarifies that "the fox is a divine messenger (familiar) of the Inari deity, not the deity itself," in folklore, many regions treat the fox itself as the Inari deity. This "fox deity faith" from the Edo period onward remains the mainstream of folk belief today. The messenger foxes are called "Byakko" (white foxes) and are traditionally depicted holding one of four items in their mouths: a jewel, a key, a rice sheaf, or a scroll. The jewel represents divine virtue, the key opens the spiritual granary, the rice sheaf represents grain, and the scroll signifies Buddhist scriptures. The main prayers are for bountiful harvests, prosperous business, family safety, fire prevention, and warding off epidemics. Especially since the Edo period, as it became a merchant household deity, prosperous business and financial fortune have become the primary focus. Today, this practice has spread to corporate and storefront altars (even small shrines on commercial building rooftops) and roadside shrines, embedding itself deeply in Japanese society across the four tiers of shrines, temples, residences, and corporations. The annual Hatsu-uma Matsuri (Festival of the First Day of the Horse) in February marks the descent of the Inari deity and is celebrated grandly at Inari shrines nationwide.

The ancient mythic type of the tragic hero. The general entry covered Yamato Takeru's myth. Here the focus is the ancient pattern of the tragic hero. Yamato Takeru is a rare heroic deity who unites the tragic hero, short-lived warrior, father-son conflict, sacrificial love, and ascent after death in a single figure. He begins with fratricide, is rejected by his father and sent on campaigns, survives through his wife's sacrifice, and dies from a mountain god's curse. That arc is structurally close to tragic heroes across the ancient world, including Heracles, Sigurd, and Arjuna. It is a Japanese form of a widespread story pattern: the fate, suffering, and heavenly transformation of the hero. Father-son conflict and the myth of heroic exile. Yamato Takeru is estranged from Emperor Keiko and repeatedly ordered to go on distant campaigns. In comparative mythology, this belongs to the broad pattern of a dangerous son being exiled, tested, and made to conquer. Stories in which a father or ruler sends such a figure away are often compared with traditions surrounding David, Sigurd, and Zheng He, and they reflect questions of patriarchy, succession, and kingship. The tale marks the killing of the brother as a failure of human restraint, yet it also shows the father's coldness. That double structure gives the story a tragic intelligence beyond simple good and evil. Disguise as a young woman: strategy turned into myth. In the Kumaso episode, Yamato Takeru disguises himself as a young woman, enters the enemy camp, and kills the chieftain. The scene is a memorable mythic rendering of military strategy, disguise, and surprise attack. Yet the female disguise is more than tactics. In ancient Japanese myth and folklore, reversal, thresholds, and the crossing of gendered boundaries can be sources of ritual power and sacred danger. Yamato Takeru's disguise can therefore be read not simply as deception but as an act that embodies the magical force of inversion. It also stands as a mythic ancestor to later religious and theatrical traditions of cross-gender performance in kagura, noh, and kabuki. The Kusanagi sword and the Three Sacred Treasures. Yamato Takeru receives the Kusanagi sword from Yamato-hime, escapes the Yaizu fire with it, and after his death the sword is enshrined at Atsuta Jingu. Kusanagi is one of the Three Sacred Treasures at the core of ancient Japanese royal legitimacy. Its transmission runs from Susanoo's defeat of Yamata no Orochi, to presentation to Amaterasu, to the heavenly descent of Ninigi, to Yamato-hime, to Yamato Takeru, and finally to Atsuta Jingu. Through that chain, myth, sacred object, and imperial lineage are joined in material and religious form. Yamato Takeru is one of the few figures who actually uses a sacred treasure in battle, making him a symbol of the union of artifact, hero, and state. Ototachibana-hime's sea sacrifice and the origin of Azuma. Ototachibana-hime's self-sacrifice at sea and Yamato Takeru's cry, "Azuma haya," are treated as the mythic origin of Azuma, the eastern lands and eastern Japan. Ancient myth did not only entertain; it gave meaning to names, geography, land, and local custom. Here a woman's sacrifice becomes attached to the name of the entire east. Hashirimizu Shrine in Yokosuka still enshrines Ototachibana-hime, showing that the episode continues not only in texts