Superstitions of Okinawa

[TheNoNamedOne]

What Okinawan superstitions do you know of or find interesting?

I will begin:

It is said that childless couples who cut off a piece of the rope from the Naha Tsunahiki (tug of war rope) and place it, and keeping it under their bedding, will soon become pregnant and have a child.

This stems from the fact that the Tsunahiki is a fertility festival. When the two ropes are joined together and the peg holding them is inserted, it sympolizes the physical union of man and woman. Good rain and good sperm makes for a good reaping. Like a barren field that does not bring forth crops, a barren woman, too, will not bring forth child.

If you have an Okinawan friend or spouse, and you want to hear some Okinawan superstitions,
just ask them in Japanese, "Okinawa no meishin o oshiete kudasai" and then share them here with us.

[P_chan]

Thats really interesting, I never knew that! Hmm me and my wife will have to try it!

[TheNoNamedOne]

Do you have yamori(gekko) scampering up and down your walls and on the ceiling hanging around light fixtures looking for buggy snaks? Well, don't kill them! They are good luck.

The syllable "ya" means "house", and "mori" comes from the verb mamoru "to protect" or "mamori" i.e. protection. So, they are "house protectors".

We have a lot on the outside walls of our house and a lot on the inside. We never kill them on purpose, but occassionally they will get killed in the sliding rails of windows or door frames when closing. We also find their small white eggs laying around here and there.

Yamori poop is kind of cute looking. Looks like a mini grub that sticks to a surface -- be it vertical or horizontal. Dries real fast. I've heard a few people say that yamori poop dust is dangerous if breathed or injested.

Before when we lived in an apartment, the occassional cockroach would be spotted, but since living in a house with lots of yamori, we have never had cockroaches.

I like their chirping sounds when they get to calling one another.

[dk]

My old house when I was a kid had lots of gekkos. To this day, I've always loved gekko's because of that house. Their chirping sound is cute and strangely comforting.

[Boost]

Always got a kick out our free roaming pet geckos. Figured they eat bugs so why bother them!

[Tempestuous]

Yeah, I knew someone who got creeped out cause we had one that lived in the bathroom.
It liked to come out every time they showered & it totally bugged them. :)

[Boost]

Yeah, I knew someone who got creeped out cause we had one that lived in the bathroom.
It liked to come out every time they showered & it totally bugged them. :)

Yeah, so anyone getting ready to go to Oki, beware of the peeping tom geckos! They like to watch you while you are nekkid!

[TheNoNamedOne]

And when you notice a few have been hanging around your shoe box by the genkan, be sure to tap your shoes before inserting foot. My wife squished one once and it wasn't a pretty site. Oh, and it made a grossly loud chirp when it was squished -- just like they usually do when a window slides over them on the rail or when the door squishes them. Poor guys.

[Tempestuous]

Bluck!!!
Yet another gross visual!!!
Poor wife!

[Boost]

I used to really enjoy when the base newspaper would do an article on local hauntings around Halloween. Not that I ever wanted to see a ghost, just like to read about em. :)

[dk]

I used to really enjoy when the base newspaper would do an article on local hauntings around Halloween. Not that I ever wanted to see a ghost, just like to read about em. :)
Yep, those have always been some of my favorite articles too.

[TheNoNamedOne]

Some Okinawans believe that when they are extremely shocked or surprised, their soul/spirit drops out of them by exclaiming, "Mabuya wo otoshita." (mabuya=soul; otoshita=dropped). Then they will act as if they are picking it up from the ground and bringing back up towards their body.

The strange thing is, even if they had forgotten to do this and they remember it later, no matter how much time had past, they may go back to the exact same place later and go through the little ritual then.

[socalheart]

Re: Ghosts and generic bad juju
I learned to sprinkle salt at the doors and windows to "purify" the area. It also supposedly works in retail; sprinkling salt after a customer who doesn't buy something insures the next customer will make a large purchase.

