Tanuki in Shigaraki

We’ve previously covered the Tanuki here but I recently had the chance to visit Shigaraki in Shiga the ancient centre for pottery making in Japan and the biggest producer of Tanuki. The towns pottery history dates back to the 12th century as the area has many clay beds which are used by local potters. There are many shops selling pots and plates and of course a huge array of Tanuki. Heres my collection of photos of a small portion of the massive Tanuki population in Shigaraki.

Maneki Neko – Gotokuji

Gotokuji is said to be the birthplace of Maneki Neko, the beckoning cat. The Buddhist temple is located in Setagaya, Tokyo and has a beautiful display of the lucky ceramic cats.

There are many legends surrounding the origin of Maneki Neko, but the best known is that of the Temple Cat. The story starts in the 17th century at Gotokuji during a storm. A poverty stricken priest sits in despair, questioning why he’s sharing the little food he has with his cat. One night, he goes to bed with these thoughts weighing on him while the cat wanders off to the entrance of the temple and starts to wash himself. A wealthy lord is taking shelter from the rain under a tree and sees the cat, and thinks it is beckoning him. Intrigued, he walks toward the temple gates to investigate. A moment later the tree he had been under is struck by lightning. The lord is so thankful to the cat for saving his life that he showers the priest and temple with gifts. When the cat died, the Maneki Neko was supposedly made in his honour.

Most of the cats at Gotokuji are the same design as you can buy them from the temple shop. However there are usually many variations in the design of Maneki Neko statues. Colour and intricacy vary, but no matter what the cat sits with a raised paw. A raised right paw attracts money and good luck while a raised left paw attracts customers. Some cats even have battery powered paws that go up and down; these are popular in the windows of lottery booths. The cats usually have a collar, bell or a bib around their neck, and are sometimes shown holding an old and valuable coin called a koban.

View Gotokuji in a larger map

Gormless looking troll at a market in Oslo

More trolls from Oslo, troll capital of Norway!

Patriotic blonde troll in Oslo

© 2010 paral_lax

Troll Toy © 2010 Manic*

Norwegian Trolls

Ugly, fiendish, dangerous, powerful and stupid the trolls personality is as varied as his appearance. In the old Norse language troll was used as a general supernatural word. ‘Trolldomr’ meant ‘witchcraft’ and ‘troll’ generally referred to a giant or demon. Through the ages the depiction of trolls have become less giant like and generally more mischievous than demonic.

Trolls usually live in caves or underground while the troll from the famous Norwegian fairytale ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ lived under a bridge. In other stories trolls capture princesses, invade peoples houses on Christmas eve and generally get up to all sorts of naughtiness.

Depictions of trolls often vary, they can have tails, some have the ability to shape shift and some can even appear as humans. The modern day troll will invariably have a large nose and ears and are very messy. The current depiction of trolls may have been influenced by the toys which were popular in the 1960’s and had a resurgence in the 80s. The last photo in the post shows one of these toys. The trolls I photographed in Norway seem to be very patriotic. Norwegians are very proud of Trolls with several cities in Norway named after the creatures; including Trollheimen, Trollstigen, and Trollveggen to name a few. Nordic neighbours Finland are also famous for trolls particularly the Moomins who live in the forests of Finland.

To see more Norwegian trolls visit a gallery I created on flickr.

Tanuki

This is Tanuki a raccoon dog and also a mythical creature from Japanese folklore. They are known for their mischief, magical powers and the ability to shapeshift. Statues of jolly tanuki can be found outside many bars and restaurants, beckoning at customers and welcoming guests.

A small town called Shigaraki is famous for making the large ceramic sculptures having started during the Edo period. Initially, the sculptures were primarily used as good fortune charms, but in the late 19th century they were used to identify shops that served soba noodles. The statues were first used by a a famous Tokyo soba shop near Tanuki Bridge where a specific soba dish called tanuki soba (Japanese noodles with tempura batter) was developed. Tanuki soba became popular and spread throughout Japan. Other soba shops would have a tanuki statue outside to show they sold the dish. Tanuki statues were further popularized in 1951 when Emperor Hirohito visited Shigaraki. He was so taken with the statues that he wrote a poem about them. The media picked up the story, and the statues’ popularity surged.

The statues often wear big straw hats and carry bottles of sake, promissory notes or empty purses. They always have large bellies and proudly display huge testicles that dangle down to the ground. Tanuki are a symbol of restraint that warns of what happens when you overindulge in food and alcohol.

Tales of tanuki playing tricks on people include legends of them transforming into kettles, monks or geisha, turning leaves into money or horse dung into a delicious meal. Many stories also involve a tanuki stretching his large testicles to the size of eight tatami mats. The always excellent Pink Tentacle has an excellent post on a set of prints showing tanuki ‘using their humorously large scrota in creative ways’. You can see images of them using their scrotums as blankets, weapons, raincoats, drums and even parachutes, as in the anime Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko.

Shigaraki decided Tanuki needed a rest so created Tanuki day on the 8th of November. Closed eye stickers are stuck over the staues eyes and some are placed in baths to relax. The 8th was chosen as it was the day Emperor Hirohito came to town. Check out the eight traits of Tanuki.