but also in place names, worship, and local memory. The death poem and ancient Japanese longing for home. The death poem Yamato Takeru sings at Nobono, "Yamato wa kuni no mahoroba," has long been cherished as one of ancient Japan's foundational expressions of homeland, longing, and love of country. Mahoroba means an excellent, beautiful place, and the word condenses an early feeling for the homeland and the land itself. It influenced later waka traditions such as the Man'yoshu, Kokinshu, and Shinkokinshu. The structure is powerful: a hero at the edge of death praises the place he longs to return to. In modern Japan, the poem has continued to appear in education, literature, music, and public speech. The white-bird legend and ancient Japanese ideas of ascent and rebirth. After death, Yamato Takeru becomes a white bird, rises from his tomb, passes through Kotohiki-no-hara in Yamato and Shiki in Kawachi, and flies high into the sky. The legend is a representative example of the ancient Japanese idea that a hero may ascend and be transformed after death. In early Japan, the white bird could be imagined as a bearer of souls or a messenger of the gods. Beliefs in the dead soul becoming a bird and rising to the sky also have affinities with northern Asian, Siberian, and Korean ideas of birds, funerary practice, and the soul. The image later resonated with Pure Land faith, Shinto views of death, warrior ethics, and even the spiritual culture around the kamikaze special attack corps. It is not merely an ending to a hero tale. It is one of the narratives through which ancient Japan thought about death, religion, and beauty. Yamato Takeru in the twenty-first century. Today Yamato Takeru remains a subject of ancient-history research, local tourism, Shinto worship, and popular culture. Visits to Nobono, Kotohiki-no-hara, Atsuta Jingu, Yaizu Shrine, and Hashirimizu Shrine continue. He is repeatedly reshaped in works such as the game Okami, the 1994 film Yamato Takeru, and manga including Demon Slayer. Across more than two millennia of cultural memory, he has remained a symbol of the tragic hero, the short-lived warrior, love and sacrifice, and ascent after death. From political emphasis in prewar State Shinto, through postwar cultural reinterpretation, to plural retellings in the twenty-first century, he is a model case of how an ancient divine figure can keep entering modern culture.

The Myth of the "Curse" of Immortality. The legend of Yao-bikuni is the most beautiful yet cruelest answer Japanese folklore offers to humanity's universal "fear of aging" and "thirst for eternal life." At first glance, immortality seems like the ultimate blessing, but in this tale, it is explicitly depicted as a "curse." Her tragedy is not that she cannot die, but that "everyone other than herself will inevitably die." Left behind in the world as a beautiful teenage girl while watching her beloved ones grow senile and pass away, this overwhelming temporal isolation inflicted upon her an agony worse than death. Her nationwide pilgrimages to perform good deeds (building infrastructure and planting trees) can be interpreted not merely as acts of compassion, but as an agonizing journey of atonement to find some meaning in an endless existence and to sublimate her karma. Wakasa's Kuin-ji Temple and the Concept of "Nyujo". The cave where she is said to have spent her final moments (Yaohime-gu) still remains at Kuin-ji Temple in Obama City, Fukui Prefecture, the terminus of Yao-bikuni's journey. What is particularly noteworthy is that her end is not told as a simple "death (starvation)," but as "Nyujo." Nyujo refers to a high-ranking Buddhist monk entering a deep state of meditation while still alive in order to save sentient beings, becoming an eternal entity (a mummy or Sokushinbutsu). Having been stripped of a physical death by the Ningyo meat, the only way she could "end her existence (or elevate her dimension to something sacred)" was by confining herself to a cave by her own will and renouncing food. The Metaphor of "Yao-bikuni" in Modern Times. In modern subcultures—such as literature, manga, and animation—Yao-bikuni (or her motifs) is an immensely popular subject. Elements like "eternal youth and beauty," "never-ending loneliness," and "the agony of being unable to die" resonate deeply with modern society's fanaticism over anti-aging and the very real social issues of "aging and isolation" in a society with increasing longevity. She is not merely a character from an old folktale, but an eternal heroine who continuously confronts humanity with the ultimate proposition of how we should face time and death.

