Ofuku (doll) - Ofuku

Japanese: お福（人形） - おふく

...In folk performing arts, they are not just seen as ugly women, but also as Harami-onna in Ta-yu, and as companions to shrine maidens in the Flower Festival in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture. Their charm is emphasized in the clowns of lion dances and festival processions, and they are displayed on the large rakes of the Tori-no-ichi festival, where they are appreciated as faces that bring good fortune. In the Kansai region, similar faces are called Ofuku, and are also used as derogatory terms, but in merchants' homes, dolls are sometimes displayed as such. In the Tohoku region, lower-ranking shrine maidens are called Okami, and Okame is sometimes considered to be one type of them....

From Fukusuke

...One theory is that there was a small man with a big head who owned a large kimono shop in Kyoto called Daimonjiya, and in one generation he became a great millionaire. He gave alms to the poor in the town, and the poor made a statue of him to repay his kindness, which is said to be the beginning of the Fukusuke doll. In the 1773 (An'ei 2) book "Fukiyose Sohon," there is a story about a woman named O-Fuku marrying Fukusuke, and later, the custom of displaying a pair of Fukusuke and O-Fuku dolls on a lucky shelf was born, and during the Bunka era (1804-18), Fukusuke in hemp kimono and O-Fuku in a red apron made the rounds of the gates, offering prayers. Fukusuke was also called Tokusuke, and O-Fuku was also called O-Tafuku. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Ofuku (doll)" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…民俗芸能では単に醜女としてではなく，田遊のはらみ女，愛知県三河地方の花祭では巫女（みこ）のお供としても現われ，獅子舞や祭礼行列の道化では愛敬が強調され，酉の市の大熊手などに飾られて，福を呼ぶ面相として喜ばれる。関西では同系の面相をお福と呼び，蔑称にも用いるが，商家などでは福相として人形を飾る場合もある。東北地方では下級巫女をオカミと称し，〈おかめ〉もその一種と考えられることもある。…

【福助】より

…一説に京の大文字屋という大きな呉服屋に頭の大きな小男の主人がいて，一代で大福長者となったが，町の貧民に施しをして助けたので，貧民たちが彼の像を作って報恩したのが福助人形の始めともいう。1773年(安永2)の《吹寄叢本》にお福という女が福助に嫁ぐという話があり，後に福助とお福の人形を一対として縁起棚に飾る風も生まれ，文化年間(1804‐18)には麻裃姿の福助とお多福の面に紅前垂れ姿のお福が一組になって祝詞を述べてまわる門付があったという。なお福助は徳助，お福はお多福とも呼ばれた。…

※「お福（人形）」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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