Isora

Japanese: 磯良 - いそら

…An ancient spirit that appears in legends from the Middle Ages onwards. It is also called Atobeno Isoura. According to the 39th volume of the Taiheiki, when Empress Jingu invaded the Three Kingdoms of Korea, she invited the gods of heaven and earth to Kashima in Hitachi for a military council, but Atobeno Isoura, who lived at the bottom of the sea, was the only one who did not attend.

From [Thin Man]

...The thin men who appear at the festival of Kasuga Wakamiya Shrine in Nara today are made up of a group of six people wearing pure robes, white masks, and black hats, with two drummers, two flute players, and two others dancing without hands. In the Isora Dance at Shikanoumi Shrine in Shikanoshima, Fukuoka City, one white-masked man wears a katsuko drum. At Hachiman Kohiyo Shrine in Yoshitomi-cho, Fukuoka Prefecture, and Koyo Shrine in Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, old dolls called kugutsu dance Isora with white cloth draped over their faces, but thin men wearing crowns also appear. ...

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Isora" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…中世以降の伝承に現れる古代の精霊。阿度部（あとべの）磯良ともいう。《太平記》巻三十九によれば，神功皇后が三韓に征するさい天神地祇を常陸の鹿島に招き軍評定を行ったが，ひとり海底に住む阿度部磯良のみが不参であった。…

【細男】より

…現在奈良春日若宮の御祭（おんまつり）に出る細男は，浄衣･白覆面･烏帽子姿の者6人が1組で，鼓打ち2，笛吹き2，他の2人は無手で舞う。福岡市志賀島の志賀海（しかのうみ）神社の《磯良の舞》は，白覆面の者1人が羯鼓（かつこ）をつけて出る。福岡県吉富町の八幡古表（はちまんこひよう）神社や大分県中津市の古要（こよう）神社では傀儡（くぐつ）と称する古い人形が白布を顔に垂らして磯良を舞うが，別に冠姿の細男も出る。…

※「磯良」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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