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Shibaemon-tanuki, or Shibaemon-danuki (芝右衛門狸 or 柴右衛門狸) is a Bake-danuki told in the legends of Awaji island, Hyōgo Prefecture.〔村上2000年 182-183頁。〕 Along with Danzaburou-danuki of Sado island, and the Yashima no Hage-tanuki of Kagawa Prefecture, he is counted among the "three famous tanuki of Japan." He is also written about in the colorful stories collection of the Edo period, the Ehon Hyaku Monogatari.〔多田編1997年 62-63頁。〕 While disguised as a human and in the middle of performing an act, he was attacked by a dog and killed, but the details of the tale differ depending on region and literature.〔 ==Legend in the Hyōgo prefecture== While Shibaemon-tanuki was at the summit of Mt. Mikuma (三熊山) behind the city of Sumoto, Awaji island, he lived with his wife Omasu (お増), and on moonlight nights with good weather, he drummed his belly. He performed mischief such as disguising himself as a human and making tree leaves seem like gold and sell them, but at the same time he did kind deeds such as guiding along humans who stumbled into the mountain while drunk, so nobdody hated him. The people he has been kind to made offerings of 1 sho bottles of sake to where he dwelled. One time, Shibaemon heard that there was a very popular play called Nakaza that was being performed in Naniwa (now Osaka city), and disguised himself and Omasu both as humans to Osaka. The two became quite cheerful while sightseeing around Osaka, which they have never been to before, and had a contest of disguises. The Omasu disguised herself as one of the daimyo's procession, and passed in front of Shibaemon. Next up was Shibaemon to disguise himself. In front of the Omasu, there proceeded a long procession of feudal lords. Omasu praised, "you're good, you're good," and was immediately cut down by one of the warriors in the procession. The procession was not Shibaemon, but the real thing. Shibaemon, who was stricken with grief, was about to return to Awaji, but decided to at least watch the play that Omasu wanted to see, and used a technique to change tree leaves into gold and went to the theater. However, at the theater, there tree leaves were mixed in with the admission fees, so they suspected that a bake-danuki has slipped in among the guests, and a guard dog was put on alert. When Shibaemon was finally about to go to the see the theater and then return to Awaji for the day, when Shibaemon came to the theater, there was a big dog. Shibamon hid his fear and passed through the entrance, but within a gap of his confidence, the dog rushed to attack. Shibaemon immediately returned to his appearance as a tanuki, was chased around by the people who brought the dog, and finally hit in the head and killed. The rumor that a bake-danuki was killed in Osaka reached Awaji, and since they did not hear Shibaemon drum his belly, they understood that he was killed, and the people severely hated the fact that he died. After Shibaemon's death, the people who came to see Nakaza decreased, and there was a rumor that "it was a curse from having killed Shibaemon," so when the theater deified Shibaemon, the number of guests returned. Afterwards, Shibaemon, as a popular god, was deeply worshipped by many actors such as Nakamura Ganjirou, Kataoka Nizaemon, and Fujiyama Kanbi.〔 Afterwards, in what was called Shibaemon's return home, the Shrine of Shibaemon was built in Sumoto due to Nizaemon, Kanbi, and others' donations.〔〔（インターネット・アーカイブによる記録）〕 Now, the Shrine of Shibaemon is near the castle ruins of Sumoto at the peak of Mt. Mikuma, and due to the legend of Shibaemon, who liked theater, there are many performers who visit the shrine even now.〔多田編1997年 143-144頁。〕 The Shibaemon Daimyoujin (柴右衛門大明神) that was deified in Nakaza also had a "return home" in the year 2000, and is now deified in the Sumoto Hachiman-jinja. 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「Shibaemon-tanuki」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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