Shiranui

Japanese: 不知火 - しらぬい

〘Noun〙 Mysterious fires that can be seen in the middle of the night in the Yatsushiro Sea and Ariake Sea in Kyushu. [Season: Autumn] *Kawagoe Senku (1470) 3 "The road to Tsukushi and the capital rising far away (Michizane) The boat at Yodo seen an unknown fire (Chuuga)" [Eloquence] (1) In the entry of "Shoki - Keikō 18th year, May", during Emperor Keikō's tour of Kyushu, the sun went down while sailing, but he was guided by a fire shadow and was able to reach the shore. However, he did not know who caused the fire and thought it was not a human fire, so this place came to be called the Land of Fire. As for the legend of the place name of Hi, there is a story in the "Fudoki" of Hizen and Higo that fire fell from the sky onto the mountain. It is not clear when this mysterious fire came to be called "unknown fire," but it is thought to have been common in the Middle Ages.
(2) → Next section: History of "Shiranui"

Shiranui (fire)

Name: Shiranui (Shiranui fire)

Source: The Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary About the Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary Information

Japanese:

〘名〙九州の八代(やつしろ)海や有明海に夜半点々と見られる怪火。《季・秋》※河越千句（1470）三「つくし路や都遙に上るらん〈道真〉しらぬ火見ゆる淀の舟つき〈中雅〉」[語誌](1)「書紀‐景行一八年五月」の条に、景行天皇九州巡幸の際、航行中に日が暮れたが火影に導かれて岸に着くことができた。しかし、火の主はわからず、人の火ではないと考え、この地を火の国と呼ぶようになったという。なお、肥の国の地名伝説としては、肥前、肥後の「風土記」に火が天から山に降ったという話もある。この不審火を「しらぬ火」と呼ぶようになった時期は明確ではないが、中世には一般化していたかと思われる。
(2)→次項「しらぬい」の語誌