Oshira Saibun - Oshira Saimon

Japanese: オシラ祭文 - おしらさいもん

...The latter is a tale of a marriage between a horse and a girl, said to have originated from the Chinese "Soushenji," and the girl who became husband and wife descended from heaven as a silkworm, or was worshipped by the silkworm god. It is said that Oshirasama in northeastern Japan is the silkworm god, and sticks with the faces of a man, woman, or horse are made from mulberry trees. During the New Year, while playing with this god, itako recite the "Oshira Saibun," which explains the origin of this story. Even today, the horse mark is used on wrapping paper for silkworm eggs and silkworm egg paper, based on this tale. ...

From [Mulberry]

...A general term for plants of the genus Mulberry in the family Moraceae. The leaves are used as feed for silkworms, but the fruits are edible. It is a deciduous tree of low to tall growth, but becomes evergreen in warmer regions. The leaves are either cut or round. The flowers are divided into female and male flowers, but small florets gather together to form flower spikes. It is wind-pollinated, and the fertilized female flower spikes become white or deep red fruits. The branches that grow in spring are green, but in autumn they turn a color specific to each species, such as gray or brown. The roots are taprooted. The most important use of mulberry is in sericulture as feed for silkworms, but the leaves are also used to make mulberry tea. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to the "Oshira Ritual Text" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…後者は，中国の《捜神記》に由来するとされる馬と娘との婚姻譚で，夫婦となった娘がカイコとなって天から下り，またはカイコの神にまつられたとするもので，東北日本のオシラサマがその蚕神と伝え，クワの木で男女あるいは馬の顔をつけた棒をつくる。正月にこの神をあそばせながらいたこはこの由来を説いた〈オシラ祭文〉を唱える。現在でも蚕種の包装紙や蚕種紙に馬の印を用いるのはこの説話に基づく。…

【クワ(桑)】より

…クワ科クワ属の植物の総称。葉はカイコの飼料として用いられるが，果実は食用になる。低～高木性の落葉樹であるが，温暖地では常緑的になる。葉は切葉と丸葉がある。花は雌花と雄花にわかれるが，小花が集まって花穂をつくる。風媒花であり，受精した雌花穂は白色または濃赤色の果実となる。春に伸長した枝は緑色であるが，秋になると灰色，褐色など種類に固有の色となる。根は直根性である。　カイコの飼料として養蚕に利用されるのがクワの最も重要な用途であるが，葉は桑茶を作るのにも用いられる。…

※「オシラ祭文」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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