Academic Correction (Most Important Note for this Species): The monsters included in the "Mei" volume of Toriyama Sekien's *Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki* (1779) are Nue, Itsumade, Jami, Moryo, Mujina, Nobusuma, Nozuchi, Tsuchigumo, Hihi, Dodomeki, Buruburu, Gaikotsu, Tenjo-sagari, Ohaguro-bettari, Okubi, Dodomeki, Kanedama, and Amanozako (18 entities in total), and Tsurube-otoshi is not included. What Sekien drew was the related yokai Tsurubebi, which was included in *Gazu Hyakki Yagyo* (1776) — the predecessor to Zoku Hyakki. The original text for Tsurubebi is Yamaoka Genrin's *Kokon Hyaku Monogatari Hyoban* (published in 1686; the "Tsurube-oroshi of Nishinooka" tale in Nishiyama, Kyoto), which theorized the strange phenomenon of a large tree's spirit turning into a fireball and descending from the tree on rainy nights using the Five Elements theory (Wood generates Fire). In other words, the "Yokai Tsurube-otoshi (a severed head or demon mask falling from a tree)" and "Sekien's Tsurubebi (a mysterious fire dropping from a large tree)" are separate lineages that diverged after the Showa era, and Sekien did not directly depict the former. No primary visual sources with the name "Tsurube-otoshi" from the Edo period exist, and it mainly appears as local folklore in Taisho period topographical records and folklore collections. This is a critical correction that must be specified to maintain the academic quality of yokai.jp, and the widespread "1779 Sekien iconification theory" should be explicitly denied. The primary records of Tsurube-otoshi are Taisho period local materials and folklore collections. The Kyoto regional study *Kuchidanba Kohishu* (a Taisho era collection of folklore from Minamikuwada and Funai Districts) serves as the core historical document, recording it as a local legend of mountain roads, passes, and old trees in the Chubu and Kinki regions. The fact that the primary source is not Edo period iconography but local folklore oral collection is a unique characteristic of this yokai, making it an exceptional case that does not fit the generalization that "yokai originate from Edo period iconification." The local folklore of Tsurube-otoshi is concentrated in the Chubu and Kinki regions: 1. Kyoto Prefecture — Hoki, Sogabe Village, Minamikuwada District (present-day Sogabe-cho, Kameoka City; drops from a kaya tree, laughs "Finished your night work? Shall I drop the bucket? Squeak, squeak" and rises again), Tera, Sogabe Village (a severed head descends from an old pine, devours people, and disappears for 2-3 days when full), Tomimoto Village, Funai District (present-day Yagi-cho, Nantan City; a pine tree covered in ivy), Tsuchida, Ooi Village (present-day Ooi-cho, Kameoka City; eats people) — documented in the Taisho period regional study *Kuchidanba Kohishu*. 2. Kuze Village, Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture (present-day Ibigawa-cho) — drops a bucket from a large tree that is dim even during the day. 3. Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture — drops a bucket from tree branches aiming at passersby. 4. Kuroe, Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture — similar lore. 5. Tamba-Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture. 6. Mikawa mountainous region, Aichi Prefecture (folklore in Toyone Village, etc.). It has a geographic characteristic of concentrating around ancient trees (pine, kaya, cedar, zelkova) along mountain roads, passes, and shrine grounds in the Chubu and Kinki areas. Its behavior is bifurcated by region: The Kyoto lineage is predatory (eating people and staying full for 2-3 days), making it a lethal yokai; the Gifu-Shiga lineage is intimidating (only dropping a bucket to scare people), causing little real harm. The Kyoto lineage features a specific predatory pattern of "not appearing for 2-3 days when satiated," and was feared as a murderous monster rather than a mere scarer. On the other hand, the Gifu-Shiga lineage, as its name suggests, simply drops a "tsurube (well bucket)" from a tree to startle people, a relatively harmless yokai positioned between a "supernatural threat" and a "laughing matter." Despite sharing the name "Tsurube-otoshi," the entity itself varies significantly depending on the region, providing an excellent example of the regional diversity of local legends. The modern visual of a "red-faced, bearded, disheveled old man's head" depends heavily on Shigeru Mizuki's artwork and is not the original standard form in local folklore. The original form varies widely by region, splitting into three lineages: 1. A solitary severed head (Tera, Sogabe Village, Kyoto), 2. A formless monster that drops a well bucket itself (Gifu and Hikone, Shiga), and 3. A spirit type accompanied by laughter and speech (Hoki, Sogabe Village, Kyoto). The image of the "red severed head" was popularized through Shigeru Mizuki's manga and anime such as *GeGeGe no Kitaro* and *Akuma-kun*, becoming fixed as the modern general image, but from a folkloric perspective, the standard form changed pre- and post-Mizuki. This is also a perfect illustration of the decisive impact "Mizuki Yokai Culture" had on Japanese