Re: Gekkos
They're known to be good luck. Supposedly, hearing a gekko noise means you will receive news from outside the home. On a side note, I once saw a cat catch and eat a gekko. It made horrific crunching noises. Ick! :(

Re: New Year's Celebrations
Opening your doors and windows and sweeping out the house will rid the house of bad juju. The next day opening your doors and windows will let good juju into the house. You're also suppose to pay all your debts, which I think originates from the Chinese. I'm not lear about the specifics of the cleaning, but I know one of y'all must know something about it.

[dk]

Re: Ghosts and generic bad juju
I learned to sprinkle salt at the doors and windows to "purify" the area. It also supposedly works in retail; sprinkling salt after a customer who doesn't buy something insures the next customer will make a large purchase.
This reminds me of the creepiest picture I've ever seen in my life. My friend had a "problem" so him and his parents used to do the whole "put salt across the entrance of a door" thing. Well, one morning, my bud woke up and the salt was scattered like you'd never believe. Like something was trying it's hardest to get through. He took a picture. I've got a copy somewhere at home. Maybe I'll post it if I can find it, but man, it creeped me out when I saw it.

I trusted him when he told me it wasn't staged. He never struck me as the type of person to stage something like that. But who knows...

:eek:

[Talindra]

oi...that would scare the living sh*t outta me!!!!

[P_chan]

Maybe it was an animal that loves salt? Or it could have been me looking for salt for my McDonald's fries! They don't believe in salt packets at mcdonald's over here.

[dk]

Nope, it was next to a closed metal door. :p

But yeah, they need to put some of that salt on their fries!

[Talindra]

no salt in fries? O.O;;;
thats it. I'm never moving there. lol

[dk]

no salt in fries? O.O;;;
thats it. I'm never moving there. lol
I don't think they even have salt shakers in mcdonalds over here. Do they?

[socalheart]

I don't think they even have salt shakers in mcdonalds over here. Do they?

I've never seen any salt shakers on the tables at McDonald's, but there's enough salt on those fries to scare off most ghosts that haunt McD's after dying from a coronary due to eating too many ebi fillets. heh. Ebi fillet... what was that about? :p

[P_chan]

My fries usually have very little salt. You can ask them for salt though. They just put it in a small fry bag and give it to you. Ha they give you about a salt sakers worth of salt in the bag once you ask for it.

[TheNoNamedOne]

There is a particular gajumaru tree in Nago on a back street, and it is actually in the middle of the street. If you walk up to it you will see lots of stones placed within its branches.

I saw this about 12 years ago and I asked one of workers at a small shop nearby about the stones. He told me that if you make a wish and place the stone amongst the branches, that your wish would come true once the stone finally fell to the ground naturally. For better chances of big wishes coming true, one should place it in a very good resting place that will require a long time for it to fall.

I haven't been up there in a long time, but I wonder if there are still many stones in the tree branches. I would check on the one I placed but I have long forgotten where I placed it and what it looked like, not to mention what I had even wished for.

Does anyone else no about this back street gajumaru tree I am talking about?

[coldnoodles]

Superstitions
Do you panic after breaking a mirror because it may mean seven years' bad luck? Do you avoid letting a black cat cross your path? Does the number 13 make you uncomfortable? Do you scold your children when they open an umbrella in the house? When you knock over a salt shaker do you throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder? Perhaps you keep a rabbit's foot or a "lucky" coin in your pocket or handbag. And, I'm sure you never walk under a ladder...

Any Japanese who saw such reactions would probably laugh and call you a superstitious, unscientific, old-fashioned person. Yet the same Japanese might turn around and tell you with the sincerest conviction that numbers 42 should be avoided at any cost, that badgers are mischievous, little wrong-doers, that dead spirits are sometimes embodied in female cats, that women ghosts haunt taxi-cabs, and that every rock, tree, mountain, river, and even grain of sand has a spirit. Then you might "logically" conclude the Japanese are superstitious, unscientific, and old-fashioned. You see, it all depends on where you live, how you were educated, your religious and family background, your psychological composition, and your daily environment.

