Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #Tanuki

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🦴😇GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD🗿🕯️

In 1903 the head priest of Nenbutsu-ji (念仏寺) and neighbouring Fukuden-ji (福田寺) began to gather up stone Buddhist statues from all around the local area.
By the time he was finished they numbered 8000!

#Kyoto #Japan #化野念仏寺 #京都 #Obon
From ancient times the poor (and not so poor) abandoned the dead in Adashino (化野), an area that now equates with the stretch of land between Nison-in (二尊院) & Nenbutsu-ji (念仏寺).
By the Heian period it had become 1 of Heian-kyō's 3 Great Crematory Grounds (三大葬地).
#Japan
Come for the statues, stay for the bamboo🎋

young bamboo
and old bamboo...
full of pluck
わか竹やとしより竹もともいさみ
-Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶), 1824.
Trans. David G. Lanoue.

#Kyoto #京都 #Japan #bamboo #化野念仏寺 #嵯峨野 #AdashinoNenbutsuji #竹 #haiku
Read 22 tweets
🍶VALLEY OF THE TANUKI✨

at the end of autumn
this badger poses
as a Buddha...
秋のくれ仏に化る狸かな
-与謝蕪村 1716-84.

Tanuki (狸 'Raccoon Dogs') are real, if somewhat elusive, animals, that have featured prominently in folktales throughout the centuries.
#folklore #Japan
Just like kitsune (狐) and bakeneko (化け猫), tanuki have the ability to shape-shift. One of the first passages to mention tanuki describes them transforming into humans and singing songs during the reign of Empress Suiko (推古天皇 554-628).
#Kyoto #狐 #化け猫 #Japan #folklore
Tanuki (狸) have 8 special traits that bring good fortune🎱🙌🍀

(1) 笠 straw hat = prepared against bad weather & trouble
(2) 大腹 big belly = level-headedness
(3) 尾 tail = perseverance
(4) 通 promissory note = honesty
(5) 丸い目 big eyes = discernment & good decisions
Read 18 tweets

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