The Kettle of MorinjiDerived from the Legend of the Guardian Crane Kettle

A portrayal based on the tale of the Guardian Crane at Morinji Temple in Jōshū. The ever-boiling teakettle symbolizes almsgiving and joy in the Dharma, and sharing tea with monks and visitors is understood as spreading virtue. The guardian is a long-lived tanuki who lives among humans while bound by Buddhist ties. When its true nature is exposed, it leaves the temple, but at parting uses illusion to show scenes of ancient battles and Buddhist rites, teaching people impermanence and the virtue of the Law. Later, this tradition split into two strands: one reshaped into the folktale Bunbuku Chagama with showy acrobatics, and one remaining within the temple’s origin legend. Locally, it is told in connection with the temple’s treasured kettle, influenced by tanuki worship, storytelling, and essays, yet its core reduces to two points: the inexhaustible hot water and the departing wise tanuki.