Oni no Hakata!

First time, I went in 2015 and that was notable because the proprietor gave me a lift to the station since buses were so rare. Next time, was in 2016 and I showed off some Peruvian masks and Gegege jigsaw puzzles. In 2017 I showcased some of the quadriptychs (4-part triptychs). Then in 2018, I convinced a friend to drive there. It's so much more fun to make dumb puns to another rather than to oneself. I took a few years off (stupid COVID) and returned in 2022. At that time, there were some cute paper crafts to espy. Since my wedding last Saturday was so early, I had time to return.

This time the feature display was some very cool papier-mâché masks. 

  

I was lucky enough to make it on the second-last day. I was not there for the workshop though. I'll let you try and figure out how to make your own.

 

I wish I could have made a Kappa mask! 

 

Lots of other masks on the walls, good thing they were behind glass, because I'd have tried them all on.

 

 

 

 

 

And couple of dozen Papier-mâché figures.

 

Back in September, artist Hanjiro Sawato made a large Onikenba Koboshi.

Children wrote their wishes on papier-mâché and pasted them on the figure.

 

Sheesh, I wouldn't want to see this spider again!  

Hanjiro Sawato made this Gongen-sama (lion head for the Gongen dance).

 

 

All in all, a nice little display of paper mache (ooh, that spelling is gauche.)

Onto the interior of the museum. If you're new, welcome. If you've seen these posts before (or clicked the above links), be patient. Hopefully there are a few new sights to be seen.

I don't remember seeing this guy above the entrance before.

To enter the main hall, one has to walk through this haunted forest. Presented for you...

 

Skip the first two minutes if you only wish to see floating Oni and cheesy effects.

Scary! Scarier are several long tapestries behind famous Yokai and Oni.

 

Always liked that Kappa!

Some lovely Oni masks.

 

A day without a look at a Krampus mask is a day ill-spent.

One of the kids at the mask-making workshop made a Krampus. Good Job!

 

He writes, "Krampus: Austrian Namahage is a little scary with its big nose and toothless mouth.

This guy's a sweetheart with a delightful chuckle. Click here to watch his chin wag. 

I have a student from Nepal, so I'll ask her if she knows anything about this guy next week.

 

These masks are from Sri Lanka and I have TWO students from there. Surely one of them knows something. 

Lots more to see, such as this Gegege gang.

But you'll just have to check out the place yourself!

I went to my car and WHOA! That Damn spider did track me down!

This was a special ONI entry on the countdown. I'm gonna watch some TV and maybe I'll have another post tonight about my student's Halloween Treat or Trick!

Beware of the Red Lantern Boy!

I started off this evening with a simple blog about a boy and ended up (down) several rabbit holes leading to what is Sendai's only Yokai!* Chouchin Kouzou (Lantern Priest Boy) is a tween lad with a cherry-red face who shows up in an area where a horrid murder has taken place. The good news is that he's a fairly benign yokai who means you no harm, just wants to freak you out by walking in front of you and staring you down. 

This video does a pretty good job of depicting the situation.

 

The music is eerie, the actress is a cutie (Mai Horai, based on a few of the commenters, she has a following) and the boy is suitably creepy. 

Now we get to the good part, I've scammed his origin from Yokai Finder and the lad "lives" downtown.

Origin: Chōchin kozō are associated with a particular neighborhood in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture: the area of Aoba Ward between Tsutsumidori Amamiya Machi and Kamisugi. The first sightings took place in the summer during the early 18th century, after a man horribly murdered his wife and her body dumped in that vicinity. The yōkai were thought to be somehow connected to the ghost of the murdered woman.

Here's a blurb from Wikipedia that narrows down his address.

It is said to have appeared in Tsutsumi-dori, in the northern part of the castle town of Sendai Castle (currently Tsutsumi-dori Amemiya-cho and Uesugi 1-2-chome, Aoba -ku, Sendai City 仙台市青葉区堤通雨宮町および上杉1～2丁目. Maybe you'll have better luck with Google Maps than I did.) Its appearance is that of a boy around 12 or 13 years old in human years, but its face is bright red, and it is often likened to the color of ground cherries.

When a person is walking down a rainy road at night, this lantern boy appears from behind, passes the person, then stops, turns around, and stares at the person. The person who is passed becomes suspicious and passes in front of the lantern boy and continues walking, at which point the lantern boy passes them again and stops. The lantern boy repeats this behavior without causing any particular harm to humans, and after a repetition, he disappears.

There is also a theory that the location where the Lantern Boy appears is the place where an unjust murder took place on July 15th during the Shōtoku era (1711-1715 ).

This depiction is by Gegege artist Shigeru Mizuki, (above) and he has his own statue in Tokyo, (below).

*You ninny! You wrote about Sendai's other Yokai, Kashikobuchi, here!

I spent so much time on Lantern Boy, that what follows will be a truncated version.

A while back, I wandered through the book section of e-Beans and came across the Junji Ito display. I don't want to spend full price on any manga, but it does have a nice selection.

I don't have covers for any Green Lantern books, nor have I ever read any Red Lantern book, but just for fun here is the Red Lantern Oath:

With blood and rage of crimson red, ripped from a corpse so freshly dead, together with our hellish hate, we'll burn you all, that is your Fate! 

Instead, let's use a different comic cover. I haven't read it yet. Is that a Red Lantern?

Finally, let's take a look at a Gatcha. Nothing particularly Lantern-related, so how about some pumped up bunnies just in time for Moon-Viewing time.

Hey, the Wonderful Wonderblog has some Halloween tidbits to check out. See ya tomorrow!