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There's a shower in Shinohashi. Until just before the thunder was thundering.

Until just before, the thunder god, who was violently rampaged, fell on the Sumida River.

Under the bridge, a kappa is catching the feet of a thunder god desperately going up from the river. Some people would have run on the bridge and hurry home. However, this heavy rain does not reach the voice of the Raijin shouting "Help!"

Is it a shock when it falls? Or is it because of the fight against Kappa? The drum of Raijin is broken and floated on the river surface.

At all, a kappa who wants to take the thunder god's buttball is a blow of the thunder god! It's a masturbation. The black haze around the thunder god is masturbation. The kappa is also pinching its nose with its so smell.

Did the Raijin escape?

Hiroshige Utagawa "Famous Edo Hundred Views Ohashi Atake no Yudate" National Diet Library Digital Collection

Speaking of showers in Shinohashi, the famous one is Hiroshige's "Ohashi Atake Evenings". It is also known for being copied by Van Gogh.

The one that is said to have been painted in parody of this picture is the picture of the Raijin and Kappa of Hirokei Utagawa. The people on the rushing bridge due to heavy rain would not have thought that the battle between Raijin and Kappa was unfolding under the bridge.

The Kappa of the Hirokei is a surprise appearance, but I feel familiar with the comical appearance.

What did you like in the Edo period?

Yoshito Isuzusai "Hundred Thanken Fairy Soroku" National Diet Library Digital Collection

It's Sugoroku based on youkai. Some youkai are still well-known, such as the Kara umbrella ghost (one leg of Sagibuchi in this Soroku), the Kuo fox (Kinge Kuo fox), and the Snow woman (Nakagochi's snowman) Kappa (Taro Bando's Kappa).

The next picture enlarged the appearance of these two frames.

In the early Edo period, the ghost story of Hyaku Monogatari became popular. On the night of the New Moon, a group of people gather and light the hundred lights, and change scary stories such as ghosts, youkai, and mysterious stories. Every time one story is over, the lights are pulled out one by one to darken the room. If you finish talking all 100 episodes, real scary things will appear, so it was promised to stop at 99 episodes and wait for the morning.

In this picture, the children are talking about 100 stories. The children in the room are scared and all come together. The yellow kimono is holding his head. The child who came back after pulling out the light is looking back at the child who is now pulling out the light.

In the early Edo period, when the 100 stories became popular, it was sometimes a monster's work that could not be understood when some incomprehensible and eerie phenomena and feared incidents occurred and the cause was not clear.

"Drawing Hyakuki Yoyuki" Sekien Toriyama National Diet Library Digital Collection

Ukiyo-e artist Sekien Toriyama gave the fear that had been cleared up as a monster's work that did not understand such an inexperienced figure as a monster. He is also a painter who grew up Utamaro Kitagawa and others.

In 1776 (1776), he published "Drawing Hyakuki Yoyuki". In short, it's a youkai picture book. The figure and name of the one youkai are written. The upper picture has an annotation on the right side that it is also called "Kappa" Kawataro. On the left side is Dasou. Is the kawaso also a youkai? It looks like a yokai classification because it is transformed into a raccoon and bad for people.

Isn't the fear of halving if you know the appearance of Zhang, even if you understand the incomprehensible and eerie events?

When the Sogoroku mentioned above was made, the youkai was characterized and became a child's toy.

Other children's toys using youkai included carta and kites. For adults, it is said that if you shoot a bow and arrow or blow arrow and hit the target with a karakuri mechanism, a monster ghost doll will appear. It can be seen that children and adults have come to enjoy youkai.

The Digital Collection of the National Diet Library, Masami Kitao

In the late Edo period, youkai was also published on yellow cover of humorous books for adults. This is a scene of the "Aim of Death". This is a scene where the "forecast entrance" on the right page attracts youkai. The overpass is now a minor, but at that time it was a popular youkai. It is a giant in the form of a monk. It appears on the night road and grows bigger and bigger. It is larger than the roof or tree, and it looks into it from above. If you are surprised and keep looking up, the person is a youkai that can faint or die. There is also a story that if you say "I overlooked" it disappears.

It is "Tofu kid" wearing a shade on the large head on the left. In this book, it is introduced as "Otama Kozo". I carry tofu on the tray, but it seems to be a setting that surprised the tofu shop and squeezed it. The tofu is marked with autumn leaves. The tofu marked with autumn leaves seems to have actually existed. In this story, the grandson of the "forese entrance" is supposed to be "tofu kid". It seems that this yokai was also popular.

There are scary elements, but there is also cuteness and humor. It's like that.

"New Year's Letters, Volume 2," Jukasha 19 National Diet Library Digital Collection

Jukasha 19 also published a youkai from Koshodo in Juzaburo Tsutaya. This book is a peaceful story that youkai live in a different world than humans, just like humans, enjoying New Year's Day, Hinamatsuri and Sumo.

The picture above shows a picture of a youkai mother and child with a baby and a child drawn on a banner with some fun.

The picture on the banner is different from the human world. What do you mean?

"The demon is driving away the Shoki with the sword of Shoki" and "The bear is waving up at Kintoki Sakata with Masa Cali".

Shoki has no powerful dignity as in the human world, and escapes quickly, and seems to be sitting down and covering his eyes even at Kintoki Sakata. It is convincing that heroes in the human world will do so in the world of youkai.

The mother and child of a peaceful youkai. If you go to this point, you will be a youkai who is not scared at all and will be beaten.

I feel that the battle between Raijin and Kappa mentioned at the beginning of the blog feels like the balance between fear and laughter is just right.

This is the current Shinohashi completed in 1977. It is handed over to the Sumida River from Nihonbashihamacho 2.3-chome to Shin-Ohashi 1-chome, Koto-ku.

There is no remnant when it was a wooden bridge in the Edo period. There's a lot of sudden heavy thunderstorms these days. Please be careful. When the black clouds are boiling and the weather is going downhill, there is something around the pier.……

[References]

"Edo Youkai Revolution" Kagawa Masanobukawa Deshobo Shinsha

"Culture of Rivers" Toshio Kitami Kodansha Academic Library