Hello all! Hope your
summer is going swimmingly! So I have been doing research in the hopes
of publishing a rad comprehensive book on Japanese yokai...and I sent
out a request previously asking for original monster illustrations. I
feel like I need to shelf that project for at least a year. I'm not
ready yet. I keep finding more old books and publications on the subject
and have been having soooo much trouble with the language. My kanji is
horrible and these books use a very antiquated version. But I recently
met up with a university professor of kanji and she is helping me go
thru the stories! Haha I have yokai class once a week! It's so rad. So I
am working
towards being ready and meanwhile giving seminars on what I am
learning.
Soooo
I am going to do another book on Japanese Creatures. There are so many rad ones I
feel we could do 10 more books on the subject and just scratch the surface. I
want to start with my favorite little shapeshifting rapscallion the
Tanuki!! Submission details first and then the write up. Have fun with
this folks.
- Deadline for submissions Oct 31st
- Submissions WILL NOT be returned so if you want to keep yours please send a HIGH QUALITY digital scan of at least 400dpi. Do not send photos. Email or dropbox to gominekobooks@yahoo.com
- Submissions sent in will be auctioned off online and the money donated to the Support The Underground Crew - a group of underground bikers, musicians and artists that spend one weekend a month biking supplies in and donating their time to help out some of the villages in Tohoku the government deemed too small to resuscitate.
- Post to: Gomineko Books/ 3-13-29 Imagawa/ Suginami-ku, Tokyo/ 167-0035 Japan
- Please send a written statement giving Gomineko the right to publish your piece in any future publication.
- You may send as many submissions in as you'd like but I print one per artist (per motif).There is no guarantee that your piece will be selected but please know that we definitely appreciate the time and energy spent on each piece. .
- Questions can be emailed to Crystal at gominekobooks@yahoo.com
Tanuki
(Japanese raccoon dog)
One
of the three most famous Henge
(shapeshifters) the tanuki is a round jolly little fellow with an
enormous scrotum who usually has a sake bottle in hand. He is a
Dionysian spirit, devoted
to self gratification possessing a head full of tricks to get his hands
on rice
wine, rich foods and warm ladies. Not malicious in spirit, he’s
portrayed as a fun loving character whose exploits backfire as often
as they succeed.....undaunted he moves on to the next. For tanuki life
is an adventure. Tanuki’s supernatural powers are
strong and he's believed to be more adept at shapeshifting than even
the kitsune. He’s been known to kidnap brides or grooms and tie
them up to be discovered later while he impersonates them and partakes
of the sumptuous
wedding feast. He'll make people believe leaves or bits of newspaper
are monetary notes and buy sake for himself. They've been known to
transforms themselves into
inanimate objects like a teapot, in order to position themselves inside
people’s homes. close to the larder they then raid during the night.
The tanuki's infamously huge ball sac is totally
flexible, extends up to 8 tatami mats in size, and can double as a
drum,
a raincoat, a weapon or a disguise, with or without the use of magic. Tanuki, like
the other henge, have a solid sense of honor and always repay a
kindness tenfold.
There is a famous story about Tanuki called Bunbuku Chagama
which roughly translates to 'happiness bubbling
over like a tea pot'. There was a poor junk peddler named Jimbe whose
heart was pure but who could not say no to someone in need and
consequently bought more junk than he sold. One day he was coming home
from the temple where the priest had been inquiring about a teapot.
Jimbe had no teapots for sale however and left the temple without making
a sale. Pushing his cart thru a park he came upon a group of boys
chasing a smaller girl and pelting her with rocks and sticks. Indignant
he ran the boys off and, after making sure the girl was ok, set off home
to eat a meager dinner. While he was waiting for his rice to cool he
took stock of the junk in his cart. He was surprised to find a nice old
teapot hidden in the back under some bamboo matting. Delighted he set to
cleaning to teapot, scrubbing it with sand to make it shine when
suddenly it twitched and said, "ouch! too hard". Jimbe jumped at dropped
the teapot who once again said. "ouch!" Jimbe was quite
perplexed and the teapot, knowing she was discovered, explained that
she was in fact the girl he had rescued in the part. "You saved me this
afternoon," she explained, "and I want to repay your kindness. Sell me
to the priest so you can get some money for a fish for your dinner!".
Jimbe did not like the idea at all but the tanuki insisted so they set
off first thing the next morning to the temple. Jimbe made a good sale
but was quite miserable having tricked the priest and possible putting
the tanuki at risk. The priest set the teapot on the fire to heat water
for tea and sat down to wait. Not long after the pot jumped up spitting
hot water and yelling, "too hot! too hot!!"...changing back into her
animal form she shot out past the priest straight back to the junkman's
house. The priest followed bellowing about being tricked but Jimbe
gladly returned his money apologizing profusely. The tanuki was badly
burned and Jimbe sat her down and put a salve on
her to help her heal. She was visibly upset, lamenting that she had
wanted to help but was making Jimbe's life worse when he jumped up
clapping and exclaimed he had an idea. If the tanuki could shape into
other objects as well as she could turn into a teapot they would open a
circus show...he would play his flute and she would perform and they
would have money for fish every night. Delighted by this plan, the
tanuki agreed and they soon because a very successful pair...performing
all over Japan and eating fish every night.
There
are MANY different variations to this story, but the main premise is
the same. It is one of those stories that has been retold so many times
everyone has their own version!
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