9/05/2009

The Creepy Side of Cute

Yotsuba&! Chapter 33: Yotsuba & Sunny Skies page 1 - Teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主; shiny-shiny Buddhist priest[1]) is a little traditional hand-made doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This amulet is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day. Teru is a Japanese verb which describes sunshine, and a bōzu is a Buddhist monk (compare the word bonze), or in modern slang, bald-headed. - WIKIPEDIA
Yotsuba&! Chapter 33: Yotsuba & Sunny Skies page 2 - Teru teru bōzu became popular during the Edo period among urban dwellers[2], whose children would make them the day before the good weather was desired and chant Fine-weather priest, please let the weather be good tomorrow - WIKIPEDIA
Yotsuba&! Chapter 33: Yotsuba & Sunny Skies page 3 - Today, children make teru-teru-bōzu out of tissue paper or cotton and string and hang them from a window to wish for sunny weather, often before a school picnic day. Hanging it upside down - with its head pointing downside - acts like a prayer for rain. They are still a very common sight in Japan. - WIKIPEDIA
Yotsuba&! Volume 5

That's just f#$*&d up! It's been raining a lot lately, which isn't unusual in this part of the world. But the weather's starting to mess with my mood.