Here is what some research rendered regarding Japanese superstitions...
The numbers 4 and 9
The number four is considered bad luck because it is pronounced the same as the word for death (shi). For this reason most Japanese try to avoid that sound. Hospitals in Japan do not have the numbers, 4, 9, 14, 19, or 42 for any room. Number 9 is pronounced (ku) in Japanese, rhyming with a different word which means pain or worry. Number 42 is pronounced ju-shi-ni (shi-ni meaning to die). Number 420 sounds similar to a word meaning dead spirit, and number 24 is ju-ni-shi (ni-shi; double death). Especially in the maternity ward, some hospitals refrain from using the number 43, ju-shi-zan (shi-zan means still-birth). In some hotels the room number four is skipped. Also, one should not make presents that consist of four pieces, which is the norm in the U.S. Gift sets are usually presented in quantities of 3 or 5.

Kaso--house floor plan
Ancient Japanese thought that the plan of a house influenced its dweller's fortune. It is believed by many people still today. Fortune telling by floor plan is called Kaso. For example, a house entrance put on the northeast of the house is called kimon. Ancient Japanese believed that kimon conjures a hellish monster, Oni (see below). Even today, many people do not like to put an entrance in that direction.

Tatami mat borders
In Japan it is considered bad luck to step on the cloth border of the tatami floor mats. It's kind of like the U.S. superstition rhyme that children know about cracks in the sidewalk "Step on a crack, break your mama's back"

Omikuji--Japanese fortune-telling
Omikuji are good luck charms used in Japan. These written fortunes are obtained by drawing lots in the form of sticks from a container; the sticks are then exchanged for long, narrow pieces of paper upon which good or bad fortunes are indicated. These containers can be found at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples.

The sick and potted plants
When you are visiting someone staying in the hospital, bringing a gift such as cut flowers is usually done instead of giving cards, but potted plants should always be avoided because it is said that a potted plant symbolizes that the patient will be rooted in the hospital, prolonging his illness.

Fried eel and melon
Superstition says that eating both of these foods in the same meal will poison your spirit and lead to death.

Lie down after eating
If you lie down immediately after you eat, you will turn into a cow. (So much for a nap after Thanksgiving dinner.)

Gata strap
To break that strap of your gata, wooden sandle or zori (all are types of shoes) means that you will have bad luck....like breaking a mirror.

Whistling at night
According to Japanese superstition, whistling at night attracts snakes. The saying goes, 'Yoru ni kuchibiru o fuku to hebi ga kuru'. It means, "If you whistle at night, a snake will come (into your house)." It dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867). In those days the whistle was a sign used by burglars to communicate with or warn each other, and a whistle in the night therefore became associated with thieves entering one's house. Whistling at night became associated with inviting thieves, bad luck, or misfortune into your home. The snake, as one of the most famous symbols of evil and misfortune, came to be included in the taboo.

Clipping you fingernails at night
This superstition has two versions. One says that if you cut your nails at night, you will die young, and another says that you won't be with your parents when they die, i.e. you will die before them. There are two reasons for these superstitions. One is that during the Edo period, cutting one's nails at night was dangerous because of the lack of light. The second reason is that the Japanese word 'Yotsume' (cutting your nails at night) sounds like 'Yo o tsumeru' which means to cut short a life.

Cat with one raised paw
These felines, now usually ceramic, are called Maneki-neko, which means "beckoning cat." They are thought to bring good luck or attract customers to the shop. There is a famous story about an extremely poor temple whose cat beckoned to a traveler who was sitting under a tree outside its gates. He decided to come in and just as he moved away from the tree, it was struck by lightning. The stranger turned out to be extremely rich and he became the temple's patron, making it extremely wealthy. There are several different varieties of Maneki-neko and they all have different meanings. Cats with the right paw raised are beckoning in money or good fortune and cats with the left paw raised are beckoning in customers. Most Maneki-neko are white, but if you see a black one, it is warding off evil, and the even rarer red ones are to prevent sickness.