people's perception of yokai. The idiom "autumn days drop like a tsurube" (a metaphor comparing the rapid darkening of the autumn sunset to the motion of a well bucket and rope plunging down at once) has no direct lineage connection to the yokai Tsurube-otoshi. They share the same metaphorical source of "a well bucket = something that falls rapidly," but the idiom was established independently as a meteorological expression. However, the fact that the concept behind the yokai's naming (the three elements of falling speed, darkness, and surprise) stands on the same metaphorical foundation as the idiom is noteworthy in cultural history — demonstrating the richness of Japanese metaphorical culture, where an everyday tool like a "well bucket" evolved into both a meteorological phrase and a yokai name. Distinctions from similar yokai: 1. Tsurubebi (the mysterious fire dropping from a tree in Sekien's *Gazu Hyakki Yagyo*, which, as mentioned, is the Edo period origin lineage that diverged from Tsurube-otoshi in modern times), 2. Kodama (tree spirits in general; Tsurube-otoshi is an "individual monster dwelling in a specific ancient tree," a variant of the kodama lineage), 3. Kosoma (an acoustic supernatural phenomenon making axe and falling tree sounds in the mountains, different in nature from Tsurube-otoshi which primarily relies on visual dropping attacks), 4. Severed head lineages (Otoshikubi, Kubikireuma, etc.; they share the "head" aspect, but the Kyoto lineage's severed head in Tsurube-otoshi is an independent yokai entity, not a monster of decapitation). Toriyama Sekien's four-part yokai series consists of *Gazu Hyakki Yagyo* (1776) -> *Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki* (1779) -> *Konjaku Hyakki Shui* (1781) -> *Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro* (1784), and all images are publicly available on the National Diet Library's NDL Image Bank. Tsurubebi is included in the "In" volume of *Gazu Hyakki Yagyo*. When listing Tsurube-otoshi on yokai.jp, it should be clearly stated that typeOfSource = "Local folklore (Chubu/Kinki)" and firstAttestedSource = Taisho period *Kuchidanba Kohishu*, while explicitly denying the widespread misinformation of the "Edo period Sekien iconification theory." In modern yokai culture, it was popularized by Shigeru Mizuki's *Yokai Zukan* and the bronze statue on *Mizuki Shigeru Road* (Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture), and appears as a Kyoto yokai in *GeGeGe no Kitaro* (3rd season VA: Masato Hirano, 5th season: Hisao Egawa) and *Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan*. As an excellent example of a grassroots yokai originating from local oral tradition being popularized by Shigeru Mizuki's artwork, Tsurube-otoshi is an important case study showing the modernization mechanism of Japanese yokai culture — a fascinating yokai situated at the intersection of folklore studies, art history, and media theory, demonstrating a modern yokai circulation route from unillustrated Edo period local folklore to Taisho period oral collection, Mizuki's popularization, and modern anime and games.

A collective term found in early modern anecdotes and essays for possessions by the vengeful spirits of horses. It warns against violating precepts against killing and neglecting animal care ethics, with triggers including abuse, death from overwork, and callous disposal. Symptoms include neighing, involuntary movements of the limbs, craving foul water, self-biting, reports of seeing as a horse sees, and voicing curses against abusers. The possessing agent may be the spirit of a specific horse or generalized as retribution within the realm of beasts. Recorded remedies include esoteric rites, posthumous memorial services, tending graves and making offerings, though efficacy varies by case. Cases appear in Mikawa, Tōtōmi, Awa, Musashi, and Harima, affecting horse-handlers, samurai, and farmers. While some tales are highly embellished, overall they function as didactic narratives promoting animal memorials and ethics.

Taiba is recorded as a sudden apparition arriving with wind and blowing sand. It appears from April to July, especially May to June, and travelers were warned on days that shift between sun and cloud. Accounts vary by region regarding the victim horse’s coat and sex: in Mino white horses were targeted, in Enshu chestnut and bay, while old women and mares were said to be spared. Eyewitnesses tell of each mane hair standing on end, a red gleam shining, and when the horse collapses the wind falls still. The Owari and Mino “Giba” is regarded as a personification of Taiba, a small girl who descends from the sky, ensnares a horse, then vanishes with a smile; the chosen horse spins rightward several times and dies. Folk countermeasures include covering the horse’s neck with cloth, fitting deerfly-proof belly guards or bells, and in emergencies letting a little blood from the ear, needling the center of the tailbone, or cutting the air ahead with a sword while reciting the Komyo Mantra. Temples and shrines fostered prayers for quelling horse-plagues, and talismans to horse deities and belly wraps were used as Taiba wards.