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or 〔 gives "shrine visitation at the hour of the cow"〕 refers to a prescribed method of laying a curse upon a target that is traditional to Japan, so-called because it is conducted during the hours of the Ox (between 1 and 3AM). The practitioner—typically a scorned woman〔—while dressed in white and crowning herself with an iron ring set with three lit candles upright, hammers nails into a sacred tree〔 of the Shinto shrine. In the modern-day common conception, the nails are driven through a straw effigy of the victim, impaled upon the tree behind it.〔〔 The ritual must be repeated seven days running, after which the curse is believed to succeed, causing death to the target,〔 but being witnessed in the act is thought to nullify the spell. The Kibune Shrine in Kyoto is famously associated with the ritual. Also variously called , , . ==Overview== Sources say that common method of the ritual developed during the Edo Period (1603-1868).〔, citing 〕 The woman performing the curse is generally portrayed as dressed in white, with disheveled hair,〔 wearing an iron "crown" that holds three burning candles,〔〔 suspending (from her neck) a mirror upon her chest〔〔〔 (which lies hidden〔) and wearring a pair of tall clogs (''geta'').〔〔 states that she wears tall clogs with only one support board (「一本歯の高下駄」) , even though the accompanying illustration from a Utagawa Toyohiro print clearly shows two supports.〕 She would then nail a straw doll representing her target to a at the Shinto shrine.〔, quoted in 〕 The iron "crown" that she wears is actually a (or trivet,〔 a stand for setting cooking pots, etc., above a heat source) which she wears in inverted, slipping the iron ring over her head and sticking candles on its three legs.〔 It was believed that the spot struck on the straw doll corresponded to the area of the body where the target would begin to experience illness or injury.〔〔 However, this straw doll or other form of effigy was not a definitive requisite in the ritual even relatively late in the Edo Period. For instance, in Toriyama Sekien's ''Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki'' (1779, pictured top right) depicts the woman holding a hammer but no doll, nor is the doll mentioned in the caption.〔Sekien (1779), quote: 「丑時まいりハ、胸に一ツの鏡をかくし、頭に三つの燭〔ともしび〕を點じ、 丑みつの比神社にまうでゝ杉の梢に釘うつとかや。 はかなき女の嫉妬より起りて、人を失ひ身をうしなふ。 人を呪咀〔のろわ〕ば穴二つほれとは、よき近き譬ならん」 Translation: In the ''ushi doki mairi'', (woman ) conceals a mirror in the bosom, lights three candles around her head, visits the shrine in the ''ushi mitsu'' hour (third quarter of the hour of the ox, 2:00~2:30 AM), and drives nails into a sugi tree. The fleeting jealousies of a woman, brings ruin to the person and body. It is well said the proverb "curse someone, dig a second grave (yourself )".〕 In this case, the nails are driven directly into the branches of the sacred tree. The props used are described somewhat differently, depending on the source. Nails of a particular size called are prescribed according to some authorities.〔〔 She may hold in her mouth a comb,〔小松和彦(Komatsu, Kazuhiko)「いでたちは白い着物を着て、髮を乱し、顔に白粉、歯には鉄漿、口紅を濃くつくる、頭には鉄輪をかぶり、その三つの足にろうそくを立ててともす。胸に鏡を掛け、口に櫛をくわえる。履き物は歯の高い足駄である」 quoted in:〕 or a "torch of bamboo and pine roots lighted at both ends".〔 The "proper witching hour" is, strictly speaking, the ''ushi no mitsu doki'' (2:00~2:30AM).〔 In Sekien's or Hokusai's print (above), the woman performing the curse ritual is depicted with a black ox by her side. Such a black ox, lying recumbent, is expected to appear on the seventh night of the ritual, and one must stride or straddle over the animal to complete the task to success, but if one betrays fear at the ox's apparition the "potency of the charm is lost".〔 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「Ushi no toki mairi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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