Daidarabotchi

Daidarabotchi (Japaneseダイダラボッチ) is a giant of Japanese legends, who is blamed for a variety of scenic phenomena such as ponds, lakes and mountains.

He is under a variety of names or dialect variants are known, including Daidarabō (ダイダラボウ,ダイダラ 坊), Dēdarabotchi (デエダラボッチ) Deirabotchi / Dērabotchi (デイラボッチ/デエラボッチ,デーラボッチ) or Deirabotcha / Dērabotcha (デイラボッチャ/デーラボッチャ), and many more

A giant with these properties is already mentioned in Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki, an imperial record of customs in the province of Hitachi which was compiled beginning of the 8th century. For the district Naka is found in the following passage:

「平津驛家西一二里、有岡。名曰―大櫛。上古有人、體極長大、身居丘壟之上、手摎海濱之蜃。大蛤也。其所食貝、積聚成岡。時人、取大朽之義、今謂大櫛之岡。其踐跡、長卌余步、廣廿余步。尿穴徑可廿余步計。」

" 12 ri west of the post office of Hiratsu is a Ogushi called hill. In ancient times, a man of extremely large figure lived here. He sat on a hill and gathered with his hands giant clams from the beach. The consumed mussels piled on top of a hill. At that time called these hills Ōkuchi ( like having big waste '), today Ogushi. The footprints of giants were more than 40 bu long, more than 20 bu wide and the hole created by his urine had bu a diameter of more than 20. "

The Ogushi Kaizuka described (大 串 贝 冢, 36 ° 20 '1 " N, 140 ° 32' 57 " O36.333532140.549297 ) is an approximately 5000 year old Køkkenmøddinger in Mito and since May 11, 1960 National Historic Site.

In Ishioka, there is the legend that the characteristic shape of the mountain Tsukuba is due with its two peaks Daidarabotchi who, for a weight comparison with the former Fuji accidentally dropped and this is then split.

From Hamamatsu following tradition is known: Daidarabotchi spent earth from Ōmi after Suruga. When he joined the carrying shoulder underway at Hosoe (2005 amalgamated with Hamamatsu ), some soil fell out of his cage so that the mountain Nemoto (根本 山) was born. Later, he took a break, sat down on the Utsu (宇 津 山) and threw a " little stones " in the Lake Hamana, which was an island in it.

Similar stories can be found throughout Japan. Part of it is also known as a counterpoint to Issun Boshi (一寸 法师, dt as: " one-inch boy " ) seen the Japanese version of Tom Thumb.

References and Notes

• Giant
• Yōkai
• Legend, legend