Oshira-sama explained

Oshirasama (Japanese: おしら様, おしらさま, お白様, オシラ様, or オシラサマ, Hepburn: oshira-sama) is a tutelary deity of the home in Japanese folklore.[1] It is believed that when oshirasama is in a person's home, one cannot eat meat and only women are allowed to touch it.[2]

The festival day for Oshirasama is called meinichi (命日, or a death anniversary). It is held on the 16th day of the first, third, and ninth Japanese lunar calendar.

Legend

According legend Oshirasama was born from the love between a woman and horse.[3]

In popular culture

See main article: Shinto in popular culture. The deity is also a character for the film Spirited Away.[4] In the American version of the film the character is called Radish Spirit.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Encyclopedia of Shinto 詳細. 2021-09-01. 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム. ja.
  2. Book: Estok. S.. East Asian Ecocriticisms: A Critical Reader. Kim. W.. 2013-03-26. Springer. 978-1-137-34536-3. en.
  3. Book: Ivy, Marilyn. Discourses of the Vanishing: Modernity, Phantasm, Japan. 2010-02-15. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-38834-2. 124. en.
  4. Book: MacWilliams, Mark W.. Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime. 2014-12-18. Routledge. 978-1-317-46699-4. en.
  5. Book: Phillips. Alastair. Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts. Stringer. Julian. 2007-12-18. Routledge. 978-1-134-33422-3. 316–318. en.