Amanojaku - Contrary

An imaginary villain that appears in old tales and legends. It is difficult to decide whether he is a monster or a spirit. He is skilled at reading other people's minds, and uses mimicry and speech to go against people's will and is stubborn, but he is also subjugated. In the old tale "Urikohime," he kidnaps a princess, strips her of her clothes, ties her to a tree, and disguises himself as the princess in an attempt to marry her. In some regions (Tochigi, Toyama, and Gifu prefectures), this villain is transformed into a mountain witch, and there are also legends that consider him a mountain monster, as he overlaps with the ending of the story in which Amanojaku flees to the mountains. In Akita and Gunma prefectures, he is also known as Yamabiko (mountain echo) because of his mimicry, but in the Tono region of Iwate prefecture, he is considered a monster that lives in the ashes of the hearth. The Japanese-Portuguese Dictionary states that "Amanozako - the name of a beast that is said to be able to speak. Also, a person who is pushy and talkative," which likely has the same meaning as the derisive name used to refer to young girls in eastern Japan.

There are various other versions, such as the legend that red root grains and vegetables are red because Amenojaku squeezed them with his hands because they were too precious for humans, or that they created summer and winter to oppose the mild climate all year round, or that they interfered with civil engineering works on bridges and ponds. Amanosagume, who served Ameno-Wakahiko in the myth of the descent of the grandson of the heavens in the "Nihon Shoki," also appears in the "Manyoshu" and "Settsu Itsubun Fudoki," and there is a theory that she is Amanosakame, and she may be a related goddess.

[Shogo Watanabe]

In Buddhism, he is also written as Kaijaku or Taito, and is also called Ama no Zako. The demon mask on the underside of Bishamonten's armor, one of the four heavenly kings who protect Buddhism, is called Amanojaku (also known as Kahaku), and later the small demon that Bishamonten tramples under his feet was written as Taito and called Amanojaku. Bishamonten was originally an ancient god from the Vedic period in India (around 1500 BC) and the guardian deity of the north, but was adopted by Buddhism and became one of the four heavenly kings. His appearance is generally depicted wearing armor, holding a pagoda in the left palm and a staff in the right hand, but it is unclear how the demon mask came to be attached to his underside. However, since Bishamonten was worshipped as a god of martial arts in China around the 9th century, and both Kairuo and his alternate name He Bo are names of water gods that appear in the Autumn Water Chapter of "Zhuangzi," it is possible that the temple was founded in China.

[Fujii Noriaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昔話や伝説に登場してくる想像上の悪者。妖怪(ようかい)とも精霊とも決めがたい。他人の心中を察することが巧みで、口まね、物まねなどして、人の意図に逆らったり、すなおでないのだが、屈服されたりもする。昔話「瓜子姫(うりこひめ)」では、姫を誘拐し着物を脱がせて木に縛り、姫に化けて嫁入りしようとしたりする。この悪者を山姥(やまんば)に変えている地方（栃木、富山、岐阜県）もあって、天邪鬼が山へ逃げる結末の型に重ねて、山の妖怪と考える伝承もあったと思われる。秋田、群馬県では口まねから山彦(やまびこ)の異名になっているが、岩手県遠野(とおの)地方では炉の灰の中にいる妖怪とされる。『日葡(にっぽ)辞書』では「アマノザコAmanozaco――ものをいうといわれる獣(けだもの)の名。また出しゃばって口数の多い者」とあり、東日本で娘をばかにしていう呼び名と同じ系統を引く意味であろう。

　そのほかに種々の型があって、赤い根の穀物、菜類は、人間にはもったいないと天邪鬼が手でしごいたから赤いのだという伝説や、一年中温和の気候に逆らって夏や冬を設けたとか、橋や池の土木工事のじゃまをした、といった伝承もある。『日本書紀』天孫降臨神話に天稚彦(あめのわかひこ)に仕えていた天探女(あまのさぐめ)は、『万葉集』『摂津逸文風土記(せっついつぶんふどき)』にもあって、天逆女(あまのさかめ)とする説もあり、関連のある女神であろう。

［渡邊昭五］

　仏教では、海若、耐董とも書き、天(あま)の邪古(ざこ)ともいう。仏教守護の神々である四天王の一の毘沙門天(びしゃもんてん)の鎧(よろい)の腹部にある鬼面の名を海若(あまのじゃく)（別名は河伯(かはく)）といい、のちにはこの神が足下に踏みつけている小悪鬼を耐董と書き、「あまのじゃく」とよぶようになった。毘沙門天はもとインドのベーダ時代（紀元前1500年前後）以来の古い神で北方守護神であったが、仏教に取り入れられて、四天王の一となった。その像容は、身に甲冑(かっちゅう)をつけ、左手のひらに宝塔を掲げ、右手に宝棒をとるのが一般的であるが、腹部に鬼面がつけられるようになった経緯は明らかではない。ただ、中国では9世紀ごろには毘沙門天は武道の神として崇拝されており、また海若とその別名河伯はともに『荘子(そうじ)』秋水篇(へん)にみえる水神の名であるところから、中国成立の可能性も考えられる。

［藤井教公］

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