Black cats
There are also some imported superstitions such as the belief that black cats crossing the street in front of you cause bad luck.

Rokuyo
Japanese had used complex lunar calendar until 19th century. A month had 28 days then. A month also had 5 weeks, and a week had 6 days. The six days included Taian, Butsumetsu, Senpu, Tomobiki, Shakko, and Sensho. They are called Rokuyo. Nowadays Japanese people use sun calendar, though some superstitions came to life instead. Taian, "the day of great peace," is believed a good day, and Butsumetsu, "the day Buddha died," is believed a bad day. Most ceremonies are held on a Taian day, not on a Butsumetsu day. It is a not good idea to hold a funeral ceremony on a Tomobiki day. If it was held on a Tomobiki day, some of attendees would die soon, they say. Rokuyo came to popular in the 19th century. Until then it was a very minor superstition very few people had believed. In the 19th century, the government took the policy to import western science and technology, and tried to prohibit all "primitive" superstitions. The diet passed the law to regulate the description of calendar. It succeeded partially, and most of the good day/bad day superstitions died. But, the government forgot to regulate rokuyo superstition because it was too minor. So people came to believe it instead of the other many superstitions in those days.

Sanrinbo
Once there was another calendar system in which a week had twelve days, different from the Rokuyo calendar. According to the calendar, there were days called Sanrinbo twice a month. Sanrinbo was thought so unlucky a day that people didn't start travel or building on the day. Some people still believe this superstition.

Jichinsai
Japanese hold the ceremony of Jichinsai to calm the spirit of earth when they build a new building or other installations such as highway or airport. In this ceremony, Kannushi, a priest of Shinto, prays the success of building. Jichinsai is one of traditional Shinto rituals. It was believed that if someone built a new house without permission of earth spirit, the spirit would get angry and destroy the building.

Luck
You will have bad luck if you talk back to someone talking in their sleep. You should always throw salt where a beggar has just been. If the first person you meet on any given day is a woman, you will have good luck. If it is a Buddhist priest, be prepared for a bad day. A good omen is getting a bird dropping on your head. If you are overtaken by a funeral procession on the street, you will have bad luck. A material (paper or wood) wrapped in cloth brings you good luck if you keep it near you at all times. Since the fish known in Japanese as "tai" (red sea bream) is part of the word "medetai" (good luck) and is also red in color, it is regarded as the good luck fish of Japan.Lucky Days

Weddings are usually held on "taian" days (days of great peace) or "tomobiki" days (friend pulling days). Funerals are also held on tomobiki days because it is like pulling a friend to death. "Kichi" is a day of great fortune, and "kyo" is a day of bad fortune because it is the day of the Buddha's death. The 4th and 14th days of a month are considered unlucky, while the 15th and 28th days are thought of as lucky days. Lucky days are good for starting projects and trips.

Myths
The Japanese believe in many creatures relating to myths. One of the most famous is "oni," or devil. They occasionally have three eyes and are almost always giant-sized. Their colors are red, blue, grey, or pink and they always have horns. Three toes and three fingers are unusual features that Onis have. They have the ability to fly, but hardly ever do. They are dumb, cruel, and malicious. Most all myths relate to a religion, whether it is Buddhism, Shinto, or a different religion.

[coldnoodles]

Death
Some superstitions are considered foolish and funny, but those concerning death are taken very seriously, and there are many...

