Life Bullet - Life Ball

Japanese: 命弾 - いのちだま

Also known by names such as Mamoridama and Yurushinotama, these bullets were always carried by hunters in the past to shoot when they encountered a strange phenomenon in the mountains and were in danger. They were said to be made of iron, gold bullets approved by Ise Shrine, or lead bullets engraved with Sanskrit characters or the words Hachiman Daibosatsu or Namu Amida Butsu, and were considered religious items. There are stories of them being used to shoot down cat monsters, and it was generally considered a given to stop hunting after firing these bullets. [Chiba Tokuji]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

マモリダマ，ユルシノタマなどの名もあり，昔の狩人が山中で怪異にあって危急の場合に撃つため常に携帯した弾丸。鉄で造るとも伊勢神宮の許しを得た金の弾とも，また鉛の弾で梵字（ぼんじ）あるいは八幡大菩薩または南無阿弥陀仏と彫られているとも伝え，信仰的な品であった。これで猫の化物を射止めたなどの話が語られており，通常はこの弾丸を射撃した後は狩りを業とすることを廃するものとされた。【千葉徳爾】

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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