Ushinotoki-mairi
Ushinotoki-mairi
Ushinotoki-mairi (丑時参 – Hour of the Ox) is a type of phenomenon depicted in the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Toriyama Sekien.
The hour of the ox is not really a Yōkai but relates to a period of time when cursing is at its most powerful. This ‘Hour of the Ox’ laying between 2 and 2.30 am.
Legends surrouding the Hour of the Ox states that Kifune Ōkami descended in the Year, Month, Day and Hour of the Ox with a boy named Gyuūki. The cursing is to be done at the Kifune Jinja during the hour of the Ox (the same shrine visited by Hashi-Hime). You are to wear a mirror against your breast, wear three lit candles on your head, and drive a nail into the cedar tree there. To this day cedar trees still contain nail holes from past curses.1
External Links
- View the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki online here: Konjaku Online.
Footnotes
1. Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
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