A is a small traditional handmade that originated from the Edo period in Japan, made from white paper or cloth,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

y day. ''Teru'' is a Japanese verb that describes sunshine, and a ''bōzu'' is a Buddhist monk (compare the word

bonze A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

), or in modern slang, "bald-headed"; ''bōzu'' is also used as a term of endearment for addressing little boys. ''Teru Teru bōzu'' became popular during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

among urban dwellers, whose children would make them the day before the good weather was desired and chant, "Fine-weather priest, please let the weather be good tomorrow." Traditionally, if the weather does turn out well, a

libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today. Various substa ...

of holy

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

is poured over them, and they are washed away in the river. Today, children make ''teru teru bōzu'' out of

tissue paper Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled pulp (paper), paper pulp on a paper machine. Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds of tissue are made to best serve these ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and string and hang them from a window when they wish for sunny weather, often before a school picnic day. Hanging it upside-down acts as a

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

for rain. They are a very common

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

in Japan. There is a famous ''

warabe uta are traditional Japanese songs, similar to nursery rhymes. They are often sung as part of traditional children's games. They are described as a form of min'yo: traditional Japanese songs, usually sung without accompanying instruments. The cen ...

'' associated with ''teru teru bōzu'', written by Kyoson Asahara and composed by

Shinpei Nakayama was a Japanese songwriter, famous for his many children's songs and popular songs (''ryūkōka'') that have become deeply embedded in Japanese popular culture. Nakayama was born in Nagano Prefecture, Nakano City, in 1887. His father died while ...

, that was released in 1921.

Edō Period

Tradition is well practiced and known in Japan, but many Japanese have doubts about the origin of the doll. ''Teru teru bōzo'' seems to have originated from the similarity between origami dolls and names described in the literature in the middle of the Edo period. A reference to teru teru bōzo is written in Kiyu Shoran(嬉遊笑覧) by Nobusetsu Kitamura, a scholar of Japanese classical literature in 1830. It is written, "If the weather becomes fine, I write my pupils on the paper, offer ''sake'' to the gods, and pour it into the river." The tradition of weather-watchers and a rich folk culture of hiyorimi can be traced with certainty to the ''Heian period'' (749 – 1185) continuing through the Edo period (1603 to 1867). Teru teru bōzu weather-watching practice tradition originated and was adapted from a Chinese practice during the ''Heian period''. The practice involved putting the teru teru bōzo on the end of a broom to sweep good spirits your way, and rather than bōzu being a monk, but a young girl with a broom. As the story unfolds, a girl was sacrificed to save the city during a heavy rainfall by ascending symbolically to the heavens and sweeping rain clouds from the sky. Since then, the people have commemorated her by making paper cutouts of herself and hanging them outdoors in the hopes of good weather.

References

External links

Tracking down the origins of the teru teru bozu (てるてる坊主) sunshine doll tradition

What are Teruteru Bōzu?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teru teru bozu Japanese folklore Japanese dolls Amulets Talismans Shinto Buddhist religious objects Religious objects Shinto religious objects Superstitions of Japan Eastern esotericism Japanese words and phrases

Edō Period

See also

References

External links