Tōfu-kozō

''Tōfu-kozō'' (, literally "tofu boy") is a ''yōkai'' of Japan that takes on the appearance of a child possessing a tray with ''tōfu'' on it. It frequently appears in the ''kusazōshi'', ''kibyōshi'' and ''kaidan'' books from the Edo period, and from the ''Bakumatsu'' to the Meiji period, people have become familiar with them as a character illustrated on toys such as kites, ''sugoroku'', and ''karuta''. They can also be seen in ''senryū'', ''kyōka'', ''e-hon banzuke'' (pamphlets that introduce the contents of a ''shibai''), and ''nishiki-e'', etc.

Summary

They are generally depicted wearing bamboo and ''kasa'' on their heads, and possessing a round tray with a ''momiji-dōfu'' on it (a ''tōfu'' with a ''momiji'' (autumn leaf) shape pressed into it). The patterns on the clothing they wear, for the sake of warding off smallpox, include lucky charms such as ''harukoma'' (春駒), ''daruma'' dolls, horned owls, swinging drums, and red fish, and sometimes lattice patterns of the child that shows its status as a child can also be seen.

In the original ''kusazōshi'', they did not possess any special powers, and they often appear as servants that bring ''tōfu'' and ''sake'' here and there in the town, and it is also changed in ''senryū'' such poems like "." With regards to humans, they sometimes follow humans on rainy nights, but they don't do anything particularly bad, and they usually don't make humans their opponents, and they are frequently depicted as amicable, timid, and humorous characters. Far from doing anything bad, there are also examples where they are teased by other ''yōkai'' for being a weak ''yōkai''. In the Heisei era and afterwards, there is also the interpretation that they are appropriate as comforting characters. Also, in the ''kibyōshi'' the "" by Koikawa Harumachi from the An'ei era, weasels turn into ''tōfu-kozō'', and in later books, their father has been specified to be mikoshi-nyūdō and their mother has been specified to be ''rokurokubi''.

In literature from the Shōwa and Heisei eras and beyond, it is frequently written that they would appear on rainy nights, and recommend the relish of ''tōfu'' to people passing by, but halfway into eating it a mold would grow. However, according to the ''yōkai'' researchers Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Bintarō Yamaguchi, this theory was created after the Shōwa era in books for children.

On the Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, the hometown of the ''yōkai'' painter and ''manga'' artist Shigeru Mizuki, next to the restaurant "Tōfuya (東府屋)," there is a statue of a ''tōfu-kozō'' based on one of Mizuki's illustrations.

History

The ''tōfu-kozō'' has been observed to be a ''yōkai'' that suddenly appeared in the literature of the An'ei era (1772–1781), and earned great popularity as a character in the ''kusazōshi'' and ''kibyōshi'', ''kaidan'' books, and toys of that time, a popularity that continued into the Meiji period. The aforementioned "Bakemono Shiuchi Hyōbanki" was observed to be their first appearance, and there have been no confirmations that the tōfu-kozō appeared in any earlier literature. According to the ''tōfu'' cook book ''Tofu Hyakuchin'' published in Tenmei 2 (1782), it was made into a famous ''yōkai'' that appeared in humorous literature and ''manga e-hon'' such as ''kusazōshi'' and ''kibyōshi''.

While ''tōfu-kozō'' may have originated in contemporary urban publications, its popularity may have been drawn from the food culture of the Edo period itself. During the Edo period, nutrient-rich ''tōfu'' was a popular food choice amongst the public. There are several examples like how in ''kabuki'', ''kabuki'' actors like Tokuji Ōtani played the role of ''tōfu-kozō'' and how they are also depicted in ''ukiyo-e''.

In the literature of the early Edo period, there are many ''kozō'' (boy monks) with large heads, and in the aforementioned "Bakemono Shiuchi Hyōbanki", it stated "", and in the ''kibyōshi''"", they were stated to be "large-headed ''kozō''", thus putting a big emphasis on their large heads. In the late Edo period, they were often depicted with one eye. In ''kyōka'' ''e-hon'' such as the ''Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari'', they can also be seen without any particular traits that make them look any different from a human.

Origin

Since they have not been confirmed to appear in folkloristics material such as folklore, ''kaidan'' collections such as '' hyakumonogatari'', or legends, they are seen as a ''yōkai'' created from the Edo period. They can generally be seen to be made in the middle of the Edo period or afterwards when ''tōfu'' shops or sellers became common, but the particulars of how they were made and how they suddenly disappeared has not come to light.

In the ''kusazōshi'' like what were previously mentioned, they were frequently treated as servants, but there were also ''yōkai'' that appeared earliest that were also servants such as the ''hitotsume-kozō'', the ''amefurikozō'', the '' tanuki'', and the ''kappa'', and since the ''hitotsume-kozō'' and the ''kappa'' have been depicted possessing ''tōfu'', there is the theory that these ''yōkai'' are related to the ''tōfu-kozō'' as well as the theory that the ''tōfu-kozō'' was based on these ''yōkai''. In "" published in Tenpō 4 (1833), there was a ''tanuki yōkai'' that wore a ''kasa'' wearing clothes that had ''tōfu'' depicted on them, giving an example that hints at the existence of ''tōfu-kozō''.

Also, when ''Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai'' was becoming popular, there is the theory that they were made by individuals who were requested to tell ''kaidan'' stories and about ''yōkai'' that was not known throughout society yet, as well as the view that in Hasegawa Settan's paintings in the ''Edo Meisho Zue'', since ''tōfu'' sellers were depicted wearing ''kasa'', that ''tōfu-kozō'' are the result of changing ''tōfu'' sellers in plain clothing into children with gaudy clothing. Furthermore, tōfu-kozō can be seen to be related to ''tōfu'' shops in the Edo period, there are also the theories that they were born from some incident related to ''tōfu'' shops, or that they were a character made up by the ''tōfu'' business in order to promote their sales.

Based on the folk belief that ''hitotsume-kozō'' like ''tōfu'', and since there was the card in '' yōkai karuta'' called "," as well as ''senryū'' poems such as "" and "," it has been pointed out that ''tōfu-kozō'' would thus be no more than an alternate name for ''hitotsume-kozō'', but since there are many ''tōfu-kozō'' that don't have one eye, there is also the claim denying that they are the same as ''hitotsume-kozō'', and that ''tōfu-kozō'' and ''hitotsume-kozō'' were created separately. In any case, there are many parts that are still unclear, and there is still research going on about how ''tōfu-kozō'' developed.

Notes

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tofu-kozo
Yōkai