Wooden wife - Kinyobo

...In many places, women who were childless after three years of marriage were divorced, and it was said that stone women were punishment for killing animals in a past life, and they were generally disliked. In Nita District, Shimane Prefecture, it was said that a village would wither if there was a stone woman, and in some places, stone women were called kinyobo (wooden wives). Since stone women were considered one of the reasons for divorce, people would pray to gods and Buddhas for pregnancy and perform various spells in order to have children....

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Kinjobo" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…結婚後3年たっても子のない女は離縁されたという土地は多く，石女は前世に動物を殺した報いなどといい，一般に嫌われた。島根県仁多郡には，石女がいると村が枯れるといい，石女のことを木女房（きにようぼう）と呼んだところがある。石女は離婚の理由の一つとされていたので，子を得るために神仏に妊娠祈願をしたり，種々の呪法を行った。…

※「木女房」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