照る means ① to be sunny (in terms of weather) ② to reflect beautifully, to shine
Just a few weeks ago I was walking down the streets of Tokyo—and saw
something strange. A white, tissue-like stuff was hanging on the veranda of some
Japanese house, wobbling side to side by the gentle wind; my Japanese friend saw what
I was staring at, and told me it’s a Teru-teru-bozu.
Anyone who had had a glance at the Japanese culture (as in Japanese comics, or
Manga, or Japanese drama) would have seen little children hanging weird ghost-like
dolls that are “bald as an egg” on the tip of the roof and put their hands together to pray.
Take a closer look at one of those weird ghost-like dolls: the doll is bald, has no eyes,
nose, or mouth, has a circular face made of white fabric stuffed with cotton and another
white fabric stuck on the bottom of the cotton head. Some children with artistic talent
would color the white fabric in various colors or, stick arms to the body part to decorate
Teru-teru-bozu.
Teru-teru-bozu. The literal translation leads to ‘twinkle twinkle monk.’ This
extravagant name has several stories that explain its origin, and the more influential
story is about an execution of a monk. There was a really long rainy season that caused
farmers to be worrisome of ruining their crops, and the farmers asked a monk to stop the
rain for them. The monk did his best to stop the rain but failed, and was executed for his
failure. This scary story hidden under the innocent smile of the doll can also be traced in
the lyrics of the Japanese Teru-teru-bozu song that was made in 1921.
Translation:
Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
Like the sky in a dream sometime
If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell
Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
If you make my wish come true
We'll drink lots of sweet rice wine
Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
But if it's cloudy and you are crying (i.e. it's raining)
Then I shall snip your head off
Let us discuss for a moment the reason Teru-teru-bozu is made. Teru-teru-bozu
is a doll that puts an end to rain (or, it’s a doll that shows the ‘hope’ of ending the rain).
This tiny doll made of plain bald head and a piece of fabric is usually made by children
right before a school picnic day. I mean, who’d want a rainy picnic day? Millions of
little Japanese children hang the Teru-teru-bozu on their roof tips and go to bed praying
that it doesn’t rain tomorrow. If the Teru-teru-bozu successfully put an end to the rain
that was ongoing during the night, the happy children draw eyes on the Teru-teru-bozu
to express their joy.
The opposite is possible as well. When Teru-teru-bozu is hung in the opposite
direction, that is, if its head is towards the ground and its body is towards the ceiling, the
doll is supposedly hoping for a rainy tomorrow. This doll that anyone from youngsters
to oldies can easily make is like a spokesperson that expresses the creator’s wish to have
a sunny/rainy day tomorrow (depends on the way the doll is hung). Even though the doll
hanging is an old custom that has its origins from the Edo era, the doll is still very
popular—maybe because it is in fact so easy to make.
Today, the Teru-teru-bozu is used in various media. This bald doll now
contains more than its wish carrying role—it now is the symbol of the Japanese culture
as a whole, and is step by step becoming something that touches the core of the Japanese
lives. Sometimes, it’s the simplistic, seemingly most unimportant element that grasps
the essence of the Japan I am curious about.
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