HichigeeThe Visiting God Touring the Island at the Turn of Seasons: Hichigee

Rather than a specific singular *yokai*, *Hichigee* is a concept that collectively refers to the time, the phenomenon, and the divine spirit itself when 'gods come to the island at the change of seasons'. In the Tokara calendar, there are several turning points in a year, and on those nights, the boundary between the human realm and the divine realm was said to thin, and the gods would silently tour the island. The reason people refrained from going out, lowered their voices, and purified fire and doorways was to avoid hindering the unseen visitors and to prevent impurities from being brought in.

On Akusekijima, this time of awe took the form of a masked god, surviving to this day as *Boze* appearing on Bon nights. While *Boze* is a 'visible' visiting god with Livistona leaves and grotesque masks, *Hichigee* was originally an 'invisible' god to be feared, situated in the oldest geological layer of the Tokara visiting god beliefs. The duality of entertaining while fearing the gods, and the structure of ancestral spirits (*Shichito Shogatsu*) and gods (*Hichigee*) visiting the island alternately, resonates deeply with the maritime worldview of the otherworld found in the southern islands.

Yokai with similar personality and characteristics to The Visiting God Touring the Island at the Turn of Seasons: Hichigee

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