Zashiki-warashi
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A Zashiki-warashi (座敷童 Zashiki-warashi?), sometimes also called a Zashiki-bokko (座敷童子 Zashiki-bokko?), is a Japanese yōkai stemming from Iwate Prefecture, similar to a hearth fairy.
The name breaks down to zashiki, a tatami floored room, and warashi, an archaic regional term for a child. The appearance of this spirit is that of a 5 or 6 year child with bobbed hair and a red face. The child could be either male or female, though recently the zashiki-warashi are often depicted as girls. Zashiki-warashi can be found in well-maintained and preferably large old houses. It is said that once a zashiki-warashi inhabits a house, it brings the residence great fortune; on the other hand, should a zashiki-warashi depart, the domain soon falls into a steep decline. This aspect of the spirit is so ingrained in Japanese culture that corporations, seeking to improve their fortunes, have actually constructed suburban lodges to accommodate these spirits[citation needed]. This can be seen as futile, however, as zashiki-warashi are said to prefer older homes over new and shun office and lab spaces as they only inhabit buildings where people live.
To attract and maintain a zashiki-warashi in the home, it is said the spirit must be noticed, appreciated and cared for properly, much in the manner one would raise a child, though too much attention may drive it off. As the zashiki-warashi is child-like in nature, it is prone to playing harmless pranks and occasionally causing mischief. They might for instance sit on a guest's futon, turn people's pillows over or cause sounds similar to kagura music to be heard from rooms noone uses. Sometimes they leave little footsteps in ashes. There are different variations as to who can see the zashiki-warashi; usually this is limited to inhabitants of the house, sometimes to children.
The Ryokufūsō in Kindaichi-Onsen is famous for it's zashiki-warashi. Yōkai similar to zashiki-warashi in other parts of Japan include the makuragaeshi in Ishikawa Prefecture, the akashaguma or kurabokko in Tokushima Prefecture and the akashaguma living in the Kotohira Shrine.
[edit] In popular culture
- Author Kenji Miyazawa wrote two stories about zashiki-warashi: "Matasaburo of the Wind" and "The Story of the Zashiki-Bokko".
- Zashiki-warashi figure prominently as characters in the webcomic Cafe Tengu [1]
- One of the more prominent yōkai in Hell Teacher Nūbē is a small Zashiki Warashi who can give good (and occasionally bad) luck to those it encounters.
- In CLAMP's manga title xxxHOLiC, a pretty, sweet, shy, female Zashiki-Warashi developes a crush on the main character Watanuki. Because he can see creatures from the spirit world, he can see her. The Zashiki-Warashi has yet to be named, but has appeared three times thus far (through 8 volumes released in the U.S. by Del Rey).
[edit] External references
- The Last of the Zashiki-warashi, Awa Life, March 2002
- The Story of Zashiki-warashi no geta, Nanbu Kiri Geta Preservation Society
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