You should never stick your chopsticks straight up and down in your rice bowl because that is how it is done at a funeral. You should never give food from chopstick to chopstick: this is only done with the bones of the cremated body at funerals. You should always lay out your futon so it is pointed south. Your pillow should never point north. This is the position of the body of a dead person at a Buddhist funeral. If you are the middle person in a picture with two others in it, and they have passed on, you will soon die or suffer a hard tragedy. If a funeral car passes, you should hide your thumb because it is believed that if you don't, your parents will die soon. This is because in Japanese, the thumb is known as the "oya yubi" or "parent finger." After attending a funeral, guests must have salt sprinkled on them before entering their homes. Salt is used in scared purification rites and this ceremony is done to remove the spirit of the person who dies, which may follow them home from the funeral. Many people in Japan cover their bedroom mirrors at night for fear that a woman from another world will come through and take them away forever.

Ghosts
The Japanese have their own ghosts. Their ghosts are different from ours because all that we really think of as ghosts are clear little white things. Their ghosts each have their own personality and ways to terrorize people. Some general terms for ghosts are "obake" or "bakemono." That literally means transforming thing. "Youkai" means bewitching apparition, which includes monsters, goblins, and ghouls. "Yuurei" is a dim, hazy, or faint spirit. These are probably the closest types of ghosts to America's vision of them that you will get. They are supposedly dead spirits living on earth for a reason. An example of youkai is "Rokurokubi," a female monster with a long, flexible neck. She looks like a regular woman during the day, but at night, she takes all of their energy away from you, causing you to die. Women ghosts come back in taxi cabs, and other ghosts come back as cats.

In many shrines, temples, and souvenir shops, amulets are sold that are supposed to bring luck, safety, or good fortune. There are amulets for money, health, love, success on exams, safety on the streets, etc. Small pieces of paper (omikuji) that predict your future are also available. These pieces of paper are tied around the branch of a tree after reading; either to make the good fortune come true or to avoid the predicted bad fortune. The most popular are called Omamori Bukuro, literally, "a charm in a brocade bag." Practically every taxi and truck in Japan carries one, or a small, girl doll, to ward off evil, female ghosts, or to protect them against accidents. Many private passenger cars carry similar charms.

[Ammoyankee]

Superstitions
Whistling at night
According to Japanese superstition, whistling at night attracts snakes. The saying goes, 'Yoru ni kuchibiru o fuku to hebi ga kuru'. It means, "If you whistle at night, a snake will come (into your house)." It dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867). In those days the whistle was a sign used by burglars to communicate with or warn each other, and a whistle in the night therefore became associated with thieves entering one's house. Whistling at night became associated with inviting thieves, bad luck, or misfortune into your home. The snake, as one of the most famous symbols of evil and misfortune, came to be included in the taboo.


I hear this one from the wife. Sometimes we might be driving along at night and I will whistle just for the hell of it and the wife tells me to stop or a snake will come along and bite me in the "chin-chin"!:scared:

[kilo_four-six]

Not a superstition but I flashed my brights at a of driver once who had theirs on, you know, to let them know to dim down, normal stuff right? Well the Okinawans who were in my car had a major freakout, started yelling at me not to do that cause it might be a yakuza car and they would kill us, I mean they really had a fit. I was shocked. What the hell, do yakuza drive around with their brights on and you're not allowed to tell them?? Sheez. Off-subject I know but I thought you all might find that amusing.

[atb35]

"Lie down after eating
If you lie down immediately after you eat, you will turn into a cow. (So much for a nap after Thanksgiving dinner.)"

I dont think this is a superstition...its real. Look at the general population in America as proof....

[P_chan]

Not a superstition but I flashed my brights at a of driver once who had theirs on, you know, to let them know to dim down, normal stuff right? Well the Okinawans who were in my car had a major freakout, started yelling at me not to do that cause it might be a yakuza car and they would kill us, I mean they really had a fit. I was shocked. What the hell, do yakuza drive around with their brights on and you're not allowed to tell them?? Sheez. Off-subject I know but I thought you all might find that amusing.

LOL I don't think they drive around with their brights on to try and get people to flash theirs at them so they can beat them up.

Kinda like that myth that there is a gang in the states that does the same thing. But their lights are off and once you flash your lights at them, they kill you.