Somin Shorai

The name of the protagonist of the tale, which is now a kind of talisman. According to a fragment from the Bingo no Kuni Fudoki, when Susanoo-no-kami tried to borrow lodging for the night, he was refused by his wealthy younger brother Kotan Shorai, but was welcomed by his poor older brother Somin Shorai, who treated him to a feast of millet rice and other dishes. So, as a token of gratitude, he told them that if they wore a thatched ring around their waist that said "Somin Shorai's descendants," they would be able to avoid illness. Sure enough, everyone died soon after, but Somin Shorai's daughter, who followed the advice, was saved. In folklore, this god is also syncretized with Gion Gozu Tenno, and talismans with words such as "Somin Shorai's descendants" written on a piece of wood with an octagonal pillar are called Somin Shorai. In the Ise region and other areas, there are many examples of people hanging shime (paper ornaments) with inscriptions such as "Descendants of Somin Shorai" at the entrances of their homes to ward off misfortune, and the Somin Festival, in which people get naked and fight over Somin bags on the 7th of the lunar New Year at Kuroishi Temple in Mizusawa Ward, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, is also well known.

[Naoki Shintani]

"Fudoki of Bingo Province" (collected in "Japanese Classical Literature Series 2: Fudoki", 1958, Iwanami Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

説話の主人公の名、転じて護符の一種。『備後国風土記(びんごのくにふどき)』逸文によると、須佐雄神(すさのおのかみ)が一夜の宿を借りようとして、裕福な弟の巨旦(こたん)将来に断られ、貧しい兄の蘇民将来には迎えられて粟飯(あわめし)などを御馳走(ごちそう)になった。そこでそのお礼にと、「蘇民将来之(の)子孫」といって茅(ち)の輪(わ)を腰に着けていれば厄病を免れることができると告げた。はたして、まもなくみんな死んでしまったが、その教えのとおりにした蘇民将来の娘は命を助かったという。民俗ではこの神は祇園牛頭(ぎおんごず)天王とも習合しており、八角柱の木片に「蘇民将来之子孫也(なり)」などと書いた護符の類を蘇民将来といっている。伊勢(いせ)地方などでは家の門口に「蘇民将来之子孫」などと書いた注連(しめ)をかけて災厄除(よ)けとしている例も多く、また岩手県奥州(おうしゅう)市水沢(みずさわ)区の黒石寺で旧正月7日に人々が裸で蘇民袋を奪い合う蘇民祭などもよく知られている。

［新谷尚紀］

『『備後国風土記』逸文（『日本古典文学大系2　風土記』所収・1958・岩波書店）』

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