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is a legendary cow from the Aizu region of Japan, who inspired a traditional toy. Aizu legend claims that the toys are based on a real cow used to build the Enzō-ji temple in the ninth century. The toy is made from two pieces of papier-mâché-covered wood, shaped and painted to look like a red cow or ox. One piece represents the cow's head and neck and the other its body. The head and neck hangs from a string and fits into the hollow body. When the toy is moved, the head thus bobs up and down and side to side. The earliest akabeko toys were created in the late 16th or early 17th century. Over time, people came to believe that the toys could ward off smallpox and other illnesses. Akabeko has become one of Fukushima Prefecture's most famous crafts and a symbol of the Aizu region. It has also been recognized as a symbol of the larger Tōhoku region, of which Fukushima Prefecture is a part.〔(TV commercials transmitting the attractions of Japan and Tohoku to the world ), States News Service, 8 March 2012 〕 ==Origin of the legend== According to an Aizu-area legend recorded by Thomas Madden, akabeko toys are based upon a real cow that lived in AD 807. At that time, a monk named Tokuichi was supervising the construction of Enzō-ji, a temple in Yanaizu, Fukushima. Upon the temple's completion, the akabeko gave its spirit to Buddha, and its flesh immediately turned to stone. Another version of the tale claims that the cow instead refused to leave the temple grounds after construction had been completed and became a permanent fixture there. The red cow was called and became a symbol of zealous devotion to the Buddha.〔 After Toyotomi Hideyoshi had solidified his power over Japan, his representative, Gamō Ujisato, was sent to be the lord of the Aizu region in 1590. At his new post, Ujisato heard the story of akabeko and ordered his court artisans, who had accompanied him from Kyoto, to create a toy based on the red cow. These early papier-mâché akabeko introduced most of the basic elements for which the toy is known.〔 In the same period, Japan suffered a smallpox outbreak. People in Aizu noticed that children who owned akabeko toys did not seem to catch the illness.〔 The akabeko's red colour may have enhanced this association, since red amulets are thought to protect against that illness.〔Perkins, Dorothy (1991). ''Encyclopedia of Japan: Japanese History and Culture, from Abacus to Zori''. Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-1934-7.〕 Akabeko toys became very popular as charms to ward off sickness, a superstition that persists in modern times. The toy has since become one of the few crafts from Fukushima Prefecture to be known all over Japan〔 (published May 1992)〕 and a symbol of the Aizu area. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Akabeko」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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