(A) Inugami

A long time ago, when Kobo Daishi toured Shikoku, a peasant near Matsuyama, Iyo Province, let him stay overnight and entertained him wholeheartedly. The Daishi was so pleased that he told him to feel free to tell him that he would give him whatever he wanted. The farmer thought momentarily and said, "Since this village is close to the mountains, wild boars appear at night to dig potatoes in the fields and eat them. If possible, please don't let the wild boar come out and cast a spell, please". The Daishi quickly accepted that it was a simple matter, ordered a writing paper, wrote something on it, sealed it tightly, and left the village after sternly saying, "Put it in the field and the boar won't come out from this evening but don't forget it or break the seal and examine the inside".

wholeheartedly（副）心から

momentarily（副）ほんの束の間に

When the farmer did so, the wild boar mysteriously disappeared that evening. When he saw the strange event, he could not bear it, and when he gently opened the seal and looked inside, there was a paper with a picture of a dog, but nothing. Then the dog instantly slipped out of the paper and became a real dog. The current inugami* (dog god) was born at that time. I wrote down the stories I often hear in my hometown. (Imai X)

(B) Kitsune-mochi

A long time ago, in Chiimiya, Hikawa County, Izumo Province, there was a carpenter who made yarn frames for a living. One day, as usual, he was on his way to Kizuki with a thread frame, when he saw children in the village catching and beating a fox, he felt sorry for them, so he bought the fox, treated it carefully, and let it go. The fox bowed his head and went nowhere, but since then he has somehow become wealthy. The locals were jealous of him, and since none of them spoke well of him, he became a local bam, but persevered patiently until at last he left a large sum of money, named his house name Wakuri (thread frame), and became such a wealthy farmer that no one in the neighborhood could compare him to.

bam（名）嫌われ者

Since then, locals have referred to the family as Kitsune-mochi (possessed a fox). (Hyozo Shimizu)

possess（動）取り憑く

There are two villages, Zenki and Goki*, in the mountains of Yoshino County, Yamato Province. From long ago, they didn't associate with other villages, didn't come into the world, and only occasionally came to Shingu in Kii Province to buy salt. Strangely, when they go shopping, they are lost as soon as they leave the store after shopping.

One day, a Tanabe man went to Zenki and Goki villages and jokingly said, "I will give you eggplants from my own field, "and when he casually went to the field, he found that, lo and behold, all the eggplants in his field had been taken and not a single one was left. It is still said that Zenki and Goki came and took it. (△Kumagusu Minakata**)

eggplant（名）ナス

(A)

*inugami: A kind of spirit possession belief that is prevalent in western Japan, especially in the Shikoku region. Households that were possessed by inugami were discriminated against by other houses, such as being abhorred from marriage.

(B)

(C)

*Zenki and Goki: The names of a couple of ogres who are believed to have been followed by En no Ozunu, the founder of Shugendo. They are said to have originally lived in the mountains of the Kansai region and harmed humans, but they were defeated by Ozunu and followed him.

**Kumagusu Minakata: (1867 - 1941) A naturalist, biologist, and folklorist. He was born in Wakayama Prefecture. He studied in the United States and the United Kingdom and contributed papers to Nature. After returning to Japan, he studied slime molds and folklore in his native Wakayama. He also interacted with the folklorist Kunio Yanagita. In 1907, he campaigned against the shrine consolidation policy.