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On Sunday I went to Inunakiyama, a mountain close to where I live. It is very scenic and has an interesting legend behind it.

Inunakiyama means Dog Cry Mountain. A Hunter was hunting with his dog on this mountain. It spotted a snake and started barking to warn his master. However the Hunter was annoyed with the dog’s barking and cut its head off. The dog’s head still chased after the snake and killed it.

The Hunter so grieved with himself for killing his rescuer that he built a shrine on the mountain for the dog and it’s named after this heroic dog.

At the top of the mountain I had an unusual experience which I’ll write about it in a future post.

This was spotted at a park near our house. It`s about a traditional Japanese children`s story called Kachi-kachi yama

From the linked article:

The title of the story comes from the especially painful trick that the rabbit played. The tanuki was carrying a heavy load of kindling on his back to make a campfire for the night. He was so burdened that he did not immediately notice when the rabbit set fire to the kindling. Soon, the crackling sound reached his ears.

“What is that sound?” the tanuki asked.

“It is Kachi-Kachi Yama” the rabbit replied. “We are not far from it, so it is no surprise that you can hear it!”

Eventually, the fire reached the tanuki’s back, burning him badly, but without killing him.

In England we have spaced-out Teletubbies, in Japan they have pyromaniacal rabbits.

Tags: Japan, Osaka, Asia, Quaisi, Kansai, Expat, English, Japanese, Fairytale, Kachi-kachi yama

Ebisu the god of god of fishermen, good luck, and workingmen and symbol of Osaka. Always with trusty rod and fish by his side.

Technorati Tags: Japan, Osaka, Asia, Quaisi, Kansai, Expat, English, Blog